Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Raindrops kept falling and falling...

The Fair had arrived. Our town prepares for months for this event. The buildings were cleaned out, exhibits hung perfectly, animals were washed and brushed, the rides were set up, and all types of food would be sold. The anticipation had been building...and finally the Fair arrived. And so did the rain. It sprinkled. It poured. A light mist fell. The clouds opened up and water came rushing down upon us. Puddles formed, then small ponds. Roofs leaked. The barns flooded. The Fair had to close early one evening. Exhibits got soggy. The goats had to be moved. We needed an ark. The beauty pageant was moved. Umbrella sales skyrocketed. Ticket sales plummeted. So how did I handle this soaking weather? I'd like to say that I smiled and made positive comments about the fact that I looked like a drowned rat. But I grumbled a bit. I complained for awhile. But then I realized that it wouldn't change anything. You can't control many things in life and weather conditions are one of those things so I snapped out of my ugly mood and went into Fair mode. I had fun visiting with all of the dripping wet people who came to the Fair determined to have fun. I saw old students of mine and caught up on their lives. They are all grown up. I taught some of my students in first grade and then again in seventh grade when I taught literacy. It did my heart good to find out about the paths in life that most of them have chosen. They are blue ribbon people!
And then I ate my way through the Fair. Maple cotton candy was my favorite. It was made on site with maple syrup from NH so it was fresh and yummy! If you ever get a chance, try it ! My least favorite was the deep fried Twinkie! Sicky sweet - what was I thinking? I could only eat half of it and no one else wanted it so in the trash can it went. I thoroughly enjoyed corn chowder in a bread bowl, fudge, french fries, fried dough, buffalo burger, pizza, lobster roll... and I will be eating salads and yogurt for the next few weeks since I need to fit into my gown for my daughter's wedding in 24 days!
Despite the rain, even the scarecrows were smiling!

My 'burn your face off' peppers earned a blue ribbon! The cherry tomatoes and the red hot peppers received red ribbons. Okay. The butternut squash got a white ribbon - and I am still grouchy about that.


Moo... You know I hate having my picture taken!


'A pumpkin in a pumpkin' ~ the mom of this 5 week old baby girl sat her in the giant champion 700 pound pumpkin ~ too cute!


Finally, on Sunday afternoon, the clouds parted and blue skies made an appearance. Better late than never, I guess.

It takes more than a few raindrops to dampen our spirits but next year I hope someone remembers to invite the sun!

10 comments:

Daryl said...

that poor tot looks very unhappy ... and that is SOME amazing pumpkin, I wonder are the seeds larger?

How exciting your daughter is getting married .. I will be back to share in the fun!

:-Daryl

Louise said...

I often have to remember to tell myself that the only thing I can control is me. And if I'm unhappy, it's probably because I decided to be.

I'm glad you had a great time, and a fried Twinkie sounds so horrible I can't imagine.

I LOVED the pumpkin. I love them anyway, but the shape of that, and just the perfect place to put a little baby. I'm so glad you shared that!

Anonymous said...

I was thinking about all of that rain that everyone up your way was getting. Good for you for having fun anyway. And, congratulations on your ribbons. I don't know what they could have been thinking with the white ribbon. Surely it was a mix up. ;-)

The big day is almost here. Is the wedding in the town where you live?

Marg said...

So you have another child getting married. Send some men this way...
I still need to get two more girls out of the way, but as you know, they need nothing but the best men.
Sounds like a great time at the fair.
I have not seen pumpkins like that before.

Dianne said...

congats on your daughter's upcoming wedding :)

thanks for your visit and your really lovely comment.

the photo of the food stand all bright and inviting with the threatening sky above and beyond it is spectacular!! It captured the fun and the rain.

So nice to meet you

Oh and I love Lilly standing on her rock. She is a beautiful girl.

Akelamalu said...

The baby on the pumpkin is soooo cute!

Sounds like you had a great day m'deario.

KatCollects said...

I am glad you had a good time, even with the rain. The fair is all about the food, yummmy. Where else can you get all that bad for you stuff in one place : ) Thank you for visiting my page, you had a Snowball too, how cute is that!
Kathy

Beijing Report said...

I'm most interested in all the food you ate! It's much in line with "Nourish" in your blog title. :_)

Andrea with the Flipflops said...

Wow your daughter is getting married. The thought of my girls getting married one day seems a life time away. But I am sure you had thought the same thing. How blessed you are to see this day!

Deb said...

Hi Daryl~ I am not sure how they grow the pumpkins that large - the farmers guard their secrets. Some say that they are milk fed! We are excited about the upcoming wedding - lots to do! Thanks for stopping by.

Hi Louise ~ You are correct - the only thing we can control is our selves. I am working on that. That pumpkin reminded me of a bean bag chair. And that baby was so sweet. It put a smile on my face!

Hi Beverly ~ I wish you had been the judge of my squash! :) My daughter is getting married about one hour north of our home. I will be writing about this newest adventure!

Hi Marg ~ Sometimes it is hard to find the perfect man - I wish your daughters' luck!

Hi Dianne ~ Thanks for stopping by for a visit. Lilly is a great dog. And we are quite excited about the wedding - busy days ahead!

Hi Ake ~ I love babies! Can't wait to be a grammie. I can't believe I just said that!

Hi Kathy ~ You are correct. The food makes the Fair!

Hi ~ Thanks for stopping in from China! That's a long way from New England! Welcome. And you are correct - I did 'nourish' my soul and my belly! :)

Hi Andrea ~ I thought of you yesterday as I wore my flipflops around while doing errands - my feet were cold. I think it was the last time I will be wearing them this summer. Bummer! Enjoy thos little girls ~ before you know it , you'll be shopping for wedding gowns. And a big box of kleenex! :)

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...