Cow Patties and Lemon Shakeups

Tonight we made our annual trek to the Johnson County Fair. Not having grown up with the country fair phenomena, I'm completely fascinated every year. It's sensory overload––where does I start? The animals? The food? The people watching? 

The kids have been small for the rides. Mostly it's just fun to people watch. I wish I'd taken more photos of the rides. They're graphic and bright, with peeling paint and swirling screaming faces. Seeing them I always feel like part of a movie set; the midway seems like it's from another era.

I have a thing for sheep. Look at these fashionable ladies in their sweaters. I just had to scratch their backs.

The fair is for young and old, alike. I'm guessing it was a first year for these kids.

Win this, win that. 
The first night of the fair starts with a hot balloon race.
This guy was the last to get into the air.

Matt was reluctant to touch any animals. He was very interested to know that all the animals had food and water. Sarah wanted to touch every animal.

We didn't see any giant hogs. This dude was big and sleeping like most of his kin.
Besides getting a lemon shakeup, Sarah wanted most to see her 4-H projects. The two puppets by her ear are hers. [this picture is funny––she looks like a pin cushion with daisies coming out of her head!]
Here's her "kool kat" project. Hand stitching is hard for a first grader to grasp. She did well and both of us learned valuable lessons.
I love the big airy livestock rooms. It was a cool evening which makes everything smell better!
We're proud of tall corn here in Indiana!

In the Garden

I finally got to the weeding this afternoon. It was sunny and breezy and lovely to have a good reason to be out in the garden. Much work to be done but was a start.

Small Thing of the Day

Dilly Bread

It was a week––busier than usual with work. Today I felt like a drone. I'd planned to weed the garden but was rained out. The highlights of the lazy day were watching Globetrekker with Sarah and making bread to go with our dinner salads. The dilly bread recipe is my grandmother's; the smell of it baking "is" her house. Here is the recipe:

Lita Loch Dill Bread

Soften 1 pkg yeast in 1/4 c. warm water. Heat 1 c. cottage cheese; add to 1/4 tsp baking soda, 2 tsp dill seed, 1 tbs minced onion, 2 tbs butter, 1 tsp salt and 1 egg. Combine and stir well. Add about 2 1/2 cups of flour and knead. Let rise 1 hr. Punch down and make into loaf or round in buttered cake or bread pan. Let rise 30 min. Bake 40-50 min at 350 degrees. Butter top well. Cool 1 hr before slicing. 

Plastic Bags

This is an interesting slideshow on the impact of plastic bags: http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080506/MULTIMEDIA02/80505016

Reducing (or ceasing use) is one way to reduce our dependency on foreign oil (and oil in general).

I wish I could be completely weaned off but I use them for Sam doodoo when we walk (which is nearly every day). If anyone has an alternative for this use (so my neighbors don't hate me), let me know.

Small Thing of the Day

The Value of Time

"The point of keeping a journal however, is not to have something new to say every day. It is the exact opposite––the point is to find out what you have to say that is not new. When you consciously observe something repeatedly, on a daily basis, you find out what is lasting, what sustains, what you think about the most. You see what ideas receive your contemplation. You discover the essence." - Wendy Richmond in Communication Arts (March-April 1997)