County Fair, Part 2, with photos

County Fair was lots of fun this year! My son and I both entered items into competition, and we both did well.

My son got a special award for his cherry tomatoes, which I didn't get a photograph of, as well as a nature craft that he entered:

He also entered an electronic quiz board, shown here, as well as a Snap Circuits A.M. Radio that got a special award (no photo),

a blue ribbon on a soda-bottle rocket he made:

a blue ribbon on a jar lamp he made as part of the 4-H electric project:

and blue and red ribbons on some of his paintings:

DS also entered his hamster in the pet show and came away with several ribbons.

Then lots of rides on "Ride Day" (our family usually does rides only once a year).

Then I got to look at how my own fair entries did. My boys' slacks and boys pajamas got blue ribbons,

as did my latch hook rug, my blue teddy bear, and my fuzzy, floppy bunny with no face. I got a champion ribbon on my blue ribbon chocolate chip cookies with nuts. My other entries, some got no ribbons, some got lesser ribbons:

These are a crocheted market bag, a crocheted rub in bright colors, and a sewn pair of fleece booties. I had also made entries of a crocheted baby hat and booties, and a sewn apron, plus some other cookies.

Let me know what you think!

County Fair 2011

Fair days have arrived.

Monday (8/8) I went to the Fairgrounds to enter our 4-H Club's banner that we updated to reflect our current 4-H Year. Our banner got a 1st place ribbon and also a Champion ribbon! (No photos of anything yet; I'll have to post those a bit later; been too busy!)

Wednesday my son entered his "non-perishable" 4-H items, which included:
Pencil self-portrait; water color of our dog; acrylic painting of a mountain sunset; a bottle rocket from 2 2-liter soda bottles; an electric jar-lamp; an electric game board; a loom-knitted hat; a stone mozaic; a nature craft; and several more things. (again, photos soon.)

Friday I entered my own "open class" fair entries, which included boys' pajamas, boys' slacks; an apron; sewn baby booties; a crocheted tote, crocheted booties; a crocheted rug; a latch hook rug; chocolate chip cookies; a needlepoint pillow; and several other items.

Saturday my son entered his "perishable" 4-H entries: 5 cakes; 3 types of cookies; garden vegetables; citizenship baskets; etc. I also entered some items our club had put together: citizenship baskets. We then worked at the 4-H Bake Sale until 10:00 pm.

Today (Sunday) was the 4-H Parade. We woke to pouring rain! But by the time we got to the fairgrounds after church, the weather had gone from parade doubtful to parade possible, and progressed to parade definite! Our club got a 2nd place ribbon for its walking unit!

None of my son's cakes got 1st place, so we did not stay for the 8:00 cake auction this year. We're resting up. Tomorrow's the day we've set aside for the carnival part of the fair!

Happy summer, all!

Saturday sundries

July 16th, and we have the windows open. I'm lovin' it! Was in the 60's last night! This will do our electric bill good...

So, looking back over my posts in June, I'm seeing I am a demonstration of big plans, little action. I'm going to have to take things in smaller bites if I want to get thins done.

So, JDs fair projects so far... things he's gotten done that will be able to be entered in 4-H:

• chocolate chip cookies, no nuts -- in the freezer ready and waiting;
• pencil drawing, if/when we get it properly mounted...
• he had done another marker drawing, if I can only find it...

Sadly... that might be about all right now, so I really need to get on him...  and be organized.

Our 4-H club has also been working, meeting once/week for two hours. We have the following entries getting ready for entry:

• Club banner;
• Community Service cookie basket;
• Community Service theme gift basket;

• Community Service educational gift basket;

•  Christmas ornaments

• we might manage to enter what is called a "Shoebox Float"
• and we'll be able to submit a Community Service garden variety basket (tomatoes, green beans, cucumbers, onions, peppers, that sort of thing.)
• We will also enter a "walking unit" in the 4-H Parade (that is to say our club will walk in the parade).

These entries are real important for our club because the premiums we get from the awards are a major source of fund raising for us.

I'm hating the whole photograph/download to computer/ add to blog photo/post to blog thing. I really need to get over that cause blogs are so much nicer with real photos. I'll work on it, okay?

I, personally, also like to work on items that I enter of things I make myself. This year, so far, I am working on the following:

•  chocolate chip cookies, no nuts (in the freezer);
• chocolate chip cookies with nuts (in the freezer);
• sewing: baby booties (see below with crocheted hat and booties);
• sewing - slacks, still need elastic in waist band.
• 
• crochet: baby set: hat, sweater booties;
• crochet: baby booties;
• 
• crochet: baby hat;
• knitting: hat;
• latch hook: rug;
• needlepoint: need to make it into a pillow;

• cross-stitch: three completed projects that need to be mounted.
•  
• sewing: stuffed plush rabbit;  
•  
• sewing: teddy bear;
• 
• crochet: market tote bag
•  

That kind of went all over the place... didn't stay in order. I have so much more that I wish I could do for fair, but don't know if I will. Things keep coming up to take my time, and familly vacation is coming. I can knit and crochet on vacation, but can't sew. So, I'm really going to try to do a few things the week after vacation before entry day. I have a pair of pants sewn that only need elastic in the waistband -- if I can just find them in my clutter. I wanted to sew a pair of PJs for JD. That's a bigger project, but doable. I need to spend this week trying to finalize some of the above projects so they don't get neglected in lieu of sewing, cause I so prefer sewing -- that and baking, which I can also do the first week in August.

So, hope you enjoyed the photos! I love comments.

County Fair 2005

Here in our County, we are in fair mode this week.  The County Fair started last Saturday, and ends tomorrow. 

Exciting features of this year's fair for us:

Eldest daughter is 4-H Fair Queen this year!

In addition, she received a champion ribbon for a floor-length sweater jacket she knitted, a champion ribbon for a table-topper (table cloth) that she crocheted (thread crochet), a reserve champion ribbon for a dress that she sewed, another reserve champion for… a metal etching? can't remember.  She also participated in a cheese carving contest and carved a mouse, for which she received a very nice Grand Champion award!

2nd daughter missed entry deadlines for 4-H entries and enterred her things in the Open Class category.  She received a Champion ribbon for a tile mozaic, a Champion ribbon for her metal-etching, and many other awards.  Becky also received a Grand Champion award at the dog show for their performance on the Agility course.

Youngest, just turned 5, received a participation ribbon for enterring an item in the 4-H building as a Clover, and enterred two items in open.  His lego creation received an “Honorable Mention” ribbon.

Mom spent the year homemaking, and come fair time had very little to enter.  What I did enter did, for the most part, receive awards.  My entries were: sewing: navy blue zip-front hoodie sweatshirt with pockets (1st place), thread crochet doily (5th place?), crocheted infant's hat (3rd place?), knitted adult hat (no award), biscuits (2nd place?), sugar free muffins (1st place), fat free muffins (3rd place?), and sugar free cookies (can't remember what ribbon).Keep in mind that I made all the baked goods on entry day… That's because I didn't want to have only 3 entries!

Eldest daughter gets moved into college on Monday to Tuesday.  2nd daughter and I leave on church Sr. High retreat on Monday (same Monday daughter moves into college dorm). 2nd daughter and son start school on 9/6. 

DD#2 has had a busy summer.  We finished our homeschool on a Friday, and one week later she left for a one-week mission trip to Mexico with our highschool youth group.  She celebrated her 16th birthday the after day she came home, but she came home with a terrible ear infection (which had caused her great pain while flying!).  So, the birthday consisted of a trip to the pediatrician, then to the pharmacy, and then to bed. We served a cake for her that evening, but she wasn't feeling much up to it.

She hadn't been back for a week yet when we left for our family vacation.  We travelled to Prince Edward Island, with stops along the way to ride a train pulled by a steam engine, ride a river boat, watch our car pulled up Magnetic Hill while in neutral!…  various fun things.  We also stayed at places with indoor pools the entire vacation, and ds, age 5, learned to swim!  So, we vacationed for 12 days or so, and when we got back, in less than a week dd#2 started volleyball camp–five days of volleyball from 8:00 a.m. to 2 p.m.  During this time her ear infection recurred, with swimmer's ear on top of it!  When volleyball was over, she had a couple of weeks to prepare things for fair entries.  Then came fair week, currently, and she has come down with a sinus infection!  Day after we pick up fair entries she leaves on four-day retreat; day 5 is State Fair, then one week til school!  So her summer has been reduced to the week before Labor Day!

So that's a whirlwind tour of our summer.  I, the mom, have spent a lot of time this summer trying to run my house (instead of having it run me).  I have done quite a bit of decluttering.  I am selling books on Alibris.com to get rid of ones I don't want/need.  Money from sale of books is turned right around to pay for homeschool expenses.  This might be book purchases, or postcards for our postcard exchange program that we are working on (to get postcards from all 50 states).

Well, I need to do more updating another day, as I have dinner dishes waiting for me.  I look forward to figuring out how to imbed photos right in this journal!

D