There's been knitting, and Ravelry, and meeting sheep, and knitting, and discovering that part of the sheetrock in my leaky utility room was on the floor. (I have a rather wonky plan about that...I'll let you know if it works. But it will be awhile because it just keeps raining)
All of that recedes as FALL becomes real. Leaves beginning to turn. Delightfully unseasonable temperatures which make me sing (badly, but that's the way it is). And yesterday......oh one of my favorite things.
The Oklahoma State Fair! I do so love the fair. I hear people say "oh it's not as good as it used to be" or "I used to go but haven't been in years". I dunno, to me it's still magical! All those jars of canned goods. Quilts. Tatting. Knitting. 4H Projects. The midway barkers. The food...Indian Tacos. Gyros. Cinnamon Rolls. Caramel Apples. Turkey Legs. Funnel Cakes. Corn Dogs. Corn on the Cob. We won't discuss what all I ate. Let me just say that supper was an impossibility.
For the last several years I've been lucky enough to go on Senior Citizen Day. Which means I get in free. Free is a good thing and there really are good things about getting older. Although I was a bit sad that this year a lady just gave me my entry pass as I walked towards the gate. No more carding :-(
Grabbing a corn dog first thing (oh I forgot. I wasn't going to talk about food) right after I entered the gate, I was off to see the sights. And such sights there were. I spent a long time looking at antique John Deere tractors. When I was a little girl in Ohio, my best friend down the road had a daddy who was the county Ag agent. And as such, he brought home toy tractors given to him by dealers. And I LOVED the JDs. I really thought being grown up would mean you could have all the blue tweedy covered Nancy Drews AND your own John Deere green tractor. I got the Nancy Drews, but the closest I got to one of those green beasts was painting a shed roof with John Deere green.
There were so many pretty things in the Hobbies, Arts and Crafts building. Spun wool, beautiful quilts, jars of fruit so pretty that they looked unreal.
And the vendors...oh my gosh, so many free things being given away. I signed so many tickets..surely they will pick me!
Now you might think that going on Sr. Citizen Day would mean that the crowds would be free of youngsters, teens etc. Not so, but I didn't see even one incident of unpleasantness. Oh wait, there was one. In a building with lots of vendors, I paused at a booth offering sterling silver jewelry. I was interested in the rings as they had larger sizes and I have big fingers. As I waited my turn to browse behind 3 ladies, I noticed a woman in a power wheelchair farther down the counter. She told the seller that she wanted to see sterling rings, and he indicated the area where the 3 ladies were. I thought I would let her in in front of me, since I am a nice person. But not to worry. She put that chair in gear and practically mowed down the 3 women, saying "I need to see these". They jumped back in alarm and Ms. Chair Person began to happily try on rings.
The ubiquitous yard sticks were everywhere, but I resisted. I have plenty from earlier fairs...it was a great temptation though.
The vineyard section of the Made in Oklahoma building was ummm nice. And yes, a bottle came home with me. Must support local agriculture. And, I even know someone that grows grapes for one of the vineyards. Yes, that's the reason it came home with me.
One of my favorite things to do is to tour the mobile homes. If I didn't live in tornado alley, I'd surely have me one. I find them fascinating and much better designed as far as space goes than most stick built homes. One couple and I played house in one, talking about where we'd put the dining table, and how one bedroom could be for her hobbies and he could have another and then a bedroom to sleep in. I'm not so attracted to some of the huge showplace types. Hello? A Grecian arch in your living room?? Not for me.
And then, off to the barns. The great big show barn had a barnyard nursery section. Baby chicks pecking their way out. This year I did share with a lady that some of them were just resting from their endeavors, not dead..and thankfully they raised their little heads after a bit, got to their feet, and got on with their chicken lives. There were HUGE sows with their newborn litters, one is due today but I have to go to work. AND, there were little kids. Goat kids. Now, since I spent much of my spring glued to the came at Susie Gibbs CSA fiber farm watching little angora goats being born, I was sad that I didn't actually get to touch them. One of the vet people was holding a two day old kid. O.M.G. what a delicious softness. And I swear the little guy was smiling at all the attention.
There were others in the pens with their mothers all snuggled down happily. When I finally moved on from the nurseries, I entered another barn to visit with the Express Clydesdales. Massive, majestic, and oh so gentle. Then off to stumble across a 4H or FFA goat show. Not sure which. And I do hope those kids actually learned from the judge. I've never heard anyone speak that fast except at auctions. And wow..there were surely a lot of different kinds of goats. From the pygmies to goats with names longer than I can type.
Such a fun day. And after about 5 hours of walking, I called it quits and headed for home. And the heating pad and the muscle relaxers. Well worth every step.