The Fair and other things

First of all I need to address the comments I've received about turning on my a/c. It is 12:30 pm as I'm writing this, and 72F inside my apartment, 73 outdoors. It won't begin to get hot outside until around 3-5 pm, and usually reaches the peak at 6:00 or later. This morning it was 51 and I was actually cold when walking Lady. My apartment almost always stays cool the entire day - it's when I need to go outdoors that the heat just kills me, and that would be exacerbated by coming from a/c. Unfortunately, it's when I have to walk the dog around 4 pm that I really suffer. Also, the outside temp keeps me from wanting to go anywhere, and having a/c on in the house wouldn't help much. I simply could not bear it at night, although the noise would help block out the upstairs shenanigans. Unless you've ever lived in Sacramento in the summer you can't imagine the difference between day and night here, with the coolest being in the early morning hours, and that's when I open the front door to catch as much fresh cool air as I can. Normally I can leave the windows open throughout the house, and if I can feel heat coming in one of them I merely shut it.

Yesterday was the first time I've been to a state fair since the 1970's/1980's. We tried to go to the Ohio State Fair every year, but oh, how different it was then. We started off with the sheep & goats, dairy animals, swine, cattle, and horses. Each of those had its own huge building plus outdoor exhibits. The highlight for Bill and me, and of course the kids, was that each building featured a mother with babies. The little piglets were probably the cutest, but they all were mesmerizing to watch.

We usually took in a commercial building or two, sat in the Niagara chairs, stuck our hands in the Calgon soft water exhibit, and listened to the incredible product descriptions. Believe it or not, I found some of the best products I ever tried right there at the fair. We first heard of and bought a T-Fal skillet that lasted nearly forever. And a kitchen knife demonstration convinced my husband to buy it, and although it was an ordinary knife to me, he loved it. In fact, when we were separating in 1989 and dividing the household goods, Bill first called the knife. I don't know which of the kids has it now, but they will no doubt pass it on to their children for sentimental reasons.

We never went near the rides. The Massey Ferguson exhibit was enough to keep my kids happy. They were in their teens before they ever heard of a Midway! They still can't figure out how I steered them clear of it. Bill was enough of a kid to probably want to go to the Midway, but he never said a word - I led the family through the maze of buildings, exhibits, food stands, etc., just like a dictator, and no one ever argued with me!

California's fair has a lot of food stands, some of which are plain disgusting. This year's new hot item is chocolate covered bacon, and I can tell you the two aromas don't mix well so I can only imagine the taste. There are lots of stages set up with live entertainment, and the downside of that is the huge speakers which are designed to ruin your hearing, if it hasn't been ruined already. The upside is that big fans are everywhere with misters that spray a fine mist of water, thus keeping things a lot cooler than they would otherwise be.

Here is a picture of Autumn's ballet group - she is about 4th from the left, with the yellow tutu. I think it is so funny to see that these little girls are all doing something different and facing in different directions.


Here are the tap dancers - this time Autie is about 4th from the right. They did a Shirley Temple number - "Baby Take a Bow".


The dance studio teaches ballet, tap, jazz, and gymnastics, ages from about 3 to 22, and the hour-long program featured some of the best I've ever seen in young folks. The gymnastics was saved for last, and boys and girls of all ages went through the most incredible demonstration of agility and grace. It was also refreshing to see the older kids perform classical ballet, to honest to god music fit to hear. I get more rock and rap than I care for, and it was nice to hear some classical music as well as to see the kids enjoying it. I'm very glad I went, and it was not easy for me to drive over, park the truck and then try to find my family, with the worst being the loud music you could hear throughout the park.

There was also a building that had an exhibit of art work done by ages from approx. 9 to 18. I am stunned by how talented some of them are, and again it's a look at some of the best of youth, which we often forget is there.