Saturday, August 11, 2018

2018 FAIR – Day 8

Yikes! It’s already past midnight and I’m just starting to write. Let’s jump right in.

I’m really not an air head
Even though I am quite a disaster in the kitchen…especially with baking…I have somehow managed to learn how to can stuff. The Death Peaches of 2004 notwithstanding.

Rob is kind enough to grow all sorts of veggies for me so I can make salsa, pickles, and marinated jalapenos. I also try to keep my father-in-law stocked up with blackberry jam from all the berried weeds on our property.

I’ve entered some of my canned creations in past Fairs and have astoundingly earned blue ribbons. It helps that the judges don’t actually taste anything. Instead, it’s purely a beauty contest based on attractiveness, proper measurements, and how well things are packed. The jars I mean.

This year I decided to enter some Tomatillo Salsa I made last fall and some Dill Pickles I made last month. Knowing how critical head space is, I selected the jars I thought nailed the required one-half inch gap between the lid and my canned garden bounty.

I was a little concerned when I dropped off my entries pre-Fair. The woman manning the canning had never heard of tomatillos or Salsa Verde. I feared the judges might not know how to judge something they had never heard of. Then I remembered some of the “wines” I have judged for the Fair (peach bell pepper wine, anyone?) and figured I might still have a chance of adding some more blue ribbons to my canning closet (yes, I have one…in the garage).

So color me disappointed when I discovered that both of my jars got red ribbons. Both had judge’s notes telling me to watch my head space. Problem was, I thought I had.

Today, doing my best not to sound whiny and sincerely seeking to understand and learn so I can do better next time, I asked a nice canning lady to explain what I had done wrong.

Wouldn’t ya know, my head space was indeed off. I thought I had to fill the jars to the bottom of a thick lip etched in the glass. Turns out real canners know to fill above the lip. Sigh. Apparently in this beauty contest, it’s all about the lips.

Although it wasn't noted by the judge, the canner lady also
suggested that my piece of garlic in the pickles might have
caused a deduction since the spear standing on it was
pushed out of the brine.  So much to learn.



Not as smart as a llama
For the past few days, my friend Shannon has been sharing a daily Fair Treat with her llama llove, Rojo. The not-terribly-discerning camelid has enthusiastically enjoyed an elephant ear and an ice cream cone so far.

Today, Shannon was craving blue cotton candy so I decided join in the fun. Because, wow, I can’t even remember the last time I had pure sugar spun into clouds.

I really didn’t eat enough of the Blue Raspberry Cotton Candy to justify including it in the Fair Food Feast Parade. In fact, I only ate about three pinches of the stuff. Nevertheless, that was a sufficient amount to produce this:

Upon showing my tongue to a teenage friend, I was
immediately asked where I got the cotton candy.  Only
the cool kids have blue tongues.  Sorry, Rojo,
I’m relieved to report that with several minutes of swishing with water, most of the stain dissolved from my teeth. However, my tongue still has a blue tinge more than 8 hours and 5 treats later. Fantastic!

As for Rojo, despite several attempts, the llama that will eat a Voodoo donut with passion literally turned his snout up at the blue sugar. Shannon could not convince him to even take a little nibble. Which is a shame since it would have been quite amusing to see a brown llama sporting two very blue teeth.



Special Guests!
Today we were joined by Cheryl and Susan, two friends who travelled quite a distance to come check out the Fair I can’t stop talking about.

Cheryl has been a friend for decades. She lives near St. Louis, Missouri. Susan is Cheryl’s friend who used to live in Missouri but now lives just north of Woodhaven by a few hours. Cheryl decided it was time to visit Susan and check out this Pacific Northwest thing. She timed her trip so she could also attend My Fair for a day. Awwwwww!!!

Susan and Cheryl enjoyed the breeze Dock Dog
seating with us.  Sooo refreshing to not be sweltering!


I was super excited when we concluded they would join us today, it being Tuff Truck Day. I was certain watching local adolescent boys race their jacked up rigs around a dirt obstacle course would give the ladies the perfect feel for what my Fair is all about.

Oh, how right I was.

Cheryl and Susan arrived in the Grandstands this afternoon after having spent the past week together perusing the iconic Powell’s Bookstore for hours, attending a Renaissance Fair while trying hard not to be distracted by the copious historical inaccuracies, and enjoying the serene natural beauty of nearby beaches and national parks.

Not surprisingly, “the truck thing”…as it was quickly named…was a bit of a shock to their sensibilities. It was just a touch louder than their prior activities (my throat was a little sore from trying to talk over the loudspeaker…and from cheering when that one quad did a somersault, busted a few parts, and then kept racing. Ooooh, man, that was awesome!).  And it was perhaps a bit more rednecky than their daily fare. And admittedly a bit pointless. And absolutely a shining example of all things ‘Murica.

I figured attending the 7:00pm show was a no-go when I noticed Susan checking on her Words With Friends game. But she and Cheryl were wonderfully good sports to endure and do their best to enjoy what was undeniably a looong event filled with newbie drivers still trying to figure out how to race over dirt mounds without getting high-centered. We’ve been here at Woodhaven long enough, I sometimes forget how rogue Rob and I have gone from our past life in suburban San Francisco.

Aside from the truck thing, the four of us spent some time in the Big Air Conditioned Building learning about how to make lace. We wandered through some animal barns and ooohed and aaaahed over the baby piglets and brand new calf born last night. We watched Dock Dogs. We met Rojo. We were treated to a lively performance at the hypnotist’s show by a young teen who was convinced she was Taylor Swift.

Proof they were at a Fair!


And we ate. Boy did we eat! I wasn’t sure how feasty Cheryl and Susan would be but wow, they are great eatin’ buddies! Cheryl was all in and ready to nosh. Potatoes, bricks of fries, funnel cake, elephant ear, milkshake. She wisely reminded me that a diet simply describes whatever it is that you eat. Therefore, I can legitimately say…even and especially while Fairing…that I am on a diet. Cheryl, why don’t we hang out more?!? Oh, right. St. Louis.

So, when are you moving to Washington, Cheryl? Would it help if I promise to never subject you to a truck thing again?

Fairing extremely well.



DAILY STATS:

Number of miles walked: 3.5 miles

Re-entry hand stamp: An adorable “baby sheep” (my people call it “lamb”) on the inside of the left wrist. It was very cute, very fluffy, and very inky. I have two of its friends on the top of my left thigh.

Earrings: Tillamook Baby Loaf Van! Ok, so it’s not food but it IS food related. Tillamook Cheese is one of my favorites. Plus I love buying local when I can. The fun orange VW Van is a brilliant marketing vehicle to get the word out about the small loaves of cheddar cheese. And so naturally, I have earrings. I figured they went with my Fair Food Stain t-shirt choice today.



Random freebie: Today’s sponsor was Coca-Cola. So of course I was expecting to score a free bottle of the caffeinated, bubbly beverage. Or at least a small cup’s worth. And of course, I instead ended up with a half-dozen pencils. Because pencils are a super exciting way to get people jazzed about your beverage.  Especially when you are a small company and probably don't have much of an advertising or promotions budget.



Number of friends we said hi to: 14. Same number as yesterday…but not the same people.  Mostly.

Time crawled into bed:  2:48am.  2.6 Mbps for photo uploads is going to be the death of me.



FAIR FOOD FEAST PARADE:

As we were trying to coordinate meeting up with Cheryl and Susan, I briefly panicked that I wasn’t going to get enough eating in for the day. Oh, silly silly Toni. Thanks for being on a diet with me, ladies! You rock!

A Raspberry Lime Spindrift sparkling water.  It is super
duper tart.  Which I like.  But I suspect I'm special that way.

Corn dog from the Hog Daddy's booth next to the giant
snow cone.  This had been recommended by several friends.
Verdict:  the corn part was fantastic.  It was a pancake-like
batter so it had a delicious thickness and sweetness.  However,
the hot dog was sort of wimpy.  Fine but small.  The
Ultimate Corn Dog would be Hog Daddy's corn batter
and Chuck Wagon's dog.

I desperately wanted a Shave Ice yesterday but the lines were
ridiculously long.  Finally got a favorite combo -
lime and cherry.  Mmmmm.

My daily Smasher:  NW Berries and Mango.  So refreshing.
And Stan, your cups this year are quite the eye-catcher.
At least a half-dozen people every day ask me what my
drink is and where to get it.

Mmmm, chocolate lipstick.  This chocolate dipped
frozen banana from the booth next to the Grandstands
entrance hit the spot.  Especially since I have been
missing my normal-life daily smoothies with bananas.

Ok, so I wasn't going to include it but the photo makes me
happy.  So very blue!

Baked potato with The Works:  butter, salt, pepper, sour cream,
bacon, sausage, chives.  Always a favorite, although the sausage
tasted different this year.  Normally it's a little fennel-y, which
I like.  This year, it's more spicy.  I like spicy, but I prefer
sausage with fennel over sausage with spice.  Hopefully
I will remember next time to ask them to hold the sausage.

Brick of fries from the Roadhouse booth
outside the food court.  It was delightfully
greasy.  Last year we had it with nacho
cheese sauce.  I think I like the cheesy
version best.  Oh, and this was shared -- I only
ate about a quarter brick.

Deep Fried Heaven in the form of a Reeses Peanut
Butter Cup.




4 comments:

Carol in Salmon Creek said...

I actually saw you, your hubby & friends from afar this year. My husband and I were enjoying our Ridgefield Lions jo-jos & corn dogs (a must for me!) when I caught a glimpse of you. I got up to head towards you (even though you were a ways down from us) when you started walking away. So I figured I'd run into you again at some point - nope! How disappointing... But I LOVED the Tuff Trucks as always---and now must get me one of them thar Polaris or Yamaha things that can do flips and still drive away...LOL But seriously, that looks like my kind of redneck fun - softer ride and less chance of jarring my kidneys right out of my body! Just when I had decided that I was too old for the Tuff Truck driving gig, I have discovered that I am not. And since we have friends with the Yamaha things, we'll be trying them out before purchase (though I'm sure I'm going to love them!) OK, maybe my redneck side is trying to take over...but it can't hurt to have a little redneck fun. Thanks again for sharing the fair food adventures. And you were right, the monkey puppet was just a little creepy and weird. See you next year at the fair!!

Toni at Woodhaven said...

Oh my gosh, I would have LOVED to meet you in person, Carol!!! So very sad it didn't work out. :-( :-(

We have a friend who bought a Polaris last year for hunting. He LOVES it. And I don't think he only uses it for hunting now... ;-)

Thanks for validating my read on Giuseppe. The guy operating him is seemingly so normal; that monkey though...

Unknown said...

I love Cheryl's description of a diet! She is correct!

Who knew about head space when canning? I know we both feel the same way about a kitchen....we only have one because it came with the house. :) You'll get those blue ribbons next year!

The food looked amazing. Yes, I agree, the FF brick with melted cheese last year looked better. Note for next year...cheese on the fries, no sausage on the potato. :)

Thanks for another great day!!!

Toni at Woodhaven said...

I have a magnet on my fridge that says exactly that about the kitchen, Donna! LOL!

My head space was off by about two millimeters. I hope I don't die when I eat the pickles and salsa.