Working at the Fair-Day 3-Clydesdales!

It was back up to the Fairgrounds again on Saturday for day 2 of snack shop and Jr.Superintendent work. Maddie and Norah had the same jobs but at different times today. First they were in the 4H building greeting the public and working the bubble machine.

Then it was our turn to work at the snack shop with the rest of our group. They loved it as usual. It was so hot out and then other vendors ran out of water. In our shift we ended up selling 61 bottles of water! Only about 15 shortcakes. When its hot I guess you would prefer a bottle of water over a strawberry shortcake? The kids did try though..."Hey, do you want a shortcake too?" which got them funny looks. Upselling is apparently not our thing.

Then the Clydesdales arrived! We took it in turns to take the kids over to see them. They are so pretty and it was so neat to be up close to them. The dog was quite funny too. He kept hopping about trying to see what was going on then getting bored and taking a nap. Same old, same old, everyone wants to see the stupid horses I am sure he thought! This is a mixture of my photos and Maddie's. We had different trips and different vantage points.

Maddie's photos below

When we finished our shift they were getting ready to load back up and head out. They came to the fair and led the "Parade of Champions" which was all the first prize best of fair winners. Now that would've been cool too! We didn't see that...we were finishing up and counting money at that point!

Then it was off to the rides for a bit. The girls were tired so they didn't enjoy it as much as usual. We think next year we will head off to a different fair just to check out the rides and skip them at Altamont where we have so many other things we need to do.

On the way out was a guy with a snake and well, Eamon and Maddie dared each other. Both of them "tried the snake on". Ugh.

Today is a day to finish up chores for the week, rest a bit and then go back up tonight for project pick up. Next up is the State Fair!!

Altamont Fair Day 2--Time to Get to Work!

Today we were at the fair from about 9:30-5:30 and it was spent working, working and more working for Norah and Maddie. Brian and I may have ducked out for a bit for a shave ice but we won't mention that!

First we were in the snack shop selling strawberry shortcakes and other snacks and drinks. Drinks were a big seller today as it was hot early on and stayed hot.

I realized while taking these pictures that I am always taking them looking in but never took any looking out! What do we see any way?? So .....

Its fun to see the rides in the distance!

Then we ate lunch before Maddie and Norah headed off to work their Jr.Superintendent shift in the 4H building...or so we thought! We waited while they got signed in and took this shot before taking off on our own to check out things around the fair. We got a call from Maddie telling us.....

they ended up getting sent over to the corral to help with the horse show. Maddie said they were quickly put on gate duty as it became very apparent very fast that their knowledge of horses and horse shows was lacking. They still had a fun time and enjoyed watching the horses. I felt badly that we hadn't sunscreened them up. Maddie has another sunburned face!

Aren't they cute here? I couldn't help myself, I had to get that shot.

Despite the heat it was a beautiful day at the fair! And we get to do it all over again tomorrow!!

Ribbons!

We went up to the Altamont Fair tonight so Maddie could give her John Muir presentation again. She did an excellent job. She impressed the judge because the computer and projector wouldn't "talk" to each other and she didn't get flustered. She just turned the computer around toward us and gave her talk. Good marks for that and another blue ribbon to add to the collection.

And now for the REALLY BIG news...Maddie has not 1, not 2 but 3 photos going to the State Fair AND her Tree Identification Book is also going. I don't think her feet have touched the ground since we entered that room in the 4H building. Big smiles all around. The milkweed pod, the Yellow Goatsbeard gone to seed and the eagle are all on the way.

So thats the big news! We will be heading to the State Fair soon!!

Birthday Yarn Along

I received this lovely new stack of books for my birthday this weekend from my parents and Brian & Maddie. I jumped right into How to Keep a Naturalist's Notebook and Maddie is reading along with me in spots. It is quite good and I've picked up some tips already! We need a trip to the art supply store now. I also read through An Unexpected Cookbook which is based on foods from The Hobbit. That is a lot of fun! There are notes about Tolkein's life and how he planned out The Shire sprinkled throughout the book. I think the food in there is a once in a while treat for sure! Hobbits do like their taters, bacon and cheese. I will get into the rest as time goes on. I need to savor them a bit! I am also reading Prodigal Summer  by Barbara Kingsolver. I needed a book set in summer for the library reading club bingo card and it sounded good. I have enjoyed it so far but am only about 125 pages in or so.

In knitting I am working on the Spindrift Shawl and enjoying it. Its been good for knitting while watching TV or talking because it is long rows with just some fiddly bits at the ends. My ravelry notes are here. I am also working on some socks and another bear for the Mother Bear Project. Brian and Maddie gave me a lovely new basket that I am keeping the bear supplies in. Now it will be easy to pick it up and work on the bear when I like!

What are you knitting and reading this week?

Joining Ginny at Small Things for the Yarn Along.

Martin VanBuren NHS

We went off today to Chatham for a nice lunch and a look at the yarn store then we went to Kinderhook to Martin VanBuren's house which is now a national park. It was another hot one today and the AC in the house was not working but we made it through just the same. The tour was long but interesting. Unfortunately we couldn't take any photos inside the house so we just have to remember it. About 60% of the furniture within the house is original to the house and they have found important pieces like his desks in both the library and bedroom. The one spot I wish I could've take a photo for Poppa Bill. Apparently VanBuren was an avid fly fisherman and they have located his pole and tackle box that included some of the flies that he tied. There were also a lot of Jefferson references in the house because he looked up to Jeffereson and even spent a weekend at Monticello. Since we were just there a year ago that was fun to see. I did take some photos outside the house and of Maddie with a ranger sign we hadn't seen before. Maddie also earned another junior ranger badge!

Fair Time Again! Judging Day

Its time again for the Altamont Fair! We went up to the fairgrounds yesterday in the 97 degree heat and 93% humidity to turn in projects and work in the afternoon. We had so much fun but the heat totally sapped all the energy out of us by the end of the day. Phew! Its been hot up there before but this one was a record.

Maddie wanted to turn in her photos first. This project is the one that takes the most time for us to prepare and is easily the most stressful thing we do. She entered 5 photos that were unedited and 5 that were edited. We had new judges this year in this category and were so thankful! In years past the judge was not engaged in the process at all. She wasn't excited by anything and she equally wasn't critical of anything either! All the kids got blue ribbons and no one got feedback. This time they were thrilled with Maddie's photos and pointed out things they think she could've done better. Maddie received all blue ribbons but with critiques and she couldn't have been happier. She was even more excited when all her photos were hung in a group and other 4H kids and parents started noticing them, stopping and looking for long moments before moving on with their own projects. I think she enjoyed that part even more than the judging.

Then we entered Maddie's Tree Identification Notebook. I will have to try to get a post up specifically about this later on! She has been working on the notebook for about 1 1/2 years now. It contains information on different trees she has identified when we are out and about on walks, in the park or camping. She has about 34 trees in it at this point and it includes photos, leaf or bark rubbings, pressed leaves and a sample of the seed if possible.

The same judge was also judging the woodworking so she looked at Maddie's bookshelf and sundial as well. She was impressed with the sundial idea which was fun for us! She gave Maddie some tips on woodworking too. 

Then we turned in her acheivement book which is basically a scrapbook of her years in 4H. The judge liked it but told her she needs to do some more writing in there now that she is older. Maddie is not thrilled with that idea! She is a kid of few words but we will work on it.

Then we set up our club display...The Trees Of Collin's Park. This year it was a simple matter of slapping up the trifold board and slapping down the tree pages. I realized when we were done that everything was white and I probably should've lined the booth with something. At that point there was little we could do about it though and were too hot to care any way! When you look at it you can see the work that went into it and hopefully they take that into account. Its minimalist...that's it!

After this Brian headed for home to make pickles while Maddie and I ate lunch. Then Maddie started her Jr.Superintendent shift and I sat at the table to collect the "master sheets" from the kids of all the projects they turn in and sold tickets for the fair to the 4H parents and kids. I love the Jr.Superintendent job at the fair. Just like a "real" job Maddie has to be on time, dressed appropriately, maintain appropriate behavior and sign in and out. Its a great experience.

Working with the photography judges of course!

So now we wait for Thursday night to roll around. Maddie will be doing her presentation for the third time and we will be able to see if anything was chosen for the State Fair. Fingers crossed!!