Today was the big day. Future hubby and I got up at, literally, the crack of dawn to drive the hour and a half to the State Fair. He wanted to get there right as it opened so we could avoid crowds and find good parking. We arrived a bit before 8:00 and had a nice time walking around with hardly anyone there but the employees opening their various booths and stands. The exhibition hall where my skirts were, didn't open until 9:00. We killed time by following the sounds of roosters crowing their morning song to the poultry exhibition tent. We enjoyed looking at all of the turkeys, chickens, and various other birds. It was quite loud as it seemed each rooster, or other birds that do the whole cock-a-doodle-do 'thing', were trying to out-crow their neighbors. When 9:00 finally arrived, we made our way back to the now open Education building. I was pretty nervous. All the hype that my principal worked up about my skirts...all the compliments...the long dream I had last night devoted entirely to experiences at the fair that could possibly, but not probably happen today...everything sloshed around in my stomach as I wove my way around the various displays looking for my entries. It didn't take long to come across these two cases:
My heart sank as I quickly realized that neither of my skirts had a ribbon. It had been a very long time since I felt the kind of disappointment that I felt at that moment. Almost as if I were a child again realizing that I didn't get that one special present under the tree that I had really and truly wanted.
Future hubby was supportive both by rubbing my shoulders as I stared at the display cases and by leaving me by myself to contemplate the other entries in the cases. Ironically, as I stood there deep in thought, the winner of the red ribbon in my long-flared skirt display case appeared behind me and realized for the first time that her scarf had won second place. Her excitement and the congratulations of her family only dampened my spirits even further. I wandered around for a little while longer, finally deciding to stand and observe the various quilts and blankets that were on display in the same building. I pondered the thought of perhaps entering a blanket in next year's fair. Blankets are what I originally learned how to do once I was taught how to crochet. Now that I know there are so many different ways to crochet a blanket besides the standard granny square, I felt a bit better about perhaps entering again next year. Not wanting to ignore the fact that at least my skirts were on display for thousands of people to see, I quickly went back to snap photos of my hard work. I caught up to future hubby and, although it took me a few moments to get over the let-down feeling, I have to say that I truly enjoyed the rest of our day at the fair.
By the time 1:00 came, we had walked every bit of the fairgrounds, seen all of the exhibits and vendors, and had even eaten a horrible lunch because we were too cheap to pay premium prices for the premium food (seriously, 8 dollars for a steak sandwich was a bit much, considering the admission tickets were also 8 dollars). I snapped pictures of as many things as I could that showed the variety of things we saw at the fair; a scrapbook page already beginning to assemble in my mind.
Here are pictures of two of my favorite exhibits:
It's hard to see in the picture, but this duct tape dress earned first place in a category that I would be interested in finding out.
We both enjoyed walking through the various garden displays that surprisingly, were also part of a competition that earned ribbons for the various exhibitors. Can you see the butterfly in this display? I was first drawn to the glistening c.d.'s in the background, but then I noticed the lawn chair serving as the body of the butterfly and the tape outlining the wings.
All in all, it was a terrific day and I'm glad I got to spend it with my future hubby. On our way home we stopped at a thrift store that we had never been to (we have recently started to enjoy sifting through the various potential treasures in thrift stores). While he searched out vintage cocktail glasses, I stumbled upon an arts and crafts section. I found a plastic bag with 6 unused skeins of Lion Brand Glitterspun which I'm a huge fan of for only 5 dollars. Some further digging around led me to some very nice, clean rubber stamps that will be used on letters during the Christmas season and also some large, shaped paper punches that will definitely be used for scrapbooking. All of these terrific finds, plus 4 glasses that future hubby had found only cost us 19 dollars and some change. If my spirits weren't lifted by the time we left the fair, they were now.
It was difficult keeping my eyes open on the way home, much to the dismay of my loving driver who always feels lonely when I fall asleep in the car. Now that I'm home, and lesson plans are finished for next week, I feel the fatigue washing over me. A good night of sleep is definitely the next thing to cross off my list.
