time for a vacation

I’m in sunny Phoenix visiting my youngest sister, Ann and her husband Tim. It’s been a wonderful day. I flew here this morning (and boy are my arms tired). I took a little nap on the plane and watched the movie “The Devil Wears Prada”, which made me laugh out loud. I caught up on a weeks worth of the Indianapolis Star newspaper and read a People magazine. I think it was the longest I’ve sat still for ages.

We went to the Arizona State Fair this afternoon. I am a State Fair junkie. I enter baking and antiques in the Indiana State Fair every year. I almost did not take the job with Second Helpings because I knew it would interfere with me going to the Fair everyday. The AZ State Fair was markedly different than the IN Fair. First of all, there were hardly any 4-H or open show projects. I counted only ten tables of 4-H things and most of those were posters. The only animals we could find were in sideshow-type trailers and you had to pay a dollar (each) to see them. The only food was the typical Fair food--all fried. I’m a big fan of supporting the local causes. At the Indiana Fair the Cattleman’s Club, Pork Producers, Dairy Club and Jaycees all have food booths. There was not a ribeye steak sandwich or roasted ear of corn to be found. I was hoping for something more ethnic to Arizona but unless the natives ate corndogs, I did not find it. I did see an amazing Native American dancer. He did a great job of explaining the dance and telling about his tribe. The thing that made it all worth the price of admission was the huge sculpture made from 800 pounds of butter (unsalted, if you were wondering). It was titled “Mount Rushmoo” and depicted the four presidents heads on cow bodies. A true work of art.

We spent the evening handing out goodies to trick-or-treaters; me dressed as a giant clown PEZ dispenser. There were over 70 children that came to the door. My clown face only scared about half of them. I brought gobs of PEZ dispensers and Ann had toys. We saved all of the chocolate for ourselves.

Any day that I can attend a State Fair and hang out with my little sister is a fantastic day.