These Days Go So Fast

Greg and I were on the way to dinner tonight and decided to go to Dillon Nature Center for a walk instead. It has been a perfect couple of days here and it seemed a shame to not enjoy the tail end of this one.



It's becoming more and more clear that autumn is around the corner as the light fades more quickly every day. I don't relish that. Frankly, I'd just as soon it stay daylight until about 9 p.m. every night until the week of Halloween. Then it could go from 9 p.m. to 6 p.m. in just a few days as far as I'm concerned. Mother Nature did not inquire what I would like, however, so I suppose we'd best get used to the earlier sunsets

I need to be making use of these nice days to get some things done around the house. I'm hoping the weekend is pleasant and I can do some outdoor things that need attention. I really wish my brother lived closer to me - I could use his expertise. Jackie is a genius when it comes to construction and pretty much anything related to home repair. I would so happily pay him to work on my house.



I need to replace the glass in a couple of windows, get some shelves built in the mud room, and replace a facing board on the side of the house. None of them are huge jobs and that's part of the problem. Finding someone who will do small things is difficult. And yet the small things become very big things if they're not handled. Some of them are things I could probably do myself, but considering that I haven't, I think it's time to pay someone to do them.

That also means they'll get done more quickly than if I muddle through them on my own. I somehow doubt my three hour training with a group of 15 people in a window workshop qualifies me to handle this. Of course, I have never let a lack of knowledge stop me from forging ahead. I wouldn't get anything done if I did. Everyone has to learn everything. I just want to get these things done before winter arrives. And it won't be far behind.



I do like the changing seasons. On the prairie you have to really be in tune with the changes. They can be far more subtle than a grove of trees in a blaze of autumn color.

This is one of my favorite times of the year. At work this is a "tidying up" time instead of an intensive fundraising time, which is nice. At home I love having the windows open, airing out the house, and doing some cleaning here and there and preparing to open my home during the Christmas season.

The holidays are very much on my mind these days. Of course, Halloween is little more than a month away. These days go so fast.
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Check www.patsyterrell.com for the blog, art, and more. Friend me on Facebook.com, Follow me at Twitter.com.

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Social Convention

I've lived in Kansas for a long time now. But I still don't understand social conventions here. I'm from the south where we have lots of social conventions, and I won't say they're all straightforward, but I understand them. I don't understand them here, and so far no one I've asked has been able to explain them to me. I have some recent examples.

1. Recently someone I have met a few times made it a point to say to me, "I'd like to have some time to visit with you. If you're open to that, let me know when it's a good time." I reply, "I'd really like that, too. I'll check my calendar and get back with you." I do. I email and suggest a couple of different times. They don't respond. At all.

I don't get that. Why in heaven's name would you bother to say you'd like to visit if you don't really want to? What purpose does that serve? Is the purpose to see if I'll follow through? What? I don't get it.

I have waited five days for a reply. Today when a friend asked if I wanted to go to lunch over one of the time frames I suggested I said yes. Obviously, there's no point in keeping that time open because although a week ago I was of interest to this person, that is no longer the case. Also, at this point, if you hadn't heard from me, wouldn't you follow up?

The "norm" where I'm from is to not say to people you'd like to visit if you really don't want to visit. Seems simple to me, but I've run into this over and over and over again. I can't count the number of times someone has said to me, "Lets have lunch soon." I try to arrange a time and it never happens. I still don't know what, "lets have lunch" means here. Where I'm from it means lets get together around noon some day soon and eat a meal together. That's what "lets have lunch" has always meant until I moved here. I keep asking people what it means here - because it doesn't mean lets eat the noon meal together - but I still don't know. People say it a lot. But I don't know what it means. I can deduce from years of experience that it has nothing to do with eating lunch together.

2. With a couple of notable exceptions, I'm the one that makes arrangements for a social gathering. I call for lunch. I invite people over. I arrange weekends away. Where I'm from we operate on the unwritten "rule of three," meaning if I invite you over three times and you don't come, it's up to me to figure out that you don't really want to be involved in my world and it's rude of me to keep asking. So, I stop asking and move on to other people. It's a polite, understood, social convention. No one's feelings are hurt. Everyone has an "out." Everyone goes on about their business.

By the same token, although it's not a "keeping score" situation, if I invite you over and we gather at my house, at some point you would host. That just does not happen here. I've accepted that. It doesn't bother me anymore. It used to. The first few years I lived here I was sure everyone just hated me. The first year I lived here I had to work Christmas and no one invited me over. I was shocked. I just accepted, "oh, wow, they really do hate me." Over time I realized that, by and large, they're not inviting anyone over except family. So, if you move here like I did with no family, you are just screwed. I still think about the fact that people don't invite you over, and think it's very odd, but it no longer hurts my feelings, which it used to do. I always wonder what in the world people are doing in their houses here that they are afraid of people seeing.

In the past month I've gone to four different gatherings/lunches/dinners with people I've not gotten together with before. In every case, at the end of the event, the reaction is, "oh, we must do this again!" However, no one has contacted me about doing it again. Did they mean they want to do it again five years from now? Did they mean next year? Did they have no interest in doing it again and this was just what they say at the end of such a thing? Did they mean lets have lunch that doesn't really mean eating lunch together?  I don't know.

My "norm" is that if you want to do this again, you make plans to do it again. If you don't want to do it again, you don't say you want to do it again. If it's lunch - something simple - you would try to do it again in a week or two. If it's dinner maybe within a month or so, realizing that scheduling may be difficult so you need to make plans soon. If it's an event you've attended together, you would be in contact through email or facebook saying, "oh, I heard about this event..."

A side note here - I hate it when people do invite me to lunch or something, with the pretense that they want to visit, when what they really want is use my brain, or talk about work, or some other reason beside just connecting. Pretty much, if there's a "purpose" to our gathering, I want to know it upfront. It's like the old bait and switch. You lure me into lunch with the idea of having fun and instead you really just want to use my creativity for your own project. That's just nasty.

3. A few weeks ago I was asked for a favor by someone I don't know and haven't even met. I have become the local "tea expert" and they wanted some information on how I do teas for the MHA. I freely shared information and said I'd like to purchase tickets to their tea.

Last night, realizing the date is fast approaching, I contacted them to remind them I wanted to purchase tickets. I was told that if they have any left after their members have an opportunity to buy them, then I can purchase them.

Excuse me? I'm sorry. Did I understand correctly? I do you a favor when I have absolutely no connection to you and your organization and you thank me by telling me I'm in line to get tickets if there are any left after other people get first crack at buying them.

In my "norm," the social convention would have been to say, "ordinarily, this tea is only for our members but you've been so kind I want to offer you a pair of complimentary tickets." To which I would have replied, "thank you so much. I'd love to come, but I'm happy to purchase the tickets since it's a fundraiser." At that point, depending on the price of the tickets, the person graciously accepts or declines that purchase. If they're $5 tickets, you give them to the person. If they're $45 tickets, you allow them to purchase because that would be a big dent in your profit margin. But you do not tell the person who has done you a favor that they can buy a ticket if you have any left after offering them to people who have not done you favors.

I keep trying to "get it" when it comes to social convention here, but it escapes me. I'm lost. And my gut reaction to things is often that people are being really rude. And that hurts my feelings. And that's just an ugly circle. So, I keep trying to "get it" so I can avoid the rude/hurt/ugly part. However, no one will explain it to me so I seem destined to not be able to break out of that cycle. I can't believe anyone is intentionally trying to be rude, but it's hard for me to classify it as anything but rude when it is so contrary to what I believe basic politeness would indicate.

Am I the one who's clueless? Do I come from an area where we do things differently than everyone else in the world? I'm hoping, hoping, hoping, that someone who reads here will be able to explain it to me. If I just had the midwest social convention rule book I could learn the rules and break this cycle.
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Check www.patsyterrell.com for the blog, art, and more. Friend me on Facebook.com, Follow me at Twitter.com.

I am looking for book clubs willing to read and critique my novel when it's completed. If your book club is interested, please email me at patsyterrell@gmail.com. Thanks!

Fun

I was having a conversation with a friend recently about fun. The gist of the conversation was that he needs to have more.

In the course of our conversation we identified some different kinds of fun. I asked him what gave him an endorphin rush. He replied that it happened at work when something just fell together perfectly. I then asked for another example and he cited a recent vacation experience of being on a mountain. So, we had a job satisfaction event and a vacation event. I then asked when the last was he got an endorphin rush within the four walls of his home, something in his daily life. He couldn't remember.

All of this caused me to start thinking about fun. Who has it? Who doesn't? Why? How do you get it? Why do you want it?

We want fun because its... well... fun. Having fun releases all sorts of wonderful chemicals that cause us to feel better and reduce stress, which literally kills us.

Who has it and who doesn't? I'm not sure about that for everyone. I can only use my own experience as an example. I have a lot of fun. That's not to say every day is perfect - it's not, by a long shot. But, I still find fun and humor in most situations. Why? Because I feel better when I do. How? By years of training myself to do it. It's not that it's always the most natural thing. But, like anything, once you get started, it's easy to keep going. The physics of inertia applies whether you're laughing and then laughing more, or being sullen and then more sullen. So, over the years I've tried to make myself see humor in situations and compound that instead of the opposite.

What makes that easier? The people around you. I'm blessed to be surrounded by people who, by and large, see the bright side. Did that just happen by accident? Absolutely not. These are the people I have sought out, built relationships with, cultivated as friends. And that is not a dirty word. We are all cultivating relationships all the time. All relationships take time and energy and you've got to be willing to give some of both.

By the same token, I eschew all drama queens, negative Nellies, crazymakers and what I call the vortexes. Those are the people who want to draw you into the vortexes of their lives and suck you dry of energy. They somehow seem to think that you will bring them fun, without them having to do anything. Obviously, people have a right to be however they want to be. I'm just saying I can't have people in my world who fall into any of these categories because they are the antithesis of fun. They are not having much fun, and they don't want you to have any either.

Not to be overlooked is that I also put a lot of energy into having fun. If you read this blog, you may have the impression that my life is one fun thing after another. Obviously, part of that is that I don't write about running the dishwasher and doing the laundry. Rest assured, mine has to be done just like yours. The other part of that, which may not be so obvious, is that I continually put myself into situations where fun is likely to occur. I go to events, I attend lectures, I go to lunch with friends, I have conversation, I host gatherings, I visit art exhibits, I create events. My point is that I'm not just sitting at home waiting for fun to knock on my door. I'm actively seeking it out. Going away with friends this spring for a creative weekend was fun - but I planned it, found the place, invited the people, organized the financial part, etc. - it didn't just happen. I wanted to do that event because of a 7 a.m. lecture I had attended where an author talked about her visioning book.

Another part of the equation is that I find fun in the small bits of daily life. Running out to Dillon Nature Center when Greg called to tell me about the odd rain was fun. Going outside early one morning when Trish called about the unusual light was fun. That fell more into the "wonder" category, but it is still part of the overall fun equation. Notice how those people play into the fun equation. I also seek fun when on my own. Painting in my studio, writing on the novel, taking a drive to Quivira, going out to eat with only an interesting book for company - all of these are fun of one sort or another.

Does fun require money? Some kinds of fun does. Some does not. In Hutchinson there are tons of free arts events to attend. The lecture about Hopi textiles I wrote about recently was completely free. Obviously, you have to have money to buy gas to get there, unless you're close enough to walk. But, it would take less than a $1 worth of gas to drive there and back from almost anywhere in Hutchinson in any kind of vehicle. Your mileage may vary - literally and figuratively. I'm just using that as an example. Besides, some people can have fun without any outlay of cash at all.

When I did an exercise a couple of years ago to identify core values, and my core value was fun. This didn't really surprise me, but it was a bit of a shock to everyone else. Having fun - enjoying life - is a driving force for me. I truly see no point in living if there's no fun. Why would I want to do that? I, honestly, cannot wrap my mind around it. That's not to say I expect every moment to be fun, but I expect life to have many fun bits.

This has all made me think about how others view fun. Is it important to you? How do you have fun? Do you have fun every day? Once a week? What is fun to you?
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Check www.patsyterrell.com for the blog, art, and more. Friend me on Facebook.com, Follow me at Twitter.com.

I am looking for book clubs willing to read and critique my novel when it's completed. If your book club is interested, please email me at patsyterrell@gmail.com. Thanks!

Nip in the Air

There's a little nip in the air tonight, as there has been a few times this past week. Fall is making its arrival known. Of course, in just a few weeks it will be Halloween, one of my favorite times of the year. I'm generally already in Christmas mode by then. Just not enough time to enjoy it all fully with the holidays coming so close together.

I have the urge to bake pumpkin bread tonight - something I seem to always want to do when the weather gets chilly. Not sure why, but that is the thing I start wanting to bake. It has become a staple at the teas, and has been a family favorite for many years. I guess there's something about the pumpkin connection with fall. But I'm not going to bake tonight. I do not need baked goods lying about.

I will miss the garden when it's gone. I enjoy having fresh tomatoes and herbs all summer. It seems this summer I haven't gotten to fully enjoy them. I'm not sure why, but it seems I haven't had nearly as many fresh dishes as usual.

Regardless of my thoughts or wishes, the seasons will march right on.

I have some things I need to do on the house before it gets cold. I suppose I'd best get going on those. Before I know it, it will be too cold. It seems there was a whole long list of things I intended to do this spring that still aren't done. Then it was too hot, so I was going to do them this fall. The time is now, I suppose.

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Check www.patsyterrell.com for the blog, art, and more. Friend me on Facebook.com, Follow me at Twitter.com.

I am looking for book clubs willing to read and critique my novel when it's completed. If your book club is interested, please email me at patsyterrell@gmail.com. Thanks!

Fair Coming to a Close

The fair ends on Sunday, but Saturday we spent the whole afternoon and evening out there. I hadn't had a chance to do all the things I wanted to do so took time to do that.



I looked at quilts in the domestic arts building...



I visited the "Little Man" at the Women's Christian Temperance Union booth. He turns his head, rings the bell, and points to the pages as they turn.



Hypnotist Ron Diamond suggested to this young lady that if she spun her hair around she could take off like a helicopter. Trust me, she gave it her all. She did not, however, take flight.

Tonight was the Joe Nichols and Jason Michael Carroll concert I won tickets to at the United Way event. I'm just not used to trying to take my own photos at such an event. I needed Greg.



Jason Michael Carroll was up first...



He reminds me of a rocker gone country, as do many folks these days. I don't mind that at all - he was fun.

There was quite a long delay inbetween while they reset the stage for Joe Nichols.



He does that song, "Tequila Makes her Clothes Fall Off." When he sang it at the end, someone threw a black bra up on the stage. Eventually he picked it up and hung it on the mic stand. I knew women flashed a lot at concerts these days. I didn't know anyone still threw their under-garments on stage. I thought that had ended in about 1981, but apparently I was incorrect.



If you're planning to see him in person and really want a good seat, he seems to like to sit on the edge of the stage on his right hand side. I don't know if that was just tonight, or if that's a pattern. He tends to crouch down on both sides a lot while he sings.

I was surprised at how many songs he did that were not his own. Well over half the concert I would guess. The most surprising to me was Nickelback's "I wanna be a rock star." He did it fine, but I love the original version. However, anyone who can play Merle Haggard and Nickelback in the same concert and keep the audience attention gets credit.



I met Julie at the concert and we had a good time. Afterwards, I went and met Greg and Mark and watched the speed painter for awhile.

I finished off the night with a Pronto Pup - not something I eat every year. Lets see how many antacids I need tonight to top it off.
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Check www.patsyterrell.com for the blog, art, and more. Friend me on Facebook.com, Follow me at Twitter.com.

I am looking for book clubs willing to read and critique my novel when it's completed. If your book club is interested, please email me at patsyterrell@gmail.com. Thanks!

Alice Cooper Concert

Greg went to see Alice Cooper in Oklahoma recently. He and Mark had tickets to see him at the State Fair tonight. Greg tried to convince me to go. I resisted. Then Trish mentioned she wanted to see a concert. I pushed her into seeing Alice. The Mayor would never choose such a thing on her own, of course. So, that's how the four of us found ourselves at the Alice Cooper Concert at the Kansas State Fair tonight.

Trish and I were able to get tickets across the aisle from Greg and Mark. They had the end seats on one row. We had the beginning seats on the row across from them. As soon as Alice's shadow appeared behind this curtain everyone was on their feet so Greg and I were standing in the aisle all night.



Alice was... well... all you expect Alice to be. There were no snakes, I'm happy to say, but there was plenty to keep one's attention.



There was classic Alice... just like you saw on the Midnight Special.





How can you not love the theatre?



This is theatre... just a different kind than Shakespeare.



School's Out was a sing along. "Sing along" is not a phrase I expected to use in relation to Alice Cooper.



Alice's daughter, Calico, performs with him.



The family that... uh... well... uh... performs... uh... yeah, performs... the family that performs together stays together.

I was waiting for "I Wanna Be Elected," since I was with an elected official. An elected official who only went to an Alice Cooper concert to make me happy, of course. I'm sure she would never have gone to such a thing left to her own devices. Of course not. But, being the great friend she is, she went to make me happy. And then, since she was already there, decided she might as well try to enjoy herself. That's just the kind of person she is - always making the best of a situation.

Alice didn't do the song during the regular set, but ended his three-song encore with it. He dressed the part.



He has his own take on campaign slogans... not something Trish can use I don't think.



I couldn't resist a quick snapshot of Trish during the song.



See what a trooper she is?

In all seriousness, we all had a good time. I've never seen Alice in concert and let me tell you there is no down time at all. For a 60 year old man he's quite nimble. He may be downing handfuls of ibuprofen after the show, but during the show he's giving it his all.

Naturally Greg took these photos, except the one of Trish during the last song. After the concert, we were honored to have our photo taken with Ace Jackalope.



One of the things I love about my life is that it's full of fun surprises. It has been a whole lot of years since I went to a concert like this... a whole lot of years... I guess things come full circle.

However, the humor of watching "I Wanna Be Elected" performed live, while in the company of an elected official, is particularly fun. (Even if she did only go because I begged... BEGGED I tell you.)

It was a good night.



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Check www.patsyterrell.com for the blog, art, and more. Friend me on Facebook.com, Follow me at Twitter.com.

I am looking for book clubs willing to read and critique my novel when it's completed. If your book club is interested, please email me at patsyterrell@gmail.com. Thanks!

Governor Sebelius Speaks at Kansas State Fair

Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius spoke during a chamber breakfast Wednesday morning at the Kansas State Fair. Each year Wednesday is Governor's Day and she kicks it off at the chamber breakfast.

This is her 14th consecutive fair. She attended eight as Insurance Commissioner and this is her 6th as Governor. She said some of the highlights for her were the year she was part of "A Prairie Home Companion" with Garrison Keillor, and launching the Kansas State Quarter.

She spoke about the aviation industry and her visit to a big air show in England. She said 50% of the general aviation plants flown in the world right now have a Kansas connection. Wichita is the center of that industry in the state.

Energy was a topic for her too. She said, "We need a comprehensive energy plan nationally," and encouraged people to call their representatives and encourage them to help renew the production tax credit for wind energy.

Wind energy is growing here by leaps and bounds, which is logical since Kansas is the third windiest state in the nation. There was a goal to have 10% wind energy by 2010. We're already at that. Two years ago we were at 3%. Sebelius said there has not been a transmission project in Kansas in 30 years, which was part of the problem of getting the power to where it could be used. Currently there are five, private, competing projects. Kansas is part of the corridor known as the "Saudi Arabia of wind."



Sebelius said that "food based ethanol is a bridge. We do not want food/energy competition." She said it's best to move to cellulosic ethanol such as from switchgrass. "We've grown the food. There's no reason we can't grow the fuel," she said. She said this has "huge potential for the future."

She touched on education, and how important that is to the state. "Education remains our single most important economic development tool we have," Sebelius said. She spoke about how most of us have multiple careers and that sometimes requires retraining.

Health care remains one of her concerns. She wants insurance for everyone because 46 cents of every dollar we pay for health insurance goes to non-insured. Eleven cents goes to direct costs - like going to the ER instead of to a primary care physician. People tend to only go to the ER when they're much sicker. The other 33 cents goes to overhead costs - we're not buying anything related to health with that money. That 33 cents of every dollar you and I spend on health insurance is going to extra billing, redundant forms, etc. - basically, paperwork. We spend more for health care and get less for it than almost any developed nation.

She said 80% of the Kansas state budget is invested in health care or education.

After the speech she was going to tour around the fairgrounds. I went to work a shift at the democrat's booth. I left a little after 11 but she hadn't been in that building yet.
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Check www.patsyterrell.com for the blog, art, and more. Friend me on Facebook.com, Follow me at Twitter.com.

I am looking for book clubs willing to read and critique my novel when it's completed. If your book club is interested, please email me at patsyterrell@gmail.com. Thanks!

Autumn Arriving Soon

For man, autumn is a time of harvest, of gathering together.
For nature, it is a time of sowing, of scattering abroad.
                                                             - Edwin Teale

Autumn seems to have arrived here, even if the calendar says otherwise. We generally have our first cold snap during the fair, but this year it has been rather cool all week, with Monday being downright chilly.

I really appreciate the changing seasons. I like that marking of time as the seasons come and go.

Today when I pulled into the driveway I was looking at these flowers on the side of my sun porch. I can't take any credit for them, the birds planted those lovely white flowers. I did put in some morning glories, and a few pop up every year, which I love.

I realized today that it won't be long before these plants are gone. One night it will get too cold for them to survive and they'll be done with. It seems they've only been blooming a few days - at least in profusion. I could do with a bit of an extended blooming season. But, alas, Mother Nature did not seek my counsel. So, best to enjoy them while I can.

Earn Free Books for Your State

"What Book Got You Hooked?" is a campaign offered by the First Book National Book Bank. It asks individuals to vote for the book that got them "hooked" on reading as a child.

50,000 FREE, NEW CHILDREN'S BOOKS will be sent to the state casting the most votes during the campaign, which ends September  15.

Log on at: http://www2.firstbook.org/whatbook/

Indicate  your favorite book and cast a vote. You may vote as often as you wish. You don't have to give your name or email address, but can if you wish.

After you vote, you'll see a list of state rankings. At the moment, my home state of Kentucky is number one, and my adopted state of Kansas is number five.
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Check www.patsyterrell.com for the blog, art, and more. Friend me on Facebook.com, Follow me at Twitter.com.

I am looking for book clubs willing to read and critique my novel when it's completed. If your book club is interested, please email me at patsyterrell@gmail.com. Thanks!

Fair with Kris, John and Tom

Tonight I went to the fair with Kris, John and Tom. We had a blast. Well, I did. Perhaps I shouldn't speak for them. I had them pose for a photo... that's John on the left, his wife, Kris, and Tom.



It was a little chilly tonight, and this is John saying without words, "hey guys... I don't have a jacket... it's cold... lets go..."



We walked around the fair, ate fair food, saw Andrea's prize winning knitted piece, saw the hypnotist show, walked down the midway and did some people watching. It was a good night.

Tom asked at one point if I liked to ride rides. I pointed to first one thing and then another and said, "no, not that - it spins..." "no, not that - it could be scary..." "no that spinning would make me sick..." "no, that might scare me..." What I figured out is that I don't want to be spinning or sick or scared, and the percentage of things on the midway that fall into one or more of those categories must hover near 99% - at least of the things they'll let adults ride. I could do a kiddie carousel. Really, I could do that. I'm such a wimp.

Actually, I do like the water thing where you go down the big slide in a little log thing, whatever that's called. But, it was way too cold for that. And, frankly, truth be told, when confronted with the idea I can't help mentally calculating how nasty that water must be by day 3 or 4 or 7. But, it doesn't spin me, make me sick, or scare me.

Of course, Kris and I took another "cute girl pic." Fortunately, we met up with Greg briefly and he graciously agreed to snap the photo for us. We did it near the Lindsborg booth, including their holiday Dala Horse.



After the fair we stopped by Andrea's apartment where she had hot tea and fresh ginger cookies for us. Plus, there are kitties there to play with - one of whom found my shoes that had tromped all over the fairgrounds to hold fascinating smells.

It was a wonderful way to end a fun night
.
________________
Check www.patsyterrell.com for the blog, art, and more. Friend me on Facebook.com, Follow me at Twitter.com.

I am looking for book clubs willing to read and critique my novel when it's completed. If your book club is interested, please email me at patsyterrell@gmail.com. Thanks!

A Look at the Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson

What's a State Fair without a giant pumpkin? This one is 652.7 pounds, and grown by Douglas Heathman, who also won in 2005 and 2006. There were only three entries this year. I'm not sure if that means it was a bad year for giant pumpkins or if people have given up because the same people win year after year.



Other, normal sized pumpkins and gourds were decorated in various ways. I wonder if Michael Phelps has ever seen himself rendered in gourd?



There were fictional characters like the tin man.



And penguins and pink flamingos and other things.

These are all in the Pride of Kansas building, which houses many agricultural goodies



There's something I just love about seeing blue and purple ribbons on grain and corn and soybeans. I'm not the only one who enjoys it either.



I'm guessing this gentleman may have interest beyond the ribbons that hold my fascination.

Pride of Kansas also has multiple tourism booths, and one of those is for the Kansas Underground Salt Museum (KUSM) in Hutchinson.



Linda, the director, was there talking to lots of people about this great attraction.



The KUSM is one of the coolest things you'll ever find. You can go 650 feet underground to a salt mine and get to see everything about such an operation and even a peek at the famous Underground Vaults and Storage that is where many movies and TV shows are stored for safe keeping.

They even let you take home a little chunk of salt as a souvenir at the end of your tour.



KUSM was recently named one of the 8 wonders of Kansas. A well-deserved honor.



I haven't covered nearly all of the fair yet, but I wanted to go to the Domestic Arts Building tonight. I heard through the grapevine that my friend, Andrea, won in a knitting category. I wanted to see for myself. Sure enough, there it was.



Andrea is a knitter extraordinaire and says this beaded lace cowl is the "Ice Queen" pattern from knitty.com. I'm a person who can only knit scarves, and doesn't do those particularly well, so this is all pretty much above me but I can certainly appreciate this kind of work, even if I can't do it myself.



I  love looking at the jars of jams and jellies and veggies. It's very homey and one of the things I love about the Kansas State Fair. I'm very spoiled because it happens a few blocks away so I can go and enjoy it for a few hours here and there and not have to do one of those 9-9 full days of wandering the fair grounds.

A regular stop for me is going to see Ron Diamond, the hypnotist, do his show, too. He does three a day generally and I've never been to one that wasn't great. Today he suggested to the guys on stage that were hypnotized that they were in a body building competition.



The fair has something for everyone.

There are jams and giant pumpkins. Honestly, does anyone really need anything else to have a good time?
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I Kissed a Girl Parody

Katy Perry's hit song, "I Kissed a Girl" has been parodied with, "I picked a girl" referring to McCain and Palin. This isn't my favorite parody ever, but it's funny in places. I particularly like the chorus - when you can work in a line about "mesmorize you with my up-do" you have to give credit.

Anyway... for your amusement...