Back again.
Rained like the dickens yesterday. Awful day for outdoor festivals. DH was hopeful it was just a cloud or two and wanted to check out the cranberry fest so off we went. It was poorly organized. According to the website you would not have to walk more than 3 blocks to get to the festival. Bunch of hooey. We got about a mile and a half out of town and there was a sheriff's car with a sign "road closed to through traffic". So we thought that was as far as we could go and parked there and started walking. And walking and walking. I wasn't really up to going because not only was it raining but my knee and ankle were really hurting. However DH gave up an ATV ride to go with me to the festival so I felt I had to go. All this walking was not doing me much good. Seemed like we'd never get to town. Finally got there and things were spread all over the place with no real maps of where to get to what. Being a cranberry festival we expected and wanted to find cranberries. We walked up the hill where there were some shops and turned off at the vendor and craft booths. This time of year we have a lot of fall festivals so you see the same vendors and very similar things that you saw at the last 4 festivals so I wasn't as interested in the craft stuff. Particularly if I had to lug it back a mile and a half to the car. We did find one Amish tent in the middle of the bunch and purchased a fresh pie and some strawberry & cranberry jam. At one point I couldn't help it but had to use the porta potties - ewwww ewww ewwww. Lowpoint of the trip
Even with the rain it was crowded and people were standing in front of the booths chatting with their friends
or just kind of gawking and not paying attention. Either way it made it difficult to view the booths so after walking around for about an hour, DH and I both decided it was time to leave. The festival is really huge and it winds up and down the streets of town, in between that there are residential streets where people are having taking advantage of the crowds to have garage sales and sell crafts of their own. The town is very hilly also which adds to the fun. If the weather was a little better and I had been better prepared I think I would have enjoyed it more. When we were getting ready to leave we noticed that some enterprising people were shuttling people back and forth between the fair and the parking lots using ATVs and golf carts - you just tipped them whatever you felt appropriate so we took advantage of that - thank goodness because the climb back was muddy, slippery and up hill! I would have preferred if they had a map of the grounds (it was big enough to constitute that) and if they had clustered food, baked goods, arts & crafts and rummage sales into various sections. This way you could spend your time in the areas that interested you most. We might go back to the town next week to sample some cranberry wine at the winery as well as find a place which sells fresh, locally grown cranberries. We were both disappointed they didn't have more in the way of cranberry goods. Afterwards we went to Famous Dave's restaurant for an early dinner and had a nice meal. I just love their cornbread muffins!
Called my sister for her birthday, got a hold of Java Turtle and Patty and got some of their pictures for Mel's album and before I knew it, was time for bed. Today I have laundry and I really need to get cracking on those leftover tomatoes. They all ripened even though I had them covered and in the dark and I've already pitched the cherry tomatoes - you can only eat so many of them and they don't really lend themselves well to cooking. I'll probably pitch another 1/4 of the regular tomatoes - those getting spots or soft. Going to make some citrus tomato marmalade, perhaps another try at a batch of pasta sauce and some salsa to go with chips for the footy game today. I'll also make another batch of apple sauce for freezing. There were a lot of time dependent things I had to do this week (ie. things needed to be done by a deadline) so my schedule was set and rather hectic. Between all the stuff that needed to be cooked and the mess with the new shades, my living area and kitchen are a total mess which is bugging me. By the end of today I should be able to put everything away and get things tidy again.
My neck and both knees are tight and pinched and quite achy but I'm just going to have to power through it. I did use a heat pack last night but might try some cold ice rub that I have to see if that makes a difference. Who cares if I smell like wintergreen - just me and DH and the cats today
Michelle - Patty said if you needed more money or were collecting for anything further to let her know.
Ceejay - hope you got some rest and were able to make some soup. It sure is great tasting on these cooler fall days although I'm not sure it's much cooler down your way. Are you getting any rain from these latest gulf storms?
Michelle - how was your cruise? Did you get to see anything good? I'm so glad that we did the photo collection - I am really enjoying seeing everyone's pictures.
Shad - what happened with the neighbor's barking dog? I would be so upset if people left the poor pooch for the weekend and went away. I don't even like leaving the cats and they tolerate a day by themselves much better than a dog does. I love looking at your photos - the birds is the bowl is a favorite as well as the landscapes. Heck, even I'd nick a few and run a screensaver of them - no wonder Mel liked looking at them. This Drop Box is a great idea just to share photos, especially for people who don't use FB much or at all. I'm glad you posted a picture of Jen - she is not at all what I pictured and I can see a lot of Mel in her. Nice to put a face with a name at long last. Thanks for the tips on the drop box and moving photos. Helpful to me and others I'm sure. I am starting to feel technically inept as I get farther and farther into retirement and away from the modern world. In fact I had to laugh - my sister ordered an iPad type of tablet for her birthday and the more she tried to figure it out, the more she got confused and decided to send it back.
I told her I could totally relate to that! Thanks for the compliment on my hair. The darker, longer style is my go-to cut that I generally wear. I just lighten the color as we go through through the warm season and I'm out in the sun a lot and then go to red and then chocolate brown in the autumn and winter. It's about time to pick a new color but I think I'm going to leave it on the longer side of short. I noticed with it being short I don't leave as much of it in the hairbrush as I did before and I'm all about saving every last hair on my head at this point
I'm quite surprised to hear you describe yourself as the klutz of cooking - I dunno, many of the party items you describe sound quite lovely. I can see though if you are just cooking something for yourself - particularly after a long day doing house or garden work - just not worth the effort to make something elaborate. However, Annie can still have the job as the cook at the commune
Well things are not going to get done by themselves so before I waste the day away, time to get off the computer.
Hope all you ladies have a good Sunday. Catch up with you later.