Blue Moon

The day began as I was gathering my supplies for the day at Moms, (water, tickets, coffee to~go) when I heard "Ermahgerd...Ermahgerd!" out the window. As I stepped out the back door, I witnessed a sight only seen during these 12 days....Bartley and his Giant Slide Fair Do, complete with burlap sack riders!

I was concerned that my eye scan from last week was erroneous, so our first stop was the Health Fair 11 booth.  Stella needed her flu-mist and wanted to get blood typed. Turns out it WAS my eye scan, I had a repeat just to be sure, but you can see my big fat floaters on the left!   Stella got one too. (very healthy, young eye)

healthy eye

Joe Knight

Age 16 is the minimum required for blood type, so she was disappointed, then I took her to get flu mist up her nose and she was even happier!  (not)  Now I know it's not just me that is growing older...I am now running into friends in the Health fair!

Stella needed something to get the bad taste of Flu~ Mist out her mouth, but since I was chatting too long, we were running late for the 10:00am show of CAAM Chinese Dance Theater.  She had to wait.

Rosie in Motion!

We ran over to the bazaar and found a seat and attempted to capture some of the dancers, but they were moving too fast most of the time!  I was facing the sun and had to keep asking Stella which one was Rosie, and a woman next to me asked. "How do you know Rosie?"  (doesn't everyone?  LOL) but it turns out I was sitting next to her Godmother!  During the show, Carol Jo arrived and banged her leg on the bench.  Mom has really thin skin (literally) since her cancer battle was won and so I was very concerned the shin bash would end up in a major injury.  I happen to have plastic bags in my pack (for cookie storage later) and so I ran to the beer/soda stand and quickly made an ice pack.  Who knew this was not the last ice pack I would make this day!

After the show we waited to see the famous Rosie and she jumped off the stage and looked up at Stella and I got this picture!  I love it!


After the show Stella was still in need to something to cleanse her palette! Ice Cream is ALWAYS a good choice with Mom and Stella so we made a side trip to the Dairy Building.  I noticed this year it is actually called the Dairy Building, not Empire Commons anymore.  Randy & I had a discussion as to where the name "Empire Commons" came from and Randy said because it is the closest place to the Empire Builder train stops in days of old.  I think he was pulling my leg, but I had to research it.  I asked in the Dairy building and they did not know.  I will try and find out.  The original dairy building is where Fine Arts are currently housed!  I learned that on my Historical Walking Tour...(remember I am a winner!)  Mom got a strawberry rhubarb sundae and Stella got chocolate sundae and I got a cone.  We ate them before I had a chance to take a picture!

Mom had a gift certificate for the Saints Baseball shop, so she wanted to take Stella by and see if there was anything she could redeem it for.  Crazy this was now the second time I have entered Fan Central this year and I have NEVER been in it before.   The selection was slim, so Mom made other plans for the certificate.

Mom had a few stops left on her Walking Tour punch card so she joined us on the Sky Glider. (taking chances with Karma here...) but it was an uneventful trip!  I had a mission to see pets and Stella was in need of a henna tattoo.  Mom left us to get her punches, the Giant Sing Along was once again at the Bohemian Rhapsody section of the playlist so Stella and I checked out pets.  There was a new layout for the building, and less dogs on display and more and more pet vendors every year.  We did not time it so we could see agility, or K-9 or any other dog presentation, so we quickly checked out the dogs that were present.  There were Cavalier King Charles, Schipperke, Boxers, German Shepherds and Frenchies!  I could only get close enough to the French Bulldogs for a picture.  This one is for Carole!  (she is getting one soon!)

After the pet Center we headed straight for the Henna tattoo booth.  The lines for the tattoo with coupon were quite long, so we decided to choose the "name your price, artists choice" line in the middle!  Stella had her heart set on something Gaelic, or Celtic, so we had to wait for an artist who could create her own designs in that genre.  It was worth the wait.  As I left to explore the area, they were discussing the merits of a Celtic Dragon.  Stella was smiling!

 I figured the tatto would take quite a while, so I did a walk about in the X-ZONE.  Another area where I have not spent much time. There were youth doing high trampoline acts, 3rd Lair bike and skateboard jumps, extreme spin art, and face painting.

This was my first time in this corner of the grounds and I discovered that the Home Depot Booth had moved up here!  This year they are giving away orange pickle buckets, but I have no need and I decided this year I would not wait in lines to get stuff.  The point was mute since they were only giving buckets at specific times.

I was in search of restroom and water so I wandered all over the northwest end. I wanted to check out all the stuff I had seen from a distance overhead from the Sky Glider! On the road where all the old tractors are displayed there was a corn stripper that I wanted to see in action...close up.  Of course as I walked by, the machine ran out of gas.  the guy in the right of the shot is filling it up.  I walked on to find the little Dr. Seuss cabin at the patio brick place.

I found water and tried out the new restroom oasis in the middle of machinery hill.  It is huge, with no waiting, but all the water in the faucets is hot.  I did find a nice cold drinking fountain outside, but there was a wait to fill up!

I realized I was close to Northern Tool!  I walked over to check out this years Fair Deals.  You used to be able to bring an old hat and trade it for a Northern hat, but not anymore.  I liked the employee t-shirts!


They have cool wagons (that you can actually steer) and cheap batteries (I do not want to carry around) but the funniest find was the french fry cutter!  I did not buy one.  Just got the picture!



While wandering through tools and strange gadgets I got a text from Stella that she was under the dryer.  I headed back up to the NW end texting her that I was "a few clocks away"  lol

I found her and she was glued and drying.  I snapped a few pictures and we walked south to keep working on Stella's snack list! It was getting more and more crowded and Stella was concerned for her tattoo.  Last year she smudged it and it was a mess.  We did not want to repeat that.  It was however a steamy day and so the henna sort of spread out under the glue.  We were not sure what it was going to end up looking like when the glue came off later tonight.  We headed for the Pizza Palace so Stella could get Gelato.


On our way down, we came upon the parade again, but right at the start.  this time I got a nice shot of the horseback color guard!








It turns out the owner "Papa" John Robinson is a friend and neighbor of my brother-in-law Fritz! 

We asked after him and he was right there!  Stella decided pizza before Gelato would be a good idea! Mr. Robinson informed us of the new flavors of Gelato created for local TV news people that we needed to try. (I did not tell him we usually "try" flavors every day!)  This year, this was our first trip past the booth, so our first tasting day!  One flavor was Amelia Santaniello cantaloupe (sold out) and Diana Pierce mango.  That one was good, but Stella chose peanut butter.  It is so rich, a small dish might have been enough, but we had a coupon!

Stella was heading to a surprise birthday party tonight and since there is no time for shopping anywhere but the fair, we stopped by the DNR store to get a gift!  Luckily her friend loves wolves, and they had a little stuffed one! I had to get her home to wrap gifts and get ready for her evening and I was going to play cards at Mary's for Barb's last night in town.





We headed off the grounds and passed these little fairy houses.  Mom had asked if we had seen the topiary Gopher near the Space needle, so we took a quick pic there too.


On our way back to Mom's house we found the next generation of vendors on the corner selling ice cold pop!  We had to do our part to keep them in business!

We got back home, wrapped gifts, cooled off, grabbed some supplies for the evening, and headed back to Simpson Street.  I left Stella relaxing at Grandpas house while I made the Sweet Martha cookie run for game night.

I timed myself.  I walked to the gate and had to wait for the Snelling light. Once at the gate I asked the ticket ady to time me!  I made my way to the Grandstand cookie stand, moving as quickly as I could in the crowd. There was no line on the side for cookies, so I pulled out my bags and got them wrapped up for warm delivery.  They looked at me and said "I see you have done this before!"  I headed back up the hill and checked in at the gate.  Twelve minutes gate to gate.  I had to wait again for the Snelling light and ran into a friend (Scott K) and stopped for a minute to chat. I got home and the cookie run took me a total of 24 minutes!  Not bad!

I dropped Stella off with pizza money and the gift bag and made my way to Mary's house.  I got this great photo of the Drew sisters!

We had a wonderful dinner of ribs, salads and sweet potato fries!  Desert consisted of Chicago mix popcorn, salted caramels and Sweet Martha's cookies.   We began playing Apples to Apples and afterward, Lisa got up to check her phone and use the potty and her shoe caught on a chair and she face planted into the corner of Mary's buffet. It was so scary for the people who watched her fall.  I had my back to her and got up quickly and gathered my second ice pack of the day!  Once we assessed that she still had teeth, and could talk and move, we helped her get up and re-assessed the injury.  It was not pretty.  She had  a horizontal slice in her upper lip.  It was not pretty, but could have been so much worse.  We moved quickly to get her somewhere for stitches.  Carole & I left the rest of the girls behind and kept them informed via texts.  The night took us on a hysterical (funny and tearful) trip to the ER. It took quite a while, but all ended well and Lisa got some good narcotics and four stitches.  We will now call her "Lisa Two Smile".

Carole and I were given badges...."we don't need no stinking badges!"  It was difficult to convince the nursing staff that we had NOT been drinking!

I picked up Stella from her party and along with Lisa and Carole, we returned everyone to their respective cars and homes.  Stella's henna glue had come off and she was disappointed in the smudgy middle section, but overall, liked the tattoo result.

I don't know if the fact that it was actually a BLUE MOON had any influence on the day, but if so...I appreciate things that happen only once in a blue moon!


DAY NINE STATS
Walked: a long ways and quickly!  pedometer broke
Food Consumed: Sundaes, ice cream cone, gelato, cookies and pizza.


We never did look around the Bazaar, so that is still on the list and there are a few things to check off Stella's snack list!

Taos Tempo on parade!

It was going to be a hot one today so Barb Drew and I headed out early.  I had done much of what I wanted  to do already, so this was my day to help Barb see the fair her way.

Barb is visiting from Taos New Mexico and she brought along the local newspaper for some photo ops.  If she sends the paper pictures of her with the Taos Tempo paper, they will print them in the paper!  We got some got some uniquely Minnesota ones!

On our way to breakfast, I wanted to capture this horse sculpture by the Carousel family. There is a bull near the Admin Building, but have not gotten a picture.  Not sure if there are more.  Research topic!

We began the day with a Pronto Pup for breakfast at Barb's childhood friends' stand on the NW corner of the  Kidway!  While Barb was catching up with her friend, I was meeting up with Gayle and her friend to deliver the Gopher face masks I scored earlier this week!  Turns out it was a good thing I got them when I did. They ran out!    Had to get a photo with the Gold'n'plump flying chicken truck!

Barb's plan for the day was to eat, see some iconic State Fair sights, eat and find Minnesota sports paraphernalia! .  So our next stop was Corn! We decided to check out the bottom level of the Grandstand to see what's new this year.  Barb had heard about a S'more on a stick for 50¢ and as we entered, there it was!  We used to get chocolate covered marshmallows when the kids were little, (cheapest treat at the fair) and now they have upgraded by adding crumbled graham crackers and calling it a s'more!  Barb thought it was great!

I have always found something new and interesting on the NE inside wall and there was a new electronic gadget that turns any hollow object into a speaker for your mp3 player. It seemed too good to be true, and maybe it is.  There is a sticky pad that connects the speaker unit to a pizza box, or window, or cooler and amplifies the sound.  They give you two extra pads and tell you they can be found in any craft store....NOT.  we looked and looked as we were school supply shopping (after sticking the first one to a dusty surface and rendering it useless) and could not find them.  I want to check back Monday morning and see where they specifically sell the replacement stickers. It was fun while it lasted but Caveat Emptor!

It was starting to heat up and as we wandered the Grandstand and we founf a nice place to cool off!  Misting fans...for the barn or shed....or Randy's backyard!

Barb was willing to go see some animals and wanted to try bacon cheddar mashed potatoes on a stick with me.  We headed towards the animal barns and on the way had to get a picture of the Taos Tempo on The Bench!  It was early and in the sun, so no people removal was necessary!


Food before animals, we walked to Potato Man and Sweetie.  This year the new food item is mashed sweet potato balls deep fried on a stick with a maple glaze and whipped cream.  Supposed to taste like sweet potato pie I guess.  We went for the savory.  They were smaller and not quite as good as I remember, but Barb and I enjoyed them!  We wandered into the horse barns and today found horses!

Western groups are here now, not sure if I will get to see a horseshow this year, but I just can't so it all!  We passed the Alpaca booth again and today there was a different breed of Alpaca!
These ones were called Suris.  They were so cute!

I wanted to check in on Google.  Barb thought it was pretty funny that I was so parental!  I took this picture of the side of CHS barn, because this is the first year I really noticed these metal cut out and I think they are cute!

Google was sleeping...the boys seem to be lazy!  So far, mine have all been boys.  He looks just like his Mom!

As we cut through the DNR to see the fish pond, I noticed the heat and humidity had taken its toll on the duck pond!  mmmmmm green muck!  Even the ducks stayed on the little island and out of the water!

We were constantly trying to find the quintessential "Minnesota State Fair" spot for the Taos Tempo.  Sadly, the picture has the worst lighting, but I think in front of the butterheads is the most unique spot we could find!  I hope the one I took with Barb's phone was better!

We saw a chicken on a spit...LOL  and I got one of the Tempo & Barb in the egg chair!






 I decided Barb needed to see the crop art so we stopped and got my daily apple cider freeze pop and got to have a free sample of some Twangy Cheddar beef sticks.  They were spicy and FREE!
  We did a fast glance at the veggies and never made it crop art, but I had them on blog so Barb could see them later.
We had a tight time schedule since we wanted to be off the grounds by noon and it was heating up.  We still needed to get to Fan central so barb could load up on her Minnesota sports team gear!  The goal was a hat and a t-shirt for each of her favorite teams.  Wild, Twins, and Vikes.   We started with the Vikings booth and did not have time to get in line to play plinko and win tickets but as we were shopping someone won some!   I made Barb pose in the Helga hat under the "show your horns: sign!  She was a trooper!













We found Vikings and Wild fan gear, but the Twins had their own booth outside the  International Bazaar.  I think she got some good deals and will go back to New Mexico a little less homesick!

We were on time to get off the grounds, but my friend Janice was working at the St. Thomas booth on her birthday  So I wanted to stop up and sing to her!  Barb was ready for a rest so I left her listening to the bagpiper at O'Garas while I ran up the hill to see Janice!

Happy Birthday!

When we got to the fair today these water jugs were at the main information booth and I did not know what they were for (forecast hottest day of the fair so I assumed it was something for the people) There were no cups or anything so curiosity got the better of me and I asked if the water was for people to fill up.  The worker said there were supposed to be bandannas to soak and wear on your neck, but they had not been delivered.  I am not sure if they ever came!

I ran up to find Janice just starting her shift.  no one there knew it was her birthday (and it is not something most people tout...besides me...) so as I sang to her, her co-workers then could all wish her Happy Birthday!  I did not need to beg for a bag, since Mom & I got our quota earlier!  It is Janice who informed us of the St. Thomas bag news, "so nice, they made twice as few!"

One last stop for some cold water at the Culligan booth!




As we left the grounds, we knew we would not make the light so we sat on a bench and I took a few snapshots of the view I have leaving the fair every day!  Buses, people, and pretty flowers!

So long for today.  I got a stamp but never did return!

DAY EIGHT STATS:

Walked:  found out my pedometer died.  My guess is about 5 miles

Food Consumed: Pronto Pup, corn, bacon cheddar mashed potatoes, free beef sticks, apple cider icy, S'more on a stick!  Barb missed having cookies, but I promised I would bring them Friday to cards!

Goofy hats:  Helga hat!

Calf Count.  I am good with my one this year!