Scenes from a Fair

We went to the State Fair of Texas last weekend in Dallas. We had corn dogs, turkey legs, cotton candy, overpriced beer (none for me of course) and frozen yogurt. We saw lots of smelly animals, amazing crafts, and my mother and sister rode a couple of rides on the midway. Rob got conned into buying a sushi maker for the low, low price of $45.99.

My favorite animal at the state fair was Boris II. He had his own palace of a pen outside the pig enclosure. Boris actually isn’t a pig, he is an 1,147 pound Yorkshire-Hampshire boar. He sleeps 23 ½ hours a day and eats 25 pounds of food a day. When we saw him, he was laying down eating out of his huge bowl with his eyes closed. I’m not even sure he was awake. Isn’t he awesome?


There was an impressive assortment of crafts on display in the Creative Arts and Food and Fiber buildings. Tons of beautiful quilts, handmade sweaters, matchstick mansions and jars and jars of various preserves and baked goods. The best by far? This cross-stitched masterpiece of the one and only, Clay Aiken.

And the activity that occupied me the longest was this guy. This was the crossing guard at our entrance gate. He had the hardest time getting people to walk on the crosswalk. And when they wouldn’t listen to polite requests, he would begin yelling “CROSSWALK! CROSSWALK! CROSSWALK!” until he was practically up in people’s faces screaming. He was so insanely drunk with power that I just knew a fistfight was going to break out at any moment. At one point, the older lady sitting next to us on the curb watching him turned to me and said “what an asshole”. It was so fascinating that I watched him for about an hour. But to my disappointment, no one got shanked.


And the last photo is actually from my Grandma’s house after the fair. My sister Abby is holding our brand new cousin Landen. She’s getting practice for when her new niece (or nephew) arrives.





Edited to add: My mother reminded me that I neglected to mention another spectacular "craft". The statue of Marilyn Monroe, carved entirely out of butter.

the season

Yes, we're that kind of neighbor.

representing all of the food groups

From the State Fair of Texas brochure:

Deep Fried Cosmopolitan -- A fried pastry filled with cheesecake and topped with a sweet and tangy cranberry glaze and a lime wedge. Served on a stick.

Donkey Tails -- Large all-beef franks, slit on one side and generously stuffed with sharp Cheddar cheese, wrapped in a large flour tortilla and fried until golden brown. Served with mustard chili sauce or Ruth's salsa.

Fernie's Fried Choco-rito -- A flour tortilla stuffed with marshmallows, coconut, candy bar pieces, caramel morsels and cinnamon then dipped in pancake batter and deep-fried to a crispy, crunchy outside and sweet, gooey inside. Drizzled with honey and topped with whipped cream.

Fernie's Fried Mac-n-cheese -- Texas-sized bites of macaroni and cheese, covered with a layer of garlic- and herb-flavored bread crumbs and deep fried until crispy outside and hot and cheesy inside. Served on a stick with a side of dipping sauces.

Fried Praline Perfection -- Plump coconut and pecan pralines, battered and fried to a rich golden crust. Served warm with powdered sugar.

Fried Coke -- Smooth spheres of Coca-Cola-flavored batter that are deep fried, drizzled with pure Coke fountain syrup, topped with whipped cream, cinnamon sugar and a cherry. Served in souvenir contoured glasses.












So what are you eating this weekend?

More questionable State Fair food items can be found here.

second alien photo

13 weeks and it looks like we have a thumbsucker.

Duck!

Someone found my blog by searching for “teen a** ducking”. (Yes. Ducking.) They used MSN to search and apparently “ass” was enough to get them my page. They were in Turkey, of course.

Why is it that everyone who finds my blog by searching for something dirty, is in some repressed country where they'd probably be stoned just for Googling the words? It's the most bizarre phenomenon.

Veronica Mars "Welcome Wagon"

"I ignored all of the spoiler alerts, which I know is kinda douche-baggy."

So glad I'm not a douche bag.

Well they still managed to fit a lot into the show, considering it was supposed to be a primer for new viewers. I don't think it was too slow. The mystery of the week was fairly typical, while still setting us up nicely for the first big mystery arc. And hey! I hope Keith doesn't get killed by exposure or wild animals. But couldn't they have left the theme song alone?

Poor Mac. Poor Dick. Poor Kendall! She went to jail for Cormac Fitzpatrick and that's how he repays her? Damn.

What was in the briefcase? We've been waiting all summer to know! Cash. Really? Wow. Kinda boring.

There wasn't nearly enough Logan. But I was left with the feeling that it must have been a really long summer for Veronica if Logan has been that broody all this time.

Mac's new roommate Parker? I don't hate her, but she's way too much like Buffy's first college roommate. The one who turned out to be a demon.

I don't hate Piz yet either, but I really do hate his hair.

And bring back the LeBaron!

one small request

Dear Filmmakers in Austin-

If you must use a wide flat bed truck to film a driving scene, taking up both lanes of 360, flanked by a police escort, is it too much to ask that you not film during evening rush hour?

Thanks-
Kandis