Beyond

I hope I never lose my sense of wonder. If that makes me naive, then so be it.

Friday 14 September 2007

take me to the fair

The weekend the girls (and, I admit, I) have been waiting for is here. The Fair opened last night but today is the first full day of exhibits and rides, so today we continue our three-year tradition: we get up early, finish school with a drive and determination that is rarely equalled, then drive into town for a day celebrating our inner farm girls. It has the extra benefit of being bracelet day, when they can go on all the rides they want after 3pm for one price.

Our entries into the homecrafts exhibits were dropped off on Wednesday evening, so today we get to see how we did. It's all fun and the girls all worked hard, so no matter what the judges say I'm pleased with the endeavour. It was a good experiment in different art forms for each of the girls - collages, drawings, penmanship, painting, and of course the enduring art medium of pipe cleaners.

The fair is over 100 years old. The midway is not exactly antique, but one look at the shelves of canned goods and racks of quilts is enough to take one back many years. The local women showing their neighbours what they could do in the garden, in the kitchen, or with a needle, sharing ideas and having fun (with, I'm sure, a little competitive spirit thrown in). Change is evident in the categories of digital photography, but the country life is definitely in the forefront.

The girls have been talking about it for weeks. They have planned the rides they want to go on since mid-summer ... "remember the scrambler? ooh, that was so fun!" "but I don't want to go on the polar express again, that was too fast and I felt squashed." "oh no, I'll definitely go on that one" "remember the pig races? they were so funny!""look, look! they've put up the Ferris wheel!". Tomorrow D joins us and we go as a family to see the horses and cattle.

We leave today at 11:00 and will be there until we leave for dance class around 5:30. Lunch will be eaten in the old hall, where a local church provides a home-style meal and once again we feel very small-town. The day should have little that is unexpected and much that has become comfortably, happily familiar.

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