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The Nez Perce County Fair came to town a few weeks ago, and the Rietz clan got bit by Fair Fever. I realize this happened a few weeks ago, but as per my usual way of doing things, I'm just getting to it. Sorry to those of you who are anxious for all the news in a timely manner. :-)
I helped in the Quilt Dept. again this year. Definitely the best place to be. Soooo many great quilts to look at. The judges I help are always full of tips for better quilting, and although they don't often judge my quilts as blue ribbon quality, mostly red ribbons, I still learn so much from working with them, and come home all ready to put some serious hours on my sewing machine. This year was no exception, and with a grand baby on the way, I'm ready to roll.
I did enter my Sunflower quilt and received a red, but also got some good comments on the overall quilt. (no pix available)
Here are the results of the other family entrants.
Amber made an incredibly good-looking blackberry pie that was deemed 2nd best fruit pie overall and blue ribbon in her age division. She also got a blue ribbon on a last-minute paper creation and a blue ribbon on a pillow she made in Teen Living in 7th grade. Her earnings were not only the 9.00 for her 3 blue ribbons, but also a 7.00 prize for her best pie award.
Kristin also tried her hand at Blackberry pie and was rewarded with a blue ribbon for her age division. Her no-bake cookies also received 1st place. Her big win came in the Art Dept. She entered 5 items and received blue ribbons on all five. That made her the one with the most blue ribbons for her age division, so she was the Sweepstakes winner. Along with the big black and white ribbon, she also received a 15.oo gift certificate to a printing place here in Lewiston, which she quickly converted into money by selling it to me. Shrewd, that girl is. She also scored a variety of art supplies from Starbucks. (So glad they held the coffee.) She was thrilled with the whole thing. I think the best part was that she found out about the sweepstakes ribbon while her class was at the fair for a field trip. She was excited the rest of the day.
Trevor showed his versatility by entering brownies from scratch, an art picture, a k'nex tank and 2 lego creations. He was rewarded by blue ribbons on the brownies and the picture. He received red on his tank, and a white on one of the lego creations. He was thrilled with all his ribbons, including the participant one on the legos that didn't win anything.
To call Lewiston quirky is probably fairly accurate. It has some pretty unique things about it, some good (two rivers close by, Costco, not too populated), some bad (Thain Rd., no zoning in the Orchards, and of course, the library), but one really good thing is the fair. I can't imagine entering anything in say the Los Angelos County Fair, or the New York County Fair. No slam intended to those of you who live in big cities. But it is very doable to enter items in the Nez Perce County Fair. It gives all of us regular sort of folks a chance to do our best at things we enjoy doing. I love seeing people I don't get to see very often, working with good people who are willing to give of free time to make sure the quilting dept. is taken care of, seeing the beautiful work of fellow quilters and knowing that although they are just as busy as the next person, they make time to pursue their hobby and keep on creating. As Martha would say "Its a good thing."
I was reading in Proverbs 4 today and came across these words "Ponder the path of thy feet..."
I remember that phrase striking a chord with me previously, and again am reminded to check the path my feet are on. Am I heading in the right direction? Am I doing the things that will help me reach my ultimate goal - An eternal family? Several course corrections come immediately to mind, and give me a place to start. I'm grateful for the reminder.
Also, never wanting to be guilty of the sin of ingratitude, I thought I would share a Grateful List. Its definately longer, but here are a few.
- Indian Summer
- Kids who strive everyday to live the commandments
- John who works hard to provide for our family
- Books
- Quilting
- Friends who support me
- A quick visit with Dawn over the weekend
Just a partial list.
Our Home and Garden section begins with SSR. For some of you, SSR may mean Silent, Sustained, Reading. All well and good, but if you're at our house, and its Labor Day, SSR takes on a whole new meaning.
Amber and I spent all Labor Day morning on the other meaning of SSR - Super Stump Removal. We were quite proud after we managed to remove it with minimum help from anyone else. We are a bit sad the photographer didn't get a little closer, but you'll just have to employ a little imagination as to the size of said stump!!!
The rest of the crew also worked hard on Labor day. We can now report that our yard is ready for hydro-seeding and is now is in a holding pattern waiting for that to happen. Trevor was particularly excited to use the roller thingey. (Technical terms need not apply).
Apparently, our little red tractor had developed a little attitude this summer, and as we go to press, won't start for the gazillionth time this summer. We've had enough of its sass and decided it's time for a little attitude adjustment or maybe just a new starter. We'll see what the very nice tractor repairman has to say. We were glad we caught the tractor on a good day on Labor Day.
And in the news category of "Jobs I finally did that I couldn't put off any longer", I am happy to report that the ceiling of the dining/living/kitchen area is finished!!! Yaa Hoo!!!
In local news, We are all in a whirlwind to get our entries ready for the fair. This week is the big week. We have high hopes in the Art, Foods, Sewing and Lego/craft departments. Look for results soon in upcoming blogs. Exciting!!!
In the sporting news this week, we can report that Amber's soccer team is up and running (literally) and have 4 games under their belts. Two Saturdays ago, we all went up to Spokane and watched her play in a double header. The first game was well-played and the LC Ice won. The second game was also well-played, but the score was not in their favor. Amber's knee got stepped on towards the end of the second game. OUCH!!! She would like you to know, she ended up with welts.
This weekend brought another double-header, this time they had the home-field advantage. Unfortunately, they couldn't capitalize on either one, and came out on the losing end in both games. But, this reporter is happy to report, that she witnessed Amber giving her best effort ever in a game!!! Good Job!
In Arts and Entertainment , you will be interested to hear that we now have a trumpet in residence with the other instruments in our home. Kristin has a loaner from friends, and is starting this week to 'Blow her horn'.
For our religion report, I bring you news that Stake Conference was held for the Lewiston Stake this weekend. John spoke in the Kamiah session, and conducted the Saturday Evening session. The new Family History program was introduced and is scheduled to be up and running by the end of the month. Very exciting!!!
I had an irritating thing happen Saturday night as I tried to get to the dinner before the Sat. Session. Due to a few extenuating circumstances that alone weren't too bad, but together created a dilemma for me, I ended up with no keys to the only car that I could have taken to the church. I was stuck. After Alli brought me keys, and I was driving to the church, it occured to me that like my dilemma, without the keys of the Gospel on the earth today, each of us would be unable to get where we are going. I'm grateful for those keys, held by the Prophet that enable us to obtain saving ordinances for ourselves as well as others. (Probably not a new object lesson, but it was new to me.)
And finally in the editorial section, I want to put in my two cents worth about politics. I really like the image Sarah Palin portrays in the media. I'm pretty sure she has more self-confidence in her pinkie than I possess at all. I don't hold it against her that her teenage daughter is pregnant. I don't know enough else about her to judge if she is a good candidate or not. I do know this - I'm so glad I can be there for my kids to help them get things ready for the fair, work with them in the yard, cheer them on in soccer games, volunteer in their schools, read with them, and sit with them in church. I truly can't imagine being able to do any of those things and being VP of America. I don't fault her for her ambition, I do question how she is able to be a Governor and the mother of 5 children. That is way more than I could handle. I imagine there are a few nannies involved, but nannies aren't moms. - M.R.
