A "Fairly" Good Post

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.