"Faster than a Speeding Pullet" - that's the theme of this years Tanana Valley Fair. The Tanana Valley State Fair is the oldest fair in the state, around since 1924. This annual fair features livestock, games, rides, horse shows, arts and crafts, competitive exhibits, quilt shows, giant cabbages, contests, special events, stage entertainment, and more than 300 booths and fabulous food. Additionally, there are fireworks and free concerts and other entertainment. It's definitely a wonderful community experience.

The fair runs for a week, and almost always brings rain. Well, that's what some folks say anyway. It always seems to rain during fair week, and this week hasn't let us down. While the first two or three days were mostly sunny, the rain started yesterday and hasn't let up yet. But this doesn't keep Fairbanksans and the local community from coming out anyway. Funnel cake and cotton candy still tastes good in the rain. And so do those huge turkey legs and elephant ears!

Steve and I decided to go to the fair yesterday, as it was Military Appreciation Day and our ID cards saved us $1 on admission. The rain came in fits and spurts as we drove to the fairgrounds, and I'm glad we thought to bring jackets with us.

After finding a parking spot (no easy feat), we paid our admission, got our hand stamped with some green inked graphic which immediately turned to 'mush' in the rain, and made our way to the biggest exhibit hall in search of my friend Abby's jewelry pieces. She and her husband Bo (glass bead and jewelry artists), entered several pieces in the fine arts division and I was excited to see how she did. There was no doubt in my mind, that they'd win ribbons - their work is amazing! And win they did! I am so happy for both of them. This was their first time entering (I encouraged Abby to do it!) and they won several ribbons. (These are only two pieces she entered).

Next up was the photography exhibit. I felt my heart beating faster as we made our way across the fairgrounds to the blue agricultural museum building, where the photos would be on display. When Steve and I entered the room, we were overwhelmed by all the photos mounted on tall display boards. We started in one corner and made our way around the room, trying to locate my entries amongst the other spectacular photographs on display.

I entered 10 photos in various divisions. Of those ten, I took home FIVE RIBBONS! I'm posting the photos I took of my entries with the ribbons hanging on them, and including the original photo below them. The quality of the ribbon photos isn't very good because of lighting and the placement of my photos on the display walls.

FIRST PRIZE - MILITARY Title: Fallen Comrade	SECOND PRIZE - CHILDREN Title: Lily Makes a Wish	SECOND PRIZE - AK SCENIC in BW Title: Donnelly Dome Early Spring
THIRD PRIZE -SKYSCAPE in BW Title: Rain Over Matanuska Glacier	FIFTH PRIZE -ARCHITECTURE Title: Elysian Shadows	Here's a photo Steve took of me with my First Prize entry:

While I hoped to win at least one ribbon, I was truly surprised to see that half of my entries had a ribbon on them. Now I can't wait until next year!

After leaving the photography exhibit hall, Steve and I continued to explore the rest of the fair. The rain would slow down to a light drizzle and then increase to a pretty heavy downpour. Despite the rain, there were plenty of fair goers riding the amusements. Others took shelter under the many colorful tents, where they enjoyed themselves playing games for the chance to win a stuffed toy. We stopped into several outdoor booths and tents to look over the wares being offered for sale. We ran into people we knew, stopped to chat for a while, and then continued on. The fair is definitely the place to go to see folks you haven't seen in awhile. Despite the rain, I took a few photos. I'd like to go back again this week (preferably if the sun comes out) to spend more time at the various booths and exhibits.

I think I may have mentioned a while back that the squirrels had dropped sunflower seeds along the 'squirrel superhighway' in my yard? I had hopes that a few would actually grow enough to bloom. Well, they're growing! Several of them are more than three feet tall already, and they also have what looks like sunflower blooms tightly bound deep in the leaves. There's no rhyme or reason to the way they're growing in the yard - it's wherever the squirrel dropped them. But if they do bloom, I've decided I'm going to take a few cups of the seeds next spring and throw them in the rear of our yard (where the electric company easement is) and see if I can actually start a sunflower patch there. I just adore sunflowers! The photo at left has the planter next to it to show size comparison. Brandon put it there and took a photo the day he left Alaska. I need to compare this photo to the one he took to see how much it's grown in a week.

Speaking of growing things, Steve and I found several 'strawberry spinach' (also known as strawberry blite) plants growing on our property. The berries are numerous and very red and juicy. And they stain easily too. We found that out the hard way when we picked one so that I could get a photo of it laying on the counter.

From the internet: This relatively unknown and unusual herb was grown by German Monks over 400 years ago and rediscovered in a monastery in Europe. The triangular, toothed leaves are thinner than spinach, very nutritious, and high in vitamins C and A. Tender shoots are used raw in salads or cooked like spinach. At each leaf axil there is an abundance of small sweet, strawberry-like fruits which some say resemble mulberries or raspberries. The fruits are juicy and tasty when mature. Flowering in summer, its easy to grow, it enjoys full sun and should be watered as needed, its a very ornamental plant.

Tomorrow, Steve is having laparoscopic surgery on his left shoulder and elbow. He's been having problems with pain for years, and now's the time to get it fixed. He's got an impingement on his shoulder, and the beginnings of arthritis in his elbow. The surgeon is going to shave down his shoulder bone so it won't *grab* the tendon anymore, and drill holes in his elbow to encourage new bone growth. It all sounds rather horrendous to me, but the surgery is not all that uncommon.

Recovery can be as quick as two weeks or as long as eight weeks, depending on how devoted Steve is to his physical therapy exercises. He'll only need a sling for a day or two, but will have to take it easy with that arm for awhile. We're both hoping the surgery works and he finally gets some relief.

Today is my darling daughter-in-love's birthday. Happy Birthday, Sweet Becky!!!