my mom was fat
imagine that! she
changed each week
losing 5 pounds was
very bleak. she would
take a jog but rolled like
a log. her power jog would be a flop
her butt would flap and her feet would
sing so she went on to try it "the krispy kreme diet!"
but her butt would hurt and out she would blut "I'm getting phater each
day!"
This portion of your State Fair Experience has been brought to you by the color... well... how about every color? And lots of it!
No subtle picture taking here. When I saw this young man standing there I whipped out my camera and snapped this. People observing me nudged each other and snickered.
Rachel whispered to me, "I like that jacket."
I whispered back, "I like how it goes so well with those jeans, but I don't know if I would be brave enough to wear them together. In public. Someone might take my picture and post it on their blog."
I want to put one of these heads in my front lawn so it looks like Buddha is buried up to its neck.
Maybe I can find some giant cement hands to stick up out of the grass near the head.
Ooh! Ooh! How about praying hands sticking out of the grass in front of the head?
... or I could just plant one tulip directly in front of the head, right under its nose.
I just love these musicians from... Peru? Bolivia? Somewhere in the Andes?
Glass blowing demos
Well, the sign said Glass Blowing Demos, and this gal and other people were milling around on the "stage," but...
I'm not really sure what she was planning to do. She was either shy or had been blinded by the fire because she didn't acknowledge a crowd of about 20 people had gathered to watch her, about 8 feet from where she sat. None of the other glass people said anything to the crowd, either. I'm not sure what this piece ended up being, but there sure was a neat collection of glass items made during the fair that were for sale.
By this time it was getting late, about 9:45pm, and sections of the fair were closing down. Frank and Rachel were ready to go. I stopped to take two last pictures of the garden as we headed toward the exit and they ditched me!
My favorite part of the fair is the gardens.
(This shot was taken at night with no flash, and I did nothing to doctor it up and make it bright. )
These blurry pink flowers are cleome (klee-OH-mee), a regular at Hart of the Gardens at the Oregon State Fair. And one of my all-time favorite flowers.
I believe cleome is a self-seeding biennial, like hollyhocks.
I found my two jokers in the Commercial Building, looking at The Pirate's wares. The Pirate is a vendor who is there every year. Yes, it's an older guy dressed in a pirate costume (every year) and he sells misc souvenirs for kids, pirate flags, blinking LED dental inserts (so you have a blinking mouth, of course; who doesn't need one of those?!*) and belly dancing outfits, and blue Marilyn Monroe wigs.
I tried, but couldn't get Frank to try on anything.
Probably because I was still holding the camera.
*Ours lasted three days, last time we got one.
Frank is rolling his eyes at her.
Here is the hand written sign attached to the petting zoo sign:
Remember our friend Andi from the Seattle Road Trip? She worked at the fair (this was her last year) and the annual Vegetable Petting Zoo is her idea.
Have you ever seen the tv show Ace of Cakes? This is the homegrown version of that kind of cake decorating and is one of our favorite things to see at the fair.
People are encouraged to vote for the Peoples' Choice Award. I voted for this wonky Christmas cake. Frank voted for a three layer cake covered in black and brown sheets of fondant, then each layer was painstakingly hand painted with a different animal print - cheetah, zebra, jaguar.
I had a double take when I saw the knife sticking out of this wedding cake, and the blood cascading down the side.
Check out the late bride and late groom on top.
Yes. Dead roses. Dark and dry and brittle.
With a dead bouquet.
And bugs crawling all over the cake.
Another fondant-covered cake a la Ace of Cakes. I thought this was really cute.
...to be contined tomorrow...
I love the Oregon State Fair. After being totally overwhelmed by the big-city MN State Fair smack-dab in the middle of the Twin Cities, and being overwhelmed by all the stuff, Oregon's State Fair is like a really big small-town affair.
We have gone at least once each year since moving here, six years ago. Besides, it's just down the road from our home.
Normally it's hot and dry. Arid, really. And hot.
Not this year.
(Hey - I'm not complaining. That sky is blue ... !)
Meh. What's a little rain? After all, this is the Oregon State Fair we're going to.
Oh. Before I go any further, I'd like to point out that I have a very very warped view of the world. (As if you weren't already aware of that.) I am slowly adding photos to a personal photo album called "The Pam Cam" which is odd stuff, passed off as ordinary, that most people tend to overlook. I like to point out the odd stuff and make fun of it. Several of these pictures will be added to the album.
I'm just warning you. Try not to be shocked or offended. I just call it like I see it and consider later that maybe I should have edited the message as it traveled from brain to mouth. Or fingertips in this case. Anyway, enjoy your visit to our lovely state fair.
This State Fair Experience has been brought to you by the color pink.
(I'm probably going to get in trouble for this next picture.)
A lot of people want to find out ahead of time. That's an awfully long line.
Do they know something we don't know?
The Oregon Pork Producers Association food booth went whole hog.
On second thought, you might consider becoming vegetarian.
Somehow I'm being drawn back over the the whole hog BBQ booth...
The State Fair Tofurkey Booth, originally uploaded by Adventures of Pam & Frank.
Uhh, yep. I'm going back for that pulled pork.
All Vegetarian Hot Dogs and Sausages, originally uploaded by Adventures of Pam & Frank.
Let's see, what do I want...
Ice Cream Sundaes, Milk Shakes, Chocolate Milk...
and ... Buttermilk!?
We all decided against the cool and refreshing (?) glass of buttermilk and went for an ice cream cone instead. This is the regular size cone.
Growing up on a farm in Wisconsin, I'm used to seeing tractors and combines. Other than dairy cows, most other farm crops ranged from corn and grains, some alfalfa and soybeans, and beef cattle.
Even after being out here in Oregon for 6 years, I still can't get over how different the crops are. And since different kinds of crops require specialized equipment, I can't help myself as I take pictures of all the alien machinery to share with everyone back in the midwest.
Cane berries are raspberries, blackberries, etc. Oregon is the nation's largest producer of cane berries. We're also the leading producer of filberts (hazelnuts), Christmas trees, grass seed, mint, and nursery stock (shrubs you buy at your local garden center.)
This picture was on the side of the big yellow contraption.
This could be cane berries or blueberries.
How's that for freaky looking farm equipment?
The horse had been licking Rachel's palm with his big long pink tongue.
Rachel kept saying, "When I get my horse..." then adding "...when I'm a grown-up..."
Meet the horse's new friend, Rachel, originally uploaded by Adventures of Pam & Frank.
We have a huge number of Russian "Old Believers" in in this part of Oregon. Most Old Believers live as if it is still the 1700's, but some have modernized...to a degree. The women still wear the long flowing dresses and a kerchief on their head. The men have full beards. You can Google the words Oregon Old Believers to learn more about this unique group of people. There aren't many pictures, but their history and culture is pretty interesting.
Did I ever tell you my State Fair story about the comedian and the group of Russian women? I'll have to blog about that later. It's hillarious.
(No, it is not disrespectful to the ladies. Not the Russian ones, anyway.)
Can you figure out which five people are tourists?
(They're the only ones with umbrellas.)
Next, we found a shooting gallery run by ... guess what organization?
Right! An Oregon Veterans group!
(You thought I was going to say the NRA, didn't you? Their name was nowhere on the signage.)
What a great country we live in!
Where else can you hand a gun to your darling twelve-year-old daughter and tell her to shoot up something? Plus, you get real-live Veterans to offer tips and pointers to improve her aim.
She loved it.
But, typical kid that she is, when I asked, "What was he telling you?" she shrugged and said, "I dunno. I wasn't listening."
Eagle Eye... Hawk
Frank aims for the target, originally uploaded by Adventures of Pam & Frank.
Don't ask me about their facial expressions. They're both wierdos.
Actually, Frank was very proud of the Junior Shooting Something-Or-Other badge that he earned, and Rachel was giving me one of her classic "Can you believe how dorky that man is?" looks.
A typical day in the life of the Hawk family...
The family sharpshooters, originally uploaded by Adventures of Pam & Frank.
...to be contined ...
