A Doughnut Burger and Lavender Linen Spray

I spent an enjoyable Thursday with my mom at the Kentucky State Fair. I last attended the State Fair about 6 years ago. My mom informed me that she had not been since I won a 4-H blue ribbon for my Peanut Butter Cookies at the county level and got to take them to State. That was when I was in the 4th grade, circa 1980 --- 30 years ago!


The reason we attended this year was to watch Cashius O'Neil Logan, my great-nephew, her great-grandson, compete in the State Little Miss and Mr Pageant. He and Miss Mayson Molen proudly represented Garrard County. Although they were the most adorable couple on stage (yes, I was biased), they didn't place in the pageant. There were 69 Little Couples competing and I can't imagine what a judge must look for in a pageant like that. I wasn't overly impressed with the outward appearance of the winning couple; however, I was not privy to the backstage interviews nor did I see any of the children in their casual wear, so who knows. There were LOTS of beautiful children on stage and each of them had families who were hoping they would walk away with the trophy, crown, sash, flowers and check. Cash and Mayson, your cheering section was very proud of you. Do not be disappointed because you will forever hold the title of 2010 Little Miss and Mr Garrard County Fair!!!!

Mom and I walked around all day. We first hit the exhibit hall which contained the 4-H and county fair entries. Mom wanted to check out what a blue ribbon jar of green beans and pickles look like because she thinks she might have a winning jar to enter next year :-). We enjoyed looking at the cakes, pies and candy and I was thinking that I would enjoy being a judge in those divisions. I don't recall seeing any peanut butter cookies this year. I remember when I went as a child, I was disappointed to learn that I had only received a white ribbon at the state level. The state fair gives you a much bigger ribbon than the county fair gives. I didn't want a big white ribbon. I wanted a big Blue ribbon to compliment the smaller one I had already won. White is the equivalent of 3rd place. This was my thinking as a child. Blue = 1st = A; Red = 2nd = B; White = 3rd = C. At that point in my life, I had never had anything other than an A on my report card and darn it, I didn't want a big fat C for my big fattening cookies!!! To add to that disappointment, they had placed ALL of the "C" cookies into a HUGE cookie jar and then listed the names of the people whose cookies were inside. I didn't want people to know that my cookies were in THAT jar.

We spent a little time looking at the photography and painting exhibits and then moved to textiles. We enjoyed looking at the dresses, jackets and clothing and then the quilts. I love quilts and there was one in particular that caught my attention. It was a block quilt that had a woman representing each month of the year. Incorporated into each of her dresses or as an accessory to each of her outfits was an old handkerchief. I took photos with my iPhone because Mom and I wanted our friend, Carolyn, to see the detail of this quilt. We immediately thought of Carolyn's mother, who recently passed away. Gran, as her grandchildren and I called her, was the most talented quilter I have ever known. Any quilt she has ever quilted could hold its own in any competition in the world, I'm sure of it!!!




There were tons of exhibits but I think the one my mom and I enjoyed the most was a miniature replica of "my ole' Kentucky home". It wasn't the Stephen Foster "My Old Kentucky Home" located in Bardstown, Kentucky. This was a miniature mobile home that detailed every backwoods stereotype that Kentucky has to offer. The wheels were still on the mobile home and it was propped up on concrete blocks. There was a crooked little outbuilding sitting to the side and a moonshine still hidden in the woods. There were cats, kittens and dogs everywhere (even in the garbage can), beer cans in the yard, a rebel flag in the window, old metal lawn chairs, a satellite dish on the roof, and I could go on and on. We looked at it forever and just kept finding things. It didn't even win a blue ribbon, it got a big white (a "C") but I personally think it deserved a Championship Purple!!!


Next we moved to the County Exhibits. Many counties were there promoting tourism in their area. Some of their displays were very inviting. Most of them offered a drawing for either a gift basket showcasing items that were made and sold in their county or for a hotel stay and golf package, among other things. We collected tons of brochures, key chains, ink pens, and candy. Mom took a piece of coal from Harlan County and I got a bottle of "hope" water from Manchester, the City of Hope. We saw lots of people walking around with yard sticks but neither of us ended up with one of those :-( and I really needed one because Edison broke mine!!! Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure the one I previously had came from the State Fair...

On down the hall were vendors. Everyone wanted to sell us something! There was jewelry, toys, clothes, purses, sunglasses, Primax windows, hot tubs, outdoor buildings, gazebos, health insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, Dish Network, Direct TV, cookware, steam mops, food items, decorative flags, and I could go on and on. Mom bought three garden flags and a little school bus for Edison. There was one thing I wish I would have purchased and that was a nightgown. It had a bedside table on it with a book, a lamp and some other items and at the top was written "One Night Stand". I went back at the end of the night to purchase the gown but the lady had already shut down her cash register. I didn't purchase anything...well, yes I did...but that comes later in this story...

Disbursed through all of these booths were the service provider booths. Police departments, sheriff departments, and KY State offices (Secretary of State, Tourism, Transportation, Health and Family Services, etc.), offering various information. The democrats and republicans each had booths encouraging people to vote for "their man". The FEI Alltech World Equestrian Games had lots of information about their upcoming event and I signed up to win two tickets to an event (even though I've already purchased tickets to attend with my family one day). There was a big beautiful John Deere tractor on display and various hospitals offered dermatology cancer checks, hearing tests, vision tests and colon cancer screenings, etc. While I visited many of these booths to see what they had to offer, there is one that caught my attention. Sitting next to a brand new Sheriff's cruiser, was a BEAUTIFUL bright red 2010 Chevrolet Camaro - MY DREAM CAR! My only purchase (besides food) was a chance to win this car. I normally don't spend money on chances but I stopped and said, "Mom, that is my dream car". She said, "Buy a chance". I told her that I only brought $45 in cash with me to the fair and didn't want to use my debit card unless I had to but quickly said "I guess I might as well spend it on that, I just spent $10 on lunch and that would be better than buying something I don't need." She then reminded me that my grandfather had won a truck many years ago at the Boyle County Fair and I said, "Well, that just confirms why I shouldn't buy it, what are the chances that two people in the same family would win a car at a fair" and then she said, "Aunt Evelyn told me the other day that her dad won a car one time too" and I said "well, then, maybe I should, it sounds like our family is lucky at winning cars!" Eventually, with the "okay from Mom", I made the decision and purchased one $10.00 chance on my dream car. All proceeds benefit Trooper Island.

Trooper Island Camp was developed by the Kentucky State Police as part of a long range program of public service to the youth of Kentucky: a place where the tensions and turmoil of our everyday lives can be forgotten; and for one week young people can be given a touch of hope and desire of a better tomorrow.

I was told that the drawing for the car will be held on Sunday, August 29th. I teased my mom and told her that I would be holding a special prayer after church that day - LOL! Only 20,000 tickets will be sold and they told me that they didn't think they were going to be able to sell all of them this year so that would increase my chances. I know that I probably won't win but my odds of winning this car are better than if I played the lottery (which I do not do). The best thing is the money I spent will benefit a good program - unlike the promises that were made when the Kentucky Lottery was instituted!!! I think the lottery promised major improvements and tons of money going into our education system... which NEVER happened and NEVER will. That reminds me... a huge corner of one of the exhibit halls was dedicated to our fine Kentucky Lottery. There were as many tables in the lottery area as were in the food area and the tables were full of people sitting and scratching off tickets hoping to become one of Kentucky's newest millionaires. All I want is a vehicle with air in the summertime and heat in the winter - one I can depend on to get me back and forth to work and if that vehicle happens to be an "arrest-me-red" Chevy Camaro then I will have the added bonus of driving to work and getting a few heads to turn my way. I could use that too :-)

We did a lot of walking, even walking across the Kentucky Fair Exposition Center, to see the dairy cows on display and the Mules and Jacks. Unfortunately, not many mules and jacks had arrived so Mom and I were a little disappointed to have walked so far only to see about 10 mules. I had to use my iPhone to Google the difference between a Mule and a Jack. I knew what a mule was, and I thought I knew what a Jack was but we needed some clarification. FYI - a mule is a cross between a mare (female horse) and a male donkey (a/k/a a Jack Ass). We didn't see any Jack's, just a few mules. Our Google session also informed us that you can also cross a male horse (Stallion) with a female donkey (a/k/a a Jenny) and get a "Henny". Jack's, Jenny's, Mule's and Henny's - they should teach things like that at the Kentucky State Fair! Once again, thank goodness for my iPhone, I don't know what I would do without it. The best thing about our walk in the hot sun from the Expo Center to Freedom Hall to see the Jack's and Mules was the fact that we got to hear Sugarland warming up for their concert. We even got to peek through a curtain and get a glimpse of them. We also saw their big trucks outside and tour vans so that made the walk all worthwhile. Well, that and the information we learned from Googling :-)


Of course, you can't go to any Fair without talking about the food! I had a Ribeye sandwich from the Kentucky Cattlemen's Association and it was very tasty. I later enjoyed some German Roasted pecans and cashews, you know the kind with the cinnamon sugar coating? My favorite! I also had some popcorn and a chocolate/vanilla twist ice cream cone. There was something new I had never seen and I was tempted to try it but just couldn't imagine how it would taste. It was called a Doughnut Burger. Evidently, it is a hamburger sandwiched between two Krispy Kreme doughnuts! Now, I'm all about a good hamburger and I enjoy the occasional Krispy Kreme doughnut, but together? I just couldn't do it! I admit I was and continue to be curious about this so-called doughnut burger. I guess if you are going to try one, the State Fair would be the best place because as soon as you finish eating it, you can head back inside to the colon cancer screening desk to let them know what you've just done! They might recommend a colon cleansing and then a trip to the booth next door - the American Heart Association.

We ended our night watching the Little Miss and Mr Pageant and Mom and I spent the night at the Crowne Plaza. I had told her that I wanted to sleep late and that she should wake me up at 10:00 a.m. That would give me time to take a shower and get everything ready before check-out at 11. Mom assured me that she would be quiet the next morning as she planned to work on her own writing while I slept in. We sprayed our beds with Lavender Linen Spray and the next thing I knew, I looked at the clock and I thought it said 10:40 a.m. I rubbed my eyes, tried to open them a little wider and brought the clock closer to my face and again saw that it said 10:40. I looked over at the bed next to mine and my mom was sound asleep. I said, "Mom, it's 10:40!" She sleepily asked, "What?" and I repeated, "It's 10:40!" Neither one of us are morning people. My mom has to have at least one cup of coffee before she will even talk to you. I prefer to lay in bed until the very last minute before I have to begin rushing around to be out the door to barely arrive at my destination on time. The problem with it being 10:40 was that we had to check out of the hotel by 11!! Luckily, they offered check-out via television. Mom checked out right at 11 and we monitored the location of the housekeepers which gave us a few extra minutes to get out. Neither of us had time for showers or much of anything else. When we left, Mom said, "I think this is the first time I have ever left a nice hotel without using the shower, or at least one of their towels." We laughed and said it must have been the lavender linen spray. Both of us are ready to return to the Crowne Plaza Hotel for another good nights sleep. Next time we plan to get to bed a little earlier than midnight. I guess we also better schedule a wake-up call to get the most we can out of the hotel during our stay. We want to be sure to enjoy their hot water and use some of their bath towels!