FUN Weekend!

 Friday I had to teach doubles.

(But I heard this morning that starting

in September the morning class is

being cancelled... so no more doubles

after that...)

Anyhow.

Between classes Rod and I headed to the fair.

(Kyle is at the farm building an egg wagon.. 

more on that later...)

Anyhow.

We had a BLAST!

We walked through the exhibitor barn and

checked out all the 4-H kids entries.

And then headed over to the sale barn.

Where they were serving free hamburgers!

So we had lunch.

And then we watched the 4-H auction.

The auctioneer was really good.

You could understand him....

and he's a 4-H mentor so he knows each

of these kids and was really encouraging.

They sold their animals for excellent prices.

The bid winners were able to chose between

Premium or Premium and Possession.

Premium only meant they just paid their money

but the kid got to keep their animal to do with

what they wanted. (Sell it again, show it more,

or just incorporate it into their herd or freezer camp.)

Premium & Possession was just that.

Pay what you bid, PLUS the floor price (an extra

$100 - $200 in most cases) and you got the animal.

A few people chose that option.

There were several local businesses,

2 banks, the local co-op, and a few others

that did premium only.

When everything was done the kids brought

a laminated thank you with a picture of the

animal and the kid, signed by the kid,

so they could hang it in their lobby if they wanted.

(I'm sure it's a charitable donation write-off,

but cool to see the local merchants supporting

these kids in their efforts!)

The local 4-H team is called the WWW.

Wakeeney Willing Workers

Cool!

Anyhow.

It was WINDY!

After the auction we wandered over to the other

exhibit barns where they had lots of things on

display - photography, crafts, wheat harvests,

antiques, etc. And in the middle was a big display

of all the winners in the produce competition.

Our friend Norman took Champion for his onions.

And 1st for his garlic and 1st for his unique 

half yellow and half green crook neck squash.

And he was SCANDALIZED that Grand Champ

was taken by 12 skinny little green beans.

(So he snuck some of HIS beans onto the plate

and maintained they looked much better... lol.)

LOVE small town life!

He was still mad Saturday morning at the market.

Anyhow.

Saturday started chilly and rainy. Just sprinkling.

But chilly. (I wore a coat!)

We brought the easy-up tent to put up.

Rod took pictures, I'll have to get them from him.

We had an ok turn out.

It was the fair parade and they were doing 

registration in our little park, so some folks

wandered by and bought snacks for the parade.

We doubled out $ from last week, but still

WELL below last year's average.

And then UPS delivered my new chair!

(Actually, I think that was Friday after the fair...)

Rod put it together for me.

With some helpers.

Kyle and I figured the chair I'm using to teach in is

OVER 20 YEARS OLD!

We got it used from.... somewhere, when he was

doing homeschool.

And I've sat in it to teach for 5 years.

So more than time to retire it.

After sitting in it for 4 hours to teach,

my tailbone is screaming!

Anyhow.

My new chair is so nice and comfy!

Just in time, too, I am teaching the Louisiana

class again this weekend.

8 hours both days.

It will be such a relief to have a comfy chair.

Anyhow.

Saturday night we went to the Ranch Rodeo 

down at the fair grounds.

Lots of fun ranch events.

Teams of 3 from several individual local ranches.

With 2 of the teams made up of Dads

and 2 made of their young sons.

The boys did really well!

(Didn't win, but did really well...)

It was definitely a family affair.

There was a little gaggle of tots about 5 years old

all with ropes, roping each other for the

ENTIRE night right next to us.

They were fun to watch!

Their hats were bigger than they were.

Another late night...

And then Sunday.

It was a really nice meeting.

I played "This is the Christ" as prelude for

our RS meeting. We discussed Sister Wright's

talk from General Conference so it fit well.

(It's HARD!!!! Starts in 3/4 time with 3 flats

{is that the key of B? I'm not sitting at the piano

and I can't remember now...}

and then switches to 4/4 in C and then back

with lots of accidentals... they asked me 

Saturday morning. I spent about an hour

working on it Saturday afternoon and again

Sunday morning. It was fun, but a challenge!)

Then after church and lunch (it was linger longer

but I spent the time in a meeting about Temple

and Family History and then in the hall chatting

with some folks about freeze drying and raising

meat rabbits so I was HUNGRY when I got home)

we headed to the farm to harvest some new

purple potatoes, a few cucumbers and a bunch

of cherry tomatoes.

When we got home, Kyle BBQed some ribs

and I made my very first 

creamed new potatoes and peas.

It was SOOOOO yummy and just felt

like summer!

Quite colorful with those purple taters.

(And 3 little yellows...)

Today I'm heading into town for a minute

to pick up some last minute things.

We ordered some meat chicks that should

be here tomorrow so I need bedding and feed

and another waterer for them.

And then I teach tonight.

Better run!

County Fair

 I haven't been to a county fair since

Beach Sportcycles had a booth 

before Tim and Angie got married!

(And now our kids are in their 30's!!!!!)

Holy Moly!

But this week is our Trego County Fair.

And it's like 3 blocks from our house.

So last night we went to the stockcar races.

As always, it was REALLY fun.

And REALLY dusty.

But the wind was coming from the west for a change

and blowing all the dust AWAY from us!!!

(There were lots of people there, they were just

higher in the stands than we were... we were late.)

(I had a Presidency meeting that ran 2 hours.... sigh.)

It was so fun!!!

This year's theme is Hay Bales and Sleigh Bells.

It's WaKeeney's 75th anniversary of doing the Tree Lighting.

So Santa came to give gifts to the kids.

He has been at several events around town (NOEL day)

in his "summer" suit. LOL. 

(Gotta love a small town!)

I had to teach this morning, but Rod and I are going to

take a break and run over to the fair and walk through

the exhibitor barns. I mean, why not?

Last year Kyle was in Florida and I was trying to

run the farm and teach all by myself, so I didn't go.

But this year?

We're heading over there!

(AND!!!!! Last night there was a thunderstorm

and the heat wave we've been struggling under 

was finally broken. High is low 90's today and back

into the 80's by mid next week! Whew!)

Anyhow.

I'm taking a teaching break.

And Rod is taking a painting break.

Isn't it beautiful?????

(We color matched a bath towel... lol.)

(Last house we color matched the toilet paper

holder thingie from Kyle's bathroom...)

Hmmmmmmm.

I love it!

AND it's FREE!!!!!!!

It's a program called "Paint the Town".

You go to the local hardware store and buy

your paint and all your supplies, up to $600.00.

They run a tab, and when we are all done,

the town comes and takes pictures and pays your bill.

AWESOME!!!!!

This house hasn't been painted in FOREVER.

I'm so pleased with the color!

So....

that's what's new here on the Kansas front.

There's more..... but you'll have to wait.

Gotta run.

Have a great weekend!

Cool!!!

 Happy Thursday all y'all!

It's the County Fair this week.

This morning was the 4H pig show.

We didn't go.

Hahahaha.

But tonight they are racing at the speedway.

We'll be going to that.

Except racing starts at 7 and I have an

RS Pres zoom meeting at 7.

So I'll meet them there after my meeting.

This morning I got up and had a nice visit

with Soni on the phone.

Then I vacuumed all the floors in the house

and mopped the kitchen and bathroom.

Then cleaned the sink and toilet.

And then I sat down for a minute and did my

morning Come Follow Me study.

And then decided to practice the hymns for

this week's sacrament meeting.

(I'm not playing, just thought it would be fun.)

Speaking of fun, the closing hymn this week

is #1024 from the new book.

A rousing African hymn.

I can just see a group on a plantation,

signing and praising while they are 

working together.

We'll see how it sounds with a bunch

of mid-west white folks singing it.

Accompanied by a church organ.

Hahaha.

Anyhow, while I was playing, my wedding ring

tapped on the C# key and instantly I was

transported to listening to Mom play!

My ring RARELY hits the keys.

I don't know why.

But when it did, it was an instant connection.

HI MOM!

Also cool..... I have my keyboard set for

grand piano the majority of the time,

it has weighted keys and feels just like a piano.

But for fun I switched it to church organ.

And the keys CHANGED!

No longer weighted.

Felt exactly like an organ!!!!

I need to cut my fingernails.

And my fingers are now TIRED.

I played for about 45 minutes.

It was fun!

But now it's time to figure out what's for 

lunch and do the studying I'm supposed to

do before our meeting.

Anyhow.

It was a fun morning!

(ok, maybe not cleaning the bathroom part...)

Moving Forward

 Rod and Kyle made a road trip on Monday.

Headed to a little town just west of Hays and

purchased a HAY WAGON!

The man had draft horses and used to hook them up and

give hay rides.

But he got rid of the horses, so he sold his 2 wagons.

(We only needed one....)

And they were an INCREDIBLE deal!

(Saw a similar one here in Wakeeney for $1200.

We paid $500.)

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

However, we don't need a hay wagon.

Well, we do, but not for hay.

We (meaning Kyle) are going to build a "shed" on top

of it and use it as our portable egg house.

We will put our laying hens in there.

Just like our hen house in Florida, they go in at night,

and stay in until they lay their eggs.

And then they come out and spend the rest of the day

in the sunshine, on the grass.

(In an electrified net fence to keep the predators out....

and, of course, keep them in....)

We are going to get probably 100 red stars

(what I had in FL).

They start early and lay an egg a day.

I'll probably also order 2 dozen colored eggs layers.

Because colored eggs are just fun.

We'll keep you updated on how it's going!

Catching Up

 We had our first Farmers Market on Saturday.

Rod helped me and we packaged up lots of goodies

to take to the market.

We had apples, zucchini (from last year), several kinds

of ice cream sandwiches, and salt water taffy.

(I'm forgetting something... we had 3 healthy

and 3 ... not hahahaha.)

We also had some carrots, radish and beets!

From our very own garden!

We put them in an ice chest with some cold water (only a couple inches)

to keep them fresh and crisp. 

I put some in a pretty green bowl on the table (with more cold water)

and we sold a couple pounds of carrots and radish.

(I decided to keep the beets for US! I want pickled beets!!!)

Anyhow.

It was a bust.

We MAYBE had 20 people come through.

Most were looking for fresh produce.

And aside from my carrots and radish,

Dave and Mary had 1 zucchini (they sold it)

a small bunch of basil (they sold it)

and some beets (didn't sell any...).

Norman had a couple garlic and onions.

I think he sold 1 or 2 of each.

George had some new potatoes and he sold

a few pounds....

Sonya sold a bunch of beer bread and some 

quick breads.

And there was a couple new ladies also selling

jellies, pickles, and cakes.

One lady sold a few cakes.

I don't think the jelly lady sold anything.

We shut it down early.

Some weeks are like that.....

We hope for a better showing next weekend.

But it's the opening day of the County Fair.

The parade will be going by, so Dave said that either

draws a huge crowd, or NOTHING.

So we'll see...

But it was fun to visit with the other vendors

and renew friendships a little.

And I have an order for some peaches,

celery, cucumber and... (I have it written down)

for 2 weeks from now. (She will be out of town

next weekend...)

Meanwhile, Kansas has the most spectacular

night skies!

These are Kyle's pictures.

He has an amazing view from his house.

He pulled over on the highway home for this one.

Yesterday was a lovely day.

Kyle's co-teacher didn't show, so I went in to help him.

He started the class with a challenge.

How long can you "wall sit"?

This was after 2 minutes!!!

They were fairly subdued for the rest of the class.

Kyle is going to make it a weekly thing.

Hahahahahahaha

Hope you are having a wonderful Monday!

Happy Independence Day!!!!!

 I hope you are having a wonderful Independence Day.

Whatever that looks like for you.....

I'm teaching.

Rod is fixing the door handle on his truck.

Kyle is planting more zucchini.

After lunch I'm going to package up all

the freeze dried stuff for Farmers Market tomorrow.

And then teach again this evening.

I had ONE student this morning.

I might have students tonight..... or not.... who knows.

And then WaKeeney LIGHTS UP!

People here spend their entire paycheck on fireworks.

The whole sky is ablaze!

And it's not like sparklers.

It's FIREWORKS!

We have the chairs all set up in the yard.

We'll have a fun evening!

(for free... lol)

******************************************************

And in breaking news.....

I'm FINALLY getting my new resident alien card!

Can it be true???????

Lol.

They are mailing it out.

So.... December?

Hahahahaha.

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY EVERYBODY!!!!!

RAIN!!!

 We love rain.

All farmers love rain.

Some of them aren't jazzed about the timing....

we are mid wheat harvest here in Kansas

and getting a big rainstorm overnight puts

a bit of a kink in their plans for today's harvest.

But there was no hail.

(There WAS some hefty wind though...)

Anyhow.

I went out to the farm to help Kyle hang the first

of the onion harvest. 

This is about 1/4 of the eventual harvest.

These are just the ones that their necks had bent and the greens

had flopped over on them.

Then there's another bunch (about 2/3 more) that aren't ready yet.

And then there's ANOTHER we grew from seed that won't

be ready for a couple months.

Hoping for a good total harvest!

We eat a lot of onion...

And then Kyle pointed to our "pond".

She's FULL and overflowed the bank!

We only got 2.7" of rain, but all the water from

the hills also run down into her.

I wish it always looked like that.....

but it will be dry again in a few days.

Ultimately, Kyle will fill it back in.

No need to have a big dry hole in the ground.

Also our "basement" is full.

Hahahaha.

We have changed plans (again) and are doing away 

with the basement idea.

Long story and I'll explain it as we go along

(with pictures)

because even I don't fully understand.

But the short answer is, no basement and Kyle is filling

in this hole as well (after some cement posts, etc...)

mostly to avoid THIS.....

Anyhow.

It was a productive and fun day.

This morning ROD slept in until 9!!!

That hasn't happened since........ ever.

And then we replaced the ceiling fan above our bed

with one that doesn't sound like it's going to 

come crashing down at any moment.

(It came with the house...)

And then I went to the farm and he went to visit

the Sister Sisters and help with some repairs

they needed help with.

And I taught tonight's class.

Now?

Dinner and TV and bed.

Tomorrow is HAYS DAYS.

(Which just means Kyle and I are driving into Hays

to get our shopping done, but it sounds more fun

when you say it like that.... haha.)