Dahlia’s in the Coast Botanical Gardens at Winesong!

It’s September and that means it’s time to get ready for and then enjoy the Mendocino County Fair and Apple Show. The deadline for entries was September 10th and the due date for entry submission is almost upon us. I’ve spent the last few weeks and days getting ready.

I started to learn to crochet last fall and I have made a few scarves, a few dish cloths and now a couple of baby blankets. I started the most recent one in July and decided I would try to finish it in time to enter it in the Fair. My mom used to enter her crocheted items a lot and she did really well; she learned to crochet (and knit, do counted-cross-stitch, sew and quilt) at a young age and was very good at it. Her various doilies and other items always won the blue ribbon and quite often Best in Division as well. I’m aiming for a more humble outcome, with hopes that the judges provide good feedback and suggestions for improvement. I finished the blanket a few days ago and it’s now folded up and ready to go.

I spent all day yesterday working on my other entries - canned pears, rhubarb and tomatoes. I had a friend come over as she wants to learn how to can things. We peeled pears, chopped rhubarb and then spent most of the day blanching and then peeling tomatoes. The first three jars were the tiny Juliette Romas, the other eleven were normal sized Romas. I ended up with five jars of the pears and three of the rhubarb. From all of these I will choose the best looking and those will be my entries.

In other news, I spent Saturday on the coast pouring Witching Stick Wines for the Winesong! event. It was not as well organized as in year’s past but once we figured it all out we had a good time. They changed how things were done, some better, some worse. Ticket prices were much higher, but apparently they limited how many comp tickets were given out so more of the funds would go to the Hospital. We were in the Dahlia Garden and I can’t think of a better place to pour wine. We joined up with our friends from Murder Ridge Winery and that added to the fun. We also had a great band in the garden with us, which kept everyone’s spirits up.

I’m heading to Southern California next week to go to the California Association of Realtor’s REImagine event - basically a convention. I have never gone but thought this year seemed like a good year to go. I’m hoping to hear more about the current insurance situation and learn ways other Realtor’s are helping clients deal with that. Plus, I think it will be a good way to get reinvigorated about what I do. I’ll write about it in a future article. Until then, get your fair entries in and I’ll look for them when I get back from Anaheim.

Getting ready for the Fair!