Birthday and the Fair

Gabe’s Birthday:

August 24 – Gabe’s birthday. We celebrated on Saturday the 23rd so that we could go to the Evergreen State Fair on Sunday, leaving the house to Gabe and Darcy to celebrate Gabe’s birthday as they wanted to.

Saturday’s requested birthday menu: Tamale Pie, Carne Asada (I found tri-tip asada instead), a Spanish Rice “type thing” (I settled for Mexican Rice a Roni), and a fruit salad. It was an absolutely gorgeous, perfect August day (unlike today ): We ate outside, and the tamale pie was picturesque! (See photo). Darcy thought I should sell the picture to Pampered Chef. Both Noah and Emma joined us at the table, each in their own child seat on the padded patio chair. They did very well! We didn’t have any mishaps with falling on the patio floor or any such thing. It was a very nice time.

Dessert was a lime cheesecake with cherry topping. An unbelievably easy recipe that, for all its ease, tasted pretty decent.

I tried for all the world to get a good picture of Gabe, but you know Gabe. So, I think I’ll just post what I have. If he doesn’t like them, maybe he’ll figure out how to let me take a nice photo. Do ya think???

The Fair:

It sprinkled off and on when we got there – nothing to worry about. This is Washington, after all, even though it’s August, and we would expect better. Dad left his cap in the truck, and I was in capris and sandals. Bad move! After we’d been there an hour, it began to P-O-U-R! I may have ruined my nice black Birkenstocks. At any rate, I think I ruined the bottoms of my feet! They absorbed a bit of dye from the sandals. We can’t decide if it’s just because we’re getting older, and aren’t in much need of “stuff” or if the commercial sheds have gone downhill. We think the commercial sheds have gone downhill. Lots of window vendors, gutter vendors (appropriate!), a sock display with thousands of socks, and some various and sundry booths. One booth had an aloe-based cream supposed to be really good for eczema. A small jar, maybe an inch and a half across and not quite as tall went for $20. Dad would go through that in one day! So obviously it stayed there.

I decided what I wanted to eat, and stuck to it. Success! Not that I ate great, but I didn’t go overboard. I started out with an Italian chicken wrap that was really huge. But it had a lot of lettuce. Then some ice cream, and then just before we left, I splurged on an elephant ear. They have turned healthy! Whole wheat and honey bread dough. ;) Unless you want to count the grease they’re fried in, and the butter, and sugar they’re drenched with. I dumped all the excess sugar and cinnamon off, and there was still plenty on there. But it was tasty! I came home and ate some yogurt for protein to counteract all that sugar!

I won’t enumerate dad’s eating . . .We enjoyed it, but it would have been more fun if the weather had cooperated a bit more. Dad got really tired, but every place we wanted to sit and rest was wet. So we came home probably earlier than we normally would have, but it was satisfying. I think my fair yen has been quenched for a couple more years!