Fair, Camping, Bumbershoot

I had planned on being back and posting long before now, but I just kept putting it off.
I'm sorry if I've kept you waiting.

Anyway, I could ramble on and on about everything, but it'll be much simpler to just post some pictures and give you captions to fill you up-to-date.
--------

Back in late August, Hotness & I went to the fair;
Where I had my annual Purple Cow*


We also checked out the floral dept.
They had a big display of carnivorous plants

As well as a live tarantula in one of the other displays


Hotness was not getting any closer than she had to, to see that.


Other than that, the fair was the same old, same old.
Nothing has really changed.

Oh! I did buy some lottery tickets to win a mobile chicken coop.


I haven't heard whether I was the winner, but at least I can figure out how to build this style from these pictures if I wasn't.
-------------

On Labor Day weekend, I went camping again.
This was the last of our "group camping trips" for the season.

It pretty much rained the whole time, but that didn't prevent us from having any fun.

We had a nice big tarp over the table, so we were able to prepare food and eat without getting too wet.



And on one of the few breaks in the weather I was able to pursue my quest for the perfect S'more.

This one includes a whole Reese's Peanut Butter cup.


It was extremely close to perfection!


I got back from camping on Sunday, and then on Monday I scooted off for Bumbershoot in Seattle with a friend.
It was rainy off-and-on, but we had a lot of fun despite the indecisive weather.

The first thing we did after getting inside the event was to get ourselves a pass for the comedy stage.
Then we headed straight for the EMP SkyChurch to watch an indie band called "Dept. of Energy".

They did a cool rendition of Van Halen's "JUMP" using a vibraphone.

Then we wandered around for a bit until going to the Mainstage to watch the "Black Eyed Peas" perform.

We got pretty close to the stage. Close enough to get a good view.
(That's Fergie standing on a speaker directly above the guy in the orange jacket)
They put on a really good show, although they blew an amp at one point and so they lost their sound for a few minutes.
They got it back and then lost it again.
Finally everything got figured out and the show went on.

Here's a view of the crowd from above the main floor:

That's a LOT of people!

We left the concert early so that we could get in line for the comedy stage we got passes for earlier.
It was an improvisational Shakespeare group, and that was one heck of a funny show!
Unfortunately we couldn't get any pictures or video, so you'll just have to take my word for it.
But it was well worth the money!


After that, we wandered around and looked at the art on display and then checked out Flatstock 22.


There were a couple of concerts coming up later in the evening, but by that time we were hungry and our feet were starting to hurt from all the wandering and standing in lines.
We grabbed a bite outside the Bumbershoot grounds at a nifty little Mexican place.
After talking it over we decided that we'd seen enough and that we really didn't need to stay.
We both had work the next day, and it was in our best interests to get back home so that we weren't dragging the next day.
--------------


Since then, nothing much has been happening worth noting.
At least, not until last evening.

A few of us got together to help celebrate Palindrome's birthday with burgers at Red Robin followed by aimless wandering at the nearby Target.




And THAT catches you up on things in my "exciting" life.
The fun never ends, does it?





* A "Purple Cow" is a float made out of:
Blackberry ice cream
Lemon-lime soda
and a bit of blackberry syrup

Deep-Fried Anything

I'd like to tell you that I've been really busy and just haven't had time to post anything cool until, but I'd be lying.
In reality, nothing exciting going on and therefore a lack of any blog posts with substance.

Hotness and I went to the fair this past Sunday where I took this picture:

 

I can only imagine what "red neck sushi" could be. It's obviously not something natural.

No, I didn't get anything here. I had my deep-fried Twinkie last year and it was enough for me for the rest of my life.

Other than that, nothing else unusual to report.

Just the 'same old, same old'.

   --------------------------------------

In other news:

 The whole "Disney buys Marvel" has been talked about a lot lately.

I don't really have anything good or bad to say about it.

Whether I like it or not, it's going to happen without my say-so.

I will say this, though...

If it means that we'll finally get a "Peter Porker: The Spectacular Spider-Ham" comic book again.... I all for it!

Also, it might open doors for Marvel to expand on some interesting stories if the characters are allowed to enter each other's universes.

For instance, I wouldn't mind seeing a team-up of Howard the Duck & Donald Duck. (A couple of high-strung, cantankerous waterfowl and their exploits.)

Could be funny if Jeff Parker gets to tackle it. Or very dark if Mark Millar does.

It'll certainly be wordy if Bendis gets to do something like that.

Sunday - Fair

This morning, Hotness and I got up and went to meet Qtilla in Monroe where we all spent most of the day at the Evergreen State Fair.

We met around 10:00 a.m. and then walked around checking out all the sites and eating food that is bad for us.

We all went for a Purple Cow and I was hoping to be lucky #13 (and thus get a free one) but was foiled yet again. For 30+ years I've been hoping to get a free one, and I was #12 today. No sooner had I paid for mine when the "clang-clang" of the winner bell rang. I had tried to talk Hotness into getting one with me, but she wasn't interested in any. Had she gotten one, I'd be a winner finally. It's all her fault. *sigh*

We checked out the animals, the antique tractors, the heritage museum, most of the commercial exhibits and breifly walked through the carnival.

It was fun hanging out, but trying to describe a typical day at the fair can be sort of boring. You need to experience it to get the real fun out of it.

Here are some pictures of our day:

goofy-looking emergency VW van

pygmy goats!

bunnies!

cool-looking Dahlia in floral dept.

After my deep-fried Twinkie earlier last week, I knew I didn't need another one ever again in my lifetime.

However, Technogreek said that the deep-fried Snickers was the bomb.... so I got one.

And it was truly yummy!

The weather held out and was nice while we were there, but started getting dark and as we were leaving to go to our cars, we felt the first few drops of rain start to come down.

Perfect timing.

Now we're back home and there's one more big day coming up..

Stay tuned.....

Still White & Nerdy

I'm loyal to Weird Al like fans of the Grateful Dead.

So when I found out he was coming to do a concert here again, I got tickets right away.

This time it was Hotness and myself joined by Technogreek and his brother, George.

We got pretty good seats just left of center stage with a decent view.

This was my 5th time seeing him live and Hotness has joined me for four of those concerts.

T & G had never been to a show, but I assured them that is was a guaranteed good time.

The day itself was pretty uneventful.

I had taken the day off, as we had planned on spending the day at the fair and then seeing the concert. But those plans got changed at the last minute the night before.

So instead, I slept in. Had some breakfast. Then got ready to meet the guys at the Comic Stop in Redmond that afternoon.

The day was nice. Blue sky and sunny. That evening looked to be just as good.

I met them and then we headed back to my house to drop off my car (they can both attest to how far out in the sticks I live!) and then we drove to the Fair.

It started getting overcast, but still no rain.

We had a couple of hours to kill before the seats were open for the concert so we walked around the fairgrounds looking for something to eat and checking out the various booths.

The Weird Al concert was being presented by KISS 106.1 FM. I stopped by their booth to see if there was any way to get backstage passes to meet the band.

Me: "Hi! I hear you folks are presenting the Weird Al concert tonight."

Booth worker #1: "We are?"

Booth worker #2: "What concert?"

Me: "The Weird Al concert. You're even printed on the ticket as presenting him for the fair"

Booth worker #1: "We are? Hey, are we presenting Weird Al in concert?"

Booth worker #3: "Who?"

Booth worker #2: "Weird Al."

Booth worker #3; "Uh... yeah. I guess so. Is there something I can do for you?"

Me: "No. Thanks. Just checking."

We spied a funny-looking sign that appreared to be misprinted:

But it turned out that it was actually what it advertised:

Technogreek got the Pespi and a deep-fried Snickers.

I just got a deep-fried Twinkie.

I can honestly say...

Now that I've had one, I NEVER need to eat another one. I felt like I needed to take a shower after I ate it. It's not that it tasted bad, I just felt so dirty afterwards.

I needed something to drink so I got my yearly Purple Cow.

Hotness soon joined us (she had to work that day and met up with us later), then we four split up briefly.

Hotness went to get a corn dog and some ice cream , while I got a water.

Technogreek and George went to get their sweatshirts from the car before the concert started.

It was now time for the gates to open, so we went to our seats just in time for the rain to start falling.

Here are before the show:

and here's the stage from our seats:

Weird Al performing "Fat" in his costume.

It rained the ENTIRE time we were there, and he thanked everyone for being good sports and sticking around for 2 hours in the rain.

After the show, we all walked back to the cars and went our separate ways home.

I had a good time as always, despite being wet, and I think everyone else did as well. At least they were still smiling when the show was over.

Another year of not getting to meet Weird Al, but I'm not giving up. I'll try again next time.

Weird Al Yankovic

I just got the pictures from the concert we went to last week. (Thanks Joe & Susan!)

I won't bore you with details about the show itself. If you've ever been to a Weird Al concert, you know how fun it is. If you haven't been to one, well.... even if you aren't a fan you should go at least once.

You'll have a great time.

This is my 4th Weird Al concert and Hotness has been three times.

The first time I took her to one she said, "Are you kidding me?"

The second time she went, it was more like "Hmmm, okay."

Then this time when I told her Weird Al was coming to play at the Puyallup she said "We're going, right?"

She still isn't a fan like I am but just knowing that she likes going to see him live is a good indication of how much fun his show is.

We went with our friends Joe & Susan and met up with another friend of their's, Dave.

The five of us got seats in the 20th row, center stage. Pretty darn cool seats!

My camera didn't take any decent pictures so all the ones I'm using came from J & S's camera which took really great shots.

So without further ado, here's some of what we saw:

"It's all About The Pentiums" & "You're Pitiful"

"The Saga Begins" & "YODA"

"Eat It" & "Fat"

"White & Nerdy"

During this song, he played various images on the screen behind him and the band.

Peppered throughout the images were clips of Donny Osmond dancing like an idiot.

It was hilarious.... here see for yourself:

And the ever-popular Seattle-favorite, "Smells Like Teen Spirit".

The Northwest audiences alway go ape-poo when he plays this live.

Anyway, he played almost all of the hits and fan-favorites. The show started at 7:30 and the band played until 10:00..... 2-1/2 hours!

In between costume changes he played his AL TV interviews which were hilarious. (You can find most of them on YouTube.)

Speaking of costume changes, I coulnd't keep track of all the outfits he changed into.

There were a few that I didn't even post, there were THAT many!

Rumour has it that he changes outfits in concert more often than Cher does!

Here we are after the show, hanging around like groupies hoping to get an autograph or a picture (or BOTH!).

L-R: Me, Joe, & Dave

Entertaining = Yes

Music = Awesome

Seats = Great

Value = Worth every penny

Score = 27 stars

Evergreen State Fair

Well, I'm a little behind the times but here's how our day at the fair went;

On (last) Sunday afternoon, Hotness and I decided to go to the State Fair.

After picking up tickets at the grocery store in town ('cause they're $2 cheaper) we headed off to go eat bad-for-you food, see farm animals, and watch the freaky people wandering around.

I've pretty much grown-up at this fair. I lived higher up on the hill above it for quite a few years, and my grandmother used to have a booth selling hand-sewn articles in one of the buildings.

My aunt was also a superintendent of one of the display buildings, so I got to work at the fair (and therefore get in free) when I was younger.

Anyway, having said all that... not a whole lot has really changed and yet quite a bit has changed.

It's still fun, but as I get older it seems that the fair gets smaller.

Some of the food booths have been there for more than 30 years, and new ones have come and gone.

One of the new ones was a "resturant" that had tables and served you your food. (Instead of standing in line & waiting)

They were offering 'gator bites and fried catfish.

Hmmm... I've never tried alligator before and Hotness has never had catfish. So guess where we ate first?

Yup!

Hotness and her catfish, with a big ol' serving of baked beans!

She loved it! I'll have to make it at home sometime. It's been a while since I've had catfish.

The fried 'gator bites.

Honestly? You could've told me they were chicken nuggets. I couldn't tell the difference. They were really good, but when people say "it tastes like chicken", this really did.

After eating, we looked at the old farm equipment and tractors. Nowadays it's unusual to see "MADE IN USA" on a product, but it was cool to see so many items that displayed it proudly. Ah... simpler times.

Not really much in the way of action at the fair.

Mostly we looked at the animals, and this year there was a display of exotic animals to view.

I had never seen a live zebra before, but they had two of them. They're kinda cool-looking close-up.

(I hear that you can get your picture taken with a zebra in Tijuana, but it's really a pony painted with black & white stripes)

After that we went to the horse barns. I can never escape the pull of anything horse-related when Hotness is with me. But it wasn't a total waste of time. I bought two raffle tickets to win a young draft horse, so we'll see what happens.

Then we watched the lumberjack show. It was w-a-y smaller than the Deming, WA lumberjack show, but still was fun.

We wandered around some more but like I said, it seems like the fair gets smaller every year.

We stopped to eat some more "fair food". (Hotness had an ice cream cone, I had an elephant ear)

There wasn't much else to see or do, other than go to the carnival, so we headed back towards the car to go home.

We passed the WA State Dairy Women booth, and of course I couldn't pass up getting my annual "Purple Cow"*!

And closer to the gate we picked up some Fair scones for breakfast the next morning.

It sounds kind of boring when I talk about it, but really the fair (or ANY fair for that matter) needs to be experienced. We had a lot of fun and surprisingly didn't spend a lot of money this time.

I hope you got a chance to go to a fair this summer in your neck of the woods.

Our next fair (and the last one for us this year) is coming up in Sept.

We're going to the Puyallup Fair to see Weird Al Yankovic in concert. Yay!

----------------------------------

* a "Purple Cow" is:

blackberry ice cream

blackberry syrup

lemon-lime soda

It's served as a float, but quickly turns into a fizzy, purple, blackberry cup of Heaven! I have one every year at the fair.