LABOR DAY WEEKEND

Oh, I went to the animal fair....The birds and the geese were there....

As were the sow and her piglets, goats, all sorts of funky fowl, and sweet, adorable bunnies.

The Labor Day weekend was a busy one here at The Farm. Friday night, I ventured over to watch Eliza in the band. She told me the game started at 7:00 PM, so I waited until 7:30 to go, hoping to get to the game at half time. However, as luck would have it, the game started at 7:30, and I had to watch the entire first half to see the band. A middle-aged woman going alone to a ballgame is a sure way to get lots of weird looks, especially from die-hard, rural southeastern Ohio fans. Sitting two rows behind me were two men who had to qualify as the world's worst sports; I got a really good taste of yelling at the referees, shouting at the boys on the field, and stomping the stands in disgust when the "our team" didn't make any yardage for most of the first half. I left after half-time, feeling very proud of the band and grateful my children never played sports. It's a good thing I never had to deal with the likes of the two red-necks behind me.

Saturday, I went downtown to watch Eliza as she marched in the County Fair Parade, and Sunday evening, I went to a friend's house for a cookout. It was a really nice time, and I fell in love with an independent and incredibly bright two-year old named Raven, a child whose premature birth to incompetent parents got her off to a doubtful start. Fortunately, an incredible woman and her two daughters took Raven in early on and have given her the loving and nurturing that has this little one on really sure footing in every sense of the word. She is an amazing child, and all the credit in the world goes to her foster mom and sisters for their unconditional love and commitment to her.

Then, yesterday, I made grape juice and took Eliza to the mall. Then, it was back to the fair to see the loud, big-engined things pull massive weights. A friend had two vehicles entered in the truck pull, so I learned a bit about racing, engines, and NOISE!!! I also noticed that not many of the hard core racing fans were interested in answering my unintelligent questions about the event....Oh well, I really do prefer the animals!