I was forced to watch “Pitch Perfect” this morning, then bullied into buying two tickets to see “Pitch Perfect 2.”
Just kidding.
It is true, however that The Girl was aghast that I have not seen either of the movies. She gets aghast easily.
$3.99 Netflix rental + $21.50 for two matinee tickets and $8.95 for crappy theater popcorn = girl time.
Priceless.
“Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one–the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts, Your affectionate uncle, Screwtape.”
C. S. Lewis, from “The Screwtape Letters”
I finally finished a book that I started several years ago. Can I perhaps tempt you to read it, too? (LOL… OK, I’ll stop). In “The Screwtape Letters,” Lewis provides much food for thought, and the main thought of the book is Temptations.
C. S. Lewis, well know for his Narnia series, is almost as famous for his theologic essays and stories. In “The Screwtape Letters,” we read correspondences between the earthly tempter and demon “Wormwood” and his under-worldly advisor, “Screwtape.” The whole of the story focuses on Wormwood’s need for advice as to how to best lead his assigned human astray from “The Enemy,” God.
In one letter, Screwtape shares with Wormwood: “…as one of my own patients said on his arrival down here, ‘I now see that I spent most of my life in doing neither what I ought nor what I liked.'” This really struck me, and I stopped reading to think… reminded of how the modern screen conveniences, in particular, allow me to become easy pickings for my own personal demons. Good grief, that could be me looking back at all the hours I spend wasted in front of a TV, smartphone, or computer. Sobering, to say the least.
Screwtape then closes this letter with what many of us will recognize (in reverse, of course)… how many times have you heard this idea preached from the pulpit? Or maybe you’ve read it in a book:
“But do remember, the only thing that matters is the extent to which you separate the man from the Enemy. It does not matter how small the sins are provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the Light and out into the Nothing. Murder is no better than cards if cards can do the trick.”
After taking all the time we wanted to go through the Flower and Animal Exhibits and the “Crap You Can Buy at the Fair” booths (we warned each other “don’t make eye contact with any of the vendors!), we hit the food stands before moving onto Art and Hobby exhibits.
STUDENT ART and PHOTOGRAPHY:
Let’s just get this one out of the way- here’s my son’s work on display- his art teacher is always really great at sending in the work of several students each year. She rocks!
Student art takes up most of the first floor of the West Grandstands building. If you get to the San Diego County Fair, do NOT miss this exhibition. The talent on display is nothing short of amazing. Let me share some of the more spectacular entries…
Their art truly was a highlight of the fair for me. These pieces need no explanation by me, they speak for themselves. I am impressed by what our county classes can do, and these teachers deserve awards, every one from every school.
PLEASE, Click on the photos to bring up larger views of these student exhibits- they deserve a closer look!
COLLECTIONS- Fascinating to the Fabulous:
Miniature photos on keychains, necklaces and other souvenirs dating from 1900 to 1980… totally cool. Another collection was similar, but all from world fairs and expositions… equally cool.
Click on all of these photos to bring up larger copies and then you can read the test which describes the collections and the motivation behind the displays.
Some of the more interesting collections on display included a father and daughter’s group of shark egg cases that they amassed to show disbelieving friends that they do, in fact, exist. Another case held… this is great… a collection of items found in books that have been returned to the library. I would bet that no one has ever thought to collect such a genre, ever before, in the history of lending libraries.
Collections and Craft Entries from the Clever to the Weird and the Wait… What???
This really is amazing on more than one level. The sheer fact that someone collects dryer lint and cat fur is surpassed by the oddity that they decided to display this collection. Publicly. At the county fair.
After the fur and lint display, we were losing it. Other oddities included this beautifully crafted fox… we couldn’t figure out why the beads? It made us want to demand that artists be allowed to include a note about the inspiration behind their pieces, just like the Collections are able to display. We loved the goofy shirt pillows, a great recycling idea.
We saw jewelry- something that I don’t have a lot of patience for, but my friend crafts gorgeous pieces herself… look at this great idea for what to do with all the pressed penny souvenirs that you may have collected in your travels!
I love pottery and had to include this piece. Look at the colors! Great job, artist!
Food Exhibits
The Food Exhibits were puzzling to me… I am dying to know how they are judged. Honestly, I’m such a snob about my own cookies, for example, that I looked at the winning chocolate chip cookies and thought “Humph! My cookies look better than these… I bet they taste better, too.” I ought to back up this proud attitude of mine and enter them next year… that ought to shut me up! I have to include these cookie sculptures simply because they are so well crafted.
Next year I will be back- not only for the Indian Fry Bread Tacos and Garlic Fries, but maybe even to throw my own chocolate chip cookies into the judging arena.
One of the family favorites here is bone-in pork chops. Nice, thick chops that always are too big to eat in one meal… The Girl and I have to save the leftovers for breakfast- forget your Wheaties, I tell you leftover grilled anything is truly the Breakfast of Champions! I had to learn how to grill lamb riblets from The Husband’s aunt, as my parents never served them. We will make them occasionally, these beautiful grilled lamb riblets, cut from a small, Frenched rack of lamb… yum!
But never have we grilled the diminutive lamb chops that we have seen in the butcher’s case. So, we made some tonight!
This was a very simple recipe we came up with after looking online for ideas-
Garlic, Rosemary and Balsamic Marinated Lamb Chops
about five servings, two small chops per person
In a zip-top bag or glass baking dish, place the lamb chops and remaining ingredients. Rub the oil, vinegar and seasonings into the chops by hand or by squishing the bag around until the chops are well covered.
Refrigerate the chops in the marinade for two to eight hours.
Grill over medium-high heat for three to four minutes per side, less for rare, more for medium doneness.
We served this with roasted cauliflower, spinach and caprese skewers.
Wow, these were delicious! What a nice change form the usual pork chops or sirloin. Lamb is an ever so slightly gamey, meaty alternative. The meat was so very tender and the bone helped to keep the little chops from drying out on the grill. Did I mention how tender these were?
We made it!
We came, we lingered, we laughed. Oh, how we laughed.
We delighted in the floral specimens, scarcely believing that roses could achieve that color or dahlias could be that perfect. We wanted to die for the level of fluffiness we witnessed in the bunnies on display. The student art floored us- what talent! The collections and cooking entries included everything from the amazing to the confusing. We left with enough examples of beauty and to fodder for laughter for ages to come.
THE FLOWERS
Roses have names, we know that. “Peace, Mr. Lincoln, Iceberg, and Julia Child” are all common varieties, but today at the fair we found many far from common- names like the enigmatic titles given to race horses or those found on the back of sailboats… a few could be romance novel titles, honestly.
A sampling: “Renegade, Black Magic, Playboy, The Fairy, Wise Portia, First Kiss, Super Hero, Betty Boop, Foolish Pleasures, Mother’s Love, Power Point, Nemesis, Seattle Destination, Bees Knees, Shameless, Lusciously Lucy, Monkey Business, Jump for Joy, Hot Cocoa, Gourmet Popcorn. ”
The dahlia displays were no less stunning- what amazing symmetry and size! Annika’s take-away after seeing the dahlias was how much these flowers seem to jump right out of a Dr. Seuss book. I left wishing I could come back with a golf club. “Fore!!” Just kidding… kind of.
THE CRITTERS
We were both sad to see that there were no fancy chickens in the livestock barns, but were completely delighted with the bunnies. Oh my GOSH, it was a fluffy overload. How can something be that impossibly fluffy? Here are a few of our favorites:
These are a few of the fluffiest, cutest, most adorable critters I have ever seen at a state fair.
There were as many people crowded around the bunnies as there were anywhere. Everyone wants to just marvel at their sweetness, and who can blame them?
We left the animals saying goodbye to the mama pig and her piglets, reminding Annika of how she prefers to eat marzipan pigs to the real ones. Mama Piggy gave me an entirely different idea: it was high time to visit the corndog stand.
Coming up in Part Two- Student Art and Photography, and the Home and Hobby collections, displays, crafts and foods.
branching out... on a limb 