It's Not Easy

A Day at the Fair (with moooving pictures)

But first, another outdoor concert in Redmond!  Judy and I this time, and it was another beautiful evening with good food, good wine and good friends.

More people in my neighborhood

Including this tiny genius - GO VIKES!

And these two sitting next to us in the shade

Again, the band stunk but I'm taking a lesson from the locals - enjoy the beautiful weather and company.  It's nice just to be outside on an August night without melting in 117 degree heat.

The next day Ted and I were off to the Deschutes County Fair!  We had a great time!

Part of the fairgrounds as viewed from the Ferris Wheel

And another part

Ted as viewed from the Ferris Wheel - what a good sport!

You get the idea - I dig the Ferris Wheel.

Thence off to the livestock competitions.  I never thought I'd have so much fun looking at 4H and FFA exhibits, but it's a blast.  Bunnies,

This is a bunny being blow-dried.  Lordy.

and chickens,

goats,

and my personal favorite, this guy from the Jersey Shore.

We even saw baby longhorn cattle,

and the place where the insurance defense lawyers were meeting.

One of the highlights was watching a dog water leap practice (if there's an actual name for this, I do not know it).  The dog you are about to see first ran to the end of the ramp (without his owner), dropped the retrieving dummy in HIMSELF, then jumped in after it.  Ted and I predicted a quick elimination for that pup, but once his owner got up there, he was poetry in motion. 

Well, darn.  I can't load an avi file.  That's a shame because he was AWESOME!

All in all, it was a wonderful day, one I wish we could have shared with our loved ones.  Maybe next year!

New Eggs

Hooray for Druscilla - the first pullet in my new flock to lay an egg!  Here's the pretty little green egg:

Nestled picturesquely amongst black grapes

and here's Druscilla:

She even laid it in a nest box.  Good girl!  Not two days later, I found a little brown egg under Fiona, who was also in a nest box.  How do they know??

Fiona is the white Delaware

I must admit to being puzzed as to why Lucy, the sex-link, hasn't kicked it into gear.  She was supposed to start about two weeks before the other breeds.  Hmm.

As for music and events, Ted, Judy and I saw a great jazz trio at a local restaurant the other night, the Pamela McGuire Trio.  They had only been together a few weeks, but sounded fantastic.  Pamela was flat-out amazing, and I look forward to seeing them again soon.

Not so amazing was the swing band Judy, Lillian and I went to see at a local park.  Now, it was wonderful being outside with friends,

I always like seeing the people in my neighborhood, like the Sesame Street song,

and it cracks me up when people put "service dog" vests on their pets to get them into a place where they may otherwise be forbidden,

A service Yorkie?  Really?

but the band wasn't that hot, so no picture for them.  Thanks to both my buddies for letting me eat their food and drink their wine as I didn't think to bring any - next time, I promise!

Finally, Ted loved the trout I made last night so much he said TWICE I should include it in my blog, so here it is:  Carmelize a pile of onions.  Dredge your cleaned trout in  egg whites (you may skin them first but that's a pain when they're raw).  Stuff them with seasoned panko crumbs and cleaned morel mushrooms, and fry/poach them in a frying pan in a little bit of olive oil and beef stock, adding more stock as it evaporates.  I also dumped more seasoned panko on top as they cooked, which in retrospect was kind of dumb since I skinned them before serving.

Bone and skin the trout and serve on a bed of the carmelized onions.  Delish!  Thanks to Ken and his guests for bringing me their fresh trout - love my neighbors!





Small Town Fourth of July, and Other Catch-Up

Our first year here, I wasn't inspired to go to our little town's Fourth of July parade, but this year I was going, dammit (despite the fact that Ted, Mark and Virginia took a pass).

Here's the very first thing to go by:

I mean, really, what the hell?

There's a miniature donkey farm across the street from the place we board the dogs, and next to that is a large field with these beautiful black clydesdales.  I had never managed to snap a pic of them before, but there they were in the parade:

It seems anyone could march in the parade - I mean, the local cell companies were marching with a banner, and our vet clinic made a nice appearance:

I thought at first this was Herself, but it was not.

 There were painted ponies,

 politicians,

 and a bunch of old cars.

It was a real blast, and when I got tired of standing up after two hours, it was still going!  I think next year, Andi, Stevie and I should make a banner and march.  How many chances does one get to be in a parade, especially if one is not in a marching band??

The next day, as I was taking Nigel to the vet, this lady was just off the front lawn.  Another slice of life in Oregon.

In a few weeks we have been to the Hullaballoo Festival in Bend,

Our neighbor Kathy bellydancing

Marc Cohn ♥

and a Bite of Bend, with still more good eats.

Ted's classical guitar teacher is on the right.

We camped and fished at Diamond Lake,

also known as Mosquito Lake.

Mt. Thielsen

Our toothless guide with the fish Gene and I caught

And to bring us up to date, here's what I saw across the street from the imaging center, where I had just endured that always painful examination to detect breast cancer.

Canada goose with adolescent goslings

It kind of cheered me up, you know?