Up at 7 a.m., and did a treadmill session and weights exercises after breakfast. Hubbie helped Mother come over, and she insisted on sitting at a table in the kitchen and dicing potatoes and onions for a slow cooker chicken lunch. Hubbie peeled the potatoes, and washed and trimmed the fat from the chicken breasts.
Once I was ready for the day, I put the chicken and veggies (the potatoes and onions, plus carrots and bell pepper) in the slow cooker with chicken broth. I seasoned the meat and veggies with no salt seasoning, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, and Parmesan cheese.
We were hoping the meal would be ready by noon, but it wasn't, so we let it continue to cook, while Hubbie and I went to the fairgrounds to pick up our exhibit entries. It was a little chaotic, but at last we had gathered everything, including our premium checks, and were ready to head home just before 2 p.m.
Unfortunately, one of our screen door Christmas cards was somehow lost (or pilfered), one hanging plant was overlooked in the judging, and one plant that was judged didn't have the premium slip removed, so we didn't get paid for it.
Still, I came up with 33 blue ribbons (first place), and six red ribbons (second place), and Hubbie garnered 11 blue ribbons and 5 red ribbons. Mother took hers home before I could get a count, but she got more than we did, because her premium check was higher. Of course, she gets all the cash, anyway...that's our agreement, because we want her to have spending money when we go on trips.
I was a little hungry when we left for the fairgrounds around 12:30 p.m., but by the time we got home, my stomach thought my throat had been cut. I was plenty ready for lunch, and it was very good.
After lunch, we enjoyed checking out the comments of the fair judges. My coffee cake was considered for Best of Show, and the judge said, "Tastes like more. And more." However, my bran muffins, which I've entered every year for about 15 years, and which have gotten blue ribbons every year, only got a red ribbon this year. Judge comment was that they were too dry. Oh well. But the judge loved the sugar cookies, as well as the friendship cake.
Mother got nice comments on her baked goods, too, though they didn't like the chocolate drop cookies (which are a favorite of mine...and Sis loves them, too). They said they were too dry. We disagree. They also said her banana bread was too moist. From year to year, she has entered either a loaf of regular banana bread, or banana bread with pineapple (my favorite). The judges have variously commented on how tasty it is, or how dry is, or that it is too moist. One year, she got a Best of Show award for it. This year, though, the comment was that it wasn't baked long enough. Puzzling. However, they commented on how tasty her corn muffins were, and her oatmeal cookies were considered for Best of Show.
All of our greeting cards and crafts got blue ribbons. I was pleased to see that the pair of drop earrings I struggled to make even got a blue ribbon. We'll donate most of the greeting cards to Caring Hands Hospice.
Mother and I both got positive comments on our place settings. The judge said Mother's oriental setting was elegant, and that mine, a set of mixed, but complimentary blue floral patterned China and unmatched glassware, collected at various yard sales and flea markets, was "a nice mixture."
Unfortunately, a lady who was picking up her place setting at the same time as I was knocked one of her glasses to the concrete floor, where it shattered. I asked if the glass was precious to her, and she said no. Glad she didn't knock someone else's glassware off the table, like one of the gold rimmed crystal stemware pieces of the lady who won Best of Show.
Around 4 p.m., I accompanied Mother to her house. She was pretty tired and ready for a nap. Then Hubbie and I watched TV, and continued doing laundry that we'd begun this morning.
We watched the"The Jenson Project," an NBC made-for-TV family movie. It's about a family who are involved with secret underground geniuses looking for ways to solve the world's problems. Naturally, amazing technology is in danger of falling into the wrong hands.
The second feature we watched was, "Shortcut to Happiness," a 2007 movie, rated PG-13. It stars Alec Baldwin, Anthony Hopkins, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Kim Cattrall, and Dan Ackroyd. The story is a re-do of "The Devil and Daniel Webster," where a writer exchanges his soul for a successful career, then must enlist the help of Daniel Webster to get it back.
The last movie of the night was called, "Lake City," a 2008, R-rated film, starring Sissy Spacek and Troy Garity. A young man gets in trouble with a drug dealer and heads home, where he has to deal with a past tragedy and his relationship with his mother.
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