County Fair 2011

July 13, 2011

It’s that time of year again.

The time of year when my kitchen looks like a war zone but smells heavenly.
Rolls

When oven space is a hot commodity and that recipe that we’ve made a million times together without failing – fails.

Cookies

When my table is covered with entry tags and project write ups and we’re scrambling to find the 4H t-shirts.
PhotosWhen a year’s worth of work is condensed into a few paragraphs and pictures.

When this mama is weary – but proud.

It’s time for the county fair and today is 4H judging.

Fasten your seat belts – here we go!

By Country Gal | Posted in 4H, Children | Tagged , , | Comments (5)

4H Judging at the County Fair

July 9, 2010

The County Fair.

The very words put fear and trembling into the hearts of 4H moms.

It’s marked in red on my calendar.

D -Day.

This year we have all five children in 4H. That means a grand total of 19 projects and all of those projects are due at the same time on the same day.

In a perfect world my diligent children would have been working on projects all year – on their own – with little assistance.

My world isn’t perfect.

We worked on projects the week before the fair like our lives depended on it.  (For some of my children – it did!)

Despite the stress and the rush, each child was completed on time even if we did had to use duct tape. :)

Judging went very well. Very, very well.

Six projects were chosen for the State Fair.

One was an Outstanding Junior exhibit.

And all the rest were blue ribbons – except Buddy’s – he still a Clover Kid and only gets a rainbow participation ribbon.

And now it’s over for another year.

We’ll take a couple of days to rest up and savor the moment.

Maybe by then I will have all my brain cells back…

By Country Gal | Posted in 4H, Children, Community | Tagged , , | Comments (2)

Pinwheel Chocolate Sugar Cookies

July 13, 2009

Pinwheel CookiesOnce again it’s time for the County Fair – and that means 4H projects.

Angel Girl has been perfected these pinwheel cookies as one of her projects.

She’s made a double batch of these little gems every week for the last few weeks.

These are a really fancy cookie to make and are sure to impress your friends and family – just like they impressed the judges!

Chocolate Swirl Cookies

1/2 cup shortening or margarine
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon almond flavoring
1 1/2 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons cocoa

Cream together the shortening and sugar. Add the egg yolk and vanilla, mixing well.

In separate bowl mix together the flour, salt and baking powder. Add to the creamed mixture with the milk.

Divide the dough in half. Set one half aside and add the cocoa to the other half.

Roll each half on between sheets of waxed paper to about 1/8 inch thick. Take the top piece of waxed paper off of both layers. Place the white layer upside down on top of chocolate layer and peel back the waxed paper.

Roll up the long side of the dough and refrigerate.

Using a serrated knife, slice into long roll of dough into slices and place on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or until firm.

Enjoy!

By Country Gal | Posted in Chocolate, Cookies and Bars, Cooking and Food | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

And Then It’s Over for Another Year…

July 9, 2009

It’s all over.

It was a l-o-n-g day of 4H judging at the County Fair, but it’s all over now.

And I’m a proud momma.

The kids did well.

4 projects are going to the State Fair.

2 projects are Outstanding Junior exhibits.

7 projects got a blue ribbon and one project got a red ribbon.

But most importantly, the kids did a great job exhibiting, had good attitudes and showed maturity (at least for one afternoon!)

I am beyond tired.

My brain feels numb.

But it’s all over for another year.

(She sighs a happy sigh)

By Country Gal | Posted in 4H | Tagged , , | Comment (1)

Twas the Night Before the County Fair

July 8, 2009

4H County Fair

I am a 4H mom and the county fair is tomorrow.

Some of you can appreciate the stress that is implied in that sentence.

I have spent the last 14 hours of my life answering questions, finding lost pieces to projects, giving advise, tasting cookie dough, reading project reports, finding lost recipes, printing project reports, filling out exhibit tags, reminding, encouraging, prodding, and multi- tasking.

Notice I didn’t say yelling. Or crying.

Not yet anyway.

Things have gone amazingly smooth this year and most of the projects are done. We have a few little details to finish up in the morning and 4 children have baked goods to make so they are fresh for the judging tomorrow afternoon.

It’s a big day.

We have five kids with 14 4H projects and 11 open class exhibits.

I still have my sanity – for now.

Stay tuned…

By Country Gal | Posted in 4H | Tagged , , | Comments (0)