when winning is wonderful

This weekend is the annual Franklin County Fair, a local tradition that's been going strong since 1843.  (HERE is a great article from 2013 about the fair.  Lots of photos.)

So off I went to the Fair, early this morning.
Easy to park.  Tons of kids with parents, and everyone looking really happy. 
I took photos:

PARIS QUILT AT THE FRANKLIN COUNTY FAIR--BY SHIRLEY THOMPSON.

THE TRULY WONDERFUL PRIMITIVE PAINTED WELCOME SIGN AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE FAIR'S ROUND HOUSE. (celebrating its 100th anniversary, which happened a few years back) I LOVE HOW HER PINK BOW LOOKS LIKE PIG EARS STICKING OUT FROM HER HEAD...

Some rather wonderful quilts:

And of course, since it's an agricultural fair, there were plenty of fruit and vegetable exhibits:

It was somewhat ironic to see all the amazing winning fruit and vegetable displays, and then to walk outside and look at the food vendors and realize every item of food being offered to fair-goers was a heart-attack-on-a-plate item like fried dough, french fries, caramel apples, cotton candy, etc.  But that too is traditional at county fairs.  I passed on the food!  I would have loved some of the apples from the photo above, but alas, it was a prize-winning display-only, and none were for sale.

I bought two lovely things:

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This stuff felt just luscious on my hands, and was faintly scented in the most subtle way.  I have a hunch I will want more, once the cold weather sets in.  And a little did a lot.

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I thought I would try this stuff for my poor sore damaged hand (from the broken wrist).  When I bought it I was thinking, "What a sucker I am.  Waste of good money.  This will never make a difference."  But ya know...I think it does.  I am kind of amazed.  Time will tell.  It's formulated for arthritis.   Note the name:  "Hot & Flexy."

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I was warned to be sure to wash my hands before touching my eyes after using it, because of the ingredients. 

Good idea.

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Next came ogling some of the many critters on display:  the cows, bunnies, goats, butterflies, sheep, turtles, fish, donkeys and a few of these guys:

S/he (?) had just woken up and gotten up off the floor from a comfy night's sleep, hence the wood shavings all over the torso. 

I could relate, given how disheveled I often look in the mornings.  Ok, maybe I don't wake up covered in wood shavings but you get the idea.

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I mentally congratulated all the winners and left, after first walking the midway with all its rides; that must be spectacular when it's lit up at night, and great fun.

Coming home, I made sure to finish doing my hand exercises.  Recovering from this injury has been a much bigger challenge than I thought.  But in the last 4 days I'm noticing some major improvements.

Two things that made me feel like a winner today:  1)  I unpacked three boxes, something I haven't been able to do since I broke my wrist in June.  I am beyond thrilled to see some of my favorite authors once more:  David Grayson, May Sarton, Henry Beston and an assortment of others.  Rumi and Kabir are at the far right.  I feel surrounded by friends again, when I look at this shelf in my living room.

And 2), the final major accomplishment:  three months after the wrist injury, I was able to hook my bra for the first time with both hands.  (I'm putting this at the very end because I figure no one will read this far)  For three months I've had to hook it using one hand only, placing it flat on the bed, and then wrestling it on over my head.  Awful!  A few days ago I tried putting it on normally--and couldn't.  I just didn't have the hand flexibility still.  I tried every day this week.  And then today--SUCCESS! 

And that's how I know that things really are improving.

Hallelujah.