Virginia State Fair

 Our fair has been in the north of Richmond for as long as I can remember.  This year it was held north of Richmond in Caroline County.  Dave and I wanted to check it out.  The fair was just east of King's Dominion on the grounds where the Meadow Farm was previously. This horse farm was the home of Secretariat, winner of the Kentucky Derby about 30 years ago.  We lived in Caroline County very close to the Meadow Farm - it was beautiful with fields of green and white pickett fencing.  And it is a beautiful site for the fair.  Parking was on the opposite side of the road and these tunnels were the pathway to the entrance of the fair.This was the home of the owners of the farm, now the state fair headquarters. 

My favorite part of the fair -- eating!..I wanted to try everything, but after you have a few goodies you just don't want anymore!  One of my favorites is candy apples, there were so may varieties but I went with the old standard - it was yummy.Dave went for the cinnamon elephant ear - also very good.Dave loves these slushy drinks.There was fried everything - I stayed away from these although I wanted to taste everything.Then we had lunch - Dave's favorite is the sausage sandwiches; I had barbecued beef tips.We passed on all the rides.Lady Luck!Wow! Huge pumpkins.We loved the animals.We wanted to take this little guy home.Sheep sheering.A lot of Sheep.This Mama pig had 8 babies.This horse was big and beautiful.Baby chicks.My very favorite part of the fair.  This lady was spinning on a walking wheel - very similar to the one I have. She explained the whole process.  She is from Suffolk and offers classes.This is the part of wheel that I don't have - the working mechanism.  She told me to take a picture of mine and send it to her and she could probably find one that would fit so I could use it.It was fascinating to watch her.  She was the spinner for years at one of the plantations in the area.  She was lovely and I plan on giving her a call.  This cute little lady was working on that big contraption behind her, not sure what it was and I had to leave to go find my hubby - I had already been in this area a long time.

We enjoyed visiting the fair.  It was very clean and layed out very well.  I can't wait to go next year.

Knitting and Sewing

 Meighan wants to be "Little Red Riding Hood" for Halloween.  I saw this pattern at Joanne's and thought I would give it a try.

All the patterns in this packet are so cute.

  I have not sewn a pattern like this in a long time - wish me luck!

A lot of pattern pieces.  I can't remember that there were so many different style patterns in one envelope.

Cutting the pieces is a real chore for me -- I just want to get to sewing!

These were so fun to make - fingerless gloves for Amy.  I plan on making more for gifts.  I really want a pair - maybe in pink for lime green

Aren't the cables cute?  Very fun and not that hard - just looks that way.Hats to keep my two sweeties warm this winter.

I started this shawl - a gift; very easy to work on in the car during our fall travels.

Started this cute poncho too - love the color!

Third Va Tech Home Game

The weather for this game was not very good.  It was raining and miserable.  I refuse to sit in the rain, but this is the first time Dave agreed with me.  We spent the afternoon at a "Buffalo Wild Wings" - we had a lot of fun and met some very nice local people.  Dave was really worried about this game - Miami had been doing very well - but the Hokies came through and won - a very exciting game.We went by one of my favorite craft malls in Roanoke - we saw a lot of neat things and got some ideas.I love signs!   Of course we love bird houses/feeders/baths!Not a very good picture, buth the lights are in the bottom of a room heater - so cute and by chance I have one of these and now I know what to do with it.  A lot of very interesting things.I loved these hair bows.  I bought some to give to a nurse coworker who's daughter has her first birthday next week.. I really want to make some of these.

We bought this hanging bird bath - I think it will be great to hang by our pool and watch the birds bathing while relaxing in our pool.

Dave bought me something really cool - I will share soon.

Second Home Game

We took our sweet Bandit to the next home game = our hotel doesn't usually allow pets, but they made an exception for us; luckily he was a good doggie.There were a lot of Nebraska fans.It is always amazing when they have these fly overs that Awesome!Another exciting game - the Hokies won - a great win over Nebraska.

College Football Season

The first game of the season was in Atlanta and Tech lost to Alabama.  The next 3 games were at home, so we traveled to Roanoke and stayed at the same hotel we have stayed at for years.

The first home game was with Marshall.  The Hokies won!  

We had lunch at my favorite restaurant in Blacksburg - the weather was great - perfect - not too hot, no rain!

The chips and corn salsa is so good.Black bean soup and shrimp cocktail for Dave. Soft shell crab taco's for me - so yummy!!!

The Pool is Closed

Dave did a great job on the deck around our pool.  He has added lattice and will put in some plants soon.Covering up the pool - not a easy process.  I miss the pool so much - look forward to enjoying it next summer.  One of the best additions to our yard yet!!