Expounding

Well, I am home doin' the Day Off Dance (tm). Last week, I had several days off from work, but I spent most of my time working on stuff for church. The company was good, got lots of "feel good" stuff done, but not much around the house. I am off both jobs today (and on both tomorrow and Sat.) and rehearsal has been cancelled, so I am busy doing little jobbies around the house, grocery shopping, and takin' a few minutes to spend some time with you, my close personal friends on the internet.
Some comments and common themes on other blogs have led me to think of some further discussion on earlier posts...
Yes, the bus comes at 6:55 (officially-sometimes he's even earlier...). Our little town comes close to the beginning of our bus route. There are some busses that start picking up at 6:45. Schools start at 8:15 or 8:20 depending on the building. Love those rural routes. Not. I usually have to be at work by 7:00, so I just start rousting the kids after I have gotten myself upright and (relatively) sane. They hate it, but realize it needs to be done. They have friends on the bus, or books, so all is well.
I am guilty of doing some county fair jumping this year for talent show purposes. Part of it is sheer vindictiveness from placing behind entrants from Buffalo Lake or South Dakota in my own county. However, I have tried to stick to counties where grandmas live or the very next one to the north. It has allowed me to hone up my comparative county fair theology. My hometown fair was painfully small. They seemed to have a good slate of entertainment and activities, but I had that twinge of nostalgia, looking at the event and the place from grownup eyes. We ran wild at the fair in those junior-senior high years. New friendships formed with people you never spoke to at school, romances blossomed, glamorous hair bands swept away the hearts of adolescent girls on their whirlwind tri-state tours. The memories won't fit properly in that very small fairground.
I have no real personal ties to the Lyon County fair, except for friends and family that reside there. It seems to be a pretty good fair, though, hosting a variety of events, a well-stuffed 4-H exhibit hall, and full commercial buildings. The local fair, however, is struggling. The fair board has been trying some new things with varying success, but I feel they have been hamstrung by locking in to a M-W schedule every year. The commercial buildings are uncomfortably vacant. The next county to the north has similar population and size, but just seems to be more vibrant. I couldn't say if it's better placement, presentation, or what, but it just seems more lively. So there's more than you wanted to know about county fairs. Now on to state... Thing 3's win at the county level has moved her on to a performance slot at The Great Minnesota Get Together on opening day (mom's favorite!). The rest of us losers will try again Sunday at Swift County. The kids get a bang out of it, and frequently earn a little spending $, even if they don't win. Thing 1 has been reading original poetry with some success. She has great stage presence, which has been the aspect that puts her in the winner's circle, I think. The rest of us keep on singin'. I'll try to take some pictures, If I can get the Mac to recognize my camera. Might finally be time for a new one. Seems to work fine if I use the memory card, so I guess I'll just have to stick to that.
Y'all have a great day.