so we went ot the animal fair......

the birds and bees were there......

yeah, i took some time off from my usual cleaning, laundry, vacuuming, dusting at home (ahem, cough, choke) and took the girls (rosie and ashley) to the san diego county fair. yes, there were animals there, as a matter of fact. we first watched piggy races. dang, they are cute. little potbellies. there was a swimming little piglet there too. i forget his name, something catchy...anyway, little piggy for one reason or another didn't feel like doing the swim stunt today. he had a number of warmups and drumrolls and the radio-voiced narrator build up with tension for at least 4 times in anticipation while the little porkchop bulked at the water's edge, shivering. this spectacle scathed my daughter's sensibilities. she felt it was inhumane to have a tiny piglet do swimming as a stunt when he just didn't want to, not even for the oreo cookie they used as bait at the far end of the trough.
hmmmmm, i'm thinking, hmmm, she's a competitive swimmer, and many times it must seem to her that it is for show, at least she has our attention when she races....i wonder if she feels that when she races and we leave an oreo cookie at the finish line, that it is sorta wrong, somehow.
hmmmm.

nah!
damn pig. he finally did this really great racing start and swam across the trough for his oreo. it was spectacular. i recommend you see it.

i think i might have to paint a swimming pig.


another lesson learned. ashley's mom gave her $20 to use for her entertainment. but i told her to keep her money and i bought food and $20 of tix for the rides and then left them for a time while i visited the art show. when i came back ashley had won a small stuffed penguin. so cute. but she looked unhappy.
"what's wrong? did you already use up the ride tix?"...yes.... "that's a cute stuff animal, ashley where did you get it?" then a sour story poured out of her about a shifty carnie encouraging her to gamble on her talent at ball tossing into a small hoop. he offered double or nothing when she was in it $10 deep. she tried a little more, then finally with the carnie's most outrageous offer of $5.00 more, all she had to do was get one ball in one hoop, not only would she get the biggest stuffed animal he had, but on top of that, her whole $20 back. she ended up broke and with the small penguin. and the long face.

later, as we were relaxing with a cold lemonade and a funnel cake each, i asked her if she learned a life lesson. she thought and then said "yeah, never let a carnie see your money." ok, i thought, good enough.

that was about it, except we each had our palms read by an authentic psychic gypsy. palm reading was $10 per hand. i couldn't see the point of having the other hand read, i felt just one each was enough.
MOMS get this:
she was good....she told the girls that their future was to please their mothers and do chores for good luck. to never lie to their parents and not to go near boys until they were through college.

that was the best $20 i have ever spent. as for what she told me.....ah, i will have to tell you another time, because for now i need my sleep. night. ...she did tell me to look after my spleen.


kidding.