Wednesday, August 31, 2022

Fair Giveaway Time

 Just a few days left-if you haven't entered, please do! I love giving stuff away.

All this can be yours! Leave a comment by 15 September 2022 at Midnight CST (US). Contest is open to everyone around the world, but I can't guarantee how long it will take to get there. If you've won before, let someone else have a chance at the contest. One entry per person, please.

I was hoping for a ribbon-any ribbon really. I never expected a Best of Division rosette for my Limpa bread. All told I had four blue ribbons, five red (2nd place) and one bread that didn't place (hey, no one's perfect). I won't know if I won the sweepstakes prize for the most winning entries until after the fair as there are still live on stage events to be judges. These carry some real prize money, so I'm happy I will be able to recoup some of the cost of ingredients. Would I do it again? Nope. But I'm glad I participated this once. Dan was so excited for me-a complete role reversal of when I would support his State Fair efforts. He was able to spend some time visiting with people he knew at the fair (he's grown a bit since he was 10) and had to quickly lift his mask so the volunteers could admire his beard. It was a very nice way to spend a day, even if it rained like mad.

Pointing to one of my winning entries.

I wore my shirt from Shifty Thrifting hoping for a photo with a head or two of cattle, but the rain was so intense I didn't want to go to the other side of the fairgrounds just for a photo op. 

I was glad to have a plastic rain bonnet in my handbag as the rain would have destroyed my vintage hat. Dan is holding the leftovers from his lunch-a giant, barbecued turkey leg. You don't go to the fair to eat things you can have at home. I had planned to get ice cream but it was so cold and wet I opted for a hot cup of coffee in town later. Even with the rain, we're still very much in a drought. Today the temperatures were back up in the 90s. 

What's a fair without exhibits? Here's some winners from the Open Class entries

Prize winning pumpkins...

Is it still a cornucopia in a basket? I say it is.
Cucurbits...
Hmmm. Moving along...
Prize winning sorghum...
art...
Primary school educational displays...
Art from recycled materials...
Student poetry. Spelling is hard kid, you have my compassion.
Leggo displays (a Runza is cabbage and ground beef encased in white bread. Sort of like a Czech calzone).
And of course the Kool Aid man. Hastings, Nebraska is the birthplace of Kool Aid and locals will be quick to let you know it wasn't Kool Aid used in the Jonestown massacre, but Flavor-aid. I mean, I feel for them. but after 40 some odd years, good luck re-branding Kool Aid.
Penmanship contest for school children.
Paper cutting...
Figures from history...
Science Fair...
Knit baby blanket with built-in horse plush. How adorable is that?!
Quilting...
Felting...
A knitted Nativity
Tatted earrings
Dorothy Lynch salad dressing is another local product. The Fair's theme this year was, "Nothing More Nebraskan" which explains all the Runzas, etc.

What's more Nebraskan than a covered wagon? Maybe hunting. Here's Dan trying his hand at the shooting gallery. He managed to hit one target. It was just as dismal at the archery display. That's OK, he's not really interested in hunting. It all works out though because most hunters don't like to cook, so we end up getting the freezer stocked with venison during the season by friends looking to offload deer. Dan needs to make friends with some duck hunters.

Most years I give away a recipe book from the previous year from the open class winners, but last year was sort of a bust because of the pandemic. Instead, I will be giving away a Nebraska State Fair tea towel and oven mitt. Because I'm inviting people from Tumblr to come here and enter I will pick two winners this year. I'll probably find some other stuff to include as well. So good luck.

 
 






Thursday, August 25, 2022

Lincoln, Lincoln, I've Been Thinkin'

I don't get to Lincoln, Nebraska too often, but when time permits a visit to  our capitol building is always a nice stop. So it was we found ourselves at the Art Deco treasure on the prairie for an hour a few weeks ago.

Built between 1922-1932 the building is different from other US state capitols as it is built as an office tower designed by architect Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue. 

From the state website:

Clad with Indiana limestone, the Capitol has a low, wide base in the plan of a “cross within a square”, creating four interior courtyards. The square base is 437 feet on a side and three levels in height. From the center of this base rises a 400 foot domed tower, crowned with the 19 foot tall bronze figure of “The Sower”. A thematic progression of ornamentation extends from the principal entrance on the north, westward around the exterior of the building and through the building’s interior. The building’s exterior stone carvings represent historic events in the 3000 year evolution of democracy as a form of government. The ornamental interior features numerous marble-columned chambers with vaulted polychrome tile ceilings, marble mosaic floors and murals depicting the natural and social history of Nebraska’s Native American and Pioneer cultures.

 

If you are interested in a more in-depth story of our beautiful capitol building, the state website has much more information (and excellent photos). It may be found HERE.

Nope. Not getting me in that lift. I'll take the stairs, thanks.
The second floor mosaics...
Original light fixtures...

The legislative chamber. Nebraska has a unicameral system where party affiliations are,( in theory anyway) irrelevant. In the past this has afforded opportunities for people from different political parties to work together. These days? Sigh.
The capitol hallways are fascinating, though it is easy to get lost if you don't know where you're headed. Mr. ETB worked there twenty years ago, and to his surprise ran into someone he knew! It was nice for him to have a catch up.
Sometimes the best parts of a building are only viewed by looking up.

The hall with busts of "Famous Nebraskans".
A nice view of the courtyard from the 2nd floor.



Made the kid pose for a photo with William Jennings Bryan, as you do. Bryan got a bad rap for being on the wrong side of the Scopes Trial, but was otherwise politically progressive. He ran for president several times, never winning. 

Couldn't resist a selfie in the restroom mirror. The stalls are marble with heavy, wooden, antique doors that I'm pretty sure are still boasting the original 1930s hardware. 



I wonder if these public payphones ever get used? 

More mosaics...
Would you look at who just crawled out of the primordial ooze (no, not the Governor but good guess)...
Even the heating grates are ornate. The capitol didn't really have proper HVAC stuff until they started working on it in the early 2000s. The windows do open, and the design of the building keeps it generally cool, though not enough for the weather we get now. So the updating of the system continues.
Most of the heat goes up there, where it doesn't matter.
Here's the opposite side of the room.

The balcony rail is carved from some sort of marble (not much info online, unfortunately) that looks like alabaster (I'm pretty sure it isn't). 

My phone isn't up to the task of photographing the light fixtures, but I tried!



That concludes our visit to the Nebraska State Capitol.


Before we leave, here's a view of a building across the street from the same time period. I believe it was originally an insurance company, though it is unclear what is in there today. The absence of signs makes me think it is government offices, but I don't really know. Not that it matters.

Close-up view...

And that concludes our (too) short visit to the Nebraska State Capitol.