Housekeeping and the MN State Fair (of Course)

I'm not the best housekeeper in the world, but I do like a clean house. Unfortunately, my crazy schedule usually doesn't allow for a deep clean. Until Sharon is due for her annual visit. Then I up the stakes and do a deep clean of the house - dusting, vacuuming, and polishing; putting things away and straightening, and of course doing the basics like making her bed and making sure her TV and DVD player are functioning properly. I give myself three days to accomplish this. Just cleaning my wall of dragons takes several hours. It's all worth it, though. I get a clean house, and my best friend of 25 years doesn't run screaming when she sees the mess - LOL. 

There are more than 80 new foods available at the MN State 
Fair this year. As I recall, there weren't very many that I was 
curious about, and there are probably none that will meet my 
dietary standards. I'm used to that. I don't stick to eating ALL 
the proper things, but I choose my foods carefully. 

I'm almost finished with this year's cleaning. I have a list on the refrigerator door reminding me to wash the kitchen floor and the two bathroom floors on Wednesday. That's the last of the cleanup. The house already looks MUCH better, I'm much happier (although I'm exhausted by the end of my cleaning days), and I'll be totally ready to hit the State Fair. 

Chickie was one of these people - people who were at the 
"Great Minnesota Get-Together" on opening day. She always 
takes that day as a vacation day and does the Fair solo. I 
totally understand. It's rather like Sharon and I having our 
solo day together - we see exactly what we want to see, 
and go exactly where we want to go. Things tend to be 
quite different when DH enters the mix. 

Speaking of which, I don't have Friday's attendance numbers yet, but opening day wasn't a record - we had a lot of people at the Fair (137,148 people to be exact), but it wasn't a record. Last year's opening day DID set a record of 138,875. We'll have to see how we do for other days. The total attendance record for the full twelve days is 2,126,551, set in 2019. I was there for that Fair, as was Sharon; and DH, and Chickie. We all love the Fair. 

These are our State Fair mascots - Fairborne and his uncle 
Fairchild (Fairborne is in blue, Fairchild is in green). 
They're gophers, of course. We live in the Gopher state, 
and the football team for the University of Minnesota are 
called the Gophers. It's Minnesota history - LOL - on foot. 

Chickie was one of the 137.148 people who were there on opening day. She ate this and that, wandered to and fro, and generally had a wonderful time. She sent lots of pictures and comments from her phone, and tried some different foods. Sharon and I will be wandering with her on Sunday, and maybe on Saturday night. We'll all meet up again at the Renaissance Festival for Labor Day Monday, and I'll drop Sharon back at the airport on Tuesday morning on my way to work. 

This photo was of the crowd assembled waiting for the 
East gate to open. This gate was the one I always used when I
lived across the street from the Fairgrounds). Some people 
stayed here 24 hours wanting to be through the gates as one 
of the first people into this year's State Fair. 

So, Sharon will arrive on Thursday. Her visit always marks the end of Summer and beginning of Autumn in my mind. It'll mark the end of the warm days and beginning of the cold ones. I'm SO not ready for winter! LOL 

Rather than deal with impossible parking in the area, we 
always take the free transportation busses from our area. It's 
so convenient, it's free, and it's only a mess (sometimes) when 
busses are delayed for the homeward journey. Still, it's well 
worth it. Once they instituted Park & Ride, a lot of traffic 
was eliminated. 

Anyway, I'm almost through my list of things to make sure are done before Sharon arrives, and I'm actually on track. Washing three floors will be a breeze. I hope all of you have a wonderful weekend. I'm already looking forward to my Sunday. I have a pork roast to cook - one of my favorite meals. DH is considering doing Ren Fest, and we could do it if we left immediately after the singing. I'm leaving the choice up to him. Have an excellent Saturday and I'll be back on Monday. Slava Ukraini.