Cookies, cookies and more cookies

Yup. It's Olmsted County Fair (no longer "Free" Fair) week. And as such, it was my day to bake cookies. Lots of 'em. It was humid, and I didn't have the air on, and I could tell they weren't turning out quite right. Added some extra flour to each of them. I hope the judges find them satisfactory. Or better yet, blue ribbon quality. I have my fingers crossed but I know the competition is stiff. Here are my entries:

Banana Bread

Chocolate Chip cookies ...

Chewy Chocolate Cookies (Chocolate Drop division) ... and

Snickerdoodles ("other" drop cookie), a Palmer family favorite. :-)

For the fair, you have to pick 3 cookies that are most uniform, best looking-etc, ...

and bring them on a 6" white paper plate in a plastic bag. Those are my entries, and the leftovers. These are the judging criteria:

Appearance..............25
Size, shape................5
Lightness..................5
Tenderness.............10
Color.........................5
Moisture Content...5
Texture...................10
Flavor and Odor.....25
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Total 100

One of my most coveted possessions is my dacor dual-fuel range (gas top, convection oven). Love it!

The "Y guys" (or anyone else who shows up at the Y at noon) gets to taste test the entries. We're running to the fair. They have an annual tradition of going to the fair one day and getting Tom Thumb mini donuts. I think I'll just run along ... maybe I'll nab just one from one of their bags ...

Join us!!

Did you know ... that there is always an even number of rows of kernels on an ear of sweet corn? Yup. It's true. More fun facts to know and tell ...

This morning at 5:30 AM, I arrived at the Soldier's Field outdoor pool ...

to swim with the Orcas masters' swim club, coached by John Sfire. It was fun to swim outside, and that long pool takes some getting used to! There are multiple people swimming in each lane. Lots of talented "older" swimmers in this town. John said that fundamentally my stroke is fine. But I lift my head a little when I breathe and that causes my hips to sink. So I need to keep my face facing down (and this will help pop my legs up, too). I also bring my arms around too fast (this was a surprise) and need to swivel from the hips. He gave me some drills to try ... oh my. They were a challenge ... like putting my arms tight against my sides and kicking down the length of the pool and turning over swiveling from the hips (not turning my head) then when on my back, swiveling over again. Try it sometime ... for me, oh my, I'm sure it would have been America's Funniest Videos material. But eventually, I did get the hang of it. Then I added arm strokes to that but I had to flip only when one arm was straight overhead and the other had finished the pull. It was hard "pulling" this all together, but I am grateful for the assistance!! I'm planning to return on Wednesday. Mike Schmitt decided to join in the fun as well!

Joe Ryan told me about a website called Beginner Triathlete There's a forum for each state, plus lots of other information. And it's not just for beginners, actually. There are forums, items for sale, race info, tons of stuff. You could spend a lot of time out there.

I thought I'd show a close-up of one of the 27 plates that Jeanne made for awards for the Women's Race on Saturday. She must have spent soooooo many hours on these. She's had so many nice awards through the (26) years that she's directed this race.

Matt and I went to the garden yesterday. So here's yesterday's picks ...

broccoli, sugar snap peas, green beans and a few hills of potatoes. Tomorrow, I intend to spend 1/2 an hour just sitting ... outside ... (barring the rain in the forecast). I need to take care of myself, enjoy a little quiet time, and "chill".

Good night. ;-)