But I did check out the rest –or most of–the Lorain County Wellington Fair. Did observe the big wheel but saw no hanky-panky (as reported last week) going on up there, so I got down to my prime reason for attending any of these festivities–eating! I always walk all, or almost all, of the midway to see if there are any new taste treats on offer; there are usually a few, but I’m pretty traditional in my fair food tastes. Two items that caught my eye were the “Dilly Dog” and the “Tornado Potato”. There were other interesting offerings, but not necessarily my type of viands. The “Tornado Potato” was fun. It’s a spiral-sliced potato (duh) with a wooden skewer through the middle, stretched out (That’s the tornado part, the shape around the skewer.) and deep-fried. Must be a real deep fryer. Anyway, this long, golden-fried shape comes out of the fryer and onto a space on the counter where it’s dusted with flavoring powder/mixture–mine was onion-bacon, but I saw parmesan and taco and a couple more available. The end that I held it by was kinda warm for a minute or two, but I got used to it and lit right into the spiral. Was sorta like eating a stack of totally fresh soft potato chips. Start at the top and work your way down.
Coulda maybe used some ketchup to go with, but I thought it was great. Be on the look-out for that one…maybe at the Great Geauga County Fair?
The “Dilly Dog” now, that was another story. It was a riff on your standard corn dog that was produced by taking a skewered weeny, sticking it into a dill pickle sliced lengthwise, dipping the whole thing into the cornbread batter, and into the fryer it goes. Watch out! The dill pickle gets pretty hot–juicy too. The squirts could be a hazard. Tasty though, with mustard or ketchup.
Dessert was served at the Wellington Dukes Band Doughnut Emporium. They’ve been doing this for years, have their own building and sell doughnuts of at least a half-dozen varieties-plain, powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar, maple, sprinkled, whatever. You can get a standard dozen assortment, already boxed, for $8; a choose-your-own-varieties dozen will set you back $9–labor costs, you know. I did manage to bring most of them home to distribute in the neighborhood, but I sat down at the farm to eat one at a real table before I drove home. Tasty. I figure that the band & Boosters probably make enough money at this little enterprise that their fund-raising during the school year can be minimal. Everybody pitches in–kids, parents boosters, the lot–and they don’t have to be selling things all the rest of the time…unless it’s a rainy, low-attendance Fair Week, of course.
So…back on Friday, means the first away game of the football season. Yay ! Wasn’t even raining. The team won. The band looked and sounded great. The trip there was uneventful. The only “fly in the ointment”, so-to-speak, was the finishing work on the school lots and drives that changed the standard pick-up and drop-off, loading and unloading patterns as well as where folks could park. If that’s the worst thing that we have to put up with this season, we’re all good. On Saturday evening, a whole different bunch of former denizens of the hallowed halls of JAG High School met for dinner and a stroll down Memory Lane. The Class of ‘72 was in fine fig and even–mostly–recognizable…to me, anyway. Funny. Some people have hardly changed a hair (Though some do not have as many of those as they used to and some have completely restyled and re-colored. More power to ‘em, I say.), so I knew who they were. Sounded the same too. Others, I had to cheat and look for their name tags–not many, though. The memories are always a hoot. It seems that my bullwhip made quite an impression. Wouldn’t it though? I shudder to think what would be thought of such a “teaching aid” now-a-days. It was fun just to walk into class with it, I will say that. Wish that I still had one; might scare off the raccoon that appears on the front porch for breakfast.
Speaking of which : I think that the pack of raccoons living in the soffit under the roof/gutters, which I have been hearing and wondering about–whether it was some sort of critters making noises or the house is haunted outside as well as electronically. Anyway, It turned out to be three little raccoons which had to be encouraged to get-the-heck out of there. Likely Mamma had the litter up in there and they were all just hidin’ out until she told them to take off. They’re off now.
Not so, my semi-annual visit from the bat (Not necessarily “the” bat, but “a” bat), which took place on Thursday evening, just as I was getting ready to sack out, having spent the day at the fair. Jammies are on, cat boxes have been attended to, lights are being turned off…a dark shadow comes swooping through the kitchen and into the living room. I, sticking close to the floor, go to open the front door (This way to EXIT) but the little guy took a rest stop in the curtains. With my trusty fishnet, I scooped him up and out, safely, for both of us. Never a dull moment.
