Cuteness, Cars, Crafts, Veterans Ceremony, Tomato Saltine Salad Recipe, & Fair Week Re-Cap!

I thought I would start this post off with a little CUTENESS!  This photo was taken in Erie near the Bayfront.  These little youth ducklings were all snuggled up and ready for a nap.

It seems I have been spending more time in Erie for several reasons but a few of them have been work related.  As for this 2nd photo - this was taken at our local Courthouse over the summer.  The person on the right in mid-salute is my father.  He was one of over 300 veterans in our county that was recognized for serving during Vietnam.  Our area has more veterans per capita than any other county in Pennsylvania.

In late June - we once again helped with the car and craft show at the fairgrounds.  It was the first time in 7 years of holding the event that we had PERFECT weather!

One of the camping foods I made this past summer that I certainly want to try again is this Tomato Saltine Salad.  For the vegan version I used the following:

2 packages of saltines
1 large tomato, diced

Vegan Mayo to taste/consistency

Garlic, fresh or dried, to taste

Sea Salt and Pepper, to taste

Super easy!  I know it might sound weird but I think it might just qualify as a comfort food!

Finally, I am getting to re-cap Fair Week.  It was the first full week in August and I'm just getting to it now!  YIKES!  In this photo, you will see me, Riley Green, my mom and my dad.  YES...Riley Green is TALL...but...my whole family is also SHORT so that is why he looks like a giant.  BUT...if you look at the next photo...

You will see all of the guys from Home Free are also tall.  Here is a pic of the guys with me, my sister, my dad (squatting and holding my niece), Trinity, and my mom in the back, too!  This was the 2nd time we had Home Free at our Fairgrounds and they are AWESOME!  My niece was dancing the entire time.  Now when she sees the five guys in a photo...she points to each one of them and says..."hot...hot...hot...hot...hot.."  I have to say...she's NOT wrong...they are some good looking guys!

Something I did for the very first time at fair this year was enter a few categories in the domestic buildings.  My original plan was to enter several photographs but when I went to do the prints they were to grainy and I decided not to do it but didn't want to FAIL at a goal so I entered other categories instead.  This first photo didn't place at all.  I decided to enter it into the Mixed Media but there were so many other entries that were much more involved than mine so it's all good!

This one placed 4th!  I entered it for Collage!  It was a project I did several years ago and was thrilled it placed!

This one I entered into the Scrapbooking Page category.  I placed 3rd!  I was pretty shocked!

And check this out!  I got a 1st place!!!!!!  I was completely surprised and didn't believe it at first.  I entered this Veggie Recipe Book in the Rubber Stamp Project category!

Here's another look at it next to the actual ribbon.  I had more photos of the inside on my IG, too!

And here is my FIRST PLACE Project with all 3 Ribbons!  I was so thrilled yet surprised that I placed at all let alone with 3 projects in my first year of trying!

Quick Fair Re-Cap

I know it's been a while.  A lot has been going on.  And I mean A LOT.  Pretty much every part of our lives have been going thru changes the last several months.  Personal, Family, Work, Volunteer, Community, Health, Relationships, etc.  Instead on rambling on and on about it I figured it was best just to jump in on current event rather to rehash things from the last weeks and months.

What I will re-cap QUICKLY for you in that we are past fair week...which ended up being more like fair month OR fair summer.  There was a LOT of preparation in this years county fair.  There ALWAYS is but this year seemed to be even more so.





Here are photos of 2 of the concerts from this years fair.  This first photo is from last year but this year it was more of the same from the Morning Show!

Tuesday Night - Neal McCoy was LIVE in concert at the Warren County Fair in Pittsfield, PA.  It's was a HECK of a show!  I've said it before and I'm sure I will say it again...I'm not the biggest country music fan...but I do know what I like and I've always liked Neal McCoy.  He was actually the first performer I saw LIVE when I was in High School...and here he is 22 or so years later back at our fairgrounds!  He's a wonderful individual and a HELL of a performer!

He performed to a jam-packed 'house' (building).  He spent most of the show IN the crowd!  I think it's fair to say that Warren County will ALWAYS love Neal McCoy!

Wednesday Night - The Pam Tillis Trio performed to another FULL HOUSE!  It was Pam Tillis with 2 other females on stage with their acoustic instruments and vocals.  This show was unique and more intimate than her full band.

I originally was going to do a longer post but we are under severe weather warning at the moment so I might do another post later today or tomorrow.

I have a lot to share but haven't had a lot of time to actually POST and for that I am truly sorry!  Don't give up on me!  I'm back but I'm still trying to get fully back in the saddle so to speak!

What have you been up to!?

Little Texas During Fair Week & A Ramble About Humidity!

Thursday of Fair Week we had the band LITTLE TEXAS on the stage performing!  They were a cool group of guys, too!  Music-wise they were the loudest of the 3 groups we had there that week.

The week of fair was a good one eventho it was OVERLY humid and was pouring for the 2nd half of the week which made for a muddy mess by Saturday Night.

It was FUNNY because Tim Foust from Home Free said that he was from the HUMID SOUTH where it was 90 percent humidity and he wasn't sure WHAT or HOW the humidity in our area was doing what it was doing the night he was performing.  We reached over 110% humidity somehow! LOL

When I visit the southern states and it's in the 90s I LOVE it because it's what I consider to be a DRY HEAT and people just don't understand OUR humidity until they experience it.  I ADORE hot weather - I'm just not a fan of pairing it with our heavy humidity!  I remember going to Utah when I was in college and it being 117 degrees at 8pm.  I LOVED it!  Why!?  No humidity.  It felt like it was 80 degrees to me.  That's probably another reason I LOVE Las Vegas!  It can be 120 degrees and DRY and I enjoy it!

There were times this summer - here - where it was 74 degrees with 98% humidity and it felt like it was 100 and you couldn't breathe.  SO STRANGE the weather we've been seeing the last several years.  But that's another conversation.

Today - I will leave you with a LITTLE TEXAS Video...have a great weekend!

Home Free (Vocal Band) Concert Last Month!

On Wednesday, August 10th I experienced one of the BEST concerts I have ever been to in my life!  Home Free - a vocal band - was at our Warren County Fair and if you aren't familiar with them - take 5 minutes or 5 hours and YouTube them!!!!!  You will THANK ME.  Here is a photo of myself with the guys!  They were AWESOME!  Everything they do is with their voices!  They are an a cappella group featuring a beat boxer!

They were a FUN group of guys and FUNNY!  Tim Foust has one of the LOWEST voices I have ever heard in my life!

I swiped this from the Home Free InstaGram.  They posted it the morning after their contest on our fair grounds!  What I thought was VERY FUNNY was that I WROTE "Butts" on this pal!  If you look thru their IG you will see other literal posts of words and poses LOL!

They are CERTAINLY a group I would LOVE to see again!  I MAY have an opportunity in a couple of months but I'm not sure if my schedule will work for the trip or not.  I've volunteered in some way, shape, or form with the entertainment at the fair for about 17 years now and I know this is the BEST feedback of any group or band we have had there since I have been involved.  The building was PACKED and everyone from 2 to 92 years old seemed to attend!

Collin Raye Concert at the Warren County Fair

This week I will be posting about the concerts that took place at this years Warren County Fair!

The Tuesday of Fair was Collin Raye.  His stop at our fair was part of his BIG 25 Tour.  To see his hits and other discography CLICK HERE.

I may not be the biggest country music fan but I appreciate musicians and artists from all genres.

I worked mostly backstage that night and didn't see each song that was performed but it was a FUN night that is for sure!  Here is a photo of him and I.  He was super nice!

 Here is another photo from the one side of the stage.  The sound was great in the building that night.
He sang a lot of his hits and some tribute and cover songs from some of the artists he held dear such as Glenn Frey and Merle Haggard.

Many weddings that took place in the 90s featured one or more of Collin Raye's songs that is for sure.

He's a great storyteller as well!  A very pleasant guy with an interesting stage presence.

Below is one of the many videos of his.

Warren County Fair From Different Eyes

I have at least 4 posts I will be doing from the Warren County Fair Week but I thought I would ease into it with a few 'behind the scenes' type photos to start.

This was taken Sunday Evening as I was just getting back from WNY VegFest.  The sky was so beautiful!  I couldn't resist taking a photo of it.

I tried to get to sleep early that night because we had to get up around 3:30am to prepare for the Morning Show.  We did double air shifts Monday thru Friday that week!  Then all of the other festivities that went along with being a volunteer and board duties my hubby had that week, too!

We can't help but think of a friend of ours during fair time (and every day we are at work for that matter).
He's been gone for a few years now...I actually can't believe it's been that long!  He will always be missed!
 
This was his saying!  A friend of ours found this mug and gave it to Dale the first day of Fair.  He got pretty choked up about it.

We talked about our friend and co-worker often that week.  It would have also been his birthday, too!

Cancer is an awful thing.

This year we installed a park model that was found for a wonderful price.  It's in the backstage area for the entertainment who visit our fair.

This was a photo taken from the deck.  Many people worked on the space throughout the summer to make it look nice.

We had some wonderful feedback about it too!

I will probably have more photos of this space down the road.

This was my view from Monday after the Media Lunch was over.

Life Has Been Moving Too Fast...

Life has been moving too fast the last month or more!  I wanted to check in before being offline again for another almost 2 weeks!  I have a LOT on tap over the next two weeks including the Warren County Fair.  

If you type in CONCERT in the search bar you will see that I not only enjoy going to concerts when I am able - I also help with the entertainment during our local county fair.  This year we have 3 solid acts!  Collin Raye on Tuesday, Home Free on Wednesday, and Little Texas on Thursday!  

After the fair is over I will surely update you on the shows and hopefully have some photos to go along with the stories.  Personally I am MOST excited about Home Free.  The first photo I posted was of Home Free, the Collin Raye, then Little Texas!

In other news - Paco is trucking along eventho he has ongoing health issues.  Once fair is over we will start tweaking his Predisone Meds because he's been on a high dosage for his ITP/IHMA Immune issues for close to 2 years it has now caused him to develop steroid induced Cushings. Next step is to do an extremely slow tappering of the steriods down to a lower mg per day.  The last time we did this it didn't work but that was nearly 2 years ago and it was an instant tweak in meds.  The vet - who has diagnosed him - and has been great since - has worked with us to make sure his blood levels are in check.  We will ALL be monitoring Paco's changes while trying to minimize the mg's of steroids per day over 6 month increments to make sure his immune system doesn't bottom out again while trying to also combat the Cushings issues.  I've said it before and I will say it again and again...Paco is more of a fighter than I will EVER be!  Every day we have him in our lives is a blessing!

Life Updates, Vegan Snacks, Outdoorsy Weekend Recap

Over the past couple of months I have been attending various meetings and events involving my local branch of The League of Women Voters.  I have decided to become a member.  There are many topics that I am interested in learning more about.  Since I have decided to keep this blog mostly political-free and believe me when I tell you that is a REAL challenge - I will continue to NOT preach my politics here on this blog - but I do have other places to vent - thankfully.  I just wanted to update you on a few things I have been involved in over the past couple of months.

I have also been very involved with a newly formed group called Impacting Poverty.  We have a few things in the works including a poverty simulation in the fall which I will be participating in.

2016 marks DH's 7th year on the county fair board.  One of his major committees is the Entertainment Committee and I have helped out as much as I have been able since he started.  We are working on many things for this years fair which is in August.  This year the entertainment acts include: Colin Raye, Home Free, and Little Texas.  I will be posting more about Home Free VERY soon because the more I watch and listen to them the more I REALLY love them!

My parents recently attended a CANDY SHOW in Chicago and brought back some VEGAN TREATS for me!  I will say so far one of my FAVORITE new-to-me companies is Bobo's Oat Bars!  Here is the first one I tried and I really liked it!

I also nibbled on this flavor a day or two afterwards!  What I liked about this flavor is that the chocolate wasn't overpowering yet still part of the overall flavor!  I have a few more flavors I will be sharing with you down the road so be on the lookout!  I appreciate the fact that the company is active on Instagram and have liked and commented on my posts!

I thought this was certainly worth a mention, too!  A White Cheddar Flavor Skinny Pop Popcorn that is VEGAN!  I enjoyed it very much!  It was gently flavored and memorable!

This past weekend my parents and I attended a Women In The Outdoors Event at Chapman State Park and it was a wonderful day!  This is the 3rd year we have attended as a vendor with our Wildtree Products!  This is one of the MANY pics I took from one of the classes that took place!  Faerie Houses!

They had Essential Oil classes, too!  There were some classes that I had no interest in whatsoever that were not veg-friendly, per say, but in the area I live in I am used to it and skip over them.

They had outdoor Yoga, too!

And right next to us was a guy who was doing classes on Recycling For The Birds.  He would take plastic coffee tubs or other plastic bottles and make bird feeders out of them!  VERY COOL!  I think he did at least 4 classes and all of them were well attended!

IT'S MIDWEEK MUNCHIES TIME!!!
But I don't have an official linky this week so if you participate just let me know in comments!
To see an example of a past MWM (Midweek Munchies) take a look at my top sidebar!

Confederate Railroad Concert

The last of the 4 concerts that took place during Warren County Fair Week was on Saturday and the band that performed was Confederate Railroad.

The band arrived earlier that day and I will say they were the most laid back bunch of guys I've come across in a while.

Rusty - who is pictured 2nd to the left - was joking around with Becki and I.  Becki was one of the few that took care of all of the food and beverage for the bands that week.

And the guy in the center was the leader of the band and he had a few lengthy conversations with my husband back stage, too.

The one in the faded blue jeans on the far left used to be one of the founding members of Sawyer Brown and he ended up buying Dale's uncle's Steel from him that day.

In the 2nd photo you will see a guy with long grey hair and a maroon jersey on he used to play with Dr. Hook.  The crowd really enjoyed their show and I've been told that attendance was UP not only for most of the days of fair week but the entire week of fair!

Cassadee Pope Concert

The 3rd concert at this years Warren County Fair was the Cassadee Pope Concert.

Here's a photo of Cassadee with my father who helped us back stage prior to the concert.

She put on a great show and really got the crowd into it.  She wore HUGE heels and later I found out she wasn't much taller than I am.  I'm not quite 5'2".

She was very nice and had a cute personality.

There were a few girls in their early 20s that must travel around from concert to concert.  They brought her gifts and had an extended meet and greet back stage with her.

One of the many things I did that evening was sell her merchandise.

Here are the 3 T-Shirts they had available for purchase and then she was selling CDs and Wrist Bands both of which we sold out of.

After the concert she come out front and signed autographs and took photos with the concert goers which was really nice.

Cassadee Pope was also on The Voice.

I have one more concert to blog about and that is Confederate Railroad but I don't have very many or any photos from that night really and the official Meet N Greets are up yet.

This past weekend hubby and I made a last minute decision to go to the Crawford County Fair which I will also be blogging about in the near future.

Question of the Day - What was the last concert you saw?

Which performer would you like to see live?

I always wanted to see The Monkees but since Davy Jones passed away I doubt it will be the same.  Of course I would have LOVED to see John Lennon on stage as well as Bob Marley so if I could bring 2 performers back it would be them.

I would love to see Bon Jovi as well as Lenny Kravitz.  I doubt I could afford a Bon Jovi show from what I have heard!  Eeeek!

The Bellamy Brothers Concert

Wednesday of last week during the Warren County Fair the featured band to perform was...The Bellamy Brothers!

I helped with the flow of the Meet N Greets prior to the concert and then helped with various things during the show so I didn't get to see much of their performance but the crowd LOVED them!  The 'house' was PACKED the whole time!

Here's a shot from the audience that a friend of mine took.

I also helped sell merchandise towards the end of the show.

New this year - is the front of the stage.  The wood is actually 29 years old and reused/repurposed from the Motor Sports Arena and was sanded and treated and it looks amazing!  The Cornplanter Stage Sign is new this year, too!

After the show the 'brothers' stopped over at the Entertainment Office (a new addition during last years fair) and signed the wall and a few other promotional signs we will be hanging on the walls in the coming weeks.

These guys sure were busy prior to visiting our county fair!  In about a week they traveled from Switzerland to Germany to Denmark to Norway and then to Pennsylvania.

I will be posting at least one more time today so be on the look out for that.  I have 2 more concerts to report on and will post in between other My Blissful Journey posts, too!

The Swon Brothers Concert

I have 4 concerts to talk about from The Warren County Fair from last week and I have had a lot of people ask me for other specific content on my blog here including more recipes and more product reviews and suggestions. I aim to please and will be intertwining them from here on out. AND I am waiting for some more photos to become available so that might work out for the better. Anyhow...The Swon Brothers Concert!

You may (or may not) know that The Swon Brothers were one of the finalists on The Voice not too long ago.  I have to admit I don't watch the show but I have heard a lot about it.

What I can tell you first hand is that these guys are TOP NOTCH!  They are incredible nice and sweet and polite but fun and extremely talented all at the same time.  After I met them and watched their live show I can now say I'm a fan of theirs.

They did all sorts of music!  They did some of their own music but also did some great covers including some from Tom Petty, The Eagles, Doobie Brothers, Kansas, and many more!  They were complete crowd pleasers, too!  They threw out freebies to the fans, ran all the way to the back bleachers to meet and greet those in the way back, and they were there until to the bitter end signing each persons item after the show!

I honestly can't say enough great things about these guys!  They are fabulous!  This is a photo of them with my father.  Both my father and sister helped out that day.  The Swon Brothers did a special Meet & Greet for a select few prior to their show and my Dad and Sister helped with organization and flow...along side one of the fair board directors, too!

Here's a photo of the brothers with the sisters!  Yup!  That's my sister Megan.  And me...with my old station shirt on...can you believe I've been wearing that shirt for 16 years now? LOL

Domestic Displays, Freebies, and Dobson Fly

I still have a few posts-worth from Fair Week but it just occurred to me I have a slew of other things I need to blog about and FAST!  So I will most likely be doubling up on posts for a while!

Check out this shot of the jams, jellies, and other canning goods from the week of fair in the Domestic Buildings!

With all of the rides, animals, and live concerts at fair I think sometimes the Domestic Displays aren't as talked about but with our county fair they are celebrated NICELY!  There were TONS of crafts as well.  A family friend of ours won 1st and 2nd place for some of his veggies, too!  I loved seeing walls and walls of produce whether it be fresh or canned.

What's your favorite thing to can?

Tuesday - the day of our headlining concert - is the day we usually give away a few thousand plastic travel mugs from a local company that has become known world wide.

Here's a photo of our mug giveaway!  People go CRAZY for them!

Because the company increases their 'going green' practices each year we had TONS of different kinds of mugs to give away this time around.  Many of their unused mugs are melted down and the plastic recycled/reused so they don't store as many of them any more like they used to.

While interviewing some local and state politicians I noticed this weird bug directly behind them.  The photo doesn't do it justice, tho, the bug was about 5 or 6 inches in length.  Longer than my finger.  At the top of it's head you can see it has claws!!!!  It has pretty scary but we left it alone for the most part and the next day it was gone on its own accord.

From the research I've done it seems to be a Female Dobson Fly,

What was weird was they are known as night time bugs but this was seen in the middle of the day.

I also found out that there are about 60 different species of Dobson Flies.  Pretty interesting stuff.

If I remember correctly Opal's daughter used to like bugs - perhaps she will get a kick out of this one, too!