Kathy and Annette came to visit Ted and me and Kari’s family. It was a one-day visit, and the plan was to have a relaxing afternoon in the pool and on the patio, enjoying an August summer day. The reality was that the weather was cool and raining. As a result, we spent the afternoon indoors and never ran out of things to talk about. In fact, I don’t think we ever left the kitchen table after doing the lunch dishes until we went to Pizza Hut for dinner. Annette’s birthday is in September, and Kari had a little gift for her–a handheld fan. Annette had fun playing with the fan while we waited for our pizzas.

Kathy and Annette left for home after we finished our pizza dinner, but first we took some group photos. I took a picture and then Annette insisted that I had to be included in a picture, so she took one.

Whenever our family gets together–whether it’s all of us or some of us–it’s always a guaranteed good day with good times and good memories.

The Mid Rivers Mall parking lot was the setting for the first One World festival in our county–a Friday-Sunday weekend event. Ted and I thought it looked like fun, so we decided to see what it was like. The only free time we had that weekend was near the closing time of the festival on Saturday, and the crowds had thinned, but it looked like it had been a success. Here’s a photo of a family looking at the picture they took at the entrance to the event.

Just beyond the entrance, we walked through these colorful arches.

There was upbeat music. I assume these were local performers, because of the lack of publicity and the little girl you can see at the lower right corner of the stage. She had some solo parts with the two men beside her (relatives?). Maybe she’s an upcoming star like Michael Jackson, who started singing with the Jackson Five at the age of five. The music had a happy sound and helped create a mood of celebration.

There was also a skating rink. Only these two people were skating while we were at the festival, but I’m sure there were more during the peak afternoon hours.

When we passed this booth, the Wisconsin State Fair flashed through our minds. The two most popular “had to have” foods at that event were roasted corn on the cob and cream puffs. The husks were pulled back on the corn cob to provide a handle, and the entire cob was dipped in Wisconsin butter before it was handed to the customer. The cream puffs were filled with whipped cream and covered with a heavy dusting of powdered sugar. Don’t inhale before taking a bite. If you do, you’ll have to cough out the powdered sugar you inhaled. Healthy food, no. Highlights of the once-a-year fair, definitely.

Then we saw this booth and knew we were in Missouri. Funnel cakes. Present at every outdoor public event. (Not as good as roasted corn followed by a cream puff.)

Here’s another colorful attraction. There were lots of booths selling a variety of items–jewelry, hats, purses, T-shirts, food, trinkets, etc. Ted and I hope this was the start of an annual festival and, if it was, we’re going to go during the peak hours next year.

Jeff texted an interesting question today. He and Zack occasionally recommend songs to each other and, today, he sent a song recommendation to Zack to “cue it up on his playlist.” Zack responded that he would “be sure to queue it up.”

“Cue” refers to a signal or a prompt that triggers an action; “queue” refers to a line or sequence of people or things waiting for something. Jeff’s thought was that either could be correct in his exchange with Zack because Zack could “queue” the song in line to play later, or he could “cue” the song whenever he’s ready to listen to it. Jeff asked for my thoughts.

I checked with Grammarly and Google, and I have to fall in line with Jeff. If Zack has a string of songs to play, including the one suggested by Jeff, he could “cue” (prompt) the “queue” (line) when he wants to listen to the song.

Fun times with English. 🙂

Kari and I have attended the St. Charles City-County Library Book Fair regularly on our own. After the pandemic ended, we started going to the book fair together and have made it a tradition. The first weekend in August is the annual date for the three-day event (Friday-Sunday). It caught us by surprise this year with the first day of August on a Friday, but luckily, it was easy for us to make plans to fit it into our schedules. Last year, we went on Saturday and discovered that the books were already well picked over, so this year we went on Friday afternoon, when it opened to the general public. (Library members may shop on Friday morning.)

As usual, I did well and came home with 35 new-to-me books. Unfortunately, I needed a small loan from Kari because of inflation. I brought $100.00 in cash, assuming that would be enough, as it was unlikely I’d find more than 50 books to purchase at $2.00 per hardcover book. Well, this year the price went up to $3.00 per hardcover book, so my 35 books cost $105.00. Still a great bargain over the bookstore prices, but $5.00 more than I brought in cash. (Another good reason to go to the book fair with a partner. 🙂 ) Here’s my haul for this year, already on the closet shelves that I keep empty for my annual collection of book fair books.

In the years we’ve been going to the book fair together, Kari and I have made it a tradition to have ice cream and conversation at Kilwin’s on Main Street in St. Charles after we have all the books we want. Today was no exception. We spent about an hour at the book fair and another two hours at Kilwin’s. It’s a great tradition, and it’s already on our calendars for the next book fair on the first weekend of August in 2026.

A room without books is like a body without a soul.

–Cicero