local thrills
Today was an exciting day around here, and not only because we ate the last garden tomato and the first pumpkin—you've got to take your excitement where you find it when you don't watch much tv! (And no, we didn't grow the pumpkin. Next year.) The real excitement was provided by the apple pie contest at the farmers market, which I had forgotten about, but which happily was just going to judging when I showed up at the market. One of the contestants was our neighbor Mary, and I waited anxiously with her and her family as the results were tabulated. Of course, her third-grade daughter had no doubts at all about the outcome: "Mom, you won at Topsfield, of course you'll win here!" (for the record, the Topsfield Fair prize was a third, Mary tells us). And indeed, the local talent was vanquished by state-fair caliber baking, and Mary came away with the blue ribbon and 20 dollars worth of gift certificates to the market. Congratulations!
There was also a pumpkin pie category, which I think I might have had a chance at if I had been organized enough to enter: as it was, there was only a single contestant. Easiest 20 bucks of free delicious produce she ever made!