Summer's first prize choc chip biscuits

Millicent had it's annual show on the weekend. I didn't enter anything this year. It came up so fast and with the gymnastics annual concert the week before I was a busy little bee and could not fathom how I'd have the time or energy.

The kids still wanted to enter stuff, and as usual they did pretty well. Isabel entered a couple of things in junk art, got a two firsts and her decorated terracotta pot won a sash for best exhibit in that category. Super proud.  The circle wire hanging sculpture thingy behind her was something she knocked up during the week, and the pot she'd decorated at mums earlier in the year.

She entered flowers which she got a few wins for, and also won most points in produce, including her bouquet of weeds. Along with flowers and vegies, we apparently grow prize winning weeds in our garden also.

Summer entered two things. She wanted to enter choc chip biscuits and a drawing. Well I nagged her for a few days to do a drawing she could enter, and the morning before show entry drop off we found a how to draw website (which I have linked below) and she drew a dabbing panda. She won second prize.

How to draw a dabbing panda

Not the best photo to show her bickies, but she won first prize. These are pretty great biscuits, super delicious too! Summer and I both agree it's the brown sugar that make them so good. Here's the recipe for first prize choc chip biscuits!

150g butter

1/2 cup caster sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1 egg

1 3/4 cup plain flour

1 cup dark choc chips

Preheat oven to 180C(or 160C fan forced). Line two baking trays with baking paper.

Beat butter, sugars and vanilla with electric beaters until smooth. Beat in egg until combined.

Stir in flour in two batches then stir in choc chips.

Roll about two teaspoons of mixture into balls, placing them about 3cm apart on the baking tray. Flatten slightly, and bake for 15 minutes until golden around the edges. Transfer to wire rack to cool.

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The 141st annual Millicent show

Our local show was held over the weekend.

Every year before the show, our Gymnastics Club, where I am a coach, and committee member, pack down our entire gym to hand over the youth hall for the show's indoor exhibitions.

It's been a busy few weeks, as we hold our end of year concert before pack down.

I don't have to tell you, how quickly the end of October/November has rolled around, it has been hectic. Somewhere in between we also squeezed in Halloween.

With all that has been going on, I didn't have time to get together a lot of show entries. I did win a first and second in photography(mind you, I was the only entries for the black and white section of 'people or portraits'). A first for cut flowers, and a first for a bunch of parsley. I like the parsley bit, because there's an old wives tale that says, 'It only grows well in a garden, where the woman is the boss!' I won second for my mixed herbs.My total winnings was $8. It went on a bottle of wine.

 
Summer did well. Amongst her produce(broad beans, eggs, and parsley) she got a first for her parsley bunch. Her flowers she got firsts in sweet peas, purple flowers, and cut flowers. One of her cut flowers received best exhibition, and she won a sash. I can't remember if she won anything for her white flowers.

She was so elated, telling everyone with so much pride and excitement. The same went for her first, in the honey crackles section.

The icing on the cake was a first, and best exhibit for her chocolate crackles. She was even more amazed and excited. This kid is so full of awe and love for life. Her winnings totalled $22. It's in an envelope in the filing cabinet! She also won a pair of kiddy gardening gloves for her efforts.

I was so proud of her, for her two light blue best exhibit sashes. Her first ever. As we picked up our entries and winnings on Saturday, she danced around with her sashes, carefree. Oh to be five, nearly six again...

What was even more important, we were supporting our local show by entering in the first place. Local shows need entries to keep them going. If not for normal people like us putting in entries for classes such as cooking, produce, photography, art and flowers, there is no show.

You never know your luck!! 

It was a fantastic show. The fireworks display was better than ever and the entire weekend was a credit to the new committee. 

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The 140th annual Millicent show

Circus Elements, entertaining the families with his mean feats on the unicycle. Thankfully for this fella, he made the jump!

Isabel did well in the primary school aged indoor entries, winning three sashes, with several other firsts and seconds in cut flowers, photography and produce.

• Best Primary Produce for her eggs
• Best Primary cut Flowers for her purple flowers
• Best Cooking for her chocolate crackles

No sashes for me this year. But I was awarded a bottle of stinky organic fertiliser for receiving the most points in the produce section! 

I did recieve a few firsts and seconds in the other catagories I entered, photography and flowers. 

Summer got the most points in the kindy section too, and won a present for that.

All round we all had a fantastic show. Except for Brett, his wallet has been diagnosed with anorexia and it seems he has to work a bit harder to fill it up again!

And that was October, over and out....almost

Happy Halloween!

For the last few years, the girls and I have donned our scary outfits on the last evening of October. Me driving around for two hours, or more, and them getting a massive sugar rush, and sometimes an adreniline rush at one particular house, that even freaks me out. 

This year however, we are staying home and having everyone come to us. I am not really sure if this was a good idea, but I hope the girls have as much fun, and the weather is kind. I also need to whip up a couple of spooky ghost costumes by 4:30 this afternoon! 

It's been raining and blowing a gale, which is not conducive to prize winning flowers for the show. I made the mistake of saying it outloud to Izzy, and nek minute, she walks inside with just about every flower cut off my Just Joey rose, to save them from the weather. God Bless her little soul. I hope none of them were the winning rose! 

The Millicent Show is on this weekend. The girls and I are putting in entries this year. Last year I won a sash for my Irises. That was pretty awesome, and unexpected, so I am hoping the weather doesn't batter the garden anymore this week.... please. But I guess everyone is in the same boat. Thursday is drop off day for all entries. Thinking about is making me nervous! 

The girls birthdays are the weekend after the show, which I have done NO organisation for. The only thing I know it is going to be a small affair, not like last years whole class party! so much going on! I am trying to not think about it all at once, because I start to panic. What I really need to do is make a day to day list, so my brain can digest it in smaller, organised chunks. 

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The 139th Millicent show

Cockpit of the Royal Flying Doctors replica plane