Now I'm Going to Start Judging Everything I Eat

I had a tasty time being a part of the judging team for the diverse array of chilis and salsas at the Medicine Hat Annual Downtown Chili Cook-off on Saturday.  It was strangely intense as we sat in a room above 2nd Street with bowls and spoons, our pens scratching away at the pile of score sheets in front of us.  I felt a bit like the odd "man" out, I was easily the youngest person there and one of only 4 women.  I felt outnumbered by city councillors and Rotarians (I'm assuming they were Rotarians, they were wearing t-shirts that identified them as such!).  After two hours of smelling and tasting, I decided that I still like my homemade chili recipe the best (maybe next year I should enter it into the contest!); and although the winning salsa was a refreshing blend of mangos, cilantro, onions and peppers, my home-canned tomato-based salsa is still what I would reach for when making nachos or tacos.  I hope that all of you that went downtown on Saturday enjoyed the event and will come back next year, it looked like everyone was having a great time.

As for the previous weekend's garden tour?  It was hot!  I had to drink my weight in water when I got home in order to recover from the relentless sun and heat.  The yards were so sensational that I felt a bit depressed about my own when I got home.  To top it off, I discovered that some kind of pest has taken up residence in the tree in the front yard which has caused the death of some leaves and possibly some branches.  I think the branches need to be cut off and burnt, as I'm assuming it's a worm of some kind that has spun the freaky webs on the branches.  I'm hoping it's not a spider, 'cause I sure wouldn't want to see the size of spider it would take to spin those webs!

The picture is not that great
as the flash lightens the
colours too much,
but without the flash you
couldn't see it at all.

Here's what I did in my spare time last week (by spare time I mean while I was monitoring the kid's bath time, stolen moments throughout the day, and after the kids were in bed when I should have been sleeping.)  It's actually only 4 inches square, and was quite quick and easy.  My next cross stitch project is much larger and will probably take a lot longer.

I'm finding needlepoint be the just-right amount of mindless occupation for my hands when I'm thinking or talking about something else.  So I guess I have something in common with Penelope Trunk now.  This is also why I am able to tolerate playing Skip-Bo or dominoes (I hate almost all games), you can do it while drinking coffee and visiting, since it only requires a modicum of attention.  And here I thought I couldn't multi-task!