The carpool group studied the fair booklet.

“What to visit first?” asked a friend.

The group responds to various sites offered to celebrate the innumerable options.

The cause for celebration — the Grant County Fair that runs Aug. 10-13.

Some said they planned to head first to the exhibits of food, arts, gardening and crafts. Others opted for the livestock barn. Entertainment at the pavilion drew others.

“When we get there,” I said, “I’m heading to doilies.”

“Doilies?” asked my friend. “You plan to pass up monstrous vegetables, cinnamon rolls, and show-stopper heifers to see a crocheted doily exhibit?”

As a kid, we were a doily family. Mom placed doilies on end tables, the arms and headrests of the couch and cushioned chairs. She and her sisters crocheted doilies, gave doilies as gifts to each other.

“With Mom’s doilies on the couch and chairs, and chicken and spuds in the oven,” I replied, “all seemed right in the world. It’s a nostalgia thing.”

“Did you ever crochet a doily?”

“Not really,” I said. “I tried once, but the end results — a puckered mess which looked stained from my grubby, tree-climbing hands. I used my only doily I crocheted as a stocking cap for my doll.”

Doilies being a small bit of what to experience at the fair, I planned to pace myself. The fair booklet listed plenty to see.

Ceramics brought back memories.

“Is there something fun you’d like to do together before you leave for college?” I asked a daughter. I silently hoped she didn’t choose a craft activity. I lack craft skills.

“I choose we take a ceramics class together,” she said.

I’d promised. We located a ceramics class near where we lived. (At the time, not in Grant County.) My daughter chose a couple of advanced projects to work on. I picked out a plain vase with a couple of small, swirly handles. Knowing I wasn’t skilled to paint intricate designs on the vase, I chose one color for the whole piece — a container of pearlized white. I chose a brush and sloshed paint up and down on the vase. The two of us laughed and chatted as we worked. The instructor stopped by.

“What are you doing?” she hollered as she pointed to my pearlized vase. “You are using the wrong paint, the wrong brush, and the wrong brush strokes. You are doing ceramics all wrong!”

My daughter gave me a slight smile — she knew any “craft” I worked on probably has some part that was wrong. This time the instructor wasn’t correct. My daughter and I were enjoying a fun time together, so I wasn’t doing ceramics “all wrong.”

Viewing all the fair exhibits options gave me ideas to try. I learned tips to improve what I’m working on. They help keep family traditions alive and motivate visitors to start new ones.

At the fair, there are moments of “WOW! Look at that!” which could be a painting, photograph, unique bread, bottled peaches, a home-sewn dress, a colorful hen, a groomed hog, etc.

The livestock barn seemed to me one area that epitomizes the spirit of a fair. To raise an animal or bird isn’t accomplished in a week or two — I think of winter with snow and below-freezing temperatures and summer with three-digit temps — where exhibiters persevere in providing care to their animals.

I don’t want to miss 4-H/FFA exhibits and events. My county fair booklet lists pages of projects — many with challenges and service opportunities. Presentations include Impromptu Speaking, a section on Livestock Judging and Creative Writing. And there it is, in the crocheting section, items included clothing, accessories, toys — and even doilies!

On that good note, I’m off to find some tasty fair food.