Day Two Hundred and Thirty-Two - Barbapapa

It's no secret that I enjoy carnival food - cotton candy, candy and caramel apples, funnel cakes, ice creams, hot dogs, fudge, popcorn, big pretzels, those tiny doughnuts, things that are deep fried that perhaps god did not intend to deep fry...it's all very, very good. Except for that one summer when me, Joseph and Rory got drunk on grease @ the CNE and the whole world stopped making sense and I thought a calliope was evil and trying to speak to me [that was bad - very, very bad]. And while I once spent an entire summer working @ Canada's biggest carnival-type location [okay, Adam thought it was a carnival when we took him last year] - I was strictly retail. You should not listen to me if I give you ride safety tips. And you probably shouldn't have let me prepare carnival foods for you...that is until today when I learned how to make cotton candy! Pictures most certainly will follow - they were snapped by our media person @ Geneva Centre and she is now on holiday until after Canada Day.

Here's how this exciting development...developed. Today was our Annual Family Picnic @ Geneva Centre. We hold the event in a local city park and invite all of our families/the community @ large to join us for carnival rides, carnival games, a BBQ, facepainting and etc. The etc. is where I come in with my mad cotton candy making skills. While this is not a fundraising event, the organization of picnic does fell into the hands of a former foundation director, so now my boss heads it up. While we had many lovely volunteers today - our volunteers who were to be man-ing the cotton candy stand did not turn up [I think they were overwhelemed by the pressure of the whole situation]. My boss came up to a group of us @ the registration table and asked - kinda jokingly - does anyone want to learn to make cotton candy? Well, of course I did! Unravelling the mysteries of carnival food is infinitely more interesting than registration, coordination and admin stuff. That belief is probably why I'm such a successful career woman.

So, I learned to make cotton candy. Then I served up dozens and dozens of fluffed up bits of the stuff on sticks to happy [and curious] customers. Apparently, the process of making cotton candy is inherently interesting. I agree. Normally you can't see what they are doing to make it - so it's a bit magical. However, I will let you in on a little secret...cotton candy...is people...IT'S PEOPLE!!! No, just kidding - it's just sugar. Pink-tinted sugar or blue-tinted sugar or whatever...but...just sugar. Sugar goes into a central heating and shaking area - the machine is turned on and that area begins to spin. Then - as if from heaven - suddenly gossamer bits of candied floss begin to appear. You can trap them on the stick and use them to make more...and oh - there will be more and it will be everywhere. Once the cotton candy appears things move really quickly and suddenly you're overrun with the stuff. Without even knowing it I had a film of cotton candy over my glasses, my sweater and my hair. Mmmmm - sticky. And yet, I didn't really mind being sticky - it was for the kids!

[here I am rather slyly and shyly making the cotton candy. fabulous shot of a ttc bus in the background. i had some stiff competition from the popcorn dude to my right - but sugar is always more popular!]



And now I have an amazing skill if I ever want to run off and become a carnie/join the circus [which I would obviously never do as I boycott all circuses]. The carnie part though is a definite possibility. I could perform as the moustached lady as well.