Had a lovely weekend … went with my family to a local art fair and wandered amongst the crowds. Well, that makes it sound a little more calm & peaceful than it really was. In fact, it was wall to wall people, since this particular art fair has become incredibly crowded from year to year as it becomes more popular. But we’ve learned to go during the early part of the day, so we still had a great time.

Lots of “interesting” art, plus some very nice stuff … we all particularly liked work by a woman who recycles newspapers by weaving it into baskets and other items. She had light shades, pen holders, even a small purse! The finished items are shellacked, or varnished, or something, so they’re lightly water-resistant. It looks like a very simple technique, but I suspect it’s deceptively simple … it’s probably an awful lot more complicated when you are knee deep in strips of newsprint and varnish.

One of our favorite street bands were playing, a band from South America who play music of the Andes. It’s very rhythmic, but soothing at the same time, with a sort of wall of sound coming from guitars and mandolins, then flutes and reed pipes over the top. They, and other similar groups, have become a real institution at many of the outdoor events around town.

Once we tired of the art fair we headed out for lunch and had my newest favorite non-Italian food … fish tacos! They are fantastic, and I can’t believe I’d never tried them before this summer. In case you’re culinarily challenged like I was, here’s a recipe for fish tacos from Mark Bittman at the New York Times (although he uses lettuce, which my Californian friends warn me is inferior to cabbage in this instance).