I guess it must be time to write again. Thursday I went to the yacht club again to do people watching and reading. This time a lady got out with a grocery bag and a large group of birds flocked around her. My first thought was that at Forrest Cemetery they would bite her, but evidently these don't do that. She took her bag over to the dock and proceeded to feed the birds. Some of the bread she threw into the water, some onto the dock and some she threw up into the air and the flying birds caught them. Later she went to her car and got another bag and repeated the same thing. There is a bakery thrift store here, so I assume that's where she got the bread.

Friday I went back to the yacht club and it was uneventful. Some of the birds there are white with black tips on their back feathers and have long curved beaks. They have long legs and stand on only one leg to rest. They are probably about a foot tall at the shoulder. I have no idea what they are called.

I'd tried three markets and wasn't pleased, so everyone I asked said to go to Plant City. It's about 10 miles from Lakeland, so I decided to go there. After driving around and not finding anything, I stopped and asked. I was directed to a specific place, and it was the right place. I felt like I was in a foreign country! It was an outdoor market and they ship all over the country all year around. They have a huge variety of fruits and vegetables. Of course the ones I wanted were oranges and strawberries. I got 5 pounds of oranges for $1.39. There were 9 in the bag and they ranged from baseball-sized to softball-sized. I haven't tried one yet, but the samples were extremely juicy. I also got a quart of strawberries for $2.99 and they are very good.

Now for the real treat. They also sell strawberry shakes and strawberry shortcake in various forms. There was a huge line for them, but they make them on an assembly line and the wait is very short. I had strawberry shortcake for dinner. The bowl was bigger than normal styrofoam bowls and was almost to run over and then heaped up and then whipped topping on top! I had mine without sugar and it was extremely delicious! Phyllis and Ila, you can also get the strawberries with ice cream.

After that I did laundry and watched TV.

Today I went to the yacht club again and some college students were collecting things to send to Village 81 in Haiti and raising money to help build a hospital. The village gets it's name because it is 81 miles (or kilometers) from Port au Prince. I noticed a man come and go over to the lake with two lawn chairs. Later I looked over there and he also had a bag and was feeding the birds. Now I'm back at the motel waiting until time to go to church for supper at 3:30 and the Collingsworth Family at 6.

As I told Melinda this morning, it is a little on the humid side here today and is supposed to get to 79. When I complained about the humidity she informed me that I wasn't going to get her to feel sorry for me! Tomorrow the high is only supposed to be in the mid 60's.

Have a nice day!