A lot of water has gone under the bridge since I last blogged. I hope it doesn't turn out to be real water under the bridge and out of it's banks this spring or before in Iowa. I saw on the weather channel they have a new way to sort of sand bag that they are planning to try in Cedar Rapids this year.

Sunday night we had a quartet called the Taylors that I had never even heard of. They were fabulous! They are all siblings. The tenor is 22 and the soprano just turned 18. The alto and bass are twins who are in between the other two in age. They also have 2 older brothers who are married and have families. Their dad is pastor of a country church in North Carolina and their mom is the minister of music. They had fond memories of when they were 10 to 12 and their mom taught them all 4 parts of hymns to sing at revivals at their church. Their blend is extremely good and they have a very pure ambiance. I would highly recommend them! They had to drive home Sunday night because the youngest 3 of them had mid-terms Monday.

Yesterday I got out at the lake and looked around a little bit. There are several birds setting, including several swans. They let you walk right up to them and just look at you. I sat at a table beside one that was just sitting, but not nesting and it just looked at me. I took it's picture with my camera.

I was going to go to see the Guy Lombardo orchestra this morning at the Strawberry Festival, but when I got there, in addition to paying $8 to get in, I was going to have to pay $5 to park. It was raining, and severe storms were forecast. So I drove around the perimeter of the grounds and decided to not stay. The town is smaller than Oskaloosa and the grounds are probably 3 or 4 times the size of the Southern Iowa Fairgrounds plus 16 parking lots. I figured that whereever I got off the tram at would be the opposite end of the grounds from where the concert was and I didn't know if I had to pay more to get in to it or not. Of course by not going, I missed my opportunity to get some fresh cotton candy. I haven't had any of that in several years. In fact, I think the last I had Dad and Aryc bought for me when they went to the fair and I stayed at Ella Maude's. Now that was a LONG time ago! Aryc wasn't in school yet. I don't like the stale stuff they sell in plastic boxes in stores.

After scooping the grounds, I went to Parksdale's and got some celery, strawberries, bananas, and shortcake. I swear that every time I buy strawberries they are sweeter than the time before. Cool weather makes them sweeter. They are exceptionally good. I asked how long they thought they'd be good refrigerated and they thought 4 or 5 days. In that case, I won't be able to get any home. I have a tiny freezer that I might be able to freeze some in to get them home. I'll just have to see.

Now, I've saved the best for last. I have found Wes' in Lakeland. I went there for breakfast today and it was really good. I'm going to go there for lunch sometime too. They're only open from 6 AM until 2 PM. There food is cheaper than the chains, and better too. It's all home cooked at the restuarant. I'm tired of chains.

Have a nice day and remember to get it warmed up for when I come home!