Wow! We're having a record cold day today here in NW Illinois, and perhaps the entire Midwest. I'm actually wearing a pullover sweater as I sit here typing. It is 63 degrees F outside, with an anticipated high for the day of 64. And of course, on the East coast you are bracing for Tropical Storm Arthur, the first of the year, and a hurricane watch has just been set for part of North Carolina.

So it's a bit hard to realize it is July, and the week when we would normally be celebrating/sweltering with mid-summer picnics, parades, fireworks and other festivities.

Perhaps even a clambake on the coast... A fish boil in the Great Lakes area, and carnivals and street dances everywhere.

In the Quad Cities, an hour to the south of me, this weekend has meant a huge event: the Mississippi Valley Blues Fest at a park beside the Mississippi River for 30 years. But it's being relocated away from the River this year due to flooding. (Yes, Davenport, IA is the only city on the Mississippi which doesn't have flood gates, preferring instead to offer locals and visitors an unobstructed view of the beautiful riverfront.) I won't debate the intelligence of this decision, I'll just say that the US Corps of Engineers isn't happy. But the tourism folks are...

I hope you and yours are still able to celebrate Canada Day or the 4th of July, in some way, regardless of the weather in your "neck of the woods."

Thank you Anne. We had a lovely Canada Day here on Tuesday. The highlight for us was when the Snowbirds flew right over our house! It was an awesome sight...and then to find out afterward that Chris Hadfield (recently returned from several months on the International Space Station) was in one of the planes...icing on the cake.

Today it's cold...after several weeks of sizzling hot temperatures, this is a welcome relief. No sweaters, so must not be as cold here as there.

(info about the snowbirds here: http://www.rcaf-arc.forces.gc.ca/en/snowbirds/index.page )

Did I miss your birthday, Eagle Heart? If so, hope those Snowbirds were a nice birthday treat!!

Hi Anne, thank you...you didn't miss it...my birthday is today (July 4th)...my Mom used to tell me that all of those fireworks and parades were in honour of my birthday. It was fun while I believed it, lol.