The evening weather was beautiful, and the still air carried my country songs across the fairgrounds, urging passersby who were nibbling on their final fair food of the night to stop for a bit and take in the joy of the sights, sounds and tastes of a county fair.

It began on the trip home from the Midwest CMO awards show in LaCrosse, WI, - that scratch in my throat and gunk in my nose that transforms a country singer’s tool of the trade into a vocal train wreck. I was sure I’d have this infection licked after a couple days of prednisone. The medicine carried me through a trip to my hometown and two songwriting classes for girls, but the next morning I knew there was no way I could sing my four-hour sets, two nights in a row, at the

I hoisted my suitcase into the backseat of Brownie (my car that has 180,000+ miles on the engine - a sure sign of a touring musician), closed the door and headed out for the 4 1/2-hour drive to the first show in my "Blame It On Where I Grew Up" tour.