Birthday Celebrations

Amidst the Christmas season rush, Terry and I took the time to celebrate my birthday, which was on December 21st.

The Sunday before, we went to north Michigan Avenue in Chicago for 5:30 tea at the Peninsula Hotel, our favorite posh place to celebrate! It was a very cold day as we walked the 2 miles from the train station to the hotel.

Tea is held in the Lobby, which was all decked out in its Christmas finery.

The decor is very grand and the atmosphere is formal, but welcoming.

Chamber musicians played softly in the balcony while we sipped our organic Earl Grey.

A 3-tiered serving stand held wonderful gourmet sweets and savories. It's always a surprise to see what the chefs will make for us!

The finger sandwiches were the traditional cucumber and cream cheese, a marinated portobello sandwich, and a marbled rye wrapped around tomato and fresh basil.

Next were ramekins of gourmet pot pies topped with puff pastry.

A basket held both berry and maple scones, served with jam, clotted cream and lemon curd. Finally, a plate full of cookies, cakes, sweet breads, brownie-like cups of chocolate and meringues! And a macaroon, fresh from the oven, was an added bonus!

Everything was scrumptious!

What an elegant and memorable birthday present from my dear husband, Terry!

After tea, we took a brief walk up Michigan Avenue to take in the sights and sounds of the season.

I always say hello to the carriage horses!

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On Tuesday, my actual birthday, Terry took me out for dinner at my favorite nearby restaurant, Olive Garden!

My parents joined us there. It was so nice celebrating with everyone.

Thank you, Terry, for always making my birthday very special.

And thank you, Ma & Pa, for giving me a birthday

and helping us celebrate!

January Thaw

Well, like most of the country, we've been experiencing slightly above average temperatures this past week. Our snow piles are slowly getting lower. But temperatures are still hovering around the freezing point. We may even see some low 40's by the weekend! I'm just loving the fact that I don't have to walk down the street with a scarf covering my face!

I shot this view of the Chicago River a couple days ago, with its ice layer breaking apart. It looked as though there should be penguins or polar bears somewhere out there, but alas, I saw none.

I try to get out of my office every day at lunch time, just to stretch my legs and to search for things to inspire me. I usually don't get Victorian inspirations, but I find interesting things to photograph! Here is a view out my office window a couple weeks ago. Not one of the more pleasant days to venture outside!

When it's below freezing, ice skaters are a regular sight in Millennium Park.

The Crown Fountain displays changing faces on 2 gigantic monoliths. In summer, the faces spit out streams of water to cool off delighted children. In winter, I can almost see their breath!

Thaws can be deadly in downtown Chicago. Ice falling from the skyscrapers has been known to kill people on the sidewalks below.

I hope everyone is having a fun and safe winter. Drive and walk carefully, stay warm, and enjoy any milder weather you get. It's not over yet!

Ready for Winter!

Hello everyone, and welcome to 2010! I thought I'd share some wintery shots taken over the past week at our house.

Some of you in the southern United States still have flowers in bloom. Here is how my rosebushes look these days. This is one of my Royal Bonica roses with its rose hips nearly buried in snow.

I usually bury may non-native plants in a thin layer of leaves for the winter, and hope a nice blanket of snow will insulate the plants enough to prevent the ground from heaving in the spring. Heaving causes air pockets around the roots, causing the plant to die. This Nikko Blue Hydrangea is my most tender plant. It is hardy only to Zone 5 (I am in a Zone 3 micro climate). I bury this hydrangea about 2 feet with leaves to keep the canes alive.

The weekend after Christmas, we had freezing rain.

Every branch of every tree and shrub was coated in ice.

It made everything look like it was made of sparkly glass!

My pond heater is broken so my pond froze over this year.

I need to buy a new one soon! Meanwhile, we have this

auxiliary heated bird bath for our backyard buddies.

The plastic Canada Goose looks more like a Snow Goose with its snowy beard,

cape and icicles on its beak!

There are icicles everywhere.

And finally, our house and gazebo.

This is hot cocoa weather. We hit -1°F last night, and will stay well below normal all week. At least we didn't get the 2 feet of lake effect snow that fell this weekend on the other side of Lake Michigan! Stay warm, my cold climate friends!