A February for the Record Books

A gift from my pal Kathy.

 Usually we freeze and shovel snow in February.  Actually I prefer a cold wintry month to the month we've had.  Temperatures in the 60's all the way up to the 70's.  It seems to make everyone in Chicagoland a little giddy.

 Not one to miss a beautiful day in the great outdoors, we headed to the Chicago Botanic Gardens for a late afternoon walk before picking up our babygrand.

 Moat people were leaving as we arrived, a perfect time to have these amazing gardens all to ourselves.

 Well, not completely...

 This promenade is one of my favorites in summer.  It's cool and green and shady, even on the hottest day.

 It's been quite a few years since we spent much time at the gardens and it's almost unrecognizable.

 Never a serious photo with this one.  My Guy!

That water must be very cold, as there were still patches of ice floating in places.

 I am happy that the cold temps will return this week.  Hate to loose all the bulbs and buds of real springtime with this freak warm spell.

 The path we used to take is still there, just so many distractions on the way.

 There is not a bad view...

 From the paths, bridges or overlooks,

 It was hard to think it was the middle of winter,

 and at least 5 or six weeks till Spring.

 They know.

 The carillon plays on the hour and there are concerts by guest artists through the summer.

 Snowdrops, the only flowers we saw.

From a small man made body of water to...

 Our beautiful Lake Michigan.  She was in a mood on Monday, and it was at least 20 degrees cooler up in Wisconsin.

 Got to spend the President's holiday together, a great long weekend.

 We've been watching this tree lean for years now.  One day it will take the long fall down this bluff onto the shore below.

The Sun was not cooperating, but we still had fun.

We spent Friday evening and all day Saturday with Penny.  Lot's of walks, some thrift shopping and her favorite pizza place for dinner. She has a knack for picking a great bag.  You know the ones hanging on the wall with all kinds of stuff inside.  She found a "Real Pet"parakeet toy.

  She knew exactly how it worked and that it needed new batteries.  Grandpa and his tiny screwdriver fixed it and she loved playing with that bird she named Hydrangea.  I found a box with chicken wire I had in my stash, so that was her cage.  It sings and can be taught to talk.  There were several other birds in the bag all for .99.  She also found a small doll, that had two pair of shoes and a couple of outfits, again .99!  I think she's hooked on bargain hunting.

On Sunday night we had dinner with the kids.  All of them.  I was in my glory with all our family around us as we celebrated our February Birthdays.  Jon, Doug and I all share this as our birthday month.  We ate at a restaurant that we frequented when we were dating many moons ago.  So much fun when we are all together.  We are all very much alike.  At times when our server brought another drink or pitcher of water ,we would all say thank you, almost on cue.  Especially Kristen and I have the same tone in our voices and it sounds like stereo. We sang happy birthday to each other and had cupcakes before we headed for the cars and took some photos outside.  Mike and Amanda rode home with us.  It was so sweet to hear them laugh and talk from the back of the truck.  I asked Mike if he ever imagined( back when he was the one who had to go to the third row of seats) sitting in that seat with the woman who will be his wife... He said no, but that it was really great that he was. 

These are the moments that make me truly happy.

Sometimes the photos are not chronological, and sometimes I use my phone for photos and have not figured out where the heck they go after I download them. Oh well.

Thank you so much for stopping by and for your friendship.

Enjoy this beautiful day.

Love, Penny