Love in the Cold Winter

 This week had been cold and windy, snowy and cold, melting and freezing, then snowing again.  I might have the order wrong, but we experienced Winter in a big way this week in Chicagoland. Never shrinking violets when it comes to cold, we ventured to the Batavia Fine Arts Center to enjoy a Valentine Concert with our old pal Jim Brickman. 

 My handsome Valentine, here dressed in layers.  You never know when you order tickets months in advance what you'll be facing as far as temps go.  We were prepared.

 Such a nice place they have in Batavia.  A intimate space, with roomy seats and stacked so there is never anyone in your line of sight.  My dearest said Batavia wasn't far...but on a Friday night, cold and dark roads and unfamiliar terrain, I was happy when we reached our destination.  What followed was a romantic three hour concert.

 We have been fans of Mr. Brickman for almost 25 years and also have been fortunate to have enjoyed his music in person on several occasions.  In fact the most romantic concert we ever shared at Ravinia, our favorite venue, was Jim Brickman.  That night we snuggled on a blanket, and my face actually hurt from smiling big the entire time.

This time was equally sweet.  Jim played so many of my favorites, but especially Rainbow Connection, the song from the Muppet Movie, and his signature Angel Eyes.

If you are not familiar with his music, please check him out.  Beautiful, calming melodies, many originals, and he covers songs from films, Disney and songs of yesteryear. 

 Then a visit from our girl.  I put her to work on cleanup after making cupcakes together.

  We made a batch of triple chocolate cupcakes.  Penny said they were the best she ever ate.

 I have to add, she ate one still warm, with the mini chocolate chips still melted.  

This girl and her Mama love chocolate.

 I also bought Valentine cookie dough so we made those too.  She liked the grid on the parchment paper.  Penny said it was like player checkers putting the dough on the squares two inches apart.

 Sunday breakfast at Mount Crumpet.

 "Earth as cold as iron, water like a stone."

 No skaters because of our freezing and thawing all week.  

 Then, we headed to Lake Geneva to see if there were any sculptures left from the Winter Festival.

Sadly, the sculptures were just mounds of ice.

 Penny had never seen the Geneva Lake frozen.  She was thrilled by the cars and people on the ice.

 So beautiful, even on a very cold and gloomy day.

The Ice Castle was still open, though we were not prepared 

for a long walk, and wait to see inside.

Penny was fine with not getting out of the car this time.

Thank goodness, neither did Grandma or Grandpa. We were fine in the warmth of the car.

We had a great visit, the mandatory pan of ziti, and enjoyed the Red Carpet pre show of the Grammy's and the Grammy Show.  Penny knew so many of the artists and loved so many of their songs.  I asked how she knew all these artists.  Penny said she had all the songs on her Spotify playlist.  Who knew?!

Penny saw Dolly Parton and was intrigued.  So,  just to prove I was coolish, I told Penny about the Dolly Parton and Miley Cyrus' connection. (If you don't know, Dolly is Miley's Godmother!)  Penny has a Hannah Montana guitar, Miley's character on a Disney Show from years back, so she knew about Miley.)  Anyway, I played the song Jolene, first as Dolly sings it, then as Miley performs it.  Penny really liked it and thought she could sing it as well.  Penny loves to sing and has a lovely voice. Score one for Grandma! 

It will be a week of love around here. Valentine's Day, always one of my favorite holidays and my birthday.  I'll be 64 years old.  I asked my dearest, Will you still need me. will you still feed me, when I'm sixty four? He said, YES!

Happy Valentine's Day My Friends.

Thank you for stopping by and for your kindness.

Enjoy this beautiful day.

Love, Penny