A pure summer treat! My locally sourced cherry clafouti. All puffed up but collapsing as the photo was taken. If you conquer a clafouti, you can make crepes, Dutch babies, those expensive baked apple pancakes. But my fave is this! Tart, sweet, creamy, a few crispy bits..

Scenes from close to the beach and the art fair! On the bluff.

Really! Yesterday was nuts. Augie was drugged up from 1 pm.. poor puppy..

The sweetest little face… Augie 4 months.

Same with our Bernese!

Lovely! I’m currently reading a book about The Beatles. It’s making me go back and listen to a lot of their music. I’m enjoying it for that reason.. it’s a break down of their relationship or lack of relationship, via songs.

And Augie came back from the vet and kenneling with a “report” card. He “likes his nature walks, he’s happy and smart and goofy.” Yup that’s my dog….

I’ll add these. These were in the hotel.

I left to due some minor yard work with the Cubs down 2-1. I come back in and my husband tells me, “PCA just hit a HR bottom of the ninth to tie,again! My reply, “He’s been hanging with Williams too much in the off season.”

After 8 innings of truly bad baseball. Cubs come back to win in a walk off by whom? PCA of course!

And now for something entirely different, a timeline cleanser.

Lots of garden shots today. It’s really starting to explode. I like to grow beautiful things to remind us all, life can be lovely. If it’s not, it reminds us it can be..

Some early garden photos from our return from Up North. It was lovely to revisit spring and it was lovely to be greeted with my peonies, roses and poppies. So preview photos. I’ll get more tomorrow.

Million dollar view! You get the idea why DH Day wanted to fully develop the area. Fate stepped in and stopped him. He died in 1928 and then the market crashed. #NorthernLowerMichigan

Augie.. #DoingOurPart

My yellow tree peonies have now opened. We are about a week if not more ahead of last year.

I was looking thru my photos. Here’s one from the grandkitties. Ruby and Finn. Living what they have posted. They don’t tolerate visitors, well. We were honored. Especially Finn, the orange. He’s a literal scaredy cat and usually hides under the bed.

It’s Augie the doggie’s birthday! The first is his puppy photo, the second was earlier today.

Speaking of gardens..Here is a bee on my tree peony. Shot yesterday.

From the stoplight, on our way to dinner. West town, Chicago.

My tulips have been disappointing this year. It’s been hot, just as they were opening. It’s supposed to cool off so we will see what the last half of tulip time brings.. last years.

It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood.

Went to dinner last night. Saw this as we waited at the crosswalk. I love Chicago!

From breakfast, we walked over to be of our favorite museums in Chicago, the Driehaus Musuem. Filled with Tiffany treasures, great Gilded Age interior. They had a Tiffany lamp show and a small Wizard of Oz exhibition. I never say no to Tiffany glass.

I tell Augie all the time he needs to be “a fine young gentleman”. It sometimes works.. 😉