Sadly, we had tickets to see Cirque du Soleil’s new “ALEGRIA” under Le Grand Chapiteau here in Chicago for last night… we’ve had tickets since last Christmas as they were the perfect gift!!!

They were doing a re-boot of “ALEGRIA” – the very first Cirque du Soleil show I saw here in Chicago. I remember going and being completely mesmerized as soon it started and the singer sang the first notes. My jaw dropped, I was completely enamored and have been the biggest fan ever since! So we were all so excited to see that they were doing a re-imagined version of ALEGRIA … and bringing it to Chicago!!!

Unfortunately, Cirque du Soleil had to cancel the entire tour due to the pandemic. So the 25th Anniversary re-boot of my very first Cirque show will just have to wait. Instead, we watched the original “ALEGRIA” production on YouTube and ate lots of pizza!

Not quite the same as a live show under the Big Top… but we do what we gotta do, right?! Melty cheese & creamy garlic sauce sure helped too!!!

It would have been my Mom’s 81st birthday…
and to “celebrate” my Dad moved from his home in Elgin to a new place in Schaumburg. He’s very excited to be moving onto the next chapter of his life… and looking forward to getting back to the art fair circuit whenever they let us! Oh yeah… and you may have noticed he grew a “shelter-in-place” beard. For the record… I’ve NEVER seen him with facial hair before this pandemic. So much has changed over the past year.

Even though Chicago is entering Phase Four today… we still all need to dig deep to stay safe, stay focused and get through this together. Getting closer… but we’re not out of the woods yet!

A rose is a rose is a rose… beautiful even if it’s just a wild rose growing on the roadside!

Okay, so now I”m hungry again… looks like Matt has been making some garlic scape pesto again… this time over pasta in one of my bowls with a stamped rim!

Colorful clouds quietly drifting across the morning sky. Beautiful colors kicking off another beautiful morning along the Chicago lakefront. The best way to start my day!!!

When a vase finally gets flowers… it’s like some kind of destiny fulfilled! Thank you Sarah for sharing your beautiful roses in my stamped & soda-fired vase! A nice addition to your kitchen.

Some colorful coleus leaves on my front porch…
Mother Nature’s striking entry for another TEXTURE TUESDAY!

A cloudy start. A cloudy morning… wondering if my judgement was clouded too?! As I didn’t even know if we would see anything other than clouds this morning?!!! Luckily, the sun finally broke through for quite a dramatic start to the day! Still so happy to be out on the Chicago Lakefront Bike Trail again!