And while it was cloudy & gray before the sunrise, it was fun to find another flag that someone has placed at the end of a pier out by the lighthouse. Dark & gloomy… with a splash of piece, love & TIE-DYE!!!

BINGO before & after!

So who knew that IKEA has free Bingo Nights?!
Well, not me… but now I’m glad they do!
And after a night of Swedish meatballs, chocolate cake & LOTS of numbers…
no prizes for me, but just a great night of bingo fun for everyone !!! I’ll be back…

Not only did I have great kids making great pots this week at summer camp…
but I also had Eva who made me this amazing little origami dragon from a single sheet of paper!!

Yes, I’m bored… still “trapped” at the airport trying to get home!
But this made me laugh… and at this point, any little smirk helps.

The sign says “wet floor”… so I did.

You know how I love a great art installation… and the whimsy of a good yarn-bombing! A nice sunrise surprise this morning to find this purple crocheted installation. Sadly, it turned out to be a memorial piece… obviously made by a bunch of loving & talented friends of Ainsley. Thanks for sharing your talents, creativity & caring thoughts with the world.

Let the search begin… twenty-four fortune cookies for 2024!!!

So here’s my very favorite installation at the Chicago Botanic Garden’s LIGHTSCAPE holiday display. It’s towards the end of the holiday “journey”… but well worth the wait! It’s a huge “structure” of a Christmas tree wrapped with hundreds of wires that catch the light as the colors change & move. STUNNING!!! And oh, but wait there’s more… the wires also emanate from the surrounding deciduous trees streaming to the Christmas Tree! Wires tethered everywhere. Catching light. Glistening in holiday colors!!!

But here’s the crazy part… the very next day, I was at a site-visit for a new project, and I met a couple of new designers, one of them a lighting designer. I mentioned that we had just gone to LIGHTSCAPE the night before and that I loved it… and that this “wire-wrapped tree” was my favorite. Imagine my surprise when the lighting designer guy I just met says… “That one is mine.” Yep, strange coincidence to meet the designer of my favorite tree the very next day!!! Thank you for sharing your talents Chris Wren!!!

After dinner last night… THIS HAPPENED!!!

And yes, it was so exciting to finally be “in the room where it happened.” Such an amazing show!!! So well-crafted, such amazing wordplay, incredible choreography & talented performances!!! Such an amazing way to continue celebrating BIRTHDAY WEEK with my co-birthday buddy Nancy!!!

A lakefront morning chuckle!