Paul McCartney at Wrigley Field

I went to see Paul McCartney at Wrigley Field on Sunday. He was absolutely fantastic. He is an amazing musician. He sounded great; he played over 30 songs, performed for three hours, had two encores, and was charming. It was an extraordinarily hot night, but I was on the field, close to the stage, so I enjoyed it immensely. I will forget how hot it was, but I will never forget the joy of seeing Sir Paul perform.

Just Lounging Around

I'm just lounging around and spending the last few weeks of my summer vacation relaxing.

This Little Rabbit Took Up Residence In My Lilies

He or she is just adorable. He or she lives underneath my lilies and under my raspberry bushes.

We had some heavy rains the other day.

This is a picture of my flowers taken at night. The bright light is a lit-up turtle that glows.

The Magic Forest has a New Home

I am so glad that Tracey posted on my blog. I will be sending Tracey The Magic Forest, some fabric, and some other surprises. I hope you will enjoy them.

The Magic Forest Free To You

I inadvertedly ordered two kits of The Magic Forest by Elsa Williams. I had one on backorder for a while, and I ordered another one without cancelling the order after I got my first backordered one. It is very nice. It does have Aida, so if you don't like to stitch on Aida, you may wish to get a nice piece of linen. I did that. I also have a nice piece of 40 ct. Nutmeg linen. I can't see on 40 ct. linen. Why I bought that I don't know. I have a beautiful piece of 32 ct. Amber. I also have some other nice patterns that I will be happy to send to you. I am not having a Giveaway Contest. If you would like these items, just let me know. The first person to post and say she wants it, I will be happy to send these items to you, plus a few surprises.

Hot, Hot Weather and Some Birds

The weather here in the Chicago area is very hot, in the nineties. Checking on the flowers and gardens often to make sure they're not wilting in the sun. The cool air-conditioning is too welcoming. I love to have my doors and windows open because I love to hear the birds chirping outside. We have so many birds. I hate the closed-in quietness of the air-conditioning, but I hate the hot, humid weather more. I do love summer, but summer does have a tendency to get just way too hot. I did see two small birds outside of my kitchen yesterday morning. I had the wrong lens on my camera, and I didn't get the close-up I wanted, but I was afraid if I went to get the lens, the birds would fly away. After I took this picture, I did go get my other lens, but, alas, one bird flew away, and the other bird showed me his back.

A Sweet Cat, A Rainbow, A Blueberry Cake and Some Blueberry Muffins, and a Pretty Flower

If you follow my blog, you know I have three Maine Coon Cats. Each cat is unique and adorable. Dasher, who is the alpha male, is extremely intelligent and takes charge of the other two. Snowball, who is my middle cat, is really Dasher's half-brother (they share the same father but have a different mother). Snowball is sweet, but a little aloof. Then I have Jessie Rose. She is the female of the group, and is a sweet, sweet cat. She is shy and loves to eat and be babied.

This is Jessie Rose. She loves her treats and waits patiently to get them. She will turn a circle when she asks for treats.

We had a double rainbow the other night. I was only able to get a picture of the main rainbow; the other faded quickly. I love rainbows; their color and magic lets us know that God is in His Heaven.

I love rainbows. They are so beautiful. They always remind me of my childhood.

I got ten pounds of blueberries; some I froze, and with the others, I made a cake and some great muffins.

This is a blueberry cake. I love this cake. It is so good. I found the recipe from the blueberry farm where my husband bought the blueberries.

These are my blueberry muffins. They are so good. I keep making them and expect my family to eat them.

This is one of my perennials outside of my kitchen door. I have blue and white flowers. I love how the sun makes a shadow of the flower.

Fresh Yellow Squash

I love fresh yellow squash from the garden. It's especially nice when you get just a few, and they're small and sweet. This is the first squash I picked from my garden.

This was so yummy. I put salt and pepper, parsley flakes, and parmesan cheese on the squash, and then my son grilled it. I love summer.

First Raspberries of the Season

Here is my first bowl of raspberries. They were very sweet and good. They reminded me of the ones my Mom and I always picked at her house.

Is there anything more lovely than raspberries ripening on the vine?

Happy Fourth of July

Betsy Ross makes her flag. Happy Fourth of July to everyone.

The American flag reminds us of how fortunate we are to live in a country with so much freedom.

Snowball Has An Allergy

My middle cat Snowball has an allergy and a sinus infection. He is on eye drops, antibiotics, and children's liquid Benadryl. Did you know that children's Benadryl is on backorder at all of our pharmacies, and so I had to get a generic version? I bought the Walgreens' generic, cherry flavored. I called Snowball's doctor to make sure that the cherry flavor would be o.k. for him. It is. I didn't know that cats could take children's Benadryl (or a generic). Snowball's doctor said that cats and dogs cannot take Tylenol (acetaminophen), Ibuprofen, or Pepto-Bismol. Aspirin is deadly to cats. Snowball's eyes are not running much anymore, and he is not sneezing as much now. Thank goodness for good cat doctors.

Sunday Pictures and Musings

For any of you who follow my blog, you may think that I am obsessed with rabbits. I'm not really; it's just that I have so many, and they come so close to my house that I'm able to get a lot of pictures of them. Oh, o.k., maybe I am obsessed with them. Anyway, because I have so many rabbits, I have to adjust my gardens around the rabbits. For example, the vegetable garden is fenced in; my side flower garden is fenced in, and most of my flowers are in containers. I also have many lilies because I have found that rabbits don't eat lillies. So, here is one of my little friends. He's just sitting on my patio beside of my flowers having a peaceful moment.

"I'm just sitting here peacefully enjoying Jon Lee's patio. She doesn't bother any of us; she just takes our pictures. Plus, there's plenty of grass and wild flowers behind her house to eat."

Here is a close-up of one of my yellow lillies. I have purple ones that should bloom next week.

Here are my raspberries blooming. If you look carefully, you can see the raspberries being formed.

I love pentas. They are so delicate and feminine.

Here are my dark pink and white variegated wave petunias. They are doing quite well in my container (in my fenced side garden).

My yellow summer squash is starting. I love it when it's fresh and small.

Paul McCartney

I saw Paul McCartney many years ago at the old Rosemont near Chicago when he was with Wings. I feel fortunate to have tickets to see him again, but this time at Wrigley Field in Chicago in July.

Can You Spot The Bunny?

This little bunny hid in my lily leaves and decided to eat some longish grass for his dinner. You can barely see his little body through the leaves. He comes back every afternoon and runs around and then settles down to eat some dinner. Before long he'll be all grown up.

Reading a Good Book

Today I have spent some time considering the art of reading. I am currently reading The Two Deaths of Daniel Hayes by Marcus Sakey. It is good, even though the "F" word in used too much for my taste. The story is intriguing, and the blurb on the back of the book states that two of Sakey's books are already scheduled for movies. Do I sense a movie in the Daniel Hayes' book? Perhaps.

I am also reading A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines. My son recommended the book to me for my students to read this upcoming school year. It is excellent, well-written, and thought-provoking. There is definitely going to be a lesson for me to learn in this book.

Is that to say that one book is worthwhile, and the other is not? No, of course not. There is a time and a place for different types of books. It's fun for me to read whodonits, and I will admit to being totally enamored of M.C. Beaton's Hamish Macbeth and Agatha Raisin books.

However, the other side of the story is what Barbara Kingsolver, author of the fantastic novel (and one of my favorites) The Poisonwood Bible, said about reading (and I paraphrase), when you have a world with Middlemarch (by George Eliot) in it, why waste your time reading a book you don't like?

And I think that is the answer. If you like what you're reading, you're not wasting your time, whether it is an old classic such as Middlemarch, a new classic such as A Lesson Before Dying, or a good summer read such as The Two Deaths of Daniel Hayes. The important element, at least to me, is that a person reads and reads often.

Birds and Flowers

I love all the birds that are around in the spring. Here are some pictures of the birds around my house. I have also taken pictures of some of my flowers. I hope you enjoy the pictures.

Here is a male cardinal in the tree behind my house.

This is the female cardinal at my bird feeder.

Two adorable baby robins are looking for food.

My purple clematis blooms early.

This is a close-up of the dark purple blooms on my clematis.

This is a New Guinea Impatience.

This is just a sweet bird singing in the late afternoon.

Raspberry Bushes and Flowers

I tied up my raspberry bushes. I have one from my mother's raspberry garden, and the other ones I bought. I am hoping to get some more raspberries this year.

This is my garden statue. I have named her Violet Rose. The clematis behind her usually has a lot of blooms.

Here are some of my flower containers. I love wave petunias. They do quite well here.