What's better than a guy who cooks?

A guy who also bakes! Pie, to be specific. Rhubarb pie, if you really want to know. Rhubarb grown in his very own yard.

I'm a lucky girl. Although maybe a little heavier than I was a few months ago.

the Illinois countryside

Truthfully, visiting the far western exurbs of Chicago was never on my bucket list, but when some very pleasant circumstances resulted in an invitation to the farmland, I was delighted to go, for reasons that included the chance to see some stars, go for a bike ride along traffic-free roads, and wake up to nothing but the sound of birds singing.

Empty cornfields were dotted with clusters of woods. The backyard of a friend's childhood house would have been a dream for this apartment-dweller growing up--hundreds of square feet of trees to hide behind, a pond that freezes over in winter for ice skating, a forest floor brimming with trillium and Jack-in-the-pulpit in spring and summer.

A tree-lined path from the back of the house led to this idyllic little oasis, which even boasts a half-finished log cabin. It would be the ideal place for a party or a wedding--if it weren't for the killer mosquitoes. But luckily for our visit, the freakishly warm early spring weather was three steps ahead of any many-legged beings, other than spiders, whose presence was signaled only by the errant strings we broke through as we walked the trail.

A wonderfully relaxing and refreshing interlude made sweeter by the company.

Of course it's not all romance out there.

Merry Christmas

There's no snow here in Chicago, but both Christmas Eve and Christmas day have been sunny and clear--unheard of! Yesterday I actually took a bike ride along the lakefront. That is not entirely unheard of--about five or six years ago it was about 60 degrees on Christmas Eve, and I took the opportunity to go for a ride back then too. It was definitely colder this time, but not painfully so. I wasn't the only person getting a ride in yesterday!

Nothing about my family's holiday traditions is particularly European, except for possibly the focus on home, hearth, and family--which of course are valued among humans everywhere. Whether you celebrate Christmas or are just enjoying a day off, I hope you have the comfort of people you love around you.

an unusual flower

I thought at first that this bush had produced an unusual hot-pink flower in late fall, but then I looked closer--it's a lost glove.

A new building?

How come I never noticed this beautiful structure before?! Oh wait--it's a trompe l'oeil mural on the side of a bank in the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago.

Seeing Brittany? Cape Ann, Massachusetts

Confession: I have never been to the Brittany region of France, but from the photos I've seen, it looks very much like the coast around the towns and villages surrounding Boston. I've visited the area regularly to visit my brother, sister-in-law, and nephew, who live in one of the towns along the South Shore. We always pick a day to visit a small town or two. On this most recent visit, we went to Rockport, Massachusetts, which is on Cape Ann near Gloucester. (Gloucester, you may recall, is the port from which the doomed fishermen of A Perfect Storm set sail.) I'm sure there are tons of visitors in the summer, but we were there in early November.

I love the waterfront geography here--the rocky shores, the little houses all clustered together.

I love the look of weathered wood.

Another day, my brother had to do some business in New Bedford, and I have an old friend who lives there, so while he was busy she and I caught up. New Bedford is a major port and has a large Portuguese and Portuguese-American population. Of course, for me, that means good food. My brother and I went to lunch at Antonio's, where I had the "Chicken Algarvia," kind of a Portuguese-style paella--rice with tomato broth and filled with chicken, shrimp, and clams. When it came out, I gasped--it could've served 10 people easily.

Of course we brought it home.

the end of summer

 It's Labor Day, the traditional end of summer in the U.S. Despite the season's late start this year and a lot of rain, I feel like I had a pretty good one. I enjoyed an outdoor pool near where I live and really made the most of the lakefront. I didn't get to travel as much as I would have liked, but Seeing Italy is all about seeing beauty wherever you are.

It's good to know someone with a boat!

The lily pond in Lincoln Park is a hidden treasure where you can hide from the heat, the noise, and the crowds of the North Side.

At twilight, a waveless lake can look iridescent.

Backyard hammock.

Buckingham Fountain at night.

This summer I was all about the fruit cobbler--blueberry or peach. It may not look like much, but it's good--and so easy. Cobblers are a lifesaver when you've got fruit about to go bad.

The outdoor pool in my neighborhood. Wish it stayed open past Labor Day.

Part of the best skyline in the world.

I finally downloaded Hipstamatic. 

City and prairie--taken from Northerly Island.

Clouds are underappreciated.