Family Day at Loyola Beach, Ravinia Concert

We've had such a great summer - even though it's been the hottest one on record! So many fun day trips, concerts, plays...and recently, a one-week visit from our #1 daughter, Emily!

My beautiful daughters! Emily (left) and Hannah (right). The whole family spent a lovely day at Loyola Beach, on Lake Michigan in Chicago. Doncha love the Lion King blanket? Once long ago it lived on Hannah's bed, and now it's our "go to" picnic or beach blanket.

Emily moved to Boston a few weeks ago, along with her boyfriend, Matt. They will both be starting graduate school very soon - actually, Emily's first day of classes is tomorrow at Boston University!

It was a treat having her back home for a week - good luck tomorrow, Emily! You'll do great!

Another fun summer outing - Scott and I saw the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at their summer home, Ravinia.

So fun seeing everyone's picnics - from simple to elaborate, anything goes!

A view from outside the Pavillion - no photos are allowed inside - the concert was great! They played the Grieg Piano Concerto, and The Planets, by Holst. Lovely evening!

Big night tonight!

Is there anyone in America who doesn't know who Yo Yo Ma is? After all, besides being the preeminent cellist living today - worldwide - he has also appeared on quite a variety of popular programs, including Sesame Street! (which elevates him even higher in my book!) Yo Yo is one of my husband's heroes, and our whole family is going to Ravinia tonight to hear him play with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra!

Ravinia is the summer home of the CSO, a lovely park with an open air pavillion, plus a huge grassy lawn for picnicking. Some guests bring quite elaborate spreads, complete with candles and champagne!
Scott usually ends up relaxing on the blanket, looking at the stars - or maybe snoozing a bit! We are all very excited for tonight! This is another part of Scott's Father's Day celebration.

We have a couple of Yo Yo's albums - the one below is Scott's favorite, and he is always recommending it to someone! I'm sure you can find it at your local library.

And my favorite is the one below. I had never heard of Ennio Morricone - but I had heard of his music. He has done the scores to many movies, and the music is lush and gorgeous, a perfect foil for Yo Yo's talents. Have a listen, you'll love it!

And now - off to Ravinia!

Lobster Rolls!

Ravinia 2011! Scott and I were lucky enough to be invited to see Garrison Keillor and Prairie Home Companion a couple of weeks ago with our good friends, Cindy and Andrew. For those who don't know, Ravinia is a lovely outdoor concert venue, the summer home of the Chicago Symphony. We picnicked beforehand, and then had pavillion seats for the performance.

The guys - Scott and Andrew.
We had a sweet setup - comfy blankets to plop down on, comfy chairs (IU chairs are ours - daughter Emily attended there, and gave us the chairs for Christmas one year), and great portable table to help with glasses and the wine bottle (yum!). The main course for the day was - lobster rolls!

We found lobster rolls at a great local fish market. They packaged all of the parts separately, so we could assemble the sandwiches at the picnic - that way, they didn't get soggy. We were excited to find lobster rolls, as (1) they are DELICIOUS! and (2) our friend, Cindy, is from Massachusettes, and knows her lobster! What is a lobster roll?

Toasted frankfurter roll, lettuce, and lobster salad - lobster, with just a bit of celery and green onion, and just enough mayo to moisten. Heavenly!!! They also gave us slaw to enjoy on the side.

I loved mine, can you tell?

p.s. The show was good, too!