I have only been away about 10 days, but it seems much longer because I’ve been to so many places and seen so many people.  I drove to Gettysburg with Robin, Steve and the kids on Saturday. On Monday I drove through a nasty storm to New York with Renee. Tuesday I went back to see my contact lens practitioner who made a change in my left lens. Reading the chart I now have 20-20 vision, sort of. At least I can almost make out the letters. She also made some recommendations for reading and middle distance glasses.

On Wednesday, Renee and I went to the new Chihuly show at the Botanical Garden in the Bronx. We spent the day looking at all of the Chihuly pieces and all of the wonderful trees and flowers. We also got to talk to Chihuly in person.
Note the pink rock candy-like monolith in back of him. This is a new shape for Chihuly. I don’t think it is blown. It looks almost like chunks of glass that had been carved or broken. Stupidly, I did not think to ask him about it when I spoke to him.

One of our favorite pieces was an intricate shape that matched the orchid hanging above it.
What an immense amount of planning these shows must take.

We had a great day and bought tickets to go to a Chihuly evening on July 27. Of course, this means I am returning to New York before July 27.

Here is a picture of Renee admiring another Chihuly.

On Thursday I flew to Chicago where I spent another week. With careful planning and dates for both lunch and dinner most days, I was able to visit with most of my friends and relatives. I had a great time; everyone was wonderful to me; the city looks wonderful and amazing; the traffic is horrible. This is a view of North Avenue beach from one of my friend’s windows.