The Cutest Baby Chimpanzee....

My favorite part of a visit to the zoo from last week...

The happy family...above, Dad, Mom and Baby...

The baby is asking his Mom if she wants to play but she's not in the mood...soooo...

I love this one, he is totally showing off!

And exhausted, he takes a snack break.. :)(All photos taken at the Southwick Zoo in Mendon, Massachusetts.)

My Thankful List (you might be on it!)

I know it's not Thanksgiving yet but I'll be too stuffed to write anything tomorrow...just got back from vacation in Florida where I took the above pic from the car window. Don't you just love those rays the sun sends down as you're driving home on some ordinary day?
Anyway, here is my short list for now...
I am thankful for....
* nature's beauty ..nature can always center you when you're lost * my awesome Etsy customers who give me such kind and positive feedback on my work...you could purchase art from thousands of people and you chose me- thank you!! * Phoebe and Roxie, my ever present and always loving kitties * Joe, my coworker who can make me laugh in the midst of a torturous day * FPOE, the female photographers group that is always sharing information and triumphs and helping me grow as an artist and through which I have met some wonderful people * my cousin's new twins, premature but growing chubbier every day...they are so brave * my warm bed on a ridiculously cold New England night (and my wood burning fireplace, too *  slow cooker chili * nice people at the supermarket * my photo lab lady *  hulu, I can watch whatever shows I want, whenever I want to * my blog followers who take the time to read about my crazy life * my family who loves me unconditionally and whom I appreciate more with each day  :)
I'm sure I missed a thousand other things but for now that's what I'm thinking of.....I hope you all get to spend this holiday with your friends and family, too...:))

Summers in the 80's

Memories of this time include..

• filling my grandparents' shoes with seashells I found at Second   Beach, Middletown, Rhode Island
• eating mystery candies in a jar in my papou's cupholder (they had no label or date...I think he had them for years..but they were good...like chewy little white taffy)
• wearing sundresses and white leather cutout sandals
• visiting Uncle Vahe's beach house near Rocky Point Park, and if we wanted to go swimming we had to wear our patent leather mary janes because the land was so rocky it would cut up our bare feet
• having about 150 relatives and friends come to my parents' house for lobster and quahogs
• instant satisfaction with the grayish print from a clunky Polaroid camera...and subsequent excitement of watching it develop before my very eyes!
• jumping off the diving board and into an inner tube
• fighting with Uncle Dean, 15 years my senior, over who got the window seat on his first Airplane ride (and then demanding cash for the privilege...and getting it)
• my mother recording my only-child antics with her 32 pound video camera (this was before my sister was born...)...things such as "painting" the bricks of our porch with a cheap paintbrush and bucket of water...which kept me entertained for hours, as the "paint" would dry and fade and I had to then "re-paint"....thanks Ma!
• good times, hot summer sunshine, great friends, family love, warm hugs, cold pools, flimsy clothes, bare feet, wet grass, rocky shoreline, rough sand, salty air, seagulls crying, laughter  ;)

****P.S. read my Guest Blog today from Katrina and the King's "The You and Me Show"!