Thanksgiving

All of these family pictures are a byproduct of spending 5 days with my family, something that doesn't happen often enough for any of us, scattered as we are around the country. Angela had the fortitude to rent us a house on beautiful Oak Island, NC for a week. We got there when we could, left when we had to, and had Thanksgiving on Wednesday instead of Thursday. (It didn't make us any less thankful.) My siblings are my best friends and I admire them all. Add our incredible Mom, Dad, and Grandfather, then a bunch of fearless lovable kids into the mix and you have a rollicking, emotional, charade-playing, ocean-skipping, shell seeking good time. I wish everyone was as lucky as I feel.

Sabina and Grandpa

Sabina looooves Grandpa.

Regina and Sebastian

This is pure love. Looking at her sweet baby.

Regina loves the way he crosses his ankles.

sisters

oak island beach

pier rules

On Oak Island in North Carolina.

fort

This is where the ferry took us.

ferry ride

Sabina the adorable.

Sebastian's first whole banana.

A triumph!

family time

Maddalena is a tree.

Paloma has a dollar burning a hole in her pocket.

Vince catches up on sleep while crammed into the back of Angela's station wagon.

eye-eye

Maddalena on the left, Paloma on the right. 

Both 8 years old and awesome.

3D art cake

For Paloma's 8th birthday. A girl uses cupcake palettes to paint a butterfly.

daylight savings

dead or alive

leaving Rochester

The sun sets on a lovely adventure.

deviation from plan

While in Syracuse at SPE's conference, I got a little stir-crazy and decided to run off to Rochester, about 80 miles away, to see the Eastman House Museum. Kodak's ground zero. I saw a great show, The Unseen Eye, and made a new friend while wandering around the gift shop. Ed lives in Rochester and since Saturday was his art-hopping day, he offered to bring me along. Two galleries, a museum, and a strange art warehouse later, Ed led me to the interstate, waved goodbye, and I headed home, a smile on my face. Here's to not always having a plan.

This is Ed. My guide extraordinaire in Rochester.

This is a crazy place in Rochester called Artisan Works. Great fun.

church of bank

Downtown Syracuse NY

ferry painting

 I love how weird this painting is. This is at the Everson Museum in Syracuse.

Hotel Skyler

My beautiful room at Hotel Skyler in Syracuse NY. The SPE conference was in town at Light Work. This hotel is so very cool, mostly because of its green-ness and sustainability. My one complaint was the pillows...

 Way too many.

 And waaayyy too big. 

At about 3am I gave up and got a towel from the bathroom and used it as a pillow.

sliver