"Just Saying"

My stepdad and little sister have this thing that whenever someone says "just saying" they have to use air quotes.  Tim and I are now doing it, and because it comes from two of the silliest, loudest people one could ever meet, it makes us giggle every time.

A hazy view of the Hudson Valley and Catskill Mts.

Today, I'm "just saying" that I love a good warm day when it's dry, there is a slight breeze, my cat is napping away in the kitchen window and I have jewelry on my mind.  I'm also "just saying" that for the first time since we've moved to our new place I feel rather content.  Not stressed out over the immense amount of cleaning and organizing to be done.  Not feeling disgustingly overheated and sweaty because the temperature and dew point are almost the same number.  Not feeling like finding a job isn't going to happen.  Instead, I'm feeling like I can only do what I can, one day at a time, one task at a time and that is OKAY.  It truly, really is okay.  No one is coming to my house for a magazine shoot, for the love of Pete!

Miss Penny, sleeping the day away.  Could she be any more cute?

Besides, the two houseguests who've already visited did not care a fig about unpacked boxes or that we are still sans couch and bed.  They were happy to see us and to spend time with us.  Our first visitor was my younger sister who is stunningly beautiful, motivated, hilarious and, at times, wise for her young age.  (Oh, to be 23 again!)  

Our second visitor was an Antarctic friend, now living and working in Africa, home for a brief time in NY to see family and friends.  I asked her a ton of questions, learned a lot, and I've been dreaming of gorillas every night since.  I need to get to Africa to see the big critters!  I've seen rhinos, tigers, lions, lemurs, cheetahs, baboons, hyenas and once even fed a giraffe, but they were all in zoos.  I want to see a majestic elephant in the wild, flapping its huge ears, encouraging a young one to move along with its trunk.  I want to watch a big cat on the hunt, crouching close to the ground before leaping to run after its intended prey.  One of these days, I do hope.   

Giraffes at the Wellington, NZ Zoo