Happy Birthday Harper

Look at the smile on Harper's face. She is loving her birthday party. Lola is happy too, Remy seems a little...well its not her party......

Mom, are we having fun? Is it time to go home yet? Do you have any treats.? When is cake and ice cream?




Appearently things kinda got out of hand. Or should the hats be at those angles? Lola always seems happy does'nt she?

Happy Turkey Day!!!

This should be the only recipe needed for any holiday meal. I was going to make one but being the only one eating it I decided not to bother. But I do love pumpkin pie.

So while I was away at work Donna and Cait made one for me. Are'nt they great. I think so. But neither one of them was very comfortable making it. If you have never made one the filling is a little like baby vomit before you cook it.







Ready for the OVEN!?!?!

Lola is a little miffed. Why you ask. I'm sure she can see that the table is set for three. Let's see Donna, Brad, Cait....nope....no Lola plate.

Whats thanksgiving dinner without a little ambiance. Cait and Donna did a great job getting T Day dinner ready while I was at work.

Home at last and carving the turkey. Look at the steam rise from it. If you could anly smell it. It was fantastic!!!











Lola gets a hug from Cait before dinner. Actually Lola was trying to see what was on the counter.

Dinner is on the table!!!!! Turkey, stuffing, cranberry, garlic mashed potatos, green bean casserole, dinner rolls. What a spread.

Group shot, group shot. The picture taken before this caught Donna running to get in the picture. A slight adjustment to the camera and Woala!!!

Does'nt this pie look scrumpshess. Let me tell you first hand. Donna and Cait made a graham cracker crust with cinnamon grahams. Added extra cinnamon and nutmeg to the mix(just the way I like it) and baked to perfection.

Of course the meal only ends with a pile of dishes and I had to go back to work so guess who didn't have top do dishes(well this day anyways)

MEMS b-ball manager!

Whats going here you ask?. Well I encourgaed Cait to try out for the basketball team by being the team manager. And she actually participates in practice and scrimages when they have uneven numbers of players. Cait is on the far right.






Phoebe , what are you laughing at. Your teamemate maybe hurt or she is doing a synchronized swimming move?

Expressions 16 years later!

Vermont Photographer installed as President of
Professional Photographers Association of New England

by Bradley Hale

There would be no question to what profession Donna M Goodhue would undertake. “Photography has always been a part of my being, it was never a choice. I never had to think what I would do when I grew up, I always knew, ever since being taught to use a camera by my stepfather!” Her stepfather taught her how to use a 35mm SLR camera while their family spent a year traveling around the United States. From second grade on she would never be without a camera. Her family left California and returned to her mother's hometown of

 Morrisville VT. Donna would continue her photography working on the yearbook staff in eighth grade continuing through high school as one of the editors. During high school her guidance counselor recommended she should attend a state program on the arts. “ The key to jump-starting my dream of becoming a professional photographer into a reality was attending the Vermont Governors Institute on the Arts. My instructor was Ralph Alswang a renowned Washington DC photographer for Newsweek Magazine who gave me the secret to becoming a photographer, He said “You need to get experience however you can and to do it on someone else's dime. Get a
job or volunteer to take photos get your foot in the door and work your butt off.” I took that advice and spent my time hanging out at The Village Photographer in Morrisville and bothering the Owner Jay Kennedy until I got a job in the shop.” At age 15, Donna began doing every job imaginable at the camera store and studio even assisting Jay on photo shoots. Jay Kennedy would later guide her toward Rhode Island School of Photography, the best school at the time for photography. While attending RISP in Providence, RI, Donna would travel back and forth on weekends still working for Jay. On one such weekend Donna and Jay had been shooting a wedding in Killington, VT and had run into the McNeil brothers who owned a local men's clothing store, McNeil & Reedy. They were intrigued by Donna and Jay at their creativity and work they were putting into the wedding. The McNeil's stated that there were no such photographers in the area that worked like them. Jay had asked about some photographers he knew from the area, the Delahanty brothers. Jay was told they were no longer doing studio photography but still in the industry working for AGFA, and their studio had been empty for a year. Upon graduating from RISP, Donna returned to Morrisville and continued to work another six months for the Village Photographer all along with plans of starting her own business. When the time came to start a studio, the words from the brothers echoed in her head and she traveled to Rutland in November 1992 and found the abandoned studio of Norm Porter on Grove St still owned by Ron Delahanty and she rented from him on the spot. Ron also advised he had a friend with an apartment around the corner. She rented that too and headed back home to move. “ I did not have any connections or family in the Rutland area. I guess my youth overshadowed my fear of starting a business and living in a town where I knew absolutely no one.”

Opening Expressions Portrait Studio 1993 business grew rapidly as the studio was just doors away from a bridal shop and around the corner from Rutland High . After two years of watching the growth and success of her studio, Donna knew that Rutland was where she would be staying. Donna then purchased her home on Franklin St. After five years on Grove Street, Donna had outgrown her space and decided to move into a retail space at 10 Stratton Road, following the high school that had moved there the year prior. She rented the space with all intentions of building a studio at her home. That day happened after 5 years in Aug 2003 when Expressions Portrait Studio came home to Franklin ST. Donna built an addition onto her house giving her a decent sized camera space along with office space upstairs. By working from her home Donna was able to offer more flexible hours, and decreased her overhead allowing her to reduce her volume and spend more time with her clients to exceed any expectations they may have. “ I am very fortunate, not only do I love what I do, but many of my clients have become extensions of my family. For that last 16 years I have had the opportunity to photograph high school seniors and go on to photograph their weddings, births of their children and their lives. One can not but
feel part of a family when you have witnessed and recorded some of the most precious
memories anyone will ever have in their life.” Expressions Portrait Studio has been going
strong ever since with a customer loyalty that bars none. Donna attributes her success in business to her continued investment in education by keeping up with technology, which is ever changing in the photography business. In a short twenty years the tools used by photographers may have changed. Film to digital, Paper proofs to online viewing, darkrooms to Photoshop, but Donna says the craft has stayed the same. “A portrait, by definition, should portray. It should go beyond showing just the view of a face to reveal the soul of the person. Any one with a camera
can take a picture, but it takes a special degree of sensitivity to create an image that stirs the emotion of the viewer. This is the goal I have for everyone who sits before my camera to bring out the inner beauty and personality each of us shares. The difference between creating a great portrait and a mediocre one, goes far beyond using the “right” camera or knowing all the “tricks” to make someone smile. The secret is a supreme command of the craft and tools in addition to a strong commitment to excellence in every detail. I aspire to produce the finest photography I am capable of, without compromise. I have never regretted that decision. Quality does not go out of style. It is always appreciated by those who know the difference”

Instrumental in her education has been her involvement in professional photography associations. Donna joined these associations while still in high school. Vermont Professional Photographers (VPP) would be her state organization, and she served on the board in all positions including president twice. She now serves in an advisory capacity for the organization. Professional Photographer's Association of New England (PPANE) is her regional organization. There too she has served in all positions on the board and is the current president. “ It's hard to imagine starting out as a student member and now being the President. In the association's 113-year history, only 5 females have become president, four of us being from Vermont.” Donna also serves as a council member to the Professional Photographers of America (PPA) her international organization. Through these associations Donna has become a Certified Professional Photographer earning her degrees as, Master Photographer and Photographic Craftsmen, and becoming an Affiliated Juror. Donna is one of only three Vermont photographers that hold all three distinctions, and 1 of only 100 nationwide photographers recognized by the PPA as an Affiliated Juror to judge international print competitions. This year Donna has been awarded one of the highest award for imagery as one of PPA's Photographers of the year. “I am very proud of my accomplishments and the life I have made in Rutland. If it were
not for the time, patience and support from my family, friends and mentors I would not have been able to do it. The way I see it, there are two kinds of dreams: One is a dream that will always be just that - a dream, a vision that you will never hold in your hands. Then there is the second, that seems more than a dream, its almost like a map; a map that you live by, that you trade your days for, knowing that someday you're going to stand on top of that mountain, holding everything you saw in your head right there in your hands. I chose the second one…. When I look around and see what I've done; It started in my head, its now in my hands and its going to end up in my heart…I'm real happy, I'm real proud. One of the greatest gifts that I have received is the courage to go on, I guess I could sum it up by saying. “I'm happy. Thanks for the chance to live my dream!”

NE Tour - Tue

Lola's first boyfriend....Dexter. They are the same age. Dexter actually comes from Vermont as he is a pup from Jay Kennedy. What a match a jersey girl and a vermont redneck.

NE Tour - Sun/Mon

The next day we headed to Newport to meet Donna's friend Charlene for lunch. After which we headed down the Ocean Drive to view the mansions and stop at Brenton's Point. The kites were flying and we were also on the hunt for caches. Of course with an open field Lola would not let us not play frisbee....Duck! Donna!!


Into the puckerbrush we go. 'Are you sure the coord's are right?' A twist and turn through the prickers and we found it.


Lola temporarily forgets frisbee to help find the cache. Great hiding spot.

Lola wants to see whats in the cache. "any goodies?" I found a great spot to rest. I'm thinking what a great throne, Donna is thinking Humpty dumpty.

Checking coord's for next venture. Another twisting path through the woods that looked primeval. After getting close Donna spotted this one.


We sign the log and leave a trade. Heather looked on. She does this with her boys, now she knows where a couple of them are.

What a great spot for a cache. This tower seems straight from the crusades across Europe. Check out the stairs built into the walls. What a view too!!

After continuing around Ocean Drive and seeing more mansions. We dropped Heather off at her studio and ready to head to Beth's. I had located a cache just down the road from heather's Studio so we headed there. Another hidden path through the ticky and we located the hide site. This one had our first travel bug. It had traveled all the way from the west coast. Any jargon you might have trouble with goto http://www.geocaching.com/

Donna poses with the travel bug.

NE Tour - Sun

After leaving Plymouth, we headed south towards Narragansett. Out path led thru Providence, and for those who have not read any earlier posts, Donna went to school here. We drove around the city seeing the sights and landed at the Roger Williams Overlook. Donna and Lola posed for a picture with the capitol building in the distance.


This is Roger Williams. Founder of Rhode Island. This statue overlooks the city of Providence. There was no plaques or signage letting us know the history. Not sure what his hand gesture is. Either he is holding at blackjack or he is dribbling an invisible basketball.







Before finding Heather we stopped along the shore to play a little frisbee. Lola was not quite sure about the moving water. She had been swimming at lakes this summer that did not move.





Notice someone's tail between her legs and the ears. She did not like the waves




Going for the long catch.







And returning for the next throw. She hardly tires from this. Lola would play all afternoon if we let her.




Lola did leave her mark along the shores of the Atlantic.

In a previous post Donna and I spent a weekend helping Heather clean out her old studio and move into her new space. We were excited to see the place after she finally moved in.



The front sales area looks great. Very classy. Does't she look proud?