Misc. Idle Chit Chat - Part II (The Sequel)

[kian]

Congrats to your sister Nezza! Sorry your pictures didn't turn out, what kind of camera did you buy?

I still believe there is a lot of good in people, bad seems to overshadow that.

Our friends have left, sadly. We had sooo much fun, laughed, shared stories, rode the Polar Express and ate good food. We didn't get to do everything we had planned as we had a huge snowstorm. We made the best of it and made alternate plans. We have about 6-8" inches on the ground this morning. The dogs are loving it! I do have a few pics to share, none with our friends in it due to privacy, but you know who they are.

[Nileska]

Nezza, As the son of a photographer ( and movie director ) I grew up with cameras...I pursued the craft,first with point and shoot cameras and then with professional equipment,,,I accumulated quite a bit of " stuff "and managed the darkroom at the local College as well as teaching workshops in photography and film processing..I DO have a lot of now obsolete equipment but courtesey of my OH I have a couple of digital cameras and an array of lenses and flashes....

Modern cameras have several ways to set exposeir.If you are not sure of what you need for the picture at hand it is best to use the part of the dial that has pictures of the various types of subjects you can photograph...The camera will set the shutter speed and aperture appropriate fo the scene....If you set it for landscape you witl have a long depth of field (what is in focus) ...If you set it for portraits or close ups of flowers you will have a short depth of field...If you are photgrhing action or moving objects use the sports setting,it provides both a better depth of field and a faster shutter speed....your camera will tell you when you do not have enough light by deploying the flash,you may deploy the flash by hand if your subject is in a shadow.Bear in mind the flash on the camera is only good for about 8ft .. Ever been to a rock concert in a big arena ? When the band comes out it looks like lightning bugs all over the place as everyone takes pictures of the first three rows in front of themselves...Just focus and let the camera do the rest and keep your expectations realistic.

Oh yes,and get an 8GB memory card,they are now cheap (about 8 bucks) and it wlll last you forever.

[nezza]

Kian, SNOW?!?!? I'm not saying that i'm wishing for some....but, i sure do love a fresh, thick blanket of snow on the ground. It's so pretty. We had snow for Christmas 2 years ago. A lot of it. It was a very pretty sight to come home to, as we were arriving back from Florida with OH's son. What a treat!

Sounds like you had a great time with your friends. It's always sad to see it come to an end. It's too bad you didn't get to do everything you wanted...but, hey, now they MUST come back so you can do it all

Sister is nervous/anxious. I talked to her last night. I figured she would be used to this by now Her oldest little girl (4y/o) doesn't want her to go....

Richard, thank you for all your camera advise Our last camera was a Sony and we had it forever...i would say about 5/6 years! Yes, it was ancient compared to newer cameras but it was such a good camera...it really did the job very well. I was sad to have to replace it... Needless to say, it did not have as many features/settings as the new camera we now have. This one has so so many features and i'm not savvy in that stuff. The OH is the tech guy, but we had literally just got it a couple days before our trip...so, he skimmed over the features/settings, figuring he would just get the basics down for our trip. We were ready to return it, to be honest, when he sat down and really read over the features/settings. And, well, had we done that BEFORE our trip, our pictures would have turned out wonderfully. This camera actually takes BEAUTIFUL pictures and video. It's a new Casio, slim something. We have a 4GB card but we do also have an 8GB. The 4GB came with the camera.

Yesterday was a pretty WET day here. We were woken up to a pretty bad storm passing through. LOTS of lightning. Lightning actually struck here about 5 in the AM and all of our stuff along one wall went out. Luckily, the ground protection thingy (can't remember what the OH called it) did its job and everything was ok. It was pretty scary. We don't usually get lightning storms here in the cove. It was a nice day, over all, though. We were stuck here at the house as the creek was running heavily. We watched movies and i finished my holiday baking. Sending cookies to my mom, sister and OH's mom today.

Christmas is ONLY a week away Where does the time go?

[nezza]

Kian, i was able to find some decent pics....i posted them in my thread if you want to see

[kian]

Hi Richard! The large card was the first thing I bought with for camera, I can hold 1000 pics on it. Hope all is well and your feeling good.

Nezza what a storm, did you know it was coming? What a way to wake up! Glad your prepared enough to be stuck, baking sounds wonderful on a day like that. I enjoy baking, I made a Apple Pie for our friends who were here. OH finished if off last night. I went to bake it Wed night and one element on my oven went out. Thank goodness we have made friends who helped me out, will call the repair today.

Casio is a nice camera, with pratice you and OH will be taking more pics.

The snow made a beautiful day up in Durango, it was a perfect setting for Christmas. Today it's cold, very cold. The wonderful about having friends is my house it spotless, today will be wash day and relaxing.

[nezza]

Kian, we knew it was going to rain, but were not expecting a big storm like that. Usually, strong storms either skirt above or below us because of being tucked in the cove between the mountains. We have fairly mild weather here, because of that. It was very unexpected to have a storm like this...seemed to be directly above us. Lightning was extremely close. Too close for our comfort. It moved to the south of us about an hour or so later and we were just left with rain and a running creek! We tend to keep pretty stocked up because you just never know. Yes, it was a kinda scary way to wake up!

So, i made Linzer cookies yesterday, a chocolate chip brownie cookie and a doubled decker chocolate chip cookie with an oreo stuffed in the middle!! WOW!!! Those are super rich but super delicious...especially if you're a chocolate and cookie fan.

It's so funny...you have snow...i have rain...and today it's actually fairly warm. In the 60's.

And, since i spent the day baking and lounging around yesterday...today is errand day...and i, too, have some cleaning to do...

I will find a pic of my sis when we get back and post it for ya!

[kian]

Glad you stay prepared! We have a huge storm forcasted for this Wednesday, supposed to get dumped on with Snow. We need it badly and if that happens, it is possible we will have a white Christmas.

Your cookies sound good!

I have to speak at a funeral tomorrow for a lady in our Church who passed away a few days ago. I have to travel to Colorado, about 1.5 hours away. Glad the roads are clear, I will need to leave early. I will think about what to say on my drive up, it is a pretty drive through the pines.

[Oliver & Henry's Mum]

Richard, your camera advice is excellent as I have a decent camera and when I went out west in the summer, I did as you suggested, since I'm not very photographically minded, and I managed to capture some amazing photos!

I have a beautiful one looking at the snow capped Rockies, with a sea of Evergreens below. That was taken standing on a rock in the Quarry where Phyrie's husband works. I also managed to capture some of the Rockies with the Pacific Ocean in the foreground. British Columbia is a beautiful, beautiful Province.

Nezza, I heard about the storms in your area on the news tonight. I hope they aren't too terrible. I'm sure once you're familiar with your camera, you will really enjoy it.

Everyone is so busy at this time of year. I've been popping on and off of here, as time permits.

Kian, I hope your travels go well tomorrow, albeit under not the best circumstances. I am sorry for your loss. I'm sure it was lovely to have your "friends" visiting. They seem to have enjoyed themselves and managed to capture some lovely photographs. Everyone looks so happy, which is lovely.

[nezza]

Good Morning Everyone! Just a quick "hello" here.

Storming again today...heavy winds and rain...and i have to leave in an hour for work

Hope everyone is doing well.

[Oliver & Henry's Mum]

We're now having your weather Nezza....high winds and rain, which is supposed to turn to freezing rain and then snow over night. It's going to be quite messy for a few hours during the temperature change.

Wisconsin was slammed from what I saw on the news. A lot of people are travelling at this time of year, so I hope everyone who has somewhere to go, can get there and do it safely.

I am running out of time before Christmas, but then I sort of thrive on the rush.

[kian]

We got pounded with snow and it's sooo cold here, below 0 at night. Winter is back! No complaints here, we need the snow badly and a good hard freeze. It's a pain now, we will rejoice in the Spring with the bug kill and the water. We have had no frozen pipes, think we have it figured out now!

Today Ice got his OFA done, so far his hips and elbows look great. The OFA registery will send me a rating, fingers crossed it's good. Ice is zoned out, I went into the kitchen he didn't follow me....is this my dog? Poor baby he went flying up the steps to the house and nearly fell, I caught him by his collar. Pending the final results, he will get his DNA-VP done and his CERF and then he is totally cleared.

Stay warm! Winter is upon us....and if the world ends tomorrow...it was a fun ride! LOL

[Oliver & Henry's Mum]

Apparently we are all still here....go figure!

I actually saw something interesting on the news as they talked to a Mayan Expert. He said that not unlike our Gregorian calendars, the Maya simply wished to renew a cycle. We change our calendars every January, and apparently their cycle was longer. He went on to say that "Dooms Day" and "Apocalypse" scenarios were a function of modern man, and not something considered by the Mayans. It was quite interesting.

Kim, you are absolutely right. We need a good, deep freeze this winter, as well as a bit more snow. I just hope it comes in fits and starts, as in recent previous years, we had storms so badly here when the leaves were still on the trees, a great number of them were damaged. We need a "normal" winter...nothing extreme!

I talked to my Mum earlier who is in Palm Beach, and she said it was expected to go down to 40 which is quite cold for that area. She also exaggerates, so I will check the weather outlets, but I suspect it is much colder there than normal.

Nezza, your sister lives in Florida. Has she said anything about the unusual cold?

It's the final countdown to the big day! I hope everyone is with their loved ones, and has the happiest of holiday seasons, and a very Merry Christmas....Happy Christmas for Tracy. ♥



P.S. Oliver is officially 9 as it is after midnight. It's a miracle, and he is happy, healthy and goofy as ever.

[kian]

Good cold morning! The car is warming up and I am waiting a few minutes while it does.

I love Mayan history, after visiting there two years ago. We hope to return this Feb as some of our friends are going back. We had a American Guide who has studied thier culture for over 40 years and he was quite good. He was one of the few allowed to guide. I really do hope we get to go back, we should know in a few weeks.

Happy Birthday Oliver!

Christmas is almost here, another year come and gone.

[nezza]

Hi Kian! Hi Deb!

Happy Birthday, Oliver!

WOW! What a week of BAD weather here. Heavy winds and rain. Finally stopped yesterday but we're supposed to be getting more today and tomorrow I don't mind the rain as much as the wind. Our house is cut into the side of a mountain and i'm always so afraid that a tree is going to come crashing down on the roof And now we're expecting snow, wind AND rain Wednesday. What a mess

Winter seems to have settled in.

Hope everyone is staying warm!!!!

[Nileska]

Greetings y'all ,We also have THE weather here,high winds drifting snow lousy driveing conditions the whole 9 yards....my husky thinks its a day at the beach I must show up for Dialysis 3X each week come hell or high water ( a half hour trip )
The OH is in the Hospital some 20 miles in the other direction.I have been unable to visit for the last few days but we keep in contact by phone..I am not sure how Christmas is going to play out for us this year however we WILL survive.We do have lots of help from our son who lives nearby ( he is a REAL jewel )..My shoping is all done with his assistance and I have an extra nice present for the OH ...If she dosen't want it I'll take it....Actually,the I Pad that I am writing this on was her gift to me last year to replace the cantankerous computer I was useing

Well...Happy Holidays Everyone and a Groovy Solstice as well ( has anyone seen the Mayans recently ?