This was the view from our kitchen window this morning It's finally warmed up enough to snow (night time temps were dipping well below zero earlier in the week), so now there's this vast and lovely white quilt outside. The roundpen in the foreground was built by my husband out of aspen poles that he cut and hauled from the north rim of the Grand Canyon years ago, and it's one of my favorite photography subjects.
Speaking of photography, I think I've changed my mind about the camera I want to buy now that my old trusty Kodak DX3900 is gasping for its last breath. For a while my mind was set on this one, but after some research, I've discovered that this one looks like a better value overall. Of course, it's a moot point until I actually have the money to buy it, but it's making me crazy not to have a good quality, reliable camera for capturing those fleeting kid moments.
And speaking of the man, today is his birthday, which means that for the next three months we are the same age (the downside, of course, being that for the next three months I don't get to sleep with a younger man). Dad's birthday also = the kids and I getting busy with art supplies - making cards and writing stories. The girl suprised me this week by not only making her first batch of cookies (I found her in the kitchen mixing up ingredients with the play cooking set she got from Grandpa and Granni for Christmas), but by writing her first book! She's a chip off the old block (if I had suspenders I'd hook my thumbs proudly in the straps).
The story is called "The Red Snake and the Evil Purple Scales, Written by Mr. Apple." There are no actual words, of course, but she tells the story the exact same way every time she "reads" the illustrations. I'm always relieved to hear that everything turns out well in the end for the red snake and his brothers and sisters, especially after that run-in with those awful scales (disguised as rocks), and the smoke that makes all the snake siblings run away. The whole ordeal those poor creatures go through reminds me a little of how this month has gone. But now the sun is starting to elbow those storm clouds aside, the Valentine chocolates are stacked high on grocery store shelves, and the Scottsdale Arabian Show is right around the corner. These are the signs I look for to tell me that, someday soon, this winter, too, shall pass.
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I hope that the man had a great b-day!! I will have to ask the girl to tell me her story. Amy had one that went - "One aponce a time"... We will have to have the new camera talk (I need a newer on, too) when we go to the Scottsdale Show.
ReplyDeleteWell, I was hoping to have a camera by then, but there's that whole "a day late and a dollar short" factor to consider. ;-)
ReplyDeleteIf doing kid pictures is your aim, make sure that the camera is capable of ripping off a bunch at a time, maybe 3/sec or more. The inevitable delay in the cameras ordinary people can afford just lead to frustration in capturing the look or the action. Non-optical zoom is important too. This means you need to play with the camera before buying. A camera in the hand is worth two in the box. KHM
ReplyDeleteKen, I think the Pentax does 3 shots/second, but I've been looking at the specs on several, so I need to go back and check. I've played with the Canon model a bit (my uncle and a friend of his each own one, so I spent Christmas day messing around with it, and there's no discernable delay). You're right, though. I need to track one of the Pentax models down and have a closer look. I've read (from owner reviews) that it's a bit heavy, which doesn't bother me, especially since the construction is supposed to be much closer to pro than the Rebel. Do you have any recommendations for cameras I might check out other than these two (that goes for anyone reading this)? Thanks for the input! Nice shot of you and C., by the way. :-)
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