More Pictures

I’ve been playing with the camera again. Learning new things and so I thought I would share them with you. The first one happened when Anneliese was looking out the window this afternoon. I noticed the flash didn’t go off and so she appears in silhouette.

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Then I put the filler flash on and took the same picture again.

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I was pleased. Then I watched Anneliese and took this picture with a 75% zoom.

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The clarity on that last one just amazed me! I can’t believe that the screen shows up so well!

Then I decided to get back to the macros, so I set up the new earrings I got today, on the scarf I will wear with the new outfit Hubby bought me. I found these earrings quite by chance and knew they would go perfectly!

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And with that I will end this post before I have bored you all to tears!

Thursday Thirteen #54

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Thirteen Reasons I Am Tired Tonight!

1. Got up and made breakfast for Hubby and me.
2. Chopped vegetables for a home made natural “no salt” chicken soup.
3. Sauteed the veggies until they were ready to go into the home made broth, then added them.
4. Went off to the Post Office, Bank and to find sneakers for the trip.
5. Found the sneakers and a new pair of Tiva sandals. (They were on sale!)

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6. Came home and worked on macro settings.
7. This was great until I realized that I could actually see dust on the things I was taking pictures of.
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8. Took an hour and dusted the house.
9. Took the puppies outside for a walk.
10. Came in and watched the end of “The Lake House” and cried again. (I always do.)
11. Made a batch of corn bread to go with dinner. (Naturally, without salt!)
12. Made noodles for the soup, and served it up.
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13. Cleaned up the kitchen and sat down, finally!

Shoes, Camera & Pictures

It was a busy day today. I was up and off early to do some shoe and sneaker shopping. I did find a nice pair of black dress shoes, but no sneakers. I did try on some sneakers that had these gel inserts in the heel, that went all the way through to the soul of the shoe. My big question to the sales lady was, “What if I step on a nail? Will these things pop?”. Since she had no answer, I decided to opt out of those. I’ll go to another shop tomorrow and get the same style I am currently wearing and be done with it.

And now for todays photographs. The first is of my sweet Greta in our back yard on the patio. I love this shot because you can really see her eyes.

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Here is a Greta action shot.

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This is Arnie. I think he is getting tired of me snapping his picture.

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Anneliese loves to chew. On a warm Autumn day she is happy to lay on the patio with her bone and chew.

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Tomorrow I plan to work on macros and perhaps get Hubby to take a picture or two. He hasn’t done anything with the camera yet, and it’s time for him to learn. He loves photography as much as I do and I just know he will enjoy using this new camera.

On an aside, Greta isn’t feeling her best. She turned up her nose at a cookie treat tonight, which is totally unlike her. Maybe all she needs is a good night sleep.

Playing

In between doing various household chores, I was running outside to try out the new camera. After trying two tripods that we have, I told Hubby that I’d rather take the larger one because it’s a lot steadier and easier to use.

The camera is a joy. I love the feel of it, I just need to learn how to use it. I’ve got the basic point and shoot pretty much down, but now need to learn how to use that mega zoom, the macro modes and using the camera at night.

So, here are todays attempts to learn just a little about this new toy of ours!!!

Across The Lake
This is the other side of our lake, which is three miles long. The picture below was taken from the same spot with the lens set at full wide angle.

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This is the actual view from my front yard.

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Anneliese after her bath today!

Well, now it is back to reading the manual. There is so much in here, I can’t believe it!

A New Toy!!!

I will probably be boring you with pictures before we even leave on our trip. Why, you might ask? Because we bought a new camera today. We’d been talking about it for a while, and the other day when we were down in “the big city” we looked at them and tried some out. My biggest problem is due to all my eye surgeries, I really need a camera that gives you a good normal view finder to work with. I also wanted lots of pixels and a super zoom! Yesterday we made up our mind what we wanted, and this morning in the Sunday newspaper there our camera was, “on sale”!!!

So we drove down today and bought it!
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So as soon as I finished dinner I was snapping pictures trying it out. I think I have a long way to go! There are so many settings, and so many buttons, that I haven’t discovered even a fraction of all the things that this camera does!

Here are a two pictures from tonight.
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Arnie.
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Greta.

Stay tuned for more pictures!!!

Shopping, Shopping, Shopping

The last two days have been spent shopping. No, not for food. This time we have been shopping for new clothes. Our vacation is coming up and we both need summer clothes that are neat and clean, and don’t look like the usual stuff we wear out to weed the garden.

Yesterday we drove down to “The Big City” and went to “Coldwater Creek”. This is a fine women’s clothing store. I love their stuff, but usually it is so expensive that I look and then don’t buy. Yesterday, however, they were having an end of the season sale and had great buys!

Hubby was with me and he helped me pick out several beautiful outfits, that all, sort of color coordinate, so I can pack less, but have more options.

You know what I love about “Coldwater Creek”? They treat you like a lady. A saleswoman asked my name, got me into a nice dressing room, with my name on the door, got different sizes, when the size I’d picked up were too big. It made me think of Julia Roberts in “Pretty Woman”, when she goes out and spends an obscene amount of money on an entire wardrobe of clothes.

The amount I spent wasn’t actually obscene, in fact it was all marked down so much I couldn’t believe it! So I walked out of there with 8 items for a ridiculously reasonable price!!!

Hubby and I took off again today to get him some clothes. Not easy, as he is 6 feet 4 inches tall. But we got him three pairs of pants and a shirt.

Our trips to “The Big City” and to “Outlet Heaven” took place at the peak of foliage season. We really enjoyed the bright colors, and the fact that we actually got to see it before a storm rolls through and takes the leaves down.

As we drove through the country today, it reminded me of why we live here. The unpopulated, vast beauty, of the mountains. Especially in the Autumn!

Close your eyes, gentle readers, and imagine the mountains painted with the bright reds, oranges and yellows, and then touched with coral around the edges.

Ahhh, there is nothing more beautiful!!!

Saturday Scavenger Photo

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PRACTICAL

Not only is this one of my favorite pictures, but it fits this weeks theme perfectly. You see, back when Shubi was very old, she loved to go on hikes with us, but she got very tired. So we found the practical solution was to put her in the back pack, lock the zippers and carry her this way. She loved it!!!

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Apple Pie

This recipe fits all the criteria for our new way of eating. Best of all, it tastes great! A perfect recipe for an Autumn day!

Apple Pie ( Splenda )

1 double crust pie crust
7 cups baking apples, thin-sliced, cored, peeled
1/2 cup Splenda granular (artificial sweetener)
1/2 cup Splenda brown sugar blend (artificial sweetener)
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 tablespoon butter cut into small chunks.

1. Preheat oven to 425°F
2. Place one crust into a 9-inch pie pan.
3. Place sliced apples into a large mixing bowl and set aside.
4. Combine Splenda, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg & ground cloves in a small bowl.
5. Sprinkle mixture over apples and toss.
6. Spoon apple mixture into piecrust. Dot the top with the chunks of butter.
7. Place the second crust over the filling. Seal edges, trim and flute. Make small openings in the top crust.
8. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until the top crust is golden. Serve warm or chilled.