January 10, 2008
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It’s Still Christmas _ LE
It’s hard to believe it’s the 10th of January. So much happens in so little time and it all passes into yesterdays. Christmas? it continues for those of us who can’t let it go.
Christmas Kept
© RSBlain January 2008Christmas comes
And Christmas goes
But anyone who loves it knows
It’s best
Kept close to your heartNurtured daily
With good thoughts
And deeds you choose to do
Your Christmas Spirit will remain
Uplifted … vibrant … new …Christmas lovers know if kept
In your heart,
“The Spirit”
All the loved ones you hold dear
Will gather round you, near itAs from the greatest distance
Your Christmas Joy is felt
Radiating Christmas light
From where the Wisemen KneltOnly God’s whisper away
*
Eden, Halie, Mitch and John shared in the long planned secret and purchase of a new Canon Digital Rebel XTi camera I am now learning to use. I am overwhelmed by just how good Santa was to me.
A few photos from our trip.
Anything is game for my camera. Halie has been doing a lot of decorating in her home since we were there last. I loved this beautifully healthy plant potted in these bright colors in a bath. The eggs in the bowl are very heavy. This image was taken with my kodak. It has been and still is a good camera even after a spell of intermittent poor behavior where I thought I would have to send it to Kodak. For some reason it pulled out of its little hissy fit and has continued to work fine after the fact.
From here on down, the Canon Camera kicks in …
I really enjoy playing with “from the window shots”. This is a scene of her deck as seen from an off the kitchen window. It was rainy and misty and I loved the color of the day and the scene.
Not all of our days in Virginia were rainy. This sunny “out the window shot” looks toward the front of her home decorated with Poinsettia and Holly growing at the step. We cut a lot of the Holly to use in the house for decoration and cut it in the dark of night. When we looked at the plant the next day we couldn’t see where we had cut from, it was so full. I guess my being careful to move around while taking the berry filled branches was a good thing.
This is a view of the living area. Under Halie’s instruction, John, Eden, Mitch and I all had a hand in decorating the garland running across the top of the room. It turned out beautifully and was high enough John didn’t have to duck. The Pyracantha at the far left of the photo is the Christmas tree. It was purchased live to be planted shortly after the season. It made a beautiful Christmas tree with tiny white lights and all the natural red berries. All of the plants Halie is using in her yard are purchased specific as native to Virginia.
John and India, along with the rest of us on the ocean boardwalk walking dogs and taking photos. It’s a beautiful view and a great place for photos and walking.
This nicely kept up red barn and outbuildings were off the side of the road driving to North Carolina and the Dunes. It caught my eye with its bright color and I managed to get a decent shot from the car window which is a trick with my new camera not being used to it.
This dune had a lot of people on it flying kites. There is always wind here. It’s not far from Kittyhawk where the Wright Brothers flew their plane. No sand was blowing which I was glad of as it can be pretty nasty whipping your face when windy and not good for a camera.
This view of the docked red fleet was taken on our way out of Virginia Beach on the way home. It always catches my eye but I haven’t had a lot of luck getting a photo. This one didn’t turn out too badly. As you can see on the far right, you can read the writing on the side of the boat. If I can read text in a photo I feel pretty good about the sharpness of the photo.
The Presidents park near Williamsburg. We didn’t go in even though its free. I thought this shot would be more interesting than closeups of huge white busts.
Halie has some lovely pets, all rescued. We really enjoy them when there and miss them when we come home. You can barely ever get a shot of them all together so I used portions of photos I took to make this collage.
More than enough in the way of photos. Others will show up here and there. See more on PhotoGraphics.
Ring, ring
Fire department, what’s the nature of your call?
My house is on fire, come quick
Okay lady, how do we get there.
Duh, big red truck!!Links:Don’t ever drink from Hotel glasses for those of us hygienically disposed, YOU NEED TO READ THISRemember our Military, the Military Gratitude CampaignFor inspiration in your life, you really should see this Self limiting beliefsYOU WILL BE ENTERTAINED with this group, sort of a Barbershop Extraordinaire I guarantee even though the music is for Christmas, you will love it.My sister’s husband needs prayers. His name is Dan Nordheim and he slipped and fell on the ice while going into work. The fall whiplashed his brain bruising it on the front and back and caused bleeding and a concussion. He seems fine to talk to but has not eaten a meal since it happened on Friday following Christmas. I know he can’t last a lot longer unless his brain kicks in telling him he has to eat. He was in the hospital for a day or so where he ate a bit of oatmeal. They said he was eating and they sent him home. Well, he isn’t eating. Pray he gives in to getting himself some really good follow up help. My sis is very upset.
Be well everyone,
Comments (23)
Those photos are awesome! Don’t you love the Canon? I just have a cheapo Canon but it is a lot of fun to use.
I could not believe the video about Hotel glasses! Yuuuuuck! I’m sending that one on, I think. People need to be aware of this! Between that and the bedbug problem, I wonder anyone ever stays away from home!
Did you use your new camera for the beautiful poinsettias on your background?
You have been spoiled Becca for Christmas . The new cammera already makes wonders . Your pictures are amazing .
I like also your poem about Christmas spirit to continue along the year .
Love
Michel
Regarding Dan, I hope he is eating now, and makes a full recovery. Must be an anxious time for Bunny, hope she is managing OK. I like the message in the Poem. To be honest I am pretty illiterate when it comes to Poetry, so forewarned is forearmed, I shall be asking you to read it to me next time we are on the chat. That way I’ll know what it is supposed to sound like and not just a piece of prose! The photographs are lovely, but again I shall be wanting more info on how you get the centre effects like you do, I appreciate the use of the rectangle tool, but the misty effect is something I would like to know. The last edit with the dogs and Rusty, that really is a beautifully put together collage. I love it, definitely one of my favourites. I am glad you have a new Camera Becca, since you really deserved such a gift and very thoughtful of your family to provide it. I think your photos are poetic in themselves, absolutely fantastic! Difficult for an old Horse Soldier like me to describe it. -Bye
Well, I thought that I had forgotten to give you a mini, and since I have more credits on graphic_excesses than I have on tim_beddard I took it upon my self to sign in with graphics_excesses to give you this mini
Hi I agree your photos are poetic in themselves. Awesome. I too hope Dan is doing better and has begun to eat. I know you’re going to enjoy your camera and we too will get to see your awesome shots.
The presidents’ busts look surreal, like something out of alice in wonderland. I liked the photos of the boats and the people on the dunes best. They’re all lovely! And I am concerned about your husband and at the same time wish I could still have the same situation where I would stop eating for 10 days…I know — this is not funny. Usually brain damage heals up slowly. You might want to get him hydrated or something. I’ll bet he’s not getting enough water. Sending hope.
Is there any progress for Dan?
Your photos are so lovely! Of course, having met the incredible Halie myself, I feel even closer to her after these pictures.
I’m glad someone is still brimming with Christmas spirit. Sadly, I was ready to see it go, except for that whole going back to work thing. LOL
Thank you Becca for you kind comment
I hope your brother in law eats now .
Love
Michel
Me too believes in Christmas every day.
And I’ll hold a prayerful thought for your brother-in-law Dan. As for me…
My speech is written! I hope you’ll come over and give a look, and let me know how it strikes you.
Love that collage! Do hope Dan can start to eat.
thank you for the lovely poem, Christmas is wonderful, inspiring, evoking thanks, reverence for the Lord, and a look at the beauty of our lives.
your pictures are awesome, what great color and resolution, thanks for sharing.
I wish you and yours a healthy, happy new year.
blessings,
sage
I hope you’re brother in law is continuing to get better!
Beautiful photos and poem- you are raising your already high standards with the new camera. The videos were frightening,inspiring and enjoyable ( in that order ! ) I heard a spoof version of the ” Twelve Days Of Christmas ” that was very funny – the poor recipent ends up having a breakdown with all those animals, birds and people in his house
May we all keep the Christmas spirit throughout the year. 
Marie
Hope your BIL is doing much better. Neat photos..
There’s too many shots here to try to constructively critique them all. So, in general, it looks like you’ve been having a lot of fun working with what you captured. It’s clear that you’re more comfortable with your old “point and shoot” than you are with the newer camera, but your comfort level and skill will improve over time. The most noticeable difference is exposure. Most of the shots from the new camera lack proper color saturation (coming off greyish) and blur is evident in the shot with Dad and India, even at that small size. Your composition is good, though, and shows a lot of promise. Although the fences are a big distraction in your shot of the busts, your choice of a distance shot with multiple shots is unique and interesting. If you’d have taken a wide-angle shot from the wide-angle end of your lens while standing at the fence, you may have gotten a similar shot without the added distraction. Of course, a good stake out from within the park might have provided you with excellent opportunities for a similar composition. The boat shot is also nicely composed (in camera?), but I miss the saturation in the bright red hulls.
Overall, I think you’re doing fabulous, and it’s evident that you’re working very hard to get up to speed with the new challenges you’ve been presented. I’m looking forward to seeing lots more from you. If you haven’t done it yet, it’s a good idea to start listening to “podcasts” on photography. You know Martin Bailey’s is one of my favorites (start from the older podcasts) and a great place for new photographers to start. You don’t need an ipod to listen; although, you can download itunes for free and organize your podcasts inside of it. To listen without itunes, just go to his site and start listening.
Have you finished reading and rereading the book yet?
Oh, forgot to say, I don’t think pyracantha is native to VA, and I look like a sour puss on the couch!
What great photos. Hope your BIL is better by now. What a thing to happen
super pix. I hope your brother in law is eating now, and has suffered no enduring consequences from his fall.
No doubt about it—some good pictures Becca Well done—–KENNETH
Love the animal collections Becca—Well done——Kenneth
Having now had time to look at your work Becca—these are exceptional photographs
well done friend
@KENKEYS - Kenneth, you must have waked up early to be dropping comments like flies. I had to laugh when reading them thinking you must have been influenced by something I said, LOL. I am wondering how you managed to go back on the pages to find entries and didn’t comment on the front page entries at all. It did let me know you can find the previous entries when you feel like fishing for them. Thanks for all the comments on PhotoGraphics and for this one on LittleEgypt (you didn’t make it to RubyReddSlippers so must have gotten tired after all the typing) be sure to stop back and look at the newer entries in all of them.
Becca
@LittleEgypt - Will do dear friend