239 - Lights ___ Action!

Last night we went to a local hotel for Red Pump Radio. It's local singers/songwriters, a guy who emcees the show and keeps it moving along, and there was a guy who told stories and jokes. It was a nice little outing. Debra serves food... I didn't realize it or we might have eaten there, but the salmon and the kale salad we had at home were delicious so I can't complain (and good for us to boot). We didn't stay long because Mike is under the weather and I hate to leave Bo in the basement for long, but from time to time we may do it again.

I have purchased a domain name and web hosting so now I'm in the R&D part of my business plan. Am happy with it so far and hope it will not only be a good business for me, but helpful to others as well. I got so caught up in the idea of a restaurant that I completely overlooked other things I enjoy doing that are marketable, and whereas the restaurant requires substantial upfront costs, a ton of risk and a lot of work, I can do this for hardly any start up and mostly from home whenever I choose. Which is great for me. I know, I'm being intentionally cryptic until I'm up and running.

So, my 'old' camera is starting to malfunction again... the zoom lever is sticking. I've already sent it in once to have that fixed under warranty, I'm not sure I can do it again but you'd think if it was repaired once it wouldn't break a second time. It also irritates me that sometimes I press the button to take a picture and the aperture doesn't do anything for several seconds, if at all. No bueno. Especially since part of my proposed business involves photography.

And I can't find my orange camera... it's a good little daily driver...

But...

I decided that since things were so tight for so long, and I am getting money back from selling the house, I wanted to do something semi-frivolous for myself with some of that money. Not a ridiculous amount, but something I wouldn't normally do. I have always told myself that I would get a good camera someday. Not a DSLR, but not just a point and shoot like I've had with every other camera I've ever owned. You may have noticed that I like to take pictures.

I did my research and decided it was time to return to Olympus, the brand that I've been most satisfied with overall... so this will be my third and I have to say... so far... I am loving my new camera.

I found a deal... as I tend to do. It came with a lens, macro lens, fish eye lens, three filters, an extra battery, storage card, car charger, camera case, flash, cleaning kit and mini-tripod for less than just the camera body was selling on other sites. Plus I went through a rebate site so I got 5% back. :) And, since the camera they pictured had a tilt-out screen and the one I received doesn't, I think they're going to swap out the camera bodies and I'll end up with an even better deal. The model I bought, as I found when I attempted to locate instructions to use tilt the screen, doesn't actually have the tilt feature, it's another model... but... I was going by their website and that feature was one of the reasons I chose that particular model. I was pretty impressed with how seamless the screen was because it didn't *look* like it moved... and then I found out the reason it was so seamless is because it doesn't.

Enough jabbering. On to the pictures.

It has cool art features like soft focus, as modeled by the Bo-Bo

A high contrast mode

I forget what this one was called. I call it Snout.

Another filter

Fish eye lens. Hello.

Sepia

High contrast... and typical Walter-Bo behavior... paw to the face

Great profile feature (handsome husband not included)

Bootsie, the dust bunny

Macro mode (those are the weird cylindrical rocks I was trying to tell you about dad)

UV filter makes the sky really BLUE and lady bug houses very realistic

Awesome crisp detail (yeah... still obsessed)

Tha barn.

So I'm playing around with my toy. Lots to learn... I *can* just point and shoot, but I think it's high time I actually learn what a camera is all about, to understand the manual mode and see what I'm really capable of. Kept meaning to do it, but point and shoots don't feel like 'real' cameras so it didn't seem like there was much point. But now... I feel like I have a real camera.

Today is a Bo day and be lazy day. I'm dehydrating sweet potatoes, chicken and salmon for Bo's snacks. Between making his food and the supplement I bought, his fur has some shine to it and it's soft. Not soft like Walter, but for Bo's coarse, short, stabby hair, it's soft. And most days he doesn't have tummy issues anymore. All around I'm pleased even though it's more work. The bonus is, in the longrun it costs less than buying the wet food we were buying.

Tomorrow we have to get up early to take the kittens in. It's time to have them neutered. YEA!!! So they'll be neutered, vaccinated and Walter's tooth will finally be looked at and tended to, if necessary. But we have to be there by 7:30 am. Me no likey.

And even though life has thrown us ANOTHER curve ball, life is pretty sweet, and I have a really good feeling about the future. The right path is easy, the one you aren't supposed to be on will fight you like hell. It is easy to forget that sometimes, but no worries - life will remind you.