243 - Boo. I'm sick.

That's all... just me being sick. I'm taking some TheraFlu and it's helping but you know how it is, by nighttime you just feel whooped.

Still fighting with Overstock about the camera. I've gone up two levels to management and I think we've found a compromise. At first they offered to refund $40, then maybe $40 an a $20 Club O membership. Then the next person offered me $50 and said the difference between the two camera bodies was $75 so I would only owe $25... and she basically said $75 was too much of a difference for them to just do a swap, to which I replied... a moment ago I was getting $40 and a free Club O membership, that's $60 and you're telling me $75 is too much? The manager told me that I will have to send everything back, not just the camera body, but she will see if they can find or create the other camera model with a bundle that is the same with no additional cost.

I guess the thing that angers me is that I made my purchase based on the pictures they showed on their website. I don't care whether the model number matches the pictures, I go by what I see advertised and shouldn't have to verify the accuracy of their ad before I make a purchase. All they have to do is make it right. Making it right is not offering me $50, making it right is getting me the camera I thought I purchased in the first place or at least refunding the difference between the two. If I can't trust them to deliver what I ordered, I simply won't buy from them again. So we'll see. She's supposed to call me when she gets it sorted out, but I wasted a week waiting on the first level to call me back. Have I mentioned how exhausting it is to have to constantly fight to make people do the right thing?

242 - More Pictures of Bo

I should just start calling all of my blog posts More Pictures of Bo.

And snow.

And birds.

And the creek.

And our barn.

It's "concerned for your safety" Bo

My hottie husband taking a nap. This is how the photo appears, untouched.

Then I airbrushed out the dog hair and applied a couple of filters. I'm playing around with photo retouching... it's been a while and I was never very involved with it in the first place so some of it seems familiar, but most of it is alien.

Sunset

Peek-a-boo Bo

You've-got-food-I-want Bo

Glamour shot Bo

The End.

And my domain issue has been resolved! I'm up and running at www.albo-talbot.com, go check me out, pass me along to your friends and co-workers, and let me know what you think! My shingle is OUT.

241 - Snow (Again)

Big fat fluffy flakes falling from the sky

240 - The Long Road Home

Since it's almost 60 degrees out we took Bo for an extra long walk across the creek and down Cotton Hollow. New scenery! Woot! Perfect to test drive the 'ol new camera.

And my snow boots are awesome for brief forays into the water. I felt the cold but my feet stayed dry. $25 well spent.

Got up way too damned early to take the kittens to the vet (6 am). Vast difference between Gracie in the truck and kittens in the truck. Bootsie fell asleep and Walter mostly trusted that if Bootsie was cool with it, he could be too... but every once in a while you'd see a paw sneaking out. And neither of them pooped, then again, no other cat I know of but Gracie did. Bo went along for the ride; I'm not sure which is his least favorite, the basement or the open road. He is not a truck loving dog. He pretty much shook the whole time BUT he didn't puke this time. We got his claws clipped and he got lots of compliments from everyone as usual. "There's a beautiful pointer." *spoiled* On the way home he was a little calmer and almost fell asleep... maybe one day he'll get used to it and even look forward to ridealongs.

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.