Reminder…

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Scott’s Hometown Challenge is due tomorrow…only a few people have posted so far, so I am assuming that, like me, they still have photos to shoot!  Or, like me, they are trying to figure out how exactly to remain anonymous while presenting their hometown.  No easy feat!  That’s why it’s called “a challenge” I suppose!

(Don’t worry Scott…my post is mostly drafted, just need to fill in the blanks with a few elusive photos.)  🙂

See everyone over there tomorrow!

And while you wait…here’s the view that I enjoyed for the second 12 years of my life…(um, yeah, minus that crazy middle tree and the junk autos.)

Back Update

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I am healing.

I have good days and bad days, but am on my feet and moving and living life again, so I have few complaints.

I ache like a 90 year old woman in the mornings, and feel about as crochety as the crabby ones!  But within two hours have worked out most of the kinks.

I walked on a treadmill at Physical Therapy yesterday.  Or shall I say, “I moved my feet and hung onto the bars of a treadmill with a death grip for my dear life yesterday.”  My PT said I was ready…I begged to differ.  “Lengthen your stride,” he said.  “What?  A 12 inch stride isn’t long enough?  It gets me where I’m going,” I said.  And he raised his eyebrows at me, crossed his arms over his chest, and scolded me with nothing more than a look.  I felt like a child again.  Which is good, cause it counteracted the whole 90 year old woman thing.  “You don’t have to hold onto the bars quite so tightly,” he said.  “Do you WANT to pick me up off the floor?” I said.  And again, with the eyes.   “You aren’t following through with your step,” he said.  “How can you tell that?” I said.  “Hear that grinding sound the machine is making?  That’s how I know…so follow through with that left foot.”  “*sigh*” I said, and again with the look.

So then, I quit being ornery and gave it the old college try, and before I knew it, I was walking….REALLY walking, with a full stride and a little bit of speed, and the biggest shock of all…..it felt GOOOOOOOD!  🙂  And just like any good teacher, my dear PT went from arms crossed, eyebrows raised, to cheering me on and praise for the five minutes I managed to stay on this machine.  And also, like any good teacher, he reminded me that fear can be the most damaging thing of all.

New Toy

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Well, after much deliberation (just ask poor Scott!) I  decided to upgrade my camera from my trusty Nikon D40 to a Nikon D90.  As the saying goes, it all begins with a throw pillow, or in this case, a glitchy lens.  I went looking for a replacement lens and came out with a whole new kit at the end.  How could I resist? The 18-200mm VR lens was $300 off with the purchase of the camera.  Aren’t I a good saver?  😉

So this new little beauty arrived on Monday.  Alas, I had already cleaned and packed my D40 to ready it for transfer to it’s new home, and didn’t have the heart to pull it back out only to have to go through the heartwrenching goodbye process again.  So no pretty photos of my new camera or the pretty gold boxes it came in.  I haven’t had very much time to play with it, and I have a lot to learn (again) since it’s got a lot of cool little buttons on it that attach to functions I have never used (or heard of) before.  It’s like getting a new car….it’s all at once familiar, yet completely foreign.  You can sit right down, start it up and drive, but it might take you awhile to figure out what all those new buttons do, or how the windshield wiper turns on.  I will tell you that I already LOVE that little window on top of the camera that shows all the camera info all the time….my D40 only had the back display.  I LOVE my new lens….no more switching between my 18-55mm and my 55-200mm.  And the vibration reduction is wonderful, as I tend to hate flash and shoot indoors a lot.  But my very favorite thing???  The fact that my 50mm f/1.8 lens that I bought two years or so ago AUTOFOCUSES!!!!!!!!!  WHoooooHoooooo!  🙂  I could only use it manually on my D40.

So far, so good, no regrets!

So here’s the first D90 shot I will share with you…Many more to come.  (And a big public thank you to friend Scott for being my sounding board and for giving such good advice.)