this little life of mine

New Year, New Camera

Well, I finally did it: I bought a new camera! Sure, my old camera still takes great pictures (the last shots will be featured the coming weeks), including the one above, but with the view screen no longer working and the zoom working only when it felt like it, it was frustrating and not as much fun to take pictures. So, I ran over to Best Buy today and after checking out a couple different cameras, decided on the one above: the Canon PowerShot SD1400 IS Digital ELPH. It's tiny - about the same width and height as my old Elphie, but at least half as wide.  I'm going to have to be SO careful not to lose it! Or, you know, drop it in the soup!

Here's the first shot from the new camera:

 So far I'm very happy with my purchase, but if this camera annoys me in any way, shape or form within the next 14 days, I can return it! Cool!

A New January Writing Project

Today I discovered this interesting writing project, which is occuring the month of January 2011, during a visit to Gemma's website (where I was admiring her lovely photos!). I thought it sounded not only like a fun writing project, but helpful as well. As stated on the Small Stones website:

A small stone is a polished moment of paying proper attention.

Writing details, descriptions has always been difficult for me, so hopefully this little writing exercise will help me see details better and therefore be better able to describe them. Please click on the badge above to join in!

Vintage Books

 

Wordless Wednesday

 

Teaser Tuesday: Mattimeo by Brian Jacques

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

  

1. Grab your current read

2. Open to a random page

3. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

4. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

5. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

6.  
   This week I'm reading Mattimeo by Brian Jacques. This is the second book in the Redwall series and so far it's just as charming and delightful as the first one. My teaser comes from page186:                                                                                                                                                                                      "Mattimeo, what is it?" she asked. "You've changed since we were recaptured."

Clean Eating: Turkey Pot Pie

 

This delicious low fat version of one of my favourite meals is from the November/December 2010 issue of Clean Eating magazine. I remember as a child I would get to have a steamy chicken pot pie fresh from the oven as a special treat. It wasn't homemade like this one, but a frozen dinner - probably Banquet brand - that came in its own little tin and had creamy chicken and veggies inside surrounded by a flakey crust outside. Despite seeing the steam pouring out of it when I broke the crust with my fork, I was unable to wait for it to cool down, and more often than not, burned my tongue on that first bite. Oh, that takes me back!

The Clean Eating version uses turkey instead of chicken (I'm sure you could use chicken if you wanted, but it was one of those "What to do with your leftover Thanksgiving turkey" recipes) and has a brown rice and parmesean cheese "crust".  It was pretty easy to make though there was a lot of prep work with all the peeling and chopping of carrots and turnips and onions,  and cutting the turkey breast into bite-sized pieces, and my stove/oven just takes longer to cook foods. Still, the final product not only looks wonderful but tastes amazing as well!

 

See It Sunday: Star

 

A New Photo Meme: Sepia Scenes

 

I came across this fun new photo meme, Sepia Scenes, a week ago and couldn't wait to join. I have always liked the "sepia" tone in photography, how it gives any photo a dreamy, old-fashioned quality.  I even had a sepia filter waaaaaayyy back when I was lugging a ginormous Konica 35mm camera around in high school and college (and a few years beyond!), so I could make vintage-looking photos! Now I use the sepia effect at the picnik.com website. It's SO much easier! I love picnik.com and highly recommend it for creating beautiful, amazing photos!

The Catherine Ryan Hyde Reading Challenge

I came across this reading challenge by happy chance and am thrilled to share and promote it:

 

Catherine Ryan Hyde  is one of my all-time favourite authors (right behind Douglas Adams & Kage Baker, which is odd, I suppose, because Douglas Adams and Kage Baker write, er, I mean wrote (sadly, yes, that's past tense for both amazing and greatly missed writers), primarily sci-fi/fantasy and CRH is primarily a realistc, modern-day-type writer, but still...) so I was excited to discover this reading challenge for her books!

I have read Pay It Forward (but have not and never will see the movie (no offense to CRH, because obviously the book rocks, but c'mon, movie casting person ... Kevin Spacey?!? Really?!? If you haven't already, read the book to find out why that pissed me off so bad!)), Being Chloe and The Day I Killed James and loved each and every one of them. Currently sitting unread on my bookshelf are Electric God and Funerals for Horses both of which I will be reading for this challenge. If I'm lucky, I'll also be able to get ahold of Diary of a Witness and Catherine's latest book, Jumpstart the World.  

All that said, I highly encourage everyone to check out this challenge (you only need to commit to reading one of her novels, and I would personally recommend .... ummmmm... Being Chloe. I loved loved loved that book!), grab a Catherine Ryan Hyde book and ENJOY!!

Wordless Wednesday: Vintage Google-Eyed Santa Ornament

 

Teaser Tuesday: Silent Night by Stanley Weintraub

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

 

1. Grab your current read

2. Open to a random page

3. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

4. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

5. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!


This week I'm reading a non-ficiton book - my first and only of the year, I believe - called Silent Night - The Story of The World War I Christmas Truce by Stanley Weintraub. I've had this book on my shelf for several years, but never had the nerve to read it. This story of enemies, hell-bent on killing each other, stopping a freakin' WAR to celebrate Christmas truly moves me, and I was afraid I would just bust out sobbing on a bus full of people and totally embarrass myself! This year, however, I decided to just go for it! The timing is perfect - it's almost Christmas! and it's a Christmas story! - and I'll get yet another book off my shelf! Please enjoy my extended teaser:

A Belgian who had taken Christmas Eve Communion in the basement of a blasted church was up at dawn, just north of Poperinge, too agitated to sleep, and saw that the Germans had posted "HAPPY CHRISTMAS" over a parapet. When they observed heads poking up to read it, the Germans emerged,visibly unarmed. Advancing toward the puzzled Belgians, who had hardly been treated benevolently before, the Boches sang, then shouted "Comrades!" Momentarily forgetting their hatred of the invaders, the Belgians put down their rifles.

There. That right there is the magic of Christmas at work! le sigh! I give up and will just have to take some extra tissues with me on my commute!

Merry Christmas to all who visit from MizB's Teaser Tuesday meme, and I wish you all a Happy - and book-filled - New Year!