Point, Shoot, and Nap

Look! My first picture with the new Christmas camera! (I was willing to put it under the tree and forego playing with it until Christmas, but Roger informed me it is my holiday obligation to figure it out so I can take Christmas pictures with it.) Not bad, considering I was sitting in a very dimly lit room and I hadn't even read the manual. I can tell there's going to be quite the learning curve to figure out all the fun things this camera does, but it has a great automatic mode that will allow me to have fun pointing and shooting while I figure the trickier stuff out. Exciting! (And for the person who asked, the camera DOES have a flash..it pops up when you want to use it but otherwise stays folded down.)

Can you tell Gemma spent the afternoon romping with her canine cousin Katie?!

I was similarly tired, having just returned from Nevada City where I spent a quick overnight with my aunt and uncle. My aunt (yep, the one I was with earlier this fall when she was recovering from surgery) took me and my cousin-in-law Linda out for a fancy Christmas tea.



I love doing "high tea" at Christmas time -- it's such a lovely ritual. We nibbled on scones and quiche and tiny sandwiches while sipping tea (Earl Grey for me, "Raspberry Truffle" for Linda, "China Gold" for Auntie Carole). How civilized! We had a lovely visit.

Now it's counting down to Christmas. Yikes! I woke up at 5 this morning with my mind spinning through the stuff I need to get done. I ended up getting out of bed to finalize the Christmas dinner menu, make the grocery shopping list, and sort out the baking I need to do later today and tomorrow.

Oh! And while I was in Nevada City, Roger called to tell me that the tree FELL OVER. This particular tree seems to be jinxed. Luckily, the ornaments were not on it yet. He righted it and ended up wiring the thing to the walls (it's in a corner). I tell you, the artificial tree is looking better and better. We'll finish decorating it tonight. I have never had an unfinished tree this close to Christmas, so I'm eager to get it up and looking sparkly.

Okay--I'm off to do some wrapping, then to lunch with good buddies Pat, Rita, and Janet... Having wonderful friends is the best holiday gift of all, don't you think?