Miscellany Monday

Day of the Mumsies

Mother's Day is one of those card holidays worthy of celebration, and this year, it's not sneaking up on me. No sir. The hubs and I are putting on our mall walking shoes and heading out to find the perfect mother-honoring gift. And probably some birthday gifts, too, because there are five or more bdays in his immediate and extended family in the month of May ALONE. Oi. It's an adventure!
At least I like shopping for other people. That's one of the few times I look forward to going to the mall: shopping for that perfectly fabulous something to rock their day is fantastic :]

New Toy

I bought myself something pretty yesterday. I knew those salvaged birthday dollars would serve me well in something other than groceries and emergency vending machine rations.
I bought myself a camera.
A Kodak Z981 to be exact.
For $100.00 off. Oh, and the store had a deal for a free 4G memory card (hey, every little bit helps). Yes, I was doing a jig.
Is it a fancy smancy professional camera that I could start a business with?
No, but it's wonderful a leap up from my regular point and shoot. Being the cautious shopper that I am, I had to be sure it was worth it, so I took some test shots with my newbie and my oldie, just to be sure there was a difference.
Um, yes there definitely was.

Yes, I'm pretty pleased. :]
But if any of you photo pros knows anything about this camera or have words of warning, please please PLEASE tell me. I'm a novice at all this, and, if I've bought a lemon, I need to know so I can return it in 13 days and get my money back.
Thanks bunches!

Fur Love

Testing out the camera, I took some photos of my furry loveballs.

This is Pipkin.

She was named after one of my favorite characters in Watership Down (you know, the social commentary illustrated by a rabbit colony? That book).
Yeah, she was named after a bunny . . . which may explain her love for vegetables. Seriously. Her favorite treat? Broccoli. Not even kidding you, this little girl adores steamed broccoli. She used to steal tomatoes out of my grocery bag, but, since those are supposed to be very bad for cats, we stopped that pretty quickly. She's my shadow, my kitchen help (she loves to watch me cook and wash dishes), a chatterbox, and my snuggle buddy. No one has met Pipkin and not been completely charmed by her quirky, sweet personality.
My first graders beg for tales of Pipkin's misadventures and then draw illustrations for the stories. :]



This is Navi.
 She was named after the fairy in the "Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time" video game because her tiny little meow sounded a little that the fairy's "HEY!"
She's decided she loves the hubs best. She frequently curls up in his lap while he games or sleeps behind his knees early in the morning.
She's the shy cat--if we have friends over, she'll hide and watch from under the table or in a corner, then, suddenly she'll decide she likes our friends, and, without a sound or any warning, will suddenly be perched beside them, watching, and sniffing. She likes to smell faces. Personally, I think she just loves seeing the shock on people's faces when a cat appears out of nowhere on their shoulder.
She's a true Ninja Kitty: stealthy and playful. She loves to sneak up behind me and grab my ponytail (which is what she did right before I snapped this picture).