Camera Settings

I watched part of the dvd about my new camera from Christmas today and learned about some new "Creative" settings I could use.  Here are some of the pics I took when I practiced afterwards...

Cool Aerial View

Birds

Because there is no seed in the feeder, and just suet, the squirrels don't bother anymore.  And we are back to attracting some really pretty birds, like these guys.   I took these pictures through the kitchen window.  A friend from Nantucket who happens to be a bit of a bird expert has now told me what each of these birds are, so I am labeling each one...

Starlings

Cardinals (male and female)

Here are the birds that have laid eggs in a potted plant in our garage.  First there were two eggs, now we're up to 6 eggs!  They don't seem to mind our coming and going in the evening with the loud garage door going up and down.  Guess they figure it's the price they pay for a warm safe garage nest!

Carolina Wrens

Carolina Wren's nest

Common Grackle

Male Red-Bellied Woodpecker

Female Downy Woodpecker

Black Capped Chickadee and Male Cardinal

Blue Jay

Incoming Grackle, Outgoing Blue Jay

Insulation Behind the Fireplace

A few weeks ago, we realized there was a HUGE draft coming from the molding by the side of the fireplace.  When we removed the molding, there is a really big gap, and cold air from the garage is definitely coming into the family room.  Paul went and bought a huge roll of insulation and stuffed it in to try to fill in the gap.  Seems better now.  Too bad we didn't realize all winter long!

Painting the Kitchen

On Saturday we tackled painting the kitchen.  We've been slow to get motivated in this space because there is so much we want to do, and it's painful to spend time on it the way it is.  We really would like to just gut it and start over, and certainly get rid of these cabinets, but that process is both expensive and daunting because we don't really know exactly what we want to do yet.  Paul's parents were kind enough to babysit and even help with painting!  We got all of this done in one day.  Next up - painting the kitchen cabinets.  We can't decide whether to go with bold black or more of a lighter color.  I don't think I would like the lighter color (like off-white) mostly because of how it would look with the currently black appliances, AND now that I look at these pictures, I really don't think I'd like off-white next to the bright white trim color.  The laundry room door obviously needs to be painted now.  All the trim used to be the same color as the laundry room door. 


First, the "Befores"

Afters:

 

Decorating for Christmas

Of course I started decorating for Christmas after we finished celebrating Thanksgiving!  Lina helped me to put several Charlie Brown garlands together to make a a nice full garland for the stairs, and then I decorated it with pinecones I'd saved from our house in Georgia and some Christmasy green and red ornaments from Costco and berry/sparkly picks from JoAnn.

Rearranging Furniture

We moved furniture around this weekend for a few reasons.  We needed to make room for the Christmas tree in front of the bay window, and the chaise of the sectional kind of crowded that area where it sat in the beamed ceiling family room just off of the garage.  Also, I don't really want a "formal" living room that is never used.  I would rather it be a comfortable, usable space that we use regularly.  Lastly, the sectional also felt too big for the family room, and the sofa looked a little odd as the only furniture in the living room.  The furniture is really just too big.  Lesson learned - don't buy furniture without measuring first - even if it's a great sale at Restoration Hardware!  The only place we've been that this furniture really fit well was our rental in Annapolis that had a HUGE open concept living space.  We're happy with how this turned out, though have some issues to work out with mounting a tv above the mantel, and we also think it's a weird for the sectional to block part of the entry door from the dining room.   Hmm... There doesn't seem to be another way to arrange it, and on the plus side, we can really seat a few people comfortably now.