Merry Christmas

This was not taken with my new camera, it was taken with the big one I spoke of in the last post. The new one arrived and I am very excited to use it but I need a card reader for sd memory before posting any photos to my blog.
This photo was taken at a friend's house on this Christmas day. The little statue resting among the cactus struck me when I walked by.

Christmas Present

I have been without a point and shoot camera for several months and as a result I have very few photos of this time past. I just don't get excited about pulling out the big, heavy camera so I don't. I guess that is silly but it's true.
Anyway - I found just the camera I want. It is a fixed lens Canon which includes options for full manual settings. I won't have to rely on the little digital wonder to set my shutter speed and aperture - I can do it myself. This feature is key for me. I will have full control of the outcome of my photos. I can even buy accessories to widen the lens or to give it more telefoto range.
I am so excited to get the new toy - I even payed a little more to have it shipped overnight. Yahooey!

Dad

My father passed away this weekend. None of us expected this.
I had an amazing dream Friday night... In the dream my dad and I were having a casual conversation but a really nice one. It was adult to adult, calm, enjoyable, enlightening. We were both just comfortable, sharing. This was a milestone. When I awoke I decided I would write to my dad and tell him about this dream. I thought he would appreciate it. Why didn't I just phone him to tell him? Because his hearing was shot and he couldn't hear me. We communicated in letters.
I received a phone call Sunday morning from my brother telling me my father had died. It appears from all indications he died Friday night.
Was it a dream or was it a real conversation? I believe it was real - I believe he and I openly communicated, finally, as he was moving to the next level. Thank you dad for all your love and effort. You are a good man.
This photo was taken circa 1990 when my dad visited me in Santa Cruz. He liked this area a lot. And I like this photo, a lot.

Hat #2

Ok, so this one is VERY different than the last. I like it more. It has way more personality. I drew it in ink on the bus on the way to school. Then, at home, I scanned it, enlarged it and transferred it to watercolor paper. Then I played with the paint - watercolor. Fun.

What do college students do at this time of year?

...STRESS! or in my case - stress and draw hats. But rather than go into the mundane stresses of finals and upcoming semester project due dates I will share a drawing, the first of several to come, of hats. Yes, hats. This is the motif I chose for my final Art project. They will be very different from one another, well, I think they will be. I am still creating them and really, who knows what will come of the whole concept. I am working on the 2nd one and 6 are due on the 13th.
This particular hat was done with prismacolor pencils. It is 8"x10".