New camera and the Blue

The digital camera I've been using for the last three years has been great for most of the photos I take. Close ups and distant shots are beyond its capabilities, but its small size and ease of use has more than outweighed its limits. The camera goes almost everywhere I go. Especially during my sabbatical sojourn in Seattle, I grew accustomed to always having the camera in one pocket and cell phone in the other.
Of course, being out and about in Seattle meant more exposure to elements. I began noticing that some photos had dark spots in just the wrong places, and finally figured that dust or moisture had gotten inside. When I investigated having the camera cleaned, the cost was half that of a new one of the same model. Most of the time I can find a way to work around the spots with cropping, but over the months the spots have gotten darker and more numerous, and my frustration grew.
A new camera has been on my wish list for months. I've read reviews and gazed at the models on display without coming to a decision. Now that I've moved and settled in and paid some bills, I figured the time had come.
But which model? Is it time for a digital SLR or should I go for the compromise of a digital with some manual settings? A review for a new model of the Sony cybershot convinced me to take the intermediate step before heading to the high end. I can't quite carry it in my pocket or purse, but it's still relatively small and unexpectedly light-weight. Now to learn how to use all the settings and options.
Last Saturday was the first chance to really try it out during a trip to a local farmer's market. On the way home we stopped to look for the Great Blue Heron we'd seen on the bank of a canal the week before. What a surprise to realize he was standing just feet away. Discretely lowering the window, I inched the camera through the opening and began snapping. I even caught him in midflight as he headed to the opposite bank. What a thrill to watch this beautiful creature and then be able to view later what the camera had captured!

I can do it myself!

One of the posters from the World War II era which is popular again features a Rosie the Riverter type woman in her work clothes, flexing her muscular arm. The caption is "We can do it!"
As a person who is not naturally gifted in things mechanical or muscular, nor one who really wants to even think about how things work - as long as they do when I turn a key or flip a switch, I've usually managed to avoid having anything to do with power tools. Even for lawn mowing, I preferred a push mower until moving to a place with a yard too big to manage that way with the time I had available for such an unrelenting chore. I am even less enthusiastic about equipment requiring gasoline so I bought an electric lawnmower.
I had little need for tools of my own, especially as long as I lived in a manse with its obligatory Building and Grounds Committee from the church. These guys - and they are almost always men - tend to be the handyman types who have lots of tools and gadgets and a need to use them. So as long as I was willing to ask for help, I could usually find someone to help with whatever repair or assembly or decorating project I had in mind.
On the other hand, I've always been one of those who dislikes being helped and will insist that I can manage on my own thank you very much. Even when I was married to a guy who prided himself on being Mr. Fixit, I decided it was ridiculous to wait and wait for him to do something that I could probably figure out how to do myself. I bought a Reader's Digest illustrated book of how to repair anything and gave it a try. And so I learned how to take apart the plumbing under the sink when the disposal was stopped up and deal with other household emergencies - if I had to.

Over the last few weeks of moving and getting settled into a new house, I've asked for help for a number of those assembly-repair-installing chores. Then I finally decided that there are a number of things I should - and could do myself - if I had a drill. So I took advantage of the Father's Day sales and found a cordless drill with an assortment of bits for a bargain price. Last Friday I put it to use, drilling holes in the wall to install two plant hangers and a curtain rod. Still have 3 curtain rods to go, but now think I have the hang of it. Besides that, now I can say, "I can do it myself!"