Impending Doom

I did what I often do on Sundays and went to Guardian Angel today. If you don't know, that's a thrift store which donates their profits to Alzheimers reserach. The employees appeared to be doing extra cleaning in the back of the store in both the 'guy' section and the 'toy' section. The boys were disappointed that all they had out in the toy section were stuffed animals. The action figures, baby toys, cars, etc. were all gone. We browsed the store anyway. I picked out a few shirts. Joey had a few books. Johnny a new stuffed doggie. We were having a good time until the girl at the checkout told us that they won't be selling toys anymore. SAY WHAT?!? She goes, "Haven't you heard about the Consumer Product Safety Commission Improvement Act of 2008?" "Um, no, what's that?"

Remember all those recalls last year over lead in toys? How could you forget mailing back Thomas the Tank Engine engines or scrutinizing the latest Fisher Price recall notice.

All I can figure is that all those recalls sent some politicians into overdrive and they came up with this absolutely horrible response. In a nut shell, the new IMPROVEMENT to the act is going to mandate lead testing on toys and clothes intended for kids under 12 (or is that 12 and under?). The gist is that thrift stores really can't afford to test toys donated to them, and if they sell a toy that is later found to have a high lead content, they can be held liable. This applies to large companies that can afford the testing and to small businesses and crafty type people who make new toys and clothing for kids.

Can you just imagine how much this will cut into thrift store profits? Can you see the small business owner put out of business? Are we THAT concerned about lead in our kids' toys. Are we that incapable of reviewing recall notices and handling any toys in our homes included in them?

Oh, and apparently this applies to yard sales too. Can we even hand-me-down toys to family and friends without fear of liability?

Oh, I'm steaming on this one.

Think of all the additional toys that will end up in landfills because people like me have no place to donate them anymore. Do those politicians also have a plan for how to handle that?!? I thought buying used toys was a great way to be green. Not only did I save on all the packaging that new toys come in, but I also kept toys out of the landfill.

Think about all the poor parents out there thrilled to find a good quality hand-me-down at the local thrift store or yard sale so that they don't disappoint their kids at Christmas.

Think about the livelihood of small business owners crushed by this new law.

Did I mention I'm fuming over this?

It's time for a 'Change We Need' so let's get this fixed and ASAP.

Here's another interesting article.

Birds and Snow - A Good Combination

It doesn't snow often at our house in NC, and when it does, we're sure to get extra activity at the bird feeders. Sometimes, we even see birds that we normally don't see.

The picture above is a pine sisken. I took it out my office window. He's on the river birch just to the left. I see this guy at the feeder most days, but the snow really dressed him up for that picture.

There are 4 good before and after bird shots here including the pine sisken.

The picture below is a juvenile female yellow-bellied sapsucker. Try saying that fast 3 times. It took me and a friend several e-mail exchanges before she finally figured out what this bird was! It's hard enough to memorize all the adult versions of the birds let alone add in juveniles.

Now, the picture below is terrible quality, but I think it's worth mentioning that I also saw a Northern Flicker a few miles from the house yesterday near my favorite barn/homestead. This picture was taken near dusk from a distance of at least 250 feet.

The Northern Flicker was in the tree just to the left of the barn.

The Smiles of Snow

It started snowing Monday night while we were all sleeping. By 4AM, there was a dusting. By 6AM, there was enough to get excited about. And, it snowed and kept on snowing until finally the sun thought about coming out late afternoon. Final tally at our house...6 inches. Woooo! Hoooo!

I think snow brings out the little kid in all of us. And, there's nothing more endearing than the smile kids wear on a snow day...especially when it's their first snow.

I took a lot of pictures today...a sure sign of a good day for me. We were outside sledding for 60-90 minutes twice. Both outtings were followed by hot chocolate. Mom took bird pictures out her office window. Late afternoon, the boys and I made a snowman. Well, it was more of an iceman, but it's got a hat, scarf, etc. thus fulfilling the snowman criteria in the boys' eyes. I rolled the slush in the street to make the balls because the snow just wouldn't pack.

Temps are forecast to rise above freezing tomorrow. So, unfortunately, the snow won't last long. But, it sure was nice while it lasted.

Today's best morning pics are here. All the morning pics are here.

This afternoon's pics are here.

My Time Has Come - Photoshop Elements 7.0

Well, I am the proud owner of my first copy of Photoshop something. In this case, it's Photoshop Elements 7.0. I am well on the road to going just nuts editing and fixing photos. But, it's a long road to get good at Photoshop. Here are a few first tries.

Besides converting this one to pencil, I removed two lines (but I need to do a better job of that).

Wouldn't these illustrations make great illustrations in childrens' books?

I love the composition of this picture but not the color.

Maybe my first attempt at adjusting it is a little better.

So, if I'm not sleeping or talking or...I'm probably learning how to create stunning photos in Photoshop Elements:-) Don't worry too much, I can eat and type at nearly the same time:-)

The Birds

It was a dreary, cold, and wet day in NC today. So the boys' pleads to go to Lake Wheeler were met with suggestions to go build something with Lego bricks.

The boys and I had been planning to make pine cone, peanut butter, and wild birdseed 'feeders' for the birds all week, so we did those this morning. Gotta love peanut butter on little kid fingers:-) Hopefully the birds will get some and not just our squirrel birds.

Midday, it was leftover chicken soup followed by chocolate-dipped bananas. Yum!

Later in the day, I was in my office trying to regroup when Joey showed up out of the blue with the drawing of the cardinal. I was really touched. He went on to draw a blue heron and red headed woodpecker and several other birds of his imagination. Neat!

The rest of today's pics are here.

More Gravity Racers

Joey asked earlier in the week if he could make another race car. We decided Friday night would be a good time to do it. It would give Rick enough time to cut out the body and wheels of the cars and me enough time to pull together some decorating supplies. And, we could all do it together.

Joey kept talking about it, asking if it was time yet...just very excited.

Finally, it was time! We tried to follow the body and wheel construction just like we did at the Gravity Racter workshop that we went to at the Museum of Life and Science in Durham two weekends ago. Steve Gerberich did a great showing us how to do the wheels and motivating the kids at the workshop.

Johnny decided he wanted to make McQueen and went straight for the red tube which I had included in with the 'stuff' not realizing how vital it would be for his car. I helped him decide that mounting it horizontal was the way to go. He picked the clothes pins as lightning stripes on the side and even glued on McQueen's eyes. There's a red popsicle stick and a green fan-shaped bead coming out the front, and per Johnny, that is McQueen's engine:-)

Joey decided on a blue bowling ball car. He was more into drawing than gluing today. He did add a cockpit and some fire (corks) coming out the back of the car.

Mom built a snow mobile car. I guess I'm just not happy that the holidays are over, and it ended up looking like a Christmas ornament. I was going for looks. It won't win any races sticking up so high.

I guess Joey's was fastest, but hard to truly tell.

We all had a good time, and Joey only slightly burned his fingers on the hot glue a few times;-)

I have a feeling more of these machines are in our future.

The rest of the pics including all the drilling and gluing are here.

The Photographers

I wish I'd taken Joey's and Johnny's cameras with us yesterday to the museum. However, I was pretty busy taking my own shots, so it probably was just as well we didn't take them.

On the way home from the museum yesterday, we went into Guardian Angel where I found a cheap, new, lightweight tripod. I'd been thinking of getting one anyway, and this one was perfect for possibly just leaving in the car all the time. Joey immediately wanted to claim it as his and got excited about trying his camera on it. That's what happens to us mom's, right? Our kids like OUR stuff. I can share...

The colder and wetter weather came in later today than they thought last night, so we were able to get in a trip to Yates Mill Pond and Lake Wheeler today. It was 55 and cloudy but not raining or windy. Joey was so excited to take his camera and the tripod!

I really tried to focus more on helping the kids and capturing the kids having fun with their cameras than taking great pictures myself. However, once I came upon the 'face' piece of wood, I kindof got roped in. My creative juices got turned on with that. Also, I took the new camera...first 200 pics with it. I had to think just a tad when changing settings.

So, the new camera is a Cannon Powershot SX10IS with a 20X optical and 36 times digital zoom and 10MP but otherwise just like my Cannon Powershot S3. There are a few button and menu changes which I'd read up on and was mostly ready for. I was up and using the new camera pretty easy. At the museum yesterday, I was just too chicken I'd miss a shot due to the change, so I didn't take it. I'm glad I'm over the hump of using the new camera for the first time. Give me a month or two, and maybe I will ease up on treating it like it's a fine piece of china. For now, the old camera is relegated to trips out in canoe and the like:-)

Now, it was a very cloudy day, so it was hard to get any stellar shots, but we all took our share of pictures anyway.

Joey asked on the way over to Yates Mill Pond what would happen if he dropped his camera in the pond. I told him it would be lost for forever. He asked me if somehow I couldn't get it out. I said probably not but that there would be no reason to even try because the water would make it not work anymore anyway. He was being serious and concerned. We talked about putting the strap around his wrist and holding on tight and being respectful and serious when using his camera (and not running and laughing and clowing around with it). All was good. We had a plan.

Unbeknownst to me, Johnny had overheard this, and when he realized HIS camera was on the Yates Mill Pond bridge with us, he burst into tears, curled his lips...whole nine yards. He was PETRIFIED he'd drop his camera in the water. Now, I couldn't very well tell him his camera was worth less than $20 and that I wanted to get him a better one anyway. To him, it was a valuable as one of my pieces of gold jewelry. I showed him how to use the strap and told him if an accident happened while he was being careful that we'd get him a new one. "At Wal-Mart?" he asked from underneath his long eyelashes. "Yes, at Wal-Mart." So, I did get him to take a few pics especially when we were away from the water or through the bridge railing.

Joey took a nice tree water reflection shot and caught geese complaining at each other and splashing about but he was not on telephoto. Most important, he had fun.

So, Yates Mill Pond is having a photo contest. Submissions are due by February 1. Kids can enter too. I'm hoping to submit a few things from me and something from Joey or Johnny. There are two categories: the mill and park wildlife. Should be fun. I saw last year's entries, and they were very nice.

Ya know, you never can fully measure your efforts with a child until sometime after you've accidentally or purposefully shown them something. I remember Joey coming in from school one day complaining that the bus driver drove down Barber Bridge Road too fast; he couldn't see any deer out the window. I smiled knowing he was trying to spot deer along the road like we've taken a drive at sunset to do many times. Today was another one of those days. I found him telling me that he no longer wanted to be an inventer. He now wants to be a photographer like his mom. I told him he would change his mind another 100 times or more before he finally decided. And, by the way, that's normal. I also told him mom isn't really a photographer. You can understand why he's confused since I've taken 70K pictures in his lifetime. I have a computer 'desk' job. But really, I told him I hoped he'd always have a love of photography even if it just turns out to be a hobby and something we can enjoy talking about together.

Meanwhile, Johnny came home and continued to take pics in the comfort of his home far away from any threatening water:-)

The rest of today's pics are here:

Joey

Johnny

Mommy