From Thanksgiving to Christmas

It’s baaaack! The Office Max Elf Yourself site. Click the link to watch Maggie and Zelda dance.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving from the Elton John Pilgrim Pope Bride!

Grasp handle; lift

A few weeks ago, my neighbor and her son were here, and we were chatting in the living room. We weren’t really paying attention to J.P. setting the table for dinner until we heard a loud “THUNK!” I looked over to see J.P. picking up my camera off the floor, and I think my heart stopped for a second or two. It had been in the bag you see above, and it wasn’t completely zipped when he grabbed the top handle to move it. The flap opened and BOOM!

(For the record, I alwaysalwaysALWAYS zip the bag when it’s closed. Or if I leave it unzipped, I make sure it’s wide open so there’s no risk of this exact scenario.)

I didn’t yell or get upset. I don’t think I even really said too much other than, “Does it still work?” But the temperature may have dropped a few degrees, because suddenly the neighbor was anxious to get out of here. She got J’s shoes on him, and they were gone in about two minutes. I was afraid to look at the camera, but J.P. was able to take a few shots and all seemed well. Whew!

My relief was short-lived. I took a few shots of my own, and it really did seem fine. But then it was just done. Ack! More stopping of the heart. Pleaseletitjustbethelens, pleaseletitjustbethelens. With sweaty palms, I changed lenses. Thankfully, the camera was fine —it was just the lens that was a goner.

The bad news:

• My favorite lens was dead.
• I had a session scheduled and needed a replacement.

The good news:

• As lenses go, it was relatively inexpensive.
• The camera still worked.
• It wasn’t my fault!

J.P. had no problem ordering me a new lens, and I even got him to spring for an upgrade from f/1.8 to f/1.4. It wasn’t until I tried to remove the UV filter from the old lens that I noticed this:

Hmmm . . . that explains a lot!

Jam & Bokeh

It’s a good thing my new 50mm f/1.4 lens arrived early last week. (Ask J.P. what happened to my old nifty fifty lens.) I had to try it out, and if I had waited until today to take this photo you probably wouldn’t even be able to tell what color the jam is—there isn’t much left.

J.P. won these preserves in a raffle last week. It was part of a basket of English teas and other goodies, and it was second prize. First prize was $146, and at first I was disappointed that he didn’t win it. But then I tasted the jam, and I think we might’ve gotten the better end of the deal. I’ve been eating it on toast at least once a day since. (Yes, there was a day when I had some for dinner too.) And he’s had it nearly every day as well. The label on this jar says, “By appointment to Her Majesty the Queen,” and we know the reason why.

I don’t know whether we’ll ever be able to go back to Smucker’s, but we definitely can’t go on polishing off a jar a week. I almost wish I hadn’t spotted it in the International section at Wegmans last week.

P.S. Isn’t the lens great? All that nice bokeh means you can’t tell how much crap is in the background.

The Beyonce Experience

Have you seen the header that Beyonce took during one of her recent concerts?

Looks painful, doesn’t it? Know what? It is! Multiple steps not required—a single curb will do. Last week I was walking out of a camera store in suburban St. Louis, and as I headed back to my car I somehow missed the fact that there was a step down between the sidewalk and the parking lot. (Am I the only one spotting a trend here? And here?)

I went down hard on my left knee, and my body continued its rapid descent. I reached out in an attempt to slow my momentum with my hands, but I couldn’t avoid the three-point landing. Finally, my chin met the pavement. All of this happened in the span of about .3 seconds, and I’m sure the sound of my body smacking asphalt and the involuntary “Ooomph!!” sound I made were pretty much simultaneous.

Things I am thankful for:

• The car that was coming was driving slowly, and was far enough away to stop before running me over.
• The car’s driver rolled down her window and called out, “Are you okay?!?”
• I still have all of my teeth.
• I still have my entire tongue.
• I didn’t break any bones.
• I had not purchased any fragile, expensive camera gear.
• I was able to walk away, and could drive after a few minutes of surveying the damage.
• The co-worker who picked me up for dinner 15 minutes later was sympathetic and stopped at the grocery store so I could buy an ice pack.
• Restaurants that serve 22 oz. margaritas. (Said co-worker took me to an excellent Mexican restaurant for dinner after the trauma.)
• Suzie was not there as a witness.

Now . . . would you like to see the damage?