OK, I guess your absence is excused. :) Everything you've put your talented hands to is just terrific! I certainly hope the fireplace and the many snowflakes have been stored lovingly away so they may be hauled out in all the years to come. Loving efforts like your's (!) are the basis of "traditions". I do so hope the fact is not "lost" on people who, too often, look only to the "goal" immediately in front of them... I could have sent you cat and dog hair in quantities certain to cover a child's mask in no time flat. (Unlike Cynthia, ;) ). Babs., you would have really like Mum a lot. She was always "into" something... (consequently, so were my brother and I). Papier mache, stripping furniture, painting something, sewing, hooking rugs or braiding them... . Our Halloween costumes were wonderful... but we were required to be something SCAREY... no princesses allowed. I see you've used your time profitably and JUDICIOUSLY. I'm not in the least surprised! and am delighted with your photo essay.

Thanks for your compliments Luvs & Jane! DSiL was very happy that we had a little gathering in her honour especially in our "weakened" conditions. It is funny now that I have the dish-ease, I never even think to use paper plates even for a BBQ. It is too much fun to pick out real dishes for such an occasion...better for the environment too! DD

No, flatbed scanners can't be counted on to accommodate negatives. You need to find one that has settings and physical properties that will allow negative scanning. Scanning negatives requires backlighting. I was recently on the phone with a Canon techie, and he mentioned that my scanner was so great because it takes negatives of different sizes, and it was the only one Canon made that would do that. Unfortunately, it's not being manufactured now. I took a look on Amazon and found this one, which will scan slides, negatives and medium-format panoramic film up to 6 x 22 cm. I usually have the negative holder on my scanner set to an opening of 2x3". If I want to scan a 2x2" negative, I just set it in the opening, leaving blank space around it. The preview will come up as a black rectangle, but if I draw a crop box inside the rectangle, my image will show up. I can then adjust the crop to include what I want before I click Scan. Perhaps the DPReview people can recommend other scanners. I'm also wondering if you could use a light box to "scan" the negatives with your camera. Scanning is basically the same as taking a picture. I've handled some slides this way. Because these slides were damaged (mounted under glass and now stuck to the glass--and even worse in some cases), and because I'm not using a tripod, the results aren't wonderful. But I think I could do a lot better if I put some thought into this and started out with better slides.

Zach, if you’re considering taking a trip every now and then, and are interested in the Four Corners and southern Utah areas, here’s some info! Here are links to a couple RMG threads where I posted “travelogue” pics and info. The first one was when a girl from Boston was asking for help planning a trip to Colorado—but a few pics in New Mexico and Utah got thrown in too! The second one was a Thanksgiving thread where I posted a pic of a wild turkey by one of my cabins when I was trippin’, and then it kind of morphed into another mini-travelogue type thing, with a few more pics in Utah! http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/2128462/off-topic-can-anyone-help-me-plan-my-trip-to-colorado http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/2142319/happy-thanksgiving-everyone Here are a couple of MY pics of Bryce. It’s pretty amazing to just look at it, and it’s even more amazing to be walking around among the hoodoos down in the canyon. (NO photoshopping!) https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Im_TOj4qZ8Wt93e_oL1Ne6GaInEnMwO5fmMhph2TRlo?feat=directlink These two were taken this past fall at the beginning of my (what was supposed to be easy) walk thru the canyon! It was mostly cloudy when I was there this time, so the colors aren’t as spectacular as they were the first time I went there! https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/wX-I73rS7BxkK2igSoxP4jrG3Rrw_wgtl13h5wBFIHI?feat=directlink https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/r0PeWxvk14sxXOf9TWCOfjrG3Rrw_wgtl13h5wBFIHI?feat=directlink And here are a couple other possibilities that weren’t in the previous threads! A few pics of the Ute Mountain Tribal Park that I talked about in the “Boston girl” thread, but after a hard drive crash I wasn’t able to post pics to go with the info! This is just south of Cortez! (This is the place I’ve talked about where I’m getting seedling trees to try to help reforest burn areas—visible in the 5th pic, and also the place that I was looking for help with info to “eradicate” the tamarisk! They are, actually, succeeding fairly well in getting rid of some of it, and this past year, for the first time in a long time, the Mancos River had water in it even in the fall!) Eagle Nest Ruin https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/scJiSLfwMmkhycgT0dKB2TyYSD5telCfXwXDTcTl_2U?feat=directlink Rick, my guide, going up the 30’ ladder into Eagle Nest https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/MrNNjVyZT1ovQDpVvMOG8jyYSD5telCfXwXDTcTl_2U?feat=directlink And me coming back down the Eagle Nest ladder! (I LOVE this ladder!) https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/MMAwSZg-gRETyb1NEtiwsTyYSD5telCfXwXDTcTl_2U?feat=directlink https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/kTah9DkANrcVVCfnitHGPDyYSD5telCfXwXDTcTl_2U?feat=directlink Three of the ruins alcoves on the “main” ruins trail (Lion Canyon Trail) from the other side of Lion Canyon https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/gXVB7vULD7GfaX863k5kkzyYSD5telCfXwXDTcTl_2U?feat=directlink Thousand year old potsherds and corncobs, which, unlike Mesa Verde, are still all over the place in the ruins! https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/TvQsml8vvqFMqtw0M7RvFDyYSD5telCfXwXDTcTl_2U?feat=directlink This is a very, veryveryvery cool slot canyon, Little Wild Horse Canyon, that’s not very far south of Green River, Utah, which is on I-70. I was planning to hike it again when I went by on the way back to Colorado this past fall, but there were thunderstorms ALL around! Slot canyon PLUS rain EQUALS: Bad Situation! https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/fcRrKleLnb9KDmFHzO73BGVY7bTWTqbxp-YJkmJRdpU?feat=directlink https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/yu9F0B68Vfa3zfYMzL2qkWVY7bTWTqbxp-YJkmJRdpU?feat=directlink https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/G4HJbdgIeueg_Dnflj1gq2VY7bTWTqbxp-YJkmJRdpU?feat=directlink And this is my all-time favorite hike in a National Park! It’s Sulphur Creek in Capitol Reef at Torrey, Utah. WAY cool! I’ve done it twice, and plan to do it again this coming fall! https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Qpu1dmmmPXA6Wxih6cxcLiw_A8tejszRFUnjA0dV3qI?feat=directlink The trail! https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/bx79GKT5Rq4UoWWCan2U7Sw_A8tejszRFUnjA0dV3qI?feat=directlink In the narrows! https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/A1VKYnBNkupd-NHNLF7kJCw_A8tejszRFUnjA0dV3qI?feat=directlink https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/J5VMqXeKXKYaCMHpAZjeNSw_A8tejszRFUnjA0dV3qI?feat=directlink Along the route there are three waterfalls you need to “get past!” This is after passing the last one! https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/dKYi8ktzpadNlNi-WJQtLyw_A8tejszRFUnjA0dV3qI?feat=directlink None of that’s gonna help with exercise NOW, but, in my opinion, there’s no better way to get exercise than to go out and “become” part of Nature! If you ever DO decide to head down that direction and would like info about a specific place—or area, just let me know. I have nice little (usually isolated) cabins/houses to stay in at/near all these places—with kitchens, so I don’t have to spend money on food—and they’re all very reasonable! (Many are no more than a motel, some are actually cheaper than nearby motels!) Ok! Where are those weights????? Skybird