Dearly Beloved,

We are gathered here to mourn the loss of a very dear, very close friend ... one we have all grown to love and cherish ...



That's right, folks. My dear, darling, precious Nikon has taken its last photograph. It's bitten the dust. I am really, really sad.



When I turn it on, all it does is show a bunch of lines on the screen... that's it.



So here's how it happened. Tuesday we had made plans to go retrieve Benjamin's Halloween portraits from Sears, and I had a pretty great coupon for a Holiday package so I went ahead and scheduled another family session. To be honest, I really don't like going to studios like that ... I prefer professional photographers. But like I said, I had a really great coupon. And you know what a sucker I am for coupons, well, besides that one time with the socks ...

Anyway. As I was saying. We had gone to get our photographs taken. I had packed a snack and some juice for Benjamin and had a bit of a brainless moment when I placed my camera at the bottom of the bag as well. You see, my camera goes with me everywhere, even when we are going to get our pictures taken by someone else, such as Benjamin's Halloween session.

You can probably tell where I am going with this.

Most of Benjamin's juice ended up at the bottom of my bag, where my precious Nikon had been tucked "safely" away.

Hubby did open it up and let it dry over night, and that seemed to work for a few shots, but after that - kaput!

But, no worries. I'm not as torn up about it as you may think. We have a back-up camera that has stepped up to the plate. A Panasonic Lumix. It's actually a tad bit better than the Nikon, but it is a bit bulkier as well.

I'm learning that once you have a baby, your stuff isn't safe for as long as it would be without. This camera lasted me a year. I got it for my birthday last year.

So, farewell, friend... farewell.





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Completely unrelated, but I totally forgot to tell you earlier when I posted this! Some of you (all of you?) might be as completely floored as I was when I heard this.

My mom called me tonight and told me she had spent the day with one of the elderly women she attends church with. We have known this woman my whole life and she was telling my mom stories of her family. You will never guess which famous 1930's actor her father was best friends with. Here's a hint that probably won't mean much to you: think my favorite movie.

You will never guess it!



Clark. Gable. Clark Gable!

Yes! It's true! So wild! Apparently they lived very close and like I said, they were best friends. This is before he got into 'showbiz'. When Clark moved to Ohio, her family moved there as well. And she said that Clark Gable was a ladies man, and sadly, his influence rubbed off on her father and he was also a ladies' man - this is the reason she did not like him at all when she was younger. Anyway, when Clark moved to Hollywood to become an actor, her mother said 'No', so they did not move with him.

How wild is that?!

Next time I see Mrs. Ollie, I am going to hopefully hear it from her mouth!!