What do you want for Christmas?

[kristina]

A job for the SO. And after that:


A chicken coop for the side yard, and some little baby chickens to live in it!

[Guinevere]

Better heath for my Mom and Dad.

This aging parents thing is really tough, and its been even more stressful lately --- two separate ambulance/er runs for two separate parents in two different states (with me in a third).

[Sue U]

A chicken coop for the side yard, and some little baby chickens to live in it!

That one's easy! There are tons of coop/run plans and advice available on line. But don't put baby chicks in it; you have to keep them inside and under a warming lamp for the first six weeks or so.

[Gob]

What I'd really like for Xmas is to treat my mother and sister to a great meal, either at a good restaurant, or with us in the flat we are renting in my home town when there.

I may as well wish for a gold plated ferrari and a blow job off Helena Bonham Carter though.

[Guinevere]

A chicken coop for the side yard, and some little baby chickens to live in it!

Ameraucanas - the prettiest (and best) eggs ever!

[kristina]

Thanks for the suggestions, Guin! Do they require a lot of room? The spot I'm considering is the yard between us and our new neighbors (who have agreed, and would like to get chickens themselves once they're done fixing the foundation, re-doing the bathroom and building a kitchen). It's about 6 feet wide at the narrowest point, 12-15 at its widest, and runs the length of the house (50' ?). There's room for a little coop, it's very easy to enclose, and is very close to the kitchen (for ease of egg collection and scrap/snack delivery).

[Gob]

Something wrong with us here, when the chickens get more attention than your SO getting a job!

[kristina]

Well, since El Viejo is 62 and has a nearly snow white beard (but absolutely the wrong personality for me to rent him out as Santa), the chances of my getting chickens are much better!!!!

[BoSoxGal]

A new computer. Mine finally shit the bed, I am using my daughters lap top right now.

Do you expect Santa to bring one?

Because I have a pretty decent Dell Dimension tower & monitor that I haven't turned on in more than a year and have been thinking I need to give away. I could pack it up & send it parcel post. It's got good software and worked fine last time I used it.

PM me if you are interested.

[Guinevere]

So I eased my stress and tension with a little retail therapy last night and bought myself a chrissie prez:



An entry level digital SLR for sure, but its been decades since I used my father's ancient Pentax, so I need to start at the low end. Now I'm looking for a good photography course this winter so I can learn how to use all the bells and whistles. I'm very psyched!

[Gob]

Very nice cameras the EOS series Guin! I've had a EOS 450D for two years, (sold in the US as the "Digital Rebel, I believe.) All my photos in the "All our own work" section are taken on it. I've bought a 60D to upgrade, but it doesn't look like it will get here by the time we go to the UK

If you want any help or advice on using the Canon, just PM me. Do you have photoshop or the like? It's virtually essential for getting into digital SLR work.

[Guinevere]

Thanks Gob -- I found a great class but my Jan-March is too busy to take it, so hopefully it will be offered in the spring. And by then I will have had plenty of time to play around with the thing.

Can't wait to get it.

Don't have photoshop at the moment, but will probably get it once I get my new laptop -- thinking of making the jump to mac.....

[Gob]

I have a "not totally legitimate" version of photoshop if you want a copy.

[rubato]

Tempting an officer of the court to violate copyright laws ...

kinky

yrs,
rubato

[Guinevere]

I'm not tempted. Thanks Gob, I don't do pirated stuff.

[Gob]

No worries.

[loCAtek]

(This was last year's)

[rubato]

The Tubes stole my Christmas list ...!

_____________________________
What Do You Want From Life
Spooner/Evans

What do you want from life
To kidnap an heiress
or threaten her with a knife
What do you want from life
To get cable TV
and watch it every night

There you sit
a lump in your chair
Where do you sleep
and what do you wear
when you're sleeping

What do you want from life
An Indian guru
to show you the inner light
What do you want from life
a meaningless love affair
with a girl that you met tonight

How can you tell when you're doin' alright
Does your bank account swell
While you're dreaming at night
How do know when you're really in love
Do violins play when you're touching the one
That you're loving

What do you want from life
Someone to love
and somebody that you can trust
What do you want from life
To try and be happy
while you do the nasty things you must

Well, you can't have that, but if you're an American citizen you are entitled to:
a heated kidney shaped pool,
a microwave oven--don't watch the food cook,
a Dyna-Gym--I'll personally demonstrate it in the privacy of your own home,
a king-size Titanic unsinkable Molly Brown waterbed with polybendum,
a foolproof plan and an airtight alibi,
real simulated Indian jewelry,
a Gucci shoetree,
a year's supply of antibiotics,
a personally autographed picture of Randy Mantooth
and Bob Dylan's new unlisted phone number,
a beautifully restored 3rd Reich swizzle stick,
Rosemary's baby,
a dream date in kneepads with Paul Williams,
a new Matador, a new mastodon,
a Maverick, a Mustang, a Montego,
a Merc Montclair, a Mark IV, a meteor,
a Mercedes, an MG, or a Malibu,
a Mort Moriarty, a Maserati, a Mac truck,
a Mazda, a new Monza, or a moped,
a Winnebago--Hell, a herd of Winnebago's we're giving 'em away,
or how about a McCulloch chainsaw,
a Las Vegas wedding,
a Mexican divorce,
a solid gold Kama Sutra coffee pot,
or a baby's arm holding an apple?

[quaddriver]

I'm not tempted. Thanks Gob, I don't do pirated stuff.

GIMP.

find the binaries for the windows version.

[Guinevere]

Funny, I got my camera yesterday, went shooting all morning, and found GIMP this afternoon. I've got some fun shots with GIMP-aided effects. Pretty happy with what I've done so far with one lens and a few hours play.