[SANSDADDY] 2008 Christmas Holiday Greetings - SHORT!!!

I just wanted to wish you a very Merry Christmas and the happiest of Holidays as well as a great start to 2009!!!

It's hard to believe that it's THAT time of year again...and I'm breaking a tradition of mine and NOT sending out a long email (post on the blog/notes) since some of you are on Facebook, Twitter, etc. and can read up on what's happening in my life there. (Same goes for the blog. I've also been in contact with practically all of you this past year too in some form.)

There also have been other "broken" traditions...such as me NOT driving my Dad's 1969 Scout on Christmas Eve. The Scout is in need of some repair to the exhaust system and the tires are getting shot. Oh well. I'll not share what more traditions have been broken out of respect to other people's privacy. But, change can be good, right???

Fortunately, one tradition will hold true and it's me spending time with my Grandma Thelma (Mom's mom) who's 93, still going strong, living in her own house, and doing as well as she can at her age. (I know she'll be cooking something as she always has.) It's good to be able to spend another Christmas with her because I know that these Christmases will be fewer as time passes.

Anyway, take care of yourselves, enjoy fellowship with family & friends, and be safe if any of you are traveling!

The 2008 Lake Myra Christmas Lights on Sunday, December 7th...

Ah...another chance and another VERY cold Sunday evening to see the lights at Lake Myra (http://www.lakemyrachristmas.com/) in Wendell, NC. I did take some pictures and if you care to view more of them, below is the link...

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http://public.fotki.com/rettaman/miscellaneous/2008_lake_myra_christmas/

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Again, still photography does NOT do this computerized (by one computer!) light display justice. Video would be an asset for showing these lights.

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Fortunately, this year my "new" Canon PowerShot G9 camera does have a video feature...and I did use it. However, the G9 is not as equipped as my Canon Digital Rebel XTi is to take non-flash night pictures such as this. The G9 does result in more of a grainy quality even with the high ISO, etc. But, the G9 still is a good camera. (Maybe I might go back before the season is over and use my XTi to take some pics???)

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Anyway, this year's computerized light show really was great. I stood outside in 30-degree temps for an hour and when my fingers were getting too frozen to hold the camera, I then got in my Jeep Liberty and turned on the heat full blast and the radio to 100.1 FM (Lake Myra Christmas' own station) and looked at the lights for thirty minutes. :-)

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Oh, as for the short video clips I took, I might upload them to my YOUTUBE account (username: rettaman)...maybe??? I'm not quite as adept at doing video as I am doing photography.

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I did take some pictures last year on Sunday, December 16th of Lake Myra Christmas (again a very cold evening)...and below is the link for those pictures.

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http://public.fotki.com/rettaman/miscellaneous/2007_lake_myra_christmas/

THESE PICTURES WERE TAKEN WITH MY CANON DIGITAL REBEL XTi.

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Well, I need to close this post for now. I also just realized that it is just a little over TWO WEEKS until Christmas!!! Wow!!!