One Year Later

These are some of the photos I took locally, post Hurricane Sandy, last October and November.  I have so many more, but, despite a year having passed, I'm not at the point where I want to go back through the disc I downloaded them to. And maybe I never will be.

I am so, so, so very thankful (every day) we and our families made it through okay. Most of our friends did too, but there were some who weren't as lucky.

Love, hugs and prayers to all of us who were in her path, especially those who suffered her terrifying destruction first hand.

Wordless Wednesday: Autumn Arrives On The Hook

(One of my favorites from this batch - more in slideshow below!)

More on my favorite shots from this batch coming soon to The Portable Homestead!

The Beginning Of A Beautiful Relationship

Since 2009, aside from my smartphone cameras (Palm Centro then BlackBerry), I have been using a Nikon Coolpix L100, which I *adored* until this last year.  More often than not, it started freezing up, not capturing images and refusing to focus when using the zoom, no matter the setting or conditions.  I've been making do until we could afford for me to upgrade to a new camera.  (Which means I haven't been using the Nikon much at all, just my BlackBerry and that hasn't been cutting it creatively for me recently).  I expected my new camera to be a Nikon as well.

But, yesterday, I happened upon a great sale, plus I had a coupon for an extra 15% off and a $10 balance leftover on a gift card.  A $300 camera for half price (before tax). A $300 camera for half price?!  With the specs I was looking for.  (Meaning it was an improvement on the Nikon I have).  Hhhhmmm...  I was a little nervous, but, for that price (which ended up being $100 less than what I paid for my Nikon in 2009), I had to give it a try.  And so, I'm now the proud owner of a Polaroid iS2132 16mp digital camera with 21x zoom.  (My Nikon is a 10mp with 15x zoom).

I was sold on it as soon as I tried it in the garden and it worked on zoom.  (Doesn't take much to make me happy some times!)  But, when I saw this photo that I took with it, I fell in love with my new camera:

  
Wow!
And then I went through some of the comparison shots I took in the garden yesterday:

Nikon

Nikon

Polaroid

Polaroid

Admittedly, the following are equally beautiful:

Nikon

Polaroid

 These shots inside impressed me:

On one of the bookshelves (Polaroid)

On our mantle (Polaroid)

I know, I know, you get the point!  I'm having a lot of fun testing the Polaroid. I think this is the begging of a beautiful relationship.

But, I'm sad about putting the Nikon to rest.  It's been a great companion these last 4 years and has seen a lot with me, both good and bad.  I won't be getting rid of it.  It's going back in its' original box which I'll put on the top shelf of my closet.  (Yep, I can be such a sap sometimes!)

The 2013 Philadelphia Flower Show - Part 1

Scroll down for Part 2. (Or click on the header/banner to bring you to the homepage and then scroll down for Part 2 from there).

The 2013 Philadelphia Flower Show - Part 2