I just got off the treadmill so thot Id take a break. This cold, damp, dreary day is really affecting me. Im trying to stay busy so I dont get into food I dont need to be eating. Im going to reward myself for staying good by watching a tv show I recorded this weekend while Dh was watching football. Love that DVR. I saw a curio cabinet at Costco Id love to buy. Took DH to see it and am hoping hell agree its worth stretching the budget for. I even measured the van and itll fit! Well see. Eden, Im so glad Eve is doing well and I hope that continues. Im a little concerned about Bullet. He is now 9 lbs., down from 12 thats quite a weight loss in 2 yrs. As instructed, Ive been watching his eating, drinking, etc.,habits. He didnt eat much over the weekend. Since he deposited a fur ball this am, so Im hoping that is what the problem was. He just seems older and slower to me since his surgery. Im hoping its just effects from the anesthetic. Janie, it was good to hear from you. Hope your Mom continues to do well and recovers quickly. Marlene, don't work too hard. Those trade shows are killers. I always needed at least 2 wks. to recover -- one from the pace, the second to catch on stuff that accumulated back in the office. Deanne, I agree w/Marlene. I think you look wonderful. Why dont you give it a rest and see of you just need to let your body catch up. I truly think that might be what's happening. Cynthia, count me in for the group rate on a plastic surgeon. I need a full body lift, pulling everything up by my scalp, lol. I, too, love the picture I got of you and the kitties basking in the sun coming in the kitchen windows. And I know what you mean about kitties and paint. I was doing some staining touchup Sun. and a really nosy kitty was doing his best to get into it. I dont think "walnut stain" would improve his appearance at all! It's not his color. When he was a kitten, he fell into the wallpaper paste bucket. Now, that was a real mess! Yep, I know the pros and cons to the control freaky thing. As Da would say, Le Sigh! Martie, thats great about your new "favorite client". It sounds like you make your job interesting. Cant wait to hear how the Logees get together goes. Wish I could come. Thanks for sharing the info on your DB. I feel very badly for you having to take on that responsibility. But it has to be a huge relief to your parents. Mental illness is just so sad for everyone concerned and I wish more research was being done on it. Babs, now why did you have to tell us that!!! Hopefully, the almanac is WRONG! Yuk to colder temps in May. I prefer to go gently into the seasons but thats not been the trend these last few yrs. Sue, Happy Birthday to Tom! Sorry you didnt get a day off Monday. Hi to all. Dont want to bring anyone down, so Im going to go do something for me under full spectrum light to help with this funk. TTYL, friends. Honey

Sorry to be late; didn't check in for a couple of days. Yes, the Panasonic makes extremely sharp photos, thanks, in part to the Leica lens. It offers two types of image stabilization, both optical (the best kind): 1. continuous and 2. at the moment of shutter let-off. Of my six non-DSLR cameras, the Panasonic DMC-TZ5 is the best one. Like most digital cameras, it has a wide range of shooting modes, most of which I never use. But they're there. It also shoots video, but I've never done it; I do know that it lets you zoom during video filming - I understand that many cameras will not zoom during video. As I said, the flash range is limited and the camera DOES NOT have an optical viewfinder. One other drawback - which you can overcome by careful "holding" - is that the flash is located below the shutter button, and it's natural to put your middle finger over it. You've got to get used to that. Panasonic has packed so much into this little camera that I don't think there was any other place to put the flash. And by-the-way, like most small digitals, it does not have a hot shoe for using an auxillary flash. If you'd like further info from me, go to My Page and email me directly. Javert

Well, honestly, those are not ideal conditions...here we go... Open the lens all the way up(aperture). Shutter speed at 1/100, can try 1/80, but that can catch motion Macro mode; that means you need to be within 4ft of the subject. If your camera has presets then I would put it on the portrait mode. That usually has a wide open lens setting. If you're doing it manually, the lowest number for the f-stop. Lighting;I always see people using flash at aquariums, the bad thing is the glass reflects the light and you don't get the pic you hoped for ---turn the flash off. Do you have a polarizing filter? That will take away some glare/reflection, but you lose 1-step of light. My suggestion is to use the tripod with the above settings. Have the camera pre-focused for a specific, predetermined area. When the fish is in that specific space *snap* the shot. This will require patience. Good luck and post your success! Joe

Granite update: *** Warning: Most of this is a repeat of my linked granite caulk thread..more pictures here, though. ***** Well, the granite installers are gone until next week. Here's what was done: Counter along the window wall was installed. There was originally a 1/2" gap b/w the wall and counter on the DO side. But, they ground down the granite and it's now a little more than 1/4". The refrigerator side is a little more than an 1/8" Their next step next week is to build the wall in slightly to narrow the gap on the DO side even more. (Remember, for a year or two I will have no BS.) They will use an "acrylic latex" caulk along the wall when they're done Since the window counter run was too long to fabricate in one piece, they had to put in a smaller piece and we will have a seam. Right now, the seam is very visible and rough to the touch as well as 2 different levels. The edge also shows that the two pieces are different thicknesses too. The edge seam is very obvious to the touch as well...w/one side deeper than the other. [Pictures below] Next week they plan to bring out a water grinder/polisher to grind down the seam. I hope they plan on doing something about the color of the seam as well! The cooktop wall is also too long for one piece, so I will have a seam over one of the 6" filler pullouts. However, while maneuvering the right piece into place (they brought it in turned the wrong way), they damaged a cabinet. [Pictures below] At first they were just going to replace the cabinet but now they want to try to repair it first. Originally, they told me they were going to bring in Furniture Medic, the people who repair furniture at the White House. However, two of them said they didn't come out this far and the other said he doesn't do kitchen cabinets! They called around and everyone they talked to either would not come out this far or wouldn't be able to come out for a couple of weeks. So now, they're going to have one of the contractor's people try to fix it Monday...I'm not confident this person can do it, but I will give him the chance. They have promised me that if I do not like the repair job they will order another cabinet. I'm also not convinced it's not a structural issue...there are two cracks in the face frame piece that holds the side of the cabinet. Because of this problem, they did not install the counter on the cooktop wall. They placed the left (larger) piece on the countertop...the opposite end from the damaged cabinet and they put the piece that will go over the damaged cabinet in our DR for now. Another issue I have w/the piece currently on the DR floor is that we will 5" b/w the edge of the countertop and the edge of the sink. Others here have said 5" is too much and that it causes back problems. They insist that w/a corner sink you have to have the 5" b/c the don't want to risk having the sink run into the cabinet. Our contractor measured the sink and...