After reading multiple reviews and pondering over a new camera purchase, I finally made up my mind this past weekend. It took a while and up until the final click to purchase, I was unsure of my decision. I know, I know, it's just a stupid point and shoot, but I had my Nikon for about 6 years and had done very little research on new developments. My findings? There are a lot of cameras and a lot of opinions. I was initially inclined to just get the newer model of the Nikon I had before, since it took pretty good photos and I had no problems with it (other than all of the screws eventually falling out). However, the reviews on photo quality were mediocre and so I decided to dig a little further.
As I said, after hours of internet surfing and a lot of pondering, I decided on the Panasonic Lumix for two reasons: it got outstanding reviews overall for being a very versatile camera, and it has a Leica lens. If I learned nothing else from my photography class in college, I came away truly understanding the meaning of fine handcrafted German precision when I developed my first roll of film taken with my professor's 1940s Leica. The only compromise is the camera's size, which isn't as compact as some of the point and shoot cameras on the market right now, but it certainly isn't huge either. Realistically, Jesse and I would probably destroy a camera the size of a credit card anyway.
Judging from the test shots that I've taken so far I think I made the right decision -- or maybe I could have just upgraded to anything other than my 6-year-old Nikon and been happy. Either way, I have a couple of cooking projects going on tomorrow and a trip to Tillamook this weekend with Jesse's parents to really put it to the test.
I was feeling crafty on Friday and decided to skip work and school work in favor of a project that I've been meaning to accomplish since Thanksgiving. Jesse's parents have been cleaning out their house to move to Virginia for a year and we were the lucky recipients of a few really cool pieces of furniture. We initially took home two dining dining chairs in November that belonged to Jesse's grandmother. I had grand plans of having the seats recovered in time for the arrival of the other two chairs this past week when Bob & Mary Ann visited. For multiple reasons, the recovering never happened. It's not like it's hard to recover a dining room chair. I estimated that it would take about an hour tops per seat.
As I embarked on this project mid-morning Friday, I was sure they'd be done in time for dinner. The only problem was that I never really bothered to look at the seat construction to figure out how exactly they were put together. Needless to say, my time estimates were terribly misguided. My apologies in advance for the photos (that look like they've been taken through screen door). My poor little dying camera was barely able to eek them out before going dark forever.
After ripping off the under layer of some very old-looking linen, I realized that the needlepoint covers (so carefully made by Jesse's grandmother) were held on by no less than three million upholstery tacks. Underneath the needlepoint covers was a fine muslin, also firmly secured with another dense layer of tacks. The hammer was of little use removing the tacks, so I opted instead for a flat-head screwdriver to pry them out. Once I removed the double layer of cloth, I flipped over the seat to inspect the padding.
Holy Crap! Lambswool and horsehair. I tugged gently at the contents and realized that they were also nailed to the frame. Yay. Who knew that horse hair would be so scratchy and easily secured by nails? Also, it was very very dusty. I tied a scarf around my face for the remaining portions of this deconstruction.
If this project were intended for any other chair, I think I might have just given up. But I really love the chairs and was determined to make them shine again.
After about three hours of tugging and ripping, I was finally down to the wooden frame of the first seat cover. You can see the guts that were ripped out, which included an old burlap sack tacked to the frame underneath the wool and horsehair padding. The sack covered jute strapping that you see here, which is also securely tacked to the frame with no less than six nails each. Somewhere out there is an upholstery tack salesman who is still rolling in all the cash he made from just these four chairs.
The first seat left me feeling slightly defeated, but I am determined to finish the other three this weekend, because if I don't keep up the momentum the chairs might just sit in a corner forever unfinished. After dusting off my sweatpants and vacuuming up what looked like piles of pubes in the dining room, I'm feeling pretty good about my progress. Two frames are completely stripped down and ready to go and the other two only have the burlap and jute strapping left to tackle. My fingers feel worn to the bone, but as an incentive I took a little break today to finalize my research on a new camera. It should arrive early next week, just in time to capture the final product!
Yikes! The last time I updated was over two weeks ago! The lack of posting hasn't been for lack of good material, but I've been super busy (and without a functioning camera). So, here are a few photos (taken exclusively by others) to get you up to speed.
Chicago was amazing. For once I brought good weather with me on vacation. I had such fun catching up with Lauren and exploring her neighborhood. We stopped in for the afternoon at the Chicago Botanical Gardens and admired all of the early bloomers.
This variety of Ranunculus were absolutely gorgeous. Definitely on my list of must have garden items when I get that patch of grass someday.
J's parents were in town for the weekend and we caught the first Timbers game of the season. It's a good thing we got there early and secured good seats, because the Timbers won to a sold out crowd. I celebrated by inhaling a giant hot dog. I can't wait for the rest of the season!
On Sunday, we all took an epic hike up to the Japanese Garden, then on to the Pittock Mansion, and back down to the city through Forrest Park. I'm guessing it was in the range of 6-8 miles (with lots of uphill climbs) and we were all happy to land at the final destination, St. Honore's Boulangerie for sandwiches and pastries.
I had another prenatal group meeting with the midwives yesterday and all seems to be going well. I got to hear Baby G's heartbeat again, which is always a nice treat, but not without some difficulty -- he kept kicking the dopplar before the nurse's aid could get an accurate count. Finally, he played nice and let us document the 150 beats per minute. He then settled down for the afternoon, but started up again right around bedtime so J could feel his bumps and rolls. J's finally been able to understand what I mean when I say "the baby is going nuts right now."
...and I'm off to Chicago for a nice long weekend. I never thought I'd escape to Illinois in April to get away from cold, rainy weather. Well, in truth, the nice weather is just an added bonus to the fact that I get to spend lots of quality time with my best friend, Lauren.
Today is going to be a busy day with work to finish up before heading out of town, a short paper to write, and of course packing. I guess I could have taken care of some of those things yesterday, but after class I took the afternoon off to run some errands. While out, I picked up a couple of new shirts and cardigans so I can wear an entirely different outfit (except for pants) every single day of my 4 day vacation. Having more than 3 shirts that fit feels very luxurious. How will I ever fit them all into my suitcase?
After dinner, Jesse and I took a walk around the neighborhood and decided that cookies would be a nice evening snack. So, he got to work creating some of the tastiest oatmeal raisin cookies that I've had in a while. Yes, I even requested raisins (pregnancy really messes with the brain). There's no secret to the greatness of the cookies, it came from our favorite cookbook,The New Best Recipe by Cook's Illustrated. The only modification that Jesse made was to add raisins AND chocolate chips instead of just one or the other. Mind-blowing.
I tried to capture his creative process in action, but our camera has been acting up lately and this was the only photo that was somewhat decent. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that it has one screw holding it together or that I dropped it on the floor the other afternoon and the lens got stuck open for a few minutes. I think it's time for another point and shoot. Any suggestions?
With the leftovers from our nacho happy hour, J made migas for second breakfast on Saturday. I think migas means "crumbs" and is basically an anything goes kind of meal. Ours consisted of leftover beans and corn, tortilla chips, sharp cheddar, and was topped with delicious fresh avocado.
Fueled on migas, we got right to work on our Peeps art project to bring to Dan and Joanie's Easter party. The competition was quite impressive, with vignettes from the Easter pageant (the Last Supper, Crucifixion, and Resurrection), the Leaning Tower of Peepsa, a flowering Peeps Cactus, among others.
Our creation was a gladiator scene (later named "Sparta-peeps") and won the Peeples Choice award, which will be prominently displayed somewhere in our apartment very soon.
This morning, I went out to Easter brunch with the ladies and had a great time getting dressed up. Here's me capturing my profile progress with my new spring/summer dress. I'm officially in my 6th month (21 weeks) and over half way there. Apparently the baby now weighs about 3/4 of a pound and is 10 1/2 inches from head to toe.
It was so rainy and miserable on Tuesday that I decided to skip my trip to the library and head straight home after class and work. Yesterday was a much nicer day for walking, so on my way back from the office I decided to run a few errands. I picked up my text book and course reading packet on campus, headed to the library where three reserved books were waiting, and proceeded to walk home. I didn't really prepare for the weight of the books and about half a mile from home I felt winded, depleted of energy, and did one of the lamest-feeling things ever -- I called Jesse on my cell phone and asked him to jog down to help me carry my books the rest of the way to the apartment. He happily obliged and I made it home. Barely. I really should remember that I can't do as much as I used to, given that I'm toting around an extra 10 pounds in my belly and about 50% more blood that my heart has to somehow pump through my body. I later calculated my distance walked for the day and it worked out to be just over 4 miles. So maybe I'm not as lame as I thought.
Anyway, because of work and class assignments, I still haven't had the chance to crack open the French Farm House Cookbook. Therefore, I have had zero inspiration to make interesting dinners this week. We did manage to throw together a pretty tasty roasted vegetable pasta the other night, but it lacked the protein that my body craves and I was left unsatisfied. We were both feeling uninspired again at dinnertime tonight and were just on the verge of stepping out to one of our favorite happy hour spots. However, let's face it, happy hour isn't nearly as fun when half of the dinner party has to settle for a fizzy ginger ale instead of that frosty mug of beer that tastes so good with a steaming pile of nachos.
Since we live insanely close to Trader Joe's, we strolled over to get the ingredients for our own happy hour at home. The vegetarian nachos really hit the spot and I'm pretty sure an entire half can of beans will fill that black hole that is my stomach (I may only need to eat a second dinner instead of my usual third). Also, when you do happy hour at home you get as much fresh guacamole as you can stand. And believe me, that's a lot!
As I said, after hours of internet surfing and a lot of pondering, I decided on the Panasonic Lumix for two reasons: it got outstanding reviews overall for being a very versatile camera, and it has a Leica lens. If I learned nothing else from my photography class in college, I came away truly understanding the meaning of fine handcrafted German precision when I developed my first roll of film taken with my professor's 1940s Leica. The only compromise is the camera's size, which isn't as compact as some of the point and shoot cameras on the market right now, but it certainly isn't huge either. Realistically, Jesse and I would probably destroy a camera the size of a credit card anyway.
