Thursday, December 30, 2010

A Tale of Two Cameras. And A Dog.

So  I now own two camera.  My beloved point and shoot that I keep in my purse at all times and my new Nikon D5000 that I adore. (And am slowly learning not to be intimidated by.)

I brought both cameras to Charlotte for our Christmas gathering with Steve’s family and all was well.  As well as hunky dory.

And then?

And then Steve, and Sarah and I decided to go to uptown Charlotte yesterday to visit the Mint Museum, ride the trolley cars and walk through an art gallery housed in an old stone church that I have admired for years and always wanted to see inside.

After we had found our way through the busy streets of the city, we were walking up the huge steps to the museum when we saw an enormous Christmas ornament, complete with the little wire hangy thingie on top.  And I said (as I am wont to do), “Oh, what a cool picture!”

I immediately reached into my trusty little purse for my trusty little point and shoot and guess what?  It wasn’t there.  It was back at Steve’s parent’s house, where I had forgotten to return it to my purse after taking a few spontaneous shots of our Christmas celebration.  And guess where the Nikon was?  You guessed it?  Also back at Steve’s parent’s house.

You photographers out there will recognize the little sinkin’ feeling I got in the pit of my stomach when I knew I would spend the entire afternoon bombarded with fabulous photo opportunities with no camera!

I managed to put on my philosophical mindset and say, “Oh well.”  But I’m sure you know that at least a hundred times that afternoon I said to myself, “Ooooh. That would have made such a great shot!”

Since I couldn’t stand to write this blog without a picture or two, I’ll post a few of the shots of what we saw that I found online.

cmas

photo courtesy of:  www.liveuptownnow.com

 

cmas2

photo courtesy of: http://stephenstefanou-designsolutions.blogspot.com/

The McColl Art Center (This building partially burned and stood abandoned for many years before being restored.  I just love old and interesting buildings!)

mcdoll

photo courtesy of: www.preservationnation.org

We are hitting the road  shortly for our trip back to Manteo. Snowy did fairly well on the journey over; however, the first sedative the vet gave us for him didn’t work real well so about three hours into the trip, we got her permission to give him a second one.  He was one loopy fella by the time we finally arrived! 

I talked to the vet about him again on Tuesday and she asked (in a rather sober voice) how he’d been feeling over the last few days. She sounded quite surprised when I said that he’d been eating and drinking well and acting quite perky.  She replied, “Well, that’s quite amazing, considering the terrible shape his liver is in.”

She wants us to bring him back to the office in a week or two and she’ll do the liver tests again to see if he’s improving at all or continuing to slide downhill. When I asked her how long he might live she said, “Well, two of the other vets here and I talk about Snowy and his case quite a bit, but unfortunately we can’t really can’t tell you a timeline since without further testing—biopsy, sonogram, etc.,—we can’t  be sure of what he has.”

She added, “But I am really thrilled and amazed that he is feeling relatively good right now.”

And thrilled and amazed are good words to describe how the Smith family is feeling, too.  We’ve got our little buddy for a while longer, even though it seems no one can really say how much longer a little longer will be.

But we’ll take what we can get and continue to enjoy each bonus day we have with Sir Snowy. 

 

 

13 Had Something To Say (Just click here!):

Anonymous said...

I am so glad that Snowy is acting more like himself and enjoying his time with his family as much as his family is enjoying him. Hugs and a Happy New Year to the Smith Family.
Linda in Pittsburgh

Karen C said...

That's good news that Snowy has blessed your holidays. He knew what his family needed!

I work in downtown Charlotte and glad you enjoyed your day down here. One of my favorite things to do is sit outside during lunch during warmer weather and read a book during lunch. But ... the beach scene definitely is my favorite.

Safe travels.

Marysienka said...

Aaah yes, I know the feeling of forgetting a camera... I have a point and shoot in my purse all the time as well. But just in case, my cell and my ipod also take pictures so I have a couple of back up's if I ever forget the small compact ;)

And you know what? Now that you have a DSLR, you will get that "feeling" when you forget the lense you need! I love using my fixed 50mm for Chritmas, but I left it at my place. I only had the 18-105, which is not very good for indoor pictures. I'm still trying to get over it ... ;)

I'm glad Snowy is doing better. Our 11 yr old dog started limping/walking on 3 legs, peeing blood and stopped eating for 5 days. He seemed to perk up a bit yesterday though. Obviously we had "The Talk" as a family. Never fun moments...

Ok I'm writing a novel here. Sorry about that!!

jenny said...

Oh, I'm so glad to hear that Snowy is still holding his own. My husband and I continue to pray for him, and for all you Smiths. God bless.

Krista Labrensz said...

Glad that Snowy is doing better! As I've said before, pets are very much a part of our families!

Also glad that you had a good time visitng Steve's parents...parents are great, aren't they?! =)

Have a good day!
Blessings!!

Anonymous said...

Glad Snowy is defying the doctors' odds and predictions - he has his own very special agenda and always has - that you know for sure - sorry about your lack of cameras but I am glad you found some photos to share - not as good as yours, however. Here is to more and more days of Snowy feeling good and enjoying himself and his family. You are always in my thoughts and prayers - my mom made it to another Christmas but this one was much more diminished - I still pray for her peace and strength and God's mercy in her life - it is very difficult to watch her struggle and pray to go to Heaven and her prayers are unanswered - there must be something left for her to do and I hope she has the strength and will to accomplish that task - it was a bittersweet Christmas on many levels - there will be some changes in 2011 and I only ask for God's guidance and love and strength. I hope Sarah enjoyed her brother and Christmas. Mary H

simplykristi said...

Glad that Snowy is doing OK.

My friends tease me about taking my camera places. I don't use my point and shoot camera anymore... I just use my Pentax DSLR. I do not like it when I forget the camera. :(

I had my closest friends over last week to view photos... They are happy that I have all the photos that I do. :)

Kristi near KCMO

Miss Judy said...

Yaaaaaaaaay Snowy, Keep up the good work of feeling good!! I've been praying for you and your "family".

Hugs & Blessings,

Judy

Kristina said...

Hi Smiths -

So glad Snowy is having a great holiday season with his favorite family! Happy New Year!!

- Kristina in Alaska

Lynn said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Lynn said...

Sorry, that was my post that was deleted. My brain got so far ahead of my fingers that I completely left out one sentence so it didn't make sense! Here I go again - Take 2...

Aaah yes, that feeling of not having the camera... or of having the camera and turning it on only to read on the screen "no card inserted." UGGHHH... and remembering that the card is at home on my desk where I had exported some pictures onto the computer the night before and then left it laying there. : / SIGH.

So happy Snowy has been feeling well. You are so right, every day is a gift, a bonus. Happy New Year to the Smith family and so happy Snowy will go forward into 2011 with his family.

God bless you all with good health and happiness!

Lynn

Anonymous said...

So glad Snowy is feeling better. Like you said, just enjoy every day.
My daughter took her cat to the vet in may just for the yearly exam. She walked away crushed after being told her cat had end stage renal disease and probably only had about a month to live. At first, it seemed as though the cat was on "death watch" and we were on pins and needles every day waiting for the ball to drop. Now, almost a year later, we too are taking it a day at a time. Animals seem to be very resilient. May you enjoy many more days with Mr. Snowy. Happy 2011. Anna

Anonymous said...

Happy New Year...You know Becky to expect a miracle when you take Snowy back for the next testing. God heals animals as well as people. I expect the next testing to show he is totally healed...in Jesus name I ask...amen and amen...

Your Texas friend, FH