^Thank you, Gene. I love that my Nikon point-and-shoot has so many settings to choose from. I played with them until I found one that did well with the lights. I don't think I could have done it with my "nice" Canon.

 

^Looks like a lovely time, Lainey.

 

Very nice, Lainey!

 

Patty I wondered which camera you were using. Which model Nikon do you have? Does it have a viewfinder and use a rechargeable battery?

PS We did have a good time with the kids and the presents. It so much easier to celebrate early than trying to cram everything into 24 hours. I remember running around all day on Christmas when my son was little and I hated it and don't want to make that kind of demand on my son and daughter in law. We tried and failed to celebrate Christmas on Christmas with them. It was too rushed, there were cranky kids, and so on, so on to Plan B. My only request is that the celebration has to be before Christmas, not after. For me, once Christmas is over, it's over.

 

Lainey, I have the Nikon Coolpix S8000. It was highly rated by Consumer Reports and Costco had it for a great price, a couple years ago. It does not have a viewfinder. It has an SD card and a rechargeable battery. I plug the charger into the wall and then into the camera. I used it for fireworks photos, too. I'm not as happy with it for people or landscapes though, as I am with my Canon EOS 40D. I use my Canon for birds and most daytime shots. Oh, I used it for those campfire night shots at Kennedy, too.

 

We talked about cameras a bit in Dave's Christmas gift thread. I've been thinking of getting a new point and shoot, re-chargeable battery is a must, viewfinder preferred, though they don't make too many point and shoot cameras with a viewfinder. I'm not looking to spend too much either. My old point and shoot still works fine, I never used 1/2 the settings on that one.

 

Hey, Lainey, where's your usual "bah, humbug" avatar???

 

She is mellowing....... they say bird watching helps calm the nerves.

We've had Xmas decoration down and ready since T-day but just started putting up the inside stuff this past weekend. We were holding off until the kitchen construction got done. It never did, so I told him Saturday to put the project on hold until after the holidays. Lainey's had her head start and we still have the bulbs to put on the tree!

 

We've had our outside decorations up since the weekend after Thanksgiving, and the inside ones a week after that. I even put my G-gauge train up around the Christmas tree, which I haven't done for several years, and it still runs! I think this is the earliest we've ever had our stuff up.

 

Lainey, your grandkids are precious, Patty, thanks for the Boat Parade pics. They made me a little sad because I had to miss the Boat Parade because of my foot sitch, but at least, thankfully I got to see yours. I agree with Dave, birdwatching is good for the nerves and the soul and if I missed anyone, forgive me. I love looking at everyone's pics.