Temptation: The Apple IPad

Yes, I have a devotion to Apple now that I crossed over from the PC darkside. I love my MacBook and my IPhone ( on my second one of these). So, I am so tempted buy the IPad. Scott Kelby, photographer extraordinaire, has a great blog on it. I find Mr. Kelby to have lots of good photo advice, so I listen when he speaks. I think he is going to buy two. I don't think I can justify even one right now. I am quite happy with my new Kindle. But, down the road, I can see justifying it for a travel notebook. Also, I want t0 see if Apple tweeks it a bit after a few months. Who thinks they are going to buy one? What do you think?

Do you "Kindle"?

I do and I love it. My big kids gave me one for Christmas. I had been lusting after one for a year. I am a total convert. Don't get me wrong. I still love real books and having real books around me. There are stacks of them around the house to prove it. I can't imagine not having a real cookbook to cook from, for instance, or a real picture book for children. But, the size and portability make my Kindle my new best book friend. I am in a Julia Child phase and am currently reading My Life in France, by said maven, on my Kindle. It goes to bed with me, hangs out at Starbucks with me, and travels in my capacious purse with me.

My friend, Martie, has started this discussion on her blog of real books vs. the Kindle. It is a conundrum for sure. I personally don't think they are mutually exclusive. I will still read "real" books. I just love the idea of the Kindle . It may be part of my techno-geek conversion over the last 5-10 years. Martie and I have, between us, moved each other to Tivo, IPhone, and Macs. In some worlds we are barely above ludite status, but for "women of a certain age" we are most certainly "geeks".

This is a great site for kindle reference. He covers all the features. So, back to the question: Do you Kindle?" Let me know what you think. Julia is waiting for me.

Time

I think with all the hype around the holidays I like to remember that family and friends are the real treasures of the season. Last night I got to have a casual dinner with just one special friend. The main purpose of the visit was to bring her up to speed on how to use her new IPhone. We had take-out Chinese, an incredible bottle of Silver Key cabernet sauvignon and chocolate almonds. I still think TIME is the greatest gift we can give each other theses days. We laughed and shared stories for three hours.

I got to hear of her dilemma of whether or not to keep the incredible pair of Italian Renaissance chairs (see above). She got to hear of my silly grandmother stories. We made a tiny bit of progress on the IPhone. I'll just have her to my home soon and we'll carry on. Take-out Italian should be good.

Cool IPhone App: Night Camera

Zoe and Charley came this afternoon to "help" me finish decorating the tree. Their job is to fill the bottom half of the tree with lots of my mostly unbreakable ornaments.


Zoe loves this tradition. Charley not so much. He just wanted to go outside and ride his scooter. Too cold outside for this Mimi to do that so he grumped about.

After they left I turned out the lights in the room and was enjoying the magic of the tree.


I've had the "Night Camera" app for several months but had not been successful with it. Tonight I got it. You have to click the shutter and then wait, wait, wait for it to snap. some of the magic comes through with the light beams playing on the tree. Pretty cool with just a phone camera. I still would like to harness the light a bit more Any ideas?

Hico=Pie

Ok, so I was so eager I ate part of this gorgeous piece of coconut meringue pie before I remembered to bust out the trusty IPhone for a pic. Maryann and I stopped at the Koffee Kup in Hico, a authentic old-school coffee shop, for lunch. We held back by sharing a small hamburger and curly fries (natch) first and then each ordered a piece of pie. Sixty flavors to choose from. She had Black Forrest, with layers of chocolate, chocolate mousse and whipped cream. Mine was lighter with the meringue. Heaven.