[monochrome]

I think this is just irresistible so I grabbed it for the thread. Our kids sent their Christmas Greeting from the NICU this year. Born December 11th and all systems are nominal. They are our little Christmas bundles.

Attached Images

 

[Racer X 69]

I like it! Lovely color too!

Only see these in the winter.....usually the last part of December.....



Regards!

Thank you Jim!

[MarkJerling]

Went out on the porch to try out a new (to me) lens.



A Sigma 135mm Pantel lens. Picked it up a few weeks ago. All metal. Heavy. Aperture goes down to f64. Used f6 for the shots of the hummingbird today.

Great shot Racer! What a nice lens! Bloody hell - that's sharp too!

[MarkJerling]

I think this is just irresistible so I grabbed it for the thread. Our kids sent their Christmas Greeting from the NICU this year. Born December 11th and all systems are nominal. They are our little Christmas bundles.

Congratulations! I hope that "nominal" was a spellcheck issue and that you mean "normal"?

[MarkJerling]

Late lunch, early dinner.
Angus sirloin, deboned turkey, roast potatoes, assorted salads and a lovely French red.

[MarkJerling]

And, here's the family.

[Racer X 69]

Great shot Racer! What a nice lens! Bloody hell - that's sharp too!

Thank you Mark.

Click through to the Flickr album, and check out the images at higher resolution. I was amazed at how much more sharp the bird gets.

Try it.

It is like eye candy.


Oh, and those shots are cropped about 60% from the original image file.

[Ex Finn.]

Back from our Christmas dinner at my mothers. I am so full I can barely stand it.
Mashed potatoes with gravy. Finnish meat-balls. Southern Maryland stuffed ham. Rutabaga casserole. Carrot casserole. Liver casserole. Scalloped potatoes. Chesapeake Bay Blue grab crab-cake and some apple-pie with vanilla ice cream for dessert.
Washed down with some pretty good German lager.

[MarkJerling]

Thank you Mark.

Click through to the Flickr album, and check out the images at higher resolution. I was amazed at how much more sharp the bird gets.

Try it.

It is like eye candy.


Oh, and those shots are cropped about 60% from the original image file.

You're right! Just wow!

[MarkJerling]

Desert. A traditional pavlova.

[Racer X 69]

Desert. A traditional pavlova.

Looks like the proper precautions were taken so it didn't collapse.

[Racer X 69]

The livE hociR walks among us.

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/attachments/14-general-talk/336714d148261...mgp6491-2-.jpg

[tim60]

38c here tomorrow. and boxing day and Tuesday.
39c for Wednesday and then settles back to 30-32 for the rest of the week.


Happy Christmas everyone.




(I heard today on the radio that a major Christmas injury in the USofA is dropping frozen turkeys on feet. Racer, DON'T DO IT!!)

That is weather I can do without.

---------- Post added 12-25-16 at 05:16 PM ----------

When you migrated from SA, you chose NZ: you get NZ's weather.

but Merry Christmas anyway.

But he might have gone there with the intention of later getting an upgrade. I know other people who did that.

---------- Post added 12-25-16 at 05:25 PM ----------

Same up here, Tim. Did you get hit by the rain and winds from Storm Barbara last night? I think we only got the edge of it, but it was pretty severe. I heard that the south and Scotland were getting the worst of it...

Only enough to make the ground look wet, like it normally does, and I could hear some rain on the roof, we have an attic style bedroom. There was a bit of wind, but only what would be normal wind in Adelaide, but it did blow the lid of the rubbish recycling box a few times in the past few days. I fix it when I see it going through the front door for some other reason. I lie to keep the lid on so the rubbish does not blow about and to stop the box filling with rain. There seems to be very little wind here except if a storm comes along. I am quite far inland, near Oxford. Last night, Christmas Eve I drove from Reading back here and there was a short time when I needed to use the wipers.

---------- Post added 12-25-16 at 05:28 PM ----------

I had a burger at Five Guys. Not all that great in my opinion but then again we have a small local chain called Tom Wahl's. Awesome burgers etc and they make their own root beer fresh every day. And you can get the root beer in a frozen mug if you want.

Every April Fool's day they make a weird ice cream and all the proceeds from the sales go to charity. This past year it was mustard ice cream. In the past it was things like pulled pork and one year sardines ice cream. Always sells out too. It is a very popular event. Now go enjoy your Christmas Dinner and Merry Christmas to everyone.

I reckon I would probably try ice cream like that, just to know. There was a phrase cricket commentators used about a bowler after an unsuccessful appeal, but they do not seem to use it so much now: "Not out, but he won't die wondering".

---------- Post added 12-25-16 at 05:30 PM ----------

Yep. It can get slicker than snot on a doorknob.

Must you?

---------- Post added 12-25-16 at 05:37 PM ----------

I think this is just irresistible so I grabbed it for the thread. Our kids sent their Christmas Greeting from the NICU this year. Born December 11th and all systems are nominal. They are our little Christmas bundles.

Good news.

[MarkJerling]

When you migrated from SA, you chose NZ: you get NZ's weather.

but Merry Christmas anyway.

I missed your post! LOL, yes, I know. Mostly I'm happy with it. But a nice warm summer would be great. And a not quite so cold winter would be nice too. LOL

[BigMackCam]

Merry Christmas, everyone!!

It's just gone 8am here, but I've been up for three hours already... Woke up around 4am, lay in bed reading for a while and listening to the radio, but just didn't feel tired, so figured I may as well get up.

It's a balmy 12.5 deg C here this morning. Unseasonably mild - warm, even, for the time of year. I miss the snowy Christmases of my childhood, but it's nice to be able to stand outside without a thick jacket on and breath in the fresh air off the moors

Christmas presents opened with my parents (and cat). We don't give each other large gifts any more (haven't done for years - I don't like the excess and wastefulness of it all), but this year my "stocking" was full of small but really thoughtful little gifts... Items that I can and will actually use - a good quality jeweller's loupe, ceramic parcel cutter, two O-ME53 viewfinder magnifiers for my old K-5 and GX-10, a novelty lens mug, lovely whisky glass, loofah back scrubber Oh, and some books - the best material gift anyone could give me, as I love reading, just one box of chocolates (thank heavens), and a voucher for a hair-cut and wet shave with hot towels at my favourite local Turkish barber's

That's the "stuff" out of the way... Now, another big mug or two of strong coffee, and then I can start preparing the huge pork loin for our Christmas lunch (vegetables prepared last night, so I'm ahead of schedule ).

Hope you have (or have had) a wonderful day, folks. Once again, Merry Christmas and very, very best wishes to all