Use your smile to change your world ....

My manic hound .... digging in the sand does this to her!

How upsetting is this!! I set my alarm for 1am my Monday morning so I can watch the French Open Men’s Final live. I stay watching through two rain delays until 5am and then the match is postponed until tomorrow!  These all-nighters are catching up with me ... between rugby and tennis I’m not getting a lot of shut-eye. Cranky Carol is in town ... or would be .... if it wasn’t for all the caffeine I drink!

Rainbows in my world .... and then it rained ...

The hound was a tad confused  ... it’s Monday and it’s 6.30 and I’m still in bed .... something’s wrong. Gav wouldn’t let her in to disturb me either so by the time I woke and had washed and dressed, she was sitting outside the bedroom door ..... waiting .... IMpatiently!

We headed for the waves and she couldn’t get there quick enough. It’s bad enough I’d slept in ... now I was dawdling .... well at least that’s what she seemed to think. Bella and Suzanne were on their way OFF the beach. Bella was as confused as my hound, she’s the one racing onto the beach to meet us normally, not the other way around.

We met the most beautiful Old English Sheepdog on the sand ... at least that’s what I think he was ... he had a cropped tail and his coat was shorn but he still looked amazing. His name was Nelson .... like the seagull .... and he was VERY clean! Hmmmm ... don’t think he’d have stayed that way had the hound had her way with him. She wanted him to come play in the waves but he wasn’t allowed to.

Denise and Abby were also on the beach today so Denise joined me in a second caffeine fix ..... yep, it’s to counter-act all that late-night tennis and rugby viewing that’s playing havoc with my sleep cycle. We got our coffee and went  to sit on the bench as it was after 10 and the hound’s not allowed on the beach off-leash after 10. Abby’s so cute though ... she jumped up between Denise and I on the bench and, when I got up to take a photo of her, thought she’d have my coffee! 

I’m looking for a new camera at the moment. I’ve had a small payout from a wound-up benevolent fund I was a member of when I was still single. I’ve decided to invest in a new camera, and keep my existing one as a backup. My existing one needs a service and a few adjustments and I’ve been reluctant to send it in as I use it every day. 

Phew .... so much choice though! There are so many cameras out there that fill the criteria of what I need/want - so I’m narrowing it down to those DSLR’s or MILC’s that have the shortest shutter-lag. I want to capture more accurately those manic moments with the hound on the sand and the evil antics of the seagulls! The other ‘must have’ feature I’m looking for is an ability to work well in low light. Those are in addition to the features I feel are essential in a camera for me. I’m not even being that fussy about brand as, at the end of the day, the camera is purely a tool ... it’s what I do WITH it that matters.

The hound got an unexpected second walk this evening. We participated in the inaugural Moretons Miles event - a weekly 5km fun run/walk to Mission Bay and back. Entry was $5 and, completion of the fun run, entitled you to a free beer or cider. I’m not sure the hound found it as much fun as I did ... this wasn’t a “walk and smell the roses” kind of walk like our morning one’s are.

USE your SMILE to change the world. DON’T LET THE WORLD change your smile!