Surprise . . .. Christmas is near!

The usual Black Friday mayheim has come and gone (although, the malls are frenzied with shoppers with only days before the next Big Day).

The local newspaper has gone to a bulging size with a weight of about two pounds - filled with heaps of flyer and ads.    This wad came from one newspaper!  Over 30 pages of ads.




Thanksgiving was great; spent with Marc's relatives in Mesa.   Steve's whole smoked turkey was a huge hit, not to mention Sandy's great cranberry sauce and berry crumble.  Yummo!

Fabulous grassy playground (just minutes from the RV park)!  Happiness is . . .   .     . ..    

A Mantis crawls onto the pickleball courts.   Very interesting and curious insects.   They do not have a long life; they live from spring to fall.   Feeding on insects, if the mantis is threatened it will issue a dark colored, evil-smelling liquid from its mouth that will foul the enemy's legs and antenna, creating a gooey and sometimes fatal mess.  Its enemies are spiders, snakes, birds and bats.  The mantis has been known (& filmed) capturing hummingbirds.

Tazz takes time out because she sees something 'weird' in her sky!   

The day was Surprise Days and they had balloon rides for people.

A little tranquil time at night at Happy Trails

A late November shopping trek to the outlet stores and a stop at Cracker Barrel for dinner.

Cabelas in Glendale

Shopping for some outdoor footwear, I can't help but notice all the unfortunate wildlife and taxidermy surrounding the store.

And taxidermy at a whole other level .   .    ...   

Seriously???

A reflection from a park model in Happy Trails after an evening of rain.   We have now had one day of down pour since we left three months ago.   Have had two light rainfalls during the night this past week.

Copycatting!

Another medal, another tournament!   

Silver at the USAPA Southwest Regionals at El Mirage (just 20 minutes away).

New computer software; more learning:

Not a lot of posting has been happening;   I've got more learning and training going on.   
Have been involved in the photography club (they only meet once a month).     I have recently found that Aperature (my file management program) is going to be extinct in the near future and Apple may be going away from actual software.  The trend seems to be going towards phones and photo taking capabilities and improvements.

Another interesting trend is, Adobe Photoshop is now going to a yearly payment plan; you are no longer going to be able to purchase the updates and software.

So, I am in the process of switching to an updated version (from 10 to 13) of photoshop elements along with Lightroom for future management.   We know what that means - more tutorials and help before figuring out the new systems.

Neighbourhood Lights

We wish everyone a Very Merry Christmas and happiness and health throughout the season and throughout the New Year.