Saturday, December 1, 2012

the start of Christmas and the loss of a friend (an electronic friend)


I am known to be overly dramatic about things.  From others' perspectives it probably will seem that I am being too dramatic about the loss of my camera.  If you haven't been made aware of the tragedy; my Nikon D40 bit the dust about half way through our family trip in Mombasa.  My D40 has been with me since 2007 and I loved her like a fourth child.  It went everywhere with me; often stuffed in my diaper bag to capture Easter egg hunts, beach vacations, Filipino markets, horse drawn carts in the Ethiopian mountains and absolutely everything else.

I think I'm mostly sad because it was the first camera that really started my interest in taking photos.  Good photos.  It was a gift from my husband and my father-in-law helped him pick it out.  I lovingly carried it with me on all our travels. It was always wonderfully reliable and I'm really going to miss how comfortable it feels in my hands.



I take at least one photo of something every day.  Whether it's my children or a cupcake, I'm always snapping photos.  Without my camera I'm using a little Canon point and shoot that is grainy and blurry and just plain horrible.  But how can I miss Ashlynn's first coherent experience with  Christmas tree or Bella discovering Christmas for the first year that it all really clicks and she truly gets-it?  I can't.  So I apologize for the photo for the next few weeks.  Luckily, my lovely sister is arriving for Christmas and is bringing with her my brand new Nikon D7000.  Merry Christmas to me!

We have a huge 9 foot Christmas tree.  Addie and Bella both took turns trying to get the angel on the top while Justin held them on his shoulders while he stood on a stool.  In the end I had to bend the top branch down and guide the angel on before I stood it back up.  Ashlynn loved pulling the ornaments on the tree.  I'm happy to say than none of our decorations were broken on their travels from the Philippines to Ethiopia.  All the credit for this goes to Cora (Yaya) and her wonderful packing job.  She lovingly wrapped each and every ornament and arranged them safely in boxes after Christmas 2010.  Justin and I got a little teary unwrapping all her handy-work.  She left sweet notes on the boxes for us listing the contents inside; signing each note "love, Yaya".  Each and every Christmas we will think of Cora and how much she adored our Christmas tree and helping us decorate and pull it all down every year.  She used to say that she loved the ornaments (many of them generations old) because "each one is a memory".  Sweet Yaya!  We miss you this Christmas.

Anyway, the angel is in place and the 220 volt lights from Manila survived the move so we are in business for Christmas.

Oh, and does our mantel not scream to be decked out in Christmas red and green, or what?

8 comments:

Bryn said...

What great decorations! Isn't it weird to have it warm outside during Christmas time?!

Sara said...

It's actually really lovely in Ethiopia because it's chilly in the morning and night. It's closer to winter cold than it was in Manila. In the Philippines we had hot Christmases!

Megan said...

Can I bring my felt stocking with me so I can hang it on the mantle too?

Sara said...

yes Meg, great idea! We have a few little red ones in case you forget.

Heather P. said...

Beautiful decorations and memories with your sweet family! Cant wait to see the new pics in a few weeks...

Anonymous said...

You are so not being dramatic, I think I would hyperventilate if anything happened to my camera right now and I couldn't get a new one until my parents visit in February. (That or I would go knock on my pro-photog neighbors door and beg to borrow one of his!) In fact, part of the reason I'm actually considering upgrading my camera before it actually bites the dust is so that we always have a back-up (and I have something to shoot with when my husband steals mine!). Probably won't do it for a long, long time but still, its something I think about. Love the tree! We don't have a nice artificial tree yet (I never thought to get one before we left the States for China because I always had real ones growing up) but we've tied a few bushes together with some ribbon, thrown up some lights and it doesn't look that bad! Can't wait to see your new pictures! Take care and happy holidays!

Anonymous said...

Very sorry to hear about your camera Sara- that is a great loss- especially when it happens in the middle of a vacation. I remember my Canon 350D died when I was halfway through a trek in the Himalayas and I was devastated- I lost the potential for so many pictures. It also hits a personal nerve because last week outside Gondar one of my favourite lenses slipped out of my hands while I was changing over, and it smashed. Again, always in the middle of a trip! Hope your new arrival comes quickly!

Connie said...

Sorry you lost your camera, but you've captured some lovely holiday moments with your back-up camera! Happy Holidays!