Moving Ahead

I'm back from up north where I went over a draft contract with my contractor and then visited the mortgage loan officer at the bank.  We seem to be on track.  I also talked with Presque Isle Electric and Gas about having power run to the construction site.  I was told it will take at least two weeks after the lot is cleared to schedule running the line, and then it all depends on how many work orders are ahead of mine.  Matt and I discussed clearing the lot now, even before I close on the construction loan, so that we can get the power flowing.

This morning, on my way to the bank, I paid a visit to Trinity Episcopal Church in Alpena where my friend Sharon is in charge of their annual Victorian Tea.  Tomorrow Trinity will host more than 230 people at two afternoon seatings for tea, sandwiches, and cookies.  Guests assemble in the church.  Butlers (parishioner volunteers) in full kit conduct them to their reserved tables, where maids (also parishioners) in Victorian attire serve the tables.  The parish hall is decorated to the 9's with period dresses and hats displayed on the walls, and a very attractive red-orange/brown color scheme.  There's also a gift shop called The Tea Cozy down in the basement.  Today about 25 volunteers were hard at work producing tray after tray of sandwiches, including one shaped like a calla lilly!  Trinity has hosted this Victorian Tea for well over a decade and it's a major fund-raiser for the parish.  Sharon was supposed to be No. 2 this year, working under the Chair of the Tea Committee, but the latter will have surgery tomorrow.  So, suddenly, Sharon became the go-to person!  The whole process seems to be humming along nicely!

I need a camera to record the construction process.  My last 35mm film camera died about a year ago after 30 or more years of loyal service.  In fact, the very last shot I took with it was the photo of the front entry of St. John's which appears on the cover of our photo directory.  I tried a compact point-and-shoot a couple years ago, but the shutter delay drove me wild.  I kept getting the photo that happened 1-2 seconds after the shot I wanted!

Instead, I will get a digital single lens reflex (SLR).  I am leaning toward the Canon EOS Rebel XSi, which comes as a "kit" with an 18-55mm zoom lens.  Consumer Reports gives its slightly bigger brother, the T1i, a very good rating, and they consider Canon products among the most reliable.  There are some excellent reviews on the Web.  For example, Imaging Resource (www.imaging-resource.com) gives more information than I can understand! •••