Christmas Note

Christmas is rapidly approaching, and we've chosen to share our greetings electronically. We send our best wishes for your happiness, health and peace throughout the Christmas holidays, and for 2009. We've also enjoyed holiday greetings from many of you already, and appreciate the thoughfulness and news updates. Time certainly flies by, so here's a 1-minute summary.

We're still working, we're always between trips, and we enjoy our kids and grandchildren in so many ways. Our plans for next year? More of the same. No, it's not dull. We are certainly blessed, with our lives, resources, friendships and family. There's much to give thanks for this Christmas, and we know you feel the same way. So, have a great celebration throughout the holidays, and keep the faith.

Meanwhile, we'd like to share one of our favorite places with you ... the Hawaiian Islands, through a brief slide-show (which we've also turned into a printed book via Shutterfly.com ). Just click on the URL below ... and then:

-- click the ORANGE link in center-bottom to 'View Photo Book,"

-- then click on 'SLIDE SHOW.' (Disregard the sign-in, or any commercial stuff)

-- select the icon for 'Single Page View' next to 'Options' at the top right

This 25-page album includes captions and photos from paradise. It certainly shows God's handiwork. Enjoy --- and consider the beauty of our planet wherever you are, and the need to preserve it. Best wishes for a joyous Christmas, and a very happy New Year. Hope to see you soon.

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AbOXLZk3aMmTy4

Preserve Old Photos

I recently acquired an Epson Perfection V500 Photo flatbed scanner, for use solely with slides and negative strip films, but it will also scan prints. (I already have a Canon photo print scanner ... which will scan 6 prints at a time, which is great for volume jobs.) So ... if you're archiving family images from slides, this Epson might do the job. I intend to scan hundreds of slides I made as a kid, and later when we started our own family ... it was all slides in those days. The scan quality is SUPURB. The Epson does a few more useful things ... ie enhances colors and over-exposed backgrounds; and automaticallly removes dust particles and scratches that get all over slides and look awful when enlarged. So, this is a time-saver, avoiding PhotoShop. The downside? Well -- I see only one ... it takes awhile to scan and enhance just four-slides at a time ... several minutes each, not seconds. But this is a great way to archive and index old photos. A good investment at $179 on Amazon. The tech specs are: 6400 dpi for 17 x 22 inch enlargements, Digital ICE scratch/dust removal, Easy Photo Fix to restore faded colors, and a free copy of Adobe Photoshop Elements (worth $100 by itself).