We went to play pickleball again and we are both so sore tonight that we might be crying in the morning. It was really fun though and because of all the great pastries and flan and other postres (desserts) around here, we’re really glad we found a way to work off some calories. On the way to pickleball we stopped on the side of the road and bought some amazing empanadas filled with strawberry cream filling and vanilla rice pudding filling. (Truth be told we’ve stopped at the same place twice!) They are in a puff pastry that is so light and airy that melts in your mouth. They also cost a whopping 15 pesos each (about 70 cents each) and I’m sure because they’re so light and fluffy they must only have about 50 calories – right?? We played pickleball for about 3 hours though so we earned a bunch of empanadas.
I didn’t get a photo of our street side empanadas, but I’ll make a sacrifice and go again tomorrow to get some and take a photo of them. This was the previous day’s selection from a panaderia.
The group of expats that play are a really nice bunch of people and it is interesting to learn about where they came from and how long they’ve been here. Each of them has an interesting history, and they have formed a pretty tight group but they are extremely welcoming to new people.
Don’t you just love how much there is to learn in life! There is always something new to be learning. How boring would it be if we just stopped trying out new things, wondering and learning.
Such as… the new Christmas camera… A Panasonic DMC-GX7 mirrorless camera – TA DA! Ky’s forte in the gift giving arena is electronic type gifts. If you power it on, he researches it and figures out what is going to be a very great choice. I was using a Canon point and shoot with limited variables and I’ve been wanting to learn how to use a “grown up” camera for a long time. Our son Nathan took a photography class in high school and I saw what great results he had with a DSLR.
On one of our last trips to Mexico, I met a great photographer named Tim. Check out his blog at http://www.clunkmonkey.com . We fell in love with the entire family and fortunately we can keep up with them in various ways, including their blog, Facebook and Messenger. I first found out about mirrorless cameras from him, and if my photos eventually turn out even half as well as his, I’ll be a happy nomad (I’m just not a camper). And I’m not just saying these things because we adore his kids, or because he posted some nice stuff about us, or even because their family holds the record for number of tacos inhaled at one dinner – which was very impressive to watch! If you look at the blog, you’ll know why…
Back to my camera now – there is A Lot To Learn! I don’t mean to raise my voice a little there, but Holy Moly, the automatic setting has been pretty tempting. But there’s a problem with that – I’m in a bit of a pickle. I don’t remember Nathan’s exact words to me on Christmas, but it was something like “If you ever use the Auto setting after Christmas day Mom, you’re a weenie (or something to that effect… and it wasn’t something I wanted to be). I’ve tried reading some of the manual (not my best method of learning), watched some Youtube videos and taken an intro to a beginner’s on-line class (which was really just an annoying sales pitch) and begun to play around with it and test out different settings. And ya’ know what – I still have A Lot To Learn! I’ve been using it and my iphone 7 takes pretty good photos, so I’ve been resorting to it some while I’m still learning so that I won’t be a weenie, and I won’t miss all the good shots.
To all my professional photographer friends (and non-pros who take fantastic photos) who regularly inspire me, if you have a suggestion for a good online class for me to take, I would appreciate it! I’ll even give you some credit for helping me not be a weenie 😉
Hugs or abrazos (take your pick!)
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