Those of you who have been listening to my podcast for the past three years, will know that I have complained about my camera on quite a few occasions. Though it has been both useful and practical for my podcasts, and small enough to fit in my handbag, I have been frustrated with it most of the time. I've described it as a 'dinosaur' more than once. This is a term we often use for an out-of-date piece of technology, such as a computer, or an old cell phone. Well, my little camera is going to be handed down to one of my kids, recycled you could say, because I've got a new one. It's a Cannon, a birthday present from my husband. And, let me tell you, it was love at first sight!*I actually hadn't spent any time researching the best buy*, nor had I asked anyone for advice on the matter. However, I did have a mental list* of prerequisites*: 1. It should be compact enough to fit in my handbag (I'm more likely# to lose it if I have to carry it in a second bag), 2. It needs to take good quality video so I can get action shots of my children playing sports, and also be able to upload video easily to my app., 3. It needs a powerful focus to pick up small detail very clearly. I'm really into# detail when it comes to photos. You know the kind of photos that show the middle of a tiny flower, with pollen on the stamen, and by comparison the petals look huge; that's the kind that I would like to take. I'm going to experiment with my cannon, and find out just how much detail is possible. Perhaps I can focus in enough on a small flower, to be able to get a tiny bug sitting on a stamen. Or even better: I could shoot the hair on the back of the tiny bug that is sitting on the stamen! Wow, that would almost be ridiculous. Seriously, I would be quite happy with clear, close-up detail. I tried out# my camera the other day when we went for a walk up one of the local hills: Saddlerock. Most of it was a steep climb, but it was a perfect day, and everyone was enthusiastic about the exercise. Though the path was really muddy all the way up, the views of the town and surrounding hills were impressive. We reached the top, and sat down at a rocky outcrop. As the children played with the dogs, and my husband tried to spot deer, I took lots of photos. The ones that I like most from that trip, were those of the rock formations and the lichen. If you see the picture on the blog or the app, you'll be able to make out the cubic, stair-step pattern of the rock, and the different colors of lichen growing on it. Marvelous. I'm hoping to upload some impressive photos from now on. I'm so excited about the camera that I bought another, bigger handbag to make sure that all of my stuff plus my camera, can go everywhere I do. Well, that's my excuse. Related vocabulary: Love at first sight, the best buy, mental list, prerequisites, (to be likely to, to be into, to try out). 1. Cinderella and the Prince looked at eachother, and it was love at first sight. 2. I got the best buy on this oven; three magazines say it's the best, plus it was on sale. 3. I've a good memory; I can make a mental list of what I need in the supermarket, and I remember everything! 4. The most important prerequisite we are looking for in a store manager is to be personable. **If you join me on Facebook, at Anna Fromacupofenglish, you can read the last 3 items of related vocabulary. Tweet //

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.