How Losing A Camera Was The Best Thing For Earth Day

Last week I misplaced my camera.  I was completely lost.  I felt like a spinning top wobbling to and fro, ready to fall at any moment.  

I turned my house upside down, looking in the places I usually leave it, then to look in the same spot again a few minutes later.  By midmorning, I felt a headache coming on.  My camera is my livelihood and without, I realized I was out of business.  Ironically, I’d just taken pictures of my trash and was ready to download the pictures and start posting.

I went for three days without a camera. 

I try to look for the good in situations like this, so instead of mopping around (which trust me, I did do that for a while), I took it as a sign that I wasn’t supposed to be soliciting trash to the international on-line community.

God had a different idea for me, so I went to work on other things.

With Earth Day coming up, I wanted to coordinate another My Dear Trash Earth Day Book Drive with Changing Hands and Bookmans.  I love both of these book stores and appreciate all they do in the Phoenix area.  They offer workshops, bring in authors and promote all sorts of literacy events.  Together, we hope to collect books for the Friends of the Phoenix Public Library.  Last year, our community donated over 800 books to the Earth Day Book Drive.  You can read about that here and here.

Earth Day is dear to my heart.  

I love the idea of celebrating nature and its beauty.  I look at this time of year as an opportunity to re-commit myself to doing my part to help the world in the best way I know and that is by purchasing things used.  I do my part to buy second-hand, use things out instead of throwing things out and give back by donating things I no longer need to people who do.

So, in addition to the My Dear Trash Earth Day Book Drive, Kelly and I are having a linky party on Earth Day, Friday April 22.  Thanks to those of you who participated in our April Fool’s Linky.  It’s so cool to see the trash you’re bringing home.  Once again, anything you’ve found out thrifting or garaging or just picked out of your neighbors garbage can (hee, hee, hee), if you’ve kept it, re-salvaged it or re-sold it, we want to see it. 

We are also having an Earth Day give-away.  Two $25.00 gift certificates, one from Changing Hands and the other from Bookmans will be awarded to two lucky earth lovers.  To enter, become a follower and leave a comment stating what you will be doing this year to honor Earth Day.  I know we can all learn from each others ideas.     

So, back to my camera.  

On the third day of its disappearance, my son Chandler walked in from the back yard with my camera.  “I found it in the in the grass,” he said. Of course, I tackled him with hugs and kisses, which he graciously accepted.  I downloaded the pictures on the computer and found the culprit. 

Who'd done it?

Look's like my Payson had taken the camera into the backyard to shoot off some photos, but never brought it back in.  

Those are some skilled photos, my boy.  I'm just glad we found the camera the day before irrigation.

Another irony?  I'd mentioned to my neighbor Jeff that I'd lost my camera.  Now Jeff is an electronics genius and has about every great gadget know to man.  He's the guy who always has the latest and greatest.  He told me he'd just upgraded his camera and would be happy to sell me his used camera.

I love it.  A used camera!  You say used and I'm in!

Never mind that his used camera is a Sony 12 Zoom 5.1 Mega pixel professional camera.  He brought it over and I fell in love, so today, I am now the proud owner of one point & shoot cheapy camera just found in the grass and a super cool, super trashy used amazing camera.

Jeff had me practicing picture-taking in the front yard.  

Look at my princess!  

I'm going to be using this camera all the time.

Even my dog, Sierra looks like a super star.

Thanks Jeff for the new "used" camera and for spending time with Eden.

I'm giving you my "used" point & shoot camera to my boys.  No more will I get on there case if they want to go outside and take pictures of the grass or the sky.

I plan on celebrating Earth Day all month long.  Hope you do too.

Drop-off locations for the book drive include:

*Changing Hands Bookstore*

6428 S McClintock Dr
Tempe, AZ 85283

*Bookman’s*

8034 N. 19^th Ave.

Phoenix, AZ 85021 

or 

1056 Country Club Dr.

Mesa, AZ 85210

*Any Phoenix Library Branch*