Present production

I have started my Christmas preparations. As I mentioned earlier, I'm not going to make a lot of presents this year - I have had to many holidays being stressed out because of all the tasks I have given myself to finish before the event only to find myself completely knackered at the end and the holidays being over before I have had a chance to enjoy them. But I have made a few presents. These two make-up purses for my cousin's daughters. They are 10 and 13 and I hope they'll enjoy affirmation that I see them as "big girls" now of the make-up wearing kind ;-) So their little twin brothers (5) wont feel left out, I have made them each a drawstring bag with their names on, stitched in "glow-in-the-dark" thread, to use for PJs and toothbrushes when going away or for toys - whatever!

We don't have a very large family, I only have two cousins, and only one who has kids, so this means that a lot of the family presents are taken care of!
I'm making a "coffee-maker cosy" for my mother (you'll see...) + a couple of angels and that about does it when it comes to making presents this year, the rest will be bought. I do intend to finish my tree skirt this year though + make some christmasy table mats for myself. There won't be an awful lot of baking - just enough to make it feel fun, and that's about it I think. For now, anyway - knowing me I'll probably think of something I 'll just have to make one of the last days before Christrmas, but so far so good ;-)
Today is a dark and stormy day and the rain is pouring down, so there is no point in going out. Much better to keep my sewing machine company - I think I'll get started on those place mats...

I 've had a look around the shops and have been doing some research online for that new camera lately, and right now a Nikon Coolpix L3 or L4 are at the top of my list. I have also been considering a HP CM525 which is on special offer, but I'm not too sure - any suggestions? I'm trying not be sidetracked by those showy (more expensive) cameras by Olympus and Minolta which come in a choice of colours (always a soft spot for colours...) - it's the colours of my photos that should matter, right? Not the colour of the camera...