Cooking, Caulking, & Carousels

Spent the better part of Tuesday out and about, tying up loose ends, grocery shopping, taking a few pictures, and checking out materials needed to caulk the shower enclosure.  The old caulking is beginning to decay. (Do I sound like a lesbian in training, or what?) As I bounced around from place to place, I also checked out prices for transferring 35mm slides to CD or DVD and was shocked by the jaw-dropping results.  Back home I got online to scout out what was out there, only to come up with more of the same. The least expensive outlet for copying slides digitally was $25.00 for the first 40 and $0.50 for each thereafter.

There are boxes and boxes of Kodak Carousel Slide Trays with each tray containing 140 slides.  That means a single tray, digitally transferred, would cost about $75.00  . The ultimate goal is to digitize those worth saving (omitting all from the previous life), put them on a stick drive, and discard the slides and bulky trays altogether. There had to be a better option

Being the one with the camera, I am the subject in very few pictures, unless there is a group shot.

In my previous life - when money was no object - I found a scanner designed for digitizing slides and negative strips only and, while it did an OK job, the resolution was not what I hoped for, it was clunky, and didn't like to work with many common programs.  It was one of the first of its kind made by Kyocera and cost $700.00 in 2002.  I am sure the EX sold it after the relationship ended, as he did so many of my things.  But, I digress.

As luck would have it, I was reading a few posts on FB last evening and came upon one that contained a slide show presented by fellow blogger Ron, at "Retired in Delaware" that looked fairly good.  So, I left a comment asking what he used to digitize all those slides.  His answer surprised me.  A scanner.  Well, duh!  And it cost under a hundred bucks!  Well, duh, again! (Thanks, Ron!)

So, today (as it rains outside and my pork roast bakes inside) I've been doing my homework to find the right scanner for my needs, coming up with a list of 5, of which only 1 is over the $100. mark. All but one have excellent reviews for ease of use, intuitive menus, green technology, and speed.

I think I know what I'll ask for when I sit on Santa's lap.  Now stop that!!! Dirty minded people. Jeez!

Still, it is something worth investigating further, which is exactly what I am doing (again) after posting this.  It's not like I can afford to buy something right now, and the trays have been in boxes for upwards of 5 years.  There is no rush.  It's nice to know there is an alternative to outside labs with questionable reputations.

I smell roasted pork and olives. 

And so it goes.