My wife took a major part in the 2008 card.  She walked in after work and found the three of us napping on the living room couch.  Joy, the cockatiel, had her head under her wing and Mister, the cat, was also curled up.  Jade ran to fetch the camera, but the bird and cat woke up fast. I did not.

     Recent cards have used photos that were premeditated and as good as I could make them.  But John Kenyon, a photographer friend of mine, advised  "Forget the technical stuff--it's all about the story." 

     I suppose John's right.  The most frequently downloaded photo from my commercial web site isn't arty at all.  It is a dumb shot of a dachshund dressed up like a frankfurter.  The picture has been downloaded at least three times a day, every day--to Saudi Arabia, Russia, and the Seychelles Islands in the Pacific, and everywhere in between.  It's surprising what all of uz humans have in common.