With the holidays approaching, here are some tips to help make yours a little brighter!

Mike Wendland shows readers three ways to make a photo book. He writes:

As the holidays approach, a lot of digital photographs will be taken. But what to do with them? Have you thought of making a book?

Kitchen Chick has some tasting results to share for festive ice wines. She writes:

For Wine Blogging Wednesday #27, I pulled together some friends who were kind enough to share the heavy burden (oh, twist our arms!) of tasting ice wines. Between us and them we had a total of four (!) wines and a table loaded with cheese, fruits, and a fruit tart.

She offers reviews for each of the four wines from wineries in New Zealand, Canada and Berrien Springs, Michigan.

And finally this entry in Matt Blackcustard's Live Journal (formerly known as The Adventures of a Brit Abroad) is not really a pre-holiday image, but the verbiage would make you think so.

And lo, he went out and bought a new Holga from the righteous folk at Big George's, and he did take it out into the Godforsaken countryside in the nearby township known as Superior, and there, hindered by freezing rain and bonechilling winds, he attached the new close-up filters, loaded the holy and expired Kodak TMY, and shot "photographs of weeds".

And what does an apple have to do with Thanksgiving? Click on the photo to find out (from the Absolute Michigan Pool on Flickr)

Read Digital photo books by PC Mike's E-Journal
Also read WBW #27: all iced up for the holidays by Kitchen Chick
Read about the Queen Anne's Lace photo by The Adventures of a Brit Abroad

The Environment Report 's Mark Brush looks into the impact mid-term elections may have on the environment. He writes:

The political landscape in the US changed overnight this week/last week (election week). The Democratic takeover will mean a big shift in policy-making efforts in Washington.

He continues:

Tiernan Sittenfeld is the legislative director for the League of Conservation Voters. She says many Republican committee chairs, such as Richard Pombo, simply obstructed environmental legislation. She says now that will change.

"It's not that even that Congress has even voted to pass particular pro-environment legislation; it's that the house leadership and the committee chairs haven't even allowed such legislation to come to the floor. They haven't even wanted a debate on it. So I think having different leadership, having different committee chairs who care about protecting the environment, who care about clean air, clean water, and open space is going to be a whole world of difference."

The photo is from the Absolute Michigan Pool on Flickr

Read or listen to ELECTIONS BOOST ENVIRONMENTAL AGENDA by the Environment Report (don't forget to listen to the Pambo Mambo!)
Read or listen to this related story, DISH DETERGENT MAKERS FIGHT PHOSPHATE BANS by The Environment Report
Also read Implications of Democrats' Victory for the Great Lakes on Dig Michigan