When the rules change

I never heard of Oath 1.0 until today.  Supposedly that is why switching from Blogger to Wordpress or Wordpress.com to WP.org doesn’t import stuff.  It is also why Windows LiveWriter and Mars Edit stopped working with Blogger.  That is how it affected me.  I almost always write on LW and import to Blogger when suddenly it didn’t do that anymore.   ARGH!  Technology.  Always evolving and improving but sometimes it’s painful.  Thank goodness Microsoft fixed the sign in problem with LiveWriter and it now works!  I wrote this post in LW as a test.

Blog like you love it

It's been almost 3 years since I began blogging.  When I began I had no clue what I was in for.  What started as a place to record my thoughts and ideas has turned into a place to share what I love doing.  There are some things that have taken me a long time to realize and it has recently occured to me that perhaps someone might stumble across my blog and read some things I wish I had learned sooner than later.  Below is a list of things I have found (in no particular order) that might speed your journey along a bit faster than my journey has been.  Take what you need, and please share what you have learned as well in the comments.  You never know who will read it and have an "ah HA" moment.  Read on...

How to make a blog banner

It's taken me some time and messing around with different free online software programs but I finally came out with what I was after using the free PicMonkey.   What I had was a blue gray box with fuzzy writing and no texture in the background.  I wanted a textured neutral background with the heading centered and floating on top of the background.  It took several aggravating tries to come out the way I wanted it.  Because of that I decided to share what I learned and hopefully make it easier for someone else to make their own design.

A look inside myself

Do you do an annual Doctor visit?  Today was my turn and I enjoyed how talkative my Dr. was.  I started off telling him that I had put him on my New Year Resolution list and am proud to announce I completed it all.  He said that’s the first time he knew of that he was on someone’s resolution list!  He bugs me every year (since a couple of surgeries) to get a Colonoscopy screening.  As soon as I verified my insurance covers it, I got it done.  I also took care of the Mammogram, which I do faithfully because of my family history and am controlling my sugar count with an improved diet. 

How to add a line break and customize the read more message...

If you are new to blogging, and use blogger, this is written for you.  I socialize on Facebook with a group that specifically uses blogger where the question has come up about how to make your home page show a snippet of your article with a customized message to "continue reading" placed where you want it to be.

 Why would you want to do that?

Blogger basics - change background color

Learn how you can change the background color of your blogger blog in four easy steps.  If you prefer a solid color back ground follow these steps:

Living life and sharing snippits.

It's okay not to celebrate my first blog anniversary the typical way.

Life is as short  as a cliche... I'm trying to make the best of it.  A year ago in February I started this blog.  I have seen lots of bloggers celebrating their anniversary with give aways and special participation that involve sponsors.  I felt a little guilty for a short time... and a do mean a short time...that I haven't taken on sponsors to make money with my blog.  At present, I don't need to.  The purpose behind my blog is enjoyment and sharing some things I enjoy with you in my retirement years.  I am still enjoying my blogging life and have avoided making it a "job".  So forgive me for not offering a give away, and instead (hopefully) giving you a short, easy to read, glimpse into my life.

I'm ok with my regular life.  Here is a glimpse into today.  One day in my life that is like many other days, full of sunshine, nature, family, friends, cooking, shopping, crafting, blogging and relaxing.

• Rise & shine.  I've been away from home for a couple of months so today I'm cleaning up the left over holiday stuff, starting with the Rosemary Wreaths I made.  Because it has dried out nicely, it was easy to lay the wreath on the counter and apply a little pressure with my hands to get the aromatic leaves off.  I simply gathered up the dry leaves and put them in a zip lock bag.  This will be yummy in spagetti or Rosemary Chicken.

• A walk in one of our city parks carrying my camera was a good way to start today.  It's still wintry and sparse but I managed to see some pretty images. I'm so inspired by the Wooly Moss Roots blog and Our Neck of the Woods  blog, I wish I could spend some days romping in their woods.

• Time for a mini make over with some fresh hair color and a trip to get it trimmed. Oh, and I need gas in my car.
• A quick stop at a local resale shop where I found a white gravy boat and a light fixture I think I can turn into a bird bath.  That doesn't read quite right, the gravy boat will hold gravy; the fixture will make a cool bird bath.
• I'm in the mood to cook something divine so a trip to the grocery store (Walmart) is necessary.  Of course I didn't restrict myself to the grocery section...
• Visited with an old friend in the Walmart isles.  I have not seen her in at least 10 years.  That was a really nice surprise.
• Back at home I cleaned out the fridge and folded laundry before putting together a pork chop dinner that included green bean bundles, baked winter vegetables and a peach salsa from the daughter in law. for me and hubs.  The recipes will be tomorrow's blog.
• Called mom, my children and e-mailed a couple of other friends & relatives because I love my family and friends... and some blogging cause I luv you guys too!
• Watching sunsets are my favorite end to any day.  I have lots of sunset captures on my Instagram feed.  

• Today was a good day, I can't wait to start tomorrow.

Hey, if you have a day in your life to share or even part of it, please leave a comment with your blog link.

The first bucket - blogging

On my bucket list is starting a blog.  So today I'm pouring the stagnant water out of one of my buckets and putting some words in it to satisfy that goal.  The new goal for the first bucket is to share my thoughts and activities in a way that satisfies myself and might even entertain someone else who may stumble upon my blogs.  The advice I've read about blogging seems to lean toward a theme.  I wonder, can a brain that has so many different interests be a theme?  Perhaps I should sort out my brain in color codes (because I'm a habitual organizer too) or may be I need to paint my buckets and start dropping blog lines into them.  I like it.  My life is not monocromatic, so my buckets won't be either. 
Sometimes I feel a little bit like a bird dog.  Focus...focus...ooo bird... focus...focus...squirrel... 
 I just noticed in the set up that I can choose my location.  I drug the map pin to hover over the general area where I live and the address that showed up is Mt. Calm.  I like it, think I need to move there. BTW, I live deep in the heart of Texas. I also changed the font to Helvetica because when I Googled it I enjoyed all the hype associated with the Helvetica fans.  Who knew a face type could have fans? That just tickles my funny bone. 

I have spent an entire afternoon reading all the links to starting your own blog and I still don't find a link to existing blogs from  other bloggers without leaving my blog.  I keep thinking I'll find something so I don't have to log out and go to the Google search bar.  Maybe someone will read this post and enlighten me on how this is done.  Be kind, don't hurt my fragile feelings...I might have to categorize you in one of my buckets.  Probably the rusty one.

I did search for a bucket photo and found a fabulous one by dondj2 that IS rusty and old and dented.  I pinned it to my garden board on Pinterest.  Yes, I am Pinterest adicted.  It feeds my consuming need to organize things. I may also have discovered I have a bucket fettish and start collecting them.

1 kind act:  Each day look for an opportunity to do one thing for someone else that might be noticed, but usually ignored or let go.