Easter Bread

Recently, Cheryl of The Farmer's Daughter was describing a spike in her blog numbers. She found the information on her stats. I had another such spike yesterday with over a thousand visitors on a quiet Sunday...unheard of...nearly. There was that one time several years ago when my stats went through the roof — over a thousand visitors an hour for several days. (Those of you who have millions visit every week, just bear with me here. ☺)

As much as I'd have liked to think that my humble blog had gained the attention of thousands, I knew better. Something was up besides the numbers! Back then, Site Meter was still in operation and I was able to drill down on those visits.

I found a forum of some sort in Norway, the country. They were laughing their heads off over my posts on "Easter Bread." They soon had John and me laughing, too. Apparently, the word for "Easter bread" the one my Mennonite friends use, means quite something else in Norwegian. So when I described the aroma of it baking in the oven, these forum folks were bent double in fits of laughter.

If you'd like to bake some most delicious Easter Bread (Paska), check my featured post in the sidebar. It is most delicious!

~back in the Notecard Party days~


Do you ever drill down your stats to find out where visitors are coming from? I have found some lovely blogs that way...

*🌷*🌷*

That snow that arrived Saturday? About a foot of it here. Nearly all gone. Of course, we'll do it all over again on Tuesday just for fun. Then lots and lots of rain will be moving in. This always makes me nervous. Good thing I have the flood insurance all paid up at The Ponderosa.

Have a beautiful springy day...

Instagram...Really?

♪Where have all the bloggers gone

Long time passing

Where have all the bloggers gone

Long time ago

🌷🌷🌷

Where have all the bloggers gone

Gone to Instagram every one

When will they ever learn

When will they ever learn ♫

Now I certainly might have guessed this if I had been thinking, especially since I myself have gone to Instagram. 

As a word-loving person, Instagram is definitely not my favorite social media outlet; however, it is convenient. I made my Instagram account private because it began to feel as if things were snowballing. I had some fun, new folks following along, but I had no idea how they'd arrived. I have a temporary hold on inviting more folks along until I can do some vetting. This is sometimes a challenge because the other Instagram person may also have a private account. If I don't figure it out soon, I'll probably let Instagram go by the way.

Thanks to all who helped me figure out what is happening to our little blogging community. There are many culprits from illness to loss to envy to feeling neglected or overlooked. Feedback is important to most bloggers! I am surely guilty of neglecting folks, though I really do try to be in touch. You can always nudge me. I'll wake up! And please never feel that you should not comment because I have "enough" comments. I make a lot of visits and give a lot of comments to "earn" (if that's the right word) them. 

💛♥💛♥💛♥💛♥💛

Remember my mentioning Gabby shown with my father in the last post?

She gave her notice and today will be her last day with my dad. He found out when I was there last Monday. He got a little emotional and told me that he really liked her and didn't want her to go. She told him that if it was up to him, she wouldn't leave because he has been her favorite. These poor home healthcare providers get taken for a ride all too often as has been the case for Gabby. I hope that she is moving on up. And I am praying that the next helper will also be a good one because it is not easy for my father either.
💛♥💛♥💛♥💛♥💛 

The new sofa, a Lovesac, arrived at my sister's Tuesday via UPS or was it Fedex? Anyway, it came in 18 boxes. The poor delivery guy asked, "So what is this anyway?" My sister showed him the literature and he said that he certainly hoped that it did not catch on. Kim said that she didn't have the heart to tell him that it would be blogged about. Disclaimer: Lovesac has no idea that their customer's sister has a blog and I have no opinion...yet...about their product.

~by the window location~

My dad has already lost his station by the window because it is just a little far from the facilities. Watch the birds on the one hand or get to the restroom on the other. The birds lost. 

~New Location and Trying to figure out the Sactional~

↑The only critters I've seen using the new sofa are these Jellycats™ (I don't know, they look like rabbits to me) above and the regular cat Lily.→

💛♥💛♥💛♥💛♥💛 

Some day, we must have a simple chat over tea~coffee and with crumpets or something... I have a new Keurig, thanks to my son and daughter-in-law. It has been great fun to make my selection every morning. There are lots of choices for us to make! Then I will tell you what I have been up to and ask you some questions because I am nosy like that like learning your thoughts. 

Thank you for visit! Have a blessed weekend...

P.S. I turn my back for three hours and the entire post goes south. Formatting issues horribly awry here today. My apologies and, thing is, I doubt that you care, but for someone like me, who once worked in publishing, this makes my hair stand on end. Ha!

My Treasure Box

Do you have as many "treasure boxes" in your home as I have in mine? There's this one holding the dominos inside and the dust topside.↓

↓And this one holding those things John wanted to save, mostly church bulletins and old copies of daily devotionals, but also things that surprised me like photos he took when I was not aware and cards and notes I wrote him. I didn't know that men did that, but this one did. He pretty much saved everything.☺ 

This is the box that holds the set of plated silverware.↓

↓Here's a music box where I can switch out graphics or photos. Guess I am either very late or very early. 

These boxes are filled with mementos for John's girls: photos, letters, and even little drawings and old cards. ↓

↓Here's a ceramic box that my mother used for peppermint candies. I can still smell them a little, though faintly, faintly, faintly.

This may look like a jewelry box, though it is for stationery.↓

I have a favorite. Since you are visiting me today, you are sitting in it. What?! Yes, I consider this little blog my treasure box filled with all the people and things I love best. Many of my favorite scriptures and quotes are contained here. It also holds many of the lessons I have learned and thinks I have thinked. ☺ It might even contain a rant or two. Most of all, it contains the precious memories that I might forget without it. 

Memory is a way of holding on to the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose.

~ Kevin Arnold

Now tell me, do you journal, keep a diary or a blog? If you don't, please consider it. If you have gotten away from recording your doings, your feelings, your failures, your joys, sorrows, too, because life is crazy, busy or complicated, plan a time for returning. You will be glad that you did.

See you soon! 

Got Any Tips?

Let's see, how long did blogging every day last? Eight days. Pretty good for me. Of course, I am hoping for sanity in posting from now on. Not that you everyday bloggers are insane, of course. ☺ See how I so easily stick my foot in my mouth?  
What I really want to talk about today is how different it is to eat properly these days. I mean why bother? Just make a piece of toast and be done with it I tell myself. Recently, I began to feel sick as if I were not eating properly. Ya think? Besides all those carbs...not good.

So when I went shopping a few days ago, I asked myself what I really wanted for supper. 

Fruit. I wanted fruit. And a piece of toast. And a cup of chamomile tea.


The next day, I wanted cole slaw. Cole slaw? 

 By Friday, I decided to bake cookies since the weather was not cooperating for working at The Ponderosa. 

Ready for freezing, which I did and now there are nice frozen individual cookies in a freezer bag at the ready. There are also, unfortunately, some in the cookie tin.

On the one side a rainy day, though with all the yellow it looks as if the sun could be shining, and on the

 other side, a snack and QVC. If Lori talks about those pillows one more time...

How in the world did my tv stand get so off? (I have fixed it you'll be happy to know.) 

So do you have any suggestions for me? I think I need some help.

Old Costumes

Sometimes I think this here blog is to bring all the loose ends of my life together. ☺ Recently, I was digging about in the old boxes, of which there is no end, when out tumbled my ballet costume and my tap dance costume circa 1960 something. I first showed a photo of my tap dancing troupe back *here* if you'd be interested to see it. I carefully laundered both outfits; one did much better than the other. They're now hanging in my sewing room.

***

Three posts in one week. Hmmm... don't want that to become a habit. Have you found a good schedule for posting yet? I used to be an every day poster; now I just admire those who are. When posts become as lame as this one, a gal knows that it is time to slow down. 

Have a blessed weekend! See you next week.

At The Lake

There's always a lot going on behind the scenes with any blogger that we can not know about — sometimes troubling things; probably even good things. One of my blogging buddies said that she'd pray for me if I needed it and I thanked her by saying that there is always a need for prayer. ☺ So I'm still experimenting. Yesterday, I experimented by not commenting anywhere (oh, all right, three know better) and I didn't make it to all my favorites. I waited up for Linda to post. Her darling was having some cardiac tests yesterday and I was concerned. This is how it gets for us in Blogdom — whether we think of each other as IRL or URL friends — we do become connected.
I have more to say on the topic, but you'll learn the rest of the story on Sunday.
Today, I have some photos I've been waiting to share of the grands' vacation at the lake. I am told that they had a fabulous time and were allowed some wonderful freedoms like bike riding over the paths without adult supervision — no cars after all. The youngest was heard to say, "This is the best day of my life!"

 ~skipping rocks~

 ~in charge of fly swatting?~

 ~pumping water is an important chore~

~rainbow over Hills Head~

~sunset at the lake~
(All photos were taken by my daughter-in-law.)
I smile to see them there. My mother planned ahead for these moments that she does not get to see. Sigh.

Yes, I made a silly little graphic for closing comments. I have learned that not everyone reads to the end and several have become confused by  comments being closed. This should remedy that. 

Today, I hope to visit you!

Chatted Out

Hmm ~ an experiment of blogging without comments ...are you doing a thesis on (being) anti-social? lol ~Willow

Willow's comment made me laugh. Closing comments is often perceived as being unfriendly.
It was not meant to be. My hope was to drift to a place of having a few days of comments being open and a few days of being closed. That way, I hoped that I might not feel obligated to comment so often. It would only be fair. 

You may remember seeing this. It's a little graphic I created, and offered to anyone else who wanted it, as a way of saying that what I do here, I do without constraints. After a while, I thought it was kind of obnoxious so took it down. Lately, I've been ready to slap it back up as a reminder to myself that I am not on anyone's payroll and answer only to The Lord, John, and myself. Though I am a chatterbox in Blogdom, in real life, I am quiet and reserved. Very. Those who comment all the time are, by Blogdom's definition, stalkers. You'll have to trust me on this because I'm not providing the proof, though I did once upon a year. And that's what I feel like sometimes — a stalker. It's as if I am poking my nose in or sticking my oar into other gals' business.
John says that he can't understand why I would ever want to close comments because that's really what this place is all about — comments and sharing. It certainly is true that the comments left here are the best part of blogging. I love them. It's just that I, myself, am feeling "chatted out." Does any of this make sense?
What to do...what to do... Probably the best thing to do is take a break. This is where it gets tricky because I am "cured" of blogging after just a few days. A few days without blogging and all desire to blog is gone.   Enough of all that. If my head is tired, how's yours? ☺
I warmly welcome your comments today. I still remember the advice Dawn gave me the last time I was this conflicted: Do what makes you feel lovely.  

Gone

Sometimes she promises to be right back. Sometimes she keeps her promise, yet her posts are further and further apart. Then she's gone. 
Just like that.
I hate when that happens!

As you know, I keep *a separate blog* with links and buttons. More and more, I'm finding those who've moved on to other pursuits leaving their once lovingly tended blogs behind. I deleted five just yesterday. I was clinging too hard, but one has to let go. Right? I must allow others to have their own minds about blogs, life, interests. So I let them go...eventually...and sometimes I keep the tissue box handy. 
So I am looking for a new-to-me blog. Is there one that you have recently found that you love? I'm eager to hear what you think is a great blog that perhaps not too many know about yet. We all love PW, but perhaps a blog not quite that big, not quite that popular.
Say, want to wander in a lovely home garden and see wonderful quilts made for cozy days? You can't go wrong visiting Mia's Country Living. Mia lives in Norway. (She writes in English.) Just a sweet get-away from it all blog for sure.
You're not planning on going anywhere, are you?
ツ

Look! No Pics!

I may have lost my will to live. (Don't mind me, I just took my drama pill. ☺) My posts are usually written early in the morning and posted by 8 at the latest. If I have something special going...yes...sometimes I do, you know...I write them the evening before. Anyway, I am so discombobulated this morning by a power outage occurring smack in the middle of this morning's post that I can hardly think.    It lasted so long — 5 minutes — that I had time to ask John if the electric bill had been paid. He was quite offended. Oops. Now I have made a situation that much worse. Again. So me. So me. One day, I might learn to shut me mouth.
Anyway, the post went *poof* as did the photo that I was in the process of uploading. Perhaps I should check Picasa — it's probably there — maybe there — hope it's there.
I'm tempted to wax philosophical and say that this is another life lesson, that just when we think we are heading in one direction, we are on a different one altogether. 
Oh I remember what I was writing about. Say! Come back; this here post is not over yet. Is it?
I remember that I was yapping about blog-hopping starting in my own blogroll. It was shocking to find so many blogs that have gone private  (I've not been invited) or blogs that have sat idle for months, up to a year or even longer. Blogs I have loved that have gone *poof* just like my post. I have no idea if the bloggers are still out there. I pray so. 
Then there are the blogs taking up prime real estate with whom I have no ongoing interaction. I have to ponder how to handle those. My policy has always been that, even if a blog no longer appears in the thumbnail portion of my blogroll, that it remains in an old-fashioned blog list. Now perhaps that list is becoming prime real estate, too. Like my overgrown garden or my cluttered cabinet, some culling may be necessary. Accckkkk...I just hate that part.
Have any advice for me this morning?

Fair Use and All That

This post should not be considered an intellectual discussion of Copyright Infringement. It merely contains my thoughts on the matter. I actually have been down this research road before at least twice and had forgotten. So it's good to get this into some sort of clearing house post if only for my benefit. To quote Dr. Phil, sorta, never substitute my judgement for your own!
Oh, by the way, may I quote someone? Yes, I may.☺
Information is taken from the following sources: here, here regarding screen capture, and more on screen capture here. The last one is the most entertaining; however, there is valuable information in all. 
From what I can gather, the courts have not yet established a hard and fast rule concerning copyright infringement in this day and age of the www. Experts disagree between them about fair use. As my friend Donna said, "If they can't figure it out, how am I expected to?"
A humble blogger like me could decide to go ultra conservative in all things. I have recently deleted posts and replaced a photo. You may be interested to know that, in light of my recent study, I would probably allow it all to stand. This blog is not written for any monetary gain; I harmed no one in the process giving full credit. In the future, if I use a generic g00gle image, I will source it as such or try to make contact with the owner, unless it is in the public domain. Frankly, it's just easier to use my own photo. I have many permissions from authors to cartoonists to architects to you-name-it. It gets complicated after a while. It's not something that I want to invest so much time in for a nothing little blog like this. So this is fair warning — posts are probably going to be more dull than ever before. (Edited to Add: MY posts are probably going to be more dull than ever before.) 
I will definitely not post any professional photographers' work again, sourced or otherwise, neither here nor on Pinterest. That ship has sailed. And, as for Pinterest, in the future, I will only pin those photos that either have a "pin me" or an obvious graphic that lets people know that it is okay. What a pain. This is just my thing; refer back to the Dr. Phil quote. I am going to err on the side of caution. 
There is one exception to that: the only place where I will not err on the side of caution is with regard to my first amendment rights. I have a right to express my opinion; you have a right to express yours. Let's not allow anyone to mess with that privilege!
Quite frankly, I worry most about the professional bloggers who never source a thing. There are a number of them. They may be taking a risk because they are using their blogs for a monetary purpose (nothing wrong with that, folks, I am not making commentary about that). Apparently, the monetary aspect and fair use is where the wicket really gets sticky.
This is very interesting information for students and teachers giving reports or preparing papers *here.*
The Idiot's Guide of Blogging Rules and Etiquette
Oh, may I link to other sites? Yes, I may. ☺
Feel free to ask a question or express a concern. I love to do a little research, but remember, even The Experts haven't figured it out.

Are Bloggers Narcissists?

Five years ago, at this very time of day, I began what has turned out to be one of the biggest adventures of my life — I posted in this blog for the first time. That was 1,414 posts ago.

What's up with the title? Well, on that first post, I described myself and you, if you blog, as narcissistic. Blogging=Narcissism was my belief. I might hedge about that statement today for I have learned that the great majority of bloggers are the most generous, helpful, creative people I know.

In times past, I would have said "know" using quotes. I don't bother with quotes anymore because I feel as if I know many of you better than I know some members of my own family. It is a privilege to visit with you and to learn more about your life, your corner, your family, the way you cook, create, and dream. I have been especially blessed by those who openly share faith and values and what the Lord has been teaching you.

Let's talk about creativity for a moment. I used to say that I didn't cook, bake, knit, crochet, sew or go (anywhere). I just pretended to do them here. I can not say it anymore. Initially, I may have tackled more projects so I'd have something to discuss, now I really do all these things and I enjoy them. Immensely. And I owe it to blogging and you who read and link and pin and visit over and over again.

~A Sampling~

If you've been reading here for any length of time, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. If you just showed up today, thank you for taking the time to read this post.

To my oldest and dearest blogging buddies, I hope for more years of blogging — five more? (By then, I'll have used up all my Picasa space and will bid a fond farewell.) Speaking of which, how long do you think blogging in general will continue? Do you ever give a thought to how long you will blog? 

No farewells today. I thank God for the joy of blogging and for the joy of getting to know you better.

(This is a secret giveaway open to all bloggers everywhere. A comment is the key—no hoops to jump, no word to get out. A winner will be announced tomorrow afternoon at this time. Shhhhhh...)

ETA: 3:41 Saturday 
Comments are now closed...
Winner to be announced soon.
Barbara at Two Birdies and a B! 
Edited to Add: Barbara discusses her win *here.*

A warm thank you to all for the lovely comments and for participating...

 

How Much Photo Storage Do You Have Left?

Photo storage problems? I've had a couple of questions this week from friends who've discovered that odious message about their space being all used up. I tried to find anyplace to tell me how I was doing as a result. Thought I'd share what I learned. If you know a better way, please let me know.

The problem is that the New Interface doesn't have this information. One must return to the Old Interface, which will not be an option for much longer by the way. So while there is still time, click on the gear at the top right of the Design Page selecting the Old Interface. (Don't worry, you can go back to the New One in a minute.) From there, click on new post, set it to html instead of compose, click on the image icon as if you were selecting a photo file, scroll to the bottom and AT LAST you'll see your information — if you dare!

I have used 40% of my available space in five years. How is that possible? The single best answer is that I always resize my photos before uploading. Any computer has programming making this possible even if you use the most basic PAINT. Photoscape, a free downloadable program also has this feature, and many of the online editing programs do as well. The added bonus, besides not using up so much photo space, is that the uploads are much faster.

Hope this helps...

My honey is taking me out for breakfast so I'm off! Have a great day...


Edited to Add: Lots of great information in comments! Such smart readers I have!

My Seven Tips for Better Blogging

My Winterberries and My Winterberry Gatherer

(Having Nearly Nothing Whatsoever to Do with Today's Topic ☺)

New blogging buddies are so much fun for they bring a freshness and enthusiasm to blogging that can be lost if we always remain in the same clique circle. New faces and new voices are wonderful. Once in a while, I am asked a question about blogging forms and formalities and I smile because I so well remember having the same sorts of questions about blogging. Gosh, I still have questions about blogging all the time.

Sometimes, I allow myself the luxury of thinking perhaps I do know something about this blogging business. Of course, I'm just pretending, I actually know precious little. Sadly, it is my nature to tell more than I know; therefore, in an effort to answer some of the questions I've been asked of late, I'll share why I blog the way I do because that's really all I know anything about. What you do, dear one, is always your choice.

1. I try to make my blog friendly by not using any sort of verifications. They are a huge hurdle for my commenters and for me. (Feel free to snag the button if you decide to go verification free. It is a great joy to find it on blogs and, no, I didn't start it.) Yes, I have had trouble with spammers in the past, but Blogger has done an amazing job with its spam filter. You can always check your filter by going first to the Design button and then directly to the Comment tab. This truly eliminates the need for fussy word verifications. If you should receive an unwarranted comment, do not hesitate to delete it or to report it as spam. Certainly, do not give it much concern. I would just challenge you, if at all possible, to try letting go of those verifications. If you have troubles again, you can always return to them.

1. Design and then directly to Comments

2. Anonymous commenters are either a blessing or a curse. Because I think everyone should be able to stand behind a comment, I no longer allow anonymous ones. This helps to further eliminate spam. The way to check this setting is Design, Dashboard, Settings, Comments.

2. Design-Dashboard-Settings-Comments

3. I regularly check my blog's load time. There are a number of good programs that do this. I recently tried Pingdom, which breaks down the components of my blog and shows the various load times for each item. For example, I see that my little clock there (that I love, btw,) is sucking a lot of load time.

4. If I have a problem with a certain blog, I'll mention it to the blogger behind the scenes in an email.  Quite often, it turns out to be my problem and not hers in the first place. And I want to know if you're having difficulty here, too, because I'll try to find out why. The pop-up box for comments, which I also love because it allows me to see the original page, often causes visitors troubles when leaving a comment. That is a setting on your home computer concerning safety issues, which you may or may not wish to change. Some have reported success by using Google Chrome.

5. I attach my email and my blog to my profile. Why? So that when I comment, the blogger can easily find me without jumping through hoops. And I realize that for some of you that is not an option, but if you are not hiding, please consider doing this. It can be accomplished by following this path: Design, Dashboard, Edit Profile. Once in Edit Profile, changes can be made. For example, I no longer wish to show my second blog. Be careful about having too many blogs listed. It makes it confusing for others to find you. Some even have their "behind the scenes" blogs listed. That should probably not be the case. 

5. Design - Dashboard - Edit Profile

6. For photo editing, one can't go wrong with Photoscape. It's a free, quick and easy download. (Google it.) This is the program I most use for mosaics. It also has a lot of photo edits that can be fun.

7. Blinkies...way too cute by half for me. Why? Because I am growing older and to have something blinking away in a sidebar or a post is very distracting.

You'll notice that I didn't even touch the music issue. That's because I alternately have a love-hate relationship with it. My own music is set so that my readers must turn it on to listen. So often, we are listening to our "own thing" when reading blogs. It can get to be way too much. However, last year at Christmastime, my mother and I loved listening to the various playlists hearing songs that we hadn't even thought of in years. It was just plain wonderful and for that reason alone, I will never get negative about playlists.

If I could change just one thing about blogging, it would be to have us all do what makes us content without concern for not meeting someone else's expectations. And, just to totally negate that, I want you all to blog nearly every single day! =) Not possible? Somehow I knew that's what you'd say.

Would you like to add anything to my list? Now's your chance!