The new, improved, Word Verification - Just say No!

Everyone who hates the new blogger two-word verification process please move over to that side of the room 

And all who LIKE the new set-up, please move to the left

Yeah, that's what I thought....

A couple of things have come to my attention - some blogspot bloggers don't even realize that they have word verification turned on, because it doesn't appear when you are commenting on your own blog.   And some bloggers who are using the new updated interface on Dashboard think that you can't turn the Word Verification (let's just call it WtF) off.   Here's the good news:  You CAN turn it off!   You just need to switch (temporarily) over to the old interface in order to access the command.   Here are the steps:

1. In Dashboard, click on the "Settings" icon (that's the gear in the upper right corner).
2.  Click on "Old Blogger Interface" in the drop-down menu.
3.  Click on "Settings"
4.  Click on "Comments"
5.  Scroll down until you see the option to "Show word verification for comments?"  Check "no".
6.  SAVE the new settings.  (Important!)

You will see an option to change to the updated interface at the top of your screen - just click there to return to the new interface.

Reasons to keep the WtF:
1.  Some people apparently get lots of spam w/o the WtF.  I guess I've been lucky; the email associated with my blog gets very little spam (knock on wood!)
2.  You really don't care for lots of comments, and like to watch people jump through hoops before they give up.  (j/k......I'm SURE none of you lovely bloggers really do that!)
3.  Ummm......I can't think of any other reasons, but feel free to enlighten me!

Reasons to NOT have WtF:

1.

no explanation needed here, methinks.....

2.  You really DO like comments, and don't want to miss any just because someone has given up after 3 tries :(
3.  There are alternatives:  you can opt to not receive comments from Anonymous posters, which can cut back on some of the spam, even though some perfectly lovely people won't be able to post unless they choose another option (like "Open ID", for instance), or you can choose Comment Moderation.

Personally, I prefer to leave everything as open and easy as possible, and hope that I won't feel the need to change that any time soon!

I hope this info helps someone out there - happy blogging, everyone :)

Why I've not been blogging....

The bad news:  I've not been blogging because I've not been sewing :(
The good news:  I HAVE been clutter-clearing!

Before
What...you think I exaggerate?
Maybe a little...but it FELT like that!

After
OK - truth is, nothing changed much here
except for the surface of the desk.
I face that bookshelf and wall a LOT, so it has to give me pleasure to look at it.
And it does :)

I've also been cleaning, and organizing, and working, and re-arranging the house, and weeding and pruning and gardening and.....best of all....I've had the energy to do it!

Many of you know that I've been my darling, 97-yr-old Mom's caregiver for a number of years, with this past 2 years being, at times, rather intense in time and energy expenditure.   In-home Hospice care (aka, Angels in human form) has been one of my life, time, & sanity-savers during this past year.   Two years ago, sewing re-entered my life.   To my absolute delight, the sewing bug has been another life and sanity-saver during this time.   I'm building up a fun and fabulous new wardrobe, my creative juices have a yummy and productive outlet, and I can do it all at home, while being available for the Mumsy.   Win-win-win!

What sewing has NOT been is a time-saver.  Nope, let's just call a spade a spade here, and admit that it's been taking a LOT of my time!   And yes, some of it, I daresay, has possibly been "wasted" time (although I'm not convinced there really is such a thing as "wasted" time...)   And let's not even mention the blogging, ok?

As a result, what's fallen behind (WAY behind) is house cleaning and organization, paper work, gardening, and, as a self-employed person, work & $$-making.   Now this is not all the fault of the sewing obsession...my health took a bit of a beating due to the stress of 24/7 on call duty (HOW do single parents do it????   Oh wait, I know....they're in their 20's, 30's, even 40's.......they're not, ummmm....my age)

The bad news:  Regarding health stuff - when the Mumsy stopped being able to walk, roughly a year ago, I started living with sleep deprivation, and the ensuing lack of energy crept up on me to the point where I was, at times, completely non-functioning.
The good news:  About 6 months ago my homeopath diagnosed adrenal fatigue, and thanks to the remedies and advice she gave me, I am finally beginning to remember what a day of "normal" energy feels like!
The bad news:  Although I am far, far more patient with myself and others than I used to be, the healing process seems to be taking a long time, and I still need to remember that I DO need to rest, preferably before I hit the proverbial wall.   In my perfect world, sleep would not be necessary.  I'm learning to really, really love a good night's rest-filled sleep.
The good news:  I am prioritizing, making healthier choices, and thoroughly enjoying the regained energy I do have!   The house is getting cleaned.   Paperwork is being dealt with.  The basement is getting de-cluttered.   The garden!  Oh, the garden!   Two truckloads of tree trimmings and weeds have already left the property, and another is in the driveway, ready to go.   My magical garden is beginning to emerge again :)
The bad news:  The Soho Raincoat has been sitting on the kitchen table, half-cut, for a month now.
The good news:   I have done a tiny bit of sewing - door curtains in the basement entry have finally been made!  (I've had the fabric for well over a year now - probably closer to 2 years)

Boring Curtain Pic.
But I love it, because it's DONE, looks good,
and hides a multitude of sins lurking behind.

The bad news:  No sewing = no blogging.   I'm not one of those who thinks that I'm letting my readers down or anything, & don't have any reason to apologize for my lack of blogging presence...heck, I feel blessed to have any readers at all!  :D

There is no more bad news; it's all up from here!   I'm working a bit again, the house is really shaping up with furniture being shuffled around, & the pile of stuff to be removed from the house (one way or another) is growing.

More good news:  I even (finally!) got the treadle set up!   I was waiting to refinish the cabinet, but decided that was silly - USING the sewing machine is more of a priority than having the cabinet look pristine.

This is in my office, since there isn't an inch to spare in my sewing room.
Barring my dream of turning the backyard shed/barn structure thingy
into a sewing room/office, this is where it will live....

Oh wait, there is another bit of bad news.  Well, maybe, depending on ones attitude about fabric-aholism....I've noticed others mention that when you don't sew, you buy fabric.   I can attest to this.  WHY do we do this????   I was being so good in January...no new fabric....and somehow in February I accumulated 7 or 11 new lengths of goodies.   *sigh* **headdesk**  *sigh again*

Oh yeah, the other touch of bad news is that I'm way.  Way.  WAY behind on blog reading.   I just had to "mark as read" hundreds of posts in my Reader, because there was no way......    I know I missed a lot of goodies, but if I haven't been commenting much, that doesn't mean I didn't at least skim, and I hope y'all know that I LOVE reading your blogs, but frankly, I love even more the fact that I can wander my garden with tea in hand, and see the bulbs poking their heads up, know that the cymbidiums are transplanted, fed and healthy and blooming, the fruit trees have sunlight reaching all their branches, and I can walk on actual pathways, not weeds!

Pictures of the visible accomplishments will pop up in coming posts....and the Soho Raincoat WILL get done (even if we don't get any more rain this so-called rainy season....)

May we all figure out ways to find healthy balance  in our lives.....and find a way to recognize what's important, and have the health & energy to have it :)

ETA:  WHOA!   Another little good news update!  I just realized that, somewhere along the line, I magically hit 100 followers!  This calls for a celebration of some sort, I'm sure; meanwhile, how about if everyone who reads this has a drink of their favorite beverage?  On me.  :)   Well....virtually on me, at least until we meet in person....