Blog Picture Problems

For the last couple of days something odd has been happening to the pictures on my blog.

On Sunday I did the post Beating the Winter Blues and several people commented that the pictures didn't show up for them. They were showing up fine for me and other people, they were showing up fine on Blotanical, then on Sunday evening they all vanished completely. They weren't even showing up in my Picasa account. I uploaded them again to Picasa and added them for a second time to the post. The odd thing was that the html code was still showing. I thought it was just a fluke but the same thing happened with my post on Schonbruun Gardens.

I decided to go through my blog to make sure that all of my pictures are there, but some of them are gone. There is no rhyme or reason to explain a pattern. Just random pictures, about ten or eleven, are gone from my posts. The above picture of my cat was one of those missing, while every other picture on the post was still there. Odd.

I was wondering if this is happening to anyone else. This may be a dumb question, but can someone steal your picture from a public Picasa or Flickr account, causing it to delete from the Blogger posts?

I'm hoping this is just a temporary problem with Blogger or Picasa and not something that is going to be an ongoing issue.

Edited to say: Another problem I'm having is that since yesterday comments to my posts are going into my junk/spam mailbox. This has never happened before. Anybody else having this happen?

Schonbrunn Palace and Gardens

Do you ever wish you could turn back the time and do something all over again? Most of us probably do. Usually we think of things we would do differently if only we had the chance. This is one instance of that for me.



About seventeen years ago, my husband and I went to Vienna, Austria on his company's annual trip. This was his first year with the company and neither one of us had ever been out of the country before, (well, I had been on the Canada side of Niagara Falls when I was fifteen).



Anyway, this trip to Vienna was before I had an interest in gardening or photography. I've wondered several times recently, how different it would be were I to go there now, with my current interests in gardening and photography and the camera I currently own, instead of that little red Canon Snappy I was using at the time. I know I would certainly love to see this garden again through my older more experienced eyes. It was beautiful to me then, but to see it now, I know I would appreciate its beauty so much more. How I would love to explore the magnificent gardens and grounds of the Schonbrunn Palace and capture it through my camera lens now, I'm quite sure I'd have more to show for this lovely garden than these few paltry images.


These really are the only pictures I took of this incredible garden, can you believe that?How utterly sad and disappointing.




Oh well, there is no use crying over missed pictures. I loved Vienna, and remember my time there fondly. It was a beautiful place with lovely fountains, magnificent old buildings and architecture and vast, elegant gardens.


In this picture, you can barely see that on the building behind the fountain, are window boxes. So many of the buildings had these lovely window boxes. It really added to the beauty of the city. Of course, I don't have good pictures of that either.
If only....

Beating the Winter Blues

Thankfully, I've never had full-blown SAD, (Seasonal Affective Disorder), or depression. I do hate winter though, and will occasionally get the winter blues, especially since we have so many gray dreary days. It certainly does affect my energy level, causing me to feel sluggish both physically and mentally.

My first two winters here in Indiana were terrible. I thought winter would last forever and that spring would never arrive. I knew I had to do something to survive the long, (compared to Alabama), mid-west winters and not give in to those blahs that could easily turn into winter depression.

I decided that I needed to decorate my home using cheerful colors with a lot of floral patterns, so that even in the dead of winter, it looks and feels like spring and summer in the house. I started buying artificial flowers on clearance at the end of the season, usually they were 75% off.


I'm not snobbish at all when it comes to artificial flowers and greenery inside the home. I love the splash of color they add.



Just as I like to garden outside in the spring and summer, I like to "garden" inside with artificial flowers in the winter. I enjoy getting crafty and creating silk flower arrangements.


This arrangement goes on top of the china hutch. It is a Southern Living at Home flower pot, I took a lamp that had a broken base, added some gold and black trim to the black lampshade, and added a few flowers to the container.



I also added to my collection of teapots and tea cups, and of course, the ones chosen had roses on them.


I love old Country Roses and have tea cups and tea pots in several locations. Just sipping tea or coffee from these cups on a cold winter morning brightens my day.



I like to use bird houses, bird cages, baskets and greenery to add warmth and interest to the tops of our bookshelves.


I also love to surround myself with delicate feminine things. I found the old gloves, lace handkerchief and eyeglasses at an antique shop here in Noblesville.


I definitely wanted a floral pattern for my reading chair. Finding exactly what I wanted proved to be difficult. This pattern wasn't what I had in mind, but it was probably the best choice since it works so well with the other furniture in the family room. You can't see it very well, but the picture over my chair is of a lovely patio garden. In fact, most of the pictures I've chosen for my home have floral or outdoor scenes.



I have a few of my gardening books on the table tops, all have a doily and either a tea cup or flower arrangement on top.


I continue to find little things that brighten my day, that add joy and pleasure to my life. In the last couple of years I've taken up photography.



In my craft room I keep a collection of my favorite pictures that I took over the spring and summer, on a bulletin board above my desk. Just looking at these bright and colorful pictures makes me very happy.


Bird watching during the winter months also chases my winter blues away. I actually look forward to the snow now, ( I can't believe I just said that, but it's true), knowing that it will bring these wonderful visitors a little closer, maybe even a lot closer.

Winter gardening with a vision toward spring is yet another method I use for staving off the winter doldrums.

Edith Schaeffer, wife of Frances Schaeffer, in her book The Hidden Art of Homemaking, Creative Ideas for Enriching Everyday Life, says, "So why not surround yourself now with things that communicate something of your appreciation, your taste and your interests- in wood, stone, glass, ceramics, crystal, pottery, china, textures, fabrics, weaves; in colors, shapes, and sizes which please you?"

When we surround ourselves with the things of beauty that pleases us, it is easier to chase away the blues. When we begin to see the beauty in even the smallest things, and find pleasure in the simple things, the winter doesn't seem nearly so oppressive. That is a very valuable lesson I've learned and am continuing to put into practice.

Sweet Rewards

My husband recently won a contest at work and was rewarded a $50.00 gift card. He could choose between two hardware stores or from several restaurants. Being the absolute sweetheart that he is, he told me that the card was for me and allowed me to make the choice.

Hmmm... I can go out to eat and have nothing to show for it except excess calories that cling to my hips, or I can select a card and use the money later for spring plants, buy something for the birds, or maybe even a compost container. That was an easy decision. The Lowe's card came in the mail today!

Even better news is that his boss agreed to match the card and I think I'm getting another one. One hundred totally guilt free dollars to spend on my outdoor obsessions. Thank you, sweetheart!

Blue Birds Are Back!

I had just finished vacuuming the downstairs and walked into the kitchen for a drink of water when I saw several birds fly by. They were BLUEBIRDS! Their back! I was so excited! I ran upstairs to get the memory card from the computer and only had time for two quick pictures before they all flew away. I haven't seen them all winter and I've missed them. They are such lovely birds.

I wish I'd had some Zick dough out for them, although had it been out they probably wouldn't have been able to get to it for the stinkin' starlings. I hope they'll be back regularly now. That would make me very happy!