Nothing is Ever Easy!

The Blogger Help instructions, "How do I use a custom domain name on my blog?", for publishing to a custom domain name seemed so simple...

However, I cannot seem to get it to work. I followed the instructions "How do I create a CNAME record for my custom domain" and created the CNAME record 2 days ago. Then, whenever I change my Blogger publishing settings to reflect the custom domain name and try to access my blog, I get "DNS not configured - no match was found".

Some of you who tried to view my blog over the past 24 hours probably got the same error message....sorry. I left those settings in hopes that as time passed, the DNS servers would update and reflect these changes. I have decided to switch the Blogger settings back to the "blogspot" url for now. At least the blog can now be accessed.

I have been searching the "help" forums both on Google and Bravenet (where I have my domain name registered), to no avail. I cannot seem to figure out what the problem is.

I have a support ticket in (to Bravenet), but the replies I am getting are not helping...

First, they ask me about nameservers, but the Blogger Help instructions do not mention anything other than CNAME's. So, I replied to the support tech with a link to those instructions. Next, I get them telling me to create the CNAME as per the Blogger Help instructions. I replied that I had already done that (as I had mentioned when I first submitted the support ticket!). And I only get one reply from them per day it seems.

Arrrgggghhh!!!!

I Don't Understand

This morning: I woke up, fed the cats, got coffee and checked my email as I do every morning. I found to my delight, another order for a pattern. I processed it right away and sent the pattern. I moved on to check my Etsy Shop....

And found that the above mentioned customer had left me negative feedback, but no commentary as to why. I was stunned. I immediately emailed this person asking what was wrong with the order.

As I delved deeper, I noticed that this customer was from Portugal and new to Etsy. So, perhaps being new to Etsy and perhaps not fluent in English, this person clicked on "negative" instead of "positive". At least I hope that was what happened....

I take pride in my work and in providing good customer service. Of course, I am human and therefore not perfect so I do make mistakes. I try to correct them as soon as I find them.

I ask that, if you are unhappy with my product or service, to please contact me and allow me to fix the problem. I certainly cannot fix something unless I know about it...

This seems the week for problems. First, my other website got hacked. Then, my Sweetie has had some frustrations at work...and now, this. Hopefully, this constitutes Murphy's Law of Three - "Trouble comes in Threes"...and this will be the end of this spate of problems.

A little while later...

All is well. I have heard back from the customer and I was right - she is new to Etsy and clicked on the wrong button...whew!

I had posted on the forums and as a result, I found a great Free Translation Online service and I found out about an Etsy feedback function called "Kiss and Make-up". Clicking on it initiates a process to have negative feedback changed (if it was in error and with the agreement of the other person)

So, I have learned some things today!

All's well that ends well...

If it is Not One Thing, It's Another!

Well, for the past couple of days, I have been transferring posts from my other website over to here. Everything was going well.

Until today. I had successfully recreated 2 of them, and was working on the 3rd. While trying to upload an image, Blogger gives me an error message. Seems Blogger is having an issue. I went to the Help Forums and there are several other people with the same problem.

I guess I will just have to be patient.

In the meantime, I have re-organized my links lists and added a few that were on the other site. I know, I will work on editing my "Fans Bracelet" pattern...maybe put some more kits together (they are getting popular). I certainly have enough to keep me busy while I wait for Blogger to fix its problem.

Returning to Blogger

Last night my website KnotGypsyDesigns.com was seemingly hacked. I lost 5 pages (all my "general information" pages including my About page which will be the hardest to recreate). My plug-ins had been deactivated, and I am unable to create new posts or pages. I submitted a support ticket and got a couple of the other problems fixed, but...

I am not really much of a techie and I think I am in over my head trying to work with C-panel and MySQL database. I think I will just move my website back over here to good old Blogger. Blogger makes is so easy - freeing up my time to make more jewelry, patterns, and kits!

So, it will take some time, please be patient and wish me luck.

Of course, My Etsy Shop is still working just fine! Please feel free to go check it out...

Murphy was not Satisfied

So, I took my printer to the store, but it was more than 90 days since I bought it and they would not exchange it. I guess printers are only meant to last for 6 months...

I really need a printer, so I had to buy a new one. They have already discontinued my previous model, so I had to get the new improved version.

Just last week I had spent $20.00 on an ink cartridge for my printer (before it broke down). It was nearly full...But of course, the printer ink cartridges of the previous printer won't work in the new one.

What a racket.

On a positive note, I think the new model is somewhat better than the previous one - an instance where "new and improved" really is improved. I got the rest of my print job done last night, so it is off to the photocopier down the street to make copies.

See, this is the kind of thing that steals my time from beading and pattern making...Talk to y'all later. Here's to hoping that Murphy, being busy with me, will be leaving you alone.

Coming Back

This recent funk seems to be dragging on.

We tried to go sailing. We got as far as the entrance to the lake with the boat in tow. We were turned away as the lake was closed due to extremely high water levels. All that rain caught up with us. So we went to plan B and had a picnic at a very nice creek. It was very relaxing.

Even so, I continued to feel foggy and funky until today. I could not even bring myself to blog or play computer games. I do feel better today, but not yet up to par.

I think I will take it easy today. I hope to be back at work tomorrow; I have so much to do!

By the way, my cat, Bella is recuperating as well.

Knot! News - Weekly Update

I have been feeling funky this week. My brain does not want to cooperate with my plans and goals. I did get some work done with my Squidoo lenses, but...

Not much else. I made every effort. I set up to work on a pattern for the earrings to match the "Fans Bracelet Pattern". I cut the cords, got my work surface and other materials together. Then, nothing. I got the camera out and set up my photo shooting area. Nothing. I just could not make my brain get to work. Has anyone else ever had this happen?

I do have this photo (top right) of "Ripple Choker in Gray and Pink" to show you. I made it a week or so ago, but have been holding onto it for some reason. Maybe for just this sort of situation when I don't have anything else...

Perhaps my concern over my cat (Bella) contributed to my funk, but it does not explain it entirely. I do occasionally have these funks, I always recover and I am confident I will get over this one as well.

When it happens, I just try to do other tasks. Like getting caught up on some housework, laundry, etc. And I did this time, too. Then, I give myself permission to "goof off" a little. I tried playing some computer games, but could not get my brain to participate with that either.

I wrote some entries for my personal blog "The Other Side of My Life". I surfed some other blogs, played with my sidebar, added some links...And here I am today trying to account for my week.

We postponed our sailing trip (last Sunday) for this coming Sunday, but it has been raining again. So, depending on the weather, we may or may not go. If the weather permits, perhaps it is what I need. If the weather does not permit, I probably need to find something else to clear my head.

Knot! News - Weekly Update

I have had an exciting week!

On Saturday: I was talking with a friend of mine who makes dolls. She really does some beautiful work sculpting the faces and hands, etc with polymer clay. She lives in Wimberly, Texas where they have a monthly market for antiques, crafts, etc. It is quite a popular market here in Texas. She suggested we get a booth together (for next year). I think it is a pretty good idea. We are planning to attend the next one (Sep 1) to scope it out. If I don't forget my camera, I will take photos to show you.

On Monday: Okay. Uncle. I realized that I bit off more than I could chew with Drupal. It is a wonderful cms (content management system - website builder). However, it is way to complicated for my limited skills. So I switched to WordPress. At least I understand some of how to use it. I will need to learn more about how to edit the stylesheet and layout in order to customize it, so it will still be a challenge. In the meantime, I can at least have a functioning website.

On Tuesday: After having switched to WordPress for my website, I got the site up and running. It is still in the very beginning stages, but at least it is functional.

On Wednesday: I figured out how to change the header image on the new website. I used a cool little online program called Kubrickr that I found on the WordPress help pages. WordPress has excellent documentation on how to use it.

Also on Wednesday: I struggled with figuring out how to get the shipping right with my PayPal buttons. The problem arose when I listed a couple of patterns. Patterns do not require any shipping charges. However, when I clicked on the option to override shipping charges and tested the button by adding a pattern to my cart, I noticed that PayPal was still adding shipping charges. I spent considerable time trying to solve this. I settled on adding the shipping charges to the price and leaving it at that. I am considering installing a WordPress shopping cart plug-in. I need to learn how to do the installation, so it may be next week before I get to it. Still thinking on it.

On Thursday: I found W3Schools, an online site dedicated to teaching html, css, and website development. It is very user friendly and easy to navigate. Their tutorials even have practice exercises, many of which are right there on their site. Even a non-techie like me found it quite easy to understand.

Also on Thursday: I got reviewed by Bloggeries Blog Reviews! See previous post "Bloggeries Blog Review" for more. In response to the great suggestions I received, I have added AdSense to the bottom of my sidebar. I will also be working on a few other ideas in the future.

This morning: I found a comment on my previous post that this blog is currently being featured on Big Blog Directory.

All in all, a very good week in spite of the troubles with my PayPal buttons. Now, I need a little Rest and Recreation. We are going sailing this weekend...See you when I get back!

Update Re: New website

Yes, I have made a little progress. On Sunday, I spent several hours studying and trying things. I worked on setting up pages, and how to organize content. Drupal is an excellent cms (content management system) for building a website, but it is very comprehensive and somewhat complicated. I think I am getting some understanding of it.

I have run into a few problems this week that interfere with further progress. We have been having intermittent problems with our internet connection. Perhaps because of all the rainstorms we have been having. I have also been distracted taking care of a sick kitty. Bella (10 years old) has been having some upper respiratory infections and some dental/gum problems. We took her to the vet yesterday, and I get to give her antibiotics 3 times a day. Anyone with a cat knows what a challenge it can be to administer medication to it. I worry that since she is old, she may have more serious problems. I know we all grow old and die, but it is still a sad thing. I would miss her greatly as she is such a wonderful cat.

Well, back to work...

First Day With Drupal...

...And already, I got myself in a pickle.

After the installation of Drupal at my new webhost (OpenSourceHost.com), I received an email telling me the installation was complete and all I had to do was create a new account, and I would be set to start work on my new site. All I could see was my cPanel. This panel has things like databases, email account set ups, etc, but no Drupal. I even sent in a support ticket. Those poor support staff guys! They were very patient with me, and I appreciate it a great deal. Finally, it was determined my problem was that I was looking for Drupal in my webhost account, when I should be looking for it at my KnotGypsyDesigns.com address. Viola! Then, I saw another email in my inbox with a link to go to my Drupal site! Okay. I know I'm not really stupid, but I certainly felt stupid!

So, I got the new account created, and explored some, read up in Drupal.org's handbooks, tweaked the colors, and set the site configuration to work offline. I thought setting this configuration would be a good idea as it will show a screen to the world that the site is under construction, and I could direct people here to this blog for more information and updates on progress. It was a good idea. Want to see it? Go to KnotGypsyDesigns.com.

Then I logged out. Oops. Now, I could not log back in. I just got the screen telling everyone that the site was under construction...

I went to Drupal.org and searched the forums. I found a thread that had been posted last year, but with the same problem. I tried the suggestion (to go to www.example.com/?q=user), to no avail. I posted, asking for help. Today, I received an answer. It was the same suggestion that had previously been given. I normally use FireFox browser, so I swallowed my indignation and used Internet Explorer as it has no cookies for my site. I even cleared its cache. No go. Finally, after a few more posts, someone suggested I type my domain name instead of "example.com". Duh. In my defense, the instructions did not say whether to substitute my domain for "example.com" or not, but it did say to type "user" as is (not to substitute username). So, my untechnical mind just assumed to type it all as is.

I have learned something! I am off to a stumbling start, but I am off...

Oops...

Didn't get any more posting done as it took me longer to get this banner done than I expected. I'm still not completely happy, but will need to go at it from a different angle. But not tonight, I am tired and it is nearly my bedtime.

Then I ran into a snag when deciding how I want to present my Picasa Albums. I'm still thinking on it.

So, I updated my Squidoo Lens and visited Bloggeries Blog forum for awhile. I surfed a little, too. Some for fun, and some for research (website building resources, and business card customization).

So, until tomorrow...

Woe is Me

It seems you solve one problem and two more pop up. Oh, well, such is life.

I finally got all the photos done for my "Spirals Anklet" project instructions. I finally got the writing done. I'm using Google Docs and Spreadsheets because it is supposed to be able to save in pdf format. Well, when I tried this, I got an incomplete document. Photos missing, formatting askew. I retried it with the same results. I hunted "Help" to no avail. I think I now need to send a request for help to the support center. I have also been looking into other pdf creators. So, although I have the instructions done, there will be further delay while I figure out how to get it into pdf format. I need it in pdf, so I can email it easier.

Another trouble, is the lighting for my photos. I get a set-up that works, then randomly some pictures are way too yellow, some are perfect. Sure I can edit somewhat, but not quite perfectly. As in the above photo. I am a bit of a perfectionist, and I want things my way! Darnit. I get frustrated over these kinds of things. Maybe I need a bubble bath. And some nice music...

Some things have gone right this week. For example, some new bracelets I made came out really nice. I'm still playing with the heavier cord (sans size 11 seed beads). Here are some of my results. (Note: Above photo of necklace and bracelet set are also new this week.) Remember, you can click on images to get a larger view.

The first two remind me of sea shells. So I think I'll call them "Shells".



I like this one, but have no idea what to call it. Any Suggestions?


Then there is this one. The beads and cord all looked good together until I got it made. Now I don't like it. The cord seems to bright to me. Will anyone speak up for this poor reject or do I take the scissors to it?


I have made a couple more key chains, and necklace & earring sets as well. Except for the green bracelet (above), my beading has gone well. I have begun to list these items in My Etsy Shop (see recent listing on sidebar - just click on image to go right to the listing). I will continue to list these items as the weekend goes by. So keep checking in.

Now for that nice bubble bath...