If this works, it will be a minor miracle. If it works I’m almost positive it won’t look right, or that a few things will be wonky so if they are, know that it is wondrous and spectacular that I have managed to come up with something wonky and a little off at all.
While I’ve been gone this time, the blog and my email moved to a new server, and it’s been a smidge traumatic as the blog disappeared and reappeared and my ability to email went with it. There was one particularly horrific evening as the entirety of everything went up in smoke with a hint of worry about the situation with my backups. (To be clear, I had them – I just had the timing on them set up funny thanks to a really strange conversation with a tech guy I had a few years ago where it is clear in retrospect that one of us had no idea what was going on. I’m not sure which of it is is, so I henceforth I hold both of us blameless.) It looked for a few hours like I might not get the blog back – all almost 18 years of it and I was pretty freakin’ distraught. (It is worth noting that I had no such feelings about the horrific backlog of emails in my inbox and yay verily did wish for a little while that it would all be gone and I’d get some sort of start at a fresh life.)
Happily for the Blog (and sadly for my inbox) everything worked out properly, and here we are, though “here” is very different all of a sudden. Due to some deficits in my character that make me slow to adapt and reluctant to change things that are working, I have been editing these posts and sending them to you using software that was completely geriatric. The kind of software that when you call the server migration team and tell them what you are using, there’s a low whistle of awe. The exact kind of awe and shock you’d expect if they’d just witnessed a large and extinct bird swoop over their desk and land on the coffee machine before pooping right on the router.
The person in question, when they had regained their composure you understand actually said “You don’t say… ” and then trailed off rather helplessly. This is all a long way around saying that I am sitting here typing and nothing is where I left it. Pargraph? I have to press a button to get a paragraph? What’s wrong with hitting return twice? (Trust me do not do that. I’ll have to do some sort of tutuorial to find out why.) This all makes me suspicious that when I hit post (oh, wait. I have to find that button) I will get a surprising result, but what the hell Knitters, we have got to start somewhere with new things, and I guess today is it.
So, here we go. I finished some socks! These are Woodland Walk (that should be a link, if the godesses deem me worthy) and the yarn is… gosh I wish I knew. Well aged stash to be sure, and short one little ball band. If anyone recognizes it, let me know. (Right, now I’m going to try and post a picture. I personally don’t have high hopes, it’s taken a while to get this far.)
Well. Whatever. They’re great socks. I’m going to go have a knit. I really hate new things.
(PS. You don’t hit “post” anymore. Now it’s “publish”. We’ll see.)
Looks great
Good luck with the new software
Good luck!! Overtime this will all seem totally natural – just like learning a new skill in knitting!
The socks are fabulous! The big pictures just give more to examine and enjoy.
Yay, success apparently.Congratulations, it looks like the blog to me! The pictures while generous, aren’t absurdly huge. Change is hard and technology seems to demand an unreasonable amount of it.
I certainly feel your pain when it comes to new things having to do with technology! Computers were supposed to make our lives easier– HA HA HA to that one!!! Keep your chin up and go off for a bit of knitting long before utter frustration sets in. We love you and understand. Socks are beautiful and I agree that the somewhat larger pictures allow us to see more of the detail.
Change is never easy (speaking from more than 35 years of doing IT support) and sometimes intensely frustrating. However, this post looks just fine to me. Congrats on moving to new tech successfully.
“The exact kind of awe and shock you’d expect if they’d just witnessed a large and extinct bird swoop over their desk and land on the coffee machine before pooping right on the router”. This quote made me laugh. I like the leafy backdrop for those lovely green socks. Enjoy those blogging upgrades, and don’t forget to write.
The post looks lovely on the website, but not so in the blogtrottr.com email which I received. Pictures and links were gone, and it was flagged as suspicious. Might want to poke that dragon and see if it’s still linked up properly?
Ha! You make me laugh with “Due to some deficits in my character that make me slow to adapt and reluctant to change things that are working” as that perfectly describes me! Especially when faced with computer/software changes. I hate them all. Why does an upgrade mean you have to change how you do things, and there are things you can’t do at all! I call myself a dinosaur…
Lovely socks. The larger photo allows us to see the detail better (not everyone of us dinosaurs reads your blog on a smart phone that we can stretch the photos….).
I missed this and am so excited you are back.
I’m relatively new to your blog and am glad you’re back. For me, reading on my phone, everything looks the right size. Thanks for persisting.
I’ve only been blogging since 2013, and I’ve still had to navigate weird changes to how the making of a post is done. More than once. Blame “updates” (read, unexpected changes apparently without rhyme or reason).
I am still convinced that the mechanism for putting in photos changes every time I log in, just to keep me on my toes. And yet as soon as my husband Looks At It, it magically works.
But hey, this post is looking good on my browser. Links are links, photos are full width but not freakish giants… Looking good.
Welcome back! I’ve missed you.
We are very much here for the big pictures!
I was wondering what was up. Glad to hear it worked out.
Glad you’re back! I feel your pain with new technology. I, too, have the mindset of “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Heck, I still own a manual typewriter!
The photos look the right size on both feedly and mozilla browser on android phone if that’s any help at all? And I love that green!
Glorious color!
The big pictures are full of awesome. So is the bigger font.
The writing Is also excellent. Good to see you!!
This post makes me think of the story about Sir Washie’s demise.
I, too, am not keen on changes to how I do things. I would still be using a flip phone if the other half hadn’t decided unilaterally umpteen years ago that we were upgrading to smartphones. The photos look fine on my near-antiquated iPhone.
Older than my 2013 5C iPhone, or 2009 MacBook Pro? Or my 2005 Toyota, which runs just fine, thank you.
I can see no reason for you not to just carry on as if the overloaded e-mail box is irretrievably gone. The socks are lovely. Thanks for persisting.
Well it worked, so that’s something
It looks wonderful on my end!!!!
Gorgeous socks, and the blog looks good too
Looks fabulous to me!
My day job is making websites so I really loved this post. I’ve been on both sides of the situation. Glad you up and running… and publishing.
Change is hard, especially when it’s forced on you; harder still when it’s technological. Tech companies are frequently coming up with “new and better” products, but usually with features we don’t need or want anyway. The learning curve is steep and the process is stressful for John and Jane Q. Public, and you’ve experienced. I hope that, with time and use, it will all become much easier for you.
Thank you for persevering so that we readers can continue to enjoy your posts!
“as” you’ve experienced.
I am here cheering your sense of adventure and willingness to dive in. The blog looks good and the photos are a wonderful addition. You are a braver woman than I, who still has a blog on “Blogger” and lets them make/deal with all the updates necessary to keep working. Celebrate your success!
Looks good. Nice socks. Glad to see you’re doing well.
I’m taking a guess at the yarn, because I think I recognize it and I loved it as well. It looks just like Shibui’s no-longer-available-but-much-loved sock yarn in the color “wasabi.” I had it in the same color, used it, loved it. I also made socks with a leaf pattern on them. Sure wish I could make them again in this yarn. Yours are beautiful.
I think you may be right about the green yarn as the colour is familiar to me as is the name. To me, it is a highly recognizable colour. Take care and happy holidays.
That was one of my guesses and the other was Sanguine Gryphon’s Cuban Cockroach.
What a stunning name.
SG Cuban Cockroach was going to be my guess, too. I’ve got a vintage pair of socks that look remarkably similar in color.
I have to thank you. Not just for the years of entertainment and stories the blog has provided, but for helping me stay sane during the pandemic,. Not just because of the new posts, but because of an old one. Whenever I’m having a tough day, I come here and search for “BMW”. It only appears once. Once in all these years of blogging. But what it lacks in quantity, it makes up for in quality. I read the story (again), laugh until I cry (again), and then we return to our regularly scheduled level of crazy. Many thanks!
Oh my gosh yes: Joe and the Stuck Truck!!! Sounds like a kids’ story, still makes me really laughing… I too have revisited that particular one… 🙂
Should have been “cry laughing”…
In the immortal works of the late Terry Pratchett: ART THIS TYHYNG WORKETH? Yes it does. Glad to have you back.
My web hosting service is going out of business and so I had to move. I had two days with no email, the tech person only spoke tech and although I understood most of the words in a question I had no clue about what the answer should be. If I have to move again I’ll pay someone to do it for me because it’s not worth the loss of sleep.
I’m glad that we have both survived this interesting time, I wish my socks of survival were as pretty as yours.
Congratulations on your perseverance and ultimate success. After managing to terminally crash 2 computers & send scores of posts into oblivion with my tablet I’ve developed a strong distrust of all electronic gizmos & view any change with deep misgivings. Love the socks by the way ❤❤❤
That’s a lovely sock pattern but I wish you’d warn us if you’re using a Ravelry link, or perhaps I ought to remember that your links are mostly Ravelry and not use them. (I’m one of the ones who can’t use it anymore)
I agree, those Ravelry links are frustrating.
????
Since the site’s overhaul, some combination of the colors and/or other factors is apparently triggering migraines and other issues in some users.
?? The link works fine and the pattern is a freebie, too!
Well hurrah! You got the post published! I’m convinced that someday my kids will just take my aging electronics away, hand me a cup and string, maybe some paper & stamps, and say, “Here you are!”
I’m not convinced you’re happy with the proofreading button…it was all entertaining though. I quite like the huge pictures they show off the details.
Everything looks normal/as it should to me, so I think it was successful! The socks are lovely.
Yup! If we didn’t have the backstory we’d never know—looks absolutely normal on this end!
We didn’t realize we were benefiting from your “nevertheless, she persisted” episode, so thank you!!
I like the big pictures! I swear I get so happy when I see your posts because your blog is like my knitter’s secret clubhouse…I can stare at pretty yarns and knitting to my heart’s content!
Oh! I love this idea! “knitters secret clubhouse”!
Lovely socks, as usual.
If you post, errrr, publish a blog entry every day for a while I’m sure you’ll get the hang of the new software in no time. 🙂
Having spent far too long yesterday evening attempting to do the very simple thing of “print on both sides of the paper” (an action both my printer and computer are fully capable of doing), I feel a bit of warm kinship with this post.
The pictures are lovely, and may learning all the new bits not take so long as all that.
I am highly entertained by the fact that just a little while ago you were writing posts and deleting them on purpose.
And now you’re desperately trying to post them.
Sounds like some sort of “Rule of Life”, no??
Don’t fret about the larger pictures – I love them!
Well done and cheers for the perseverance! Glad you’re back.
Great job! I hate change, especially technical change too. The socks look awesome!
Love the socks! I am currently knitting this pattern. Love seeing your finished product! I hate learning new technology too!
New software is absolute balderdash. I salute your bravery and your pretty green socks.
I love that you hold both the IT guy and yourself blameless instead of saying you are both to blame.. that is a magnificent shift in attitude and I’m adopting it! Happy Holidays to you and your family.
your software was probably older than the techie himself! I’m right with you on learning new stuff, it sucks. But you’ve muddled through, made it work and we’re entertained. Win Win Win.
From my end the pictures look great! Congrats on getting everything moved, even if there were a few wibblywobbly moments about the archives in there.
After the morning I am in the middle of, I don’t want to jinx the blog. Glad you are back and everything looks great. Wishing you one and all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! ❤️
Well done and thank you for persisting! We all appreciate it. I’m sorry for your trials but I loved hearing about them. You write with such humor I found myself laughing and sympathizing all in one. The Socks look great. The large photos help showcase the details. Hoping the transition starts flowing more easily soon. Happy Holidays!
I’m with you, I hate change. My mom still has the microwave she got when pregnant with me (Christmas 1981) – (complete with a cookbook of fascinating recipes including how to cook fish in the new wonder, as well as all kinds of candy) and the repair people often tell her things along the lines of “if this were any other kind, you’d have to chuck it, but since it’s this one, thank you for allowing me to work on it.” In my brain, computers are an appliance, and appliances last a minimum of 25 years. My husband the programmer probably deserves a medal for acting so graciously around these “features” of my personality.
Your blog looks exactly the same on my end, so I’m happy! Even if it didn’t, I’m always happy to read your writing and will follow you to whatever crazy new server or service you have to use. I hope your learning curve gets gentle soon.
Love the socks and how lovely they look with your blanket!
“Appliances last a minimum of 25 years.” Oh, how I wish this were still true. My 22-yr-old oven has just decided it doesn’t need to stop when it hits the right temp anymore: I wondered why I kept burning things lately and when I put a thermometer in, it was running 65 degrees too hot and climbing. Can’t go into Christmas (even if it is just the seven people in our bubble) without an oven. Every one of the sales and repair people seem to be prefacing any conversation about appliances with, “This isn’t like your old one. This will last five years ….”
This Blog, on the other hand, looks great.
Your post reminds me why I am so grateful for my early 1970s GE 40 inch range, which still works fine and reliably. And when a coil broke last year, I was able to replace the broken coil for 50 bucks, fix it myself, and it continues to work. Yay for old and solid!
Welcome back! I actually really, really like the larger photos! Looks great on laptop and phone and gives a better detail to the knitting. 🙂
I love how funny you are.
Sympathies for the technology pain; you’re a much better person than me. As a frequent “time traveler” also very grateful that the entire Blog did not disappear into the void; sad for us but imagine it would have been heartbreaking for you.
No idea on the yarn, but love the color; love the socks; love the artfully appropriate backdrop; and my mature eyes love the photo size. Thank you!
Am I right in thinking that you switched feet with those socks, in between taking Picture A and Picture B? Looks like it, but I am trying to wean myself off caffeine and my brain is fuzzy. Glad you’re up and running again.
Thank heavens someone else saw this!!! I thought I was losing my mind, or my eyes, or both
And thank you for doing this too, it does a better job of showing off the assymetric pattern
Gosh, I am impressed. It has taken me two day to work up the courage to turn on my new printer. Haven’t figured out how to hook it up yet.
When I purchased my current new car, it took me a week to figure out how to program the radio. Sigh
Ok, I have had my car for over 10 years and still can’t figure out how to unlock the passenger door from the driver side!!
I felt a movement in The Force!
I checked the stash, then the kids (they’re grown, so, priorities!) and just knew that there was no room for more blue shirts. That’s how it went before, right?
You did it, Stephanie! Woohoo!
As a teacher who’s taught during all stages of the pandemic, I can fully appreciate what it’s like to send things out into the void and have no earthly clue what they look like on the other end.
I appreciate the work, and those socks are beautiful!
Stephanie: I finished some socks, here’s a link
Me: >.> <.< add to queue
I don't have the patience to browse, so thank you for being my filter!
The socks are lovely, and your post basically summed up my life and the life of every other teacher in the world from March 13, 2020 until June whateverth last year. Bless you.
I’m waiting for you to move to a platform where I can sign up…and receive an email every time you post! Fo course, it probably wouldn’t work for me…because my email ends in aol.com…and that is so old that even blogs I subscribe to, won’t send to me because it is so old. :~)
I am looking at your picture of the socks and thinking, huh those look familiar somehow. I click the link to Ravelry and lo and behold it says I have made that pattern. I look at my feet and guess what socks I am wearing?
Cool!
Omigosh…I’ve had a similar moment. Lol. I’m in good company
Congratulations on the birth of a new blog server and program to write it on. Hope you have a very long and rewarding relationship. Stay positive. All will work out over time. Thanks for all you do to keep your blog archives alive and continue to add posts for our entertainment and edification. Huge Hugs from me.
What a relief that The Blog was saved, and congrats on the new, modern version of it. That sock yarn is stunning.
Stephanie! Good to hear from you! I’ve missed our coffee n blog time.
Sox are lovely and the picture size is Just Right.
Here’s hoping this new computer program lasts another 18 years so you can talk to the offspring of the tech when there’s an issue.. “My dad told me about a knitter that was still using an ancient program…whoaaaa..that was YOU?!”
We know knitters are immortal and will eventually cover all the people in warm things. (Indicated by the size of our stashes)
“The exact kind of awe and shock you’d expect if they’d just witnessed a large and extinct bird swoop over their desk and land on the coffee machine before pooping right on the router.” HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I needed that.
Pretty socks. I like the fancy heel! *wink*
I haven’t checked it on my laptop, but on the phone you’re looking rather perfect.
My iPad likes what you’ve done so far, especially the big pix!
That yarn looks like Fleece Artist.
I get it. I resisted the changes on WordPress until I had no choice, but to use it. Now it’s all blocks and semiprofessional publishing editing tools. I just want to click click click on lots of photos to add them all at once onto a new blog post. Instead it seems I have to do them one at a time and it takes ages going backwards and forwards. Oh well it all becomes easier in the end with familiarity. Fingers crossed!
Beautiful socks, the pattern is so intricate. Kudos to the designer.
Looks like your blog ought to look! In a past life, I was a software tester. We had no directions as they hadn’t been written yet; sometimes there were specs for what was wanted eventually, but it was early on so not all was “ready for prime time”. That being said, take a deep breath and just look around the screen to find what is likely the same as what used to be. If the little box seems to be highlighted, that means you can just press enter to make it work.
Sock yarn might be a Trekking color…I think I have some in stash…will check after the laundry fairy and the decorating fairy make their appearances.
Stephanie, I’m blown away by those socks. I know you let yourself go, color-wise, more with socks than anything else, but I think those are possibly the most beautiful green socks possible and I want them. Since I can’t possibly have them, I hope you enjoy them (or if you’re giving them to someone for Christmas, the person you give them to.)
Glad you are back and I don’t get why technology has to be changed all the time. If it aint broke, don’t fix it. I’ve heard the saying, “We need to reinvent wheels every now and then, not because we need new wheels, but we need more inventors.” Well, stick to reinventing the wheels, please, I’ve just about run out of ability to absorb changes. 🙂
Lotus Yarns “Hydroponic” colorway.
Your posts are always worth the wait!
I also am a fan of things that are wonky, but sorry you have to go through all that heartache getting the blog back! It can be petrifying when it goes sideways…
My mom had a volunteer job where she managed the health records of other volunteers and had to do it on a computer, not her strong suit. She had to call IT support one day because things weren’t doing. The young support person asked what browser she was using. Mom’s reply: Don’t start using big words with me.
I love your socks and I love the color–looks exactly like a woodland walk should be!
Great job on the new blog. I took a knitting hiatus of about 12 years and just as I started up again (daughter requested some handknits for my brand new grandson!) you’re back! Perfect timing!
Can’t wait to see what you’re up to!
This is SO my own relationship with technology. My computer is ancient, and just last week BELL replaced a vintage/extinct modem. The tech guy had the good graces not to laugh. Bravo for getting this up, Steph.
Yikes about the software! I hope the transition goes well. I love the socks and the color. If you remember or figure out the brand of yarn, let us know.
Interesting!
Cool
After the end of the quarantine, my employer offered me to work remotely. So the question of equipping my work corner at home arose, I wanted it in my small apartment not to stand out and fit well into the interior, and in terms of functionality I wanted a standing desk, the same as I had in the office. Work efficiency and my physical health at work has always increased compared to regular desks. There is a company called Progressive Desk that sells https://www.progressiveautomations.ca/collections/lifting-column-sets column lift linear actuator, I find it very convenient to buy there and the website has full assembly instructions, very convenient.
It’s always a challenge adapting to new tools, but your persistence is inspiring! The socks look amazing, even with the tech hiccups. For more inspiration and creativity, visit Tap Drift—your gateway to endless ideas!