A Wild Turkey...really?, Outdoor Decorating and a Thank You

Each year, around this time, our covered pool seems to be the hot spot for ducks in the mood for some mating.  It's  something we're used to by now.  The ducklings are adorable when they are born.  We usually don't open the pool until the middle of May.  This year we had an issue with our cover.  It apparently got some holes in it and when we tried draining the cover we realized we were actually draining the water from the pool.  So, my husband and I removed the cover ourselves over the weekend and all the leaves, dirt and gunk fell into the pool.  Yuck!  We've created a nice swamp.  So now, in addition to the ducks, we have other wildlife showing up to our pool/swamp.

I looked outside and what did I see on my diving rock?  A wild turkey!!

He stayed out there for the longest time moving from the dive rock to the fence, pacing back and forth.  I thought maybe something was wrong with him since he wasn't flying away.

 I went to get my camera with a better zoom lens and when I came back he was gone.  I guess he flew away.  It just took him a long time to get bored with the pacing.

On another note, we are starting to work on "decorating" our new patio.  You can click here to check out the major renovation we did in the fall, removing a deck and patio and replacing it with a huge patio and outdoor kitchen.  To start the decorating process we got a new clock and thermometer from Frontgate.  These were on sale - it was a great deal.

Furniture is the next thing we will be working on outside.  I really can't wait to decorate this outdoor space.  Now that will be fun.




Finally I'd like to thank Heather from At The Picket Fence for teaching me how to add tabs under my header.  Heather and her sister Vanessa have a Blogging 101 series on their blog.  It's very informative. I've been doing this for six months and I'm still learning something new everyday.  I e-mailed her for help and she graciously walked me through the process.  It's great -  now, if you'd like to grab one of my buttons you can click on that tab, or if you want to check out where I've been featured you can click on that tab.  It cleaned up my sidebar tremendously...plus I think it looks pretty cool and much more organized (if you've read this blog for any length of time you know I love being organized).

I think we're actually supposed to have Spring-like weather this weekend.  I certainly hope so...it's been a long winter here in New York.  Hope you have a great weekend.

-Judy

I Spent the Weekend "Redecorating"

I spent the weekend "redecorating"...not redecorating my home...but redecorating my blog.  For weeks now I have wanted to change the background on my blog.  You would think that would be a simple task, right?  Well, not so simple.  I have been researching on the internet ways to change my background.  I went to the Background Fairy to try to change my background.  For some reason, I couldn't get any of her backgrounds to work (I think it's because the backgrounds she has are for a Minima template...that's not what mine is called).  I knew there had to be a way.  Finally, after reading tons of tutorials and becoming a mini-expert on HTML codes, I figured it out.

Let me show you what I did to change my background (honestly, I can't say for sure this will work for everyone, but it worked for me).  It did allow me to completely customize my background.
I went to my blogger account, then to the design tab, and then clicked on Edit HTML.  I scrolled down until I found this part of my screen.

<Variable name="body.background" description="Body Background" type="background"

       color="$(body.background.color)" default="$(color) none repeat scroll top left" value="#a6cfd4 url(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDQuLBUXjCO-JTizhmClH4PBxF0rIIkoPEvc4f0gIRyQ4mAQB2XpXMMiplp17aNIUk2Qj4nPGRDrM2RUs-9JSWr1L5p8CGOSFJXSP3X-4prlU65rFHAs5QGQ9z8HAzJzQM2uqLkXJxbAIO/s128/None.jpg) repeat scroll top center /* Credit: blue_baron (http://www.istockphoto.com/googleimages.php?id=8705544&platform=blogger) */"/>

   <Variable name="body.background.override" description="Body Background Override" type="string" default="" value=""/>

The part in blue is the new code I added (it had to be between the two ( ).  Where did I get that code?  Here's what I did.  

I found a picture on the internet that I liked.  For my new background, I used the photo of a fabric sample from Serena and Lily.  I copied the picture into my Picnik account (Picnik is a free photo editing software available on the internet).  From there I saved it into my Picaso Web Album.  Then I went and copied the code from Picaso and pasted it as you see above in blue.  I tried tons of different patterns before I settled on the one you see. 

Image from Serena and Lily - the winner

I tried this...looked way too busy

This was a close second...just a little too old fashioned looking

I liked this one too, but because it basically repeats the pattern, I could see the lines between each of the repeats.  It didn't look fluid.

A little too busy...this was my third choice

Some were too busy, some didn't line up right.  Let me know what you think of the new look.

I also changed out my header.  I have gotten many compliments on my photo of my kitchen, so I left that photo in.  I wanted to have a few pictures.  I again went to Picnik but this time made a collage of photos and was able to edit and add text on top of the collage.  This time I saved the picture to my computer.  I went into my blogger account, clicked on Design and then clicked on Edit on the header picture.  I had to click remove to get rid of the old picture and then uploaded the new image.  I had to change the width of the collage and re-save it a few times before I got it to fit correctly.  I also adjusted the width of my blog...making the width wider and the side bars a bit narrower (I did that in Template Designer (Advanced).

Another change I made to my blog is I added links on my sidebar to my most popular posts.  It was a new feature on Blogger.  

So, let me know what you think of the new look of my blog. I'm liking it so much more.  It's more of a reflection of my style...as it should be.

Also, I've been nominated over at Lamb Around for best in show for my daughter's room makeover.  I'd love if you would stop by there and vote for me.  Thanks.

My daughter's Room

-Judy