I hereby stomp my feet, give you puppy dog eyes as well as my bestest pouty face ever, and demand that you install and activate this plugin right away.

Thank you.

(P.S. It allows you to not only reply to a comment in the comment form, but it sends a notification to your guest via e-mail. Double coverage so no-one feels forgotten. Go now. Do as I say. Test here if you’d like, I will reply to you so you can see how it works.)

All three of these 4×4 custom oil paintings are complete now, I’ll get them varnished and scanned in to show you details after Callie has dried (later tomorrow/Thursday).

You can follow Callie, Annie & Momo’s portraits work in progress here.

Momo’s custom cat portrait is drying right beside Annie now, waiting for Callie (tomorrow) and they will be the fabulous trio their Momma knows and loves. Still lovin’ this size and these close-up detailed macro shots for paintings, painting each layer of fur stroke by stroke gives it so much depth and dimension, these kitties could purr (if they had recorded push button purr boxes attached).

You can follow Callie, Annie & Momo’s portraits work in progress here.

I actually got to paint yesterday! WooHoo! It’s been a few weeks, and Callie, Annie & Momo have been patiently waiting on my easel for me to return. Fortunately, there have been a few delays with other projects – and unfortunately, there are delays with my projects. I am not a big fan of holding patterns in any situation – especially those that effect how I manage my own schedule.

It’s causing me to become what I don’t want to be – someone who holds up other people. :bricks:

Like the old saying goes, back to the drawing board. You know, in my studio, where I work on my paintings. You can see Annie’s underpainting and the progress I’ve made so far on Callie, Annie & Momo’s portraits here. I’ll be finishing up the other two over the next couple of days.

My 4×4 paintings are probably my most popular, because they’re the most affordable and they’re actually pretty cool in a group on a wall, like my Eye Ate It series – or in this case, just the three kitties. I put together some custom portrait packages in my Shop to make things easy, so if you’re interested in nabbing up a 4×4 custom portrait painting for Christmas, I can take just a few more orders and get them done before the holiday.

I’ll post the next completed painting when it’s finished – and also the scans when all three are done and dry – so stay tuned for those details!

I posted this in my photoblog so you can clicky to see this a little bit larger (as intended). I didn’t want you to miss this one, in case you’re not a subscriber to my photoblog (ahem), so I’m doubling up the postage.

I only snapped three photos of this guy before he flew off yesterday afternoon – the first two were total blurs. This one? I am happy with. To say the least. Enjoy!

I ran through several of my blogs yesterday and upgraded them the latest version of WordPress. (Hey, I was waiting for a client to get back to me. I had to do something.) I get asked a lot about upgrading people, and it seems the majority of folks are afraid of messing things up. I’m here to tell you – that’s hard to do. Really. If you can install a plugin, you can upgrade your blog.

I’m giving you a step-by-step tutorial so that you can upgrade yourself. Really, there’s no reason to not be using the most current version, except that it costs money unless you’re willing to do it yourself.

UPDATE:

 

WordPress 2.7 and above has auto-upgrade built-in. If your installation requires upgrading, you will see a prompt at the top of your admin panel. Look under “Tools” and select “Upgrade”, and follow the on screen instructions.

* * * END UPDATE * * *

 

For versions previous to 2.7: There’s a plugin for this, as well. WordPress Automatic Upgrade is available here. Be sure to read through all of the instructions before use. This plugin DOES THE BACKUP FOR YOU. I recommend you proceed with “manual” steps in the plugin so that you can download the backup to your own computer. 🙂

Without further blab, here’s how you do it (manually):

Keep reading »

I launched a new blog design yesterday, Lulu’s Laundry. After slaving over a hot umm…mouse all week, finishing up her blog actually inspired me to wash the bedding. Urgh. That’s not supposed to happen. But it did, and the sheets were clean and warm and cozy lastnight, and I have Lulu to thank.

Lulu moved to her new domain from WordPress.com. She’s hosted with BlueHost and for the life of me – I would love to know why on earth they won’t allow their clients to have their own ding-dang favicon. It’s supposed to be there, but NooOOO, all I see is a stupid blue box thing. :grumble: I made one. I uploaded it, BlueHost. Leave her favicon alone!

Did I say that out loud?! Wooops.

So, Yes. She moved to her new domain, and I installed WordPress, of course, and then imported her posts and comments with WP’s cool export & import tool – then stocked her installation with fun plugins for stats and comments and headline images (oh my!). I also imported her blogroll, another fine feature of WordPress – so she’s got all of the features she’s used to, and then some.

Lulu was also kind enough to really point out all the little details that make her design so special to her (and me, yes, me. It’s special to me, too. They all are.), go on over and have a look! Even her error page is cute, people. And the footer? heh –

Lulu’s Laundry Custom Design Hand Stitched & Washed with Mild Soapy CSS
by Yours Truly.Why are you still here?

Well, it certainly seems like there are a thousand hummingbirds in our yard now. Not that I’m complaining – of course, I only bought every available hummingbird attracting plant and feeder on the planet. My eyes shouldn’t pop right out of my head and hit the window then when I see 7 of them dueling with their sweet nectar sucking little swords out my front window.

Talk about entertainment – my only problem now is that I don’t have the time to sit and watch them all day! They’re hard to count, since two to three of them group up and zoom past the window, up into the tree or over the house to the backyard feeder like miniature stealth bombers. Thankfully they haven’t exceeded the number of fingers on my hands yet, I don’t think I’m that fast with a calculator.

This particular female ruby throated hummingbird is easy peasy to photograph. She’s not afraid of the spectators (and our noses) pressed up against the window to watch their shiny (and tiny) intricate little selves drink up and zip away.

I did add another feeder to the front yard yesterday morning since they were trying to triple up on one feeder but didn’t seem to be getting along well enough for that. Now they’re doubling up on both feeders. It’s just craziness, I tell you. One of these days, I’ll have a photo of one of them sitting on my head or something. heh!

:gets back to work:

I’ve been working on Snarkypants (aka Lisa’s) blog design for a few days – and just completed her upgrade, design and plugin installation. It’s really cute and fun, she gave me creative license with a few must-haves (coffee, cats, books and computers – absolutely!), and I turned it into a whole new look with many new features and functions – her WordPress blog has much more “oompf” now.

I should mention that Lisa splurged on this design as an early B-day gifty for herself. Much deserved, I say. A new look, a cuppa joe and a handful of Werther’s – she’s ready to blog!

Go on over and have a look – let her know how you like her new digs!