A little excitement around casa de lazy ass! Go big Friday night.
We got wools!


squeee.. pots are boiling up as we type this!
There was even some goodies from the sheep! Just for me!


And I was watching my dog... doing I couldnt figure out what over by the pile of laundry....
you call it laundry... he calls it a buffet table. Strange mutt. He needs a yorkie to clean up after him though. He is such a mess eater.


So the excitement?

He got a bone. AND he ran a bunch of laps around the yard. He was soooo excited about his treat!



Oh and one of my favorite hats finally found its forever home. I hope they love it.


And I finally got in my niddy noddies. I will be listing them on the website but if you want one before then.. holla.
They are nice and light and perfect for big fun bulky yarns. You can even soak your yarn on it!



Otherwise... cauldrons are cooking and life is good.
I know I am a dork... but little things make me happy.
Holly and Mr. L. Ass

Notes augmented

We've enhanced and de-bugged Notes. If you haven't tried it yet, now's the time! You can create a private note when you ban multiple users. You can also delete multiple notes at once. Lastly, paid users have the option to add a note (visible only to you) whenever you add or remove a friend (guaranteed to avoid embarrassing social mishaps). If you don't currently have a paid account, you can upgrade now! It only takes a few minutes and costs less than a bad shopping mall haircut (plus, it's way more fashionable)!

Product tweaks and bug kill

1. In another effort to zap spam, comments containing links from domains LiveJournal deems untrustworthy are now automatically screened
2. If you sign up to get notifications of the Writer's Block question of the day, you'll now see the daily question in the email notification, so you'll have a little extra time to ponder before you post. You can subscribe to Writers Block notifications here
3. The issue causing random comments to vanish has been fixed!
4. If you visit a LiveJournal page and get prompted to log in, you'll be returned to the same page after you sign in (Thanks, Dreamwidth)!
5. If you don't edit the timestamp for an entry at all, the entry timestamp will indicate the time the entry was posted instead of the time the Update Journal page was loaded
6. Comments with paddings/backgrounds render correctly within the comment box (and will no longer wrap outside the box and break frames/margins)

New FCK fixes rich text editor!

1. We've updated our RTE (Rich Text Editor) to FCKeditor version 2.6.5
2. When switching from the RTE to HTML editor, links for syndicated feeds are no longer broken
3. RTE now functions properly in Safari 4.0
4. An extra line/space will not be auto-inserted whenever you switch from RTE to HTML editor
5. The insert image link now works correctly in all browsers

LiveJournal Cares

We’re pleased to introduce you to lj_cares, a new LiveJournal community dedicated to raising awareness and funds for U.S. charitable organizations that improve the health and well-being of people around the world. Each month, we’ll spotlight a nonprofit that is making a significant global impact through medical research, public outreach, and/or humanitarian social programs. Charities will be selected in accordance with the U.S. calendar of national health observances based on a high rating (of over 60%) on Charity Navigator and global scope of impact.

In this, our inaugural month of November, we will celebrate national adoption month by offering a charitable virtual gift (priced at $2.99) to support Love Without Boundaries, an organization that saves the lives of orphans with life-threatening diseases and places them in loving homes around the world. LiveJournal will donate 100% of the proceeds from the sale of charitable vgifts (we'll cover the cost of credit card transaction fees). To learn more about Love Without Boundaries, please visit lj_cares and read about how they helped save Baby Kang and the Rainbow Twins from fatal illnesses, who are now thriving in nurturing families. You can purchase your Love Without Boundaries gifts in the Virtual Gift shop.

Papered in postcards

A couple of weeks ago, we asked you to send in postcards to surround us with LiveJournal community. Thanks for coming through! We've received postcards all the way from Germany, Finland, and Canada and from all over the US, including Texas, Florida, Alaska, Montana, Wyoming, Indiana, Hawaii, and Oklahoma just to name just a handful. We're thrilled with our improved decor.

Please keep the love coming for one more week by writing to Frank the Goat, Esq., c/o LiveJournal, Inc., 539 Bryant Street, Suite 210, San Francisco, CA 94107. Be sure to include your username, since we'll be drawing the names of ten random contributors next Thursday to win paid account credits!

Photos of the week

We have more dazzling images posted by talented LiveJournal photographers from around the world. We're hoping to span the entire globe, so please continue posting and tagging. Of course, you can also sit back and enjoy the view at lj_photophile.

You can see a sample of this week's gorgeous photos and check out spotlight communities and awesome user content after the jump!

( Read more... )

Curtains

We thank you, once again, for joining us. See you next week!

Ok, so things are kickin' along down here.  The storm was a bust - which is a good thing.  We like to be over prepared!  The bad news is that most times we overprepare for nothing.  But all it takes is once.  And people get overconfident.  One good twist of the wind, one change in the elements, and whamo - 140 mph winds are bearing down on your house.  Yup, overprepared is good.

Everywhere I have ever lived, there was some weather element that was annoying.  Everything shuts down, you cook a lot, and watch the weather!   In the north, we had blizzards.  In the East, we had Nor'Easters.  And in the midwest, we had tornados.
Here on the Panhandle. we have hurricanes.  They seem so dramatic on TV, and yeah, they super duper suck when it hits... but kind of like tornados, they don't hit the same place. 
I guess, when you see it on TV, you think - what the hell?  Why would people live there?  Then you see things like Katrina - when the levy's fell - and you think - idjiots.
The storms look huge on TV.  And yeah, when you hear folks say that you can't hear the tornados, you think, what?  They sound like a freight train!  Well, the train goes on all night.

The thing about Ivan, that I remember MOST was the community spirit.  Everyone came together and helped each other.  I met neightbors I had never seen!  And amazingly enough, as you asked people how they faired, most people said they were great.  Then you would find out half their roofs were missing, their foundation had washed out and a couple windows were sucked out of their house.  But they were safe.  Their loved ones were safe. 
Life is good.

Ok, enough about storms.  Hopefully that was it for the year.  I have never had a hurricane when it was cold out!  Usually it is hot and muggy.

So, in the meantime, I have been playing with some goodies for this weekend.  Woohoo.
And I am getting ready to spin another yarn.  I wish I had time to spin every day.  But it is the blessing/curse of dyeing and having a fiber biz.  I have lots of fiber and no time to spin it!

Oh, and most of you may have noticed that I have not been using my cards.... I could not find them.  I knew I had just placed a large order so there were plenty whenever I could finally put my hands on them!
They were literally in the last box.

I could have sang!  Yeah cards, thank you notes, brochures, woohoo!



Here are some inspirational pictures I took the other day.  It is fun to look at things in a different light.


Oh and did I mention I got trees in my yard?  Big trees.


And these great pines... old old pines.  Although I truly prefer pines in other folks yard!



They have this great grey color that I was trying to capture.  A nice combination of colors for sure.....

And I found these shrums on my forage.. in the back yard!




Does anyone know what kind of mold this is?  It is predominantly on Live Oaks and seems to be symbiotic.


Every now and again... the dye pots make magic.  This is one of the 7 inch Coldwater Sunset Coopworth locks - it took the dye in such an amazing way!






And the last Hardwood!


And it can even happen onthe Frannie Locks!

I love when these things happen!

Oh, and this pretty is still around.  I truly am surprised!

Ok, best get back to washing wool!
Have a great night.
Hug your loved ones!
Holly

EDIT@08:16 UTC/GMT. Wow. That was ugly. I expected it to go for 30 minutes and have maybe 1 minute of broken connectivity. Instead it lasted over 4 hours and we had 10 minutes of downtime directly related to the load balancer upgrades and then another 5-10 minutes of downtime when our primary Pingback database server crashed and the secondary couldn't take over; which could have been indirectly caused by the network upgrade missing a self-VIP.

Anyways, we're up, we're working, the load balancers are barely breaking a sweat right now and I need some food and a shot of whiskey. I don't even *like* whiskey!!

Thanks mhwest and dnewhall for helping out!

---

On Saturday the 14th at 4AM UTC/GMT we will be upgrading the operating system of our network load balancers to a newer version, one that will allow us to use both CPUs! Nifty, because multiprocessing is nice.

Since we have 2 load balancers, the plan is to upgrade 1 at a time, and there really should be very little impact to our website. Hopefully you won't notice a thing and I'll get to go back to the hotel and watch some wonderful late night infomercials.

We've got a lot of exciting projects coming up for 2010 and we're hoping that we'll be able to deliver them all to you, that you will find it useful/cool/lovely and then you will use the site even more. Behind-the-scenes work like this will give us the capacity to handle the anticipated traffic, so expect a few more maintenance windows especially in the beginning of next year as we've got some neat ideas to improve performance around here! We had the recent 30-45 minute outage yesterday due to one of our logging databases filling up disk space -- not so great design coupled with my human error in handling the initial problem -- and it looks like we're going to finally have some resources to eliminate stuff like that. I can't wait!

As usual, I will be updating status.livejournal.org before and after, just in case you are not able to reach our main website during the work.

Hey guys!
Just an update on our situation.
The storm broke as suspected and is coming in a little less formal. Jim cantori is out at the beach keeping us up to date (ha!) So ya'll know as much as we do.
Things look fine and we are staying hunkered down at the house.
Mr ass is even taking a pre storm nap! And I am reading a book. Worst problem is the beautiful old oaks over my new house. I have seen a few small branches down already but yeah, nothing more than a summer storm. We will post again later to keep you updated. This is my first real storm here so we shall see how this house holds up. It is 80 years old so I am optimistic!

Well just wanted to let everyone know we are safe. I am wet from moving a few plants! But that is it!
Better to be overprepared and to take these things serious. But yeah, not expecting much!
Holly and mr Ass

sixwordstories
Whether you're in the mood for a creative challenge or you're short on time or attention span, this semi-addictive community is perfect for those who find flash fiction way long. Once you get the hang of it, you won't be able to stop. The prince turned into a frog. The girl ran home to mother. Tough to write. Easy to read. It's a double threesome of fun.

dailyfoodie
Delicious, ambitious, and occasionally nutritious dishes make for an eclectic, all-you-can-eat feast. Whether you're searching for recipes for your next dinner party or you're jonesing for a late-night brownie fix, your cravings are sure to be well sated. A warm and inclusive community that welcomes all orientations, from carnivores to vegans, from gourmands to junk-food junkies. Guaranteed bias-free, food-positive, and pan-epicurian.

In case anybody was watching the news, we are ok. We are taking protective steps just in case this storm does not slow down as expected. As of now it is headed right at us but they expect it to be a tropical storm on arrival which is the equivalent of a bad summer storm.
But at this stage it is good to be prepared. And the fact that it has been cold helps. Cold water slows the storm. So we aren't too worried.

Going to the office in the morning to cancel appts and protect our office equipment. Then back home to pack a few bags and get ready to evacuate if needed. I don't suspect that will happen but I will know more in the morning.
Not to worry, we are in good shape. At this point we are over reacting a bit.

Mr ass has been packing his travel bag all night. He can't decide between his snood and his raincoat, but plans to take his entire box of kibble, just in case ya know.

Packages that were supposed to be shipped tomorrow will be delayed. Sorry. Looks like the post office is closed for the next two days.
Hugs and kisses
Holly

The empire strikes back

In recent weeks, we've taken huge steps towards blocking spam accounts on LiveJournal. In fact, we've suspended as many as 30,000 accounts in a single day! We've implemented several pre-emptive measures to prevent the creation of spam accounts, and we've honed our detection of suspicious content. Spam bots are a crafty lot, so we'll continue to refine our tactics and keep up the good fight to keep you safe from spam attacks on LiveJournal.

RSS feeds again

If you're addicted to xkcd_rss, icanhaschzbrgr, or other syndicated feeds, we're pleased to report that we've resolved the update error that was mucking up your RSS feeds. While content was being pulled correctly, it wasn't being posted to the feeds themselves. Late last week, we finally nailed down what we hope was the root problem, so content should post properly. We thank you for your patience.

Wii have killer CSI Deadly Intent contests!

c_s_i

If you're a gamer who loves CSI, have Wii got news for you! c_s_i is sponsoring killer contests. Simply post a question to a member of the CSI crew. The winner will get a free copy of CSI: Deadly Intent for Nintendo Wii (with a retail value of $39.99) and get their question answered by a member of the CSI writing team! There's also a fantastic monthly contest. To enter, join c_s_i, play the online version of CSI: Deadly Intent, and respond to a two-part query for a chance to win a Wii! Entries will be judged on composition and originality. Sorry, but you must be a U.S. resident and over 18 years old to participate. Check out the rules here.

Enveloped in postcards

Last week, we asked you to send in postcards to help us decorate our drab concrete walls. Here's a photo of the results so far! Thank you so much and please keep them coming! You can mail them to Frank the Goat, Esq., c/o LiveJournal, Inc., 539 Bryant Street, Suite 210, San Francisco, CA 94107. Be sure to include your username, since we'll be giving ten random users paid account credits.

Photos of the week

If you haven't visited our new LiveJournal photo community, you're in for an amazing visual trip. LiveJournal users from around the world will take you on a scenic journey to everywhere. Post your own pictures or kick back and enjoy at lj_photophile. You can view some of this week's awesome photos after the jump. Please start tagging with geographic location, since we'd like to track all the places around the world represented in this community. Keep on commenting too!
( Read more... )

Ok, so I overcame a horrible mind numbing tooth ache, a half dead computer, and three attempts at photographing to get this update done!  It is pretty darn special if I say so myself.
hehehe


So, I hope ya'll like it!  I love these coopworth locks.  They are from the second lamb fleece I got - about 7 inch long locks with great curl and OMG shine.  And this Hardwood colorway will end up spinning up gold in some spots - love it!  Plus then all the other shades it has in it.  The copper makes my heart sing, and I will admit that I "stole" a bag just for me! hehehe
Ok, well just wanted to post from a regular computer instead of my Blackberry for once.  It is so much nicer when you can edit and add photos and links. Sigh. 

I guess I will be getting a new laptop soon.  I think the motherboard on this one is just fried.  It was dark for four days then randomly decided to play again.  But hey, not complaining!  Just wish it would do it every day or even every other day... I am not greedy!

Oh and say a little prayer that my new antibiotic works for this abcessed tooth.  Either that or I am gonna float away on ibuprofens!

Happy Hump Day.
Holly

So, last time I commented... today there is no comment.... but you know what this means.


See ya there.
Holly

Soooo. Today was a fantastic day. One of those where all I wanted to do was skip out to the beach with my wheel and a bag of locks.
So, since I had to work I decided to cheer myself up by offering 10 percent off of the Dream Fantasy bags. Today only.
They are loads of fun and if you think you can tell what is inside from the picture... Don't be tricked! Goodies galore tucked inside.
And fabulous amazing locks in each bag! I think most of the fantasy bags left have mostly wensleydale lamb locks in them!
So go check them out.
http://hollyeqq.startlogic.com/fiber.php
And either pop me an email for a discounted invoice or pay and I will refund!
Enjoy.
And have a fantastic day!
Holly

Ok, computer is no better although I finally got it to power up last night at 2am. Sadly, I had somehow lost all the pics I took last night so no way I could update even if I had wanted to.
Soooo I came home at lunch today and spent the entire lunch taking pics. Again.
Ok, so get home tonight and computer won't boot. Ok. No biggie. But at least now I have pictures so whenever it does decide to boot I can do a quick update. Or I can go to a freinds tomorrow and update from there. Great.
So, moments ago I was sitting here - slightly bleary eyed- and decided I would edit the pics on the camera. Great. One less step. I find the rotate button and resize button. But nothing that says crop or edit. Hmmmm.
So one option is format. Ok that must be it. Right?
I know. You are thinking to yourself about now .... NOOOOoOOooo but sadly you were not here to yell it in my damn ear! Yup. Formatted the sd card which OH yes, deleted all the pics.
Again.
Oh well. They say three times is a charm! Heheheh

And lest you think that the website is down and no fiber available(someone asked), not to worry. I can most things from my blackberry. So feel free to go shopping and cheer me up a bit. There Is still some of the teeswater left!
And I am going to the post office tomorrow.

Off to go feel pitiful and click my camera buttons some more. Maybe I will majically make them Pictures reappear. HA!!!.
Hols

aiyatheydidnt
The Chinese version of ONTD, AIYA is a dynamic international community that welcomes users who share a love of contemporary Chinese pop culture. Dedicated to celebrity gossip and entertainment news, you'll enjoy gorgeous photos and breaking stories featuring the glitterati of mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

wendylady2
Designed to rescue fashion victims everywhere, this Brit-based community reads like a rag-ezine. Published once or twice weekly, you'll view bizarre highlights of the global fashion scene through captivating photos and delightfully snarky editorial. Sit tight for a virtual fashion tour from the runways of New York to Milan to Paris and back home again to London in homage to the adage: you can't buy good taste.

soldiers_heart
A passionate community for veterans of all ages (mostly American), plus families, friends, and supporters. View poignant snapshots detailing life in combat and back on civilian soil in the form of original artwork, personal narratives, poetry, and photos. Be forewarned that members don't shy away from describing their disappointments, disabilities, and struggles.

I have some technichal difficulties. Yes I tried to fix what was wrong from last week and it won't let me log back on! Ugh. It also seems that the pictures I loaded earlier are mia now so until I can get this figured out then tonight is a total bust. Ugh. But hopefully I can figure this nonsense out and move forward.
What is wrong? I log on for about an hour then it kicks up an error message then the system freezes. Thought it was my fan but yesterday I was online all day with no problem. It seems to be kicked up by loading several hundred pictures (update day). So, made some extra room on the hard drive and defragd and uninstalled a few things. Hit restart and here we are - fade to black. I am waiting for it to cool off properly and then will try again.
Suggestions welcome.
Holly