If any of my readers happened to be loitering around my blog during this last week or so, they might have been annoyed to see countless changes taking place right before their eyes. I’ve been vainly trying to find a new header and background for both of my ‘diary’ blogs over here and on Blogger. It hasn’t really been successful because I have arrived at the conclusion that I have set myself an impossible task. To try and find a header or background that illustrated me as a person and what I am all about, not easy when I am not sure who I am myself! I’m still not fully happy with the current choice. It does reflect one of my great passions of course, steam trains, and the very mysterious dark figure loitering at the kiosk hints at my love of mysteries.
My long term readers know that whenever we venture out for the day, I tend to refer to it as a quest or an Adventure, reflecting both my love of role playing games and my ever vivid imagination. It’s never just a shopping trip or a day out somewhere for either of us, and K being the born actress that she is, joins in with great gusto. To give one example of my unfruitful hours spent trying to find the perfect illustration of me, my love of murder mysteries sent me on an unfruitful search on both Bing and Google where I typed in ‘murder mysteries’ hoping to spy some wonderful picture depicting exactly that, but all to no avail.I’m not really a flowery, pink, feminine type of female, and so the countless wallpapers depicting flowery backgrounds in gorgeous soft pinks were not really me at all. Abstracts. Yes, I am most certainly that most of the time. Fantasy. Again, I do love fantasy, and I spend quite a few hours trawling through lot’s of fantasy wallpapers and backgrounds. None really said ‘me’ though. Trouble is, it can become quite addictive in a strange sort of way. Every time I found one that I liked and downloaded it with the intention of bringing my search for a background to an end, I found myself still continuing in case there was something far closer to the real ‘me’ just further down the page.
There were lot’s and lot’s of green themed backgrounds to be found, but since being forced to wear bottle green berets, blazer, raincoat, pinafore dress and skirt and apple green dress in the summer months during my Grammar School years as a very shy and retiring teen, I was scarred for life and ended up with a lasting aversion to the colour green. Rather like nature all around us, the trees and the grass, its very hard to avoid using it as a header or background, but it’s not really me.
Were my blogs all about recipes or cooking, I could have easily found tablecloth type backgrounds and headers consisting of plateful after plateful of delicious looking food. That would have been no problem at all. I did try a search for ‘dippy’ and ‘geeky’ but to no avail. Colours? Well I do prefer the warm colours, the oranges, reds, and yellow shades, and I do like the shade that I settled for as the background for my Blogger blog. It’s a sort of faint mauve rather similar to an accidentally acquired bruise when its fading away. I was trying desperately to match the few azalea's contained in the header but failed miserably. However, it’s a nice shade. The header is not really me though because although I do love flowers, they are far removed from describing ‘me’ and who I am.
Have any of you ever tried to find a header or a background for you blog that goes someway to illustrate who you are and more importantly were you successful?
TG
I can tell you I have found it hard too . I have played with a few backgrounds and not liking what I found I went to pink and gray . I love pink and green. The header you have is beautiful and the color here is peaceful also.
ReplyDeleteI think you have done well and I do not think its easy either.
I make headers and they dont fit . What a mess I m in sometimes. I enjoyed your blog.
Have a great weekend.
Thanks Lisa. It becomes a sort of 'addiction' with me though,because its at the back of my mind that somewhere there is just the right header and background that describes me exactly, and so I go on and on and on.
ReplyDeleteHiya T.G. I know this is not the end of your search for the perfect header. I like the background colour but the overall effect is somehow just not you.
ReplyDeleteI love nature and the colour green, so I had no problems finding something suitable. Happy hunting. Pen.
Actually I have looked about and the closest I found to "me" was a stock photo from WP with a view of trees. I love nature outings and trying to find a picture I can take.
ReplyDeleteI haven't yet logged off the cat's blog so, to let you know, this is Ramblingon.
I suppose the only thing I will find that suits me is a photo I took myself. Hopefully it will evoke the feeling hot sun, and the sound of bees.
Your right Pen this is not me at all. Its too 'twee' for want of another word.
ReplyDeleteAdmiral Hestorb, I just wish I could find something that sums me up!
TG, I see trekking and exploring in your posts, in the tradition of Burton, Speke, Shackleton, Cook and all the rest. Trekking in parks, to the store, along canals, through housework, to York, then documenting your journeys in your posts. These are the voyages of the "Starship Technogran." One idea, for the Wordpress site at least, is a rotating header like this: http://islandnature.ca/. Refresh the page and a different image appears. I'm not sure how he does it, is it a Wordpress feature? There must be a way to do it in Blogger also, perhaps some custom CSS. Just trying to stir up the thinking a little.
ReplyDeleteYour current theme, end of January 2011, is too dark and depressing. This is not you. You are cheerful and effervescent (all synonyms apply). You spread your enthusiasm and make your readers feel good about you and themselves. So get a theme that comes closer - light, friendly, passionate, exciting - that is you!
ReplyDeleteI'm often restless with sticking with the same profile picture let alone the same background for my blog so I often find myself changing it up according to topic or my mood of the day. Finding something that sums us up for a header...my wife has created her own but I think I don't really have it in me to do that...at least for now.
ReplyDeleteI think that on Wordpress you can choose some themes with a 'slideshow' for the header. In fact I know you can so that must be what you mean Dave.
ReplyDeleteLudwig, do you mean this one? I'm sort of trying to capture my love of mystery I think.
Joe, I am trying to change my blogs as well, and not only in appearance but also in content.
Oh, I know just what you mean, TG. I have changed headers so many times, and for one whole day I might be ok with it and then....well, it's the same as you. The hunt starts again. I end up making my own, like the one you see with the VW car. I might blow up photoshop anytime now. Funny you should bring this up, though. The other day I was running through my head and thought of your blog header. Why? Well, I think it was because it was a "simple, tell it like it is" kind of look and I like it. Very much in fact. You always have so much good stuff to say, whether personal or techy, that the header matters not a bit. I love your blog, and as you know, I've followed since we were wayyyy back on WLS. Good stuff you have, TG, good stuff.
ReplyDeleteYOu arr clever JennyD! I love the background colours on yours. Nice and warm looking...
ReplyDeleteYes, T.G. this is much closer to you. The road leading of into the distance is a neat theme. Unfortunately the text over it is not as readable because of the light foliage. I suggest you download the image, flip left-for-right, and try that. The background is darker on the current right side and the text would be more readable.
ReplyDelete