It's been a bit since I've updated here... if writing at all. New content, updates, and articles transferred from Hubpages have been in the garden site, Ilona's Garden, the blog Home Garden Companion, and the reinvented original website, My Reflecting Pool. I have haphazardly kept up with social media and the other sites. The variety of reasons for the huge slowdown range from moving to another state, the pandemic, my health challenges, and many family demands over this time. Life happens!
However, I am settled, had life changing surgeries, and am now able to dedicate time and effort to new writing along with the growth of income and creative endeavors at Zazzle. Life is taking new directions and has regenerated the online projects.
So much has irrevocably changed that it all has very different aspects than when I last updated here.
Social Media
I vastly changed the amount of interaction on all platforms, which reflects what many others have done, as well. The platforms themselves keep changing. So Twitter became X, and I now use it a little more, after almost no interaction on the old twitter. I never quite got the hang of Instagram, so not sure what I will do with that. Facebook jumped the shark, and I am using it still, but in a vastly reduced way.
That has all led to me resuming more interest in blogging again.
The End of My Hubpages
After the evolution of Squidoo to Hubpages to Maven Media, the income and opportunity that those platforms represented has evaporated. I long ago stopped putting effort into new content, and the process of transferring useful articles to my own sites has been underway.
The wide range of topics meant that some pages went to the garden sites, while others mainly landed within the Reflecting Pool site. Likely, I will be recording those changes in separate updates regarding each of the changes in those sites.
Other Endings, Maybe Temporary
My newsletter and Youtube channels have been in a long hiatus. I am considering reactivating video creation. We'll see. But it will take on completely different purpose and focus than previously.
The Nuts and Bolts
In the news of what is happening on the back end of the websites, I have been trying out the Divi 5 theme, which I love! I have used Elegant Themes "Divi" for many years, but it was a little too much to keep up with in terms of reducing page load and learning how to use it properly. The newly invented Divi 5, which is still in beta form, takes care of so many of the issues I had with what was mainly a very powerful and adaptable WordPress theme. This site is one in which I am experimenting the new Divi 5. Once in it's final form I will change over my main garden site (which has more features and most of my content).
Zazzle Shines
It has been both fun and hard work invested in building my stores in the P.O.D. world. Zazzle has taken the lion share of effort and yielded the most fruit. Like most online work it is constantly changing and requires pivoting to stay current. I accumulated loads of creative inventory from Design Cuts creators with commercial licensing, and that has helped me produce designs that look more professional.
I include P.O.D. tips and showcases of my work on Ilona's Reflecting Pool.
All for Now
Just a short update to get the ball rolling. If you have happened on this page I hope you will revisit to follow what's new.
