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Hogar de Vida 23rd Birthday Today

And I can’t show children’s faces online which is the most beautiful part, but here’s the event!

We sang happy birthday to Hogar – in Spanish of course! 

New shirts for special occasions!

The back of the shirts. The toddlers had orange shirts with animals on them, but no good photo without faces. 

I think I’m safe on the faces here! 

Helen arranged everything AND served the cake! 

This is a very special place and I am now on the board of directors thought they call it something else.
And will be volunteering on the grounds occasionally when not traveling!  🙂 

It is very easy to make a donation to Hogar de Vida home for abused and neglected children, simply go to this website and make either a one-time donation or schedule a monthly gift:


And you can select the Costa Rica or the Guatemala home as you prefer. 
¡Pura Vida!
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My Blogs Are Still On Blogger.com

I do plan to move all of the blogs for the last 4 years from Blogger to WordPress, but it seems complicated to me and my subscribers are over there, so I continue my regular blogging for now and through my Panama Trip at  https://costaricadecisionprocess.blogspot.com/

I hope you will follow me there until I get this big move worked out, then all blogs will be here!

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A Little More Progress on Website Today

Banded Peacock Butterfly

I continue to see more butterflies which is part of June & July here and want to keep my nature theme even on posts about the website.

Today was the day for my online video visit with a specialist or “concierge” who was Nancy and very helpful, answering all my questions and giving me a boost forward in my understanding of technical things that can be frustrating. And one of the best things she did was recommend WP101 help videos online. I have already watched 6 of them and again got another boost forward making me more hopeful that this site will be successful eventually. She claims that moving my blog from Blogger to WP is “pretty straightforward.” But I will get the site working a little smoother before I try that.

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West Indian Buckeye

IMG_4073-A
West Indian Buckeye Butterfly, My Garden, Atenas, Costa Rica

It is June and the butterflies are filling my gardens! I like that. I have one other photo of this particular species, but not as good as this, so pleased to get it today. Plus I am still experimenting with my new website and want to see if adding the category of WILDLIFE to the tags on this post will place it  on my WILDLIFE page like I think it is supposed to do. So here goes.

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West Indian Buckeye

West Indian Buckeye Butterfly
My Garden, Roca Verde, Atenas, Costa Rica
I am glad that we are getting a lot more butterflies now! I had forgotten that it was mainly in June & July that the butterflies were numerous. I have a bad photo of one of these West Indian Buckeys, but this is my first good photo that shows the beauty of its coloration and design.

PREPARING NEW WEBSITE/BLOG AT WORDPRESS

I will be working on my new website at charliedoggett.net for a long time it seems, though my phone appointment with a specialist Tuesday may move me forward a little quicker. That may be when I move this blogger.com blog into WordPress. We will see. I have started a practice blog in WordPress, but it will not be the main one until they are merged there. The merging is suppose to include moving my subscriptions, but I never totally trust computers or programmers, so be prepared to sign up again if necessary!
Then I will consider moving my photo gallery into the same website so everything is together.  ¡Poco a poco! Little by little!
¡Pura Vida!
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Still Learning

20170807_120350_001'AMy Garden

 

WordPress is so much different from Joomla that it is like starting all over on website building. And I think I am a slow learner! But I will get there!

I’m having multiple menu problems and some page setup problems. Have an appointment with a tech on Tuesday. They say I can transfer my Blogger.com blog to WordPress Blog, but they have a long list of disclaimers, so we will see what happens after I build the site or maybe Tuesday. There is also the possibility of moving my SmugMug photo gallery to WordPress with similar disclaimers One thing at a time!

 

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Finding a Template

I have gone through so many templates today trying to find one that will work for me. Many looked different in the previews than they do with my copy and I still don’t know how to do a lot of actions – a slow learner!  🙂

This is my first blog in WordPress. Will not compare to Blogger just yet. Must learn first! I keep coming back to this basic free template because of the full page photo on home page. Others show a full page photo in samples, but don’t do it with my copy.

Maybe tomorrow I will choose and settle down to creating content!

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Rebuilding my Web Presence in One Location

The new Home Page image at charliedoggett.net now under construction
MY WEBSITE WILL CONTINUE TO BE PHOTO & INFORMATION RICH

I have just started rebuilding my website, meaning if will be skimpy for awhile as I learn the processes inside a WordPress Website. But I will bring to it most of the content from the old website, just presented in a better way I hope. There are several family history and cemetery articles that can be helpful to those doing family history research, along with personal stories and history and about my photography. Much of my content has been and will continue to be information for people doing research on several topics. Plus as a personal website it will continue to be partly about me, documenting my life and pointing to my interests.

MY BLOG WILL MOVE INTO MY WEBSITE
WordPress began as a blogging program and they excel at blogs. They say they can move my blogger.com blog into a new WordPress blog. We will see how they mesh. I believe that will strengthen both the blog and the website and basically blog posts become articles on my website that can be organized in categories or similar subjects as a seamless part of the site.
THEN I MOVE MY PHOTO GALLERIES INTO THE WEBSITE
WordPress has many good gallery templates and attractive presentations as well as organizing tools, though possibly not as many features as my current SmugMug Costa Rica Galleries, so it will be my last move and maybe most difficult. Though WordPress has tools to move my SmugMug galleries into WordPress and I think the same from my older PBase Gallery. Hopefully I will then have all my photos together and well organized. Plus they will be easier to use or link to in both the blog and website articles.
CONSOLIDATED
Maybe that is what it will be – consolidated – or everything in one place! And I hope more beautiful! I have been using Joomla for my web design and it is complicated and difficult to use and a lot of things I simply do not like about it. I like my web host, a friend in Nashville hosting out of his house in addition to his regular job. But now I will use one of the WordPress Hosts call DreamHost and will supposedly have more help, more plug-ins, and more possibilities! Though they host businesses and commerce and I could try to sell photos, I will not. I’ll keep my CafePress Shop and if WordPress adds 3rd party vendors of my photos without any production on my part, then maybe. But I am not in business!
ANOTHER FUN HOBBY
And maybe the best part is having another creative outlet for this strong desire to always be creating something of beauty or value. The creative part is fun! The technical stuff drives me crazy as the last few days trying to get my domain name moved over has. I almost changed my domain name to Retired in Costa Rica which will continue to be the overarching theme, but decided that I needed to stay with my domain name used since 2000 in The Gambia.
AND A NOTE ON LINKS TO MY PAGES

If you have any links to my family history pages, the Nashville Hardgrave Cemetery page or Uncle Earl’s WWII page, etc., then you will need to relink after I get the new site up and running. Links will be different.

AND SUBSCRIPTIONS TO THIS BLOG
You will most likely have to resubscribe to the blog once it is on WordPress. I will let you know in advance.
¡Pura Vida!