I was tired of Meandering Passage’s darker and colder theme and decided that spring was a wonderful time to make it warmer and lighter. This is the same theme, “Thesis,” I was using before, making these changes was a matter of taking a free “CSS Skin” and modifying it for the look and feel I wanted.
The old style was partial page framed and this one is full framed. I also designed a new Meandering Passage header that I hope comes across as a little fun and also insightful.
There’s still some minor CSS features I’m struggling with to get the results I expect — I don’t know why something seems to work wonderfully at times and then under similar circumstances they don’t work at all. I’m sure it’s something I’m over-looking but my eyes are crossed from overuse and I need to pull away for a bit.
At first, I wasn’t sure I liked the yellow (I thought it was too girly) but it does make the photos “POP”. The red menu bar and do-dads keep it from becoming boring. Any suggestions on the sites new “clothes” are welcomed. I won’t promise I’ll follow your suggestions, but I most certainly will listen and consider. ;-)
Speaking of red — landscaping we did in the backyard this past fall is coming alive with green growth and flowering plants. We have a number of small rose bushes planted and this image is one of several we’re enjoying. After dealing with mud and black mulch stain on our dogs feet from the newly landscaped area for most of the winter it’s nice to be enjoying the beauty now.
Earl, I normally read through an RSS feed but just checked in to see the new design. Looks great to me. Keep up the good work.
Drew
Drew, thanks! I’m glad you stopped by and it meets with your approval. :-)
I like the new Spring clothes, Earl. The header is what pops for me as well as being fun. And, what I do know of you the little bugs will be taken care of over time. The roses are not out yet in Ohio but it wont be long.
Monte, thanks, I’m glad you like the new look! The few issues that still exist are probably something really simple. I’ll give it some time and probably have one of those “Ah-ha” moments. Out roses only really started blooming early this week.
Nice image, Im jealous of your flowers! About all thats currently growing in our garden plots are weeds.
Steve, after doing all this landscaping with new plantings late last fall and then having the worst winter in 30 years we were afraid we’d have nothing but mud and black mulch this spring. However, everything lived and it’s all growing/blooming like gang busters. We’re enjoying it! :-)
Lookin Good Earl! It is interesting how when you visit a site with a new theme – you have a do a double take to see if you are in the right place! :-)
Thanks, Mark. I’m still looking not use to the new look myself. I was needing something a little lighter and warmer and this seems to fit the bill. I also noticed, after the fact, this design has more white (yellow) space around the images and content then the prior one, making it a little more pleasing to the eye…at least to mine.
Whenever a blog uses a color I worry that the color will sometimes work against the color of the images, but I think your choice here is a good one, and seems to compliment your work nicely. I wish I had your skill with CSS.
Chris, Good point about a blogs color possibly working against image color depiction. I’ve been flipping back through my older posts and so far I can’t discern any conflict/problems with this background color and the images. It seems to work well with both color and black and white images. I’m glad you said something about it.
Earl – I didn’t get a chance to see your site prior to the new clothes but I really like what you’ve done with my Terracotta Thesis Skin. Glad to have it featured on such a nicely designed site. If you need some help with the CSS issues, feel free to drop me a line.
Thanks, Chris. Your Terracotta Thesis Skin is great and it only took a few small customizations for it to feel more like mine. There may be a time when I take you up on that offer of help with the CSS, but for now I believe I’m set.