Dear Friends,
I don’t mean to sound like a broken record singing the same old song about my plans going awry but that old record is still going round and around and around and it ain’t sounding pretty…
Pressing family matters are preventing me from giving as much time to my blog as I would like with getting my posts out and I also just wanted to let you all know that I may not be able to keep up with visiting your blogs or replying to comments as quickly as I would like to over the next several days.
I will do my very best though 🙂
Meanwhile, I’ve noticed that over the last few days WordPress Ads have been appearing at the end of my posts. I haven’t got the time to look into it to see what it’s all about and why I’m suddently getting these, so if any of you are experiencing the same thing I would be extremely grateful if you could let me know what you did to get rid of them (assuming you wanted to, of course!)
Finally, as a bit of fun, I leave you with this photo, taken from Monday’s post, A Storm, Stourhead and a Faraday Cage.
Take a closer look at it, especially on the left hand side. What do you think? Raindrop on my camera lens or a ghostly orb perhaps?
Stone Cross, St Peter’s Church Stourhead
(c) copyright Sherri Matthews 2013
Well, it is almost Halloween…
I’ll miss you but I’ll catch up with you all as soon as I possibly can.
Love Sherri x
A View From My Summerhouse 
I hope everything is okay, Sherri. Yes, I started getting the WordPress ads as well. Unfortunately, I don’t have any answers as to why. Take care of yourself.
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And me, I’m getting ads too. For a long time it’s just said “Your readers may see an ad here.” Then I noticed actual ads. So I’ve no idea what my readers are seeing. I just put it down to one of those things and hoped maybe it was a temporary or random thing – I guess I can’t complain because I’m getting a whole blog and ready made design for free already.
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Hi Denise. Funny, I don’t see the ads today so maybe it is a random thing. I had that same message too come to think of it before they started showing up. I thought that maybe it was something I had to sign up for! Thanks for the info.
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Thank you so much Jill for your concern and kind wishes, really appreciate it.
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Look forward to post family matter postings – we’re hooked!!
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🙂
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Hi Sherri. Don’t worry about us, we’ll still be here when you come back. As for the ads, it’s a sign that your blog is becoming popular. The higher the visitor numbers, the more likely WordPress will place an ad on it to generate revenue. You can make your blog ad free – at a cost – by going to your Blog Admin / Settings / AdControl.
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Hi Dylan. Getting an opportunity to catch up a little. Thank you for explaining the whole Ad thing, this was really helpful! I had seen them before here and there but this time there seemed to be more of them and I wasn’t sure if it was only me who could see them or other people too. I also didn’t even think it was related to the number of visitors etc. I just thought it was a nuisance, but now I understand! I don’t want to pay money to keep them off but now I know what it’s all about I won’t worry about them!
Oh, and glad you’re still there 🙂
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Family is always the most important, I hope that everything is okay. The best thing about blogging is that you can take a break but your other ‘family’ is always here when you come back! I too had recently started noticing ads at the bottom of my blog. Thanks to Dylan’s great response now we know why!
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Hi, Sherri.
I’ll look forward to seeing what you come up with as and when you have time to post, but look after yourself and your family first.
If you haven’t got time to read or comment, we know you are still there and will still be thinking of you and wishing you the best.
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Hi again Denise, and thanks so much for thinking of me. I just didn’t want you all to think I was ignoring you! I am having to grab snippets of time here and there with other things going on at the moment (nothing too drastic) so will be a bit intermittent over the next few days.
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Thank you Heather, appreciate this very much.
Yes, Dylan has certainly cleared up this ad thing for us…thanks again Dylan 🙂
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Hi Sherri, as other’s have said, I’ll still be around. Life is not all about blogging after all, though I did miss my blogging friends when I was in Cornwall with an abysmal connection. I too have been having those ‘WordPress Ads’ at the end of my blogs – very annoying aren’t they! I know you are not supposed to see ads if you are logged in, so I suspect others can’t see them and they are definitely aimed at us to upgrade our account. I dread to think what other ads appear on my blogs for people who are NOT logged in.
As for the photo – what a wonderful orb! Looks like a magnifying glass, so I suspect it is a raindrop, though in my experience raindrops usually result in a blurry spot on the photo. Interesting…
Jude xx
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Hey Jude! I did wonder where you had been recently until I read on your blog that you had been to Cornwall. I missed you!
Re the ads, now that I understand what they are all about I’m not concerned about them, but I do wonder too about what ads are seen although nobody seems to have seen the ones on here. Funnily enough, they have gone today!
I was very curious to see what you thought of the ‘orb’ being the experienced photographer that you are so I find your thoughts very interesting indeed… 🙂
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Your best is good enough. And sometimes the best thing to do is take a hiatus–give yourself permission to remove some obligations. People understand. I’ve had to take a hiatus from blogging at times–I just can’t do everything all at once. We want you to take care of yourself and your family.
About the ads: WordPress says this: http://en.wordpress.com/about-these-ads/
Dylan’s right about the fee for removing ads, which is fair. They have to support the staff at wordpress somehow. They do it by collecting hosting fees and selling ads.
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Thank you Tracy, and yes, it is just the way things go sometimes. Hopefully over the next few days things will settle down and I can get back to blogging and writing properly.
As for the ads, many thanks for the link. That and also Dylan’s information have been very helpful and now I can see what it’s all about 🙂
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Thanks for the update, Sherri. Spend time with your family and don’t worry about keeping track of blogs. Everyone will still be here when you get back.
I don’t see any ads on your blog by the way.
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Hi Rachel and thanks so much, also for letting me know about not seeing the ads. They have gone for now but I’m glad that I know what they are now! See you soon 🙂
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Take as much time as you need – as the others have said, we’ll all be here; hope there’s not too much for you to worry about, but whatever it is, you’ll sort it.
Ad wise, I get them on mine too and apparently friends who aren’t bloggers but read my posts see ads for things they’ve recently looked for or bought on-line. I think if we are logged in we don’t see ads on each others blogs, but WordPress want to make money somehow and having an ad free site is one way to achieve this. I can live with a few ads as long as they’re not in bad taste … and I don’t think many of my friends have bad taste 😉
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Hi Jenny. Thank you for your concern, but don’t worry, things are ok, it’s just family ‘stuff’ that I’m involved with at the moment and lots of back and forth but nothing too drastic. I’m just not getting the time to do all my other important stuff…like blogging!
Re the ads, you echo what everyone else says here. It’s great being able to get everyone’s responses and understand how these ads work. I didn’t realise that friends who aren’t bloggers see ads like that, I will have to ask around!
Like you, now that I understand it all I can live with it and not worry about it!
Thanks for the great info and see you soon 🙂
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Oh, and the orb? Definitely a ghostly apparition.
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Really? Wow!!! Bearing in mind it is above a cross just behind the main one in the photo. These were at the back of the church and on a high, grassy slope, hence the angle of them leaning over. Some further back are hidden amongst undergrowth and you can barely see them.
Now I’m really interested…tell me more!
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Sorry Sherri, didn’t mean to get you all excited here – I’m no authority on anything spectral, it was just my imagination running riot. Perhaps it’s a fairy globe – or an alien bubble … the possibilities are endless! 🙂
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Ha ha! I think it’s great Jenny…you got my imagination running riot too…and I LOVE your other ideas…a fairy globe or an alien bubble? And there I was thinking at first that it was just a boring old raindrop… 🙂
Have a great weekend and catch up soon!
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Sherri, don’t worry about taking a break – life gets so busy that we can’t keep up with everything all of the time. Take a well-deserved breather. I sometimes see ads on my blog and sometimes not. I like Dylan’s explanation. 😀
As for the orb … if I had to go for a rational explanation or choose the hint of a mystery, I’d go for mystery every time. Hmmm, could there be a story in that photo, I wonder. 🙂
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Thank you Lesley 🙂
Yes, a good story I should think about that orb! Especially if, as Jenny says, it is definitely a ghostly apparition! Spooky!
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Hi Sherri, good luck with all your family challenges.. we all know the feeling! I recently started having ads pop up on my sight too… I had heard you could pay to have them removed which Dylan mentioned above… so it appears that your sight has reached some popularity! 🙂 As for the photo I am going to have to go with it’s a rain drop until proven otherwise. Take care of yourself and your family.
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Thanks Tieshka. Yes, you certainly know the feeling! I don’t know how you blog every single day!
I’m so grateful to have the ads explained, I just wasn’t sure about them. I had one or two before but these seemed to keep appearing.
Thanks too for sharing your thoughts on the ‘rain drop’. I thought it was too at first but it isn’t on any other photos taken that day and it did seem strange to be just on that particular shot taken of that particular scene.
Hmmm, maybe I should look into this further… !
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Sherri, I’m glad that you are back to blogging and communicating with your readers! When I first started I only focused on posting.. then slowly I started looking at other peoples blogs.. and then commenting… and now I spend at least 30 minutes to an hour on the computer each day working on my blog and looking at other peoples sites. It is my release so I find time to do it.. with that being said I can’t wait until I reach that day in December when I stop posting daily!!! (Let me know what you figure out about the “rain drop”.. maybe it is more- I’m usually skeptical).
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Thank you Tieshka – and I certainly will 🙂
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Hmm, I think that photo warrants further examination. Next time you’re out there, take a ouija board 🙂
I hope that things with your family can sort themselves soon as poss. I’m sure everybody understands and won’t begrudge you taking your foot off the gas for a little while – we’ll just be eagerly awaiting your return!
All the best and take care.
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Thanks Steven, really appreciate that!
Really interesting what you think about the photo. I did think it rather strange, considering that nothing like that appears on any of my other photos all taken that day at the same time and all in the same area.
Also, that the ‘orb’ appears just above another cross which is quite hidden in the undergrowth behind the main one in the front of the photo.
Very spooky, but you definitely won’t find me there with a ouija board or anywhere in fact!
See you soon 🙂
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Sherri, I know I can relate to you being away from your blog, I am lucky now to post twice a week and as I have mentioned my comments are reduced because I have to use wifi and most of the time I am on my phone. I have the adds as well but I don’t see them on your site, maybe they are just sen by the user ? This old blog world has to take last place or it will overwhelm you.
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Hi at last Bob! Yes, I’ve come to understand about these ads now so now they won’t bother me from now on. I know where you are coming from about blogging and we just have to do what we can.
Hope things are getting sorted out for you 🙂
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Family and life come first. At one time or another we have all be called away. Hope all is well soon.
Take care of yourself.
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Thank you very much for your kind wishes…getting there slowly 🙂
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😉
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I’ll be in touch via email. RE: the ads… I’m not seeing them, but you can pay $99/year for an add-free site. Love you, my friend!
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Hi Susan, many thanks for the ad info and I’ll look forward to your email x
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I get the ads too. I know they have an option to opt out of ads for a yearly fee. I hope that all is well! I’ll be praying for you. I love the photo by the way – it’s very festive for this time of year 🙂
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Hi Robin, thanks so much for your prayers, I really appreciate that 🙂 We are getting there slowly…
Glad you liked the photo – I also thought it was very fitting for this time of year 🙂
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Sherri, the soft raindrops are for your gentle spirit and the mystery for your next story 🙂
Enjoy your time with your family and don’t worry about us readers. We will be around!
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Ah Ilka, what a beautiful thing to say, you have touched my heart!
Thank you so much for your kind sentiments, hopefully things will settle down soon and then perhaps I can write that mystery… 🙂
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You can always count on me visiting your blog, Sherri! I hope you take as much time as you need. We’ll all be here when you return.:) –Mike
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Thanks so much Mike, I always appreciate hearing from you 🙂
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Hi Sherri – that’s interesting about ads popping up after your posts. I’ve never seen them. I guess it depends on traffic.
Don’t know about the spot in the picture whether it was spectral or not. I think it’s more about the energy you felt when you were there. If you felt a presence and think an orb showed up in the picture, I no doubt believe it to be true.
I love that picture by the way. It captures the feeling of what you spoke of — old and eerie. 🙂
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Hi Pat. Yes, I’m not sure. It wasn’t until I uploaded my photos from our visit to Stourhead that I first noticed the perfect ‘orb’ shape on this photograph and thought it strange that it should appear on this particular photo and not on any others. I assumed it was a rain drop but then got to thinking…so thought I would put it all to you!
Well, orb, raindrop, who knows? As others have suggested, it will make for a good mystery story (now I just need the time!)
Glad you liked the photo, thank you as always, I always look forward very much to your visits 🙂
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I got some ads, too, Sherri. Fortunately, at the end of each one was a small tag saying I had many choices about ads and did I want to see more? When I checked “No,” within another day I got another and it asked if I gave permission. I checked “No,” again wrote in the space below the no box, “Remove me from this ad list and all offers to post ads.” So far–knock on wood–I haven’t had any more.
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Hmmm, that’s very interesting Marylin, thanks for letting me know this. I do remember something similar a while back and I thought I had clicked ‘no’ like you, they went away and I didn’t think anything more about it. This time I didn’t have the option and I just didn’t have the time to look into it, hence this post, as I wasn’t sure what was going on.
It seems that if the blog is free then WordPress will want to gain revenue by using free sites to advertise on, which makes sense. I paid to register my own domain but that’s all. The ads have gone now so I’ll wait to see what happens again. I’m not bothered now though now that I understand thanks to everyone’s kind replies here!
Hopefully you won’t be troubled again either! 🙂
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I believe in ghosts. Whether they’re able or even want to make their presence know to the living is still up for debate as far as I’m concerned. Can I assume that you’re going by what you saw when you watched the movie, “Sixth Sense”. I must admit that it is a compelling movie.
I hope all is well with your family and things settle down soon.
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Glynis, what is spooky is that you mention the movie ‘Sixth Sense’!! I wasn’t even thinking of that film at the time, nor anything ghostly when I was taking those photos but how on earth could you have known that this particular film is one of my all time favourites? I never get tired of watching it even though I know the ending!!!!
Many thanks for your very kind wishes and things are getting better slowly.
I hope you have a great weekend 🙂
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I’m a little late (like usual). I hope everything is okay and no worries. Take care of yourself and your family. We’ll be here waiting.
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Hi TB! No worries, and thanks for your kind wishes. Things are ok, I will be updating shortly. It’s just something that happened in my family that needs sorting out but we’re getting there. Hopefully I should be back to normal in the next few days!
Hope you have a lovely weekend 🙂
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