My daughter and her sweetheart are visiting which has thrown me off schedule. I added the rollover link effect (a link preview should pop up) to the site and can't decide if it's helpful or annoying. Please tell me if you have strong feelings.

I've also been reading the Devine Color book (Maggie put me on to her). Try this exercise from author Gretchen Schauffler.

Choose one thing from each room in your home that you absolutely love to look at or that has a deep connection. Make a pile of them in front of you. Name the colors (use rainbow color names only) out loud. These are the colors your eyes love to feel and the colors that have followed you throughout your life changes.

What a terrific exercise. Thanks to Darleen Bellan for the heart image.

  • reply Melanie West ,

    Great book recommendation, Cynthia! (And Maggie!) And a fun excercise – thanks! The other day I was gathering up dirty clothes from the floor (*cough*) and stood staring at the laundry basket. I suddenly realized that my personal “pallet” was staring back at me! Muted earth tones of blues, greens and dark rose. Mmmmmm!

    And since you asked, those pop ups are… well, a bit anoying actually. Your site has been extremely easy to browse and find what I want, and your links (both the amount and where they take you) are fantastic! But since you’ve started the pop ups, the links are a bit finicky and more than a bit frustrating. 🙁

    Oh, and I LOVE your weekend newsletter, Cynthia. I recommend that everyone sign up for it!! 🙂

    Hope you’re enjoying your daughter’s visit!

    • reply Ronna Sarvas Weltman ,

      My first reaction to the rollovers was being disconcerted, but now by Day II of the Rollover Rollout I love them. But they may end up being time-consuming for a flibbertigibbet like me who’s interested in everything; before I occasionally clicked on links, but now when their image pops up, ofen I’m intrigued and click to get a closer look.

      • reply Susan Lomuto Rose ,

        I like the pop-ups for the links in your sidebar – it allows me to see the current post on the blogs you have listed and saves me a few clicks if I’ve already seen it. On the other hand, the pop ups when I’m reading feels a little busy and slightly distracting, but maybe it just takes time to get used to a new feature?

        As for the color exercise…how wonderful…and simple…and revealing. Thank you once again.

        • reply Cindy ,

          I do like the pop-up links. I think that you really do a wonderful job informing those of us who don’t know where, how, or might not have the time to find all of the excellent sites and about the great artists that you can find for us. Thanks for all your hard work.

          • reply Sherry Bailey ,

            Cynthia, I adore your site — it’s the first place I go when things at the reference desk allow me to poke a bit. But I find the popups a bit annoying. Not earth shatteringly so, but a bit. (I liked it better without them, let me say…)

            As long as I’m here, happy New Year, and THANKS!!! for all your delicious links!

            • reply Ronna Sarvas Weltman ,

              I wonder if users realize that if they just move their curser away from the links or images the popups will disappear. So if you don’t want to see the image and/or find it distracting, just move your cursor a teeny bit and you won’t have to deal with them. I also find them distracting if I’m trying to read Cynthia’s text, but I just move my cursor and the popups disappear.

              To summarize: If you find the popups distracting, just let your cursor linger over non-link text or white space, and you won’t see them.

              • reply Jana Roberts Benzon ,

                The pop ups don’t bother me any….it’s simple enough to keep the cursor away from the links to avoid them. Whatever you decide (‘to keep or not to keep’) is fine by me!

                Let me join Melanie in saying that I really enjoyed the newsletter…it was such a nice surprise. Yet another thing to thank you for, Cynthia!! (And, Melanie….I have, many times, noticed the colors in my always-huge pile of dirty clothes on the laundry room floor….no surprise that they’re earthy browns, golds, greens and blacks 😉 Hope yours is a fabulous 2007!

                • reply DLinLo ,

                  I’m not wild about the rollovers. Distracting and too much clutter. As we all know, sometimes “more” is too much!

                  • reply Sandi Hughey ,

                    The pop ups are seriously annoying if you have eye problems! Cynthina, your site is wonderful and easy to navigate, please don’t ruin it with these unnecessary distractions!

                    Love the ‘color exercise’ tip and thank you for bringing us all these wonderful links!!

                    • reply Doreen ,

                      I like the roll overs. I can easily see if I’d like to click on the link or not.

                      • reply darleen bellan ,

                        I like the roll overs a lot. It give you a quick preview instead of waiting for a page to load only to not want to spend much time looking. It is like a sneek peek. Just move the cursor and it dissapears if it bothers you. I hope it stays!

                        • reply Edie Stanger ,

                          I don’t like the rollovers. They distract from the clean design of your pages.

                          I would like all your links to come up in a new window, to more easily keep your page available when I’m finished with the linked page.

                          • reply cheryl ,

                            im glad that im not the only one this is happening to. 🙂
                            a happy new year and a big thank you for all you do to keep the spirit alive.

                            • reply Barbara ,

                              I think the rollover pop is cool. I like to see where I’m going before I click on a link.

                              • reply Kathi ,

                                I would rather not see the rollover popup. It is a bit annoying especially because it is so small that I cant really tell what it is showing.

                                I agree with Edie, would dearly love for links to be a new window. Beats killing the back button by clicking on it 100 times:)

                                • reply Barbara Forbes-Lyons ,

                                  Not a fan of the rollovers…if it can be restricted to the sidebar, then great, but having it pop up all over the place as I move my cursor is annoying, IMO.

                                  • reply Tania McCulloch ,

                                    Strange how something can be fun…and aggranoying at the same time. I wonder which quality will endure?

                                    • reply Ellen ,

                                      I can no longer view your website in my IP – Compuserve. The rollovers cause my connection to close. I must open my provider and go to IE to view. A significant annoyance!

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