Monday, June 21, 2010

Musings and the Summer Solstice


Good morning all!! Happy Summer Solstice..whoot summer is officially here. Although if you were here in North Idaho...you might wonder. Fifty degrees and pouring again..still. But very very green! I will have to say this is the first summer for a very long time that I am actually looking forward to the season. Being without a car for so many years made summer difficult. Frankly going to the beach..by foot with all the stuff is not so bad..about 10 blocks or so..but dragging everyone home, tired, wet, sand in shoes and cranky...not so much. So I greatly look forward to filling the car with sand and lake pebbles from the lake and treasures from the woods this summer!!! Whoot.I have even lined up a trip to a rock place to go digging for minerals and treasures this summer!!! Whoot!!!! So I for one am happy to see the Summer this year!!

I have been musing about this sign...

I don't know about you all...but I seem to have been getting several unwelcome visitors on my blogs...selling shoes, drugs...and now and again sex...geesh!! Of course they are anonymous..so I can't block them. I often receive emails from folks hoping to advertise on my main blog...but honestly I am clueless if they are legit. I did do one company for a while..who paid me a nice little sum each quarter and them disappeared off the face of the earth..no notice.

I am often getting emails from one group that has "featured" my blog on their site for tons of folks to see..would I now feel blackmailed into posting their link on my blog. Uhmmmm not so much...when I email them and ask them how my blog feature is in any way linked to the site I am advertising...they disappear..cause it is not..there is no way..short of their email to me to get to that site..where I am featured..which annoys me. I hate scammers.

Of course there is also my front door...that lovely red/orange door and porch that just screams..come on over and say hello! I love that it does...I really don't mind folks coming by to sell vacuums and magazines. I honestly do not even mind the religious folks that seem to have targeted my door for bi-weekly smiling hellos. I will be honest...I am generally kind and wish them a good day..but for some reason they seem to think I am in need of saving....despite my protests that I am not in need of their loving attention. It is becoming an issue.

Generally folks are nice and polite and take my pleasant but swift refusal to buy their products in stride and wander off to the next house. But now and again ...of late... I have had to be a bit firm and even unpleasant. This weekend a girl came by selling magazines from that group that brings foreign students here to sell for them..came to my door. I was in the middle of a project and did not have any interest in the books she had..which I have been shown a dozen times at least...I was nice..told her no thank you..she would not leave...I was even a hard butt about my no...still..she stood there getting angry and arguing with me. Seriously... you want me to buy something and you are going to be rude and get angry with me. I had to tell her to leave my property...now and close the door in her face as she wandered away cussing. Wow...really??

So I have to wonder...is it necessary to put up one of those ugly signs...that tells all I am closed for contact if I don't know you? So I guess I was wondering if you all had experienced that here on the blogs...or at your door? Do you put up a sign saying No soliciting?? Just wondering!

Namaste, Sarah

16 comments:

holdingmoments said...

I sympathise Sarah.
I've had the dodgy comments, e-mails promising all manner of things if I put a link; oh, such a pain! I even get them on my website. Probably one of the worst things about the internet, the scams.
And the junk mail through the door. Some days I must have a forest posted through the letterbox lol

Yea, I could do with one of those signs. 'Stay away! Grumpy ol' man inside' lol

just me said...

oh the rain!! my oldest going to priest today for camp!! while the 4 yo sang over and over the rain rain go away song! he was a little disappointed it wasn't working lol.

have you ever seen the sign "unless you are giving away chocolate please step off my porch". have a happy soggy monday!

Sarah Sullivan said...

LOL you guys....I love them both...

Jeanne said...

Solstice Blessings! ♥

Snap said...

Oh, goodness ... I feel with/for you. I don't have a sign, but our front door is hard to find and our doorbell even harder!!!!! Most miss us. If the door wasn't so well hidden, I'd probably put up a sign! I have the same problems online with the commentor who is selling most times, sex. ARGGGHHH! Which is why I have everyone sign in and I okay each comment ... at least I hope I catch them before someone clicks.

Debra She Who Seeks said...

You can delete the "anonymous" option in your comments set-up. That's what I've done. As for door-to-door solicitors, I just look through the front window or peep-hole. If I don't know them, I don't open the door. Just because they knock/ring, it doesn't mean I have to answer!

Moonwolf said...

How annoying. Like you, I don't really mind them knocking on my door but I do mind having to be rude to get them to leave. It seems like this is the case more and more often -- they think that you are required to listen or purchase just because they knocked on your door and you answered! Fortunately, I have not had to deal with this on my blog . . . yet.

Holly said...

When it's religious folk, I tell them that I'm hopeful they have a graceful day. I tell them that the bible clearly says that they cannot "witnes" to me unless I have asked. They always look surprised that someone knows that and it shuts them down very quickly.

The blog thing? Yep to all the stuff you said. I don't respond to the ones want to link or advertise...and I do just go in and delete the ann none ym ASSes that sprinkle on me from time to time.

Love you!

Kat_RN said...

Sarah,
I have had a few attempts on the blog and I get plenty of spam emails. One nice thing about living way out in the woods, is few visitors (unless you invite them). I do have my blog set so that comments do not appear until after they are approved by me, I also use "captcha" (I think that is what it is called) to prevent bots from leaving messages. Over all, I would rather delete a few off comments than miss out on new faces, but that is me.
I wish you the best of luck with it.
Kat

Katia said...

Happy Solstice! I don't feel a no soliciting sign on my blog would do much good. The sort of solicitors who solicit on the web are the sort who wouldn't care about signs.

That said, I've lately been tempted to put up a sign on my door that says: "If you're not selling Girl Scout Cookies, don't even bother knocking."

Joanna Jenkins said...

No soliciting.... I'm not nearly as nice as you. I don't open my front door to anyone. Maybe it's living in Los Angeles but the door stays bolted.

As for the blog-- I delete a lot of stuff. And I changed my comment moderation so posts older than 2 weeks who receive a new comment need to be approved by me. That really slowed the junk down.

Probably 90% of the solicitations I've received on my blog were bogus. They're annoying but I guess they go along with the good stuff that makes up for it.

I sure hope you get some sunshine your way Sarah. enough with the rain already.

xo jj

Cindy said...

We get the religious ones quite a bit, one day I hear them at the front door, hubby answered, they would like to talk to him about all the prostitutes in our area. My husband says sorry but we are having an orgy in the back, could they come back later. Sarah I just about died, but it did the trick they have not been back, and we have a beware of dog sign out. anyone knows us knows it is safe to come in, but the sign does keep others out....take care.

Cindy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Karen D said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Karen D said...

I have not had this problem on my blog yet thankfully but I think the more popular you become as a blogger or artist is seems to come with the territory. I can sympathize with your frusteration.

I do get a ton of junk email and sad to say I have just become used to it and hit delete delete delete.

As far as the religious folks go we do get our fair share of them especially jehovah witness and If I have a few minutes to spare I will spend some time chatting with them, no harm in listening and they are always so young, I hate to just shut them down. I tell them I have my own beliefs and I believe all are one and then they give me their pamplet and they are on their way.
Love to you

Mel Edwards said...

I too am swamped with spam comments so much so that I made it necessary for all comments with links must have my approval before they post. This week I see I had 900 spam comments -- mostly for Rx sites -- all blocked and had to be deleted.
However, my visitor comments are down to nearly zero a week too, so I think my spam prevention system is killing my blog.
Good luck!