LaReau Lops & Cavies New Website

Finally, I’ve got my new site published – well it isn’t finished and does have some problems here and there, but it is up.

As I look at it closer, I’m slowly realizing I don’t like the looks of it much.

Crazy, isn’t it?  Putting all the time into something and later deciding it isn’t going to fit the bill?

I quess I’ll work on a replacement in my ’spare time’ eeeks

Website stuff….

Something got to my websites on the server.  I guess this will spur me into action – I’m having my tech-friend delete my sites, and when I find time (hopefully soon this fall) I’ll republish my new lopsandcavies.com site.  I am not republishing the directory site and had intended to delete it anyways.

Hope summer has been nice to you!

cathy

Hey..Robert – if you read this, email me – been trying to reach you!

Rabbitry Update

Wow.

I can’t believe how fast 2008 is whizzing past me!  All the while I was driving to soccer games, tennis matches and all kinds of high-school events.  I guess I have to throw in work too.  Seems like yesterday that I went to my last rabbit show but actually it was March.

My rabbitry is doing well – my Hollands are are a slow-growing herd – I’ve definately got to breed more often than I have been.  My Polish are doing just fine and I also have a couple of litters that I just weaned. 

My website – well I still haven’t updated that.  I do have my new website almost built enough to use it, but lately I just don’t seem to have the time I need to finish it and publish it in place of my old site.  One of these days I’ll get it done.  

Signing off again – hope the weather has not been too brutal for your rabbits! 

Cathy

Almost 2008

I am about half way finished with the redo of my main website.  Learning CSS has not been too bad, although there are just some little things that show up differently in different browsers that I can’t seem to make work the way I want. 

Tables, tables, tables, there will always be a place for tables, despite CSS.  I ended up using a few here and there just because I can make them look the way I want, quickly and without fuss. 

I hope to publish within a few weeks – and then I’ll make a decision about the other directory/information website.  I am not sure if it is worth having that site. 

Well I hope 2008 finds you and your family healthy and happy, and your nextboxes full!

Cathy

December 2007 News

I know, I know…..I haven’t done anything with my blog or my websites – when am I going to get off my butt?

Well I am making good progress on my redo of my main website, LaReau Lops & Cavies – my old site was made entirely with tables – and lots of bulky code.  Although the site looks OK in most browsers – any changes I want to make to the site must be done manually, page by page. AARRGGGGHHH

This is specifically what killed my interest in my other large directory site, The Rabbit & Cavy Directory – that site grew quickly, but I became overwhelmed with requests from breeders to make so many changes, so often, to their listings.

Now, that doesn’t seem unreasonable to the average web designer – in fact, info on a site should remain updated – but that site, like my main site, was designed with HTML pages using tables also.   All changes had to be done manually on each page, and since each breeder listing was on multiple pages, this quickly grew into an unmanageable fiasco!

My redo of my main site will be done using CSS.  As with the HTML sites I had before, I am learning (CSS) as I go.  Sometimes it takes me a while to tackle a specific fix or problem because I’ve got to learn as I go (the hard way….) but how satisfying when I figure out how to make something and it finally turns out the way I want it!

Of course it took me a week to make my first page, but I had to experiment with different looks, styles and layouts before I could decide on one: Now I can use this one page as a template to quickly grow my site!

Once I get my main site finished and working the way I want – I’ll begin working on the new rabbitbreeder.net site – my replacement for The Rabbit & Cavy Directory.  Hopefully I’ll make that entire site using CSS, and also incorporate a database so changes to information can be made in one place and will update on all pages – and of course, I know nothing about databases.

I can’t close until I mention a special thanks to Robert up in Alaska – I could not do all this without your help (and your cool graphics)  If anyone is looking to spice up a page or website with some cool graphics, be sure to visit Light Speed Web Graphics!

My rabbits are doing well – they haven’t even noticed all the dang snow we’ve gotten around here!  I’ve got a couple does due tomorrow and I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

All for now

Cathy

Rabbitry News – October 2007

My, how time is flying by so fast!  Already the end of October and I feel as though it should still be summer. 

I’ve got only one Holland litter this fall so far, and my August Polish litters are doing great -I’ll have several nice broken Polish to show come spring!  I’ve got one more Polish doe due this week, but I don’t think she’s bred – she surely didn’t act to concerned when I put her nest box in yesterday (usually a sign of an unbred doe)

In two weeks I’ll be taking a stretch of time off work, during which I hope to be able to redo my main website.  This site is horribly out of date and doesn’t reflect the direction I am taking in open. 

I’ll be unable to answer any emails from November 13, through about November 20.  I will answer everyone once I am back on my feet. 

Happy Halloween!

Cathy

Busy Time

Well I’ve found it very difficult to eek out time to publish anything lately, much less work on any of my websites.  My time has been divided among track and soccer meets, endless meetings and planning for graduation this year.  Between all this, I’ve been taking care of bunnies and the horse. 

After graduation, I’ll gradually get back into more web work and also more reporting about our rabbitry.

Sorry for the delays and excuses!  Have a super weekend.

Cathy

New Printable Rabbit Resources

During our recent minor revision of our website, LaReau Lops & Cavies, we also included a new link section listing all our printable rabbit resources:  Basic Rabbit Care & Breeding booklet, Printable Rabbit Show Checklist to assist you in getting ready for a rabbit show, and just yesterday we added a basic Rabbit Show Entry Form to this link group. 

Our one page Rabbit Show Entry Form is fairly basic and contains info used at most rabbit shows I’ve been to in the Midwest region.  Since it is not an ARBA-approved form, you may want to check your show catalog to see if they require ARBA-approved show forms before you print and use this to enter a show.  You can find the form here:

http://www.lopsandcavies.com/pdf/Rabbit_Show_Entry_Form.pdf

Have a great Friday!

Many small updates to our website

Over the past few days I’ve spent a little time updating some of the pages in our website, LaReau Lops & Cavies.

No major changes, and certainly no new pictures as of yet, but I did put an updated file into our pdf folder:  Checklist for Rabbit Shows.  This is a printable list anyone can use when they go to a rabbit show and has a checklist of all the common supplies you’ll need to bring.

Hope you enjoy it – good luck at your next rabbit show!

Cathy

Holland Lop Pictures

Wow, I just finally scanned over our current Holland Lop pages in our website and realized that over summer I had intended to update the pictures of our own Holland Lop stock…..and never did.

I guess we’ll have to spend some time this week taking pictures!  Our foundation stock pages are pretty current, but I think I was going to try to take replacement pictures of a few of our foundation Hollands, to replace the current poor pictures.

Thinking back, when I decided to take new pics, I believe all our bunnies were in a horrid molt from this crazy Wisconsin weather this summer – you know……90 degrees one day and 50 degrees the next – just been a hard year to keep nice coats going!

Well I’ll post here when we get some nice new pics put in, several of our current rabbits are even missing from our website and I am sure they’d all want to be movie stars if given the chance..you know those Hollands!

Cathy