A possible way to get around the special characters issue (no. 9), particularly when it’s necessary to use uniquely formed characters is to use an image instead of text. There are disadvantages of this alternative (such as inability to copy and paste) also which is why it is best to use standard fonts and text when possible but it could be one way to work around a character display problem.

When it comes to color and theme design if I were designing this site for a client I’d go with:
-: a pale blue site background
-: soft sandy color content background
-: darker sandy color for the sidebar background
-: padding either side of text in both content and sidebar
-: probably use rounded corners but that’s personal preference
-: black or very dark brown for the text of the main content
-: sidebar background color for headings in the main content
-: content background color for the text in the sidebar
-: site background’s sky blue for links (a few shades darker for hover).
To get the RIGHT colors for this, use a color picker and grab them directly from your header image.

Also, you might want to remove the border around images. There is a white box around the email post and edit post buttons on every post.

Speaking of which, I know the site is undergoing overhaul at the moment but thought it was weird to see little ‘edit’ icons all over your site. I’m not sure if this is a Blogger issue (I generally work with Wordpress) but you might want to be aware that non-admin are seeing these buttons.
Rebecca Laffar-Smith – Web Designer´s last blog ..Are You Going On Blog Tour?

You guys are awesome. It’s great to get feedback and helpful suggestions. Thanks you two, and to Betty’s husband for the kind words. I chose the green for environment theme because that’s the only one I could think of. I don’t know which colors are hot, cold, warm or dry. My blank and surprised reaction to Lindsay’s suggested pallets confirm that I really have no sense in colors.

Betty: yes, I could use some help with colors.
Tashi´s last blog .."How life is for ‘The urbanised nomads’ "

Or if thats too girly, something like this
viva la france With this one I would use white background everywhere, dark colored border, and maybe orange highlights like links and such.. or maybe the sidebar headers (like the titles for each widget)
LINDSAY´s last blog ..Adobe adds functionality beyond your harddrive

If you have adobe illustrator, there is an AWESOME tool that, when you pick a color, it will give you a choice of a bunch of color palletes based on the feel you are going for (warm, cool, clean, etc)

If you dont have illustrator, check out this website, it can REALLY help with picking colors.. it will give you a list of the newest color trends and the matching colors it goes with
Colour Lovers

Its fun to play with colors, but also frustrating..

i think that the other issue maybe is your header graphic. Its a photograph, with LOTS of color inside of it and NO design quality.. Its not BAD.. but its hard to have a header graphic and try and make a site design match.

My suggestion would be to use a WHITE background.. then put a color border, or something like that.. or maybe a dull color background for just the content, and a matching dull color background for the sidebar content.. Is that somethign you can do with blogger?? I dont know.
LINDSAY´s last blog ..Adobe adds functionality beyond your harddrive

I know you can change the background color, even when using a theme. If you want to change it to something different, I’d be happy to help. If this color is good for you, it is still a definite improvement, as is the font change and the post title color. There’s much better differentiation between your articles now.