Battling with FTP settings

I have been battling with my FTP settings for months so that I can publish this blog. Two days ago, not only could I not post anymore, my whole blog had disappeared... My hosting provider kindly restored it ... Let's say I was a little surprised to find out it was a one-year-old version that they'd put back up... So now everything is back and I hope to be a little more regular in my postings.