I’m Cackling Here About Nothing In Particular Just Because I Can

/ Ally Bean / 20 Comments

One of the realities of keeping a blog is the expectation that I will have something to say every week when I get here.  This expectation emanates both from within me + from you, my gentle readers.

I said that I’d be here, so I’ll be here.

That being explained, I can now confide in you that I don’t always have much to say here.  After a decade of bouncing around the blogosphere, I don’t consider this to be a problem.  I know that I’m a laid back communicator with an easygoing style who can turn just about anything into a blog post.

Yep, I got skillz.

So it won’t surprise you to know that the retro Kroger egg commercial that I shared above is all that I have to talk about today.  To wit, I found the simple b&w animation charming and the honest message entertaining.

“Isn’t the chicken lucky that eggs are the shape that they are?”

And now, having fulfilled my self-imposed obligation to post something of great value on this blog today, I’m going to wander off into the real world where I hope to have positive adventures and to gain deep insights into human nature so that I may share them with you, my gentle readers, next week.  Until then:

Be safe. Be happy. Be.

3 Simple Examples Of Cause & Effect Explained With Photos

/ Ally Bean / 18 Comments

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CAUSE:  Neighbor’s sweet kitty cat who likes to enjoy an afternoon nap in the sun along the edge of our terrace next to the woods behind the house.

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EFFECT:  Gift of bird feather placed smack dab in the middle of our front stoop so that I can find it when I step out the front door.

~ ~ • ~ ~

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CAUSE:  Exterior house painters whose ladders spent a good part of the early summer on our deck.

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EFFECT:  Unexplained rusted door stop found over the weekend in mulch along stone path around back of house where painters painted for weeks.

~ ~ • ~ ~

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 CAUSE:  Beautiful deciduous trees, in our neighbor’s yard, whose leaves are in the process of changing colors.

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EFFECT:  Dried up leaves along the edges of our driveway ready to be collected and disposed of in the forest behind our house.

~ ~ • ~ ~

In Which Ms. Bean Does Not Give In To Curmudgeonliness

/ Ally Bean / 21 Comments

“Everybody makes their own fun. If you don’t make it yourself, it isn’t fun. It’s entertainment.”

~ David Mamet, State and Main

• • •

I WAS DRIVING BY A HIGH SCHOOL when I noticed that the kid in the car that had just pulled out in front of me, while obeying all appropriate rules of the road, had something written on his back window.  So when we got to a stoplight, I made sure that I was behind the car to see what it said.

It said: “Honk. I’m a Senior.”

I didn’t honk.  My first thought was that it seemed a tad premature to ask for external validation before you actually accomplish something like– oh, I don’t know— graduate from high school.  Earn a college degree or two.  Get a job.  Buy a house.  Fund your 401K.

• • •

BUT THEN AS I DROVE ALONG I had an unexpected change of heart when I realized what an old fogey I’d become.  I’m sure that when I was a kid in high school I would have thought that a message like the one on the car was clever + fun.

And it was harmless.

Of course by the time that I came to this conclusion, the kid in the car had turned onto a different road, so my opportunity to honk at him was gone.  But I have to thank him for reminding me that everybody needs a bit of moral support from time-to-time, and that asking for it is a good way to make your own fun.

Again With The Five Senses Friday

/ Ally Bean / 15 Comments

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• • •

FEELING:  organized.  centered.  jovial.  ready to have a productive and fun weekend.  nice weather predicted.  a neglected garden to weed.  a new vegetarian recipe to try.

HEARING:  with the windows open, traffic from the interstate.  going fast.  no sirens.  just a nice lull in the background.

TASTING:  water.  cold.  fresh.  keeping me hydrated as I seat here typing.  adding vitality to my life.

SEEING:  trees with red leaves on a few of the branches.  green grass tinged with a bit of gold.  blue skies with white clouds.  a relaxing natural color palette indicative of change.

SMELLING:  a new parfum called fresh life.  its scent has lingered in the air after I applied a dab of it from a sample card onto my wrist.  light floral.  citrus-ish.  clean.    

[This meme, which I think is a wonderful idea, originated a long time ago on a blog that is now defunct.  If you wish, you may play along in the comment section below or on your own blog.]