Five Senses Friday

/ Ally Bean / 7 Comments

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Feeling:

 tired

~  this has been an emotionally draining week filled with drama [so not me] + sadness [accept it] + introspection [must understand self better]

Hearing:

birds chirping loudly

~  a noisy cute little brown birdie couple have built a nest exactly where they can annoy me when I sit on the screened-in porch & when I’m in the kitchen

Tasting:

freshly brewed black coffee

~  as I insist on doing this meme in the morning I don’t know that they’ll ever be any other answer to this prompt

Seeing:

new buffalo check drapes hanging in the bay window in the kitchen

~ this is a project in process so no photos yet

Smelling: 

 the aroma of  juiced lemons

~  I’m about to make lemon curd for the first time – wish me luck

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{This wonderful idea is from abby try again.  If you wish, you may play along in the comments below or on your own blog.}

Musings On Being A Good Listener

/ Ally Bean / 11 Comments

It’s not unusual for someone— who might be a close friend or a brand new acquaintance– to lean in close to me and then tell me something private about himself or herself.  I’m THAT sort of person.

Everyone tells me everything.  Always have.  Always will, I suppose.

In fact, I’ll go so far as to say that if someone feels threatened by me, then I know that person has mental health problems.  Because no well-balanced person ever thinks of me as a threat.

They think of me as a confidante, a mother confessor, a problem solver, but never as someone to be wary of.

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When I was in college I asked a prof in the Communications department why she thought people treated me like this.  I was taking her course in listening at the time and had excelled at all the classroom auditory tests.

Her observations were that I was an active listener [H/T to my parents on that one] and that I appear to pay attention to what is going on around me.  So, because I tune into people, they are comfortable around me and want me to know things about them.

At the time I thought that was as good of an explanation as any– and I still do.

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I don’t really mind my role as listener, but do find AT TIMES people say some pretty wacko things to me.  I’m not a Judgey McJudgerton, so I let most things roll off me.  I figure that I’m not here to change people, I’m here to help whoever find his or her own way by allowing him or her to talk openly about– well, whatever.

To wit, it’s rare for me to tell someone he or she is doing something stupid, childish, immoral, unethical.  In fact, if by chance I ever tell you that you need to behave differently, then you can be assured that you’ve crossed some sort of line.

And that it’s time for you to re-think how & why you do what you do.

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Anyone else find him or herself in the same sort of role as I do– that is, people telling you things for no apparent reason?  And if so, how do you handle it?  With grace or with annoyance?  With zipped lips or with your finger on speed dial to immediately pass the info along?

Just curious.  No reason, really.  

Watch This If You’re Running Low On Spunk

/ Ally Bean / 11 Comments

About a month ago I saw this video over at Cheri’s blog, Naples Girl Blog.  I watched it, loved it, decided that I should watch it frequently– and then promptly forgot to do so.  *duh*

However, last night as I was sitting down to watch TV, I remembered that I wanted to see this video again.  So I did– many times, actually.  And here’s what I thought:

  • isn’t it wonderful to hear someone say encouraging things to me as if I mattered to her?
  • when did this sort of positive & practical attitude become so passé that a video like this one seems fresh & new?
  • why, exactly, don’t I watch this video every day?

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A Credo for Making it Happen by Danielle LaPorte

1)  you’ll figure it out.

2)  life is on your side.

3)  start fresh.

4)  fear is natural.

5)  make tough choices.

6)  passion is fuel.

7)  come out.

8)  do it now.

9)  you’re growing.

10)  integrity.

11)  focus.

My Cat: Birthday Girl OR Conspiracy Theorist?

/ Ally Bean / 13 Comments

I was 15 3/4 years old & Cally Cat was 2 years old when my mother snapped this photo of us standing in our kitchen.  These details I know because Mom wrote them on the back of the photo.  God bless those who do such things because I’d  never remember those sorts of details.

Putting aside how tired I look, the first thing that struck me about this photo is how very wingnutty my cat looks in the finely crafted aluminium foil crown that I made for her birthday.  Who knew that by 2012 this style of hat would become the symbol of conspiracy theorist everywhere?

I didn’t, of course.  But maybe Cally Cat did.  She was always a less-than-friendly cat with a tendency toward paranoia.  [Which was probably somewhat justified considering that my mother did accidentally drive the car over her about six months before this photo was taken.]

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Upon finding this photo I did a quick Google search of foil hats– and discovered myself in a whole new world of wackiness.  So without further babble I give you, my gentle readers, some delightful links that will entertain and tell you about a topic that I’m guessing you’ve never really thought about before.  [Unless you’re a conspiracy theorist, in which case these links are all old hat to you.  ;-)]

::  A song about foil hats: “I’ve Got My Tin Foil Hat On” sung by Sylvia & Emmeline Spankhurts.

::  An explanation of what a foil hat is really all about:  “Propoganda [sic] designed to cover up a massive government conspiracy.”

::  An article discussing the efficacy of foil hats:  “Do tinfoil helmets provide adequate protection against mind control rays?”

::  A definition of a foil tiara: “A tiara or crown that one makes from tinfoil/aluminium foil for play when one lives in a trailer in the hood.”

::  An academic treatise about the need for foil hats: “On the Effectiveness of Aluminium Foil Helmets: An Empirical Study.”

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