Of Long Forgotten Blogrolls & Kind Delurkers

January 22, 2016August 29, 2018 / Ally Bean / 33 Comments

[Received this snazzy award on Monday.]

ONE FACT I’VE LEARNED ABOUT BLOGGING in my 12 years bouncing around the blogosphere is that things change.

To wit, I always liked having a blogroll, but a few years ago I realized that keeping an up-to-date blogroll had turned into a monthly chore. Bloggers were coming and going from my blog, and the blogosphere, like it was a revolving door.

So instead of putting up with the aggravation and extra work required to keep my blogroll current, I decided to not have one anymore.

WHICH BRINGS ME TO THE POINT of this particular blog post.

Two weeks ago I asked my blog readers to delurk because that was the week to do it, and I’m pleased to say that your response overwhelmed me.

Who knew so many wonderful people were following The Spectacled Bean? Not me, that’s for sure.

So as a way of expressing my appreciation for the gift of your attention, I give you, my gentle readers and kind delurkers, the following list which is as close to a blogroll as I can muster.

Many thanks to everyone. You’re the best.

~ ~ • ~ ~

My List Of Blogs Written By People Who Know How To Delurk When Asked To Do So

Solvieg Werner “~ eclectic, multilingual …”

Allie Potts Writes “How to appreciate the everyday”

Naples Girl Blog by Cheri

Views and Mews by Coffee Kat “Kate’s views on life edited by four opinionated cats”

Susie Lindau’s Wild Ride “A life filled with adventure is always a Wild Ride.”

The Write Transition by Carrie

The Green Study by Michelle

It’s All a Matter of Perspective “99.3% truth, .7% blatant lies. in between lies my perspective on life.”

Dept. of Nance “Uncorked and aging nicely”

Mary J. Melange “A hodgepodge of thoughts, ideas and the reality of life.”

One Grain Amongst the Storm “A Mélange of memoirs, fiction, short stories, verses, book reviews and uncorked angst.”

Stargazer “A view inside my universe”

Evil Squirrel’s Nest “Where all the COOL SQUIRRELS hang out!”

Marian Allen, Author Lady “Fantasies, mysteries, comedies, recipes”

Practically Wise “Musings & Meditations From An Aspiring Matriarch”

reading interrupted. “because reading also involves the way your head rests on your hand as you lean over a book, the damp mark you leave on a page when reading in the tub, or being interrupted by a”

Philosopher Mouse of the Hedge “Simple observations, analysis, and common sense comments”

Around ZuZu’s Barn “Conversations With Kindred Spirits”

~ ~ • ~ ~

Snow Is Falling, Books Are Calling

January 12, 2016 / Ally Bean / 31 Comments

The snow has arrived. It’s falling like salt drifting down from the sky. Everything is covered in white, slightly sparkly.

Contented, I am enjoying the slow pace of Winter days.

Coinciding with the snow’s arrival is the end of mold and pollen, my archenemies. My eyes are feeling less itchy, and combined with prescription eye drops, I know longer look like a drunk rabbit. That is, my eyes aren’t pink & bloodshot, rimmed in red.

I’ll enjoy this itchy-eye respite for as long as it lasts, because I know that Spring weather will change everything.

# # #

In the meantime I’m going to start reading for pleasure. I didn’t do much of that last year, for whatever reason. But this year, as I move forward, I’ve decided that I’m going to make a point of reading for pleasure, and I’m going to do it with a plan.

I’m following Modern Mrs. Darcy’s 2016 Reading Challenge as my guide. With one exception [“a book published this year”], I’m choosing my books from the piles of books that are strewn throughout our home.

To wit, my first book, which will satisfy the “a book you should have read in school” criteria, is: Footsteps in the Dark by Georgette Heyer.

# # #

This may seem like an unusual choice, but when I was in college here in the USA majoring in English, I did my study abroad at the University of Exeter in Devon, England. My official independent research paper was on Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple series.

Georgette Heyer was a contemporary of Agatha Christie. Back then I didn’t have the time to read any Heyer mysteries, being forced as I was to focus on Miss Marple, star of 12 novels + 20 short stories.

But now, in light of this challenge, and with all the time in the month of January to make it happen, I’m going to read a Georgette Heyer mystery.

Just because I can.

The Goofiness Of Girl Scouting & Catalogue Shopping Over The Years

November 17, 2015November 17, 2015 / Ally Bean / 30 Comments

• Never would I have figured out that I’ve lived a lie all these years if I hadn’t stumbled upon the mother lode of Girl Scout-ness, a website filled with images of all Girl Scout catalogs ever printed.

~ • ~

I’m torn about what to buy. I want the Middy and Bloomer outfit for when I jump rope, but am equally desirous of the Zip-On Suede Jacket which allows me to hold a squirrel on my arm. [Catalog 1931B]

~ • ~

• Perusing these catalogs I remembered that in my jewelry box I had my official Girl Scout membership card showing me to be a member of Heritage Trails Troop 239.

~ • ~

Although yellow has never been a flattering color on me, I’m taken with this apron, covered in proficiency badge designs, that would ensure I looked pretty as I worked around the house. [Catalog 1952S]

~ • ~

• My pin, the official jewelry of all Girl Scouts, was stolen when thieves burglarized our house when I was in sixth grade. However, the thieves left me my card. Jolly good of them, wasn’t it?

~ • ~

No problem deciding what I want in this catalog. I’ll take a reversible caper cap and a pair of flashes to keep my knee socks up. [Catalog 1973]

~ • ~

• Looking at my Certificate of Membership Card, I see that I never signed the thing, which clearly states: “Not valid without signature.” Obviously I’ve lived a falsehood when I say I was a Girl Scout.

~ • ~

Well, look at that, will ‘ya? I never signed my Girl Scout Certificate of Membership Card. Such a free spirit I am, even back then.

~ • ~

• The shame of not doing my best is almost too much for me, and confirms I don’t have the right to shop for any of the above items. Pity that. I just know I’d look fetching in that apron, while wearing flashes on my socks and a squirrel on my arm.

If We Were Having Coffee On This November Morning…

November 7, 2015August 29, 2018 / Ally Bean / 49 Comments

THE SETTING:

We’d be sitting in my living room, staying dry, looking outside at the Halloween decorations still on display.

We’d be drinking cafe mocha that I made for us.

We’d be listening to the local classical radio station because it makes for a laid-back atmosphere– and it’s fun, once in a while, to let a radio station pick your tunes.

THE CONVERSATION:

√ We’d be chatting… about how this week, after weeks of trying, I won Level 90 in AlphaBetty Saga and how I believe there’s no disgrace in giving up on a game when it becomes too challenging for you. Bye, bye, Betty!

√ We’d be sharing… our latest TV obsessions, which in my case is Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, made in Australia and set in Melbourne in the late 1920s. I’d recommend them for the sheer entertainment of seeing a smart + sassy + stylish flapper detective, named Phryne, show the boys how it’s done.

√ We’d be talking… about how I’m trying to decide if I’m going to continue on blogging, or if I’m going to let it go. I’d be saying how this hobby has become a part-time job. And while it’s good that it keeps my brain clicking and my heart open, I’m finding that I’m unsure about who is following me– and why. Which makes me a little uneasy.

√ We’d be laughing… about how the Bengals, our local NFL franchise who used to be called the Bungles, beat the team from the Mistake on the Lake. And we’d wonder, chuckling at the old-time Ohio insider joke, if either of these NFL teams could beat OSU!

√ We’d be planning… when we could get together next, knowing our December holiday schedules were already filling up. And lamenting, but in a good way, how every year the invitations come earlier and earlier.

THE CONCLUSION: