Gratitude

And Then It Was Time For Me To Say Goodbye

/ Ally Bean / 272 Comments

The following may come as a shock to some, less so to others, but after bouncing around in the blogosphere since 2004 I’m ending The Spectacled Bean, an almost 15 year old blog*. I feel it is time for me, a free spirit, to move on.

I need a change of scenery.

Something simple and new.

Without a doubt I’ve enjoyed being here, sharing my flapdoodle & twaddle, chatting in the comments, learning about how other people live their lives, introducing bloggers to other bloggers. I appreciate the support and attention that you, my gentle readers and kind lurkers, have shown me.

Thank you. You are awesome.

But you know that, right?

Truth is I don’t know what I’ll do next online. Maybe another personal blog with a different name and focus? I’ve seen that done successfully. Maybe a Substack? They’re a thing now. Maybe I’ll join former bloggy friends who currently post exclusively on Instagram? That’s another possibility.

No need to rush into anything.

Something will pique my interest when the time is right**.

And with that I shall formally say goodbye knowing that this little corner of the blogosphere is the best. A smart place where ideas flow and solutions abound. A magical place where dreams unfold in real time. A fun place where cool people hang out.

Do good. Play nice. Take joy.

Later, kids.

* First post here.

** Leaning into one of my favorite sayings: when the student is ready the teacher will come.

[PLEASE NOTE: I’m aware that WP comments are glitchy again. I feel this is providential, a confirmation that it’s time for me to end this blog. It’s like WordPress is saying don’t let the door hit you on your backside on the way out. 🫤]

What A Hoot! 6 Random Things To Tell You On A Tuesday Morning In February

/ Ally Bean / 277 Comments

I am reminded. Many, many years ago around Valentine’s Day I learned about a simple Spanish cocktail called a Kalimotxo. It’s Red Wine & Coke, a take on the Cuba Libre cocktail of Rum & Coke. It’s not my favorite drink, but I won’t disparage it either. I remember it at this time of year because it was deemed the perfect Valentine’s Day cocktail. Think whimsically and look at how it is spelled: KalimotXO. Kisses and hugs automatically included with each drink.

I am grateful. Colette, a former blogger who is now HERE on IG, has a relaxed idea about how to embrace thankfulness. I am doing it. Instead of a daily gratitude journal, each week you decide what’s your one favorite gratitude experience from the week. Then you write it on a small piece of paper, fold the paper into a square, putting the square into a jar designated: Good Things. After a year you’ll have your bestest gratitude moments in a pile of notes in front of you.

I am irked. WordPress’s current commenting system is an exasperating multi-step process— if you can even get your words to show up in the comment box. I contacted WordPress yesterday and asked why I was unable to comment on WP blogs. The Happiness Engineer gave me the link to WP problem updates +  had many suggestions of various possible solutions. The one that worked for me was to change browsers, so now instead of Safari I’m using Chrome for iMac when I visit bloggy friends and want to leave a comment.

I am delighted. I’m a fan of Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club series of cozy mysteries that feature octogenarian sleuths. Thus I’m looking forward to the movie version with its perfect cast: Helen Mirren [Elizabeth], Ben Kingsley [Ibrahim], Pierce Brosnan [Ron], and Celia Imrie [Joyce]. The movie is set to release in 2025 and it well could be the best thing to happen this year.

I am underwhelmed. If you enjoy NYT’s Connections word game and would like to create your own, go HERE and have at it. However, a truth bomb: I put together a couple of these games and discovered that my results were weaksauce, not even worth saving. But you might be better at making one than I was.

I am nerdy. According to the Jock-Nerd/Prep-Goth Test I’m a Nerd who’s slouching toward Goth. To wit: “Nerds are sometimes seen as being more interested in academics, technology, or other ‘nerdy’ pursuits than in popular culture or mainstream social activities.” Hell yes, NAILED IT! A joiner I am not.

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Questions of the Day

Do you have a particular drink that you think of around Valentine’s Day?

If you have a gratitude practice, what is it?

Are you finding it increasingly more difficult to leave comments on WordPress blogs? And how does that make you feel?

Do you read mysteries? Do you do the NYT’s Connections game?

And finally, if you took the Jock-Nerd/Prep-Goth Test, who is ‘ya? Spill the beans

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Blogging Bomb Diggity: 20 Beguiling Years, 5 Basic Guidelines, & 3 Breezy Questions

/ Ally Bean / 283 Comments

Steve!!!

🔹🔷🔹

Sometimes I feel cuckoo banana pants about long I’ve been around blogland. I started my first personal blog 20 years ago this spring never imagining I’d write one for more than a year or two.

However my life took a few unexpected turns and I kept going, changing weblogs, refining my focus, learning how to write in a chatty way. Carrying on, in what I’d describe as a Steve-like fashion, despite my doubts and mistakes.

At this point I’m glad I was tenacious. I’ve come to realize that writing this blog keeps my brain clicking and my heart open. Also, my no-fuss approach to blogging means it is, for the most part, fun.

Occasionally someone will ask me, a blogging dinosaur, what I’ve learned about how to keep a personal blog. Over the years my answers have varied, evolved, but can be summarized in the following 5 guidelines.

I base my straightforward guidelines on the premise that a personal blog is about sharing stories/information, creating understanding, and being respectful toward other people.

As with everything in life, your mileage may vary.

🔹🔷🔹

5 basic GUIDELINES FOR WRITING A PERSONAL BLOG

Be specific. Life is in the details so share some. Have an opinion or point of view. Do some research. Ambiguity doesn’t make for compelling blog posts.

Be authentic. Have a personality and have the gumption to use it. Avoid anything that might come across as fake or spurious, readers respond to the real deal.

Be meticulous. Your goal is clear communication, so define your terms, use mostly proper grammar and sentence structure, add a little wordy razzle dazzle to keep it fresh. Reply in a timely fashion to comments left on your blog posts.

Be creative. Add something visual to your posts. Find a meme or snap a pic or use colorful fonts. Jazz it up, folks, don’t settle for blah.

Be kind. Once upon a time I wouldn’t have added this last guideline, assuming it was a given. However people can be tetchy now, so be discerning about what you say and mindful about how you say it.

🔹🔷🔹

Clearly I underestimated how long I’d be at this blogging thing.

I cannot say THANK YOU often enough or loudly enough to everyone who follows along and comments here on The Spectacled Bean. You, my little otters of bloggy friendship, give me the lift I need to keep going in blogland.

YOU ARE THE BEST!

🔹🔷🔹

Questions of the Day

Thinking about personal blogs in general, how’d did you get hooked on them?

If you write a personal blog, what has surprised you the most in a positive way about being a blogger? And what has surprised you the most in a negative way?

If you write a personal blog, when the time comes to end it how will you do that?

🔹• 🔷 • 🔹

A Sweet Story About A Stroller, A Stumble, And A Stranger

/ Ally Bean / 245 Comments

I’ve no particular reason to write about this other than to confirm that things can go sideways quickly and that random acts of kindness still happen, sometimes right in front of your eyes.

I WAS WAITING FOR the mail to arrive. We live on the curve on this suburban street so I can see the USPS mail truck coming from a long way off.

I realized the mail would be here in a minute or two so I sat down in the living room and stared out the window. It was mid afternoon when there are few vehicles driving around. The day was clear and sunny, in the 50s F so a beautiful day for everything.

I saw a young mom and dad out running while pushing a stroller with a small baby in it as they jogged along the street in the direction that slopes gently downhill toward a gully.

I watched as the dad nodded to the mom then took off downhill at a faster speed while she pushed the stroller at a decent pace, stepping like a metronome to her own beat. All was good until the mom tripped, lost her balance, and tried to catch herself on our neighbor’s mailbox post.

As she fell to her knees, hanging onto the mailbox post, she lost control of the stroller and inadvertently gave the stroller with the baby in it a huge push that caused it to roll quickly down the middle of the street.

Unattended.

Rolling along like nobody’s business.

She screamed to her husband for help but he had earbuds in and didn’t hear her.

HOWEVER AN OLDER MAN, probably in his mid-70s who I see walking slowly up this street every afternoon, saw what happened and, I kid you not, sprinted up the middle of the street toward the stroller.

He was flailing his arms and yelling at the dad who eventually turned around to see a stranger running to stop his baby’s stroller as it gained momentum rolling down the hill and his wife on her knees a few houses back while shouting at him to get. the. baby.

At this point the dad, who clearly didn’t know how this could have happened so quickly, looked so gobsmacked that I couldn’t help but smile at the dude.

Well the older man pushed the stroller back up the slight hill to the mother and went back to walking. The dad came back to the mailbox post and hugged the mom who’d gotten to her feet.

And while the mother was a heap of nerves, shaking, crying, grabbing for the baby, it’ll come as no surprise to you to learn that the baby and the dad and the older man were fine.

However after a minute, having regained her composure while wiggling her ankle around in small circles, the young couple with the baby turned around and walked back up the slight hill in the direction they’d come from both holding onto the stroller.

NOTHING TERRIBLE HAPPENED YET it was one of those moments in time, that transpired in a snap, when I realized again that we all depend, in some way or another, on strangers to help us get by.

Plus, being a pragmatic soul, I also realized that I do hope this young couple invests in a stroller wrist strap. Seems like it might be a good idea, all things considered.

‘Ya know?

QUESTIONS OF THE DAY

Have you ever see something happen so quickly in front of your eyes that all you can do is watch it unfold?

Have you seen anyone do a random act of kindness lately?

If you walk or run outside on sidewalks or streets, have you ever stumbled like this mother did? If so, what happened next?

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