The Daily Post had an interesting entry on being a good host. Not in your physical house, but here in your blog. Each person’s page is like a building, or perhaps rooms in a building, and how we, as ‘hosts’ furnish these rooms will say a lot about how we want (or don’t want!) to interact with those who visit.
Some blogs are like libraries, please keep your voices down but feel free to browse at your leisure.
Some blogs are like art galleries, delighting the senses and making us think, or smile, or sometimes even cry – evoking nostalgia, inspiration and wonder.
Some blogs are like newspaper stands, filling us with information, catchy headlines, sensational stories and the occasional tabloid article. We enjoy the voyeuristic peek into someone else’s life, and we browse through furtively so as not to draw too much attention to ourselves.
I really don’t want to be any of these.
A library is too quiet and solitary.
A gallery is polished, finished works.
And a newsstand is far too flashy and loud.
I want to be a living room, with a tea service on the coffee table, and fresh made cookies, inviting you in to sit and stay and enjoy a pleasant conversation.
My stories aren’t finished pieces… for the most part. They’re whatever I spit out that day. My art is my exploration. My recipes usually aren’t even recipes.
I’m not always adept* at conversation, but I want to welcome any one of you who visits to feel as though you can tell me what you didn’t like. What character did you just hate. What painting just fell flat? What recipe was just awful?
Yes, each one comes down to personal opinion, and while yours may be different than mine, that doesn’t mean I don’t want to hear it.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not going to throw myself at your feet and say *give me feedback on my stuff!* Just giving you this invitation that if you had felt so inclined as to leave perhaps less flattering and more critical comments, but feared the reaction, know that they are always welcome. If you do have constructive feedback, I am in sore need of people who are good at giving it!
So please, feel free to make yourself comfortable on the couch, please excuse the cat hair, and speak whatever is on your mind. I’d like to have a dialogue, not just a monologue (I don’t like my own voice enough to speak just to hear myself).
🙂
[*read: I suck at]
Hi, Eliza!
(comes in, slips my shoes off at the door)
I love what you’ve done here
(leans down and pets the cat rubbing up against my ankles)
Hey, I’m from Washington too!
(maneuvers around the cat as I make my way to the couch and sit down)
I live in King county though, around Black Diamond. I used to work in Seattle for King County Public Health, until I finally mustered the courage to quit a job which was sapping my soul right out of me and destroying any joy I ever felt in life.
(tastes the tea you offer me – yum!)
I grew up in Indiana though, surrounded by farms and the smell of pig manure (which is oddly comforting when you grow up with it…)
Now, I work from home as an insurance agent, home school my son, and try to help my teen daughter battle depression and suicide.
(scratches behind the ear of the kitty who jumped up in my lap)
I’m quite new at this blogging thing, thanks for welcoming me into yours! 😉
-Carrie
Thank you! I’m delighted you found the place. Good to know there’s some local folk stumbling across me. All the best with your family, and I hope you enjoy your stay.
I like you Eliza. And I love cats. 😉
Thank you 🙂
Hi,
I just nominated you for:
Best Moment Award
Inner Peace
You don’t have to accept the award if it’s not your cuppa tea, but please accept my sincere appreciation of your work.
I’m new to blogging and not sure how this pingback thingy works, but please drop by and check it out here: http://middlepathofmoderation.wordpress.com/2013/07/30/winning-awards-rules/
Congrats and cheers!
PS: I told you, I like you 😀
Sona
Thank you so much. I will try to participate, but it may take a few days to get to it properly. 😀
Time is on your side actually, though it’s best to hasten towards good things. No deadlines. It took me nearly a month of rigorous activity! 😀
This is very interesting; I wrote a post a long time ago – not linked of course,I don’t do that!-about 4 types of learners, the bedroom, kitchen, living room and garden types. Just interesting how you mention living room. The garden person would be the crafts person, producer, in touch with nature, who understands you need to water a plant to make it grow, and appreciates leisure. The living room person is as you described, the kitchen person creative – up to a point, needing recipes, but with good ideas given can take in information well, and the bedroom the solitary, introspective learner. Of course there are merging points, but it was of some interest to see your description here.