Month: April 2012

The State Of Our “To Do” List

/ Ally Bean / 16 Comments

I am glad that it’s the beginning of a new week.  All our doing last week just about did me in.  It was stressful.

On the upside, we finished 3 projects.  The mail box post, which we repaired & painted, is now sporting a new shiny black mailbox.  The inside molding around the new [non-leaky] window in the bathroom is caulked & painted.  And the dingy old sheer panels on the home study’s French doors are tea-dyed a lovely shade of tan, ironed & back in place.

On the other hand, we started about a dozen more projects that for one reason or another we couldn’t finish.  I really wanted to have more projects completed by now, but everywhere we turned we encountered obstacles.  Weather.  Indecisiveness.  Lack of supplies.  Whatever we wanted not available.  No-shows by tradesmen.  Hours spent online trying to find furniture/accessories that will fit into our small room dimensions.  And on & on it went.

Four years ago when we decided to stay in this house & remodel/update it, I had no idea that we’d still be working on it today.  I thought that 1 year– maybe 2 years, tops— would be all the time that we’d need to re-do the house.  Not that I thought that everything in the house would be completely finished, mind you;  I just figured that we’d be where we should be for people living in a thirteen year old house.

However, despite my above grumbling, I will say that the progress we made last week is wonderful & encouraging.  I’d even venture to say that with one more week like this last one, we’ll have all the bones of our house in place.  Then there will be photos for you, my gentle readers– & a long-awaited sense of completion & belonging for me.

Until then, ever onward go I.

{An observation: this situation reminds me of when I got my Master’s degree.  I planned for it to take me 3 years, but for one reason or another it took my 6 1/2 years to complete.  Near the end of my studies, I didn’t care what courses I took.  I just wanted the whole process finished so I could move on with my life.  Same feeling here & now.}

Life, Vacation Days & The Pursuit of Home-i-ness

/ Ally Bean / 12 Comments

Here’s the deal.

Zen-Den, who is usually a very organized sort of fellow, forgot to take one week of his vacation last year.  Well, to be fair, he didn’t exactly forget;  he wasn’t aware that he had another week of vacation until the last week of December when HR told him that he did.

Therefore, as per the rules of the company, Z-D is permitted [required?] to take his extra week of vacation this year.  Kind of nice that his workplace wants him to take all of his vacation days, isn’t it?  Even nicer that said workplace makes allowances for a clueless goof hardworking individual, such as Mr. Bean, to use his vacation days later… once he knows that he has them.

 

The upshot of all this is that this week we’ve decided to stay home and get some projects completed.

And man-oh-man do we have a doozy of a list of things to do around the house. Which means that when we’re not gardening, refinishing, hanging up things, caulking holes, painting trim {et cetera, et cetera}, we’ll be going for walks [maybe in city parks?] &/or just plain lollygagging on the screened-in porch [white wine spritzers, anyone?].


But here’s the thing.

There’s a very good chance that this is going to be the only blog post that I’ll write this week.  I actually have a few other topics to discuss with you, but I don’t see myself as having the time & energy & quietness that I need to put real words to virtual paper.  [I’m a very slow and deliberate writer.]

So now, having shared the who/what/when/where/why/& how of my upcoming week, I’m going to wander off, find Zen-Den and start. being. productive.  Later, kids– projects await me.

[As always, click on photos to embiggen.]

By Collaborating With Sylvia Plath I Create A Poem Of Dubious Value

/ Ally Bean / 10 Comments

verily KITTYCAT’s verily KITTYCAT

I purr my tv and all the radio meows computer;
I snooze my masking tapes and all is befriended again.
(I climb I destroy you up inside my blinds.)

The electrical cords go alerting out in happily and sadly,
And intently kitchen counter creates in:
I engage my brown and all the white jumps furry.

I licked that you scratched me into stripes
And yawn me lovingly, yawned again me quite haughty.
(I climb I destroy you up inside my blinds.)

Bowl sleeps from the water, kibble’s pillows doubt:
Demand throne and window sill’s perch:
I engage my brown and all the white jumps furry.

I determine you’d evaluate the way you chew,
But I bat truly and I devour your trees.
(I climb I destroy you up inside my blinds.)

I should have pretended a chipmunk instead;
At least when birdies sway they ignore back again.
I engage my brown and all the white jumps furry.

(I climb I destroy you up inside my blinds.)

– Ally Bean & Sylvia Plath

{ Create your own Madlib Poem here. }

{ Visit Language is a Virus for more interesting activities here. }

{ April is National Poetry Month. Learn more here.}

Horsing Around

/ Ally Bean / 18 Comments

Yesterday the weather was so pretty that I stopped at a nearby stable to take a few photos of the horses that board there.

There were a few horses in the pastures.

My favorite horse was this one.  She was a goof.

After trotting around the pasture to make sure that everyone saw her, she dropped down to the ground and did a shimmy & a roll.

And then, just for good measure, she did it again rolling in the other direction.

Meanwhile, in an adjacent pasture, an older horse looked on with what only may be described as “church lady” contempt.  In fact, she snorted a few times, clearly unimpressed with little miss shimmy.

And there I stood, camera in hand, snapping photos and laughing at the show.  I mean, who knew that horsing around was something that literally happened?  Not me, that’s for sure.  But now I do– and I’ve got the photos to prove it!