Share Your World | Power To The Purple Pansy

/ Ally Bean

Last week while answering Cee’s questions I told you, my gentle readers, that I was looking forward to planting some pansies in a pot. Here is a photo of said pansies in said pot. Aren’t they pretty?

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• Does your first or middle name have any significance (or were you named after another family member)?

This is a tricky question for me to answer because I write this blog under a nom de plume.  Yes, Ally Bean is my nickname.  It evolved from the old saying: “Know what I mean, Jelly Bean?”  Back when I started blogging in 2004 no one used his or her real name when writing online, so I went with Ally Bean.  As for this name’s significance, all I can suggest is that it might mean, FRIEND LEGUME.  I guess.

• Music or silence while working?

Almost always silence when working.  Quiet focuses me.  And a focused me is a productive me.

• If you had a special place for your three most special possessions (not including photos, electronics, people or animals), what would they be?

Not sure if this question is asking me what are my three most special possessions OR what is my special place for them?  No matter.  I’ll answer the latter question by saying my most special possessions, of which there are many more than three, are in our house.  Ergo our house must be a special place, right?

• The Never List: What are things you know you never will do?

I will never do cardiac surgery, ride on a Segway again, write a textbook on quantum physics, collect dolls, imbibe any rum-based drink again, travel by submarine, buy a pair of Jimmy Choo pumps, teach a class about car repair, OR needlepoint a pillow cover.

• Optional Bonus Question:  What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up? 

Last week’s gratitude award goes to Season 3 of Grace and Frankie, starring Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin.  I’m grateful for anything that makes me laugh and this TV series does that.  Over the weekend I watched half of Season 3, released on Friday, and I’m still smiling about the characters, the plot, the settings, the humor.  So funny + smart.

This week’s looking forward to something goes to an Ikea chest of drawers, now in three large heavy flat boxes leaning against the wall in the upstairs hallway.  Next weekend Zen-Den and I hope to remain married while we build this chest of drawers that, when assembled, will give me one place to put all of my foldable clothes.

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This post is part of Cee’s Share Your World Weekly Writing Challenge.

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67 thoughts on “Share Your World | Power To The Purple Pansy”

  1. I love Ikea furniture, so easy to put together. My house is dotted with Ikea items from glasses to TV case to towels. I’ve never walked through that place and walked out empty handed; it’s a dangerous place for me, LOL. Good luck with the construction.

    Pansies look nice, still too cold at night to plant anything. The grass is growing though, damn grass, I hate grass.

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    • Andrew, we’ve built things from Ikea before so I imagine we’ll be ok. But I do hear stories about how difficult it is to build their items– and the marital arguments that happen as a result of it. Our grass is behaving itself, looking green, but not growing high yet. Soon we’ll be mowing however…

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  2. Oh, hurray! Thanks for the heads-up about Grace & Frankie. I was wondering when that would be available, and NOW I KNOW.

    And I’m with you on the Silence Whilst Working. I am easily distracted, especially by song lyrics. It does not take much to derail me; once I hear something I know or can latch onto, there goes my brain filling in THOSE blanks rather than working on what I was doing before.

    Do you not drink rum because you don’t care for it or because, like me, you are allergic? I get hives and a swollen up face. It’s okay, though; not a fan of the taste anyway.

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    • nance, G & F had me in stitches. Somehow Season 3 is as spot on as the first two seasons.

      I get distracted by lyrics, too. If it’s instrumental music I’m better at staying focused, but even then I’ll drift off into thinking about something not relevant to the task at hand.

      I don’t like the taste of rum PLUS it gives me a headache. I just refuse to get involved with it anymore. Life is too short to drink icky-tasting beverages!

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  4. I love pansies! Planted some in various places near my front door years ago and each year I get new ones popping up in the darnedest places. I had no idea they naturalized… I did notice the ‘ride a Segway…again’ comment. Any stories about that, or have you shared already on the blog? I never saw a point to those things, plus I have no ability to balance and considered myself lucky to have ever figured out how to ride a bike let along managing something that has such an odd dynamic and purpose.

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  6. Love pansies! IKEA is easier to put together than other brands. I’m sure your marriage will survive. One of my pet peeves was background music in the workplace. We allowed people to have it but only with earbuds. I find it very distracting. If I like the tune, I sing along and productivity goes out the window. If I don’t like the song I’m annoyed. I treasure quiet.

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    • Kate, I’m the same way about music. I enjoy listening to it for relaxation or as motivation while I clean the house, but when working I prefer quiet.

      Am encouraged by your confidence that Z-D and I will build the chest of drawers without filing for divorce.

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  7. I find silence so distracting. I have to use coffee sounds or classical music as background noise if I work at home or in my office. OR I have to go out to a coffee shop or the library or somewhere there are other people doing things.

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    • Akilah, I can work with noise/music in the background, a coping skill I developed while living in coed dorms in college, but I prefer quiet. There’s no real right or wrong answer to this question as long as you work with other people who like what you prefer!

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  8. I had to go and read about your experience on a Segway. I can’t believe you were thrown from it! Sorry for laughing {trying very hard to suppress grin}
    I LOVED the Segway and had so much fun on it. If I thought for a second that I wouldn’t be killed on the streets of Toronto, I would want one.

    … however, I do share your opinion about rum-based drinks {shutter}

    I haven’t started watching the new season of Grace and Frankie yet. Looking forward to it!!

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  9. Ally, I always learn something new from your posts…and have a good laugh in the process. Good to know about Season 3 of Grace & Frankie. I don’t typically watch TV/Netflix, but I make that the exception!

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    • Donna, thank you for the compliment. I try to keep things lively here! I don’t watch much TV either, but Grace & Frankie is so well written and acted that how can anyone not watch it?!

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  10. I had to read your Segway story, too. Yup, I’m convinced even more that the best mode of transport is two feet planted firmly on the ground. No thank you Segway – or submarines, for that matter.

    Now, perhaps you could indulge me in a side bar? I note that comments on the original Segway story are closed. This is also the case on other blogger’s sites – “vintage” posts are closed to comments. Is that a setting that the blogger switches on or off or is it automatic after so many years?

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  11. I saw the notice about Grace and Frankie and I got so excited! I haven’t had a chance to watch yet but thanks for the tip that it is just as good as the first two. Love your purple pansies. I love MUSIC while I craft but when I am typing, I need to be able to hear the dictation through my headphones so no background noise please. My husband and I put together the huge craft cabinet I have and there were a few tricky points because my husband is a mechanic with a bad back so I was doing the constructing and he was doing the watching and holding, a much harder job for him 🙂

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    • Janet, I haven’t finished watching all of G & F Season 3, but so far I’ve enjoyed it. Beyond the people and plot, the houses these characters live in are amazing. I want that beach house!

      I can imagine how frustrating it’d be for your husband to not be the one building the cabinet. It’s a manly man thing, you know! I figure we got the heavy awkward boxes out of the store, across town, and upstairs in our house– so maybe building it won’t be so terrible.

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  14. 1. Named after family. 2. Silence – already too much going on in my head. 3. Agree, home is my most special place. 4. Easier to crate a list of things I will do, but clearly ice skating, parachuting and motorcycle riding are tops on the “will never do” list. And what I am most grateful from last week, and will be grateful for this week – having Ally Bean in my life.

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  17. Pansies are beautiful any where they are planted or “spring” up. I especially love the color of the deep purple ones. They look like velvet.
    Just imagine being in a submarine for 6 months at a time and only porting once or twice! I really don’t know how Isaac does it! He always was a special guy😁
    New furniture is always fun, even if you have to put it together. At least you will both be involved☺

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    • Beth, I hadn’t thought of it but the pansies do look like velvet. Good observation. I don’t know how your son does it either, but good for him down there in the submarine. I’d flip out.

      Yes, you are so right about both of us being involved when we build this chest of drawers. The question, as always, will be: who’s in charge?

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  18. I have never done and will never do many of the things in your list – I have done needlepoint and somewhere there is a rather large Tree of Life that I started but have not finished. Maybe some day. As to rum, I approach with caution, having not exercised caution a couple of times in my youth. Never again! Submarine – probably would be stressful for me – too enclosed.

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    • Carol, I don’t have the patience or the eyesight for needlepoint. Plus my coordination is not great so I’d probably stab myself instead of the cloth. Rum tastes icky to me, always has– so why bother with it? And I wouldn’t like a submarine for the same reason you mentioned. Let those who like being in one take my place within one, I say! 😉

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  20. I am so excited to begin season 3 of Grace and Frankie! It is supposedly set in my hometown, but I don’t see much evidence of that really being true.

    I love IKEA! I’m typing on an IKEA table top right now and the bookcases in my offices are all IKEA. We just purchased a duvet cover there the other day, but it fortunately didn’t require assembly (except to insert the duvet… which we were able to do without an argument).

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  21. You mean Ally Bean isn’t your real name? Why did I assume everyone online used their real name? I guess I should have picked an alias instead of going by my given name Evil Squirrel….

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  23. I too thought Ally Bean was/is your real name – reminds me (the was/is) of someone saying to me the other day, ‘what was your name again?’ I said it was and still is Susan. Nice fun post AB thank you and the responses and replies back .. and, in case you don’t know, never say never … ynk …

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    • Susan, in many ways Ally Bean is my name for all intensive purposes. The IRS might prefer my legal formal name, but most people refer to me as Ally or Ms. Bean. It suits me.

      As for the never say never idea, in theory I think it’s great, but in reality– do you actually think I’ll ever be a surgeon or a fashionista in 5″ heels? Not gonna happen. 😉

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  25. The pansies are gorgeous! I’m named Margaret after some aunts on both sides of the family and Louise after my mother. There are many things I will never do, so I’ll try to focus on what I want or like to do! 🙂

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    • Margaret, your name is pretty and meaningful. That’s cool by me. I agree wholeheartedly about focusing on what I want/like to do. There’s the story. Forget nevers!

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    • Thanks grandmalin. I felt that a never list wouldn’t be complete without a hat tip to some of my failures. G & F are the best. So funny, with a beach house to envy.

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