I’m Polar Vortexing Here

January 28, 2014January 28, 2014 / Ally Bean / 19 Comments

AS YOU PROBABLY ALREADY KNOW… this part of the USA, the midwest, is experiencing arctic temperatures. Records are being broken. Schools are being closed. Furnaces are being taxed. Prayers are being said. Et cetera, et cetera.

# # #

BECAUSE I’VE DECIDED TO STAY AT HOME DURING THIS WEATHER EVENT… I am now in charge of:

running water through all sink/shower/tub faucets so that the pipes don’t freeze;
opening and closing blinds/curtains to allow sunshine + warmth, when available, to come into the house; and
monitoring the thermostat, so that I can fret over the furnace’s every clink and whoosh and thunk as it continues to heat the house.

# # #

NOW THAT I HAVE A BIT OF UNEXPECTED TIME ON MY HANDS… I’ve started reading three books:

The Hare with Amber Eyes: A Hidden Inheritance, by Edmund de Waal. After inheriting from an uncle a collection of Japanese netsuke, the author researches his ancestors and their involvement with these objects. Fascinating.
One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd, by Jim Fergus. Using a few pieces of real history, the author creates a novel about a white pioneer woman who, courtesy of the U. S. government, goes to live among the Cheyenne, with the express purpose of helping the Cheyenne assimilate into white culture. Compelling.
Cold Tangerines: Celebrating the Extraordinary Nature of Everyday Life, by Shauna Niequist. By examining the details of her days, the author writes a charming personal memoir filled with gentle guidance for living a better life. Uplifting.

# # #

OF COURSE LIFE ISN’T JUST SERIOUS PURSUITS… which means that I’m playing Candy Crush Saga as often as the game will let me play. By using this cheat, I reigned victorious over a particularly difficult level 77 in Easter Bunny Hills, but now I’m unable to progress past level 80, waiting to complete my 3 quests so that I can move across the lake to level 81 and the next episode. Stuck in the game, stuck in the house. 😉

Assorted Monday Morning Botherations

December 16, 2013December 16, 2013 / Ally Bean / 20 Comments

Tweeted by me earlier today, December 16, 2013

:: All I can say is thank goodness that over the weekend we were smart enough to get to the grocery & stock up on a few things. Not that this morning’s snowfall is all that deep, but it is slushy and messy. And I dislike putting on hiking boots, which are high enough to protect my ankles from the snow, so that I can trudge from the car in the parking lot into the store where my feet get too hot as I shop. This way, shopping ahead of the snow mess, my tootsies have not been inconvenienced at all.

Yeah!

:: I’ve spent most of the last week suffering from some stupid eye problems. I have rosacea in my eyes, which sucks; but most of the time I’m able to not think about it because of all the prescriptions I use to reduce the inflammation. [For me, Restasis is like meth. Gotta have it.] However, this last week I managed to chap my eyelids which means, in practical terms, that they itch like heck + they are flaking like flurries before a big snowstorm. Today, in fact, is the first morning I’ve awakened without my eyelids itching so much I want to scream. Yep, now I’ve progressed to a point where I want to mutter quietly about my eyes.

Huzzah!

:: Did I tell you that the overhead light in the laundry room stopped working? I was carrying a couple of baskets of dirty clothes into the room, hit the switch with my right elbow– and nothing happened. No noise, no sparks, not smoke. So, I put down the baskets and started checking the electrical outlets in the room. They all worked, meaning that our overhead light had wornout and died. Whoever heard of such a thing? Overhead lights last forever, right? Yet, here I am doing laundry in the dark.

Oh goody.

Good Morning, It’s Snowing Here Today

December 10, 2013 / Ally Bean / 16 Comments

~ ~ • ~ ~

Pretty, huh?

A perfect day for me to make a pot of chili + a pone of corn bread.

And a salad of spring greens, candied walnuts, dried cranberries & blue cheese crumbles.

With homemade walnut oil vinaigrette, of course.

And perhaps a bottle of beer?

Lord knows that after the party that wasn’t, we have enough of them sitting in our garage.

😉

Deconstructing The Party That, For Most Of Our Guests, Wasn’t

December 9, 2013December 9, 2013 / Ally Bean / 25 Comments

I. Things for the party began to fall apart a few days before Friday. It was small things at first.

Zen-Den got food poisoning, a rarity, and took to bed for 32 hours. He felt horrible, but eventually rallied. His illness was unexpected, but no reason to cancel a party.

[Poor guy.]

Then I had ridiculous problems placing the “customizable” deli sandwich tray order. We had received a brochure in the mail that told us what was available and at what price. Well, when I went in to place the order, turned out that for the deli, the word “customizable” meant me choosing between turkey or chicken salad on rolls of the deli’s choosing.

[Say what?]

And then at the bakery the man told me that I couldn’t have the Santa Claus face, made of cupcakes, that had been such a hit at last year’s party. He told me that the woman who decorated them no longer worked there, so wouldn’t I like a boring red + white candy cane cupcake cake instead?

[Hell no!]

II. So on Thursday morning before the party, having survived the aforementioned small debacles, I thought we were in great shape. House decorated. Bathrooms cleaned. Food ordered &/or purchased. Pretty paper plates + napkins. Booze aplenty. Wine glasses washed and ready to go. Coolers for the beer and soda on the porch. Gifts wrapped. Outside decorated. Guest bedrooms ready for our overnight guests.

I was ready for 54 friends and acquaintances. Let the party begin.

III. What happened after Thursday morning is blurry.

First, early in the afternoon some out-of-state guests started calling because the airlines had cancelled their flights due to bad weather heading our way; these guests wouldn’t be coming to the party.

However, other out-of-state guests’ flights made it here Thursday afternoon/evening– and, as planned, those guests came to stay with us here at the house.

Then, guests who were in-state, but driving long distances, began to phone to cancel because of the bad weather that was heading our way on Friday.

While I knew that we’d miss those faraway guests, that reason alone wasn’t enough to cancel the party for all the local people. They could still get through, right?

IV. Well, I couldn’t have been more wrong. Friday morning we awakened to streets covered in sheets of ice and a winter snow storm headed our way. The entire region had closed down, anticipating what turned out to be, by mid-afternoon, a Level 2 Snow Emergency with record amounts of snowfall.

How much snow, you ask? A mere 6.5″! Yep, that’s enough to stop everything around here.

So Zen-Den & I did the only thing that we could, we cancelled the party. And spent the day with our house guests– goofing off. Then at 6:00 p.m. we had THE PARTY with them and two of our guests who happened to be neighbors who were able to walk over to the house.

Where, I have to say, considering how much we six adults ate and drank, a good time was had by all! 😉