So, How ‘Ya Been?

November 12, 2013August 29, 2018 / Ally Bean / 19 Comments

When I decided to take my blogging hiatus, I thought that I’d be back to The Spectacled Bean within a few weeks. But things happened. Obstacles presented themselves. And in the course of it all, I lost my blogging mojo.

So what happened, you wonder? Well, I think that this is one of those blogging moments when only a list can explain things. To wit, I give you…

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THE LAMENTATIONS OF ALLY

• Our internet connection stopped connecting. Without going into the details, suffice to say that we are no longer using the less-than-reliable phone company for our ISP and are now using the cable company for our ISP. And getting this worked out? Why, it only took 55 days, during which time I couldn’t get to my blog.

• Our kitchen sink drain pipe developed a leak that we discovered after said leak had partially destroyed the sub-flooring and was dripping into the basement. While in and of itself this is not a reason to stop writing, it bothered me. And a bothered Ally Bean is a scattered Ally Bean– and a scattered Ally Bean can’t focus long enough to write a list, let alone a blog post.

• We had new carpeting installed upstairs and on the stairs, which created the most cluttered home I’ve ever lived in. All of the upstairs stuff had to come downstairs– and then, of course, go back upstairs. The mess was everywhere and lasted for about a month because that’s how long it took us to have the time [and energy] to move the stuff all around. During that time I couldn’t even get to the computer which was trapped inside our home office turned storage warehouse, so no writing for me.

• Our property was invaded by stink bugs– whose sole mission was to get inside our house. For about 3 weeks they were all over the screens, peering into the house, just waiting for the opportunity to wander in and die. And here is what I learned from that experience: when creepy bugs are looking for their final resting place within my home, I become unnerved and cannot write a word.

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So that’s it from here. It’s just the same old, same old in a whole new way. Certainly something more interesting has been happening in your world, my gentle readers. Spill the beans in the comment section below. I need to know what’s up with you.

Tattoos, Doodles & Unfinished Projects

August 23, 2013October 12, 2018 / Ally Bean / 15 Comments

A most peculiar week, this one. Blue moon and all. Must have had something to do with it.

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A friend is thinking about getting a tat. 3 of her 4 children have at least one tattoo, and she feels like an old fogey without one. She wants something meaningful with a bit of color, but not gaudy. Nothing wordy. Wordy ones, we agree, are too much like work. Who wants to read themselves?

I’m of the tats need to be organic and flowing school of thought. She’s of the tats need to include all family members, somehow, school of thought. Will let you know what she decides on… if she ever does.

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Besides contemplating theoretical body art, this week I’ve watched Dr. Who. Did you know that I was a Whovian? Well, now you do.

I’m on the 10th Doctor with Donna Noble as his companion. I’ve read that she comes to some lousy end, so I’m finding this season to be rather bittersweet. She’s one of my favorite companions; I do so love her attitude and spunk. Noisy woman with a heart. Doesn’t travel light, that one.

Oddly enough, watching Dr. Who this week has me doodling. I don’t know why, but every time I sit down to watch an episode, I pick up pen/pencil + paper and commence doodling. Lots of swirls and flowers– and boxy faces composed of rectangles, triangles, stars.

Perhaps I’m creating a tattoo for myself and don’t even know it? Or maybe I’m more lost in thought than usual. Regardless, I’m happy listening to/glancing at the Doctor and Donna. And doodling. Must. Draw. Doodles.

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Sometimes I’m amazed by how I decide to do something productive [like paint the bottom pedestal part of our kitchen table] and how the weather decides to be uncooperative [like hazy/rainy/stormy/humid all fricking week].

This is a project, if it is to be done properly, that requires lots of sunlight and low humidity and a very happy me. Yet not one day this blue moon week have I been able to work on my project. Do we not all believe that effort should be rewarded? Am I not trying here?

They tell us that the weather isn’t personal, but this week it has seemed personal. That I’m being thwarted for no good reason whatsoever. That all my plans have fallen to dust and I’ve been left alone to work around the mess that unfulfilled plans create.

But as we all know: you live, you learn. Which, from what I can tell, means that some weeks you live with a huge unfinished project smack dab in the middle of your kitchen. And you learn to not whine about it.

We Went To Utah For A Long Weekend

August 12, 2013July 1, 2025 / Ally Bean / 19 Comments

The hubster was on business out in Salt Lake City, Utah, so I decided that it was time for me to see Utah. He left here on Monday and I joined him there on Thursday.

The tail of an airplane + many pigeons at Hill Air Force Base Aerospace Museum.

On Thursday afternoon Zen-Den and I went into downtown Salt Lake City so that I could see what it was all about. SLC was just as clean and organized as I had heard that it would be. I didn’t take any photos of the buildings or streets, but visually it was inviting. And clean. I mentioned that, right? With people walking within designated painted lines on the streets in accordance with the timing of the traffic lights. Who knew?

The Wasatch Mountains.

We have friends who live just north of Salt Lake City and on Friday they took a day off from work to drive us around the area. It was generous of them to do this, can’t thank them enough. First we went to Hill Air Force Base Aerospace Museum and looked at their wonderful collection of airplanes and memorabilia– which, of course, I liked. Then we went to lunch at Taggart’s Grill, a restaurant and bakery nestled in the Wasatch Mountains, with camera-shy pet peacocks who live in the garden around the restaurant. The food was delicious. Coolness.

The Great Salt Lake.

After that we drove up through the Wasatch Mountains and then down to the edge of the Great Salt Lake. Everywhere I turned I saw the most amazing sights– whether they were natural formations, or unique small towns, or a herd of bison living free on Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake. Amazing.

A herd of bison on Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake.

On Saturday Zen-Den and I drove up to the mountain resort town of Park City, Utah, to go to an art show. Park City is home to Sundance Film Festival— and many wealthy people from the looks of it. The community was perfect. Like Disney perfect. Like so planned that I worried that we’d be thrown off the set for not adhering to the director’s vision of what the town’s residents should look like. Oh well.

Wild sunflowers that grow as weeds along the highways in northern Utah.

That evening in Park City we had tickets to the outdoor Deer Valley Music Festival with the Utah Symphony featuring Mandy Patinkin. He was amazing and professional with an astounding vocal range, charming personal stories and a quiet sense of humor. Delightful.

Starlings [I think] in a nest under the eaves.

On Sunday morning before we left we decided to drive around the University of Utah in SLC and surrounding neighborhoods. Again, so clean. And well-maintained. And, I’m assuming, safe. I say this because the capitol of Utah is in a residential neighborhood with no fences or guards around it. The building is just sitting there. Pretty.

Utah daylilies in an unusual shade of orange that I’ve never seen before.

We enjoyed Utah and would like to go back there someday. Maybe take a week and drive up into Wyoming and Idaho while we’re in the area. Maybe take more photos of the cities– and the buildings– and the unfailingly polite people who waited on us. That part I really, really liked. Worth the price of the vacation alone.

Christmas In June

June 25, 2013June 25, 2013 / Ally Bean / 28 Comments

Years ago I met an Australian woman whose husband’s company had transferred them to the U.S.A. for one year. It wasn’t until after she got talking about how much she had disliked experiencing Christmas in the wintertime here, that I got thinking about how people in the Southern Hemisphere celebrate Christmas. For them, Christmas is a summertime, outdoorsy holiday.

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I think of this woman every June 25th– and pause in her honor to reflect upon how much more I, too, would enjoy Christmas if today’s weather was our typical Christmas Day.

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Sunny skies. Warm temperatures. Colorful flowers. Green grass. Games on the lawn. Easy outside living.

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So today, just for the heck of it, I have decided to put this red poinsettia* in the middle of the dining table on the deck. Sure, the calendar may not say that it is Christmas Day, but I think that I’m going to go ahead and pretend that it is. Care to join me?

“Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la”

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* Yes, this is the same poinsettia, previously featured here & here & here, that I’ve had growing inside the house since November of 2011. Best. Christmas decoration. Ever.