Thinking About

My Summer Of Blogging Lightly

/ Ally Bean / 14 Comments

 √  I did things differently on The Spectacled Bean this summer.    

  • I only posted to this blog once a week.
  • I talked about things in a general way.  Rarely personal.  Everything light.
  • I shared more photos than I have in the past.

But doing the foregoing turned out to be more difficult than I’d anticipated.  What I did not take into consideration was that I’m in the habit of always being on the lookout for something to talk about here on The Spectacled Bean.  I’ve been doing this a long time, you know?  So it felt kind of weird to not tell you the details about what was going on around here.   

√  Be that as it may, here are my conclusions about my ~ It’s Summertime ~ idea:

  • I like posting on Tuesday.
  • I enjoy doing a few lightweight posts, but not all the time.
  • I miss writing in the moment about the crazy situations that make up much of my life.
  • I feel like my writing skills atrophy when I restrict myself to short & infrequent posts.
  • I don’t mind adding photos to my posts… which means that I need to take more photos. 

√  And on that note, I officially declare this summer experiment in blogging to be over.  I plan on returning to my 2 or 3 times per week posting schedule.  Because this is an old-school style personal journal type of blog I have no idea what I’ll be talking about next,  but I hope that you’ll check back daily from time-to-time to see what flapdoodle & twaddle vitally compelling & important topic I’m dithering on about discussing here at The Spectacled Bean.  You know you want to.

Sunday Afternoon In The Sculpture Park

/ Ally Bean / 27 Comments

[Even though I said that I was only going to post to my blog once a week this summer, I’m going to disregard my plan and turn this adventure into two parts.  Today – the SCULPTURE part of the park.  Tomorrow – the PARK part of the park.]

Last weekend we went to Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park.  We’ve been there at other times of year, but we’ve never managed to see it in the summer.  Misplaced priorities, I do believe.

If you’ve never been to an outdoor art museum with oversized sculptures juxtaposed against nature, it is a fascinating way to spend an afternoon.  Even more so when nature is putting on a perfect summertime show of green hills, blue skies & white cumulus clouds.  Very unique.

We walked part of the park & drove our car around to see even more of it.  There were three trails for hiking through the woods on the edge of the park, but we didn’t have the time to do any of them.  Something to do on our next visit, eh?  And I’ll take photos, of course.

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Simply Shaker

/ Ally Bean / 22 Comments

{A Weekend Getaway – Part 1 of 2.  Part 2 here.}  

[I know, I know.  I said that I’d post once a week during the summer… but this adventure was two parts.  My blog, my rules to break at will.]

This past weekend we got together with some friends and we went to Lexington KY for the weekend.  On Saturday we drove about 25 miles from Lexington to Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill.  Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill is a living history museum with 14 buildings nestled in the hills of Kentucky.  It is the largest restored Shaker community in America.

Above is a stone building with wood floors built by the Shakers.  When built in the [early?] middle 1800s, it was a wonder to behold because at that time many people lived in log cabins with dirt floors.  The fact that this building is still standing today is equally amazing to me.

This is the dormitory where the Shakers lived.  At the height of their popularity the Shakers, who were celibate, numbered around 500 people.  Notice that there are two front doors on this building.  The left door was for the women & the right door was for the men.

I loved this well-maintained, yet slightly off-kilter, shed.  The white fences and the stone fence you see here were everywhere on the Shaker property– as well as all around Lexington KY.

Inside the barn we saw this snoozing lamb whose mother [upper right corner] gave me her version of the evil eye as I snapped this photo.  In all honesty, sheep don’t do evil very well;  they are just way too cute for that sort of thing.

I like goats so when these two guys decided to try to eat a leather tab on my cross-body bag I let them do it… for a short while.  This is the look they gave me when I stepped back from the fence taking my handbag with me.  Not pleased were they.

This guy, one of two oxen, was a goof.  He loved having his photo taken and followed me along his fence pausing so I could get a good shot of him.  Such a cooperative fellow!

Here is a view of the land surrounding Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill.  It was spectacular to see.  We enjoyed craft demonstrations in many of the restored buildings, then stepped outside each building to see a serene view such as this one.

Naturally there was gift shop at this museum.  Many of the items for sale were either made/grown on the property.  Also, it was possible to special order some pieces of furniture.  We didn’t buy a thing, but enjoyed the inside of this shop which was beautifully merchandised.

While on the outside of the shop on a window ledge this little guy– blissfully unaware of anyone or anything except his own comfort– cleaned his toes .  ‘Tis a gift to be simple, ’tis a gift to be free…