I Will Not Let One Tulip Get Me Down

/ Ally Bean / 33 Comments

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I bought a bouquet of 20 tulips at Kroger because I like how graceful tulips look in a vase and because a bit of cheerful color in mid-winter is a good thing.  I put 17 of the tulips in a large vase and set it on our kitchen table.

Upbeat.

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Three of the tulips wouldn’t fit into the large vase so I put them in a smaller crystal bud vase and set the bud vase, on a saucer, on top of the chest of drawers in our bedroom.  I liked how the 3 tulips looked reflected in the mirror on the wall above the chest of drawers.

Artsy. 

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HOWEVER, a few hours later when I walked back into the bedroom I noticed that 1 tulip had given up.  Cracked under the weight of blooming.

Sure it was still a bit of cheerful color, but it was not working with the other tulips to create a tiny uplifting bouquet.  And I had the distinct impression that the Universe was messing with me via these 3 tulips.

 But you know what?  I didn’t care, so I left the tiny bouquet just as it was as a reminder that we all do what we can to make each day special & unique.  In our own way.  Regardless of what other people may want us to do.

N’est-ce pas? 

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A Sunday With Purple Zombies And Deceitful Politicians

/ Ally Bean / 18 Comments

This morning is the first time this month that it has looked like winter outside.  There’s a dusting of white snow but it isn’t deep enough to cover the tops of the green grass blades.

I’m not surprised to see the snow this morning.  All day yesterday the TV weather forecasters were babbling about Monday’s SNOW! SNOW! SNOW!

You know how they get.

So yesterday, while anticipating this snowy Monday morning, we decided to spend the day at home getting the bounce back in our pounce.  Which is to say that we, two adults without children, played a board game and binge-watched a TV show.

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We purchased our game on Saturday while shopping at an outlet mall.  We wandered into a toy and game store where I found a board game version of RISK.  Subtitled: THE GAME OF SUBURBAN DOMINATION.  Further sub-titled: PLANTS VS. ZOMBIES.

How cute is that?

So we bought the game and decided to make it our Sunday goal to learn how to play one of the three games available within the box.  We went with the easiest game in the box that I’d describe as a mixture of Chess, Jumanji, You Sunk My Battle Ship, Backgammon and Football.  It’s not all that Risk-like, but oh is it entertaining to play!

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In-between learning how to play (or in my case lose) our new game, we watched House of Cards [American version].  I am totally smitten with this show, that I’d ignored until a few weeks ago when Kevin Spacey won a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a TV Drama.

Now, having watched 6 episodes of House of Cards, I’m fascinated by Francis and Claire.  They are amazing sociopathic characters.  I cannot imagine what deceitful, immoral, unethical, sneaky, conniving, manipulative, under-handed thing either of them will do next. 

With a unpredictable plot line and a narrative arc like no other, this show is fun to watch;  especially, if you happen to have had any experiences, unfortunate or otherwise, with people like Francis and Claire.

Just saying.

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So what did you, my gentle readers, do this past weekend?

Were you productive?  Were you healthful?  Or, were you homebodies, like us, who played games and watched TV?

Spill the beans in the comments below. 

Mild Winter Weather Distracts Sincere Blogger From Her To-Do List

/ Ally Bean / 21 Comments

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I HAD PLANS for this week.  Big plans.  I was going to be all about updating this blog.  Making it prettier.  Revising my pages.  Getting back into the blogging groove.

Admirable goals.

BUT WE’VE HAD unseasonably warm winter weather this week.  I’m talking snow-free days in the 50s with lots of sunshine.

This is unheard of around here.

AND I’VE FOUND it impossible to sit still in our home office staring at a computer screen when I can be outside… in January… wearing a lightweight jacket… and goofing off wherever I want to be.

I’m sure that you understand. 

SO I’VE DECIDED that instead of missing out on what is right before my nose, I’m going to put my To-Do List in my desk drawer where it can rest until I get back to it.  Which will be next week, presumably, when winter, inevitably, returns.

My 2015: The Year Of The Recluse

/ Ally Bean / 26 Comments

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Looking at the calendar today it occurs to me that I have been remiss in not sharing with you, my gentle readers, my resolutions revolutions one word goals dreams aspirations vague ideas simple plan for the new year, 2015.

Clearly I need to get more scoot in my get-along.

[The preceding phrase is one that I don’t normally use, but I heard a football color commentator use it when talking about some player doing something, so I decided to add it to my folksy phrases repertoire.]

[Yes, I have an actual list of folksy phrases that I started about 10 years ago.  I recently rediscovered it when I took it upon myself to sort through the stuff in my desk.  Trust me, I will be referring to said list often now that I have found it.]

So here is what I’ve decided that this year will be all about for me.  I’m going to be a recluse, defined thusly as: “a person who lives a solitary life and tends to avoid other people.”

Not exactly anti-social, but non-social.  ‘Ya know?

And sometime throughout the year I might even explain why I’ve come to this decision.  But for today all I’m going to say is that I’m comfortable with the idea of spending more time by myself while pursuing my particular interests– like finding & using folksy phrases!  😉