One Deck, One Grill, One Squirrel. Of Course.

September 12, 2014January 28, 2021 / Ally Bean / 25 Comments

[Subtitled: Do Squirrels Eat Hamburgers?]

I happened to be walking through the back of our house when I glanced out the patio door onto the deck and noticed that our Weber grill had grown a tail overnight.

Upon closer examination I noticed that there seemed to be a certain critter hiding behind the grill. So I bided my time to see if, by chance, this critter was our good old friend, Fuzzy. It didn’t take long for me to confirm that Fuzzy the Squirrel was back to his annoying tricks.

From my vantage point inside the house I could see that our friend was using his backside to try to nudge the top off the grill, presumably to get to the hamburger grease + burnt nibbles that were left inside the grill from the night before.

Naturally when I inquired about his sneaky-looking behavior Fuzzy ignored me. He is a master of indifference, so when he turned his back on me I wasn’t all that surprised. Instead, I just waited to see what he’d do next, knowing that he can never stay still very long.

And true to form, with one wistful sideways glance toward the grill, Fuzzy ran away from me along the top of the deck railing toward his home in Tree #3479 in the forest primeval. It is there, I presume, he found something else to do with his time besides making himself a nuisance on our deck.

But he also left me wondering if squirrels eat hamburgers. So I did a quick Google search after which I realized that this question has no reliable answer, but does lead one to an unexpected link to an abstract of an academic paper. Of course.

SupercalifragilisticexpiALLYdocious: Goofing Off On Tuesday

September 10, 2014July 1, 2025 / Ally Bean / 21 Comments

Dear Diary,

Yesterday morning I awakened with the Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious song from Mary Poppins floating through my head. In fact, as I walked downstairs from the bedroom to the kitchen I was singing it out loud.

I am such a dork!!!

Because I was feeling English suddenly I decided to have a proper pot of tea with milk and sugar. I got out my little blue 2-cup tea-pot, added some Taylors of Harrogate Irish Breakfast Tea [which I admit is not English at all, but is the only kind of strong black tea that we have in the house] and brewed myself a lovely beverage.

Jolly good, I tell you.

Did I mention to you, Dear Diary, that Z-D took a day off from work yesterday? Well, he did. And because the weather was so mild and the skies were so clear, we decided to skip yard work and drive over the river to the next state to have lunch on the patio of an English Pub.

Yes, my morning theme continued. Isn’t that cool?

At the Pub, I had my favorite unhealthy appetizer, curry and chips. I washed it down with a Belhaven Scottish Lager [which I admit is not from England either, but I like it– probably my ancestry coming through]. I also had healthy fish tacos with a side salad to balance out my first course.

Then, fortified with alcohol and calories, we decided to go exploring.

We drove back over the river into our state and went to a crowded, fussy, older part of the city where we found the bestest place yet. Yes, we went to Penzeys Spices, a place I’ve longed to go to for years, but only just discovered has a retail store in our city. You’d be proud of us, Dear Diary, we showed admirable restraint and only bought 6 small jars of spice, 2 small bottles of extract and 1 bag of herbs.

My inner foodie was in heaven.

Then we drove back home to the ‘burbs where we collapsed on our screened-in porch. One of us played Candy Crush [Level 205, be impressed] while the other one, exhausted by the day’s excitement, napped while pretending to read a book set in London [because once you have a theme day, you have to go with it].

This is middle age fun. Such as it is.

The rest of the day was the usual hum-drum of laundry, dishes, bills, planning, what have you. But that was okay, Dear Diary, because we had such a good time goofing off earlier in the day.

We need to play hooky again, real soon!!!

Almost Autumn: This Change Of Season Suits Me

September 8, 2014November 19, 2015 / Ally Bean / 16 Comments

This past Sunday morning was the first day in months where the temperature was below 60ºF and the humidity was low.

Delightful. Refreshing. Clear.

I was able to drink my first mug of coffee while sitting on the deck all by myself. Experiencing the stillness of the early morning centered me in a way that makes me feel whole.

Hopeful. Capable. Calm.

It wasn’t until I looked up into the trees behind our house that I realized how soon it’ll be autumn. And that I wasn’t alone out there on the deck. Two birds, way up high, were keeping me company.

Cheerful. Balanced. Orange.

Autumn is about letting go of what used to work and enjoying what is. I’ve found over the years that I can embrace its message because I’m open to new ideas and seem to have an aptitude for adjusting to what is.

Creative. Grateful. Aware.

Meaning that in about another month this tree, next to where the birds were sitting, will be a showy mess of fall color. And when it is I plan to be engrossed in new projects and a healthier way of life. Hello Autumn!

Determined. Grounded. Focused.

QOTD: And What Mysteries Keep You From Going Stale?

September 4, 2014August 29, 2018 / Ally Bean / 18 Comments

{A Different Sort of Throwback Thursday Post}

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“Kings and statesmen, business men and professional men read mystery stories for relaxation, for fun, and to sharpen their wits for the daily battle of life.

Don’t let yourself go stale. These books are better than a radio drama and cheaper than a good movie for the family and keep you alert. Have your bookseller send you the books listed below and save over 65% from the former $2.00 price.”

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SO I FOUND THIS Sun Dial Mysteries 1930s [?] bookmark in an old book that happens to be in a large stack of old books that happen to be in our basement. I was charmed by the sexist copy on the bookmark, and I was intrigued by the titles of the books listed on it.

I knew that Leslie Charteris wrote The Saint books, but I’ve never read one. And I knew that Georgette Heyer was a contemporary of Agatha Christie, but I’ve never read one of her books either. The rest of the authors were new to me.

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I HAVE NO IDEA who these oldtime mystery writers might be. I can’t even keep up with the current mystery writers, which is why I thought that I’d ask you, my gentle readers: which mystery writers do you enjoy the most? Or, if you don’t read mysteries, what do you read that I should be reading, too?

Heaven knows, I must remain alert and not go stale!