A Few Thoughts Plus A Few Photos Doth A Blog Post Make

/ Ally Bean / 16 Comments

I REMEMBER YEARS AGO when I started blogging someone said to me that he didn’t like blogs because all people did was take photos of things in their homes and talk about them.  He found this boring and pointless and stupid.  Even though I thought that he was wrong, I shrugged it off without a comment.

His point of view seemed uninformed and mean-spirited to me.

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THEN A FEW YEARS AGO when I was in a blogging slump someone suggested to me that I take some photos of the stuff in my house and share them.   Again, I was back in a conversation about photos in a blog, although this time the conversation was helpful, not hurtful.

This woman suggested that when you’re at home you are who you are.  Unvarnished.  Authentic.  Free to do what you want to do with the space that you have.  So why not start there in your home, and write about it or whatever it brings to mind?

Her point of view seemed practical and kind-hearted to me.

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SO IT IS AT THIS POINT that I find myself today.  I have the photos.  I have knowledge necessary to post them.  I have nothing profound to say about each photo, nor do I have a cohesive theme to this post that makes them noteworthy.

But I believe that when you commit to being a personal blogger sometimes showing up and posting something is what needs to be done.  This means that if sharing three photos from the last few weeks is what keeps this blog keeping on– then so be it.

And that, my friends, is all I have for you today.

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Hazy With A Chance Of Slot Machines

/ Ally Bean / 13 Comments

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On Saturday some friends who live in a small town north of here came to the ‘Nati to play for the day.  We get together a few times a year and just goof off.

And the best part?  No detailed plans, just hanging out for the afternoon seeing where life would take us.  Yeah Team Mellow.

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We drove up a large hill, on the west side of town, into an old part of the city called Price Hill, and stopped at a small city park dedicated to a long forgotten form of transportation, the incline.  An incline was a cable railway that took passengers up & down steep hills.  In this park there were a few plaques commemorating The Price Hill Incline, which allowed people to ride out of & into the city of Cincinnati from 1874 to 1943.

And the best part?  This tiny park was a hidden gem– clean, quiet, providing a city view from a different angle than I have ever seen before.  Way cool.

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While we were up on the hill we went to lunch at a restaurant, Incline Public House, located beside the park.  We sat out on the deck that looks over Cincinnati, the Ohio River and into Kentucky.  Even though it was a hazy day, seeing the buildings, railroad tracks and barges from way up high was mesmerizing.  The food was delicious.  I had lamb sliders with goat cheese + cherry bourbon chutney, along with a side salad of fresh greens + peppercorn ranch dressing.

And the best part?  A shot of Woodford Reserve Bourbon in my iced tea.  Yum.

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After driving around Price Hill so that we could admire the architecture of the old homes, we drove down into Cincinnati and went to the casino that opened there in March.  Casinos are a new big deal in Ohio.  While I’m not much of a gambler, I’m nothing if not a curious person so I was happy to see what Horseshoe Casino was all about.  It was much nicer than I thought it was going to be– beautifully decorated, good sound system, a variety of restaurants and smoke-free.  [Take that Indiana.]

And the best part?  I walked away from the 25¢ slot machines, $5.00 richer!  Cha-ching. 

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2 Movies, 2 Books & 1 New Name

/ Ally Bean / 15 Comments

As part of my attempt to live a more balanced life in 2013, I have given myself the assignment to watch 2 movies and to read 2 books each month.  Here is my June report.

2 Movies

Life Happens – Smart + funny.  In this comedy, Krysten Ritter, Kate Bosworth & Rachel Bilson star as three very different 20-something women who share a house in a hipster part of L.A.  One of the roommates becomes pregnant and after the baby is born all three women try to continue to live their lives as before.  Witty dialogue.  Fascinating sets.  Charming ending.  Recommended if you enjoy laughing at the ups & downs of relationships, careers and motherhood.

Brother Rat – Wordy + dated.  Set at the Virginia Military Institute, this uneven 1938 movie is a black-and-white classic.  Three cadets try to keep one cadet’s marriage secret from just about everybody.  Hijinks/whining/confusion ensues.  The movie is best known for 2 facts: 1) it is Eddie Albert’s first role in a movie;  & 2) Ronald Reagan and Jane Wyman met while filming this.  Half-heartedly recommended if you are curious about early films and stuck at home on a rainy day.

2 Books

Beautiful Ruins – Wonderful + memorable.  This novel by Jess Walter is one of the best that I’ve read in years.  Set primarily in Italy and Hollywood, it is a decades long love story between an Italian innkeeper and an American actress.  It is alternately amusing, insightful, satirical and heartbreaking.  The writing is smooth, the plot is flawless and the ending is just as it needs to be.  Highly recommended to anyone who likes to read fiction.

The Year the Music Changed – Clever + sweet.  This story is about a brilliant & lonely 14-year-old girl who sends a fan letter to a then unknown country singer named Elvis Presley.  He writes back and they become pen pals telling each other their secrets and triumphs.  Diane Thomas, the author of this book, does a marvelous job of weaving facts about Elvis into a warm, captivating story of self-awareness and the power of friendship.  Recommended if you like coming-of-age stories and music history.

1 New Name

I cannot resist silly, pointless, time-wasting name generators.  They call to me.  I’m curious.  I NEED to know.  So when I found the Old West Name Generator, I knew that I had to find out what my name would have been if I had been born between 1860 to 1890.

And here is what I discovered.  Back then you would have known me as:

Lily Jessamine Roush.

Pretty name, huh?

You Say Kadigan, I Say Menopause

/ Ally Bean / 12 Comments

HERE is something that I learned & maybe you will find it interesting, too.

There is a word to describe the linguistic phenomenon when a person uses a generic placeholder word  for a specific word because that person cannot remember the specific word.  This placeholder word is called a KADIGAN.  More here & here.

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TO WIT, I will first tell you a sentence filled with kadigans;  it is the sort of sentence that a menopausal woman might say.

Charming example sentence filled with kadigans:

  • Sunshine, I’d love to buy you that gewgaw with the gobbledygook on it, but out here in Podunk, USA, they don’t take credit cards and I don’t have my thingamadoodle to get money from the ATM.

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THEN I will interpret what I said, translating said sentence into pre-menopausal speak.

Charming example sentence devoid of kadigans:

  • Susan, I’d love to buy you that piece of jewelry with the monogram engraved on it, but out here in this small town, they don’t take credit cards and I don’t have my bank card to get money from the ATM.

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AND THAT, my gentle readers, is what kadigans are all about.  They are the ability to keep speaking, as if you know what you’re saying, even when you are experiencing your own personal summer & cannot for the life of you remember that word you need to use right now… so you fill-in the blank as best you can.