No Razzamatazz Here

/ Ally Bean / 14 Comments
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Today, instead of talking about pulse-pounding razzamatazz, I’m going to talk about the exact opposite, yawn-worthy dullness.

This current dullness has manifested itself in what I believe is a most ridiculous way.  You see, here at Chez Bean we are experiencing a dearth of twisty ties.  Yes, we have almost run out of those little wire doodads that you use to close plastic bags.

In fact, we only have FOUR unused twisty ties in the house.  That’s it.

We used to have about four hundred thousand million of those things floating around in various kitchen drawers.  But now they are so rare [and precious] that I even know what color they are: 3 beige and 1 orange.  I watch over them as if they were made of gold.

This is sad.  And dull.  And would not be worthy of note here except that it allows me to ask you, gentle readers, a question:

what kind of yawn-worthy dullness are you currently dealing with in your life?

I’ve fessed up.  Now it’s your turn to do the same.  In the comments below.  If you please.

Sure, You Can Do That

/ Ally Bean / 19 Comments

“In vino veritas est.” ~ Pliny the Elder

“God bless the honest, for they shall make my days more entertaining.” ~ Ally Bean

~ • ~

As I have mentioned here before I am a good listener.  I am also the “go to” person in my social group for how to start a blog.  And, as you have probably already figured out, I get tickled by the darnedest things.  To wit, the following real life vignette.

An acquaintance, who I see about once every 3 years or so, asked me about how to start a blog.  We were at a fancy reception and there was much wine being served.

I told her my standard response* to her question.  She seemed intrigued and started asking a bunch more questions about blogging.  In the flow of the conversation I told her that I thought that she’d be good at blogging because she is smart and articulate.  [Which all bloggers are, right?]

Of course, I wanted to know what she thought that she might be blogging about, so I asked her.  Knowing a little bit about her I figured that she’d say something like: my kids, my love of interior design, tips on antiquing, tips on cooking, my conservative political opinions.  Subjects that I know she cares about.

But what I did not expect her to say is the most unanticipated, yet delightful, reason for blogging that anyone has told me to date.  She told me that she didn’t care what subject she wrote about.  That didn’t matter to her at all.  No, what she wanted to do in her blog was to: Tell people what to do.  Her way.  So that they wouldn’t bug her with their stupidness any more.

Now this is an approach to blogging and a point of view, which you have to admit, is both authentic and could be fun to read about, subjects be damned.  Plus, I suspect, that in our heart of hearts there isn’t one blogger [or person] out there who hasn’t thought the same thing, but just never had the amount of wine necessary the gumption to say it.  So clearly.  And so loudly.

~ • ~

*  When you start a blog you need to consider three basic questions.

  1. Do you have something to say?  Can you say it in a way that other people will understand? Hmm?
  2. Where will you put your blog?  That is, when you decide on your platform will you pay money for it or will it be free?
  3. Will you commit to showing up to your blog on a regular basis?  If not, you’ll tick off your friends and readers. And you don’t want that, do you?

In The Garden On A Mild Winter’s Day

/ Ally Bean / 20 Comments

Yesterday afternoon we had a few hours of weak sunshine.  I went outside for a walk around the house and was pleased with what I saw.  Instead of the usual winter grays and tans, I saw some pops of color. 

{Red: Holly Berries}

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{Orange: Dried Sedum}

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{Yellow: Dwarf Grasses}

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{Green: Creeping Thyme}

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{Blue: Afternoon Sky}

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{Brown: Dried Leaves}

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Around here winter is best known for its gloom, but seeing a bit of color in the garden yesterday made me forget that fact.  Instead, I was treated to a preview of what spring has to offer.  Warmth + hope + cheeriness.  

The Poinsettia On The Kitchen Table

/ Ally Bean / 22 Comments

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::  Some of you who’ve been reading this blog for a while know that this poinsettia came into our home the weekend after Thanksgiving Day 2011.  It has lived, bloomed, grown while sitting on our kitchen table ever since.

This is unprecedented for me.  Never once has a poinsettia, entrusted to my care, lived more than a couple of months after it came into our house.

Yet this wonderful plant has shown me that with the right amount of indifference and the right amount of sunlight, a poinsettia can thrive, at least for a year or so, in our home.

Truly this is a case of… who knew?

::  I was staring at this plant the other morning as I sat at the kitchen table and drank a mug of coffee.  Bay windows surround the table on one side so I had the choice of looking outside into the grayness or looking inside at this colorful, drooping poinsettia.

I went with the colorful alternative.  I mean… who wouldn’t?

::  According to a fast bit of research on the topic, a poinsettia can live for years inside someone’s home.  I like knowing this, but doubt that this will be the case with our poinsettia on the kitchen table.  It is beginning to look frazzled and worn out.

I’m not going to do anything in particular to encourage it to keep on growing, but at the same time I’m not going to withhold water and sunlight from it.  I’m just going to let it go through its process of aging gracefully.

This plant’s sense of purpose has charmed me.  All plants are like this, of course;  but seeing the process unfold in slow motion in front of me each day for well over a year, reminds me that we need to define ourselves as we see fit.

Do your own thing, says our poinsettia on the kitchen table.  And all that I think is… why not?