Life, Vacation Days & The Pursuit of Home-i-ness

April 16, 2012 / Ally Bean / 12 Comments

Here’s the deal.

Zen-Den, who is usually a very organized sort of fellow, forgot to take one week of his vacation last year. Well, to be fair, he didn’t exactly forget; he wasn’t aware that he had another week of vacation until the last week of December when HR told him that he did.

Therefore, as per the rules of the company, Z-D is permitted [required?] to take his extra week of vacation this year. Kind of nice that his workplace wants him to take all of his vacation days, isn’t it? Even nicer that said workplace makes allowances for a ~~clueless goof~~ hardworking individual, such as Mr. Bean, to use his vacation days later… once he knows that he has them.

The upshot of all this is that this week we’ve decided to stay home and get some projects completed.

And man-oh-man do we have a doozy of a list of things to do around the house. Which means that when we’re not gardening, refinishing, hanging up things, caulking holes, painting trim {et cetera, et cetera}, we’ll be going for walks [maybe in city parks?] &/or just plain lollygagging on the screened-in porch [white wine spritzers, anyone?].

But here’s the thing.

There’s a very good chance that this is going to be the only blog post that I’ll write this week. I actually have a few other topics to discuss with you, but I don’t see myself as having the time & energy & quietness that I need to put real words to virtual paper. [I’m a very slow and deliberate writer.]

So now, having shared the who/what/when/where/why/& how of my upcoming week, I’m going to wander off, find Zen-Den and start. being. productive. Later, kids– projects await me.

[As always, click on photos to embiggen.]

By Collaborating With Sylvia Plath I Create A Poem Of Dubious Value

April 13, 2012May 6, 2021 / Ally Bean / 10 Comments

verily KITTYCAT’s verily KITTYCAT

I purr my tv and all the radio meows computer;
I snooze my masking tapes and all is befriended again.
(I climb I destroy you up inside my blinds.)

The electrical cords go alerting out in happily and sadly,
And intently kitchen counter creates in:
I engage my brown and all the white jumps furry.

I licked that you scratched me into stripes
And yawn me lovingly, yawned again me quite haughty.
(I climb I destroy you up inside my blinds.)

Bowl sleeps from the water, kibble’s pillows doubt:
Demand throne and window sill’s perch:
I engage my brown and all the white jumps furry.

I determine you’d evaluate the way you chew,
But I bat truly and I devour your trees.
(I climb I destroy you up inside my blinds.)

I should have pretended a chipmunk instead;
At least when birdies sway they ignore back again.
I engage my brown and all the white jumps furry.

(I climb I destroy you up inside my blinds.)

– Ally Bean & Sylvia Plath

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Horsing Around

April 11, 2012July 1, 2025 / Ally Bean / 18 Comments

Yesterday the weather was so pretty that I stopped at a nearby stable to take a few photos of the horses that board there.

There were a few horses in the pastures.

My favorite horse was this one. She was a goof.

After trotting around the pasture to make sure that everyone saw her, she dropped down to the ground and did a shimmy & a roll.

And then, just for good measure, she did it again rolling in the other direction.

Meanwhile, in an adjacent pasture, an older horse looked on with what only may be described as “church lady” contempt. In fact, she snorted a few times, clearly unimpressed with little miss shimmy.

And there I stood, camera in hand, snapping photos and laughing at the show. I mean, who knew that horsing around was something that literally happened? Not me, that’s for sure. But now I do– and I’ve got the photos to prove it!