Enjoying

Fess Up: When Was The Last Time That You Did Something Just For The Heck Of It?

/ Ally Bean / 16 Comments

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I don’t know if arty is the right word to use here.

Maybe what I did by cutting out images from catalogues and then placing them in a stylish way upon our dining room table isn’t arty.

Maybe it’s just plain goofy.

Or maybe it’s just an example of nostalgia.   You know, the sort of thing that we used to do when we were young and had time on our hands and there was no Pinterest.

Yep, that’s the explanation that I’m going to go with here.  This inspiration board is RETRO.

Something that I did just for the heck of it.  

Like when I was a girl with an eye for graphics and design– but didn’t know that was what I really was doing when I made my inspiration boards.   

Or, as in this case, like an adult trapped inside the house courtesy of frigid temps, looking for ways to “refresh” & “make a statement.”      

Who Needs The Green Flash When You Can Have The Orange Smudge?

/ Ally Bean / 10 Comments

I.  Anyone who has ever spent any time in southwest Florida standing on the beach looking at the sunset over the Gulf of Mexico, knows that there’s this thing called the green flash.  It’s a phenomenon wherein a sharp line of emerald green flashes across the ocean horizon the second that the sun disappears.  

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II.  For the last few weeks, Ohio has experienced sub-zero temps that have made life [shall we say?] interesting.  Since the arrival of this arctic weather, there’s been one aspect of it that has charmed me.  Almost every night at sunset when I look out the window across our deck through the trees to the neighbor’s houses, I see a beautiful shade of orange on the horizon.

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III.  While not as spectacular and dramatic as the Florida green flash, this delightful Ohio-in-winter sunset phenomenon has a quiet magic of its own that is more in keeping with the low-key vibe of this state.  And as such, I believe it deserves a name, too.  

So it is with the foregoing in mind that I’ve decided to take it upon myself and name this phenomenon.  Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Ohio’s answer to the green flash.  Around here, it’s all about the  orange smudge.

I’m Polar Vortexing Here

/ Ally Bean / 19 Comments

AS YOU PROBABLY ALREADY KNOW… this part of the USA, the midwest, is experiencing arctic temperatures.  Records are being broken.  Schools are being closed.  Furnaces are being taxed.  Prayers are being said.  Et cetera, et cetera.

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BECAUSE I’VE DECIDED TO STAY AT HOME DURING THIS WEATHER EVENT… I am now in charge of:

  1. running water through all sink/shower/tub faucets so that the pipes don’t freeze;
  2. opening and closing blinds/curtains to allow sunshine + warmth, when available, to come into the house;  and
  3. monitoring the thermostat, so that I can fret over the furnace’s every clink and whoosh and thunk as it continues to heat the house.

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NOW THAT I HAVE A BIT OF UNEXPECTED TIME ON MY HANDS…  I’ve started reading three books:

  1. The Hare with Amber Eyes: A Hidden Inheritance, by Edmund de Waal.  After inheriting from an uncle a collection of Japanese netsuke, the author researches his ancestors and their involvement with these objects.  Fascinating.
  2. One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd, by Jim Fergus.  Using a few pieces of real history, the author creates a novel about a white pioneer woman who, courtesy of the U. S.  government,  goes to live among the Cheyenne, with the express purpose of helping the Cheyenne assimilate into white culture.  Compelling.
  3. Cold Tangerines: Celebrating the Extraordinary Nature of Everyday Life, by Shauna Niequist.  By examining the details of her days, the author writes a charming personal memoir filled with gentle guidance for living a better life.  Uplifting.

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OF COURSE LIFE ISN’T JUST SERIOUS PURSUITS… which means that I’m playing Candy Crush Saga as often as the game will let me play.  By using this cheat, I reigned victorious over a particularly difficult level 77 in Easter Bunny Hills, but now I’m unable to progress past level 80, waiting to complete my 3 quests so that I can move across the lake to level 81 and the next episode.  Stuck in the game, stuck in the house.  😉

I’m Going Zoom, Zoom, Zoom

/ Ally Bean / 15 Comments

•  To review, on Friday I presented you, my gentle readers, with 5 Truths & 1 Lie.  Since then many of you have hazarded a guess about which of my statements is the lie.

Also, many of you have suggested that I’m a good liar.  I’m still processing that idea.  I don’t know whether you say it to flatter my ego;  or to cover your butt if you pick the wrong statement as the lie.

•  Be that as it may, the lie I told was:

“4.  I DRIVE a gray SUV.  I named him Bullwinkle because of his color [which Lexus says is blue, but they’re wrong].  He’s not a new vehicle,  but he gets me where I need to go.”

This is a lie because I DRIVE A WHITE V-6 HONDA ACCORD COUPE.  Named Olivia. Rather old.  She has a snazzy decklid spoiler and sports leather seats with wood paneling stuff inside the car.  Plus she gets fabulous gas mileage.

Yep, that’s the way I live.  I’m more Nancy Drew in her little blue roadster than Shirley Partridge in her funky van.

•  All of which brings me to the only reason, I suspect, that any of you are still reading this post.  Thanks to all who took the time to comment, but the few gentle readers who guessed correctly are:

•  And now I will leave it up to the winners to tell me if they prefer to be a guest poster here OR have me write a haiku about you that I’ll post here.  The choice is yours.  I await your decisions.