Food & Drink

Because We Are Just That Exciting, We Went On A Date

/ Ally Bean / 17 Comments

On Thursday I got home late in the afternoon and saw that there was a message on the answering machine from Z-D.  This struck me as odd because I had my cell phone with me and if he really wanted/needed to get hold of me STAT he’d use that method.

So I listened to the message, wondering what was up.  As I did not just fall off the new wife-y turnip truck, I figured that there was something going on that was a bit wonky.  And I was right.

• • •

First: He said, “I have an idea– let’s go out on a date tonight.”

[ME, suspicious:  Hmmm.]

Next: He told me his date night plan.  He wanted us to drive to a town about an hour away & pick up some sandwiches at a local grocery store that has a deli sandwich counter inside it.

[ME, with raised eyebrow:  Okay, maybe.]

Then: He told me that he wanted us to go sit in a parking lot to watch some lights in the parking lot come on.

[ME, stunned:  Do what?!  That’s a date???]

Finally: He said, “I’ll pick you up at home in about an hour or so.  See ‘ya soon.  ‘Bye.”

[ME, shouting at the phone machine:  That’s not a date.  That’s something you have to do for work, isn’t it?]

• • •

And you know as I stood there staring at the answering machine I had three thoughts.  Simultaneously.  Before the machine even turned itself off.

  • My God we are old if this is his idea of a date.  Honest to Pete, watch lights come on?!!  What kind of date is that?
  • Rather clever of me to know that there was something up with this message before I heard it.  I’m getting good at this marriage thing.  Yeah me!
  • Well– phooey, I don’t have a thing planned for this evening and those sandwiches are yummy, so I guess that I’ll go out with him.  Might be kind of fun.

… and you know what?  It was.

A Suburban Sign Of Spring

/ Ally Bean / 16 Comments

• • •

“So let it be written. So let it be done.”

~ Yul Brynner Rameses, The Ten Commandments

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As I was driving back into our subdivision late Saturday afternoon, I came upon a traffic jam.  This is unusual because unlike some subdivisions, we have different ways in and out of this area.

As I sat there, not moving, I wondered what the hold-up was all about.

Then I saw the sign.  It was a handwritten sign, propped up against some large blue + white Coleman coolers.  The sign explained it all.  It said:

LEMONADE

Around this sign + coolers were three adorable, yelling, jumping entrepreneurs who had set up their lemonade stand in such a way as to get business from the traffic coming toward them in three directions.  

These were clever girls.  With oodles of energy– and the persuasive powers of a pharaoh.

So, like all the other dutiful suburbanites in the cars ahead of me, I bought some lemonade– which turned out to be red fruit punch.  And being of a kind nature, I purchased a large cup for 75¢– which was a half-filled 16 oz plastic cup.  And then, because service with a smile is so rare these days, I tipped the young entrepreneurs 33%.

Some people may believe that Spring arrives when nature says it is the right time, but for me it’s officially Spring when I spot my first lemonade stand and get suckered into buying a cup.

• • •

Happy Spring, everyone!  It is finally here.

• • •

2 Movies, 2 Books & 1 Inspirational Quote

/ Ally Bean / 20 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 March report.

2 Movies

Butter – Satirical + jumbled.  With Jennifer Garner, Olivia Wilde, Rob Corddry, Alicia Silverstone and Hugh Jackman in it, this uneven movie has its moments– and those moments are hilarious.  All the action revolves around the Iowa State Fair butter carving competition– and the politics associated with it.  Recommended if you can overlook the mocking anti-conservative slant and want something light [and rather pointless] to watch.

How Beer Saved The World – Informative + upbeat.  This is a short, fast-paced documentary about beer.  The narration is wonderful, the cartoon reenactments of history are delightful and the interviews with academics are great.  Recommended if you like history and smart, happy people.

2 Books

Mad About Undead You: A Zombie Apocalypse Love Story – Clever + unique.  A  mad scientist miscalculates and suddenly San Francisco is overrun with former water drinkers turned zombies.  This is the backdrop for Carl S. Plumer’s fast-paced novel about love.  Yes, love.  With characters that could easily be your friends, this slightly campy novel is a different sort of love story that made me laugh out loud.  Recommended if you like San Francisco and enjoy a modicum of gore.  [H/T to Kristen at Kristen Loves Design for recommending this book– that just happens to be written by her husband!]

Things I Wish My Mother Had Told Me – Not what I expected.  I picked up this book thinking that I was buying a book of essays written by British mums a la Listen To Your Mother.  I was wrong.  Instead, Lucia van der Post’s book is a charming, well-written guide to living an upper class, stylish life in London or NYC.  I enjoyed it, but will admit that I skimmed through parts of it that seemed too high brow for me.  Recommended if you want detailed information about where to shop and how to create a glamorous lifestyle.

1 Inspirational Quote

Winston Churchill said: “Success is not final, failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts.”  I’m focusing on this quote because March was not the productive month that I had hoped it would be.  In fact, there were a few days when I wanted to crawl into bed and never come out again.  Nothing seemed to go right.  With the weather.  With how I felt.  With what I said.  With what I planned on doing.

In other words, March, one of my favorite months, was a bust.  But then I remembered this Churchill quote and figured that for me the lesson of March 2013 was to just keep going.  Which I did.

Bad Coffee On A Monday Morning

/ Ally Bean / 41 Comments

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Let’s just say, for purposes of discussion, that this morning I made a pot of coffee that was so weak, so bad, so disappointing that I could only drink about half a mug of it.

And then let’s say that upon discovering how bad the coffee tasted, I threw out the rest of the pot.  Which was wasteful.  Something we do not like here at Chez Bean.

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Further, let’s say that thinking back I realized that ye olde coffee maker has made some rather dodgy, hissy, dragon-y sounds every morning for the last few months as it works at heating the water.

And even then, the water has not been as hot as it should be to brew a pot of coffee.  Or at least a pot of coffee that I would consider worth drinking.  Which, I think we can agree, is the prime directive of any coffee maker that sits on my kitchen counter.

~ • ~

All of which brings me to the crux of our discussion.  To the real reason that I’m taking the time to write this post even though my brain is foggy from lack of caffeine and my morning appears to be shot to heck.  Here is what I want to ask you, my gentle readers:

If you had to buy a new electric coffee maker, which one would you get?  And why?

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