Introspection

So, How ‘Ya Been?

/ Ally Bean / 19 Comments

When I decided to take my blogging hiatus, I thought that I’d be back to The Spectacled Bean within a few weeks.  But things happened.  Obstacles presented themselves.  And in the course of it all, I lost my blogging mojo.  

So what happened, you wonder?  Well, I think that this is one of those blogging moments when only a list can explain things.  To wit, I give you…

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THE LAMENTATIONS OF ALLY

•  Our internet connection stopped connecting.  Without going into the details, suffice to say that we are no longer using the less-than-reliable phone company for our ISP and are now using the cable company for our ISP.  And getting this worked out?  Why, it only took 55 days, during which time I couldn’t get to my blog.

•  Our kitchen sink drain pipe developed a leak that we discovered after said leak had partially destroyed the sub-flooring and was dripping into the basement.  While in and of itself this is not a reason to stop writing, it bothered me.  And a bothered Ally Bean is a scattered Ally Bean– and a scattered Ally Bean can’t focus long enough to write a list, let alone a blog post.

•  We had new carpeting installed upstairs and on the stairs, which created the most cluttered home I’ve ever lived in.  All of the upstairs stuff had to come downstairs– and then, of course, go back upstairs.  The mess was everywhere and lasted for about a month because that’s how long it took us to have the time [and energy] to move the stuff all around.  During that time I couldn’t even get to the computer which was trapped inside our home office turned storage warehouse, so no writing for me.

•  Our property was invaded by stink bugs– whose sole mission was to get inside our house.  For about 3 weeks they were all over the screens, peering into the house, just waiting for the opportunity to wander in and die.  And here is what I learned from that experience: when creepy bugs are looking for their final resting place within my home, I become unnerved and cannot write a word.  

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So that’s it from here.  It’s just the same old, same old in a whole new way.  Certainly something more interesting has been happening in your world, my gentle readers.  Spill the beans in the comment section below.  I need to know what’s up with you.

Tattoos, Doodles & Unfinished Projects

/ Ally Bean / 15 Comments

file6941266100445-1A most peculiar week, this one.  Blue moon and all.  Must have had something to do with it.

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A friend is thinking about getting a tat.  3 of her 4 children have at least one tattoo, and she feels like an old fogey without one.  She wants something meaningful with a bit of color, but not gaudy.  Nothing wordy.  Wordy ones, we agree, are too much like work.  Who wants to read themselves?

I’m of the tats need to be organic and flowing school of thought.  She’s of the tats need to include all family members, somehow, school of thought.  Will let you know what she decides on… if she ever does.

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Besides contemplating theoretical body art, this week I’ve watched Dr. Who.  Did you know that I was a Whovian?  Well, now you do.

I’m on the 10th Doctor with Donna Noble as his companion.  I’ve read that she comes to some lousy end, so I’m finding this season to be rather bittersweet.  She’s one of my favorite companions;  I do so love her attitude and spunk.  Noisy woman with a heart.  Doesn’t travel light, that one.

Oddly enough, watching Dr. Who this week has me doodling.  I don’t know why, but every time I sit down to watch an episode, I pick up pen/pencil + paper and commence doodling.  Lots of swirls and flowers– and boxy faces composed of rectangles, triangles, stars.

Perhaps I’m creating a tattoo for myself and don’t even know it?  Or maybe I’m more lost in thought than usual.  Regardless, I’m happy listening to/glancing at the Doctor and Donna.  And doodling.  Must. Draw. Doodles.

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Sometimes I’m amazed by how I decide to do something productive [like paint the bottom pedestal part of our kitchen table] and how the weather decides to be uncooperative [like hazy/rainy/stormy/humid all fricking week].

This is a project, if it is to be done properly, that requires lots of sunlight and low humidity and a very happy me.  Yet not one day this blue moon week have I been able to work on my project.  Do we not all believe that effort should be rewarded?  Am I not trying here?  

They tell us that the weather isn’t personal, but this week it has seemed personal.  That I’m being thwarted for no good reason whatsoever.  That all my plans have fallen to dust and I’ve been left alone to work around the mess that unfulfilled plans create.

But as we all know: you live, you learn.  Which, from what I can tell, means that some weeks you live with a huge unfinished project smack dab in the middle of your kitchen.  And you learn to not whine about it.

Me, The Morning Star & The Muse Of Practicality

/ Ally Bean / 12 Comments

“Only that day dawns to which we are awake. There is more day to dawn. The sun is but a morning star.”

~ Henry David Thoreau, the end of Walden Pond

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The other morning I woke up at 5:30 a.m.  This is much too early by my standards, but there I was AWAKE, not worrying about a thing.  So I got up, made a pot of coffee, poured myself a mug,  grabbed my camera and went out on the deck to sit, waiting for the sun to come up.

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It didn’t take long for the first rays of sunlight to sneak across the lawn heading for the wooded ravine behind our home.

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Nor did it take long for me to become bewitched by the path of the glittery sunlight, following it with my camera into the darkest parts of the woods.

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At this point I’d love to tell you that my early morning photo shoot was some sort of transcendental awakening.  That the course of my life was permanently altered because of my experience watching the morning light illuminate the woods.

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But there wasn’t anything spiritual about my early morning on the deck.  It was all very practical.  A way for me to learn about using my camera in various light.  And the opportunity to ponder why it is that I can remember the last line of Walden Pond– but, for the life of me, can’t think of the first one!

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Answering Your Questions, I Am [Part 2 of 2]

/ Ally Bean / 11 Comments

•  From Lori P who just happens to be my SIL… If you had to do it all again, specifically targeting the choices you made for yourself, would you change anything?

I think the one thing that I’d change is I would have stood my ground about taking a year off between high school and college.  For various reasons, I was emotionally exhausted and mentally unclear about my future when I graduated from high school.  I knew that I needed a break from academics so that I could figure out what to do next, but my mother wouldn’t hear of it.  She forced me to go on to college straightaway.

Had I followed my own instincts, I would have been more mature, rested and focused when I arrived on campus as a freshman.  I suspect that I would have gone to a larger university that had a more diverse student population and offered a wider variety of majors– one of which would have prepared me for a career in something or other.

•  From Kristen Plumer at Kristen Loves Design… What would you describe as your decorating style? Does it match who you really are?  And a related question, if you could decorate however you wanted (money being no object), what would you do?

Our decorating style is relaxed traditional with family antiques, hints of mid-century modern & splashes of spirited color.  It’s eclectic, but to keep it from looking too jumbled the walls are in shades of warm neutrals like khaki gold, creamy white or warm gray– with white trim everywhere.  The style matches who we are to a tee– cheerfully mixed-up with the ability to pull it together when need be.

If money were no object and I could find the right interior designer, I’d like to have a home that has more of what I’d call a California relaxed vibe to it.  Mostly neutrals inside the house because the outdoors is colorful.  Open, sliding doorways from inside living areas to the outside.  Black trim around the windows.  Lots of amazing original artwork.  And perhaps some stucco, arches, Mexican tiles, too.

•  From Zazzy at Zazamataz… What are your favorite foods – to make? to eat? What’s comfort for you? What can you absolutely not stand? 

My favorite foods to make are fruit-based deserts like strawberry shortcake with homemade whipped cream or bread pudding with raisins or applesauce spice cake with caramel icing.  I also like to make stews and soups in the winter.  All that chopping and blending of ingredients makes me happy.

My favorite foods to eat are fresh fruits and vegetables.  Plus grilled fish + chicken.  I like sourdough bread, and pasta or rice done very simply with a bit of olive oil/butter, onions, herbs.  Also, I am a nut for unsalted nuts.  I really like eating healthy, but do not always have the time & energy to do so.  Which is a bummer, but a reality at this point in my life.

As for comfort food, I occasionally eat a bakery white [or yellow] cake cupcake with vanilla icing– for medicinal purposes, mind you. And the one food that I cannot stand is green or yellow or red peppers.  Yuck.  Won’t eat them at all.

[Yesterday, Part 1]