Odds & Ends

October 16, 2012 / Ally Bean / 21 Comments

:: ON SUNDAY I MADE a Ratty Apple Pie. That’s my name for an apple pie made from a mix of not so good-looking apples. My pie included 2 Melrose, 1 Granny Smith, 2 Red Delicious + 1 mystery apple [Gala?] that was in our frig. Then I put what my Betty Crocker cookbook describes as French crumb topping on the pie. The pie was yummy.

:: I READ AN ARTICLE in the Sunday paper about the increase in incivility in daily life. It rang true with me. I know that in the last few years I’ve encountered rude drivers, indifferent sales clerks, one incredibly hostile bank manager, a couple of ill-mannered [former] friends, and countless offensive individuals shrieking about politics.

My guess is that after watching violent movies, viewing rude tv shows & absorbing the hostility inherent in extremist political views these annoying people are so desensitized that they don’t know that they are, indeed, rude & uncivil. The sad part is that I’ve come to realize that sometimes being rude right back to an uncouth person is the only way to accomplish anything because these. people. do. not. get. kindness.

:: WE HAVE AN INFESTATION of icky miniature fly-like bugs in our house. The man who washes our windows was here yesterday. He told me that the bugs, which are coming into the house through the holes in the mesh of the screens, were from the Hackberry tree.

[Having never heard of a Hackberry tree before I googled it. Natch. I learned that it is sturdy; produces tiny dark-red colored berries for the wildlife to munch on; provides a safe haven for birds in the winter; was cultivated in 1636; & in pioneer days was used for making barrel hoops.]

As for getting rid of the icky little bugs– not going to happen until we have a hard frost, the window washer man tells me. Seems that the dumb little bugs are impervious to all types of removal– including my withering gaze and vacuuming the screens.

Thirteen Generic Phrases You Will Say Or Hear Today After Last Evening’s Presidential Debate

October 4, 2012March 2, 2023 / Ally Bean / 14 Comments

Isn’t it time we made politics fun again? So today, as a way of mitigating the inevitable & incessant opining that happens after every presidential debate, I give you this list to distract & entertain you. See how many of these phrases you can use or spot as the day wears on. Bet it’ll be quite a few.

– – • – –

1) Well, everyone’s entitled to his or her own opinion, I guess. [Extra Points – if said by an uptight church lady in a condescending tone of voice]

2) I really don’t think that he gets it.

3) He didn’t answer the question! How could he do that?!!!

4) Hmmm. [Extra Points – if said by a practical middle-aged woman in a tired tone of voice]

5) Why does he HATE ____________ so much???

6) That’s not what he said!!!

7) It’s all because of the media, you know?

8) You gotta be shi%%ing me! [Extra Points – if said by an older man in a befuddled tone of voice]

9) What are you talking about?? Just last week he said ____________.

10) NO WAY!

11) I dunno what he said. I fell asleep.

12) That. Is. Not. True.

13) We gotta get this guy____________. [Extra Points – if said by a hyper-partisan person in a defiant tone of voice]

– – • – –

This & That

September 10, 2012 / Ally Bean / 13 Comments

{september – monday – morning}

√ Saturday afternoon we spent driving around the city, going grocery store to grocery store, looking for one particular ingredient. We both had a hankering for Thai curried chicken & vegetables– which, logically enough, requires Thai green curry paste. It’s such a basic ingredient for Thai cooking, yet it turned out to be almost impossible to get.

Eventually we found it in grocery store #6. You’d think that we would have been annoyed by this whim turned bona fide expotition, but the day was so pretty outside that wandering around the city together was interesting. I forget how large this area is– and that what seems normal to one person is something unique & fascinating to another person.

Sometimes searching for the treasure is all that I need to be happy.

√ Over the weekend we planted some flowers in colors that we’ve not used before. Out front by the sidewalk leading up to the front door we planted true blue pansies. And by the side of the house where we’ll see them when we drive up to the garage we planted some coral-colored roses.

Once upon a time our garden had a tightly controlled color scheme, but those days are long gone. Now we have a confetti garden; that is, flowers of various colors growing wherever they will grow. It’s not what I initially envisioned, but that’s okay. I like to see flowers around the outside the house and if multi-color is what works, it works.

Go Team Eclectic.

√ We were outside doing yard work yesterday morning. The weather was cool & clear so the sky was blue. We heard the plane before we saw it– and when we saw it we both stopped doing what we were doing. Overhead, flying at a low altitude, was a B-17. Just moseying along in a straight line going somewhere. Over our subdivision on a Sunday morning. In 2012.

Kind of cool to see it. Definitely unexpected.

√ Zen-Den went camping [cabining?] by a lake in Canada over Labor Day weekend with some friends. He does this every few years & always comes back with tales to tell. This year, besides his stories of middle-aged boys’ antics, he brought back a new radio station for us to listen to: CBC Radio2 [Eastern]. It’s good.

I won’t try to explain it to you because playlists & music appreciation are topics that I leave to those who care deeply about being surrounded by music. Me? I just like to hear something that doesn’t set my teeth on edge in the background. And this new-to-us station pleases me– enough so that it’s giving Radio Paradise a bit of competition.

‘Tis music that doth soothe the suburban beast. 😉

The Naming Of Crickets Is An Easy Matter

September 7, 2012May 6, 2021 / Ally Bean / 14 Comments

[This is a random post if there ever was one. H/T to T. S. Eliot for the inspiration for the title.]

When I think of crickets, I think of three things.

1. The Big Bang Theory. There’s a cricket in our basement. The cricket in our basement is noisy. At about 10:00 p.m. each evening our little cricket friend ramps up his chirping. I think that he is a he– and that he is trying to attract any lady crickets who might be around.

Of course I could be wrong about our little cricket friend’s motive because I learned most of what I know about crickets from an episode of The Big Bang Theory. That’s how I got edumacated on this subject.

• • •

2. Jiminy Cricket. Once I realized that our little cricket friend was living with us inside our house, I named him for Disney’s famous cartoon cricket, Jiminy Cricket. Then I set out to find a video with Jiminy.

The video I found features Jiminy as host and is about “How To Have Fun Safely.” I remember seeing this cartoon when I was a kid. Jiminy wants me to live to be 83. And to not be a fool. And other assorted things that I may or may not have done throughout my lifetime.

Somehow, after viewing this video, I get the feeling that Jiminy would not be the sort of cricket who, now that I’m an adult, would meet me for a cocktail. He seems a bit judgmental and uptight to me. Just a little bit too know-it-all-y.

• • •

3. Buddy Holly and the Crickets. I remember once upon a time, in the early years of our marriage, we received a housewarming gift that was a good luck brass cricket for our hearth. I felt that the cricket was a cute, whimsical gift with wonderful symbolism; I majored in English Lit. Zen-Den, an Econ/Business major, thought it was dumb.

I don’t remember who gave us that gift because it was a long time ago. Although not as long ago as when there were “Rock and Roll Specialists” singing about a girl named Peggy Sue. Which, now that I think about it, is the name that I’d give the cricket in the basement if I thought he was a she.