Are You Reeling In The ‘Burbs?

March 4, 2013March 4, 2013 / Ally Bean / 21 Comments

“The weekend at the college, Didn’t turn out like you planned. The things that pass for knowledge, I can’t understand.”

~ Steely Dan, “Reeling In The Years”

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So my weekend didn’t go as I planned.

First, there wasn’t any sunlight which meant that we couldn’t seal the granite counters and tumbled stone backsplash in the kitchen. This is an annual project that we do at the beginning of March. It takes two days in all to get it done– AND it requires sunlight to get it done right. Naturally, it being the first weekend in March I had planned on doing this project, but Mother Nature, she be fickle.

So we didn’t do it.

Then second, I didn’t feel good– as in intestinal distress and a sore throat. So my plan for us to attend the home show was a no-go. The last place I wanted to be was in the middle of a huge convention center, surrounded by people and strollers. I could only envision the worst possible scenario with me needing a bathroom now– and no fast way to get to one.

So we didn’t go.

But the weekend wasn’t a total bust. Zen-Den watched basketball [*yawn*] and various movies that were on TV. Movies like The Karate Kid and Catch Me If You Can and Lady and the Tramp. While I drank hot tea, huddled in blankets and advanced to Level 15 [of 16 levels] on my iPad Tetris game.

So there’s that.

~ • ~

What did you do this past weekend? Something exciting? Or were you as dull as we were?

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Odds & Ends

February 28, 2013 / Ally Bean / 19 Comments

:: I’m waiting at home today while my car, Olivia, is in the shop. She is a 10 y.o. Honda Accord Coupe. Yesterday I went in for an oil change, knowing that there’d be more to it than just that. At ten years there has to be.

Apparently at year 7 something involving the timing belt [belts?] was to be done. But I didn’t do it then. Probably because no one at the dealership told me to do it. Whatever.

So I’m having it done now. And this, people, is why I like Honda Accords. They are very forgiving about maintenance schedules, which is a good thing when they belong to a person such as me. That would be a woman who means well, but often forgets to have the oil changed on a timely basis. A woman who maintains her car based on whims– and prayers.

:: I got a new slow cooker [aka crock pot] for Christmas. Did I tell you this before? Probably not. Exciting news such as that I usually keep to myself because I wouldn’t want you, gentle readers, to be jealous of my good fortune!

My new slow cooker is shiny and bright red– and works about a hundred times better than the old one. Considering that I have the time today, I’m going to research some new recipes to make in it. Clearly I know what herbs + spices are available in our kitchen. Plus we have a busy weekend coming up, so fixing and forgetting a meal sounds like a good thing to do.

Anyone got a favorite slow cooker recipe that I should know about?

:: I’ve mentioned this before but as a refresher: Murphy Brown had Eldon, the painter– while I have Greg, the landscaper. And it being on the cusp of spring here, Greg has been in touch. Actually he first phoned me in January, but I dodged his calls because I didn’t want to talk about gardening. Couldn’t I just have one month off?

However, Greg is nothing if not clever. He started emailing Zen-Den, who then started forwarding me photos of shrubs and bushes and such– so that I’d decide a thing, or two, about this year’s spring garden clean-up & replacement ideas. [We’ve been at this residence close to 14 years now, so lots of the original bushes are near the end of their vitality.]

And you know what? Much to my surprise I’m rather pleased to be looking at photos of + details about green growing things. I think that I’m ready for spring.

A Mid-Winter Sunday Morning In The Park

February 10, 2013July 1, 2025 / Ally Bean / 19 Comments

“Many people don’t realize that it’s in what you think are the limitations of a certain form that you can often find your own rhythm and space.”

~ Isabelle Huppert

Sunday was one of those monotone, nondescript days that was neither lovely nor lousy. Not too cold. Not too wet. Not too bleak.

I had almost no energy. Whether it was because of the weather or because we ran around all day on Saturday, I don’t know. Doesn’t matter because I had no pep.

But I thought that we really should do something, so I talked the hubster into going to a city park that we hadn’t been to in years. I remembered that it was flat, paved and had decent parking.

At first I wasn’t going to take my camera with me thinking that without vibrant color outside there’d be nothing to take a picture of. But then I realized that taking photos on a winter day that offered neither sunshine nor snow would be a fun challenge, so the camera came with us. Just in case I saw something I wanted to photograph.

Here’s what I saw…

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Faith, Trust & Puzzle Dust

February 9, 2013March 23, 2020 / Ally Bean / 14 Comments

WHILE working on a jigsaw puzzle with her husband, she was asked whether or not she had got all the puzzle pieces with blue on them together into one pile.

She replied: Yes.

WHEN it was pointed out to her that there were about 20 more puzzle pieces with blue on them that she had not put into the pile, she thought hard about this.

Then she said: Some is like All, only Less– and Easier.

AND then, having faith that she had explained herself clearly, she walked away from the dining room table, trusting that she had done her bit for this project. Needing to put distance between herself and those 1000 dusty puzzle pieces. Wondering why she said that she’d help with this stupid puzzle to begin with.

[Images of puzzle from Jig Zone. This particular puzzle is here.]