If The Fates Allow

December 18, 2012December 18, 2012 / Ally Bean / 25 Comments

I don’t feel like telling any stories today. Instead, here are a few of the thoughts that are swirling through my head. Keep in mind that Christmas is not my favorite time of the year, so if I sound cranky here it is because I am. And quite frankly, why aren’t you cranky too?

:: I haven’t started to address and sign our Christmas cards yet. I thought that I’d leave that task until tomorrow when I have the morning to devote to it. I like to send cards because they are personal– or at least they can be when done right. The right way according to me? Hand signed. Group photos, if included, have the names of the people on the back. A newsletter, if included, is succinct. If someone does not abide by the above, then I tend to doubt that he or she is sincere when sending the Christmas card. And I remember this.

:: I spent the weekend cooking. On Saturday I tried a new recipe for roasted chicken with root vegetables that was a failure. The only thing that we could salvage from it was the roasted red beets– the rest of it never cooked right. On the other hand on Sunday, I jazzed up an old tuna noodle casserole recipe. I turned a plain dish into a grown-up feast by using WW pasta, adding some white wine, throwing in some smoked paprika, topping with ~~panko bread crumbs~~ spicy chipotle pita chips + gourmet parmesan cheese. *yum*

:: Anyone else finding the incessant Christmas music in all the stores to be especially annoying this year? I dislike it to begin with, but in light of the Sandy Hook Massacre I find the jolliness of it to be inappropriate… rude… disrespectful. Live music has heart, but this stuff is just wrong. We are a nation in mourning this Christmastime. And the music, which can easily be changed, needs to reflect this.

:: There is no sign of snow around here; instead, we have lots of rain and lots of gray skies. Some years December is like this. It makes for a less than festive atmosphere during what I am told it the most wonderful time of the year. While at night I enjoy the contrast of the bright outside lights juxtaposed against the late autumn gloom, during the day the grayness overwhelms me. Any thoughts that I might have of Christmas merriment dissipate into the bleakness.

:: We don’t exchange presents with very many people. When it comes to family, all anyone wants is gift cards/cash so that’s what we get them. EZPZ, no? I so enjoy giving the gift of shopping to other people who enjoy going shopping– unlike me. And as for the rest of our holiday gift giving, I am only beholden to find some small items which I either put into pretty bags with cheery tissue paper or wrap in simple paper with a wisp of ribbon. For us, gift giving is the easiest holiday thing that we do. *hallelujah*

A Day In The Country

November 24, 2012July 1, 2025 / Ally Bean / 10 Comments

“All things bright and beautiful,

All creatures great and small,

All things wise and wonderful,

The Lord God made them all.”

~ Cecil Frances Alexander

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[a few photos taken at our friends’ farm on Thanksgiving Day, 2012]

Autumn Sustains Me

September 25, 2012October 5, 2012 / Ally Bean / 22 Comments

“A change in the weather is sufficient to recreate the world and ourselves.

~ Proust

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I’ve never seen a season appear on cue quite as perfectly as Autumn did on Saturday. In the morning during Summer’s last hours the weather was warm + humid around here. I remarked to Z-D that our lawn looked so green that it seemed like Spring. As the morning progressed, I wondered if I should have worn shorts instead of capris. It was that warm.

And then, Summer exited stage left. Enter Fall.

By mid afternoon the wind was gusting and the air had a chill to it. The sky was blue + leaves were blowing all over creation. Pulling into the Kroger parking lot we watched as the wind knocked a Mr. Coffee coffee maker off the bottom of a shopping cart as a woman pushed her shopping cart to her car. It was that windy.

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For me, Autumn is the beginning of the year. I find myself relaxed, joyful and mellow during this time of year. I let go of striving and enjoy the results of what I’ve worked on throughout the winter – spring – summer. I review what has succeeded, appreciate what I did, enjoy where I am & prepare for what is to come.

Grounded in the colorful reality that Fall is known for, I’m comfortable thinking about possibility now. Much more so than in January. There’s something about this time of year that helps me get it together and be happy for the chance to embrace change.

Autumn sustains me. Does it do the same thing for you?

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The Moon Is Always Up There, You Know?

September 13, 2012September 13, 2012 / Ally Bean / 14 Comments

I took these photos mid-morning Sunday when most of the sky was so blue that the moon was visible. We rarely have super clear days like that around here.

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Occasionally some wispy clouds floated through the sky across the moon reminding me that this photo-op was going to be a short one.

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I couldn’t help but think about Neil Armstrong as I snapped these photos. Imagine walking on something so far away from & different from the Earth? He never considered himself to be a hero. He thought he was just part of a team that made amazing things happen.

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