I’m Dreaming Of A Gray Christmas

December 5, 2011August 29, 2018 / Ally Bean / 4 Comments

random thoughts on a very dreary December morning…

~ We decorated the outside of our house this year. We don’t always do that, but this year we decided to put some lights on the bushes out front, a few wreaths on a few windows, and one long strand of lights wrapped around the deck railing out back. So far the decorations are surviving our record-breaking rainy weather without any prob. They’re all on pre-set timers, so they know what to do and when to do it. Wetness be damned.

~ After we decorated the outside of the house, we decided to put up a Christmas tree in our TV room. We don’t always do this every year either. Naturally the old lights that we had weren’t working, so Z-D drove over to Lowe’s and then Home Depot to buy a total of four boxes of the same GE multicolored lights to put on the tree. All of our ornaments from past years were in good shape, so we used them without buying anything new. The tree is pretty and colorful– the perfect antithesis to the bleak weather outside.

~ Most people who know me know that I’m not a fan of the holiday season. I tolerate it with gritted teeth and a quiet grace. I dislike the phoniness of it all. Too many people telling me too many ways in which they’re overwhelmed– by decisions that they freely made. Commitments they accepted for reasons they can’t explain, but will whine endlessly about fulfilling. To me, it seems like a time of faux friendship and forced frivolity. Not centering and joyful at all.

~ Zen-Den may be taking some vacation days at the end of the month. This will depend upon whether problems develop at work. We’ve made no formal plans to go anywhere, so if he does take the days off I think that we’ll be taking a staycation. Lunches out at some upscale restaurants that we like; a visit to the zoo to see the lights; a few rounds at our fav English pub. Nothing elaborate, just doing some fun things– because we want to.

[Hello FTC! As you may recall, I do not accept money or any other sort of graft for writing about any product. So you need not worry yourself about anything nefarious happening here on my sweet little bloggy. I like what I like– and I write about it because I want to write about it. Nothing more, nothing less. Just my opinion.]

Late Autumn

November 21, 2011 / Ally Bean / 9 Comments

Over the course of this last week the colors have changed around here.

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There are a few last shots of color here and there. God bless red roses. I try to memorize the color so that during the bleak months I can remember it– and keep my spirit alive. Do you do this too?

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This is what is left of our Happy Returns Daylilies. I love these plants. In the summer their lemony yellow flowers make me smile. And now they remind me to have faith in the process. Bright colors will return again. Yes?

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The water on the glass-top green-rimmed table is doing a great job of revealing the bleakness of the woods beyond. I love reflections. What is real and what is imagined?

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And then there is the woods back of the house. The leaves on the trees are all down now. I like how easy it is to see the grayish brown trunks of the trees. Very visual and organic. There are no straight lines in nature, eh?

Red, Wet & Blue

July 5, 2011February 3, 2015 / Ally Bean / 3 Comments

Our Fourth of July weekend was rainy, damp, humid. No picnic in the park. No day at the zoo. No baseball game with fireworks afterward. Instead, we had a weekend that only a mold spore could love.

Not. Too. Exciting.

So having nothing festive and fun to do, Zen-Den and I decided to be very grown-up and act like serious homeowners. First, we super scrubbed the kitchen— oven, cabinet doors, pantry, freezer, granite counter tops. Granted the kitchen wasn’t particularly dirty to begin with, but I have to admit that it’s amazing how shiny it looks now. Clean and inviting. Quite the happy space.

Then Z-D painted the sitting room— aka the un-bedroom. After much debate about what color to put on the walls, we chose a very pale shade of gray that reads slightly blue. Combined with the room’s white trim, this shade of gray creates a relaxing and easy space. Rather like being inside a cloud. Airy. Filled with possibility.

And that, kids, was our weekend. Not the traditional sort of Fourth of July celebration that we all know and love– but a practical use of our time. Which, God willing the creek don’t rise, means that next weekend we can have some fun.

Let’s hope, shall we?

Here Comes The Sun

May 6, 2011 / Ally Bean / 9 Comments

Let’s review.

First, I sat at this desk, working on this computer, complaining about rain to the whole world via this blog. And I was grumpy.

Then something amazing happened. We had a rainbow. Not just any rainbow, but the biggest and brightest one I’ve ever seen in this part of the USA. A rainbow of such significance that Z-D phoned me on his way home from work to make sure that I was seeing this rainbow. And I was stunned.

Then yesterday, because the sun was shining, I was able to plant colorful flowers and pretty viney things in the many garden pots that decorate the exterior of our home. Pots that I really love to look at when I’m driving up the driveway or walking up the sidewalk. And I was very happy.

[I’m calling this particular pot, and its sister pot on the other side of the stoop, “Snack Time At Vacation Bible School” because it has chocolate drop coleus + coralberry punch superbells in it. How fun is that?]

So even though the weather forecast for today is rain, I’m still in a good mood. Creating the flower pots yesterday brightened my spirits. And reminded me that when the nice weather gets here, I must make the effort to enjoy every minute of it.

TGIF, everyone. Make it a good weekend. Rainy or sunny.