Yes!

In Which Fuzzy The Squirrel Seems To Blame Me For The Snow

/ Ally Bean / 26 Comments

IT’S NOT LIKE I HAVE ANY control over the weather.

However, during this last cold snap I’ve gotten the distinct impression that Fuzzy the Squirrel, our resident goofball + star of many posts, has begun to blame me for the snowfall and wants me to suffer because of it.

I say this because he’s been consistently unwilling to get with the blogging program and permit me the honor of photographing him.  He knows that he is a favorite feature on The Spectacled Bean.

Idiot squirrel.

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THIS NEW BEHAVIOR IS PECULIAR BECAUSE Fuzzy is by nature a show-off who in the past has adored having his photo taken.

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SO WHEN I NOTICED HIM CLIMBING Tree #3479 to his home the other day, I hesitated about grabbing my camera.  I wondered if he’d be in the mood for a photo-op, but I decided to try, figuring that Fuzzy couldn’t hold out much longer.

He needs attention.

Thus it is with great pleasure, and the implied blessing of a narcissistic squirrel, that I give you my latest photograph of Fuzzy the Squirrel, titled: Rodent With Bad Attitude In Winter Our Dear Friend Enjoying Winter.

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A Sunday With Purple Zombies And Deceitful Politicians

/ Ally Bean / 18 Comments

This morning is the first time this month that it has looked like winter outside.  There’s a dusting of white snow but it isn’t deep enough to cover the tops of the green grass blades.

I’m not surprised to see the snow this morning.  All day yesterday the TV weather forecasters were babbling about Monday’s SNOW! SNOW! SNOW!

You know how they get.

So yesterday, while anticipating this snowy Monday morning, we decided to spend the day at home getting the bounce back in our pounce.  Which is to say that we, two adults without children, played a board game and binge-watched a TV show.

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We purchased our game on Saturday while shopping at an outlet mall.  We wandered into a toy and game store where I found a board game version of RISK.  Subtitled: THE GAME OF SUBURBAN DOMINATION.  Further sub-titled: PLANTS VS. ZOMBIES.

How cute is that?

So we bought the game and decided to make it our Sunday goal to learn how to play one of the three games available within the box.  We went with the easiest game in the box that I’d describe as a mixture of Chess, Jumanji, You Sunk My Battle Ship, Backgammon and Football.  It’s not all that Risk-like, but oh is it entertaining to play!

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In-between learning how to play (or in my case lose) our new game, we watched House of Cards [American version].  I am totally smitten with this show, that I’d ignored until a few weeks ago when Kevin Spacey won a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a TV Drama.

Now, having watched 6 episodes of House of Cards, I’m fascinated by Francis and Claire.  They are amazing sociopathic characters.  I cannot imagine what deceitful, immoral, unethical, sneaky, conniving, manipulative, under-handed thing either of them will do next. 

With a unpredictable plot line and a narrative arc like no other, this show is fun to watch;  especially, if you happen to have had any experiences, unfortunate or otherwise, with people like Francis and Claire.

Just saying.

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So what did you, my gentle readers, do this past weekend?

Were you productive?  Were you healthful?  Or, were you homebodies, like us, who played games and watched TV?

Spill the beans in the comments below. 

My 2015: The Year Of The Recluse

/ Ally Bean / 26 Comments

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Looking at the calendar today it occurs to me that I have been remiss in not sharing with you, my gentle readers, my resolutions revolutions one word goals dreams aspirations vague ideas simple plan for the new year, 2015.

Clearly I need to get more scoot in my get-along.

[The preceding phrase is one that I don’t normally use, but I heard a football color commentator use it when talking about some player doing something, so I decided to add it to my folksy phrases repertoire.]

[Yes, I have an actual list of folksy phrases that I started about 10 years ago.  I recently rediscovered it when I took it upon myself to sort through the stuff in my desk.  Trust me, I will be referring to said list often now that I have found it.]

So here is what I’ve decided that this year will be all about for me.  I’m going to be a recluse, defined thusly as: “a person who lives a solitary life and tends to avoid other people.”

Not exactly anti-social, but non-social.  ‘Ya know?

And sometime throughout the year I might even explain why I’ve come to this decision.  But for today all I’m going to say is that I’m comfortable with the idea of spending more time by myself while pursuing my particular interests– like finding & using folksy phrases!  😉

In Which We Learn Whether Or Not I Can Upload A Photo & Then Write About It

/ Ally Bean / 22 Comments

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Let’s pretend that my last post didn’t happen.  Okay?

Which is to say that if you’ve arrived here expecting to see a post about me having lunch, I deleted it.  The post, not lunch.

I didn’t delete the post because I said anything bad, but because the photos, which made the post interesting, looked hazy.  Not pretty.

In fact, when I uploaded them yesterday the WP system wouldn’t let me upload them in the normal way.  I had to revert to an older way of uploading photos to get them here.

And once here, not so clear.

So now, today, this very morning, I decided to upload a test photo to see how the WP system is working today and to see how my photo looked.

And wouldn’t you know it, today’s photo, of two of my mother’s old recipe booklets that I keep in one of my desk drawers, is the epitome of clarity.  And coconut.

Thus proving that I’m tenacious, I can upload photos, I can write a post of the fly, and that I’ve kept some rather unique items that belonged to my mother.

For no discernible reason. Which seems to be the theme of this post.