After searching high and low for weeks, I finally bought a beanbag chair. Yes, I realize it’s 2019. But when you’ve got a wood-paneled 1970s-era basement filled with lava lamps, records, and a beaded curtain, what else are you going to put down there? A rocker-recliner?!
Perish the thought.
I suppose a waterbed would have been apropos as well, but if we don’t have room for a pool table, we certainly can’t fit a waterbed down there. (Actually, we could fit either one of those things, but we’d have to climb over them to cross the room, which would be like a game of The Floor is Lava for adults. Come to think of it, that would be fun!)
“Every office needs a hippie,” one of my coworkers said in a meeting last week, and shockingly, she wasn’t talking about me. Clearly, she has not seen my basement.
Anyway. Beanbag chairs, it turns out, are damn near impossible to find. I’m all about supporting local businesses, but was forced to turn to Amazon when my quest proved fruitless. Or beanless, as the case may be. This somewhat surprised me. I thought the classics never went out of style! It was a long, discouraging, empty-handed walk back to my Edsel.
Not to fear; Amazon came to the rescue once again. I am now the proud owner of a super-comfy beanbag chair that perfectly molds itself around my body. In fact, I’m writing this very blog post from said chair. Seriously, I don’t know why every home doesn’t have a beanbag chair. These things are cozy, versatile, and portable. And you’ll never drop loose change or car keys or a cellphone between the cushions because there are no cushions. It’s all one big cushion!
Genius, I tell ya.
Saturday was one of those days where the fog persisted and the temperature never climbed above 21º. This resulted in hoarfrost (a name that always makes me snicker), which occurs when water droplets freeze on contact with objects, creating featherlike crystals. It looks especially compelling when it coats tree branches.
That’s actually a night shot. Tara scored us free tickets to the Rapid City Rush hockey game last night; it began snowing just as we left the house, and fortunately, the snow ended before the game let out. We got about 1″, so nothing major, but enough to convince us to stop by Halley Park on the way home to take pictures of the Christmas lights and aforementioned (ahoarmentioned?) frost.
Wandering around this beautiful setting at 10:30 p.m. was enough to ease the sting of a loss by our hometown hockey team. Didn’t matter; we had fun anyway, and the Rush gave it a good effort.
This morning, I couldn’t resist taking a walk around Storybook Island and taking photos of our winter wonderland. Once the sun came out, those trees were really sparkling! They remind me of the fake plastic ones you put up with a Christmas village.
They’re saying our highs might reach the 60s (!) next weekend, so I’m a-gonna enjoy this scenery as much as I can while it sticks around.
This being South Dakota, I’m sure we’ll be back in the twenties a few days later anyway. And because we are flying to Nevada for New Year’s, how much do you want to bet there will be a blizzard threatening our plans?
Knock on wood.
Mark My Words 
The only memory I have of a bean bag chair took place in the late 70s and involved a way too young me drinking way too much alcohol in said bean bag chair. I panicked when I rolled out of the thing and found myself holding onto an extension cord praying it would be strong enough to prevent me from sliding off the wildly tilting floor and out my best friend’s 2nd story bedroom window. Good times. Did you take the picture of the frost-covered tree? Beautiful!
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Ha…that’s an amazing story! Love it. Yes, I took the photo of the tree. Freezing fog is a real pain to deal with when you’re driving, but it sure does make the landscape look beautiful.
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Is that green SHAG carpet I see under the bean bag? There aren’t any leisure suits hiding in the closet are there?
That park, and the water tower picture could not be more amazing. That’s my kind of snowy winter scene…just enough snow to look lovely without waist high drifts.
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I wish it was shag carpeting! It IS original to the house (we completely redid the upstairs but didn’t change a thing in the basement), but is sadly a low pile carpet. I love the retro-ness of it regardless!
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LOVE the bean bag, Mark! OMG…I had one of those in my bedroom when I was a teenager, along with an inflatable chair and hippie beads on my door. I also had green and blue shag carpet that I used to rake to keep it fluffy. Ha!
GORGEOUS shots of the frozen water droplets. WOW! Natures work of art! And as I shared on your Instagram feed, that picture of your Winter Wonderland is exquisite! That would make a perfect Christmas card!
Our weather has been up and down as well. It’s been extremely cold, however, yesterday the temps rose into the mid-60’s, and was very humid. I was actually sweating on my walk to work.
Have a great week, my friend! 🙂
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Ha…the image of you raking your carpet is priceless, Ron! Trust me, shag carpeting would have been the PERFECT finishing touch for our basement. At least the green color screams retro! By the way, Tara just ordered us a starburst clock for the living room. Can’t wait ’til that bad boy arrives on Friday.
Have a great week, and here’s hoping for some frozen water droplets headed your way!
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My son had a baseball beanbag chair to go with his baseball themed room. We eventually threw it out when it began leaking beans, but it got a lot of good use.
Yes, those do look like plastic trees that would look lovely next to a gingerbread house.
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I remember those sports-themed beanbags. They were pretty popular back in the day. Leaking beans has probably been the death of many a beanbag chair.
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Oh, I’ve seen the floor as lava and melting drippy walls too. Those 1968 years, ya know ?
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Haha! Great “trip” down Memory Lane, Carl.
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ahoarmentioned–wow. But, yeah, that stuff is gorgeous. Congrats on finding the chair. They occasionally sell them at our Costco! We are next to a beach town, however. Lots of hippies. Still, I don’t think hippies generally shop at Costco.
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“Wow,” as in, how clever, right? Or “wow” as in “I can’t believe he went there?” Err…never mind. I don’t want to know!
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It was a shake my head smiling sort of wow. So, a bit of both, maybe?
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I recalled playing the floor is lava. I am often surprised what items I can find on Amazon. The featherlike crystals are beautiful in the photo. Almost like magic. I agree. Enjoy it while it is here. Beautiful winter wonderland photos, Mark!
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Nowadays, I’m surprised when I can’t find something I’m looking for on Amazon!
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The hoarfrosts are absolutely beautiful as are your photos 🙂
I am glad you found the right chair for the room. I love Amazon. It seldom disappoints me, and my feet don’t get tired from all the hunting!
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Plus, you don’t have to muscle your way through crowded aisles or fight for a parking space. Win/win!
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I hope your flight doesn’t get messed up due to weather. Wintertime flights are always so tricky for those of us in the Midwest.
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Tara said I probably jinxed things just by mentioning the weather. Sure hope not!
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