Don’t Waste Halloween!

Posted on October 29, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

Hello and welcome to another Waste Not Want Not Wednesday blog post.  My sister the author (Diane E. Young) believes that Wednesday is Wine Day, because of her book Wednesday Wine Club. It’s a good book, and I do not have a problem with anybody drinking wine on a Wednesday.  However, my purpose right now is the make a blog post

I think “or else” is implied, don’t you?

I took a picture of this specifically to use in a Waste Not Want Not Wednesday Post.  I thought it looked creepy and Halloween-y, but maybe that is just because I am kind of a Halloweenie.  If that is so, I do not mind at all, because it adds interest and amusement to my days.

A tree from this year!

I took this picture when out walking yesterday.  I suppose one could have too many pictures of fall colors but do not believe I have reached my limit yet.

THIS is what I’m talking about!

The real pictures I do not want to go to waste, of course, are the ones I took of the Haunted Library at Ilion Free Public Library (perhaps you read my blog post about it yesterday).  I just realized I have to get there today or Saturday or I will miss it!  At least, I have seen it with the lights on and nothing moving or making noise.  I would like to get the full experience if possible.

A very nice set up indeed.

I confess I never really decorated for the holiday this year.  I’m going to call it a rebuilding year, as they do in sports.  In the meantime, I have enjoyed looking at many trees and other people’s decorations.  We’ll call that a win, shall we?  I feel sure you will agree.

Now then, what was I saying about wine?

 

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Haunted Library? Yes, Please!

Posted on October 28, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

As I searched for pictures to go for my story about the Ilion Village Board meeting for the Daily Sentinel, I  went to Ilion Free Public Library to see their Haunted Library.  Library Director Director Shauna Bishop had talked about the display at the meeting and encouraged everyone to  come check it out. They let me in with the lights on to take some pictures, but I totally hope to return to get the full experience.

Spoiler alert!  You may want to go see the Haunted Library before you check out my pictures of it.  I like to go see these things tabula rasa, that is, a blank slate.  However, for blogging purposes, I like to share pictures.

I’m always pleased to meet new people.

I took several pictures, so I may talk about this Haunted Library for the next few days.  I don’t imagine anybody will have a problem with that on Halloween week.

I have a skeleton bucket like the one on the side.

In addition to large ghouls, there were a number of smaller displays.  Today I share a few big guys, but tomorrow I may share the others.

He was big and scary, yes.

The woman who let me downstairs to see the display said this guy scared her sometimes.  She said his eyes follow you.  I just left, so he did not have much chance to follow me.  I wasn’t frightened, you understand.  Not much.

Ilion Free Public Library is located at 78 West St., Ilion, NY.  The Haunted Library is open through Thursday Oct. 29 from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. and Saturday Oct. 31 from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. A less scary  lights-on version is open Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

 

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Breakfast with the Witches

Posted on October 27, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

This morning after swimming, a bunch of us went to the Bridge Street Diner in St. Johnsville, NY for breakfast/lunch.  That is, some of us got breakfast and some of us got lunch.  Was it ever busy!  It was OK that we had to wait, though, because it gave us plenty of opportunity to look around at all the Halloween decorations.  They always do such a nice job of decorating that place.

Gotta get me a wreath like that.

Naturally I took some pictures for a blog post.  The only thing I did not get a picture of was the witch that had a pumpkin for a skirt.  You’ll just have to believe me that she was cute.

“I want a pumpkin skirt!” I said.  I may look for a wide orange skirt at the thrift store and try to make myself one.

There were plenty of witches on hand.

Donna was a little creeped out by the skeleton with the big hair.  It made me think of Marie Antoinette.  I fell in love with the pumpkin slippers on the witch on the right.  I wonder if they make them in my size.

He was pickin’ and grinnin’!

When I took this picture, a lady at a nearby table asked if I wanted her to take the picture so I could be in it.  I declined but thought it was very nice of her to offer.  I suppose the decorations will be down soon.  I’ll have to stop in again to see what they do for Thanksgiving.

Bridge Street Diner is located at 10 Bridge St., St. Johnsville, NY, phone number 315-568-8018.

 

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I’m Just a Little Mixed Up

Posted on October 26, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

I can’t quite decide if this is a Monday post or a late Sunday post.  I think I will go with late Sunday, because I do not have a real post in mind.  For one reason, my phone with the pictures in it is across the room, and you know how far away that can be sometimes (at least, some people are now rolling their eyes and huffing in scorn, but I know others are nodding their heads wisely in sympathy).  The phone is charging, and it really needs it.  When I returned from my far away adventures, I left my charging cords in the car.  Only I didn’t know it and wasted an inordinate amount of time searching again and again in the bags I had brought in.

“I know I brought the cords!  I REMEMBER putting them in a bag,” I wailed to myself.  And I just now realized I was spelling it “chords” like music.  In fact, it was music to my eyes when I found them (I know that is not really that expression, but I had to go with the play on words, you must see that I had to).

He’s saying, “Good grief, it’s almost Halloween!”

I throw in a picture to pep things up.  That vintage Santa Claus resides year round on the landing of my stairs.  Right now he has a Halloween scarf draped around him, after sporting my Kentucky Derby hat for a few months.  It reflects my mixed-up point of view, and life, that certain seasonal decorations adorn my house all year.

And I have babbled on for over 250 words.  Good enough for a placeholder post, I say.  Perhaps one more picture.

I put a spell on you!

The black and gold caftan is one of my go-to costumes.  Here I am being a silly wizard, but not for Halloween.  However, that is a story for a different blog post.

 

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Not Bizarre, AT the Bazaar!

Posted on October 25, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

Alas, I did not make my Saturday blog post on Saturday, because I was too tired.  My activities were not scattered but rather concentrated.  I was at the Cozmic Cauldron Halloween Bazaar at Johnson Park in Liverpool, NY, trying to help my sister sell her books.

The beautiful author herself!

She concentrated on her murder mysteries rather than her romance novels, since it was a Halloween Bazaar.  I piped up with my opinions on the books while she told people about them.  One of the vendors told me I should come to her booth and help sell her blankets.  I had to laugh at that.  I can’t sell things!  When I was employed and had to sell things, I always flopped miserably.  It is all very well to say, “You didn’t believe in your product,” but I did!  I told people the good things about the products and how it would benefit them.  But let us not dwell on my sordid past.

Me, trying to fit in at the Halloween Bazaar.

Since it was a Halloween Bazaar, I dressed up in a costume.  If anybody asked me what I was supposed to be, I would have said, “Oh, just a common or garden ghoul.” It is my go-to costume:  Just find stuff in my house that looks a little wild.  The skull is not part of the costume; I had picked it up from Diane’s decor.  I think if I wear the costume to a party I have been invited to, I should provide myself with a skull to carry around. Props are so important.

You can find out more about Diane E. Young’s murder mysteries and romance novels at her website authordevy.com or at Diane E. Vetrone Young Author on Facebook.

 

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The Pit and Lame Post Friday

Posted on October 24, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

Here I am again, letting it get to be evening before I make my blog post.  It is just about 7 p.m. on Friday, I add, because my WordPress timestamp does not agree with my own time and date.  Then again, I often do not know what day it is or think it is a different day from what it is.  However, it is Lame Post Friday and I expect to post accordingly, with random observations and half-baked philosophy.

I veered a little bit into the half-baked philosophy yesterday, with those remarks about wine and roses.  Today I got nuthin’ in that direction.  My random observations is that the tree which was glorious yellow one day, then dull brown a few days later, looked a lovely orange in the slanted light of dawn.

Picture from the past to pep up the post.

The tree did not look as bright as these pictured.  I did not take a picture of the tree I looked at.

Well, one observation does not a blog post make.  Perhaps another picture will help me.

 

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It is creepy, yes!

I use my newfound skill of copying an image to the post to add a picture.  This is the movie I am currently watching. Who doesn’t love a little Vincent Price for Halloween?  Unfortunately, I missed a really creepy part while I was looking for and copying the picture.  There is some half-baked philosophical lesson there, but I cannot articulate it.  If anyone else would like to try, have at it in the comments, please.

In the meantime, I am over 250 words and have the rest of this movie to watch, and perhaps a few more classic horror selections.  I hope you are all having a delightful Friday.

 

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What Kind of Days?

Posted on October 23, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

It is after 9 p.m. and I almost forgot to make my Thursday blog post.  I am very tired and want to go to bed.  However, I am dogsitting and want to take the poocher out for his final business meeting a little closer to ten, in hopes he will not want to go out again at two.

A little more fall color, because I am still seeing some.

I had meant to make a Pedestrian Post, although I took no pictures when I went on my walk earlier.  I enjoyed what fall color remains.  I noticed one tree which had been brilliantly yellow only a few days ago is now a dried-out brown.  I always feel I should just stare at the colors, because they last such a short time.  As I was thinking of this, I heard in my head a portion of a poem which was quoted in the movie Laura (good movie, highly recommended): “They are not long, these days of wine and roses.”  I thought that was rather apropos.

Before I got too depressed about days that did not last, I thought to myself, “They will make more wine, and I can plant more roses.”  Someone will argue (you know who you are) that the actual wine and roses are not the point, but the rosy glow of youth.  To that person I will explain, with a nod to S.J. Perelman, “Shut up.” (S.J. Perelman famously penned the line, ” ‘Shut up,’ explained the policeman.”)

And now I am over 200 words.  I find that sufficient for a blog post.  I hope to see you all tomorrow on Lame Post Friday.

 

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Will I Wuss Out ? Or Go Way Back?

Posted on October 22, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

This is going to be a Wuss-out Wednesday, especially as I am posting later in the day than I usually post.  I almost forgot to.  How remiss of me.  I have done very little blogworthy today, given that “blogworthy” is a judgement call in addition to being a made-up word.  Perhaps I should go for a Wayback Wednesday.  Can I find anything good in my Media Library?  I am going to say, probably.

Is this bunch up to any good?

This is kind of a sad memory, and not just because my late, dearly missed husband Steve is in the picture.  This was January 2020.  LiFT, Little Falls Theatre Company had not done summer Shakespeare in a few years, and a small group of us got together and tried to do something about it.  Alas, we only met a couple of times before COVID happened and everything went to hell, and not necessarily in a handbasket.  Quick, try to find a more cheerful memory!

When Shakespeare did return!

Here is the cast of Love’s Labour’s Lost, which LiFT presented in the summer of 2022.  Will Shakespeare return to Little Falls again?  I can only hope.  And maybe I can do something about it.  I can reach out to a few LiFT-ers and see if anybody is interested and if so what I can do to help make it happen.  Doesn’t that sound optimistic of me on a Wuss-out Wednesday?

 

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I Got Another Duck!

Posted on October 21, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

Whatever I did wrong that lost me Classic Editor, I apparently undid it, because Classic Editor is back.  Yay!  And I have a real blog post to make as I stopped for lunch at Boulevard Diner in Whitesboro, NY for lunch this afternoon.  Believe it or not, I was not even thinking about the blog at the time, just my big fat stomach.

It is a long-time staple of the area.

While I waited to be seated, of course I had to try the Lucky Duck claw machine.  I won a duck!  I kept showing it to everybody.  When the person ready to seat me asked if I was alone I said, “Just me and my duck.”

This is not the duck I won.

The duck I won is pink and has hearts on it.  Alas, I neglected to take a picture of it.  Take a picture now, you may suggest.  Well, I tried but the lighting was bad, and I just don’t have the oomph to find a better spot.  Judge me if you are so inclined.  The above duck is one I won when the Elks Breakfast Club met at Boulevard Diner some time ago.  I believe I presented it to my friend Michele for her birthday.

Today I enjoyed a grilled chicken sandwich on homemade Italian toast with lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise.  I drank hot coffee and cold water.  It was a very pleasant interlude, although I missed the company of my breakfast friends.

Boulevard Diner is located at 24 Roosevelt Dr., Whitesboro, NY, phone number 315-768-3042.

 

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What IS a Blogger To Do?

Posted on October 20, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

Oh dear. It looks as if WordPress has taken away Classic Editor. I was never a fan of Block Editor, never could figure it out. As regular readers know, technology eludes me. It’s not even as if I have anything to blog about. The only thing I have done for the past few days is watch television and take walks. Of course I love to write summaries about cheesy horror movies I watch, but those tend to be my least popular posts. What is a blogger to do?

I do know know how to add captions with this editor, but this is a picture from my Media Library to illustrate the fact that I have taken walks and enjoyed the post-peak fall colors.

Oh dear, this editor is going to make my life miserable. I cannot easily move up and down, and it is not showing me word count. I suppose these problems are of less concern than the fact that I have almost nothing to say, but you know me: I will whine about any and everything.

I can’t figure out how to center this picture either. I chose it because this guy looks as confused as I feel. Perhaps the best thing for me to do is begin writing my blog posts as I used to do, on paper with pen, then type them in. I can add the pictures if any after I do that. I think that might be a good plan.

In the meantime, I do not know how many words I have, but I feel certain it is sufficient for a Muddle-Headed Monday. Do I have a category called that? It does not matter; I do not know how to add tags and categories with this Editor.

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