Ryan Quin and Garlic Bread

Posted on July 26, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

Thursday after attending the Frankfort Town Board meeting (regular readers may remember my side hustle of covering local meetings for the Daily Sentinel), I stopped by Fratello’s Pizzeria, where I had noticed Ryan Quinn was playing.  In addition to being a thoroughly talented musician, he is a very nice young man.  I thought it would make a good blog post.  Also, the pizzeria was right on may way home.

Maybe not the best picture, but it served its purpose.

As I usually do, I took a picture right away and shared it on Facebook, inviting any of my local friends to come out and enjoy the music.  None of them has ever joined me, but I live in hope.  I did not mind sitting there myself, grooving to the tunes.  The bartender told me appetizers were half price.  I could not resist ordering garlic bread with mozzarella cheese.

YUMMY!

I shared a picture of the bread on Facebook too, just to make the people who were not joining me jealous.  I ended up taking most of it home, but it was just as good cold.  I probably could have re-heated it in the toaster oven, but I was too lazy.

A multi-instrumentalist.

I took another picture of Ryan, then danced my way back to my seat, ignoring my foot, which has been really bothering me lately (you didn’t think I was done whining about my physical woes, did you?).  I sang along to the songs I knew, and clapped and cheered at the end of each one. I have not been going to Fratello’s as frequently as I have previously done, but I am always glad I went there when I do.

Fratello’s Pizzeria is located at 158 E. Main St., Frankfort, NY, phone number 315-894-8484.

 

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Stop Typing, Me, and Start Writing!

Posted on July 25, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

Hello and welcome to another Late and Lame Post.  I neglected to make my Lame Post Friday blog post on Friday, and here I am prior to 7 a.m. (I slept in) on Saturday, listening to my coffee lazily brewing, and thinking it would be good for me, if for nobody else, to try to type in something (as Truman Capote famously said, “That’s not writing, that’s typing.”

My current state of mind.

I throw in a picture to pep things up, as I like to do at these times.  I did not want to take the time to search my Media Library for either a coffee cup nor my one picture of typewriters (note to self: get more pictures of typewriters), but this one caught my eye.  It is me as the alleged murder victim at the end of A Revolutionary Murder.  I was supposedly blown up by a cannon (“canonized” as one cast member put it), and we all thought it would be funny if I came out at the end looking like this.

Ah yes, books.

Scrolling down my Media Library I came across this picture of the Little Free Library on the walking trail at the Town of Herkimer Park.  I put a couple of books in the Little Free Library at Valley Wine and Liquor yesterday when I stopped by for a wine tasting (good wines, yum!).  This is to remind me that I have not yet written that novel, although I have made a few false starts.

I guess it’s time to get myself going.  At least I have made a blog post, lame as it is.  Will I write anything today?  Will I even type another blog post?  A little uncertainty adds interest to my weekend.

 

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Memories in Costume to Cheer Me Up

Posted on July 24, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

I feel sorry that all I am up to today is a Throwback Thursday blog post.  I am just not feeling well, and am feeling sort of down in addition to my ever decreasing brainpower.  Can I do something to cheer myself up? Possibly. In fact, making my blog post has been known to cheer me up.  I can only hope it has a similar or other positive effect on my readers.

A fine looking pair!

I looked in July 2017 in my Media Library and found this backstage shot from The Tempest, performed by LiFT, Little Falls Theatre Company.  I dreamed about Shakespeare last night, more than once.  When I woke up from the last one, I was still dreaming and I was running around saying, “I dreamed three times about Shakespeare!  We have got to make it happen!”  As if it was that easy.  Dream on, me!

I’m such a ham!

I can’t help but include a silly picture of me.  This is from July 2018, when Ilion Little Theatre participated in Ilion’s DooDah Parade.  They allowed me to ride on the truck.  One or two years I walked with everybody else, then I became a diva and insisted on riding.  They graciously allowed me to do so.  Oh the irony!  I was well capable of walking two miles at the time.  Now it is painful to go two blocks.  Well, one never knows what the future will bring.

Who could these sweet ladies harm?

I was looking for something more colorful and cheerful, but I had to use this shot of me and my friend Kim, portraying the ghosts of two murderesses for a haunted tour of the Herkimer 1834 Jail.  I believe there were actual ghost hunters there, along with a historian or two.  There may have been actual ghosts, but I did not encounter any. In fact, it was wickedly hot in the jail, especially in our period costumes, and I was unable to stay the entire evening.  But that is a tale for another post.

This post, I see, is over 300 words.  Not bad for a blogger who feels she does not have a functioning brain.  As always, I thank you for tuning in.

 

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Pictures of Plants without a Plan

Posted on July 23, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

I do not have anything particular to blog about today, unfortunately, and I have very little brainpower with which to blog.  I do, however, have a couple of pictures which I just walked into my backyard to take specifically for the purposes of this blog.

So cheery and yellow!

I noticed this morning that I had some Black-Eyed Susans blooming.  I was very happy, having missed my peonies, wild daisies, rhododendron, and Rose of Sharon (why do I capitalize Black-Eyed Susans and Rose of Sharon but not the rest of them? Discuss amongst yourselves).  As you can see, I have not missed the Black-Eyed Susans by any means, because there are a number waiting to open.  I hope to get a wider view later, showing the full scope of my Black-Eyed Susan patch.

More greenery growth.

Now this is a plant my late, dearly missed husband Steven and I purchased at a garden day or some such at the Herkimer Home in Little Falls, NY. I forget what it is called, if I ever knew (it is hard to say what I may or may not have known).  It is not where we originally planted it, but it is much larger than the original growth.  It used to have little pink flowers, but I have not seen any this year.  I live in hope.

It seems every year I have great gardening plans, and every year I disappoint myself.  But let us face facts:  I do not really have plans: I have daydreams.  Any time I make an actual plan, the plan goes to hell, pardon my language (I was going to say “the plan goes to pot,” which has the charm of alliteration, but then you might think I am talking about marijuana and it all gets too complicated).  Well, never mind.  I will enjoy what happens to grow and deal with what happens.  And write a blog post or two along the way.

 

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Real Flowers on Tired Tuesday

Posted on July 22, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

Oh dear I have waited till late in the day (for me) to make my Tired Tuesday blog post.  I really do not have much to say, because I do not want to go on about my health woes (and they are currently quite woeful, although I have some hope) (oops, I went on a little bit). I went for a little walk today, to the post office to mail a letter to a friend which, incidentally, I took way too long to finish, then to the Elks Lodge, to visit to whichever friends might be there.  On the way, I took one picture, which I will now share.

Oh dear, I did get part of me reflected in the door!

I must go by there again and focus more on the flowers.  I took the picture because in a recent post I shared a past picture of some flower in front of a place on the other side of Main Street.  These are even better, because they are real flowers.  I suppose one would expect the Department of Environmental Conservation to use real flowers, but one can never count on these things.

Full disclosure:  It was not easy for me to walk as it has been previously. I say this even though it constitutes whining about my physical ills.  I consider that it is OK on a Tired Tuesday post.  I shall hope for a better blog post tomorrow, and as always., I thank you for tuning in.

 

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Am I Monstrous or Just Muddled?

Posted on July 21, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

I have a small window to make a Monstrous or other Monday blog post before I have to wander down to the town offices to cover the Herkimer Town Board meeting.  I will probably have to finish the post after said meeting.  I could only have done it earlier, but, well, things happen.

Live is a sometimes a rough road.

I scrolled through my Media Library looking for an illustration to show I did some driving today.  To Cooperstown, to be exact, to see a doctor.  The roads were not that bad for most of the way.  I think this is a picture I took for a story I did about road work in Ilion, later used here in a Waste Not Want Not Wednesday.  For Monstrous Monday purposes, we can pretend those are monster footprints, or maybe the monster was snacking on the asphalt.  Monsters need a lot of roughage in their diet, so I understand.  OK, I just made that up.

A little nature is always nice.

I looked for a more attractive picture to counteract the bad road (pronounced a-trahk-tive).  I do not remember where this little stream is and do not have time to research the matter.

Pretty!

I end with a shot of Main Street in Herkimer, although it is actually Prospect Street where I am headed.  Also, these flowers are no longer decorating that spot.  Bummer.

However, I am over 200 words.  I am going to bill this as a Muddled Monday and drive on.  As always, I thank you for tuning in.

 

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Swooning about the DooDah

Posted on July 20, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

Once again I almost neglect to make my blog post. In my defense, it is rather a Wrist to Forehead Sunday, maybe a Wrist to Forehead Weekend. I spent some time yesterday swooning around, dramatically posed with the back of one wrist to my forehead, of course.  My couch had to make do for a chaise lounge.  I am somewhat adaptable in that respect.  Does it take two days to recover from my DooDah doings?  Perhaps.

Only a fraction of the parade!

I stood at the beginning and tried to get a shot that showed the scope of the parade.  Then I walked back down the line, taking a few pictures and wondering if I really wanted to ride on a float.  I was quite tired by that time.  Still, riding on a float was my best bet, since I had left my car at Ilion Elks Lodge and caught a ride to the parade’s beginning (it seemed like a good idea at the time).  I could always jump off said float as it went by the Elks.

Who better to appear in the parade?

This is the float of the class of 1976.  They seemed like a fun bunch of people when I chatted with them before the parade.  They had said if they had room, I could ride with them, but they lacked sufficient space.

They were having fun, yes.

I ended up jumping on a float that had not previously offered but just happened to have an extra chair. It was Emrich Land Surveying.  I know the owner, because he is an Ilion Village Trustee.  I met his mother, sister and nieces.  They were so nice and fun!  I was certainly happy to sit down.

I have been sitting or lounging ever since, except for when I have been swooning.  In fact, I feel another swoon coming on.  This does not bode well for tomorrow’s blog post.  Whatever will I do?  Worry about it tomorrow, I suppose.

 

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The DooDah Did Me In!

Posted on July 19, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

I have been lounged on my couch doing not much of anything today and remembered I did not make a blog post yet.  I went to the DooDah Parade in Ilion, NY and had a fine time.  Alas, I lack stamina and resiliency, but let us not dwell on my petty problems, let us talk about the parade.  For anybody just tuning in, it is one of the grand events of a week of Ilion Days Festivities.

Yay! Ilion Little Theatre!

As I walked around talking to people and taking pictures, I was delighted to see some of my friends from Ilion Little Theatre.  I think I mentioned in a previous post that the club had not participated in recent years, so I was happy to see them back.  They even invited me to ride on the float with them.  In fact, I had a few offers.

I loved it!

I foolishly did not make a note of whose this float was, but I complimented the man driving the pick-up truck towing it.  I told him about the yard in Potsdam that has a large number of toilets planted with real flowers.  I saw it once in person, but unfortunately only in passing.  Perhaps a road trip up North is indicated.

He was a friendly guy!

You can’t really see his cape in this picture.  He told me he was a combination of Superman and Wonder Woman.  It just goes to show you, anything goes at the DooDah Parade!

I’m afraid I spent too much time walking up and down, chatting and having a good time.  My back, knee, and hip are not thanking me for it today.  I wonder if I should change the name of my blog to Mohawk Valley Old Lady.  Hmmm… doesn’t have a ring to it.

 

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Do I DooDah?

Posted on July 17, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

That title occurred to me as I sat here on my Chromebook contemplating my day and wondering if I would get anything of substance done (spoiler alert: I probably won’t).  One problem is I have to recruit my energies for the DooDah Parade, a highlight of Ilion Days this evening.  I must cover it for the Daily Sentinel.  At least, I never heard back from my editor that she wanted me to cover it, but I covered it last year, so I thought I would submit something.  At least it will make a good blog post and be something for me to do on a Friday other than watch Dateline or Columbo and wish it was not too hot to knit.

I personally am on the Boomer cusp.

This is a picture from last year.  I walked all around the floats and marchers as they waited for the parade to start, chatting up lots of people and looking for Joe White, who is the main mover and shaker behind the parade.  I never found him, but one of the American Legions let me ride along on their float.  It was great fun.

I am back left, with my arm raised, looking a little like the Statue of Liberty.

This is from 2019, when Ilion Little Theatre used to participate in the DooDah.  They had a circus theme that year.  I just draped a few of my lighter shawls around me and put on my tiara, which long-time readers know I wear at any excuse.  I don’t remember what I purported to be, but I feel I looked fabulous.  This year the theme is, not surprisingly, Happy Birthday, America.  I feel I should dress appropriately, although I must remember the weather will be warm, not to say hot.

I keep saying I’m going to join them.

I thought I’d close with another shot from last year.  These are the Happy Hags, a delightful dance troupe that makes many local appearances.  I think they are wonderful.  If my arthritis or whatever it is permits, I may yet join them.  They are very nice.

So I guess I have talked myself into going to the DooDah Parade.  I must figure out what to wear (my Uncle Sam or George Washington costume?), where to park (I know a good spot close to the end but not too far to walk to the beginning), where to go afterwards (there is a good band playing at Ilion Elks Lodge) (preview of coming attractions) etc.  I said in my email to my editor that she might prefer to send a more talented photographer, so I see someone else there from the Sentinel, that will be fine.  I will use my photos for the blog.  As always, I hope you will stay tuned.

 

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Tip Top Breakfast at Top of the Morning

Posted on July 17, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

I met my Elks friends for breakfast this morning at Top of the Morning Cafe in North Utica, NY.  We had eaten there before, so I was able to refrain from annoying the car behind me by slowing down at every turn looking for Coventry Avenue.  I may have annoyed other cars with other driving behavior; I make no promises when it comes to annoying people.

I remembered to take a picture on the way in.

There were many good menu choices as well as some tempting specials.  I dithered and debated.  Then I went ahead and ordered two eggs over medium with Italian toast.

“That’s it?” Michele said.  I had been looking at some pretty elaborate meals.

“I’ll eat it, and I’ll like it,” I said.  Actually, the eggs were exactly the way I like them, and the toast had plenty of butter, also the way I like it.

I enjoy a simple breakfast sometimes.

I also liked the coffee mugs: what I call a four-finger mug, because the handle is nice and big.  I put pepper on my eggs but no salt.  Lately I have been eating eggs without salt and find I like them just as well.  Who knew?

Bonnie got one of the more elaborate breakfasts. I think it was a meat lovers scramble.  I took a picture for blogging purposes.

It did look tempting!

I may get one of the bigger breakfasts another time and take some home.  For today, I enjoyed what I got.

Top of the Morning Cafe is located at 414 Trenton Rd., Utica, NY.

 

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