IT Is a Blog Post

The tree of existential angst.

I need to get a better picture of this tree, because it really speaks to me.  Two of its branches are posed in the universal position of “Wha-at?”  I took the picture on a recent long walk.  I had meant to make a Pedestrian Post with Pictures but am really only up to a Monday Mental Meanderings today.  Maybe I should have had coffee instead of tea.

A less evocative tree.

I have kind of a thing for dead trees.  I had walked up into Brookwood Park, which I used to refer to as The Unknown Park till somebody told me what it was called.  It ended up being a very good walk, because I took the path through the woods, and it is no myth that being near nature helps.

And still no Tim Curry!

Before I got up into the park, I saw a sewer and looked for an evil clown.  Full disclosure:  I have neither read the book  IT nor watched any of the movies (how many times has it been dramatized?).  I always associate it with Tim Curry, because I am madly in love with Tim Curry.  I hear he recently celebrated his 80th birthday.

Pretty!

I have been seeing a lot of hyacinths lately.  I must plant some in my yard for next year.  I love the smell.  This particular patch was in a kind of a weird place: on a down-slope into a parking lot.  I wondered if they had been planted or if some critter had moved the bulbs. In either case, I liked to see them.

And now I am over 250 without having said a whole lot.  The second cup of tea was not the miracle I was hoping for, but one must make do.  As always, I thank you for tuning in.

 

Pre-Crawl Post

No, not a Pub Crawl, although anybody who knows me might be forgiven for thinking so.  I am about to embark on Herkimer’s Spring Shop Crawl.  We get to go around to participating businesses and check them out.  Many are running specials for the day. In any case, I will get to say hello to my favorites and hopefully discover some new places for shopping and blogging purposes.

Can’t wait to stop here!

The event is hosted by To Niche Their Own and Renewed and Rescued. Renewed and Rescued is a long-time favorite of mine, and To Niche Their Own has been a favorite since I discovered them.

And if I get hungry along the way.

I just scrolled down the Facebook Event’s Discussion and looked for other participants whose picture I might have in my Media Library, and here is Paradise Eatery.  I am charging my phone in hopes of taking pictures at each stop. This may be good for days and days of blog posts!

I see Herkimer College (known to locals as HCCC or “H-trip-C”) is also sponsoring a vendor fair.  I intend to walk during my initial foray into the Crawl, but I may return home for my car to check out what’s up the hill (YES, I try to run up the hill on a regular basis, but that is not the same thing, surely you can see that) (and I will call you Shirley if I decide to).

Well, time, as they say, is a-wasting.  I need to get crawling and shopping.  I encourage any local readers to check out the Spring Shop Crawl.  All others may tune in later for blog posts about same.

 

Feeling Murderous on Lame Post Friday

Decisions!  Choices!  If only dithering burned calories, how skinny I would be!  Never mind that, I want to make a blog post, Lame Post Friday or not and I decide to go with a Post-Rehearsal Post and share some pictures of last night’s rehearsal of A Revolutionary Murder, the murder mystery we are presenting to benefit Herkimer County Historical Society next Saturday.  We had a fun rehearsal and I am greatly optimistic about the performance.

That face!

Regular readers may recognize some of the actors from previous murder mysteries.  I do love my regulars!  This time I also have two people I have worked with on other plays, and they are doing marvelously.

She is setting them straight on a few things.

One of my actresses showed up in a spangly gown she intends to wear as her costume.  I love it!  Costume does help one get into character.  I at least try to wear the shoes I intend to have on.

A wider shot.

As you may notice, we are rehearsing in Herkimer Elks Lodge,  where the performance will take place.  The Elks are very generous with letting us use their space.  It is so helpful to rehearse where we will actually perform.  Additionally, I like to purchase a glass of wine after rehearsal.

Almost everybody is in this shot!

I guess I have not said much about the mystery, but I feel this is all to the good.  I would not want to give away any salient plot points; I like my audience to be surprised.

A Revolutionary Murder will be presented Saturday, April 25 at Herkimer Elks Lodge, 124 Mary St., Herkimer, NY, doors open at 5, dinner at 6.  Tickets are $45 for individuals, $80 per couple, available at the Historical Society at 406 Main St., Herkimer, or at the Elks Lodge.

 

Where Have I Been? Where May I Go?

With apologies for missing my Wednesday blog post, I attempt another Throwback Thursday.  I have done a few things this morning, not many of course:  took a mile and a half walk, met friends for breakfast, talked to my parents, met with a contractor (long story, not very interesting)… OK, I have not done much.  I have a hair and toenail appointment this afternoon and a murder mystery rehearsal this evening (preview of coming attractions).  I certainly hope I remember to take a couple of pictures at rehearsal for a Post-Rehearsal Post.

Now what did I do with that little silver purse?

This is a picture of my bestie Kim and me at a Prohibition Party at Gerber’s 1933 Tavern in Utica, NY.  I actually have some better 1920s outfits now, and I am always hoping to add more. Note to self:  make the next murder mystery a 1920s theme.  I thought I would throw back to businesses previously visited, but of course I cannot get away from my theatrical (not to say drama queen) nature.

Cheers to a Cute Little Blonde!

Here is a local business I need to return to soon, Heelpath Brewing in Frankfort.  The Cute Little Blonde mentioned in the caption refers to the wine Kim is drinking, from Rustic Ridge Winery in Burlington Flats.  That would be more of a drive for me to visit, but it is a delightful place.

The bunnies were still there last week!

Now here is a place I have been recently and intend to return to today: Valley Wine and Liquor in Herkimer, NY.  I go for their weekly tastings, for a naughty sip and some pleasant conversation.  I must see what they are tasting today.

I have cheered myself up, thinking of these places I have been to and can go to again.  I miss my Kim, who has moved halfway across the country, but perhaps she will return for a visit sometime.  In the meantime, there is no reason I cannot enjoy some Mohawk Valley Adventures with other friends or even on my own.

 

It All Started with the Spider

I am having a Tired Tuesday Post.  It may even be construed as a Terrible Tuesday Post, but let us not become too dramatic.  Then again, drama is my life!  (Said with a dramatic gesture).

This morning there was a spider in my coffee.  Ew!  This is what happens when you do not examine your mug before adding coffee.  I have only myself to blame.  Full disclosure:  I drank the rest of the coffee, spider germs be damned.  I had to finish my story about the Ilion Village Board Meeting for Sentinel Media.  Caffeine helped.

As my day progressed, I needed to go to Ilion again to drop off a flier of my latest murder mystery, A Revolutionary Murder, at Morning Star Methodist Church.  While there I shopped at their Pay It Forward Thrift Store.  Alas, I did not take any pictures.

Later in the day, I walked to the post office to mail a note and post card, then on to the Herkimer Elks Lodge to reserve two tickets to the previously mentioned murder mystery.  Then I walked on to The End Zone Pub.  Just to say hello.

You can’t really see the new light.

While I was there, Brock, the owner, was placing a new light in the front display.  I took a picture, but as you see, not a very successful one.  What can one expect on a day which began with a spider in one’s coffee?

 

Another Brew, Another Book!

This morning I had occasion to go to Little Falls, NY, so naturally I made a stop at Athenix Books and Brews, one of the all time coolest bookstores ever.  Nick, the owner, greeted me by name as I walked in, which is so flattering!  I had a box of books from my parents’ house and asked if he was still taking donations.  He said, “Always!”  This is good news for me, because I haven’t even started cleaning out my own library!

Lots of choices!

I was in need of a treat to ordered a Mocha with whipped cream and a deluxe brownie (it’s true:  I do not have weight-loss goals; I have weight-loss daydreams).  I sat down at a tall table and worked on a letter to a friend while I sipped and nibbled.  I really want to begin some more substantive writing projects than letters and post cards, but one does what one can, and I believe most people like to receive snail mail on occasion.

A very welcoming atmosphere.

Sometime I will have to come in with a friend, so we can sit on the couch to sip and chat.  After I had finished my treat, I naturally looked for a book and found one amongst the used books.  Reduce, reuse, recycle!

No, I did not purchase one of these books!

It has actually been a while since I had stopped into Athenix but I hope to stop in again soon.  As I was leaving, two ladies were entering.  “This is a great place,” I told them, and I could tell they were quite taken with it as they continued into the store.

Athenix Books and Brews is located at 624 E. Main St., Little Falls, NY, and is open daily.

 

Not Even the Ambition to Swoon

I am having kind of a Wrist to Forehead Sunday, when I swoon, dramatically posed with the back on one wrist to my forehead — why do I not yet have a chaise lounge to faint upon?  This is not an unreasonable goal.  Actually, it is, considering I cannot even get my house cleaned and organized.

The sign that should be in front of my house and definitely in front of my brain!

I could not find an appropriate illustration during a quick check of my Media Library so make due with this.  I ran by this sign on this morning’s run, then I went through Meyer’s Park.  It was only a two-mile run, so shorter than the last run, but I still feel I am getting into shape for the Boilermaker 15K in Utica, NY in July.  I suppose I should feel pleased with myself that I went for a run, was it two days in a row?  I am getting so forgetful in my old age.

I do love purple.

I throw in a picture of a few crocuses to cheer myself up.  Things got colder this weekend than they were earlier in the week, but I don’t really mind that.  The temperatures haven’t killed off the flowers.

I don’t suppose it was the temperatures that have killed off my ambition, either, but I need to get some of it back.  Maybe I could manage a Mohawk Valley Adventure this afternoon.  I hope you are all enjoying your  Sunday, with or without a chaise lounge.

 

Ah, Murder In Springtime!

I have been at the Herkimer County Historical Society twice in the last two days concerning the next murder mystery, A Revolutionary Murder, which will be presented on Saturday, April 25 to benefit the Historical Society. I thought I might give a little teaser about that.

Wednesday when I stopped by, it was for dramatic purposes.  Without going into too much detail, a character reports that a cell phone was blown clear and landed in a bush.  In fiction (and probably real life too, but I don’t know too much about that), it is nice to be exact. Not just “a bush” but “an azalea bush” or “a hydrangea bush.”  So I stopped to ask what kind of bush grows around the historical society.

Oh, no, not that kind of bush!

I guess by two weeks from now the bushes will not really be that far along, but I hardly think the audience will call me out on that.  Several bushes that will be there as spring and summer wear on, and I think I am going to settle on Bleeding Heart, just for the reference to blood (you should see the fliers!) (which you can see on the Historical Society’s Facebook page).

Aren’t they cute?

Yesterday I stopped by to see if they had some tickets I could bring to the Elks Lodge, in case any members wanted to purchase them.  On the way out, I took the two pictures I just used as illustrations.  I mostly took them because I tend to take pictures of everything I see growing.  I try not to let winter drag me down, but oh, do I love the rebirth of spring!

Funny to be enjoying rebirth when I am about to kill somebody off for fun and non-profit, but so it is.  A Revolutionary Murder will be presented Saturday, April 25 at the Herkimer Elks Lodge, 124 Mary St., Herkimer, NY, doors open at 5 p.m., dinner at 6 p.m.  Tickets are $45 for individuals, $80 per couple, available at the Historical Society, 315-866-6413.

 

Too Lame for a Running Commentary

I had meant to make a Running Commentary Post today, but these are best made soon after the run.  It was some hours ago that I ran (by a very generous definition of the word) up the hill to Herkimer College (affectionately known as HCCC or H-trip-C).  It is a pretty good hill.  I would like to say I ran it triumphantly, but feelings of triumph were to follow.  At the time I felt pretty damn miserable.  But here I am runningly commenting when I decided to do a Lame Post Friday post after all.

Non-sequitur illustration.

I took this picture yesterday, I think.  I was delighted to see buds on the tree, and it looked so pretty against the blue sky.  I have not been running enough, but I manage to get in at least a short to medium walk almost every day.

Pretty!

I paused on my cool-down walk to take a picture of these crocuses.  Some people may roll their eyes and say, “We KNOW what a crocus looks like!”  I explain to them, “Shut up.”  (That is a line from S.J. Perelman, ” ‘Shut up,’ the policeman explained.”)

I zoomed in a little closer.

I confess I stepped a few feet onto these people’s front yard.  Nobody came out and yelled at me nor fired a shotgun.  You never know around here.

One white crocus to make me happy.

I was across the street from my house at the end of my cool down when I saw a couple patches of white.  A crocus?  Don’t get your hopes up, I told myself;  it is probably garbage.  Well, one of the white spots was, but the other was a crocus.  Yay!

So this is my blog post today.  Not quite a Running Commentary, and a little bit of spring.  I hope you are all having a lovely Friday.

 

Murder Remembered

Alas, I have once again fallen down on the job as a daily blogger by failing to make even a Wuss-out Wednesday post.  A quick check of my phone tells me a Waste Not Want Not Wednesday is also ineligible.  As I sit here on my couch feeling rather tired, I fear a Throwback Thursday is my best bet.  For one reason, I am pondering the latest murder mystery and throwing back to past triumphs may inspire me.

You knew I would include a picture of Steven if possible.

This was indeed a fun one, Fabulous and Fatal in the fall of 2019.  My late, dearly missed husband Steven made quite the hit as Ophelia Upp, a member of Drag Queens Along the Mohawk.  I played the glamorous Roxanne Rolls.

Nothing suspicious about him!

And here is my friend Tucker as Renwick Spaulding, a great lover of all things insect in Donate to Murder.  He was pretty awesome.  I feel proud of myself for writing these murder mysteries, but really, it is the actors who make the stories come to life.  Which may seem like a funny thing to say about a murder mystery.

How could somebody that fabulous kill anybody?

Here is a less than candid shot of one of our suspects for Shooting at the Grange, which we performed at Salisbury Grange in the spring in 2023.  It was a pretty fun script in a nice setting.

I don’t know that I feel particularly inspired now to work on the mystery we are rehearsing tonight, but at least I have my blog post done.  I hope you’ll stay tuned for future Mohawk Valley Adventures.