Author Archives: mohawkvalleygirl

Spoiler Alert! I Give Away the Ending of One Monster

I am resorting to a Monstrous Monday post, because I fear if I wait till I leave my house and do something blogworthy (and there is no guarantee of either of those things happening), I will not post at all.  We can’t have that.

“Why can’t we?”

Regular readers may remember my favorite guy, Nosferatu, of the eponymous 1922 silent film.  It’s scary!  I love it!  I also love the song by Blue Oyster Cult, which I only recently discovered.  I think my vampire friend looks startled in this picture, or perhaps he is just trying to remember how to say grace.

She looks like I feel.

And here is the beautiful Candace Hilligoss in Carnival of Souls (1962).  I guess she is not looking her best in this shot.  Carnival of Souls is a great example of how you can make a very unsettling movie on a low budget.   One might argue that Candace is not exactly a monster, but I usually try to avoid arguments as I often lose them.

Another scary one!

These could be described as monsters of the human sort, but I believe they call themselves witches.  Does anybody recognize a young Christopher Lee?  I think I need to revisit some of these older horror movies I have on DVD.

A reformed monster.

I close with a seasonal monster, the Grinch.  I suppose this gives away the ending of the story.  I know what!  I’ll put in a Spoiler Alert in the headline!

 

I Lollygagged About Making My Resolution

Some people are making New Year’s Resolutions.  Others are loftily saying they refuse to have self-improvement dictated by a calendar; when they see something that needs fixing, they fix it.  Still others feel they are already perfect (you know who you are).  Of course, everybody must do what works for themselves.  Personally, I believe in making a New Year’s Resolution right around Thanksgiving.  Then you have a perfect excuse to overindulge during the subsequent holidays:  “I can eat these cookies; I’m going on a diet January 1st!”  Alas for me, I neglected to do so and had to overindulge with no excuse.

Random picture to denote passage of time while I get more coffee.

What could be more festive that Joan Crawford with an ax?  At least candy is seasonal.  For accuracy’s sake, I point out that I am nobody’s mommy.  I was Mama Q to the boys in my national guard unit, back in the early ’00s, but that was a long time ago.  But I digress.

I think New Year’s Resolutions can be a useful tool.  New year, new beginnings, new hopes.  They don’t always work, of course, but then nothing works all the time in every case. What a lot of pressure to put on a little bitty resolution, not to mention to our own psyches.   “I WILL improve my life, starting on this arbitrary date, and if I do not, I am clearly dirt!”  To me, that is not a helpful way to do it.  Then again, “I will NOT make a New Year’s Resolution, because they clearly do not work!  I will stay just the way I am, so there!”  Well, that is fine if you are one of those perfect people I mentioned earlier.  A friend once said she had some goals.  I like that.  Words matter, and to some of us, having a goal can seem much more attainable than a Resolution (the song about “A Resolution! On Independency!” from 1776  is playing in my head).

Some people have no perception.

I guess this has been a whole lot of half-baked philosophy, more worthy of Lame Post Friday.  Then again, many people find themselves confused about what day it is this time of year.  As regular readers know, I am no stranger to confusion.    I would like to just mention I have made this entire post with a whanging headache (autocorrect thought I meant “changing.”  I would like it to change!) (and autocorrect seems to think autocorrect is not a word, but does not change it) (again, I digress).  Thus I prove to myself that I can so make a blog post when I have a headache.  There goes another excuse!

My skull is screaming.

I close with a shot from The Screaming Skull, another beloved cheesy horror movie, with or without robot heads.  I see I am over 400 words.  Wow!  That must be some good coffee I made!

 

With or Without Robot Heads

Hello and welcome to a Post-Christmas Lame Post Friday post.  I have a bit of a headache right now, nothing I should really complain about but when have I ever let that stop me? Quick, throw in a picture to pep things up.

When in doubt, go silly!

I was searching for a local picture of festive cheer, but the only thing in my Media Library that spoke to me was this shot from Santa Claus Conquers the Martians the classic 1964 movie featuring Pia Zadora.  I first caught it on AMC, back when they showed movies, and now have it on DVD as an episode of Mystery Science Theatre 3000.  I confess I like it with or without robot heads.

Voyeur!

The silliness continues with a Christmased-up shot from King Kong (here’s a Freudian typo:  I started to type Kink Kong!).  Look at that lascivious grin!

A better behaved gorilla.

Here is Burt the Birtday Gorilla, a present from me to my late husband Steve some years ago.  We sometimes dress him up for the holiday.  This is from 2024.  I can’t find that necklace, which is a pity, because it would have enhanced some of my holiday wear.  I did wear the hat when I ran the Reindeer Run 5K in Little Falls, NY a couple weeks ago.

I see I am over 200 words.  That is no doubt enough silliness for one blog post.  I must try to get something useful done.  Maybe I could even do something I could blog about tomorrow.

Blog of Christmas Past

How convenient that Christmas falls on a Thursday, so I can do a Throwback Thursday Post.  All I need do is consult my Media Library.

A great place for Christmas goodies!

Of course I must include my late, dearly missed husband Steven.  Holidays are difficult when you have lost somebody so important to you and with whom you have shared so much.  But I must keep my spirits up.  My family and friends help a great deal.  Anyways, this is the So Sweet Candy Shoppe, which used to be on Varick Street but has relocated to a nice spot in Clinton.  Check it out; it’s a great place to shop any time of year.

 

Random Christmas picture to denote passage of time while I scroll my Media Library indecisively.

This is not going well. I keep looking at different Decembers and not seeing anything that I feel like sharing.  Come on, me!  Grow a brain!

I haven’t a ghost of a chance of making a good blog post today!

I thought at first this was the Ghost of Christmas Past, which would have been SO appropriate for a Throwback Thursday. However, we must make do with Jacob Marley.  I have not seen any Christmas movies in the past few years, largely because Steven was the one who was always popping them in.  For another reason, I disconnected my DVD player when I got a new table for my television and have never hooked it back up.  I only have RokuTV and have not figured out where the free movies are.

Yeah, I’m a ding dong.  But not a rama-lama ding dong.

I close with a Christmas Cowbell, gifted to me by my sister Cheryl back in 2020, just because.  I see I am approaching 300 words.  Score!  Merry Christmas to those who celebrate, Happy Holidays to others, and Happy Thursday just to be all inclusive.

 

Pre-Caffeine Christmas Eve Post

I messed up my streak again, being too tired to post on Tuesday.  Now it is Christmas Eve, and I have a few things left to do before the festivities begin, and I cannot decide between tea and coffee.  Coffee has more caffeine, but tea is easier on my stomach.  I shall blog while I dither (who says I can’t multi-task?).

Christmas photo to denote passage of time while I put on water for tea.

Boris Karloff is the only Grinch for me.  I have some Frankenstein earrings I wear this time of year (actually I only wear one: it is a thing with me to wear three unmatching earrings).  A friend pointed out the wrong holiday, and I set her straight.  Boris Karloff, who famously played Frankenstein, narrated “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” as well as playing the Grinch.  She stood corrected but still teased me the next time she saw me wearing that earring.

There is a line in the song “The Man with the Bag” that goes, “If you’ve done everything you should, extra special good.”  This morning it played in my head as, “I’ve done a couple things I should. They were far from good.”  But I daresay I underestimate myself.  After all, nobody’s perfect.

See? He celebrates!

This was actually another random picture to denote the passage of time, this time while I checked if I actually turned on the burner under the tea kettle.  I had, and it was close enough to boiling (steam was coming out but the kettle was not whistling yet) that I poured my tea.  It is steeping as I type.

And I am well over 200 words.  I think I’ll bill this as a Wuss-out Wednesday and drive on.  Merry Christmas Eve to those who celebrate, and Happy Wednesday to those who do not!

 

It Was Yummy at Yetty’s

I was sorry to see a For Sale sign on Yetty’s in Herkimer, one of my go-to restaurants.  However, they are still open currently, so I stopped by for an early dinner the other day.  I enjoyed the Christmas decor.

Nutcrackers! Like my husband used to collect!

I got a Muffuletta sandwich.  Do you need to say “sandwich” or is that implied by muffuletta? Fine foodie I am!  But I know it is yummy!  I had leftovers, which did not last long.

Everybody has the Christmas spirit!

My picture of the fish with the Santa hat came out blurry, but I am unlikely to get down there again and take a better one before the New Year.  Then again, one never knows.  I also have a craving for pizza, and Yetty’s pizza is delicious.  If you get it with sausage, the sausage is a whole layer on top of the crust.  I get hungry just thinking about it.  Then there is pasta, salads, subs, appetizers, and more.  So much food.  So little time.

I do not know how long Yetty’s will remain open.  It could be somebody will purchase the restaurant and keep it going.  In the meantime, I hope to eat there again.  Of course now that I think about “so much food, so little time,” I am thinking of all the other great restaurants in the Mohawk Valley.  Oh dear.  What a dilemma.

Yetty’s Pizza and Pasta is located at 109 Mohawk St., Herkimer, NY, phone number 315-866-4201.

 

Christmas Wrist to Forehead

Oh, it is Wrist to Forehead Sunday.  Not even 10 a.m. and I have dithered enough to send a normal person into a tizzy.  Fortunately, I am an experienced ditherer, and nobody has ever for one minute in my life accused me of being normal.  I have not actually swooned, dramatically posed with the back of one wrist to my forehead, but let me tell you, I’m close.

I can’t seem to find that necklace. Rats!

What, don’t you decorate your gorilla for the season?  This is actually from last year.  I have not decorated my house nor even cleaned it thoroughly.  Judge me if you are so inclined.

My favorite socks and slippers.

Maybe if I get a few things done, I will feel justified in putting my feet up and taking a rest, as in this picture from 2023.  I went out this morning to purchase wrapping paper, etc.  As I searched for what I needed, I kept hearing Boris Karloff’s voice in my head saying, “It came without ribbons.  It came without tags.  It came without packages, boxes or bags.”  Well, it very nearly did come without tags, because I couldn’t find any for what seemed like the longest time.

We were a cute Christmas couple.

I close with a picture of myself with my late, dearly missed husband Steve.  We were at Salvatore’s in Herkimer, one of our favorite places to eat.  I have not been there in a while.  I do not think they are open on Sunday, but perhaps tomorrow I could stop in for lunch or dinner.  Maybe I will even wear the vest I have on in the picture.

 

Not a Pretty Post, but a Pre-Tea Post

I think I can do a Lame Post Friday post early Saturday morning.  It is just after six, and I haven’t had coffee yet.  Full disclosure:  I have been drinking tea rather than coffee most mornings in hopes of making my stomach happy, a forlorn effort at best.  Yesterday I had a nice time shopping at To Niche Their Own, a delightful little shop in Herkimer NY.  Alas, I neglected to take any pictures.  I must return and take a few in order to give them a proper shout-out.

The coffee I’m not having.

I throw in a picture to pep things up.  It took a bit of scrolling through my Media Library to find a coffee mug.  I must take a picture of one of the Christmas mugs I have been using lately.

Random picture to denote passage of time while I put on water for tea.

The thought of a hot beverage overcame me.  The above picture was taken a couple of summers ago, when Brookwood Market was still a thing. I forgot which vendor I got the flowers from, but the fingerless gloves are from Herkimer Handknits.  I can’t find a website or Facebook page for it, alas.  I also have a beautiful shawl I purchased from her.

But it’s so cute!

With little else to say, I share another photo.  This was taken at the sadly closed FarmHouse Restuarant, where I enjoyed many a delicious breakfast.  You can just barely see that it is a Christmas tablecloth in the background, so I am seasonal.

I guess this was another placeholder post, but what do you want on (OK, just after) Lame Post Friday?  Will I make a Saturday post on Saturday?  A little uncertainty adds interest to my weekend.

 

Must… Shop… More…

OK, I missed another day!  (Hey, that rhymes!)  It is Friday morning, not particularly early so I do not feel I can make my Thursday post now and my Friday post later. Then again, why not?  It’s my blog, and I make the rules (and usually break them, but let us not go there at this time) (I could have made another rhyme with make/break, but I refrained).

I always think these are so cool.

Here is a Throwback Thursday AND a Preview of Coming Attractions.  The picture is from 2022 and it is the Rose Quartz Stand in Herkimer, NY, where I might do a little Christmas shopping later.  It is one of my favorite little shops.  They have all kinds of gems, rocks, gifts, incense, smudges, and more.  I like to just walk up and down the aisles and look, but I often find stuff I want for me as well as presents for others.

I confess that my Christmas shopping is not progressing well.  I do not rule out stopping at any point and keeping what little I have so far for myself.  However, I have a few days left to make another effort.  I’ll let you know how I do.

The Rose Quartz Stand is located at 101 Mohawk St., Herkimer, NY, phone number 315-868-5199.