Author Archives: mohawkvalleygirl

Walk, Don’t Run

Posted on November 30, 2011 by mohawkvalleygirl

The headline is from a sign at work. They’re all about safety there.

I ran three days in a row, that is, three out of my four days off. Then I went back to work for ten hours (sweet overtime). I was tired. Of course, every time I don’t run just because I’m tired, I regret it the next day. It rains, or my back hurts, or something else comes up, and then I’m two days without running. That said, I just could not get myself into sports bras and out the door.

I had coffee instead. Then turned on the computer intending to make my blog post. Then started thinking about my poor dog, who had been so happy to see me come home and who I was ignoring to be on the silly computer. The least I could do was take that pooch for a walk.

It was a lovely afternoon for a walk. Gloomy but not raining. I love gloomy days. I admired the trees’ bare branches against the grey sky. I always think deciduous trees are the real artists of nature. Every season they offer something different to admire.

I let Tabby pull me where she wanted to go. Down German Street towards Main. There are some cool older buildings on Main Street before you get into the downtown area. For example, the former Masonic Temple that now houses a tanning business. And of course, the Historic Four Corners. I noticed a wreath hung over the front door of the 1834 Jail and a Christmas Tree in the window. Very nice. Tabby pulled me through the little park near Basloe Library, and I was reminded about their book sale. Maybe I could check that out for a blog post later in the week.

I realized we were headed home after that. Tabby knows the neighborhood and had definite ideas about how long she wants to walk. My only concern was to keep her from jaywalking as we got closer to our street.

As we walked down our street, I saw a man walk, stop, then walk some more. It was almost dark by now, so it took me a minute to see the small animal frisking behind him. We caught up to them as we got to our house. The small animal was a tiny chihuahua. When she saw Tabby, she stopped and waited curiously. The dogs sniffed each other, but when I went to pet the chihuahua, Tabby barked and the other dog ran away. Her person picked her up and I petted her.

I said how cute she was and asked how old, and if it was a she or a he. The man said he thought she was about two. He had rescued her in California, where apparently she had just been dropped off in traffic.

“Sometimes they breed them and all they want is the puppies,” he said. Isn’t that just awful? She was a very sweet dog and so little. The man told me he had brought her back to New York thinking to give her to his grandkids, but they could not have a dog in their apartment.

“What, this cute little dog couldn’t hurt any apartment! Well, she’s lucky she has you,” I said.

“Oh, I just love her,” he replied.

We wished each other good night, and Tabby and I went inside. I hope we see that cute little dog again. I had missed my run, but the walk was nice.

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Posted in animals, dogs, Herkimer, scenery, walking. Bookmark the permalink.

Short Run, Short Post

Posted on November 29, 2011 by mohawkvalleygirl

I said I would run Sunday and blog about it Monday, so that motivated me. The warm weather was further motivation. Fifty degrees! Woohoo! I was on my way!

As it turns out, I needed all the motivation I could get, because almost as soon as I started my body began to complain. “What’s this?” my legs said. “You took Tabby for a half hour walk. Isn’t that enough exercise?” And they immediately lodged a request that I not run up any hills. Well, that was just too bad, because there was no traffic on German Street. That is my sign that I should cross the street and run up the hill by Valley Health Services. Sometimes it is the sign that I should run up the hill to Herkimer County Community College, but I haven’t been running much lately.

When I got to Valley Health, I saw a pedestrian couple headed that way from another direction. There was some more motivation. It’s one thing when I am behind a pedestrian and it takes me a long time to catch up. When I am ahead of a pedestrian, it would be just embarrassing for them to catch up with me.

Valley Health is not on that high or steep of a hill, so I made it OK. After the hill I reached the “I can rock this” stage of the run. At least, I said, “I can rock this,” to which my body replied, “OK, but not for too long.” Ah well, we build up slowly. Increase by 10% per week, the guy at the Sneaker Store told me. I guess my next goal is to keep running for more than a week. I’ll let you know how that goes.

So my Sunday run was not too bad, in spite of my petty complaints. I am happy to be back into running. I hope to soon have more exciting runs to report.

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Mohawk Valley Motivation

Posted on November 28, 2011 by mohawkvalleygirl

It seems I am always beginning to run again. It makes me a little embarrassed, because some people think I Run a Lot, and I hate to disillusion them. The embarrassment, of course, gives me motivation: I must run, because so and so think I do.

If I do stop running for a while, I try not to let myself get discouraged. Some people, when they try things and fail, think, “Oh, well, that didn’t work,” and never try again. A big example of this is quitting smoking. I know a lot of smokers who say, “Oh, I tried to quit. I can’t.” But it isn’t true. The more times you try to quit, the better chance you have of ultimately succeeding. For one thing, you learn what doesn’t work. Or what works for a while, and you just have to figure out how to make it keep working.

I think a lot of things are like that, most notably for this blog post: running. I’ve stopped running many times since I first started, and I always go back to it eventually. Sometimes more successfully than others. I try to build on my successes.

So the day after Thanksgiving, I went running for the first time in over two weeks. My nephew Tommy went with me. Tommy does not run much, although he has to run sometimes in connection with his karate classes, which, incidentally, he does very well in. He says he may run the Boilermaker with me in July. And there we have two more motivations to run: a run buddy and a future goal. I couldn’t very well back out of running once Tommy was lacing up his shoes. And the vision of July’s Boilermaker definitely kept my feet moving a little longer.

I ran the next day by myself. I enjoyed both runs very much. In fact, as I write this, my body seems to want to run again right now, although I have a bit of a sinus headache. I suppose some would advise me to lie down until the feeling passes, and they mean the urge to run, not the sinus headache. Is that the kind of humor I want to encourage?

There is a good chance I will run after I finish typing this blog post. There is also a good chance I’ll blog about it tomorrow, because I haven’t done much else Mohawk Valley-ish today. And there we have my ultimate motivation to run: it helps keep my blog in business. Stay tuned!

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My Black Friday

Posted on November 26, 2011 by mohawkvalleygirl

Subtitled Fun with Family.

You might think Mohawk Valley Girl would be out on a day like Black Friday, checking out local retailers or community events. Sorry if I disappoint you. I had plans to spend the holiday at my parents’ house in Rome (at least it was still in the Mohawk Valley).

Steven was all set to experience his first Black Friday behind the cash register at Wal-Mart. I confess to being a little worried about him. My husband is a sweet, mellow guy. He is not up to combating the dastardly behavior of bargain shoppers. At least he had Thanksgiving Day off. We had a lovely day, then he went home to recruit his energy while I stayed on to continue partying with the family (I like the use of “party” as a verb; I find it descriptive).

I went running in the morning with my nephew Tom. Tom, of course, ran the DARE 5K with me — that is, ahead of me — in August (ah ha ha, snuck in another mention of the DARE 5K!). I’ll do a running blog tomorrow, perhaps. For now, I’ll just mention that we ran across a bridge over the Mohawk River.

Later in the morning, my Mom, sister Victoria and I went to the grocery store (for some reason, I like to refer to my older sister as Victoria, although I usually call her Vicki). Vicki (see?) needed supplies for the chili she was making, and Mom needed a few things. I’ll tell you what: the grocery store is the Place to Be on Black Friday. No crowds! Everybody we encountered was polite. We had a nice conversation about lemon cake with a lady in the baking goods aisle. Next year, everybody on my list is getting groceries for Christmas. After the grocery store, we crossed the street to the drug store so I could purchase some sinus medication I had unaccountably left at home (I later found it on my living room coffee table).

York Liquors, we discovered, is handily located next to the drug store on Black River Boulevard (or The Boulevard as Rome residents tend to call it). We though we’d just peek in. York’s has a nice selection of New York State wines. We pointed out to each other all the wineries we had been to. Mom was pleased to discover she could get some of her favorites without returning to the winery. I should perhaps mention that many local liquor stores now carry New York State wines. Some excellent wines are being made close to home (well, my home; I guess I don’t know how far away some of my readers live).

And how was Steven’s Black Friday going? As it happens, not too bad. By the time he started at 8:30 a.m., it was pretty much a typical Friday. He and other cashiers actually had time to do some straightening. I understand some shoppers behaved badly at some Wal-Marts (notably in Rome, we heard), but Steven luckily did not encounter anything alarming. He was even able to make it out of the parking lot and go home for lunch. That was one of my main concerns, given my terror of parking lots, especially during the Christmas shopping season (Victoria drove on our little shopping expedition; she has no fear).

So now I guess it’s on to Christmas! Let’s see what kind of Mohawk Valley fun I can find to blog about in the next month.

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Posted in Christmas, holiday, humor, local business, Mohawk Valley, shopping. Bookmark the permalink.

Post-Thanksgiving Lame

Posted on November 26, 2011 by mohawkvalleygirl

Thank goodness it’s Friday and I can legitimately do a Lame Post. I am not up to anything else.

I don’t have any random obversations about Thanksgiving. And I don’t believe I did anything to celebrate the day that rates any kind of mention. Oh, Steven and I did bring Heidelberg Bread, made in Herkimer, NY, from grains grown in New York State. Of course, the hit of the day was my Uncle Tom’s pumpkin bread, baked, I believe, in his North Syracuse kitchen. So much for Thanksgiving.

I have one random observation that has been knocking around my head for a couple of weeks now. I’ll share it with you, and you can judge its lameness for yourself. I heard this credited to Nancy Reagan and a few others: A woman is like a tea bag: you never know how strong she is till you put her in hot water. I think that is kind of a dumb thing to say. I mean, take a look at a used tea bag. According to that saying, put me (a woman) in some hot water, I’ll end up soggy, squished up and useless, but the water will taste pretty good. Some people just should not attempt metaphor.

And that’s all I got. Pretty sad for a holiday weekend I actually have off. But give me a minute, I’ll try to come up with something else… Maybe I could think of a better comparison for a woman. A woman is like a bottle of wine. If she ‘s good quality, she’ll get better with age. Otherwise, she’ll turn to vinegar, which you can still use to make salad dressing.

I don’t know who originally said No life is wasted; you can always stand as a bad example. I take great comfort in that thought. So I feel that this blog post is not wasted. It can stand as a bad example. And I will try to do something Mohawk Valley-ish by the end of today, so I can have a better post for tomorrow.

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Halloween for Thanksgiving?

Posted on November 24, 2011 by mohawkvalleygirl

Some people say we should make the spirit of Christmas last all year. I like to make the spirit of Halloween last all year. Last night, I had a couple of Halloween-y experiences I’d like to share.

I gave my schnoodle, Tabby, a bath, because we’re going on a visit for Thanksgiving. Of course, that was more scary for her than for me, but she survived and even forgave me. The point was, I could not just let her run in the muddy backyard to take care of business. I had to put her on the leash and make her stay pretty much on the sidewalk. She’s a good dog and pretty much complied.

I don’t mind walking in the dark. I strolled down the street, looking forward to the Christmas lights we’ll see in the coming weeks. Soon Tabby was ready to head home.

When Steven took down our Halloween decorations, he left out a couple of scarecrows as being appropriate for Thanksgiving. One is rather large. Steve stuck his post into the ground in front of the porch, propping it with some large rocks and letting Scarecrow lean back on the brick pillar. Well, Scarecrow had leaned forward. There are no streetlights right near my house. It’s a little dark. All I saw was an almost person-sized figure lurking near my front porch. Eek!

My alarm was short lived. Then I merely admired the eerie quality of the crazily leaning decoration. As we walked up the driveway (we always go in the back door), I had my second fright when I heard a deep male voice coming from inside my house. Eek!

Had I left the television on? No, I hadn’t turned the television on! The voice sounded calm… and familiar… Oh. It was the answer machine, coincidentally located near the window we were passing under. I’m so silly!

It was actually a pretty enjoyable fright. But I would be glad when Steven got home. After all, you only scare yourself when you’re alone, right?

Later on, after Steven was home and it was getting closer to bedtime, I thought I’d take Tabby out for her last business meeting of the day.

It was cloudy out. I know the moon has been very bright these last few days, and I thought I saw it glowing through the clouds. Wait! It moved! Was that my eyes playing tricks on me? Damn bifocals! No, an amorphous blob of light was moving back and forth. Steven had to see this. I went to the front door and knocked (I mentioned we rarely use the front door, right?). I had to knock twice and Tabby had to bark, but we got Steven’s attention. He came out on the porch and was equally impressed by the ghostly glow.

As we observed it, we saw its movements were fairly regular, and you could almost, sort of see that the light continued groundward. It must have been a beacon, we thought. It was still mysterious, because we don’t know of any beacons in the area. And it added a fillip of interest to my walk, thinking it just might be something else.

So those were my Halloween adventures the night before Thanksgiving. I can’t wait to see what happens at Christmas!

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Posted in Halloween, haunted, holiday, humor, Thanksgiving. Bookmark the permalink.

Pre-Thanksgiving Lame

Posted on November 24, 2011 by mohawkvalleygirl

Either I’m tired of writing about our Saturday adventures, or I’m in Friday mode.

Actually, I’m fortunate to be in any mode at all other than a time warp. For me it is Friday, Thursday and Wednesday. With a little bit of post-birthday let-down thrown in (oh, I like writing these lame posts; so self-indulgent).

Friday, obviously, because I have tomorrow off (and the long weekend — woohoo — but more about that later); Thursday, because it is payday; and Wednesday, because of the crossword puzzle in the newspaper. See, there are a couple of fellows at my work who do the crossword puzzle in the Utica OD on break. Sometimes I butt in and help them. The puzzles get more difficult as the week wears on, so some weeks they don’t even need my help before Friday (and, yes, some days I am no help at all anyways). It is rather a joy on Friday to help with a challenging puzzle at lunch and have to continue during the two o’clock break. Such a triumph when we finish it.

I’d like to add a thought about my delightful four day weekend. Some people would tell me to quit gloating, because they have to work. To those people I would explain, with a nod to S.J. Perelman, shut up. (Actually, I rarely tell anybody to shut up, because I don’t like being told that myself. But it is an old S.J. Perelman line: “‘Shut up,’ the policeman explained.”)

I worked all weekends when I had a retail job, and many holidays when I was in the army. And, yes, it kind of sucked hearing the 9 to 5ers gloat on a Friday (or that November Wednesday) (or even Tuesday). But I really didn’t blame them. And I hope nobody blames me.

And while I’m rattling on (lame post, after all), I’m sure there are people who work, and/or have worked, longer, crappier and more hours than me. Sorry, guys. There are people who work way less than me, or even not at all (you know who you are). I can’t control these things!

I guess I say all this to cover my butt. To obviate the need for anybody to jump in and say, “Well I work blah blah so shut up!” (in that squeaky tone of voice people use when imitating a generic annoying person). And maybe I feel a little guilty for being so gleeful about my imminent four day weekend, and I don’t want to. I guess all I can say is, don’t hate me because I’m beautiful. And maybe I’ll get lame again when it’s really Friday. Happy Thanksgiving!

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Posted in holiday, humor, lame, Thanksgiving, Uncategorized, weekends. Bookmark the permalink.

Saturday Adventure III

Posted on November 23, 2011 by mohawkvalleygirl

To continue our Saturday doings, Steven and I made our way back to Morning Star United Methodist Church in Ilion. At least, I didn’t know which church it was till I looked in Saturday’s paper just now; we just went where we saw the sign that said Christmas Sale, with the magic acronym BOGO.

We parked in the lot across the street. I wasn’t clear on if it was the lot for the church we were going to or the one adjoining the lot, or possibly both. I wasn’t particularly worried. For one thing, there were plenty of parking spaces. For another, church people are notoriously forgiving.

The sale was huge. I think every member of the parish must have gone through their attic or closets and donated stuff. I even saw some garland in its original packaging that looked like it was from the ’60s (at least, I’m no judge of dates, but it looked like something from my childhood).

We picked out a half dozen tins, a couple of Santa Clauses, a snowman and a few more goodies. Every time Steven found something he wanted, I insisted we find something else, because after all, Buy One Get One! We ended up with a boxful (and very grateful to the ladies for finding an adequate size box) for which we paid seven bucks and change. What a deal! And we still had three more sales to go!

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Posted in Christmas, church, Community Events, holiday, rummage sales, shopping. Bookmark the permalink.

Saturday Adventure II

Posted on November 22, 2011 by mohawkvalleygirl

When we last saw our Mohawk Valley couple (um, that’s me and Steve), they had just left the Christmas Extravaganza at Ilion Elks Lodge in search of further adventures. We were armed (I’m not keeping up the third person POV for the whole post), not sensibly with the newspaper that listed area events, but with my sometimes reliable memory.

“Don’t forget,” Steven said again, “at some point we have to get a loaf of bread.”

I had forgotten. I suggested we go by the Ilion Farmer’s Market at Clapsaddle Farm on Otsego Street. It runs year round on Fridays and Saturdays. They usually have a Dilly Bread that is quite yummy.

“Oh, yeah, there’s a Christmas sale at that church,” I said, as we passed it. See what I mean about my sometimes reliable memory? We thought we’d check it out after the farmer’s market.

When we got to Clapsaddle Farm, we saw signs saying the Parker Cider Mill was also open. We had never been in the cider mill, which is on the same farm as the Farmer’s Market, so we went there first.

It is not a huge, elaborate place, but it is a pleasant, pretty room. Steven bought me a Halloween mug with a spider on it for a very good price. We had a nice chat with Jim Parker’s daughter. We are huge fans of his art, and he is such a cool, fun guy to talk to. I mentioned my Mohawk Valley blog. The daughter told us that the Sunday morning show Mohawk Valley Living was coming back on the air on Sunday, Dec. 4, with Jim Parker as their first guest. I’ll have to set my DVR for that.

Before we left, she asked did we want to purchase any cider.

“Oh, I don’t drink much sweet stuff,” I said.

“Well, would you like a free sample at least?”

Why not? After one sip, I said, “I think your evil plan is working.”

Steven said, “We could get a half gallon.”

Real cider, I find, is not the same as what you get in the super market. It is not too sweet, and it doesn’t gunk up your throat. I drank a big old glass on Sunday, which watching movies on TCM and munching popcorn (incidentally, the popcorn was purchased at Dyn’s Cider Mill of Richfield Springs, now sadly closed for the season).

Steven and I went on to the Farmer’s Market for our Dilly Bread. We resisted the pumpkin roll and a really delightful looking strawberry rhubarb pie. We headed back toward the church I had noticed earlier. I’ll save that for tomorrow. Let’s see how many blog posts I can get out of one adventuresome Saturday.

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Saturday Adventures I

Posted on November 20, 2011 by mohawkvalleygirl

Saturday Steven and I set out for a real Mohawk Valley adventure. We both had the entire day off, the weather was great, and the morning paper had informed me of several attractive looking events.

We started out at the Ilion Elks Club for their 2nd Annual Christmas Extravaganza. They had consultants from Scentsy, Thirty One, Pampered Chef, Gold Canyon Candles, Stampin’ Up, Bugeya Photography, Jewelry by Wendy, and Yardley’s Yummies. They also had a table in the middle of the room with goodies on it. We had taken the precaution of eating breakfast before leaving the house, but found room to nibble a couple of cookies anyways.

We purchased some homemade Christmas cards by the lady from Stampin’ Up. We had quite a chat with her about being creative. We also chatted up the Pampered Chef lady. I had recently purchased some Pampered Chef online for a friend’s party I had missed. I wondered if a Pampered Chef party was in my future. That’s the problem with these things: I could have left with half a dozen parties scheduled, and I don’t know if I have friends and family enough to attend. I also grabbed a catalogue from Gold Canyon Candles. Pretty stuff!

When we left, a lady made sure we took a package which included business cards of all the vendors present. They had done the little baggies up attractively with confetti and candy. I thought it was such a sweet idea. I tend to walk around these things picking up business cards anyways, because I’m that way, but this way I didn’t miss any. And Steven will definitely eat the candy.

We had never been to the Ilion Elks Lodge before. It is a nice place and conveniently located. We’ll have to watch for more community events there. In the meantime, I’ll sign off for today’s blog post, and save the rest of our Saturday adventure for the coming days.

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Posted in Christmas, Community Events, Ilion. Bookmark the permalink.
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