Category Archives: blogging

Not Like a Snake Eating its Tail

Posted on March 16, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

Earlier today I was in the midst of a Mohawk Valley adventure and I was narrating in my head and I narrated the phrase, “I continued to narrate in my head…” And that amused me so much I stopped narrating in my head and contemplated how writing a blog has changed my inner monologue. I thought when I wrote my blog post I would mention how I narrated in my head that I was narrating in my head.

Just a quick question: is this like a snake eating its own tail? In other words, is it a sign I’m reaching the end of my usefulness as a blogger? SAY IT AIN’T SO!!!

I believe in fact it ain’t so, but doesn’t it make a good lead for a Wrist to Forehead Sunday post?

Steven and I had rather a delightful afternoon and evening yesterday. So delightful that I have had a bad headache all day today. At least, I’m guessing it is because I drank too much wine. I’m kind of hoping it is, because that means it will go away eventually. But it is a little embarrassing to admit to all and sundry that I overindulged (listen to me, all and sundry, like I have that many readers! Get over yourself, Cindy!).

So, yes, this is Yet Another Post About How I Can’t Write A Blog Post Today. I’ll keep it short. After all, perhaps my readers are having a Wrist to Forehead Sunday too and who wants to read a long blog post? Not me. Hope to see you Monday, when I hope NOT to type, “I had meant to write a real blog post today, BUT…”

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(Too Many Parentheses?)

Posted on March 15, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

I knew I would not have Saturday Running Commentary when I ran yesterday (I’m not up to running every day yet, nor even doing much after I go running) (oh yeah, I went wine tasting and to get my hair cut after running yesterday; well, that was a major effort) (and my blog post later on was not very good) (and I suppose I’m overdoing it with the parenthetical comments on this one).

Where was I? Oh yes, trying to write a blog post before Steven gets home from work and we go adventuring. One might suggest that I write the post after we’ve gone adventuring so I will have something to write about, but I might be too tired then. Full disclosure: I might also have had a drink or two (don’t judge).

Earlier today I took a walk with my schnoodle Tabby to the post office. I only wrote four postcards this week. I pulled out a letter I’ve been working on to my sister but didn’t feel up to finishing it. I guess I could have just written “Love, Cindy” and stuck in an envelope, but I was at the top of a page and I didn’t want to waste the blank space. Anyways, it was a pleasant walk to the post office, although it could have been a little warmer. And it would be nice if more people cleaned up after their dogs.

Just before logging onto WordPress, I washed my hair for the first time since my haircut. When I got the cut I confess to being a little dithery. I thought I wanted to go longer on top. Then when Claire, my fabulous stylist at the Hot Spot Salon and Spa, was finished, I wondered if we shouldn’t go shorter. Claire liked the way my hair looked and, after all, she is the professional. She said if I still wanted to go shorter after a day or two to call her, she’d fit me in.

I felt bad being ambivalent about my hair like that. After all, everybody likes to have their work admired. I told Claire that if I decided I really liked it I would Facebook her (I think “Facebook” is a fun verb) (unlike “blog,” which I find a little silly). Claire and I are Facebook friends. Also I Liked her professional Facebook page of Claire Does Hair.

So I’ve washed my hair and put product on it and I’m still thinking. I don’t know why I’m so conflicted about this. After all, it’s only hair. It grows out. I’ll get it cut again in another month or two. What’s my stinking problem anyways?

Just the ongoing malaise, I suppose. Another symptom of the disease that has rendered my blog posts less than wonderful for the past few weeks (although I may not be the best judge of that). No matter. One can only do the best one can and drive on. So this is my Scattered Saturday post. Hope to see you all on Wrist to Forehead Sunday. Or perhaps it will be Sunday Running Commentary. A little uncertainly about Sunday will add spice to my Saturday night.

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I Daresay I Repeat Myself

Posted on March 14, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

I’ve got the dreaded Type It In Then Backspace Over It disease. I think I have started blog posts with that line or something similar before. However, this is the third time I’ve tried to begin this post, I have backspaced over two beginnings so far, it is almost 8 p.m. and I want to get on with my Friday.

I’ve done three things since work which have previously provided perfectly acceptable blog posts: I went running, I tasted wine at a Valley Wine and Liquors, and I got my hair cut at Hot Spot Salon and Spa. Partway through my run I realized I could not write a running commentary. All I could think about was my wet feet. Two running commentaries in one week is OK. Two running commentaries about wet feet is whiny and not very interesting.

I had a vague thought that I could do a silly post about getting dressed for my hair appointment. I’ve written about my wardrobe tribulations before with some success (or do I flatter myself?). Then I didn’t really feel like writing about me being fat and not having many clothes.

Wine tasting is often good for a post. When I remember my wine tasting notebook and take notes about the wines I taste. I actually started to write about my haircut. Couldn’t quite get the lead.

Then again it is Lame Post Friday. What could be more lame than a post about Why I Can’t Write a Post Today? Hope to see you all on Saturday.

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It Is What It Is

Posted on March 12, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

When I asked Steven could we skip doing laundry tonight so I could work on my article for Mohawk Valley Living, I had no intention of wussing out, Wuss-out Wednesday or not. My brain had other ideas. Oh, that’s an inaccuracy. My brain has no ideas whatsoever! My article isn’t finished. My blog post isn’t written. All I want to do is sit on the couch and crochet.

Some windows were open at work today. As I felt the almost spring air come in, I could feel myself coming back to life. I felt relief, joy and longing. Oh, I wanted to DO something! So I was not thinking about my article, my novel or my play. I was thinking what I could possibly do on Saturday. Or even tonight.

I was aware as I sat there daydreaming that my brain was not functioning up to par. It must have been functioning somewhat, because I got my work done and even managed to work on a couple of puzzles during breaks. Yes, yes, I worked on puzzles in a puzzle book during my breaks, I did not write, stop looking at me with that judgmental expression, you’re not perfect, either, you know.

I did work on my article a little. I think what I’ve got is good, I just want more. I think what I’ve got so far for a blog post is not very good at all. And I don’t want more! I want my crochet! This is dreadfully embarrassing, but as an annoying saying goes, it is what it is. Let’s see if I can do better on Thursday. I hope I’ll still have readers.

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But You Should Have Read That Post in My Head

Posted on February 28, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

So there I was trying to write a blog post when it suddenly became clear: what I composed in my head while I was working (it’s OK, it’s the kind of job I can daydream and do properly) does not necessarily translate through my pen and onto the paper.

Oh, there are the Know-It-Alls gearing up to say, “I could have told you that would happen. You can’t THINK about things before you write them, you have to just WRITE.” Blah, blah, blah. I think I know better than to listen to those yahoos by now. Yes, sometimes it is better to sit down at the page (or screen) tabula rasa as it were and see what comes out. Sometimes it helps to think about it first. How much thinking you ought to do varies.

That last sentence is the crux of the matter. The thing is, any piece of writerly advice — even wise, insightful advice (and any advice that begins with a sniff and “I could have told you that would happen” is probably neither wise nor insightful) — is only good some of the time. Every piece of writing is different. What works for one may be a disaster for another. Likewise, one writer’s Rosetta Stone is another writer’s brick wall (ooh, isn’t that a nice metaphor?) (now I’m remembering another piece of writerly advice: if you write something particularly fine, strike it out. I forget who said it).

Another thing about advice is: most people like to give it, few people like to take it. I don’t much like to listen to advice myself, especially if I haven’t asked for it. So anybody gearing up to offer advice on this blog post, NEVER MIND! Unless you’d like to leave a comment. I like when people leave comments. But if you comment with advice, I will probably not follow it.

In case anybody hasn’t noticed, today is Lame Post Friday.

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Bad Attituesday

Posted on February 25, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

I’ve coined a new phrase: Bad Attituesday. It’s when you have a bad attitude on a Tuesday. I think it may replace Tired Tuesday as a feature in this blog.

I thought of Bad Attituesday while I was at work today. I was not having a bad day really. But, as will sometimes happen to the best of us (I know I’m not) at the best of jobs (it may not be the BEST of jobs, but it really is OK), by the end of the day I just did not want to be there. At least 45 minutes left on my shift and I did not want to do any more work.

Of course I continued to work anyways. I did not want to lose my job after all (see previous parenthetical comment about it being OK). But I reflected on my attitude and thought of Bad Attituesday. I like it. Thinking of it made me feel better (the irony is not lost on me).

That is what I wrote earlier, as I sat at Colonial Laundromat in Ilion, NY (note shout-out to local business), watching my clothes tumble around in the drier. And then I realized that it is a Tired Tuesday after all.

However, I did not write this post merely to whine about my tiredness nor yet my bad attitude. I wrote it because, well, I like to post every day. I rather hoped my newly coined phrase would be of enough interest to carry the post, but perhaps I flatter myself. In any case, I’m over 200 words and, as regular readers know, I consider that sufficient. Hope to see you Wednesday.

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Warm Enough Not To Wuss

Posted on February 19, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

What a wonderful thing is perspective. For example, size 10 looks a whole lot different when you pass it on the way down than it did when you passed it on the way up (and if you have never been in double digit sizes ever, just shut up, that’s all). Similarly, 20 degrees feels a lot better when you pass it on the way up than it did when you were on the way down.

That is how I felt when I left work today and realized I could take a deep breath of the ambient air with no discomfort. I even took off my gloves between my vehicle and the drugstore when I made a stop on the way home. This was awesome!

I had spent a good part of the day pondering my lack of a blog post topic. I did not want to have another Wuss-Out Wednesday nor yet take a Blogger’s Sick Day. The latter seemed a genuine possibility, as the cold temperatures in my place of employment wreaked havoc on my sinuses. I moaned and groaned to myself. I could not complain much out loud because the post-nasal drip was giving me a dreadful sore throat.

Normally, I thought, feeling not a little ill-used, when I have no blog post topic I go for a run or take my dog for a walk and write about that. I could not take my dog for a walk in single digit temperatures. I tried it last Saturday in the teens and it was not a good idea. Her poor little doggy feet were quite uncomfortable. Imagine my amazement when I stepped out of work and it felt WARM! I realized this was only comparatively speaking, but I’LL TAKE IT!

As I walked into and then back out of the drug store, I lamented my fate. This lovely, lovely temperature and I was sure I felt too awful to take my good little dog for a walk. But I knew I could not waste the opportunity. Thursday and Friday are supposed to be frigid. My dog likes to go for a walk. How could I be so selfish as not to take her? For another reason, I needed a blog post.

The irony is not lost on me that I have now spent over 300 words writing about what I am going to write about. I feel this is at least a step forward from writing about not writing. Perhaps I can actually write about the walk tomorrow. Happy Wednesday, everyone.

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At Least the Turnover Was Good

Posted on February 18, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

In my defense, I have a sinus headache.

I thought I would lead with that instead of making it the headline.  Now I don’t have a headline.  Yes, it’s Tired Tuesday.  I was working on my play during breaks at work today.  I was aware, somewhere in the back of my mind, that I did not have an idea of what to write a blog post about today.  If I was smart I would have spent some time thinking about it.  And here we come to the ugly truth about me.

When I got home I looked in my notebook and found a post I started in January about Munson Williams Proctor Art Institute, which I had visited in December with a sister and a friend.  I thought I could use it, so I typed it in.  Turns out, not so much.  I need to work on it.

I know, I KNOW, just work on it now.  I draw your attention to the first sentence of the post.

The other thought I had was to give another shout-out to Heidelberg Bakery, because my husband went there earlier and bought us bread and a treat.  I thought I could spend at least a couple of hundred words expounding on the delightful experience of eating a chocolate turnover. Yum!

Then again, who wants to read the word “yum” two hundred times?  I’m thinking it is marginally more entertaining to read about me not writing.  But perhaps I flatter myself.  I hope you’ll tune in tomorrow,  Wednesday, when I will strive not to Wuss Out.

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Better to Have Lame and Lost?

Posted on February 14, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

Lame Post Friday is meant to be lame. Don’t hate, don’t judge.

I spent my breaks at work today writing my play (the one I mentioned yesterday). I went back to work with a glowing feeling of I LOVE TO WRITE. What are those writers thinking, the ones who say, “Oh, I hate to write but I love to have written.” Yeah, yeah, to have written is nice, but I LOVE TO WRITE (sorry, must put it all in caps).

Of course some days I love it more than others. Which makes me think of running. I love to run. I love the physical act, I love looking around at the scenery while I do it, I love the way it makes me feel. Most of the time. Other times, I do not feel good when I do it AT ALL. Those are the days when at least I am glad to have run. In other words, I shall not judge the other writers (nor hate on them; see first paragraph).

It is beastly cold in the Mohawk Valley today. I think I have written other posts about my brain freezing up when it is very cold. Much like it melts in extreme heat. This Mohawk Valley Girl requires moderate temperatures in which to write, or at least in which to write anything good.

Which, I suppose, explains this blog post. All I can do is say again, don’t hate, don’t judge. Hope to see you on Scattered Saturday.

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Another Scattered Saturday

Posted on February 8, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

I said last week that I thought Saturday Misadventures ought to become a feature, but on reflection, I think Scattered Saturday would be better. Two Saturdays ago I had a Scattered Saturday and I thought it made a pretty good blog post (although perhaps I flatter myself). At that time I was preparing for the busy, stressful week of Production Week for the play I am in at Ilion Little Theatre. At this time I am preparing for that play’s penultimate performance (love that word, penultimate). Next Saturday I will probably remain scattered merely because it is in my nature to do so.

Yesterday I said I planned to have a Mohawk Valley adventure without having a Mohawk Valley adventure planned. I woke up with morning with a plan. Yay me. Naturally I had coffee with my husband before implementing the plan.

The weather cooperated by being not too frigid, since the first part of my plan involved walking to the post office with my nice dog, Tabby. I had written my usual postcards. I love to write postcards. A light snow was falling, but the breeze was not bad. My thermometer said 23 degrees, which sounded about right. I could rock 23 degrees, I told myself. I could even run in 23 degrees, if I so chose. I thought with a play this evening a walk would be better. Tabby liked it, too.

Next I went to Heidelberg Bakery for breakfast (full blog post to follow). Then I went consignment store shopping (again, full blog posts to be written). I hit Cornerstone Consignments in Ilion, NY, and Gypsy’s Closet and Valley Exchange in Herkimer. Then I was tired, so I went home. Must recruit my energies, after all.

I guess Scattered Saturdays are actually Previews of Coming Attractions. With the play closing tomorrow afternoon, I may actually have time to write them. As always, I hope you’ll stay tuned.

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