Category Archives: Community Events

Humane Society Santas

Posted on December 11, 2011 by mohawkvalleygirl

The best thing I did yesterday was go to the Open House and Indoor Garage Sale at Herkimer County Humane Society in Mohawk, for a few reasons.

To do the story justice, I must first tell a story of my past. Growing up, I remember having a beautiful stuffed Santa Claus that was always out at Christmas time and only at Christmas time. When I was quite small, I remember playing with him like the rest of our dolls and stuffed toys. As we got older, Mom started putting him on a higher shelf, “Because he’s old.” I believe Mom and Dad had originally purchased him for my oldest sister, Victoria, at her first Christmas (the only one she didn’t have to share), but it soon became a family decoration. And when Vicki moved away, she did not get to take him with her.

When Steven, then boyfriend now husband, began to spend his Christmases with my family, he fell in love with the Santa Clause. It became a recurring joke that Steven was going to hide Santa Claus in his suitcase and leave all his clothes behind. Not a fair trade. We always looked for just such a Santa Claus but never found quite the right one. Eventually Steven bought me a very nice stuffed Santa Claus which I love. But Mom’s Santa is still the best.

Fast forward to December 2011. Steven had to work, but I always want to support the Humane Society as well as feed my addiction to buying other people’s junk (that’s what we call a win-win situation). As I drove out, I was pleased to see that lots of people were supporting the Humane Society. I knew many people were picking up pictures of their pets with Santa, taken at an earlier fundraiser which Steven and I sadly missed. I finally parked in the Parking Area near the canal trail. That way I was facing back into town, and it was only a short walk down the highway to the Humane Society.

A couple of volunteers were dressed as elves, and Santa was present. I made my way through the crowd to where the garage sale was. They were doing a booming business! People were nicely letting each other through. You often run into more politeness at these fundraisers than you do at normal retail establishments.

The first thing I found was a basket of ceramic Santas. We have a few similar Santas. They stand about 5 inches tall and usually have a year printed on the base and sometimes a country. I could see there was more than one layer, and they wanted $10 for the basket. I figured even if I found some duplicates with what we already had, it was a good buy and we could always use the duplicates for presents for others. I picked up the basket, turned around and then I saw him.

An old fashioned stuffed Santa. He was not exactly like my Mom’s, but he was beautiful. Obviously of the same era and in very good condition. $5. I was in love. I picked him up, then I picked up a ceramic church with a place for a tea light. Perfect for my Christmas village which I did not set up this year but intend to set up in 2012. I got in the long, slow line. I checked out some other things as I stood there. Luckily I remembered we do not need any Christmas mugs, because they have a lot of them. A Yul Brenner as the King in The King and I caught my eye, but my arms were full. A volunteer was trying to sell a couple of artificial trees for $10 apiece. If I had not already purchased a tree, I might have been tempted (when I got home and smelled my tree, I was glad).

A fellow ahead of me had $45.50 worth of stuff, but the lady rounded it to $45.

“I’m not so bad,” I mused to the lady behind me.

“No, you’re not,” she said. She had found a tree skirt as she stood in line, which I wish I had seen first. As I often say, you snooze you lose.

When it was my turn I resisted the cookies and cupcakes they also had for sale. For one thing, my arms were full. After I paid and made my way toward the exit, I saw… another stuffed Santa. This one not as big, a similar age, equally beautiful, $2.

“I didn’t see him!” I carefully put down the ceramic Santas and opened my purse. I caught one volunteer’s eye and handed her the $2. “Please don’t make me wait in line again, he’s $2, I didn’t see him before.” She graciously accepted my payment.

A man standing nearby offered to help me carry my stuff to my truck. I thought it was very nice of him, especially as I was not parked close by. He was fine with it.

“If I would have bought cookies, I’d give you one,” I told him. Being a fundraiser, it did not seem appropriate to offer a tip. He told me he had to watch his sugar intake anyways. I’m sure the real Santa was watching and gave him more nice points.

When I got home I found the basket contained 20 ceramic Santas, not one a duplicate of those we already have. Steven was predictably delighted with the stuffed Santas. It was altogether a great experience. I helped the Humane Society to the tune of $18 (OK, not a princely sum; we do what we can), and our Christmas decorations are enhanced for years to come.

The Herkimer County Humane Society facebook page reminds us that every day really open house. Stop in and meet some nice animals. You’ll be glad you did.

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Posted in animals, Christmas, Community Events, decorations, garage sales, Herkimer, humor, Mohawk, Mohawk Valley, Santa Claus. Bookmark the permalink.

Oh Christmas Trees

Posted on December 6, 2011 by mohawkvalleygirl

I drive by Weller Library and Weller Park almost every day after work. Weller Library, if you didn’t read about it in one of my previous posts, is a lovely building, the former home of the Weller family. It is surrounded by a park which hosts many community events. I noticed a sign about Christmas in the Park. Eventually information about a tree lighting appeared on the sign, and a couple of Christmas trees showed up.

I drive by the park slowly due to traffic and a four way stop, but also due to traffic and a four way stop, it’s not easy to read signs. So I wasn’t clear on if the event was Dec. 4 at 5 p.m. or from 4 to 5 p.m. Luckily, the OD (that’s the Utica Observer Dispatch) listed it in their Events Calendar in Sunday’s Paper. 5 p.m.

So Steven and I made sure we got all or most of our stuff done by 4:30 or so and headed on over. We brought our dog, Tabby. We figured there could be no possible objection to a dog in a park, and we had faith in our ability to keep her from peeing on the Christmas trees.

A crowd had already gathered, but we found a parking space without too much trouble. There were a lot of trees, all beautifully decorated. Signs told us who had put up each tree. Local businesses, Girl Scout troops, fire departments and other organizations had participated. We walked around and admired. Several young girls admired Tabby, and petted her.

We ran into a gentleman from our church, and he told us this was the third year for trees in the park. He said anybody could put a tree up.

“You could put your tree up here next year,” he suggested.

That sounded like a good idea to me. I have been toying with the idea of not doing a tree this year. One reason is that nobody ever comes over to see our decorations. Of course we’ll still decorate, because we like to look at decorations, but how many decorations do me and Steve need to look at? Now, to put a tree up in Weller Park, everybody would see it. Most of the trees are memorials. I know some people I could make a memorial to. It’s something to think about.

The trees in Weller Park are gorgeous this year, especially with the lights on. Before the actual lighting, a color guard marched and a chaplain said a prayer. Then they played Christmas carols, which I was not the only one to sing along with (I danced a little, too; I love Christmas carols). Hot chocolate and cookies were served in the library. Steven went in and brought us out some (as well behaved as Tabby is, I did not think she’d be welcome in the library). It was yummy cocoa.

People were still enjoying the trees and the music when we left. We drove around a couple of blocks in Mohawk, admiring the lights on people’s houses. We don’t have snow yet, but there is plenty of Christmas spirit in the Mohawk Valley.

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Posted in Christmas, Community Events, decorations, libraries, Mohawk, Mohawk Valley, trees. 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 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.

Helping HALO

Posted on November 15, 2011 by mohawkvalleygirl

Saturday, despite the bad cold I’ve been complaining about for the last three or four posts, I accompanied Steven to the HALO Trash to Treasure Sale. I wanted to help the kitty cats, and I love to find treasures amongst other people’s trash.

I’ve blogged about HALO before, but it bears repeating. HALO is the Helping Animals Live Organization, a no kill, no cage, not for profit cat rescue based in Little Falls. They hold a number of fundraisers throughout the year, most memorably the HALO Hoedown at Silverado in Herkimer, which I believe I also blogged about.

The Trash to Treasure Sale was held in the Polish Home on South Washington Street in Herkimer. Entrance to the sale was through the back door, so no sneaking to the bar for a beer on my way through. That was OK; I was there to treasure hunt. The sale ran from 9 am to 4 pm, and we arrived shortly after three (I was moving slowly due to the above mentioned cold). As we walked through the door, a lady announced that everything was half price, books and stuffed toys free.

“Oh, they shouldn’t have told me that,” said a lady perusing the books. “I love to read!”

I love to read too, but I did not see much to tempt me (effects of the cold?). Then I saw The Frugal Gourmet Cooks With Wine. I love to cook with wine! Of course, the Frugal Gourmet probably puts it in the food. I’ve been meaning to try that.

Then I found an Oneida pizza tin in practically new condition. Steven found a couple of Santa Clauses and snowmen (can’t have too many of either of those). We also chose some pretty tins. We love to put Christmas presents in tins. When the lady added up our purchases, it came to a very attractive total.

A poster board was on display showing photos of some sweet cats and kittens. They need foster and adoptive homes for cats. I can’t have a cat in my house, because I am deathly allergic. But I support what HALO does, so I try to help as best I can, by spending money at their fundraisers and by giving them a little publicity in my humble blog. Um, I hope the second one helps.

For more information on HALO, visit their website at
http://www.halorescue.net, or you can like them on Facebook.

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Posted in animals, Community Events, Herkimer, non-profits, rummage sales. Bookmark the permalink.

Fall Fest on the Canal

Posted on October 11, 2011 by mohawkvalleygirl

Saturday afternoon we attended Fall Fest at Gems Along the Mohawk, 800 Mohawk St., Herkimer.

Gems Along the Mohawk is a fun store to visit in its own right. They gather the best of local businesses and tourist attractions. You walk around the store admiring the goods and/or saying, “Oh yeah, we have to go there!” The showpiece is a large glass display case in the center of the store full of jewelry made with Herkimer diamonds. I point out to Steven all the things he can buy me when he has lots of money. I’m sure he’s taking notes.

Saturday’s event featured various booths in the parking lot. We admired some farm animals from Salamone Farms. A little kid was petting a calf. We wanted to pet it, uh, I mean him or her, too, but by the time we got over there, he or she was laying in the shade and looked as if he did not want to be disturbed. I imagine he had been petted a lot.

There were some adorable kittens, a bunny and a couple of chickens as well. The lady told us they often went places where children had seen very few animals.

“I once had a kid ask, ‘Can I pet the sheep?'” she said. “I said, ‘You can pet him, but he’s a calf.'”

“It’s good to see animals,” I said. “It makes us more human.” She agreed.

At the other booths we sampled some mustard made with maple syrup. Yum! I foolishly did not write down the vendor. We purchased some garlic from Lifson’s Garlic Farm of Rome, NY (he gave us a card). I was glad to have the garlic, as we watched a vampire movie later.

We had missed our chance to go on a canal cruise. We were also too late for lunch at the Waterfront Grill, which is located in the same building. That’s OK, though, Denny’s is right across the street. And now we’ll just have to return to the Waterfront Grill for a future blog post.

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Posted in Autumn, Community Events, Herkimer. Bookmark the permalink.

More Adventures in Rummage

Posted on October 9, 2011 by mohawkvalleygirl

Saturday I went running and made my blog post, then rewarded my ambition with trips to two rummage sales for $1 a bag. I was even environmentally responsible enough to bring my own bags.

I hit the one at my own church, Christ Episcopal on Main Street in Herkimer, first. The ladies there were pleased to see me. My church is great. If you don’t make it to mass for weeks, nobody scolds you. They’re just happy to see you when you do show up. They applauded my foresight in bringing the disposable bag, although I wondered if it wasn’t a bit too big for $1.

“I might end up fitting $2 worth in here,” I said.

I right away found a Norman Rockwell tin. Perfect! Steven loves tins and he loves Norman Rockwell. I grabbed a couple of Christmas tins, too. We like to put Christmas gifts in tins. “Put a present in a present,” is what Steven says.

As I poked through a box of books, a church lady reminded me of the book sale slated for the first weekend in November. I had been glad to hear about that, since I have boxes and boxes of books I really don’t need to read again. This, of course, is in addition to shelves and boxes of books that I do intend to read again. Or read for the first time. As they say, so many books, so little time. Anyways, I was even more inclined to grab a few books now, because if they turned out to be not so great, I could happily donate them back to the book sale.

When I went to pay for my finds, I showed them a (blank) I hadn’t put in the bag on account of its being delicate. I told them that (blank) collects (blank), so this would be a good Christmas present. Sorry about that silly sounding sentence, but (blank) sometimes reads my blog, and I want the present to be a surprise. Unless he or she picks up on the subtle clues and now knows what he or she is getting. Oh dear.

One lady put my find in a separate bag for protection, and they all mentioned things they or one of their loved ones collect. Collections are always such a good conversation starter. I told them Steven collects frogs.

“Didn’t we have a frog? Yes, here it is!” A lady picked up an adorable little frog made of shells glued together.

“You can tell him we were thinking about him,” another lady said.

I did not save the frog for a Christmas present, so I am able to mention it in the blog. Steven liked it, by the way.

I also returned to the rummage sale at Herkimer Reformed Church, on the historic four corners (just can’t resist mentioning those four corners again). I found a couple more true crime books, a thermal carafe, and a video of Grammar Rock. Do you remember School House Rock, those little educational videos they used to show in between cartoons on Saturday morning? Back when Saturday morning was the (pronounced thee) time to watch cartoons, because there were no networks dedicated to such a thing? Oh dear, I am old. Who cares? I was happy to find the video.

I drove home with my treasures. Time enough to walk the dog and clean the house a little before Steven returned home. Then we would set out for the day’s real Mohawk Valley adventure.

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Rummaging Around

Posted on October 8, 2011 by mohawkvalleygirl

While walking with Tabby one day this week, I noticed signs for a rummage sale at Herkimer Reformed Church. The church is on the historic four corners. I’ve blogged about it before.

I made a mental note and kept walking. Tabby directed me toward our church, where she always looks for nice people to pet her.

“There’s no one there, honey,” I told her, but I was surprised to see the door open and a light on. Tabby insisted on going in. They were setting up for a rummage sale there. This is where I confess that I have not been attending church, or I would have known about it.

The sale at Herkimer Reformed Church ran till 6 pm Friday night, so Steven and I thought we’d seize that opportunity. We weren’t sure, though, because two signs said till 6 Friday, one said till 4. Steven was pretty confident, though, with the signs running two to one.

When I got home from work Friday, I remembered I had not sent post cards to my soldiers this week. Scandalous omission; I had been sending two per week. Steven pointed out that I only had two post card stamps left, which worked out, because I’m currently sending to two soldiers.

“The post office closes at five. We can get there by five and buy more stamps,” I said. Of course we had to walk to the post office. Tabby had seen me writing the post cards, and she knows post cards mean walk to post office.

When we left the post office, it was an easy matter to walk home by way of the historic four corners and confirm the rummage sale was still open. It was. We got our schnoodle home and hurried back to rummage.

The Herkimer Reformed Church is such a handsome building. It is a pleasure just to walk through to the basement where the sale was going on. We did not peek into the sanctuary, as we sometimes do at church sales, but I will do that one day.

I made a beeline for the books (actually, that’s a funny word: beeline. Most of the bees I see make kind of an erratic pattern). I found a true crime book by Ann Rule I had not read. She’s the best. I also grabbed a couple of biographies. Then I saw a John D. MacDonald. I could tell by the title it was not a Travis Magee mystery, but MacDonald is always worth a read. When I picked up the book, I saw it was a 75 cent paperback with a pulp fiction cover. I collect those, so I was quite delighted.

Another lady was looking at the books with equal delight. She told me she was stocking up for the winter. Good thought. She showed me a history of Lawrenceville she had found, an old book.

“If I had seen that first, you wouldn’t be getting it,” I told her, to express my envy. She immediately offered it to me, which I thought was very gracious of her. I refused with thanks. There is no reason to be greedy.

Steven found a shot glass for his collection, a tin and a wooden box. We got everything for two dollars. What a deal!

“It’s Friday night,” the lady working the sale said. She invited us back for Saturday’s bag sale. Steven has to work, but I am tempted.

It would be a good idea if I went to the bag sale at my own church today. I’m writing this Saturday morning as Steven prepares for work. Will I go? As they say, time will tell. That time certainly is a blabbermouth.

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Posted in church, Community Events, dogs, Herkimer, Mohawk Valley, rummage sales, walking. Bookmark the permalink.

Living History

Posted on September 25, 2011 by mohawkvalleygirl

Saturday I had a chance to attend an event I have always been interested in but never had the chance to go to: Living History Weekend at German Flatts Town Park.

The event ran from Friday Sept. 23 to Sunday Sept. 25 in the park, which is located adjacent to the Fort Herkimer Church, something else I’ve always wanted to check out. Steven and I drove out route 5S Saturday morning. We were too early for the battle reenactments, but reenactors were present with tents set up and fires burning. We admired their costumes.

I heard one Union soldier asking a Confederate soldier what was the quilt tied around his shoulder for.

“That’s my bed roll,” the other soldier said, in a quit asking stupid questions kind of voice.

“That’s you rebels,” the union soldier said. “You never know when they’re going to want to lie down and take a nap.”

“We don’t have supply trains following us around,” the Confederate told him. “We have to carry what we need with us.”

“That’s not something to brag about, Mr. Confederate Guy,” I told him, but he wasn’t listening to me. I started to give Steven an American history lecture about how much better prepared the North was for the Civil War, but he was not listening either. I don’t blame him; I was being rather didactic.

We walked around the tents they had setup, and checked out the vendors as well. A band was playing. We enjoyed the music, but I did not catch who they were. We purchased a Living History Weekend t-shirt and a plate of cookies.

The historic Fort Herkimer Church was not open, but we walked around the graveyard which surrounded it. A lot of the lettering on the grave stones had worn away. Some were obviously replacements of historic markers. We found one grave marked with the name of the street we live on (I won’t tell you what that is, because I don’t need anybody walking by my house and seeing how much the grass needs mowing). Steven said he knew our street was named after a prominent local family. I’ll have to research that a little more. Historic prominent local families might be a good subject for a future blog post.

We also looked at some displays of historic artifacts. Steven said the dental instruments looked scary.

“Modern dental instruments are scary,” I said.

“Modern dentists are scary,” said a man in a uniform. I agreed, although my own dentist, Dr. Zilka, is a very good dentist who I have never found to be particularly alarming. Hey, most of us don’t like going to the dentist.

We left for home, toying with the idea of returning for the afternoon’s battle reenactment or the evening’s fireworks. I mean to watch for future events at the Fort Herkimer Church, and I will definitely mark my calendar for next year’s Living History Weekend.

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Posted in Community Events, German Flatts, Herkimer, history. Bookmark the permalink.

HALO Hoedown

Posted on September 21, 2011 by mohawkvalleygirl

Sunday Steven and I went to the HALO Hoedown at Silverado, Marginal Road, Herkimer. HALO is the Helping Animals Live Organization, a no kill, no cage, not for profit cat shelter in Little Falls, NY. This was their third annual Hoedown. We had attended last year’s and enjoyed it. When I noticed it advertized again, I made a note.

We had a bad moment Sunday when Steven looked at the Community Calendar in the Telegram and saw the Hoedown listed for Saturday. I was sure it was Sunday. It was Sunday last year or I would not have been there (work schedule). For once, I managed to find something online (when it comes to computers, I am so twentieth century): HALO’s Facebook page (love that Facebook).

Misunderstanding cleared up, we headed over. The Hoedown had been going on for over an hour when we arrived. A large crowd seemed to be having a very good time. A lady at the door stamped our hands with a paw print after we’d paid our admission, in case we stepped out. That was a definite possibility for me, because it was warm in that place. I was foolishly wearing long sleeves. Oh well, who can predict how to dress this time of year?

We fought the crowd to get our tickets for the Chinese Auction. They offered a number of creatively put-together baskets. Two books, two coffee mugs, fancy tea and biscotti; two bottle of wine, cheese and candles; two DVDs with microwave popcorn. The cans you put the tickets in had labels telling the complete contents of the baskets. We passed on the gift cards but put in for a lovely picture of a rainbow. It’s always so fun to walk up and down deciding what you want to try for. I’m sad to report, we did not win anything. Then again, we had just purchased a number of really cool items at garage sales on Saturday. How much junk do we need (apparently more, because we keep buying it).

We found seats at the bar and settled down to enjoy the music. A number of talented musicians had volunteered their time for the event. We heard two groups, but I didn’t catch who they were. I drank a beer and took in the scene. It was quite a cross section of people, all ages, shapes and sizes. I saw a few cowboy hats, appropriate for the Silverado. Some people were two-stepping on the dance floor. I’d like to learn how to two step. Steven is not confident in his own abilities, but I’m fairly sure I can count to two.

We stayed long enough for some door prize drawings (again, we didn’t win), but left early enough to have some more of Sunday afternoon to enjoy. I later saw on Facebook (because of course I Liked HALO) that the fundraiser had been a resounding success. For more information about HALO check out their Facebook page or visit their website: http://www.halorescue.net.

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Posted in animals, Community Events, Herkimer, Little Falls, Mohawk Valley, non-profits. Bookmark the permalink.
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