Category Archives: Community Events

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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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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Posted in church, Community Events, rummage sales, Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink.

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.

Saturday Spaghetti

Posted on September 20, 2011 by mohawkvalleygirl

I love church dinners. They are a great way to eat out, not spend a lot of money, and support the community. Saturday my church, Christ Episcopal in Herkimer, held a spaghetti dinner.

I must confess (and what better place than a church to confess?) that I have not been attending church lately. But they still consider me and Steven members, so we got a call earlier in the week asking us to donate a dessert. It was the first I’d heard of the dinner, and I said, “Yay!”

We attended last year’s spaghetti dinner with a sister and two nieces. It was the same weekend as Little Falls’ Garlic and Herb Festival, so we made a real weekend of it (alas, those were pre-blog days). We’ve also attended roast beef and ham dinners there. We’ve got some good cooks in our church.

We made brownies from a mix, adding chocolate chips, just to be a little fancy. We responsibly taste tested them once they had cooled. Then Steven wrapped them thoroughly to discourage further tasting (full disclosure: it was not completely effective).

Saturday afternoon we walked to the church to drop the brownies off. Tabby was happy to walk with us. Tabby loves our church. They do a Blessing of the Animals in October, which she has attended, and she has gone with us to drop things off for rummage sales or get prayer shawls blessed. She always meets nice people there who want to pet her, so the church has earned the Tabby Paw Print of Approval (more full disclosure: Tabby is a very nice dog who often meets people that want to pet her).

The sauce smelled enticing, and we could see a number of delicious-looking desserts had already been dropped off. A sign was posted warning one dessert per dinner. I wondered if they’d sell me more dessert for a further donation.

We could hardly wait for four o’clock when the dinner started. We left Tabby home this time and were among the first to arrive. We sat down with our generous servings, and Steven went to get us coffee. He needn’t have gone. There were a number of very nice kids offering to get people drinks and ready to take away plates when they were done.

Some other church members sat with us, so we had a nice visit while we ate. The spaghetti was cooked just right, not overcooked as can too easily happen at these large dinners. I confined myself to one dessert, per the sign, and that was quite sufficient after the generous serving of spaghetti (I knew I should have told that guy to stop when he was heaping on the noodles).

They were not doing a Chinese Auction as they do with some dinners, but they were doing a 50/50 raffle. We bought tickets but did not win.

Good food. Fun evening. Church dinners, check them out. Even if you don’t go to church, you probably eat food. And you can find church dinners anywhere, not just in the Mohawk Valley.

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My Saturday Morning Adventure

Posted on September 19, 2011 by mohawkvalleygirl

We began our Saturday in the Mohawk Valley with breakfast at Philly’s, formerly known as Chet’s, on South Caroline Street in Herkimer. I’ve blogged about Philly’s before, but it’s worth another mention. The food is good, and the service is fast. We both had eggs over medium with bacon and sourdough toast.

After breakfast we headed to a garage sale Steven had read about in the paper. It was a multiple household sale, so there was a lot of stuff. They had some old yearbooks, which I find fascinating. I remember looking at my mom and dad’s yearbooks when I was a kid. Different times. I found a compact and an old bowl I liked. They had a bunch of books that were free, so I took a few of those, too.

From the garage sale we drove to Middleville for a rummage sale at the Methodist Church. We had been at a rummage sale there before, so Steven knew right where it was (I had forgotten). Past Lady Carousel Woodworks, the Crystal Chandelier Restaurant, and the Diamond Mines, all potential future blog topics. There is an old graveyard behind the church I’d like to walk through sometime.

At the rummage sale we found a couple of books, a nice tin and a Christmas decoration (can’t have too many of those). They were having a bake sale as well, so we treated ourselves to some frosted sugar cookies. Yum! We peeked in the church itself before we left. It is quite beautiful.

We hit another garage sale, then drove back into town by way of some back country roads we had not been on before. That was an adventure. The roads twisted and turned through the hills, and we saw some lovely views of the countryside. Herkimer County is blessed with many such country roads. We made up our minds to drive through them again when the fall colors are at their peak.

One more garage sale tempted us before we got home. We purchased about four Christmas tins and an old fashioned Santa Claus candle. We returned home with our loot, all of which I have not even mentioned, much to the delight of our loyal dog. It wasn’t even noon. Plenty of time for further Mohawk Valley adventures.

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Posted in Community Events, driving, garage sales, Herkimer, rummage sales, scenery. Bookmark the permalink.

Paying Our Respects

Posted on September 18, 2011 by mohawkvalleygirl

I am a veteran. I almost never do much about it, except wear my field jacket in the cold weather and occasionally say things like, “I can carry that; I was in the Army!” Friday, however, Steven and I attended a ceremony honoring national POW/MIA recognition day in Myers Park in Herkimer sponsored by Chapter No. 827 Vietnam Veterans of America.

We walked down with our schnoodle Tabby, since the park is quite close to our house. We had meant to take a longer walk first, so Tabby would not be too restless, but time got away from us, as it is apt to do. I had in my hand two postcards to mail to soldiers, since the post office is nearby the park. I thought that was appropriate.

Some people were gathered when we arrived. We saw some American Legion guys in white shirts and black pants, two holding flags, two holding rifles. Steven hoped they would not fire the rifles and scare Tabby, but I said they were more likely to hold them at present arms during the ceremony. A man came up and thanked us for coming and asked if we would like to hold a candle for the missing soldiers. Of course we would. We had noticed several other people doing so as we had approached.

“If if starts to burn you, just drop it,” he said. The candles were in plastic cups with the bottoms ripped out. A lady also came up to us and said she recognized our dog as one who had been very well behaved during a concert in the park. Tabby wagged her tail.

“She’s just magically good,” I told her. “We don’t know how to train a dog.” I don’t want to take credit where none is due.

“She came that way,” Steven added.

The lady told us some troubles she was having with a dog she had rescued and petted Tabby before it was time for her to join the ceremony. Part of the ceremony was a small table set up with an empty chair. As a man was explaining the symbolism, I looked down and noticed our well-behaved dog had slipped her leash and wondered off. It was obviously not the moment to yell, “Where’s my dog?” which is our method at home when we don’t know where she is. Steven spotted her standing under a tree looking around. She wagged her tail when I went up to her and got her back on the leash. She stayed with us, so we could pay attention to the rest of the ceremony.

The table I was talking about had lemon on the plate to symbolize the soldiers’ bitter fate, and salt to symbolize the tears shed for them. The wine glass was upside down because they could not raise a toast with us, and the chair was empty because they were not with us. Then several people read the names of soldiers who were POW/MIA from Vietnam. The master of ceremonies read a story of one individual believed killed in action, putting a face to the name. He also read an excerpt from a book which I believe was titled Body of Secrets.

It was a short ceremony, but very moving. It was sometimes difficult to hear people talk, since they weren’t miked, but somehow that was appropriate too. We left feeling solemn and glad we went. I was especially glad to be mailing post cards to soldiers. I said an extra prayer for all who served.

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Posted in Community Events, Herkimer, Mohawk Valley, veterans, walking. Bookmark the permalink.
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