Category Archives: dogs

63 Degrees in the Sun

Posted on September 17, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

Since I have been suffering from one of my periodic bouts of lightheadedness, I have been unable to partake of any Mohawk Valley adventures this weekend. Saturday was fine, since I could write about my run. But Sunday? Oh dear, what to do? What to do? Finally I thought I would take my dog Tabby for a walk and write a post about that.

The first thing that struck me was the difference between indoor and outdoor temperatures. I had been lounging on the couch reading a romance novel (hey, it’s Sunday and I’m lightheaded; I’m allowed). I felt cold! I had on pants and a sweatshirt, and I put the hood up. When I looked at our thermostat, I noted that it was more than 10 degrees cooler outside: 63 as opposed to 75. Still, I took off the sweatshirt. I found my crazy old lady hat and grabbed my prescription sunglasses. It wasn’t particularly sunny out at the moment, but I figured, wait five minutes.

The temperature at first felt a little cool. I may have been more comfortable in a sweatshirt or perhaps just a long-sleeved shirt. Never mind, it was mid-afternoon. Shade was not plentiful and the sky was not completely overcast.

Sure enough, I hadn’t gone a block when I put the sunglasses on. Ah, that was better. Tabby pulled me toward Herkimer’s Historic Four Corners, one of her favorite spots to walk by. I let her stop and sniff a light post, thinking I really did not need the jacket.

She nicely did her business a mere block and a half from a trash can I know of. Sometimes she is a convenient kind of dog. I had another poop bag in my pocket, in case of the rare occurrence that she poops again. Fellow dog owners will appreciate my concern.

We walked down Main Street. I noticed Sam’s Deli, a new business we have not yet patronized, carries Steven’s favored brand of cigarettes. Oh, I know, it would be a good idea for his health and our finances if he quit. You tell him; I’m not that kind of a wife.

I felt bad as usual as we passed other closed businesses as well as buildings that haven’t housed businesses in recent memory. I admired the old buildings, though, and keep thinking I will bring my camera downtown one day and take some pictures.

Tabby wanted to walk through the little park by Basloe Library. A young man was sitting on a bench, having a loud conversation with a laptop computer. Or maybe it was one of those cell phone ear attachments and he just happened to also have a laptop computer. I did not nosily look too closely or try to listen.

After the park, Tabby pulled me down Prospect, then left onto Park Avenue and back to Main Street. More closed businesses and a few open ones. Tabby looked speculatively into Pete’s Tavern, but I reminded her she was not 21. I looked longingly at Crazy Otto’s Diner, but reminded myself I had already had breakfast. We did not go into Hummel’s Office Plus for once, and Belly Up Pub is not yet open.

By now the breeze had died down and the sun was quite warm. I was wearing dark clothes, so that didn’t help. I was happy to get back home and into the 75 degree temperature that is inexplicably cooler than 63 degrees in the sun.

Leave a comment

Posted in dogs, humor, personal, walking and tagged , . Bookmark the permalink.

A Bank and a Bake Sale

Posted on June 25, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

Saturday I needed some cash and wanted to spend it, so I put Tabby on the leash and we walked down to First Source Credit Union in Herkimer, NY. They are very dog friendly there.

While I was filling out my withdrawal slip, two little boys noticed Tabby and were very interested in her. I told them it was OK to pet her. I explained that first it was a good idea to let her sniff their hands and then pet her on the back. I read that somewhere, that you should pet a strange dog on the back or chest, not on the head. They might get nervous when a stranger pets them on the head. Tabby licked the littler boy’s hand.

“Did she give you kisses?” I asked. After I completed my transaction and picked up the biscuit the teller gave me for Tabby, I turned around to see Tabby on her hind legs, leaning on the bigger boy, being petted. “Did you make a couple of friends?” I asked her. She didn’t let her new friends keep her from eating her treat right away.

We left the bank and walked down a block and across the street to Aubuchon Hardware, where H.A.L.O. was having a bake sale. That was where I wanted to spend a little money.

H.A.L.O. is the Helping Animals Live Organization, a non-profit, no kill cat shelter based in Little Falls. I can’t adopt a kitty due to severe allergies, but I like to support their fundraisers whenever possible. Right away I saw a flier for a great event planned for September: a Chicken Barbecue and Hawaiian Luau Dance. I checked their Facebook page for more details, but it isn’t listed yet. I’ll definitely keep an eye out for that and plan to attend. Steven has lots of Hawaiian shirts.

After I bought a couple of goodies for me and Steven, Tabby and I walked back home. It was quite sunny and warm by this time, so I chose the sidewalks that seemed to offer the most shade. We were glad to get home and near the fans. Just another pleasant little interlude during our Mohawk Valley weekend.

Leave a comment

Posted in Community Events, dogs, local business, personal. Bookmark the permalink.

Tabby Goes Visiting

Posted on May 4, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

What with my All Harvey All the Time lifestyle these days, I feel I have been neglecting my dog, Tabby. So Wednesday, I was determined to take her for a real walk.

For those animal lovers out there exclaiming in horror, “But you MUST walk your dog every day!” I know. But Tabby gets exercise, because we let her run around in the backyard several times a day and we indulge her in a few rousing games of That’s My Treat. And I only missed two days of walking her, because we went for long walks both weekend days (actually, one of those walks might have made a good post, because I pointed out to Tracy many spots of historical or cultural interest). Yes, I feel guilty.

Be that as it may, Tabby was ecstatically happy when I got out the leash. Dogs have such capacity for happiness, it is really inexcusable not to take a little time to make a dog happy. I left on my BDU pants from work (that’s my army camouflage pants, for you civilians) and found my crazy old lady hat. Might as well be a crazy old lady when you get the chance.

Since the walk was to make up for me neglecting Tabby, I let her pull me her favorite way, to Herkimer’s Historic Four Corners. Then she wanted to cross Main Street, so we did. She pulled me to our church, Christ Episcopal, then right to the back door, which she jumped at, asking to go in. I started to tell her there was nobody there to pet her when I noticed a light was on. I also noticed a sign advertising a rummage sale Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

The door was unlocked, so we went in to find a lady we know setting up for the sale. She and I had a nice chat, and she and her kids petted Tabby. The youngest, a mere toddler, was especially taken with her. He kept laughing delightedly.

We continued our walk down Main Street. Tabby wanted to go into Smoker’s Friendly. When we only had one vehicle, Steven was in the habit of walking Tabby to Smoker’s Friendly almost every day, to feed his unhealthy habit. We still walk there on occasion (just a little multi-tasking). A man sitting at the table enjoying a cigarette petted Tabby. I explained that my husband often brought her there, so she liked to say hello.

We were able to cross Main Street a little further down, not always an easy task. Cars do not respect cross walks, which in any case could use a new coat of paint. A young man standing in front of the tattoo place asked me if Tabby was part poodle (how remiss of me that I can’t tell you the business’ name). I explained schnoodle — schnauzer/poodle, and he petted her. She was not as cordial with him as she usually is. He said it was probably the hat. It was an ordinary knitted affair, such as I wear myself on occasion, but who knows? Maybe it was the way he wore it. We walked on.

Next, Tabby wanted to go into Hummel’s Office Plus. The clerk, a particular friend of Tabby’s, came out from behind the counter to pet her. There were no customers at the time. I don’t want you to think I let my dog disrupt a local business.

As we headed home through Myers Park we encountered a dog tied to a bench his people were sitting on. When he saw Tabby he pulled at his leash and made a noise like he really wanted to bark. Tabby looked at him with some interest but kept quiet and kept walking. I told her that she was a good girl, that I knew she wanted to make a friend but we had to keep walking. I actually didn’t know if she wanted to make a friend or not. Sometimes Tabby is funny with other dogs.

I think Tabby enjoyed her walk. We visited three places, and she was petted by several people. Not bad for a half hour.

2 Comments

Posted in dogs, Herkimer, personal, walking. Bookmark the permalink.

Muddled Monday

Posted on March 27, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

I was either going to write about Saturday’s wine tasting or resort to Middle-aged Musings. Well, I mislaid my tasting notes, so musings it is.

I’m actually bemused this morning, because my coffee has not kicked in. What’s that all about? I can’t still be tired from Saturday, can I? Am I getting too old to have fun? Say it ain’t so!

I can’t write a whole blog post about how tired I feel. Actually, I could because right now that is uppermost in my mind, but how boring would it be? The sad thing is, I think I have mentioned how tired I am many times in this blog. I know I’ve talked about my desire for an old lady seat so I can shower sitting down. Yesterday I even considered staying dirty.

Actually, there is something else I could blog about (such a silly verb): Friday night. Friday night was to be spent with my husband. I felt so bad that he had to work and could not go on the wine tasting tour. Really, the older I get (ooh, it’s another middle-aged musing), the more I just want to be with my husband. Fun without Steven is just not as much fun. I’ve always felt that way to a point; heck, why would I have married him if I didn’t like to be with him? I may be an independent, take charge kind of woman (and say so in my blog), I may be my own person (others have described me that way), but I like to be with my husband. So there.

Our first stop Friday night was the Ilion Farmer’s Market at Clapsaddle Farm, Otsego Street, Ilion, NY. I just talked about it last week. This week we took our schnoodle Tabby. Tabby loves the Farmer’s Market. The old barn has so many smells for her, and there are always nice people who like to pet a cute dog (which she is). We got into a big conversation with one lady about dogs, cats and skunks.

After the Farmer’s Market we headed back down Otsego Street to Ilion Wine and Spirits, 10 E. Main St. They were having a wine tasting (kind of a warm up for my Saturday). We left Tabby in the car, because she’s not 21. I have some notes on that tasting too, so I guess I’ll write more about it later.

We took Tabby home before we went to dinner at the Herkimer Elks Lodge on Mary Street. The sign out front used to advertise Fish Fry, but now it says Dinner, reflecting their expanded menu. The cooking is by Dominick Scalise of Dominick’s Deli in Herkimer, and everything we’ve had so far is quite delicious. Friday I had seafood stuffed haddock and Steven had baked haddock. I look forward to eating my leftovers.

I’m thinking my musings were more entertaining than my activities, or do I flatter myself? No matter. I’ve written both, I’ll type in both (like last week, I have little time and am too flustered for extensive re-writes). People can like it or not (although I hope they do).

Leave a comment

Posted in dogs, Elks, farmer's market, Herkimer, humor, Ilion, liquor store, middle aged, personal. Bookmark the permalink.

Return of the Crazy Old Lady Hat

Posted on March 14, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

I was going to call this post Blogger’s Sick Day, because I was too ill all day at work to write during my breaks. I was not too ill to work, just too ill to feel happy about it.

My plan after work was to return home and scramble into bed to nap before tonight’s rehearsal (have I mentioned I’m in a play at Ilion Little Theatre? Oh well, preview of coming attractions). I carefully set my watch alarm to wake me in time to shower and type three sentences, because, as regular readers know, I have challenged myself to post something every day for one year.

Well, I sucked on Zicam all day (I usually buy generic, but the name brand was all they had at Kinney’s last night). It seemed to help. Or else the cold is just running its course. Who can tell about these things? In any case, I did not feel as knock-down, drag-out awful as I did yesterday driving home from work.

I had also spent the day watching the light outside fade and brighten. Now it looked like a storm, now it looked sunny. As I drove home to Herkimer, sun had won. Hmmm, no walk for Tabby yesterday. Me and Steven both going to rehearsal tonight. I saw my way clear: I had to walk my dog. I realized, too, it was warm enough to make wearing my crazy old lady hat appropriate. Score! A plan and a blog title!

What a long introduction, just for a post about a walk with my dog. Oh well. I relaxed for a few minutes with my steel-toed work shoes off, then put on running shoes and got my hat and Tabby’s leash. I found my prescription sunglasses, too. I find the sunglasses/hat combination to be ideal on sunny days. I should mention, perhaps, that my crazy old lady hat is khaki canvas with a wide brim. I love it.

Other than the running shoes and hat, I still had my work clothes on: BDU pants and a black t-shirt from Melfe’s Shoes (where I got my steel-toed work shoes). Yes, it was a crazy old lady outfit, even without the hat. No matter. When you’re walking a cute, friendly little schnoodle, people tend to smile at you regardless.

We turned down Church Street toward the Historic Four Corners, Tabby’s favorite way to walk, because a lady was walking two dogs in the direction I would have taken. They seemed very interested in Tabby, and I didn’t want to cause trouble. Tabby did her business in somebody’s lawn, which I usually try to prevent. I try to get her to poop in the strip between the sidewalk and road, but this time she was too quick for me. Of course I picked it up in a plastic bag I carried for just such a purpose.

As we went by Herkimer Reformed Church, Tabby wanted to sniff some dog poo in the church yard. Who let their pooch poo in the church yard and didn’t pick it up? That shows a lack of respect. I saw another pile of poo in the sidewalk. Really, some dog owners.

Tabby pulled me across Main Street, no light-hearted task, and toward our church, Christ Episcopal. Nobody was there, but Tabby has been there a few times when nice people have petted her, so she often wants to check it out.

We continued on Mary Street then down Washington past Carney’s Corners, where we had walked with Tabby the other day. Steven went in and bought us a sub while Tabby and I hung around outside. Tabby looked with interest at the store today. I thought briefly of going over and putting her poo in their outside trash can but decided against it.

We walked on. We passed Lorraine Bills School, which has been closed for some years. There is a FOR SALE sign on it, saying it is a brick bonanza and has a large lot. I guess that means the building is no longer any good. I hate to see these old buildings go to waste.

I noticed a sign for a chicken pot pie dinner Wednesday the 21st at the church on the corner of Green and Washington. Tabby pulled me around the corner and down Green before I had a chance to look at which church it is, but corner of Green and Washington, you can’t miss it.

We luckily made it back across Main Street and made our way toward Meyer Park. Ah, here was a trash can where I could deposit the poo. It was starting to smell in the warm sun. I was feeling a little hot in my black t-shirt. It seems as if we skipped spring straight into summer, but I hate to complain about the warm temperature. The brim of my crazy old lady hat started blowing up, letting the bright sun into my eyes, which aggravated my headache (did I mention I’m not feeling 100% better yet?), so I crossed to the shady side of the street.

As my hat continued to blow up, I wondered if I looked like one of the Bowery Boys, either Sach or Mahoney. I don’t properly remember the Bowery Boys, only that we used to watch them on Saturdays when we were little. I seem to remember one of my sisters turning up the brim of her hat and saying she was either Sach or Mahoney. I guess I should get these childhood memories straight before I share them.

Well, I’ve rattled on a good long time about a short little walk. All this with a headache. Guess I didn’t need Blogger’s Sick Day after all.

2 Comments

Posted in commentary, dogs, Herkimer, humor, personal, walking. Bookmark the permalink.

A Walk, a Run and a Forfeit

Posted on February 24, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

I have been trying to run many days, but not every day. For one thing, I have to take my dog for a walk sometimes. For another, I get tired. I’m not a young woman, and I’m not convinced I consume enough fruits and vegetables to constitute a healthy lifestyle (although a neighbor lady used to flatteringly call me “young lady” when she chided me for not wearing my crazy old lady hat) (she didn’t know I call it my crazy old lady hat) (but I digress).

I ran Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Monday, I substituted a walk to the post office with husband and dog, Steven and Tabby respectively. We had to mail a few things anyways. Besides, the moonlit stroll had not turned out so romantic; I wanted to try again.

Well, the Mohawk Valley wait-five-minute weather did me dirt again. It was cold. It was not romantic. It was not even that much fun. Still, it was fresh air and exercise, and Tabby seemed to enjoy it. You can learn a lot from a dog about appreciating life.

The next day it felt cold once again as I left work. I grumpily told myself I could and would skip two days in a row. Then I stopped at the drugstore, which of course took longer than anticipated (it almost always does; you would think I’d get better at anticipating). By the time I got home it seemed not as cold.

By the time I was outside actually running, it seemed just as cold. However, I was out and started. I kept going. The sidewalks were bare and dry, so that was good.

I observed Christmas lights still hanging on some porches. They were not lit, but the sun had not set yet. Quite possibly those people do not light them after Christmas. The holly and red ribbons on one house looked nice in the daylight. A snowman smiled at me from a screened in porch. That got me thinking about screened in porches. I do envy a screened in porch. I amused myself my noting the different ones and deciding which I admire most. Of course, Tuesday was no porch sitting day, but spring is coming.

Wednesday I had intended to walk with Tabby again and hoped Steven would join us. But it was no good. I was too tired. I sat and had a cup of tea. I looked at the television and tried to knit a few rows. I even wished I had one of those old lady chairs in my bathtub so I could take my shower sitting down.

Did I mention not being a young woman? I suppose there are other women out there older than me with boundless energy. I’m hoping they have too much energy to sit and read a blog. They can be out having adventures, not commenting to me that I am just a lazy bum. And I don’t need to hear about anybody’s feisty grandmother! (That’s not true, of course; I love to hear stories about grandmothers.) (Maybe I’ll do a blog post about mine.) (Is is bad form to end a piece on a parenthetical comment?)

Leave a comment

Posted in dogs, humor, Mohawk Valley, running, Uncategorized, walking. Bookmark the permalink.

By the Light of the Steveny Moon

Posted on February 9, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

When I see the full moon on the calendar each month I always hope to at least remember to look out the window and see it. Tuesday I actually managed to go for a walk under it.

I’ve been trying to take my schnoodle, Tabby, for a walk every day. She likes it and I need the exercise. Sometimes my husband, Steven, accompanies us. Tuesday, remembering the impending full moon, I conceived the idea of taking our walk after dark. I had meant to call Steven from work and if he was still at work (I can’t seem to keep track of his lunch times), leave a message on the machine inviting him on a romantic moonlit stroll with his two favorite girls (assuming one of them is me). I actually forgot to do this. I was busy leaving messages about how I’m working this weekend and my dentist appointment got changed (you know, trivial stuff).

As it happens, I am one of Steven’s favorite girls (phew!), and he was happy to go for a romantic moonlit stroll with me and Tabby. Waiting till dark also gave me a chance to get a couple of things ready to mail, so our walk could take us to the post office. Does walking with a purpose make it less romantic? I didn’t think so.

I saw the moon right away, half hidden by some trees and a house, so right away I felt the walk was successful. Tabby did not howl at the moon as her wolf relatives are supposed to do, so that was good. As we approached Myers Park, we were able to see the moon better, a perfectly round silver ball.

It was beautiful, but a romantic moonlit stroll? Not so much. For one thing, it was not exactly a stroll. Tabby set a brisk pace, and we were glad to follow suit, because it was way cold. I knew those springlike temperatures would not last, but oh, I could have enjoyed one more day of them. I think Tuesday was the sort of night it would have been more romantic to cuddle under a blanket in our house and look out the window at the moon. Not getting too close to the window, you know, because of the draft.

Nevertheless, it is always good to take a walk with one’s favorite husband and dog (yes, I only have one of each, but they are still my favorite). And a week from Valentine’s Day is not a bad time to start thinking about romance. A Mohawk Valley Valentine, there’s an idea for a post.

Leave a comment

Posted in dogs, humor, walking. Bookmark the permalink.

Middle-aged Meanderings

Posted on February 7, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

I know, I said Mondays would be Middle-aged Musings Mondays. Well, on all my breaks at work I sat with a notebook in front of me and mused. And was not amused. I may look at those paragraphs later and find some perfectly usable stuff, but today I don’t like it. So I’m going to talk about the nice walk I just took with my schnoodle, Tabby.

It was a beautiful day that felt like spring. Warm and sunny, not too much breeze. I still had on my BDU pants from work but changed out of the steel toed shoes into my yellow-laced running sneakers. The “goth” jacket my sister-in-law gave me (her grandkids call it that because there’s a skull on it) and a black toque completed my crazy old lady outfit. We set off.

I tried to go a different direction from the one we took yesterday, but that put the sun directly in my eyes for the foreseeable future. We turned around. Now the late afternoon sun cast a long shadow in front of me. I looked tall and solid with a little pinhead. I guess that was the toque; otherwise I would have seen my spiked hair.

Tabby wanted to turn down Main Street. She likes Main Street. I noticed a house that still had artificial poinsettias in the window box. It was a white house with red trim, so it fit. A car a little ways ahead of us pulled into a driveway to turn around. The young man driving was moving pretty fast but luckily saw the cars coming and did not pull back out too quickly.

The sun was now to my right, so when I got between buildings I looked to the left to check out my shadow again. A little more proportional, but still fairly tall and pinheaded. Later we went by the big glass windows at Working Solutions. Now I could see my real reflection. Hmmm, kind of dumpy. Oh well, one can work on these things. At least my head looked normal sized.

We walked through the little park by Basloe Library and made our way toward Meyers Park. Tabby wanted to do a lot of sniffing. I indulged her while I waited for traffic to clear at the four way stop. A cute little white dog was in the park with his people. We people exchanged greetings, but the dogs did not seem too interested in each other.

It was a very pleasant Mohawk Valley walk, although I suppose I could have done more Monday Musing. Oh well, there’s always next week.

Leave a comment

Posted in commentary, dogs, humor, walking. Bookmark the permalink.

Walking with a Nefarious Purpose

Posted on February 5, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

I spent a good portion of my time at work on Friday pondering my movements for the evening (while still working; I have that kind of a job). I wanted to go to Hannaford, I wanted to go to the liquor store, I definitely wanted to walk my dog. Then the title “Walking with a Nefarious Purpose” came to me, and there was no looking back. Tabby and I were walking to the liquor store (see, I have a hard time with titles; when I think of one I like, I go with it).

Longtime readers may recall some months ago I wrote a post titled “Walking with a Purpose,” in which Steven and I walked our dog Tabby to Hannaford. Steven and Tabby waited outside while I went in and made our purchases. Steven was still at work, so he could not aid me in my purposes, nefarious or otherwise. However, I thought I could get away with taking my dog into the liquor store briefly.

I feel I am being a little silly even calling it a nefarious purpose. I was not purchasing alcohol for minors in order to corrupt their morals. I just wanted to enjoy a glass of white wine and maybe cook with it. I actually had it in my head to purchase a box o’ wine (the crowd I used to run with always referred to it as “box o’ wine,” studiously leaving off the “f”). For one thing, box o’ preserves the wine better if you don’t intend to drink it all in a short time. For another, I had discovered a flavor I liked.

Off we went. It was a lovely afternoon for a walk, not too cold, no precipitation. Ramar’s Liquors, where I intended to go, is a fairly short walk from my house. We were two blocks away from it when Tabby tried to make a left and head in another direction. I convinced her otherwise, but she tried again at the next corner. I hoped she would not insist. I can usually win an argument of this sort with a 17 pound dog, but I am not here to torture my poocher. I want us both to enjoy the stroll.

The box I wanted was right inside the door. Excellent! The lady at the register did not seem to mind my pooch being there. I had brought a reusable bag to carry my purchase. For one thing it had longer straps I thought I could put on one shoulder.

Tabby was happy to head in the direction of home. So was I, although it did seem to take a longer time. Maybe a small bottle would have been better. Or I could have taken Tabby for a walk and driven to the liquor store later. As the ever-heavier box bumped against my hip, I was only thankful it was not beer. I pictured opening a can of beer that had bounced on my hip for ten minutes and wondered if that would be a fun thing to do at my next party. I was just kidding, of course; I don’t have college-flavored parties any more.

The walk home was not really bad, but I thought it would make a better blog post if I suffered a little. For those of you with nefarious purposes of your own, Ramar’s is located at 104 N. Caroline St., Herkimer, NY, 315-866-9897,

2 Comments

Posted in dogs, Herkimer, humor, liquor store, local business, wine. Bookmark the permalink.

Trudging Through Tuesday

Posted on January 25, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

It really was not that bad of a day, but I felt like being alliterative.

I wrote three different blog posts while I was at work today: one before starting work at 7 a.m., one during the 9 a.m. break and a third at the 2 p.m. break (I called my husband during lunch; it was his day off). Actually, none of the posts was complete, and the third was really short, because I was busy making silly jokes with my co-workers. Be that as it may, none of those posts pleased me.

I got home from work in time for my one of my favorite crime shows, City Confidential. Today’s city was Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I’d really like to check out some of these cities, and not just because of the murders that took place there. After City Confidential, I got interested in an episode of Notorious. They were showing a case I had seen profiled on another show, Power, Privilege and Justice, I think.

Before you go thinking I’m all morbid, loving these crime shows, let me assure you these shows are classy entertainment. The coverage is in-depth and informative, and there are no cheesy reenactments. I hate cheesy reenactments, and very few reenactments are not cheesy. The shows were not graphic either, as evidenced by the fact that we ate dinner during the second.

Throughout my TV watching, my dog Tabby kept coming up to me and gazing at me with appealing brown eyes. I knew what she wanted, so after Notorious I put my bra and sneakers back on and got out her leash. I only could have skipped City Confidential and walked her when it was still light out, but we can’t always look that far ahead.

Tabby pulled me as she often does toward the Historic Four Corners. I could see the Herkimer County Courthouse two blocks away. I remembered how when we had first moved into Herkimer, I would go running and get a little confused in the streets beyond Washington. Eventually I would look up and see the courthouse and know which direction to head.

We turned down Main Street and walked by a few open businesses and some sadly closed ones. Tabby looked speculatively at a small family getting out of a car, no doubt thinking they’d like to pet a cute dog. Unfortunately they crossed the street without giving her a glance. I heard the father telling the little boy to hold his mother’s hand.

Tabby wanted to go through the little park by Basloe Library, but I made her go down one more block, feeling I needed a little more exercise. When we approached Meyers Park, I remembered it is closed from dusk to dawn, according to the sign. Of course we have walked through the park in the dark many times. Tonight, however, we walked around the perimeter. For one thing, that sidewalk was more clear.

I saw some red lights in the distance and thought, “Christmas!” It was only a Swann truck. Good eats, but pricey. I especially like the Racetrack cones, but I’m on the South Beach Diet. We walked by St. Francis de Sales Church. The light in front of the statue of St. Francis made a big shadow of St. Francis’ head on the church wall.

We had a few minor disagreements on our walk. Tabby wanted to sniff more times and for longer than I felt like standing around, and when we got closer to home she wanted to jay walk. Dogs don’t know from crosswalks. Still, it was a pleasant enough walk. A little colder than I like. I pulled my fingers into the hand part of my gloves and made fists. I took a hot shower when I got home, which made my hands hurt. They’re feeling better now, and I see I’ve managed to type over 600 words. Not bad for not using any of the three posts I wrote earlier.

And now, speaking of classy crime shows, I think I’ll go watch World’s Dumbest Criminals.

2 Comments

Posted in commentary, crime, dogs, Herkimer, humor, television, Uncategorized, walking. Bookmark the permalink.
← Older Posts
Newer Posts →