I went to Fratello’s Pizzeria tonight and I was so happy I did. There I was in Ilion, thinking of the more sensible route of going home (what was I going to eat there anyways?) and then the idea of going to Fratello’s and sitting at the bar occurred to me. The first person I saw when I walked in was Phil Arcuri.
“Hey!” I said, “I impulsively decided to eat here and I thought, ‘Maybe Phil Arcuri will be playing. Nah, I couldn’t get that lucky. I got that lucky!”
I ordered a Pinot Noir and asked if there were any specials. Chicken Riggies! At first I thought, red wine with chicken? Then I thought chicken riggies could stand up to red wine, especially a light one like Pinot Noir. Not that I am anybody’s expert on wine and food pairings. I like wine and I like food. That is the extent of it.
Oh, I enjoyed the music! Phil always looks like he is having such a good time as he plays. A couple of boys seated at a table were enjoying him as much as I was. When I got up to take a picture and danced my way back to my seat, one of the boys danced too.
To add to the festivities, Toni, the bartender, was celebrating her 21st birthday. I asked if I could take her picture for my blog post. She graciously agreed.
I was delighted with my riggies. For one reason, as I pointed out to Toni, I can eat some leftovers on Friday, for carbs before the Pride Stride 5K on Saturday. She had to laugh at that, because there will certainly will be more than one night’s worth of leftovers. But she wished me luck on my 5K.
I had a great night. Thank you, Fratello’s, Toni, and Phil!
Late Lame Post. It’s a thing. Without going into details (as I often say, explanations are so tiresome), I am going through a stressful time, and I do not seem to be handling it well. I may even be falling apart. Come on, Cindy, pull yourself together! Sometimes that sort of exhortation works.
Last night I indulged myself by going for a bite to eat at Jamo’s in Herkimer, NY (where I live). The angel on one shoulder said, “Don’t do it! Eat at home and save money!” The devil on the other shoulder said, “It’s called self care.” Come to think about it, perhaps I have that backwards and it was the devil urging the more depressing option. Additionally (although I did not think of this at the time), I was supporting the local economy and a very nice local business.
What the hell is it with not being able to add captions? Damn it!
I sat at the bar and ordered a glass of wine. I told the bartender about how the last time I was there, I had leaned my purse against the wall, it had fallen over, knocking down my wine glass, and I had burst into tears.
“I was feeling emotional,” I said. “I am kind of emotional today.” Actually, once I had made up my mind and was at Jamo’s, I felt better. Incidentally, I wrote a blog post about the bursting into tears incident, which I would link to if I could remember the title (I can’t).
I was delighted to find nachos on the menu. I immediately ordered them. The bartender told me that favorites come and go. I will remember that and not feel too bad the next time I don’t see nachos available.
Of course I had brought a notebook, but I did not have anything to write. Then I saw a partial scene from a long-ago novel. I started this novel back in the early 00’s, and this snippet of a scene I had written maybe a year ago. I wrote the next sentence. Then a page more! It was great!
The bartender asked if I was writing down all my stress. I explained it was a snippet of a novel and that I had a problem with finishing novels.
“My sister has four novels on Amazon and I haven’t got any!”
She asked what sort of novels I wrote, and we talked about that which led to me telling her about the murder mystery dinner theatre scripts I write. I felt happy to tell her I actually finish something!
Later on a young man sat at the other end of the bar and ordered a beer. The three of us chatted about beer, church youth groups retreats, and all manner of things. It was fun! When I got ready to leave, I told them how much I had enjoyed myself and hoped to meet them again sometime. They echoed the thought.
“Maybe at Heelpath Brewing,” the bartender said, since that was one of the things we chatted about.
Back home, I took a picture of my burgeoning peonies, just to further cheer myself up.
I was happy I had gone to Jamo’s, although my stomach wished I had ordered something lighter. In my defense, YUM! I am feeling cheerier this morning, especially having written this blog post (over 500 words! Wow!) (for me, I know other bloggers write much more on a regular basis). I almost feel I should delete the first paragraph. The post can stand perfectly well, perhaps better, without it. Yet I will let it stand. There is no shame in admitting one is having problems. But I hope everyone reads to the end when I say: I will be fine. Nachos and conversation are excellent medicine!
I have been wanting to be more consistent about getting exercise, so was determined to walk or run today. My preference was to walk and take pictures for a Pedestrian Post. After I got home I finished a couple of letters so I could multi-task by taking them to the post office. Full disclosure: I noticed a third letter I had meant to finish but decided to leave it for tomorrow. I am such a one for starting things and not finishing them!
I had seen a Facebook post from Grand Colonial Bed and Breakfast reminding us to stop and smell the lilacs. They have lilacs? I thought. It was very little out of my way to go by the Grand Colonial. I like to smell lilacs. I smelled some in a neighbor’s house but did not take a picture.
As it happens, the person who made the post was just speaking in general. The Grand Colonial has no lilacs. However, I was glad I stopped by, because I had a nice chat with one of the owners, who happened to be outside at the time.
I took a picture of the flowers they did have.
They are planning some major landscaping in June. I was invited to return and take more pictures. I will certainly do that. Additionally, I am trying to talk my husband Steven into going to the Colonial to stay a night, just for something fun and different. I took a picture of the side porch to entice him.
Picture it: relaxing on the porch!
I don’t know if I ever mentioned that I wrote an article about the Grand Colonial for Mohawk Valley Living magazine. At that time they showed me around the place, and I was enchanted.
Yes, we could be sleeping here.
The Grand Colonial Bed and Breakfast is located at 112 W. German St., Herkimer NY, phone number 315-982-5004.
I noticed in a picture on Facebook that Heelpath Brewing in Frankfort, NY, now has plastic bubbles for outdoor seating in inclement weather. I suggested to my friend Kim that we check it out. For another reason, Heelpath serves wine from Rustic Ridge Winery of Burlington Flats. Yum!
We noticed as we approached the building that there is also an enclosure attached to the side of the building. Some people were in it at the time. After they left, I suggested we move there, but by then we were comfortable at the bar and chatting up the bartender.
The obligatory picture of Kim with a drink.
I did take a picture of the new seating options.
The butt receptacle is usually outside.
Looks summery to me.
Heelpath was doing a good Saturday afternoon business. Some of the patrons graciously allowed me to take their pictures for blogging purposes.
I did not get names.
The tap in the center of that table is for decorative purposes only.
Everybody was having a good time, including me. Heelpath Brewing is located at 122 Marina Park, Frankfort, NY, phone number 315-444-9005. They are open 2 to 7 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 2 to 10 p.m. Friday, noon to 10 p.m. Saturday, and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.
I have been trying to support my local businesses lately. Or is that just my handy excuse for going out and having a good time? In either case, we had a good time this afternoon at the End Zone Pub and Grub in Herkimer, NY.
We wore our masks in, and put them back on if we left our seats. They have their barstools spaced the required six feet apart, but Steve and I were allowed to move ours closer together, since we are of the same household.
Steve and our delightful bartender.
We drank some wine and ate French fries and boneless chicken wings. I feared I would regret consuming deep fried stuff, both from an upset tummy and weight gain aspects, but, yum.
Our friend Kim joined us. Brianna, the bartender, saved her our mini wine bottles. Kim recently started making trolls using them.
She’s so creative.
I’ll have to get a few shots of the finished product. In the meantime, I am happy to contribute to Kim’s creative endeavors with my cabernet consumption. Or is that another handy excuse?
I began my Valentine’s Day weekend by shopping at a new place for a gift for my husband Steven: Grand Colonial Bed and Breakfast in Herkimer, NY.
One does not usually think about a bed and breakfast as a shopping destination, but I saw on Facebook that Grand Colonial was opening their gift shop to the public on Friday and Saturday just for the occasion. I was naturally delighted to check it out, especially as they said they carried locally sourced items. Additionally, I am seeking a topic for an article for Mohawk Valley Living magazine. A local B&B might fit the bill.
The first thing I saw when I walked in the door was the nicest dog! I barely remembered to shut the door before I went over to let him. His name is Brick, and he loves people.
A rare still moment.
Linda Costanza and Michael Martin, two of the owners, could not have been nicer. When I told them I wanted to write about their place, they showed me around and answered all my questions. I took a lot of pictures. If I can’t write the article, I can definitely get another blog post or two out of it.
A lovely display.
I also accomplished my intention of purchasing a present for my husband.
I almost purchased something for myself as well.
They said they could offer testers of the Berkman 1802 products, but such things could not be left just out these days, due to COVID. Sadly, COVID has wrought havoc on their business. Problems continue as, for example, the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown goes virtual for their annual inductions. Obviously, these kinds of precautions are necessary during a pandemic, but I feel we are justified in saying, this really sucks (pardon my French).
Just a few more choices.
I think it was pretty smart of the folks at Grand Colonial to use Valentine’s Day to call attention to themselves and bring in a little gift shop business. I asked if the shop was open to the public at other times. Linda said anybody interested could give them a call and they would be glad to open.
“Ooh, private shopping by appointment,” I said. That would actually be a perfect way to shop during COVID times.
For anybody who wants to stop in for Valentine’s Day, the Grand Colonial will be open tomorrow, Saturday, Feb. 13, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. They are located at 112 W. German St., Herkimer, NY, phone number 315-982-5004. You can visit their website at https://grand-colonial.com/. You can also Like them on Facebook.
I love the Waterfront Grille in Herkimer, NY. My friend Kim and I had a delightful time there last Saturday.
There were no seats at the bar, my favorite place to sit. However, the owner pointed out a tall table near the bar. Perfect! Kim ordered her usual Moscato. I enjoyed a glass of Sauvignon Blanc, which you can’t get just anywhere. We decided to split an order of calimari. Yum!
Sweet wine, sweet girl!
We took pictures of each other for my blog post. Kim had to maneuver a little to get one of me, because I had my back to the window.
I like wine, yes.
A lady who was having lunch with friends offered to take a picture of both of us. How nice!
They should put us in an ad.
We had a fun time, munching, sipping, and chatting. We looked out the window at the bandstand and thought longingly of warm weather. We hope circumstances permit bands to play there this summer. It would also be nice to go on a canal cruise. However, we enjoyed ourselves at the time, and admired the partially frozen canal. Alas, I forgot to walk around the building and take a picture when we left.
The Waterfront Grille is located at 800 Mohawk St., Herkimer, phone number 315-717-0700.
My friend Kim and I tried to help out the local economy yesterday with a couple of Mohawk Valley Adventures. We do love to get together on a Saturday. Additionally, I needed some post cards.
They had a million of them!
We started at Mohawk Antiques Mall, on Main Street in Mohawk, NY. I have talked about their huge collection of post cards. However, I like to send my post cards to people, and these are better for collectors. We browsed the rest of the antiques.
I love this sort of thing.
I admired some handmade incidental tables. There were also a couple of great retro kitchen tables which I did not get a picture of. We saw a lot of glassware we liked. Kim purchased a set of four cocktail glasses. She promised to use them at a party, to which she will certainly invite me, when such things are possible again.
We looked for Superman.
The other thing that caught our eyes was the old phone booth. I love antique stores, even if I don’t have the money or space to buy everything I would like. This was a fun first stop. I’ll save our other two stops for future posts.
My sister Cheryl gave me the most appropriate present for Mohawk Valley Girl: a basket of local stuff.
I should have taken the picture as soon as I opened it.
Of course I was not surprised to see items from the So Sweet Candy Cafe, our friend Margaret’s wonderful store. I am surprised the Santa and Mrs. Claus sugar cookies lasted long enough for me to get a picture, and we have not eaten the Egg Nog Fudge, either.
Aren’t they cute?
I was delighted to see a card from local artist Maria Vallese of Retro Sorrento, whose works were recently added to the So Sweet inventory. However, the item that made me do back flips (figuratively speaking, of course), were the turkey joints.
I must get more to send to my correspondents!
Turkey joints, for non-local readers, are a marvelous confection made in Rome, NY, where I grew up. Steven had never had one, but now he is a true believer.
Lots of yum!
Other goodies included a big jar of garlic pickles and smaller jars with jellies and honey. The whole thing was wrapped in a beautiful Christmas dish towel.
Cheryl loves dogs as much as I do.
I immediately made up my mind to take pictures for a blog post but got distracted (hey, it was Christmas morning!). I luckily remembered to snap before Steven had eaten all the turkey joints.
Cheryl told me the pickles and jellies came from a place in Booneville called Awesome Country. Sounds like a good place for Mohawk Valley Girl to visit! The towel and ornament came from Newport Marketplace, another of my favorite places.
Ah yes, the ornament! I forgot the ornament when I took my pictures, because I had right away placed it among our Christmas display on the mantle. It is a very adorable cowbell. I actually remembered it before I wrote this post, but I thought “I Forgot the Cow Bell!” would be an excellent title. Now I am wondering if “Cow Bell to Follow” would be more appropriate. You may notice I am late in making my Monday post. I dare not delay further for more photography. Let’s just say I owe you a cow bell!
It is after 11 p.m. on Saturday, according to my clock (I know my WordPress timestamp disagrees). Time enough to make a Slacker Saturday Post.
The height of pandemic fashion.
Earlier today my friend Kim and I went to the End Zone Pub and Grub for a drink. I wore the mask she gave me for Christmas so naturally asked her to take my picture. I took one of her and the bartender.
A little backlit, but nice.
I also took a shot of the ceiling, which I always admire.
I think it is the original ceiling.
No, I really did take a picture of the ceiling. I did not drink too much and end up flat on my back staring upward. That may have happened a time or two back on the ’80’s, but We’re not talking about that now.
You may have come to the conclusion that I have slacked today as a result of wine consumed at the pub. I must confess, I slacked before that. But at least I made a blog post.
End Zone Pub and Grub is located at 129 N. Main St., Herkimer. They are open 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. Monday, noon to 2 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 12 to 11:59 p.m. Sunday.
Mohawk Valley Girl 