Category Archives: Monday Mental Meanderings

IT Is a Blog Post

The tree of existential angst.

I need to get a better picture of this tree, because it really speaks to me.  Two of its branches are posed in the universal position of “Wha-at?”  I took the picture on a recent long walk.  I had meant to make a Pedestrian Post with Pictures but am really only up to a Monday Mental Meanderings today.  Maybe I should have had coffee instead of tea.

A less evocative tree.

I have kind of a thing for dead trees.  I had walked up into Brookwood Park, which I used to refer to as The Unknown Park till somebody told me what it was called.  It ended up being a very good walk, because I took the path through the woods, and it is no myth that being near nature helps.

And still no Tim Curry!

Before I got up into the park, I saw a sewer and looked for an evil clown.  Full disclosure:  I have neither read the book  IT nor watched any of the movies (how many times has it been dramatized?).  I always associate it with Tim Curry, because I am madly in love with Tim Curry.  I hear he recently celebrated his 80th birthday.

Pretty!

I have been seeing a lot of hyacinths lately.  I must plant some in my yard for next year.  I love the smell.  This particular patch was in a kind of a weird place: on a down-slope into a parking lot.  I wondered if they had been planted or if some critter had moved the bulbs. In either case, I liked to see them.

And now I am over 250 without having said a whole lot.  The second cup of tea was not the miracle I was hoping for, but one must make do.  As always, I thank you for tuning in.

 

I Quickly Type a Blog Post

Oh dear, one little slip and it just snowballs.  Is that mixing metaphors?  Or merely indulging in cliche?  No matter, it is not a good beginning, but it is even worse that I missed posting two days in a row. I woke up Saturday thinking I would do a Lame Post Friday post, as I had very little brain at my disposal.  Somehow the day got away from me.  Sunday, I had rather a taxing morning and ended up spending the rest of the day on the couch feeling ill.  Today (Monday) I find myself with a short time before I need to go off and do Things, and feel sure that if I do not post now, I will never post again (that was indulging in hyperbole).

Random picture in an attempt to pep up the post.

I do not have time to search my Media Library for something appropriate or mildly connected, so I randomly share this azalea from a neighbor’s yard some few years ago.  I do not think it is there still.  The picture was, of course, taken later in the spring than we are now.  I want to look for crocuses in my yard but fear there will be none.  Winter keeps returning to the Mohawk Valley and saying, “And another thing!”

What would Truman Capote say about this?

I randomly picked a month in my Media Library and found this appropriate illustration!  I have often quoted Truman Capote, “That’s not writing, that’s typing.”  At least I have typed some 250 words.  I am a blogger once again.  I’ll work on being a daily blogger tomorrow.  I may even have something good to blog about.

 

A Train of Ducks?

I’m afraid the best I can manage today is a Monday Mental Meanderings.  I am helped in this by something that showed up in my Facebook Memories:

I envy people who have a train of thought, even if it jumps the tracks. My thoughts are on a rickety cart on a muddy path, pulled by an ornery mule who sometimes just sits down and refuses to go (I made that one up myself; I’m rather proud of it).
It’s kind of like the one about ducks in a row, where you say your ducks are scattered about and one of them is possibly a pigeon.  I stole that one.

See? One’s a frog!

I went to the trouble of taking a photo of a few of my ducks so I could throw in a picture to pep things up.  These are the latest in my collection, sent to me by me by my friend Kim.  She sent me the purse, too (that’s what the ducks were in).  I don’t remember where I got the frog;  I grabbed her off the dresser to add a random touch to the photo.

As you see, I do not have much today.  I am trying to make some improvements in my life so I can get more done, but I seem to be quite resistant to change.  Oh well, one does what one can.   The Facebook meme says, if you can’t do the dishes, wash one dish.  If you can’t get your ducks in a row, at least take them out of the purse.  If your train of thought is stuck in a ditch, just don’t kick the mule!

As a side note, some of my ducks were in a row once, courtesy of my sister Diane.  There are several in my bathroom and she lined them up neatly along the bathtub, just so  I would have… you know.  And I did, till I knocked them over getting out of the shower.

 

Pre-Rehearsal Mental Meanderings

I begin again as a daily blogger.  Today will be a Monday Mental Meanderings. For one reason, I am too old to do Middle-aged Musings.  It’s funny how fast you move from middle-aged to old.  Oh well, as my sister Diane says, Time is relative, not our relative.

It seems he has been there for some time.

I thought I should put a time-related picture just then but could not find any clocks in my Media Library.

AAAaaand then I just sat here with nothing to say.

That is as far as I got this morning.  It is now almost four in the afternoon and I have to start thinking about getting to a dress rehearsal for Prescription: Murder, the play I am in at Ilion Little Theatre.  Friday is opening night.  I think I need to study my lines some more.

I think this is my new favorite picture of myself.

That picture was to denote the passage of time while I heated up leftover coffee from this morning.  I read my lines out loud while it heated and then while I drank it.  I have not had as easy a time learning my lines as I usually do.  Do you suppose my brain is getting too old?  SAY IT AIN’T SO!!!!!

Now I have blathered on for over 200 words and must deem that all right for a Monday Mental Meanderings post.  I’m afraid for the next week this blog will be All Prescription: Murder All The Time.  Oh dear.  I’d better check again to see that I have all my stuff together (no, not my act!  Regular readers know I NEVER have my act together!).

 

More Meander than Mental

Some of the first green I’ve seen.

I have been waiting for the trees to sprout leaves again.  For one reason, when the sun gets as bright and hot as it was this past weekend, I like the shade.  No, I am NOT complaining about the heat at this early date!  Sheesh! Anyways, I took this shot of a neighborhood tree when I was out walking on Sunday.

I have noticed other trees starting to bud but have not gotten any other pictures.  I feel I should go for a walk and remedy the omission but am too tired.

Well, I just went searching for a monster that was also a tree but had no luck.

And that was as far as I got last night.  I took a walk this morning, but I can’t get good pictures in the dark and was too lazy to carry my Tablet with me.  I am temporarily without a cell phone.  I could write a blog post about no longer being able to carry connectivity around in my pocket (preview of coming attractions).

From my Media Library.

I did walk by Herkimer’s Historic Four Corners,  but not from this angle.  Still, it is a not bad picture of two of the four corners and I found it rather easily, always a concern when one is pressed for time.

I see this nonsense has gotten me over 200 words.  Score!  I think I’ll bill this as  Monday Mental Meanderings.  It has a double meaning, since I also meandered around Herkimer.  Once again, thank you for tuning in.

 

Writing About Not Writing Is Still Writing

Oh dear, it seems I have the dreaded Type It In Backspace It Out Disease.  This is much worse than when I write it down and cross it out, because in that case I can usually read what I crossed out later and say, “Oh, that isn’t so bad.”  Unless I get really disgusted with it and obliterate it or tear it up.  That has happened.

Phew!  I just got down a whole paragraph and haven’t deleted it.  Yet.  No promises, of course.  I could save it as a draft, but then when I try to go back to it, WordPress insists I started in Block Editor and something terrible may happen if I continue with Classic Editor.  I did not, WordPress!  I haven’t used Block Editor since I figured out how to go back to Classic Editor.

But I digress.

I guess this is going to be a Middle-aged Musings Monday Post.  I haven’t done one of those in a while.  Or maybe this is more of a Monday Mental Meanderings Post.  You decide.

Or pecked in one letter at a time with the stylus.

I personally am not hung up on my writing being perfect.   I just think it should be good.  Or at least not embarrassing.  I think I need to get over that and Just Write.  I can always revise the embarrassing parts later.  Or use them as blog posts (see what I did there?).

 

W(h)ining About Monsters and Blog Posts

Should I do a Monstrous Monday Post or a Monday Middle-aged Musings? I have not done one of the latter in a while. In fact, I think I even changed it to Monday Mental Meanderings. Fine blogger I am; I can’t even keep my features straight. However, I confess to enjoying these foolish posts where all I do is blather on for a while.

I’m afraid she’s not that into him.

I put in a romantic picture: the monster demands a mate, according to the movie advertising. Sadly, in the movie the match does not work out. Oh dear, should I have prefaced that with a spoiler alert?

Her outfit in the movie was less sexy.

Here is more Bride of Frankenstein art work from my Media Library. I should have had a bridal gown like that, although my figure was never quite that flawless.

But I wanted to give up around four this morning.

It is increasingly clear that I have little of substance to say. Full disclosure: I already had that glass of wine. I have been rejoicing that I only have a three day week (oh do not try to shame me, any of you who do not; I have been there, in fact, I just worked two six day weeks, so shut up already!). And I just realized: one down, two to go! Happy Monday, everyone!

Will Running Commentary Return?

I love it when my runs get up to 40 minutes, because about 22, 23 minutes in, my body goes, “Oh, yeaaah!”  This does not happen to me during shorter runs.  Your results may vary.

I have not said much about my plan to run in the Virtual Boilermaker 15K for the simple reason that I do not have a plan.  I don’t know how to make a plan for that sort of thing!  The only virtual run I have done so far was a 5K sponsored by Rock City Runners to benefit the Little Falls Food Pantry (perhaps you read my blog post about it).  I am thinking a 15K will be at least proportionally more complicated, if not moreso (why is my Tablet underlining “moreso”?  That’s a word, isn’t it? ).

Be all that as it may, I have been running incrementally longer runs (or do I mean increasingly?  Am I being unnecessarily verbose?  Say it ain’t so!).  I thought it might be nice to make more Running Commentary Posts.  Unfortunately,  I make my best Running Commentaries soon after the run.  Yes, I ran this morning, but I just don’t remember all that much about it.

What does that say about me?  Nothing good, I suppose.  Then again, why should I go out of my way to say good things about me?  Readers will think I have a tremendous ego.  Yet again, I have long maintained that there are worse things than having an ego the size of Manhattan.

Well, that is enough of that circular argument.  But it gives me an idea:  I am going to call this a Monday Mental Meanderings, hit Publish, and drive on.  I hope I can go running again tomorrow.

 

Merely Monday

Hi Ho! Hi Ho!  It’s off to work we go!

That song started playing in my head this morning, and I thought, “Don’t call me a ho!”  Then I thought I would open my blog post with that little exchange.

Yes, I am once again working for a living, wearing a mask and keeping a 6 ft. distance from my co-workers.   Actually,  the mask will reside around my neck for most of the day, since my co-workers are at least that distant most of the time.  Phew!  I feel so sorry for folks that have to keep their masks on constantly.

Really, when you look at all my advantages, I ought to have no complaints about returning to the beastly grind.  In fact, when I got the call to come back, I experienced a good half hour of pure happiness.  I had not realized how worried I was that furlough would turn into lay off.

You may have guessed by now that today’s post will be a Middle-aged Musings Monday.  Hmmm… considering how incoherently I have rambled so far, perhaps a Monday Mental Meanderings or even a Muddled Monday would be more appropriate.  So much alliteration.  So little substance to the blog post.

The important thing here is that I sat at work before my shift and WROTE.   It felt pretty good.  I think I’ll try it again tomorrow.  Maybe I can come up with something better than  Tired Tuesday Post.  As always, I hope you’ll stay tuned.

 

Not Much of a Run, Not Much of a Post, Happy Memorial Day

I ran this morning, wearing my ARMY t-shirt so I could run in honor of our fallen veterans.  I thought I might make a blog post about it. Just now I thought I couldn’t,  but let’s give it a try.

I knew it was warm.  For one reason, I didn’t get out till 7 a.m.  However,  that meant I had some coffee before running.   That sometimes helps.  It helped today.

In previous runs to honor fallen soldiers,  I ran up to the Veterans Memorial at Herkimer College.   I was not up to that today.  Still, I thought I should make an extra effort.  I decided the hill by Valley Health would suffice.  I’m sure a greater effort would have been a greater tribute,  but one does what one can.

I actually felt it was a pretty good run.   I went for 30 minutes,  which was up ten percent  from last week (full disclosure: I ran for 30 minutes yesterday).  I stopped and petted two nice dogs.

While we’re being honest (referencing that full disclosure in the previous parenthetical comment)  it is becoming evening and I have been drinking since before noon.  In my defense,  I put in great efforts in yard work.  I don’t know that I achieved great results,  but is that really the important thing?

Is not the important thing that I have made a blog post on the third day of a three day weekend?   It has not been a Monstrous Monday and it hasn’t been a Running Commentary post.   But it has been a post.

You can judge me if you are so inclined.   As always,  I try for a better post tomorrow.   I hope you are all having a delightful Memorial Day weekend.