Category Archives: Non Sequitur Thursday

No Wine, No Words

Posted on January 6, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

Oh, could I use a couple of pictures today!  Because the words that are currently swirling around in my head are just not  coalescing into a blog post.  And I must make a post soon, because the read-through for Steel Magnolias (you know, the play I’m in a Ilion Little Theatre) is tonight.  Yes, we are heading into another few months of hurried posts before I hurry off to rehearsal or performance.  Yes!  I AM a drama queen!

I am not, unfortunately, a blogger queen.  I typed in the first paragraph and have been sitting here staring at the computer since.

Then I paused to eat supper, bacon and scrambled eggs, made by my husband, Steve.  Yum!  And I keep getting distracted by the Reba re-run on the TV.  That is a largely ignored but very fun little show.  I love Reba McEntire.  I like the rest of the cast as well.  Phew, it’s over now.  Now it’s a show I don’t like.  Watch me get interested in it in spite of myself.  I do that sometimes.  Steven just changed the channel to 20/20 on OWN.  I love true crime shows.

So I guess this is truly a Non-Sequitur Thursday post.  All I have to do now is think of a catchy headline that may or may not have anything to do with this nonsense.

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Is It Multi-Tasking to Vacation and Blog?

Posted on December 30, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

I have previously bemoaned the absence of Blogger Sick Days.  How about the absence of Blogger Vacation?  I am on vacation from my real job this week (also known as “shut down” in the factory world).  Why do I have to keep worrying about this silly blog?

Of course the short answer is that I don’t. For heavens’ sake, this is not a paid writing gig.  I don’t have a contract with anybody.  I daresay not a lot of people would even notice if I did not post every day (I like to think that some would).  The long answer is… perhaps not worthy of a blog post.  In fact, I’m not even sure if I know the long answer.  I only know another short answer:  I decided in my head that I would post every day, and that is what I do.

It has been quite a dreadful weather day in the Mohawk Valley today.  It snowed like the proverbial son of a bitch most of the day (a friend said on Facebook that it was “snowing like a bitch,” and I corrected her) (thus being both didactic and silly; who says I can’t multitask?).  I went out in it for stops at the library and grocery store, necessitating three times of brushing off my vehicle.  That’s a lot of snow. When I got home I shoveled the top layer of snow in my driveway.  Throughout the afternoon, I checked out the window occasionally as the sonofabitchy snow rendered my labor useless.

I did not get a whole lot else done.  I washed the dishes.  I cooked a pretty good dinner.  I encouraged local entrepreneurship by paying two young men to shovel my driveway after the snow had pretty much obliterated my earlier efforts.  They did a marvelous job.  Score!

And now I am going to think of a silly headline and call this a Non-Sequitur Thursday post.  I hope you’re all having a lovely week after Christmas.  Stay safe, if you are also getting hit with a lot of snow.

 

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Large Weather We’re Having Lately

Posted on December 16, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

So winter came back to the Mohawk Valley and it came with a vengeance!  I have never been so glad that I work a mere eight minute drive from home.  Oh who am I kidding?   love working so close to home each and every day, I’ll never get over it.  Be that as it may, I am home.  If only my dear husband was also home, my life would be perfect.

In the meantime, I need to make a blog post.  I hate having a Non-Sequitur Thursday after I just had a Wuss-out Wednesday and there is every chance that tomorrow will indeed be Lame Post Friday.  But here you have it.  I am tired.

When I got home, I first took my dog, Spunky, for a short business meeting.  I can’t say it was a walk, because he does not go far in this weather.  In his defense, he is a very small dog with a very short haircut.  I put his coat on him, but a coat can only help so much.  After he had done his business and I got him back inside and dried off (as best as I could get him with a towel), I went back outside and shoveled the driveway.

I felt somewhat ineffective, with the snow still pouring down on me, trying to move what had fallen so far.  There was not a whole lot to move, but I thought if I took out what was there, it might at least help.  And it gave me some exercise.  Back and forth, up and down the driveway I walked, pushing show.  Every so often I stopped and tossed a shovelful to one side or the other.   I also cleared the sidewalk in front of the house, although not quite as widely as the village sidewalk plow had done it earlier.  I’ll just take another opportunity to deplore the pedestrians I often see walking down the road when there is a perfectly good sidewalk (please don’t justify yourself if this is you; you will not convince me).

So here is my blog post for the day.  If only I could think of a punchy headline, all might not be lost.  Then again, if the headline is as dull as the blog post, at least it is truth in advertising.  I will try to come up with something better tomorrow.  As always, I hope you’ll stay tuned.

 

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Hey, It’s a Blog Post

Posted on November 11, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

How about a cooking post, to make a change from my moaning and groaning about my health woes (yes, it gets a little old, even for me).  For one reason, I’m back on solid food.  Yay! My doctor specifically recommended macaroni and cheese.  I had some cheese in the refrigerator, so I decided to make some. I wondered when I started out if this would really be worth a blog post.  I mean, it is not the most imaginative recipe.  Then again, it is Non-Sequitur Thursday, and, hey, it’s a blog post.

I peeled and crushed some garlic, setting the timer for 15 minutes so it could “breathe”  (that is a correct use of quotation marks;  garlic cannot literally breathe, since it has no lungs) (that is a correct use of “literally” as well, so yay me).  I put on some water to boil and looked in the fridge for the aforementioned cheese.  I had mozzarella and colby-jack.  This would be great.  I grated the cheese while the macaroni cooked.

When the shells had cooked, I put it in a casserole dish and stirred in the garlic, then added butter and milk (which I did not measure), then the cheese.  It looked like a lot of cheese for the amount of macaroni.  Yum.  I covered it and put it in the oven, which I had pre-heated to 350 (forgot to mention that, but I don’t think anybody was cooking along with me as they read, were they?) and set the timer for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, things got a little different.  When I took the stuff out to stir it, it seemed the cheese had melted into a big glooby glob in the middle of the dish.  What was that all about?  Is that what mozzarella is supposed to do? I added more butter and milk, stirred some more, and put it back in for another 10 minutes.  I wasn’t too worried.  After all, it would still taste good, even if it was a pile of macaroni next to a lump of cheese.  I might just have to eat it with a fork and knife.

After 10 minutes, the glob seemed a little less globby (or I guess, glooby, as I described it before), but the milk was making kind of a soupy puddle.  Oh well, I like soup.  I stirred, then put it back in for five minutes uncovered, in hopes some of the liquid would boil off or get absorbed.  Not much did.  Oh well.

Steven was home by this time, delighted by the smell of me cooking dinner for the first time in over a week.  Um, the smell came more from dinner than from me.  We ate it from bowls, because it was still pretty soupy.  It was pretty tasty.  I could feel my body melting in gratitude for the first carbohydrates in days.  I wanted seconds but refrained.  For one reason, I didn’t want to make myself sick.  For another, I did lose five pounds since last Wednesday.  I’d like to keep some of it off.

 

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In My Defense, I’m Still on Pain Meds

Posted on November 4, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

While scrolling around Facebook earlier and wondering in a vague sort of way what I could come up with for a blog post (it is too tiresome to explain why I cannot be out having Mohawk Valley adventures), I happened to mention in a comment that I wrote poetry about my co-workers in a past work situation.  Someone asked if they were available online.  I said no, but perhaps they would make a good blog post for a Non-Sequitur Thursday.  My readers will be the judge of that.

I began with an attempt at a Haiku.  Now, I have read that one does not have to be married to the five syllables, seven syllables, five syllables rule, on account of English being quite a different language from Japanese.  Still, I got dinged on it by other co-workers.  Everybody’s a critic!  And now I realize I cannot remember that poem in its entirety.   Come on, Cindy, it’s three lousy lines!  I think I will have better luck with the rhyming ones.

 

There was a frame stylist named Ro

Who didn’t have very much dough.

She went back to college

to get some more knowledge.

And then she would not be so po.

 

My husband helped me on that one.  The next one, which I like a little better, I came up with on my own, based on actual events.

 

There once was a lab tech named Wayne

Who liked to drink too much champagne.

He said, “I feel fine!

I would like some more wine!”

But it drove his fiance insane.

 

I was going to change the names, and put them in quotes, like the writers-in to Dear Abby do, but I needed to rhyme.  I hope I am not putting myself at risk for a libel suit.  Then again, what’s wrong with being broke and occasionally drinking too much wine?  And I only used first names.  Every Wayne and Ro on the internet could sue!  Ah, they wouldn’t get much anyways.  I’m so po, I buy cheap champagne!

 

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Shall We Split the Difference?

Posted on October 21, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

I am missing the monthly dinner meeting of Ilion Little Theatre Club.

OK, I just sat here with my laptop for what seemed like a long time before I typed in the above sentence.  Then I backspaced it out.  Then I hit “undo” and put it back.  Then I sat here and tried to think of another sentence.  As you can see, it is not going well.

In my defense, I have not had a post that was purely about How I Can’t Write a Decent Post Today (I just added the word “decent” to that phrase, do you like it?) in a long time.  I’m not saying all my posts were decent, and I certainly added in enough whiny excuses for why they weren’t as good as I wished they were.  Still, how long has it been since I posted pure foolishness?  I’m too lazy to click back to my dashboard and check.

Tomorrow night is opening for Splitting Issues by Sam Bobrick.  We had our dress rehearsal last night.  It went pretty well.  I was glad.  I don’t like to invoke that old saw that the worse a dress rehearsal the better the opening night.  I don’t want an opening night miracle, meaning I don’t want to NEED an opening night miracle!  Well, we don’t in this case.  The show is good.  I think the audience will get a lot of laughs.

Well, there you go.  This post was not pure foolishness; I gave another plug to Splitting Issues at Ilion Little Theatre.  That’s Friday and Saturday, Oct. 21 and 22 at 8 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 23 at 2 p.m., at The Stables, 13 Remington Ave., Ilion, NY.   Tickets available at eventbrite.com or at the door.

As for this post, I think I’ll slap on a silly headline and call it a Non-Sequitur Thursday.

 

 

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Cooking Without a Vague Idea

Posted on October 14, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

Well, I had thought about doing a cooking post for Non-Sequitur Thursday, but I am not convinced that what I cooked tonight is all that blogworthy.  Then again, I got nuthin’ else.   It’s been a rough week, especially for a short one.  But my purpose here is not to bitch but to blog.  So on with the blog.

I have not been cooking lately, because Steven comes home so much later than I do and I go to bed so early, I usually just eat something when I get home, then he eats something when he gets home, and then I write a run-on sentence about it.  Today I had thought all day about cooking something.  I even had a vague idea of what to cook.  I won’t tell you what it was, though, because I didn’t do it and I might yet one day.  Then I’ll have another blog post.

When I got home, I felt down.  Oops, slipped in a little bitch.  Eventually I got myself to do a couple of things: showered, put in a load of laundry, took the dog for a walk.  I thought it would cheer me up to cook something.  I have long been an advocate of the therapeutic benefits of chopping vegetables.  Accordingly, I looked to see if I had a yellow onion in the refrigerator (I knew I had a red one).  I did have one great big yellow one.  I only cut up about a quarter of it, which I put in my cast iron frying pan with some canola oil.

Next I crushed some garlic and set the timer so it could breathe for 15 minutes.  Regular readers will realize that this is how most of my recipes begin.  Onion and garlic in oil, first letting the garlic breathe.  How dull.  This is why I almost didn’t write a blog post about it.  After the 15 minutes, I put the garlic in the pan with the onion.  I had covered the pan, by the way.

When the onion was pretty much cooked, I added some miniature kielbasas we had leftover from pigs-in-a-blanket Steven had fixed recently.   I found some frozen spinach in the freezer (where else?) and a can of mushroom pieces and stems in the pantry.  Should I add anything else, I asked myself.  A search of the cupboard and refrigerator did not result in any ideas.  After a while, I cooked some twisty macaronis to add to the other mixture.

Steven was pleased to come home and find dinner almost done.  We both thought it tasted pretty good.  At least it was good enough to have seconds and no leftovers.  Was it a good enough blog post?  Only you, dear reader, can be the judge of that.

 

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Did Anyone Ever Call Joan Crawford “Joanie”?

Posted on September 16, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

This is the reason I should strive to make more good posts and fewer foolish ones:  Some weeks when I get all the way to Thursday of making all foolish posts, I get a whale of a sinus headache and don’t even think I can manage a foolish post.

But here I am whining about my physical ills again. I had made up my mind not to do that any more, or at least to do less of it.  What did I say on Monday?  I must counteract it with, but that’s OK because… I have not had a bad sinus headache in a while.  In fact I’ve had far fewer of them this year than previous years.  So I’ve got that going for me.  Also, My worst headaches rarely last more than a day at a time.  Therefore, there is every chance I will have a headache-free Friday.  Score!

I tried to write earlier today.  It did not go well.  I must, I positively must find ways to make it go better.  It would also be good if I could figure out how to make a readable blog post when I have a headache.

In the meantime, I guess I’ll just put an unrelated headline on this and call it Non-Sequitur Thursday.  Maybe something involving Joan Crawford.

 

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Waaaait a Minute! I Never Got My Beer!

Posted on September 9, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

So I ran earlier.  It was a pretty lousy run, but I did not despair of writing a passable Running Commentary post.  The trick is to get to the computer while it is all still fresh in my mind.  Well, I tried, but the damn computer was updating.

Then again, I don’t think I was thinking all that many great thoughts during the run.  Mostly I was gasping for breath in the humidity and wondering why the rain wouldn’t start and give me some relief.  Or does rain get rid of humidity instantaneously?  Perhaps it would not have given me any relief at all.  At least it would not have made me appreciably wetter, because I was covered with sweat before I started.

All of this was no great matter, though, because at least I ran.  And by virtue of running on my Monday holiday, I had only gone two days without running.

I can’t say it was a particularly fun run.  Partway through it I felt that I was not enjoying myself and asked myself why I keep thinking I like to run.  I answered, I like to run on weekend mornings, when it is cool and I feel fresh.  Unfortunately, you cannot only run two days a week with five days break in between.  That would not make for enjoyable weekend runs.  Then I pointed out to myself that when running in hot weather my leg muscles warmed up faster.  My leg had felt quite discouraged at the beginning of the run but were doing better by the end.

I carefully pointed out to myself beautiful flowers in people’s lawns and window boxes.  Scenery always helps.  I envied people who were sitting on their front porches. I would have liked to be sitting still on my front porch, possibly with a beverage.

That was when I thought of beer.  A nice cold beer.  How good would that taste?  I thought, VERY.  So that was the reward I kept in my head for the rest of the run.

I finished the run and my cool-down walk before the rain.  I had a lovely cold shower, ate some food and waited for the computer to cooperate.  Then I wrote this blog post, which I am afraid is not as good of a Running Commentary as I had originally envisioned.  Then again, at least the whole post was not about How I Can’t Write a Post Today.  We’ll save that for Lame Post Friday.  I’m going to call this a Non-Sequitur Thursday and hit Publish.  I hope you’re having a lovely day.

 

 

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Run before Rain

Posted on August 26, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

I thought of that title as I walked to my vehicle after work under threatening grey skies.  As it turns out, it is an appropriate headline mostly because today is Non-Sequitur Thursday.  But at least I ran.

First I went three days without running.  These things happen.  My legs started to ache again today, so I thought it would be a good idea to get out there.  I thought it was going to rain; for one reason, my bunions said so all day yesterday.  If it rained I could run in place on the mini-tramp.  When it was not raining immediately after work, I thought I would take a chance.  What was the worst that could happen?  I get wet?  As I like to say, I ain’t sugar; I won’t melt.  I get hit by lightning?  Well, my grandmother used to stay in the pool and count the seconds between the flash and the boom.  If it was good enough for Grandma, it’s good enough for me.  Anyways, I didn’t hear any rumbles nor yet see any flashes.

I took Spunky out as soon as I got home, as I usually do.  It was more a short business meeting than a real walk.  Those clouds looked dark. However, on my way home from work I had seen some high school kids running.  Probably the track team.  If they could run, I could run.

Off I went.  My legs were not the least bit happy with me.  Next time don’t go three days without running, I scolded myself.  Oh, this was painful.  I was moving slow but I was moving.  A little breeze was nice when I got it.  Otherwise it was humid.  Breathe, Cindy, breathe.  As the run progressed it became harder to breathe.  However, I realized that the worse the breathing, the less the legs hurt.  One thing about my body, the parts usually take turns complaining.  If they didn’t all have to take a turn one right after the other, that would be even better, but you can’t have everything.

I enjoyed running around the neighborhood, looking at houses, flowers, cars.  I saw a classic car in one driveway.  I think it was from the ’40s but I am not very knowledgeable about these things.  I saw a person sitting on a front porch.  I would like to sit on a porch, I thought.  With a beer.  There was no beer in my house.  Why did I not stop and pick up beer on my way home? That beer could be chilling in my refrigerator, waiting to reward me at the end of the run.  Now what would I reward myself with?  There are Klondike bars in the freezer (somebody gave Steven a coupon).  The song, “What would you do-oo for a Klondike bar?”  played in my head for the rest of the run (full disclosure: at the time of this posting, I have not yet eaten a Klondike bar; weight loss goals, you know).

There was a lovely screened in porch. You can sit on a screened-in porch when it’s raining.  Why didn’t I buy a house with a screened-in porch?  I had my reasons, but it basically boils down to what that great philosopher Mick Jagger once said, you can’t always get what you want.  How much longer was this run going to take?  I hadn’t been running in three days, surely 15 minutes would be good enough.  Maybe 20.  Should I keep running once the rain started or head for home by the most direct route?  Why wasn’t it raining yet?  Those big fat bluffing clouds!

The rain began 11 minutes into the run.  The clouds were not bluffing; my bunions were vindicated.  It was a nice gentle sprinkle.  I could rock this. Mind you, I was not particularly rocking the run itself, but I was still running.  Maybe the rain would wash away some of the humidity.  Then it would be easier to breathe.  This wasn’t bad at all.  Why don’t I ever run in the rain?  Of course it wasn’t raining very hard.  A downpour might be more uncomfortable.  I would see when this rain became a downpour.

Which, it never did.  Two or three blocks later, it stopped.  What was that all about?  It was supposed to RAIN!  That little sprinkle had done nothing for the humidity.  Rats!  Still, I kept going.  Once you’re out, you might as well keep going, right?

I ended up running for 23 minutes.  I thought that was pretty good since I had run 23 and 25 on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.  I don’t have a definite plan of when to run again, but I’m thinking before three days have passed.  So, Sunday at the latest.  Perhaps I’ll write another Running Commentary.  It’ll make a change from Wrist to Forehead Sunday.

 

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