Category Archives: personal

There’s Always Someone

As time loses all meaning for some of us, I make bold to have my usual Lame Post Friday.  For one reason, I return to work Monday, so Friday will once again mean something.  Not as much as it once meant, with bars and restaurants closed, and wine tastings cancelled at the local liquor store.

Oh dear, that sounded like whining about what is really a very small inconvenience to me, all things considered.  I can just hear people gearing up to say things like, “First world problems,” or, ” It’s better than catching the coronavirus,”  or the dreaded, “Just be thankful that…(you have a job, you can order take-out, the liquor store is open, etc).”  Here is a not so random observation:  it is really difficult to say anything without it being the wrong thing to say according to to someone.

Anyways, I will still be in a time warp next week, because I have Good Friday off.  And what a weird Easter we are all going to have!  At least, those of us who mark the holiday.  I am going to count that as another random observation.

If I could come up with some half-baked philosophy,  this would be a complete Friday Lame Post.  For that, I hark back to my first observation.  It is always wrong according to someone.  It is never enough, according to someone.  So there is no point in worrying if we are good enough.

As I typed that, I was assailed by the thought that this blog post is not good enough, even for Lame Post Friday.  Alas, the thought came from me.  Does that make me someone?  Discuss amongst yourselves.

Addendum:  Apparently I am not going back to work till Monday the 13th.  But I’ll let this post stand, because, well, I’ve already gotten a couple of Likes on it.  You know what a Like junky I am.

 

Morning’s Memories

That’s me, putting my husband in his place.

I saw this photo in my Facebook Memories this morning, and it did bring back good memories.  I thought I would use it in a Throwback Thursday post.  It is a rehearsal shot from Morning’s at Seven, a play I did last year at Ilion Little Theatre.  It was a great deal of fun.

I still have a copy of this, I think.

This is the flier, which we hung up all over the town, I hope.  At least, we got some good audiences.

This was kind of a dramatic moment.

Here is the entire cast on stage in costume.

Split screen of the same room.

And here are a couple of backstage shots.  Backstage is often as interesting as what goes on onstage, but I think this play was pretty interesting onstage. I do not recall any particular backstage dramas.  I try to avoid such things.

Pre-show cast selfie!

To prove my point about no backstage drama: here we are all before a show, looking perfectly happy together.  I loved the cast, crew and director of this play.  Yay for good memories.

A posed cast picture.

As long as I am having a Throwback Thursday about Morning’s at Seven, I might as well share all the pictures I can find.

And I gotta share my favorite!

This is one of my favorite scenes of the play, where I have a heart to heart with the character played by my good friend, Jim Mills.  He is  wonderful actor, and we both had a great time doing this scene.

It is nice to look back on theatre experiences past, and I hope one day soon to make some new memories.  Of course, I will make a few blog posts about it!

 

Walking on Wednesday

I took my Tablet with me on today’s walk to the post office.  For one reason, I had noticed a couple of cheery sights on my runs, and I like to share a cheery sight.  I found a few other cheery things to photo as I went.   As usual, the sun made it difficult to know at the time if the photos were any good.  Let us see.

I must find some paint suitable for rocks.

These were across the street from me.  I also saw rocks painted like bugs outside of Valley Health but have not yet walked up there with my Tablet.

Ooh, you can even see my pinky sticking out while I snap.

I was delighted to see some sidewalk art.  I took a few pictures of it.

A little too much shadow on this one.

 

I especially liked this image.

 

And the walk leading up to the house.

I took a longish way to the post office and found a few more photo ops.

You can just about see the “egg.”

This house had other Easter stand-ups, but I was trying to get the little gold ball next to the chick.  It looked to me like a leftover Christmas ball, but perhaps it was meant to be an Easter egg.

I love, Love, LOVE crocuses!

I walked up these people’s driveway to get a good shot of their crocuses.  I am SO going to put down more crocus bulbs in my yard this fall!

There by accident or design?

I think this was an artificial flower and possibly blew there from somewhere else, but I liked it, so I took a picture.

I think the idea is to walk along the snake. Looks fun to me!

This is on the path over what used to be a hydraulic canal.  There are other fun areas painted, but this was the easiest to photograph today.  Someday I hope to bring my great nephew and niece on the path.  I’ll be sure to make a blog post about it when I do!

In the meantime,  I am enjoying my solitary walks.  I highly recommend exercise in the fresh air when possible.

 

Memories of Walks Past

It seems silly to have a Tired Tuesday post when I haven’t been to work or been doing a whole lot around the house either.  Yet, here I am.  For me it is the last day of March, although my WordPress timestamp says it is April 1.  Well, I can’t spend a whole blog post whining (yes, I know I have done it before, and how unhandsome of you to remind me) (you know who you are). Quick, throw in a picture to pep things up.

One of my favorite neighborhood trees.

I went back to March 2019 looking for pictures of Herkimer, NY (where I live).  I did not take my Tablet with me on my last couple of walks.  Today’s walk was the highlight of my day.  It was a relaxed, meditative sort of walk.  I felt sad but knew I had good reason to. Walking made me feel a little better.

A more recent picture:  Herkimer County Courthouse, a local landmark.

I often find myself walking by Herkimer Historic Four Corners.

Do you suppose the park is haunted?

I almost always walk through Myers Park on my daily trek to the post office (full disclosure: I missed Sunday).  When I notice that it was a burying ground, I flash on the scene in Poltergeist:  “You son of a bitch!  You DIDN’T MOVE THE BODIES!!!”

I did not write this note, but I could have.

To end on a lighter note, here is a note I found on the sidewalk one morning when taking my cool down walk after a run.  I brought it home,  because naturally I thought it was meant for my husband Steven.

I will probably go for a walk and/or run tomorrow.  I may blog about it, or another topic may magically appear.  Any suggestions?  If so, please comment below (hey, that rhymed!).

 

Profiles in Monstrous Monday

I am going to do an old fashioned Monstrous Monday,  and I am not going to seek out any new pictures.  I hope to find different words to write, but no promises.

Look at that devilish grin.

This is my current Facebook profile picture: Lionel Barrymore in Devil Doll.  There are actually at least a couple of movies called Devil Doll.  This is the good one.

My hair did not look like this on my wedding day.

I used The Bride of Frankenstein  for my profile picture several times.  Perhaps not this particular shop, but let us not get bogged down in trivial considerations.  There is no point in being didactic.

Why shouldn’t a monster be cute?

I guess my theme now is monsters I have used as profile pictures.  The above is a little cutie I put in a decorative pot that was sent to me by my friend Marsha.

” I could spit in your eye!”  I, on the other hand, could not.

This was another profile picture but not a monster.  At least it is from a horror movie, a gothic horror of the psycho biddy genre.  Is Bette Davis the monster?  Watch Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte and see for yourself.

Accurate.

I close with one of the Bride that I did use as a profile pic.  I liked the saying.

And I like my blog posts over 200 words.  Happy Monday, everyone.  If you’re still keeping track of the days.

 

A Change from Counting Sheep

Here is a new thing for me.  I am out of bed at 1:38 on Monday morning making Sunday’s post.  I guess this doesn’t seem a whole lot different from when I am up at four doing same, but when I’m up at four I am usually up for the day.  Incidentally,  that old saw about “Early to bed, early to rise” is full of beans.

Where was I?  Ah yes, a late Wrist to Forehead Sunday post.  As happened one other day last week, a few times I got out my Tablet, logged into WordPress, and drew a complete blank. I am not exactly un-blank now, but I see I am managing to pick out a few words.

I have probably mentioned that I have suffered from insomnia from when I was quite a small child.  I have never been the sort to get out of bed, wander around the house, get a snack, do something useful, etc.  The most I’ve done is read, sometimes with a flashlight so as not to disturb Steven (that’s if I have the flashlight, otherwise he takes his chances, I’m not a perfect wife, after all).

Today, as I lay in bed, wide awake, I remembered my blog post was not done and thought, “Let’s try this.”  Hmmm… I cannot say it has been entirely successful, but I am over 200 words.  And still wide awake.  Oh well, I’ll try for a nap and a better blog post later.

 

Dressing Up My House for the Occasion

Yesterday I started a home improvement project I hope to add to in the coming days.  I saw on the news that some people were decorating their houses for the amusement of passersby.  This is especially helpful, the feeling is, as we are free to take solitary walks but must not actually visit our neighbors.  Full disclosure: my neighbors have almost never visited me, although they are certainly welcome to do so in better times.  That said, I know various pedestrians pass our humble abode, and I am happy to give them something extra to look at.

The view from across the street.

When Steven saw me coming down from the attic laden with various stuff, he said, “What are you doing?”  However, he approved of the project.  I put a Christmas ribbon and some tulips on Frankentree.

I think I need more stuff.

I put two scarecrows, a pumpkin, and a skull on the porch,.

I need to zoom in more.

 

And on the other side of the tree…

I hope to add to my porch in the coming days.  I think I have more stuff in my house, but I do not rule out a trip to the dollar store.  For one reason, I heard they have toilet paper.

Another thing is putting stuffed toys in your window, so neighborhood kids can go on safari.  I immediately put a tiger and lamb in one of my windows.  Alas, I could not get a good picture of them.

Too many reflections!

I also put a couple of teddy bears in an upstairs window.  Unfortunately it is raining so I cannot get any more pictures today.  However, it is a work in progress.  I will post more pictures as my decorations improve.  As always,  I hope you’ll stay tuned.

 

Lame Pictures, Lame Post

This will not be a typical Lame Post Friday post.  For one reason, it is not a typical Friday,  a phenomenon being experienced by many of us.  In fact,  I daresay most of us, because even if you are at work, things are hardly typical.  But why am I telling us what we already know and are tired of thinking about?  My bad.  On with the post.

Can you see the buds?

When I took my walk to the post office, I brought my Tablet but did not think I would take any pictures.  After all, I can’t post about my walk every day, can I?  No, really, do you think I can?  Then I saw buds on some trees and tried to get a picture.  Perhaps I should have zoomed in.

Again, I should have zoomed in.

My own crocuses have not appeared, but I took a picture of somebody else’s.

Dammit, you can’t see the buds here either!

This is a magnolia tree which will look magnificent as the season progresses. I’ll make sure to take another picture then.  Next, I crossed the street to try to get a picture of some little white flowers.  I must learn the names of these things.

Oh dear, another one that looked better in real life.

I think I must up my picture-taking game.  On the other hand, I’m going to consider this OK for Lame Post Friday.  Yes, times are atypical, yet I will still take advantage of the calendar.  Happy Friday,  all.

 

Trying for a Smile on Throwback Thursdsy

How about a nice Throwback Thursday post?  I hope I do not use pictures I have used too recently, but they will be pictures I have used before.  And there is a good chance I will say the same things about them.  Maybe I can think of something new.  Let’s see.

One of the all time greatest casts I have worked with!

I went back to March 2017 and found this gem.  It is the cast of Leading Ladies, the play I directed for Ilion Little Theatre in the spring of 2016.  Perhaps you read a few of my blog posts about it.  I SO look forward to getting together with my theatre friends again!

There’s trouble at the speakeasy!

This picture was also in March 2017, and is also from a wonderful theatrical experience, Rubbed Out At Ruby’s, an interactive murder mystery I wrote.  We were scheduled to present it again in April as  fundraiser for RCIL, but, alas, it has been postponed.

At least he looks relaxed!

This was the first picture I noticed, of our much missed late pooch, Spunky.  I wasn’t going to use it, because I thought it would make me feel too sad.  Then thinking about theatre experiences past and not knowing when I will have more…

Come, come, this will never do.  I do not mean to make a blog post purely to moan and groan about how depressed I feel!  That won’t help anybody.  Let me see what is in March 2018.

Yikes!

Here’s some theatrics that may bring a smile!  We were making a DVD on the Right to Bare Arms, for the Herkimer County Historical Society to use at a Celebrity Roast for Marc Butler in 2015.  It was great fun.

That is what I strive to do: keep a smile on my face.  There really is a lot to smile about.  The other stuff I can’t really do much about.  At least I can keep making my daily post!

 

Wednesday Walk, With Trees

I took a longer walk yesterday, but I took a few pictures today.  I think I’ll try for a Wordless Wednesday post, although with me, I’m afraid there will always be words.  Yesterday when I walked, there was snow in the air and on the ground.  Today, Steven and I were vindicated for our decision not to shovel, because most of it was gone.  I reveled in the almost warm temperatures and looked for signs of spring to photo.

Look! It really is spring!

The first picture-worthy thing I encountered were some flowers sprouting up in front of St. Francis de Sales Church.  I love to see a little green in March!

And here is St. Fran the Man.

I backed up a little, to show where the sprouts were.  It was one of those days where I couldn’t properly see what I was aiming at with the Tablet.  I just clicked and hoped for the best. Would any of the pictures be usable?  The suspense added a little interest to my walk.

You see the best of dead and living this time of year.

Across the street from the church, I snapped a picture of a tree dried out from last summer.  Some of these dried plants are beautiful.  I must get a few for my own yard.

One of my favorite views.

As I walked, I continually admired the bare trees against the sky.  I’m afraid my Tablet does not capture the look, so you will have to take your own walk, if possible.

Just the possibility of a tree, so far.

On my way home from the post office, I noticed some recently planted trees on Bellinger Street.  I took pictures.  My hope is to take more as the year progresses so we can track their progress.

You can see buds on this one!

 

This one, not so much.

 

And here are several at once.

I am thinking I can continue to photograph these trees as the years go by, and we can all watch them grow.  How’s that for a bit of optimism,  thinking we’ll all be here for years and years so we can look at trees? What better reason to stick around?