Category Archives: personal

Dull Post, But I’m Going to be Bald!

So I thought I had enough time to make Tuesday’s post on Wednesday morning before leaving for work, especially since I can get on the laptop and type with all ten fingers.  Well, it turns out not so much.  For one reason, I have a metal splinter in my right index finger (occupational hazard) and it hurts to type all those letters.  Perhaps the stylus would be better, but who has time for these things?  Not me.

Anyways, never mind why I did not publish this yesterday.  Explanations are so tiresome, and my complaints are usually even more so.  Instead, I will use this brief post to remind my gentle readers (and the tough ones too) that I am getting my head shaved to raise money for cancer on March 14.  Here is the link for donations:

https://www.stbaldricks.org/participants/mypage/1043508/2020

I got one online donation so far, and some bucks from generous co-workers.  I hope to thus justify my bald pate.

Oh, crap, I have to get ready to go to work.  I knew I should have gotten up at four.

 

Muddled Monsters? Or Just a Muddled Post?

This is not how I looked on my wedding day.

I thought I would start right out with a monster picture.  I am very tired, and annoyed with myself for being so tired.  How am I ever going to get anything done?  What the hell, me?  And how does any of this relate to the picture I just shared?  Could I be having a Non-Sequitur Monday?  Let’s call it a Muddled Monday.  At least it’s alliterative.

I did get something done today.  I finished writing and emailed two articles with pictures to Mohawk Valley Living magazine.  I hope they publish them.  However, if they do not, it still did me good to write them.  No writing is wasted, because you learn something from writing it.  Also, I can always use it as a blog post.

“This is a good boy!”

Here is a Frankenstein’s Monster who had better luck with his bride than Boris Karloff had with Elsa Lanchester.  Oh dear, ought I to have included a spoiler alert?  Too late.

I can always use a little cuteness on a Monday.

I thought I would muddle things up a little more, veering into a cute little vampire.  I have absolutely no problem with cute monsters.

I guess this was not a particularly cute blog post, but it is over 200 words.  Did it do me good to write it?  I daresay it did.  I hope it was at least mildly entertaining to read.

 

I Take a Break on Wrist to Forehead Sunday

I am having yet another Wrist to Forehead Sunday.  If only I had a chaise lounge, I would swoon on it in a most dramatic fashion.  Alas, I could not stay there for a week or more, which is what I feel I need to do.

I went running this morning.  It was not a bad run, and I petted a few dogs along the way.  I thought of doing a Sunday Running Commentary post,  but my ennui overcame me long before I could put stylus to Tablet or fingers to keyboard.

Steven and I went on a minor Mohawk Valley Adventure,  to Napoli’s Italian Bakery and Deli in Uitca.  I must write a blog post about that, perhaps even an article for Mohawk Valley Living magazine (the deadline is tomorrow. Yikes!).

Good food there!

Returning home, we watched an episode of Svengoolie featuring Revenge of the Creature.  It was nowhere near as good as Creature of the Black Lagoon.  No Julie Adams, and a nice dog came to a bad end.  We hate that!

What, I ask you, is the good of the Creature of the Black Lagoon without Julie Adams?

We looked at an episode or two of Snapped while we had something to eat, and are now watching Sudden Fear with Joan Crawford, Jack Palance and Gloria Grahame.

Quite the side eye Jack is giving Gloria!

I am revisiting the question I asked on Lame Post Friday.  Do I cut myself too many breaks?  I still do not know.  However, I am over 250 words.  I call that OK.  Happy Sunday, everyone!

 

Not Much Run, Good Lunch, a Couple Drinks

I wanted to do a Saturday Running Commentary post, but the fates conspired against me.  I ran, but not for very long.  In my defense, it was single digit temperatures.  I guess I am really only good to 10 degrees or better.

Later in the day, my husband, Steven, and I drove to Little Falls and had lunch at the Cafe at Stone Mill, at the site which previously held Ole Sam’s Creamery.  It was a delicious lunch.

I must write more about this place later.

Returning to Herkimer, we stopped for a drink at the Waterfront Grille in Herkimer.  I texted our friend Kim to meet us there.

Kim and Steve looking happy.

Of course I got Kim to pause for a picture.

And here is our delightful bartender, Barbie.

I asked our bartender for a picture, too.  She was a doll!

One of the best things about Waterfront is the view.

We admired the water, and look forward to cruises on the canal this spring and summer.

I guess there isn’t a whole lot more to say about our Saturday.  Was it enough to qualify for a Scattered Saturday post?  I don’t know.  I am not the arbiter of these things.  But I hope it has been reasonably entertaining as a blog post.

 

Is It Really Lame Post Friday?

It is that awkward moment on a Friday when I do not even feel capable of a Lame Post Friday post.  On the one hand, I do not care.  We are having a FUN evening, drinking wine and watching television.  On the other hand, I feel guilty, because I am a supposedly daily blogger.  I have committed myself to publishing something at least mildly entertaining every day.  Can I do so today?  We shall see.

Earlier this week I posed a philosophical question I find appropriate to today’s post:  Do I cut myself too many breaks?  I am going to go out on a limb and say NO.  Not most of the time.

Obviously,  one could argue this.  One could argue that I deserve no breaks at all.  After all, if I was given no breaks, I would be obligated to make a decent post each and every day.  It is quite possible that I am indeed capable of such behavior.  By cutting myself said breaks, I am willfully keeping myself from living up to my full potential as a blogger.

There are a number of arguments against this stance.  The main one that attracts my present attention is:  Is living up to my potential as a daily blogger really such a worthy goal?

Of course there are a number of other arguments to consider.  For example,  how many breaks do I deserve?  If I did not cut myself any breaks, would I in fact live up to my full potential as a daily blogger?   Am I in fact capable of never cutting myself a break? What in fact is my full potential as a daily blogger?

OK, it is fairly clear that I can continue to ask any number of questions.  I have read the advice that it is OK to ask questions in writing,  but one should immediately go on to answer them.  Do I always follow advice?  We know I do not.  Was it even good advice?  That is a question deserving of its own Friday Lame Post.

 

Pre-Valentine Shenanigins

I guess we didn’t really have any shenanigans,  at least none worthy of the word, but we did have a pleasant evening.

I did not get Steven a Valentine’s Day present.  YET.  I still have time. But Steven set the standard and got me one.

Please excuse the busy background.

The wine box was from our Christmas present from my sister, Diane. The dinosaur is one we have had for a while.  I put him in the bag I bring to work yesterday, just for the amusement of the security guard that has to look in it.  This morning I left the house before Steven got out of bed, so I put the dinosaur by the coffee maker, to greet him.  So Steven thought it would look nice near my present.

A great name for rum!  The dinosaur likes it too!

I have been noticing this bottle in Valley Wine and Liquor in Herkimer for a while now.  I told Steven we needed it.  It will probably last us a long time, because we are more into wine than liquor, but what an appropriate bottle for Steve and Cindy Q.

After admiring the rum (but not sampling it yet), we went to Salvatore’s in Herkimer for dinner.  Steven won a large cheese pizza on a Facebook contest, so we got that.  We also got a shrimp appetizer from their special Valentine’s Day menu.  After looking at the entrees on that menu, I am seriously considering going back to Salvatore’s tomorrow.

My WordPress timestamp probably says it is Valentine’s Day already.  That is OK with me.  Dinosaur, present, dinner… I am feeling quite romantic already!

 

 

I’m Late, But I Ran! And Blogged!

So the idea of writing while on breaks at work was not successful.  After writing and crossing out three or four phrases, I flipped back a few pages and worked on my latest attempt at a novel.  However, I had the plan that I would go running after work and could do a Running Commentary post.  Perfect!

Well, I was half right.  I ran, and it did not go too badly.  Then I was too damn tired to do anything but lounge on the couch watching Snapped and go to bed early.  Perhaps I could have forced my body and brain to do something, but I felt so deliciously relaxed and comfortable, I decided to cut myself a break.  Do I perhaps cut myself too many breaks?  That is a philosophical question better suited for Lame Post Friday.  This morning my purpose is to do a late Wuss-out Wednesday post.

The weather was not too cold (for February) and dry.  At least, the sky was dry.  The sidewalks were dreadful and the roads only really good in the middle.  I kept to streets less traveled but even so met with some traffic.  I dodged up onto the sidewalk only once, when a car was coming and I saw a bare patch of walk.  It did not last and I had to dodge over deep puddles and slushy ice to get back into the road.  Ugh.  No matter, just keep going.

My breathing was not bad.  My legs were not particularly happy, but that was to be expected after two weeks off.  Was it two weeks?  Yikes!  I’ll try not to do that again.  My legs eventually settled into it, and by the end my whole body was pretty happy I ran.  I plowed through snowy, slushy, wet sidewalks on my cool down walk, feeling fairly pleased with myself.

Oooh, look, 300 words.  I rock!  OK, not really, since this is a late post and not very descriptive of my run.  Still, I must celebrate even small wins.  Belated Happy Wednesday, everyone!

 

Have I the Heart for a Tired Tuesday Post?

OK, second attempt at making Tuesday’s blog post on Tuesday (whatever my WordPress timestamp may say).  I logged on earlier but felt overwhelmingly sad.  The moment seems to have passed.

As you may have guessed,  I did not follow yesterday’s note to self and write my blog post while on breaks at work.  I had the notebook out (the spiral bound paper kind by the way), but nothing doing.  I did some writing eventually, but nothing to share yet.  Never mind, I will make a Tired Tuesday post.

At the risk of upsetting the HIPAA police, I mention that I went to the cardiologist this morning for a stress test.  I was quite stressed by the time I arrived.  Driving in Utica, NY can do that to anyone, but I get especially uptight when I am worried about getting somewhere on time.  And it is stressful leaving from and returning to work, for reasons too tiresome to relate.

Anyways, the test itself went fine, although I felt quite self-conscious being naked from the waist up, not to mention the discomfort of walking and jogging without a bra (do NOT tell me TMI!).  I had to laugh when I was lying on my side while a technician took “pictures” of my heart.

“I feel like I’m getting a boudoir photo taken,” I said.

It took me a while on the treadmill to get out of breath.  Let’s hear it for running!  The technicians were also impressed by how quickly I got back into heart-picture-taking position when I got off the treadmill.

The really bad part came next, when they hooked me up to a heart monitor that I have to wear for 30 days.  That may be worth a blog post all its own!

In the meantime,  I am closing in on 300 words. Not bad for thinking I wasn’t even going to post till tomorrow morning.

 

The Blog that Needed a Brain

Note to self: go back to writing blog posts on breaks at work.  Once again I am tired and brain dead.

Maybe I could borrow some of his.

I haven’t used The Brain from Planet Arous in a while.  Cue unkind remarks about how I haven’t used my own brain in even longer (you know who you are).

This is how I may look by tomorrow.

I feel I may turn into a zombie.  I will be an old-school, slow-moving zombie, not one of those new-fangled sorts that run right along (full disclosure: I have never seen any movie or tv show with that sort of zombie, but I’ve heard).

Great side-eye.

Since I feel so brain-dead, I am a little envious of The Brain that Wouldn’t Die.  We were thinking of watching that flick yesterday but went another way.  Maybe this weekend.

“A Monstrous Monday post without me? SAY IT AIN’T SO!”

As Nosferatu just observed, this is a Monstrous Monday post. I had not said so, but I am sure my clever readers already figured that out.  It seems to be taking me a long time to get to 200 words, and I am having difficulty in selecting monsters from my Media Library.

Ooh, look, I am at 200 words, without doing much besides whine about how tired and brain dead I feel.  I hope the monsters helped pep things up.  Happy Monday, all.

 

Making Do on Wrist to Forehead Sunday

It is Wrist to Forehead Sunday,  and one reason for that is that I am posting on my Tablet.  Not only am I sitting here typing one letter at a time with the stylus, I am limited to pictures I have in my Media Library or ones I have taken with the Tablet.  I have had a Cinema Sunday but I do not have sufficient pictures for a blog post of same.

This is what we mean by Wrist to Forehead.

It’s funny how I can have a perfectly enjoyable day yet have nothing to write a blog post about.  I mean, who wants to hear about my doing laundry and grocery shopping?   Oh, well, I guess sometimes I can think is something to say about mundane chores.

I know how he feels.

I often say there are worse things than being bored.  However, I am talking about my job, not my blog.  I do not see any problem with being bored while I am doing my job, as long as I am doing it right.  But it would be very bad of me to bore my blog readers.  That is not the point is writing a blog, I assure you.

“You boring? Say it ain’t so! “

Oh, look I do have an appropriate picture, because right now we are watching The Wolf Man on a DVR’d Svengoolie.  I loves me some Svengoolie.

He looks mean.

And for good measure, here is Bela Lugosi as Bela the Fortune-teller in The Wolf Man.  Who coukd be uncheered by Bela Lugosi?