Category Archives: personal

Thankful for Boris Karloff

Posted on November 23, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

It has been a lovely Thanksgiving holiday and birthday for me.  Yes, my birthday fell on Thanksgiving this year, and every year it is the day John F. Kennedy was shot.  Today I am 55, speed limit year, as a friend of mine said, or as I like to say, I have two nickels to rub together.  Did you hope I had something profound and meaningful to say about the day or my age?  How long have you been reading this blog?

I think a cup of tea would go down rather well about now.

 

I thought I would throw in a random picture to liven thing up.  It is, after all, Non-Sequitur Thursday.  Who doesn’t love Frankenstein’s monster?  If it is you, you might like to find another blog to read, because he is one of my favorites and makes frequent appearances in my  posts.

Speaking of favorites…

And I just remembered it is the unofficial start of the Christmas season (but let us not embark upon a discussion how early that stuff goes up in stores. Not on my birthday, at least).   I ADORE Boris Karloff.  I like Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein, but I greatly prefer to hear Karloff’s real voice. So soothing!  So mellifluous!  I wonder if I can talk Steven into watching Bedlam or Island of the Dead tonight  (just to mention the first two that occur to me that I know we have).

I wore the tiara for a good portion of today.

Getting back to the non-sequitur portion of the day, I include this picture that Steven shared to Facebook this morning.  I do not publish my birth date on my Facebook page, but my dear husband will not allow me to fly under the radar thusly.  He posted a status wishing me happy then later shared this picture with more well wishes.  I was not especially upset, because one could do a lot worse than get a bunch of well wishes one was not expecting.  Dare I say I am thankful for all the love?

In any case, Happy Thanksgiving, Happy Thursday, and thank you for tuning in.  Now I have some Boris Karloff movies (or something) to watch.

 

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Harvest Decorations on Thanksgiving Eve

Posted on November 22, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

So I need to make my blog post on Thanksgiving Eve and here I sit, with not much to say.  Then again, since I have the rest of the week off, it is like my Friday, so I will feel free to post lame, as it were.  Maybe I can pep things up with a few pictures, monster or otherwise.

Aren’t they cute?

Here are a few decorations for a pre-Thanksgiving post.  Full disclosure:  Steven and I did not decorate our house for the holiday.  After we missed decorating for Halloween, it was all downhill.  Will we improve matters for Christmas?  Perhaps.  Only time will tell.  Time certainly is a blabbermouth. My witty sister, Diane, once pointed out, “Time is relative.  Not our relative.”

But I digress.

These are decorations with a backstory.

Here are some of my favorite harvest decorations.  I think we got the bigger scarecrows at the Aubuchon that used to be in Herkimer and possibly Michael’s.  The little one Steven won in a claw machine.  The bigger two are sweethearts, and the little one is the boy scarecrow’s little brother.  The girl scarecrow thinks the little brother is cute, so she is happy to see him.  Her boyfriend is less thrilled, because he wants to kiss.  Don’t you make up stories about your decorations?

Another big smile is always nice.

I just got this fellow last year.  I impulse purchased him at Hannaford when I was buying produce.  I think next year I am going to up my scarecrow game and make a few myself.  For one reason, I have a lot of clothes that are wearing out.  It will be a way to reduce, reuse, recycle.

In the meantime, this is my Lame Kinda Like Friday Post.  I hope you are all having a lovely Thanksgiving Eve.  Try not to burn your fingers baking pies.

 

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Tuesday Trot

Posted on November 21, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

I remember mentioning in an earlier post that I am opting not to run the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day in Little Falls, NY.  I’m thinking I will not run at all on Thanksgiving Day, because the temperature is not supposed to get out of the teens.  I do not rule out going for a walk with some family members and a dog (alas, not mine; I still don’t have a pooch to brighten my days), but that is obviously not the same thing.  I probably will also not run tomorrow, since Steven and I are headed to Rome, NY when I get out of work.  However, I am still thinking I will run the Reindeer Run 5K on Dec. 8.  Therefore, I thought it would be a good idea to run today.

I spent my short drive home from work alternately thinking I would go running and I could not possibly run.  Full disclosure:  I spent a good part of my day at work thinking, “I’ll go running after work,” and “I don’t want to run the Reindeer Run!  I don’t ever want to run again!”  I arrived home feeling tired and ill (dammit, I got a flu shot! I’m not supposed to get sick!).  I decided to check Facebook and try to talk myself into it.  I thought I might.

One reason I thought would help the persuasion is that I thought I might get some response to a post I made on the Reindeer Run event page.  It was a song I had written in honor of the occasion.  I think you can guess the tune:

Dashing through the snow, at the Reindeer Run 5K

Through Little Falls we go, laughing all the way (ha, ha, ha)

Bells on Cindy ring, she is running slow,

But she wears a Santa hat, so she says, “Ho, ho, ho!”

OH!

Reindeer Run, Reindeer Run, Reindeer Run 5K

Oh what fun it is to run and make jokes on the way-ay!

Reindeer Run, Reindeer Run, Reindeer Run 5K

Oh what fun it is to be in Little Falls today!

My fifth grade music teacher told us, “There’s no OH!”  in that “Everybody knows that” voice teachers use to put kids in their place.  Well, forget you, Mr. Perry, I left in the “Oh!”  Ahem, be that as it may, that is my Reindeer Run song.  And, sure enough, the Christmas in Little Falls Facebook page liked the song, shared it, and said they hoped to see me running the Reindeer Run.  How can I disappoint?  I just imagine I would be disappointed myself if I missed it.

So I went for a short run.  It was not bad.  I even had fun for part of it.  I do like to run, and I certainly need the exercise.  I guess this is more a Tired Tuesday post than a Running Commentary, but these things happen.  It’s almost Thanksgiving!  I’m going to my parents’ house tomorrow!  I have things to do besides this blog post, so this will have to do.  Happy Tuesday, everyone.

 

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In a Holiday Mood!

Posted on November 20, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

How about a Muddled Monday instead of my usual Monstrous one?  For one reason, I am feeling muddled, but kind of pleasantly.  It is a three day week for me (don’t hate on me; I’ve worked plenty of bad hours in my day!).  Additionally, my day at work went by at a fairly good clip instead of dragging minute by minute, as Mondays sometimes do.  After work, I stopped at a couple of stores, taking much longer than I had expected to.  I am so indecisive!

My first stop was at Honey Brook Hobbies in Ilion.  I was looking for a birthday present for my great nephew Sheppie.  He just turned four.  I did not find anything, but I did pick up something that would make an awesome present for any number of people on my Christmas list.

Only one of my favorite lines from one of my favorite Christmas specials!

Well, now that I have published it in my blog, I will just have to keep it for myself.  What is the point of giving a gag gift that is not a surprise?  Anyways, we have some great Grinch-y decorations this will fit right in with, when we get our holiday on around here.

However, Thanksgiving, not Christmas, is the next holiday.  Steven and I are going to my Mom and Dad’s house.  When I got home I was efficient enough to pack in advance.

Well, what do you bring on Thanksgiving weekend?

Now I can just relax till it’s time to go to Rome on Wednesday!

If any local readers are jealous of my Grinch toilet paper, I refer you to Honey Brook Hobbies, 4 E. Main St., Ilion, NY, phone number 315-444-8254.  You can also visit their website at www.honeybrookhobbies.com.  They also have beautiful decorations, yummy baked goods, and more.

 

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Watch Out for the Women on Cinema Sunday

Posted on November 19, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

Welcome to another edition of Sunday Cinema.  We got a later than usual start on the movie watching portion of our day so are only on our second movie.  I may have to pad this post with some remarks about the late lunch I made.  For one reason, I was making it during most of the first movie. Luckily, it was one I have seen before, The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946).

They are a steamy couple, yes.

Steven got the idea to watch this movie, because it was referenced on a short feature about film noir on TCM this morning.  Lana Turner certainly is a femme fatale, but she is far less evil than, for example, Barbara Stanwyck in Double Indemnity (1944). Also, Turner seems to truly love Garfield, as opposed to just using him to get rid of an unwanted husband (although of course she does want to get rid of her husband; what femme fatale worth her salt doesn’t?).

A little less steamy, a lot more evil. Discuss amongst yourselves.

Maybe we should watch Double Indemnity next, if we decide to go for a third movie instead of switching over to Snapped, which used to be our Sunday afternoon staple (speaking of evil females).  Right now we are enjoying Sunset Boulevard, a rather atmospheric Gothic.

She is magnificent in the part.

I read Gloria Swanson’s autobiography.  I think it is funny she is so well known for playing this psychotic has-been, obsessing over her past career, when in reality, Swanson was a vibrantly alive woman, always looking for the next challenge.  I guess my take-away from today’s movies is I shall follow the lead not of the femme fatale nor the psychotic has-been, but of the real life Gloria Swanson.  What is the next challenge?  I guess to make a better blog post.  I’ll work on that tomorrow.

In the meantime, I haven’t even mentioned the meal I fixed earlier.  Oh, I guess it wasn’t such a much.  I made mini meatballs using some ground beef, Italian seasoned breadcrumbs, grated Parmesan cheese, eggs, garlic and spices.  While they baked, I grated mozzarella cheese.  Then I made a flat bread pizza with Dom Peppino’s Pizza Sauce (that’s is what my Mom and Dad use on their Christmas Eve pizza), canned mushrooms, and of course the meatballs and mozzarella.  It was quite delicious.

We are having a rather enjoyable Sunday, whether we go on to see another movie or tune in to Snapped.  I can only hope my good mood lasts till Monday.

 

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Better at Running than Blogging

Posted on November 18, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

I normally write my running commentary posts soon after the run, so it is fresh in my mind.  However, sometimes it gets to be 5 p.m. on a Saturday night, I don’t have much else to write about (OK, maybe a few things, but there are reasons I do not want to write about those), so I am going to attempt a post about this morning’s run.

Regular readers may remember that I have my eye on the Reindeer Run 5K in Little Falls on December 8.  Every day during this past week, when I thought I ought to go running, I also thought, “I don’t want to run! I don’t want to run the Reindeer Run 5K!  I want to sit! I want to sit home and knit!  That is what middle aged ladies are supposed to do: sit and knit!”  I managed to run on Wednesday despite my own misgivings, and I wondered if I would run today.  I surprised myself and not only did, but it was not a bad run.

I could hear drops on my back porch roof but could not tell if it was rain or just dripping.  I took a chance.  It was not rain.  Score!  I wore my road guard vest.  For one reason, it was still dark out.  For another, we got snow and I knew many sidewalks were not shoveled or plowed.  I was glad I did, because I ran most of my run on roads.  Left side facing traffic, of course.

You know how earlier I mentioned my tiredness during the week?  How I said, “I can’t run!  I don’t want to run!”  And I did not run Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday?  Well, right now, my brain is saying, “I can’t write a blog post!  I don’t want to write a blog post!”  So everything I remember about this morning’s run is probably not going to make it into this post.

But, as I said, it was not a bad run.  The temperature was not that cold and the wind was only sporadic.  I ran a few hills, including the one by Valley Health and a few minor upslopes in the residential area behind (what I usually refer to as The Suburbs).  I stopped and petted one very cute dog.  I ran for 37 minutes, which is how long I ran last Sunday, the last time I increased my run time.  That is about how long it takes me to run a 5K, give or take a few.

So I feel pretty good about that.  I still have not made my final decision about the Reindeer Run. I’ll keep you posted.

 

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Lionel Barrymore on Lame Post Friday

Posted on November 17, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

Which is the devil and which is the doll?

I pause in our viewing of Devil Doll (1936) starring Lionel Barrymore for this week’s Lame Post Friday.  I LOVE Lionel Barrymore!  This movie is sad as well as creepy, but that adds to its charm.  I have seen the movie before and DVR’d from TCM again, because I thought Steven would like it.  Perhaps I will do one of my movie write-ups on it eventually.

In the meantime, I have a lame post to make.  As a slight break in the lame,  I will give a brief shout-out to one of our favorite local eateries, Salvatore’s Pizzeria and Restaurant in Herkimer, NY.  We sent out for wings, Bosco sticks, and fresh baked chocolate chip cookies.  The wings were what they call Sicilian:  medium sauce plus garlic butter and bleu cheese.  We had never tried them before. YUM!  Bosco sticks we have had before: fat bread sticks filled with mozzarella.  Another YUM!  The cookies had LOTS of chocolate in them.  TRIPLE YUM!  I can feel myself getting fatter as it digests.  I’ll try to eat salad tomorrow.

Full disclosure: I have not howled in a long time.

For now, I am anxious to get back to enjoying my Friday night.  Crochet, a movie, my husband, and a glass of wine.  I may be old and boring, but I like it. Happy Beginning of the Weekend, everybody!

 

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Even Foolish Blog Posts Count

Posted on November 16, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

I still have the tiara. I may wear it next Thursday.

I thought I would start with a Throw-back Thursday picture then segue into the non-sequitur portion on Non-Sequitur Thursday.  I feel this is a double throw-back, since I am impersonating a speakeasy habitue from the 1920’s, Ruby Van Renssalaer by name.  No, I was not around in the 1920’s, do some math for heavens’ sake! (You know who you are.)  Ruby Van Rensssalaer was a character in Rubbed Out at Ruby’s, which LiFT presented at The Overlook Mansion in Little Falls, NY.  Some of the characters also appeared at the Ritz and Ragtime fundraiser for the Landmarks Society of Greater Utica, which is when this picture was taken.

As you may have guessed, once again I got nuthin’.  I have tried to do more writing, specifically by writing a couple of letters.  Regular readers may recall my rule of Any Writing Counts.  It would be a good idea if I actually finished said letters and got them in the mail.  Then some people might be happy to get a letter.  I received a letter the other day and I can attest, it’s awesome.

This guy is a walking non-sequitur.

I shake things up by throwing in another picture.  This is my friend, Tucker, in LiFT’s recent murder mystery, Donation to Murder.  I do love my murder mysteries.

I find this picture rather profound.

This is an even more recent photo, from Shattered Angel by Stephen Wagner, presented by the Herkimer County Historical Society at Ilion Little Theatre.  Lots of us love a good historical murder!

Who could blame me for using the ax on him?

Shattered Angel makes me think of Roxy by Jack Sherman, which the Historical Society did in 2015, with yours truly in the title role.

My throwback non-sequitur posts often end up being a stroll down theatrical memory lane.  I do love my community theatre.  And I will work on writing better blog posts.  Happy Thursday, everyone!

 

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Still Not Writing on Witless Wednesday

Posted on November 15, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

I should have zoomed in.

I had it in my head to use this picture for a Wordless Wednesday post.  It is a building that caught my eye across the street from Highwheeler Coffee, where Steven and I stopped for a snack on our Scattered Saturday.  Now I wish I had gone a little closer.  No matter. I can always take another picture on another visit to Highwheeler.

In the meantime, I need to make my blog post.  I guess Wordless Wednesday is a non-starter for me, because, well, I like words.  I like to talk, I like to write, and I don’t let the fact that I don’t have anything to say deter me.  So perhaps this is more of a Witless Wednesday.  I definitely qualify for that (you didn’t have to tell me, as I feel sure some of you were gearing up to do) (you know who you are).

I went running earlier, so I could do a Running Commentary post, but I’m really not feeling it.  I’ll be honest: I wasn’t feeling like running.  I felt like sitting and doing nothing, and saying, “Oh, to hell with it,” regarding the Reindeer Run 5K.  I went running anyways, because (1) it may help me reach my weight-loss goals and (2)  I will probably change my mind about the Reindeer Run.

I guess this is kind of a Wuss-out Wednesday, because this is not much of a blog post.  I must confess, I like the word “witless” better.  I think it is time for a new feature Mohawk Valley Girl:  Witless Wednesday.  Thank you for participating.

 

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Trying to Write on Tired Tuesday

Posted on November 14, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

If you tuned in today hoping to read an inspirational post about how miraculously I upped my game today, as I said I was going to do yesterday, I am afraid you will be disappointed.  However, if you were hoping for a foolish Tired Tuesday post, you came to the right place!  In point of fact, I feel I did up my writing game somewhat.  I wrote two articles for Mohawk Valley Living magazine.  I’m letting them set before I re-read them and email them out.  However, I did not up my running game, my house cleaning game, or any other game in which I participate.  Well, one thing at a time, one thing at a time.

I do not know why I am so damn tired.  Yes, I worked all day.  I work five days a week, as do many people.  I worked eight hours, again, as do many people.  I am actually hoping to get a little overtime in the near future, so I guess I don’t know what the hell I’m thinking.

You know, looking over what I have written for this blog post so far, I think I had definitely better re-read those articles before I email them out.  They might be TERRIBLE!

Brain, oh brain, where are you now?

 

I thought I’d throw in a picture quick, to distract my readers from the lameness of this post.

A timely reminder for me.

Before writing this foolishness, I enjoyed a post by a blogger I follow, Granny K.  She philosophized about Tuesday, saying it was a sad day.  I feel a little sad myself.  Let’s all try for a better day on Wednesday.

 

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