Category Archives: personal

My Date(line) with Keith Morrison

Posted on November 13, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

I think he is fine, yes.

This is going to be a fast post so I can get back to watching Dateline with Keith Morrison.  Every Monday I have at least one good moment when I remember it is Dateline day on OWN.  For a few sad weeks I had rehearsal for a murder mystery on Mondays.  Now I am free and feel I should be happier about it than in fact I am.  Then again, life is never perfect.  We must do the best we can with the ingredients at hand.

Apparently woman cannot live by Dateline alone.

Yesterday I made up my mind that starting today I would up my game:  my writing game, my running game, and my house cleaning game.  Those were the ones I mentioned, but I daresay I have a few more games that could use work.  Do you suppose I upped anything today?  Of course not!  And I am clearly not upping my blogging game. I haven’t even put in any pictures of monsters.  What’s that all about, me?

I could use a haircut myself.

I am completely losing track of this Dateline episode while I type this foolishness  (as Truman Capote famously said, this isn’t writing, it’s typing).  I can only hope my man Keith narrates the next episode. Oh well, I like that Josh Mankiewicz too.

In the meantime, sorry to publish yet another foolish post.  I’ll try to up my game tomorrow.  As always, I hope you’ll stay tuned.

PS.  It’s Dennis Murphy.  He’s OK, too.

 

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Ready for the Sweats and the Wine

Posted on November 12, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

I can’t have Sunday Cinema; I’ve only watched two movies so far and I’m on to Snapped.  I suppose I could watch a third movie and then post, but I want to get this done.  As  I mentioned yesterday, I have knitting to do.  I also want to get back into my sweats.  Well, that is silly of me; I could put the sweats on and then make the post.  No, make the post now before I talk myself out of it.

Some might advise me to stop being a daily blogger if it is such a chore.  I would argue (if I was any good at argument, which I am not) that some things are worth doing even if they are a chore.  They would no doubt reply (I told you I was no good at argument) that most of my posts are probably not worth the effort.  I advise them to seek out more worthy blogs and to leave me alone.  Yes, I have numerous arguments with imaginary critics.

As you may have guessed, it is Wrist to Forehead Sunday.

Sometimes I feel like this when I try to sleep.

Earlier, before I was ready to swoon on the chaise and was actually having a pretty good day, we watched The Tingler (1959), produced and directed by William Castle and starring Vincent Price.  I LOOOOVE William Castle movies!  I do not have enough of them on DVD.

She has got his number!

After The Tingler, Steven suggested His Girl Friday (1941).  Rosalind Russell and Cary Grant, snappy dialogue, a fast moving script, it was an excellent suggestion.  I missed parts of it while I fixed us something to eat then made my salad for the week’s lunches, but I have seen it many times before and will no doubt watch it again.

After the movie, I wrote some post cards and walked to the post office with them.  I felt quite virtuous doing this, since I had gone for a long (for me) run this morning.  Come December, I will OWN that Reindeer Run 5K.  And by “own” of course I mean shuffle along toward the back of the pack and enjoy myself.

So I am feeling moderately less wrist-to-foreheady since I see I am over 350 words and I don’t feel this is too heinous of a post.  I think I deserve to put on my sweats and maybe have a glass of wine.  Happy Sunday, everyone.

 

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Antiques, Coffee, and a Nice Weekend So Far

Posted on November 11, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

It is getting to the sad, frustrating part of The Blair Witch Project, our Saturday night viewing choice, and I get on the laptop to make this week’s Scattered Saturday post.  But first, I just have to say, why didn’t they follow the stream? They SAY they are going to follow the stream!  When you are lost in the woods, follow the damn stream!

There, got that out of my system.  On to the blog post.

I had a headache when I woke up, which seems to be a Saturday routine these days. Never mind.  I went for a run anyways.  I have my eye on the Reindeer Run 5K in Little Falls in December.  I think I’ll be fine.  It was colder today than it has been, but it was not too uncomfortable, except for when the wind blew. I must start running with a scarf I can use to cover my face.

Soon I was ready to embark on our Mohawk Valley adventures for the day.  Earlier this week, I had suggested that when Steven was reading Mohawk Valley Living magazine, he peruse the ads for something I might write about for next month’s issue.  He suggested Fort Plain Antiques and Salvage.  It sounded perfect!  I love antique places.  Additionally, I had never been to Fort Plain.  This would be great!

Yesterday the weather was frightful, but today was bright and sunny.  I did not mind the cooler temperatures.  It was a lovely drive along 5S to Fort Plain, and we soon found the antique place.  While we were there, we mentioned we might look for a good place for lunch.  The lady there suggested Highwheeler Coffee and directed our attention to a display of fliers for area attractions.  I picked up the one for Highwheeler Coffee as well as a few other places I may explore in the future.

We enjoyed a nice snack at Highwheeler, and noticed a couple of other places we’d like to explore on future trips to Fort Plain.  I’ll write more about Fort Plain Antiques and Salvage and Highwheeler Coffee soon.  In the meantime, it is Saturday night, and I have movie watching and knitting to do.  I hope you are all having a lovely weekend so far.

 

 

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Avoiding Murder and Mayhem on Lame Post Friday

Posted on November 10, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

I had kind of sort of hoped to not have a Lame Post Friday today, but it seems that is all I am up to.  And I want to do it quickly so I can get back to knitting and watching television.  I got home from work late and started out with Deadly Women on ID, which I find cheesy fun.  I was not paying a good deal of attention, since I was also checking my Facebook and email.

I’d LOVE to add this to my mug collection, even though I have more than too many coffee mugs now.

It turned out Steven was not in the mood for murder and mayhem.  I said, “Go ahead and watch whatever you want.”  He wanted Soapdish.  I said OK, but he sensed I was not that into it.  Finally I suggested Wonderboys, which is one of his favorites as well as mine (full disclosure:  so is Soapdish, but I just wasn’t in the mood tonight).

OK, I just went all over Facebook and even into Google Images and I can’t find a picture of Wonderboys I can download.  That is my computer illiteracy at work.

Pretty awesome pic, isn’t it?

I found one!  I found one!  I searched “Michael Douglas actor” in Facebook and scrolled through 8,536 pictures till I found this one.  I really like Michael Douglas in this movie, because he lets himself be kind of seedy.  I like the movie, too, because it is about writers and writing. I really need to up my own writing game.

For now, however, in keeping with Lame Post Friday, I will instead up my knitting game.  For one reason, I need to get a few prayers shawls ahead, in case somebody needs one.   And after I finish the prayer shawl I’m working on, I need to make a couple of baby afghans.  It will be a marvelous excuse to watch more television. Happy Friday, everyone.

I can only hope Steven will be into more murder and mayhem at some point.

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Not Too Mundane, I Hope

Posted on November 9, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

Tasty Thursday does not have the same ring as Tasty Tuesday.  And yet, I just cooked and I don’t have much else to blog about today.  If only I had also concocted a special cocktail to go with dinner, we could have had Thirsty Thursday.

“Buy me a drink, Big Boy?”

Alas, I am sipping a mundane glass of Chardonnay. No matter, dinner was tasty.

We had some ground beef Steven had taken out to thaw two days ago but didn’t feel like cooking.  This morning he suggested he purchase a can of cream of mushroom soup and do something with that.  Now I have lost all cred with real cooks, but I grew up in the 1970’s; a can of cream of mushroom soup was a perfectly respectable ingredient in those days.

I put the ground beef on to cook and poured myself some Chardonnay, so I could cook with wine.  I put Worcestershire sauce on the meat and broke it up as it cooked.  When it was nearly done, I added the soup and a can of mushrooms.  Then it was time for the spices (my favorite part!): minced onion, garlic powder, and No Salt All Purpose Seasoning from the So Sweet Candy Cafe in Utica, NY (just to give the post a little local flair).  I would have added onion powder as well, but our bottle of it was completely solid.  I added it to the grocery list.  I had used the liquid from the mushrooms to get most of the soup out of the can, so the mixture looked a little thin.  I added some grated cheese to thicken it up, using that up too, so that was something else for the grocery list.

We had the stuff over some pasta I had in one of our canisters.  I don’t know what the shape is called, because I had thrown out the box.  They looked kind of like SpaghettiOs (that’s how it’s spelled, computer, I Googled it!).

It was a pretty tasty dinner, although I supposed it was kind of mundane, now that I look at what I wrote.  No matter.  It was dinner.  I cooked it, we ate it, I blogged about it.  I’m going to call that a win for Non-Sequitur Thursday.  I’ll just throw in a random picture, so I’m not too mundane.

I bet you thought I was going to use Nosferatu (you know who you are).

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Not a Bad Run, Not a Great Post

Posted on November 8, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

I’ve been running again, perhaps not as often as I’d like to, but I try not to judge myself.  I went running today and thought I would make a Wednesday Running Commentary post.  Unfortunately, I finished my run a good two hours ago and I don’t remember a damn thing about it.

Oh, that’s not true.  I’m sure I remember something, even on Wuss-out Wednesday.  I ran both Saturday and Sunday, then skipped Monday and Tuesday, so I knew it would be a really, really good idea to run today.  Additionally, I had to do laundry, and it is just so handy to put a load in the washer, run, then put it in the drier before I get in the shower.  I only hoped I would not talk myself out of it.

And I did not.  I arrived home in a dreadful mood, however.  Steven asked me how I was, and I said, “I’ve been better.”  Maybe a run would improve my disposition.  It was a beautiful sunny afternoon, even warm enough for shorts and short sleeves.  I put a sweatshirt next to my water bottle for my cool-down walk and set out.

Right away I was not too happy about it.  My work situation has changed recently and I am spending much more of the day on my feet.  My legs get tired!  However, I reminded myself that running can help me lose weight and the less weight I have to hold up, the better my body will feel.  I comforted myself with the thought that the run did not have to be a long one.  I turned so the bright sun was behind me and ran on.

It really was not too bad of a run.  I didn’t feel great, but I didn’t hate every step, either.  The breeze picked up, making the air colder, but I did not regret my ensemble.  I managed to make it for 25 minutes, which I thought was pretty good.  All I require of myself on these weekday runs is 20 minutes.  I am over a half hour on my weekend runs, so things look good for the Reindeer Run 5K in Little Falls in December.  I’ll write more about that as it gets closer.

I was happy to put the sweatshirt on for my cool-down walk.  I was pretty damn tired and hungry when I got back home, and I felt so ill-used when I remembered I had to put the laundry in the drier before I took my shower.  However, I did it, so I have clean socks and handkerchiefs for tomorrow.  Score!

 

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We Voted!

Posted on November 7, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

Well, that photo didn’t turn out as well as I thought it would.

So we voted, and my dear husband Steven insisted we take a selfie to commemorate the event.  In fact, we vote in most elections, presidential and otherwise.  Just as an aside, boy do I look old in that picture!

After we voted, we rewarded ourselves with dinner at PK’s Pub in Herkimer, NY (where we live).  It was quite the yummy dinner. I got the Blackened Chicken Salad, which was a good choice for me, because now I have some salad to bring to work for my lunch tomorrow.  Steven had a bowl of clam chowder, because he preferred something light.  I also had two glasses of Chardonnay.  They kind of went to my head (don’t judge)  (oh, hell, judge if you want to; I don’t care).

I posted the above picture on Facebook right after I put it here.  It has gotten seven Likes already.  Regular readers know I am kind of a Like junkie.  I guess we’re all happy about a lot of people voting. However, Mohawk Valley Girl tries to stay off politics and religion.  On the other hand, it is becoming increasingly difficult to stay off politics.  I believe that is a topic for another post.  For now, suffice it to say, I voted.  I hope you did, too.

 

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No New Leaf on Monstrous Monday

Posted on November 6, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

Monday is perhaps not the best day to turn over a new leaf.  Oh dear, a little voice in my head is saying, “Well, there is never a good day, you just have to do it.”  What an annoying little voice.  Are others tormented by such voices?  I know, the voices in your head probably say the voices in my head are full of beans.  Only they don’t say “beans.”

Nobody does, Monster, nobody does.

I think the idea of making all kinds of improvements on Monday is just an excuse for indulging in all kinds of excesses on Sunday.  That being the case, I supposed I should have misbehaved a little more on Sunday, but too late now.

So I guess it is pretty obvious that I really, truly got nothin’ today.  But being Monstrous Monday, perhaps I can throw in a couple pictures of creepy creatures and get away with it once again.

Full disclosure: I’m not sure if this is Bela Lugosi or Martin Landau playing Bela Lugosi.

Here is a human being as a monster, arguably the worst kind of monster, although I am no hand at argument.

 

But how can I escape my destiny?

Can I have a Monstrous Monday without Nosferatu?  Why would I want to?  Don’t you just hate it when somebody answers a question with another question?

 

Despite what rumors you may have heard, this is not actual footage of my first date with Steven.

Nobody has called me a monster lately.  I wonder if I have been doing something wrong.

So this is my silly Monstrous Monday post for the week.  Not my only silly post, no doubt, but the only Monstrous Monday.  I hope to get back to having Mohawk Valley adventures and making real blog posts.  We’ll see how Tuesday is for a new leaf.

 

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And Then There Was Laura on a Hot Tin Roof

Posted on November 5, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

I thought of that title when we were mapping out our movie viewing for the day, and Steven insisted that I use it.  I started out just wanting to watch an Agatha Christie adaptation.  I picked And Then There Were None (1945) because it is black and white and I have been really into black and white movies lately.

The movie is near and dear to my heart.

I don’t know many of the actors in it, but the movie features one of my favorites: Judith Anderson.  I suggested we next watch Laura (1944) then Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) and make it a Judith Anderson film festival.  Then I thought of the above title, and our plans were set.

I don’t know who the actor is. Sorry.

I actually do not remember this scene in the movie, but I thought it was a good picture of Anderson.  I would have loved to play Anderson’s role when Ilion Little Theatre did And Then There Were None (which was before my blogging days).  At that time, a smaller part was better for me, and I did enjoy it.

Anderson with Vincent Price, who is not a creepy sculptor or scientist in this one.

I have always said that the real love story in Laura is between Judith Anderson and Vincent Price: “He’s no good, but he’s what I want.”  If you have never seen the movie, I highly recommend it.

There she is, in the back!

I couldn’t find a good picture of Anderson in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and I got tired of looking.  I think this is the last movie we have with Judith Anderson, so we must move in a different direction if we wish to continue our Cinema Sunday.  I hope my readers (if any) are having an enjoyable day.

 

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A Place in Scattered Saturday

Posted on November 4, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

“No, I don’t know what she should write a blog post about, do you?”

 

We are currently watching A Place in the Sun after our Scattered Saturday gyrations, and it is high time I made my blog post.  Why, oh why, did I not post earlier?  Well, I’ve been busy.  I got up early enough, just prior to 6 a.m.  After some coffee, I went for a run. What a great run! I could have made an awesome Saturday Running Commentary, but that ship sailed away fast.  What can I say?

Later in the morning, we drove to New Hartford, NY, where we ordered new glasses at Eye Q of CNY.  We had gotten out eyes examined a few weeks ago, but I had too bad of a headache that day to decide on glasses.  I was happy we waited, though, because I chose a rather fabulous pair of frames.  Perhaps I will post a picture of the finished product.

Later on we went to an early dinner at Salvatore’s in Herkimer, NY, with some of the folks who were supposed to be part of A Trivial Murder, the interactive murder mystery that was  to have been tonight.  It has been rescheduled to March 23.  I will have more information on that as the date approaches.

So I guess we have not scattered ourselves as widely as on other Saturdays.  No matter.  We are watching a movie.  I have made a blog post. I hope you are all having as pleasant a Saturday evening.

 

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