Category Archives: personal

Cheesy Monsters in Hawaii?

Posted on August 24, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

Today I introduce a new feature to my Mohawk Valley Girl blog:  Weary Wednesday.  It is kind of a companion day to Tired Tuesday.  Only I hope to not be quite as foolish as I was yesterday on Totally Tired Tuesday (many thanks to Granny K for the elusive adverb).  I have been noticing lately how many pictures are in my Media Library here at WordPress, so I think I will pick out a few to re-visit for today’s post.  Think of is as one of those clip shows like the sit-coms do. Full disclosure:  I HATE clip shows; my own hypocrisy is not lost on me.

How do I STILL not have one of these shirts?

How appropriate is this?  I think, very.  This is a cheesy blog post!  I say it with a cheesy grin.  Soon I hope to publish a few more write-ups of cheesy movies.

Oh, if only I could drink beer and be this skinny!

It actually has not been a horrible day, although I feel beat enough to just sit and drink a beer (in fact, I am drinking water right now).  Could it be a sign of my ever-increasing age and waistline that things seem to get to me more these days?  SAY IT AIN’T SO!!!

This is probably as close as I will ever get to a tropical vacation.

Just to change things up a little, I add a more cheerful shot.  It is a lovely photo of me and my wonderful husband, Steven, at a fundraiser for H.A.L.O. (Helping Animals Live Organization), a no cage, no kill cat rescue.  Perhaps you read my blog post about it (although it was some time ago; I wonder if I can find the post and make a link).

I have no idea where I stole this one from.

I end with a kind of a self-portrait.  This was my Facebook profile picture recently, until I replaced it with a picture of Nosferatu yesterday.  As regular readers know, I’m kind of into monsters.  And now that I think about it, this was kind of a Frankenstein’s monster of a post, pieced together with whatever came to hand.  NOW what will I do for Non-Sequitur Thursday?  I hope you’ll stay tuned and find out.

 

Leave a comment

Posted in blogging, humor, personal, Weary Wednesday and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Roger Corman on Mental Meanderings Monday

Posted on August 22, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

It is getting later and later in the day on Monday and I still have not done my blog post.  It will, for sure, be Monday Mental Meanderings, but I fear my mental is far from meandering.  It is still.  It has stopped.  I looked for some monster movie pictures to pep up my post a little. I did not find any.  Whatever will I do?

The movie is not as sexy as the poster would make it seem.

At last! I found something! This is the movie we watched last night, a Roger Corman confection which I enjoyed very much.  I must say, the monster was much scarier in anticipation than in sight.  When we finally saw the monster, we laughed and laughed.

I believe there is a sexy brunette or two in this flick.

This is a movie we watched some time previously.  Earlier today I found a write-up I started about it.  I worked a little more at it but fear I must watch the movie again before I can finish it properly.  Who me?  Watch a cheesy movie again?  SAY IT AIN’T SO!

“That won’t qualify for the Dolgeville Violet Festival.”

I close with a shot from another favorite Roger Corman film of mine:  Little Shop of Horrors.  I have little use for the musical, on stage or on screen, but I adore the original cheesy movie.

I guess I don’t have much else to say.  Friends, it’s Monday.  I managed to NOT whine about how I can’t seem to write a blog post today.  I’m afraid that is the best we can hope for. But perhaps I will see you all on Tired Tuesday.

 

2 Comments

Posted in humor, Monday Mental Meanderings, personal and tagged , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Wrist to Roger Corman to Tempest

Posted on August 21, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

Hello, it is Wrist to Forehead Sunday, the day I just can’t get much done and write a foolish blog post so I can get back to not doing it.  I am looking at (I can’t say “watching,” but I am periodically glancing at the television screen) a Roger Corman movie.  I thought I had not seen It Conquered The World before but now I am remembering parts.  I really will have to watch it with some attention some day and write a blog post about it.  For now, however, I am still in All Tempest All The Time mode.

I draw your attention to the entry at the bottom of the sign.

Yes, we performed at the Utica Zoo yesterday.  It was a great deal of fun, and I think the audience enjoyed it, too.  I guess the zoo has a lot of stuff going on. I’ll have to check out a few other events when I get a chance.  That would no doubt be worth a blog post.

Next time I want to be the guy with his sword up in the air.

This is one of the cast photos taken after the performance.  We do one smiling nicely and one “in character.”  My character tends to smile nicely each time. An exception would be a picture taken in Little Falls, when the King’s drunken butler was next to me.  I shared that photo before, but for anybody who has forgotten:

Luckily he is not a “method” actor, or he may have drooled. Ew!

I have been thinking again today about what a great cast I have been working with this summer.  I will miss them when this is over.  Then again, there is always the next play.  That is a cheerful thought for Wrist to Forehead Sunday.

 

Leave a comment

Posted in humor, personal, Wrist to Forehead Sunday and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Speedy Saturday Post

Posted on August 20, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

My plan right now is to post something really really fast, so we can get on to the movie-watching portion of the evening.  I cannot do a true Scattered Saturday, because I have not done a whole hell of a lot today. I wrote some post cards and took a very uneventful walk to the post office to mail them.  Then I waited around till it was time to go to the Utica Zoo for this afternoon’s performance of The Tempest with LiFT Theatre Company.

The performance was fun and went pretty well.  I think the audience liked us.  The Utica Zoo is a fun place to be.  I only wish I had gotten there a little earlier, so I could have gone into the gift shop and purchased some post cards.  I do like to have a variety of post cards.

After the performance, my friend Kim and I drove back to Herkimer, where we went to a brief wine tasting at Valley Wine and Liquors.  Then I went home, where my dearest husband Steven was, and we got some dinner at PK’s Pub.  Yes, I could write blog posts about the wine tasting or the dinner, or, for that matter, the performance of The Tempest or this morning’s walk to the post office (yes, I know, I said it was uneventful, when has that ever stopped me?).  So many posts, so little time.

I am now over 200 words.  I call that respectable.  Maybe not  a good post, but respectable. Happy Saturday, everyone, and I hope to see you all on Wrist to Forehead Sunday.

 

Leave a comment

Posted in blogging, humor, personal and tagged , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

It’s All About Me, and The Tempest

Posted on August 19, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

 

In lieu of my usual Friday Lame Post, I thought I would continue my theme of All Tempest All The Time and plug tomorrow’s show at the Utica Zoo.  They have a nice little amphitheater.  Last year we performed Much Ado About Nothing there.  That had the charm of rhyme:  Much Ado at the Zoo.  Well, we can’t have everything.

We rehearsed at the zoo on Wednesday.  Did you know they block off the Parkway on Wednesday nights for the Utica Roadrunners?  Kim and I had to take a little walk to get to the zoo.  Oh well, I needed the exercise.  Alas, I did not bring my Tablet so have no pictures of rehearsal.  I just don’t imagine I will be able to get any of the performance either, because, you know, I’ll be acting.

The show at the Utica Zoo begins at 2  p.m. and is free with admission to the zoo. Cue jokes about animals in cages and on stages (I won’t make any of those jokes myself, because it still is Lame Post Friday, you know).

I’ll close with a couple of pictures from our dress rehearsal at Caroga Lake, where we performed Aug. 5.  Naturally I chose pictures that included me, because, as you know, it’s all about me.

That’s me with my arms upraised, you know, acting.

 

I chose this one, because I thought it would be nice to include one with swords out. I’m hoping for some actual sword fights in next summer’s Shakespeare play.

For more information about LiFT Theatre Company, you can visit their Facebook page.

 

 

 

 

Leave a comment

Posted in humor, Lame Post Friday, personal and tagged , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Sharon, Susan and a Swan

Posted on August 18, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

Steven has been wanting to get a picture of our Rose of Sharon in the back yard.  I finally got one today and thought, hey, let’s do a Backyard Picture Post.

One day, I think, “No blooms this year.” The next day, “Wow!”

My mom gave me a shoot of her Rose of Sharon some years ago.  Hers is enormous and gorgeous by now.  Ours got mowed down a few times as a wee sprout.  However, it grew back each time, better than before.  First it was big enough so Steven noticed it and didn’t mow it down.  Then it was so big he couldn’t have mowed it down if he tried!  According to Steven, the plant was saying, “Mow ME down, will you?”

While I was taking the picture of the Rose of Sharon, I noticed the swan in our neighbors’ pool which Steven has been envying (I have been envying the pool myself).

The picture is a little dark, but I wanted to share the swan.

I had also been wanting to take another picture of our Black-eyed Susans, which are looking better and better.

I don’t know if you can see that a little Queen Anne’s Lace has worked it way in.

We originally purchased the Black-eyed Susans at a sale to benefit the Herkimer County Humane Society, back in 2011 (are you impressed that I remember the actual year?  I am).  They have gotten bigger and spread.  Now they are battling it out with the chives for control of that little patch.  While I was admiring  them, I noticed some little yellow flowers behind the garage.

The little blooms look better in person, but if you want to stop over and see them, please call first.

I really need to clean out behind the garage, cutting down a pricker bush that is expanding to tree-like proportions.  We just never see that part when we are sitting on the deck, and, you know how it goes: out of sight, out of what’s left of my mind.  Then I remembered the Brown-eyed Susans, which grew with no input on our part.

The green shoots are part of some irises which are done blooming now.

The Brown-eyed Susans are growing in two places in our yard, so I took two pictures.

The green stuff in the background is the beginning of some trees that I need to get out from under my deck.

Some years ago, I read the Rudbeckia is a good plant for bees.  Imagine my surprise when a guy at a greenhouse told me that Rudbeckia is Brown-eyed Susans.  It sounds so much fancier!

So this is how pretty my yard looks in mid-August.  I wonder what September will bring. Will it be worth a blog post? We’ll see.

 

Leave a comment

Posted in humor, personal, Uncategorized and tagged , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Oh, That Band!

Posted on August 17, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

When I was running the Boilermaker 15K in July, I LOVED the band that was playing outside the Utica Zoo.  They were bluesy and danceable.  I dance-ran by them, a move which I am sure looks perfectly ridiculous but is fun nevertheless.  I still had not gotten around to looking up who the band was.  In my defense, I’ve been busy.

Fast forward to Chicks Along the Canal, part of Little Falls Canal Fest, last Saturday, Aug. 12.  While the cast of The Tempest (remember, that play I’m in?) waited to perform, the best band was playing!  They were bluesy!  They were danceable!  I went over to the tent and danced.

“Bands like it when you dance to their music,” I told my fellow cast members.  Another listener was dancing, a gentleman wearing an ARMY cap.  He waved at me, and  went over and dance with him.

It was while I was dancing that the band began to sound familiar.  Ooh!  Was it the awesome band from the Boilermaker?  I thought maybe!

After their set, I saw the lead singer chatting with someone, so I approached and asked if they had been in front of the Zoo during the Boilermaker.  They had!

“I LOVE you guys!”  I said.  “What is the name of your band?”

“The Cathie Timian Band,” was the answer.  She gave me a card.  When I got home, I looked up their website: http://www.cathietimian.com/.  I also Liked the Cathie Timian Facebook page.  I hope to hear them play again soon.  You bet I’ll write a blog post about it.

 

Leave a comment

Posted in humor, music, personal and tagged , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Too Much Detail on a Tired Tuesday Run?

Posted on August 16, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

I have this recurring dream where I am trying to get somewhere and my legs won’t work properly.  I can’t pick up my feet, I can’t move forward, it’s simply dreadful.  I pretty much felt this way at work today, and I worried tonight’s run would be more of the same.  However, I have not been running since July and I was determined to begin again.

I made a bargain with myself that I would only run for 20 minutes.  I could hang for 20 minutes.  This would work.  Of course it was a rigamarole getting ready to run.  I wanted to put in a load of laundry while I ran, including the pants I had worn to work today.  Since I had gotten sweaty at work, I took advantage of this.  I stayed naked while I filled the basket with laundry, then put on my running clothes (sorry if that gave you an unfortunate mental image) (then again, what are you doing picturing me naked?  Shame on you, you dirty-minded thing, you!).

Of course I was still sweaty.  I put powder on my upper body, but my second sports bra  still rolled up as I put it on and I couldn’t reach the back to unroll it.  I hate when that happens!  I got it, though, because, like I said, I was determined.  If this is too much detail, tough.  I calls it like I sees it.  I almost got out the door before I realized I had not thrown the laundry in.  Back up the stairs to retrieve the basket, then down to the basement.  I figured it could count as my warm-up.

Usually when I run, I make a left at the end of my driveway and head to German Street.  If I have not been running in a while, I head to Caroline Street, then go up and down the streets, working my way back home.  I decided to mix things up, so turned right and headed towards Meyers Park.  I even crossed the street and ran down the opposite side from my house.  The sun came out from behind a cloud, showing me that I had not picked the shadier side of the street. No matter.   It was my first run of beginning again, and I was going to persevere.

Persevere was what I had to do, because I never hit the I Can Rock This stage.  I won’t say that every step was an effort, but a goodly number of them were.  I tried to distract myself by looking around.  Mostly I noticed other people’s porches and wished I was sitting on a nice porch, perhaps enjoying a beverage.  I had told a work friend that I might reward myself with a glass of wine after my run.  Suddenly I remembered… chocolate milk!  When I was training for the Boilermaker 15K, I got in the habit of re-hydrating with chocolate milk.  I read somewhere that it is an excellent recovery drink.  I must say I enjoy it quite a bit.  I knew there was milk and chocolate in my refrigerator.  That thought sustained me for the rest of the run.

I ended up running for 22 minutes.  I felt pleased with myself that I had gone at least a little over 20, especially since the devil on my shoulder had been whispering that 15 would be just as good.  The cool shower felt wonderful, and the chocolate milk was heaven.  I probably won’t run again tomorrow, because I have rehearsal for The Tempest (no, that is not over yet, and I will no doubt write more blog posts about it), but I hope to run on Thursday.  Sooner or later, I must hit that I Can Rock This stage.

 

Leave a comment

Posted in humor, personal, running, running commentary, Tired Tuesday and tagged , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Two Tempest Pics for Mental Meanderings Monday

Posted on August 15, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

Some of us may look a little shady, but we are bad hyphen ass.

Well, rather than whine about how tired I am and that’s why this is going to be a Mental Meanderings Monday, I thought I would open with a picture of the cast of the Tempest, taken after Sunday’s performance. Regular readers know that we just had three performances in four days (Thursday, Saturday and Sunday).  Oh, I know, YOUR play ran for ten performances in three days; there’s always someone!

Performances went very well, but I’m sure I’ve mentioned that already.  Did I mention how hot it can get for some of us in our costumes?  Not the fellow front left, in the shorts and body paint.  I think I may hold out for a similar costume if I do Summer Shakespeare next year (which I keep saying I am NOT going to do and for some reason nobody believes me).  One thing I keep saying is no pantyhose and only one layer.  I suppose it is my fault for not finding a lighter vest, but we all know that the selection in thrift stores only goes so far.  Never mind.  With only two more performances to go, I am more than capable of sucking it up (but please don’t call me Buttercup).

Having rattled on for over 200 words, I think I’ll close with the other cast photo taken Sunday.  The first one we smile, the second was in character.

Incidentally, that fellow is asleep in my shoulder because he is drunk. Had he not been there, I may have been smiling in both pics, because my character is rather a happy fellow.

 

2 Comments

Posted in humor, Monday Mental Meanderings, personal and tagged , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Wrist to Hitchcock

Posted on August 14, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

It is Alfred Hitchcock’s birthday, August 13.  Steven and I had hoped to watch an Alfred Hitchcock movie when we got home tonight, but it seems that will not work out.  Is it a Wrist to Forehead Sunday?  I fear so.  Never mind why; explanations are tiresome.  We won’t worry about that but concentrate on the famous director’s birthday.

I’m thinking this is only true in a sense.

I picked this picture of him to share, because I liked the saying on it.  This is not a rule I follow when I am directing or acting on a stage, by the way.

Nevermore, you say?

The Birds is one of our go-to movies, especially on a Sunday night.

Love the poster art.

Rear Window, however, is arguably our favorite Hitchcock movie.  The casting, the acting, the script, everything combines to make an entertaining whole.  I say “arguably,” because there is also my beloved Rope.  However,  I cannot find any photos of Rope, so we won’t talk about that movie right now.

We won’t talk about anything much, as it turns out.  It is SO Wrist to Forehead Sunday.  Happy Birthday, Alfred Hitchcock.  Blog readers, please bear with me.  I will try to come up with something better on Middle-aged Musings Monday.

 

 

 

2 Comments

Posted in humor, personal, Wrist to Forehead Sunday and tagged , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.
← Older Posts
Newer Posts →