Category Archives: personal

Write, Post, Eat? Or Just Yell?

Is three weeks too early for All Leading Ladies All The Time?  Oh well, in the first place, it isn’t a full two weeks any more and in the second place, I’ll probably sneak in some other foolishness along the way.

That said, I’m stressed.  I have to finish my article for Mohawk Valley Living, make today’s blog post, and eat something.  Full disclosure:  I thought of the title while I was taking my shower and I have already eaten something.  Priorities, people!

I am having the damnedest time with the article.  Not the smallest problem is that I am on my new lap top not my old desk top.  I’m not used to this program!  Of course it is not all that hard.  I mean, I’m typing in words, how much to I have to do with them?  Still, it’s just one more thing to occupy my meager brain (which is still not back from yesterday’s tiredness, although I did go to bed early).  Yes, I know, one more thing to whine and cry about.  How tiresome am I?  Sorry, readers.

Earlier today I was talking about tonight’s rehearsal.  I have been discussing the play a lot at work.  People are interested, or pretend to be.  One fellow somehow got the impression that I intend to holler at my cast tonight.  He kept bringing it up:  “Go to rehearsal, yell at your cast, go home and go to bed.”  Me, yell at my cast?  I’m a woman of peace!  I am soft-spoken and gentle.  Who said I yell?  I got something to say to that bastard!

This week we rehearse today (Tuesday), Wednesday and Friday.  Next week it will be Tuesday through Friday.  The following week is production week:  every damn night till we open on Friday!  If this really is All Leading Ladies All The Time, that will be 17 more posts about the play, including opening night.  Let’s hope I come up with something to say besides, “I’m so stressed!  I do NOT yell at my cast!”

 

 

Moronic Monday

Oh dear.  I am so tired I feel I am brain dead.  Do you suppose when they shaved my head they pulled out my brains as well?  Oh, who am I kidding? I never had that many brains to begin with.

The St. Baldrick’s Day event was a great deal of fun.  They exceeded their fundraising goal, and I think everyone enjoyed themselves.  I had a few glasses of wine, some good food and a whole lot of laughs.  Yes, yes, no doubt the wine had something to do with today’s tiredness. These things happen.  What do you expect of me?  Incidentally, I must return to Arthur’s in Dolgeville, NY for lunch or dinner one day soon.  Maybe several days soon, because there was a lot on their menu I’d like to try.

Incidentally, I did do some writing today while on breaks at work.  I worked on my next article for Mohawk Valley Living magazine.  It needs more work.  That brain dead thing is kind of doing me dirt.  You may have noticed.

So today is supposed to be Monday Mental Meanderings, but once again I do not have the mental resources to meander with.  I believe this has happened to me before, although I can’t be sure (being, as I am, largely brain dead, did I mention that?).   I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again:  Sorry folks; hope I’ll see you again tomorrow.

 

Pre-Bald Post

Or should I call this Wrist to Hairless Forehead Sunday?  Actually, I am feeling excited about my participation in the St. Baldrick’s Day Event today.  It will be fun.  Some friends are joining us.  We will have some food, maybe a couple of drinks, definitely a lot of laughs, and I’ll get a free haircut.  What’s not to like?

For anyone just tuning in (and if so, Hi, new reader!), I am getting my head shaved to raise money for children’s cancer research. The event will take place at Arthur’s in Dolgeville, NY this afternoon from one to three.  Thanks to generous friends, family and co-workers, I have raised over $1,000.  I’m pretty pleased about that.

I did this once before, three years ago.  That year I was shaved the first Sunday in June.  We had an extremely hot May.  I sweated with my stupid long hair and couldn’t wait for the clip!  Then the weather took a turn for the worse and we had a cold, rainy June.  I wore my toque most of the time rather than show off my bald pate, which was kind of a bummer but what are you going to do?

This year the weather has already taken a turn for the colder.  I think it’s 20 or 30 out as I write this.  I’m debating which hat to bring to the Bald.  I have a lovely crocheted green hat a friend made for me some years ago.  I also have a black fashion hat I purchased last year at a local consignment shop, Linda’s Consignment Shop in Herkimer, NY.  At the time  purchased it I said I could wear it if I ever went bald again.  Seems kind of ordained, doesn’t it?

Oh well, I guess I don’t have much to say about my Bald plans for the day, but I wanted to give St. Baldrick’s Foundation another shout-out, and I wanted to get my blog post written.  Mission accomplished, as they say.  I hope to see you all tomorrow for Monday Mental Meanderings.  Happy Sunday, everyone!

P.S.  If anyone wants to add to my fundraising total, my page for that is https://www.stbaldricks.org/participants/mypage/813330/2016.  For more information on St. Baldrick’s Foundation, you can visit www.stbaldricks.org.

 

A Friendly Stop

I pause in my Saturday gyrations to make a brief blog post.  I am having quite the lovely day with my dear husband, who has a rare Saturday off.

I began my day with the useful part: going to Ilion Little Theatre for chores related to Leading Ladies, the play I am directing.  The normal bribe for folks helping out on a Saturday morning is donuts.  Accordingly, I headed to Frankfort, NY and the Friendly Bake Shop.  Frankfort is not a far drive from Herkimer, where I live.  I parked across the street and walked in to find a line.  This, of course, was not surprising.

“Is there a VISA logo on their cash register?” I asked a lady in line ahead of me.  I had not provided myself with cash so thought to use my bank card.  She did not see one.  “I”m in trouble,” I said and sadly left.  She followed me out the door and called me back before I had crossed the street again.

“I was looking right at it,” she confessed.  Having done that myself, I completely understood.

I got plain, glazed, jelly-filled and chocolate glazed, three of each to make a dozen.  I wasn’t sure how many people I would have to bribe, but I was fairly sure of having leftovers with a dozen.  Anyways, a dozen is the normal amount of donuts.  Every once in a while I like to do something normal.

“And I’ll have a loaf of this bread,” I added, grabbing one.  It was Italian with sesame seeds, sliced fairly thin.  I’m sure it will be yummy.  The donuts definitely were.  I ate two myself almost as soon as I got to the theatre.

The Friendly Bake Shop is located at 122 E. Main St., Frankfort, NY.  Phone number 315-894-8861.

 

Who Said I Could Have Lame Post Friday?

Lame Post Friday is supposed to be my ultimate take it easy day.  Random observations and half-baked philosophy.  Also, sentence fragments, in which I usually do not indulge.  Oh well, I guess sometimes.  Oh dear, now I’m out of control.  Subject and predicate, Cindy, subject and predicate (when I first learned these things, I felt “noun and verb” was kind of babyish).

Where was I?  Ah yes, trying to come up with a Lame Friday post.  A random observation:  I looked out the bathroom window at work this morning and saw lots of snow.

“Who said it could snow?”  I demanded.  Nobody would confess to such a crime.  Another lady observed that we had spent all winter praising its mildness.  Now we are getting the weather we should have had in January, when we were ready for it.  That easily leads to the half-baked philosophy that adversity does not seem so, well, adverse, if we are only prepared for it.

But is that really true?  I think if we had had lots of snow and ice in January we would have been crying about it then, too.  Of course, we could have comforted ourselves with the reflection that such weather was to be expected in January.  Would that have helped?

Oh, now I have done it!  I am asking hypothetical questions.  I HATE hypothetical questions!  I can’t tell you what I WOULD HAVE done in January if the weather WOULD HAVE been a certain way.  January is over; we had the weather we had (full disclosure: I don’t remember much about January except that I wasn’t drinking wine at the time).  Wow, I really tricked myself into that one, didn’t I?

However, I see that I am over 250 words.  I’m going to call that OK for a Friday.  If only I could think of a lame headline.  Happy Friday, everyone.

P.S.  It stopped snowing.

 

 

I’ll Be Looking for that Link

I don’t think Tired Thursday has the same ring as Tired Tuesday, and yet here I sit.  Well, instead of crying about how tired I feel, I will give a brief overview of my post-work errand running.  I had thought to write a blog post about that earlier today when I had difficulty coming up with a topic to write on while on break at work.  Of course now all I want to do is sleep on it and I fear the post will not be very good, but we have established that for Mohawk Valley Girl, a bad post is better than no post at all, so here goes (I don’t care if that is a run-on sentence).

I need some props and costumes for Leading Ladies, the show I am directing at Ilion Little Theatre (stand by for this blog to become All Leading Ladies All The Time, it’ll happen soon).  This being the only weekday I don’t have rehearsal, I thought a few stops on the way home would be appropriate.  Full disclosure:  I did not make all the stops I intended to and one place I was pretty sure would not have any props or costumes.

It was pouring rain when I left work, but one must not let weather deter one, must one (one being me, of course).  I kept telling myself that this was better than snow, but I’ve heard we’ll have snow again before too long, so I suppose I will have a basis for comparison.

First I went to the Thrift Store in Ilion, NY (I work in Ilion, by the way).  No props, but I found a black shawl, which I have been wanting to go with my little purple dress (I refuse to own a Little Black Dress).  Now all I have to do is lost that damn ten pounds so I can wear my little purple dress. I merely glanced at the fancy dresses.  My costume ambitions were merely to look.  We’re going to check the Ilion Little Theatre costume collection before purchasing anything.

At New 2 You Consignment Store, where I went next, I found a decanter such as a someone might have sitting on a table in a ritzy sitting room.  I wasn’t sure I loved it, though.  The lady there, who I am acquainted with because her daughter did a marvelous job in the murder mystery I have been talking about (perhaps you read my latest blog post about it), said if I decided I wanted it, I could call her and she would hold it for me.  We talked about the play, and I mentioned my need of dresses for a couple of manly-sized men.  She said she had some quite large fancy dresses, so I may be in touch with her about that, too.

I was getting sick of being out in the rain but decided to make one more stop at Earthly Matters, a store I have lately become aware of.  I did not think it was anyplace I would find anything for my play.  I thought I would like to write about it.  Oh, I SO DO!  I stood there for a while talking to the owner, looking at beautiful things, and taking notes.  I shall write a full post about it and perhaps an article to submit to Mohawk Valley Living magazine.  For today, however, I content myself with a mere mention.

I went home after that, bypassing the dollar store and a couple of other stops.  There is another thrift store and at least one more consignment shop I can check.  When I don’t feel so tired.  Sorry to keep complaining about it, but you know how it is.  If you don’t know how it is, well, just work some overtime and direct a couple of plays and do a few more things other than sleep and then write a blog post about it.   You can post a link in Comments and perhaps I’ll read it.

Happy Non-Sequitur Thursday, everyone.

 

Too Tired to Type

All I want to do is make a Wuss-out Wednesday post and get my tired out body to bed.  I began to write something else earlier today.  I wanted something meaner than Wuss-out for my Wednesday, because I was in quite a dreadful mood.  All I could come up with was Worser Wednesday (isn’t “worser” a word?  I’ll be damned; I thought it was).  Oh, then I thought of Whiny Wednesday and Woebegone Wednesday, but neither seemed to capture my mood of the moment.  At this moment, I have no mood except being tired enough to burst into tears, although I feel I am unlikely to do any such thing.

I am far too tired to dig out the notebook containing the few paragraphs I wrote earlier.  For one reason, it took me an unreasonable amount of time to get onto WordPress tonight.  You know how computers are sometimes.  Oh, go ahead and make unkind remarks about Operator Error.  My whole life is operator error, dammit!  I ALREADY KNOW THAT!!

What I was thinking earlier, and it still applies, is that today should have been Tuesday.  Earlier it would have been Bad Attituesday.  Now it would be Tired Tuesday.  Therefore, I shall make a tired headline but nevertheless one with my beloved alliteration.  It is also a literary reference to Truman Capote, who famously said, “That’s not writing, that’s typing.”  I hope to see you all on Thursday.

 

What Was I Laughing At?

I ran on Sunday mostly because I thought it would make a good blog post. Then I didn’t write the blog post, and isn’t that typical of me?  Well, I will try to write about my run now rather than drag us all (further) down with another Tired Tuesday post.

On Sunday, local readers will recall, the weather sucked.  Unfortunately I did not realize this when I made up my mind to run.  I knew it was supposed to be cold but felt I could handle it.  I had to bring Steven to work, so I got dressed in my running clothes to do that.  Steven went out to brush off the vehicles, since it had snowed in the night.  When I went out to help him, I discovered it was still snowing.

At first I saw no reason to change my plans.  After all, what are a few flakes among friends (no, not itches and flakes; that could be dandruff).  By the time I was actually driving Steven to his place of employment, what had been a few flakes had turned into a wall of white.  Regular readers may remember my odd personality quirk that bad weather makes me laugh.  I cackled all the way to Steven’s work.

“I am totally going running in this,” I said.  “It will make a great blog post.”

I did briefly consider abandoning the notion and running in place indoors on my Mom’s mini-tramp (she said she doesn’t need it back).  But I was already dressed in my warmest running pants, and I had located my toque and mittens (they are actually my sister Diane’s mittens; she may want them back).  Anyways, the snow was likely to stop soon; you know what they say about the weather and waiting five minutes.  Making the bargain with myself that I would turn back if the sidewalks were slippery, I set out.

The sidewalks were not slippery.  The snow did not stop.  I was grateful for the mittens and the warm pants.  I only wished I had something protecting my face.  That got cold, and since I had the mittens on, I couldn’t even put my palms on my cheeks and do Edvard Munch’s “The Scream,” which kind of helps, temporarily.  It was not until I finished my run and was walking my cool-down (the irony is not lost on me) that I realized the snow was actually accumulating on my face.  If I had a smart phone, I could have taken a selfie and wouldn’t that have added something to the blog.

The run itself was not that bad.  I have not been running much lately so I am trying to be better about it.  And maybe next time I can write a better blog post about it.  Happy Tuesday, everyone.

 

One Dead Body, at a Church

I feel I can get away with one more post about my murder mystery, because some readers may be wondering how it went.  Well, it was splendid.

The church, Morning Star Methodist in Ilion, NY, sold more tickets than they were hoping to.  In fact, serving dinners was delayed at one point when they ran out of potatoes and had to cook more.  I told them if they ran short of meat, I could go hungry, but luckily that was not necessary.

I stood by the table of the lady taking tickets and welcomed people.  I warned them they would meet some unusual people but should not be worried about talking to them.  I’m not sure my warnings were needed, but people were very nice about it.  More importantly, I had to be the liaison between the actors and the dinner-servers.  I gave the actors the high-sign to start the performance part.  I told the audience when to fill out their guesses and collected the papers after they had guessed.

As I attended to these duties, I realized my folly in undertaking such a role.  I wanted to be acting!  There are few things more fun for me than to dress up in a costume and pretend to be somebody else.  I love it on a stage with lines, and I love it at a murder mystery when mingling with the audience.

The lucky ones who did get to act enjoyed it quite a bit, and they did a marvelous job.  A few lines were dropped, but I believe only the author noticed (um, you remember that was me, right?).  The audience was full of praise, except for one gentleman with a hearing aid who hadn’t heard a word.  I felt quite terrible about that.  At least he got a good dinner out of it.  Roast pork.  Yum!

I hope Ilion Little Theatre will be asked to present more murder mysteries in the future.  I’m ready to write them and I am more than ready to act again!

 

One Week to Bald!

I had a couple of other things to write about today, but as I washed my hair this morning, I thought, “I won’t be doing this a week from tomorrow,” and then the above title occurred to me and, well…

So on Sunday, April 10, I go to Arthur’s in Dolgeville, NY, for a St. Baldrick’s Day Foundation event.  Yes, I am going to have my stupid head shaved (um, “stupid head” is how Steven and I generally refer to our melons, ever since the infamous day when Steven lamented, “I hit my stupid head!”).  I have been asking friends, family and co-workers to sponsor me with donations that will fund children’s cancer research.  They have responded with generosity and not a few jokes.

A few friends have even promised to come to Arthur’s on the day with me.   I’m thinking we will have some food, a few drinks, a lot of laughs, and possibly post a picture on Facebook.  I’ve been bald before.  Some people think I look kind of cute that way.

Of course with baldness looming ever closer, my hair has responded by looking pretty damn good lately.  A co-worker thought I should dye it purple while I still had it, so I picked up some stuff that adds streaks.  I really like the purple streaks.  What am I thinking, getting rid of this crowning glory (no, really, that is how some people refer to hair).

What I am mostly thinking is that my earrings will show up better.  You know how I love my earrings.  Oh, I know, I am supposed to be thinking about how it is such a good cause and how maybe one day we will find a cure for cancer and I can feel I was a small part of it.  Am I really that profound?  Not usually.

In any case, if anybody wants to donate to St. Baldrick’s Foundation, my website is https://www.stbaldricks.org/participants/mypage/813330/2016.  And any local readers who want to make their way to Arthur’s in Dolgeville on April 10 at 1 p.m., come on down!