Category Archives: personal

Waiting for 19 Crimes

Posted on January 23, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

I thought I would take today’s Friday Lame Post to give an update on my 30 Days Without Wine.  Or you may call it 30 Days of Whine, although I must confess to doing more than my fair share of kvetching even with the wine.  Be that as it may, this is Day 27.  Yes, I’ve been counting.  How else would I know when I got to 30?

Earlier today the little devil on my shoulder (you know, like in the cartoons, when the character has a little version of himself in horns on one shoulder and one with a halo on the other?) kept saying, “27 is practically 30.  Aren’t you being a little anal retentive about this?” She went on to say, “Anyways, isn’t this no alcohol thing a bit self-aggrandizing?  Just another way of calling attention to yourself? Shouldn’t you just get over yourself and have a beer?”  I didn’t even know she knew the word “self-aggrandizing.”

The Devil Me would probably also call me out on thinking something magical might happen if I go all 30 days.  How illogical and immature, she would say.  Of course I stopped listening to that bitch when I remembered she is also the one who thinks I’m such a terrible writer.

The Angel on my other shoulder did not contribute a whole lot to the discussion.  She merely pointed out that while PROBABLY nothing magical would happen on Day 30, how would I know if I didn’t wait that long?  Anyways, there isn’t a bottle of dry red in the house, and that is what I chiefly feel like drinking.  For Day 31 I have promised myself a bottle of 19 Crimes, one of my favorites.  I think that’s worth waiting three more days for.

Right now I am reinforcing my dry behavior by watching World’s Dumbest Partiers (why is my computer underlining “partiers”?  That must be a word! What else would you call these people?).  I don’t imagine the one little glass of 19 Crimes I intend to have on Tuesday will cause me to act like one of those guys.  However, if it does, I promise to write a blog post about it.

 

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This Writer Thing

Posted on January 22, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

As the weekend approaches (VERY slowly), I begin to think about what sort of adventures (if any) I might have.  And before I go further, my apologies to anybody who does not have weekends off and is jealous of anybody who does. Don’t hate. I’ve been there. I may be there again.

To continue, I say “if any” regarding my potential adventures because I really might be best served by NOT going adventuring but by staying home, off the phone and the internet, and WRITING.  I have a murder mystery to finish.  I have a novel flapping in the breeze.  I have a million other ideas on hold.

On the other hand, I also have a blog and a standing commitment to submit articles to Mohawk Valley Living magazine.  For the blog, I can and do limp along publishing nonsense like yesterday’s post or lesser adventures such as what I fixed for dinner (as you see, I take a broad definition of the word “adventure”).  For a classy magazine like Mohawk Valley Living (and it is a wonderful publication; check it out if you haven’t already), I must be more selective.

Another consideration is that I cannot repeat myself for the magazine as I do in the blog.  For example, this Saturday (Jan. 23) is Coffee and Conversation with a Cop at the Baptist Church on the corner of Washington and Green streets in Herkimer, NY.  This monthly program promotes healthy relations between the community and the police force.  I mean to attend and write a blog post about it.  I wrote an article about the program for Mohawk Valley Living some time ago.

So I have one blogworthy but not magazine-worthy adventure planned.  The question is, can I have another adventure, worth writing about for the magazine, and still have time to progress on my other projects?  The answer has to be yes.  Now there are other questions such as What adventure?  How will I find time? Am I just kidding myself with this whole Writer thing?  Wait a minute, don’t answer that last question.

 

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Wrong Writing on Wuss-out Wednesday

Posted on January 21, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

Sometimes you don’t have a reason to feel the way you feel.  Sometimes you just feel a certain way and you just have to keep feeling that way until you don’t feel that way any more.

Yes, it is Wuss-out Wednesday, and this is Yet Another Post About How I Can’t Write A Post.  On the brighter side, I  do not intend to go on an on about how it makes me FEEL.  Don’t you just hate it when people go on and on about their feelings?  Oh yeah, like YOU never do it!

Where was I?

I spent all day trying to think about something to write for a blog post.  Sometimes, for a change of pace, I thought about that novel I started to write a couple of years ago that I VOWED I would finish.  Remember that novel?  Remember Finish That Novel May?  That was, of course, last May.  The novel still isn’t finished.  However, I remembered a trick I read about re-energizing a stalled novel.  You write a brief summary about the story as a whole, perhaps in the form of a rave review or a book flap blurb.  I tried it.  I’m not sure it worked, but I wrote a page anyways.

As I have stated on this blog before, any writing counts.  My problem now is to get to the RIGHT writing.  My novel.  The murder mystery script.  A better blog post.  We’ll see what I can come up with on Non-Sequitur Thursday.

 

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Just in Time for Melfe’s Monday

Posted on January 20, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

Long time readers (if any) may be wondering if I intend to give my yearly shout-out to Melfe’s Shoe Service in Ilion, NY.  Of course I do.  For one reason, I told them I was going to.

I’ve worked in an industry requiring safety footwear for almost five years now.  My place of employment has a deal with Melfe’s where my employer pays for one pair of shoes per year per employee and Melfe’s gives us a good deal.  Additionally, they give us great service and a quality product. Am I sounding like a commercial for Melfe’s?  Well, I did say this was a shout-out.

Many, many (add a few “manys” and you’ll come close) years ago, I sold shoes at a department store.  Ever since then I have appreciated quality footwear and understand the need to replace shoes on a regular basis (that’s not to say I don’t own a few ratty pair of $4.99 sneakers from K-Mart; I’m only human after all).  So every January I trek to Melfe’s and update.

My preferred time to go is Saturday morning as soon as they open. I’ve never encountered a crowd, and it gets it out of the way early in my favorite day for adventures.  On this particular Saturday, I was there even before they were.  I had not long to wait, though, before I was getting my feet measured and looking at styles.

At Melfe’s they measure your feet every time, because feet can change.  Mine have gotten bigger and wider over the years.  I’d like to think the increased width is the result of bunion surgery and not large amounts of fattening foods (of course my hips have no such excuse).

A young man named Steve was helping me (I asked his name and got his business card).  While he looked for my size, I admired wildlife prints and vintage advertisements on the wall.  I also noticed some very comfy-looking slippers I’d like to get for my husband (maybe for his birthday).

Melfe’s also does shoe repair.  A few months ago, I found out to my dismay that not all shoes can be repaired.  I had to appreciate, though, that they told me up front my shoes were hopeless and did not take my money to make a repair they knew would not last.

I received a Melfe’s t-shirt with my shoes.  I chose lavender.  I told Steve I would wear it to work on Monday.

“I like to have Melfe’s Monday,” I told him.

He told me that a lot of people have a certain day they like to wear their Melfe’s shirt.  I could have gotten a hat or coffee mug, but I like my shirt.  Full disclosure:  I did not wear that shirt this past Monday but one I got two years ago.  Fortunately or not, another Monday is coming.

Melfe’s Shoe Service is located at 64 Central Ave, Ilion, NY.  For more informtion call 315-894-4049.

 

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Monday Menu Meanderings

Posted on January 19, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

I really, really want to finish my blog post before my dear husband Steven arrives home from work.  Alas, I did not write anything while at work today.  I worked on anacrostic puzzles in a puzzle book I really should have left at home.  In my defense, I LOVE anacrostic puzzles!  And doing puzzles is good for your brain.  Surely my brain needs all the help it can get.

The sad thing is, I’m really supposed to be figuring something out for dinner, not typing in a blog post.  I’m hungry.  Steven will be hungry. There is food in the house, but I fear it requires work.  Unless we just heat up the beef soup I made yesterday.  Ah, I know, a few words about the soup will serve for today’s blog post.

We recently purchased a lovely roast that was on sale.  I can’t remember what cut it was, but it was substantial.  It went into the freezer to  await cooking.  Then last Sunday (that is, a week ago yesterday), I discovered the few carrots I had left had gotten kind of… not crunchy.  I thought they were still good, they just didn’t look as if they would be good raw, which is pretty much the only way I like carrots.  However, one does what one must, in this case, cook the damn carrots.

A day or two later, I put the carrots in the crock pot with the beef, half an onion, Worcestershire sauce and water.  I had to add water, because the beef had not thawed in the refrigerator.  How delightful it was to arrive home that evening to the smell of roasting beef.  It made a fine supper.  I even ate some of the carrots.

Steven saved all the drippings, which were considerable due to the water I had added.  I said I would use it to make beef soup, which I did on Sunday. There really wasn’t much to that recipe.  I chopped two potatoes and put them on the boil.  Then I put the liquid, onions and carrots in a pot on the stove.  I chopped up a goodly amount of the beef to add.  When it was boiling, I added some frozen green beans for good measure.  When the potatoes were done, they went into the pot too.

We ate it with slices of Heidelberg French Peasant bread, my new favorite (edging out sourdough).  It was a fine dinner for a cold day such as Sunday.  Today is a cold day too.  I wonder how Steven will feel about leftovers.

In any case, this concludes my blog post.  Can we consider it a Monday Mental Meanderings or should I start a new feature: Menu Monday?  Any thoughts?

 

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Mid-Winter Wrist

Posted on January 18, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

Is it the Mid-Winter Blahs, the Mid-Winter Blues, or just a common or garden Wrist to Forehead Sunday? I’m hoping it’s the third one, because tomorrow it will not be Sunday any more, but winter will last at least a couple of months more.

In other words, anybody who was hoping for a post of any substance from me today is doomed to disappointment.

I was ambitious enough earlier to drive to Chadwicks for church with some members of my family, notably my most adorable year-old great nephew.  He was quite interested in pulling my necklace.  I had taken the precaution of putting on a long strand of fairly tough beads in case of just such an emergency.

It was a fine drive over Higby Road to Graffenburg (oh dear, I’m not sure if it’s Graffenburg or Graffenberg; another reason to make the wrist-to-forehead pose).  Bare roads, not too windy.  We went to Salvatore’s in Washington Mills for breakfast after church, so my drive home was all Higby.  Nice views.  One day perhaps I’ll have a camera and can share some of the sights I see.

Oh yes, I forgot to mention that before church I did the dishes, often the extent of my Sunday ambition (if in fact my Sunday ambition extends that far; it doesn’t always).  I did not dry and put them away, of course.  Waste energy drying dishes?  That’s crazy talk!  Anyways, by that time I had to get ready for church.

And now I’m over 200 words.  Hmmm…. This seems to me more like a Scattered Sunday than Wrist to Forehead. No matter, in the blogiverse (you know, like universe.  I think I’ve gotten too big for the blogosphere), 200 words is 200 words.  Happy Sunday, everyone.

 

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Q Goes to Eye Q

Posted on January 17, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

My favorite doctor has always been the eye doctor.  I don’t have to take my clothes off, nobody sticks their hand in my mouth, I don’t even have to step on a scale. What’s not to like?  I went to a familiar doctor at a new place today at Eye Q of CNY in New Hartford, NY.

Anyone who was disappointed when Sears in Sangertown Square closed, taking their optical with them, can rejoice.  Dr. Carrock and Diane Engell, optician and manager, are now at Eye Q.  Full disclosure: I used to work in the optical industry (although not at Sears).  I worked with both Diane and Dr. Carrock at different times, and Diane is a personal friend.  But Eye Q is a really great optical, and I am happy to give them a shout-out.

One of my favorite things about the business is the name.  Since I am Cindy Q and they are Eye Q, I feel a certain kinship.  Maybe I could even get a job there one day.

I did not enjoy the drive along Route 5S from Herkimer to New Hartford as much as I usually do, because it was too rainy and misty to enjoy any views.  Still, I’ve driven on worse roads, and soon I was in New Hartford looking for the plaza.  Eye Q is in the same plaza as 5 Guys Burgers and the Gold Mine Jewelers.  It’s a busy little plaza, but I found a parking space with no problem.

Diane greeted me and gave me a tour.  It’s a small but clean and professional place with a nice selection of frames.  I have a hard time picking frames, but Diane is very helpful in that respect.  I did not make my final selection till after my exam.  I did not try every frame on the boards, as I confess I have been known to do, but I tried on a good many.

Dr. Carrock is an excellent doctor.  I’ve never had a problem with my prescription.  I was also happy with the price I paid for my glasses.  I told Diane I’d tell all my family and friends about Eye Q of CNY.  I guess I’ve told all my blog readers as well.

Eye Q of CNY is located at 4660 Commercial Dr., New Hartford NY, phone number 315-797-2020.  For more information you can visit their website at www.eyeqofcny.com.  You can also Like them on Facebook.

 

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Choosing a W(h)ine

Posted on January 16, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

My dry January continues.  I call it that for lack of a catchier title.  In fact, it is 30 days which began December 27.  That means it’s been 20 days.

I must say I was hoping for a bigger impact on my life.  So far the only effect has been that I would really like a glass of wine, and that was pretty much the case when I started the project.  I’m not sleeping any better, the headaches are about the same, I haven’t lost vast amounts of weight… what else is giving up booze supposed to do for you?

My main concern is when I start thinking, “Oh crap, X more days till I can have a glass of wine!”  Then I think, “Am I obsessing over this?  Maybe I DO have a problem!”  Then I don’t want to write a blog post about it, because I worry  all my friends and family will decide I must be an alcoholic and have one of those interventions.  I wouldn’t care for that.

I confess to feeling a little sad today (Friday) as I drove home from work and realized I would not stop by a liquor store that might be having a wine tasting.  Please note:  I said “wouldn’t” not “couldn’t.”  To not drink wine this month is a choice I make.  And here’s the fun part:  when I remind myself that it is a choice I made and that I choose to continue, suddenly the whole thing becomes not a problem.

It’s kind of like how I feel about running.  When I think, “I SHOULD go running,” I want to whine and cry and NOT run.  However, if I say, “It would be a good idea if I went running,” the next thing I know, I’m lacing up the sneakers and taking off.

Having talked myself right out of my little crisis, I’m going to call this a Lame Friday Post, hit Publish, and go back to sipping my wine glass of seltzer water and lemon.  Happy Friday, everyone.

 

 

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76% Remaining

Posted on January 15, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

The computer woes continue, and I sit here trying to think rapidly and type even faster to get this blog post done while the battery lasts.  It’s a race against time!  Actually, it’s a race against battery.  What does that even mean, anyways, “race against time.”  Isn’t any race where you’re being timed a race against time?  And does time ever go any faster? Now, let’s not get all philosophical about that!  Oh well, I guess you can if you want to.

Where was I?  Ah yes, Non-Sequitur Thursday.  I’m thinking this has been a rather lame week, and I’m pretty damn happy that tomorrow is Lame Post Friday.  I tried to write a real post while on breaks at work today.  I got over a page written about an old movie I watched last weekend.  I don’t know that I would call it a cheesy movie exactly, but I thought I was saying some pretty good stuff (or do I flatter myself?  Always a possibility).  However, it is not finished yet and I do not have the mental wherewithal to finish it now.  Sorry about that.

I have a couple of emails I have to send regarding theatre business.  I tried writing them earlier too, in hopes of saving time later.  Naturally I am second guessing what I wrote, wondering if I ought to edit further, and obsessing over who I ought to courtesy copy.  There’s a social land mine, if you like.  What if I cc the wrong people and they send me a nasty reply?  What if I don’t cc somebody who thinks they ought to have been cc’d and they yell at me?  I hate to be yelled at.  What if I cc somebody who doesn’t give a rat’s ass and they roll their eyes at me?  In the scheme of things, I suppose having eyes rolled at one is not the worst thing that could happen.  Still, I find it unpleasant.

Now I see I am over 300 words of this nonsense.  I hope I have at least been amusing.  I’ll try to finish that movie write-up so I can post it in lieu of Lame Post Friday (I really like that expression “in lieu of”).  Happy Thursday, everyone.

 

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Woe and Wuss

Posted on January 14, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

Today is Wuss-out Wednesday due to computer woes.  I must compose quickly and get off my device while I still have power.

My plan had been to write something BEFORE getting on the computer.  Did I? Of course not!  I had Blogger’s Blank.  Ooh, nice alliteration there.  Usually I have Writer’s Blank, but in fact I wrote a couple of pages on a letter, most of an article for Mohawk Valley Living, and a page and a half in the TV Journal.  I can write fine!  I just can’t seem to write a blog post.

Winter continues to pummel the Mohawk Valley, but unevenly.  Some places got lots of snow, some a little, but everybody at least some.  And it was COLD!   I know, I know, it’s January.  I wasn’t complaining about it, I was just reporting.

After work today I met with a lady who wants to do a dinner theatre as a fundraiser for her church.  She reached out to Ilion Little Theatre for help, which I say was a very good choice.  When the matter first came up at one of our dinner meetings, I said, “You know, you do have a member that used to write murder mystery dinner theatre and is dying to do another one!”

A few actors expressed an interest.  I started writing.  Today, as I said, I met with the lady from the church, and it looks as if this is going to happen.  That will definitely be worth a blog post or two!

For today, however, this is all I got.  At least it is over 250 words.  I’m going to go back and write some more in the TV Journal.  Happy Wednesday, everyone.

 

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