Category Archives: personal

Toot My Horn Tuesday

Posted on August 26, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

So there I was on Facebook, stalling starting my blog post, because I am feeling tired and stupid, and I discovered that three years ago today, I posted the following:

I don’t always have to kill two birds with one stone.  I have plenty of stones, although I rarely throw them on account of living in a glass house.

I was rather pleased with that.  It was not my favorite thing I’ve ever said.  My favorite thing I’ve ever said is, “I said that?  I’m witty.”  Reflecting on this, I shared my post from three years ago, adding as a comment the remark about being witty.

It is sad but true (and I’m really not sad about it) that I like my own writing.  Sometimes I come across something I wrote a long time ago, and I read it and say, “Hey, this is pretty good.  Why didn’t I finish this one?”  I don’t always think I’m wonderful, of course.  Sometimes I think, “Well, that’s an embarrassing cliche”  or “That’s pretty self-indulgent” or even “What the hell was I thinking?”  But a lot of the time it’s more like, “Hey, that’s OK.”

What does that make this, Big Fat Ego Tuesday?  Blow My Own Horn Tuesday?  No, no Toot My Horn Tuesday.  That has a little bit of alliteration.  You know much I love alliteration.  At any rate, it makes a break from whining about how I just can’t write a decent blog post today.  I hope to see you on Wednesday, when I hope not to Wuss Out.

 

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Making Time on Monday

Posted on August 25, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

Sorry, folks, it’s Wrist to Forehead Monday.  Maybe Tired Monday, although that doesn’t really have a ring to it.  I’m too tired for either Mental Meanderings or Middle-aged Musings.  I have no reason to feel so tired, but there it is.

I think one thing that is making me tired is that I am not writing, and I am damn tired of not being able to write.  All I have written today is less than a page on a letter to a friend.  And I was not particularly witty or interesting on that.  I had some great ideas on how to progress on my novel on Friday but have had no chance so far to implement them.  Oh, I know, real writers make time.

OK, hold it right there. Nobody can MAKE time.  We all have 24 hours in a day.  All the time management in the world will not make it 25 or even 24 hours and 6 minutes.

However, one can TAKE time.  The time you were using to do X can instead be used to do Y.  No, I’m not going to list all the crap I’ve been doing instead of writing, but, yes, it does involve cable television.  I’m fond of saying “don’t judge,” but in this case I’ll say go ahead and judge me, because I have not taken the time to write.

The nice thing about Monday, though, is that is the beginning of the week. I have the whole rest of the week to change my evil ways and write more.  Will I succeed?  You’ll read about it here if I do.  Happy Monday, everyone.

 

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Walk to Wrist to Michael Gambon

Posted on August 24, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

With a little bit of Severed Head Sunday thrown in.

It is another beautiful day in the Mohawk Valley.  Steven and I took a walk earlier.  It was sunny and warm but not humid. Actually, I got a little overheated in the sunshine, but I had on sunscreen and my crazy old lady hat.  It felt so good to walk!  We went to Smoker’s Choice so Steven could buy some butts.  Yes, yes, we did something healthy so Steven could indulge in an unhealthy habit.  Don’t judge.

We went on to walk up Main Street.  As we passed the wooden fence in front of where they tore down Glory Days, we talked about the local artist who is going to paint a mural there.  Of course I’d rather they cleaned it up and built something new there, but if they can’t at least it will be nice to have something better than an old grey fence to look at.

As we walked on we discussed our movie-watching for the rest of the day.  Lately we usually watch Snapped on Sundays, but we used to watch movies all day long.  We like movies.  Steven wanted to watch Being Julia, a marvelous adaptation of Somerset Maughm’s Theatre, one of my favorite books.  Gambon has the part of Jimmy Langtree, who appears as a ghost or memory from Julia’s past.  The character appeared in flashbacks in the novel, but in the movie his presence adds a lot to the present, if you see what I mean.

I said we should make it a Michael Gambon film festival, moving from Being Julia to Gosford Park then on to Sleepy Hollow, or as I like to call it, The Headless Everybody.

And that brings us nicely to today’s headline.  Only, really, it is not Wrist to Forehead Sunday.  We had a lovely evening yesterday, hanging out on our deck with a small group of family and friends.  Small gatherings are wonderful, because you can have real conversations.  It was a perfect evening for deck sitting.  I’m so delighted our brief period of extreme humidity has passed (oh, anybody who has passed or is passing through a longer and worser period can just quietly feel bad ass and not brag to me about it, please).

I am enjoying my Sunday is my point.  I hope you are enjoying yours too.

 

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Sidetracked Saturday?

Posted on August 23, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

Good afternoon and welcome to another Scattered Saturday post (at least, I think my WordPress says it’s already Sunday, but whatever).  I worked this morning, as I believe I mentioned yesterday.  My first stop after work was the post office, to mail a package.  As I addressed the padded envelope and got the item inside, a young lady at the table questioned the city on the address of the package she was mailing.

“Croton-on-Hudson?”

“Near the City?” I said knowledgeably.  “They get fancy near the City.”

“I’m just from a small town,” she said with a laugh.

“I feel like a hick from the sticks when I go to Albany,” I admitted.  That, by the way, is a true story.  I lived in Norwood, NY, at the time, another teeny-tiny but charming village.  Some members of my family went to a hospital in Albany (Albany Medical Center?  Is there more than one hospital in Albany?) (just to sound really hicks-from-the-sticksy) (I bet you thought I was going to say “hickey”) (you know who you are).

It is a large hospital, so we asked somebody how to get to the area we wanted. The directions included the words, “turn left at the bank.”  We thanked the person politely and walked in the direction indicated, waiting till we were a few steps away  before looking at each other in confusion and saying, “Did they say turn at the bank?”  hoping that at least one of us had heard the right directions.  A few feet down the hallway, we saw the bank.

A bank in the hospital!  Who thinks of these things?  And that, dear readers, is how to feel like a hick from the sticks.

After that digression (which gave me my title, do you like it?), I continued on to the grocery store to purchase refreshments for a minor gathering on my deck this evening.

Oh dear, if any of my local friends are reading this and think I am having a fabulous party without you, I’m not.  It’s a strictly informal, small gathering, and if anybody reading this tonight wants to, well, just come on over.  Surprise me.

 

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Win/Win or Lame/Lame?

Posted on August 22, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

Once again I have a Friday that isn’t really a Friday.  Yay paycheck, boo working on Saturday.  Well, one does what one must, after all, and one tries not to complain about it too much.

And here is a subject I like to talk about: when I say some things, I am merely expressing my feelings.  Why do other people always accuse me of whining?  Sometimes, of course, I do whine.  More often I like to think I complain or gripe, maybe even kvetch.  For heavens’ sake, what’s wrong with complaining?  If we articulate our dissatisfaction, we can potentially improve the situation.

In this case, the only thing that may improve about the situation is my own attitude.  Merely complaining is not enough.  I must go on to But Then Agains.  I don’t want to work, But Then Again I want to be paid.  I don’t want to get up at 3:30 in the morning, But Then Again, I’ll be done by eleven.  And Then Again, overtime is a win/win situation:  if I work overtime, I get money;  if I don’t get any overtime, I have time.

Anybody who is taking a breath to accuse me of rationalization, do you really have to be that way?  It is SO condescending to accuse others of rationalization.  I will complain about that all day long!

No I won’t.  It’s Lame Post Friday, and I rarely make a long post on a Friday.  I hope you’re all having a lovely start to your weekend.

 

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Sitting on the Deck Seeing Bats

Posted on August 21, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

I am sitting on my deck, waiting for the thunderstorm we have been promised ALL WEEK  by those lying sacks that predict the weather (sorry, Bill Kardas).  Of course I am hoping it does not come right now that I’m sitting out here.  On the other hand, that was one selling point FOR sitting out here: I thought it might cause it to rain.

That almost obligates me to sidetrack into a memory.  Many years ago,  I made the observation that when I wore my raincoat, it never rained.  However, if I left my raincoat home, it rained.  I daresay others have observed this phenomenon.  A friend would say, “What an ego.  She thinks she controls the weather.”  For heavens’ sake, I didn’t say, “I don’t want it to rain, therefore I will wear my raincoat.”  Dammit, I loved my raincoat! I WANTED to wear it in the rain!

Well, all that is neither here nor there, but that is quite appropriate for Non-Sequitur Thursday.

We have just returned from a delicious dinner at Jamo’s in Herkimer, NY.  It is a fairly new restaurant, and this was our second visit. I attempted to write a blog post about it after our first visit but bogged down on my endeavors to describe the decor.  This time I tried to pay more attention but am not sure how successful I was.

It is open, it is airy.  The walls are blue and the ceilings are high.  We sat at the lovely black marble bar on chairs that are spindly but comfortable.  There are pictures of the City on the wall.  The word I want to use to describe the whole is “urban.”  Steven thinks that is accurate.

All that said, I do not feel particularly inclined to finish my post about Jamo’s today. I want to relax on my deck and enjoy what is left of the evening (must get to bed to be ready for work tomorrow).  Once again, for Non-Sequitur Thursday, I think that is not bad.

Hope to see you all on Lame Post Friday.

 

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The Heat Is Already Wet

Posted on August 20, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

Well, this is embarrassing, although I suppose I should be used to it by now.  I ended yesterday’s post with a silly prediction that I would be explaining once again why I could not write a decent post.  I was kidding!  I meant to write a good post!  I really did!

However, it is a well-known fact that shit happens.  And sometimes doesn’t happen.  In this case what did not happen was my brain functioning.  I’m going to blame it on the continuing heat and humidity, which I had not expected.  At least, I had not expected it to be so bad.  I thought yesterday was supposed to be the worst day.  I thought we were supposed to get thunderstorms at some point which would cool things off.  Another cruel hoax by the weather people!

I really can’t spend another post complaining about being uncomfortable, so I will share one of Steven’s and my movie memories.  One of our favorite hot weather movies is Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window.  In this movie, it is very important to the plot that the city is in the middle of a terrible heat wave.  In the middle of one night it rains.  The next day, the wonderful Thelma Ritter (one of our all-time MOST favorite actresses) says, “You’d think the rain would have cooled things off.  All it did was make the heat wet.”

Steven and I often use that line, or variations of it, when it rains.  Unfortunately, it has not rained yet, and the heat is already wet.

In the meantime, it is, indeed Wuss-out Wednesday, and I have rehearsal for Roxy is less than an hour (I did mention the play I’m in,  didn’t I?  I’ll no doubt write even more about it as time goes on).  What will I come up with for Non-Sequitur Thursday?  Time will tell.  As always, I hope you’ll stay tuned.

 

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Shoveling Something

Posted on August 19, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

I keep telling myself that you don’t have to shovel humidity.  That is really a good thing, because it would be damn uncomfortable to be outside hefting a shovel in this heat.  Yes, I know,  who could complain about the hot weather after the long, cold winter we just endured?  A lot of people apparently.

I did experience some relief from the heat last night.  My lovely niece and nephew-in-law (silly word, nephew-in-law, but I don’t want to make it sound like she married her brother) got central air and gave us their window unit.  It’s not your usual kind of window unit; it sits on the floor and has an exhaust tube that goes out the window. Very handy if you prefer a fan in the window when possible, which we do.

That is a good point about the weather, by the way.  I don’t mind it so much being hot during the day as long as it cools off at night.  I can even live with it being swelteringly hot at night if I don’t have to work the next day.  I get dreadful insomnia in the heat.  And that reminds me that I pretty much do have to work every day.

Ah, from there I could segue over into a lament that I was not born wealthy, like the heroines in those Regency Romances I dote on.  Of course, they are not always fabulously wealthy.  Sometimes they have a “respectable competence.”  Sometimes it’s straightened circumstances or even genteel poverty.  Sometimes they are constantly being dunned by creditors or (horrors!) have to take a position as a governess or companion.  From these situations, of course, they are usually rescued by some rich, titled hottie.

Isn’t that nice?  I have led myself from bitching about the weather to daydreaming about romance novels.  I’ve tried to write a romance novel.  Perhaps I should try again.  As soon as I have finished the one I am working on, which I VOWED I would finish.  In fact, why am I not working on it right now instead of messing with foolish blog posts?  Ooh, that makes a good exit line.  I hope you’ll tune in tomorrow,when Mohawk Valley Girl explains once again why she cannot write a decent blog post.

 

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Return to Rustic Ridge

Posted on August 18, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

I thought I would give another shout-out (love that expression) to Rustic Ridge Winery, which Steven and I visited as part of our long adventure a few Saturdays ago (perhaps you read my blog post about that).

We had visited Rustic Ridge some time before, on a nice, quiet week day (I wrote a blog post about that, too).  I was a little worried that it would be too crowded on a Saturday afternoon, being as it is a popular spot.  On the other hand, a little crowd isn’t always a bad thing, and wine-tasting crowds are often nice.  both things were true this day.

As we walked up to the tasting building, it was starting to rain.  I did Shawshank Redemption for the entertainment of the folks sitting in the Adirondack chairs on the porch, enjoying a glass of wine (ever since I spent time in Arizona in army training, I have been a big fan of rain).

As I utilized the facilities, Steven got us a spot at the bar.  On joining him, I realized I had left my little notebook in the bathroom.  By that time somebody else was in the bathroom.  I expressed my dismay.

“I don’t think anybody will steal your notebook,” a man sitting at a nearby table said.

“I know, but I always make notes in it while I taste,” I said.  I went back over to the bar.  Soon the guy at the table brought my notebook over to me.  See what I mean about wine-tasters being nice?  I know, many people are nice without wine, and some people are not nice with or without wine. Right now, I am talking about nice people tasting wine.

We tasted five wines.  The Chardonnay had no oak, which I like in a Chardonnay.  The Untamed White was a blend of Chardonnay and Gewurztraminer.  The guy pouring (I foolishly did not get his name) said it was comparable to a Pinot Grigio.  I pronounced it tasty.  I thought there was a little more to it than to the Chardonnay.

The Traminette is a hybrid grape like a Gewurztraminer.  I caught floral notes, although the description did not mention that.  I was impressed by this, because I almost never catch notes of anything, but I wasn’t sure I liked the wine.  The Untamed Red, a blend,  was described as  an everyday table wine.  I found it tasty.

The Cabernet Franc was described as heavy-bodied.  I liked it but was not sure how to describe it.  Complex?  Well, we all know I’m not a real oenophile.

We purchased a bottle of the Untamed White to enjoy later.  Other tasters were purchasing bottles for immediate consumption.  I may do that sometime, when I can get a seat in one of those Adirondack chairs on the porch.

Rustic Ridge Winery is located at 2805 St. Hwy 80, Burlington Flats, NY.  Phone number 607-965-0626.  Their website is http://rusticridgewinery.com/.

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Family, Fun and Forehead

Posted on August 17, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

Sometimes Mohawk Valley adventures render you too tired to write about them.  For me this is especially true when I spend any amount of time in direct, hot sunlight.  I have some sort of sun sensitivity.  And I’m a big, fat baby.  Don’t judge.

Speaking of big, fat babies, Steven and I saw our delightful great-nephew, Shepherd today.   Well,  he’s not exactly big and fat, and he is more toddler than baby, but he is nine months old and he has sweet, chubby feet.  Everybody loves him, with good reason.

We met him and his family at church, then met up with some other family members and drove to Fly Creek Cider Mill.  I have written numerous times about Fly Creek Cider Mill, but it is always worth another visit and shout-out.  My father and I made sure we tried every sample offered, although he eschewed the fudge and the alcoholic beverages (wine, hard cider and today there was gin and vodka).  In case anyone is shaking his or her head at my lushiness, I did not try ALL the alcoholic beverages offered.  Two wines, one cider and some gin, and it was eetsy-beetsy tastes of each.  Why am I justifying myself to you?  That’s a bad sign too, isn’t it?  Oh dear.

The highlight of the visit was showing Shepherd the ducks, geese and chickens.  He loved them.  He couldn’t get the hang of throwing them corn, but he enjoyed watching them gobble down the corn we threw them.  This was the part I spent out in direct sunlight. I even took off my crazy old lady hat for part of it, because I put it on Shepherd’s head.  Must protect the bambino, after all.

After our fun visit, we went for some food at Jerry’s Place, which I have also written about before.  I got one of the chocolate shakes in a mason jar this time.  Yum!  Perhaps tomorrow I can finally begin to do something about my big fat butt.

Before, after and during our adventures, we enjoyed beautiful drives through some of the best scenery I’ve ever seen.  Up hills where you can see for miles over farmland, forests and mountains.  Down into valleys near lovely lakes and rivers. I positively must get some kind of camera or device whereby I can post pictures.  In the meantime, I’m afraid you’ll just have to use your imagination.

In conclusion, this really is a Wrist to Forehead Sunday, because I feel some distress over the fact that I cannot do justice to today’s adventures.  Tomorrow I plunge back into the whirlpool of overtime, play rehearsals and my new diet and exercise program.  And a few other projects I have in mind.  Will I have the wherewithal to take my wrist off my forehead and write about them?  We’ll see.  Once again, a little suspense adds interest to the blog.

For more information about Fly Creek Cider Mill, visit their website at http://www.flycreekcidermill.com/.   For more information about Jerry’s Place visit http://www.jerrysplaceny.com/.

 

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