Category Archives: personal

Too Many Tins?

Posted on June 5, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

After I left Coffee and Conversation with a Cop Saturday morning I headed out 5S toward the Herkimer County Humane Society for their garage sale.  Full disclosure:  with my headache, long to-do list and limited finances, I was not as excited about going as I might have been.  Still, it was a worthy cause, I might find something fun, and I could probably get a blog post out of it.

 

All kinds of items were spread out across the lawn:  Christmas decorations, books, games, household goods and more.  A man with a loud voice walked around exhorting people to look at this or that and to purchase 50/50 raffle tickets.

 

The first thing that caught my eye was a box of tins.  Steven especially loves tins.  He likes to put Christmas presents in them.  “Put a present in a present,” he says.  I wanted to take them all but on second thought went through and picked the ones I liked best.  Perhaps it would be more accurate to say I eliminated a few I liked least, because I still wound up with quite a pile.  It took me three trips to get them all to the table where the workers were taking money.

 

A nice lady went to get a bag (or bags) for them while I went back through the yard, looking for other treasurers.  I hoped to find a couple of good books, and by good books of course I mean trashy romances or murder mysteries.  Nothing caught my eye right away, and I decided I should just leave with my pile of tins and have done with.

 

Paying presented a challenge.  Nothing was priced; the lady said to think about the animals and make a donation.  Oh dear.  When I think about the animals I feel I should give them all the money in my purse.  On the other hand, I have expenses of my own.  I finally named a price and asked her to throw in a 50/50 ticket.  She readily agreed (I did not win).

 

As I left, I complimented the loud-voiced man on his skills as a barker.  He said he had a big mouth (he may have said “loud voice,”  I don’t remember) so he used it for good.

 

“I always say go with your strengths,” I said.  I do always say that.

 

I guess it is appropriate that my first post-Tabby post is about helping the dogs (and cats) at the Humane Society.  They are having their annual Mutt Strut on Sunday, June 7.  When I said to a co-worker that I no longer have a mutt to strut, she pointed out that the Humane Society would be happy to loan me one.  I had forgotten they allow people to come over and walk their dogs sometimes.  I must look into that.  It is good to walk a dog.

 

For more information on the Herkimer County Humane Society, visit their website at www.herkhumane.org.  You can also Like them on Facebook.

 

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A Very Sad Day for Me

Posted on June 4, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

There will not be a post today, nor yet any witty commentary on why there will not be one.  Our beloved schnoodle, our dear, sweet Tabby is no more.  She began to seem really ill Monday night.  Today (Wednesday), Steven took her to the vet where they discovered cancer.  There was nothing they could do.

 

I am, as you may guess, unbearably sad right now.  I knew dogs don’t last as long as people, but I had thought ours would last longer than she did.  Seven wonderful years we had with her.  We will always be happy and grateful for those years.

 

I hope to return to regular blog posts tomorrow.  Thank you for your patience and understanding.

 

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I Return to the Cops

Posted on June 3, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

For the past few months for one reason or another I have missed Coffee and Conversation with a Cop so I was determined to go last Saturday, May 30.

 

The program runs from 9 to 11 a.m. on the last Saturday of the month at the First Baptist Church of  Herkimer on the corner of Green and Washington streets in Herkimer, NY.  The aim is to foster a better relationship between citizens and police, thus improving the quality of life in our village.  I am all about improving my beloved Herkimer.  Also, the session is a golden opportunity for me to ask questions about police work relating to the novel I am still trying to write.

 

Another bonus, for me at least, is the refreshments.  I enjoyed a nice cup of coffee and some homemade scones and cookies that were to die for.  I should have asked for the recipes.  But I digress.

 

Two officers sat at the tables when I arrived shortly after nine.  One was in a lively discussion with several participants, but the other looked free, so I cornered him with my novel inquiries.  Oh well, I guess “cornered” is an exaggeration.  I sat down near him with my coffee and scone, and opened my notebook.

 

He was gracious and informative.  I took care not to let my novel dominate the conversation but tried to think of questions that would be of interest to others.  Others sitting at our table also had questions.

 

One question that came up was what to look for if one suspected the neighbors of nefarious activities (nobody actually said “nefarious.”  I just like that word).   Batteries?  Chemicals?  It is not always easy to know if something is suspicious, because things can have multiple explanations.  For example, comings and goings at odd hours may indicate shift work.  A good solution is to get to know your neighbors, which of course is not always easy these days.

 

This idea of Neighborhood Watches was brought up. The officers emphasized that a Watch was just that.  If we observe something wrong, we should call the police and not try to take action ourselves.

 

“That’s how you become a headline,” I said.

 

The officers had brought fliers keeping your home secure.  I especially liked the one titled “Beware of the Bogus Caller,” which featured a cartoon of a man with an evil grin on the front.  The flier had good advice, but I thought it was a funny picture.

 

I only stayed and chatted for about an hour, because I had many things to do and a headache to contend with (just to throw in a line about my petty personal problems), but I was glad I attended.  I feel it makes me look at my village as a whole and gives me a different perspective from my usual Mohawk Valley adventures.

 

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As If I Had Actually Written Something

Posted on June 2, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

Oh, just type anything.

 

That is what I finally said to myself after staring at the blank space under “Add New Post” on the wordpress page.   It is Monday, so I know I can do a Middle-age Musing Monday or a Monday Mental Meanderings (still can’t decide between those two).  However, whatever I do, I must actually type words into the computer.

 

It’s a funny thing about words and me.  Sometimes they just fall out of my fingers, via pen or keyboard.  Today at work (BEFORE work and while ON BREAK, in case you were concerned), I wrote almost two pages on my novel (YES, the novel I was supposed to finish in May, don’t judge).  Got to the end of the scene, yes!

 

Couldn’t start another scene.  I was just blank.  And the blankness continues.  All I can write about, and I realize this seems to happen to me frequently, is the fact that I can’t write.   AAAUUUGH!!!

 

I could blame the weather:  it became cold and rainy today.  It brought on flashbacks to 2013.  In 2013, I had signed up for a St. Baldrick’s Day fundraiser.  I asked for donations to help cure children’s cancer, then I got my head shaved.  That happened June 2.  It was swelteringly hot all May.  I cursed my hair, which I had not cut for almost two years.  I got it shaved.   Then the weather turned cold.  It was a rainy, miserable June.  Then Herkimer flooded on June 30.

 

You know, I could have expanded that last paragraph into a full blog post, and it would have looked as if I had actually written something.  Silly me.

 

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Hit Pause, Write Post, Hit Play

Posted on June 1, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

We’re having Femme Fatale Sunday.  That is, we are watching movies with murderous dames (these are movies from the 1940s; I’m allowed to say “dames”).  You probably guessed I was not vamping around in ankle-strap pumps myself.  Although that might be fun sometime.

 

Usually when I write about movies in the blog, I prefer to stick with the cheesy variety.  Today, however we are enjoying some classic films noir, Double Indemnity and The Postman Always Rings Twice.  Both are based on novels from James M. Cain, a notable writer of pulp fiction back in the day.

 

I love film noir, but I must confess I like it for the plots above all else.  Other aficionados of the genre (doesn’t that phrase sound nice?) appreciate the cinematography, the play of shadows and the use of light and dark.   I enjoy that too, but for me it is the story that keeps me coming back for more.  Sometimes I’ll watch a picture that is advertised as a film noir only to be disappointed.  The woman will be femme but not fatale, the movie as a whole will lack that moral ambiguity that I treasure.

 

There is probably a much better discussion to be had here, but right now I am having a lazy Sunday watching movies.  I may pause to make some popcorn.

 

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Just Another Scattered Saturday

Posted on May 31, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

I pause in chopping vegetables to make a fast blog post (I just made a typo of calling it a blot post.  As my friend Rachel likes to say, my  Freudian slip is showing).  Mostly this will be a post about things I could write a post about but am not (but may in the future).

 

This week I ignored my note to myself about not taking three days off running and reaped my just deserts  (as in what I deserve, not strawberry shortcake, worse luck) on Friday.  I ran again this morning (Saturday).  I took mental notes each time and Saturday even ran a course I have not run in over a year.

 

Later this morning I went to the Baptist Church in Herkimer, NY for Coffee and Conversation with a Cop.  They hold that every month but I have missed the last few months for one reason and another.  I had a nice time and got a few answers that will help with the novel that I WILL finish, though probably not in May as previously advertised.

 

Leaving the Conversation in progress (they were doing fine without me), I went to the Herkimer County Humane Society Garage Sale.  Fun and productive.  Driving back into Herkimer, I made stops at T&J’s Fruits & Vegetables and Hannaford.

 

Coming home, I cleaned frantically.  I don’t often do cleaning posts, but one never knows what will come off the pen (and out of the keyboard) of Mohawk Valley Girl.

 

Now I must go back to chopping vegetables, among other chores.  I hope all readers are having an excellent Saturday.

 

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Excuse Me, I’m Having a Lame Here

Posted on May 30, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

I have two days left of Finish That Novel May.  Earlier I was toying with the idea of denying I ever said that.

 

“No, no, what I said was, ‘I MAY Finish That Novel.’  You misheard me.”

 

The writing took a turn for the better since yesterday.  I wrote and wrote.  Maybe if I cancelled all my plans for the weekend and wrote non-stop…   I think we all know that is not going to happen.  For one reason, I have had weekends when I had no plans at all.  I have not written non-stop.  For another reason, my plans are important and not just for me.  I have a life outside of this novel.

 

And there we have it.  Am I allowed to have a life outside of being a writer?  I’m sure there are people out there who would say (hear it in that squeaky, nyah-nyah voice we mimic people we hate in):  “If writing is important to you, you’ll write.”  And then they go on to list all the things THEY have given up to write.  Which is nice, if it is the things they HAVE given up and not the things they would have given up if, in fact, they wrote and didn’t just go around telling others how to write.

 

Oh, OK, other writers do make sacrifices of things they might like to do in order to write.  So do I. Sometimes.  Perhaps I need to sacrifice a little more.  The thing is, I have always been of the opinion that the more you experience, the more material you have to work with.  That, and when I was younger, I really wanted to LIVE.  I had spent a lot of time sitting at home reading or writing stories.  Once I got older, I got out and DID things.  I guess I kind of got in the habit of it.

 

Of course, going out and doing things is good for a writer of a daily blog.  But we’re talking about a novel today.  On the other hand, we are writing a blog post.   A Lame Friday Post.  And I declare it done.  I am going back to my life. Maybe write a little more on that novel.

 

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Non-Sequential Chores

Posted on May 29, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

Sometimes you just have to do something, anything.

 

I know, this is under the heading of “Well, duh” advice.  However, I have had it demonstrated for me three different times today.  Four if you count the library.  This being Non-Sequitur Thursday, I think it will be appropriate to tell three small but differing stories with a common theme.  Think of it like Love Boat or Fantasy Island (if you don’t get the reference, consider that another non sequitur).

 

Finish That Novel May is not going well.  I seem to spend a lot of time looking at what I have and asking, “What is this?  Where do I go now?  Oh crap!”  Well, today at lunch I just started writing a scene.  And it was good!  It was important!  And dramatic!  I finished that scene and I wanted to pump my fists in the air and shout, “Yes! THAT was a scene!”  I started another scene during the two o’clock break, wrote a little more of it just before going home, and I walked out of that place wanting to sing.

 

I went to the library and worked on another chore that needs must be done, but feel less triumph over that so shall not count it as proof of today’s opening sentence.  However, I was fortunate enough to find a few good books at their ongoing book sale before I left.

 

At home I was hit with a huge wave of  I Can’t Do ANYTHING!  I felt down, dumpy and sad.  Then about ten or fifteen minutes before Steven was due to arrive home I said to myself, “Just clean till he gets home.”  I couldn’t believe how much I got done.  Not everything, of course, because my house is kind of a sty.  But I felt much better and was able to greet my husband with a big smile.

 

Till I confessed all the stuff I had not gotten done, then I felt a little sad again.  One thing I had been going to do was to make a tossed salad for tomorrow’s lunch, including hard-boiled egg.

 

“Do you want me to start the eggs for you?”  Steven asked.  I said OK, because if I couldn’t manage to make the salad I could always eat the eggs for breakfast.

 

Full disclosure:  I forgot to check on the eggs to see when they started boiling.  Luckily Steven remembered before the water had boiled away.  I made the salad.  The eggs were just right.

 

And that made me feel good enough to tackle the other chore I had been putting off for today:  writing my blog post.

 

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In My Defense, It’s Wuss-out Wednesday

Posted on May 28, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

So this guy at work got ticked off, because he said I was stalking him.  In my defense, my doctor told me to get a hobby.  Well, I guess it wasn’t MY doctor, but it was A doctor who wrote the article somebody shared on Facebook. At least, I think it was a doctor.

 

OK, the above paragraph is completely fictitious.  None of the guys at work are the least bit bent out of shape about me stalking them. However, I thought of that for possible use as a humorous Facebook post. That is what I think about  when I’m at work (it is the kind of job where you can let your thoughts wander).  I try to think about my novel or blog or any other writing projects at hand.  When I have no thoughts about any of those, I try to think of humorous Facebook posts.

 

Some of my readers who are also Facebook friends may now be saying, “Huh.  She doesn’t share any of those with us.”  How unkind!  I thought I was mildly amusing on occasion.  Unfortunately, sometimes I think of some really good bons mots then can’t recall them when I sit down at the keyboard.

 

The same goes for my blog posts.   However, full disclosure:  today I did not think of a good blog post.  But I thought for Wuss-out Wednesday, a humorous Facebook post would do.

 

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We’re Animal Lovers, Too

Posted on May 27, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

Mohawk Antiques Mall must be run by animal lovers.  They house 4PetSake Food Pantry, and last Saturday they hosted the Herkimer County Humane Society Plant Sale.  Steven and I stopped by to add to my container garden.

 

It was a windy morning.  A flyer for the Humane Society Garage Sale next Saturday blew off a post it was taped to.  I put it back on only to have it blow off again.  I brought it to the ladies at the table.  They thanked me.

 

“I’ll have to go to that Garage Sale,” I said.   “I found some good stuff there last year.” (Perhaps you read my blog post about it.)  I noticed on the flier that they would be selling hot dogs and offering tours of the facility.  “I might eat a hot dog,” I said.  “But I might not take a tour.  It breaks my heart, all those dogs wagging their tails so hopefully. I just want to take them all home.”

 

“We have cats, too,” one lady said.

 

“I’m allergic.  I can’t even be in the same room with a cat for very long.”

 

We picked out some pretty flowers and a six-pack of basil.  I was especially delighted with the basil.  Fresh pesto all summer!

 

We did not go into the Antiques Mall this time, but it is one of our favorite places to browse.  They are located a Main St., Mohawk, NY. For more information you can visit their website at www.mohawkantiquesmall.com and/or Like their Facebook page.

 

The Herkimer County Humane Society Garage Sale is from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 30, 2015 at the Humane Society,  514 State Route 5S, Mohawk,NY. For more information, visit their website at www.herkhumane.org, or Like their Facebook page.

 

For more information about 4PetSake Food Pantry,visit their website at www.4PetSake.org, and/or Like their Facebook page.

 

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