Category Archives: personal

Weather or Not, Here I Write

Posted on August 21, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

I remember some advice from one of the many books I’ve read about writing: add weather. Alas, I do not remember the book or the author, except that it was one of those collections of essays on writing. I ponder the advice and I find it to be good. As it happens, weather is about the only thing I can write my blog post about tonight.

Oh, yeah, there is the DARE 5K, which I wrote some more about on a break at work today. There is a fairly cheesy sci-fi flick I wrote most of a post on some weeks ago. In the first place, I don’t feel like typing in that many words tonight. In the second place, I’m afraid if I just publish what I have so far, the posts will not be that good. At least, I hope they can be better and I do not feel capable of making them so right now.

As I sit in my living room typing, I hear the occasional rumble of distant thunder. The rain has tapered off to a mere trickle. Earlier it was torrential. Before that the sky was grey and threatening. I was hanging out in a nightgown, because I felt like wearing something loose and comfy. Steven was in sweats for the same reason.

We had originally hoped to go to a cruise-in at the Mohawk Antiques Mall, where we could purchase hot dogs and root beer floats for dinner. I thought it looked too threatening. Also I was tired and once I had the nightgown on, well… Steven cooked some hot dogs and pork-n-beans on our stove.

But I still had to think about lunch tomorrow. Steven had purchased some tossed salad ingredients for me. We have a number of tomatoes yummily ripening in our yard. I was toasting a bun for my second hot dog, thinking after I had eaten it I would get on to the salad-making portion of the evening.

And here is the kind of husband I have. Since I had remarked how threatening the sky looked and since sweats are less embarrassing than a nightgown in case the neighbors can see, Steven put down his unfinished dinner and went out and got my tomatoes.

I ate my second hot dog then got to work on the salad. That was when the heavens opened up and down came the deluge.

And now it is over. Hmmm…. I guess when you add weather it is nice to have something to add weather too. Weather alone, I fear, is not enough. On the other hand, this is Wuss-Out Wednesday and it is the best I can do.

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Splints Happen

Posted on August 20, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

I tried writing about the DARE 5K today, but I did not finish that post. I had originally thought I wouldn’t bother writing it anyways. My original intention had been to run after work and write a regular running commentary.

Well, I had a problem with that. I think I’ve got a shin splint. My friend at work who used to coach high school athletics advised me not to run on it, which is what I was thinking was part of what you do for a shin splint. The other thing I thought to do was to wear these rubbery things they gave me when I was in the army and had shin splints, kind of like really tight leg warmers but not nearly as styling.

So I did not run today and I’m kind of depressed about it. I managed to keep the rubbery things on till after work, which is more than I recall doing in the army (they are NOT comfortable). After dinner I went for a nice, gentle walk with my husband and my dog, so I will attempt a pedestrian post rather than resort to a Tired Tuesday.

It was a bright and sunny day, but we started out around 5:30, so I thought there would be plenty of shade. I wore my crazy old lady hat but did not put on shorts. Tabby wanted to cross the street and walk down the opposite side from where we usually walk, so right away we had a different perspective. Sometimes these little changes can raise the spirits.

We walked down to Church Street then over to our favorite Historic Four Corners at Church and Main. We walked back up Main, crossed German then continued up Main to Weber and over to the nice path over what used to be a hydraulic canal (although I always thought it was a drainage ditch). I have mentioned this path before. It is a favorite place of mine to walk or run.

It was quite warm in the sun, so we were sticking to the shady side of the street. The first two legs of the path were not particularly shady, but we enjoyed the scenery. Back in a residential area, we looked at other people’s houses and rated their porches for sitability (my computer seems to think sitability is not a word, but it is exactly what I mean). One thing I love is sitting on a porch or deck. I feel fortunate that my house has one of each.

By the time we finished our walk I was feeling a little too warm, but I didn’t mind. I could still feel fall in the air, and I love fall. It’ll soon be my favorite temperature to run in after work. I sure hope my shin splint is better by then.

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Confessions of a Bad Blogger

Posted on August 19, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

I blew through a red light this morning. It was a really boneheaded thing to do. I was looking ahead at the next light, thinking how I would be hitting that one red, and I completely forgot about the one I was approaching. I saw that it was red as I reached it. I could perhaps have slammed on my breaks at that point, making an unpleasant squealing noise with my tires and causing my bags to tumble off the seat. I did not react quickly enough. I just breezed through, much to the disgust, I am sure, of the motorists waiting sedately and legally to proceed in the opposite direction.

My question now is: Is this worthy of a blog post? And if I deem it unworthy, is that merely because of my reluctance to broadcast that I am an even worse driver than I am a blogger (after all, I have never done anything illegal in my blog)? Next I begin to wonder if this is half-baked philosophy more fit for Lame Post Friday or is it a legitimate Monday Middle-aged Musing?

Welcome to my life.

I bet my readers are now divided into two distinct groups. One group is saying, “Hey! I thought she was going to write about the DARE 5K!” The other group is saying, “Well, at least she isn’t still writing about that DARE 5K.” Still another group has by now stopped reading. We need not concern ourselves with that group.

Full disclosure: My husband Steven suggested that headline for an entirely different post. I did not use it then, but I thought it was too good to waste.

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Still Tired and Fuzzy

Posted on August 18, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

I did say this would be Wrist to Forehead Sunday, didn’t I? Well it is. And this is another post about Why I Can’t Write a Post Today.

I’m still tired, and my brain is still fuzzy. I have an unholy urge to end my post right there. I mean, what else can I say? And how long will this obsession of posting every day continue? A little while longer, I guess. At least until tomorrow.

Can I plead I am still tired from my great effort on the DARE 5K? From partying heartily later in the day? From the fact that I am 50? All excellent excuses. I am more concerned right now with how I can possibly un-fuzz my brain. Hmmmmm…. Nope, too fuzzy to think of a way.

I have often observed, even recently, that if one can write at all, one can often segue over into writing something else. So here I am writing at all. And yet, all I can manage it seems is a Wrist to Forehead Sunday.

In fact, I do not feel particularly wrist to forehead about it. I’m sitting with my husband and dog, watching Murder on the Orient Express, an Agatha Christie adaptation with an all-star cast, one of my favorite kinds of movie. Perhaps I could write a blog post about it for tomorrow. After all, my wrist can only stay on my forehead for so long.

Can’t it?

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Can’t Write After That Run

Posted on August 17, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

I know, I should have had Saturday Running Commentary today. After all, I’ve been blathering on and on about the DARE 5K and it was run, wait for it, this morning. I was even thinking as I ran what a great post it was going to make. Well, it isn’t going to make one today.

I have a party to go to. Oh don’t start in with the, “What’s more important, a party or your writing?” What’s important right now is that I don’t have time to take a nap. I tried, oh I tried not to run too fast too soon. I tried not to push myself too hard and give myself an VCD attack. In fact, it wasn’t that bad of an attack. When I stopped running I was making some fairly horrible noises breathing, but nobody got too worried about it and I stopped fairly quickly. So there.

But I’m TIRED. I got up early, and I was tense about the race. I had butterflies in my stomach and in my chest. I was NERVOUS! What was that all about? I do this race for FUN. And it was fun. A lot of fun. But now I’m tired. I have a headache. And I have a lot to get done before I drive three hours or so to a party. Which I hope will also be fun.

I am progressing on my list of things to get done. However, I am leaving the most onerous chore for last. I have to figure out what to wear. You know, I have gained weight and it seems to be settling in my belly. When I was getting changed to go to a wine tasting last night (ooh, that would have made a good post for today), the first outfit I tried made me look like I had a baby bump. A baby bump! At my age! How dreadfully unbecoming.

So this post about Why I Can’t POSSIBLY Write a Post Today is getting progressively longer, because I am putting off that dreadful moment when I start trying on clothes, looking at myself in the mirror and crying. Good thing I’ve been re-hydrating ever since the run.

Hope to see you all on Wrist to Forehead Sunday.

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Hard Core Dithering

Posted on August 16, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

I knew I was going to run on Thursday. It was a foregone conclusion. I thought I would do a hard core run up the hill to Herkimer County Community College (HCCC) then do a short run or a long walk on Friday. My only worry was that it would rain. I could always jog in place on the mini-tramp, but there is nothing hard core about that.

As the end of my work day approached, I began to second-guess myself. As many of you know, that is pretty much what I do. Perhaps hard core was not the way to go. Perhaps I should be taking it easy even two days before the race. Then again, I would have a full day to recover. Maybe something in between hard core and taking it easy was the way to go. Yes, I am a hard core ditherer.

“Hey, who here runs?” I asked my co-worker who, I believe, knows everybody in the plant. He gave me a couple of names, but there was nobody I could seek out in the next hour. I explained my dilemma.

“So I don’t know if I should work out hard core or soft core or medium core,” I finished.

“Medium,” he advised. He further advised me to not merely walk my dog on Friday but to power walk, leaving the dog home if she does not like to power walk, which in fact she does not. He used to be a high school athletic coach, so his advice was no doubt good.

I confess I don’t know why I’m getting so exercised (so to speak) about a mere 5K. It’s not as if I think I’m going to win. While I pride myself on not walking, I do not hesitate to waste breath making silly jokes for the amusement of other runners, spectators and myself (at least somebody’s going to be amused). I run because I ENJOY running. There is no reason I should put myself under such stress.

The rain cleared up and it became quite the lovely afternoon. The sun shone, a breeze blew, it was unseasonably cool. A perfect afternoon for a run. My husband was wearing jeans and a sweatshirt, my most favorite outfit to see him in.

I got ready to run, still dithering. Just before I went out the door, I looked in my running journal (I have a journal for everything) (I don’t really, but wouldn’t it be cool if I did?). The other two times I ran the DARE 5K I spent the week before running way shorter times than I am running now. I was going up the hill to HCCC, but my longest run was 33 minutes, not 47.

Well! It turns out I’m in GREAT shape for the DARE 5K, no matter which core I decided to run on Thursday! In fact, it turned out being between medium and hard. Perhaps I will write about it tomorrow. Today is Lame Post Friday, so I felt free to write about dithering.

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Did Hemingway Have These Problems?

Posted on August 15, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

I ended yesterday’s post fearing I was stuck again. I thought it would be temporary, but alas, the malady continues. I was unable to write a blog post or work on my novel at work. I worked on a letter to my sister, but it did not help me segue over to other writing. I thought, that’s OK. I’m going running after work. I’ll write about that.

I ran. While I ran, I thought of some good stuff to put in a blog post about it. Before the run I dithered about how far and how hard to run, also some good stuff to put in a blog post. It would no doubt be a good, long blog post.

I don’t feel up to sitting here and typing in a good, long blog post. I don’t feel like typing in a lot. I don’t feel like thinking of anything good. I’m a BAD BLOGGER.

In my defense, I did not do a Middle-aged Musings Monday, a Tired Tuesday or a Wuss-out Wednesday. In my detriment, I have been indulging in All DARE 5K All The Time, which some people might find tiresome. Additionally, my Wednesday post was a short little riff about not being able to write, arguably a lame post (although I got 10 Likes on it).

What I guess I’m saying is, this is Non-Sequitur Thursday. I am feeling quite non-sequential. And maybe a little unconsequential, but let’s leave my poor self-esteem out of this. All I want to do today is hit “Publish” for at least 200 words.

Hope to see you all on Lame Post Friday.

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One Must Write, After All

Posted on August 14, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

Here’s a writing problem I often have. I finish writing a scene. I accomplish what the scene set out to do (or not, I’m not perfect). I end on a dramatic note, a joke or a cliffhanger. I stop, satisfied. Then I have the damnedest time starting another scene.

I don’t necessarily have this problem with blog posts. Monday I wrote a post about registering for the DARE 5K, turned a page in my notebook and wrote a post about the run I had taken that morning. Then again, that doesn’t always happen either. Sometimes I finish a blog post and stop.

I suppose I would avoid the problem in my novel if I worked from an outline. I could just move on to the scene that comes next or even pick a scene several Roman numerals down the page. In short, I would know what else was going to happen. In the blog, I could make a list of future topics to choose from.

In the novel I am currently working on, I only kind of sort of know what is going to happen. And I keep changing it and adding things. What’s that about? Regarding my blog, well that’s about my life and if you think that’s ever going to proceed in an orderly fashion, you clearly have no understanding of my character.

I don’t know why I’m even writing a blog post about this. Whenever you talk about a writing problem (or any other problem for that matter), all kinds of people are ready to chip in all sorts of advice, comprising quite a range of helpfulness and well-meaningness (my computer says well-meaningness is not a word, but what does a computer know?).

On the other hand, I had to write something. There I was, sitting next to my notebook, pen in hand, poised as it were for literary exercise. I have learned that if one writes any words at all, one can often sleaze over into writing about what one originally wanted to.

That is just one trick, however. Another school of thought says one should do something strictly non-verbal: clean the house, play an instrument, go for a walk. Everything will fall into place.

Frankly, I do both things. I sit at my job doing my work, which is strictly non-verbal. Then on my break I sit at my notebook and write… what I can. It sometimes makes for a very satisfying day.

Oh dear, that sounded like the end of my blog post. Now I’m stuck again.

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Early Morning Accomplishment

Posted on August 13, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

Steven had an early shift on Monday, so I seized the opportunity for an early run. I was, of course, less enamored of the idea when it was time to actually get out of bed at 3:30 in the morning, but one must put up with these things.

It was a lovely temperature for a run. I later found out Monday promised to be the hottest day of the week with a high of 85. I congratulated myself on getting my run out of the way before the heat of the day.

I bypassed the hill to Herkimer County Community College (HCCC). For anyone just tuning in, that is the killer hill featured on the DARE 5K this Saturday, for which I am registered (I believe I have mentioned it a few times, but you never know who missed it). I intend to run the hill one or two more times before Saturday, but I prefer to do it during daylight hours. Yes, I ran it before dawn last Saturday, but that day the sky was lightening even as I reached the top of the hill. Monday’s run was a full hour earlier, plus I had a whole day of work to get through.

I ran up the hill by Valley Health instead. I like to run by Valley Health on these early early runs. I find it comforting to think of the people on the night shift going about their business. At least there are lights on.

The hill turned out to require a bit of effort from me. In fact, the run started out to be not much fun at all. My legs were complaining. I had not run two days in a row in a few weeks and this was my third day in a row. I told myself that after feeling wonderful on Saturday’s and Sunday’s runs I was due to feel a little miserable. Miserable is an exaggeration anyways. In fact, I felt like I pretty much expect to feel on a Monday.

Things got better as I continued to run. My legs settled into it and stopped complaining. My breathing was fine. In short, I could rock this. If only I could see a few lights on so I would not feel so alone, I thought, my life would be perfect. I know, another exaggeration but since this one’s on the positive side, let’s let it slide.

I saw a few lights on, but I had to debate with myself: was it on because somebody was up or had it been left on all night for bathroom navigation purposes? Sometimes you just can’t tell. At one point I smelled skunk. Yikes! Well, a skunk was unlikely to bother me if I left him alone, right? I kept an eye out to avoid startling the stinker if I did encounter him.

As usual my legs were pretty happy with me on my cool-down walk. Tabby was happy with me too, because I let her stop and sniff plenty. I needed the pauses to drink water. I felt pretty happy with the run too. There’s nothing like accomplishing something first thing on a Monday.

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I Don’t DARE Back Out Now

Posted on August 12, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

Sunday was the last day to register for the DARE 5K and pay $20. After Monday, Aug. 11, the fee goes up to $25. At least, perhaps I could have registered on the 11th for $20, but who likes to take a chance on these things? (Oh, you probably do.)

Of course the best way for me to register is to fill out the form the Herkimer Police Department nicely mailed me, write a check, put Tabby on the leash and walk over to the police station. That way Tabby gets a walk, I get some exercise, I can write a blog post about it, and it is altogether a pleasant experience.

I was afraid it would be a little too sunny and hot for our walk but it wasn’t too bad around 9 o’clock, which is when we went. I wore my crazy old lady hat and prescription sunglasses. I noticed once again how nice everything looks in the sunshine. It’s like nature’s cosmetic. Then again, a lot of houses in Herkimer look nice all on their own. I noted with approval well-kept lawns, flowers still in bloom and nicely decorated porches. I am particularly envious of comfy-lookng porch furniture. I have not done enough porch- and deck-sitting myself this year. I’d better start taking advantage of the opportunities left to me.

We walked down Church Street to our favorite Historic Four Corners. We did not pause to admire the buildings but crossed Main Street and continued down to Green and the municipal building. I told the officer at the window I wanted to register for the DARE 5K, and he called to Steve Elwood, the officer in charge of the event. When Officer Elwood opened the door to talk to me, Tabby started to walk right in. She’s so sociable. He petted Tabby and asked if she was running.

“She doesn’t like to run with me,” I told him. “But after I run I walk around the block for a cool-down, and she joins me on that.”

I also asked him a question pertaining to the police for my novel. He gave me some good information. We chatted a little more about the race, then Tabby and I took our leave. We walked back home a different way, which Tabby seemed to enjoy. We stuck to the shadier side of the street, because it was starting to heat up.

So now I’m registered for the DARE 5K, and it is less than a week away. Will I be able to write a blog post about anything else between now and then? Ah, a little suspense will add interest to my week.

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