Category Archives: personal

At Least I Wrote Something

Posted on January 20, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

So there I was, having Wrist to Forehead Saturday. A full blown case, too. Oh, I was being pathetic. It was embarrassing. The thing was I could. Not. Write. A. Thing.

I had a lovely Mohawk Valley adventure to write about. Failing that, I had taken not one but two walks with my schnoodle, Tabby. Always acceptable for a Saturday post. I understand the Write It Anyways philosophy. I got out my notebook. I found a pen. I wrote a sentence and scribbled it out. I could not think of an alternative.

“This NEVER happens to me!” I wailed. I had wailed it about thirty-eight times (in my head, of course; I didn’t want to scare the dog), before a little voice in my head said, “Don’t be silly; it happens to you all the time. That’s why you have so damn many lame posts.”

Well, I believe my theme yesterday was “Things Happen.” Or, as the case may be, Things Don’t Happen. In this case, writing the post I had intended to write is not going to happen.

In the alternative, let us briefly consider the Write It Anyways philosophy. I know, half-baked philosophy is for Lame Post Friday. However, since some do not consider this philosophy half-baked, I will make bold to compose a paragraph or two. For one thing, I do not want today to be the first day in over a year and a half that I don’t make a blog post.

Most professional writers acknowledge that you can’t wait for inspiration to strike. If you wait till you are “in the mood” to write, you will write very little. Indeed, I have found in my own experience that most of the time, if I just pick up the pen (or pencil, or put my fingers on the keyboard, if we must be literal as well as literary), words will appear.

Oh, it’s fun when they do. One of my favorite things is, it gets so they appear more easily and regularly. It’s true! Since I’ve been writing the blog, I do spend less time staring at a blank piece of paper. I spend less time staring into space thinking about writing. It’s kind of like running: the more you do it, the more you are able to do it (no, I haven’t started running again, let’s not open THAT can of worms!).

Um, slight disclaimer here: unlike running, it is not as easy to be good at writing. If I keep putting my feet down on the ground one after the other, I will get someplace and I will get there increasingly quicker or go increasingly further. If I put more words on the paper, I will be able to put increasingly more words on the paper, but that does not mean they will be any more interesting for others to read.

Case in point: this post.

On the other hand, if I start to worry about my every every word being deathless prose, I will surely write fewer words. The write-it-and-scribble-it-out disease happens because there is that voice in my head saying, “That’s not good enough” (I’m not sure if it’s the same voice that said, “It happens to you all the time,” but it’s a pretty good bet). Today I said to myself, “It doesn’t have to be brilliant, it just has to be written.”

And now I have written over 500 words. It might be foolish, but it is a blog post. I’ll work on making it brilliant tomorrow. And I will write about our trip to the Capitol Theatre in Rome, NY for a screening of Rear Window (preview of coming attractions). Um, I’m not promising that will be brilliant, but I’ll work on it.

Leave a comment

Posted in blogging, humor, personal, writing and tagged , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Post Ironic

Posted on January 19, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

I’ve done this before. I write my Friday Lame Post on Thursday and type it into the computer. Then on Friday I have only to hit “Publish” and be off on whatever Mohawk Valley adventure I have planned. It is most convenient. When it works.

For those of you just tuning in (and I always hope for new readers), Lame Post Friday is the day I relax with random observations and half-baked philosophy. Sometimes I sit at the computer and write it off the cuff, spontaneously.

I seem to remember last week talking about how you can’t schedule spontaneity (good word. Spontaneity). I would submit that it is difficult to schedule anything. Because things happen.

For example, Friday night Steven and I plan to drive into Rome to see an old movie at the Capitol Theatre (preview of coming attractions). Suppose it snows. Suppose I get a raging sinus headache. Suppose we just don’t damn well feel like it.

Another example: I work Monday through Friday. That’s an almost set in stone schedule. I’ve even proven I can work with a raging sinus headache. Still, you never know. What if my vehicle breaks down on Route 5? What if the factory burns down? It would take quite the huge fire, for one thing., but this is just an example.

The irony of this post is not lost on me. I’m writing it early because I PLAN to do something, and I’m writing about how you can’t plan anything. Ooh! Ooh! I did not plan it this way, but what a load of half-baked philosophy. Yes! And just like that, Lame Post Friday is back. Have a nice weekend. I plan to.

Leave a comment

Posted in half baked philosophy, humor, lame, personal and tagged . Bookmark the permalink.

On with the Salsa

Posted on January 18, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

I don’t think it’s Non Sequitur Thursday if on Wednesday I say I’m going to tell you my salsa method and on Thursday I actually do it. Then again, considering my salsa method (especially this time), it might be eligible for Lame Post Friday. And there we have it: If I do a post better for a Friday on a Thursday, that makes it a non sequitur post. Ipso facto (I have no idea what ipso facto means; I just thought I’d throw in a little Latin to class the post up).

I could go into some half-baked philosophy here (or is it middle-aged musing?) about how I’ve been posting lame Thursdays and Fridays for some time now (as well as other days, but let’s leave that alone for now). But that sounds a little dull to me. On with the salsa.

For those of you just tuning in, yesterday I roasted vegetables with cilantro. There was plenty of cilantro left to make salsa. I tentatively planned to bring the salsa, with chips of course, to the monthly dinner meeting of Ilion Little Theatre Club.

My first step in making salsa consisted of calling home while I was a work and leaving a message for Steven to pick up a red onion after his work. He had planned to pick up a few things anyways, so I didn’t feel I was placing an undue burden upon him. Also, I said IF it wasn’t too much trouble (a thing people often say when they are hoping the person will do the favor anyways, even if it is too much trouble).

I take a lot of time to actually get to the salsa, don’t I? When you hear the actual recipe (insert usual disclaimer), you’ll see why.

One can make salsa with a food processor or blender, or not. I chose not. I chopped up the Roma tomatoes fairly small (diced? must find a glossary of cooking terms). Then I chopped a bunch of cilantro leaves as small as possible. This part was trickier, but I did my best. Next I cut up some of the red onion (red onions are BIG), also into as teeny tiny pieces as I could manage. I sprinkled ground cumin and Perfect Pinch Savory Seasoning over the whole, and mixed well.

Then I remembered salsa should have jalapenos. Luckily I had a jar in the refrigerator. I chopped up a few. Not too many, or Steven’s bald spot would sweat.

The flavors have been blending ever since. I taste tested it at the time, but taste testing as soon as it’s mixed doesn’t really tell you much. When I get home tonight I will taste test the salsa again. I trust it will be tasty enough to share with my friends at Ilion Little Theatre Club. If not, I’ll still have over an hour to think of something else.

NOTE: The salsa tasted fine. I also made some garlic dip (subject for another post?). On to the meeting! Hope to see you on Lame Post Friday.

Leave a comment

Posted in food, humor, personal and tagged , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Semi-Fancy Eggplant

Posted on January 17, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

I purposely cooked a semi-fancy supper last night so I could have a blog post today. Then I thought I had probably written a post about that recipe (if you can call how I cook a recipe) before (full disclosure: I’m too lazy to check). Then I thought maybe I would find different things to say about it. I do tend to do these things differently every time, depending on circumstances.

Circumstances this time were that fresh cilantro was on sale at Hannaford, and it looked pretty good. I picked up some eggplant, too, because I like eggplant roasted with cilantro. Then I grabbed some Roma tomatoes, because there would certainly be enough cilantro to also make a batch of salsa, maybe even for the pending dinner meeting of Ilion Little Theatre Club.

I hesitated long and hard over the mushrooms (good to roast with eggplant). I did not like the way the pre-washed, pre-sliced ones looked. The unsliced ones looked extremely dirty. I do hate washing mushrooms (point and laugh if you must). I finally found a package I could live with.

I pre-heated the oven to 400 degrees. I’ve done eggplant at 350, but it seems to me that 350 is baking and 400 is roasting. I think I read that somewhere. I peeled and pressed a goodly amount of garlic (no worries about vampires at my house) and set the time for 15 minutes.

I pulled the blender out of the cupboard and poured in the rest of my olive oil then supplemented that with some canola oil. I pulled a bunch of cilantro leaves off the stems and threw them in. No point in chopping them when the blender would do it for me.

Plenty of time while the garlic breathed (or whatever it does) to chop up the eggplant. I had not gotten such a large one as I sometimes do. They say the smaller ones have better flavor (no, I don’t know who “they” is). I always pick whichever looks good at the time.

I had it in my head that I had to wash the mushrooms. Me and my middle-aged memory. Imagine my delight when I realized I had so purchased a pre-washed pre-sliced package.

Eventually I put the garlic in the blender, blended, poured some of the resulting mixture over the eggplant, stirred, poured that into a glass baking dish (previously sprayed with no-stick; I left that part out), and put it in the oven. I set the timer for 20 minutes and thought I could type in yesterday’s blog post.

No luck. The computer was acting up. Now what to do? Oh, all right, I could start on the salsa, which, if it turned out well I would bring to Thursday’s dinner meeting. My actual salsa method I will save for a future blog post (waste not, want not, I sometimes say).

Regarding the roasted vegetables, I stirred the eggplant after 20 minutes then set the timer for a further 15. When the eggplant was looking pretty good I put on water for farfalle, sometimes called bow-tie pasta, I believe. Normally I have roasted vegetables over angel hair, but sometimes I like to mix things up a bit.

The farfalle was to cook for 12 to 14 minutes, so when I put that on, I added the mushrooms (tossed with the oil-garlic-cilantro mix) to the eggplant. I tossed the cooked pasta with a little of the oil mixture as well.

Steven had bread and butter with his pasta and vegetables. I put grated cheese on mine.

Roasted eggplant is one of my favorite meals. I’ll probably write another post about it the next time I fix it. Dire warning or preview of coming attractions? You decide.

Leave a comment

Posted in cooking, humor, personal and tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Breakfast is Back

Posted on January 15, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

I was delighted when I saw that the Lady Elks were again offering Sunday Breakfasts in January. Last year I went all four Sundays and wrote a blog post about each one. This year Steven had to work the first Sunday, but he had the second Sunday off, so we made a definite plan to attend.

They begin serving at eight. We arrived shortly after nine and were fortunate enough to find a parking space right in front of the Elks Lodge. I paid for breakfast ($8 for adults), bought ten 50/50 tickets for $5 and put $4 in the tip basket, knowing we were assured of excellent service.

Steven ordered eggs sunny side up, wheat toast, pancakes, bacon and home fries. When he hesitated over with or without onions, I said, “You might as well get with, because I’m getting onions and you’re going to kiss me regardless.” I got scrambled eggs, wheat toast, bacon, beans and, as I said, home fries with onions. I think I mentioned last year how I had never had or heard of beans for breakfast before the Elks. I find they are a yummy addition to the meal.

We got our numbers and found a seat. They were doing a booming business, but a small table was free. Steven borrowed a pen from me to write our name and number on the 50/50 tickets. Two gentlemen brought us coffee and orange juice (we could also have chosen tomato or cranberry, I believe).

Ladies were bringing out breakfasts and calling numbers. I had a moment of panic when I thought I heard 5. We were 52 and 53! It was actually 45. Phew! We did not have long to wait.

A wide variety of people were also enjoying breakfast. I saw at least two family groups with three generations represented. A couple of people were taking pictures with their phones. Note to self: Try not to do anything embarrassing in public. Somebody might take a picture.

It was a very enjoyable breakfast. As we left several people said, “Thank you.” No, no, thank you, Elks Club. The breakfasts continue Sundays, January 20 and 27 at the Elks Lodge, 24 Mary St., Herkimer, NY. I may be there next week.

Leave a comment

Posted in breakfast, Community Events, humor, personal and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Suddenly Supper

Posted on January 14, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

How about a new feature? Instead of Wrist to Forehead Sunday, I’ll have What’s for Supper Sunday. I’ll talk about what I cooked on Saturday. It worked last week, maybe it’ll work this week.

Unfortunately, it is not that exciting this week. I had thought to spend the afternoon lovingly creating my creamy potato soup, which Steven loves. It is labor intensive, and I was in a labor adverse mood. I thought I could throw something together at the last minute instead.

I actually did not wait until quite the last minute, which would have been after Steven got home. He worked till 6:30. I started moving about ten after six. I started, as I often do, by peeling and pressing garlic, then setting the timer for fifteen minutes. I had in mind to do something with some frozen, already cooked chicken breast tenders. Such a handy item to keep in the freezer.

I also had two avocados I thought I’d better do something with. I figured they had reached the mushy stage, so guacamole seemed a good bet. For another reason, that’s about all I know to do with avocados anyways. I did not have any green chiles, which my favorite recipe calls for, so I thought I’d just wing it.

I used garlic, dehydrated minced onion, lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce. It seemed a little bland, but I put it in the fridge to let the flavors blend.

In the meantime I had put the chicken in a frying pan and was heating it through. I took some tomato sauce out of the freezer and put it in a bowl of warm water to thaw. I’ve mentioned this sauce before: it comes with some pizza crust we sometimes buy but we absolutely never use it in the pizzas. Waste not, want not, I always say (among other things).

When the chicken was somewhat heated, I added the sauce, the rest of the crushed garlic, some fresh portabella mushrooms I happened to have and a can of pieces and stems along with the water in the can. I added some tap water too, because the sauce seemed a little thick. I added basil and oregano and covered it.

And that was about it. I kept lifting the lid to stir it around. Then I cooked some shells to put it over. It turned out pretty good.

The guacamole, however, was not one of my better efforts. We didn’t get into it last night, but I did taste it after it had set for a while. Still a little bland. I may add something more to it before we consume it, probably later today. I’ll let you know.

I had big plans for today’s dinner too, so you may have been in for another cooking post tomorrow. However, a sinus headache intervened. You’ll be happy to know that drugs, rest and coffee helped, so at least you will be spared another post detailing my pain. Only I don’t feel like cooking. Is that a wrist I feel against my forehead? Ah well, it is Sunday.

Leave a comment

Posted in cooking, humor, personal and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

My Feet Thank Me

Posted on January 13, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

I may have mentioned in passing the steel-toed work shoes that are part of my blue collar regalia. I get them at Melfe’s in Ilion, NY. Saturday I went to get my yearly pair, paid for by my employer.

My employer has a contract with Melfe’s so that I don’t have to purchase the shoes myself and get reimbursed, which is handy. However, even if this were not the case, I would probably go to Melfe’s. They offer the kind of knowledgeable, one-on-one service that is hard to come by these days.

I was fortunate enough to arrive at a time when they were not too busy. I had it from a couple of co-workers that last Saturday was nuts. I did not have long to wait before a young man asked how he could help me. He measured my feet to be sure of the size (seven-and-a-half wide; I’m not self-conscious about it) then went to see what he had in my size.

I prefer the sneaker style to the boot style. Women can often get two pair for the allowance. I love this deal, because it is so much better for your feet to alternate and give each pair a chance to dry out (don’t tell me your feet don’t sweat; everybody’s do) (and I can’t even pretend mine don’t. Stinky!).

It did not take me long to find two pair I liked. He had to order the second pair though, because some sizes had gotten mixed up and he had a seven-and-a -half and an eight in one box. I guess that means somebody went home with the opposite and will wonder why her shoes feel different.

I noticed that Melfe’s also has running shoes, nurses’ shoes and even a few pair of high quality, comfortable looking dress shoes and sandals. I may return to check the latter out in the spring.

It was a very good shopping experience. The clerk knew all about the shoes, and we chatted in a friendly fashion. I complimented him on how well the staff takes care of multiple customers efficiently, remembering previous experiences in the store. He told me how crazy it had been the previous weekend (that’s probably how the seven-and-a-halfs and eights got mixed up).

Before I left I asked his name.

“Mike.”

“Do you mind if I mention you in my blog post?” I actually had not mentioned my blog, but I figured he knew what a blog was.

“Mike Shue.” He spelled it.

“I love it!”

Melfe’s is located at 64 Central Ave, Ilion, NY 13357, phone number 315-894-4049. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

Leave a comment

Posted in local business, personal, shopping and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Bringing It to a Headache

Posted on January 12, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

It’s raining, so I can’t do my old standby of go for a walk or run and write about that. Movies take at least an hour, so I can’t watch a cheesy movie and write about that. I have not had a Mohawk Valley adventure this week. I have made no random observations and am fresh out of half-baked philosophy.

In other words, this is shaping up to be the Lamest Friday Post yet.

In my defense, it’s been a terrible week. For one thing, it’s been my first five-day week after two three-day weeks (actually, I worked Saturday overtime last week, so one three-day and one four-day week, but still) (ooh, that means my last weekend was only a day and a half, after two four-day weekends. No wonder I’m beat!). Tuesday I twisted my ankle. Thursday I had a RAGING sinus headache, and we had to go to calling hours for a truly sweet man from our church.

I really think Thursday’s headache is what screwed me up for Friday, so I will write a little more about that.

It had reached truly nightmare proportions by the time I left work. I seriously considered calling Steven to come get me, but thought I could drive very carefully through village streets (no highways). Luckily nothing requiring a quick reaction time happened.

I walked into the house (slowly, because parts of our driveway are glare ice, but that’s another story) and sat down in the closest living room chair. It is the chair we rarely sit in and is usually a catch-all for coats, bags, etc. It happened to be bare, because Steven had recently moved our newest stuffed Santa from it and it hadn’t catch-alled anything else yet.

Steven, a little worried by my haggard appearance, brought me coffee. It didn’t help much. I took some Claritin-D (the stuff you have to get from the pharmacist by bringing her the little card from the display) and a hot, hot shower. I laid down on the bed.

Eventually I got up and got dressed for calling hours, which were not for another hour. I wrote yesterday’s blog post (which, incredibly, got some “likes” from some obviously generous-minded bloggers). I called to Steven to bring me another cup of coffee while I typed.

I went downstairs and ate a little deli potato salad, just so I would have some food in my stomach before taking ibuprofen. I took 800 milligrams (that is the dose they usually give you in the Army, so I am in the habit).

It was as we drove to the calling hours that I realized the headache had dissipated. Oh, thank heavens. I went to bed early and woke with… could it be? Yes! NOT a headache! I spent the morning tremulously grateful to not be in searing pain. When my sinuses started to twinge again, I obtained some sudafed from a co-worker (I had stupidly forgotten to replenish my own supplies).

“I can’t go through that again,” I told myself. And I didn’t. Let me tell you, that Dollar General sudafed is powerful stuff. Unfortunately, it dopes you up. I apologize for this lengthy, dull post. We can only hope I’ll do better tomorrow. Please, stay with me.

Leave a comment

Posted in headaches, humor, lame, personal and tagged . Bookmark the permalink.

Joan Crawford? Or a Shar Pei?

Posted on January 11, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

I came up with that headline earlier in the week. The post I started to write for it wasn’t working out so well, so I thought I’d save it for Non Sequitur Thursday (my new favorite day).

Once again, I got nuthin’ (yes, it must be “nuthin'” not “nothing” and of course it’s “I got” not “I have,” what are you people thinking?).

In my defense, I’m in pain. It’s the sinuses again. January thaw be damned!

I do have a question. Why do people always make up names of their friends or relatives when they write do “Dear Abby” and when they do, why do they feel it is necessary to tell us they are doing so? Suppose I had a problem with Sally at work. Well, in the first place I would be unlikely to write to “Dear Abby,” because I think she gives stupid advice since the daughter started writing it. Come to think of it, the original Abby sometimes gave dumb advice too.

And once again, Non Sequitur Thursday veers into Stream of Consciousness Thursday.

By the way, I rarely have problems with anybody at work and when I do I go to other co-workers to let off steam and/or get advice. These things usually blow over, I’ve found.

I am pushing myself through this day one painful minute at a time (seventy-nine more to go) (That’s actually not true. It’s eighty, but I thought seventy-nine would be funnier) (Perhaps I should have waited till it was actually seventy-nine; who can thrash out these moral dilemmas?).

And that’s what I wrote on the final break at work. It seems a touch surreal now, saying there are 79 or 80 minutes left at work, now that I am out of work and at home typing it into my computer. But my head still hurts, I got nuthin’ else.

Actually, there are two or three more paragraphs I wrote at work, but I see no reason to inflict any more on you nice people. How many sick days is a blogger allowed? Call this my first one for 2013. Hope to see you on Lame Post Friday.

Leave a comment

Posted in humor, Non Sequitur Thursday, personal and tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Popeye Would Have Liked It

Posted on January 10, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

I got such good results with my Chicken Cordon Bleu, I thought I would invent a recipe for Chicken Florentine.

I learned a long time ago from Mr. Food (may he rest in peace) that “florentine” means “with spinach.” I’ve made Mr. Food’s recipe for Steak Florentine. I’ve eaten Eggs Florentine at a Chauncey’s Restaurant in Vermont. I could get silly and say the old Popeye cartoons were Violence Florentine, but, you know, I used to like those. My sisters and I would sing the Popeye song every time our mother fixed spinach.

Where was I? Ah yes, inventing a recipe. We preheated the oven to 350 degrees. Steven put in potatoes to bake (he was helping me cook because of my bad ankle) (see yesterday’s post).

I grated some mozzarella cheese (not as much as I grated for the Cordon Bleu, because I did not intend to make a cheese sauce). Once again, I did not pound the boneless skinless thighs (once again, instead of breasts), but sliced them so that I could kind of sort of fold them open. I put cheese, spinach and baby portobello mushrooms on them (I bought the pre-washed, pre-sliced mushrooms. I’m not too lazy to slice, but it is such a pain to wash mushrooms) (and I used fresh spinach, although I suppose the frozen kind would work just as well). I folded the chickens over and rolled them in breadcrumbs as best I could.

A word about the breadcrumbs. I normally buy the Italian Seasoned, but when I shopped on Sunday, I noticed 4C were made in Brooklyn, NY (Hannaford puts out helpful signs telling you these things). They were “Seasoned” not “Italian Seasoned,” but when I read the ingredients, it looked to me like they used all the same stuff. I thought, why quibble over an adjective? I went with the New York State brand.

One further note: I saw the word “wheat gluten” in the ingredients, too, and made a mental note not to use breadcrumbs in anything I may fix for my friend Phyllis. I have become more aware of gluten since I found out Phyllis has Celiac’s. Is that a HIPPA violation to mention that? Oh dear.

After I got the chicken in the oven I put some spinach and mushrooms in a casserole dish, drizzled olive oil over them, sprinkled on a little lemon pepper, garlic power and minced onion (oh, stop shaking your purist gourmet fingers at me! I’m sure garlic powder and dehydrated onions are perfectly respectable), and tossed it with a bamboo spoon and fork (just to give you an accurate picture). I did not put that in the oven till the last ten minutes or so.

As a matter of fact, Steven put them in. I set the timer for twenty minutes, showered, then flipped the chicken while Steven poked the potatoes. I set the timer for a second twenty minutes and left Steven with instructions to check things again, decide how much longer it needed, and put the spinach/mushroom mixture in for the last ten minutes or so. Then I went upstairs and started writing yesterday’s blog post (which I composed at the computer. Today I am writing in a regular paper notebook on a break at work) (again, in the interests of an accurate picture).

Steven cooked the chicken and potatoes an additional ten minutes while the other vegetables cooked. The potatoes perhaps could have baked a little longer, but it was a yummy dinner. I felt pleased with myself. Perhaps I’m no Rachel Ray, but I do my best.

Leave a comment

Posted in cooking, humor, personal and tagged , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.
← Older Posts
Newer Posts →