Category Archives: personal

Two-Mile Tuesday

Posted on June 14, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

I thought of that title while at work today.  So I decided I would run for two miles and write a Running Commentary Blog Post about it.  I told my plan to a co-worker, thinking it would make me more likely to do it.  I guess it worked, because I got home and put on running clothes right away.  I threw in a load of laundry, my usual multi-task for a weekend run, and off I went.

It was warm but not hot.  My body was not too happy with the exertion after a full day’s work, but as usual, I persevered.  My knees have been bothering me lately.  However, I know losing a little weight can help, and running can help me lose weight.  One good thing about my body is that it usually tag-teams when it comes to pain:  when my hip started to twinge, the knees shut up.

When I say my hip, I don’t really know if it is the hip.  Today the pain was coming from the crease where leg meets torso.  Sometimes it radiates out into definite hip area.  I hope nobody minds me prosing on about my aches and pains.  Blame it on my age.  I am almost 60.  Then again, my pains did not keep me from running, so perhaps they are not worthy of mention in the blog.

Getting back to the run, I am rather enjoying running for a certain distance rather than for a certain amount of time, as I usually do.  Saturday I made up my mind to run for 4 miles.  It took less time than I had expected, so I felt pretty good about that.

Today’s two miles took about 27 minutes.  The second mile took me 13 minutes and 13 seconds.  I liked that:  13:13 on the 13th.  Too bad it wasn’t Friday the 13th, but then I wouldn’t have had my alliterative title.

 

Leave a comment

Posted in humor, personal, running commentary and tagged , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

What Could Be Better Than Monsters?

Posted on June 13, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

So my goals were to find something to enjoy on Monday and to make a better blog post, but I think we all knew I was more likely to revert to Monstrous Monday.  My day at work was not bad at all.  My worst moment was getting myself out of bed.  Oh, did I want to sleep in!  But coffee worked its magic, and my day improved from there.

This is how cheerful I am after coffee.

After work things got a little dicey as I struggled with my checkbook and fretted over bills.  I did not go running as I had intended, and I almost forgot to take out the trash.  However, I had walked for 30 minutes this morning, and the trash and recyclables are now waiting by the curb.  Additionally, the dishes are washed, and tomorrow’s lunch is packed.

The happy smile I get after doing a few chores.

I seem to always be listing every little thing I get done, either in this blog, in one of my journals, or just in my head.  It is to keep from beating myself up over all the things that I have left undone.  For heavens’ sakes, I can’t do everything!  Or so I comfort myselg

Maybe if I had three friends behind me and a pitchfork!

I guess this last picture doesn’t show a monster, but it is from a pretty scary movie, Invasion of the Body Snatchers.   As messed up as my life can be, I would not want some pod growing into a duplicate of me and taking over my body.  Now that I think about it, that movie is also pretty sad.  All the characters I like turn into beings with no warmth or feelings.

On that rather melancholy note,  I see I am approaching 300 words.  Perhaps it is not a better blog post, but at least I tried.

 

Leave a comment

Posted in humor, Monstrous Monday, personal and tagged , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Just Wait Till Monday!

Posted on June 12, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

Sunday, Sunday.  I am approaching the end of my Sunday.

Relax, guys! Monday isn’t that bad!

I feel it is wrong to spend all or even part of Sunday dreading Monday.  I feel I should be able to find enough to appreciate during the week that weekends are not my only enjoyable times.  I mean, think about it:  what kind of a life is that, when you hate five days and only like two.  And you can’t even completely like one of the two, because the dreaded specter of Monday haunts the second weekend day.  What’s that all about?

This sounds like some half-baked philosophy more suited to Lame Post Friday than Wrist to Forehead Sunday.

I have had an active Sunday.  I went on a long run up College Hill, running longer than I did last weekend.  I went grocery shopping.  I mowed the front and back lawns then spent some time hacking and pulling some of the overgrown stuff out back.  I cooked a semi-elaborate dinner, making up the recipe as I went along.  I have not really cooked in a long time.  I watched several movies while re-reading  Regency romance by Georgette Heyer the mistress of such things.

Now I have made a blog post of questionable interest but at least 200 words.  My next goal is to find something to enjoy on Monday.  And to make a better blog post.  I hope you will stay tuned.

 

Leave a comment

Posted in humor, personal, Wrist to Forehead Sunday and tagged , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

While I Was Running…

Posted on June 11, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

In lieu of a Scattered Saturday Post or a true Running Commentary Post, I wanted to share a couple of fun encounters I had during last Saturday morning’s run.

I was running in the residential area behind Valley Health Services.  I call it The Suburbs in my mind, but I know that description is not strictly accurate.  I particularly like to run down Walnut Street to the exit of the Valley Health parking lot.

A different time of year, but this is the sign.

As I was entering, a guy was walking in the opposite direction.   He said hello.

“I like to enter where it says not to,”  I said. “I feel like such a rebel.”  He laughed.  Later, I encountered him on another street in the area.

“You must have had a Get Out of Jail Free Card,” he said.

I laughed.  “Good one!” I said.

Continuing my run, I eventually ran down Caroline Street. When I saw a couple of walkers, I went out on the road to give them space.  A resident had put out a couple of signs that said, “Slow Down!  This is a neighborhood not a race track!”

As I approached the pedestrians, I said, “That sign said to slow down, but I’m not going to.” They laughed.

This is why I like to run outdoors.

 

Leave a comment

Posted in humor, personal, running commentary and tagged , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Dracula, Joan, It’s Lame Post Friday!

Posted on June 10, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

I was thinking about making my Lame Post Friday post late once again, but I decided not to be so lame as all that. Earlier  I thought I would have a lazy, relaxed Friday night, so I am lounged on the couch in pajama pants, sipping Sauvignon Blanc and looking at movies.  I just watched Taste the Blood of Dracula then put in Sudden Fear.  Christopher Lee to Joan Crawford.  Why not?

Dracula likes Friday.

I have been watching too many DVDs since I got rid of cable.  Of course I have a somewhat extensive collection, mostly curated by my late, beloved husband Steve.  My problem is, I have to be in the mood for a particular movie, and I seem to have watched all the movies I am currently in the mood for.  I wish I could change moods as easily as I change DVDs.

There’s the right picture for the movie I watched.

Maybe I should stop being in the mood to watch a movie and try to get in the mood to clean this house.  I know, I need to clean my house regardless of mood.  I’ll work on that tomorrow.

Two of the people in this picture are up to no good.

I like this movie, Sudden Fear, but it starts so slowly.  I figured that was all right, because I intended to make my blog post while I watched.  Unfortunately it took me so long to find the pictures I wanted, the movie has started to heat up.  No matter.  I’ve seen it before.

So this is my Friday night.  I am enjoying it and hope you are enjoying yours.

 

2 Comments

Posted in humor, Lame Post Friday, personal and tagged , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

I Thunk It’s Thursday

Posted on June 9, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

The headline is not a typo; I really did thunk today.

I had not been running since Sunday, not a good idea when the Boilermaker 15K is a mere month away.  I blame the Canadian wildfires, which have rendered the skies such a freaky sepia tone. With my breathing problems, I did not care to go out there and huff and puff.  I know, I could have stayed inside and run in place on the mini-tramp.  I felt too  tired.  Judge me if you choose.

Today I felt equally tired, but the air was so much more clear!  There was blue sky and clouds.  The sun looked like the sun, not that scary orange disc!  How could I not run?

And yet my body rebelled.  My knees hurt, my hip joint felt out if whack.  I questioned my ability to run 15Ks in July or even at all ever.  So I said to myself, Just Try.  For one reason, I had to do laundry. What else was I going to do while the washer washed?  Just Try, I repeated to myself as I got changed into running clothes.  Once I had the sports bras on, I knew I would get out there and do something.

A few steps down the sidewalk, I felt like, hey! I can so run!  I’m going to do this!  That feeling lasted to the corner, which was only about three houses away.  No matter.  I had started;  I would persevere.

Persevere I did.  I ran slow.  I ran thunkily (autocorrect seems to believe that is a word now).  I huffed and puffed.  I coaxed myself on a little at a time.  Just get to that truck that’s parked over the sidewalk.  Just get to the corner.  I looked at my Garmin and calculated how much further would make one mile.  .73…  .54…  .39…

My first (OK, my only) mile was 13:30.  That is really not too bad for me.  Could I make it to 20 minutes?  I kept thunking. Maybe a 17 minute run would be acceptable. By virtue of running past my house to the corner and back to the house, I made it to 20.  Score!

My hip was hurting a bit, so I cut my cool-down walk short.  I had a problem with that hip about a year ago and did not run for a month.  Then again, perhaps I could have started running again sooner.  I’m no expert on hip joints.

I felt happy and relieved that I ran.  I am also happy that I did laundry. Now I don’t have to have Dirty Pants Friday.  Um, not that I would ever do that.

 

2 Comments

Posted in humor, personal, running commentary, Thunky Thursday and tagged , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Love that Matt Grainger

Posted on June 8, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

I decided to go back to Fratello’s Pizzeria in Frankfort on a Wednesday night and I was so glad I did!

I was undecided to leave the house at all, with the creepily hazy skies from the Canadian wildfires.  Stay inside, all the advice said.  But I felt strangely disinclined to do so.  I thought, driving in the car with the windows up to a place with windows closed must be OK.  So I did.

When I walked into Fratello’s and saw Matt Grainger was playing,  I said yay!

He is fine, yes!

I ordered the Grilled Chicken Salad and Garlic Bread with Mozzarella.  I mostly wanted leftover salad for my lunches for the rest of the week.  This is part of the beauty of Wednesday nights at Fratello’s.

Still fine.

I guess my pictures of Matt are kind of similar, but I like them both so could not bear to delete one of them.  This is how I overload my camera app on my Tablet.   These things happen, I suppose.

I had a very enjoyable evening, eating food, listening to music, and visiting with other patrons.  I even had an opportunity to tell Matt Grainger how excited I had been to see he was playing and how much I enjoyed his music.

Fratello’s Pizzeria is located at 158 E. Main St., Frankfort, NY, phone number 315-894-8484.

 

2 Comments

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

Tormented Tired Tuesday

Posted on June 7, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

I have been watching nothing but DVDs since I got rid of cable.  I have watched my way through the entire series of Columbo and most of 50 Horror Classics.  I skipped the silent ones and a few I have seen many times as well as a couple I just didn’t like.  Right now I am casually looking at one I don’t know why I skipped:  Tormented.  I wrote a blog post about it once.

Scary!

I did not know how to share pictures when I wrote the post about the movie.  I loved doing write-ups of cheesy movies, but the posts never got a lot of Likes.  It was quite the disappointment for me.

As for today’s post, I ain’t got much.  I feel tired most of the time these days.  Perhaps I need to eat more vegetables.  I know I have a flea market and new theatre group to blog about, but I feel I need to write good posts about them, not tired posts.

So I guess I am tormented as well as tired, because I fear I am making bad blog posts.  I am not as tormented as the guy in this movie, though.  Quite frankly, he deserves it.  Do I?  I am not the best judge of these things.

That last paragraph veered a little into half-baked philosophy.   That is the purview of Lame Post Friday,  so we’ll have no more of that.

But it’s one day closer to Friday!

I have not used that one in a while.  Happy Tuesday, everyone!

 

Leave a comment

Posted in humor, personal, Tired Tuesday and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

I’m a Monster Before Coffee

Posted on June 6, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

I guess late posts are still a thing, because here I am on Tuesday morning, lounged on my couch, pecking in one letter at a time with the stylus on my Tablet.  When I went to bed last night, I had pictured myself sitting at the dining-room-table-top (previously a laptop, as regular readers may recall), ten-finger typing.  I felt too tired for such effort, and my coffeemaker was taking forever.  Now, however, I have had a few sips, so phew! I am a slave to the brew!

“It’s my coffee!” “No, it’s mine!”

It never fails.  I go searching Facebook for an image I have seen many times, and it is not to be found.  I am not adept at these things. I finally went to my Media Library and settled for Bela Lugosi fighting a beast in The Ape Man.  I believe I have seen that movie but cannot remember who wins the tussle.

On the cuter side…

I would like to say this is me after coffee, but no such luck.  I have my cute moments, but…

One of my favorites.

I am not currently drinking out of this mug, but wouldn’t it be cool if I was?   The mug was given to me by my late, much beloved husband, Steve.  We loved The Princess Bride.

And now I am over 200 words.  Score!  Time for another cup of coffee before work.

 

Leave a comment

Posted in humor, Monstrous Monday, personal and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

My Scattered Sunday, Still in Progress

Posted on June 5, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

I had a Scattered Sunday today.  I did a few blogworthy things but am too tired to actually compose the posts.  So we will have a Preview of Coming Attractions.

I went for a run this morning, about which I may or may not make a Running Commentary Post. I mention it merely to add to my list of Things I Did.

Later in the morning I checked out the Brookwood Flea Market in Brookwood Park (previously known as the unknown park in this space) in Herkimer, NY.  It is a new thing and one I hope becomes very successful.  I chatted with a few of the vendors, along with Herkimer Mayor Dana Sherry, who organized the event.

Just one of the pleasant people I chatted with.

The mayor and I also talked about the Herkimer Downtown Chow Down, which takes place Mondays in Meyers Park.  I mention this to add another Preview of Coming Attractions.

From my Media Library.

In the afternoon I drove into Utica to auditions for Fun House, the premiere production of Brick 2 Theatre Company.  I hope to write a lot more about that.

The one sitting down played the music while the one standing sang.

On the way home I stopped at Aldi’s for snacks and Valley Wine and Liquor for a bottle.  I thought my friend Kim was stopping by for some porch sitting.  She is in a play at Ilion Little Theatre (just to plug more local drama).  Now I am wondering if she isn’t feeling well.  I think there is a summer bugaboo going around.

And that is the story of my Sunday.  I would say I made up for slacking yesterday, but there are still a number of chores still undone.  In fact, crap!  I just remembered I still have laundry in the washer!

Laundry is in the drier, and I just got a text:  Kim is on her way!

 

 

Leave a comment

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