Category Archives: personal

Monsters or Memories?

Posted on February 14, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

I am having a difficult time getting myself to do anything.  However, I persevere in trying.  I paid a few bills today, worked on organizing papers, took a couple walks, and drove to Cherry Valley, NY, in search of something to write about for Mohawk Valley Living magazine (preview of coming attractions).  But it doesn’t feel like I got a whole lot accomplished, and I spent a good deal of time feeling unmoored. Never mind that last sentence, let me get on with attempting some semblance of a blog post.

“I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!”

This is how I feel, only not so skinny.  I have put on a few pounds recently.  I have not been running or walking.  In addition to having a nagging cold, I fell down my front steps and hurt my back.  The back is feeling a little better, though, so I may ignore my cough and try a run tomorrow.

This was a great evening.

I move from monsters and moaning to memories with a shot of my recently dedeparted husband, Steve, on Richfield Springs Scenic Railway.  I would like to go on that again.

Isn’t he cute?

Here is a monstrous memory:  Steven in costume at the Halloween Party at Herkimer VFW in October 2021.

So this is my Monday blog post: a couple monsters, a couple memories, and a little moaning about my ills. As always, thank you for tuning in.

 

2 Comments

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

More Memories

Posted on February 10, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

I said posts were going to be sporadic, but I did mean to make a few.  This morning I noticed that a Facebook friend had commented (I almost always share my posts to Facebook) that she enjoyed seeing the memories and would like to see more.  For anyone just tuning in, I lost my husband, Steve, recently.  I draw great comfort from my memories.

Which one is the silliest?

One of Steve’s great legacies is his humor.  My best memories are of the laughs we shared.  The above was taken at the HALO Hoedown, a fundraiser for the cat rescue operation based in Little Falls, NY.

Cheers!

Steve was also a great partner in my Mohawk Valley Adventures.  Here we are at Woodland Farm Brewery in Marcy.

A fun bunch, indeed.

There he is, in the back with me.  This is a pre-show ussie from Leading Ladies, the show I directed at Ilion Little Theatre.  Steve was such a good actor.  He was a pleasure to work with.

Handsome men!

One more memory:  a memorable lunch at Gerber’s 1933 Tavern in Utica, with our dear friends Phyllis and Jim.  Phyllis left us in 2021 and I will never be done missing her.

Here’s all four of us.

I know there will be more good times with friends and family.  Right now I just have to feel sad until I start to feel a different way.  Thank you for letting me share.

 

2 Comments

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

It’s the Best I Can Do on Tired Tuesday

Posted on February 8, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

It occurred to me that it might be interesting to some readers if I share my journey through grief.  It might help me to write about it.  Or this might be nothing more than a rationalization to continue blogging.  Then again, for me, anything that will keep me writing, I will use.

This by means of an introduction to a Tired Tuesday Post.  I did not sleep so well last night.  Regular readers know I suffer from chronic insomnia, but last night I had the added problem of an intense cough.  It was quite distressing.  I did get a little sleep, though, so don’t mind me.

I thought it might be good to get out of the house.  I have, in fact, left the house almost every day.  I went to the funeral home, Mohawk Valley Funerals and Cremations in Little Falls.  On my way home from there, I stopped by Ann Street Liquors for some brandy for a hot toddy (a beautiful thing for a cold).  I went grocery shopping, to the bank, and to the drug store.  And I went running twice.  This was all over the course of Saturday through Tuesday.

Most recently I met my friend Kim for lunch at Salvatore’s Pizzeria and Restaurant in Herkimer.  We both had calzones and a glass of wine.  Yum!  And we took home leftovers.  Next we stopped at a big box store which needs no plug from Mohawk Valley Girl.  We had a fun time shopping for various needs and wants.

Hmm… This is kind of a dull post.  However, I am going to hit Publish and, as usual, hope for the post.  I crave my readers’ indulgence on Tired Tuesday.

And a Tired one at that!

 

2 Comments

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

Monday Memories

Posted on February 7, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

I think I will try for Monday Memories instead of my usual Monstrous Monday Post.  I feel it will be a good idea for me to make a blog post, and the easiest way to do that is with the help of my Media Library.

That was one of his favorite sweatshirts.

Regular readers know I am mourning the loss of my husband, Steve, so naturally I feel inclined to share memories of him.  This is from October 2016 at Pumpkin Junction in Sauquoit, NY.

“The bathtub?”

Have I shared this picture recently?  It is from the Ilion Little Theatre production of Harvey in 2011.  I think I have, but it is one of my favorite pictures.  Steven referred to it as our big scene.  I don’t have a picture of the part where I almost fainted into his arms.

He looks so cute and intellectual.

This was outside the library in Arlington, VT.  Back then our laptop was really a laptop.

Good times with a good friend.

One more picture:  a great time at the Waterfront Grille in Herkimer, NY, with our good friend Tracy.  So I have shared memories of my husband and plugged a couple of local businesses.   One does what one can.

 

6 Comments

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

Blogger’s Very Sad Day

Posted on February 4, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

Posts may continue to be sporadic, because I have suffered a loss.  My husband, Steven, passed away yesterday (Feb 3).

He was so handsome.

He and I enjoyed so many good times together, from Mohawk Valley Adventures to theatrical endeavors to just hanging out watching movies or true crime television shows.  I knew I was so blessed to have such a wonderful person in my life, and I will always cherish the memories.

This is an older picture.

I have been on Facebook, reading many tributes and memories from his family and friends.  He was greatly loved by many.

I guess there is not much else to say.  This is a Blogger’s Sad Day for sure.  But being with Steve was worth all the sadness.  Rest in peace, my love.

 

12 Comments

Posted in blogger's sad day, personal and tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Monsters, Murder and Memories at Mid-Week

Posted on February 2, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

I can call this a Blogger’s Sick Day or a Blogger’s Stress Day (I think that might be a new one), but I am making yet another post about not making a decent blog post.  Some may find it frustrating that I am sharing no details about my sickness or stress.  Others will be happy to be spared the sordid details.  I always say explanations are tiresome.

Unrelated but amusing photo.

I throw in a picture to pep things up.  I had thought to make this a Mid-Week Monsters Post, so here we are.

The fact is that even when undergoing great personal trauma (accuse me of overdramatizing if you like), I cling to my image of myself as a writer.  I have not traditionally experienced great success in writing about what bothers me.  What often happens is that as I write, I think, “Wow, I am really justified in feeling upset!”  And I get even more upset.  Go figure.

We have always been a lovely couple.

I have experienced greater success in distracting myself from my problems, if not with monsters, then with memories.  The picture shows my husband Steven and I in Fabulous and Fatal, a murder mystery we presented to benefit the Herkimer County Historical Society.

OK, that got me over 200 words.  I’ll call it a blog post and hope for a better one tomorrow.

 

Leave a comment

Posted in humor, Mid-Week Monsters, personal, Wuss Out Wednesday and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

I Yam a Daily Blogger?

Posted on February 1, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

I shall attempt a Tired Tuesday Post before my weariness overcomes me.  Doesn’t that sound dramatic?  What a big fat baby I am, after all.  We all have problems,  no doubt I will find ways to work on mine.  In the meantime, I want to make a blog post.

I took a couple of walks today, to and from work. I  did that last Tuesday as well.  You see, Tuesday is trash day in my neighborhood, and due to the amount of snow that has fallen, I have to put my trash and recyclables containers at the end of the driveway.  This is how I have been feeling lately: it was easier to just walk to work than to move the containers, back my car out of the driveway, leave it on the street, put the containers back, then get back into my car and drive to work.

You know, I am inclined to think I was right.  It is making me tired now, just thinking about all that extra container and car moving.

I’m sure some readers are shaking their heads at me (you know who you are).  As I have said before, shake your head, your finger, or even your booty.  Like Popeye, I yam what I yam.

What I also am (yam) is a blogger who made her Tuesday Post on Tuesday.  OK, so it was kind of a foolish post. Perhaps tomorrow I will be less tired.

 

Leave a comment

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

Is My Life Really So Monstrous?

Posted on January 31, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

Late posts continue, and I do not know why I feel the need to point out my deficiencies.  After all, if they are not obvious to the casual observer, can they be all that bad?  Discuss amongst yourselves.

In the meantime, it is Tuesday morning, and I chose to have a second cup of coffee and make a blog post (or some semblance thereof), rather than do the dishes (don’t judge me for not doing them as soon as they got dirty), fix my lunch, or do any of the other chores hanging over me like a hulking creature promising doom.

Hey, wouldn’t a hulking creature be a monster?  I have led myself right into a Monstrous Monday Post.

He’s scary!   But the movie is fun.

If it conquered the world, I do not feel that I am so much at fault if it keeps me from getting my stuff done.  Then again — Spoiler Alert! — it does not actually conquer the world, although it makes a good try.

Not exactly hulking, but definitely threatening.

This, of course, is from Nosferatu (1922), a delightfully frightening movie. I am afraid I resemble the person on the left, trying ineffectually to escape but not really doing anything of use. I get a little impatient with movie characters who can’t seem to do anything but stare, scream, run the wrong way, fall down, or some combination.  Then again, if the monster had no victims, it would not be much of a horror movie.  I suppose it could still work as suspense, but that is a longer discussion than I care to embark upon before breakfast.

Oh, I could just scream!

I end with an image from The Screaming Skull. I think skulls always look like they are smiling.  This inspires me to start my day with a smile.  After a smile costs me nothing and may brighten someone else’s day.  On that not so monstrous note, I bid you farewell and thank you for tuning in.

 

Leave a comment

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

Slacker Sunday, But Here’s a Snowman

Posted on January 30, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

Earlier today I posted on Facebook, “Two things done.  Roughly 5,438 left to go!”  In fact, I got more than two things done today, but the backlog of things that yet need doing looms before me in a most menacing manner.  Although I have had a couple Mohawk Valley Adventures lately, I just don’t feel I can make good blog posts about them.  And so I slack.

A giant snowman might cheer me up!

I took this picture in my neighborhood yesterday while on an otherwise unremarkable walk.  I thought it would be nice to include in my Sunday blog post.  Waste not, want not, I always say.

A smaller snowman, but still cheery.

I remembered I had another picture of a snowman in my Media Library.  I even remembered it was November 2020, so my brain is apparently not completely fried.

It would take a lot of oil to fry this brain!

I venture into non-sequitur territory with The Brain from the Planet Arous.  Or is it more of a tangent, since I just mentioned brain?  I ought to know these grammatical considerations.

All this nonsense is my way of continuing my Blogger’s Sick Day.  I will strive to get my act together in the coming week.  Will I succeed any better than the last dozen times I have thought to get my act together (never mind the last 8,562 times)?  A little uncertainty will add interest to my week.

 

Leave a comment

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

This Blog Post Is a Problem

Posted on January 29, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

There I was, all excited and pleased with myself that I made my Friday blog post on Friday,  then I let all of Saturday slip by with not a word written.  In my defense… Never mind my defense; it is often tiresome to listen to  other people’s problems.  Not always, of course.  I am often honored when somebody trusts me enough to share.  Additionally, I like to hear stories about people.  However, since I tend to do more than my fair share of whining, griping, and complaining, today I shall attempt to refrain.

In fact, already I’ve said too much.

A cheery frog will make the post brighter.

I add a picture to pep up the post.  This sweet plate is at Farmhouse Reataurant in Ilion, NY.  I thought of getting breakfast there yesterday but for one reason or another did not.  I am tempted to go there today.  It is my usual Sunday thing after all.

Hmm… I seem to be having difficulty thinking of anything to say.  Perhaps I need more coffee.  Never mind.  I do not always need to get to 200 words to call it a blog post.  That is just my arbitrary rule for myself.  I will call this a Blogger’s Sick Day and ask my readers’ (if any) indulgence.

(It is over 200 words! Yay!)

 

Leave a comment

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