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May Pizza!

Steven and I celebrated today’s extremely warm weather with a short walk and dinner out.  I had meant to make a Pedestrian Post and took my Tablet on the walk in hopes of finding some of them there May flowers to take pictures of.  That did not work out so well.  I tried to take a picture of two trees starting to get leaves, but all I could see on the Tablet was the reflection of my own stupid face. No, I did not have it in “selfie” mode;  it was the result of the bright sun on the black screen.  I think.  I did not continue to look at it, because the angle was really showing up my middle-age turkey neck.  I don’t mind getting old, but there is no reason to stare at some things.

The sun was bright and hot; shade and breeze were not plentiful, but what we encountered was appreciated.  No, I am NOT complaining.  I would have enjoyed authentic spring weather, but I’ll take summer.  I said we should sit out on the deck with a couple of beers, but we were hungry and going out to eat sounded really, really good.  I suggested Franco’s Pizza in Ilion.  I had been there for the first time on a recent Scattered Saturday, but Steven had never been.

The restaurant was not crowded, but a few people were ahead of us ordering at the counter.  That was OK, since we needed time to peruse the boards and decide what to get.  We were still debating when it was our turn, so the counter person was able to help the person behind us who was picking up an order.  We saw a few people picking up orders they had called in.  Maybe we’ll do that next time.

At last we decided on a small, thin crust garlic pizza with sausage and mushrooms with ten butter-garlic wings.  We split a bottle of Dasani.  We sat at a tall table and enjoyed the retro ’50’s decor as well as the sunshine coming through the large windows.   The food was delicious, and we brought home leftovers.  Pizza for breakfast, my favorite!

Franco’s Pizza is located at 6 Central Plaza, Ilion, NY, phone number 315-894-5580.  For more information, you can visit their website at www.francosilion.com.  You can also Like them on Facebook.  I did.

 

Add more Monster Pictures and Keep Typing!

“You called?”

I am having a Nosferatu kind of a day.  By that I mean that I just feel like opening my blog with a picture of my favorite guy (uh, I mean my second favorite guy.  Obviously Steven is my FAVORITE guy).  And since it is Lame Post Friday, I shall. Oh who am I kidding?  When I feel like putting in a picture of a vampire, I do.  That is one of the things that makes blogging such a fun hobby.

I have had quite a day.  Work was stressful, but that was mostly my fault.  Fortunately, this is not a blog about work.  After work, I went and worked out.  It did not go as well as I could have hoped, but you’ll have that.  I feel certain that my body derived some benefit from it.  After coming home, having my usual recovery beverage of chocolate milk, and showering, I went out on a mission.

My mission was to find artificial tulips for props for Spring Into Murder.  I went to every dollar store in the area and then to Wal-Mart (I know, these are not the kinds of stores I normally plug, but in the interests of accuracy, I mention them).  I met success at my last stop.  If I have success in constructing the props, perhaps I will write a blog post titled Adventures in Tulips.

In the meantime, this is my Friday Lame Post.  Unfortunately, I see now that my picture of Nosferatu is completely unrelated to my post.  What to do?  Add more monster pictures and keep typing!

But the full moon is not until Sunday!

In fact, I do not intend to howl tonight.  I am sitting on my couch, chatting with my husband, and watching Dateline.  I believe another episode will follow, or at least one will be available on another channel.  I would like to crochet.  I think one more monster picture and I will be on my merry way.

Next Friday, I think I’ll go dancing!

 

Monday Movies

One of our all time favorites!

Yes, I said I was going to have a real post this Monday, and here I sit, watching old movies.  I took a vacation day today, never mind why, explanations are tiresome.  When we got back home from our obligations, we wanted to watch movies. I wanted an old one, and Steven (my husband) recommended Witness for the Prosecution (1957).  It was a good idea.  Billy Wilder, yes.

Instead of going on with a Billy Wilder theme, or perchance an Elsa Lanchester or Una O’Connor theme, Steven wanted to see a movie with good music. I suggested The Big Chill (1983).

Quite the star-studded cast for the day.

I think the above image is photo-shopped. I hope it is not copyright protected. I just found it on Facebook and downloaded it.  I see it came from Marshall Jay Kaplan’s Fame Cafe.  I think as long as I credit the source, it falls under the “fair use” clause.  It seems the Facebook page last posted in 2016.  I don’t properly understand the internet, as regular readers know.

Right now, I have more important things to ponder, such as what movie to watch next.  Good music? Old movie?  Monsters? The possibilities are endless.  In the meantime, I need to finish this post. I think I will call it another Mental Meanderings Monday and include one more photo, just because three’s the charm.

Back in the day when people made engravings on lighters for presents.

I don’t know if we’ll watch Strangers on a Train (1951) next, but I’m having trouble finding a picture to include, so this will have to do. In fact, I did mention this as a movie to watch tonight, since the  murder victim in Witness for the Prosecution shows up as in a small but pivotal role in Stranger on a Train.  I guess I don’t know what movie, if any we will watch next.  But at over 300 words, I call this respectable for a blog post. Happy Monday, everybody.

 

Fun Movies on Wrist to Forehead Sunday

Obviously one of them is up to no good.

Hello and welcome to another Wrist to Forehead Sunday post.  My husband Steven and I just got done watching Deathtrap (1982) with Christopher Reeve and Michael Caine.  It took me a LONG time to find and download an image from the movie!  I am not as adept as others at these things.  No matter.  My only purpose right now is to post something, anything, so that I don’t go a day without posting.  As regular readers know, it is kind of a thing with me.  I think a post about movies will fill the bill nicely.

It’s a real ensemble cast.

Steven wanted to watch a fun movie next; he felt he just couldn’t bear anything serious.  I know the feeling.  I said he should pick one of his old favorites, and he suggested Soapdish (1991).  I was just thinking about that movie the other day, because it was an answer in a crossword puzzle I was working on.  I have had kind of an obsession with pencil puzzles lately, mostly crosswords and cryptograms.  I may psychoanalyze  that some Lame Post Friday.  I think tabletop psychology counts as half-baked philosophy.

Never give up! Never surrender!

I like to include three pictures, so I add one from a movie Steven watched the other day, after I had gone to bed (I go to bed early during the week).  This is one of my favorites too.

I suppose it might have been nice to say something ABOUT these movies and not just show pictures.  Then again, it is Wrist to Forehead Sunday.  Tomorrow I will actually start my week and see if I can come up with better blog posts.  I hope you are all having a lovely weekend.

 

More Movies on Wuss-out Wednesday

Yeah, it’s a bad blogging week.  I offer no excuses, but there it is.  At least I am making Wednesday’s post on Wednesday.  I thought I would look for pictures of the movies we are watching today.  I like movies.

Don’t they look fun?

When I got up from a nap (headache, what a surprise), Steven was watching A Mighty Wind, because of the good music.  I would really like to get the soundtrack of that sometime.

OK, I can’t find a picture of The Big Chill and I’m tired of looking.  That is the second movie we watched, because it also has a good soundtrack.  Then I could not think of a worthy direction to go, so I just kept suggesting movies I felt like watching till Steven agreed to Lake Placid.  I wonder if I can find a picture for that.

Now here’s a movie with some teeth.

Ah, I had some success with finding photos.  That is good, since I am having a problem coming up with more interesting words.

At least nobody is throwing a head at her in this shot.

 

One of my favorite aspects of the movie is the unlikely friendship that develops between Oliver Platt and the big-bellied sheriff.

Lake Placid is a surprisingly humorous monster movie, with likable characters and a few surprises in the plot.  I believe I have written about it at least once (what a surprise, I am too lazy to find the post and make a link).

I’ll call this a Wuss-out Wednesday post and take comfort from the fact that at least I didn’t wait and make it on Thursday. Happy mid-week, everyone.

 

Love that Locavore

How could a store called The Locavore not appeal to Mohawk Valley Girl?  Naturally I love the place!  Steven had a gift certificate he won a the Little Falls Cheese Festival Fundraiser (just to give the Cheese Fest another plug).  He said I could spend it for my birthday present.  Yay!  A couple of weeks ago, I did just that.

The shop is small but full of stuff, and we took our time browsing.  We did not need honey, but I made a mental note that this is a good place to get the local stuff.  I also passed on some of the yummy-looking snack food.  Must watch my calorie intake!  Yes, I’m sure some of them were not too high in calories; I save even more calories by not eating them at all.

We enjoyed a cup of delicious coffee while we shopped.  The owner roasts and grinds his own beans.  Yum!  He offers several fancy coffees as well, hot and iced.  I have enjoyed different hot ones on other occasions, but I have not yet been in the mood for ice when I’ve been there.

I looked a long time at the artisan soaps before selecting The Gardener’s Hand and Calendula & Chamomile Shampoo. Then I found a long-sleeved t-shirt that I loved.  My final choice was a canvas shopping bag with the Locavore logo.

A variety of local foods is also available:  meat, cheese, pickles, eggs, and more.  There is a nice table where you can sit and sip your drink.  An outdoor table is available, weather permitting.  I suppose it may be a while before we can take advantage of that.

The Locavore is located at 159 E. Main St., Frankfort, NY.   You can Like them on Facebook.

 

Did I Mention I Was Tired?

I’ve used it before and I will use it again!

It is not merely a Tired Tuesday.  I was thinking Exhausted Tuesday, but that lacks the charm of alliteration.  How about Terrifically Tired Tuesday?  No, that implies something might be terrific (of course it might be and I just haven’t encountered it yet, let us not give up hope).  Terribly Tired Tuesday?  Hmmm, doesn’t move me.  Let’s leave it for now and try to write the blog post.

Today was supposed to be the last oppressively hot day for a while.  I have been melting away like the Wicked Witch of the West (there’s some alliteration, if you like that sort of thing) (which I do).  And when I say “melting away,” I do not mean literally, because I am up several pounds.  I realized today when I caught sight of myself in the mirror: I’m dumpy, frumpy and grumpy.  Just to mix a little rhyming fun in with the alliteration.

So, yes, it has been a kind of a whiny, complaining sort of day.  I told a co-worker I felt as if I was clawing my way of a completely vertical surface, with lots of sharp, spiky stones poking out of the mud and coming loose so that I really could not make any progress, although it was painful, sweaty and filthy.  The funny thing was, as I went about my day, I had quite a few moments of feeling, “Hey, my job is all right.  I’m glad I work here.”

This has got to be the dumbest blog post I’ve published yet (of course I’m going to publish it!  Dumb or not, it’s all I got!) (hey, that rhymed!  Cool).  Did I mention I was tired?  As always, I will try to do better tomorrow (it would be very unhandsome of anybody to bring up any ill-advised promises I may have made yesterday).

This is me, minus the lit candle, because, you know, safety first.

Sharon, Susan and a Swan

Steven has been wanting to get a picture of our Rose of Sharon in the back yard.  I finally got one today and thought, hey, let’s do a Backyard Picture Post.

One day, I think, “No blooms this year.” The next day, “Wow!”

My mom gave me a shoot of her Rose of Sharon some years ago.  Hers is enormous and gorgeous by now.  Ours got mowed down a few times as a wee sprout.  However, it grew back each time, better than before.  First it was big enough so Steven noticed it and didn’t mow it down.  Then it was so big he couldn’t have mowed it down if he tried!  According to Steven, the plant was saying, “Mow ME down, will you?”

While I was taking the picture of the Rose of Sharon, I noticed the swan in our neighbors’ pool which Steven has been envying (I have been envying the pool myself).

The picture is a little dark, but I wanted to share the swan.

I had also been wanting to take another picture of our Black-eyed Susans, which are looking better and better.

I don’t know if you can see that a little Queen Anne’s Lace has worked it way in.

We originally purchased the Black-eyed Susans at a sale to benefit the Herkimer County Humane Society, back in 2011 (are you impressed that I remember the actual year?  I am).  They have gotten bigger and spread.  Now they are battling it out with the chives for control of that little patch.  While I was admiring  them, I noticed some little yellow flowers behind the garage.

The little blooms look better in person, but if you want to stop over and see them, please call first.

I really need to clean out behind the garage, cutting down a pricker bush that is expanding to tree-like proportions.  We just never see that part when we are sitting on the deck, and, you know how it goes: out of sight, out of what’s left of my mind.  Then I remembered the Brown-eyed Susans, which grew with no input on our part.

The green shoots are part of some irises which are done blooming now.

The Brown-eyed Susans are growing in two places in our yard, so I took two pictures.

The green stuff in the background is the beginning of some trees that I need to get out from under my deck.

Some years ago, I read the Rudbeckia is a good plant for bees.  Imagine my surprise when a guy at a greenhouse told me that Rudbeckia is Brown-eyed Susans.  It sounds so much fancier!

So this is how pretty my yard looks in mid-August.  I wonder what September will bring. Will it be worth a blog post? We’ll see.

 

A Sad Post

It’s that awkward moment when you thought you did not have rehearsal, then you find out you do, but you still have to make your blog post, and you realize you’re making a terrible run-on sentence, but you do not want to backspace it out, because that is a slippery slope that leads to no blog post at all.  Oh dear.

And I am very sad.  I just found out a Facebook friend of mine passed away yesterday.  Rick truly was a Facebook friend. He requested me. I think I had made some comments on my high school class reunion page, and he was from my high school.  I thought he must be a classmate I could not immediately recall (I graduated with a class of some 580), but it soon became apparent he was a little older and had been to Vietnam.  Of course I was happy to be friends with a fellow veteran.  He used to share good songs and historic information about such things as the Tuskegee Airmen, of which I believe his father was one (I could have that wrong, but at least I know his father was a high speed airman or soldier of some sort).

I also liked Rick’s politics.  I try to keep politics off my blog, but I have been known to indulge in a mild sort of way on Facebook.  Rick had some friends whose views were diametrically opposed to his, so I saw some lively discussions.  I enjoyed reading them, because for the most part, participants were respectful of each other:  “I love you, brother, but you’re wrong.”

So I feel too sad to write a real blog post.  He was a good man, and now he is gone.  I did not know him well, but I am thankful for what I knew of him.  Peace to you, my friend.

 

Lame Lycanthropy (Look It Up)

And the moon is full! Or was that last night?

I like to make a silly post on a Friday.  For newcomers to the blog, the official term is Lame Post Friday, and I often indulge in random observations and half-baked philosophy.  And I repeat that bit of definition perhaps a few more times than is strictly necessary, but you’ll have that.  On this particular Friday, I am taking a vacation day, so I am feeling a little giddy.  I’m just going to type in some silliness and get on with my fun day.  I saw the above photo on my Facebook news feed this morning and said, “ooh.”  It ties in with another photo I downloaded some days ago.  I downloaded it with the idea that I would eventually find other pictures to tie in with it for a blog post and, as you see, I was right!  I love it when that happens.  Now let’s see if I can find that photo in my downloads (must figure out how to organize those downloads; as you know, I am not computer savvy)…

Oh no!  I found it and it is not the photo I thought it was!  It is the Mummy, not the Wolfman!  How could I make such a mistake!  How lame is that!  Wait a minute, it’s lame.  That fits right in.  It’s even kind of random.  I’ll go with it.

Mummy, Werewolf… Compare and contrast. Discuss amongst yourselves.

I downloaded two other Werewolf photos, to round out the post.  I had been looking for one, because, you know, three’s the charm, but I could not decide between the movie poster and a humorous one, so I went with both (is that a run-on sentence?  I don’t care if it is).

I guess it’s the disc cover, not the actual poster, but I think that’s OK. Or is it just more lame? Either way.

The movie had an excellent cast, although I find it rather sad.  I’ll have to do a post sometime on the profound nature of horror movies.

I do not recommend an adversarial relationship with one’s stylist.

It looks as if he doesn’t want a shave and a haircut (two bits), and I can’t really blame him.  He has only to wait till the moon wanes.  And doesn’t that make you wonder what would happen if he did get a haircut as the Wolfman, then the moon waned.  Would his face be like all cut up?  His head completely bald?  I’ll have to do some research on lycanthropy (my computer is underlining that word, but I looked it up in Webster’s and it is correct).

Incidentally, I got the first photo from Dracula’s House of Halloween and the last two from the Wolfman facebook page.  I stupidly do not remember where I got the Loveboat photo and I am too lazy to try to find out.  I did mention this is Lame Post Friday, didn’t I?