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I neglected to mention something that happened Tuesday morning. Tuesday was the day I ran, bought plants and worked one to nine-thirty. Before I ran I read the paper and noticed that a benefit was planned for three families that are homeless after a fire on Main Street in Herkimer. The fire was about two blocks from my house. I’ve been by those homes, and it looks scary.

While I was running Tuesday I thought, “Hey, they’re probably having a Chinese auction as part of the fundraiser. I have an afghan I can donate. I wonder if they’d also like a few scarves?” See, I crochet or knit when I watch television, and I love to watch television. I don’t know how to make that many things, but I can do afghans, scarves and prayer shawls.

When I got home and had showered and eaten, I called the number in the paper “for more information.” The lady who answered was delighted at the idea of my donations. She was currently at Wal-Mart, chasing down another donation. I said I would meet her there.

Steven found a basket in the attic (which I believe I had won some years ago at a Chinese auction to benefit the Children’s Miracle Network) for me to put a few scarves in. I also grabbed a recently completed afghan and we hurried to Wal-Mart. The only downside of our hustle and bustle was that Tabby got the idea she was going somewhere fun with us. It is sad to disillusion an excited schnoodle, but it was too warm a day for a dog in a car.

We met Peg Czarnecki, the lady organizing the fundraiser. Our donation was gratefully received, and Peg told us about some big ticket items to be raffled as well. We told her we would probably be at the fundraiser, and she encouraged us to attend. For one thing, I have to see how many tickets get put in for my afghan.

The fundraiser is set for Sunday, June 12 from 1 to 7 p.m. at Silverado Inn, Marginal Road, Herkimer. Musical entertainment includes Showtime, Johnson & Co., Jeff and Tim from Gridley Paige, Stevie Rigo and Friends, and Jon Liebing. Tickets are $15 for adults, $5 for ages 12 and younger.

I’ll probably post a blog on Monday, telling how it was. If you’re local, you should go too. We can compare notes.

I knew my blog was in trouble when I got home from work too tired to do ANYTHING. Luckily Steven fixed dinner.

“I’m even too tired to take Tabby for a walk,” I started to say, then realized I would always find some little energy for my dog. I wore one of my crazy old lady outfits. I supposed that technically I’m not old enough to be a crazy old lady, but I’m getting there. I wore my wide brimmed canvas hat, the bicycle shorts I wore under my skirt to work (too hot for pantyhose), and a baggy Rick Dees Top 40 t-shirt left over from Steven’s radio days.

We only went around one block. The temperature had cooled to a reasonable amount. We encountered one small boy. He was throwing some beat up looking stuffed toys onto the sidewalk in disdain while his parents sat on the front stoop. When he saw Tabby he ran to pet her, which she graciously allowed. Then she tried to sniff one of his toys, and suddenly he did not disdain it so much.

“You can’t play with his toy,” I told her, and we moved on. We heard some pugnacious barking, and I saw a pug poking his head through the railing of an upstairs porch. Tabby was not impressed, but we turned the corner before we reached that house anyways.

We got home in time to watch Them! on TCM. This is a 1954 movie about giant ants, which I had been looking forward to all day. I know, watching Cold War Era horror movies on cable television is not exclusive to the Mohawk Valley. While I watched, I drank blue Gatorade out of the glass I was given for participating in the 2010 Boilermaker in Utica, NY. One of the sponsors of the glass was Saranac beer, which of course is brewed in Utica. How’s that for a little local color? Then I sipped some herbal tea from my Ilion Little Theatre coffee mug. I sweetened it with Finster’s Honey, made in Franfort, NY.

I must say it is easier to do Mohawk Valley things on my day off. But I will persevere, because you never know. The next think I do might be just what somebody wanted to read about.

Our big event for Wednesday was to check out the Farmer’s Market in Mohawk. It is in Weller Park, 41 W. Main St., Mohawk, NY. It is a nice setting for a farmer’s market, under the shady trees in the park. There weren’t many vendors Wednesday, but that may change as the summer progresses.

We admired some jewelry and crafts but determinedly walked away from the yummy looking baked goods. I purchased a bag of red lettuce and an apron. I don’t regularly wear an apron, but I’ve always wanted to. Years ago a friend gave me one of some gorgeous Halloween-y fabric, and Steven gave me a lovely Christmas one last December (which, incidentally, he purchased at Philly’s). I was happy to find a non-holiday apron.

I put the lettuce to use in a tossed salad we had for supper, but I forgot to put the apron on while I made it. I made some homemade dressing, using dill, basil and oregano from my container garden. I put some fresh chives from my garden in the salad as well as some other veggies purchased at Hannaford.

I may have my own tomatoes for salads by the end of the summer. I planted all but two of the tomato plants we purchased Tuesday. I lacked one tomato cage and sufficient dirt for my upside down planter. Therefore, two tomato plants wait sadly in their original containers. We did purchase the needed cage and dirt at Aubuchon this afternoon, but an inopportune hailstorm kept me from doing any gardening in the evening.

I hope to be able to check out other farmer’s markets in the area. And I will definitely return to the one in Mohawk, the next time I have a Wednesday off. The market is sponsored by the Friends of the Weller Library and is open every Wednesday from 2 to 5 p.m., through Oct. 26. For more information call 866-1671 or 717-6447.

I am determined to get my tomatoes at least in this week, so Tuesday morning, Steven and I drove out to my favorite greenhouse, Elizabeth’s Country Garden, 463 West Main St., Little Falls, NY.

The porch of the little building in front was filled with the most gorgeous hanging baskets. We walked through to the greenhouses and walked up and down, wondering how many more containers we could fit on our deck. I asked about one kind of flower that didn’t have a little plastic thing telling me the name. Of course, I forgot to write down the name, but if I go back and buy some I’ll be sure to make a note. At Steven’s suggestion I asked about the rudbeckia.

“Oh, sure, you mean Brown Eyed Susans,” said the helpful man, whose name I also didn’t note. Brown Eyed Susans! Who knew? See, at T&J’s (mentioned in a previous post) I thought they had rudbeckia because I read the name on a price list. Turns out I was wrong. I know, a real gardener would be laughing and pointing because I didn’t know rudbeckia and Brown Eyed Susans were the same thing, and because I was all hot to buy rudbeckia without knowing what it was. What can I say? This is how I roll.

I still don’t have my rudbeckia, though, because they were out. However, the man promised he would have more tomorrow (which is now today), so we may drive back. Little Falls is really very close to Herkimer.

We bought two types of tomatoes, and, also at Steven’s suggestion, an S hook to hang the upside down planter I purchased at Aldi’s. Nothing is in the ground as of yet, because I had to work yesterday, but I have big plans for today. Stay tuned!

For more information on Elizabeth’s call 315-823-1810.

After work yesterday I felt too exhausted to do anything majorly Mohawk Valley-ish. Still, dogs must be walked, and I have the good fortune to live in a highly walkable village, one of my favorite aspects of living in the area. So Steven, Tabby and I set out to get some exercise and see if we could see anything worth blogging about.

We first walked to Myer’s Park. This is the site of many community activities including an Easter Egg hunt which we did not attend, an Elk’s Club Car Show, which Steven attended, and a Syracuse Symphony concert, which we both attended. The park is close enough to our house that we often walk through it. For one thing, it holds a couple of trash cans suitable for disposing of dog do. Tonight I read a historical marker telling me the park used to be the site of a graveyard. Many of the graves were moved to the Oak Hill Cemetery. I’ve never heard of Myer’s Park being haunted. Still, that could be why it closes at dusk.

From the park we walked through downtown Herkimer. We regretted once again the closing of Albany Street Cafe. Even the sign is gone now. Tabby wanted to go into Hummel’s Office Plus. We know a few people that work there and sometimes stop in case they want to pet a cute dog. We were there after closing time, though, so Tabby was disappointed.

We continued up Main Street. Several people were smoking and joking outside of Pete’s Tavern. None of them wanted to pet a cute dog. I haven’t been to Pete’s in a while, but I know it is a nice mellow place to stop for a beer, if you’re into that.

We turned at the Historic Four Corners, right by the 1836 Jail. This is the jail that housed Chester Gilette during his trial for the murder of Grace Brown. This is one of my favorite historic murders. Imagine my delight when I realized I had moved to the village where the trial took place. The jail is probably worthy of a blog post all its own, especially if I can talk to the Friends of the Jail and give an update on its restoration. Another preview of coming attractions.

In all it was a very pleasant walk. A nice ending to another Mohawk Valley day.

I started Sunday with great bloggable plans, but I found I was more tired from my Saturday exertions than I realized. Nevertheless, I managed a few Mohawk Valley activities.

My morning run included the hill by Valley Health Services (see, it even says Valley). Not as big a hill as I ran last Saturday, but I thought it respectable.

After breakfast we took a walk with Tabby, purposely going by Temple Beth Joseph, because we knew there was a rummage sale there but were not sure when it started. It was going on, so after our walk we left Tabby at home and returned. It was a pretty good sale. We got a biography of Katherine Hepburn by A. Scott Berg. I’ve read a few biographies by him. He’s very good.

On our return home, we collected Tabby and drove to Mohawk to check out any garage sales going on. We did not have good luck. The most amusing thing I saw was at the Village Market. One sign said, “I never SAUSAGE a place!” another said, “The Meating Place.” I know they have a good butcher section, but I hardly thought my dog would be welcome, so we passed on.

Eventually Tabby did what dogs do when you walk them, and I discovered that I did NOT have a little plastic bag in my purse as I had thought. Oh no! I refuse to be that dog owner that does not clean up after her pet. I found a tissue in my purse. Steve found a napkin in his pocket. We managed to pick up the poop and luckily found a village garbage can nearby.

I enjoyed our walk in Mohawk. I like looking at the architecture of the older buildings. I saw a sign for a farmer’s market in Weller Park on Wednesday. I said, “Yes! My blog post for Thursday at least is set!”

I had family obligations yesterday, so I had to forgo the Mohawk town wide garage sales. I saw in the paper that they continue today, so perhaps all is not lost. Still, I need to make a blog post today. What can I talk about?

We had breakfast at Philly’s on South Caroline Street. I know I’ve talked about Philly’s recently, but it’s such a cool place, I think it rates another mention. Both waitresses were ready to bring us coffee. I got complimented on my earrings. I complimented one waitress on her new hair-do. In all, a typical, enjoyable breakfast.

From Philly’s we walked up to T & J’s Fruits and Vegetables. We had previously purchased flowers there for my container garden. At that time, I noticed they had rudbeckia, which I later learned was a perennial that attracts butterflies. I wanted to put more perennials in my yard, and attracting butterflies sounded good to me. Unfortunately, yesterday they had no rudbeckia. As they say, you snooze, you lose. I couldn’t quite make up my mind on any other flowers or even on any of the produce they offer, so we left empty handed. They are open seven days, though, so I don’t rule out going back today. Maybe it would be a good day to plant tomatoes. Hmmm…

So that was my Mohawk Valley Saturday. A couple of local stops, then on to a family party. This not being a family party type of blog, I won’t go on about that. Next Saturday I work, so it may not be much better. But I have plans for today, so stay tuned.

Friday we decided to try someplace new for dinner, so we went to PK’s Pub, 221 King St., Herkimer, NY. We’d had it recommended to us by several people, including our hairdresser, and they did not steer us wrong.

We had to go around the block twice before we found a parking space, so we were a little afraid we wouldn’t get a table, although pretty impressed with their booming business. Luckily, PK’s managed to find us a table in the back corner, by the fireplace. The fireplace was not needed Friday, but I thought about how cozy that will be in December.

I ordered ravioli, and Steven got a grilled chicken platter. Dinner came with a salad and fresh bread. Yummy! I especially liked the creamy butter. The Shiraz, which is their house red, was quite tasty too. Steven had coffee. He is my designated driver.

Our table was right next to a large group celebrating a birthday. They were having a fine time. The whole restaurant clapped after they sang Happy Birthday. When they gathered right in front of us to take a picture, I told the birthday girl my husband was going to jump up and wave at the camera. They were OK with that, but Steven refrained.

When we added our birthday wishes, they told us that they represented three classes, 1963, ’64 and ’65. Some of them had come as far as Germany and Arizona. They had not all gotten together for years. It was clear they were enjoying their evening in the Mohawk Valley, as were we.

PK’s also does banquets and catering. For more information or reservations call 315-866-3494. They are also on Facebook.

Thursday morning Steven and I woke bright and early to attend Home Fries with the Historical Society, a Celebrity Server Breakfast to benefit the Herkimer County Historical Society.

We arrived at the Knights Inn in Little Falls shortly after seven. We had never been to the Knights Inn; the banquet room is an elegant setting. I peeked into the lounge on my way to the Ladies Room. That looks nice too; might be a good place to stop for a cocktail and a future blog post.

We were invited to Thursday’s event by Celebrity Server Dave Dellecese of WKTV News. Dave is also president of Ilion Little Theatre (ILT). He was prompt and attentive, keeping us well supplied with coffee, juice and food. Coffee, of course, was the most important element. I especially enjoyed the potatoes, but the whole breakfast was quite yummy.

We also had the chance to chat about ILT business with Dave. Dave asked what progress I made on the murder mystery I’m writing, and I was forced to admit, not a lot. Steven is still seeking a script to direct for next season. Just a little advance publicity for future posts.

We were there earlier than the bulk of the patrons. I saw a lot of celebrity waiters standing around drinking coffee and chatting, with no one to serve. Nice work if you can get it! I especially liked the waiter dressed as Gen. Nicholas Herkimer. I overheard him say he had found the outfit in state Assemblyman Marc Butler’s closet. I later found out this was Herkimer County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director John Scarano. I was sorry I had not brought my camera.

As we were leaving we saw some other ILT members arriving, so were sorry we had been so prompt. Later on the noon news when Dave Dellecese reported on the event, we saw some other members being served by him. Next year (I hope they make this an annual event) we’ll have to coordinate with our friends and arrive with a group.

Steven and I are great supporters of the Historical Society, local history being one of my interests. We’ve been to other fundraisers in the past, most notably a wine tasting and tour at the Balloon House Bed and Breakfast in Frankfort. I intend to be on the lookout for future events, and I’m sure I’ll be making a post soon on a visit to the society itself at the historic Four Corners in Herkimer.

Wednesday I had nothing planned except to grocery shop, and my schedule was such that I could not make it to a farmer’s market or some small local store with character. Don’t get me wrong, I love Hannaford, but does it really have the Mohawk Valley cachet I strive for in my blog?

Then I remembered something: Hannaford loves local. They tack up little notes letting you know when something is produced in New York State. “This could be fun!” I whipped out my little notebook, and Steven and I were in a scavenger hunt to see how many locally produced products we could find.

The first thing we spotted was Finster Honey of Frankfort. In fact we have a jar of this on our counter at home. Then Steven remembered, before even seeing the display, Heidelberg Bread of Herkimer. My mom, who lives in Rome, often asks me to pick up a loaf of that for family gatherings. Right next to the Heidelberg display was Mastroianni Bread of Rotterdam. I’m not clear on where Rotterdam is, but it’s in New York State, so it’s OK by me.

In the meat department my eye caught Dino’s Meatballs, made in Utica. That reminded me we were out of sausage, and Dino’s is what we usually buy. I found some sweet, so as not to make Steven’s bald spot sweat. Gianelli’s Sausage of Syracuse was nearby, but we went for the Utica product.

In the freezer section we noted Ray’s Bagels from the Bronx and Hannaford Frozen Bagels made in Macedonia. I’d have to look up Macedonia, but the Bronx is definitely not in the Mohawk Valley. Still, it is New York State. Across the aisle we saw Heluva Good Cheese from Sodus. I had to tell Steven how to pronounce that one.

Back in frozen we discovered Birds Eye Frozen Vegetables are made in Fulton. That was news to me. We could have gotten Pede Frozen Pasta from Schenectady (one of my favorite places because it is fun to say; try it) or Celentary Rosina from Buffalo, but settled on Cora Cheese Tortellini, distributed by Cora Imports of Utica. In deference to my diet we refrained from purchasing Mercer Ice Cream from Boonville.

On our way out we noted Spano Italian Bread of Utica and Chobani Yoghurt from new Berlin, two of our favorites but we had no need of them last night.

We were not doing a full shop so I’m sure we missed other fine New York State products. Still, it was a fun scavenger hunt. I call it another fun thing to do in the Mohawk Valley.