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Sunday we went to a fundraiser at Silverado for two families that were left homeless after a fire in Herkimer. I love these fundraisers. Not only are they a good time and you can feel good about helping someone, you can get inspired by how generous people are. This is what people are really like, I tell myself. they come together to help each other and they have fun doing it.

Silverado is located on Marginal Road in Herkimer. It is decorated with a country western theme and is a good size for such an event. After we paid our admission we filled paper plates with hot dogs, potatoes, salad and beans. Steven got a bottle water while I indulged in a beer. After all, we must also support the venues for these events. I noticed a sign for another fundraiser that day in Ilion, this one for a sick little girl. I hope they did equally well. I felt a little bad not to attend both fundraisers, but our budget would have been a little strained.

After we ate we checked out the Chinese Auction. Steven and I love Chinese Auctions and have experienced very good luck in winning things. It is fun to walk up and down, debating which jars to put your numbers in. I saw that the afghan I had donated had been paired with a floor lamp. I put in for it, because I could really use a floor lamp. My scarves had been broken up. I had donated four of them together in a blue basket. The basket now held other things, and I spotted the scarves with various other groupings. I put in for one of them because of the other prizes in that basket. We did not experience our usual luck, though, and no phone call telling us we had won a prize brightened our evening.

The musical entertainment was top notch. Johnson and Co. was playing when we arrived. Very danceable stuff. I boogied while I was putting my numbers in the auction cups. After Johnson and Co., Gridley Paige took the stage. They had a more mellow sound and were also excellent.

It was very enjoyable just to sit at the bar and watch the crowd. You get quite a cross-section of people at these fundraisers. All ages, shapes and sizes, and everybody smiling and having a good time. A great way to spend part of an afternoon in the Mohawk Valley.

A friend suggested I write a about how I came to the area. I seem to recall referring to that as a long story, not very interesting, but let’s see if I can make is short and amusing.

The year was 2003 (oh dear, that is a long time ago!) and I was on terminal leave from the army, staying at my parents’ house in Rome, NY. Now I have not been unemployed since I left college in 1987, so I went right down to Working Solutions to see what I could find. One job opening was in Herkimer.

“Where’s Herkimer?” I asked my Mom. I had heard of Herkimer. Other classes in my elementary school had gone to the Diamond Mines for field trips.

Herkimer, it turned out, was my kind of town. Steven remarked that it was reminiscent of Potsdam in its heyday. By Potsdam’s heyday, of course, he meant Potsdam when he was a college student there in the ’70s. Or perhaps when we were newlyweds there in the ’90s. Anyways, a fun little college town, with a lot to offer not just to college students.

Here’s where I’ll make the long story short. I took the job in Herkimer. Steven found a job in Herkimer. We took an apartment in a farmhouse on Rt. 5 in Schuyler below the Frankfort Bridge. Eventually we bought a house in Herkimer.

I really like Herkimer. For the most part people are friendly. Just this morning I ran up to Herkimer County Community College and encountered two nice people with nice dogs. I only got to pet one, but that was OK. There is a lot of green, lots of trees and nice lawns to run by. I take notes of what other people are doing with flowers and steal their ideas. I’ve mentioned before what a good walking/running village it is, and that is something I appreciate almost every day.

Herkimer is also an active place with lots of community events. This afternoon we plan to check out the St. Anthony’s Festival at his Church and a fundraiser at Silverado’s. I’m happy to look back and see that I have been a Herkimer resident for almost six years. Does that mean I can count as a Local?

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.