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I need to thank a friend of mine for forgetting her glasses at the Crystal Chandelier. Since she lives in Oneida and I live in Herkimer, she asked me to swing by and pick them up for her. Steven suggested that since we were going there anyways we have some dinner. Would I say no to dinner out with my favorite guy?

The Crystal Chandelier is located seven miles north of Herkimer on Rt. 28, right next to the Herkimer Diamond Mines (I know, good subject for another blog post). It is a very elegant eatery. The decor is lovely, the service top notch, and the food yummy (If this was a real foodie blog, I’d probably have to come up with a more descriptive adjective than “yummy”).

We sat at the bar and ordered three appetizers: an onion log, chicken tenders with honey mustard dipping sauce and Rhode Island calimari. I am a big fan of calimari but had never had the Rhode Island version. It has hot peppers and onions. I enjoyed it very much. Steven of course had to avoid the hot peppers as they tend to make his bald spot sweat.

The Chandelier does special events like weddings and showers. They have a lovely gazebo just beckoning brides and grooms. Steve and I have been threatening to renew our vows on our 22nd anniversary (22 is my favorite number). If we do, we may have found our venue.

We enjoyed our evening at the Crystal Chandelier very much. We will add it to our list of great places for dinner in the Mohawk Valley. For more information visit their website http://www.crystalchandelier.net. A limousine service is also available, Adonis-Avanti Transportation Service & Crystal Coach Charters, Inc, http://www.adonis-avanti.com.

Wednesday was a gorgeous spring day, made to order for working on my container garden. Accordingly, Steven and I drove down Route 5 in Schuyler to Tripple’s Produce.

Two big greenhouses and two wagons held all kinds of plants and flowers. The very nice dog we had met on previous visits was lounging under one of the wagons. This is a very mellow dog, who will not bother you, but if you like to pet a dog — which of course we do — will graciously allow you to do so.

We chose some marigolds, trailing petunias, red spiky things (if this was a real gardening blog I would know what they are called), a six pack of herbs, and one hanging plant. The lady who rang us out gave us some good advice on maintaining the hanging plant. I told her my method of making salad dressing in the blender with fresh herbs.

When we got home, I proceeded to re-pot the flowers, eventually finding that as usual I had bought more flowers than I had places to put them. I’ll probably have to re-re-pot the dill and the Italian parsley, but for now they’ll do.

When we’d finished potting and arranging the pots, Steve and I sat on our deck and enjoyed our handiwork and the beautiful day. This spring the weather in the Mohawk Valley has left something to be desired with all the rain and cold. Oh, I know what you’re about to say and believe me I am very grateful I have not had to deal with the flooding and tornadoes that have devastated other parts of the country. And I was grateful for the lovely day I enjoyed on Wednesday.

Tuesday I made my way to The Sneaker Store, 4490 Commercial Dr., New Hartford, NY, because I found my running shoes had lost any vestige of gush. At my age, I need all the help I can get.

Bosco, the parrot, was not in his cage as usual but was eating his way through a cardboard box. Bosco is the only talking parrot I have ever met. The first time I went to The Sneaker Store, I couldn’t figure out who kept saying hello to me. But Tuesday I was not greeted as the attractions of cardboard outweighed other considerations. You have to understand these bird concerns.

The Sneaker Store is one of those stores where you get one on one service from a knowledgeable staff. Rich pointed out features I would not have noticed, explained the benefits of the design, and laced up the sneakers for me to try on. What more could I ask?

I even tried something I had never tried before — a wide width. The front of my foot is wide, because I’ve had bunion surgery (didn’t help much; they still ache when it’s going to rain), but my heel’s always been narrow. I know from when I sold shoes about a hundred years ago that many people have a narrow heel. What I did not know was that that most sneaker manufacturers know this and allow for it. Thus, the width in a wide shoe is primarily where it is needed most. I know some readers are probably saying, “Well, duh, a shoe manufacturer would probably know how a foot is built!” I guess I have kind of a zen mind, because it’s all news to me.

To conclude, I left with two pairs of running shoes, one of which has lovely bright yellow laces. I know, aesthetics are not the primary concern with athletic footwear. Shut up! I can be happy about my yellow shoe laces if I want to be!

Now I can blog about some of my enjoyable runs around Herkimer. I may even run in some of the local races. I shan’t be in the Boilermaker; I know they’re already full, but I’ll keep my eye out for some other Mohawk Valley runs in which I can participate.

For more information about The Sneaker Store, visit their website at http://www.the-sneaker-store.com.

One of my favorite things about living in Herkimer, NY is that it is such a good place to walk. There are sidewalks throughout the village proper. Not always the smoothest sidewalks, but I know how to watch where I’m going and sometimes I even remember to utilize that skill. From my house you can take a fair length walk without having to cross too many busy streets. Of course, one must always exercise caution, because some motorists view stop signs as optional and the speed limit as a mere suggestion, but on the whole a great place to walk with some very nice scenery.

Last Sunday my husband and I took a stroll out Lou Ambers Drive with our schnoodle Tabby. I would like to add as an aside that we did not name our dog after a cat. Her previous owner named her Tabitha. Be that as it may, Tabby is our delightful dog and she loves to take a walk.

Lou Ambers Drive does not boast sidewalks, smooth or otherwise, but it does have a spring. I brought along a small bottle to get myself a drink. I might add that the spring is a godsend on my lengthier runs, especially when I’ve been up the hill to the college. The other reason we went on Lou Ambers Drive was to check out a garage sale we’d seen a sign for. I bought a couple more flower pots for my container garden, and Tabby made a new friend.

We walked back into the village and hit another garage sale closer to home. No luck finding anything to purchase, but we had a nice chat with the people there and Tabby got petted some more. Those folks were gearing up for the village wide garage sales slated for Saturday May 28. Alas, I shall have to work so shall miss that event.

I know garage sales are not unique to the Mohawk Valley. I’m sure many areas have nice people who will chat you up and pet your dog. Maybe even a few have a conveniently located spring. But this particular Sunday was a Mohawk Valley experience that I enjoyed, so I thought I would share.

Sunday, Steven and I went to one of the all time great things in the Mohawk Valley, Ilion Little Theatre (ILT), at the Stables, 13 Remington Ave, Ilion, NY 13357. Steve and I have been involved in college and community theatre for years, and ILT is one of the best. We’ve been members since fall of 2009 and we love it.

The theatre is housed in the Stables, formerly part of the Remington estate and located just behind Remington Arms. The theatre itself is small enough that the actors don’t need to be miked. It makes for a warm, friendly atmosphere. In fact, until they recently put in an air conditioning system, it was a little too warm for summer productions, but that obviously hasn’t been a problem this May (that’s not a run-on sentence; diagram it).

The show we went to see was Happy Birthday by Marc Camoletti, directed by George Malavasic. George welcomed us to the theatre and pointed out the emergency exits, then explained the extra treat in store for us.

It seems he got an embarrassment of riches at auditions, and he didn’t have enough parts to go around. Rather than let the talent go to waste he added three short one acts to the beginning of the evening and wrote an additional role to tie them together. Sort of like the Short Subjects they used to show at the movie theatre. Um, that would have been well before my time, but I’ve heard.

I won’t lie to you, it made for a long play. George pointed out that in India all movies must be at least three hours long or the audience would not feel they had gotten their money’s worth. I think Sunday’s audience certainly felt they got their money’s worth. The three short plays and Happy Birthday are laugh out loud funny. Never have my butt cheeks fallen asleep in such an entertaining setting. Oh, I’m just kidding about the butt cheeks. There were two intermissions, so we all got to stretch our legs.

Happy Birthday is a farce involving a man who invites his mistress to dinner with his best friend to act as a smoke screen. The best friend, meantime, is having an affair with the wife. And then things get complicated. As I said, laugh out loud funny. I appreciated the theatre’s intimate setting, because I could see the actors’ facial expressions, which were at times priceless.

The cast includes returning favorites as well as some new faces. One of the joys of being part of a good community theatre is you get to seeing actors playing different roles, like in a Christopher Guest film festival. I’ve seen Matt Trombley, George Lyon, Charlene Girmonde and Dawn DeSantis in other productions. Julianne Allen brightened things up backstage at the recent And Then There Were None. I know the fabulous Margaret Nemyier from ILT meetings and wine tastings at Ilion Wine and Spirits. Elisa Welch, Joan Primmar and Raphael D’Lorenzo were new faces for me, but I look forward to seeing them again.

I encourage anyone who likes theatre to check out ILT, and anyone who likes to laugh to go see Happy Birthday. The play continues Friday and Saturday, May 27 and 28. For more information, visit http://www.ilionlittletheatre.org.

Welcome to my blog about the Mohawk Valley.

I thought this would be a good thing for me to blog about because I actually love living here.  I have lived in Northern New York (loved that too), California (beautiful but didn’t love it), Texas (liked things about it), Arizona (a harsh, unforgiving kind of beauty), and Georgia (I know some people love it there).  Then I moved back here (long story, not very interesting).

It is important to me to take advantage of the area I am in.  Therefore, this blog will chronicle community events, local businesses and just things I appreciate about the area.  No doubt some posts will be more interesting than others. For example, I’m thinking this post is kind of boring. But bear with me, I will endeavor to improve.

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