Category Archives: Uncategorized

Post Boilermaker II

When we last left our heroine (that is me; I suppose I could have said blogger, to be clear), she was huffing and puffing towards the finish line of the Boilermaker 15K.  As I  got closer, I pushed myself to go faster and faster.  At least it felt faster to me.  I daresay to the outside observer it was not so impressive.

I crossed the finish line making terrible noises as I tried to breathe.  The Boilermaker volunteers were right there.  Two women were on either side of me, guiding me to a wheelchair. I was grateful to sit down.

“Lift your feet,” they told me, and I was surprised to find that I could.  They wheeled me into the first aid tent to a cot.  How embarrassing!  I leaned on the nice man that  helped me from the wheelchair onto the cot.

Then I was surrounded by people, taking my vitals, bringing me water, preparing me for IV fluids. I felt them take my sneakers and socks off an putting cool cloths on my feet.  They too my headband off.  I asked for a cloth for my eyes since the sweat was irritating them.

They found my blood pressure high, asked me about dizziness and chest pain, and tried to put in an IV.  My veins are usually pretty prominent, but I was a bit dehydrated at the time and it took them a couple of tries.  I laid back and let them do what they wanted, although I was a bit embarrassed.

I started to feel better soon.  After the contents of the IV were in my veins, they took my vitals and found them better.  They let me sit up and sip some water before allowing me to put my socks and shoes back on and proceed to the after party.  They were a little concerned that I had safe transport home.  I tlod them tjat if I got to my car and felt iffy that I would call someone.  I did not foresee such an eventuality and indeed it was not necessary.

I’m thinking this post is not as interesting as yesterday’s, but these things happen.  I am still recovering from my Boilermaker experience, so I will use that as an excuse.  As always, I will try for a better blog post tomorrow.

 

In the Midst of a Monday Malaise

So I ran for nine days in a row and did not run today.  I feel a little bad about that, especially since the rain that threatened never materialized.  I could have at least mowed the lawn.

Don’t mind me, I am in the midst of a Monday Malaise.  Isn’t that a nicely alliterative phrase?  Hey, that rhymed.  Perhaps I am not as brain dead as I had feared.

Who, me? Get dramatic over Monday?

Here is another image stolen from Dracula’s House of Halloween.  I wanted a change from Frankenstein’s monster saying, “No like Monday!”

Most of my day has not been particularly monstrous, but as the evening progresses I am slipping down a depressive slope.  I suppose it is nothing to worry about; we all have our ups and downs.  However, this particular down is making me SO disinclined to do any of the things I ought to be doing.

Such as making a non-whiny blog post.

Well this is the way it is.  Whatever we may have accomplished (in my case not much, but never mind that), we continue to fret over what we have left undone.  Oh, I know:  you probably checked off every item on your to-do list and even got a jump on tomorrow’s (you know who you are).

I forgot where I was going with this.  However, I see I am over 200 words.  Enough of this nonsense!  Perhaps I could find a good monster to close with.

“I still don’t know why she wanted me to be in this blog post.”

 

Sit Down Saturday?

I am having a moment.  Not a bad moment, but kind of a blah moment.  It is in fact a rather strong bout of Don’t Wanna Do Nuthin’.  So I thought to myself, well at least you can do a blog post (did not feel inclined to call myself Shirley today).

I woke up about 3:30 this morning with a bad headache.  No, I did not tie one on last night, so stop tsk-tsking at me (you know who you are).  I am out of acetaminophen but thought maybe more sleep would help with the result that I got up at six, which regular readers know is sleeping in for me.

Weekends are my days for long, challenging runs.  I had neglected to put on coffee last night so I decided to run first.  I ignored my usual weekend running plans and made up my mind to a short run.  Thirty minutes tops.  Maybe even twenty.  Or fifteen in a pinch.

It turned out to be in a pinch,  I ran for just over a mile in a little over 15 minutes (once again too lazy to get the Garmin and check.  I drank my chocolate milk recovery beverage but never got the oomph to fix breakfast till a couple of hours later.  Sorry, body.

I forgot where I was going with all this.  Lame Post Saturday?  No matter.  It is over 200 words, and my Saturday Post is done on Saturday (no matter what my WordPress timestamp may say).  If only I had a peppy picture to close with.  Maybe a monster.

You go, girl!

I stole this from Dracula’s House of Halloween, one of my favorite Facebook pages.   I did drink all the coffee, but sadly there is no longer anybody in my house to strangle me over it.  On that melancholy note,  Happy Saturday,  everyone.

 

I Just Couldn’t Resist!

Every week I say to myself,  don’t go out this week.  Stay in, save money, save calories.  I agree with me at the time.  Then Wednesday rolls around, and I want to go to Fratello’s Pizzeria in Frankfort for music and food.  Today I went and once again was glad I did.

Justin Smithson was playing.  I have heard him before and loved him.  I was happy to hear him again.

Excellent musician!

I was loving his acoustic guitar.  He played a mix of songs from The Eagles to Jimmy Buffet to Johnny Cash and more.  When he sag, “I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain,”  I said, “Yes, we have,”  because it had been raining all day.  He smiled.

A couple walked in and greeted Justin.  I thought the man looked familiar and asked did I know him.  He said he used to be on TV.  It was Steve McMurray of WKTV in Utica, NY.  He is general manager now so not on the air as often.  I told him of a time my husband I had met him at a Stuff the Bus campaign one December.

“I took a picture for my blog, but I don’t remember if I used it.  If I can find it I’ll put it in tonight’s post,” I said.

My Steve loved to donate toys.

It took some looking, but I found them!  It was actually November 2019.  It is a good memory.  I will be sure to donate to Stuff the Bus again this year.

Full disclosure:  when I got home I was too tired to make the post so am making it Thursday morning.  And I need more coffee.

 

 

 

Carnival of Tired Tuesday?

Tired Tuesday follows Monstrous Monday once again.  I meant to take a walk and do a Pedestrian Post,  but I just feel too tired.  Oh dear.  I did a few things earlier:  a little yard work, a little house cleaning, ran a couple errands, grocery shopped.  And somewhere in all that I took a nap.  You would think that would have helped, but not so much.

It’s a classic. Or a cult favorite. I get them mixed up.

I am looking at Carnival of Souls, a low budget but very effective horror movie.  I have it on two different DVD collections.  Right now I am watching the one from 50 Horror Classics.  I thought I would watch my way through all 50.  I still have not solved my television problem so am only watching DVDs these days.

I kind of feel like she looks.

I plan to do more than sit around and watch DVDs, of course.  I plan to run more, clean my house, and fix up my yard and garden.  Then I can write blog posts about doing those things.  If I’m not too tired.

Eeeeeerie!

In the meantime, I continue to watch Candace Hillligoss struggle with the strange things that keep happening to her.

Eeeee! Who is that man?

I’m afraid this is a very dull blog post.  I always say a bad blog post is better than no blog post at all, but I have to wonder.  As usual, I intend to hit Publish and hope for the best.  Also as usual, I shall go for a better blog post tomorrow.

 

Planning My Pots

Another Sunday and I got nuthin’.  How many blog posts have I started with the confession that I have not much to say?  This is a rhetoric question; I do not intend to go back and check.

Pretty!

I fall back on my usual trick of throwing in a picture to pep things up.  This was from May 2017.  It is raw materials for my container garden on my deck.  I have not had one these last few years, but I hope to have one this year.  I have all kinds of hopes and plans.  All I need now is to muster the oomph to do them.

Even prettier!

Here is a later shot that same year.  I think two of those pots are broken now.   The third one is plastic, so it still ought to be around.

Also that year.

I believe this one filled out some as the season progressed.

I enjoy deciding which colors to put together.

Now that I look at these pictures again, I notice the backgrounds.  The first one has a nicely mown lawn.  That was when Steve used to do the mowing.  In the second, I see a portion of fence with some vine growing on it, so that’s not so bad.  However, the garage in the background of the third cannot be described as anything other than shabby.  Professional photographers notice these things,  and here we come to the ugly truth about me and photography.

And now I see I am over 200 words.  Score!  I hope it turns out to be a preview of coming attractions.  I hope you will stay tuned.

 

Not Exactly Cinema But Not a Bad Sunday

I thought I might make a Sunday Cinema Post, but I am only on my first movie and getting tired.  I did watch the rest of a Columbo episode I started last night.  I suppose that counts.

She was divine!

The movie I am currently enjoying is Death on the Nile, a star-studded Agatha Christie romp (come on, autocorrect, Agatha is a well-known name!).  This is the wonderful Angela Lansbury as Salome Otterbourne, alcoholic writer of sexy romance novels.  I would SO love to play that character!  I kind of did when I was Ruby VanRenssalaer in Rubbed Out at Ruby’s, a murder mystery of my own devise.

Two more delightful divas.

Here are two more stars who stud the movie, Bette Davis and Maggie Smith.  So delightful to watch these two old pros playing off each other.

I have done a few useful things today.   I ran,  I did laundry,  I went grocery shopping, I wrote a letter which I walked to the post office.  From the post office, I walked to Herkimer Elks Lodge, where I secured space for Wednesday’s rehearsal of Shooting at the Grange, our upcoming murder mystery.

Back home, I watched Columbo before putting in the aforementioned Agatha Christie but also made a salad for the week’s lunches.  I call this not a bad Sunday.  Is it not a bad blog post?  You decide.

Today there is not “one more thing.”

 

April Lame!

OK, I said I was going to make my Lame Post Friday post on Friday and here I am.  Unfortunately,  I got nuthin’.  That should not matter on Lame Post Friday, but somehow it does.

Remarkably similar, yes?

I thought a picture might spark more words and found this one from April 2021.  I confess it does not look a whole lot different from more recent pictures of crocuses,  yet I cannot stop from taking pictures of what they look like this year.

J’accuse!

Here is a different April shot.  I just SEARCHED through my posts from April 2019 to find that the title of this murder mystery was Murder by the Book.  I am not inclined to also do a Google (or even a Duck Duck Go) search to see if “J’accuse” is the proper French spelling.

Earlier today I went to a wine tasting at Valley Wine and Liquor in Herkimer.  I also spent some time sitting on my front porch, enjoying the weather. I sipped a little wine while I did so.  I also spent some time planning my Mohawk Valley Adventures for tomorrow.

I need to get such a short ‘do again!

Just to give another picture from April, here are my friend Kim and I at Gerber’s 1933 Tavern in Utica in April 2017 for their Prohibition Party.  I love to dress up!

Ooh look, I have gotten myself over 200 words.  Not bad for a Lame Post Friday post,  I say.  Thank you for tuning in.

 

This Is Not A Post.

This is a Blogger’s Stupid Day.  I had most of a post written when a friend started  messaging me about an email I hadn’t seen (long story, too complicated to get into now).  Somehow after clicking back and forth, WordPress decided not to let me finish that post.  It saved it.  I can get to it, it comes up where I can usually edit a post, but when I try to add to it nothing happens.

I am quite frustrated.

I am also very tired.  However, I could not just go to sleep after starting a blog post and not finishing it.  Or can I?

 

Music and Fun at Fratello’s

Wednesday night I went to Fratello’s Pizzeria in Frankfort, NY, because I saw that Mark Nanni was playing.  He’s awesome!  He plays keyboard, guitar, and accordion (no, not all at once, as I am sure some of you were about to say) (you know who you are).  When I walked in, one of the workers greeted me and told me Mark Nanni was playing.

“I know, that’s why I’m here,”  I said.

I love his sound.

While I waited for the music to start I ordered some food and a glass of wine.  Then I got into a discussion with some other patrons about my flowered headband, which I wore because it goes so nicely with my Beer Belly Bob’s tie-dye t-shirt.

“I was a little worried it would make me look like that lady they said killed her husband and fed him to the tigers,” I admitted.  I further admitted I never saw the popular Netflix series on the case, although I did see Dateline episode about it.  One of them looked up the lady’s name, and another shared me a picture.

This is me, by the way.

I believe the resemblance is only superficial, but it was a funny conversation.  I did wonder while I was getting dressed if I would remind people of that lady, and it seems I did, because they were the ones that brought it up.  I told them a friend said I looked like Frieda Kahlo and that they would sound more cultured if they made that reference instead.   I kind of lost them there.

I was delighted when the music started,  Nanni opened with a jazzy tune, which further delighted me.  In one song he transitioned smoothly from guitar to keyboard and back to guitar.  Nice!

It was a lovely evening.  I shall return to Fratello’s soon for more music and food, perhaps wearing a different hair ornament.

Fratello’s Pizzeria is located at 158 E. Main St., Frankfort, NY, 315-894-8484.