Category Archives: Wrist to Forehead Sunday

I Didn’t Get To

I neglected to make my Wrist to Forehead Sunday blog post, but that isn’t really what I Didn’t Get To, as referenced in the title.  The title refers to the Utica Boilermaker 15K, which longtime readers know I have run in the past and I meant to run this year but was sidelined by my treacherous body.  Then again, perhaps it was me who betrayed my body by not training properly, not stretching enough, eating the wrong things, blah blah blah.  In other words, once again, Operator Error.  In either case, yesterday I swooned, dramatically posed with the back of one wrist to my forehead, because I could not join the other runners.

What I might have looked like after the race.

That is a picture from April of 2020, after I had just run a Virtual 5K to benefit, I think, a food pantry in Little Falls, NY.  These were my pre-Garmin, pre-Map My Run days, so I ran what I thought I remembered was the DARE 5K route, up the hill to Herkimer College (a formidable hill, in case you didn’t know).  Some people were impressed.

So I got on Facebook yesterday and saw all the good wishes for Boilermaker runners and video from WKTV, and I was, I admit it, a little down. So I said to myself, “You don’t get to.”  And isn’t that the truth?  Sometimes you just don’t get to.  I didn’t get to see my husband turn 70.  I didn’t get to win the Lottery.  I didn’t get to plant a vegetable garden this year.

I do not know why that little phrase should make me feel better, but somehow it does.  I did not get to run the Boilermaker.  Maybe next year I will.  Or maybe not.  A little uncertainty adds interest to 2027, does it not?

 

Fought the Lawn, Fought the Deck, What Next?

I got out early in hopes of making a Lawn Order post instead of my usual Wrist to Forehead Sunday blog post.  Well, fighting the lawn (and the lawn won) did cause me to swoon, dramatically posed with the back of one wrist to my forehead, but I felt I got something done, so I took a few pictures and I will attempt to make a blog post recounting my adventures.

No, really, this IS the “after” picture.

I maybe should have taken a “before” picture.  I spent some ten minutes yesterday and a little bit longer today with clippers, chopping away at dead daisies and past their prime peonies (I made up the alliterative titles while I worked) while trying to let the purple flowers live.  There was a insidious invasive species I tried to do away with as well.  One sprig of purple blooms ended up in my green waste container, but I clipped it with a pair of scissors and it now resides in a bud vase in my living room.  Sorry there is no picture of it, but my living room is quite cluttered.  I hope to fight that mess to a standstill as the week progresses.

Not party ready yet, but getting there!

After puffing and panting out front (bending and straightening is not fun for my age and weight) (yes, I KNOW I can do something about the latter, I’m trying, but these things take time, give me a break!) (you know who you are), I went out back to my deck.  There were still leaves on it from last fall, which I know is extremely harmful to the wood.  I huffed and puffed first with a rake then with a broom.  I feel I met with some success.

Luna, the dog next door, came out on her back porch and barked at me.  There were no balls handy for me to throw for her, as I explained to her.  She watched me work for a while, making sad noises from time to time but in general acquiescing in my refusal to play with her.  I felt bad, but there is only so much an old lady like me can do, after all. Quite frankly, if there had been a ball handy I might have thrown it a few times and let some of the leaves go hang, but we’ll never know.

Yes I know the lawn needs mowing.

Three containers is the most we can leave out.  Also, they don’t like stuff to stick up over the top of the containers.  So I felt I was in compliance.  I went back in the house and like any normal person got on the internet for a while.  After scrolling around, I noticed some weird brown puffy things on my shirt.  Oh dear.  This is what happens when you don’t get into the shower right away.  It was awkward to get a picture of the shirt (I do like to document these things), but luckily there were some on my socks.

It’s an old pair of sneakers.

This is turning out to be a long blog post.  Isn’t that nice?  Maybe I should try to write a few other things.  Maybe that novel I keep talking about.  I’ll let you know how that turns out.  Maybe a horror novel about invasive species and little brown puffy things who terrorize old ladies who just want to have parties on their decks.  What do you think?

 

Wrist to Father’s Day

Hello and welcome to another Wrist to Forehead Sunday blog post.  I am lounged on a couch, although I did not exactly swoon to get here.  But I may swoon.  My leg hurts and I cannot keep from complaining about it.  But I shall try.  For one reason, I want to wish all the fathers out there a Very Happy Father’s Day.  I have a pretty terrific father myself.  I have probably mentioned it before.  I rouse myself from my swoon to sing his praises.

A handsome couple.

And here he is, with my lovely mother.  This was taken in 2024, but they are still a handsome couple.  They are a very good couple, too.  They do almost everything together and in general set a good example for other married couples.

A useful guy to know.

My dad is the handiest guy I know.  He can fix or build anything!  Here he is building wooden porch steps over my sadly eaten away concrete porch steps.  I need to get a gutter put up over said steps but somehow have never gotten around to it.

Another sweet picture.

And here are my parents again with my sweet niece Jenna. I believe the occasion was my father’s birthday, which falls in May.  I failed to get him either a birthday or a Father’s Day present this year, which I feel very badly about.  Perhaps I can make it up to him when I am  back on my feet.

So I guess I managed to stop whining about my own ills for long enough to say a little bit about my wonderful father.  I hope the rest of you are having a lovely Father’s Day if you celebrate or a wonderful Sunday if you don’t.

 

 

No Cinema or Shakespeare on Sunday

I had such good plans to not have a Wrist to Forehead Sunday post.  I was going to find movies on RokuTV and have a Cinema Sunday.  Perhaps that was not a great plan; I think my readers prefer to hear about Mohawk Valley Adventures over my cinematic indulgences.  Anyways, I couldn’t find the sort of movie I crave.  At least, I found two.  One I had to pay for, so I said no thanks (put $2.99 on a credit card which has a zero balance?  I don’t think so), the other said Free, but when I pushed OK and watched the commercials, all it showed me was a black screen.

I crave the monster, not the half-dressed chippy in the foreground.

This is not one of the movies I looked for, but I am too lazy to search my Media Library until I find one of them.  Rest assured, this movie would have done if I could have found it.  I am not adept at finding things, on the internet or on RokuTV, as it turns out.  My strengths, if any, lie elsewhere.

THIS is where I shine!

I post a picture of one of my past theatrical endeavors to cheer me up.  Alas, I was supposed to be participating in In Her Voice: A Midsommer of Shakespeare at Arkell Museum and Library at the end of the month.  I had to drop out, due to the foolish problem I am having with my back or leg or whatever.  Will my future hold any more Shakespeare?  I can only hope.

In the meantime, I am over 200 words.  I shall sign off now, to swoon, dramatically posed with the back of one wrist to my forehead.  Since I am forced to remain lounged on my couch, I have not very far to swoon.  That is probably just as well.  I would probably hit my stupid head or something if I went for a full swoon.

 

Still Stagnant on Sunday

Oh dear, I was about to make a Wrist to Forehead Sunday blog post and suddenly my whole body wanted to bag it.  But I don’t like to skip a day of blogging if I can help it!  What’s a blogger to do? Type in a few words, share a few pictures, hit Publish, and hope for the best, I suppose.

Cool!

Not wanting to spend a lot of time scrolling through my Media Library I quickly grab this dragonfly.  Isn’t it pretty?

This I could get into!

This is one of my favorite DVD collections.  It would be nice if I could watch a few of these cheesy selections to pass the time, but it is not within the realm of possibility (never mind why; explanations are tiresome).  However, I count my blessings and am truly grateful for Roku TV.  I have watched numerous episodes of Columbo, a couple of Datelines, and am now sampling a Snapped.  Murder is my life.

Wishful thinking.

Oh how I wish this was my current view!  I had not gotten very far in clearing off my deck when I had to abandon physical efforts, at least temporarily.  Will I get help, find a miracle cure, and return to my life of Mohawk Valley Adventures?  A little uncertainty adds suspense to my week.

 

Mid-Swoon on Mid-Memorial Day Weekend

I pause in doing not much of anything to make a Wrist to Forehead Sunday post.  I really do feel like swooning today.  My poor-pitiful-me meter is registering extra high.  What’s that all about?  Get a grip on yourself, me!  I drink a little water and calm down.  Things are not really that bad here in the Mohawk Valley, only I have not had any Mohawk Valley Adventures recently.  I must get out more, but it is difficult on a rainy holiday weekend.

To remind myself why it is a holiday weekend.

Just to make me feel ashamed of feeling sorry for myself, I call to mind those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.  So I throw back my shoulders, lift my chins, and try to make my own contribution, whatever that may be.  At this time, I suppose, a blog post that may momentarily entertain those who read it.

Now, I am not one of those holiday shamers, who post memes of mourning army widows with snarky captions of,  “And you thought it was national barbecue weekend!”  I feel that one of the things soldiers fight for is the right to enjoy fun times with family and friends.  But I do not want to start an argument.  I am no good at arguments.  I usually try to get out of them by changing the subject with a line like, “So do you think the Yankees are going to go all the way?”

I am wandering from the point, but then I do not think I had a point. I apologize to my readers for making yet another placeholder post.  In my defense… never mind my defense.  It’s a long story and not very interesting.  In the meantime, I approach 300 words of nonsense.  Let me look for another picture to end on a positive note.

Will my deck ever look this good again?

This was my deck some years ago.  I aspire to reach such decorative heights again.  Will I attain them?  Or will I have yet another reason to swoon?

 

It Isn’t Really So Early, Is It?

I am making a Wrist to Forehead Sunday post at eight o’clock on a Sunday morning.  Too early to swoon, you say?  Nonsense!  The early bird get the worm, or the chaise lounge, as the case may be.  I once said, “The early bird gets the worm, but the late bird gets spaghetti,” with a waggish intonation.  I forgot I said it and when reminded, I said, “I said that?  I’m witty,” arguably a more quotable line, unless you are inordinately fond of spaghetti, which I am.

When I first started typing the preceding paragraph, a little bubble appeared on my Chromebook reading, “help me write.”  I was highly offended. Help me write?  I need no help to write!  I am an excellent writer! And I do not care if I flatter myself.

Mmmm… wine…

I threw in a picture, to distract from the fact that I was flattering myself.  This is Montezuma Winery’s tasting room in Old Forge, NY, which I visited with my sister Cheryl last fall.  I was mentioning their tasting room in Cooperstown just yesterday.  I like to visit tasting rooms.

My situation this morning, by the way, is that I must take my shower and pack, because I am going to Rome to spend Mother’s Day with my lovely mother and equally wonderful father.  I intend to spend the night.  I do not know why I become so flustered over what should in fact be a fairly routine matter, but so it is.  However, I have managed a blog post of over 200 words, so my daily blogging habit continues.  Once again, I thank you all for tuning in.

 

Not Even the Ambition to Swoon

I am having kind of a Wrist to Forehead Sunday, when I swoon, dramatically posed with the back on one wrist to my forehead — why do I not yet have a chaise lounge to faint upon?  This is not an unreasonable goal.  Actually, it is, considering I cannot even get my house cleaned and organized.

The sign that should be in front of my house and definitely in front of my brain!

I could not find an appropriate illustration during a quick check of my Media Library so make due with this.  I ran by this sign on this morning’s run, then I went through Meyer’s Park.  It was only a two-mile run, so shorter than the last run, but I still feel I am getting into shape for the Boilermaker 15K in Utica, NY in July.  I suppose I should feel pleased with myself that I went for a run, was it two days in a row?  I am getting so forgetful in my old age.

I do love purple.

I throw in a picture of a few crocuses to cheer myself up.  Things got colder this weekend than they were earlier in the week, but I don’t really mind that.  The temperatures haven’t killed off the flowers.

I don’t suppose it was the temperatures that have killed off my ambition, either, but I need to get some of it back.  Maybe I could manage a Mohawk Valley Adventure this afternoon.  I hope you are all enjoying your  Sunday, with or without a chaise lounge.

 

Where’s Vincent Price When You Need Him?

I’m afraid this is going to be something of a Slacker Sunday blog post. I will soon be celebrating Easter Sunday with some of my family and want to get the blog post made before I forget to do so, as is apt to happen on a Sunday.  Or any other day.

Preview of Coming Attractions?

I was actually looking for the picture of Vincent Price as Egghead from the Batman TV series, only the egg he is holding is painted Easter colors.  I know it is in my Media Library somewhere, but I cannot spend all day looking for it.  Instead I share this “before” picture of plants purchased for my container garden on my deck one year.  I have not had a good container garden in years.  Will 2026 be the year it returns?  I can hope.

Oh, just shoot me!

I could not find another picture at all appropriate, but there could be no possible objection to Bette Davis.  After we saw this movie for the first time, when we lived in Georgia, I wrote my mother a letter where I was talking about it. How Bette Davis killed this guy and it was self defense, only she had written this letter to him that proved it was not and she had to buy back the letter, etc., but I could not remember the name of the film.  My husband Steven wrote in the margin, “It was The Letter.”  We were both pretty amused.

There he is!

Here’s Vincent Price!  I think I have another picture of him somewhere, but this one will totally do.  I hope you are all having a lovely Easter if you celebrate, and a lovely Sunday if you do not.

 

Late Wrist, a Little Luck

So I let Sunday slip by without making a Wrist to Forehead Sunday post, and I realized I did not mention one of my activities from Slacker Saturday.  I volunteered for Herkimer Elks Lodge’s Casino Night.  Admittedly, there was not much I could do.  I can’t deal Black Jack, and somebody else was spinning the wheel.  I took over the chip table when the lady manning it went to get something to eat, and I got drinks for people at the Black Jack table.  I lamented that I did not have my Playboy Bunny outfit, but I think everybody was pretty much OK with that.

I gambled some $10 away on the wheel, winning and losing a chip or two at a time and not quitting while I was ahead.  It was fun, and I considered it a donation to the Lodge.

 

I am so maligned.

I just spent a bit of time searching my Media Library for a picture of the Elks Lodge, since I thought a picture would pep things up.  One might call that dilly dallying, but it surely does not constitute lolly gagging (which I always thought was one word when my mother used to accuse me of it) (and I will call you Shirley if I decide to).  Anyways, back to the blog post.

Sunday I did attend the HALO Luck Paws Auction, and won a basket.  I did not stay for the drawings but got a phone call later informing me of my luck.

I see I am over 250 words.  Score!  Will I make a Monstrous Monday post later?  A little uncertainty adds interest to my day.