A Bit of Work, A Bit of Cheer

I usually do not get anything done on a Sunday.  It is kind of a thing with me.  However, this morning I managed to get myself out of the house before the heat of the day and did a half hour’s work on my back yard.  The place is being taken over by wild grapevines, and I fear I am losing the battle.  However, I intend to go down fighting.  I chopped with the clippers, I pulled, I yanked, I cussed.  I filled three barrels for the waste carrier to pick up tomorrow morning.  They will only pick up three barrels per week, so I had my excuse to stop then.

The fruits of my labor. So to speak.

Full disclosure:  I did not chop and pull the entire contents of the barrels.  My across the back neighbor had done some chopping of the vines covering the back fence, so I only had to gather those and put them in the tub.  That was effort enough for an old broad like me.

They don’t stand out very well, do they?

I wanted to do a bit more to brighten my surroundings, so I put out two frogs I bought last year or the year before at a dollar store.  I may move them to a more visible location.

Aren’t they cute?

I had chopped down the wild daisies that were taking over the front lawn, after it seemed they were done blooming, but I noticed a few little ones popped back up, adding another cheery note.  I need all the cheer I can get.

I don’t know what these are called.

I have not completely cleared the front, because I was waiting for these purple things to bloom.  I almost gave up waiting and cut away, but they jumped into bloom before I got to it, so I have a bit more color to enjoy.

I haven’t done as well in my lawn this year as I had hoped, but one does what one can.  At least I showed a bit of ambition on a Sunday, and had a bit of cheer for my reward.

 

Who, Me? Slack on a Saturday?

Yesterday I had an almost completely Slacker Saturday, including not making a blog post.  Now, Sunday morning, I sit, having started the day in a fairly non-slacker fashion, prepared to slack once again.

Come to think of it, I did not begin Saturday in Slacker fashion.  I ran up the hill to Herkimer College (formerly known as HCCC or H-trip-C), a rather formidable hill which conquered me earlier this year.

Why does it not look so steep in pictures?

I don’t know if it is being over 60 or being overweight, but running has become increasingly difficult for me.  It is clearly impossible for me to become any younger, and it is extremely difficult for me to lose any weight.  What’s a girl to do?  I know, try harder to lose weight.  For one suggestion, I can refrain from going to Caffe Maya in Herkimer, NY and ordering Chicken Parmesan, as I did yesterday.  Yes, I slacked when it came to cooking dinner.

Really good place to eat!

In my defense, YUM!

Today promises to be extremely warm.  As I am susceptible to heat injury, I feel justified in taking it easy.  Additionally, it has long been my contention that it is useless to think I am going to get anything done on a Sunday.  Did I say I began today in a non-slacker fashion?  Perhaps I will write a blog post about it later.  That will be two things I get done!  Sometimes I even amaze myself.

 

Popping in for a Pedestrian Post

I went for a walk this morning hoping to make a Pedestrian Post with Pictures.  I was afraid it would be a little warm but felt I needed the exercise.  A nice breeze blew some of the time, and I appreciated when I could find a little shade.  I did not see any photo ops at first, then on Main Street, I saw some nice flowers in front of one of the apartment buildings.

I like the white ones that spill over.

I appreciate when people do things to brighten up the area.  A little ways down, I saw some more.

Hmm… nothing spilling over.

Then I took a picture of four pots in a row.

Waaaait a minute!

After I took the picture, I realized these were artificial.  Were the others artificial as well?  I did not go back and check.  However, a little further on, I saw some flowers that were definitely not artificial.

Perhaps not as colorful, but what are you gonna do?

I said, thank you, Mother Nature!  I continued my walk, feeling I had taken enough pictures for a decent post.  That was good, because I did not see many other flowers.  I guess I walked on the wrong streets.  Then I saw one lone poppy.

Remembering our veterans!

It looked so much like the ones the veterans hand out for donations, I had to take a picture.

I enjoyed my walk a great deal, and it felt good on my legs.  Now I have made a blog post, and that feel pretty good, too!

 

Tequila Blog Post

Technically, one is not supposed to plan to have a Non-Sequitur Thursday post.  One begins typing and ends up with one.  One being me, of course. I do not know of any other bloggers who have Non-Sequitur Thursday posts.  I made it up myself, but there are other things I made up that other people have thought of too.  For example, Tequila Mockingbird.  For a long time I tried to come up with a cocktail called a Tequila Mockingbird.  I wanted it to be dark in color and include tequila.  Finally I settled on black coffee and tequila.  I found it quite tasty.

Flash forward to 2025 and I am in a play called Four Old Broads on the High Seas at Players of Utica.  One of the characters is a drag performer whose lady name is Miss Tequila Mockingbird.  It is a great character, and the actor doing the part is having a great deal of fun with it.

Must get an un-blurry photo of Miss Tequila Mockingbird.

I actually have other pictures of Miss Tequila Mockingbird, but they are in  a smart phone I forgot to charge, and it takes a long time to get charged enough to use.  We’ll call it a preview of coming attractions.

Well that makes another shout-out to the play I am in at least.  Performance dates are July 25, 26, and 27 at 1108 State St., Utica, NY.  For more information call 315-724-7624.

 

Well, It’s Wednesday

I was afraid this would be a Wuss-out Wednesday, but here I am Wednesday evening, typing in a few words.  No promises that they will be particularly entertaining words, but we can’t have everything.  I had hoped to have a Waste Not Want Not Wednesday but found I do not have many pictures in my phone that I haven’t used.  I found two, so maybe this can be a Wussy Waste Not Want Not Wednesday.  It still has the charm of alliteration.

I kind of feel like that tree.

I took this picture a while ago when I was taking a walk.  The tree has since been nicely cut up and is being removed.  I am not sure which storm it came down during.  We have had a few.  I feel pretty grateful that I have not had much damage to my own property.  My yard has a few trees.  I would not care to have any of them fall on me.

I do like flowers.

This used to be a bank, but it has been closed for some time now.  I was pleased to see the flowers blooming so took a picture to cheer myself up.  I feel sad to see buildings sitting empty, but I am no entrepreneur to try to fill any of them.

I guess I need to be taking a few more pictures.  I would like to be having a few more Mohawk Valley Adventures but am a bit preoccupied with the play I am in (perhaps you read my blog posts about it).  Still, the blog must go on!  As always, I hope you’ll stay tuned.

 

Picture Me in a Play!

In the play I am in at Players of Utica, Four Broads on the High Seas, my character keeps snapping pictures, much to the annoyance of the other characters.  The beauty part of that is, I get some pictures I can use in a blog post.  Sometimes I also take a picture when I am not on stage, like this one of our esteemed director:

Doesn’t she look nice?

I take a couple of ussies in the course of the play, some of which definitely turn out better than others.  I delete the bad ones, but I will share some of the good ones.

A little blurry, but we’re all smiling!

I loved this shot, because I went to take a picture of me and the fabulous fellow, and my friend jumped right in.  It was a great character thing to do.

Another smiling trio!

The one in the middle is actually a stage crew member who was standing in for a cast member who is on vacation.  She is a young chick that actually did a great job of playing an old broad.  I got her permission to use this picture in the blog post, because I thought it was a good one.

I haven’t said much about the plot of the play, but then I don’t want to spoil anything for local readers.  I’m afraid this blog may become All Old Broads All The Time, but you’ll have that.  As always, I hope you’ll stay tuned.

 

Saw One Play, Rehearsing Another

Sunday afternoon I went to the closing performance of Getting Sarah Married, the last production of Ilion Little Theatre’s 2024-25 season.  I had a feeling I should have gone the first weekend; then I could have made a post encouraging local readers to go.  As it is, now I can only say, it was a very funny performance.  I congratulate all involved.  Alas that I do not have any pictures of it.  I ought to at least have a picture of Ilion Little Theatre in my Media Library, but I do not think I do.

It’s complicated.

I got on my Tablet and found this rehearsal shot shared by a cast member and stole it.  It includes all but two of the cast, and I think it shows something of the chaotic nature of the plot.

Today I have other theatre things on my mind.  I have to study my lines for Four Old Broads in the High Seas, a play I am in a Players of Utica.  Yes, I am one of the old broads, the one that is (a quote from the script) “dumb as a box of rocks.”  Yes, it is type casting.  It is an extremely silly script, but I imagine it will get a lot of laughs.

Me, doing my stuff.

The director shared this rehearsal shot on one of my Facebook posts.  I asked for silly photos to cheer me up.  Who, me, be silly?  SAY IT AIN’T SO!

Four Old Broads on the High Seas will be presented at Players of Utica, 1108 State St., Utica NY, July 25, 26, and 27, all seats $15.  For more information you can visit playersofutica.org

 

Congratulations, Ilion Fire Department!

Saturday I had the honor to attend a Ribbon Cutting and Dedication at the Ilion Fire Department, celebrating their new ladder truck and the addition built onto their firehouse to hold it.  I was there to cover it for Sentinel Media, but I am a huge fan of fire departments, so I was happy to be there.

A pretty impressive piece of equipment.

The ladder truck, which replaces a 2003 vehicle, is state of the art and comes at a bargain price.  It seems another fire department ordered it, then the financing fell through.  The Village of Ilion was able to purchase it for some $1.55 million as opposed to $2.4 million.  However, the truck would not fit in the firehouse, which was originally built in 1929.  The building has already been modified just about as many times as is feasible, necessitating the addition.

I guess it doesn’t match, but what are you going to do?

The new truck was dedicated to Deputy Chief Larry DelGrego, who served from 1992 until his death from cancer in June of 2024.  Fire Chief Andrew Monahan gave a moving speech about Larry, or Larzy as some called him.

In case you thought ribbon cutting was just an expression.

The Village Board of Trustees was on hand, as well as representatives of Herkimer Next.  I chatted with a few people, most notably with some firefighters.  I got an open invitation to stop by the firehouse and chat some more, as long as the door was open and they were between calls.  Maybe I can hear more about their fancy new fire truck.

 

Words to Lame By

Hello and welcome to another Late Lame Post Friday post.  I don’t know how much of a post this will be: I am dead of brain and low of spirit.  However, ten-finger typing usually cheers me up, and sometimes even my dead brain can be entertaining, to myself if nobody else (although I certainly hope to entertain a few people at least).

I am fortunate not to smell like what I feel like.

I was looking for a brain picture (from the Planet Arous or That Wouldn’t Die) but decided to go for poop instead.  I do not really feel too poopy  right now, just a little headachy, sluggish, and inclined to complain.  My Saturday stretches before me, with things to go, places to be, and people to do.  Or something like that.

Mine would and does on a regular basis.

There’s a picture illustrating my lack of brain!  One of my absolute favorite cheesy movies.  Sometimes I say to myself, “Why can’t I write shit like that?” as the Whoopi Goldberg character asked herself in the movie Soapdish.  In point of fact, I do not know if I can or cannot write shit like that.  I quite frankly do not spend enough of my time writing to find out.  Once again, I end my blog post with an oath to change.

My new words to live by. Um, they were also my old words to live by.

Will I succeed?  Will I fail?  Will I even make my Saturday blog post on Saturday?  For the answer to these and other burning questions (and a few questions of various other temperatures), stay tuned to Mohawk Valley Girl!

 

Agatha Christie, Can You Help Me Now?

About all I’m up to this evening is a Throwback Thursday post.  Never mind why; explanations are tiresome.  Many of my Throwback Thursdays end up being Theatre Throwbacks, which is not surprising since Drama is my Life (said with a gesture), but I think I will try for something different today.  Let us see what I can find in my Media Library.

Rather a threatening looking book cover, no?

Oh dear, I thought I was throwing back to a favorite book, which this is, but then I realized it is also a treasured theatre memory.  My late husband and I were in the stage version of this mystery at Ilion Little Theatre some years ago.

The movie was different from our play.

This is the movie poster from the DVD I have.  There is at least one other movie version of And Then There Were None that I would also like to have on DVD.  I would also like to direct the play version if Ilion Little Theatre wanted to revive it.  It has been a few years; I wonder if they would.  Perhaps not. They recently presented Mousetrap and plan to do Murder on the Orient Express next spring.

So much for not doing a Theatre Throwback.  On the brighter side, I am over 200 words, and tomorrow is Lame Post Friday.  I hope to see you all then, figuratively speaking.