It’s Not COVID!

Although that would make me relevant to current headlines, wouldn’t it? See, you can find an upside to anything. My upside right now is, it is just a cold, it will be over soon. My downside is, this will be another not very good blog post. But as regular readers know, I like to post every day, so let’s see what I can come up with.

I haven’t reached mine yet, but stay tuned.

I have been spending most of the weekend watching Snapped on Oxygen. Today is the Greed Marathon. Earlier this week was the Ex-Best Friends Marathon. They probably had a different marathon every day, because they were working up to some landmark episode, but alas, I did not make a note of them.

“You’re sick? Get back!”

 

I have long bought into the mentality that when you’re sick, you have to just keep going as best you can.  Of course, there have been times when I said, no, dammit, I need to take a day to nurse myself!  But I never thought too much about keeping my germs to myself.  In my defense, my bosses were not too worried about it either.  “Get yourself in here! You have to work!”  is what a distressing number of them said.

But the times they are a-changing, as the song goes.  I feel sick?  I am doing the right thing to stay home alone and watch Snapped!  However, as my headline says, it is not COVID.  I took my temperature, and I don’t have most of the symptoms. This is good news for me.  I should feel fine in another day or so.  Then I will be out of the house,  on job seeking and bloggable adventures!   As always, I hope you’ll stay tuned.

 

Yes, I Took the Damn Day Off

Today is a true blogger’s sick day. I got up with high hopes of getting things done. I took a run, I wrote post cards, I walked to the post office with said cards.

As I walked home from the post office, I started to feel kind of crappy. I thought, just get through today. Tomorrow you can take the day to lounge around and rest. As the morning wore on, I decided, No. Today will be my day off.

I messaged my friend Kim, who I had plans with. She was most understanding. If my day off has had the desired effect, we may get together tomorrow.

However, if not, I will damn well stay home and keep my germs to myself. Some of us buy into the mentality that we must drag ourselves along as best we can, being as productive as we can manage. However, in these COVID enhanced times, we are beginning to appreciate the value of staying the hell home.

No, I do not think I have COVID. I believe it is a common or garden cold, or perhaps just my body’s need to relax for just a short time. In any case, here is my long winded excuse for no blog post today. I will try to come up with something better for tomorrow. As always, I hope you’ll stay tuned.

Good Sale, Good Cause!

Well, I’ll be damned! I thought it was a rummage sale, but it was an Indoor Yard Sale! Whatever you call it, it is a good sale for a good cause, the Dolgeville CAT Project Trap/Neuter/Return.

I never knew there was an old Dolgeville Library.

Last week I drove to Dolgeville to drop off a few donations to the sale. One of the ladies working today recognized me from when I dropped them off. Since I had gotten rid of a few things, I felt justified in purchasing a few more. Yes, I have too many things, that is why my house is such a mess, go ahead and judge me.

Ooh, what a nice Santa!

At least I kept myself from getting any more Christmas decorations! We have so many, we never bring them all down from the attic in any given year.

There was quite a wide selection.

I did not look much at the clothes, except for two pairs of sandals trimmed with rhinestones. However, I resisted them as something I would probably rarely wear. I picked out a few CDs with local music. How could Mohawk Valley Girl resist local music?

I didn’t get any toys, either.

I did find a set of stackable desktop trays. Just what I need to organize my coffee table! I also picked up a rectangle cake pan. I like cake. Then I grabbed a smallish cloth bag and a laptop bag.

After I had paid for my purchases, I put the CDs in the small bag and the cake pan in the laptop bag. One of the ladies working found a large cloth bag for the desk trays. I happily paid another dollar for the big bag. It is a nice bag!

The sale continues till 3 p.m. today, Nov. 13, and continues Saturday, Nov. 14 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Local readers, I encourage you to check it out!

Non Sequitur Stroll

I decided to take a walk with my phone (instead of my Tablet) for today’s Pedestrian Post.  Yes, it is the second post in a week of me taking a walk and snapping pictures.  That is why I am calling this a Non-Sequitur Thursday Post.

This tree previously had ghouls and skeletons hanging from it.

As I walked down German Street, I was a little sad to walk by a yard which had been very decorated for Halloween.  All that was left was a few brave yellow leaves!  So I took a picture.

A few more brave leaves.

Turning down North Washington Street, I tried to get a shot of a tree with leaves and a bare tree behind it.  I really love trees: green leaves, colored leaves, no leaves.

A bush by a bank, just to get alliterative.

I walked by my beloved Herkimer Historic Four Corners but did not see another photo op till I walked down Main Street the red bush caught my eye.  Then I took a picture of bare branches in front of colored leaves in front of Basloe Library, another favorite spot.

Yes, it is still fall.

I headed over to Prospect Street and on to Meyers Park, where I knew there was still one pretty tree.

I got this shot on Park Avenue.

I had noticed this guy on my walk to the post office this morning.

This little tree caught my eye as I left the park.

As I got closer to home, I took a picture of a tree near my house.  It is one of my all time favorite trees.

I need to get a better shot of this one.

It was a pleasant walk.  I am taking more walks than usual these days.  I think it is good for me.  I hope it is good for the blog as well!

 

Good Music, Good Food

Since I am unemployed, it might behoove me not to eat out very often. Then again, I have to support my local eateries AND my local musicians. With that in mind, I headed to Fratello’s Pizzeria in Frankfort, NY, to hear Phillip Arcuri.

As I sat down at the bar, the bartender told me it was Happy Hour and showed me on the menu where the buy-one-get-one appetizers were listed. Score! I ordered mild buffalo chicken tenders, jalapeno poppers, and a glass of Cabernet. I happily sipped wine waiting for food and music.

He has as much fun as his audience does.

I love watching and listening to Phillip Arcuri. He has a terrific smile and an eclectic play list. He started with Johnny Cash and went on to The Beatles. The audience was having a great time. “Brown-eyed Girl” seemed particularly directed to one lady, especially when he changed the lyric to “Blue-eyed Girl.” I felt a little left out with my green eyes!

The view from where I sat.

I sang along with “Sha-la-la-la-la-la-la,” as did almost everyone else. I sang along with all the words to “Where Oh Where Can My Baby Be?” Steve should have been there for that one!

Ah, deep fried yumminess!

I know I should avoid deep fried, but how could I resist the Happy Hour special? One thing I particularly noticed behind the bar was a rather large cork collector. I should have a cork collector that big!

I should have asked where they got it.

Fratello’s Pizzeria is located at 158 E. Main St., Frankfort, NY, phone number 315-894-8484. They are open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 1 to 9 p.m. Sunday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday.

Down the Unknown Trail

This morning I ran through The Unknown Park. A friend told me it was called Brookfield Park, but I can’t find that through Facebook or Google, so I will continue to call it Unknown. This afternoon, I walked where I ran, taking pictures for a blog post.

You can see it is unlabelled; hence my dubbing it The Unknown Park.

I would have liked to stand in the road for a better view of the gates, but traffic was too heavy.

As usual, it seemed steeper when I was actually on it.

I walked up into the park and by the fields where they have athletic games, when they can have regular sports. I didn’t take any pictures till I got to the picnic area.

I’ve sent a postcard of this area.

Beyond the picnic area is a trail. Before going where I ran, I walked to the other end of the trail, where I thought I saw some stairs.

I did not attempt to climb the stairs.

I took a picture of the beginning of the trail before retracing my morning run.

It is a pretty well marked trail.
A ridge on my right.

I thought about how I would have climbed that ridge in my younger days.

And on down the trail.

I wanted to get a shot of the brook to my left, but that was not as easy.

I had to leave the trail for this one.

Before I got back on the trail, I saw a sign tacked to a tree.

I didn’t know what a tribe was.
Another water shot.

I wanted to get a shot further upstream. Then I saw a path to the water I hadn’t noticed when I was running.

I think this was man made.

I picked my way carefully over the rocks. I do not need a sprained ankle to add to my troubles.

I had never seen this view before.

I resisted the temptation to go off trail and further explore the brook.

Getting to the end of the trail.
Trail’s end.

The trail comes out on the road that leads to Herkimer College the back way. I did not continue uphill but took a picture.

This is the way I walked to vote last week (was it only last week?).

Then I took a picture of the way I did walk.

Back to civilization!

I really enjoyed my walk, especially in the unseasonably warm weather we enjoyed today. Things are supposed to get colder and rainy tomorrow, so I felt I had used my time wisely.

Hey, Paesano’s!

Does everybody get that headline?  It is from a Lou Monte song that starts, “Hey, Paesano, twist Italiano, whoa-oh-oh-oh!”  I used to drive by Paesano’s Pizzeria in Mohawk  on my way home from work.  When I had a job.  Today on Facebook, they offered 20 percent off to all the workers laid off from my place of employment.  How nice!  I decided if they were going to support me, I would support them.

I knew only a slight hesitation, because, you know, weight loss goals.  Additionally, I had made myself pizza for dinner twice in the last week (should have done a cooking post!).  Then I thought: antipasto salad!  Of course!  I ordered 10 garlic wings as well, because, yum.

Mohawk has an old fashioned looking Main Street.

I made my order by phone and tried to do a few chores while I waited the 25 minutes the guy said it would take.  Mohawk is a very short drive away.  I paused outside to take a picture and to pet a passing dog.

I repeat: Yum!

The salad came with some delicious garlic bread.  I greatly enjoyed my meal and have leftovers for tomorrow.  Or later tonight!

Paesano’s Pizzeria is located at 8 W. Main St., Mohawk, NY, phone number 315-866-0333.  They are open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

 

A Purely Personal Post

Since I always categorize this blog as Personal, I am going to make a purely personal post. Regular readers know I am very happily married to a lovely man named Steven. Well, Steven is not in the best of health. Last month, he went into the hospital and he is now in a nursing home, hopefully for only a short stay.

I will not go into details about what is going on, because, in addition to HIPAA considerations, I have always said that explanations are tiresome. Suffice it to say, I hope he is finally getting the help he has needed for a while.

I kept all this secret, even from my nearest and dearest until last week. Finally I told my parents, then made a Facebook post spreading the news far and wide. How’s that for all or nothing thinking? Either I don’t tell anybody or I tell EVERYBODY!

Obviously this is a stressful time, especially for someone who suffers from depression, as I do. The worst thing is spending all this time home without my hubby. What a waste of being unemployed! I can only hope I find a job soon, so I can take my mind off my troubles.

Of course things could be worse, and I must count my blessings. I saw a news story about a man who has not seen his wife since March. He was going to go up in a bucket truck for a window visit and hoped she would be having a good day. God bless him! What the hell am I complaining about?

So I must try to keep myself occupied, hopefully with things I can write interesting blog posts about. Thank you for tuning in, and I hope to see you again tomorrow.

BBQ at the Boneyard

I just parted company with my friend Kim. I said, “It is the movie watching portion of the day.”  She said, ” You have a blog post to make!” Of course she was right.  We had been at Boneyard BBQ in Utica, NY.

In the heart of Utica.

We had a little trouble finding Roosevelt Drive, but we got there eventually.  The place was small, but we easily found a table.  Kim got a White Zinfandel and after trying a sample I got a Goose Island IPA.  We admired the Halloween decor while we waited for our food and drinks.

The large skull was looking right over my shoulder.

We shared chili cheese fries for an appetizer.  Then I had Everything Wings while Kim had a Pulled Pork Sandwich with a Mac and Cheese side.  We had to wait a bit for our food, because the kitchen was also busy with a catering order, but it was delicious when it arrived.

Note the Utica Club logo on the wall.

We took a couple more pictures outside.

Gotta love the scary pumpkin!

 

And the front door.

Boneyard BBQ is located at 244 Roosevelt Dr., Utica, NY, phone number 315-733-0364.  They are open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

 

Stop Lollygagging and Make a Blog Post!

I had another busy day of doing things that were just not worth blogging about. Then again, it is Lame Post Friday. I’ll just blather on for a while and call it a post. Maybe a silly picture or two to pep things up.

I am usually silly, with or without wine.

I am enjoying a glass of wine as I type. In fact, I am wearing the same shirt, although I am not sporting the same silly grin.

This was my Facebook profile picture for a while.

I have been enjoying a lot of horror movies lately. The above is the inimitable Lionel Barrymore in Devil Doll. It’s a pretty fun movie.

And sometimes I am just piddle puttering.

As I scanned my Media Library, reflecting on what a foolish post this is, the above caught my eye. My sister Cheryl gave it to me. Many agree that it is just the sort of thing I would say.

I like trees.

The above is from March, but I have been noticing how bare trees are looking. Perhaps one day soon I will take a walk and snap a few shots (preview of coming attractions).

In the meantime, I am closing in on 200 words. Happy Friday, everyone!