Post Pride Stride Post

Well I am home from running the Pride Stride 5K in Little Falls, NY. In all, I feel I did not acquit myself too badly.  Of course, as regular readers know, what I do is called running only by the most generous definition of the term. Then again, I think it is good to be generous.

Who couldn’t be proud of this outfit?

As usual the most stressful part was getting there.  I got out of bed betimes, had coffee, made sure I ate with plenty of time for my nutritious breakfast to digest.  The second most stressful part was waiting for the race to start, especially when my carefully planned nutritious breakfast began to unsettle my stomach.  Luckily that passed.  I had some delightful conversations with the other runners prior to starting.  I was only disappointed there were not more of them.  I commiserated with one of the organizers about this.

Once we got started, the stressful part was worrying if I would get lost, especially when almost everybody went WAY ahead of me.  I managed to keep two runners in sight: a guy in a pink unicorn outfit (wish I had a picture of that!) and a lady with a better rainbow skirt than mine. I was a little worried about losing them till after the half-way point.  I managed to catch up and, miracle of miracles passed them!  I think the fellow in the unicorn outfit was finding it awkward to run.  It was one of those blow-up kind of suits.

I had to turn around a few times and ask them, “Which way?”  Then the pace car came back and led me to the finish line.  I finished strong! At least for me.  I cheered for everyone coming in behind me.  I couldn’t believe there WERE people behind me!  Unfortunately, race endorphins do not last long.  I drove home subject to a case of Post Race Letdown.

This is actually a photo I was saving for Waste Not Want Not Wednesday.

Who me, drown my sorrows?  Actually, I may have a glass of wine with friends later, but I do not plan to tie one on.  I took the above picture, because I liked the Art Deco bottle.  I share it now, because I have not found another opportunity to use it.  Incidentally, my post race letdown is passing and I am wondering with what I should challenge myself next.  Will it make a good blog post?  If so, I hope you’ll stay tuned.

 

Too Lame Or Not Too Lame?

It is the day before the Pride Stride 5K in Little Falls, NY, and this blog never became All Pride Stride 5K All The Time.  I have obsessed a little about it in my head, of course.  You’ll have that.  For today, I can talk a little about the run and my preparations for it, but mostly I am making a Lame Post Friday post.  For one reason, I am tired.  I do not know why I am so tired.  I have not done much today.

I took a run.  I decided to go just about half of a 5K.  It went pretty well.  My body did not protest too much.

That just made me flash on “Methinks thou dost protest too much.”  Is that the right quote?  Isn’t it, “Methinks the lady doth protest too much.”  My Complete Works of Shakespeare is under the coffee table (what? where’s yours?).  I wonder if I can find the quote.  It’s from Hamlet, as theatre geeks recognized at once.

Random picture while I see if I can find the quote.

I found it!!!  The Queen says, talking about the play Hamlet has devised, “The lady doth protest too much, methinks.”  I’m glad we got that cleared up.

But is it a mundane post?

This is the picture I flashed on when I first detoured into Hamlet.  The so-called random picture is Weird Al Yankovic and friends as monks in Galavant, a wonderful, tragically short-lived musical TV series.  It actually does relate, because I played a monk in my first Shakespeare play with LiFT, Little Falls Theatre Company, Much Ado About Nothing.

So I haven’t talked too much about the 5K, have I?  No matter.  It would only make me more nervous.

 

Bad Pictures, Good Eatery

The other day I checked out the other new restaurant in Herkimer, NY, Paradise Eatery.

Must get a shot of the window without all the reflections!

I had been intrigued for some time by “This must be the place” on the front window.  I heard they had opened and stopped by one afternoon.  At the time I stopped they were only serving smoothies, smoothie bowls, or appetizers.  Appetizers are my favorite, so I looked at them first.  I chose Crab Rangoon.  Ooh, were they good!  They came with soy and boom-boom sauces for dipping.

Oh dear, this isn’t the best picture either.

I could have sat out on the patio but opted for the dining room, which was almost empty at the time.  It was just before the dinner rush.  I appreciate beating the rush.

And this one’s blurry! Damn!

I took a picture of the ceiling on purpose, because it is one of the cool ones you often see around here.  As you see, it is not such a good picture.  I am nobody’s photographer.  However, even with lousy pictures, I can recommend Paradise Eatery.  If the other menu items are as good as the Crab Rangoon, you will be in for a treat!

 

I Love Flowers

Hello and welcome to another Waste Not Want Not Wednesday.  I know I threatened to make this blog All Pride Stride 5K All The Time, and I did go for a long (for me) run this morning, but it was not very eventful.  Besides, I have some flower pictures!  I love flowers.

I forget who this guy is.

I pass by this statue many times per week on walks and runs.  It is Meyers Park, which is fairly close to my house.  Somebody takes very good care of the plants around the statues.  Next time I’ll get a shot of General Herkimer, who stands on the other side of the park.

Yay! They bloomed!

And here is my house, made extra cheerful by peonies and daisies!  I think the daisies may have gone a little too far this year.  I may need to get rid of them entirely and plant something else.  I also need to get around to planting something anything elsewhere in my front and back yards.

Ignore the mess, enjoy the daisies.

I cut a bunch of the daisies to make a cheerful bouquet for my living room.  I would like to cut a couple of the peonies and bring them in, because they smell so nice, but I am afraid of bringing in ants with them.  Ants help peonies open by crawling inside the buds and eating something.  That is about the only good thing I have ever heard about ants.

I still have not done much about making my own garden grow; regular readers may recall that the daisies and peonies come up with no effort on my part.  But the second week of June isn’t too late?  Is it?  Discuss amongst yourselves.

 

I Do Run On

How did it get to be Tuesday already?  I thought it was still the weekend.  No, no, I remember that yesterday was Monday, because I thought I could take a half hour or so to listen to Phil Arcuri at the Herkimer Downtown Chowdown.  I had to cover a Village Board Meeting in Ilion at 5:30 so couldn’t stay longer, but at least a little Phil would be great, and I could make a blog post after the meeting.

Well, um, no.  Apparently they cancelled the Chowdown.  They posted it on Facebook, but I missed it.  Rats!  And I had done very little else during the rest of the day. Now Tuesday afternoon is waning and I have again done very little.  I did run on Monday.  It was not much of a run, but any run is a good run to have done.  Today it was raining in the morning, and I was busy writing up the meeting I went to yesterday.

Feet don’t fail me now!

This is about the time my blog should be turning to All Pride Stride 5K All The Time.  I have three days before the big day!  Ideally I will go for a long run tomorrow, at least three miles.  However, I think it is supposed to rain.  I ran three miles in the rain at least once.  I can do it again.  No promises if there is thunder.

In the meantime, I have at least babbled on for over 200 words of another placeholder post.  I shall feel free to continue to call myself a blogger.  The Pride Stride 5K, incidentally, is part of the Little Falls Pride Celebration.  Many activities are planned for Saturday, June 14 in Little Falls, NY. For more information, you can check out their Facebook page.

 

A Yummy Snack

The other day I finally made it to Caffe’ Maya in Herkimer, NY.  It was late afternoon and I was feeling peckish, not ready for dinner but in need of a snack.  I happened to walk by Caffe’ Maya and found it open.  Score! I had an antipasto for one, and it was delicious.

I know, I only should have taken a picture from the outside as well.

It looks like a traditional Italian place with lots to look at.

Maybe too busy of a picture?

Of course, seeing all the cans made me want to cook for myself, which I rarely do these days.  Then again, my stuff probably would not turn out as well.

Not such a good shot with the sun coming in the window, alas.

I did not take a close look at everything hanging on the wall.  Perhaps at another visit.  Of course there must be another visit.  I must try other things than the antipasto!

I did not sit on this inviting bench.

The bench was near the door to the ladies’ room.  I guess you could sit there an wait if it was Occupado.  Oh wait, that’s Spanish.  Silly me.

Caffe’ Maya is located at 208 S. Main St., Herkimer, NY, phone number 315-574-2236.

 

Slacker Day, Silly Post?

It is a Slacker Saturday Post.  I have done pretty much nothing today.  Can I yet make a blog post about it?  We shall see.

I do see this building almost every day.

I managed to write and mail my usual Saturday post cards.  I do this most weeks, because I know it gives a smile to my post card peeps.

Who me? Have a glass of wine?

I did not have this shirt on, and I was not in the place shown here, the Waterfront Grille in Herkimer, NY.  However, I confess I did have a glass of Chadonnay this afternoon.  Judge me if you are so inclined.

Crazy daisies!

These are my daisies from last year, when in fact, they were looking a little better than this year.  They are looking a little blowsy this year, if you know what I mean.  Perhaps I will get out there tomorrow with a pair of clippers and do some major trimming.  On the other hand, they are holding the peonies up.  You know how peonies like to flop down once they bloom, as mine just started to do.  I love peonies.  I wonder what happened to the fence Steven bought one year to help them stand up.

One of last year’s peonies, for good measure.

So it’s another silly post, but one does what one can.  I did some other writing today, besides the above mentioned post cards.  I worked on a letter to a friend, and I wrote two character sheets on my latest murder mystery.  So perhaps the day was not a complete slack.  Discuss amongst yourselves.

 

What Is It With Me and Theatre?

Yes, it is Lame Post Friday again, the day of random observations and half-baked philosophy.  The day where I get silly for about 200 words then dive into the weekend.  Once again, I look to my Media Library for inspiration.

This is NOT what my hair looks like now.

This is me as seen on stage in Prescription: Murder at Ilion Little Theatre.  Actually the last view of me on stage was my awesome slipper sticking out from behind the couch after my husband had strangled me, the bastard.

Me dead. You would think the murderer would have looked happier; I was pretty annoying.

However, I did not want this to be another theatre throwback (not that there’s anything wrong with that), so I will look for a different sort of picture.

I should cook more recipes.

I just found my copy of this cookbook underneath my coffee table.  I do not know how it got there.  It is the cookbook put out by Herkimer County Historical Society, and the inspiration for my murder mystery, Recipe for Murder Royale.   Oops, I am back to talking about theatre.

Love the mustache.

You may think I am getting away from theatre with a shot (literally) at the Elks Club in Herkimer, BUT…  to begin with, many of my murder mysteries have been performed there; this was a shot of Frangelico in a Frangelico glass, the inspiration for one of my all-time favorite character names, Frangelica Inferno; AND the shot glass reminds me of a glass that was a present from  cast of a stage play I directed that later figured in a murder mystery for Herkimer County Historical Society.

So I have walked down Theatre Memory Lame and plugged Herkimer Elks and Historical Society.  I think I’ve earned my Happy Hour beverage.

 

Still Hoping for a Garden!

Can I manage a Throwback Thursday post, that is the question.  I know, you thought it was to be or not to be (you know who you are).  I guess the main question is, can I make a blog post?

Wow, look at how tame they are!

Here is a nice picture from June of 2017. My front yard does not look like this now!  The daisies have taken over the place, although the peonies are still there.

More daisies!

This is my daisies in 2024.  I just can’t make myself get rid of them; they are so cheerful.

When did I ever have THESE?

This picture is from May 2018, but I do not remember having four orange tulips.  How pretty are they!  This year I had one yellow tulip, which I was very grateful for but did not get a picture of.

So pretty!

And here is perhaps the last time I had a container garden on my deck.  I thought I might go somewhere to purchase flowers and herbs for this year but did not manage to.  I did not even manage to sweep the helicopters off my deck and get it ready for containers.  Oh well, there is always tomorrow.  We’ll see what I can do.  As always, I hope you’ll stay tuned.

 

Will My Garden Grow?

Hello and welcome to another Waste Not Want Not Wednesday, the day when I use up some of the pictures I impulsively take as I go about my business.  Full disclosure:  I have not felt well all day, sorry for whining about it, but if this post is not up to par, so to speak, that is my excuse.  I know, what is my excuse the rest of the days? Never mind that, on with the post.

Isn’t that lovely?

I had to pause during one of my walks to take a picture of this flower.  I think it is some kind of lily, but I don’t know from plants.  My own garden, container and regular, has not progressed as planned this year.  However, it is only June.  I might still come up with something, maybe even something this pretty.

Now there’s something to aspire to!

This was outside the post office; I took the picture yesterday afternoon after I had mailed a letter to a sister-in-law and a bill.  It makes me feel bad for not doing my container garden yet.

Who could resist a turtle?

This was on Main Street in Herkimer.  Isn’t he cute?  I have a few frogs I could put out, again, if I manage to get my garden together.

Now I have inspired myself.  I can’t do much about my garden tonight, because I have a Town Hall meeting to cover, and my stomach is quite upset (I hope the meeting does not get too dramatic and really upset my tummy).  But tomorrow, I do not have anything on my schedule.  I can finish cleaning my deck!  I can visit a couple of greenhouses!  It will make a great blog post!