Thank God It’s… Something

I thought I would make a Throwback Thursday Post,  but I am worried about sharing things too recently or too often shared.  Obviously I am too lazy to look at previous Throwback Thursday Posts to be sure.  Judge me if you are so inclined.  I don’t suppose it matters much.  If I repeat myself, my readers can enjoy a frisson of virtue, because they never do so, or experience the relief of not being the only one.

I know I only shared this once.

This is apropos (so I can’t have a Non-Sequitur Thursday Post).  Thank God It’s Friday And Pay Day was the saying of my husband and our friend Ron, when they worked together at a radio station up North.  Every other Friday was payday.  Thursday is my payday, and today is my Friday, because I have tomorrow off.  Won’t that be nice?

 

They are said to be a favorite of bees.

Here is a picture from August of 2019.  These Brown-eyed Susans just grew in our yard with no effort on our part, other than not mowing them down when I began to suspect what they were.  We have Black-eyed Susans which we purchased and planted on purpose further back in the yard.  Neither plant has bloomed this year as yet, but I’m seeing a lot of greenery.

Oh, I will be so happy to see this view again!

Here is another shot from last summer which I am looking forward to seeing again.  I am not able to paint my own toenails with any competency or accuracy (I have tried many times), so I go to the Hot Spot Salon and Spa in Herkimer.  They have only recently been able to offer the service again.  I have an appointment for one week from today.  Yay!

I said this was not  Non-Sequitur Thursday Post,  but I have gone from Fridays to flowers to toenails.  Additionally,  this has been a Throwback Thursday AND a Preview of Coming Attractions.  Has it been a good blog post?  Well you can’t have everything after all!

 

Back at the Bar!

In lieu of my usual Wuss-out Wednesday Post, I thought I would talk more about Saturday’s visit to the End Zone Pub and Grub in Herkimer.  Regular readers may recall that I had just gotten my bald on and wanted to go out for a celebratory drink.  I contacted my friend Kim and made plans to meet.

I walked down to the End Zone.  No drinking and driving for me!  I walked in to see the bar stools spaced the recommended six feet apart.  I sat on one and ordered some wine.  I chatted up one of my favorite bartenders, Tino, and another patron while I waited for Kim.

Tino is behind the bar; I never got the other guy’s name.

When Kim got there, I moved a bar stool from beside the wall to a table that was opposite the bar.  This put Kim close enough for conversation but still socially distanced.

She had Moscato; I had Chardonnay.

We had a great time hanging out and talking.  I have missed going out!  Talking on the phone or via computer is not the same as in person socializing!

I also took a shot of Tino and Kim, for good measure.

End Zone Pub and Grub is located at  129 N. Main St., Herkimer, NY, phone number 315-219-5796.  They are open from noon to 2 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday, noon to midnight Sunday, and 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. Monday.

Blooms, Bald and Booze

I don’t know if anybody noticed that I did not post on Saturday or Sunday, but I totally had enough for a Scattered Saturday Post.  Perhaps I could do that now, instead of my usual Tired Tuesday.

I got up and went running.  Then I wrote a couple of postcards and called my parents.  It is nice to talk to Mom and Dad almost every day.  I did not talk long, however, since I wanted to get out early and get to Houle Flower Farm in Little Falls while they still had a lot of flowers for sale.  I did not need to purchase any; I was hoping to get some pictures to submit with my article for Mohawk Valley Living magazine.

I almost bought another bouquet.

After I got back home, I had my bald appointment at the Hot Spot Salon and Spa in Herkimer.  I blogged about that yesterday.  After I was bald, I met my friend Kim at the End Zone Pub and Grub, which had just re-opened the day before.

Of course we practiced social distancing.

The above picture is Kim.  After the End Zone we went to Asteroga Ale House, but I did not get any pictures.

It was a very fun Saturday, and I apologize for not blogging about it right away.  These things happen.  I hope you will all tune in again tomorrow for what may or may not be Wuss-out Wednesday.

 

Remember my Bald?

Does anybody remember when I was going to get my head shaved to raise funds for St. Baldrick’s Foundation?  Do you also remember that it was cancelled due to Covid?  Well, it was, back in March, and I did not worry too much about it till recently,  when hair establishments began re-opening.

I began feeling a little self-conscious about my increasingly unruly mop, especially when so many of my friends, family and co-workers had donated to a good cause, in addition to the entertainment of seeing me bald.  The money had gone to the cause all right, but there I was with my head of quarantine hair.

I was fortunate to get an appointment at my favorite establishments,  Hot Spot Salon and Spa in Herkimer, NY.  I took a Before picture, specifically for blogging purposes.

I am lousy at taking selfies.

One could argue that it is no sacrifice to get rid of such bad hair.  Additionally, with the hot summer weather coming, it will be a pleasure to be bald.  Well, never mind all that.  I said I was going to be bald, and I am a woman of my word.

Ta-dah!

I confess to a few moments of, “What was I thinking?”  But mostly I think it is funny.  And I do it to honor my beloved Aunt Carlyn, who lost her hair and her life to brain cancer.  St. Baldrick’s Foundation funds cancer research.  So I wear my pate proudly, and remind myself to use sunscreen on top now.

 

Mohawk Valley Lame?

Please don’t eat the daisies!

Hello, and welcome to Lame Post Friday.  I open with a picture of my daisies, just to make things pretty.  I have had a fairly productive day and do not despair of making a not bad blog post.  Of course, no promises on a Friday (or ever, I must admit).

I mowed the lawn and spent some time chopping and pulling up overgrown stuff where I cannot mow.  I briefly considered taking before and after pictures but decided against it.  It would have distracted me from the task at hand, and I needed to get all the work possible out of my burst of ambition.

After a shower and rest, I finished my articles for Mohawk Valley Living magazine.  They sadly were forced to cancel the April, May and June issues.  I was delighted to make submissions for July.  I hope they like what I wrote.

The lovely bouquet on my mantle.

As a preview of coming attractions,  this is a photo from one of the businesses I wrote about, Houle Flower Farm in Little Falls.  Indeed, I must also make a blog post about it soon.

I do love flowers.

And this is a shot from AW Greenhouse and Garden, also in Little Falls,  the other business I wrote about, and another subject of an upcoming blog post.  I may return there soon for more Johnny Jump-ups.

I really like them.

And so I close with a previously shown picture of the Johnny Jump-ups.  I can’t wait to see where they jump up!

So I guess this has been a flowery Lame Friday Post.  Just my little contribution of beauty to pur world.

 

Running Off Frustrations

I needed to go running this afternoon.  For one reason, I did not run Tuesday or Wednesday,  and my run on Monday was short (I counted my gardening on Tuesday as exercise, since I spent a goodly amount of time walking around carrying rocks) (no, I have no excuse for Wednesday,  judge me if you must).  Where was I?  Ah yes, running off my frustrations, or rather making a blog post about how I attempted to do so.

It does not matter why I was frustrated; it is, in fact, the least interesting part of the story.  Suffice it to say, I felt that some time spent beating up my body would do me good.  So I changed into running gear, threw a load of laundry into the washing machine, and took off.

I had great hopes for this run, because my back was feeling much better than it did on Monday.  However, once I started running, my legs started to feel awful.  Well, that’s what I get for taking days off, I told myself.  Just keep going.

So I did.  The sun was warmer than I prefer, and soon sweat was seeping into my eyes.  Ouch!  Wasn’t that head band helping at all?  Apparently not. I moved my glasses to wipe with my hands or my sleeves.  Don’t touch your face, you advise?  Good luck with that!

I got to smell one lilac bush and one patch of peonies, plus another peony on my cool-down walk.  I had managed to run for a mere 20 minutes, with a 10 minute cool-down walk.  Better than Monday, not as good as I had hoped.  As far as my rotten mood, I guess it helped.  A glass of chocolate milk (my usual recovery beverage) (it’s science, you know!), a cool shower, and a glass of wine (In that order) also helped.

Finishing a 300-word blog post is pretty good too.  And tomorrow is Lame Post Friday!  As always, I hope you’ll tune in.

 

Where Is Nosferatu?

I felt so happy when I realized I could make a Mid-Week Monsters Post today.  I am feeling so tired, and not for any good reason, but I do so love to be a daily blogger.  I also love monsters.

“Aaaaah! A monstrous mid-week!”

I open with my favorite,  Nosferatu.  I love this shot of him, because I think it looks like Canal Place in Little Falls.  Perhaps in reality it does not, but how awesome would that be if Count Orlock joined LiFT, Little Falls Theatre Company?

Are we monsters? Or do we just play them on stage?

Here is a shot of the building I think Nosferatu is standing in front of.   It was taken at a rehearsal for The Tempest three years ago (yikes!  Has it really been that long?).  I’m the one in the middle, with the big hat.  I can’t remember who took the picture.

Hmmm, no. These windows are different.

This is not a monster, but I think it is quite possibly haunted.  It is the Lorraine Billings School in Herkimer, NY, a sadly derelict building.  I noticed it while searching my Media Library for more monsters.  I wondered if the windows were similar to those in picture number one.

“Hey, wasn’t this post supposed to be about me?”

Back to Nosferatu, and I do not believe I have any other pictures of such an arch.  Perhaps that could be a mission for me on a future walk:  to find a similar local setting for a future Monster Blog Post.  In the meantime,  I am over 250 words.  I call that OK, and I hope my readers were reasonably entertained.

 

 

Do I Have Rocks in my Head?

Today I decided to plant the Johnny Jump-ups I purchased on Sunday at A&W Greenhouse Gardens in Little Falls, NY (more about them later) (preview of coming attractions).  This might be worth a blog post, especially as I took a couple of pictures.

There is a space to the right of our porch (facing the house), which needs work.  Originally some really blowsy day lilies grew there.  Steven eventually  mowed them down a few times.  Last year we tried covering the space with an old shower curtain and some decorative rocks.  We used red, but they are not that color now.

This year, over the difficult to mow space in front of the no longer red stone, I put some dark garbage bags weighted down with stones.  This is supposed to produce an area suitable for planting.  This is where I wanted to plant my new flowers.  My hope is that they will jump up (which is what they do) all over the front yard.

I guess I did not wait long enough.  When I pulled up the bags, there was still plenty of grass underneath.  This proved fairly easy to pull up, so I had at it and soon had at least a small area cleared.  I dug into this area with my dirt digger upper (no idea what the tool is really called), and planted my Johnny Jump-ups.

Perhaps I need to buy more.

I put rocks around them, so I would not mow over them (no promises for the ones that jump up elsewhere, but I will do my best).  Then I decided to put the garbage bags back over the surrounding grass.  At least it is that much space I don’t have to mow, and maybe I can put fall flowers down later in the year.

I let the rogue daisies live.

As you can see, I have a lot of rocks.  I hope to do more landscaping things with them eventually.

I love the different colors.

I close with a different angle of the new addition to my lawn.  I confess to feeling a slight frisson of virtue for not making a Tired Tuesday Post.  As always, thank you for tuning in.

 

Or Is It Non-Sequitur Monday?

I went on a run after work today, which I very rarely do on a Monday. On most Mondays I let myself off the hook, hence my usual Monstrous Monday.  This week I decided to mix things up.  For another reason, I needed to do laundry, and it is so handy to put the load in the washer, then run till it’s done.

It was a bad run almost immediately, and it did not get much better.  I cut it short, because my back was in screaming pain.  However, I do not mean to complain.  Not too much, at any rate (I know that to some people, any negative peep is too much complaining and I should just stop whining, but do any of those people read this blog?  I’m thinking not).

Pretty! And they smell good!

The highlight of my Monday was the blooming of my peonies.  I had to go out and take a picture.  I thought my readers would take flowers instead of monsters.  Any who are disappointed can comfort themselves with the thought that more monsters will be forthcoming sooner or later.

In the meantime,  I backed up and got a shot of my out of control daisies.

I just can’t bring myself to cut them back.

Then I remembered that I had never taken a picture of the bird house I recently hung on the porch.  I surprisingly got my Tablet to zoom in.  The last few times I tried that, all I would do was change it to selfie mode.

I am not sure a bird could actually live in that house.

I went up on the porch to try for a closer shot.

It is perhaps an awkward angle.

Imagine my chagrin when I saw the price tag showing.  Full disclosure: I did not purchase the bird house.  I found it in one of those canvas dumpsters in front of somebody’s house.  Hey, reduce, reuse, recycle, am I right?

So this is my Mixed-up Monday Post.  Hey, have I just invented another feature?

 

Wrist to Svengoolie

I did say “no promises” about a better post on Sunday, didn’t I?  I guess it’s always No Promises for Mohawk Valley Girl.  But I am making my post on Sunday and not early Monday morning, so there’s that.

Yeah, what she said.

So it is Wrist to Forehead Sunday.  Yes, I am a little sad that tomorrow is Monday.  Of course I want another day off, who wouldn’t?   Yes, yes, I am happy to be back at work, I am grateful to have a job. Cannot one feel ambivalent about these things?  Sheesh!

I love this guy!

Earlier we watched a DVR’d episode of Svengoolie.  Fun!  It was the original Frankenstein, an excellent piece of cinema. James Whale, the director, was a genius. And Boris Karloff was, of course, wonderful.  However, I prefer it when I can hear Karloff’s mellifluious voice.  “Every Who down in Whoville liked Christmas a lot…”

The best!

Right now we are looking at Watch on the Rhine, another DVR’d feature.

The definitive monster.

I thought I had a picture of Bette Davis in Watch on the Rhine, but apparently I do not.  However, I found a shot of Karloff in Frankenstein.  I think that is even better.

I Ser I am over 200 words, so I shall return to enjoying my Sunday (as opposed to regretting my two day weekend).  As always, thank you for tuning in.