Not Too Crappy to Contemplate Murder

Posted on January 30, 2020 by mohawkvalleygirl

I feel less crappy than yesterday!

But crappier than tomorrow!

You know,  to the tune of “I love you more today than yesterday.”   I didn’t know that was a song for the longest time.  I noticed that lots of people (girls, mostly) (not to buy into gender based stereotypes, but such was my observation) would use it in the Valentine messages you could put in the newspaper.  Imagine my surprise to learn they were quoting a song.

Be that as it may, my aching head is saying, “I can’t write a blog post!”  Yes, in a pathetic, whiny voice.  I am sufficiently disgusted with myself.  And I know for a fact that it isn’t so.  I just kind of sort of wrote something.  I could probably share it here.  For one reason, it would up my word count.

You see, our friends at the Herkimer County Historical Society asked us (meaning me and my murderous actor friends) to revive a murder mystery we did some time ago at the Herkimer Elms Lodge.  I think Caryl referred to it as “the one with Tucker and the bugs.”  Kind of sounds like an episode of Friends, doesn’t it?  Today she messaged me asking for a few specifics for their newsletter.

First I had to find the script, which I had unaccountably not saved in the same place as the other murder mysteries in my laptop.  It too some clicking, but eventually I located it.  Luckily I had already been thinking about some modifications to make the script more suitable for the historical society.  Here is what I managed to send to Caryl:

Eric O’Chevsky, who describes himself as an organizer and community builder (although some call him a shady wheeler dealer, or so I have heard), has discovered that the Herkimer County Historical Society recently received a major grant. He organized this dinner for his associates to pitch their ideas for good uses for the money. Some of their ideas may seem to have a tenuous connection to local history, but you know, people have to follow the money.

The people vying for a donation are:

Meryl Barrymore, a community theatre actress, wants to do a historical play (assuming she can find one with a glamorous enough lead). Flora Fortenza, who is something of a flower child, wants to plant lots of flowers around the Suiter House and perhaps all around the Historic Four Corners. Phoebe Larkspur wants to place bird houses all around, perhaps patterned after historic buildings. Dudley Turnbull wants to place poop bags for people walking their dogs. Isn’t that corner a popular dog walking place? Harold Greene, an environmentalist and brilliant scientist, is partnering with Dudley’s project and wants to invent a biodegradable poop bag. Renwick Spaulding is hoping to mount a display of bugs. Historic bugs of course.

The title is Donate to Murder.  It will be presented on March 27 at the Travel Lodge in Little Falls.  More information to follow!

Looks like a suspicious bunch to me!

 

 

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I Think I’ll Go Back To Bed

Posted on January 29, 2020 by mohawkvalleygirl

So yesterday was a Blogger’s Sick Day.  I am afraid readers of Sunday’s post may think I was hungover, what with the picture of the lady pouring booze into a blender.  Then again, we’re not supposed to worry about what other people think of us.  Some people may think less of me for worrying that other people are thinking less of me.  Then yet again, I just imagine most people have other things to think about than me. Why would I think anybody is thinking anything about me?

This is not helping my headache.

Last night I just could not bring myself to type a word.  I did not even feel up to lying on the couch and looking at a DVR’d Dateline, even though I was interested in the case.  I felt even worse in the morning, yet dragged myself through eight hours of work.  In my defense, how can I know that I won’t feel even worse tomorrow?

OK, I am not going to make my usual quota of 200 words.  Then again, who wants to listen to me whine about how sick I feel?  I wonder what people will think about this post.  Oh yeah, probably nothing.

199 words!  This paragraph brings be over 200.  Score!

 

 

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Murder and Mayhem, Tomorrow is Monday!

Posted on January 27, 2020 by mohawkvalleygirl

I feel your pain, Kitty!

No, I am not pouring booze into a blender.  I MIGHT be indulging in a sip of wine, but nothing that will render my Monday more hideous than it normally would be.  But I think a lot of us can identify with the sentiment.  If you are not one of them, may I congratulate you on your healthy, positive attitude?

One of Steven’s favorites.

Earlier today we watched The Sting, in honor of Paul Newman’s birthday.  Full disclosure:  our copy of The Sting is on VHS.  We are not completely up to date in this household.  I wanted Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,  since we don’t have Road to Perdition, but I let Steven have his way.

My tastes in entertainment are skewing darker these days.  After The Sting, we watched a rather horrible episode of Dateline on our DVR (we are still working on cleaning it out), which I enjoyed quite a bit.  Oh, it was a good episode, well written, no cheesy re-enactments, all that.  But it concerned a completely cold-blooded murder of two seemingly very nice people.  I spent a lot of time yelling at the murderers through the television set.  I like interactive entertainment.

I loves me some Dateline!

Now I am looking at regular television.  Snapped is on. Let the murder and mayhem continue!

 

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Hey! It’s Still the Weekend!

Posted on January 26, 2020 by mohawkvalleygirl

I guess folks can judge me again, because I waited till later in the day to post, I have had a few glasses of wine, and this may not be a very good post.

I guess it is a Scattered Saturday post, but there has not been a whole lot to scatter about.  I went running this morning, which was actually the highlight of my week.  It was an awesome run!  I felt terrific all the way through it and most especially during the cool down walk.  I really should have made a Running Commentary post.  Too late now, I suppose.

We got together with our friend Kim but did not have any particular Mohawk Valley Adventures.  She helped us fix our back door (alas, more repairs are needed). Then we got chicken wing pizza from Vinny’s in Herkimer, and had a lot of laughs.

Since Kim went home, Steven and I have been working on cleaning out our DVR.  We watched The Invisible Man on Svengoolie and are on our second two-hour Dateline.  Regular readers know I can never have enough murder and mayhem.

So I guess the main reason I am making this post is that I like to make a post every day.  I can see it is a foolish post and yet I feel oddly pleased with myself for making it.  I hope my readers have been reasonably entertained.  Happy Saturday, all!

 

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Judge Me If You Are So Inclined

Posted on January 25, 2020 by mohawkvalleygirl

TGILame Post Friday.   I am sitting on the couch in my living room, wishing for another glass of wine and wondering what I can say for this week’s Lame Friday Post.

We had a delightful evening:  wine tasting at Valley Wine and Liquor in Herkimer followed by dinner at Salvatore’s in Herkimer.  Yes, an entire Herkimer post.  Judgy types might be happy that I did not drive too far while imbibing.  Or they may judge me anyways, merely for imbibing.  I cannot control how other people judge.  I can only assure those concerned that we tasted a small amount and enjoyed only a glass or so with dinner.  Hence my desire for more wine now.

Oh dear, now I have been talking about my wine intake, and that will imply that I am taking in too much.  I have taken quizzes on “Are You an Alcoholic?” and there were questions like “Have you been upset about people asking how much you have been drinking?”  and “Have you gotten defensive about people saying you are drinking too much?”

Alas, bringing up the subject at all will make some readers believe I am quite the lush (you know who you are).  All I can say is:  For heavens’ sake, it’s Friday.  Why can’t I have a drink and talk about it in my blog post?

Ooh, look at that.  I am over 200 words.  I call that OK.  Happy Friday, to those who drink and those who do not.

 

 

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Too Much Storm for Brains?

Posted on January 24, 2020 by mohawkvalleygirl

What theatre person wouldn’t want to be part of this great group?

Here is the post I meant to write yesterday about the efforts of LiFT, Little Falls Theatre Company,  to bring Shakespeare back to Little Falls and the surrounding area in 2020.  We had a brainstorming session at Meeples Mug House last Saturday.

A great place to go, even if you’re not Brainstorming the Bard.

The weather was pretty terrible last Saturday, but we made it to Little Falls and hoped others would too.  Before we met, I put a quarter into the old fashioned gumball machine they recently installed.  At least, the machine did not contain gumballs,  but it always seems wrong to me to call it a prize machine.  Do any readers know the right name for it?

Whatever you call them, they are fun.

I got a meeple!  I declared he would be the mascot for Summer Shakespeare 2020 and put him on the table we met around.  Laura,  LiFT member extraordinaire, added a candle with a picture from a previous Shakespeare production.

Can you see Sir Meeple on top?

Only a few people were present, but we talked about a lot of ideas.  My idea was to do scenes from Shakespeare rather than a full-length play.  We discussed different ideas for which scenes, how to put them together, and more stuff.

Here are the brainstormers, minus me, who was taking the picture.

Since so few people had shown up to brainstorm, we decided to have another session on Saturday, Feb. 1, at 3 p.m.  In the meantime,  I undertook to start a Facebook Group as a means to communicate with interested parties.  I rather shamefacedly admit that I just got around to doing that today.  In my defense, I wanted to come up with a catchy title.

Catchy or not, the Facebook Group is called Give Shakespeare a LiFT.   My husband Steven helped me pick from a few ideas I had.

I hope more people make it to our second brainstorming session.  I hope people contact me via the Facebook Group or another method if they are interested and cannot make it.  I hope my blog readers are interested to read about our continuing Shakespeare efforts.

 

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I Left Out Play Solitaire

Posted on January 23, 2020 by mohawkvalleygirl

On the brighter side, it has been a long time since I had a really bad headache.  On the dimmer side, well, here I am on Thursday morning, typing in my Wednesday post.  I actually wrote something Wednesday morning.  It kind of took a turn, so I was not going to use it, but now I find it appropriate.  We can either call it Mid-Week Middle-aged Musings or, perhaps more appropriately, Wuss-out Wednesday.

I must write my update on Brainstorming the Bard.  It might serve as inspiration for me to get my act together and perhaps as comfort to other disorganized people, that they are not alone or even the worst.

Alas, it is not only lack of organization that plagues me.  It is the paralysis of will that I fear is a symptom of my depression. In short, I am finding it damn difficult to do ANYTHING.

I get up in the morning, feeling rather ill-used about it, but most of us are used to that.  I get to work and manage to function (my job is not difficult).  I go home and sometimes manage a chore or two (Just Do One Thing is my meager motto).  But all I really want to do is sit, stare into space, maybe read a book, do a puzzle, crochet or knit while watching a true crime show.

At least the last mentioned  will eventually result in an object that may be useful to someone, but these are not activities that will help me reach any of my life goals.

That is when I stopped writing and began to work on a puzzle, till it was time to go to work.  And now I am over 250 words, so I have that going for me.  That is a thing I have been saying lately.  As in tomorrow’s Friday, so I have that going for me.  Ah, I feel a wave of optimism coming over me:  in truth, I have a lot of things going for me.  Full disclosure:  this reflection does not always help.  As I may have mentioned before, sometimes when I think of all the good things in my life, it makes me feel worse, because how can I dare feel depressed, ungrateful wretch that I am.  Today, I feel grateful.  I think it is going to be a good day.  I will try to blog about it tonight, if my headache doesn’t come back.

 

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I Wasn’t Tired When I Tasted

Posted on January 22, 2020 by mohawkvalleygirl

Cute girl with beer, what’s not to like?

 

So there I was, feeling too tired to make a blog post.  I went to my pictures, wondering if I could come up with something, and my thumb accidentally hit this delightful shot.  This is Emily at Beer Belly Bob’s Discount Beverage in Ilion, NY.  She is pouring us a growler, which we purchased after a tasting recently.

I picked up a couple of stickers and coasters, as I usually do at these things.

The tasting was Buried Acorn Brewing Company, which is located in Syracuse, NY.  Steven and I visit Syracuse on occasion, usually to visit my sister Diane and her family (they live in Liverpool, which is practically Syracuse).  We immediately began to plan when we can go to Acorn with Diane and her husband, Chris.

I thought this was a good pose.

I wanted to get a picture of John, who poured and told us about the brews.  At first he just stood and smiled, which was nice.  Then he reached into the tub for another beer to pour, and I said, “Wait! Smile!”  I’m nobody’s great photographer,  but I liked this.

We tasted a few good brews, but unfortunately I did not take good notes.  This is why I should make my blog posts sooner after I have these Mohawk Valley Adventures.  On the other hand, this is a better blog post than I had thought myself capable of making (or do I flatter myself?).

Buried Acorn Brewing Company is located at 881 Van Rensselaer St., Syracuse, NY, phone number 315-552-1499, web site http://www.BuriedAcorn.com.

Route 51 Beer Belly Bob’s Discount Beverage is located at 70 Otsego St., Ilion, NY, phone number 315-895-0936.  You can Like them on Facebook.

 

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Whine or Wine on Monstrous Monday?

Posted on January 21, 2020 by mohawkvalleygirl

“What do you mean, you’re too tired to make a blog post?”

I open with a shot of Vincent Price giving the side-eye.  I don’t know why I’m so tired.  It was a perfectly normal day at work, and I did not go running after.   But there is no use in asking why.  For one reason, it might lead to half-baked philosophy more suitable for Lame Post Friday (oh the pain of looking down the long, long week till Friday!) (Oh, quit rolling your eyes and playing the miniature violins; it was a joke!).

Where was I?  Ah yes, Monstrous Monday.  I wonder if it wouldn’t be more pleasant to have Merlot Monday.  I know, only if I brought enough to share.

“Did you say Merlot?”

The above would be an example of a monster of the human variety.  I know that no wine was involved in Psycho.  I would just imagine the plot would have taken a few turns had there been wine involved.

“You have wine?”

Of course I had to include Nosferatu.  In the Bela Lugosi Dracula, the Count famously says, “I never drink wine,” a line also used by Martin Landau as Bela in Ed Wood.  I must say, that is where they and I differ.

My friend Bruce would say, “Don’t whine! WINE!!!”  He has a point.  Well I have tried not to whine too much about being tired, but there are those who will accuse you of whining on the flimsiest evidence (you know who you are) (and it is so flimsy evidence!).  In any case, I see I am over 250 words.  Perhaps a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon.  It’s not alliterative, but it tastes so good.

 

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Hush… Hush, Sweet Sunday

Posted on January 20, 2020 by mohawkvalleygirl

Who wouldn’t love Bette Davis in a graveyard?

I pause during our viewing of Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte to make a Wrist to Forehead Sunday post. It has actually been an enjoyable Sunday, but I don’t know that I did anything particularly blog-worthy today.

A bit of snow fell last night, so I spent some time shoveling the driveway in lieu of running.  Full disclosure: I shoveled for less time than I would have run.  I hoped the hefting of weighty snow made up for it.

After shoveling I went to the grocery store, a chore I had meant to put off till another day.  Now I have stuff for my lunch for the week. And I had onions to put in with a pork butt roast I meant to cook.

I do not cook many roasts, and I usually do them in the crock pot, which is fairly fool-proof (or should I say Cindy-proof?). I opted for the oven this time.  I consulted Joy of Cooking, the internet, and my mother (via phone).  Then I kind of winged it.  I love cooking;  it is such an inexact science, things usually turn out tasty.

A stellar cast, but where’s Cecil Kellaway?

I just thought I’d throw in another picture from the movie for good measure.  We have not watched sufficient movies for a Cinema Sunday post.  I’ll have to work on that for next week.

 

“I could spit in your eye!”

Well, what’s wrong with a Bette Davis Sunday?  If only I had a martini, very dry, my life would be perfect.  Happy Sunday, everyone!

 

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