Mohawk Valley Girl

I Felt Super!

Posted on February 4, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

Ah ha ha! (that was a triumphant laugh) I went running again! I took two days off, because it was just too cold for me, but this morning it was 30 degrees when we got up, so I said, “Hey!”

I waited a couple of hours first and ate a banana with peanut butter not quite one hour before I actually went. It was not much above 30 by then, but I thought I could rock it. I was right. I ran on the sidewalk instead of the road for the most part, because it was covered with enough snow to give traction. Sometimes I thought I saw ice underneath the snow, so I exercised caution. My middle-aged shuffle is good for that.

I had run for a half a block before I realized it was snowing. Snow? Oh well, I could still rock it (but not rocket, if you see what I mean). I had on leggings, a long sleeved t-shirt, a hat and gloves. I wished I had also worn a scarf, especially when the wind picked up. Then again, running without a scarf, I think, “Oh, if I had a scarf to cover my cold face, how nice that would be!” Running with a scarf, it’s, “I can’t get this damn scarf to cover my face right and now I’m fogging my glasses!”

As I ran, I thought about the blog post I would write, especially the title. It is Superbowl Sunday. Could I work that in? How about alliteration on Sunday? Then I looked around at houses, feeling happy when I saw the occasional Christmas decoration still up. I don’t really get over my post-Christmas let-down till spring. Sometimes it lasts till it’s time to start thinking about Halloween. When I wasn’t looking for greenery and wreaths, I was hoping the cold air would not give me a headache.

Regarding that last sentence, it was a forlorn hope. As I type this, I’m afraid I got one and it is getting worse (remember, the more you complain, the longer God lets you live). However, I see that I am over 300 words. Short for a Running Commentary but long enough for a Wrist to Forehead Sunday. I shall stop blogging and nurse my headache. But I ran for 26 minutes, the same as I ran on Thursday, and I felt pretty damn good about it. Happy Sunday, everybody.

3 Comments

Posted in humor, personal, running, running commentary, Wrist to Forehead Sunday and tagged blog post, blogging, cold weather, feeling super, headache, ice under the snow, middle aged shuffle, post Christmas letdown, rocking it, running, snow, weather. Bookmark the permalink.

Severed Head Saturday?

Posted on February 4, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

What can I say, I like movies where somebody loses his head. Not ALL movies where that happens, of course. I don’t need to see the blood spurting out or anything really disgusting like that. I am not a fan of the graphic violence. And I like people to get their heads chopped off for a good reason, like greed, jealousy or being blackmailed. Come to think of it, I always prefer murder for a reason, be it a movie, novel or true crime show. You know, not some psycho, weirdo serial killer. But I digress.

I had started to write a cooking post for tonight, and I have a couple of local business shout-outs I could write. But I let it go too late in the day, and I’m tired. We are looking at a Forensic Files right now (murder for the reason of greed, but not by losing a head). Then we will put in a movie. My vote is for Strait Jacket. I am in a William Castle kind of a mood, and, as I said to begin with, I like movies with severed heads.

Of course, it isn’t all severed heads with Mr. Castle.

And here’s the showman himself. I never heard what kind of lobby gimmick if any he included with this flick. That might be a good thing to research sometime. I wonder if anybody has written a definitive biography of William Castle. I’ll have to check.

The caption is not a line from the movie, or even anything to do with the movie, but I kind of like it.

Of course another reason to watch Strait Jacket is the wonderful Joan Crawford. She is very good in the part, and I have to respect an actress who takes parts in cheesy horror movies in order to keep working. And what’s wrong with cheesy horror movies anyways? I find them more entertaining than a lot of Oscar bait. But that’s a whole other blog post. Happy Saturday, everybody.

4 Comments

Posted in humor, personal and tagged blog post, cheesy horror movies, entertainment, Joan Crawford, murder for a good reason, Oscar bait, severed heads, Strait-Jacket, William Castle. Bookmark the permalink.

Just Throw in Some Monsters and Hit Publish

Posted on February 3, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

“This is far too much work for a Friday.”

When in doubt, lead with a monster. I have no memory of where I got this picture, but it was in my Media Library, and I am in a Frankenstein monster kind of a mood tonight. This is not a problem on Lame Post Friday. I’ll just make a couple of random observations, maybe throw in a little half-baked philosophy, hit Publish, and be on my way. I had such a day at work today, but never mind that. This is not a work blog, after all. As regular readers know, I usually put very little work at all in here. Don’t judge me.

Hands up, everybody who think Cindy is a lousy blogger!

Another shot I cannot readily identify, but I remember using it at some point. In fact, I do not intend to watch any Frankenstein movies tonight. I was looking at Snapped but now Dateline: Secrets Uncovered is on. I love Dateline. Oh crap, it’s a stupid episode I don’t like. I put it on another episode of Dateline on another channel.

A dramatic shot, no?

Oh, I just realized, this Dateline is a case that was featured on Snapped. I must stop typing and watch this show. First I’ll hit Publish.

Like the vampire says.

3 Comments

Posted in humor, Lame Post Friday, personal and tagged blog post, blogging, Dateline, Dateline Secrets Uncovered, Frankenstein, Frankenstein monster, half-baked philosophy, lame post, monsters, random observations, watching television. Bookmark the permalink.

Running Away From My Health Problems

Posted on February 2, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

I think it is an impressive structure.

As I approached Herkimer’s Historic Four Corners on my run this afternoon, I remembered I had pictures in my Media Library I could include in today’s Running Commentary. Lacking a really catchy lead, I decided to open with the Courthouse.

Yes, after almost two months, I returned to running today. My tiresome health problems continue to dog me, but I figured taking it easy was not helping me, I might as well try a little exertion. For another reason, I miss running, and I thought I saw a 10K going on somewhere nearby in April. I can be ready to run a 10K in April. Or I can run it anyways, if I’m not ready for it. But I could be partially ready for it if I started running today.

It was 39 degrees according to my thermostat. Not too warm for leggings and long sleeves. I wore a new sports bra I bought some weeks ago. Ooh, it was soft. I must purchase more new sports bras. I put a sweatshirt and bottle of water on the deck rail, ready for my cool-down walk, and got started.

Regular readers know I prefer to run on the sidewalk. It is safer, and I find it more pleasant. However, winter sidewalks, especially when things have been thawing and re-freezing, can be treacherous. I chose the road, left side facing traffic, as we are supposed to do but many do not. I regretted my choice when I turned onto German Street. Too much traffic! And mud puddles. I decided to only go one block and turn down Henry, a quieter street.

Ah, much better. I noticed the sidewalk did not look too bad and decided to try it. Long stretches were bare and dry, some were merely wet. I shuffled carefully over some icy patches. There were sections of the road that looked worse than the sidewalk, but you’ll have that. I alternated sidewalk and road, avoiding ice and icy puddles whenever possible. I ran up Main Street, which in the downtown area had lovely stretches of bare, dry sidewalk.

I used to go to this church.

It was as I ran by Christ Episcopal Church, narrating in my head, that I remembered about the pictures. There is nothing like pictures to pep up a blog post. I was able to stay on the sidewalk till the 1834 Jail.

Is the picture less effective because you can see green lawn and leaves? Sorry if I have ruined the mood.

Continuing up Main Street in the road got a little scary, because traffic picked up and I had to go around parked cars. Still, every time I looked at the sidewalk, I felt no inclination to go there. German Street was no better, and traffic there was worse. Yikes! I only went one block on German then turned down Prospect. Phew!

I had planned to run for 20 minutes, my usual goal when I have not been running in a while. However, I made it for 26 minutes. As I walked my cool-down, my legs felt TERRIFIC! I kept repeating to myself, I must run or walk every day. We’ll see how that goes tomorrow, when the temperature is supposed to drop, abruptly and considerably. At least it will be Friday!

7 Comments

Posted in blogging, humor, personal, running commentary and tagged herkimer ny, Historic Four Corners, icy sidewalks, weather. Bookmark the permalink.

Don’t Despair: Just Write the Post!

Posted on February 1, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

This is the kind of nonsense in which I indulge on Facebook lately. The first I originally typed into this space, then thought, “I can’t start a blog post with this!” So I moved it to Facebook. Now I put it back here, just to be that way:

I can’t do it. I can’t write a blog post about Why I Can’t Write a Blog Post. And, I can’t write a blog post.

Then I remembered something I had meant to post in my pun group, Punmanship: A Salute to Bennett Cerf and other inveterate punsters. It is a true story:

I said I would throw my hands up in despair, and my husband said he would like to see that. When I did, he said it did not look like despair. I said, “It was dis pair of hands!” The fact that he laughed explains our long and happy marriage.

Well, that got me up to 15o words anyways. My choices now are: (1) make a really short post; (2) throw in a picture or two and get silly; (3) never mind what choice #3 is, I’m going to add pictures and get silly.

Alas, Frangelica, we never knew ya!

Never mind what this originally represented: these are all players in the murder mystery I am writing for a fundraiser for the Herkimer County Historical Society on March 31. I worked a little more on it today but have far to go. I shall give further updates as events warrant.

The Suiter House, home of the Herkimer County Historical Society.

Since the plot of the murder mystery centers around an upcoming exhibit at the Historical Society, I include a picture of The Suiter House. The mystery’s title is Secrets at Suiter House. I believe I wrote a blog post about that.

Ooh, look at that: I am up to 300 words. I guess I could write a blog post after all.

Not Tired, Tingler!

Posted on January 31, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

So there I was, watching The Tingler with my dear husband Steven, because I thought I could write a post about a cheesy movie instead about how tired I am (it is Tired Tuesday, after all) (oh, it really, truly IS). I opened my laptop to look for some photos to pep up the post (since apparently pepping myself up is beyond possibility), and on searching “The Tingler” on Facebook discovered that I have already written a blog post about it!

I was in a Vincent Price kind of mood.

I had been thinking about Vincent Price during the day, probably because of the picture I put in yesterday’s post. Then again, any day is a good day for Vincent Price. I did manage to find a couple of photos from the movie.

He ought to be looking so hangdog because the science in this movie is so spurious.

If you look in the background of that picture, you can see the skeleton that I believe was also featured in House on Haunted Hill, another favorite of ours. Steven pointed out a couple other similarities in the movies, namely the un-loving, sneaky wife.

This looks a little racier than it actually is in the film.

Does the evil wife get her comeuppance? I shall not say, regarding either movie. For one reason, I did not include a spoiler alert. For anther reason, watch the movie yourself! Either movie! Any Vincent Price movie! Any William Castle movie! Comment what you watched. I love it when I get comments.

I’ll Always Have Snapped

Posted on January 30, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

At the risk of stating the obvious.

This will be a brief combination of Monday Mental Meanderings and Blogger’s Sick Day. I’m still sick with my cold or virus or whatever it is, but I made it through the day at work (I tried to avoid my co-workers and keep my germs to myself). Now I am sitting here, looking at Snapped and wondering if I ought to attempt some chicken soup.

The Price is right.

Often I insert a monster picture at these times, but I thought a horror icon would do just as well. My sister Vicki pointed this photo out to me on a page I had not encountered yet, Halloween (All Hallows Eve). I immediately Liked it.

Full Disclosure: I am not up to 200 words. I’ll throw in the Snapped logo for a third picture and hit Publish. Sorry, folks.

Only it’s not Sunday, and it is not no new. Hey, any Snapped in a storm.

4 Comments

Posted in humor, Monday Mental Meanderings, personal and tagged blog post, bloggers sick day, blogging, lame post, Snapped, Vincent Price. Bookmark the permalink.

The Lengths to which a Sweet Tooth Will Go

Posted on January 29, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

It is kind of a long headline, but I like it. The sweet tooth in question belongs to my sweetie. He is in the kitchen, baking with wine.

We have eaten all the candy we gave each other for Christmas. OK, we ate all that a long time ago. I never did as much baking for Christmas as I had planned, so we still have a few bags of chocolate chips. Steven wanted cookies. What to do?

I remembered once using a recipe for sugar cookies I found on a box of Jiffy Baking Mix. I looked at our Hannaford store brand box. No luck. BUT, I have gotten better at finding things on the computer. I opened the laptop and typed in “Bisquick sugar cookies.” Bingo!

I wrote down the recipe. Steven is putting it together, forgoing the granulated sugar they suggest you roll the cookies in but adding chocolate chips. IT! COULD! WORK!

Wouldn’t that be a nice end to a Wrist to Forehead Sunday? Chocolate chip cookies and some semblance of a blog post.

It was not until I got thus far in the blog post when I realized: I looked for a Bisquick recipe. Why did I not look for a Jiffy Baking Mix recipe? So just now I opened a new tab and did. Ooh, lots more ingredients. Forget that!

I will let you know in tomorrow’s blog post how the cookies turn out. Happy Sunday, everybody.

Please Excuse Mohawk Valley Girl…

Posted on January 28, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

I am going to ask you nicely not to judge me for taking an actual Blogger’s Sick Day yesterday. My cold felt better and by “better” I mean “less horrible.” I took some over the counter cold remedy that knocked me out. When I woke up I made chicken soup and had a couple martinis. I suppose hot toddies would have been more appropriate, but I just couldn’t face the honey.

So the first martini made me feel better, the second made me feel a little too good. I had some chicken soup, and went to bed. Now I feel quite thoroughly embarrassed, still headachy and a little sick to my stomach. Well, maybe when the hangover goes away, it’ll take the cold with it. That has happened to me before. Mostly I am embarrassed because my mother reads this blog. Good God, I’m 54 years old and still trying to hide my foibles from Mom. Hi, Mom, by the way.

I also got up this morning determined to make up for all the stuff I did not get done on my week off. Accordingly, I put a load of laundry in the washing machine and opened my laptop to make this post. Who knows what I might get done after a cup of coffee. Maybe something worth blogging about.

2 Comments

Posted in humor, personal and tagged blog post, bloggers sick day, blogging, cold, health, martinis, Mom. Bookmark the permalink.

Also Known as a Thelma Todd

Posted on January 27, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

There comes a time when I have to say, what the hell, body? I have a bad blogging and writing week, for various reasons, then when I think I can salvage something on Thursday and Friday, I get completely sick with a terrible head cold. I am trying to count my blessings — at least I am not nauseous and I did not have to work today — but I feel AWFUL!!!

So I am having a Lame Post Friday after all. I’m not even going to post any monster movie pictures to liven things up. Well, maybe one.

Nobody could be un-cheered by Nosferatu.

I spent most of the morning sleeping. That was sweet. Some food and a hot shower made me feel a little more human. Then I managed to drive to Utica to get my vehicle. Oh, never mind why my vehicle was in Utica; it’s a long story and not very interesting. The drive home was not fun, as the cold symptoms kicked back in, but I made it without being a danger to myself and others.

Back home I had a hot toddy. I make them the way a doctor told me to many years ago: hot tea with lemon and honey and a shot. He recommended brandy or whisky, but I have Mohawk Valley Fire Moonshine from DikinDurt Distillery of Herkimer. It is fine, yes. Very cinnamony. For honey I used some ginger creamed stuff I got at one of the Little Falls festivals, Cheese Fest or Canal Fest, I think, who can remember these things with a bad cold? While I sipped, I looked at a Snapped On Demand. I love Snapped.

I might as well throw in another graphic for good measure.

So everyone has a breaking point, according to the above picture. Maybe I’ll have another hot toddy to make sure I don’t reach mine. Happy Friday, everybody.