Party Like It’s 1980something!

Posted on February 18, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

So this Friday I am staying home and putting rollers in my hair (long story for another post), but last Friday, Steven and I and a couple of friends partied like it was the ’80s’s.  Yes, I said like it was the 1980’s, not like we were in our 80’s (although that it does feel like sometimes).  We went to the American Legion in Mohawk and danced to the sounds of The Posers.

We had never heard the band before, but we were interested because the bassist is our good friend, Rick DeJohn.  We got to the Legion shortly before they started.  I texted the  couple who planned to meet us that we had arrived.  They soon joined us, and we were enjoying the band.

It was not long before they played a song I remembered well from my days of watching Mtv, back when they actually played music most of the time.  I asked Steven to dance with me.  We bogeyed down!  Not many people had been dancing prior to this, but afterwards, the dance floor started to fill up.  We danced a lot, and I loved it.  They did not only play 1980’s music. We enjoyed it all.  It was easy to see the band was having fun, and I think everyone listening was having fun as well.

The Posers will be playing at the Team Rebecca Fundraiser at the Ilion Moose Lodge, on Barringer Road this Saturday, Feb. 18.  Donation for admission is $15.  For more information, go to http://teamrebecca.alfordplace.com/. For more information on The Posers, you can visit their Facebook page.

 

 

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A Slice of My Life

Posted on February 17, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

Sometimes I am too ill to write a blog post. Does it count if I am too depressed? I feel so self-indulgent even considering such a thing. Ooh, maybe this is a good lead.

That is what I just now posted on Facebook.  Almost before I had copied and pasted it here, a friend had commented that depression IS an illness.  I suppose I feel it counts for everybody but me.  You know, that thing many of us do that we treat our loved ones way better than we treat ourselves.  I know, a lot of people do the opposite, especially with physical indulgences.  However, I know a great many people who will put themselves down using terms they would NEVER employ when talking to a friend.  Just saying.

Where was I?  Ah yes, trying to make a Non-Sequitur Thursday post before I hurriedly get ready for rehearsal for Steel Magnolias at Ilion Little Theatre.  This is what I posted on Facebook earlier:

Here’s the problem: I have so much to do, I not only keep thinking I’m forgetting something, I keep forgetting what it was I was just about to do. Making a list does not help. I not only forget to put stuff on the list, I forget where I put the list!

To make this a true Non-Sequitur Thursday post, I should make a catchy headline that has little or nothing to do with the post.  What is this post about, anyways?  Not much, as is par for the course when I am involved in a show.  Right now I am involved in two shows and need to finish writing two more to begin working on them within the next two weeks.  Yikes!  Why do I do these things to myself?  Ah yes, refer to an earlier paragraph about treating others better than I treat myself.  And I’m not all that freaking nice to others, either!  Happy Thursday, everyone.

 

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Too Much Theatre?

Posted on February 16, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

It’s that moment when you are pondering what, oh what, to make a blog post about and you’ve got just about enough time to do it, and you find out your rehearsal is at 6 not 6:30.  Oh NO!  I can’t handle it! (Said in a dramatic tone of voice, posing with my wrist to my forehead).  Incidentally, it is rehearsal for Steel Magnolias at Ilion Little Theatre, which will be presented the first two weekends in March.

I’m thinking it’s Wuss-out Wednesday, but given that last parenthetical comment, perhaps it is Wrist to Forehead Wednesday.  The sad thing is my husband had just started to tell me a story about his past.  I may have heard it before, but I do not mind a re-run.  That is one of the secrets to a happy marriage (not a very well-kept secret). (A lesser known secret is to have a husband that tells good stories). I guess he’ll have to tell me later.

AND we are watching WKTV News at five, where I believe there is to be a NewsTalk about Rubbed Out at Ruby’s, the murder mystery to be presented by LiFT Theatre Company at the Overlook Mansion in Little Falls. DVR to the rescue!

You may have noticed that I am a little stressed lately.  I have mysteries to write, costumes to find, lines to learn and blog posts to make.  And who’s fault is it that I have too much on my plate?  That’s right, the overriding problem in my life is ALWAYS Operator Error.  Maybe I can get caught up on the weekend.  But don’t count on it.  Happy Wednesday, everyone.

 

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My Funky Valentine

Posted on February 15, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!  I was unable to write a blog post earlier today, so I am doing the thing of finding pictures previously downloaded onto my laptop and writing about them.  The first thing to catch my eye is a not very romantic couple.  Just the sort of thing my twisted outlook would like to think about on Valentine’s Day.

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As things turned out, it was not a love story for the ages.

Chester Gilette and Grace Brown were an item in 1906, although he really was not that into her.  He tossed her in the lake, because she was pregnant and he didn’t want to marry her.  It is a famous murder case that was tried in the Herkimer County Courthouse.  Gilette was housed at the 1834 Jail across the street.  I’m not going to write a whole blog post about it; I just thought I’d share the picture.

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Also not a great love story, but I believe they were great friends.

Elsa Lanchester and Charles Laughton were married when they played a curmudgeonly lawyer recovering from a heart attack and his annoyingly cheerful nurse (um, not respectively) in Witness for the Prosecution, one of my all time favorite movies.  Their relationship is a highlight of the picture, although it was in neither the short story nor the play of that name. Watch the movie.  It is very entertaining.

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The 13th was just yesterday, although it was not Friday.

I end with Betsy Palmer and Jason, from Friday the 13th. Full disclosure:  I have never seen that movie.  I don’t know who the actor is, or even if it is a stunt double in the picture.  Steven tried to look it up in one of his Leonard Maltin books, but it was not clear which actor listed played the part.  So much for a well-researched blog post.

In any case, my dinner is ready, and  I have to go early to rehearsal tonight.  I declare this better than a Tired Tuesday post. Hope to see you all on Wuss-out Wednesday.

 

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One Baby Step for Me, One Blog Post for my Readers

Posted on February 14, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

Well, now I am happy I did not indulge in Wrist to Forehead Sunday, because this is surely going to be a foolish post.  I am typing frantically.  I have to leave for rehearsal for Steel Magnolias in less than one hour.  I have not showered. I have not changed.  I have not looked over my lines in the last three days.  I am quite mortified over that last one.  Showering and changing I may actually be able to do.

Oh, but I am tired!  On the brighter side, I did email two articles to Mohawk Valley Living magazine, ON the deadline.  I’m afraid they were not very good, but I am by no means the best judge of that.  I can only wait and see.

Oh dear, I am having a dreadful case of type it in, backspace over it (gritting teeth to not backspace over that last sentence).  I keep going back and forth between contemplating how truly I do NOT have my act together and feeling that perhaps I can do something positive to change that.  Small steps, they say.  Dare I say, baby steps?  Since most of the time I act like a big, fat baby, would that be a good or a bad thing?  I mean, since I am a big, fat baby, does that mean I am capable of taking baby steps and so should take them?  Or since I do not want to be a big, fat baby, that I should not take baby steps?  It is very difficult to know what to do.

Well, one baby step I will take is to hit publish on this piece of nonsense.  Then I will shower and strive to look over my lines before rehearsal.  Note to self:  tomorrow, drink more coffee.  Happy Monday, everyone.

 

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Souper Sunday

Posted on February 13, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

Imagine my delight just now when I searched and found that I have not used “Souper Sunday” as a headline.  I don’t like to repeat headlines.  I know I predicted a Wrist to Forehead Sunday, but I think Sunday Supper post might be nice.  I guess technically it was lunch, but you know how I love alliteration.

I had planned to make soup earlier in the week.  I had a big piece of beef in the freezer (I don’t remember what the cut was; it was on sale and it looked good).  I thought I would cook it in the crock pot on Saturday, then make soup with the leftovers on Sunday.  I find it is a good idea for me to plan menus for the weekend, to lessen the temptation to send out for pizza or Chinese food.  I confess that it only lessens the temptation.  That little devil on my shoulder will whisper, “That meat will be perfectly good to cook on Monday!”  However, this weekend, the devil was silent and I crock potted the beef.

I put Worcestershire sauce garlic powder, minced onions, Salt-Free Essential Spice Blend (from the So Sweet Candy Cafe in Utica, NY), and a small can of mushrooms in the crock pot with the meat, plus a little water.  It cooked for maybe nine hours.  Yum!  Steven nicely put the leftovers away.

I started the soup around 12:30 today.  As usual, I crushed up some garlic and set the timer for 15 minutes so it could “breathe” (I put breathe in quotations, because garlic does not have lungs).  I chopped up an onion and put it in a pot.  Ooh, here’s where I changed things up:  I did NOT cook it in olive or canola oil as per my usual method.  I used red wine.  Yes, I cooked with wine and I actually put it in the food!  You see, I impulsively purchased a cheap bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon the other day at Ilion Wine and Spirits.

“If it’s not good to drink, I can always cook with it,”  I said, quoting a bit of wisdom given me by another wine aficionado.  Turns out it wasn’t so good to drink.

After things had cooked for some time, I added a can of diced tomatoes.  Then I chopped up a small eggplant I had purchased specifically for the soup.  I love eggplant.  This was when I realized I had picked too small of a pot.  Damn! I put everything in a bigger pot.  After letting the eggplant cook for a while, I put in the leftover drippings and chopped up the leftover beef.  Stirring everything up, I added parsley, more Salt-Free Essential and a little cumin.

It was quite a tasty soup, and there was a goodly amount left over.  Steven put it in the freezer, for future consumption.  Now how could I have a Wrist to Forehead Sunday after such a delicious meal?

 

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Let’s Just Say I Drove a Lot

Posted on February 12, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

It is quite late to make my Scattered Saturday post.  In fact, it is Sunday morning.  Don’t judge.  Oh, no, I guess I don’t want to tell people what to do.  Judge me if you must, but I’m not doing prison time for it.  Where was I?  Ah yes, Scattered Saturday.

I’m still so tired from it, I don’t think I can give a coherent blow-by-blow of all where I went and what I did.  Mostly where I went, actually, because I spent a lot of time driving around the greater Utica area.  I went through Whitestown, Whitesboro, New York Mills, New Hartford and Yorkville.  I saw the sign for Clinton but did not venture that far.  I also think I missed Washington Mills.  Note to self:  find out exactly where Washington Mills is.

That brings up a kind of a silly story.  My friend, Diane, and I were in the late, greatly missed Albany Street Cafe (Asteroga Ale House is there now, a perfectly nice place, but I really enjoyed Albany Street Cafe).  We were sitting at the bar, chatting with the bartender.  He told us his name was Clinton.  The next time we were there, Diane called him Kirkland.  He corrected her. I said, “I knew you had the same name as a town around here, but all I could think of was Washington Mills.”   As we all know, that is the kind of foolish joke I make.

Anyways, my travels Saturday were in search of costume pieces for Rubbed Out at Ruby’s, which I believe I have mentioned before. I had the best luck at Party City.  I don’t usually plug chain stores, but what a fun place!  I found a feather boa, a garter, fake cigarettes and a holder!  I’m going to look cool!  I had a nice time looking around Queen’s Closet in Yorkville, as well as a nice conversation with the lady there, but I ultimately did not purchase anything.  The highlight of my morning was breakfast at Raspberry’s in New Hartford.  Oh, and back in Herkimer, I hit the Indoor Garage Sale at Trinity Lutheran Church on the corner of Henry and German streets, where I got Steve a small token for Valentine’s Day.

I will not offer any excuse for making my Saturday post on Sunday, because excuses are tiresome.  However, I hope my readers will forgive me and join me later today, when I expect it will be a true Wrist to Forehead Sunday.  As for me, I shall have some coffee now.  Can you believe I got out of bed and made a blog post without it?  Doesn’t that make this practically the same thing as posting it on Saturday?  Discuss amongst yourselves.

 

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Friday Gyrations

Posted on February 11, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

I thought of that title as I drove away from work this afternoon.  I though to a brief description of the stops I planned might make a nice change from my usual Friday Lame Post.  We’ll see.

Steven and I have plans for this evening, so I did not want to spend hours running round.  However, I had said I would stop at Basloe Library to check their ongoing book sale for magazines such as might be good set dressing for Steel Magnolias.  I could have done that tomorrow morning, but I have some major running around planned for Saturday. Then I remembered that I still had not contacted the lady at New 2 You consignment shop to tell her I did not want the dress she was so nicely holding for me.  Yes, that is dreadfully inconsiderate of me.  I hang my head in shame.  Well, you know how it is:  when I thought of it, I wasn’t near a phone; when I was near a phone, I didn’t think of it.

So that was my first stop.  While there I also looked around for shawls or scarves that I MIGHT use to accessorize the dress that I MIGHT wear to be Ruby in Rubbed Out at Ruby’s. I did not find any, but I found a book that looks really good (I didn’t waste time looking at the books; this one just caught my eye) and a couple of long strings of beads.  You can’t have too many long strings of beads.  Ilion’s Dollar Store (I think it’s Dollar General; you know I’m never specific about dollar stores) is in that same area, so I stopped there as well.  I found some fake money, which I need for Ruby’s and for Magnolias, so that was good.

As long as I was in Ilion, I checked their library for a book sale.  They had one, but there were no magazines.  I didn’t even get to look at the books much (just as well), because a large person was kind of hogging the space (it was only a couple of small rolling racks).

At Basloe, I found a lot of magazines but not specifically what I was looking for.  I almost picked up a couple of magazine-looking recipe books for myself but after sternly reminding myself about all the recipe books, magazines and loose pieces of paper I currently have cluttering up my kitchen (and I usually just make something up anyways), I sadly put them back.

I did not get back home substantially later than I usually do.  Then I spent enough time futzing about on Facebook and puttering around the house that I am completely NOT ready to go out and Steven is due home any minute now. Yikes!  Well, at least I’ve made my blog post.  Happy Friday, everybody.

 

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The Vagaries of Non-Sequitur Thursday

Posted on February 10, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

Well, now I’ve done it.  I sat here stressing over the fact that I CAN’T WRITE A POST TODAY (said in a dramatic voice, with a wrist to my forehead), and my sweet husband, Steven said that he wished I would not put myself through posting every day.  I said, “It’s just because I have rehearsal tonight.  I just have to stop doing PLAYS!”  Oh yeah, like that’s going to happen!

Thus adjured, I put my fingers on the keyboard and started typing.  I can’t stop posting every day, it’s what I do.  But I can’t let my husband feel upset because I am stressed.  So, as of right now, I am not stressed.  About the blog, at least.  I mean, let’s start small.

I just paused to eat a very delicious dinner that Steven fixed.  He really is a most satisfactory husband.

Earlier today I was pondering the vagaries of writing.  I have been having a difficult time lately, but earlier I sat down and wrote a page of dialog with very little problem.  It was part of Rubbed Out at Ruby’s, the interactive murder mystery LiFT Theatre Company is presenting at the Overlook Mansion in Little Falls in — yikes! –just a couple of weeks.  I thought to myself, “I can’t write, I can’t write, I can’t write, I sit down and write.”  For some reason I can’t just skip to the last step.

I just know that some of you are sitting there smirking, “Well, have you TRIED?”  Yes, I have.  In fact, most of the time I want to have at least a couple more rounds of “I can’t write, I can’t write” before “I sit down and write,” but I somehow manage to write.  Like right now.  Then again, perhaps that is not the best example, since this is just another of my foolish posts about I Can’t Write a Post Today.  Then again (I can have as many “again”s as I want; it’s not like “on the other hand,” where most of us only have two hands), today is Non-Sequitur Thursday.  If I can think of a punchy headline, I’m all set.

Hope to see you all on Lame Post Friday.

 

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Favorite Ghouls on Wuss-out Wednesday

Posted on February 9, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

I am so tired right now, I think all I can manage is a Wuss-out Wednesday post.  It is Wednesday, right?  Earlier today, I was wishing it was Thursday.  Then I reminded myself of a morning I got out of my car and thought, “Why can’t it be Thursday instead of Wednesday?”  then I thought, “You idiot, it’s Tuesday.”  I may have shared that memory before, but I still think it is funny.

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Two of my all-time favorite ghouls.

This is what I immediately thought of at the time.   This is Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff.  I never knew which movie the shot is from but I believe that is not the original dialog.  I used it as my Facebook cover photo for a while. Now I realize I should not have put it in a Wuss-out Wednesday post but in a Tired Tuesday post.  Which just goes to show you how often I do the wrong thing.  But now that I’ve put in a photo, I’d kind of like to put in a couple more.  I wonder what I can find.

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She’s really not that into him.

Speaking of favorite ghouls, who doesn’t love Vincent Price?  This is from House of Wax, one of my go-to horror movies.  Price is in love with his Marie Antoinette.  How Pygmalion of him.  Before the film can really explore the creepiness of that infatuation, the place goes up in flames and Price becomes a villain, deformed in body and spirit.  I don’t know where I’m going with that.  Perhaps the next time I watch the movie, I’ll write a scholarly essay on Hollywood’s missed opportunities.

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Aren’t they cool?

Just to finish out the theme of favorite ghouls, here is a photo Steven has shared on Facebook so it was in our downloads.  Christopher Lee, Vincent Price and John Carradine.  At least, Steven says it is John Carradine.  I had thought it was Peter Cushing.  How classless is that, that I’m going to publish this without making sure of my information.  That’s how I roll on Wuss-out Wednesday.

 

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