Well, Sure, Everything’s Great!

Posted on November 15, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

And I thought I had my wrist to my forehead yesterday!

I returned to work today.  I told everybody everything was great, because, well, when you round up, I guess they are.  Many people welcomed me back.  They were surprised as well as pleased to see me, because I had not told anyone I had been cleared to return.  I thought, why go announcing these things? I call enough attention to myself as it is.  Toward the end of the day I ran into a fellow I hadn’t seen yet today. He works down at the other end of the room (it’s a big room).

“So you’re back,” he observed in a friendly tone.  “And everything’s all back to normal?”

“As normal as I ever am,” I told him.  He appreciated that.

My assignment to myself now is to try to be better than normal.  It might have been a good idea to go running after work today, but I let that ship sale.  On the other hand, I finished and emailed my article for Mohawk Valley Living, one day before deadline.  I hope they like it.

Perhaps that is why I am having a hard time with this blog post.  Maybe I wrote myself out with that article.  Say it ain’t so!  Don’t I always say that writing begets more writing?  Shouldn’t I be writing a BETTER blog post after warming up on that article?  As we see, that is not the case.

On the other hand, why don’t I cut myself a break?  I worked a ten hour day in a factory after a week and a half of all the naps I could take.  I went home and finished writing a magazine article (I started it in between naps last week).  Yes, I could have gone running, done laundry, written two articles and a better blog post.  If I was some completely other woman I’ve never met or heard of.  Then I wouldn’t be Mohawk Valley Girl.  We wouldn’t want that, now, would we?

 

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Remind Me to Get a Chaise Lounge

Posted on November 14, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

Oh, why do I wait till so late in the day to make my blog post?  I say it in the usual dramatic pose, one wrist to my forehead, before I swoon on the chaise lounge which I have cleverly made sure I was standing near.  Just kidding.  I don’t have a chaise lounge.

I was actually thinking about this earlier.  Ladies swooning, I mean.  I was watching Phantom of the Opera, the original silent film.  I have been watching it for two days now, about a half hour each time, while I ran in place on the mini-tramp.  Yes!  I have started running again!  Just thought I’d slip that little fact in.

But getting back to swooning, we had reached the point where the Phantom has abducted Christine.  A bunch of stuff happens, then the woman ups and faints.  Let me tell you, I was jealous.  When a girl just couldn’t handle it any more, all she had to do was swoon. What a great way to get out of thinking of a snappy comeback!  Ah, not that I am usually at a loss for a snappy comeback.  I mean I can’t ALWAYS think of one, but often.  Still, that fainting had to come in handy sometimes.

For example right now.  Here I am, Sunday evening and no blog post in sight.  If only I could faint dead away and not have to worry about it!   Or I could just do what I usually do and type in a bunch of nonsense and hit Publish. And, of course, try again tomorrow.  Happy Sunday, everyone.

 

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Some Saturday Stuff

Posted on November 13, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

We can call this a Scattered Saturday or a Slacker Saturday, but I am composing this at the keyboard while I sip red wine, half look at a Vincent Price movie I DVR’d last month, and wait for Steven to get home.

I am paying very slack attention to this movie, because it is not one of his best.  It was made in the ’70s, when horror movies were becoming more gross, nasty and, well, mean.  They were more about dispatching as many victims as possible in the most disgusting fashions that could be devised.  Soon after came the slasher flicks, with more blood and less imagination. Oh, I know, many people adore such things. I live for the cheese factor and try to avoid anything that will turn my stomach.  I may watch this one again sometime and write about it, though, so I shall say no more at present.

In my quest to return to normalcy  (as normal as I can get, at any rate), I wanted to go running this morning.  It was some 30 degrees out, so I ran in place on the mini-tramp, while watching Phantom of the Opera,  the original, silent version.  For me, this is the best way to watch a silent movie.  When I’m sitting crocheting or knitting, I take my eyes off the screen too often.  I did not get through the entire movie, but I hope to run again tomorrow.

Later in the morning, I took a drive to Little Falls.  I went to the Winter Farmer’s Market, which is not yet in full swing.  Still, I chatted up the vendors that were there and took a few pictures, so perhaps I can do a full post on that tomorrow, in lieu of Wrist to Forehead Sunday.  I also walked through Paca Gardens. I would really like to purchase some of their socks, among other things.  I wanted to stop at Fall Hill Bead and Gems, but they were not yet open.

Coming back to Herkimer, I hung out at my house till Steven came home from lunch.  I like to have even a short visit with my honey.  I did not mention that I had taken Spunky for a walk before heading to Little Falls. Well, I did, and I took him out again shortly after Steven returned.  Then I drove to Ilion.  Before leaving Herkimer, I stopped in at Valley Wine and Liquors, because I thought they were having a wine tasting.  After sampling three red wines, I bought a dry blend.

In Ilion, I visited Earthly Matters, where I bought myself a pair of earrings.  I just couldn’t resist them.  Then I went to Cornerstone Consignments, where I chatted with the clerk about how some of the books were categorized “Male.”  From there, I stopped in at New 2 You Consignments, where I found two Taylor Caldwell paperbacks.  Score!  At least, I think it’s a score.  I know my mom used to read Taylor Caldwell.  I can’t remember if I read anything by her or if I liked it if I did.  I’ll soon find out.

I made a quick stop at Ilion Wine & Spirits before heading home.  After some indecision I got a bottle of champagne.  It is an inexpensive but tasty brand I have had before.  I put it in the refrigerator to chill when I got home.

And now I am sipping a glass of the red I got at Valley and have only a vague idea of what is happening in this movie.  I think it is the dramatic conclusion. Ooh, yeah, that was pretty dramatic.  I won’t tell you about it, though, because I did not include a spoiler alert.  I hope you are all having a grand Saturday.

 

 

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Lame Post While Cooking

Posted on November 12, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

It is Lame Post Friday and I am just not up to writing much yet.  Also, I have not done much to write about.  Cut me a break, I’m still convalescent!  It has reached the point where I have kind of given up on feeling better and am determined to start going about my business as usual.  This is usually the time in any illness or injury where, perhaps not surprisingly, I begin to actually feel better.  I’ll keep you posted on when that happens.  In the meantime, I need a post.

I ventured out of the house three times today.  Twice to take a short walk with the dog (that is all he seems to want) and once to buy yarn.  I finished the afghan I was working on and since the last afghan I finished was an end cuts one, I had not much yarn to begin a new project.  I waffled back and forth, because there were one or two things I could have done.  Then I said, oh hell, just do it.

So I’ve been sitting here knitting a prayer shawl and watching Snapped, when I looked at the clock and thought, Hmmm.  Dinner.  I shall pause while I go start it.

That didn’t take long.  I just put two pieces of chicken in the oven after putting spices on them.  It is Steven’s recipe.  I don’t know what spices he uses (it may vary), but I used garlic powder, salt-free lemon pepper, onion flakes and Salt Free Essential Spice from the So Sweet Candy Cafe in Utica, NY (couldn’t resist given them another shout-out).  I set the timer for 20 minutes, when I will flip the pieces.

Later on, I’ll cook some potatoes to mash.  Mmmmmm…  mashed potatoes.  Sounds wonderful.

So that’s my lame post for today.  Happy Friday, everyone.

 

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Hey, It’s a Blog Post

Posted on November 11, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

How about a cooking post, to make a change from my moaning and groaning about my health woes (yes, it gets a little old, even for me).  For one reason, I’m back on solid food.  Yay! My doctor specifically recommended macaroni and cheese.  I had some cheese in the refrigerator, so I decided to make some. I wondered when I started out if this would really be worth a blog post.  I mean, it is not the most imaginative recipe.  Then again, it is Non-Sequitur Thursday, and, hey, it’s a blog post.

I peeled and crushed some garlic, setting the timer for 15 minutes so it could “breathe”  (that is a correct use of quotation marks;  garlic cannot literally breathe, since it has no lungs) (that is a correct use of “literally” as well, so yay me).  I put on some water to boil and looked in the fridge for the aforementioned cheese.  I had mozzarella and colby-jack.  This would be great.  I grated the cheese while the macaroni cooked.

When the shells had cooked, I put it in a casserole dish and stirred in the garlic, then added butter and milk (which I did not measure), then the cheese.  It looked like a lot of cheese for the amount of macaroni.  Yum.  I covered it and put it in the oven, which I had pre-heated to 350 (forgot to mention that, but I don’t think anybody was cooking along with me as they read, were they?) and set the timer for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, things got a little different.  When I took the stuff out to stir it, it seemed the cheese had melted into a big glooby glob in the middle of the dish.  What was that all about?  Is that what mozzarella is supposed to do? I added more butter and milk, stirred some more, and put it back in for another 10 minutes.  I wasn’t too worried.  After all, it would still taste good, even if it was a pile of macaroni next to a lump of cheese.  I might just have to eat it with a fork and knife.

After 10 minutes, the glob seemed a little less globby (or I guess, glooby, as I described it before), but the milk was making kind of a soupy puddle.  Oh well, I like soup.  I stirred, then put it back in for five minutes uncovered, in hopes some of the liquid would boil off or get absorbed.  Not much did.  Oh well.

Steven was home by this time, delighted by the smell of me cooking dinner for the first time in over a week.  Um, the smell came more from dinner than from me.  We ate it from bowls, because it was still pretty soupy.  It was pretty tasty.  I could feel my body melting in gratitude for the first carbohydrates in days.  I wanted seconds but refrained.  For one reason, I didn’t want to make myself sick.  For another, I did lose five pounds since last Wednesday.  I’d like to keep some of it off.

 

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A Little Bitter on a Totally Fun Blog

Posted on November 10, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

I had been going to make a post today and call it “Mid-Week Movies.”  For one reason, it seemed like a good day to sit, watch cheesy movies and crochet. I put on the first cheesy movie,  The Black Scorpion, which I had DVRd a couple of days before Halloween.  It was so boring, I paused it and did the dishes.  The first giant scorpion showed up just a minute or two after I un-paused it.  It did not get a whole lot less boring.  I might just interject here that before doing the dishes I had eaten something and taken my pain medicine. The lightheadedness (as well as the pain relief) takes a bit to kick in.

Anyways,  I picked up my laptop.  For one reason, I have a message out to my sister and hoped she had answered it.  Then I thought, oh, maybe I’ll check my email and look at WordPress.  Maybe another blog will inspire me.  And it kind of did.  I am a big fan of “Ben’s Bitter Blog.”  I enjoyed today’s post and made the following comment on it.

I am extremely bitter because I can’t have a damn drink. And I can’t have solid food. How the hell can I self medicate when I can’t eat or drink? I did take some actual medicine, the prescribed kind, and now I feel too lightheaded and tired to make my own blog post, another source of bitterness. Oh, AND I have been off solid food long enough now that my body has adapted and I stopped losing weight! Thank you, I feel much better now. You know what? I think I’ll copy and paste this minor diatribe and use it for my own blog post. Does the lessening of bitterness I feel mean you are absorbing it? No matter, I will manufacture more. Totally fun blog aside (that’s what mine says it is), it is what I do. Rock on.

So this is my blog post today. I MUST get off this pain medication!  I go to the doctor again tomorrow.  I hope to return to this planet shortly after that.  Happy Wednesday, though.

 

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At Least I Voted

Posted on November 9, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

I thought I would make my blog post now, before the movie-watching portion of the day but after the sweats on, bra off portion of the day.   Yes, there was a sweats off, bra on portion of my day, because I went to vote.  Regular readers may recall that I am still at home, trying to recover from what I thought was an extremely minor medical procedure.  I guess it was minor, and I am not nearly as tough as I thought I was.   Today, however, I knew I must be tough enough to make it to the polls.

In my favor is that Herkimer, where I live, is a small village.  My polling place is a mere two blocks from my house.  I have never encountered a line, whatever time of day I have gone to vote. I contrasted this, as I do every year, to a story I heard back when Iraq held its first elections after the fall of Saddam Hussein.  A grandmother was pushed in a wheelbarrow some large number of miles (I wish I could remember the number), so she could vote.  Pushed in a wheelbarrow! And you know they do not have good roads over there, if they had roads at all.

So there should be no problem for me, I knew.  I thought I also had to go to a doctor appointment, but they called and re-scheduled that this morning.  Something about emergency surgery.  You know how it is with doctors.

I originally had some wild thoughts of walking to vote.  I really, truly must begin getting exercise again.  I was advised not to directly after my procedure, and I certainly did not feel like moving at first.  But one can only spend so much time lying around, taking naps and wishing the pain medication worked better.  Oh dear, now it sounds like I’m whining again.  I suppose I am.

Anyways, Steven drove us the short distance, although we did not get the closest parking space possible, so I got a little more of a walk at least.  We greeted the poll workers we usually see there, including one nice man who always Steven “Doc,” because he remembers Steven playing Dr. Chumley in Ilion Little Theatre’s production of Harvey some years ago.  As usual there was no line.  We completed our civic duty and received our stickers.

Then I came home and wrote a blog post about it.  Not a brilliant blog post, I’m afraid, but I’m going to call it OK for a Tired Tuesday.

 

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Movies on Monday

Posted on November 8, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

I just took another dose of pain medication and said, “I’d better make my blog post, in case I fall asleep.”

“Write about the wonderful day you had with your husband,” suggested my husband.

“I was going to,” I told him.  “I was going to call it, ‘Movies on Monday.'” And so I will, unless I think of something better before it’s time to hit Publish.  I don’t really expect to, because, you know, pain medication.

We started with a rather obscure title we purchased at New York Connection in Utica recently, Rehearsal for Murder.  Two of our favorite things: theatre and murder.  It featured Robert Preston, Lynn Redgraves, Patrick Macnee, Jeff Goldblum and William Daniels.  However, what really sold us was that it was written by Richard Levinson and William Link, the geniuses behind Columbo.

It turns out it was Made For TV.  Nowhere on the package does it admit this, but one can tell, if noway else by how it fades to black at the end of certain scenes, the better to head off to a commercial break.  On the other hand, Columbo was a television show, and we love that.  Rehearsal for Murder is worth a watch.  I won’t tell you any of the plot, in case it ever comes your way.  I didn’t include a spoiler alert.

The next movie I put in was Isle of the Dead, on a Horror Double Feature DVD that was sent to me some time ago by my friend Rachel.  Boris Karloff, there could be no possible objection.  I may have written about it before (too lazy and/or doped up to check).  After it was over, I put the cable back on and looked at Snapped (what else?) while Steven took Spunky for a walk.

Now we are watching Malice, an old favorite of ours with plenty of twists and turns.  Steven had given me a choice between that one and A Perfect Murder with Gwyneth Paltrow, but I thought it had been longer since we had seen Malice.  It was partway into the movie that we remembered that Paltrow has a small part in it.  We both thought that was kind of cool.  And the night is young; we may get to another murder — uh, I mean movie — before we’re done.  Happy Monday, everyone.

 

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Good-bye, Halloween, and I Miss You, Brain!

Posted on November 7, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

I guess iced coffee is my current beverage of choice, especially when sipping and typing.  I must say, not as much fun as wine, but not at all bad.  And when I say iced coffee, I don’t mean that bottled stuff you buy or the various concoctions they make at Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks kinds of places.  I mean I filled a large glass with ice and poured over it the coffee in our pot that was left over from this morning.  We have a goodly amount left over today, because I did not drink any this morning, hot or iced (I’m not allowed hot yet, dammit!).

Incidentally, the glass I used is Ballast Point Sculpin India Pale Ale, which I acquired at a Steal the Glass promotion at Copper Moose Ale House in Little Falls last summer (did I write a blog post about that?).  Just to sneak in a local connection.

I am typing off the cuff as my husband packs away our Halloween decorations (those we do not keep out all year).  I am a little dopey (yes, more than usual, you wise ass) from pain medicine and probably from lack of food.  I ate some yogurt earlier so a not to take the medicine on an empty stomach, but I have certainly not been eating my usual amounts.  On the brighter side, I’ve lost four pounds.

So it is definitely Wrist to Forehead Sunday as I feel too brain dead to write a decent post, too body dead to do any more useful chores, and not a little sad to see Halloween go away when I feel I have not sufficiently appreciated the season.  We’ll blame my health woes for that.  But I will not go on about my health woes, because, you know, HIPPA rules and all that.

My ambition now is to NOT take the pain medication again but to rely on ice and stillness to keep my pain in check.  And I hope to salvage some Halloween enjoyment by watching a few more Halloween movies, possibly of the cheesy variety.  And as soon as I get my brain back, I hope to write a better blog post.

 

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At Least the Iced Coffee Tastes Good

Posted on November 6, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

Well, I wanted to make a better post today and even watched a cheesy horror movie I thought I could write about.  However, as the day wears on, I must admit that at my current age and level of health, I cannot have minor outpatient surgery with impunity.  I still feel like crap.  There, I’ve said it.

I paused just now and fixed myself a cup of iced coffee with the last of this morning’s pot.  Waste not, want not.  And, yes, I am allowed iced coffee.  I would prefer hot coffee or tea, but ice is better for me.  If only I could have a glass of wine over ice, my quality of life would improve.  Oh well, all things in time.

On the brighter side, I feel less crappy than I felt yesterday.  It is reasonable to predict that I will feel less crappy yet tomorrow.   And you thought I was going to spend this entire post whining (you know you did, don’t lie to me).   I thought it too and am agreeably surprised at myself.

Normally I could have a Scattered Saturday post, but, well, all I’ve done today is finish reading one book, start reading another and watch that silly movie (not in that order).  I may yet write about the movie (preview of coming attractions).   I have some other silly movies to watch, so perhaps I will move on to that.  For one reason, I can get more crocheting done, and sooner or later I’ll write about one of these movies.  Happy Saturday, everyone.

 

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