A Truly Pedestrian Post

Posted on September 7, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

Alas, Saturday Running Commentary does not return this week. It was supposed to rain this morning and let me off the hook. It did not. However, I didn’t feel like running so I darn well didn’t. In my defense, the house still felt stuffy and humid. We opened the front and back doors, hoping to get a cross-breeze. I thought I might change my mind after a cup of coffee. I did not.

I did, however, write four postcards which my schnoodle Tabby and I walked to the post office to mail around 8:30. Therefore, I make bold to offer a Pedestrian Post for your Saturday reading pleasure (or whatever day you decide to read it; I should not like to dictate others’ reading schedules).

When we walked last night the humidity made my crazy old lady had uncomfortable. This morning did not seem too sunny so I went without it again. I had showered and put on a fairly respectable-looking outfit with earrings, so I did not feel that I needed it for a disguise anyways.

Oh, I love to walk. It feels so good on my legs. Tabby likes it too, although sometimes it seems she mostly likes to stop and sniff. Almost every telephone post and tree as well as many random patches of grass command her attention. I must envy how easily she is entertained. Then again, I was reasonably entertained by the walk and I don’t have her sense of smell.

She kept wanting to go a different way from me at the corners and even tried to pull me across the street between corners, but I kept her on track. When we got to the post office she was reluctant to go in which is unusual. Once again, I convinced her. She seemed interested in a gentleman waiting for the window to open, but we did not approach him. He said she was cute. Tabby was happy when we left the post office, because I told her that now we’d go which way she wanted to go.

She took me over to Main Street, then down around Albany and up Prospect, which is a route we often take on Saturdays. I was soon feeling it was a good thing I had not gone running. I think it was even more muggy than last night. Even walking at a leisurely pace with frequent stops I was becoming overheated. I wondered if the weather was entirely to blame or if menopause was rearing its ugly head. Then again, finger-pointing gets us nowhere.

I was happy to return home to the benign influence of my fans (um, I mean the electric fans that blow air on me, not the other kind) (although I appreciate them too) (you know who you are, and for the rest, yes I KNOW it’s not you, you don’t have to make unkind remarks). I’m afraid my walk was dull and the post about it likewise. But I enjoyed my walk in a gentle, unexciting kind of way, and hope others found the same about the blog post.

Hope to see you on Wrist to Forehead Sunday.

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Post from a Melted Brain

Posted on September 6, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

Unofficial end of summer, my ass. We’ve had two warm, humid days, the second REALLY warm and humid. What little brain I had has melted. Luckily for me it is Lame Post Friday.

I did write some today. Not a lot. But some. I don’t think it was very good, but one can’t be brilliant 24/7 (I know, some of you are maintaining that YOU certainly can while the others are snarking that I probably can’t be brilliant 1/1. What sarcastic imaginary readers I have).

I didn’t do anything besides go to work and come home. Nothing exciting happened on either ride. And I could not make myself go for a run on this hot, humid day. My God, I am PATHETIC! I’ve got to get a grip on myself!

These things happen in the writing life. We try to write, we find we cannot think of anything to say. Some of us sensibly put the computer away and clean the house or play solitaire. Some of us press on, determined to make that blog post every day. And we all know which group I fall into.

I fear I do too many of these I Can’t Write a Post Today posts. Could it be time for me to stop trying to post every day? Maybe try for three times a week? No, I can’t do that. I’ll just try to write more better posts (YES, I mean “more better,” let it go). I’ll start tomorrow. Happy Friday, everyone.

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And, No, I Did Not Run Today

Posted on September 5, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

I am a very dramatic person. A drama queen, you ask, in an accusatory tone of voice. Perhaps, perhaps. On the other hand, there are worse things, my friend, than being a drama queen. For example, one could make unkind remarks in an accusatory tone of voice. Be that as it may, I offer the following tale for my Non-Sequitur Thursday post.

Once again I did not write a blog post at work, because I was working on my novel during breaks. My original plan had been to run after work and write a post about that. Then again, I’ve made a lot of running posts lately. One can get too much of a good thing (cue unkind remarks about how my running commentary posts are not necessarily a good thing).

I could not run immediately after work, however, because I had someplace else to be. When I apologized in advance for missing today’s meeting of the Wait Five Minute Club (I’ll write a blog post about the club another time), I said, “I have an audition.” I went on to explain I was auditioning to be one of the witches in a scene for MacBeth.

“It’s typecasting,” I said. Nobody disagreed. One guy referred me to a female co-worker (everybody calls her his work wife) as a source of information for the part. I assured him that I am an excellent actress. “But watch yourself,” I warned. “Or I’ll go all method on your ass.”

Now I sound quite obnoxious, calling myself an excellent actress. I was just being silly. In fact, I am probably an actress of normal abilities. But I love acting so much I hope I make the most of what talent I have. After all, one can go a long way with hard work and a good director (which I have often been fortunate enough to have).

Be that as it may, I went to Herkimer County Community College (HCCC) to meet with the man who was directing the scene. It is always kind of odd to me to drive up that hill, since I usually run it. I have not run it since the DARE 5K, although I plan to run it again soon. I had to find a building I had never been in before, to find the director’s office.

That was my main adventure, walking through two buildings at HCCC looking for an office. I found it without too much problem, though. I read the scene. Ooh, I love to read Shakespeare. I wanted to read it again, as well as a few more scenes from the play, but one mustn’t be greedy.

The scene is to be performed in Little Falls in October, as part of their Third Thursday event. I really must attend one of these Third Thursdays. Quite a lot goes on. It would probably make a good blog post.

After reading we talked about the scene to be presented, then branched out into Shakespeare, theatre, writing and all kinds of stuff. You may not know this about me, but I talk. I talk a lot. I like to talk. After I left the audition, I thought, “Wow, I talk too much.” I hope I didn’t sound dumb.

I don’t know yet whether I get to be one of the witches. That would be so cool if I did. If I don’t, though, I will try to go to the Third Thursday on Oct. 16 and see the scene. I’ll probably write a blog post about it.

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No More Deleting!

Posted on September 4, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

This is dreadful. I keep typing in a sentence or two then deleting it. I have done this before and it is always distressing. In the meantime, the clock is ticking and I have other things I would like to be doing. Astute readers will by now have concluded that today is Wuss-out Wednesday.

I actually did write some stuff today. I wrote a good portion of a blog post about a Mohawk Valley adventure. I was not displeased with it, but I must look up a few things and write some more on it. I wrote a little more than a page on my novel. The progress on my novel was something of a coup, because I thought of a new plot development and started writing a scene to implement the addition.

Sometimes when you write something it just helps you write more. Other times you write and write and then you are done. You cannot write any more. When you try, for example, to write a blog post after that point, you type in a few sentences and immediately delete them.

And then you steel yourself and begin typing SOMETHING which you do not allow yourself to delete.

And this is the result. I shall try again on Thursday.

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I Sweated Out This Blog Post

Posted on September 3, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

People call this the unofficial end of summer, but I think Mother Nature is letting us know it ain’t so. As I sit writing this at my place of employment (my shift hasn’t started yet so sit back down, you have no reason to tattle to my boss), my pants stick to my legs and a coating of sweat threatens the Oil of Olay I put on my face earlier.

But I was not writing a blog post to complain about things. I mean to write about the run I took this morning. I had originally thought NOT to write about it. After all, this is not a blog about running. On the other hand, it is not a blog about me not being able to write a decent blog post either, but I seem to write a lot of those, too.

Be all that as it may, Steven had another early shift today, so i took the opportunity for another pre-dawn run. One might think the dark air would be cool and pleasant, but one would be mistaken. The humidity was thick, the temperature was none too low and the breeze seldom.

Oh, just listen to me grumble, and it gets worse before it gets better (I confess, as I write this I am laughing at myself. What a kvetch!). What bothered me first was my own legs. They felt as if I had not used them in weeks. What a crock! I ran Sunday and walked on Monday. And I did not spend all day lounging on the couch in between.

I wondered if I should have warmed up before starting. I used to stretch but then I read how you should not stretch cold muscles. Warm them first, I read, with a light jog. Well, I start my run slow, you could call it a light jog if you were so inclined. I suppose what you are supposed to do is jog in place for a minute or two, then stretch, THEN start your run. Oh, who has time for these things? And personally, I find it is best to get out the door and away from my comfortable house as soon as possible or I will find an unassailable reason for staying home (I can be very persuasive).

Before the run I had had quite a debate in my head as to where to run. I like to take different routes. But I still feel some nervousness running prior to four in the morning. Would it not be better to stick to proven safe streets? Then again, different routes can stimulate the mind. Finally I set out in my usual direction down German Street. There was no point in stimulating my mind too much.

I went all the way up German and hooked around to run back down Church Street. The only thing of note I observed were some vines growing over a privacy fence. They seemed bigger than I remembered. Had it been longer than I thought since I ran down this side of the street? Or had they grown really fast in the recent rain? It was not until I was writing this just now that it occurs to me, they may be mutant vines that will begin to eat people soon. I suppose I was still half asleep. I don’t usually miss a good B movie reference like that.

Soon I was approaching Main Street. Some people avoid Main Street. I’ve never had a problem there and continue to walk and run that way. However, early hours seem to make a difference, at least in my head. I decided to cross Main and run down Washington to Green Street. Then I could run by the police station. That would make me feel secure.

It seemed to take a long time to get to Green Street. My legs were feeling better, but I was really feeling the humidity. As I ran by the police station I realized there was a whole parking lot between me and any cops that might be there. If I was accosted by a bad guy could I count on the police hearing me? I do have a loud voice. Then again, what kind of messed up bad guy accosts a middle-aged lady running by the police station at four in the morning? Maybe there were surveillance cameras. If the extremely unlikely happened, it could at long last be my ticket to an appearance on World’s Dumbest.

As I continued towards Meyers Park I debated how much longer I should keep running. I was over 20 minutes so I had at least met the minimum goal I had set for myself. Of course one likes to do more than the bare minimum (one being me).

I took the long way home for a total run time of 33 minutes, the same length as my last run. As usual I walked around the block with my schnoodle, Tabby for a cool down. The best thing about these early morning runs is knowing that it’s DONE. As the heat and humitidy increased, I was increasingly glad that was so.

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Not Running on D Street

Posted on September 2, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

Yesterday (Sunday) I went running with the idea that I would offer Sunday Running Commentary.  Instead, as per usual on a Sunday, I wrote some nonsense instead (I always say, go with your strengths).  Now the one thing I do not feel like doing is writing.  However, the one thing I really, really want to do every day is to publish a blog post.  So let’s see what I can do.

I started out shortly after 6 a.m.  The sun was not quite up and it was cloudy, so I thought it might be a good idea to wear my reflective vest.  After all, safety first.  Naturally I started to second guess myself as soon as I left the house (once again going with my strengths).  Did I just look silly wearing a road guard vest (as we called them in the army) when I was in fact not running in the road?  I probably looked like a huge geek, which in fact is what I am, and not the good kind either.

I crossed German Street and headed right, which is not the direction I have been going lately. Regular readers may recall I have been obsessively running up the hill to Herkimer County Community College (HCCC) this summer, in anticipation of the DARE 5K (I believe I’ve written a few blog posts about it).  I thought I might possibly run out Steuben Road.  For one thing, there is a pretty good hill there so I would feel bad ass.  For another reason, the sidewalk ends, so I would feel a little less silly in my road guard vest.

For the record, I really like my reflective vest, a very thoughtful gift from my sister.  I think it is definitely a good thing to wear when the light is dim and/or when running in the road.  It is just a bad habit of mine to perpetually feel that I look foolish.

Where was I?  Ah yes, still on German Street, when I saw a deer cross the road.  How cool is that?  She continued up a perpendicular street.  I thought to turn there too and see where she went, but when I looked she was standing in the middle of the road looking around.  I didn’t want to scare her.  Or have her scare me.  You never know.  That deer might have thought, “Hey, I have hooves.  I can take her!”

As I ran on, I tried to remember the name of the street, for my blog post.  D, D, something with a D.  Dorfman, that was it!  The street makes an L and comes out on Steuben.  When I got to that place on Steuben I double checked myself.  Dorf Street.  Silly me.  I must have been thinking of Ava Dorfman, a Roman of some note who recently died.  She started a senior citizen center which bears her name.  I believe my grandmother used to work for her husband, Dr. Dorfman.

Up Steuben I went.  It was a worse hill than I thought.  When I was done thinking about the deer and Ava Dorfman, I started to notice the weather.  It was dreadfully humid.  Will anybody get my reference if I tell you I thought, “This humidity is as thick as peanut butter!” “You mean pea soup.”  “You eat what you like, and I’ll eat what I like!”

I ran uphill till my watch told me I had been running for 15 minutes. I wanted my total run time to be about a half hour. I’ll go back to increasing it soon, but I didn’t feel like getting too tired yesterday. I ended up doing 33 minutes, which is how long I ran last time. Holding steady is good.

I confess I did not feel particularly bad ass at the end of my run. As usual, I was glad I had run, especially when it started pouring ran shortly after Tabby and I returned from our cool down walk. And, look at this, I seem to have written my blog post. I wonder what else I can get done today.

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I Hope Your Sunday is Good, Too

Posted on September 1, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

I did mention yesterday that this would be Wrist to Forehead Sunday, didn’t I? In fact, I ran this morning and had the vague idea in my head that I would do a Sunday Running Commentary. I may yet write about that run, but, um, not today.

I went adventuring with some family members later in the day. We went to the antique shops in Little Falls, an excellent topic for me to write about. I hope to write that post later in the week.

In between the run and the adventure (doesn’t “adventure” sound better than “shopping trip”?) I cleaned the house. I achieved more of a fast tidy than in-depth cleanliness, but I could have come up with a post about it. Would the post have been less lame than my usual Wrist to Forehead Sunday? Perhaps I will write it later in the week and we can judge.

Now I am home with my husband and my dog, watching old movies. Nothing particularly cheesy thus far. I have written about non-cheesy movies on occasion. I will no doubt do so again. But not today.

In short, this is what I’m publishing today. A kind of a This Has Been My Day/Preview of Coming Attractions. I hope my readers are having an enjoyable Sunday.

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Random Thoughts at the Laundromat

Posted on August 31, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

I really must get back to running on Saturday mornings and have my Saturday Running Commentary. This week it was better for me to do run on Friday and do laundry on Saturday (today). I suppose I could have written about Friday’s run and published it today. Only I did not write about it on Friday and today I don’t seem to remember that much about it. Ah, middle age.

In the meantime, Saturday is passing and I have no blog post. In desperation, I offer some nonsense I wrote while at the laundromat this morning (I’m not really desperate; I just like the prepositional phrase “in desperation”).

I have discovered that 50 Mystery Classics is not filled with the delightful cheesy nuggets I found in 50 Horror Classics. I’m sure there are some films I could write about. First I am seeking films I can sit through all the way. I tried and discarded two last weekend. As I often say, one must persevere in these things. Um, not necessarily to the end of a movie. In writing a blog post about a movie. Or anything. That is what I mean to persevere at.

A note to new readers, if any: 50 Horror Classics and 50 Mystery Classics are DVD collections I purchased for my husband Steven at the local big box store for a really quite reasonable price. I have written several blog posts about silly movies in the Horror collection.

So here I am writing Another Post About Why I Can’t Write a Post. This one is perhaps destined for my Drafts section, so I can haul it out and hit Publish in an emergency. Um, unless I don’t come up with something else to write about for today. Then this baby is right here for me. (And you see what happened, obviously, although full disclosure: I, for one, saw it coming.)

OK, what I am really doing is killing time in the laundromat while my clothes tumble in the drier. I’ve already folded the first little bunch (confession: some of the sock cuffs seemed a little damp. I hope they don’t mildew). I wrote a letter to a friend, stared at the last things I wrote on my novel, pondered a few other ideas, made a to-do list for the rest of the day. Why I don’t bring a book to the laundromat is beyond me.

I continue to sit here jotting down randoms thoughts and wondering how or if I will use them. Publish them as written? A kind of stream of consciousness patchwork, a sort of modern art, abstract deal. Or could I take each random thought, expend some actual thought on it and come up with several authentic blog posts? The possibility intrigues me.

I am tired of being here and want to get on with my day. I could sit here and list all the things I dislike about doing laundry. Then I could attempt to counteract my grouchiness by listing all the good things or at least the minor compensations.

Oh, but it’s time to stand in front of the drier and stare at the 1:00, waiting for the last sixty seconds to pass.

Hope to see you all on Wrist to Forehead Sunday.

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I Confess to Some Distress

Posted on August 30, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

Is it Lame Post Friday or Wrist to Forehead Friday? I confess to feeling some distress. But here’s some half-baked philosophy, in which I delight to indulge on Lame Post Friday: it rarely works to think “I ought to feel happy!”

Sometimes you can really jinx yourself earlier in the week by thinking, “I am going to be so happy on Friday.” It doesn’t have to be Friday. “I will be so happy when BLANK happens.” “When I am thin.” “When I finish that novel” (like that one’s going to happen any time soon). “When I am married.”

Wait a minute. I am married and in fact I am rather foolishly happy about it. Strike that last one.

My point is, I don’t think things necessarily MAKE us happy. Oh, I can hear the rude people saying now, “Well, DUH, everybody knows THINGS can’t make us happy.” Is that so? Then why did I see YOU wheeling around the local big box store with a cartload of crap?

Anyways, I’m not talking about objects. I thought I would be ecstatically happy on Friday because I have a three day weekend. Instead, I felt happy on Monday, because I knew that the three-day weekend was coming. That feeling lasted till the end of the work day, when I thought, “Crap! I still have four more days to get through!” Then I laughed at myself.

And that brings us to a philosophy of life which I have held for a while now: It is quite possible that nothing good will ever happen. BUT something funny will happen to make you laugh. Put another way: you can laugh or you can cry. Might as well laugh.

I think I’m in a better mood now. I’m going to get on with my weekend.

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But I Don’t Like This Re-Run

Posted on August 29, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

I have mentioned before how if I write at all, I can write more. For example, after I write my blog post I suddenly find myself writing more on my novel. So could somebody please explain to my WHY when I have written two pages on my novel each of the past two days, I sit here on wordpress.com completely blank. Yes, I did make a blog post yesterday. I wrote it on Tuesday.

I can’t feel too awful, because it is HUGE that I am working on my novel again. I’m writing scenes I didn’t even know I needed. In fact, how could I know I needed them, when I didn’t even know that character was going to die or even that she existed before she was dead. Or dear, I’ve said too much. Never share your plot secrets! What am I thinking?

The answer to that question is always: I’m not (it works with every pronoun) (I don’t need to go through that do I? What are you thinking? What was he thinking? You aren’t! He wasn’t! You get it). I’m not thinking because I am apparently incapable of logical thought. It certainly feels that way. So, yes, here we are right in the middle of a Post About Why I Can’t Write a Post.

Then again, it is Non-Sequitur Thursday. If only I could think of a punchy but not related headline, I could hit publish and return to my knitting and television. If only there was a better re-run of Snapped on, my life would be perfect.

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