Cold New Year’s Walk

Posted on January 2, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

This New Year’s I learned a valuable lesson: Party anyways. I have spent the day feeling as tired and useless as if I had tied one on last night, and I really did not. Then again, I didn’t have a headache or upset stomach, so perhaps I am onto something with this moderation and early bedtime. Still, I thought some people would like it if I began my post with “party anyways.”

I deem it acceptable to do one more vacationish post (I am, after all, the arbiter of these things in my own blog). I could wax philosophical about New Years, as many people do (half-baked for me, of course) (I’ll save it for Lame Post Friday). Instead, I offer another pedestrian post.

The cold snap continues in the Mohawk Valley. The next two days are going to be even worse, so we were determined to take our beloved schnoodle, Tabby, for at least a short walk today. We bundled up. Scarves, hats, mittens. I did not put Tabby’s coat on her. I thought to save it for the even colder days to come.

It had snowed. Snow has the advantage of offering some traction, so I thought it would be a less dangerous walk. Then again, it was so cold the snow didn’t pack down at all, and ice lurked treacherously underneath. I kept warning Steven to be careful. Then I worried a little about myself, because just about the time I’m warning somebody else is when I get into difficulties.

The sun was still up, but behind rather extensive cloud cover. We admired the eerie grey light which bathed the neighborhood. I especially enjoyed the sight of bare trees against the sky. I pointed out that if we had waited till after dark for our walk, we could have noticed who still had their Christmas lights on and been disappointed at those who did not.

I don’t understand this passion for taking decorations down so soon after the celebration. Traditionally aren’t we supposed to leave them up till January 6th? The sight of a few lights still up helps ease my post-Christmas letdown. We saw one tree still lit in somebody’s window, and a fox lawn ornament with a New Year’s hat and Santa socks.

Some Christmas trees were already out by the curb. One had almost no needles left on it.

“Didn’t they water it?” I asked in a disapproving tone of voice.

We did not go for a long walk. I was grateful when we were almost home, because my nose was running. I had provided myself with scarf, hat, mittens and poop bags, but had neglected a handkerchief. Then I noticed my mittens were beginning to wear out. Oh dear. I called Steven’s attention to this, but pointed out that as I had stolen them from my sister sometime in the late ’80s, I really had no room for complaint.

Well, that seems to me not too bad a post for a tired New Year’s Day (on Wuss-out Wednesday, I might add). Or do I flatter myself? No matter. It is time to get on with 2014. Happy New Year, everybody.

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At Least I Have Clean Socks

Posted on January 1, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

I thought laundromats were supposed to be good places to write. For me they usually are. Well, it has been a bad writing vacation for me. I admit it.

I have read many times and in fact I knew it without reading it, that it is a fallacy to tell yourself, “Just wait until vacation; then I can write ALL DAY LONG.” You won’t, especially if you are out of the habit of writing.

In this instance, I am quite justified in arguing, “But I’m NOT out of the habit of writing!” I write a blog post every day, I work on my novel almost every day, I write letters, post cards, the TV Journal and miscellaneous other crap as the opportunity arises.

I feel quite misused by my own brain.

Those who love to give superior advice (you know who you are), say with a sniff, “If you WANT to write, you’ll write.” Thank you for your input. If I want to run a marathon, I’ll run a marathon. If I want to flap my arms and fly to the moon, I may have a problem. I could compare writing a novel to either of those desires, but I am really not up to metaphor today.

I fall back on what I have always said, one does one’s poor best.

And every day is an opportunity to do better. What an appropriate thought for New Year’s Eve (which is today). I can work on that novel as soon as I’m done typing this in. Or I can write a better blog post and leave this one in the wings for future use (in case of emergency, hit “publish”).

In the meantime, at least I got my pen moving.

As a side note: after I wrote the above, I turned a page in my notebook and wrote a post about a horror movie I watched yesterday. I think it is a good post and I will probably publish it soon. Waste not, want not.

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Can’t Walk Away from the Letdown

Posted on December 31, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

So it got nice and warm, then it rained, then it got cold again. Oh, I’m not complaining about the return of winter temperatures; that is to be expected. But did it have to freeze so quickly after the rain? Now the sidewalks are covered with ice. It makes an attempt at a pedestrian post interesting to say the least (and when have you ever known me to say the least?).

Here I am, in the middle of my post-Christmas letdown, not inclined to do anything, let alone seek out Mohawk Valley adventures. When I got dressed I realized most of my clothes are dirty. I finally put on a rather nice-looking skirt. You would think dressing up a little would make me more inclined to leave the house, but not so much. Still, dogs like to take walks. Perhaps a little fresh air and exertion would cheer me up.

I most recently fell on the ice Christmas Eve. You would think that with my fat butt, falling on the ice would hold no terrors. Well let me tell you, all that padding does not necessarily help. But I thought, I was unprepared for that particular patch of ice at the time. I would be careful. This would work. After all, ALL the sidewalks couldn’t be bad.

Yes they could. At least they weren’t all smooth. Most of them, in fact, were pretty rough, with ripples or footprints. However, I soon found the best place to walk was in the crunchy snow beside the sidewalk. Tabby got a little confused, thinking I wanted to cross the street, but she is very adaptable and we went on.

We had a bad moment crossing the street at a four-way stop when some lady in a car did not want to come to a complete stop. It looked like she was wearing a fur coat, which kind of gave me an oh-no-wonder feeling about it. We were in the road well before she had reached the intersection. I tried giving her the thank-you wave, but I have a bad feeling that if I would have fallen on the ice just then, I would be roadkill instead of writing a blog post right now.

Tabby became a little indecisive after that.

“Do you just want to go home?” I asked her. It seems she did, and she began pulling me that way.

Then we heard a guy yell and saw a dog bounding across a lawn, making right for Tabby. Luckily, it seemed she only wanted to sniff (I think it was a girl name the guy called her). He hollered for her till she went back to him.

“Sorry about that,” he called.

“That’s all right; it just startled me.” We went back home, sticking to the crunchy snow as much as possible. A nice lady paused before entering a driveway we were about to cross. She waved us on before pulling in. That is what polite motorists do.

The whole walk did not take very long, but I felt it had been more effort than many shorter walks. The cold air did not freeze out my letdown, unfortunately, but I do not repine. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, sometimes you just have to feel a way till you don’t feel that way any more.

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Wrist to Resolutions

Posted on December 30, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

So there I was, ready to enjoy a Sunday of doing nothing when I remembered I had rashly promised my blog readers I would do SOMETHING blogworthy today. Of course nothing came to mind.

I took a walk with Tabby, making careful note of every step. It might have worked if I had sat down and written it immediately on returning, but, well, I did not do so.

I cooked a rather effortful dinner, suitable for a cooking post. But I just don’t feel up to describing my tribulations with pizza dough. It was fortunately not a wrist-to-forehead situation, since my hands were covered with flour at the time. By the way, the pizza turned out pretty good.

That leaves me with the threatened post about New Year’s Resolutions, which I believe I also mentioned yesterday. Have any of my delightful readers made New Year’s Resolutions? Some people don’t. Some people brag about how they don’t, implication being that they are perfect as they stand. Or at least above doing what everybody else does. I’m not judging.

I have not made any New Year’s Resolutions yet. I intend to do a few things: lose weight, start running again, exercise more, finish my novel… and I plan to do these things after January 1st. But I can’t say they are really New Year’s Resolutions, because I was working on them prior to this. I plan on working on them more betterly after January 1st, because the holidays will be over.

Hmmm, that doesn’t make a really scintillating post about New Year’s Resolutions. I guess I can’t give up Wrist to Forehead Sunday after all. Hope to see you all on Middle=aged Musings Monday.

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Walking toward 2014

Posted on December 29, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

When I took my schnoodle Tabby for a walk earlier, I vaguely hoped for enough material for a Pedestrian Post. The main reason for the walk was not to blog, but because dogs like to go for walks. I had to leave for a few hours and I hoped she might like to nap after a stroll.

I was happy to be wearing my insulated sweatshirt instead of warmer, bulkier wear. I found the fancy not-supposed-to-mess-up-your-hair earmuffs I had given Steven some years ago. He almost never wears them. I don’t either, because in avoiding your ‘do, they tend to push dangly earrings right into your neck. Ouch! So I left off the earrings and saved the coif.

Some of the sidewalks were bare due to the recent warmer temperatures, but it was not warm enough to make a lot of messy mud. In other words, almost perfect winter walking temperature. I must say I thoroughly enjoyed the walk, which is good for me, but there isn’t really a whole lot else to say about it.

I did warn you people that I might be posting nothing but foolishness until 2014. At least, I think I said something like “all downhill from here” but that was what I meant. On the brighter side, that’s only four more posts. On the duller side, why do I think things are going to get better just because the calendar changes? I remind myself, it will be Wuss-out Wednesday on January 1st.

Take heart, gentle reader, I promise to do SOMETHING blogworthy tomorrow. And if I don’t write about it right away, I can always philosophize half-bakedly on New Year’s Resolutions. What’s that? You think mine should be to do fewer foolish posts? Say it ain’t so!

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Post Christmas Lame

Posted on December 28, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

Did I already use that title? I can’t seem to find it, but I’m too lazy to really search my previously published posts. Or should I say I’m too lame?

So was anybody hoping I would NOT have Lame Post Friday this week? In my defense, I am completely in vacation mode. All I want to do is, you know, nothing.

One topic I still have waiting in the wings is local stores I hit for Christmas shopping. Unfortunately, there are still a few family members who have not yet received their Christmas gifts. They MIGHT read my blog and they MIGHT be clever enough to say, “Ah-HAH! She’s getting me …!” Or they may get their hopes up thinking I got them something totally other than what I got them. I can’t take the pressure! (That last sentence is said with wrist to forehead, of course.)

I can briefly mention that I went to Heidelberg Bakery in Herkimer, NY on Christmas Eve to purchase bread for Christmas dinner. Yum! I’ve given them a shout-out before.

Just two small problems: the actual visit was not particularly eventful. And, well, my sister had fixed such a magnificent feast that none of us remembered to eat the bread.

Oh dear, I can’t put that in my blog! The Heidelberg people will never forgive me! We ate some of the bread the next day. I ate some today and expect to eat more with supper. It is very yummy bread.

Well, this post just continues to degenerate. What can I say? It looks as if my post-Christmas letdown is kicking in. It may be all downhill till 2014. I hope at least somebody stays tuned.

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I’m Still on Vacation

Posted on December 27, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

To make this Non-Sequitur Thursday, I’m not even going to mention in the body of the post that I’m on vacation.

Oops.

Be that as it may, today is Boxing Day. Not being ready to deal with my post-Christmas letdown, I decided to celebrate the holiday. I was not exactly sure the best way to set about this, so I got all 21st century and asked on Facebook. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I guess I could have googled or tweeted or something. Well, I’m not all that 21st century and I happened to be on Facebook at the time.

I got three suggestions (before I wrote this; there may be more now). One friend pointed out that it is also The Feast of Stephen, so I should eat something yummy. Excellent advice! I eat yummy things at every opportunity.

Another friend suggested a box of red wine. Brilliant! We all know I occasionally indulge in wine, box or bottle. In fact, I have a box of white wine on my kitchen table right now. I’m sure that would count.

The other suggestion (appropriately enough from a gentleman named Stephen) was boxing gloves. One of my stock greetings is, “Do you want to fight about it?” Based on that, I would say I celebrate Boxing Day every day. Come to think of it, one could argue that based on eating yummy things and getting a box of wine, I am a real Boxing Day maven.

I don’t imagine Boxing Day will ever obtain the prominence of Christmas in our culture. However, based on my limited knowledge and experience, I recommend it to all. Happy Boxing Day, and I hope to see you on Lame Post Friday.

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Picture This

Posted on December 25, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

My place of employment considers both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to be paid holidays. Therefore I shall feel free to make another silly post, in addition to yesterday’s bit of whimsy (do you think that is a nicer word than “nonsense”? Discuss amongst yourselves).

The Mohawk Valley has gotten a dusting of snow for Christmas. Isn’t that delightful? The look without the pain of shoveling. As I write this I am aware that in other parts of the country people are sitting around in their shorts by barbecue pits thinking of our White Christmas with scornful pity. Well, to each his own, as the old lady said when she kissed the cow.

I am in Rome, NY for the holidays (thieves, don’t take note; there is really nothing in my house worth stealing) (I do this joke every time, but if you go to rob my house anyways, please clean the bathroom, it needs it again). Perhaps by next year I will get the proper camera or smart phone and be able to post pictures to this blog. That would be a good thing, because the city of Rome has some of the nicest Christmas lights around.

Some of the display came from a large, fancy restaurant called Trinkaus Manor, which tragically burned down some years ago. Many people from Rome cherish memories of driving out to Trinkaus at Christmastime to walk around and see the lights. After the restaurant burned down, the city ended up with them. What a great Christmas gift. I hope later on tonight to take a drive downtown and see the sights.

I see now where this would have been a better post with pictures. Oh well, one does what one can. It is Wuss-out Wednesday after all. Once again, Merry Christmas.

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What, Bloggers Don’t Get Holidays?

Posted on December 25, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

Merry Christmas Eve, to all my readers, regular and irregular (you know who you are).

It’s Tuesday, but it feels like Saturday, because I have the day off;, it feels like Sunday, because I’m very wrist-to-foreheady; and it feels like Friday, because I’m about to do an extremely lame post (and what does my computer mean by telling me “wrist-to-foreheady” is not a word? You all know what I mean, don’t you?).

My current stress is really all my fault, because of my silly obsession with posting every day. Not all bloggers post every day. Some post weekly or three times a week or just when they darn well feel like it.

Full disclosure: I don’t really feel all that stressed. I love Christmas Eve; it is my favorite day of the year. I confess to a certain… urgency. I want to post this before I have to finish loading the SUV and run a couple of errands before picking up my dear husband at his not-so-dear job (YES! We’re happy he has a job in this economy; doesn’t mean it couldn’t be a little better in some respects) (ooh, that might form the basis of some half-baked philosophy for when it really is Lame Post Friday).

I don’t have to finish it right now. We are going to my parents’ house and I could happily make my blog post from there; I’ve done it before. Only by then I will want to sit in the kitchen, eating good food and making silly jokes with everybody.

You know, it really is great fun to sit here at the computer typing nonsense. Who invented this blogging thing? I must send that person a thank you note.

Ooh, almost 300 words. That’s quite respectable. I’ll try to say something less nonsensical tomorrow. Then again, it will be Christmas.

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I Get the Christmas Spirit

Posted on December 24, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

Warning: The following blog post contains references to religion. In general I try to stay off religion and politics, because people tend to feel strongly about these subjects and I am no hand at argument. Also:

Full Disclosure: I am not an especially good practitioner of religion myself (raised Catholic, attend Episcopal church now) (when I go to church) (which isn’t often) (so you see…)

Where was I? Ah yes, the post…

Saturday I got a good dose of the Christmas spirit, courtesy of Herkimer Reformed Church.

Of course I love to go to church programs. Anything involving Christmas, children and music is sure to be fun, and a good blog post. I had a particular reason for attending this one, however, because I needed a person of God.

One of the few things I know how to knit is a prayer shawl. A prayer shawl, in case you didn’t know, is usually given to a person suffering from a physical or mental problem (mental problem meaning something such as grief or depression; not say paranoid schizophrenia). The maker prays while making it and it is blessed when it is finished. I think ideally one has a recipient in mind while making the shawl and so can offer a specific prayer. However, it is also acceptable to make one and see who needs it.

I don’t pray specifically; I try to more maintain a prayerful attitude while I knit. I don’t know how successful I really am at that (see full disclosure above), so I feel it is doubly important that I have someone with credentials bless the shawl when it is finished. I usually have this done at my church, but like I said I have not been there in a while. Additionally, our beloved Father Paul sadly passed away. I heard a new pastor has been chosen but does not start till January. I wanted this shawl blessed Saturday.

When I head that there was to be a Live Nativity at Herkimer Reformed Church, I thought this would be a good opportunity to find a priest (or do I mean minister? Reverend? Person of the Lord).

I put the shawl in a bag and Tabby on her leash. I felt sure there could be no objection to a cute little dog at an outdoor program. There might even be other animals there. Anyways, Tabby loves church. I know she loves the Herkimer Reformed Church, because we often walk by it and she delights in sniffing at the fence. It is located at the Historic Four Corners, a favorite spot of Tabby’s and mine.

It had been raining on and off all day. I thought it reasonable to hope the rain would taper off during the program. We found a place to park next to the Herkimer County Historical Society and crossed the street to where people gathered in front of the church.

The program had already started, but we had not missed much. A few people had sensibly brought umbrellas. I don’t think I need to tell regular readers that I was not one of them. Two men petted Tabby, so she was already happy we came.

The story was coming out of speakers near the church. After a while I saw the narrator standing nearby with a microphone and an umbrella. There were no live animals. The little kids were the sheep. Teenagers portrayed the shepherds, Mary and Joseph, and one of the angels. Adults played the Archangel Gabriel and the Three Wise Men. I saw a shepherd help one of the sheep put her sheep hat back on. I love live theatre with kids.

As the show progressed, the rain increased. The players huddled under the stable roof when they were able to. Audience members with umbrellas huddled under those. The rest of us just got wet. Tabby behaved herself very well. She seemed to want to go up where the players were, but she did not insist. She probably thought they would like to pet her. Or maybe she saw the open church door and figured it would be warm and dry in there.

The story was interspersed with music. The songs were recorded and some of the players sang along. At the end they played a medley almost everybody sang with, even the audience (yes, me, too). The Wise Men and the sheep started dancing, so I danced too. Tabby did not dance with me, which was disappointing for me, but she was quite soaked by that time so she probably did not feel like it.

I remembered my mission and approached the narrator.

“Excuse me, are you the priest?”

“No, that’s Pastor Mark.” The man pointed at one of the men who had petted Tabby.

I explained my situation to the pastor. He said a lovely prayer over the shawl. I told him how much I enjoyed the beautiful nativity. He said he was just sorry it hadn’t stopped raining.

That would have been nice. On the other hand, it was wonderful how the participants and audience stood in the rain, enjoying the true meaning of Christmas. When I left, the music was still playing and the sheep and Wise Men were still dancing. Merry Christmas, everybody!

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