“Dirty Work” for a Good Cause

Posted on May 18, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

I would like to use today’s post to give a brief shout-out to Habitat for Humanity

Habitat bills itself as a hand up not a hand out. They build homes for deserving, needy families. The families work on the homes as well.

I first encountered the group up north, many years ago when I was in Kiwanis. A member of a neighboring Kiwanis Club also worked with Habitat and saw first hand what a different it makes in the lives of recipients.

At the request of another friend, I participated in a Raquette Valley Habitat for Humanity fundraiser. All I had to do was go bowling. The money I paid to bowl went to Habitat. I know with these bowl-a-thons (not that we bowled that many games), participants usually go around and get people to sponsor them per pin. With my bowling average (if you can call it an average as seldom as I bowl), that could hardly have raised much. Also, my circle of acquaintance at the time was very limited. Anybody I could have asked had probably already been asked or was bowling themselves.

The other knowledge I have of Habitat is that there is a Habitat home near a relative I see one or two times a year. The home has been there for a number of years now and looks just as beautiful as when it was brand new. I see real pride of ownership in such a well kept property.

I write about Habitat for Humanity, because last night they held a fundraiser in conjunction with Ilion Little Theatre (ILT). We put on our play Dirty Work at the Crossroads. They paid our group a set amount to cover our royalties and expenses, then sold tickets to their supporters.

It is a definite win/win situation. Win for ILT because those Habitat people are the BEST audience! They are ready to be pleased. They laughed at all the jokes. They applauded long and loud at the end. They all told us how much they enjoyed the show.

I may try to get more involved with Habitat for Humanity. I think that would be a very good project for Mohawk Valley Girl.

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You Would Cry Too

Posted on May 17, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

It’s my Friday and I’ll cry if I want to, cry if I want to, cry if I want to.

OK, that’s all I got. I started to write a post about… I don’t remember what I was writing about but it was going to be too long. I have to get to the theatre tonight. The show must go on! (with gesture)

Actually, I just now took the time to go downstairs and look at what I started to write. It was about Habitat for Humanity. Tonight’s show is a benefit for that fine organization. I will try to write about them tomorrow. I have tomorrow off, so I will have more time for a lengthy post.

Thus explaining my first sentence, and you know what Friday means: Lame Post Friday! Random observations and half-baked philosophy! Here goes…

My first observation is that it would probably have been less trouble to write a short post while on a break at work and then have merely to type it in right now, instead of trying to think of something clever to say. Which leads me into some half-baked philosophy on why do I always have to do things the hard way?

Seriously, why do I? Certain members of my family say it is a family motto: Why do things the easy way when there’s a hard way? Now my question is: why do we so often ask why? Can’t we just accept what is and go from there? Do you suppose this is enough questions for one blog post?

I’m thinking it is enough nonsense. I am over 200 words. My only excuse for a stupid post is that at least it’s short. Hope to see you on Friday, when I will attempt to NOT be lame.

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That’s a Classic?

Posted on May 16, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

Imagine my chagrin when I tuned into Tarantula (1955), which I had DVR’d in expectation of a nice slice of cinematic cheese, to find out that TCM considers it a classic!

TCM was in the midst of their Classic Film Festival. I’ve never been to a real film festival, where you go somewhere, stay a few days, decide which screening or panel discussion you will attend. I am envious of those who have. However, one can’t have everything. I have cable television and a DVR. It’ll do.

So there I was, about to watch a classic film. Then again, the 1933 King Kong is considered a classic. Plenty to laugh at there. What makes something a classic anyways? That people keep watching it. Apparently people have been watching Tarantula since 1955. Who am I to argue?

I wrote the preceding the week before last. I did not continue because I was quite pressed for time. My movie posts (can’t quite call them reviews) tend to run up to 1,000 words. I did not think I would have time to type it in. Today I will have time, but will I have the inclination?

As it turns out, I don’t think that matters much, because after two weeks, I don’t seem to remember much about the movie. I remember the science was spurious, even for a horror movie. For example, why did the animals injected with the stuff just get big while the people got big and deformed? There could be a philosophical discussion in the answer to that, but as usual we’ll save the half-baked philosophy for Lame Post Friday.

I seem to remember something about the beginning that made me want to watch Invasion of the Body Snatchers again (the 1956 original, not the 1978 remake). I’m not sure I can describe what it was, but Tarantula didn’t do it as well. Something to do with the atmosphere of normalcy before things got horrible (and of course I mean horrible as in belonging to a horror movie, not horrible in a bad movie sense).

Ah, I just checked in the TV Journal and the note I made was that Invasion moves fast and Tarantula moves slow. I think what I mean is that Tarantula gets bogged down in the “normal” part while Invasion does not. I seem to remember watching Invasion thinking, “Ooh, I wish I was there, having cocktails and a cook-out — no I don’t!”

I just re-read what I wrote so far and noted the words “Who am I to argue?” Apparently I think I’m someone, because I didn’t think this flick was such a classic. When looking up the year, I noticed that Leonard Maltin thinks highly of it. Then again, Maltin and I often disagree. Perhaps I can come up with a little half-baked philosophy on why for Lame Post Friday.

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Not Left Hanging

Posted on May 15, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

My mother had a birthday recently. I previously had an idea to send her flowers for no reason but had not acted on it. Now I decided to send her flowers for a reason.

I thought I would call Olney’s Flowers in Rome, NY, which is where my mom and dad live. Olney’s did the wedding flowers for me and all my sisters, so I knew they did nice work. Serendipitously, I saw an ad for them on the television. I had Steven make a note of the phone number but in fact it is a very easy number to remember: 339-6000 (perhaps not as memorable as eight-six-seven-five-three-oh-ni-ee-ine, but very good for a business, I think).

The advertisement had particularly mentioned their hanging baskets. My other thought had been something Mom could subsequently plant in her yard. However, while talking to the nice lady at Olney’s, I realized planting flowers is work. A hanging basket Mom has only to hang and enjoy. I went with the hanging basket. I set delivery for Mom’s birthday and felt pleased with myself.

Imagine my chagrin when on the morning of Mom’s birthday I read a Facebook post from a sister hoping Mom was having fun in Pennsylvania. PENNSYLVANIA??? I didn’t know she would be in Pennsylvania on her birthday! What a dumb place to go on a birthday when you are supposed to be home receiving a hanging basket from Olney’s!

OK, it’s not a completely dumb place for my parents to be. They have a daughter in Pennsylvania who has a daughter of her own who happened to be graduating that weekend. I’m sure it is quite logical for my mom and dad to be in Pennsylvania. However, I am also sure she neglected to mention to me her plan to be there on her birthday. Nobody ever tells me anything!

Luckily I had looked at Facebook early in the morning. I got on the phone to Olney’s almost as soon as they opened (I tried to wait till at least 8:01 just to be on the safe side, but I was a little agitated). The woman I spoke with said her family never tells her anything either and she nicely put the delivery on hold till I could find out when Mom will be back in Rome.

I later learned that Mom and Dad planned to return on Monday. I called Olney’s on Monday and re-set delivery for Tuesday, since I couldn’t be sure what time on Monday would be good. My only hope now is that Mom gets her flowers before she reads this blog post (she is one of my subscribers, after all).

Olney’s Flowers is located at 2002 N. James St., Rome, NY. Phone number 315-339-6000. They are open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Sunday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. You can like them on Facebook or visit their website at www.olneysflowers.com.

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This, Too, Shall Pass

Posted on May 14, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

I would like to just say a word about passwords. Only I don’t like to use those words in my blog.

You need passwords everywhere these days, at work, at home, on your computer, on your cell phone. There’s the PIN for your bank card, and if you only have one of those, congratulations. I HATE PASSWORDS!

You must not use the same password for different places. You must not use the same password you had used before. You must have a secure password: caps and not, numbers and symbols. Don’t use your pet’s name or your spouse’s name or your anniversary date or your birthday. How can I remember all these “strong” passwords at all, let along remembering which password goes to which place?

The answer, and this is what makes it a Monday Middle-aged Musing, is: I CAN’T! My middle-aged brain is not that supple. So I make up these super strong, secure passwords, and write them down on a piece of paper next to my computer, in a most unsecure fashion (the computer is underlining “unsecure.” I KNOW the word is “insecure,” but my insecurities could fill a whole other blog post).

I know, somebody else would do something clever like write down the password but leave off one letter. Or mix up where the capital letters go. Or maybe even write it in Arabic (I know the Arabic alphabet, but that, again, is a whole other blog post).

I offer this rant as my Monday post, because, as you may have guessed, I did not write a post while at work today. I trusted to my brain (why in the world I even thought I still had one remains a mystery) to come up with something. First I checked my email. I currently have two emails, since I am in the process of switching from Hotmail to gmail (I could give you a whole other rant about Outlook, but I don’t really want to get the computer honchos mad at me). I just barely remembered the respective passwords and in doing so realized I did NOT remember my WordPress password. I’ll tell you what: I was not in too bad a mood to start with but it just about became Wrist to Forehead Monday!

Be all that as it may, I see that my word count is over 300. Quite enough from someone who is only here to kvetch (then again, I always say, go with your strengths). I must go now to seek out a Mohawk Valley adventure to write about tomorrow.

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Ambiance by Suzanne

Posted on May 13, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

Just a quick plug for a local business today. I may have mentioned I am in a play with Ilion Little Theatre this weekend and next. There are a number of new people in the cast, new to ILT and new to any stage. I thought I would do something special for opening night.

I remember years ago in high school, people giving their friends flowers for opening night. My mother told me the leading lady got roses, that was all. In fact, she gave me two lovely roses when I was a leading lady once, but that is another memory. I know in movies where they show plays, somebody hands the leading lady a bouquet of roses while she takes her final bow, but I’ve never seen that in real life.

Be all that as it may, I thought to get everyone in the cast as well as the accompanist and sound/lights guy a single bloom. I realized carnations were more in my budget than roses. Anyways, they last longer. I made a phone call.

I drive by Flowers by Suzanne on Mohawk Street in Herkimer, NY almost every day on my way home from work. Steven got me some lovely roses from them one Valentine’s Day (I guess I’m his leading lady) (sorry, had to say it). I ordered eleven carnations, in yellow if possible (there is something in the play about goldenrod, so I thought yellow carnations was close enough).

Friday after work I picked them up. As I walked to the door of the business I got a wonderful whiff of lilacs from a big bush nearby. I must plant some lilacs in my yard. The nice people at Suzanne’s were able to accommodate my request for all yellow and even threw in an extra, in case something happened to one. I grabbed a handful of little cards to write something nice on and was on my way.

As I sat in the car waiting for Steven (I had to pick him up at work), I wrote the cards. And realized I had miscalculated. One card short. I had been going down the cast list writing the cards, so the accompanist got shorted. I had the right number of little envelopes, so I wrote a note on a small piece of notebook paper. It turned out to be OK with the recipient, as it turns out. I had written “Well, this is embarrassing” on the outside of the notebook paper after I had folded it in half. She was highly amused

People were very pleased with their flowers, and I felt I had added to the ambiance of opening night. Anyone needing to add ambiance to any of their occasions can happily go to Flowers by Suzanne. They are located at 433 Mohawk St., Herkimer, NY, 315-866-0206.

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Call It What You Like

Posted on May 12, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

I got nuthin.

Should there be an apostrophe after the second n in nuthin? See, even when I use quite terrible grammar I want to be correct. This by way of what we can call either a Blogger’s Sick Day or a Wrist to Forehead Saturday.

I’ve spent all day thinking I had to write a blog post and thinking a topic would magically appear. I’ve taken two walks with my dog, one of which included my husband. I made some excellent observations about beautiful Herkimer, NY in the springtime. Yet, I can’t seem to make myself write about them.

It doesn’t help that I’m pressed for time. Or that I am suffering from the lightheadedness that occasionally plagues me. Or some unnamed malaise that renders everything in my life and mind unblogworthy. But I must not repine. My only task now is to get my word count up to a respectable number and drive on.

To help that, here is what I wrote on Thursday for possible use as my Friday Lame Post (as it happened, I went another way):

Full disclosure: I am writing this week’s Friday Lame Post on Thursday as I have done on several previous occasions. I find that it does not appear to have a detrimental effect on the blogosphere.

I’m not writing it on a break at work, as I usually do, nor yet composing at the computer as also often happens. I am crouched on my bathroom floor waiting for my Root Rescue to process my grey roots and make my hair beautiful once more.

Yes, I remember that my Thursday post (written and published the same day I am writing this) was about how I intend to be bald within the month. In the meantime, I’m doing my roots. Sue me.

What a long time 15 minutes takes when you are naked with chemicals on your hair.

That was when I stopped writing, because I wasn’t sure if I should talk about being naked. It might give somebody an unfortunate mental image.

And now I see I am over 300 words. Phew! I feel better! Although I’ll probably hate myself in the morning.

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It Might Have Been a Cowboy

Posted on May 11, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

I don’t want to say I consumed insufficient caffeine this morning, but I almost left the house in my bedroom slippers. Just thought I’d throw in that unrelated remark, since I missed Non-Sequitur Thursday.

Yes, it is Lame Post Friday, my day of random observations and half-baked philosophy (I put in the explanation yet again for the benefit of new readers if any and to up my word count, because I really have very little to say today).

I do have one random observation that I wrote for use last Friday but mislaid the notebook when it was time to type it into the computer. I offer it now, although I wonder if it is as striking as it seemed when I first observed it.

As I drove along, in the car in front of me I could not see the driver’s head at all. The passenger’s head was this great big cowboy hat that reached the car roof. For a minute it looked as if this big old cowboy was being driven along by magic, or else by a tiny little cowgirl (I don’t know why I assigned the genders thusly, but so ran my thoughts) without a hat.

Then I got close enough to see the driver’s reflection in the side view mirror. A completely un-cowgirl-looking lady (why is my computer underlining “un-cowgirl-like”? Isn’t that a word?). Then I got closer yet and saw that what I had thought was a Stetson was the visor and the passenger was a perfectly ordinary sized person. What a disappointment!

I suppose at this point I could offer up some half-baked philosophy about disappointment or jumping to conclusions based upon a mere glance or why wasn’t I keeping my eye on the road instead of looking for cowboys in other vehicles. Well, I can’t think of anything philosophical to say, half-baked or otherwise, and I am extremely pressed for time.

I see that I am over 300 words. That is respectable. After all we don’t worry too much about content here at Mohawk Valley Girl (another topic ripe for some half-baked philosophy). I leave you to contemplate cowboys in other cars, and I hope you have a lovely weekend.

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Bald-Faced Begging

Posted on May 10, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

I believe I mentioned my intention to shave my head at a St. Baldrick’s Day event June 2 in Richfield Springs, NY. I thought I’d better start doing something about raising some money for it, or else it might look as if I was just trying to sleaze a free haircut.

I’ve gotten a few donations on my donor web page through StBaldricks.org. I shared it on Facebook, and friends and family helped. Next I decided to hit up some of my work buddies and acquaintances. Armed with my donation envelope the St. Baldrick’s people had sent me, I steeled myself to beg.

In an earlier post I talked about how I HATE asking people for money. I must say, I hate it even more than I remember hating it. It’s not the sort of thing that once I start doing it I feel better about it and keep going. I find that it is just as embarrassing as I had feared it would be and feel even more hesitant to approach the next person.

It isn’t that people are rude. Most people are very nice. It turns out, though, that Monday was the wrong day to pick to start. See, payday at my workplace is Thursday. By Monday most people are broke. My main problem now is to determine when “Ask me again on payday” means just that and when it means “I don’t want to give you any money but don’t feel I can just say no.”

Some people reached into their pockets and gave me a couple of bucks. Others caught me later and handed me a donation. One fellow reminded me to ask him again Friday morning.

In short, I am slowly gaining enough donations so I won’t look foolish in front of the other bald people on June 2. If any of you lovely readers would like to help the cause (um, the cause is actually children’s cancer research, not Cindy not being embarrassed), here is a link to my donor page: http://www.stbaldricks.org/participants/mypage/642777/2013. Perhaps by the time I’m actually bald, I will have learned how to post a picture. Stay tuned!

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Not That Clever

Posted on May 9, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

I quite frankly thought I could get a couple more blog posts out of my gyrations on Saturday, but as I sit here on Tuesday trying to write a post to publish on Wednesday, I feel myself succumbing to the dreaded Writer’s Blank.

And just as I was realizing I couldn’t be too blank since I had just written a paragraph, my break ended and I had to go back to work. By the next break I was blank again. What’s that all about?

I did a lot of running around on Saturday. I hit the Mohawk Valley Spring Bazaar, my church’s rummage sale, a consignment shop, an antique dealer, a thrift store, and the library. I left the grocery store for Sunday morning. If you go early enough, it isn’t very crowded.

As I planned my day, I had said to Steven, “Every stop is a blog post!”

It turns out, not so much. Well, I can’t always find something striking to purchase, have an amusing conversation with a clerk or even notice something memorable about the establishment. The sad truth is, I am not that clever.

So I guess I’m stuck with a Mid-Week Middle-aged Musing: It’s funny how you can run around all day and find yourself without anything to say about it (I probably could have made that rhyme, but I thought it might be too cute) (then, too, there is that not so clever thing).

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