Tag Archives: blog post

Scattered Saturday

Posted on January 25, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

I rarely post this late in the day on a Saturday, but these things happen. I shall go on to do what I often do on a Saturday. That is, list the activities in which I indulged other than writing a blog post.

This morning I went to Coffee and Conversation with a Cop at the Baptist Church in Herkinmer, NY. I mean to write a blog post about it, but I wanted to do something better than composing at the keyboard and hitting Publish as soon as I complete at least 200 words. I don’t know when I think I’m going to do that, as I am entering that bear of an exciting week in the play I am in, Production Week (it doesn’t have to be capitalized, but I wanted to make it seem important) (which it is, but mostly to the people involved with the play).

Another problem which has been exercising my mind is what to write about for an article for Mohawk Valley Living, the wonderful magazine which has been so gracious as to publish my writing. As I drove the Cop event, I remembered Guitar Group at Basloe Library. I love Guitar Group! I have not gone to listen to them in a long time. That might make a good article. If not, at least I would cheer myself up with some good music and get a blog post out of it.

I gassed up my vehicle after the Conversation (I mention it because I am listing my activities after all). I purchased a Sobe vitamin drink as well, because I had neglected to bring a bottle of water and I was thirsty.

Imagine my chagrin when only one gentleman showed up for Guitar Group. The librarians did not say it had disbanded, but apparently nobody showed up last week either. I purchased five paperbacks at their sale (five for a dollar, can’t beat it), so the stop was not a total loss, but I was quite disappointed.

When I got home I realized I had a dreadful sinus headache. I called my Mom (no, not to tell her I had a headache, although that did come up in a conversation), looked at Facebook, did some puzzles in a puzzle book and waited for Steven to come home for lunch, which he did around 1:30.

After he went back to work I took a nap. I slept for over three hours. What a bum! I feel kind of bad even admitting I did such a thing. I’m sure many people would huff, “I wish I had time to take a nap!” Then again, those people probably don’t have time to read a silly blog either. I think I needed the sleep.

I felt pretty terrific when I got up, which is unusual after a nap. Usually I feel sluggish and groggy until coffee makes it all better. After I was up, drinking some water and thinking about my blog post, I realized I have that vague, sicky headache that means a cold or worse. SAY IT AIN’T SO!! Fight it, Cindy, fight it! I’m drinking an Airmune (that’s the generic of Airborne) and hoping for the best.

I hope I have not rattled on for too long, but I wanted full disclosure. I warn you, this blog might be All Busybody All The Time for the next week (that is the play I am in) (I did mention that I’m in a play, right?). I hope you are all having a lovely weekend.

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Oh Crap, I Gotta Write a Blog Post!

Posted on January 23, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

It is Non-Sequitur Thursday. I usually like to skip that if I’ve just had a Wuss-out Wednesday, which of course I had this week. However comma, sometimes these things happen (“however comma” is an expression I got from a sergeant in the army. I like it better than “but, however”) (I think “but, however” sounds like a redundancy and thus improper English, although a mean English teacher taught it as correct).

I am completely ready for my rehearsal tonight. OK, not completely ready, but I’m dressed. I have on all three skirts. My director wanted my character to be layered (let’s see what the real drama-ramas amongst my readers make of that elliptical remark).

Just as an aside, I am back on overtime at work. For my checkbook’s sake I say, “Woohoo!” Regarding the matter of sufficient sleep I say, “Oh, crap!” But one does what one must with as good a grace as one can muster. Actually, I do very little in my life with actual gracefulness, which is one reason this is not a video blog.

Today’s title is something I actually said just before I decided to use it as a title. My husband laughed at me. It is true that I often say that I cannot write a post, then I go right ahead and do. Like, um, you know, I just did.

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Blame It On The Play

Posted on January 22, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

I was afraid that after two “real” posts I would have a Wuss-out Wednesday. I had hoped to avoid it. I had two other Mohawk Valley adventures on Saturday I can write about. I still can. Just not today.

Yes, I am going to blame the play. I can’t write blog posts on my breaks at work when I have to study lines. Full disclosure: on one break I called my husband and on another I worked on a crossword puzzle with my co-worker. I think anyone can agree that these were also important activities. If you do not agree… hmmm, have we met? Have you read this blog? Never mind, on with my dithery non-post of the day.

There was a moment during rehearsal yesterday when I was suddenly having the time of my life. I was on stage, knowing most of my lines, saying them with the proper accent (at least as good as I get at it), and suddenly I started coming up with fun things to do. I knew why my character was crossing the stage. I reacted to the other people on stage. I was — dare I say it? — ACTING! Perhaps I flatter myself. But it was fun.

Don’t get me wrong. Rehearsal is always fun. There is no reason to participate in community theatre if it is not fun. But I cannot deny that some rehearsals are more fun than others. When I don’t know my lines it is painful. When other actors don’t know theirs it is even more painful. When nobody knows their lines it is excruciating! And of course learning lines is only the first step.

Oh, in case any of my fellow cast-members are reading this: No I did not know ALL my lines! I screwed up plenty of times. But I had moments where I felt like I knew what I was doing and it was fun.

Just to reiterate: the play is Busybody at Ilion Little Theatre, Remington Avenue, Ilion, NY, Jan. 30 and 31, and Feb. 1, 6, 7 and 8, at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays. For more information visit ILT’s website at www.ilionlittletheatre.org. You can also Like them on Facebook.

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The Play is Definitely the Thing

Posted on January 19, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

For the next two weeks I expect to be obsessed. This is perhaps not a good thing for the blog, especially since I had a number of Mohawk Valley adventures in the last few days, which I would very much like to write about. However, I just returned from rehearsal and the play is on my mind (I bet you thought I was going to say, “The play’s the thing.” Well, I don’t have to indulge in every cliche, do I?).

We ran the whole show. It is not the first time we ran it; that was last Sunday. Did it go well? I think it did. I called for line a few times. I messed up a few times. Maybe several. I wasn’t counting. The funny thing is I have to have a cockney accent for my character. When we stopped running the play I kept talking in the accent. The director told me I have to slow down on one dramatic line. I tried a few times then said, “I’ll practice it at ‘ome!” Maybe you had to be there.

One kind of discouraging thing is when the director tells you to do something you were trying to do already. Damn! It didn’t work! I have to try harder. One thing I strive to do, though, is listen to direction. I have worked with actors who want to argue with everything. “I just don’t see the character that way,” they say, among other things. There is nobody like that in this cast. Phew!

I guess posts about rehearsal are not that exciting. Well, I don’t want to give away too much about the play, in case local readers want to come see it (and I hope they do). Perhaps I can manage a post or two about my recent Mohawk Valley adventures. We’ll see what tomorrow will bring.

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This Time We’ll Blame Phyllis

Posted on January 18, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

I pretty much knew I would not have Saturday Running Commentary today, because I am not running very much in this hideous winter weather. I had a number of other possibilities, and yet here I am, the time getting later and later, and my blog post still yet unpublished.

Just a side note: my typing is going slowly, because I have Band-aids on both my index fingers. I don’t know what it is, some winter skin or something, that my fingers are getting all dry and splitting. It is quite painful. Just thought I would complain about it.

I have been busy all weekend. I went to Melfe’s Shoes on Friday, so I would not have to on Saturday (I mean to write a full post about that). Saturday I walked Tabby to the post office in the frigid cold, went to the Thrift Store and the laundromat, and went adventuring with my friend Phyllis. There are several blog posts in there. So I guess we can consider this paragraph a Preview of Coming Attractions.

The problem was Phyllis and I stopped for just one glass of wine at the end of our adventuring. I could blame Phyllis. She does not mind being held up as a bad example. I believe she is rather proud of being a corruptive influence (my computer is underlining corruptive, but I’m pretty sure it is so a word). I don’t suppose it matters.

The point is: it is late on the day Saturday and if I don’t hit Publish, I will not have a blog post for today. So this is it. See you Sunday.

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It’s Friday

Posted on January 17, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

I know I have been having a lot of lame posts lately. However, I think we all know how much I treasure my Lame Post Friday. It’s Friday. Let’s be lame.

I actually had a few ideas during the day about what I could write about for my blog post. I thought I might actually write something earlier than when I sat down at the computer to start typing. I studied my lines for the play instead. Oh, and worked on a letter to my sister. OK, I also worked on a cryptogram puzzle and a crossword. Maybe if I had more breaks on my job…

The break from frigid cold temperatures in the Mohawk Valley did not last very long. This morning when we woke up it was actually pleasant, relatively speaking that is. I put on short sleeves. For a while at work, short sleeves were OK. When I left work the wind chill was back. It was… let’s just say not pleasant.

I cooked something not too bad for supper. I cooked some rice in the rice cooker which was my favorite Christmas present. While it cooked, I chopped up a pork chop (we only had one because the package had an odd number). When it was almost done I added broccoli from the freezer and mushrooms from a can. When the rice was done, I put that in along with some spices.

Anyone who has been reading this blog will know that I have had… what kind of week? Stressful, busy, not a bad week, but not a good writing week. I think this Friday post has been no better. But it’s Friday. Let’s get on with the weekend.

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My Face Didn’t Crack

Posted on January 16, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

I thought instead of Non-Sequitur Thursday I could do a Pedestrian Post. For one reason, I had not walked my beloved dog Tabby all week because of the frigid temperatures. I know I do a lot of Pedestrian Posts, but I was hoping an update on Herkimer in mid-January would be acceptable.

The weather cooperated. It was warmer and sunny. I find it ironic that I say warmer rather than warm, because it was not warm. It was less cold. So you see, warmer can mean both more warm and less warm. Just a little digression on the vagaries of the English language.

Tabby was very happy to see me when I got home, as usual. I tried not to let her catch me changing my shoes, because she always takes that as a sign that a walk is imminent. Unfortunately, she found me. OK, I wasn’t very well hidden. I wanted to get on with things. I managed to get her into her harness and we set out.

My thermostat in the house said it was 26 degrees outside. That sounded SO much better than teens and single digits. It wasn’t till we had started walking that I remembered that it is still below freezing. No matter. The sun was shining. We could rock this.

Tabby spent the first two blocks or so pulling me along at a rapid pace. I was pleased to see the sidewalk plow had been by. It still leaves some snow on the sidewalk, which is perfectly OK with me. It takes more effort to walk through snow. I can burn more calories. I soon realized why my legs have been feeling quite awful these last couple of days. It is because I need to walk as much as Tabby does. I crunched along as happily as she.

Soon she began stopping to sniff. It takes her longer to sniff in the winter, I think because the snow obstructs her sense of smell. I looked around the neighborhood as she sniffed. It looked a little boring with no Christmas decorations, but the sunshine cheered things up somewhat.

I saw a sign advertising an apartment for rent. $450 a month plus utilities. Only the plus sign was kind of screwy, so I thought at first it said $450 a month divided by utilities. Or perhaps it was a really awkward way of saying you split the utilities. These are the things I think about when I walk.

Despite her early enthusiasm, Tabby only wanted to go for a short walk. That was OK with me. I had neglected to put on a scarf and as I observed earlier, 26 degrees is still below freezing. You know that expression, “If she smiled her face will crack”? I began to feel that way.

Still, I felt elated that we had at last walked. I hope for warmer temperatures soon so that we may take longer excursions. Perhaps if we walk longer, something blogworthy will happen.

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Still Blaming the Play?

Posted on January 15, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

I just glanced back at the last week or so of posts and I see that I have been wimping out since last Monday. Oh dear. Not a Mohawk Valley adventure in a week? Say it ain’t so! However, the reason I have been so remiss is that I have been preoccupied with the play I am in (which I believe I have mentioned at least once). Ilion Little Theatre is a major Mohawk Valley asset. I think I have also mentioned the Mohawk Valley weather. So I have not completely lost my local focus.

Just to give an update on my writing: I seem to be over my Writer’s Block and am in the middle of huge case of Writer’s Blank. Seriously, I can’t think of a damn thing to say.

That is what I wrote before rehearsal. For once when I had nothing to say, I actually, truly — dare I say literally? — had nothing to say. I don’t have a great deal more to say now, but apparently I am capable of typing out more words. Maybe not good words, but as I often say, one can’t have everything.

The weather continues icily cold in the Mohawk Valley. Bill Kardas said it was going to get up into the 20s today (that’s the weather guy on WKTV. I don’t really know him; I just wanted to sound like a name-dropper). It did not feel like 20s to me. In fact, the cold this morning gave me a migraine. I took a couple of pills for it. They were over the counter, but they still doped me up somewhat. I believe that was the cause of my earlier Writer’s Blank.

So I guess I can only offer apologies for Wuss-out Wednesday (that sounds more planned than Blogger’s Sick Day, doesn’t it?) and, as always, try again tomorrow. Thank you for playing.

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I Did Mention The Play, Right?

Posted on January 14, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

I think I may have mentioned this blog might become All Busybody All The Time. Astute readers will recall that Busybody is the play I am in at Ilion Little Theatre. I’m the busybody who discovers the busy body. Opening night is Jan. 30, which is kind of bearing down on us in an ominous fashion.

Did anybody read yesterday’s post when I was having that dreadful bout of Writer’s Block? I had rehearsal. I had to make that blog post then get myself ready to ACT. I had to change into clothes for rehearsal, I had to make sure I had my rehearsal props, I had to look over my lines again, I had to think about my character. I can’t write and act at the same time!

Actually, I kind of can. I realized a long time ago, I act like I write. I know all kinds of stuff about my character that never shows up on stage. Today while I was at work, I started thinking about my relationship with this other character in the play. In the play, we are old friends who actually went out on a date once. I started thinking about what my character used to be like, and what the other character used to be like, and why I married the guy I married (uh, in the play). I had worked out a huge backstory involving characters who never even appear onstage.

This is what I do. When I was in Harvey, I didn’t stop with backstory. I started writing a sequel in my head. In the dressing room before one performance I started to recount it to other cast members. I ran out of stuff I had thought up while at work and started vamping. The other cast members were rapt, or perhaps I flatter myself.

I had rehearsal tonight. I did not write my blog post before rehearsal. For some reason I trusted I would be able to come up with something after rehearsal. How silly of me. On the other hand, this is Tired Tuesday. Perhaps this will be all right. See you on Wuss-out Wednesday.

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At Last! Writer’s Block!

Posted on January 13, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

I think I am finally experiencing Writer’s Block. I know, I know, many people believe it does not exist. Some people don’t believe in Santa Claus either; I refuse to debate some things. Normally I suffer from Writer’s Blank. I look at the page and it remains blank because that is my state of mind. Sometimes I suffer from Write It Down And Cross It Out (or Type It In And Backspace Over It, as the case may be). This, however, I can only describe as Writer’s Block.

I have a post that I wrote last week but did not finish. I thought I would type in what I had and finish it for today’s post. Then I looked at the lead and saw that it mentioned my Christmas vacation. Did that make it dated? Should I change the lead? Go with something entirely different or just change the wording a little to indicate that the post is about an adventure I had last month?

These are not difficult questions. All I had to do was pick an option and start typing. I could even put off the decision, type in what I had, and change it later. But somewhere in the back of my mind there lurked another lead. A good lead, one that made the post… different. Better. But the words would not come forward.

Well why does that matter? I argued with myself. Just type in anything, I said. You’ll find the words you want. If not right away, you can save the draft and finish it later or tomorrow. Just BEGIN!

And I could not.

I felt literally paralyzed (this is not a misuse of the word “literally,” I really FELT AS IF I was literally paralyzed. I did not say I WAS literally paralyzed) (so don’t get didactic on me). I had a couple of other ideas for blog posts I could have gone with. I thought, just write one of those for now. I put my fingers on the keyboard. Nothing happened. I couldn’t write ANYTHING!

Except, it seems, this. We’ll call it a Middle-aged Musings Monday and hit publish. Hope to see you on Tuesday.

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