Tag Archives: blog post

I Get a Little More Seasonal

Posted on October 18, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

Yesterday (Thursday; yes, the late posts continue), I did a little more cleaning in my living room and, more importantly (for blogging purposes anyways), I did more Halloween decorating!

I think she feels pretty.

I mentioned how I may find some Halloween togs for my skeleton Bonita.  I found a shoulder cape and my Halloween gloves.  A little large on her, but they’ll do.  The black rose was there already, not sure where that came from, and the feathers I put in her head must have fallen out of one of my boas (well of course I have more than one boa!).

Not exactly a June bride.

Burt the Birt-day Gorilla wanted to be a bride. Actually it was my idea.  I found the veil, probably a First Communion accessory, at a recent rummage sale.  I mentioned as I paid for my purchases that I clearly did not NEED it.

“But you know someone who does,” said one of the volunteers in an approving tone of voice.

“Actually, I’m going to put it on my gorilla,” I confessed.  All the ladies there expressed their wish that they could see it.

I’ve had those skulls for a while.

This stool has been kind of a catch-all for a while, so I was pretty pleased with myself for cleaning it.  The light was a present from the late, lovely husband Steve.  It has different colors.

Too dark, but I guess that’s seasonal.

I tried to take a picture of the whole space, but I obviously did not adjust the light properly.  I’ll try again sometime when there is a lot of sunlight.  The ghost, by the way, stays out all year long, because he sheds a lot of light.  I don’t like too dark of a living room.

My ongoing quest for a clean house continues. I did not realize what a motivating factor decorating can be.  Yay, Halloween!

 

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Am I Becoming Tiresome?

Posted on October 16, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

I sit here trying to make my Tired Tuesday blog post a day late (what else is new?) and I ain’t got much.  I guess I need to get out more. I got out of Herkimer, NY yesterday (where I live) and went as far as Utica.  I wished once again that I knew how to parallel park.  Fortunately, I do not wish that very often.  Then I found a parking lot with plenty of space only a short walk from my destination.  I don’t know why I share all this, except it is pretty much the only thing I did all day.

Today I hope to have a couple of Mohawk Valley Adventures, although it is not on my To Do List.  “Tuesday’s blog post” is on my To Do List, by the way.

Look at them all!

I threw in a picture, because I thought I was being boring.  This is Pumpkin Junction in Sauquoit, one of my favorite fall destinations.  I should go there soon and pick up more fall decor.  I could get a pumpkin, which I can later smash and leave in the yard for critters’ enjoyment.  That way I do not have to find a place to put Yet More Stuff in my house.

I am afraid I must admit (then again, being afraid is seasonal, is it not?)  that my depression is kicking my butt these days.  I know one cure, or at least help, is exercise.  I went running yesterday and mean to do that or at least walk today.  Another help is to Just Do Anything.  Seriously, I read it somewhere:  doing almost anything might relieve depression.  It might not, of course, but at least I will have gotten something done.

Lately when I have a conversation with someone, at some point I stop and say, “Talk about myself, talk about myself, talk about myself,” because that is what I seem to be doing.  And here I am doing the same thing in my blog.  Then again, it is a personal blog.  Does that make it OK?  Discuss amongst yourselves.

 

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I Need Halloween Monsters!

Posted on October 15, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

Hello and welcome to another late Monstrous Monday post.  It is the season for monsters, after all.  I have not been in a particular Halloweeny mood recently, which is too bad, because it is my favorite season.  Yesterday I was struck with yet another bout of Don’t Wanna Do Nuthin’.  I kept bestirring myself to At Least Do One Thing, with varying degrees of success.  Here is the result of one fairly successful foray:

My mantle.

I was happy to find the lights to hang.  They were in a bag on the knob of the door to my attic, where they have been since I took them down from the porch, an embarrassingly long time after Halloween (then again, they only went up Halloween Day; feel free to judge me).  I don’t know if you can see Santa Claus in the background.  He stays there all year round.  I always think he looks like he is saying, “Good grief!”  In this case it is probably because he is wondering why it took me till nearly halfway through the month to get a single Halloween decoration up (although in general, I think it is because that long piece of paper he is holding is the Naughty List).

The well dressed skeleton.

I looked for a picture of the mantle decorated by my late, dearly missed husband Steve but could not find one.  He had a flair for decorating.  Here is the Halloween outfit he put together for Bonita, our skeleton.  She has been embracing nudity lately, but perhaps I will help her into some seasonal duds before too long.  Bonaparte, her small, admiring friend, you may have noticed on the mantle, sitting in a mug from Adirondack Railroad.  I think he is irresistibly cute.

The Ghost of Christmas Past? or Present?

I close with another decoration of my own:  our other Santa Claus dressed as a ghost.  I purchased that Santa the first year we lived in this house, 2005, walking home from the store with him tucked under my arm and feeling rather pleased with myself.  My mother gave us the other Santa one Christmas, having purchased him at an antique store in Pennsylvania when she was visiting my sister Vicki.

I guess this post has not been particularly monstrous, unless you dislike reading about personal reminiscences and the other drivel that comes out of my typing fingers.  Sometimes one can only type what comes out.  However, if you’ll stay tuned, I hope to have other Mohawk Valley Adventures later this week.

 

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I Encourage Myself to Write

Posted on October 14, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

Ooh, look at the time.  I got on my Chromebook hoping to make Sunday’s blog post on Monday then got distracted by Facebook.  I am easily distracted.  Just about the time I thought I would get off Facebook and read for a while (you know, a book), I remembered the blog.  Full disclosure:  I have not much to blog about.  I confess that the main reason I continue to post every day (or as close as I can get) is to have myself Write Something, Anything.

By my rules for me, Any Writing Counts, be it here (and, yes, I often quote Truman Capote’s, That’s not writing, that’s typing), in the TV Journal, letters or post cards, etc.  By those rules, I do write every day at least something.  I keep hoping I can transition into writing novels, like my sister Diane E. Young does (I should talk about her books for a blog post sometime).  I used to work on novels all the time.

A few blooms to cheer myself up.

I decided to throw in a picture, because I was getting kind of bogged down.  These are some lilacs in my neighborhood that bloomed unexpectedly.  Can I, too, blossom unexpectedly?  People do it all the time, start new paths and projects at an advanced age.

I went searching for this in my Media Library.

A writing friend once pointed out to me that writing about not writing is still writing.  However, writing about not writing will not get me a novel, unless it is a novel about a dithery old woman who ends up not writing a novel.  Personally, I prefer a more plot-driven vehicle.

I guess this post has been to encourage me to take up my pen and start that first draft.  A week or so ago I jotted down some notes on a potential murder mystery.  I think I should pull them out and get started.  First I’ll have breakfast.  Best not to do these things on an empty stomach.

 

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Slacker, Sick, and No Longer Saturday

Posted on October 13, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

Hello and welcome to my late Slacker Saturday post.  It is late morning Sunday; I slept in.  I was having the most fun dreams!  Then I dreamed I was trying to write them out, like a novel that might become a weekly series. But that is not what I meant to write this blog post about.  The fact is, I think I am coming down with something, or else my allergies are reaching dreadful proportions,

Random picture to denote passage of time while I get more coffee.

Last night we had our performance of Curtains for Frangelica, the murder mystery to benefit the Herkimer County Historical Society.  We had a small but fun crowd, and enjoyed a delicious dinner.  In fact, I ate too much, but you’ll have that.  Earlier in the evening, I felt a little icky, but blamed it on my allergies.  I may still blame it on my allergies, although it may be emotional, as I warded off a panic attack at one point with some deep breathing.  Oh dear, how self-dramatizing I am.

Then again, drama is my life!

That is the cast for Rubbed Out at Ruby’s, a murder mystery I often bring up in this blog.  For one reason, I have some great pictures of it.  For another reason, I would like to revive it one day, perhaps with a few modifications, since I probably will not be able to find the original script.

It seems I have skipped around this morning (in the blog, that is; I am not up for that much movement right now), which is not surprising, since my head is doing a little spinning.  I guess I’ll call it a Blogger’s Sick Day and drive on.  Will I manage to make my Wrist to Forehead Sunday post on Sunday?  A little uncertainty adds interest to my day.

 

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Jim Beaming

Posted on October 12, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

I often go to the weekly tastings at Valley Wine and Liquor in Herkimer, NY but have not made a blog post about them in a while.  Yesterday (Friday; yes I am making my Friday post late, but for once I hope it will not be Lame) I had a nice time sipping Jim Beam and chatting, so I thought I would make a blog post about it.

I was actually out for a walk, bringing a notebook and adventure book with me, because I did not know where I might end up. I had vague thoughts of stopping by Valley but since I did not want to purchase anything heavy I would have to carry, I hesitated. I stopped at Cliff’s to get some cash out of the ATM.  Could I cross the street to the liquid store (as a niece referred to such stores when she was four)?  A car stopped and waved me across.  What else could I do?

She was great!

Caroline, the pourer, was happy to see me, remembering me from other tastings.  She likes that I take notes about what I taste.  I always chat up the person pouring; it is one of the sociable things I enjoy.

I started with a mixture Caroline had made with 1 1/2 parts Honey Jim Beam, 4 parts lemonade, a splash of club soda and lime.  It was very tasty and refreshing.  It would make a good punch to serve at a party.  I moved on to tasking the flavored product straight.

The Jim Beam Fire was not as hot as I had expected but flavorful with a cinnamon taste.  The Jim Beam Vanilla was delightful.  Caroline said that was everybody’s favorite.  The Jim Beam Sunshine Blend tasted more like a straight whiskey to me; if you prefer unflavored spirits, this would be the one for you.  The Jim Beam Apple was, well, apple-y.

For anybody tsk-tsking me because I got free tastes but didn’t purchase anything, I intend to return the Valley Wine and Liquor today and buy something.  Will I get there at the time of the Saturday tasting?  Perhaps I will.

Valley Wine and Liquor is located at 326 S. Caroline St., Herkimer, NY, phone number 315-867-5800.

 

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I Follow Different Directions

Posted on October 11, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

I went for a walk yesterday but did not take any pictures, so no Pedestrian Post.  I guess the best I can do is a Throwback Thursday, and, yes, I am making it Friday morning and not that early either.  Judge me if you feel so inclined.

But first, another plug!

Ah, but before I throw back to anything, here is one last plug for Curtains for Frangelica, our latest murder mystery.  The last I knew, there were still tickets available, local readers!

The eyes have it.

Before I decided to begin with a plug, this picture from the past caught my eye.  It is the end of my Black-Eyed Susans, before that patch became entirely overgrown with all manner of weeds and things.  That reminds me, I need to get out there and cut everything back.  Perhaps later today if it does not rain (my bunions are non-committal, and I forget what I saw on WKTV News Tuesday).

I think he’s cute.

I was looking for other dead vegetation pictures and came across this adorable fall decoration.  I have no idea where he is now, but I see he is sitting on a Roger Ebert book, I Hated, Hated, HATED That Movie!  I do like reading bad reviews, although I do not agree with all the movies Ebert hated.  I am actually a little uncomfortable looking at the portion of the title showing, because in general I greatly prefer love to hate.  But I digress.

A dramatic conclusion indeed.

Since this is turning out to be something of a Non-Sequitur Thursday, I close by going in yet another direction with a shot from Horror Hotel, from one of my horror movie DVD collections.  I guess this kind of loops back to the beginning: murder mystery, horror movie.  I may be stretching a point.  However, I am over 300 words on one of those mornings when I had at first felt inclined to bag it altogether.  Let that be a lesson to me.  And thank you for tuning in.

 

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A Few Sights of the Season

Posted on October 10, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

Now I can do my Waste Not Want Not Wednesday Post, and we can pretend it is not early Thursday morning (I said we CAN pretend, I didn’t say you had to! Sheesh!) (you know who you are).  These are just a few pictures I took on walks.  Perhaps today I will take a walk and take some more for a real Pedestrian Post with Pictures (preview of coming attractions).

They smelled pretty good, too!

I took this during one of my cool-down walks after a run, because I was so surprised to see lilacs blooming in October.  I later noticed something somebody shared in a Facebook comment saying how sometimes lilacs would bloom late and why.  Of course I did not read the whole thing, nor further research the matter.  I just enjoyed the sight of the flowers.

LOOOOVE the changing leaves!

Here is a more familiar October sight:  beautiful colored leaves!  I do know why this happens; I read it somewhere and had it explained to me by a biology student, but I shall not burden my readers with the knowledge.  For one reason, I might remember it wrong and look even more foolish than I normally do.

I tried to get a closer look.

This is not as good a shot as I had hoped, but I did say Waste Not Want Not.  I actually took the tree pictures a week ago (I just checked on my phone; you see I do research some things).  There are more colors to see now.  I’d better take that walk, while the colors are still here!

 

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Tired Time Warp

Posted on October 9, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

It’s not Wednesday, it is Tuesday.  How did I get into such a time warp?  I have been sitting here debating whether to do a Waste Not Want Not Wednesday or a Wuss-Out Wednesday, when it hit me, TOMORROW is Wednesday.  I’ll be damned.

My favorite Tuesday meme.

It is actually fine with me that it is Tuesday and not Friday.  I need more time to study my lines and figure out my costume for Curtains for Frangelica, the murder mystery to benefit the Herkimer County Historical Society this Saturday at the Elks Lodge.

In case anybody wants all the info.

I got back from rehearsal a short time ago, so I guess I can bill this as a Post-Rehearsal Post.  It is an odd thing, but I have noticed WordPress no longer lets me categorize my blogs under “humor” and “personal.”  I guess humor is subjective, and one could argue that not all of my posts are humorous (regular readers know I am no hand at argument), but personal?  What else is this but a personal blog about me, a person?

This is too much for me to figure out on a Tired Tuesday.  I’ll add another picture for good measure and call it a blog post.  Once again, thank you for tuning in.

From a previous rehearsal.

 

 

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One Monster for Good Measure

Posted on October 8, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

Hello and welcome to yet another late blog post from me, Mohawk Valley Girl.

Having typed that, I feel myself disinclined to type any more. If I was not ten-finger typing on the Chromebook, I would be tempted to give it up as a bad job.  I know, I know, one must not wait for inspiration.  Sometimes one prefers to at least wait till the coffee kicks in.

Picture to denote passage of time while I get another cup of coffee.

That is one of my favorite pictures.  I have seen some really gruesome rotting pumpkins but have not had anything to take a picture at the time.  The scariest are when the inside starts to mildew and the mouth becomes a black hole!  Not the most sanitary decoration, but I must appreciate beauty where I find it.

I hope to take a drive to Pumpkin Junction in Sauquoit, NY tomorrow (preview of coming attractions).  I can get a pumpkin, maybe some lights for my porch, and at least I can walk around and enjoy looking at everything.  I have a bit too much to do today to contemplate the expedition.

A veritable Halloween Mecca!

I can’t say I have made strides in getting my house decorated for Halloween, but I have taken steps.  Maybe they were baby steps, but one does what one can.

I see I am over 200 words.  I guess I can bill this as a Monstrous Monday post, since it is a lot about Halloween.  I’ll just close with one monster for good measure.

 

 

Don’t know who he is, but I like him!

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