Tag Archives: blogging

A Few Saturday Shout-outs

In my Scattered Saturday tradition, I will give a few shout-outs to some local businesses I visited recently.  I hope to do more detailed posts about each, but for now, this will have to do.

Fooey! You can’t read the sign!

A new business on Main Street in Herkimer is Petzotics.  they have birds, lizards and other exotic pets.  Also they bring their pets to birthday parties, so the guests can meet them.  Could that be an idea for my birthday party?  Friends, family, what do you think?

I hope not too secret of a hideout!

Godfather’s Hideout, on Protection Avenue in Herkimer, has been open for take-out for a while now and now has a dining room.  I recently went there for a dish of spaghetti, and YUM!  I also had a glass of red wine that was quite tasty.  It’s OK; I was walking.

He could have joined me for dinner.

I have made several posts about Yetty’s, on Mohawk Street in Herkimer, but none recently.  I was there for dinner last night and got garlic pizza.  I am enjoying the leftovers today.  As I left, a little boy was pointing at this lovely fellow looking over the railing.  I never saw him before. Of course I stopped to take a picture.

So, yes, I am trying to get out and about more.  If I can start writing about it more, I will be a pig in shit.  As always, I hope you will stay tuned.

 

Lame with a Dramatic Gesture!

So what is it now, six days since my last post, which was not a great post, although I was rather fond of the title.  It is now Lame Post Friday, and I feel terrible for not posting regularly.  I’ll be honest:  my depression is kicking my butt and I need to find new ways of combating it.  For now I will make a silly blog post.  For the future, I will seek out more better things to blog about (“more better” being the technical term).

Nice lunge, Tucker!

I looked for a silly picture to pep things up and found this rehearsal shot from Love’s Labour’s Lost, presented by Little Falls Theatre Company (LiFT) in 2022.  Oh, I miss summer Shakespeare!

I’ll wave my magic want and bring Shakespeare back!

Here is another summer memory:  Ilion Little Theatre (ILT) at the DooDah Parade in 2018.  ILT has not participated in recent years, which I find disappointing.  Perhaps I can be a mover and shaker in getting us involved next year.  Come to think of it, moving and shaking might help alleviate depression.

I love the photobomb!

I guess this turns out to be a theatre-themed post.  What a surprise, since Drama is my Life (said with a dramatic gesture)!  This, regular readers may recognize (if I still have any), is a shot from Four Old Broads on the High Seas, the play I was in with Players of Utica in July.  You know, thinking of my theatre friends makes me feel a little better.

So this is my silly post, so I can still say I am a blogger.  Will I ever be able to say I am a daily blogger again?  For the answer to that and other burning questions (actually some of my questions are only lukewarm), stay tuned to Mohawk Valley Girl!

 

NoBLOG Oblige

That second word is pronounced Oh-bleezh.  You know, like Noblesse Oblige.  The title was suggested to me some years ago by one of my more intellectual friends.  I am finally getting around to using it.  I see that I last posted on Tuesday.  That is not as bad as I thought it was; I thought I had gone a whole week.  Still, four days without posting after a six-day streak (as counted by WordPress; I have no idea how it would go by my calendar) is not good for a would-be daily blogger.

No BLOB Oblige?

I throw in a picture to pep things up.  I have mostly been sitting around like a blob.  I wake up every morning determined to change. As the day wears on, I find I am still the same stinker.  I try to do a few things here and there, though, so maybe I can make a little progress.  Oh dear, have I written the same blog post before?  I fear so, numerous times.

He was the best adventure partner.

Here is a picture from October 2016, when I figured out how to add pictures to my blog.  That is my late, dearly missed husband Steven at Pumpkin Junction in Sauquoit.  I feel an October picture is appropriate, because today feels SO fall-like, right down to my allergies making me miserable.  Yet there is comfort in allergy misery, because I love fall.

Janus Daisy?

Looking for a third picture to round things out, this two-headed daisy caught my eye.  I look ahead and I look back.  Today I will strive to look ahead and move on with things, particularly moving on to making more substantial blog posts.

 

Still Tuesday, Still Tired

I am having a Tired Tuesday and may be able to make my blog post before it is over.  At least, it may be Wednesday already according to my WordPress timestamp; it is still Tuesday according to, I don’t know, reality?  That’s too all-encompassing.  Let’s say Herkimer, NY time.

Can you do “He loves me, he loves me not” with these?

I throw in a picture to pep things up.  These were my Black-Eyed Susans last August.  I noticed some Brown-Eyed Susans blooming near my back steps yesterday and meant to take a picture.  It is too dark now, but maybe tomorrow.  I spent a couple of ambitious days doing yard work week before last then petered out.  I do not despair of getting back out there, although any real yard and garden plans will have to wait till 2026.

Oh, OK, I’ll try again.

I mentioned this quote in a letter to my sister Diane earlier. It is from the movie Galaxy Quest in case you didn’t know. I think I was lamenting my difficulty writing, but it may have been my difficulty cleaning.  I don’t suppose it is too late, even at my age, to improve at these things.

Substitute my cell phone for the candle.

 

They do say tomorrow is another day.  Of course they also say same shit, different day. I can’t worry about these things now.  I have made some semblance of a blog post.  Now I will try for some semblance of sleep.

 

A Little Local Music for Me

Earlier tonight I made a short top at the Herkimer Downtown Chowdown, the weekly food truck festival in Meyers Park, to hear a little bit of K.O. Grainger.  It could only be a short stop, since I had to attend the Ilion Village Board meeting, but it was worth it.  For one reason, I got a hot dog from The Corner Office.  Yum!

They rock!

 

I first heard Matt Grainger playing acoustic guitar at Fratello’s Pizzeria in Frankfort (you may have seen a couple of my blog posts mentioning him).  K.O. Grainger is a two-man band with him and his brother, and they are awesome!

A closer view.

I sat at a picnic table and ate my hot dog, tapping my feet. I had to get up and dance to one song.  Nobody joined me, but at the Chowdown, people don’t judge (that I can see).  The audience was enjoying the tunes, clapping and singing along.

There are not many weeks left of the Downtown Chowdown, which runs Mondays in Meyers Park, starting at 4 p.m.  According to their Facebook page, September 1 and 8 are the last two this year.  If you like food truck food and live music, I suggest you check it out!

 

Is It Monday Already?

OK, late posts are the thing for the foreseeable future, as I sit here Monday morning making a Wrist to Forehead Sunday post.  In case you didn’t know, this is when I swoon, the back of one wrist to my forehead, onto a handy chaise lounge or other surface.  It made sense on a Sunday when I worked a Monday through Friday job: one cringes from the approaching Monday.

Is that Monday creeping up on him?

This is not Monday whispering in the driver’s ear.  It is William Hurt as Kevin Costner’s inner demon in Mr. Brooks, a creepy movie that grows on me more each time I see it.  I need to get a new DVD copy of it, because the one I have freezes up in a couple of places.  I couldn’t find a Monday meme in my Media Library, but this picture caught my eye.

So I guess I’m getting a little non-sequitur over here, but that hardly matters.  It is another placeholder post as I strive to regain my daily blogger mojo.  I need to get a lot of mojos back these days:  writing, running, cleaning… OK, I never for one day in my life had any cleaning mojo.  As it happens, I seem to be making strides in regaining my running mojo (see what I did there).

You wouldn’t think these feet could move very fast, would you?

I was looking for a more cheerful picture to end with, but all I could find was my feet encased in running shoes.  No doubt I will be making a Running Commentary post soon.

 

It’s My Parasol

Is anybody surprised I did it again?  I posted yesterday for the day before, and here I am today posting for yesterday.  These things happen, especially to me.  Right now my only question is was it the right morning to substitute tea for coffee?  I’m on my second cup.

Yesterday I could not make up my mind what to do.  I wrote a letter to an aunt, finished a letter to a friend, and wrote my regular Saturday post cards.  The post cards I sent were of different states; my friend Kim sent me a set of 50 from the thrift store she works at.  I wrote on one, “I am in a state of indecision.”  Eventually I decided to walk to the post office.  It was quite sunny, so I took an umbrella.  I have found that an umbrella makes a nice little bit of portable shade.

As I walked, I thought of things I could say to people who remarked on my umbrella:  “It’s my parasol.”  “I am protecting my dewy completion from the sun’s ravages.”  Nobody said anything.  After mailing the letters, I decided to walk to Mohawk Antiques Mall.  For one reason, it was Customer Appreciation Day and they were serving hot dogs.  Also, it is a very fun place to walk around, as there are lots of vendors.

One thing they definitely have is post cards!

I was so glad I went!  I found three packs of 40 different post cards each for a very good price.  I enjoyed a nice burnt hot dog, too, while listening to a lady play old tunes on the piano.  I did not spend much time walking all around, though, because I found the post cards right away.

Back out on the sidewalk, it was even warmer.  The wind made it more comfortable but wasn’t so good with the umbrella.  I have not spent a great deal of time out in the sun this summer, and yesterday I was reminded why.  I start to feel a little ill.  Additionally, I had neglected to put on good sneakers, and the walk to the Antiques Mall was lengthier than I had realized.

Still, a walk is a walk.  I enjoyed looking at houses I passed and the canal as I walked over the bridge.  I went by a friend’s house and petted his dog (I didn’t know he lived there; he just happened to be sitting on the front porch with his dog at the time).  I felt rather tired at the end, and my feet hurt.  I fear I do not treat them very well.  I neglect my blog, I neglect my feet, what a bum!

In the meantime, I have gotten to over 450 words.  Will I make a Sunday post on Sunday?  My hopes are not high.

Is It Halloween Yet?

Yesterday I thought surely I would be able to make a Lame Post Friday Post (I don’t mind it when I call myself Shirley). And here I am, Saturday morning, wondering why I didn’t.  Then again, sometimes “why?” is not a particularly helpful question to ask.  Far better to go ahead and just correct the error to the best of one’s abilities.  At least I have coffee.

A friendly face with a friendly beverage.

I just scrolled through my Media Library till I found a coffee mug.  I am not using this lovely mug today, a favorite of my late husband Steve’s, but I do not scruple to use it year round.  In fact it is almost time to start using Halloween mugs since for me the Halloween season begins immediately after Labor Day.

Speaking of Halloween, I need to start cleaning my house more thoroughly.  My sister Cheryl suggested I throw a Halloween party, as I have been known to do in the past.  That is, Steve and I threw them, but I feel sure I  am capable of hosting a party on my own.

Witchy would be happy to welcome folks to my house.

There are other reasons to get my house cleaned up and my act together. I will not list them here, although they may constitute some half-baked philosophy suitable for a Lame Post Friday post.  However, I see I am over 200 words.  I feel a Lame Post is best kept brief.  I shall strive for Some Sort of a Saturday post later.  As always, I hope you’ll stay tuned.

 

Thirty-Three Minute Thursday

I missed out on running a Two-Mile Tuesday and am not yet ready for a Three-Mile Thursday, but as I was running this morning, I realized a Thirty-Minute Thursday was within reach.  Then I decided to add another “Th” with three more minutes’ running, and felt I had a shot at a Running Commentary Blog Post.

If anybody has been paying much attention lately (I famously never do), I have not been blogging as regularly as I like to.  I like to be a daily blogger.  How I managed it before for long periods of time and keep falling short lately, I do not understand.  So it has been with my running.  I do not aim to run every day, but three to five times a week has often been doable.  Did I mention I missed a whole two weeks recently?  Oh well, these things happen.  All we can do is our best.  Or something like that.

I got a slow start this morning.  I had half a cup of coffee leftover from yesterday (waste not, want not) that I re-heated, then I made some more (I don’t have one of those fancy one-cup makers).  While it brewed, I scrolled Facebook.  A friend had posted a picture and said, “Do it anyways.”  Good advice. I commented, “OK, but I’m having more coffee first.”

Maybe it only seems steep to me.

There really isn’t much to say about the run itself.  It felt pretty good after a sluggish start.  I even ran faster at the end.  For one reason, I only wanted to go 33 minutes, not more.  I mean to start adding more spurts of faster running.  I think it’s called fartlek (teehee; I said, “fart”) or more boringly interval training.  Now, nobody needs to mansplain these to me or share helpful links. I am just going to run how I run and hope for the best.

 

A Little Stop at a Little Shop

Last week as I walked around Herkimer, NY, I stopped in at A Little Touch of Country on South Washington Street.  It is a lovely little gift shop.  Unfortunately, I rarely have a need to give gifts, and I have far more decor than my house needs.  However, I had read a lovely Facebook post the owner had made about helping a local customer select a gift, and it made me want to stop in.

Lots of things to look at!

Naturally I took a few pictures for a blog post.  I also enjoyed a nice chat with the owner.  That is the beauty of these small, local shops.  You get a real hometown feel.

I liked the tins, but I have far too many tins already!

I admit, I purchased a small decoration for myself.  I will not share a picture of it, in case I decide to give it to someone as a gift in the near future (sometimes you have to invent occasions to give gifts).

A reminder to us all!

I enjoyed my little stop, and I am happy to recommend this little shop to all.

A Touch of Country is located at 334-348 S. Washington St., Herkimer, NY, phone number 315-219-5650.  And don’t forget to follow her on Facebook for lovely pictures and sweet stories!