Tag Archives: books

Return to Athenix

Posted on January 5, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

I got to thinking about Athenix Books and Brews and The Keep and decided I wanted to join.  Also, I had not purchased anything on Jan 2 , and that is no way to support a business.  I am not extravagantly well off, but I can afford a purchase or two.  Accordingly, I drove to Little Falls, NY.

Cool sign!

This time I remembered to take a couple of outside pictures.  I went in and greeted the owner.  He pointed out his two daughters, after whom the store is named, he was holding one and the other was relaxing on a nearby couch.  I looked around to decide what to purchase.  A number of people were browsing, so it was difficult to see everything.  What a good problem for a store to have!  Alas, no books caught my eye.

My purchases.

I had said yesterday that I did NOT need another coffee mug.  Unfortunately, when I was doing dishes the morning, my Dyn’s Cider Mill mug broke.  I don’t know when I will get to Dyn’s again (they are probably closed for the season).  In the meantime, another Little Falls mug can fill in the gap.  Um, yes, I did already have a Little Falls coffee mug.  But this one is purple!  When I went to pay for it, I fell in love with an adorable ghost pen holder (full disclosure:  at first I thought it was just a ghost and had to be told it was a pen holder).

It took a little while, since I was joining The Keep and because, well, I always talk too much.  I apologized to the woman behind me.  She said that was fine, she was enjoying looking around.  She asked the owner what if somebody wanted to buy one of the books hanging from the ceiling.  He said there would be a $100 surcharge for hauling out the ladder.

The outside is decorated with books, too.

We are all looking forward to the opening of the cafe.  I want to sit there and sip coffee and write.  Maybe I can finally finish that novel.

 

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No Brews Yet But Books!

Posted on January 4, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

Athenix Books and Brews in Little Falls is a great addition to the Mohawk Valley.  I went to their soft opening yesterday and was enchanted.  Alas, I did not get any pictures of the outside of the store or the logo.  That is another reason I must return.

Brews refers to brewed coffee, not beer, and they intend to open a whole cafe.  I have been following Athenix on Facebook, as they chronicle their progress, fixing up the space and getting ready. Only the book section opened Jan. 2, but for book lovers and lovers of local like me (oh, how alliterative, “lovers of local like me), that is enough.

SO going to buy a shirt!

In addition to new and used books, local jewelry, candles and other merchandise is available.  When I was there, a lot of people were browsing the stacks and making purchases.

I spoke to the owner, who my sister Diane Young had previously contacted.  A couple of stores in Liverpool carry her books, and she would love to expand her reach to Little Falls.  She had meant to come to the opening with me but was not feeling well (these colds that hang on and on, ugh!).  He said she should come see him when she is in town, and bring copies of her books.  My sister the author.  I really must up my writing game.

Who me? Buy another coffee mug?

For a monthly fee, you can join The Keep.  You get 10% off most purchases plus additional member sales, and you get a free monthly t-shirt.  Wow!  I want in!  I stupidly did not join yesterday.  However, since I plan to make it a regular stop, I’m sure I will have the chance.

Athenix Books and Brews is located at 624 E. Main St., Little Falls, NY.  They are open daily from 9 to 6.  I encourage you to follow them on Facebook.

 

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Yay! Books!

Posted on November 19, 2025 by mohawkvalleygirl

I just got back from the book sale at Ilion Free Public Library.  Yay!  Books!

Picture taken last year when I went to the sale.

I heard about the sale yesterday, at the Ilion Village Board of Trustees meeting.  Regular readers may recall my side hustle of covering some meetings for Sentinel Media.  I like to include a picture with the story so thought a couple pictures of the book sale would be nice.  The fact that I could also purchase books was strictly by the way.

Lots of books!

The books are donated by patrons, not just discarded books from the collection, so there are a lot of new and like-new books available.

And the price is right!

Last year I found some biographies of famous figures from the American Revolution.  This year I lucked out on fiction.  I try not to read a whole lot of fiction, because I have a hard time putting it down once I start reading, but I love it.

Another angle.

The sale continues through Saturday, Nov. 22.  They keep putting out more books as books sell, so even if you have stopped by, you might like to check back.  I hope to do so later in the week.

Ilion Free Public Library is located at 78 West St., Ilion, NY, phone number 315-894-5028.

 

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It’s a Waste Not to Go to the Library

Posted on November 21, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

I thought I would do a Waste Not Want Not Wednesday post.  For one reason I have two pretty good pictures I haven’t used.  For another reason, it’s still Wednesday.

Quite an interesting looking building.

Last Friday I went to a book sale at Ilion Free Public Library.  It was bag day, where you could fill a bag for $5.  Like many book lovers, I have too many books in my house.  And yet, I found more I would really like to read.  In fact, I have already read one of them.  I felt a little bad as I left the library and took this picture.  I thought, I am going to write about the book sale, and local readers are going to be sorry they missed it.

However, Ilion Free Public Library does a lot of fun things:  Mahjong, writers group, line dancing, and more.  If you go to their Facebook page, you can see the calendar for the month.  I may have to start doing more library things.

Feed the monster! Return your books!

Here’s another example of how fun this library is:  here is the book return.  Naturally I had to take a picture.

I love all the libraries in this area.  In fact, I never met a library I didn’t like!  I keep thinking I am going to start going to libraries more often, to look for books or to just sit and write.  For one reason, I can make more blog posts about libraries.

 

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When Will I Return to Rome?

Posted on January 26, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

I had hopes of making my Throwback Thursday (or some other kind of post) Post on Thursday, but it was a true blogger’s sick day.  I left work with a migraine and spent the rest of the day having a headache.  Migraine sufferers know, sometimes that is all you can do.  But never mind my health woes.  It is early Friday morning (woohoo!) and a Throwback Thursday Post is just what I am in the mood for.  Media Library, here I come!

Isn’t she cute?

I thought I would throw back to previous Mohawk Valley Adventures.  Here is a place I would like to visit again: Franca’s Roma on West Dominick Street in Rome, NY.  They play jazz music!  They serve great wine and great food!  What more could Mohawk Valley Girl ask?

Did somebody say books?

Near Franca’s is Keaton and Lloyd Bookstore.  The Franklin Pangborn Parlor hosts readings and other such events.  Who doesn’t love an independent bookstore?  Oh, I suppose some people don’t, but I think they are wrong.

Books and Groucho Marx? Yes, please!

Here is another view of the bookstore.  In case you can’t read the quote, it is, “Outside of a dog, a book is a man’s best friend.  Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read.”

Regular readers know I live for the theatre.

I close my Roman memories (memories of roamin’ in Rome?  Nah, too cutesy) with an evocative if a little dark shot of the Capitol Theatre, also in the area.  It is a beautifully restored 1920’s theatre.  I myself performed on the stage and in the orchestra pit roughly a hundred years ago.  But we needn’t throw back that far for this post.

There are other delightful destinations on West Dominick Street in Rome.  I really must plan another trip there soon.

 

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It Bugs Me To Make A Late Post

Posted on October 10, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

Hello and welcome to another Late Post Week here at Mohawk Valley Girl.  Last night I managed to make a couple of phone calls, get the trash out, and find a book to read since I could not find the book I was currently reading.  I’m usually reading more than once book at a time anyways.  Last night I fell asleep even while enjoying my book about Death and the Virgin Queen.  It is about the alleged murder of Amy Robsart, possibly by her husband Robert Dudley, Queen Elizabeth I’s favorite.  It is history, not historical fiction.  I usually have a problem with historical fiction, especially when I know a little about the actual history involved.

OK, is this going to be a post about books or a Monstrous Monday post?  I vote for monsters!

Yikes!

Trolling my Media Library for monster pictures I have not shared recently, I found the poster for Tarantulas.  This raises the question:  which is worse, little spiders or big ones?  In this movie, obviously the big ones are the problem.  However, it seems to me the little ones are more insidious, because they are harder to see and can find more places to hide.  In fact, how do you know that one is not crawling up your leg right now? EEEK!  Just kidding.  I do not have a problem with spiders.  They eat bugs I really hate, such as mosquitoes and flies.

Scary!

OK, I guess the big bugs can be pretty bad, too.  Here is Joan Collins in Empire of the Ants.  I would like to have that one on DVD.

Speaking of which…

I do not have another picture of an insect or arachnid to round out the post so end on a philosophical note (half-baked, as my philosophy usually is?  You decide).  Some readers may be tired of Monstrous Monday.  Some may feel I should have found more pictures for this post.  I personally have not had coffee yet and mean to correct that deficiency.  Once again, thank you for tuning in.

 

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Lame it on Dateline

Posted on January 21, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

You know, instead of Blame it on Dateline.  Or have I used that before?  I would not be surprised.  I often fail to post on time, and I almost always watch Dateline  I am a little obsessed.

This was in my Media Library.

Yes, I did nothing useful last night, unless you count the crocheting I did while I sipped wine and enjoyed true crime.  I do enjoy true crime.

If I wanted to rationalize my continual viewing of Dateline (with occasional breaks for Snapped, Forensic Files and otners) (they cancelled Reasonable Doubt, dammit!), I could say that since I write murder mysteries, it falls under the heading of Research.  The problem with that rationalization is that I could get a lot better research done at the library.  Books are way better than television for research, and I know it.

However, I do not feel I need to rationalize my television viewing.  I enjoy it, I do it.  Did that sound a little defensive?  Well then, quit shaking your finger at me (you know who you are).  Shake your booty instead.

Come to think about it, blaming my failure to make my Lame Post Friday post on Friday is also a rationalization.  Oh dear.  Perhaps I should make up a new headline about rationalizations.

 

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Not a Timely Post

Posted on March 21, 2019 by mohawkvalleygirl

I have wussed out on Wednesday to this extent before, but let’s not talk about that.  I guess all my posts this week are going to be I Missed Posting on the Day, So Here’s a Late Post.  Can I break the pattern?  Time will tell.  Time is certainly a blabbermouth.  That is a joke I like to make.  My sister Diane says, “Time is relative.  Not our relative. But I digress.

At first I made those jokes in parentheses, but then I thought of the headline and brought them out into the main text. I wonder if the words feel better out in the open or safer in the parentheses?  Yes, I anthropomorphize almost anything.  But with words, I am not the first. I distinctly remember in Alice in Wonderland (which I read more than once as a child, although I refused to watch the movie in later years) the Caterpillar misusing a word and saying, “When I used a word, it means when I pay it to mean!”  That may not be the exact quote, but he goes on to speak fondly about how they all eagerly await their wages on payday.

Well, now I’m talking about time AND Alice in Wonderland (which I ought to read again; perhaps I could find the annotated version), the the headline is less apt.  Then again, I’m posting Wuss-out Wednesday at 4:30 on Non-Sequitur Thursday morning.  I say it’ll do.  Will I break the late post curse?  I hope you’ll stay tuned to find out.

 

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Good-Buy to Books

Posted on August 2, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

This afternoon instead of having a Mohawk Valley adventure I could blog about, I spent some time routing around in the extremely messy room we call our library looking for books to donate.  As a result, in lieu of my expected (by me anyways) Wuss-out Wednesday post, I will give a brief plug to a community event I hope to go to on Saturday, a book sale hosted by the Herkimer County Historical Society.

The sale will also include history books from the society’s gift shop — I KNOW there are one or two of those I want but have not purchased yet — and post cards — regular readers may recall that I love to send people post cards.  The society has been on Facebook asking for donations.  Of course I love my books.  I like to own books and re-read many of them multiple times.  On the other hand, I have a lot of books.  I seek out book sales, used and new book stores, rummage sales, thrift stores, anywhere you can buy books. And sometimes people give me books they’ve finished with that they think I might like (or that they just want to get rid of).  I LOVE BOOKS, there, I’ve said it.

So I gathered a few books to donate.  Some thrillers, some romance novels, a couple of true crime stories… Steven will bring them to the society tomorrow, I think.  The sale will be Saturday, Aug. 4, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Eckler Building, 406 N. Main St., Herkimer, NY.

My only worry now is that I will return from the sale with more books than I donated.  These things happen.  In the meantime, I may try to do something about that extremely messy room, because, you know, removing those books to donate did not help much.

 

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Beat the Heat with Books!

Posted on July 4, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

The heat wave continues in the Mohawk Valley, and I do not have air conditioning.  However, libraries do!  In the last two days, I went to two, so I thought I would give them a shout out instead of having my usual Tired Tuesday post.

Monday I went to Basloe Library in Herkimer, NY.  I actually went so I could print out the script to Where’s the Cheesecake?, the play I am in during Little Falls Cheese Festival, July 14 (I’ll make tomorrow’s blog post about that, by the way) (preview of coming attractions).  I still don’t have a printer, but I was just as happy to go to the library.   As I paid for my printed pages, I remarked that it might be time to purchase a printer of my own.

“Then again, I’m not too unhappy to be here in the air conditioning,” I told the clerk.  She agreed that this was a good place to be, especially since they also have books.  With that in mind, I found a few books.  Then I sat down and tried to write.  That did not go so well, because I had a headache.  As I left the library, I saw they had changed the sandwich board outside to say, “Come on in!  It’s cool and we have books!” I only wish I had had my Tablet with me to take a picture.

Today I went to Weller Library in Mohawk. I was determined to write more.  For one reason, I did not have a headache.  For another reason, they have the most beautiful reading room.  Once again, I ought to have had my Tablet with me.  Next time!

Well, once again, the writing did not go so well, so I looked for books. I thought I found a couple of Agatha Christie’s I had not read, only to discover that they were novelizations based on, I don’t know, a movie or a play.  I put them back on the shelf and found a couple of authentic Agatha Christie novels, one of which I actually have not read. Score!

I managed to get a little writing done: some on a novel that I fear is not going to go anyplace, and some on a murder mystery for the fall.  I think the murder mystery is going to work out. I’ll write more on it tomorrow.

So, my advice to anybody who is tired of the head and doesn’t have air conditioning:  go to the library!  It’s cool, and they have books!

 

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