Tag Archives: Christmas decorations

Christmas Wrist to Forehead

Posted on December 21, 2025 by mohawkvalleygirl

Oh, it is Wrist to Forehead Sunday.  Not even 10 a.m. and I have dithered enough to send a normal person into a tizzy.  Fortunately, I am an experienced ditherer, and nobody has ever for one minute in my life accused me of being normal.  I have not actually swooned, dramatically posed with the back of one wrist to my forehead, but let me tell you, I’m close.

I can’t seem to find that necklace. Rats!

What, don’t you decorate your gorilla for the season?  This is actually from last year.  I have not decorated my house nor even cleaned it thoroughly.  Judge me if you are so inclined.

My favorite socks and slippers.

Maybe if I get a few things done, I will feel justified in putting my feet up and taking a rest, as in this picture from 2023.  I went out this morning to purchase wrapping paper, etc.  As I searched for what I needed, I kept hearing Boris Karloff’s voice in my head saying, “It came without ribbons.  It came without tags.  It came without packages, boxes or bags.”  Well, it very nearly did come without tags, because I couldn’t find any for what seemed like the longest time.

We were a cute Christmas couple.

I close with a picture of myself with my late, dearly missed husband Steve.  We were at Salvatore’s in Herkimer, one of our favorite places to eat.  I have not been there in a while.  I do not think they are open on Sunday, but perhaps tomorrow I could stop in for lunch or dinner.  Maybe I will even wear the vest I have on in the picture.

 

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A Fun Visit to Newport Marketplace

Posted on November 16, 2025 by mohawkvalleygirl

Thursday morning my sister Cheryl called me and said it was such a dull, rainy day, why didn’t we take a drive to Newport and wander around Newport Marketplace for a while.  I readily agreed.  I had not been there in a while but enjoy following them on Facebook.  For one thing, the guy often makes a pun about the picture he’s sharing.  I fancy myself quite the pundit (see what I did there?).

It’s a great place!

We took a long time wandering around.  There is so much to see, and it is one of those places where there is always something new. I saw lots of stuff that would make great Christmas presents.  Cheryl and I talked about how it is not worth gift-giving if it causes you more stress than joy. I get a great deal of joy from giving presents.  My only problem is my desire to give people presents they really want and/or can use.  I see so many beautiful antiques and decorations, but one only has so much room in the house.

I ended up purchasing a very small snow globe, maybe an inch high, of a little Christmas tree.   It would be a good present; almost anybody could find a space in their home for it.  However, I just might have to keep it for myself.  It is so cute!

I could make one!

Outside the Marketplace, we noticed a sweet decoration made with a pallet.   I even have some old Christmas balls like that!  I wonder if I could find a space in my home for such a thing.

Newport Marketplace is located at 7583 Main St., Newport, NY, phone number 315-845-8822.

 

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Another Post Christmas Post

Posted on December 30, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

Oh dear, I am back to missing days of posting.  What was I doing yesterday instead of making a blog post?  Nothing very exciting, I fear, so I have not much to blog about today.  However, I finally took a picture of my skeleton Bonita in her holiday outfits.  Surely some of my readers will be interested (even if they are not named Shirley).

She’s ready for a party!

The background is a blanket my sister Cheryl gave me last Christmas, with pictures of me and my late husband Steve.  I could perhaps have found something a little less busy to photograph Bonita with, but one does not always think of these things ahead of time.

Another festive friend.

And here is Burt the Birt-day Gorilla, also dressed for the holiday.  The hat is one I put together one year when I did the Reindeer Run 5K in Little Falls.  I have not done that run in a few years now.  Perhaps in 2025.

Just a random St. Nick.

And this is a Santa Claus I snapped a picture of when I was out walking yesterday.  He was all by himself in the yard, but he looked cheery enough to me.

At the triumphant conclusion of the race.

And here I am wearing the hat that Burt currently sports.  As you see, I decorated myself for the run.  My dear friend Jim met me at the end of the race, where he sang the chorus of “We Are the Champions” while I walked around with my fists in the air, because I like to walk around with my fists in the air while somebody sings the chorus of “We Are the Champions.”  This was in 2018.

I see I am approaching 300 words.  I call that OK.  I shall hit Publish and continue trying to outpace my post-Christmas letdown.

 

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Post Christmas Lame-Down

Posted on December 28, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

How about a classic Lame Post Friday post complete with random observations and half-baked philosophy.  I put a period instead of a question mark, because that is what I intend to do regardless.

Cluttered, like my mind.

I quickly throw in a picture to pep things up, since in fact I have neither random observations nor half-baked philosophy to share. This is a picture from a Christmas Past, when my (late) husband Steve and I put out most of our Christmas decorations every year.  I have not had a greatly decorated Christmas in years; in fact, even when Steve was still around we had kind of fallen off in the decorating department.  However, my purpose today is not to lament such shortfalls as will sometimes happen.

Another view.

This is from that same year.  We sure had a lot of little stuffed toys.

A few of our larger stuffed friends.

I had meant to bring down our collection of stuffed Santas this year but did not quite get around to it.  It hardly matters since nobody comes to visit my humble abode.  Perhaps that will change in 2025.  One can but hope.  And clean one’s house just in case.

I am afraid this has turned out to be a rather dull post, but  that happens sometimes.  I hope my readers can at least enjoy the pictures.  I hope your Christmas was grand, and your Post-Christmas Let-Down is not too bad.

 

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Make Tea and a Blog Post and Call Me in the Morning

Posted on December 10, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

It seems I last posted early Thursday morning.  It is now mid-afternoon on Monday, and I could use a cup of coffee.  Or something.

Pause while I acquire a caffeinated beverage.

I made tea, but I found the Dyn’s Cider Mill mug.  I thought I could just about manage a Monstrous Monday post and perhaps get into some better blog posts as the week wears on.  I am feeling exceptionally useless lately.  I suppose the solution to that is to do something useful as say, “There!  What about that!”  Well, I did a load of laundry earlier and tried to clean out a tote in which I had thrown a ridiculous collection of things.  Perhaps tea and a blog post will revive me.

Some chicks don’t dig skinny guys.

Here is a shot from House on Haunted Hill, which I re-watched recently. It is a perennial favorite.  I refer, of course, to the original, produced by William Castle and starring Vincent Price.

“Hang a shining star upon the highest bought!”

I thought I would throw in a more seasonal monster with the Abominable Snowman, affectionately known as Bumbles, from Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer.  I though he had lost all his teeth by the time he wanted to put the star on top of the tree.  Just another continuity gaffe.

OK, he can call me a ho.

And another seasonal monster.  I need to find a Santa hat to put on Elliott Ghoul, who stands in my dining room window.  I put one on the Ghost that acts as a living room light.

Perhaps over the next few days I will complete my meager Christmas decorations and take some pictures for the blog.  I know some regular readers are interested to see Bonita’s Yuletide garb.

 

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No Ghosts, But Christmas Past

Posted on December 5, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

The late blog posts continue as I attempt to make Wednesday’s post Thursday morning.  I thought I could do a Wayback Wednesday, maybe a combination Wayback Wednesday/Throwback Thursday.  Perhaps a visit from the Ghost of Christmas Past.

Proof that Santa Claus does so visit the naughty ones!

I am not sure where this particular Santa Claus is.  We got him from the Herkimer County Historical Society.  He had blown into their yard one blustery December day, and nobody claimed him.  Our friends at the society thought my husband, Steven and I would give him a good home.  It is in fact only the top half of a Santa, hence our idea to hide him behind the fireplace screen.

Sometimes I decorate myself.

I can’t resist showing this picture of me in a festive outfit.  I still have the shirt; I purchased it from the J.C. Penney catalogue back into he late ’80s (why in the world is catalogue underlined?  I am not looking it up, dammit!)

We’ve added a couple of Santas since.

In case you wondered about the Santas on the stairs in the last shot, here is a picture of them without me blocking the view.   I should clean up my steps and bring some Santas down to cheer myself up.  I have a few Christmas decorations out, amidst the mess I keep trying to clean.  Will things ever look better?  Will my house ever be ready to receive guests?  Will anybody deign to come over if I do get cleaned up?  For the answers to these and other questions of greater or lesser interest, stay tuned to Mohawk Valley Girl!

 

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What Happened to Sunday? Now It’s Monstrous Monday!

Posted on November 18, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

I logged on to WordPress, then spent some time on Facebook, scrolling down and wondering what my problem is.  Then I think, it does not matter; I can make a blog post in spite of problems.

Oh dear, another pause and the urge to backspace out what I just typed in.  Quick, throw in a picture!

Not what he expected to find in the hold.

I randomly picked June 2021 in my Media Library and found my favorite guy, Nosferatu, of the eponymous 1922 silent movie.  It is Monday, so I may as well make this a Monstrous post.  I completely missed making any kind of a post on Sunday, but I got a few other things done, so there’s that.

Masquerading as a monster.

Since we are soon to enter the Christmas season (I try to hold out till after Thanksgiving, with greater or lesser success), I share my Santa who often spends all year on my front porch.  Here he is dressed for Halloween.  Sometimes I dress Witchypoo as an angel.  Both Witchypoo and Santa are inside now.  I acquired a few new plastic decorations yesterday, because a friend was getting rid of them.  So I may be decorating for Christmas soon (preview of coming attractions).

One who set the standard.

I close with one of our most famous witches, Margaret Hamilton from The Wizard of Oz.  I was too lazy to keep looking for a picture of my own Witchypoo, dressed as an angel or otherwise.

I have been having a few Mohawk Valley adventures that I mean to blog about, but am I going to be one of those people who make promises and never deliver?  I hope not.  In the meantime, at least I have made a Monstrous Monday post.  On with the week ahead!

 

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My Decorations Are Late, Too

Posted on December 17, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

I guess 7:30 on a Sunday morning is early for some people, so I will count this as my Saturday post, although WordPress will not credit me for a four day streak.  How the mighty have fallen!  I used to never miss days.  I think I was in my 40s or 50s back then (wow, I have been blogging for a long time!).

Only I’m not that skinny.

I decided to throw in a picture to pep things up, as I often do, and that was when my Tablet started behaving badly. Now I am on my dining-room-table-top ten-finger typing.  Now I still have not much to say but can say it faster.

Yesterday (Saturday) was a lovely day.  I got my Christmas lights hung.  By that I mean that I switched out a string of pumpkins for a string of multi-colored lights and Witchy for Santa Claus.  Traditionally I leave Santa and Witchy out all year, dressing them for the holidays with which they are not usually associated.  This past Halloween, however, as I was putting up lights on the actual day, I took Santa off the porch and put him in my living room.  Look at me, going all conventional in my old age.  SAY IT AIN’T SO!!!  I had a little trouble with the colored lights:  they had worked in my house when I tested them a few weeks ago, but they declined to light up after I had gotten them hung.  Luckily I had another string of colored lights.  Now I have no colored lights on my mantle, but these things happen and we must deal with them.  Anyway, I will try to get some pictures of my porch later today for a future blog post (preview of coming attractions).

He looks a little ghostly, no?

Here is my porch on another year, when I was a little closer to having my act together, and my husband was able to participate in the light-hanging.

I see I am over 300 words, not bad for a late, insubstantial post.  As always, I will strive to do better, but I feel that almost any post is better than no post at all.  Do you agree?  Discuss amongst yourselves.

 

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Still Lame After All These Years

Posted on December 2, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

Full disclosure:  I am making my blog post now only because I want my breakfast to settle in my stomach before I take a walk.  Otherwise, I might have done a Pedestrian Post with Pictures.  Perhaps another day.  The point is, I have nothing in particular to say or even to make a blog post about. Yes, I am still posting lame (and that gave me an idea for a title, at least).

Must up my decorating game.

A picture always make a post a little brighter.  This is from December 2021, before my life started to fall apart.  Oh, who am I kidding?  My life has always been a shambles, but we used to do a better job of decorating for Christmas.  I am particularly fond of the ghost with the Santa hat.  He has a practical function, which is to add light to the living room.  Right now he is sporting on of my rhinestone tiaras.

I love my Elliott Ghoul.

Here is another Halloween/Christmas mash-up.  The ghoul still stands in my window, keeping my company when I turn off the dining room lights or make a loud noise.  I especially like the reflection of Santa in this picture.  I brought that Santa inside Halloween night and mean to return him to the porch when I take down the pumpkin lights and put up some multi-colored ones I found (preview of coming attractions).

It looks a little like the ghost of Santa, no?

Here is Santa from the front.  I purchased Santa Claus the first year we lived in this house, from a nearby big box store which needs no plug from Mohawk Valley Girl.  I remember walking home with him tucked under one arm, feeling inordinately pleased with myself.

As I gear up to celebrate the first Christmas without my Steve in over 30 years, I remind myself to find joy, and to try to bring joy to others.  Perhaps my silly blog brings, not joy exactly (I shall not flatter myself), but a little smile.  Thank you for tuning in.

 

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This Blog Needs a New Plot

Posted on November 4, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

Well, this is embarrassing.  It seems I have had almost an entire Blogger’s Sick Week.   In my defense, I have been ill with some unnamed, unhappy malady (oh, come on, autocorrect!  “ill” is a word; you don’t have to change it to “I’ll”!).  However, my purpose today is not to get bogged down in my tiresome ailments but to get back to blogging with a Late Lame Post Friday post.

That was as far as I got on my Tablet, curled up comfortably at the end of my couch, pecking in one letter at a time with the stylus.  Now I am ten-finger typing on my dining-room-table-top and kind of missing the predictive text thingy.  Oh well, one can’t have everything after all.  I do have coffee and that will have to suffice me.

Aren’t they cute?

I thought I would throw in a picture to pep things up.  These are some of our fall decorations from November 2017, ones that can count for Thanksgiving as well as Halloween.  The two larger scarecrows are sweethearts, and the little one is the younger brother of the boy scarecrow.  The big boy scarecrow wishes his little brother would go away so the sweethearts can be alone, but the girl scarecrow thinks the little guy is adorable.  See, I make up plots for everything.  I have probably shared that one before and ought to make up another one for these three.  Incidentally, they are not out this year, and I have no idea where they are.  That is the kind of year I am having.

Looking behind to look ahead.

You can accuse me of rushing the season all you like; I will admit the fault.  This is a shot of my late, sadly missed husband, Steve’s nutcracker collection in December 2019.  The collection has grown since then.  The reason I wanted to share a picture of the nutcrackers is that they are still on the buffet and I can look straight at them while I type.  I have thought about packing them away any time since last January, but now it seems more appropriate to let them stay and perhaps be my only Christmas decoration this year.  Um, except for a couple of thing we keep out year round.  Full disclosure:  I do not remember if I put those nutcrackers out in 2022 or an earlier year.  I daresay regular readers will not be surprised.

A toast is always seasonal!

I looked around for a good picture to end with, and this nice shot of Steven caught my eye.  It is one of our many happy times hanging out on the front porch.  In the background, you can see another scarecrow peeking around the post.  I suppose she is spying on the neighbors, but I do not judge her for that.  I love hanging out on the porch, but it might get boring for a scarecrow to be there 24/7.  Full disclosure:  she is there 24/7/365.  She is out there now.  I may make up a new plot for her later.

It is good to be blogging again.

 

 

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