Tag Archives: Christmas

Merry Mental Meanderings

Posted on December 26, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

I think since today is Christmas (although I may be posting late enough that WordPress will stamp this Dec. 26), it is appropriate to use “merry” in the headline.  And I am certainly not up for much beyond mental meanderings.  Oh, I have had a nice holiday.  Two days of hanging out with my family:  lots of good laughs, good food, a few drinks… I am so blessed.

So I am back home, pajama pants on, bra off, crime show on television (Forensic Files), and a little glass of Pinot Noir.  I am basking in holiday thankfulness.  Gee, I hope that is not too boring for a blog post. Perhaps I should look for a picture of a monster to pep things up.

So it’s not a monster. Sue me.

Forensic Files is one of the classier crime shows we watch.  They indulge in re-enactments, but the concentration is on the science of detection.  It is very educational.  We were just talking about it last night, when we found out that one of my nieces likes to watch it on Netflix, sometimes at three in the morning.  The last episode we saw was a case that was previously covered on Snapped.  Regular readers may remember that this is one of my favorite things:  to see the same case covered in different true crime shows.

OK, so I’ve gone from Merry to Murder in just over 200 words.  I’m going to call that acceptable for a holiday Monday.  Merry Christmas everyone.

 

 

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That Squirrel Didn’t Bring Me a Present!

Posted on December 25, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

So I have about twenty minutes before Steven gets home from work and thought I might be able to get my blog post done.  He fooled me yesterday.  I thought he worked till 5:30 but it was only till five.  He’s sneaky that way, but I think I have the right time today.  What I do not have is a blog post, but we’ll see what I can come up with.

Earlier today, I was out on our deck, taking out the trash and recyclables, when I heard a hoarse chirpy kind of sound.  This dumb squirrel was on our tree, eating a nut and, apparently, taking exception to my presence on my own deck.  I told him what I thought, but he was not impressed.  Like any self-respecting person of the 21st century would do, I went inside to get a device to take his picture.

If I only had audio, you could hear how audacious this critter was.

I’m afraid it is a little too dark, but my Tablet does not have a flash.  At least, maybe it does but I don’t know how to turn it on.  OK, I am not really a self-respecting person of the 21st century, but I would like to be someday.

Anyways, I sat down to write a blog post with the words “But Here’s a Squirrel” in the title, then I thought I’d like to add a couple more pictures.  So here is an update on a couple of our Christmas decorations.  We’ve added presents.

Steven surprised me with this tableau.

It seems so appropriate for Santa Claus to hold my Christmas presents until you remember: he gives presents to GOOD little boys and girls.  I’ve always suspected that elf was a pushover.  These presents have been on our stairs for a few days now, but I just added the following yesterday:

But can we trust this motley crew not to open them?

This scene is a little busier, and the presents are not wrapped as well.  No matter.  It is Christmas Eve.  This is the day we realize we are not going to have the Norman Rockwell, Hallmark Card Christmas we envisioned back in November, and that is OK.  Enjoy your Christmas if you celebrate it; if not, enjoy whatever you do.  Peace.

 

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Couldn’t It Just Be About Egg Nog?

Posted on December 24, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

Oh dear, am I going to have a Wrist to Forehead Saturday on Christmas Eve Eve? It would seem that way, since I am currently, clench-teethedly fighting the type-it-in-then-backspace-it-out disease.  I have not done enough for a Scattered Saturday.  I did not go running.  I left the house once, and the most notable thing about that was how much further around the parking lot I walked to avoid stepping in deep puddles.  All I could think of was how I used to LOVE slushing through the slush when I was a kid.  And how dumb I was not to wear my flood boots.  Well, one cannot always think of everything.

I have been doing some Christmas making but not baking.  White Trash and Chex Party Mix (full disclosure: I use store brand cereal).  I thought I might forgo the cookies but now am second-guessing myself.  I could spend the evening or tomorrow morning baking cookies.  How can I have Christmas without cookies?  What kind of a lazy, Scroogey, Grinchy kind of scumbag am I?  And I already bought the chocolate chips.  How selfish would it be of me to keep them from their ultimate destiny of brightening somebody’s Christmas in a delicious cookie.

This is how I beat myself up at the holidays.  If dithering burned calories, I could eat all the cookies I wanted and still be a size five (yes, I was a size five once, as an adult; it didn’t last long).  I know, Christmas is not supposed to be about material things like presents and good food (or presents of good food), but presence and good friends (the presence of good friends) and family.  My problem is I am not such a great shakes as a human being that people should be happy just to see ME.  And it is certainly a lot easier to bake cookies and wrap a present than to try to improve my humanity.

Oh well, maybe my small heart will grow three sizes one day.  In the meantime, I am over 300 words and I just thought of a fairly catchy title for this foolishness.  It makes it a kind of a Non-Sequitur Saturday, but I like it.  Merry Christmas Eve Eve, everyone.

 

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Late, Lame, but Not Lean

Posted on December 23, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

Yesterday I took a real Blogger’s Sick Day.  Judge me if you like, but one can only do so many things when one has a migraine.  Determination will only take you so far.  I was going to say “discipline,” but we all know I am notoriously undisciplined, while nobody refutes that I have a marvelously thick skull.  Maybe that’s my problem with all the headaches.

Just to throw this in there:  I AM doing something about the headaches.  I shall not elaborate on what, because, you know, HIPAA and all that.

Last night I felt incapable of even Lame Post Friday. How unlike me.  It was the last day of work before what I will call Christmas shut-down. I rather thought more people would be feeling more giddy, myself included.  I knew I should have brought cookies.  There is nothing like home-baked cookies to spread the Christmas spirit, as well as to add to the hip-spread of people who really need no help in that direction, myself included.

Yes, I have been sadly aware that this is a HUGE time of year for getting, well, huge.  I knew it was coming; the calendar is remarkably predictable each year, and I have been around quite a number of years.  So did I prepare by dropping a few pounds ahead of time (yes, I KNOW yo-yo dieting is a terrible thing; I’m only talking about five pounds, is that such a problem?)?  Of course not!  I’m still trying to drop the few pounds I put on last Christmas!

So this is my Friday Lame Post:  a late lament about my weight.  I believe that is sufficiently lame, yet universal enough that I hope some people are at least mildly entertained.  For those of you who are not so plagued by those pounds (either by not putting them on or not caring if you do), you may bask in the glow of superiority.   We’ll call that just another service I provide.

 

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Maybe If I Left Out a Couple Geese A-Laying

Posted on December 22, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

I am even more tired now than I was on Tired Tuesday!  What the hell, me?  No matter.  I have one more day of work to get through, then I have the next week and one day off.  And only about a million and twelve things to do before Christmas on Monday.  Ooh, I randomly decided to put 1,000,012 instead of a more mundane 1,000,000, then I realized “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”  So I went ahead and changed my headline.

I had originally put, “At Least I Chopped the Celery.”  I was going to do a kind of a Scattered Thursday, because I did a bit of running around after work today, which is no doubt why I am so tired (yuh think?). However, I just realized that I cannot very well talk about where all I stopped, because I was buying Christmas presents.  The recipients MIGHT read my blog post (or do I flatter myself?) and guess what I got them!  Worse yet, they might guess wrong and get their hopes up for a better present than I actually selected.  Oh, the pain. (Yes, that is a period there, not an exclamation point; I was being Dr. Smith from Lost in Space; remember how he always said that in such a quiet, tired voice?).

So this is your basic Non-Sequitur Thursday post.  At least I got it over 200 words.  And I like the headline.  I hope to see you all again tomorrow on Lame Post Friday.

 

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Sweet Stop on Saturday

Posted on December 19, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

What could be more seasonal than candy, fudge and yummy stuff?  Oh, who am I kidding?  I eat sweets and fattening things all year long.  However, during the holidays, we can all pretend we have a good excuse, and I will thank you NOT to rain on the yummy stuff parade (you know who you are).  This by way of introduction to a well-deserved shout-out to the So Sweet Candy Cafe in Utica, NY.

I do not get to the So Sweet as often as I would like, because I do not get to Utica as often as I used to.  However, when Steven had last Saturday off and the So Sweet was having a Holiday Open House, we naturally seized the opportunity.  I remembered to bring my Tablet, so I could take a few pictures for the blog.

I love an old fashioned Santa even more than I love the old fashioned candy.

One reason for seasonal visits to the cafe is that they decorate accordingly.  Steven and I both admired the Santa, and made several slow trips around the display looking at the stocking stuffers.  Covered pretzel rods, candy canes, and old fashioned candies like Lemon Drops and Boston Baked Beans…

This is where the Skelleton sat in October.

Because it was the Open House, there were some free samples.  Naturally I tried a few.  Then, since we definitely wanted some fudge, we asked to sample that too.

Mmmmm…. fudge…

 

It was delicious fudge for a really quite reasonable price.  We got three different kinds, a quarter pound of each.

I should have gotten a couple of close-ups of some of the fancy shaped truffles.

We ended up not getting any of the fancy stuff from the truffle case, but I’m afraid I stared at it so long that the calories seeped in through my eyeballs.

It was a fun and delicious part of our Saturday morning adventures.  We still have not eaten all the fudge and candy we purchased.  That may not stop me from sneaking back again before Christmas.  I may need some truffles.  Or cookies.  Or biscotti.  Or….

The So Sweet Candy Cafe is located at 531 Varick St., Utica, phone number 315-765-6463.  They are open 8:o0 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 8 to 7 Friday, 8 to 4 Saturday, and 9 to 1 Sunday.

 

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Does Santa Give Coal to Bad Bloggers?

Posted on December 18, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

Some bloggers have guest bloggers or re-blog others’ blogs on a Sunday.  Maybe I should consider doing something like that.  Or I could keep having posts like Wrist to Forehead Sunday, when I really don’t feel capable of posting anything good, yet I like to post every day.  Oh, what the hell.  You can always feel smugly superior, all you bloggers who make better posts than this on a regular basis. Or you can just point and laugh.  You know who you are.

So Christmas Eve is one week from today.  Am I ready for such a thing?  Of course not!  Why would I be!  But I am tremulously happy that I have five more days of work, then a week and a day off.  Yes!  You would not think it was a mere three weeks since I had time off, or that I have had every weekend off for a very long time.  I can’t help how I feel.  I want some time off.  I’m sure many people can understand this feeling.  Those of you who can’t, well, congratulations on your far superior work ethic.

Where was I?  Ah yes, nowhere in particular.  Just trying to type a few remarks in so I can continue to pretend to be a daily blogger.  I hope you are all having a lovely December.  Steven and I had a few friends over last night.  I guess you could call it a Christmas party, although I usually invite more of a crowd to a party (so any local friends who are thinking, “She didn’t invite ME to her party,” please don’t feel bad).  We had a very fun time.

I did a very little Christmas shopping this morning.  And by “very little,” I’m afraid I mean I purchased one present for one person may or may not like it  and bought a bunch of stuff for myself.  In my defense, most of what I bought for myself was yarn to make more afghans which I will give away (I have plenty of afghans of my own).  It is not a great defense, however, because I love to sit on my couch, watch TV, and crochet an afghan.

Speaking of which, that is exactly what I want to continue to do.  This is Wrist to Forehead Sunday merely because I fear I am not making a good blog post.  I am having a rather enjoyable time apart from that.  I hope my readers have had a wonderful weekend.

 

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Wordless? Not So Much. Christmas Decorations? You Got It!

Posted on December 14, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

I thought I would try one of them there Wordless Wednesdays.  For one reason, Steven and I have to get our Christmas cards written tonight, so I can’t sit here with the computer on my lap pondering what to say.  Of course, being me, it will not be entirely wordless.  I enjoy words far too much for that.  But I took a few pictures of our Christmas decorations I would like to share.

“Jolly good tree, don’t you think, m’dear?”

My Mom and Dad gave me this fiber optic tree some years ago.  It is our only tree these days, for reason I believe I explained in an earlier post (and if I didn’t, it’s not that interesting anyways).  The cool bears we purchased at Michael’s in August, GA, when I was in the Army, an increasing number of years ago.

Busy, cluttered, a little random… just like my life.

I guess I got kind of a weird angle on this picture, and you can’t really see all our little things very well, but you can get an idea of the fun surrounding our CD player.  On this CD player, each year I attempt to listen to every one of our Christmas CDs, including as well as a wide variety of music, a couple of versions of A Christmas Carol.  I usually miss a few.  We have a large collection (who, us, go overboard?  Say it ain’t so!).

This is not all our DVDs and videos either.

I randomly hung the Christmas trees up, and Steven added the stocking.  The stocking belonged first to Tabby, then to Spunky.  If we ever get another dog, it will be his or hers.  The Christmas trees are an invention of mine, a kind of a granny triangle (regular readers may recall that the only thing I know how to crochet is a granny square).  I’ve been making them for years, sometimes as individual ornaments, sometimes as garlands like this one.

Well will you look at that?  I am over 300 words. Wordless Wednesday indeed!  I can’t do anything right!

 

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Wrist to Christmas Monsters

Posted on December 11, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

I pause in my Sunday activities for my usual Wrist to Forehead Sunday post.  Full disclosure:  my Sunday activities right now consist of sitting on the couch, knitting, and watching television.  Right now I’m looking at Snapped, because I enjoy what my husband, Steven, calls murder and mayhem.  Earlier we watched Stalking Santa, which we just happened to purchase when the local DVD rental place went out of business.  It is a very funny movie.  I like mockumentaries.

As I have often observed, there is no point in trying to get anything useful done on a Sunday.  It has ever been thus with me.   I did manage to go to the grocery store and pick up a couple of things.  I made a yummy dinner and even put the leftovers away myself.  And now I am making my blog post.  That, I am afraid, will be it for me.  Hmmm, you would think I would do a better blog post under those circumstances.

OK, I just went looking for a few pictures to jazz things up but got distracted by Facebook, what a surprise.  Now I’m missing the next episode of Snapped and this blog post is no snappier.  How about a couple of pictures from my Media Library?  Maybe some Nosferatu.  What’s Christmas-time without a few monsters?

“What do you mean only 14 Shopping Days till Christmas?”

 

It’s not easy to carve roast beast with your pinkies in the air.

Here’s a Christmas monster for you!  Who doesn’t love the Grinch?  Oh well, I suppose some people don’t. Their loss.  I did not take this pic from my Media Library.  I went back to Facebook and downloaded my current profile picture.  I almost never use my own face for my profile picture.  I’ve been Nosferatu, Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, and most recently a air of pale green pants with nobody inside ’em (that is from the Dr. Seuss story “What Was I Scared Of?”).

I see I am over 300 words into this nonsense, so I will sign off.  Happy Sunday, everyone.

 

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I Can See the Grinch

Posted on December 8, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

My sister Cheryl gave me the boxes.  Steven gave me the bear.

When in doubt, lead with a cute bear.  My husband, Steven, did some more indoor decorating today, so I took a few pictures to dress up my blog post, in the perhaps forlorn hope of disguising the fact that I have very little to say these days.  As I sit here typing, I see a number of things I could also have photographed, so I may use the same dodge tomorrow.  Then again, tomorrow is Lame Post Friday, so there will be nothing to apologize for.

The gang’s all here!

This is, in fact, not all of the holiday stuffed toys we have.  The two lounging on the floor in front of the box are recent acquisitions.  Steven won them in a claw machine.  He often has good luck with those machines. Also note the reindeer antlers.  I may wear a pair of those for the Reindeer Run 5K on Saturday.  I won’t run fast, but I’ll look cute!

Regular readers may remember the Santas on the stairs from a previous post.

This is kind of a busy and wide view.  Now that I look at it, I see I should have turned on the stairs’ light and moved my sneakers from the floor.  Then again, sometimes these random mistakes are part of my charm.  Or do I flatter myself?

Everybody loves Santa!

My sister Cheryl gave me the Santa Claus.  We normally put him in the dining room, but I suggested we put him in front of the fireplace this year.  Steven added the crowd of stuffed toys today.  I think it is a delightful arrangement.

She escaped from the Island of Misfit Toys!

This is a close-up of part of our mantel, because  Steven specifically requested a picture of “the doll from Rudolf that doesn’t have anything wrong with her.”  I forgot where we got her, or why we only have her and none of the other figures from Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer.   No matter.  She looks happy now, and it’s Christmas time.  And I am approaching 350 words.  Woo-hoo!  That is quite respectable for a Non-Sequitur Thursday.  If only I could think of a catchy headline, my life would be perfect.

 

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