Tag Archives: Collis TruValue Hardware

At Least I’m Not Pushing Up Daisies

Posted on May 21, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

I was just looking back over past “lawn order” postings since I thought to do one today. It is that or a Throwback Thursday. Personally I am leaning towards the Throwback Thursday, because a Lawn Order post (do I really have that as a category? Too lazy to check right now) can only make me look bad. I have not taken any pictures, which will really make me look bad (cue unkind jokes about how most pictures of me are bad) (you know who you are).

I do not recall if I mentioned it in a blog post (and having already looked over past posts I do not want to check), but last fall my lawn mower pooped out on the last mow of the season. It would start but not continue running. I said to heck with it (only I didn’t say “heck”), put it in the garage, mowed with the non-power mower, and basically just forgot about it. I am irresponsible like that. Then when spring got here, I kept hearing No Mow May. Who am I to argue? Also, I had other things on my mind.

Back when I used to do a good job mowing my lawn.

I throw in a picture from May 2020, just to pep up the post. I got some advice from several sources, then consulted Collis Hardware, who suggested I bring the mower down there and let them fix it. What a great idea! I walked my mower on down. Unfortunately, I should have done it much earlier in the season, because it may be a couple of weeks before I hear from them.

In the meantime, it has been raining, and my grass has been growing. One year, when Steven was still alive but sick, we had let the grass get quite out of hand. At this time I was incapable of starting the power mower but managed with great effort to get the front lawn done with the non-power mower. I got a neighbor to start the power mower to do the back.

Now, regular readers may recall that beginning at the end of April, I have this mysterious pain going on in my leg, rendering prolonged standing, walking, or running difficult. This is one of the things on my mind that made No Mow May seem so attractive. However, I believe there are village codes to consider, so yesterday and today, I have had at my front lawn with the non-power mower, clippers, and determination. The results were… well, it looks as if I made an effort.

Please don’t eat the daisies.

This is actually a picture from June a couple years ago. There will probably be as many daisies soon. Right now there are copious forget-me-nots, which I will try to get a picture of soon. Right now I am still resting my leg from my exertions and hope this rather lengthy (for me) blog post has not been too boring and whiny.

Maybe I give it a punchy headline and bill it as a Non-Sequitur Thursday.

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Posted in humor, lawn order, Non Sequitur Thursday, personal and tagged blog post, blogging, Collis Hardware, Collis TruValue Hardware, front lawn, lawn mower, non-power mower, power mower. Bookmark the permalink.

A Busy Saturday So Far

Posted on October 31, 2021 by mohawkvalleygirl

I pause in my activities to make a Scattered Saturday Post. Check it out: I am making a Saturday Post ON Saturday!

We got up stupidly early as usual (not as early as when I work, but still, you would think I could sleep in once in a while). I went for a short run, wrote a few post cards, called my Mom and Dad, all the usual stuff. Then Steve and I set out on a few minor adventures.

First we went to Collis Hardware in Herkimer, NY. We dropped off a basement window frame to have plexiglass put in it. I am embarrassed to tell you how long we have been putting this off, so I will keep that bit of information to myself.

Next we went a little ways up the street to Mohawk Valley Community Market. We spent some time looking at the various vendors.

*Renewed and Rescued is the store that started the Market.*

I asked if I could take a picture of the staff, because they looked so cute in their Halloween costumes.

After that we were feeling peckish so went to Honey Brook Bakery for a treat.

*The pictures aren’t so great, but YUM!*

After a brief interlude at home, eating our treats, we drove to Ilion. First we went up Otsego Street so I could show Steve some of the great yard decorations I have been enjoying on my way home from work. Then we went to the Thrift Store in search of materials for our Halloween costumes.

Our last stop was at New 2 You Consignments, where I scored a baggy of bead necklaces. They may not be right for my Halloween costume, but then again, I may stretch a point.

We are now relaxing at home, but soon we will begin getting ready for a Halloween party at the Frankfort American Legion, featuring our favorite band The Posers. Yay!

Domestic Disturbances

Posted on April 24, 2020 by mohawkvalleygirl

Oh what a day! The day was just shaping up to be difficult when I talked to my mother on the phone. I said, with what may have been misplaced optimism, “At least it will make a good blog post!” We shall see.

The first thing to go wrong was that the coffee maker died. It had been sputtering along on its proverbial last legs for a while, but these things are always a tragedy when they finally occur. I made plans to purchase a coffee maker later this morning, but I wanted to go running first, since I did not go yesterday.

And that was when things got interesting. The toilet overflowed. Yikes! I plunged and plunged, hollering for Steven to come up and turn the water off (I can’t get that little handle to turn). At last I got all the water to go down. Steven got a mop and with the help of some dirty towels (don’t judge my laundry methods; I have enough problems today), we got the spilled water cleaned up.

This has happened to us before, most memorably on Christmas Day (I wonder if I made a blog postpost about it). What I did then was run out for a bottle of drain unclogger (we needn’t mention brands). A couple of doses, more plunging, and our holiday was saved. I had every reason to believe that would be the case today.

First I had a problem finding the right stuff to pour in. So many of them said do not use on toilets! What’s that all about? I finally found one that said to pour a quarter of the bottle in. Four doses! I felt I would soon be flush with success (see what I did there?).

It was while I was waiting 15 minutes for the second dose to work its magic that I called my parents. My father told me a useful trick: take the lid off the tank, then when you see the water is not going down, push the stopper down and the bowl will stop filling. Genius!

If I had known how many times I was going to use that trick this morning, I would not have been so sanguine when I hung up the phone. However, I kept in mind the other thing my father told me: sometimes you just have to keep plunging.

When I needed a break from plunging, I took a walk down to Collis TrueValue Hardware on Main Street in Herkimer (just to sneak in a plug for a local business) for more stuff to pour into the toilet. I tried something different this time.

More pouring, more plunging. On my forlorn last pour, while I waited the 15 minutes, I asked Google how to snake a toilet. I feared another trip to Collis was in my future.

I went upstairs, held my breath, and flushed. And the water did NOT go down! I plunged. However, this time it felt different. It took fewer plunges for the water to go down. Barely daring to hope, I flushed again.

IT WAS A NORMAL FLUSH!!!

I cannot adequately describe my relief, joy and delight. I flushed it again, just to be sure. Success!

So that is my toilet story for the day. I wonder if I can top it on Lame Post Friday. As always, I hope you’ll stay tuned.

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Posted in humor, personal and tagged blog post, blogging, coffee maker, Collis TruValue Hardware, homeowner, plumbing, plumbing problems, toilet. Bookmark the permalink.

A Little More About the Laundry

Posted on November 18, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

Continuing my laundry saga will allow me to give a shout-out to two local businesses. Therefore I offer the following in lieu of my usual Tired Tuesday post.

Our first stop was Crazy Otto’s Empire Diner for breakfast. I’ve written about Crazy Otto’s numerous times. It is a local favorite. They were doing a booming business, as usual, but we were able to get a booth.

The crab meat omelet special was tempting, but I was conservative and ordered a bagel with cream cheese. I was pleased that they had Everything bagels. Being indecisive, as I am, I love Everything bagels, because you don’t have to decide on one. The waitress asked if I wanted it toasted or grilled. I had never had a grilled bagel before. It was quite tasty. Steven had bacon and eggs with hash browns and Italian toast.

As we were paying, I noticed two orders of steak and eggs go by. I’ve never gotten steak and eggs. What steaks! They were huge and looked delicious! I’m getting that next time.

Properly nourished, we walked across the street to Collis Hardware. Collis TrueValue Hardware is a real old-fashioned hardware store. It is located on Main Street in Herkimer, where I’m sure it has stood for years. I’ll have to look up some history about it, but, well, I guess it’s still Tired Tuesday, because I can’t do it right now.

Be that as it may, on Sunday we found someone to help us right away. As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, we needed a new cord for our new (to us) drier. We had a rubbing of the socket it had to go into and a diagram of what the plug should look like. The man at Collis quickly found just what we needed.

Back home, I put a load of laundry into the washer while Steven installed the new cord. If the drier still didn’t work, I knew I could hang them out to dry on the clothesline. Perhaps I should have anyways, because Sunday was a nice sunny day. Still, we wanted to use the new (to us) drier. It turned right on with the new cord. And the hose popped out of the back. Steven was able to reattach it, so we were in business.

I hope this post was better than my usual Tire Tuesday tripe (see what I did there?). My question now is, will I end up doing as many blog posts about the new (to us) (yes I’m going to keep doing that) washer and drier as I did about the laundromat? I’m not going to keep score. If you are… you might like to look for a more fulfilling hobby.

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Posted in homeowner, humor, local business, personal, Tired Tuesday and tagged blog post, Collis Hardware, Collis TruValue Hardware, Crazy Ottos, laundry, tired. Bookmark the permalink.

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