Tag Archives: depression

Better to Have Lamed…

Posted on August 8, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

Hello and welcome to another Lame Post Friday blog post.  It is, I am afraid, the best I can do today.  I am feeling down, but you’ll have that.  It is really no reason for concern.  I have not been out and about today, except to do some little bit of yard work (nothing work taking pictures and writing a blog post about, unfortunately).   But it is Lame Post Friday, the day when I indulge in random observations and half-baked philosophy.  What can I come up with today?

Oh! It’s a bird house!

When I looked at this picture all small in my Media Library, I had no idea what it was.  Silly me!  The picture was taken in 2020, when we were all hunkered down trying to avoid COVID.  I was putting up decorations here and there, trying to cheer the place up.  Perhaps I should make some efforts in that direction again.  First I have to clean.  Damn.

Sure looks different now!

Fast forward about a year from when the last picture was taken to August 2021, and look at all the Brown-Eyed Susans I had.  It was amazing!  This is actually the area of the deck I was working on this morning, once again battling the wild grapevines (if only I could  make wild wine, we could come to some sort of an agreement).  It does not look like this.  Not a single Brown-Eyed Susan do I have, alas.

I do not know if any of those count as random observations or half-baked philosophy, and I am thinking probably not.  However, I observe (not so randomly, unfortunately) that I am over 250 words.  I think that counts as good for a Friday blog post, Lame or otherwise (I guess all my posts are somewhat lame).  I philosophize that a lame post is better than no post at all.  Have I used that as a title already? I fear so.

 

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A New Start? Or Another Lame Step?

Posted on August 1, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

Sometimes doing something, anything different can help you get out of a rut.  For example, making my Lame Post Friday blog post ON Friday, which I have not done in a number of weeks (yes, I know, one is a number) (some say it is the loneliest number, but that is rather a cliche, is it not?).  Where was I?  Ah yes, all week I have been making a post in the morning, as early as I could manage, for the previous day.  It is now Friday afternoon (by my clock if not by my WordPress timestamp), and I thought I would make my Lame Post Friday post.

Go ahead and fail me, feet; it’s Lame Post Friday.

This is a shot from 2019, and it is not very accurate to right now.  My toenails need repainting badly, but I don’t think I could stand a full pedicure.  Also, that pair of sandals broke ages ago.  I am hard on sandals, I suppose.  I may try to paint my own toenails and forgo the pumice stone.  Then I’ll take another feet picture.  Oh, and if the caption doesn’t make sense to you, it is a reference to an old saying, “Feet, don’t fail me now!”

My mood if not my weather.

Looking for another picture to illustrate my post, I found these dark clouds.  It is, in fact, a nice sunny day right now.  My current outlook is gloomy, but I will try to perk myself up.  I know what!  I will walk to the Herkimer County Historical Society and purchase post cards.  Then I will have something fun to send family and friends.  In sending them some cheer, I will manufacture a little cheer for myself.

 

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I Didn’t Get To

Posted on July 13, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

I neglected to make my Wrist to Forehead Sunday blog post, but that isn’t really what I Didn’t Get To, as referenced in the title.  The title refers to the Utica Boilermaker 15K, which longtime readers know I have run in the past and I meant to run this year but was sidelined by my treacherous body.  Then again, perhaps it was me who betrayed my body by not training properly, not stretching enough, eating the wrong things, blah blah blah.  In other words, once again, Operator Error.  In either case, yesterday I swooned, dramatically posed with the back of one wrist to my forehead, because I could not join the other runners.

What I might have looked like after the race.

That is a picture from April of 2020, after I had just run a Virtual 5K to benefit, I think, a food pantry in Little Falls, NY.  These were my pre-Garmin, pre-Map My Run days, so I ran what I thought I remembered was the DARE 5K route, up the hill to Herkimer College (a formidable hill, in case you didn’t know).  Some people were impressed.

So I got on Facebook yesterday and saw all the good wishes for Boilermaker runners and video from WKTV, and I was, I admit it, a little down. So I said to myself, “You don’t get to.”  And isn’t that the truth?  Sometimes you just don’t get to.  I didn’t get to see my husband turn 70.  I didn’t get to win the Lottery.  I didn’t get to plant a vegetable garden this year.

I do not know why that little phrase should make me feel better, but somehow it does.  I did not get to run the Boilermaker.  Maybe next year I will.  Or maybe not.  A little uncertainty adds interest to 2027, does it not?

 

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The Boilermaker Blues

Posted on July 10, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

Hello and welcome to another Lame Post Friday post!  I am waiting for my new smarter-than-me phone to charge a little more before I head out to the Health and Wellness Expo for the Utica Boilermaker 2026.  Normally this blog would be All Boilermaker All The Time at this point, as I dealt with last minute training and carbing up, Boilermaker Butterflies, decisions about what to wear, where to park, and anything else I could come up with to dither about.  Regular readers know, that will not happen this year.

My feet failed me now.

Those are my sneakers in 2020, a virtual Boilermaker year.  Running was a great solace to me during COVID shut-down.  I have long relied on walking and running to supplement my anti-depressant drugs, counseling, etc.  These days I keep giving myself a good talking-to when I start to feel sorry for myself over the way my body has betrayed me this year, because for heavens’ sake, it could be much worse.

I waited till way too late in the game to transfer my bib or get a medical deferral. Partly because I was spending time immobile and incommunicado, partly because I kept hoping there would be some miracle.  That was silly of me, but then, you know me.  Silly.  I emailed the race director on Wednesday and told him my tentative plan to pick up my bib and glass, then go to the race after-party on my crutches and drink beer with the finishers.  He emailed back that he thought it was a great idea.  How sweet was that, that he took time to email me back!

Not the best picture.

The Boilermaker gives you a glass instead of a t-shirt.  This is from the first time I ran the Boilermaker in 2010.  I have not run it  every year, but I have run it several times (please don’t ask me to do the math!).  Sorry the picture is so dark.  I first had to wander around my messy house looking for a place to take the picture at all; I couldn’t be bothered to worry about the lighting as well.

I see I am over 350 words with neither a random observation nor a bit of half-baked philosophy to show for it.  What is Lame Post Friday coming to?  On the brighter side, it is just about time to take off for the Expo.  Another glass to drink my chocolate milk recovery beverage out of, if I am ever able to run again!

 

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I Lame Myself

Posted on May 8, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

I think I have whined a couple of times about my mysterious leg pains.  I keep putting off calling the VA to make another appointment in hopes that it mysteriously resolves itself as pains sometimes do.  In the meantime, it has been causing some problems, because I rely on my nearly daily walks and runs to supplement my anti-depressant medications.  I gradually become more open in talking about my depression in hopes of doing my little part to remove the stigma still attached to mental health.  Was that virtue signalling?  Oh dear. All I really set out to do was make a Running Commentary blog post.  Quick, throw in a picture to distract from my word salad.

Decidedly not where I ran today.

I did run up this hill recently.  Incidentally, it is more intimidating when you are on it than it looks in this picture.  Getting back to today.  My legs and back usually feel pretty good when I first get up, so I thought I would try at least a short run.  I am registered for the Boilermaker 15K, and I would really hate to miss it.  Additionally, I am putting on weight.  And I LIKE to run!  With everything in my favor, I got my gear on and set out.

And it felt pretty good.  I did not attempt any hills and I set a rather slow pace.  I considered trying for two miles, figuring in my head how many weeks I have till the big race and how fast I ought to try to improve.  Doing math in my head is a good way to pass the time while I run.  A drill sergeant told me many years ago that running was just a matter of distracting yourself from how much it sucks to run.

I had looped around and was heading towards my house when my left calf started to ache just a little.  I was about 20 minutes into the run.  I had been going to make a turn and run another block or two, but then I thought, don’t be stupid. Twenty minutes is fine after more than a week off.  I went home.  I think it was a good thing I did, because when I stopped running and stood still, my leg started hurting like a sonofabitch!  I couldn’t do my cool-down walk!  I couldn’t do my stretches!  I made it into the house, sat down on the couch, and put my feet up.  And made this blog post.

That brings us up to date.  I see I have babbled on for over 400 words, and I just remembered something:  This is Lame Post Friday.  I find that strangely appropriate.

 

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Running Into May Flowers?

Posted on May 2, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

Well here I am with another early-ish morning post for a day late Lame Post Friday.  I am lame these days.  I don’t know if I have whined about the trouble I’ve been having with my legs lately, but, well, I’ve been having some aches and pains.  Whatever will happen to my Boilermaker hopes and dreams?  More importantly, I count on my walks and runs to supplement my anti-depressant medications, which my doctor heartily approves.  I suppose these things will work out one way or another, and I think I had better throw in a picture to lighten up the post.

Is that an azalea?

I saw this in my Media Library from May 2022 and thought it was my own rhododendron but I see now it is a plant from a neighbor’s yard.  I can’t see pictures in my Media Library as clearly, because now they show an IMG code or whatever it is (regular readers know I am far from tech savvy).  Anyways, this is a good picture for the beginning of May.  We had a few April showers and I for one am looking forward to May flowers.  I must plant a few.

Alas, an increasingly distant memory.

One thing I have let slide is my container garden, which used to grace my back deck.  Since 2020 I have been determined to reinstate it, and I have met with very little success.  Will this be the year of the pots?  Or will I once again, go to pot?  A little uncertainty adds interest to my May.

In the meantime, I am over 250 words.  Sufficient for a late Lame Post Friday post I say.  I hope you all have a marvelous weekend.

 

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Not Even the Ambition to Swoon

Posted on April 12, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

I am having kind of a Wrist to Forehead Sunday, when I swoon, dramatically posed with the back on one wrist to my forehead — why do I not yet have a chaise lounge to faint upon?  This is not an unreasonable goal.  Actually, it is, considering I cannot even get my house cleaned and organized.

The sign that should be in front of my house and definitely in front of my brain!

I could not find an appropriate illustration during a quick check of my Media Library so make due with this.  I ran by this sign on this morning’s run, then I went through Meyer’s Park.  It was only a two-mile run, so shorter than the last run, but I still feel I am getting into shape for the Boilermaker 15K in Utica, NY in July.  I suppose I should feel pleased with myself that I went for a run, was it two days in a row?  I am getting so forgetful in my old age.

I do love purple.

I throw in a picture of a few crocuses to cheer myself up.  Things got colder this weekend than they were earlier in the week, but I don’t really mind that.  The temperatures haven’t killed off the flowers.

I don’t suppose it was the temperatures that have killed off my ambition, either, but I need to get some of it back.  Maybe I could manage a Mohawk Valley Adventure this afternoon.  I hope you are all enjoying your  Sunday, with or without a chaise lounge.

 

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Tune in for a Late Tired Tuesday

Posted on March 11, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

Yes, here I am, making my Tired Tuesday post on Wednesday.  Oh dear, at first I typed Thursday.  Am I in a time warp or likely to be really late with my posts?  The fact is, I have not had any Mohawk Valley Adventures since Sunday.  I went for a lovely walk in the warm weather yesterday but did not take any pictures, so a Pedestrian Post with Pictures is out of the question.  At least, I guess I could search my Media Library for pictures of stuff I walked by and took pictures of previously; I could maybe even find some with a similar amount of snow.  It seems unlikely, though.

The road less traveled?

This is from March 2020, when I was walking a lot.  I walked by this path yesterday but did not turn down it (my Chromebook wants me to  change that to “turn it down.”  Is it paying the least bit of attention?).  There was more snow yesterday, but most of the sidewalks I was on were pretty bare.  Score!

One thing I got done was the script for the murder mystery I am doing, tentative title A Revolutionary Murder.  I got it and the character sheets emailed out to my actors and a first read through scheduled (no, Chromebook, scheduled IS a word; I do not mean “schedule”) (Sheesh!).  I hope that will make a good blog post.

Did somebody say murder mystery?

I was looking for a rehearsal shot of a murder mystery, but the best I can do is a shot of a murder mystery in progress, at Salisbury Grange back in 2023.

I am feeling tired, I confess, and for no very good reason. But perhaps today I will do something blogworthy and blog about it.  I hope you’ll stay tuned.

 

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Late Monsters, But It’s a Post

Posted on March 10, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

It looks like I am entering another time of late posts and not very exciting posts.  I’ll be honest: my depression is getting me down.  BUT… there are things I can and will do about it.  I will get exercise every day and strive to NOT sit on the couch and do nothing (a favored activity for many depressed individuals).  I took a nice run yesterday so could have made a Running Commentary post, but for some reason did not.

Here’s a cheerful fellow.

I was looking for a picture to pep things up and found Nosferatu, from the eponymous 1922 silent movie.  Regular readers know he is one of my favorites.   I do enjoy a Monstrous Monday post, even when I wait till Tuesday to make it.

Looking ahead into the day and the week, I see a few opportunities for Mohawk Valley Adventures.  The basket I won at the HALO Lucky Paws Auction was from Phoebe’s Florist in Mohawk, NY.  I would like to go there, spend a little money, and make a blog post about it.  Maybe I could buy myself some flowers.  Maybe I can clean up my house a little, so I will be able to see the flowers.

Preview of Coming Attractions?

I may also try to make a Running Commentary post, if any of my runs seem memorable.  The above picture is from October 2020, when I was doing a challenge of exercising for at least 34 minutes for 34 days to call attention to 34 million people with diabetes in the U.S.  The challenge wanted you to post a selfie each day.  I did a few with my monster friends.  Maybe I should do another challenge like that.  Any thoughts?

In any case, I have made another placeholder blog post.  As always, I thank you for tuning in.

 

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That Came Out Of Lame Field

Posted on March 7, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

Have I got time to make a Lame Post Friday post before I leave the house?  I will be perfectly honest:  I got nuthin’.  No brains, no ideas, just a vague headache and the feeling that I am about to do something wrong.  Or I have just done something wrong.  Or I forgot to do something.  Do other bloggers have these problems?  Perhaps there are other ways of dealing with them than whining about it in a silly blog post.

I sure don’t have my ducks in a row! And one of them’s a frog!

I threw in a silly picture to lighten up the mood.  I have been trying to make some progress in cleaning my house.  Then I can do fun things like put my ducks in different arrangements.  I hope to make better progress as I go.  It might be worth a blog post, but I shudder at the thought of posting “before” pictures.

“And another thing!”

I branch off into theatre with a picture of a rehearsal of a murder mystery we did last year.  I am polishing a script for the next one.  The three people pictured are in the cast.

This was longer ago, but it was a fun one!

I add one more murder mystery picture for your entertainment.  I see I am over 200 words.  I guess I haven’t said much, but it is Lame Post Friday after all.  I hope you are all having a lovely day.

 

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