Tag Archives: dogs

I Ran, I Commented, I’m Done

Posted on October 28, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

I wondered if any of my readers missed Saturday Running Commentary, so I thought I would run and comment today. I never ran till after 2, when Steven went to work, but I figured you can do that in the fall.

The trouble with waiting to run is that you’ve got plenty of time to talk yourself out of it, which I almost did. I went to the store to buy groceries instead. As I was pushing the cart back after loading three big bags into my truck, I realized I was happy to be outdoors, because it was such a nice day. Well, self, I thought, there is one good activity that will get you outdoors for a little longer.

Of course, raking leaves is another activity that would get me outdoors and that definitely needs to be done. Still, I’m trying to get back into running and it is not going to be easy due to certain other time commitments I have recently made. I decided to run.

I was not immediately glad I did. Sometimes waiting till later in the day is a good thing: your muscles are not stiff and just waking up, you’ve eaten something nutritious (I hope), OK, that’s all I got. My muscles felt that they had been working enough (only walking, but you know how leg muscles are). My body acted as if it hadn’t been fed in days (like that’s ever going to happen!). I just kept going.

A friend of mine has been mentioning to people lately how I run up the hill to Herkimer County Community College. I have not run that hill in at least a month (too lazy to go downstairs and look it up in my running journal), but I figure if Phyllis is going to be talking about it I’d better get back to doing it. Only not today. I turned in that direction, though, because there are a couple less intimidating hills I thought I might be up to.

Finally I settled on the Unknown Park. I recently learned that it is in fact Brookfield Park, but I am so used to calling it the Unknown, I may continue to do so. There is a pretty good upslope as soon as you turn in. Wasn’t fun. Ran it anyways.

A couple of young girls were walking towards me, but they crossed to the other side of the road when they saw me. That was good, because it put them on left side facing traffic (of which there was none just then). I don’t think they did it to be safe, I think they did it to avoid the crazy old lady (me), but I was glad to see it nonetheless.

As I ran through the path in the woods I stopped to pet an adorable black pug, with the owners’ permission. I think he was just a puppy. He was so wiggly and cute, I ran on feeling refreshed. One more short upslope, I told myself, and then it’s downhill all the way. I felt good about that, because I knew I wasn’t lying. Not like on the Boilermaker when they keep telling you it’s all downhill from here and you know darn well it’s not.

Back on the road, I was going to turn left where it said “No Left Turn” as usual (must be a rebel, after all), but I saw a group of male college students walking in the opposite direction, right side with traffic, of course. I had no reason to think they might say anything rude, yet I did not feel inclined to run right into them. I thought, I never go straight at this intersection, I’ll go straight for once. Not that it was a road less traveled, because I run on that stretch of road all the time going toward the college. Still, a different direction is at least something different.

I stopped to pet two more cute dogs on German Street. They were the shaggy kind, Llasa Apsos or Shih Tsus or something. One backed off, the other was friendly. Then as I ran on the shy one ran after me.

“Now she wants to be petted,” the owner said, with a laugh. I turned around and obliged. “She has to play hard to get,” the owner said.

I ended up running longer than I had run Tuesday or Thursday, so I felt pretty good about that. Other than that satisfaction, though, I felt tired. I managed to spend a little time raking leaves, just because I thought I ought to (I know, I say I never do what I ought to, but I guess once in a while I do). Then I felt beat. Dare I say, too beat to write a decent blog post? Yet I see I am over 800 words. I’ll say today I went for quantity, not quality.

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Saturday Evening Post

Posted on October 14, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

OK, I don’t have anything today except for that (I think) fabulous title, and it took me all day to come up with that.

As regular readers (I sure hope I still have some) know, I am hesitant to start running again, due to recent back problems, so Saturday Running Commentary was out. Fine, I thought, I’ll go for a walk. Tabby will like that.

And at first, she certainly seemed to. But two blocks in, she did her business and clearly indicated she was done walking, she wanted to go home.

I had some library books I had to return. We drove in the truck (no, there weren’t that many books that it needed a truck; I drive a truck). The library wasn’t open yet, so I put the books in the depository while Tabby waited for me in the truck. Nothing blogworthy there.

Back home, I started cleaning my house. That is, of course, startling and incredible news to those who know me. Blogworthy? Well, I did threaten to do a cleaning post, after several cooking posts once. Funny how cooking is so much more fun and creative than cleaning when they often get mentioned together as chores that couples ought to share (just a little half-baked philosophy; I don’t think my Friday Lame Post included any of that).

In desperation, I took a nap. Ever try to sleep when you’re desperate? OK, neither did I. I took a nap because I got up with Steven at 3:30, because he had to be in to work at 6, much like he often gets up with me at 3:30, because my overtime day starts at 5.

I thought, sleep, coffee, then I’ll write the blog post. Uh, and it looks like I did. Wait a minute, I’ve done this post before. “I had to write a post. But first I did this, then I did this, then I did this, then I wrote the post, and here it is.” That hoary fictional cliche, where the writer’s adventure turns out to be the movie or book we’ve just been watching or reading. I believe I even mentioned that cliche. I think it was last Friday’s Lame Post.

Oh well, what the hell, as a wise woman once said (it was my mother). At least this, this, and this that I did was different. Let’s call it a template for when I just can’t come up with anything. At any rate, Steven is home now. I’ll see if I can drag him on a Mohawk Valley adventure so I’ll have something better to blog about.

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Wrist to Forehead Walk

Posted on October 1, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

I am going to start a new feature and call it Wrist to Forehead Sunday (you know, that dramatic pose with a wrist to your forehead before you swoon from the stress). It seems I reach many Sundays convinced that I am utterly incapable of writing a decent blog post. Today I have at least three perfectly good Mohawk Valley topics to write on and I feel Blank. Rather than write yet another post about Why I Can’t Write a Post Today (which are, I guiltily admit, kind of fun to write), I dragged Steven and Tabby on a walk to the post office and I shall write about that.

To begin with I had written a letter to a friend (yes, I hand write letters which I send through the US Postal service and I delight in receiving one back). I had finished writing it earlier in the day, when I felt unable to write the blog post. I thought if I could write anything I could segue over. The segueing had not happened when Steven arrived home (I admit it: I had segued into doing a cryptogram puzzle in a puzzle book).

While he went up to look at the computer I had an inspiration that we would walk to the post office and I would write about that. First I had a Get Well card to write on Tabby’s behalf to a friend’s pet who is ailing. I wrote a letter from Tabby to Shadoe, utilizing the Historic Four Corners stationery I purchased at the Herkimer County Historical Society some time ago and had not used yet. I thought Tabby would appreciate having a letter from her written on stationery of one of her favorite places to walk.

We set out, walking down our street and admiring our neighbors’ Halloween decorations. One house had some cobwebs nicely covering the porch. I can never get those cobwebs spread out properly. They always bunch up. I pointed out to Steven some skeletons in a fishnet I had noticed earlier in the week.

We went through Myers Park to the post office. It had started to rain a little as we continued up Main Street. Steven put the hood of his jacket up, prompting Tabby to give him what I thought was a funny look. We bypassed the Historic Four Corners by going through a parking lot, in order to spend less time in the rain. This brought us out on Church Street, where I could show Steven the awesomely decorated house I had observed earlier.

They had added a coffin and more cobwebs. There were graves with a head and hand popping up I had not seen before, and some homemade graves I know were not there before. We pointed out to each other all the cool things, and I suggested we return for another walk after dark, because there are obviously things that light up.

After that it had stopped raining, so we continued up Prospect to German. We did not see any more Halloween decorations, but we observed a tree with some lovely orange leaves and a black cat on a porch. Nature’s own fall decor.

Well, I guess this turns out to be not a bad post after all. Or do I flatter myself? At any rate, I feel a lot less wrist to forehead now. See you on Middle-aged Musing Monday. Or Monster Movie Monday, depending on what I do for the rest of the day.

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Saturday Running Commentary

Posted on September 16, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

I believe I said last week that Running Commentary Saturday would be my new weekly feature. It was this reflection that got me into my running clothes and out the door this morning, because I did NOT feel like running. For one thing, I still felt clean from last night’s shower. Who wants to get all sweaty and dirty? Oh, I know, some people do.

It was nice and cool, and a little cloudy as I set out. It had rained in the night (which was a good thing for me since I had not watered my container garden). I pondered where to run. I hadn’t run for four days due to heat, being busy and not feeling well. Four days is bad. Five would be worse. I was glad I had talked myself into it.

My legs didn’t feel too awfully unhappy for me. I turned down German Street, not in the direction of the hill up to Herkimer County Community College. I’m still rebuilding myself. I thought I’d take another day off from hills.

I saw a man and cute little dog a couple of blocks ahead of me. I like to stop running briefly to pet a dog. The dogs usually like it too. Would I catch up? I always have to laugh at myself when I see how long it takes me to catch up to a pedestrian. Who do I think I’m kidding when I say I’m running? It’s a middle-aged shuffle and some days it is slower than others. In this case, the dog stopped and sniffed enough so I was able to catch up.

“Can I pet your dog?”

“Sure, he’s friendly.” He was actually sniffing a bush at the time and paid me not the slightest bit of attention. I petted him quick, wished the man a good day and ran on.

Lots of porches for me to envy. I thought I might have an afternoon cup of coffee or tea on mine later. Few people sitting out. I saw one man leaning on the railing of an upstairs porch, watching the world. We exchanged greetings. I ran on.

Other than the dog, it was an uneventful run. I didn’t feel “Oh yeah, I can rock this,” but I didn’t feel too terrible, either. My goal is to NOT go four days without running next week, which may be problematic. I have rehearsals almost every day for Dirty Work at the Crossroads, the play which Ilion Little Theatre is doing. In fact, this blog may become All Dirty Work All The Time. I rather like that. It has a ring to it which All Harvey All The Time and All Boilermaker All The Time lacked.

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