Tag Archives: dogs

Spunky Start to Scattered Saturday

Posted on July 3, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

How about a Scattered Saturday instead of a Slacker Saturday.  I think I could manage a brief re-cap of today’s activities.  I have quite a headache currently, sorry to complain, and I really just feel like sitting here and chilling.  However, I like to make a blog post every day, and I do not want to put off making today’s any longer.  I know, I know, enough with the excuses, get on with the post.  OK, I will.

Our dog Spunky barked at 5:01 this morning.  I looked at the clock.  For once I let Steven keep sleeping a little longer and got up to take Spunky for his first business meeting of the day.  I got dressed in running clothes, so I could go for my run right after.  I have run eight days in a row.  That may be a record for me.  A little later I wrote some postcards and walked to the post office with Spunky.  Spunky doesn’t seem to like long walks, but he can make it to the post office and back.

By noon I was headed to my sister Cheryl’s house for more adventures.  My sister Vicki was in town, along with her husband and offspring, and Vicki had not yet been to the So Sweet Candy Cafe, which is owned by her great childhood friend, Margaret.  I, of course, am always up for another visit to a candy shop.  I purchased a few treats while I was there.  Vicki and Margaret had a nice if brief visit.

After leaving the So Sweet, we walked down Varick Street to the Mohawk Valley Winery.  We tasted some wine and, yes, I purchased a bottle.  We were disappointed to find out we needed to make an appointment to tour the Adirondack Distilling Company.  I said we must make an appointment for next time.

Next we drove to Clinton and went into a number of wonderful little shops.  My only purchase was at the Adirondack Cheese Company, but I will certainly return to the other stores when I have a little more cash to spend.

Perhaps as the week goes on, I can write longer blog posts about some of my Scattered Saturday activities.  For now, I’m going to nurse my stupid head and hang out with my nice dog.  I hope you’re all having a lovely Saturday.

 

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Facial Reflections on a Monday

Posted on June 28, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

A couple of day ago, I typed part of a post in on (in on?  Is that right?) our tablet.  I lamented the difficulty of typing one letter at a time with the stylus, although it was kind of a fun game as well.  Today I post with a different difficulty.  I am sitting on my front porch and it seems the ambient light (I simply adore the word “ambient”) is not conducive. Superimposed on my computer screen is the wall of my house, a little bit of window, the mailbox, and my own ugly face.  Oh, I guess some people do not find it ugly.  Actually, my hair looks kind of cool.  But I digress.

I was determined that this shall not be another week of I Got Nuthin’ (ooh, just flashed on the song from Porgy and Bess, “I Got Plenty o’ Nothin'”).  For one reason, I am off work.  What else do I have to do but have Mohawk Valley adventures and write about them? Oh well, I guess a few things.  Laundry, finishing the banana play, learning my lines for Much Ado About Nothing, a few other assorted household chores… Ah, here we come to a truism of the Writing Life.  There are always things to do other than writing.

For example, what have I done today?  I took a lovely run, hung out with my husband till he had to go to stupid work, did several loads of laundry, including folding most of them, talked to my mother and one sister on the phone, started a letter to a friend (ooh! that was writing!), took the dog for two walks (three if you count the cool-down after my run) ,did the dishes… um, I think that was all.  Oh, all right I took a nap.  What’s your point?

The whole time I felt a dreadful resistance to writing.  This may have been pure laziness, and I tried to be firm with myself.  All I could manage was said letter to friend.  And how silly am I being?  If I truly could not progress on the banana play, I could have done a Running Commentary, a Pedestrian Post about either or both of the dog walks, or even a Preview of Coming Attractions about what I intend to do tomorrow and for the rest of the week.

And yet, here I sit, looking at my own face and getting eyestrain trying to see the words around it and just, well, typing.  The good thing is that my husband has now joined me.  I’ll read him what I have so far and see if he thinks it is OK and perhaps can help me think of a title.

 

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No Skulls for Spunky

Posted on June 27, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

Ever since we brought our new little friend Spunky home we’ve been meaning to get him a harness.  It is so much more comfortable for a little dog to have a harness than a leash on a collar, or so it seems to me.

As a side note, I’m making this post on our tablet, using the stylus and typing one letter at a time. It’s kind of fascinating, because the computer tries to guess what my next word will be.  It gives me three choices at a time, and I can click on the right one as soon as I see it.  Like some foolish bloggers game.  I think I’m losing. Perhaps  Steven will let me use the laptop soon.

Ah, on the laptop now and back to composing the post.  It isn’t really such a much as posts go, so I thought the paragraph about the tablet might add a little interest.  I SO prefer typing with all ten fingers.

Tractor Supply in Herkimer has a sign on the door that well-behaved dogs on a leash are welcome, so we grabbed the leash and our pooch and headed on over.  We quickly found the pet section and began looking at harnesses and collars.  I found a size small harness and tried it on Spunky.  I don’t think he was impressed.  We saw a similar dog with his people while we were there.  They called him Oliver. He was quite interested in sniffing Spunky, although Spunky was more interested in sniffing a display of treats.

As we looked to see if there were any other harnesses to try, I saw a collar with skulls on it.  I was certain Spunky would like a collar with skulls on it.  In any case, I would like to walk a dog with skulls on his collar.  Would you believe they did not have that collar in size small?  I was indignant.

“Don’t they think small dogs would like to be bad-ass?”  I asked.  “No skulls for Spunky!  Hey, that”ll be the title of my blog post today.”  I always say, waste not, want not.

I paused in writing this midway through the fourth paragraph so we could take a short walk with Spunky and test the new harness.  It certainly does seem more comfortable for him, although it is such a warm day I can’t say it was the most comfortable walk for any of us.  Lots of people were out enjoying the day, which is bright and sunny, just the sort of June day lots of people love.  At one point, we crossed the street to avoid a larger dog who looked very interested in us.

“Does he want to play or is he saying, ‘Oh boy, lunch!'” I asked the dog’s person.  We were not close enough to find out for sure.

We were glad we went for a walk, and even more happy to be back in our house in front of fans with cold drinks.  And while my post may not be such a much, I comfort myself with the reflection that I avoided Wrist to Forehead Sunday, and I think my headline is kind of catchy.

 

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A Pleasant Sunday Run

Posted on June 20, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

However much you may enjoy doing something, well, sometimes it’s just easier not to.  Add to the mix that the thing you enjoy is good for you and suddenly there are MANY reasons not to do it!  And I am beginning to see that all reasons against doing something, however compelling they may seem at the time, ultimately boil down to, it was easier not to.  All this by way of saying, I haven’t run since last Saturday (when I wrote a blog post about it).  I may sometime write a whole post about why we don’t do things that are good for us and that we enjoy, and perhaps an analysis of “it was easier not to” vs. “it seemed like a good idea at the time,” but for today, I will content myself with a run of the mill (see what I did there?) Running Commentary.

I was running with a bottle of water in my hand, because I had a couple of glasses of wine last night and wanted to be sure I stayed hydrated.  I must say I enjoy having a sip of water during a run.  My original plan had been to run away from Lou Ambers Drive and Herkimer College (previously known in this space as HCCC), because on my last run I had gone up that impressive hill.  However, I knew I would want to refill my bottle at the spring.  Oh, just run up the hill again, I told myself.

In general I don’t like to mention that I thought about doing something bad-ass when I ultimately decide not to do it.  Today, though, I err on the side of truth:  I thought about running up that hill but decided not to.  When I got to Brookfield Park (previously known in this space as The Unknown Park), I went into it, up a nice little hill.  We like little hills.  Why kill myself after taking a week and a day off, I reasoned.  This would be a pleasant run and still get me to the spring (Get Me to the Spring On Time, isn’t that a song?).

As I got into the park, I saw another runner up on a big hill on the other side of the athletic field.  I’ve run up there once before; it’s steep.  I’ll do it again, but not today.  The other runner was wearing a shirt the same color as mine, safety green, but he was not close enough for me to remark that we were twins.  A dog was with him and came a little towards me, looking interested.  I do like to pet a dog but it seemed we were not going to cross paths.  The other runner yelled to his dog to come.  I looked away and kept running, so as not to entice the animal.  Sometimes you just don’t get to pet a dog.

I ran on into the park, over the little bridge to the picnic area and down the path into the woods.  It is a very pleasant run, with the brook babbling on one side and a hill with trees rising up on the other.  When I was younger, I would have wanted to climb up to the ridge.  I’d still like to do that sometime, but today I was running.  Soon the ground sloped up again and I was coming out onto the back road to the college.

By judicious sipping, I made my water last till a block or so before the spring.  How I love real spring water.  I pretty much ran directly home from there, going past the house twice to make my run last 35 minutes, the same amount of time as my last run.  For the first time since last June, a nice little dog walked my cool-down with me.  My legs felt pretty terrific.  I realize I can’t go all week without running, but there is no point in worrying about what is past.  All I can do is try to do better next week.  Maybe I can write better blog posts as well.

 

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Nice Stroll on Non-Sequitur Thursday

Posted on June 17, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

How about a nice Pedestrian Post?  One thing I really looked forward to when we decided to adopt Spunky was walking a dog.  I LOVE to walk a dog.

Unfortunately, so far our walks have not been that exciting.  One reason is that they are short walks.  Spunky is just a little guy.  I guess those short legs get tired in a hurry.  Oh, I should perhaps mention, I have been calling him a Shih Tzu, but when Steven looked over the paperwork from the veterinarian, it said Spunky is a Pekapoo.  I think I have said that I don’t really know from breeds.

Be that as it may, I got home from work and Spunky was clearly ready to go out.  I have to understand that; I can’t hold my pee nearly as long as dogs do.  I grabbed my crazy old lady hat (sunny day), Spunky’s leash, a poop bag and my house key (must be secure), and we set out.

At the beginning of a walk, Spunky trots along eagerly.  We would make good time if he didn’t want to stop and sniff so often.  Then again, that is what dogs do  (heehee, I said “dog do”).   We made it to the corner, turned right, and started down Church Street.  Two dachshunds were in the yard at the next corner.  The bigger one ran over as we approached.  The man watching them said he just wanted to play.  He and Spunky sniffed each other (um, the dog, not that man).  After a while, his person ordered him into the house.  He went reluctantly.

The other dachshund, a smaller, long-haired dog, kept his distance.  We had to approach him as we continued our walk.  First he seemed inclined to give us a wide berth, then he started barking vigorously. The man told him to stop and go in the house.  The first dog came running over to join the fun.  I pulled Spunky along and we were soon beyond inciting the other pooches.

This was about the time Spunky slowed down.  I wonder if I should get one of those doggy strollers, so that when he gets tired he can ride for a while.  For now I’m just walking a little slower and encouraging my dog to keep going till we get home.  Today I was just as happy to have a short walk.  It was getting quite warm for me out in the bright sun.  Additionally, even though I had my wide-brimmed hat, I had neglected to wear my prescription sunglasses.  But our walk wasn’t about me.  It was about our nice poocher.

Incidentally, the reason my blog post today is a mere Pedestrian Post written on the fly is that today on breaks at work, I wrote more on my banana play.  I can’t feel too proud of myself about that, because it isn’t going very well.  I’ll have a few good lines, a dramatic situation, some believable character interaction… but is it going anywhere?  It is not the sort of play that can go nowhere (Bananas for Godot?).

But, as I often say, no matter.  It is Non-Sequitur Thursday, and this is my post. If I can only think of a punchy headline, all is not lost.  If my headline is, well, more paunchy, yet it will have to do.  You can let me know what you think of it, if you are so inclined.  In the meantime, I hope to see you on Lame Post Friday.

 

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We Have a Dog!

Posted on June 13, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

His name is Spunky and he is a ten year old Shih Tzu who needed a home.  We are a middle-aged couple who needed a dog.  What could be better?

This morning we went down to The Velvet Dog to pick him up.  They are not open on Sundays, but the fellow that was fostering him agreed to meet us there.  I think Spunky remembered us from when we met him before.  He seemed quite content to have me pick him up and carry him to the car.  He was less sanguine when it became clear that I was going to close the door and take him away.  Poor guy was shaking as we drove home, which was fortunately not far.

Once in the house, he became interested in walking around and exploring.  I called my sister Cheryl to let her know we would not make it to church, and while I was on the phone with her, Spunky stood and looked at the door.  I was able to stay on the phone while I got the leash on him and opened the door, but it soon became clear he wanted to go for a walk.  I got off the phone, got Steve and a poop bag, and off we went.

Oh now nice to walk a dog again!  Perhaps it is not as good exercise, due to stopping and letting the pooch sniff almost every pole, tree and patch of grass that interests, but I maintain it is better for your soul.  We went for a second walk later, after I had written a few postcards and enveloped a few letters.  I say, Yay!

Despite the two walks, this is not a Pedestrian Post.  It is a short Wrist to Forehead Sunday post to let you know that we have a dog and are happy about it.  Not a Wrist to Forehead situation, you may say, and I must agree.  However, it is Sunday. My intention is to make a short post and get back to enjoying it.  I hope you are having a lovely day.

 

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Not a Bad Run, But Perhaps Bad-ass

Posted on June 12, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

Did you ever make up your mind to something bad-ass then partway to actually doing it, realize you are perhaps not quite bad-ass enough to do it.  There I was, running down German Street in Herkimer, NY, writing my blog post in my head about how I ran up to Herkimer College the front way (a rather impressive hill, for new readers, if any), and I thought Hmmmm…..

I did not run last weekend due to, oh never mind why, just don’t judge.  Then I only ran on, what was it, Monday?  Too lazy to reach for my running journal or see if I posted a Running Commentary about it (and I have menopausal brain fog and purely cannot remember) (oh yes, I remember now it was Monday. Take that menopause!).

Well, I was not going to write a blog post about how I did NOT run up that hill, so up that hill I went.  It really wasn’t too bad.  Following advice I got many years ago, I just looked at my feet and shuffled up that hill.  I did look up a few times, glancing both ahead and behind me.  Not too far up ahead, enough to feel proud of behind.  This was going to be no problem, or at least a not insurmountable problem.

One reason I had wanted to run up the hill was that earlier in the week a friend had posted a picture of the view on Facebook.  I wanted to see that view again myself.  Accordingly, I looked to the right as I got to the top of the hill.  Hmmm… a bit misty in the distance.  No matter, it was pretty enough and I can run that hill again.

I failed to mention my running attire earlier, but I was in shorts and a t-shirt.  I had wondered if that was quite right since it has been cool for June these last few days.  My hands were feeling pretty cold.  One thing that did not help was I was carrying a small bottle of water in one of them.  You see I was at a very fun party last night and was a trifle, shall we say, dehydrated this morning (again, don’t judge).  I was sipping water as I ran and planned to refill my bottle at the spring on the way back down.  Now I looked at the Herkimer College sign that flashed the date, time and temperature.  45 degrees.  That is my cut-off temperature for shorts and short sleeves, so I should be good.

I ran down the back way, which is a quiet, woodsy road.  Of course the main roads were pretty quiet at the time I was running.  I do love getting up and getting right on the road when possible.  I finished my water about four or five minutes before I passed the spring again.

I had run 31 minutes the weekend before last and 24 on Monday.  I thought it was not unreasonable to shoot for 33 today and I saw I was handily going to make that.  I was at 26 minutes when I got to the spring.  I stopped my watch while I refilled. Straight home would give me 33 minutes, or perhaps a bit more.  No matter.  I was bad-ass.  My legs felt pretty good, although they would not have minded stopping.  My breathing was a bit labored, but I felt I was getting sufficient oxygen.

On Church Street I encountered two neighborhood dogs and their owner.  I quickly ran to them.  For one reason, as regular readers know, I love to pet dogs.  For another I wanted to tell their person about our pending pooch.  I knew she would be pleased.  She said she hoped she would be out sometime when we are walking him.  No doubt we will encounter one another.

I had stopped my watch again while I petted and chatted. Now I turned it back on again.  I was a mere block away from my house, so I felt a little silly doing so, but why not run the last bit?  I ran past the house to make my total 35 minutes.  I went into the house for a sweatshirt before my cool-down walk, which felt wonderful (both the sweatshirt and the walk).  I have big plans to run tomorrow.  Up that hill again?  Up a different hill?  Maybe just a long run.  My plan is definitely to run!  Then later I will walk our new dog.  I’ll probably write a blog post about it.

 

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Post on the Pending Pooch

Posted on June 10, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

Oh dear, I’m afraid this may become Non-Sequitur Thursday after all, because all I can come up with so far is the headline.  Still, it would be rude not to explain.  Kind of like those people on Facebook who make posts like, “What a big decision to make!” or “I may have some big news to share” or… you know.  It drives everybody nuts, but apparently the temptation to do so is almost overwhelming.

However, this is not Facebook but my own blog and although I maintain I have a perfect right to pair what title and post I please, I will explain.

Regular readers may remember that Steven and I lost our beloved schnoodle Tabby last June.  We have greatly missed having a dog in the house.  We knew we would eventually get another pooch.  Of course there will never be another Tabby (I feel sad all over again just thinking about her), but many dogs need love and a home, and we could surely benefit from the love and companionship of a dog.

Steven suggested we look for a dog in May, after Leading Ladies (remember, that play I directed at Ilion Little Theatre?).  Well, May came and went, and we just did not make it over to the Herkimer County Humane Society (except for their garage sale, where I bought some fun stuff.  Did I write a blog post about that?).  We did not make it to their Mutt Strut either, although we had planned to. Was it ever going to be dog o’clock for us?

Then The Velvet Dog, where we used to bring Tabby to be groomed, posted a picture of a quite adorable Shih Tzu who needed a home because his owner had died.  Spunky was ten years old, older than we had envisioned.  We would hope to have more years with our new dog than we had with Tabby.  Still, he needed a home!  And many people are unwilling to adopt a ten year old dog for the same reason which made us hesitate.

After asking many questions about Spunky via Facebook, Steven made arrangements to go to The Velvet Dog Wednesday morning to meet him.  I couldn’t wait till lunch time to call Steven and see how it went (but I DID wait, I was not on my cell phone during work hours, just in case any bosses read this blog) (oh who am I kidding?  My boss probably doesn’t even know I write a blog!).  I confess I would not have been disappointed to find out Spunky was already at our house.  However, Steven rarely behaves in a thoroughly reckless fashion.  He liked Spunky but wanted me to meet him too.

Accordingly, I met Steven at The Velvet Dog after work yesterday to become acquainted with Spunky.  What a cute little dog he is!  He is not nearly as rambunctious and friendly as Tabby was, but he allowed me to hold and pet him.  He is still very sad and confused.  When I set him down, he kept going to the door and looking out, presumably wondering why his person hadn’t come to get him.  That made me very sad for him.

Steven suggested we pick him up on Sunday.  We both have the day off so can spend a good amount of time with him before leaving him to go to work on Monday.  I am SO looking forward to having a dog again!  I will probably write a lot of blog posts about him.

 

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Is It Dog O’clock?

Posted on May 16, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

I am sitting in my living room watching Best in Show, one of the Christopher Guest mockumentaries (well, I expected my computer to tell me that’s not a word), and I am reminded that Steven and I said we were going to get a new dog after we were done with Leading Ladies.  As I earlier posted on Facebook that post-play letdown has set it in, I guess now’s the time.

Readers may remember that last June we lost our beloved schnoodle Tabby to cancer.  It was sudden and tragic.  We’re still very sad about it.  Of course we are not replacing Tabby.  There will never be another Tabby.  But we miss having a dog, and there are a lot of dogs out there who need a loving home.

We plan to start at Herkimer County Humane Society.  I signed up to volunteer there last June but never followed up.  In my defense, I had to fill out an application and wait for the board to approve me.  At the same time this was happening, I got involved with the play Roxy at Ilion Little Theatre and I was training to run the Boilermaker.   In short, I been busy.

Now my schedule has settled down somewhat, and I am ready to walk a dog.  One good thing about that is, if I go to volunteer at the Humane Society, that will be something good to write blog posts about.  Won’t that be nice after All Leading Ladies All The Time and the lame foolishness that has followed?

In the meantime, it is Wrist to Forehead Sunday.  Nobody reasonable was expecting an excellent blog post today.  And Steven wants to watch another Christopher Guest movie.

 

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Miracle Puppies in Meyers Park

Posted on September 28, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

How about if Sunday Stroll replaces Wrist to Forehead Sunday?  For one reason, exercise is a proven anti-depressant, as is spending time with loved ones.  After returning from a nice walk with my nice husband, I feel decidedly less down.

We had planned to go for a walk anyways, since it is a lovely day and Steven has the day off (yay!).  I decided to write a Pedestrian Post.  After all, waste not, want not.

It was cold in our house this morning, so we had on long pants and long sleeves.  However, with the bright sun we wondered if we even needed jackets.  We did not.  I protected myself with my crazy old lady hat and prescription sunglasses.  I soon found that it was more comfortable in the shade.  Shorts and short sleeves would have been all right, too.  No matter.  We were out moving our legs and we intended to enjoy it.

We headed toward Meyers Park, where we saw three very cute little dogs enjoying a walk with their person.  I asked if we could pet them.

“Sure,” the guy said.  “They won’t harm you, they might jump up on you.”  That was OK with me.  As regular readers know, I no longer have a nice dog to jump up on me every day. I miss it.  The man told us they were all Jack Russells and two of the dogs were the offspring of the third.  One could not walk when he was born.  You wouldn’t know it now!  The other had been born dead but came back to life.

“So they’re miracle puppies,” I said, delighted to make their acquaintance.  He said he also had a German shepherd that had been abused.  I’m always glad to hear about a happily rescued dog.

We walked on to Main Street and down past a few businesses.  I saw new two second-hand shops I mean to check out when they are open.  Pete’s Tavern was open.  I said we could go in and get a beer, but we continued our walk instead.

The walk was less than a half hour, and we thoroughly enjoyed it.  Now I shall get back to enjoying my Sunday.  I hope you are doing the same.

 

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