Tag Archives: dogs

I Held My Shoulders Still While I Typed

Posted on February 23, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

People who complain about their aches and pains all the time are tiresome. Then again, it is Wrist to Forehead Sunday. I just got back from a nice walk with my beloved husband and dog so had thought to offer a Pedestrian Post. We’ll see how it goes.

We got some blessed relief from the frigid temperatures today with highs reaching 30. I know that is still below freezing, but it didn’t feel freezing. As these temperatures had been predicted earlier in the week, I had been looking forward to a walk the past three days (since Wednesday, the last day a walk was miraculously possible). That was before the pain, the pain.

I am susceptible to muscle spasms, also known as a crick in the neck (no, really, that is what a physician’s assistant told me once). For the past couple of days I have had an alarming stiffness in my neck and shoulders. It hurts to move! It hurts to lie still! The only thing that doesn’t seem to hurt is complaining about it.

Nevertheless, dogs like to go for walks. I was determined that at some point Tabby would get one. The other thing I was determined on was that Steven would not have to shovel the driveway alone. It snowed like the proverbial sonofabitch yesterday. We got out prior to 7 a.m. and had at it. I particularly enjoyed looking down the road at the bare trees against the white-grey sky. I felt somewhat badass as well. Middle age ain’t for sissies, and neither is living through a central New York winter.

Steven worked from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. When he returned home he heated us up some coffee for us, and I whined and cried about my painful shoulders. He said it was warm enough to be getting a little messy outside. Perhaps a walk was not the best idea. I couldn’t wimp out, though. It is supposed to get frigid again starting tomorrow. We must carpe diem, as the coffee cup says (I actually don’t have a coffee cup that says that).

Steven nicely agreed to accompany us. Tabby was beyond excited as he changed clothes and we got ready. We only took a two block jaunt, but it was very enjoyable. The most interesting aspect of it was the irregular patterns of cleared sidewalks. Fortunately, we stayed on quiet streets so could go out into the road in relative safety.

When we returned home my only chore before the relaxing part of the day was to make my blog post. So this is it. I didn’t spend too much time complaining, did I?

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What Was the Sidewalk Plow Thinking?

Posted on February 12, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

I have been sadly remiss in taking my little dog, Tabby for a walk lately. In my defense, it has been cold, cold, cold. I do not want a frostbitten pooch. Then again, dogs like to go for walks. It is not too much to ask to take your dog for a walk.

So when I got home from work today, I grabbed the leash and a couple of poop bags (I always carry a spare) and off we went.

I don’t know if I mentioned the big heap of snow that has been dumped on us lately. I’m too lazy to go back and check, although I’m pretty sure I wrote about the sad saga of getting the Stratus stuck in the end of the driveway. More snow has fallen since that day. We would be in big trouble if it was not for a couple of VERY NICE neighbors with snowblowers.

The sidewalk plow has been busy too, so I thought perhaps a walk was eligible. The temperature was not even too bad, sunny and 20s. Of course the shadows were fairly long when we went out, around 4 p.m., but days are lasting longer. I felt pretty OK about taking a walk, till we ran into a snowbank in the middle of the sidewalk.

That was when I discovered that the sidewalk plow had not been everywhere. No matter, Tabby always likes to cross the street about there anyways. It wasn’t really much of a snowbank either. We were both able to clamber over it. Across the street we discovered another place the sidewalk plow had not been, but some nice resident had at least cleared a shovel-width. That is what I try to get in front of my own house, at least as a minimum.

Further up, it seemed a narrower shovel had been used. Then no shovel at all. We persevered through a foot-trodden path till we were on German Street. This was better. Tabby found lots of places to sniff and was soon the snow-faced dog she often becomes on winter walks. We could not turn down Prospect Street due to snowbanks, but Main Street was OK. For a while.

Well, I won’t continue the saga of “here it was plowed, here it was snow.” You get the picture (it would be nice if I posted a few pictures, wouldn’t it? Must upgrade my own technology). Tabby enjoyed the walk, and I certainly needed the exercise. I mean to start running again soon. I’ll probably write a blog post about it when I do.

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In My Defense, It’s Cold!

Posted on February 1, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

Here’s a new feature: Saturday Misadventures. It is for those numerous Saturdays when I do not have Saturday Running Commentary but instead type down a few paragraphs of what I did instead of write a good blog post.

When we got up this morning it was one degree out according to our thermostat. I don’t know where it gets this information; the thermostat came with the new furnace. I would get one of those jobs with the big numbers to hang on the garage like my parents have, but I don’t have a window handy for looking out at the garage. If I’m going to open the door anyways, what do I need a thermometer for?

Come to think of it, I did open the door, to get the newspaper (LOVE my newspaper deliverers!). Yikes! I made sure to replace the doodads under our door meant to keep the draft out (with indifferent success). Still, it was above zero. What could I possibly complain about? Got you there: I am not complaining, I am OBSERVING!

I wrote some postcards, but a walk to the post office was clearly ineligible. I know my dog would eagerly jump and bark if I picked up the leash, but I do not want a frostbitten little pooch. I’ve been limiting her outdoor activity to short business meetings in the back yard.

Still, I could not stay home under the blankets as was my inclination. I had to put air in one tire and I had to gas up. And I had to leave my vehicle in the street, because I leave for the theatre after Steven gets home tonight. I’m in a play, remember (see yesterday’s post, among others). As the temperature rose to 2 degrees, my hopes rose proportionately.

As it turns out, for no good reason. I did not do anything blogworthy. And my brain is too frozen to remember any of the blogworthy things I did previously but have not written about yet. I feel properly ashamed of myself, but I must not repine. I have a show to put on later.

Hope to see you on Wrist to Forehead Sunday.

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Maybe I Shoulda Wussed

Posted on January 29, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

I know “shoulda” is not a word. For that matter, neither is “wussed.” What do you people want from me? I’m just a silly blogger who is also in a play. I thought to myself after work, “Don’t have a Wuss-out Wednesday. Take your dog for a walk and write about that.” Yes, sometimes I talk to myself as if I was a separate person. It works for me.

Tabby was beyond excited when I picked up her harness and she realized we were going for a walk. We have not been out in days, because it has been too cold. Yesterday it was snowing as well. It didn’t snow much, so you local readers who are currently saying, “Waaaait a minute!” perhaps missed it. It happened to snow in the brief window of opportunity I had to decide to walk. Also, I’ve been fighting some bugaboo. Why walk in the cold and aggravate a sinus headache?

Today was supposed to be marginally warmer than previous days. High of 21, I think. Well, 21 is in the 20s. I can walk my dog in the 20s. I can even go running in the 20s, but I’ll save that for a day I don’t have rehearsal. I forgot my scarf but had coat, hat, mittens. I still haven’t located Tabby’s coat, but she has her natural fur coat. We wouldn’t take a long walk.

I hadn’t gotten to the end of the driveway when I was questioning the wisdom of walking at all. Ice, ice, ice. Well, perhaps it was just the driveway. After all, we have dripping eaves over the driveway. The sidewalks would be better. Tabby pulled me across the street. Either side was fine with me. The sidewalk plow had done its work.

So intent was I on my walking plan that I had not bothered to change out of my steel-toed work shoes. I soon made the observation that “non-slip soles” must refer to factory floors not icy sidewalks. Yikes! I walked slowly. Tabby was eagerly trotting but nicely moderated her pace to accommodate me. When she stopped to sniff we were both happy.

I have to confess the walk was not the most pleasant I have taken. I did observe the beautifully clear blue sky when Tabby was sniffing once but other than that I mostly kept my eyes on the sidewalk watching for glare ice and poop left behind by inconsiderate dog owners (at least I think it was dog poop; I shall not indulge in further speculation). Soon I realized my face was quite cold. Well, a scarf does not always fix that, I comforted myself. Then again, the scarf would have kept the wind off the back of my neck. However I refused to repine but concentrated on remaining upright.

It was a struggle. When we went through Meyers Park I gave up on the path and plowed through the snow alongside. Many footprints showed I was not the first to do so. It was a great deal more effort, but I felt safer. Tabby stayed on the path, where she found herself once modifying her pace to accommodate me. After the park I saw a lovely stretch of bare sidewalk and almost wiped out getting to it.

After several other scares we made it home. I confess, there were times when only Tabby’s pulling on the leash kept me upright. Thank goodness I don’t have a smaller dog; we may have both gone flying. So now I am left with the question: was this any better than a post of me dithering about how I can’t write a post when I’m in a play? It doesn’t matter. This is today’s post. Now I must get ready for rehearsal.

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My Face Didn’t Crack

Posted on January 16, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

I thought instead of Non-Sequitur Thursday I could do a Pedestrian Post. For one reason, I had not walked my beloved dog Tabby all week because of the frigid temperatures. I know I do a lot of Pedestrian Posts, but I was hoping an update on Herkimer in mid-January would be acceptable.

The weather cooperated. It was warmer and sunny. I find it ironic that I say warmer rather than warm, because it was not warm. It was less cold. So you see, warmer can mean both more warm and less warm. Just a little digression on the vagaries of the English language.

Tabby was very happy to see me when I got home, as usual. I tried not to let her catch me changing my shoes, because she always takes that as a sign that a walk is imminent. Unfortunately, she found me. OK, I wasn’t very well hidden. I wanted to get on with things. I managed to get her into her harness and we set out.

My thermostat in the house said it was 26 degrees outside. That sounded SO much better than teens and single digits. It wasn’t till we had started walking that I remembered that it is still below freezing. No matter. The sun was shining. We could rock this.

Tabby spent the first two blocks or so pulling me along at a rapid pace. I was pleased to see the sidewalk plow had been by. It still leaves some snow on the sidewalk, which is perfectly OK with me. It takes more effort to walk through snow. I can burn more calories. I soon realized why my legs have been feeling quite awful these last couple of days. It is because I need to walk as much as Tabby does. I crunched along as happily as she.

Soon she began stopping to sniff. It takes her longer to sniff in the winter, I think because the snow obstructs her sense of smell. I looked around the neighborhood as she sniffed. It looked a little boring with no Christmas decorations, but the sunshine cheered things up somewhat.

I saw a sign advertising an apartment for rent. $450 a month plus utilities. Only the plus sign was kind of screwy, so I thought at first it said $450 a month divided by utilities. Or perhaps it was a really awkward way of saying you split the utilities. These are the things I think about when I walk.

Despite her early enthusiasm, Tabby only wanted to go for a short walk. That was OK with me. I had neglected to put on a scarf and as I observed earlier, 26 degrees is still below freezing. You know that expression, “If she smiled her face will crack”? I began to feel that way.

Still, I felt elated that we had at last walked. I hope for warmer temperatures soon so that we may take longer excursions. Perhaps if we walk longer, something blogworthy will happen.

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A Little Fresh Air, a Little Sunshine, a Little Lame Post

Posted on January 10, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

Well, it is Lame Post Friday, but it is a false Friday for me, because I work tomorrow, which I don’t usually (don’t hate). However, I am feeling kind of lame. I will attempt a Pedestrian Post about a walk I took with my schnoodle, Tabby this afternoon.

It was something of a big deal to me to get the walk in, because we have not taken our usual walks this week. The reason for this is that it has been horribly cold in the Mohawk Valley. Monday was not only cold, it was snowing in a most ferocious manner (I believe the proper expression is “like a sonofabitch”) (which is actually one of my favorite expressions, but I digress). It was actually kind of OK with me to not walk, as I had rehearsal every night (actually, Monday’s was cancelled due to the weather, but a walk was clearly ineligible that day).

Today I had no rehearsal and it was supposed to be in the mid to upper 20s. As I often observe, perspective is everything. 20 degrees looks a whole lot warmer going up to it than it looked going down to it (kind of like 145 pound in opposite directions, but let’s not go there tonight). Work was warmer, so I felt confident.

As I left work I felt less confident. When I had gotten Tabby into her harness and got out the door, I was even less sanguine. However, I persevered, and we set off. Tabby was extremely happy to be going and pulled me down the sidewalk. I plowed through the snow behind her and wondered if I shouldn’t have shoveled the sidewalk in front of my house again. Several people had apparently walked that way, so I thought it was OK for now.

We walked up to German Street and turned toward Prospect. It was certainly cold. I wished I had found Tabby’s coat. Yes, I know, she has a natural fur coat. I think she could have used another layer. She trotted along quite happily, stopping to sniff the usual number of times. A car drove by and a young man yelled something out the window at me. I could not understand a word. Was he yelling at me or the lady who seemed to be waiting to cross the street up ahead? I was going to ask her if she had heard, but she avoided eye contact.

We crossed the street and continued down German. I thought Tabby was shaking a little. Her breed does shake under stress, but she had nothing to be stressed about. I was afraid somebody else would come along and say, “Why are you making your poor little dog stay out in the cold? Can’t you see she’s shaking?” She stopped to sniff a bush, seemingly more intent on that than on the weather. When she was finished, I asked, “You want to go back home?” She immediately pulled me in that direction.

And then turned down Prospect. That was OK; it wouldn’t be a whole lot further to go around this block back home. Two kids were in front of a house playing with a brown Labrador-looking dog on a leash. The dog got away and ran across the street toward us, dragging the leash.

“Good dog, good dog,” I said, hoping that was true. Apparently it was. I grabbed the leash. The little boy ran across the street, all apologetic, and retrieved the dog. She got away again and came back to us. She sniffed Tabby till Tabby got mad and barked. Apparently Tabby is kind of “do as I say, not as I do” about sniffing.

After the boy got his dog back again, Tabby started to run toward home. Luckily for me it was not her top speed. I still had to jog to keep up. This was OK for me, because I have not been running in a while. I realize half a block will not count as going running, but I like to think every little bit helps.

I was glad when our walk was over. I will find Tabby’s coat before we go out in the frigid cold again. Still, it was good to get out. A little fresh air, a little sunshine, and a little bit of something to write a blog post about.

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Christmas for Mohawk Valley Girl

Posted on December 26, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

Hmmm…. after staring at an empty space under “Add New Post” it seems my brain’s Christmas present to me is a big fat case of Writer’s Blank.

It’s not as if I’m asking myself to come up with something brilliant. I’ve been saying all day that my blog post is going to be merely a wish of cheer and goodwill to my readers. How hard could that be? Apparently too. But one thing I have learned: if I put my fingers on the keyboard, words will eventually appear. And if I can keep myself from erasing what appears, eventually I can hit Publish.

It is a grey, gloomy day in Rome, NY, where I am celebrating Christmas with my husband and dog at my parents’ house. It’s almost as if Halloween came for Christmas. How cool is that? I love Halloween! I have taken two short walks with my dog, which have been quite enjoyable. We all opened presents and had a nice Christmas dinner. My mother and I mimosed (sorry if that makes you jealous, but I believe champagne and orange juice are readily available in many areas). I am now enjoying a glass of champagne without orange juice. It is New York Champagne, by the way. Great Western Extra Dry, my favorite.

In short, it has been and is being a wonderful Christmas. I shall now hit Publish and get back to enjoying it. I wish peace and goodwill to all.

By the way, tomorrow will still be Lame Post Friday.

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Mohawk Valley Girl, Canine Rescuer

Posted on December 14, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

So there I was, not many ideas of what to write a blog post about and feeling rather poopy in general, so I decided to take Tabby for a walk. I thought at least it would improve my disposition; walking usually does, especially with Tabby. And I might be able to write a blog post about it. The walk itself was fairly uneventful, till the very end.

Just to set the scene, it was about 4 p.m., the sun soon to go down, the sky white-grey, the air cool. It wasn’t as cold as this morning, luckily, because there was not much wind. It had been warm earlier, so some of the snow had melted to gushy mush on the streets and sidewalk. Wet had seeped in through my sneakers. After a while I felt light, feathery precipitation on my face.

As we were getting back to our house, we saw a little brown and white dog running down the street. He had a collar but no leash and no person in sight. Oh dear! I called to him but got no response. What to do? Call dog control? Do I have their number? Call the cops and ask for dog control’s number? The dog started running down the middle of the street. This was not good.

I put Tabby in the house, pausing to wipe her paws (in case she’d picked up some rock salt on our walk; can’t be too careful), grabbed a few treats, and went back out to find the little guy. He was way down the street. Two cars came along but luckily didn’t hit him. He started back towards me then turned down Church Street. I ran to the corner and after him, being careful not to slip on the slush and land on my tush (hey, that rhymed).

The dog was at least half a block ahead of me. I slowed to a walk so as not to scare him. I tried calling to him and holding out a treat. He was having none of it. He turned down Prospect. I was gaining on him, alternating running and walking as indeed he was. At last I caught up, but he did not seem interested in the treat. I persisted, talking nicely to him and hoping he would decide to like me.

A fellow on a bicycle across the street called to me that there was a car coming up behind me. I couldn’t be bothered with cars. That car could just hit the brakes, couldn’t he? But one can’t count on cars doing these things for cute little dogs. The situation was desperate. I scooped up the pooch. He was not happy about it. I hoped he wouldn’t bite me.

“Help!” I called. “It’s not my dog,” I explained. “He was running down the street and I didn’t want him to get run over. Now I’m scaring him to death!”

The bicycle fellow’s house was nearby. He called me over and went to the door and asked someone inside for a phone. I could feel the poor dog’s heart beating. I didn’t know what to do. Bike guy said he would take the dog in but was afraid his dogs would not like it. I didn’t think I could carry doggy all the way home with him being so upset. Finally I asked could I borrow a leash just to get him home.

“I can bring it back later,” I said. He said why didn’t he just follow me home and get it. Good idea.

The dog was OK once he was on the leash. He trotted along nicely, stopping to sniff things as dogs like to do. As we walked up Bellinger, my new friend said, “We may have found his owner.” A lady at the end of the street seemed to be calling for a dog. He rode ahead to see. It was our lost friend’s person!

“Oh, thank God!” I said as she hurried down the street to scoop him up.

“He got off his leash,” she said. “I’ve had him fifteen years! Thank you!” she added to both of us.

“We’re dog rescuers,” I said to the bicycle guy, handing him his leash. “Thank you!”

We wished each other a Merry Christmas as went our separate ways. Tabby was happy to see me, if a little confused. I realized I was silly running off on my own for a rescue. If I had brought Tabby, that dog probably would have come right to us. After all, boy dogs usually want Tabby to be their girlfriend.

So that was my adventure, complete with happy ending.

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A Rustic Taste

Posted on October 27, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

One of the stops on Steven’s and my adventurous Friday was Rustic Ridge Winery in Burlington Flats, NY. I am, of course, a longtime lover of wine and of wineries, so I was delighted to find another good one.

We had the map of the Cooperstown Beverage Trail. I would like to make all the stops on the trail one day, but since we had other adventures in mind on Friday, I thought one winery would be good. It was not hard to find, 2805 St. Hwy 80. We pulled into the driveway and felt pleased with ourselves for not getting lost or, even more likely, driving right by the place.

Steven right away saw a nice labrador-looking dog out behind the place. I read somewhere that most of the wineries have dogs. They help keep certain pests away from the vineyard. Also, dogs are nice. Steven tried to get the dog to come over and say hello, but he declined. I said he was probably on guard duty.

Inside, the cabin looked, appropriately enough, rustic. Country music was playing. We were the only tasters there at the time. We could have paid $3 for five tastes, but opted to pay $6 and keep the glasses. We like to add to our collection of wine glasses.

For whites we tried the Chardonnay and the Untamed White. Two Chardonnays were available. I chose the one that was not oak aged. I liked it. The Untamed White had a cool label with evil eyes. Rick Bennett, the owner who was doing our tasting, said it was comparable to Pinot Grigio. We liked it but preferred the Chardonnay.

For reds we both tried the ’09 Pinot Noir and the Cabernet Franc. Steven tried the Merlot and I went for the Lemberger ’09. I’m not as familiar with lemberger as I am with merlot, so I thought to try something different. We liked everything we tried but only purchased the Chardonnay, giving us a good reason to return at a later time.

Before making our purchase we browsed the shop for wine accessories and t-shirts. Steven especially liked one that read, “New York is for wine; Napa is for auto parts.” Of course, we’ve had some California wines that we liked perfectly well, but I enjoyed the play on words.

Incidentally, the dog came in while we were tasting and Steven petted him. I was busy taking tasting notes, but on our way out I petted him, too. I’m sure fellow dog lovers will be happy to hear we got to meet the nice dog.

We were very pleased with our stop. I hope to bring some of my wine other tasting buddies with me next time. For more information on Rustic Ridge Winery you can call 607-965-0626. Their website is www.rusticridgewinery.com, and they have a Facebook page.

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Here’s Another Pedestrian Post

Posted on October 26, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

Once again I was not up to running this morning, so no Saturday Running Commentary. I shall begin again again again again soon. I hope before snow flies. In the meantime, I shall offer another Pedestrian Post and hope to not alienate any readers.

Yes, yes, I did have copious Mohawk Valley adventures yesterday about which I hope to write. But you know how I get. I want to write good blog posts about them. I think sometime I will wax philosophical (half-bakedly, of course) on how this is a terrible strategy, because the longer you wait the more the pressure to be good builds. Eventually one can never live up to one’s own expectations. If one ever could.

All this by way of putting down more words, because our walk really wasn’t such a much. I missed the really beautiful part of the day, when it got all sunny this afternoon. That hardly mattered. It was still warm, and I like a cloudy, gloomy day. It suits me.

We had just had an enjoyable outing to the Ilion Farmer’s Market at Clapsaddle Farm on Otsego Street in Ilion, NY. It was folk artist Jim Parker’s 80th birthday, so we went to wish him well. I brought him a scarf I had made. He said it would make him the hit of the coffee shop. Tabby just loves that farmer’s market. When we got home I dropped off my purchases (hot garlic pickles and a dog bone) and we set out.

I admired many Halloween decorations. Little ghosts decorated a bush and porch railing. Miniature skeletons hung from a porch roof. My favorites lately are the skeleton parts that look as if they are coming up out of the ground. I saw one that looked as if it lit up. We’ll have to walk by there after dark and see.

We did not see any other dogs and very few people. I said hello to one lady we walked right by. I’ve said hello to her before. She ignored me then and she ignored me today. I suppose people have a right to be unfriendly if they want, but I couldn’t help thinking to myself, “What did I ever do to you, lady?” I always call females “lady” in my head when I feel offended.

Oh, I know, I mustn’t judge. Perhaps she had a dreadful problem that had nothing to do with me but renders her unable to offer even the barest human courtesies. Perhaps, unbeknownst to me, she is in hideous pain and it is all she can do to remain upright and moving. I should admire her instead of calling her “lady” in my head in that disparaging fashion.

In any case, it was an enjoyable walk. Now Tabby and I await Steven’s return from work. The nicest thing that has happened to me all day was when I remembered he comes home at six and not six-thirty.

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