Tag Archives: Frankfort NY

But for Some, Coffee IS Happiness

On the brighter side, I have not made an early morning blog post in a while, have I?  As usual, I am too lazy to go back and check.  Yesterday was a true blogger’s sick day, made hideous by a migraine.  I left work and sought my bed only to find sleep elusive and pain pervasive.  Eventually it went away, leaving me a limp, fairly brainless rag.  Perfect conditions for a Non-Sequitur Thursday post made on Friday morning.  Ooh, that’s right, it is Friday.  We like Friday.

Actually not yet, but I am on my way there, I hope.

In fact, I have not yet had my first cup of coffee, but I think the maker is done making its noises.  Ah, yes that first hot sip…

Random picture for you to enjoy while I sip.

That picture caught my eye because of the yellow flower, but now I see it also includes one of the fingerless gloves I purchased from Herkimer Handknits last summer at Brookwood Market. (what, “fingerless” and “Brookwood” are not words?  My Chromebook underlined them in red.  Also “Herkimer Handknits.  What’s that all about?).  The picture was taken at Fratello’s Pizzeria in Frankfort.  So now I have given small shout-outs to three local businesses.  Brookwood Market has not opened yet for the summer, but Fratello’s is, of course, year round, and you can find Herkimer Handknits on Facebook.

Where was I?  Nowhere in particular, I suppose, but did I not say this was a Non-Sequitur Thursday post? And I am over 250 words.  Score!  Back to my hot beverage, and I hope you found this at least mildly entertaining.

I comfort myself with the thought.

Even coffee cannot make everyone happy.  It can be a difficult world, but I feel it is worth the effort.

 

This Blog Post Is Nothing to Howl About

I have the dreaded Type It In Backspace It Out Disease (or should that be the type-it-in-backspace-it-out disease?  Discuss amongst yourselves) (and my computer seems to think “amongst” is not a word.  Go figure).  Where was I?  Ah yes, Lame Post Friday.  Once again it is actually Friday as I make my Lame Post Friday post.  If I can keep from backspacing it out and saying to hell with it.

Ah-ooooooh!

I personally have not howled on a Friday in a long time.  A quiet glass of wine is more my speed these days.  I am currently enjoying one, by the way.

Wine. It isn’t just for Fridays any more.

I looked in my Media Library for a picture of me enjoying a glass of wine and found this one.  It was from a Sunday last summer.  My friend Kim and I had gone to Brookwood Market in Herkimer, NY, where I purchased fingerless gloves from Herkimer Handknits and we both purchased bouquets from another vendor whose name escapes me. We adjourned to Fratello’s Pizzeria in Frankfort, where we put our bouquets in water and had some wine and food.  I will be happy when Broodwood Market opens again this year (preview of coming attractions).

A different drink.

I share this picture to remind myself to get to work polishing the script for our next murder mystery, Deadly Night Life,  to be presented at Salisbury Grange April 27 (another preview of coming attractions).  This is a shot from Shooting at the Grange, which we presented last April.

So I have rattled on for over 250 words.  Regular readers know I consider that respectable. Will I get to work on that murder mystery? Will I have more wine?  A little uncertainty adds interest to my evening.

 

Too Tired to Post on Scattered Saturday!

Well, I broke my streak of days in a row posting by neglecting to post anything yesterday.  In my defense, I have no defense.  These things happen, and we must make the best of them.  I took a nice long walk yesterday, ending up at the End Zone pub in Herkimer, NY, one of my favorite watering holes.  I confess to enjoying a daytime libation on a Saturday.  Anyways, I wasn’t driving.  I did not take any pictures, but perhaps I have one in my Media Library.

Here’s one!

This, unfortunately, was not the bartender yesterday.  It is Tino, son of the owner and somebody I am always happy to see, though, so I felt free to share the picture again.  My friend Kim joined me at the End Zone.  After she enjoyed a glass of Moscato, we went to a wine tasting at Valley Wine and Liquor.  Ooh, I think I took a picture of the pourer on my phone.

She was nice!

Her name was Leigh, and she was pouring all sweet wines, so Kim was happy.  I personally prefer dry wines.  We were especially taken with some carrots she had as decorations. She laughed and said for things she had picked up at the dollar store, they had gotten more attention than the wines.

I must get to the dollar store, although I have far too many decorations in my house as it is.

After the wine tasting, we went to Heelpath Brewing in Frankfort, NY (was it a Freudian typo that I first put “Hellpath”?  My obsession with Halloween and horror!).  It was such a pretty, sunny day, I wanted to sit in a place with lots of windows to look out.

Cheers, Kim!

This is a picture from a different visit, but we sat in the same seats.  We had a very fun afternoon, and I am only sorry I did not write about it yesterday.  But I think you for tuning in today!

 

More Phil at Fratello’s!

I think it has been a while since I blogged about a visit to Fratello’s Pizzeria in Frankfort, NY, one of my favorite places to go for music, food and company.   As a matter of fact, I had not intended to go last night.  My stomach has been bothering me, I’ve been in a poopy mood, I have chores to do at home, etc etc, blah blah woof woof.  However, when I saw that Phil Arcuri was playing, I wavered.  Then I drove home through a snow squall and thought, “Oh no, staying home.”  Once home, I did a couple of chores and noticed it had stopped snowing.  A sign?  Did I deserve a reward for doing a few things?  I texted my friend Kathy and she said she would join me.  I was going to hear Phil!

Oh dear, I think this was Christmastime.

This is a picture of Phil from my Media Library  the only ones I took last night were a couple of blurry ones from my phone.  Why does my phone take such lousy pictures?  Probably operator error, because it doesn’t always.

I guess this one is a little blurry, too.

Phil was happy to see us.  I am a regular fan of his.  He has many regular fans, of course.  As I always mention, he is a great musician and obviously takes such joy in performing, it is a pleasure to watch and listen.  When he sang “Margaritaville,” I said it was my fault during the first chorus (you know:  “Some people claim that there’s a woman to blame, but I know, it’s my own fault”).  He ended the the song with, “It’s Cynthia’s fault.”

When I got up to use the ladies room, I danced my way there, much to the amusement of everybody.  How could I help it when he was playing, “Brown-Eyed Girl”?  When we left, I danced my way out.  I usually do that.  I told Kathy is it kind of expected of me.

We both had a great time and were glad we went.  There are, of course, many chores still waiting for me at home.  But I think music and friends are more important.

 

It Is Not a Headache to Find Mohawk Valley Adventures

Thursday turned into a real Blogger’s Sick Day as I left work with a dreadful migraine.  And then I had to deal with some stuff I did not want to deal with, with a headache or at all.  Oh dear, that sounded mysterious since I do not intend to explain.  Regular readers know I consider explanations tiresome.  Never mind. Suffice it to say (I love that expression, “suffice it to say”), I dealt with stuff, competently or otherwise, continued to deal with stuff Friday afternoon, and it is now Saturday morning when I hope to make my Lame Post Friday Post.

Full disclosure:  I have another headache.  However, it is not a migraine, and I have reasonable hopes it will go away, if not with coffee, perhaps with food and an OTC pain reliever.  Enough about me; on with the post.  Which may also be about me, but you will have that with a personal blog.

I don’t usually whine when I wine.

This is a shot from a wine tasting at Valley Wine and Liquor in Herkimer, NY.  It was Bully Hill, a New York State wine, obviously something near and dear to my heart.  There is a tasting today of Menage a Trois wines, another favorite.  I thought a picture of local interest and a preview of coming attractions would be a nice change form my beloved monster pictures.

Fun bartender at a fun bar.

Here is Tino, one of my favorite bartenders at the End Zone Pub, also in Herkimer.  I was there last night (not long enough to be the source of this morning’s headache, I don’t think, unless my capacity has gone WAY down in just the last few months) (SAY IT AIN’T SO!!!).  It is easy walking distance from my house, which is nice.  It also tends to get a nice clientele.  I had a great conversation with some folks I just met.  So there is another shout-out to a local business.

They were nice!

Speaking of nice people I just met, this picture was right there when I returned to my Media Library.  This was a couple who sat next to me at the bar on a busy night at Fratello’s Pizzeria in Frankfort.  The husband said, “We’ll be your new acquaintances.”  We had a lovely visit.  I gave the wife a piece of my garlic bread with mozzarella.  The husband gave me one of his bucket of beers.  We enjoyed the music of Tom Maneen.

Well, this has turned out to be not such a lame post after all.  I wonder if I ought to bill it as a Scattered Saturday instead.  In any case, over 400 words and three pictures, I call it a post.  Thank you for tuning in.

 

Music, Food and Friendship

When I picked up my Chromebook to make my Wednesday blog post early Thursday morning, my internet suddenly and mysteriously vanished.  Long story short, the problem was solved last night (Friday), I hope, and here I am  ten finger typing on my couch Saturday morning, no coffee yet, surprisingly enough.

What I had meant to blog about two days ago was a trip to Fratello’s Pizzeria in Frankfort, NY for music, food and good company.  My friend Kathy texted me to see if I was going out.  I had wanted to but felt undecided about it.  Her text decided me and soon we were sitting at the bar, waiting for the music of Max Scialdone.

A little blurry, but it will have to do.

I took my usual photo with my phone to post on Facebook, encouraging others to join us.  I do that almost every time, and nobody has ever accepted my invitation. However, some of my Facebook friends like to know I am out enjoying local music.

I ordered a steak and cheese wrap.  Cabernet Sauvignon went well with it.  Kathy drank beer but was not hungry.  She was there for the music and the company.  We had a nice visit.

It really does say Max Scialdone.

A couple other patrons remarked about Max’s name in lights. I had noticed the sign unlit when we walked in.  I tried to get a picture of it with my Tablet.  Alas, it did not turn out well, but I figured I could just tell my blog readers that it said Max Schialdone.  I will try to get a better picture at a future time.

Kathy and I were both glad we had gone out.  No doubt we will do so again.

 

My Blogging Aspirations Continue

Here is one problem I have with going back to being a daily blogger:  lately I do not do enough blog-worthy things.  When I occasionally do something, I neglect to blog about it.  For example, last Wednesday I went to Fratello’s Pizzeria in Frankfort, NY with my friend Kathy and enjoyed the music of Max Scialdone along with some good food.  I not only did not write a blog post about it, I did not take any pictures for future blogging purposes.  I did not even take the usual picture with my phone which I immediately post on Facebook and invite others to come out.

Christmas decorations were still up.

I looked in my Media Library for a picture of Max Scialdone but was unsuccessful.  However, I was able to find this picture of Fratello’s.  Those same nutcrackers were there last Wednesday. I will just mention that I am still learning how to navigate my Media Library on this Chromebook.  It is quite a learning curve for me.  But what a joy to ten-finger type while lounged on my couch.

Frankentree is bigger these days.

This is a shot from 2018.  I wanted one of snow, because winter has returned to the Mohawk Valley with a winter storm (I guess; I don’t know from meteorological designations) yesterday evening.  I will need to do some shoveling today.  I hope I can find my shovel.  I wonder how interesting I can make a blog post about my old creaky body trying to clear my driveway and sidewalk.  I imagine it will be at least as interesting as me whining about how I am not blogging and have little to blog about anyways.  As always, I hope you will stay tuned.

I Say More Wuss-Out Than Wayback

Well, here we go again with me going days in a row without making a blog post.  I do not even know if I will finish this one today.  I have plans to go to Fratello’s Pizzeria in Frankfort NY with a friend for food and music.  I can’t even say that is a preview of coming attractions, because how often have I said I was going to make a blog post about something then did not.  I did not make that a question, because I do not expect that anybody will go back and check, least of all me, and I do not welcome guesses.

There is not much snow there currently.

I wanted to put in a picture, to break things up a little.  I accidentally clicked on this one from last January as I was fumbling around in my Media Library (still figuring out this new computer), and said, why not?  It is the path over what used to be a hydraulic canal in Herkimer, a favorite place for me to run or walk. I have not been walking enough lately and not running at all, but I hope to change that soon.  Not right this minute, of course. Right this minute I am blogging.

I do not intend to wear these to walk or run.

To mix things up a little more, I include this shot from 2015, when I was in Busybody at Ilion Little Theatre.  That was a fun show.  That makes this a kind of a Wayback Wednesday, although I had intended more of a Wuss-Out Wednesday.  Oh well, call it what you like.  I am over 250 words, and at least I have made a blog post.  As always, thank you for tuning in.

 

A Little Light in my Life

Now we’ll pretend it’s still Saturday, and I will not apologize for making yet another late post.  Sometimes apologies are appropriate and sometimes they are just tiresome.

I went with my sister Cheryl and her delightful grandchildren, Sheppie and Evie, to drive around the villages and look at Christmas lights.  We began in Frankfort, NY, where there is a lovely display at the Marina.  I pointed out Heelpath Brewing, but we did not go in for a libation.  We got out of the car to get a closer look.

The kids graciously posed for one shot.

This was the best picture I took.  I quickly discovered that my Tablet is not best suited to take pictures at night.

You see what I mean.

I think the kids are in this shot too, but it is hard to tell. In any case, they soon decided it was too cold to get out of the car, and we drove on.

The semi-good shot I got at the Marina.

We drove through Frankfort into Ilion, where I knew a few good places to see some lights.  Alas, I did not get any pictures.  We went on into Mohawk, where we especially admired the street lights, then to Herkimer, where I also knew of a few good displays.

It was a nice little post-Christmas interlude. I confess I have had less of a Post-Christmas Letdown than in previous years, probably because, as regular readers know, this has been a difficult year for me.  I am not whining about this (I hope) but merely making an observation of a small silver lining.  I continue to count my blessings, in which my family ranks high on the list.  Thank you, Cheryl, Sheppie and Evie!

 

Mohawk Valley Memories

So I posted yesterday morning but not this morning.  By the way, I said it had been ten days since I posted, but I was mistaken.  You see, I thought it was the 15th.  Imagine my amazement when I got to work and discovered it was only the 13th.  But I knew all along it was only Wednesday, so I did not suffer the chagrin on realizing it was not Friday.

An all-time favorite meme.

I said I was going to post about Mohawk Valley Adventures.  However, I am fighting fatigue as well as my recalcitrant Tablet (I don’t think I have ever used the word “recalcitrant ” in a sentence before).  Perhaps a Throwback Thursday Post would be OK.

A great place to go!

Here is an adventure from December 2017.  My late beloved husband Steve and our friend Margaret Rienzo, proprietress of the So Sweet Candy Shoppe in Utica, NY.  I was there more recently with my sisters Cheryl and Diane.

I loves me some nutcrackers!

Here are some Christmas decorations in Fratello’s Pizzeria in Frankfort.  The picture is from 2021, but I saw the nutcrackers there again just the other night.

It’s the good stuff!

For my last photo, I switch it up with a Preview of Coming Attractions.  This was from a tasting of Dikin Dirt Distillery at Valley Wine and Liquor in Herkimer.  Now where did I put my tasting notes?