Tag Archives: friend Kim

It’s My Parasol

Posted on August 24, 2025 by mohawkvalleygirl

Is anybody surprised I did it again?  I posted yesterday for the day before, and here I am today posting for yesterday.  These things happen, especially to me.  Right now my only question is was it the right morning to substitute tea for coffee?  I’m on my second cup.

Yesterday I could not make up my mind what to do.  I wrote a letter to an aunt, finished a letter to a friend, and wrote my regular Saturday post cards.  The post cards I sent were of different states; my friend Kim sent me a set of 50 from the thrift store she works at.  I wrote on one, “I am in a state of indecision.”  Eventually I decided to walk to the post office.  It was quite sunny, so I took an umbrella.  I have found that an umbrella makes a nice little bit of portable shade.

As I walked, I thought of things I could say to people who remarked on my umbrella:  “It’s my parasol.”  “I am protecting my dewy completion from the sun’s ravages.”  Nobody said anything.  After mailing the letters, I decided to walk to Mohawk Antiques Mall.  For one reason, it was Customer Appreciation Day and they were serving hot dogs.  Also, it is a very fun place to walk around, as there are lots of vendors.

One thing they definitely have is post cards!

I was so glad I went!  I found three packs of 40 different post cards each for a very good price.  I enjoyed a nice burnt hot dog, too, while listening to a lady play old tunes on the piano.  I did not spend much time walking all around, though, because I found the post cards right away.

Back out on the sidewalk, it was even warmer.  The wind made it more comfortable but wasn’t so good with the umbrella.  I have not spent a great deal of time out in the sun this summer, and yesterday I was reminded why.  I start to feel a little ill.  Additionally, I had neglected to put on good sneakers, and the walk to the Antiques Mall was lengthier than I had realized.

Still, a walk is a walk.  I enjoyed looking at houses I passed and the canal as I walked over the bridge.  I went by a friend’s house and petted his dog (I didn’t know he lived there; he just happened to be sitting on the front porch with his dog at the time).  I felt rather tired at the end, and my feet hurt.  I fear I do not treat them very well.  I neglect my blog, I neglect my feet, what a bum!

In the meantime, I have gotten to over 450 words.  Will I make a Sunday post on Sunday?  My hopes are not high.

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A Little More Stone Soup, Please

Posted on June 22, 2025 by mohawkvalleygirl

Recently I went for another meal at Stone Soup in Herkimer, NY, so I could sit inside instead of in the beer garden.  I took a few pictures to use in a blog post.

Elegant dining surroundings.

I am well used to dining alone; I’ve done it for years, even before I was a widow, but looking at the dining room, I thought it would be very nice to sit at a table with a few friends.  I’ll have to arrange that sometime.

I do love a tall table.

Or I could sit with one friend at a tall table.  I SO miss my bestie, Kim, who moved to Colorado!

Where I sat.

Instead I sat at the bar, which I also like to do.  I ordered the Alex Smash Burger, which is what I had before.  I feel I should branch out and try other menu options, but that smash burger is just so good!  I love the homemade chips that come with it, too.

My view from where I sat.

It might be a good idea if I stopped eating out so much, so I can cut down on calories and save a little money.  But then again, it makes for such good blog posts, and I do love to support a local business!

Stone Soup American Bistro and Beer Garden is located at 148 N. Main St., Herkimer, NY, phone number 315-219-5045.  You can find them on Facebook.

 

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Sometimes Lame Will Do

Posted on April 26, 2025 by mohawkvalleygirl

It is early(ish) Saturday morning and I thought I would attempt a Late Lame Post Friday post.  For one reason, I really got nothin’ except perhaps for some half-baked philosophy and random observations plus a couple of pictures from my Media Library to pep things up.  I confess it cheers me up to make a blog post in the morning.  Something about putting words together makes me happy.  I must do it more often and wonder at myself that I do not.  I know, many people wonder about me (you know who you are).  I feel it is part of my charm, but perhaps I flatter myself.

Both missed, but at least I can talk to one.

Here is one of them there pictures to pep things up.  It is my late, dearly missed husband Steve and my friend Kim, who moved to Colorado, at the Waterfront Grille in Herkimer NY.  I have not been there in a while.  It is a bit of a walk for me, although I surely need the exercise (I will call you Shirley if I decide to).  Today it is raining, so I am unlikely to make the journey.

Since I brought up Steve, I will give a brief grief update (didn’t mean to rhyme) (honest).  I slowly find my way to being alone.  I will never be done missing him.  I will always be sad at times.  However, I try not to dwell on it or feel ill-used.  I guess I don’t have much to say about it.  Oh well, it was to be a brief update.  Back to being Lame.

It will look somewhat different this year.

I add this picture to encourage myself.  I said I would have a container garden this year.  I am struggling to get my house in better shape, and I must soon move outdoors, where there is a LOT to do!  In fact, I should get off the computer and get to work.  Well, maybe one more picture.

I haven’t worn those socks in a while.

This is another picture to encourage me:  the thought of relaxing after a job well done.  My relaxing feet on the front porch or back deck may have been more appropriate after the container garden picture, but this one was handy.  Full disclosure:  I spend a lot of time with my feet up, job well done or not.  I’m old and my feet hurt!  Never mind.  I have managed over 400 words worth of a blog post and that is not bad, however lame the post may be.  Will I have a productive Saturday?  Will I relax after a job well done?  For the answer to these and other burning questions (or do I once again flatter myself?) stay tuned to Mohawk Valley Girl!

 

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This is Surely a Lame Post

Posted on April 11, 2025 by mohawkvalleygirl

OK, so the blogging has not been going very well post-Prescription: Murder.  I have not been having very many Mohawk Valley Adventures.  I have been getting out to walk and even taken a couple short runs, but nothing worth making a Running Commentary or Pedestrian Post about (as if that ever stops me).  Now I sit, typing into my Chromebook on Lame Post Friday, thinking, surely I can manage at least a Friday Lame Post (and I will call you Shirley if I decide to).

In my case, they have done their job.

I thought I would throw in a picture to pep things up.  Yes, I have been brain dead for some time now, as regular readers may have noticed.  I have been writing letters, which I suppose counts.  By My Rules for Me, Any Writing Counts.  But I have not been, for example, making entries in the TV Journal or even my Running Journal (yes, I have multiple journals and am thinking of adding a few more to fail to write in).  For a week or more I made a daily blog post.  I hope to get back to doing that.

Cheers to Mohawk Valley Adventures!

I scrolled further down my Media Library, looking for a Mohawk Valley Adventure I could aim for.  This is my friend Kim at Rock Valley Brewing Company in Little Falls, NY.  Alas these adventures are always better with a friend, and Kim moved far away.  I wonder what other friends I could find to get into trouble with.

Then again, coffee is always nice.

Another place I haven’t been in a while is Joseph Putrello’s Coffee Barista Bar in Utica.  Will I venture as far as Little Falls or Utica today?  A little uncertainty adds interest to my morning.

In any case, I have at least written to the extent of a Lame Post Friday blog post.  One has to start somewhere.  As always, I thank you for tuning in.

 

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Throwing All the Way Back to the 1920s!

Posted on March 21, 2025 by mohawkvalleygirl

Well, I guess I am back to making late blog posts, because I did not make a post on Thursday, and here I am early(ish) Friday morning, thinking I can get away with a Throwback Thursday post. Or perhaps Non-Sequitur Thursday.  The possibilities are almost endless.

We thought we were hot. OK, KIm was (is) hot.

This was back in 2017, when my friend Kim and I got dolled up and went to a Prohibition Party at Gerber’s 1933 Tavern in Utica.  I saw on Facebook that today they are doing a Meet the Artist with RC Oster tonight.  I actually met RC Oster at Mohawk Valley Center for the Arts once.  I LOVE his artwork!  Will I take a drive to Utica to meet him again?  It’s difficult to say what I will do on any given Friday.

There’s a couple of cheese-eating grins!

Here is me all 1920’d up again at a fundraiser for the Landmarks Society of Greater Utica.  The gentleman, whose name escapes me, is one of the movers and shakers behind the Society, I think.  Hey, this was 2019.  You can’t expect me to remember things perfectly from the last decade.  At least, I guess you could expect me to, but you would be doomed to disappointment.

Another time I thought I was pretty hot.

I guess I had to do it: share this picture of me showing off a little leg.  The setting is another fundraiser for the Landmarks Society, and the costume is the one I wore as Ruby Van Rensselaer in my murder mystery Rubbed Out at Ruby’s.  One of the cast members keeps saying we ought to revive that one.  It might be fun.

I feel this has been an unusual post in that I am in all the pictures that I shared.  I am usually not so vain.  At least, I suppose I am vain, but I don’t have so many pictures of myself that I like.  I am more apt to look at pictures of me and say, “Damn, I’m not nearly as cute as I thought I was.”

In any case, I am over 350 words.  Score! Will I make a Lame Post Friday post later today?  As I said earlier, it is difficult to know what I may do on any given Friday.

 

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Killing Frangelica

Posted on September 13, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

Hello and welcome to a Post Rehearsal Post.  It was the first rehearsal for Curtains for Frangelica? the murder mystery we are presenting to benefit the Herkimer County Historical Society on Oct. 12.  Yikes, that’s one month from today!  But I feel confident we will get it together and be wonderful. I have an excellent cast.  Unfortunately I forgot to take any pictures at rehearsal.  Perhaps I can combine a Post Rehearsal Post with a Throwback Thursday and share some pictures from other murder mysteries.  I have done a few, I think.

There’s Frangelica Inferno!

This is not exactly a picture from a murder mystery, but it is my friend Kim dressed as the character Frangelica Inferno.  I am killing off Frangelica in this latest murder mystery.  That will teach Kim to move away from me!

Ah, here’s another suspicious bunch!

Here is a picture from a past killing, A G.R.A.V.E. Murder. The two people in the middle, my friend Jerry and me, are in the current production.  The other three, my friends Chuck and Laura, and my late husband, Steve, were unavailable.

The original Frangelica mystery!

And here is the first mystery I wrote for the Herkimer County Historical Society, Who Shot J.S.? in which Frangelica Inferno was accused of killing local writer Jack Sherman, over a revival of Roxy, a script he had written.  It’s kind of complicated.

In any case, I am over 200 words, AND I made my Thursday post ON Thursday.  I guess this sort of thing is not such a triumph for real daily bloggers, but I must enjoy what small wins I can.  Once again, I thank you for tuning in.

 

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Keep Writing, Me!

Posted on September 11, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

Of course I was too tired to make my Tired Tuesday post on Tuesday.  Also, my Chromebook warned me it was low on battery and my Tablet was uncooperative. That is no excuse; I could have stayed on the Chromebook while it was plugged in, in fact I told myself that.  I was too tired to listen.  Do you suppose I have long Covid?  Do you suppose that is just another lame excuse (see, that’s me wishing for Lame Post Friday).

This was taken for one of those blog posts I haven’t made yet.

I threw in a picture to cut the whining short.  It sort of worked.  Anyways, this is part of Herkimer’s Historic Four Corners: the two buildings that comprise Herkimer County Historical Society.  The writing I am stalling while typing in this nonsense (I am kidding myself that this is a warm-up) is the rest of the script for Curtains for Frangelica, the interactive murder mystery I am writing to benefit the society.

Frangelica Inferno, fans of my murder mysteries may recall, is an former porn star in search of legitimate fame.  Along the way she killed local playwright Jack Sherman and has been accused of others.  The character is played by my friend and adventure partner Kim Darling.  Since Kim has left the area, I decided to kill her off.  That’ll teach her!

So I have gone from Tired Tuesday to Preview of Coming Attractions.  Back to the script!

 

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Cheers to the Luna Moth!

Posted on July 25, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

I had two authentic Mohawk Valley adventures last night with the result that I was too tired to blog about either one.  This morning I feel pressed for time, so I will put those on hold (which I hear receptionists should not do to a bomb threat), and try for a Waste Not Want Not Wednesday post.

Beautiful!

I took this picture at work a couple weeks ago.  Isn’t it awesome?  It is only the second or third time I saw a Luna Moth.  I forgot to share it on Facebook (it was the end of break at the time) so thought it was perfect for a Waste Not Want Not Wednesday.

Full disclosure: He was not drinking at the time.

This is Elvis, a pourer at a wine tasting at Valley Wine and Liquor in Herkimer, NY.  I have sadly not blogged about a tasting there in a while, but I usually mention the blog while I am taking tasting notes.  This time, Elvis said to me, “Do you want to take a picture for the blog?”  I confessed to not having used the previous picture.  Now, if he is pouring at another tasting, I can say I used one of the pictures.

I miss my adventure partner!

Here is my friend Kim on her recent visit to the Mohawk Valley.  We had paused at the Waterfront Grille, also in Herkimer, for a libation and a snack.  I suggested we take the previously obligatory pictures of each other toasting.

I had to stand up, because I was back-lit. No, I wasn’t lit!

My picture also gives a shout-out to Herkimer College, previously (and to some always) known as HCCC or H-Trip-C.

As I approach 300 words, I sign off on another late post.  Full disclosure:  there is every possibility today’s post will be late too.  But how appropriate for a Non-Sequitur Thursday post.

 

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Lame As I Ever Was

Posted on July 13, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

Hello, blogosphere, I am back!  What, blogosphere isn’t a word yet? I hear it all the time.  Perhaps I have it misspelled.  In any case, I am back on the blog after losing a few days to technical difficulties and my usual malaise which makes it a major effort for me to do anything.  I finally got back on my Chromebook. Phew!  I know, I could have posted from my Tablet, as I used to do all the time, but that, too has become problematic.  When I finish the post, I can’t type in a headline at all, and when I try to add categories and tags, the screen jumps every time I hit a key.  For the last post, I got on my phone to add headline and tags.

Now I feel a little ashamed for not going through such a rigamarole again (but I KNOW rigamarole is a word!  It has been a word for years!).

Random picture to denote passage of time.

I found it in my Webster’s dictionary.  “Rigamarole” is another spelling of “rigmarole.”  I think the extra syllable adds to the expressiveness of the term.  I recently read in an English history book about the origin of the word.  Of course I cannot remember it now, but I know which book it was in, and I will look it up for use on a future blog post.

My bestie, Kim, is coming to visit today.  Regular readers know she moved away early this year, to the detriment of my Saturday adventuring.  I’m sure we will have a lot of fun today, although I am a little concerned at the forecast of high 80’s.

This has been me and many of my co-workers all week.

I had actually been looking for a Mohawk Valley adventure picture to share, but I found this one and couldn’t resist.

 

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Tired Shout-Out

Posted on May 29, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

Can I make a Tired Tuesday post before I become too tired to do anything but go to bed?  I’m thinking yes.  The beauty part to a three day weekend is that it is usually followed by a four day week.  We like four day weeks.

I just returned from an enjoyable dinner with my bestie, Kim.  She is leaving the area in the next day or so (not precisely scheduled since she is driving), and I wanted to have one last nice dinner together.  We went to Salvatore’s in Herkimer, NY.

A good place to eat.

Well, that just took me forever to find a picture of Salvatore’s in my Media Library.  I keep thinking I am going to go through and index that Media Library, but every month the job becomes more onerous.  Hey, I just realized this picture is probably from December, because there are wreaths on the wall.  Then again, I know I also have some October pictures with harvest-colored decor.  I suppose I should get some more season pictures of the places I visit.

Our dinner at Salvatore’s was very enjoyable.  The food was delicious, and the service was friendly.  It is a favorite place of both me and Kim.  As I told the waitress, when Kim returns for a visit, we will surely stop at Salvatore’s.  In the meantime, I suppose I will go there by myself or with other friends.

Salvatore’s is located at 650 1/2 German St., Herkimer, NY, phone number 315-866-2600.

 

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