Tag Archives: half-baked philosophy

I Say: Better than Whiskey

Posted on February 7, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

OK, so we’re all agreed that it’s all right if I do foolish posts till the play is over on Sunday. Um, I may also need Monday to recover from the cast party. In any case, today is Lame Post Friday, so we knew I wouldn’t be sweating it too much if today is, well, lame.

I had hoped for a marginally non-lame post. I thought I might do a minor preview of coming attractions, especially since I am planning to have at least one Mohawk Valley adventure tomorrow before the play. This quickly became a source of stress to me when I realized that although I plan to have an adventure, I do not actually have an adventure planned. How about a little half-baked philosophy about that?

Sometimes the best adventures are unplanned. I can’t think of an example offhand, but I’m sure that is a well-known contention, beloved by many. Or is it just a rationalization for people who have not planned? How many times have you said, “Well, that was an adventure,” just to make yourself feel better? Oh, I suppose YOU never did (you know who you are). I’m not talking to you.

And here is another half-baked philosophical question: Why are some people so down on rationalizations when sometimes they make you feel so much better? Aren’t mental gymnastics better than drugs? Shall I rationalize that faux pas or just have a shot of whiskey? MMmmm… whiskey. Better not have any of that before tonight’s performance.

For local readers I will just repeat: it’s Busybody at Ilion Little Theatre, Ilion, NY. Click on the link for more information (I was so proud of myself when I learned how to make a link). And happy Friday, everyone.

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Merry Day After Christmas

Posted on December 27, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

Steven and I have been out having Mohawk Valley adventures all morning. I thought I would pause at midday and make my blog post before embarking on further activities. As I pondered my options for a blog post topic, I remembered: It’s Lame Post Friday! I don’t have to write a regular post! I can write something silly involving random observations and half-baked philosophy! Woo hoo! Let’s get on with it then.

A happy observation I made today is that one does not always get post-Christmas letdown on December 26 (today). Sometimes one gets what I might call Post-Christmas Surge. It’s that feeling of, “Ah, I don’t have to worry about Christmas any more! Now I can get on with other things!” Although Christmas can be, as the song says, the most wonderful time of the year, few would dispute that it can also be stressful (and I daresay the ones that would dispute it are the ones that would dispute anything) (you know who you are). Now, for better or worse, it’s over! Time to stress about other things! Yay!

And now for a bit of half-baked philosophy about Christmas and stress. Does more stress make Christmas more merry? Probably not. Is some stress inevitable in order to make Christmas merry at all? Probably. Wow, that didn’t take long.

I am over 200 words. Lame posts should be short. I hope you are all enjoying the day after Christmas. Boxing Day in some places, or as Steven says, “The feast of me!” (Um, you do get that he means the Feast of Steven, right?)

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Christmas Guilt

Posted on December 24, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

You wouldn’t think I would have a Tired Tuesday when I’m on vacation, but so it is. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’m not very sick; I’m apparently just sick enough. I truly had not meant to complain about it, but it’s part of the reason I’m publishing a kind of a crappy post today. I’ll count your forgiveness for that as another Christmas present (which would work out fine, except I was bad all year so do not expect any presents).

Where was I? Ah yes, another Christmas where my half-baked plans have once again gone awry. “Half-baked plans?” you say. “I thought you went in for half-baked philosophy on Lame Post Friday. I was kind of looking forward to that.” (Oh, OK, I guess nobody but me looks forward to my Friday Lame Post; I thought for once I would let my imaginary reader say something nice about the blog).

In this case, half-baked plans is… not exactly right but appropriate. I have in fact done less than half of the baking I had planned. Well, I didn’t want to start it too soon, in case the cookies got stale or (more likely) eaten. And I’ve been busy. So here I am the day before Christmas Eve and not much done.

As yesterday’s post detailed, I have baked one batch of the most delicious cookies imaginable. Seriously, Steven ate one and said, “I LOVE you!” I am not above buying affection. I went to rehearsal (for the play I’m in, did I tell you about that?) (I was going to link back to a previous post where I did, but I can’t find it, sorry) and apologized to the cast for not bringing any in. Now they are mad at me for bringing it up and I don’t blame them. What was I thinking?

I was supposed to go to the store today and buy more powdered sugar but did not make it. At least I got the laundry done. Clean underwear is a good thing on Christmas week. Perhaps some would prefer I went commando and made cookies, but I daresay they wouldn’t want to hear about it and you know it is just the sort of thing I would mention (some of you are probably already taking in a deep breath to shout, “TMI!” I hate that expression).

I managed a batch of Chex Party Mix, the original recipe that you bake for 45 minutes. Then I took a two hour nap. In my defense, the dog wanted to, too. After I got up I made a batch of White Trash. That isn’t baking, but it is a very popular snack in my family.

I have rehearsal in about an hour and a half. It might be a good idea to study my lines some more (I also looked at them at the laundromat). I’m afraid I don’t have time to make the peppermint bark, even if I could find the recipe. Will I make it to the store and bake more cookies tomorrow? I DON’T KNOW! Will my family still love me if I don’t? I HOPE SO!

Merry Christmas Eve Eve, everyone.

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More Writing About Not Writing

Posted on December 16, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

Well, it is not yet Tired Tuesday it is no longer Wrist to Forehead Sunday, yet I feel I qualify for both of those days. The annoying thing is that I did so write while at work today. I wrote at least a page before my shift started then a few paragraphs more at lunch time. I felt it was not contemptible. And yet. And yet.

What I really feel moved to write right now is an explanation of why I am not publishing what I wrote earlier yet. We’ll call it a Middle-aged Musings Monday and that will make everything OK (I do like giving things names) (I’ll write a blog post abut that one day).

After writing about Steven’s first Christmas gift to me (yesterday’s post), I thought it might be fun to do a week of Christmas memories. By age 51, I have quite a few. I have even been thinking about one particular Christmas lately. The reason I have been thinking about it is that I was broke then and I am broke now. I quite naturally began my post with that thought.

After a sentence or three I thought, “Somebody is going to tell me to stop whining.” You can’t tell tone of voice from typing. I felt I was being matter-of-fact about things, but no doubt some readers would hear whining. I wrote a few more sentences trying to dispel any notion that I am not facing my circumstances with cheerfulness, fortitude and a sense of humor (I’m not, really, I daresay I do whine, but wouldn’t it be nice if I did have cheeriness, etc.?).

Then I started to ask myself, am I even that broke? After all, I still have cable television and the occasional bottle of wine. I haven’t started stealing the dog’s food nor even applied for SNAP benefits. These reflections led to some half-baked philosophy about people crying poverty when the rest of us see none. This was not a Christmas memory! What the hell, Mohawk Valley Girl? So I skipped a line and jumped into the story I had intended to write, trusting to be able to clean it up later.

By the end of the day, I felt dissatisfied with what I had written. I felt certain there was a better blog post about that Christmas. And perhaps a Lame Post Friday post about comparative poverty or cheerfulness and fortitude. After work as I walked my dog, Tabby, I pondered my options, bearing in mind that I have rehearsal tonight and I was feeling more and more tired. I thought about writing about the walk I was taking. Then I thought about writing about why I could not publish the post originally intended.

And reading back over what I have written (I know, Truman Capote, it isn’t writing, it’s typing), I kind of like it. I will strive to be a little less tired on Tuesday.

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Thankful It’s Lame Post Friday

Posted on November 29, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

I’ve noticed that other bloggers as well as random Facebook posters are either counting up things for which they are thankful or ranting about the out of control Black Friday sales (I don’t CARE if you like the Black Friday sales, nobody can convince me that they are not out of control, please don’t try). Shall I add to the cacophony? Or shall I keep in the spirit of my own Lame Post Friday with some random observations and half-baked philosophy?

Oh you know what I’m going to do, don’t you?

First observation, not particularly random or original, is that most of us are thankful for similar things. I think it was Tolstoy who wrote that happy families are all alike, it was the miserable ones that were interesting. I’ll come up with some half-baked philosophy about that another time. For now I will postulate that most of us do not read about other people’s thankfulness in hopes of seeing something new. I think we read it to get that warm, fuzzy, familiar feeling. “Ah, yes, I’m thankful for that, too!” Sometimes we just need to be reminded.

Regarding out of control sales on Black Friday, my observation is that I can’t think of a thing to say about it that hasn’t been said before. How mortifying. I think all the half-baked philosophy has been taken as well. What’s a blogger to do?

Wait a minute, it’s Lame Post Friday. I don’t have to do anything. I’m over 200 words. I can hit publish and call it a day. But in case anybody is wondering: I had a lovely Thanksgiving with family and friends. I have a lot to be thankful for. The only shopping I did on Black Friday was to purchase some post cards at the Rome Historical Society, and you can take that as a preview of coming attractions, because I intend to write about it later when I’m not feeling so lame.

On to Christmas overkill!

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Perverse Vindication

Posted on November 22, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

And the lame posts just keep coming. At least, this is Lame Post Friday, so I suppose there is some excuse. I did not call any of the previous few posts lame in so many words, but I feel that they were. Do I feel bad about this? Marginally. After all, I think even lame, I am fairly amusing. Or do I flatter myself?

No matter, I am sitting here at my little acer, typing off the cuff. It is what I do many times in my blogging life. However, on Lame Post Friday, it is what I am SUPPOSED to be doing! Vindication is mine!

In fact, today is the day for random observations and half-baked philosophy. What can I come up with under those headings?

Here is an observation about myself: Bad weather makes me laugh. I had a slightly dicey drive into work this morning, due to snow. As I got out of my vehicle to walk into work, I was laughing. Not for any reason that I could name, except that I found it fun. Cold, wet, perhaps a little dangerous (I definitely felt some slipperiness under the snow), yet somehow also fun. Call it my perverse nature.

Ooh, that sounds like an opportunity for some half-baked philosophy: WHY do I find bad weather fun? Do I, in fact, have a perverse nature (no, NOT perverted! Shut up, you) (you know who you are). (There should be a question mark there, but then it seemed as if I was questioning if you know who you are and I know you do.)

Well, that fulfills both requirements. I’m thinking I have talked about this before, the bad weather and my reaction to it. Oh well, these things happen. I’ll try for something more original tomorrow. Happy Friday, everyone.

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Let Me Know When You Perfect Time Travel

Posted on November 10, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

Today in lieu of my usual Wrist to Forehead Sunday, I offer a little half-baked philosophy which has been on my mind today.

A Facebook meme posed the question: if you could say something to your 20-year-old self, what would it be?

This is the kind of hypothetical question that gets on my nerves. YOU CAN’T SAY ANYTHING TO YOUR 20-YEAR-OLD SELF! That person no longer exists and we do not have access to time travel. The asker will say, “Yes, but what if you could?” YOU CAN’T! What is the point in talking about it?

That is not a rhetorical question; I seriously want to know what one can learn from such a question. You can’t go back and not make the same mistakes (see previous paragraph that we don’t have time travel). It is unlikely one will face the same problems one faced when one was 20 (one could argue that point, I suppose, but I think one would be full of beans if one did).

Perhaps the point is to articulate what one has learned since one was 20. One can thus feel wiser and not just older (now there’s a feeling I would like to experience). More likely, some folks just find it fun to talk about such things.

I personally do not like that sort of discussion. It is a short step from looking back to regretting past mistakes. I HATE regret. It is an almost completely useless emotion. I strive always to move on from here.

One final thought: If time travel ever becomes feasible and one can in fact say something to one’s 20-year-old self, I suggest you do not bother. I would submit that very few 20-year-olds ever listen to older and wiser advice. I know I never did.

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A Few Lame Thoughts

Posted on November 8, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

Ah, Lame Post Friday. My day of random observations and half-baked philosophy. My day when I’m too happy that it’s Friday to write a so-called real blog post. That is today.

I randomly observed snow falling at least three times this afternoon. This leads me to some half-baked philosophy about the change of seasons. Spring to summer to fall to winter to spring, etc. Is the lesson here that a different season will follow or that eventually spring will come again? Ooh, this is a philosophical question. Does life truly change or is it an endless cycle in which certain things happen over and over? Birth, life, death…

I can’t really expound upon these questions with any real erudition, because, I admit it, I’m not really all that smart. At least, I believe I do have some semblance of intelligence, but I don’t have any real, true, insightful answers to life’s deep questions. Does anybody? That was another philosophical question, put your hands down (you know who you are).

I don’t know if anybody has guessed from the above paragraphs, but I’m tired. It seems I am always tired after work these days. Not enough exercise? Too much fattening food? Middle-age doing its dirty work? These are not philosophical questions, but nobody need feel obligated to answer.

I have conflicting plans for Mohawk Valley adventures this weekend, but I hope to have some good things to write about. If not, you know me, I’ll always think of something. Happy Friday, everyone.

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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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Not About My Aches and Lame

Posted on October 25, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

People who complain about their aches and pains are tiresome. However, today is Lame Post Friday and I can do whatever I want.

I suppose that is not exactly true. If I want to be strictly accurate, I would say I can post whatever I want to post. Oh, all right, that much is true every day. Never mind, let’s get on with today’s post so I can get back to enjoying my Friday.

Hmm, does that make this an ironic post: I will complain about my aches and pains then get back to enjoying myself? That might call for some half-baked philosophy to answer. Can we truly enjoy ourselves through pain? Does overcoming pain enhance or detract from our enjoyment? In short, does pain make us better people or is that just a rationalization we use to help us feel better about the pain?

What brought all this on was that my day of enjoyment with my dear husband has been overshadowed by a migraine. It started out as a sinus twinge when I woke up. I had some coffee and hoped for the best. Breakfast at Crazy Otto’s Diner kind of sort of helped. Then we took Tabby for a walk in the cold wind and the pain got worse.

Undaunted, I picked up my notebook and the map I had printed off the computer, and we set out. Butternut Barn Primitives and Dyn’s Cider Mill. My headache felt a little worse. I got some hot cider at Dyn’s. Sipping it helped. Fly Creek Cider Mill, Rustic Ridge Winery. The headache returned as soon as I had finished the cider. I resolutely ignored it and managed to enjoy the Mill and the Winery.

As we drove home the headache got worse and turned into a full-blown migraine with light sensitivity and upset stomach. When we got home I aet a few corn chips, so as not to have an empty stomach, and took some Migraine Relief and a nap. Getting up from the nap and asking Steven to make some coffee (Pumpkin Spice!), my headache seems to be dissipating. Again, I hope for the best.

I intend to write blog posts about each stop on the trip as well as the trip itself. Right now, this is my post. Thank you for playing.

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