Tag Archives: Halloween decorations

It’s Still October, It’s Still Friday, and I’m Still Lame

Posted on October 25, 2025 by mohawkvalleygirl

Alas, I missed making my Thursday post and here it is, getting later in the afternoon on Friday, and my brain feels not up to blogging.  How ridiculous.  Luckily for me, it is Lame Post Friday.  However lame I have been up till now (and regular readers know I have been pretty lame lately), I feel free to make a foolish post now, and no promises about tomorrow.

He looks like he’s saying, “Good grief!”

What could be sillier than Santa Claus in a Halloween t-shirt?  This particular Santa Claus stays on the landing of my staircase most of the year, and some years I dress him for the holidays.  I have not dressed him this year.  In fact I have not decorated for the holiday at all, and it is my favorite!  What the hell, me?  I am supposed to be having a Halloween party but have not done anything about it except talk.  Oh well one can get a lot done by utilizing the last minute.

Just a little cluttered.

This is a picture of a past mess in my living room.  I have always liked it because Bonita the skeleton looks so leisurely and Santa Claus is peeking around the corner and Darling Duck is just kind of hanging out.  The clutter there is different now but I do not have a current picture.

Will I succeed in cleaning my house?  Will I entertain on Halloween weekend?  A little uncertainty adds interest to the end of my October.

 

Leave a comment

Posted in humor, Lame Post Friday, personal and tagged , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

I Wouldn’t Waste an Axe Murderess, Would I?

Posted on October 9, 2025 by mohawkvalleygirl

Regular readers may have noticed that daily blogging continues to elude me.  Ooh, there’s a slimy passive-voice way to put it, as if I am pursuing the goal, but the goal is too clever for me, when the fact is that it is my own efforts that fall short.  You can call me out on that if you like, but you see I have already admitted the fault.  In any case, having missed posting Sunday and Monday but refraining from calling attention to the fact (till just now), I sit on my couch on Thursday morning preparing to make a Waste Not Want Not Wednesday post.

Full disclosure: I did not look like this when I played Roxy.

You can’t read her name tag, but it says “Roxy.”  It is Roxalana Druse, who famously killed her husband and was hanged behind the 1843 Herkimer Jail in 1887.  I had the honor of playing Roxy in the play of that name presented by the Herkimer County Historical Society and Ilion Little Theatre in 2015 (long-time readers may have read some of my blog posts about it).  This Roxy is in Renewed and Rescued at Mohawk Valley Community Market.  I stopped in briefly yesterday but must return for a longer visit (preview of coming attractions).

Just hanging out!

Here is a friendly-looking fellow I encountered one of the mornings I was out looking for pictures to go with one of my Village Board stories for Sentinel Media.  I adore Halloween decorations!  I should take some more pictures and do a blog post of them (another preview of coming attractions?)

This woman did not kill her husband.

I guess I am veering into Non-Sequitur Thursday territory after an ax murderess and a skeleton.  This is Michelle, one of the bartenders at the Herkimer Elks Lodge wearing my tiara.  I wore it for a play I was in last summer (Four Old Broads on the High Seas, perhaps you read some of my blog posts about it).  I happened to wear it to the Lodge one day, I forget why, and Michelle wanted to pose with it.

Ooh, look at me, over 350 words.  I’m almost through my second cup of coffee too.  Time to go for my run.  The East Herkimer Fire Department 5K is Saturday.  I fear I have not been posting nearly enough about that!  Well, as I said in the first paragraph, I have not been posting enough period, at least by my standards for me.  But I thank you for tuning in when I do.

 

Leave a comment

Posted in humor, personal, Waste Not Want Not Wednesday and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

TGI Lame Post Friday

Posted on September 27, 2025 by mohawkvalleygirl

Here I am trying to get back to being a daily blogger plugging the Mohawk Valley, but yet I am going to have a Lame Post Friday post today. My excuse?  I have no excuse; there is no excuse for me.  I enjoyed Happy Hour today.  Can you tell?

Lame Post Friday is traditionally the place where I share random observations and half-baked philosophy.  I did observe things today as I walked from my house by the post office (to mail a post card), past the Town Offiices (to drop off my taxes), on to Cliff’s Local Market where I used the ATM and purchased some candy (don’t judge me), then to Valley Wine and Liquor where I tasted some of the wares of Beak and Skiff of Lafayette, NY (preview of coming attractions).  I mostly admired the cloudy sky, but I enjoyed different houses and their various decorations and gardens.

A little bit of color!

This picture is actually from October 2024, but it shows about the percentage of color we are seeing currently.  Still, every bit of color is welcome.  Does that lead into a bit of half-baked philosophy about Enjoy What You Have; Don’t Worry About What You Have Not?  Discuss amongst yourselves.

She seems to feel cheery!

I close with a picture of Witchy, who is not currently on my front porch, but I hope she soon will be. I obviously have no great philosophical points to share.  Yet I hope this will be acceptable on Lame Post Friday.  I hope you are all have a delightful opening to your weekend.

 

Leave a comment

Posted in humor, Lame Post Friday, personal and tagged , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Ghoulish Memories on Monstrous Monday

Posted on July 14, 2025 by mohawkvalleygirl

I had a problematic weekend, and the upcoming week doesn’t look much better.  And here I sit drinking hot coffee to make matters worse.

“Follow me! To the Graveyard!”

I quick threw in a picture to lighten things up. “Follow me!  To the Graveyard!” followed by an evil laugh is one of the things my Elliott Ghoul likes to say.  My late, dearly missed husband Steve and I picked up Elliott at a garage sale many years ago.  We used to put him in the attic November through September, then Steve used to at least turn him off when it wasn’t the season.  I leave him on year round, just for the sake of hearing a voice other than my own once in a while.

Where was I?  I just spent a ridiculous amount of time looking for a picture of Elliot Ghoul in my Media Library.  He stands in my dining room window, for the amusement of any passers-by who might notice.  He went off once behind me while I was on a video appointment with a VA doctor on the dining-room-table-top (long-time readers may remember it used to be a laptop).  The doctor asked what it was.

“Oh, that’s just my ghoul,” I was happy to explain.

And there’s my late sweetie-pie.

I add a picture of my late husband at a Halloween party, because it seems to fit the mood of today’s post.  I have 400 words of another post saved.  I started it yesterday, realized I did not know where I was going with it but knew it ought to go somewhere.  Will I finish it today?  Or ever?  A little uncertainty adds interest to my Monday.

 

Leave a comment

Posted in humor, Monstrous Monday, personal and tagged , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Silly, Cheesy, Late and Lame!

Posted on June 21, 2025 by mohawkvalleygirl

Thursday I brought up a bit of half-baked philosophy I deemed suited to Lame Post Friday, and I would like to address it further now.  The question was what difference does it make if a self-declared daily blogger misses a day here and there?  Appropriately (or embarrassingly) enough, it is Saturday morning as I make my Lame Post Friday blog post.  I feel I should throw in a silly picture here.

I think she is cute.

Is it early or late for Halloween decorations?  I don’t feel like looking at a calendar or doing the math.  Anyways, when I started this blog in 2011 (how the time flies!), I made up my mind to post every day for one year and see what happened.  I suppose I thought something magical, but I have gone over this before.  In fact, I believe I have even addressed it as a bit of half-baked philosophy on Lame Post Friday.  Oh dear, I am repeating myself in my old age!  Quick throw in another picture to distract ourselves!

I guess this blog is pretty cheesy.

This is from the sadly closed Herkimer Original Cheese.  I believe another cheese maker is putting out their product so I may still be able to get my beloved Chutter (tastes like cheddar, spreads like butter!).

I always come back to the fact that I love writing a blog.  It is fun for me, and I like the idea that I am entertaining people.  My ambition is to make a Saturday blog post TODAY, on Saturday in which I recount a Mohawk Valley Adventure.  Will I attain my ambition?  A little uncertainty adds interest to my weekend.

 

2 Comments

Posted in humor, Lame Post Friday, personal and tagged , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

What Happened to Sunday? Now It’s Monstrous Monday!

Posted on November 18, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

I logged on to WordPress, then spent some time on Facebook, scrolling down and wondering what my problem is.  Then I think, it does not matter; I can make a blog post in spite of problems.

Oh dear, another pause and the urge to backspace out what I just typed in.  Quick, throw in a picture!

Not what he expected to find in the hold.

I randomly picked June 2021 in my Media Library and found my favorite guy, Nosferatu, of the eponymous 1922 silent movie.  It is Monday, so I may as well make this a Monstrous post.  I completely missed making any kind of a post on Sunday, but I got a few other things done, so there’s that.

Masquerading as a monster.

Since we are soon to enter the Christmas season (I try to hold out till after Thanksgiving, with greater or lesser success), I share my Santa who often spends all year on my front porch.  Here he is dressed for Halloween.  Sometimes I dress Witchypoo as an angel.  Both Witchypoo and Santa are inside now.  I acquired a few new plastic decorations yesterday, because a friend was getting rid of them.  So I may be decorating for Christmas soon (preview of coming attractions).

One who set the standard.

I close with one of our most famous witches, Margaret Hamilton from The Wizard of Oz.  I was too lazy to keep looking for a picture of my own Witchypoo, dressed as an angel or otherwise.

I have been having a few Mohawk Valley adventures that I mean to blog about, but am I going to be one of those people who make promises and never deliver?  I hope not.  In the meantime, at least I have made a Monstrous Monday post.  On with the week ahead!

 

Leave a comment

Posted in humor, Monstrous Monday, personal and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Looking for the Bright Spots

Posted on November 7, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

It is early Thursday morning, but I shall make a Waste Not Want Not Wednesday post.  I have a hard enough time keeping track of what day it is these days, why not make it a little more difficult?  If that seems contradictory, I will point out that I have a headache this morning.  I think I have been sleeping too much, or at least spending too much time in bed trying to sleep.  But enough about my tiresome problems, let us look at some pictures I took on a recent walk.  I do take a lot of walks.

Talk about prison overcrowding!

Most people have taken down their Halloween decorations, but I still enjoy seeing them on occasion. I had seen on Facebook the suggestion for this kind of decoration, but this was the first  I have seen it in person.

He was ready for his close-up.

I have been enjoying a little remaining color on my walks as well.

Still hanging on!

I have shown pictures of this tree before, as it is close to where I live.  I always feel a little sad when I see the stump.

Another bright spot!

We must appreciate what bright spots we can find.  I suppose it would do me good to try to create a few bright spots myself.  I wonder what I could do.  Feel free to comment with suggestions.

 

5 Comments

Posted in humor, Pedestrian Post with Pictures, personal, Waste Not Want Not Wednesday and tagged , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Color Me Lame

Posted on October 26, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

Here I was, all set to make my Lame Post Friday Post ON Friday, and suddenly I have this weird, inexplicable headache.  What have I done to deserve a headache?  That was rhetorical; you are not expected to answer (don’t you just hate people who answer rhetorical questions?).

Fall color to brighten the day.

I threw in a quick picture to pep up the post.  This is from October 2022 on my street.  As you can see, there used to be two trees there.  I do not know why somebody felt the need to get rid of one.  I don’t think anybody is currently living in the house, but it is really none of my business.

With a blue sky!

I might as well throw in some more fall color, since I don’t have a whole lot to say.  The sky was about that same color yesterday.  Our stretch of beautiful weather continues, although the temperatures may have dropped a little.

Speaking of the sights of fall.

On a previous post, I remember looking for a picture of our mantle decorated by my late, wonderful husband Steve, but being unable to find one.  And here one is!  I think sometimes my Media Library plays tricks on me.  Now I am looking at this picture and saying, “Damn! where’s that?  And that?”  Oh well.  I can’t worry about these things on Lame Post Friday.  Isn’t there a wine tasting at a liquor store I should be going to?  Or Happy Hour somewhere?

In any case, I am over 250 words.  I hope you all have a delightful weekend.

 

5 Comments

Posted in humor, Lame Post Friday, personal and tagged , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Current Run, Old Selfies

Posted on October 24, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

I had thought to do a Running Commentary Post this morning, as a change from Pedestrian Posts.  I thought of it while I was running.  Unfortunately, I did not run by any places I have pictures of in my Media Library.  Ever since I started putting pictures in the blog, I hate to have a post without one.  Then I thought, I’ll take a selfie after the run.  That will do.  I forgot to.  There is no point in taking a selfie now; I ran almost three hours ago.  I’m showered and dressed.  Anyways, my phone is across the room charging.

A selfie after a run four years ago.

I am not very photogenic.  In October 2020 I took a challenge to exercise for 34 minutes every day for 34 days to raise awareness for the 34 million Americans who suffer from diabetes.  As part of the challenge, you were supposed to take a selfie and post it on Facebook with some information about diabetes.  I did not take 34 selfies, but I took a few.  Also, some days I walked instead of running.

Today I ran for just over 20 minutes.  It felt pretty good.  Before I ran, I said to myself, “I don’t wanna run!  I’m not gonna run!”  Then I put on my gear and ran anyways.  It felt pretty good, surprisingly enough.  It was still dark when I started out, so I enjoyed seeing some Halloween lights.  As it got lighter, I could see other decorations.  Sometimes a good run involves distracting yourself from the fact that you are running.  Luckily I did not distract myself so much I tripped on the sidewalk and skinned up my knee. Yes, I have done that, the last time while walking.  I am not the most graceful creature on God’s green earth.

Also from October 2020.

I add a selfie where I look a little more cheerful.  My friend is Mookie Wilson, a bat my late, beloved husband Steve won in a claw machine back in the late ’80s.  My sister Diane suggested the name.  Mookie Wilson has hung on light fixtures in many of our residences over the years.

I guess I haven’t said a whole lot about my run, but I am over 350 words.  Score!  As always, I thank your for tuning in.

 

2 Comments

Posted in humor, personal, running commentary and tagged , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Sights of the Season

Posted on October 24, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

Just when I was about to acquiesce (holy crap, I spelled that right first try!) in a Wuss-out Wednesday, I thought to take a quick look at my phone and see that I can have a Waste Not Want Not Wednesday.  How I managed to not use these photos in my Pedestrian Post, I do not know.  And suddenly I wonder, does this make it as if I did three Pedestrian Posts this week and if so, is that a bad thing?  Discuss amongst yourselves (why does autocorrect insist that “amongst” is not a word?  And why is “autocorrect” underlined?).

Isn’t that a welcoming door?

I personally like to carve my pumpkins, when I have them (I have not purchased one this year yet), because I like to roast the pumpkin seeds.  However, I enjoy seeing painted pumpkins.  Some of them are really artistic.  I passed this group on one of my walks.

A nice variety.

I took pictures of each side, so we could see the pumpkins better.

My favorite is the one with the fangs.

This one is a little in the shade, but I think you can see the pumpkins well enough.  I am certainly enjoying all the Halloween decorations I see.  My own porch is looking a little sad and lonely, but I have another week.  At least I can plug in Witchy!

My Witchy.

I got Witchy at Pumpkin Junction in Sauquoit, NY, some years ago, just to give a shout-out to a local business.  I hope you are all enjoying the season!

 

Leave a comment

Posted in humor, personal, Waste Not Want Not Wednesday and tagged , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.
← Older Posts
→