Tag Archives: Halloween decorations

Inspired to Type if not to Decorate

Posted on September 29, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

I fear there is not much I can do today except for a Monstrous Monday blog post.  And I want to leave out all the letters I type with the index finger of my left hand, because the nail on that hand ripped off too low and it hurts like a sonofabitch.  That’s what I get for not keeping my fingernails nicely trimmed.

I sense a little commingling of the seasons.

Rather than showing movie monsters, I thought I would share a few ghouls of my own, in hopes of inspiring myself to get my house decorated for Halloween.  Regular readers may recognize my skeleton Bonita, who often changes her raiment for the season.  Right now she still has a Fourth of July scarf around her neck.  I have been sadly remiss.  In the picture above, you may notice the Christmas fireplace cover.  Oops.

Speaking of mixing up holidays…

Now this one I did on purpose.  My late, dearly loved husband, Steven, put rocks inside Santa Claus to make him more stable on our front porch.  This made me quite disinclined to move him around, so I just dressed him accordingly.  I put an angel costume on Witchypoo some years.

I believe Steve put together this ensemble.

And here is Bonita in another lovely Halloweeen costume.  You can see how much Bonaparte admires her.  This brings me over 200 words.  I do not know how inspired I am to decorate, but at least I have made a blog post including letters of the alphabet typed by all ten fingers.  As always, I thank you for tuning in.

 

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I Do Love Halloween

Posted on September 24, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

I don’t know what my problem is, but it seems I have one.  I was about to forget to make my Thursday blog post.  I think I can manage a Throwback Thursday.  Then I must, I really must at least attempt to do something useful.  I keep telling myself that no life is wasted, because one can always stand as a bad example to others, but that really leave a whole lot of unfilled time in an existence.

This would be a profitable use of my afternoon!

I thowback to October 2016 and a nicely decorated front porch.  Frankentree was not yet out of control.  I am not yet decorated for Halloween, but as it is still September, I shall not beat myself up over that.

I love that scarecrow lady peeking out!

I leap ahead to 2020, which is still a few years ago, and another good decorating year for me.  Will these pictures inspire me to get my Halloween house together?  I can only hope.

I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up!

And yet I fear my own lack of oomph.  I am like the half-buried skeleton and the dried up plant in the background.  I never did my container garden this year so do not have any dead plants to decorate with now.  You see how I fail to plan ahead.  However, one cannot change the past; we can only go on from here.  At least I have made a blog post of over 200 words. As always, I thank you for tuning in.

 

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What’s a Ghoul to Do?

Posted on September 23, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

Hello and welcome to another Waste Not Want Not Wednesday blog post.  I was hoping to make this post when I was driving away from Ann Street Deli on Sunday and had occasion to wonder if I am not too obsessed with all things Halloween.  Specifically, do I see decorations where none are intended?  Looking at the picture, I think I could be excused for thinking this is some sort of ghoul.

Is he scary or just unhappy?

If I ever fix my outdoor spigot and get a hose, I am going to look for this sort of doodah to wrap it around.  I wish I could have a whole blog post of things that unintendedly look like spooks, but alas, this was the only one I found.

While taking a walk yesterday, I found only one thing worthy of stopping and taking a picture of, and it is not all that great of a picture.  I saw they had planted grass where they recently tore down a building next to Pete’s Tavern.

I peeked my phone through the chain link fence for the shot.

It is always nice to have more green space in the village.  I made myself take the walk, because I was feeling rather down yesterday.  I think I have mentioned that my depression is really kicking my butt these days.  However, one must persevere (one being me in this case, but I encourage perseverance in others as well).  With that in mind, I shall take myself off to swim this morning: exercise and sociability.  Stand up against that, depression!

In the meantime, I shall keep an eye out for more Halloween-like pictures.

 

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Once Again, Better Lame Than Never

Posted on September 19, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

No, I really did forget to make my Lame Post Friday blog post on Friday.  I thought sure I would make it and be caught up.  Then I forgot.  I think the euphoria engendered by the afternoon cups of coffee I had chased all thoughts of blogging out of my head.  Or I am just old and forgetful.  No, that can’t be, because I have always been forgetful.  Quick, throw in a picture before I get more bogged down in self-recrimination.

Sometimes things do blow up in your face.

This picture ought to remind me I was going to work on my latest murder mystery yesterday.  Instead I did not work on anything, except for a little house cleaning. However, every day is a chance to do better than one did the day before.  Will I do better?  I shall try.

A reward if I do better?

Returning to my Media Library, this caught my eye.  This baker in Little Falls, NY has wonderful bread and is only open on weekends.  I refrained from purchasing anything from them the Saturday of the Garlic Festival, because I already had some good bread from Hannaford’s in-store bakery in my freezer and did not want to get too far ahead of myself.  That bread is gone now, though, so this could be a Preview of Coming Attractions.

My readers, sitting around waiting for me to finish a novel.

I remind myself that I also need to get my house cleaned and decorated for the upcoming holiday.  Will I have a Halloween party?  Will I finish the murder mystery I am working on?  Will I treat myself to artisan bread and if I do will I have earned it as a reward?  For the answers to these and other questions, tune in next time to Mohawk Valley Girl!

 

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Pretend It’s Still Wednesday

Posted on September 17, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

Last night I dreamed I neglected to make a Wednesday blog post early Thursday morning or even Thursday afternoon.  I do not know what day or time it was in the dream, but I searched for my computer, composing in my head, “Now I’ve done it, now I have done it.”  As is the way with dreams, I when I found my computer I could not log on properly or find where I wanted to go or anything.  Then I dreamed about something else.

Now it is prior to 6 a.m. (early by almost anybody’s standards) and I am sipping tea (the ubiquitous old lady tummy troubles) and wishing I had taken enough pictures for a Waste Not Want Not Wednesday post.  I have gone to a couple of Mohawk Valley businesses but neglected to take pictures then either.  I used to post entirely without pictures but feel strangely loathe to do so now.

Something to feel a little sad about.

Looking in my Media Library for something to use for a Wayback Wednesday, I saw this and said, “Oh yeah, rats!”  A year ago I was preparing for this very race.  An invitation to register for it showed up in my email recently, and I sadly ignored it.  I am walking but not yet running.  I see my primary care physician next week and will ask her about the advisability of ever running again.

Unfortunately, I am not a night owl either.

I change the subject to something more cheerful, showing a present my late, dearly missed husband Steve gave me several years ago.  I need to find that mug.  It is in my cupboard somewhere.  The vampire is packed away with Halloween decorations. I will find him eventually.

I see I am approaching 300 words.  I am going to bill this as a Wuss-out Wednesday and drive on.  I will try for some kind of a Thursday post later today, but no promises.

 

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Late Typing, if Not Writing

Posted on September 14, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

I’m up to my old tricks, missing blog posts and trying to make up for it the next morning (oh, here’s a Freudian typo: “typing” for “trying,” which of course echoes Truman Capote’s famous line, “That’s not writing, that’s typing.”  I fear it may be true).  I could not even manage a Wrist to Forehead Sunday post yesterday.  I cannot even say why.  My brain said no, and no arguments sufficed to get it to at least try.

Oh deer.

I throw in a picture to pep things up.  I confess to having rather a Wrist to Forehead Sunday but could not tell you why.  Just a mood, I suppose.  I could not do anything but read a book and doom scroll on Facebook.  I like some of the Reels, like We Rate Dogs and Stanzi Potenza.  Every so often I would pick up a puzzle book and do a Cryptogram puzzle or a deck of cards and play solitaire.  Now that I type it out, it does not sound like such a bad Sunday.  What am I complaining about?

Preview of Coming Attractions, I hope!

I cheer myself up with the reflection that fall approaches, and I will soon be noticing colored leaves and Halloween decorations.  Come to think of it, walks usually improve my mood if not my writing.  This is going to be great!  Once again, I thank you for tuning in.

 

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Is It Spooky Season Yet?

Posted on September 4, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

I have been making a few late blog posts lately (see what I did there?), and I am doing it again with a Throwback Thursday made early-ish Friday morning.  My early gets later and later as I go, because I find I love staying in bed.  If I wanted to be really productive, I would get up at 2 or 3 a.m., when I am wide awake, but I say, “No, no, I want another REM cycle!” and do relaxations techniques or count sheep till I sleep again.  Then at five or six,  I want to stay asleep till seven or eight.  Judge me if you are so inclined.

I wonder where I put this little cutie.

I delved in my Media Library back to September 2017 and saw several spooky illustrations.  For me and my late, beloved husband Steven, spooky season began after Labor Day, or on years with a late Labor Day like this one, Sept. 1.  Actually, Halloween for us was less of a season than a lifestyle.  I’m sure real goth and horror buffs would laugh at our idea of the macabre, because we loved cheesy horror movies, not gory slasher flicks, and we had no problem with the cutest of Halloween decorations.

Well, maybe one gory slasher flick.

Then again, we loved Carrie, which you could hardly call cheesy.  Actually, I found Carrie more sad than scary.  She was so happy on prom night!  And everybody was NOT laughing at her, just a few of the mean kids.  The thing I found least believable about Carrie was that there was not one misfit kid in that school to befriend her.  I was a misfit kid in junior high, and I had friends.   We weirdos tend to stick together.  Was her school so small she was the only one?  But I had to suspend my disbelief for dramatic purposes.  And I agree with my husband that the gym teacher did not deserve what she got.

OK, here’s a silly one, not particularly spooky.

I add this one merely to honor the recently passed Tim Curry.  My family has spent many hours happily entertained playing the game Clue.  The movie certainly has a stellar cast.

I see I am over 350 words.  Score!  I guess I had better get to work cleaning my house, so I can start decorating for this year’s spooky season.

 

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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.

 

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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.

 

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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.

 

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