Tag Archives: herkimer ny

Not Wuss-out, Shout-out!

I should have known I would wuss out on Wednesday.  I had to work late (for me).  But never mind that.  Instead of another post that is not really a Post (autocorrect decided to capitalize that, and I think I like it), I will share a couple more pictures from my Saturday adventures, thus giving another shout-out to a local business.  I have used this headline before, but I guess I am wussing out on coming up with a better one.

Aren’t they cool?

This is from Rose Quartz Stand in Herkimer, NY, who recently moved next door to a larger space.  They have all kinds of gems and minerals, but I am particularly fascinated by the geodes.  How do the geologists (if those are the ones that find them) know which rocks to crack open?

Very pretty!

I have purchased several of these angels for friends.  Who couldn’t use a little blessing?

There are also some delightful animals carved from stone.  I have a small collection, which I usually add to when I stop there.

Rose Quartz Stand is located on the corner of Mohawk and South Main streets in Herkimer.  315-868-5199. They are open Tuesday and Wednesday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.,  Thursday and Friday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., closed Sunday and Monday.  You can also Like them on Facebook.

 

At Least I Have Been Adventuring

I really, truly, totally meant to make my Saturday blog post on Saturday.   Then I thought for sure I would make it early Sunday morning.  Or maybe later Sunday morning after my run.  Predictably,  here I am Sunday evening,  hoping to make some semblance of a post.  No promises.

On the brighter side,  I am better off than I have been some weekends when I just quietly did not post at all Saturday or Sunday.  I have to congratulate myself on the small wins.  I can only hope that one day they will lead to larger wins.  Or maybe to getting anything done at all.  But let us not ask for miracles.

New digs for one of my favorite places!

Here is one of the pictures  I took Saturday in hopes of doing a Scattered Saturday Post.  It is Rose Quartz Stand, one of my favorite stores.  They recently moved next door, to the corner of Mohawk and South Main streets in Herkimer,  NY.  It is a larger space and very nice.  I must write a longer blog post about it.

The downstairs is open!

Another blog post I need to make is one about Mohawk Valley Community Market,  on North Main Street in Herkimer.   They recently expanded.

Look at all that fun stuff!

One more shout-out on this post-that-is-not-really-a-post:  A Little Touch of Country on South Washington Street in Herkimer.  What a lot of really nice stuff!

As you may guess, I did a bit of adventuring on Saturday.  Isn’t that often the way:  when you do a lot of stuff, you are too tired to make a blog post; when you are not too tired to make a blog post, it is because you have not been doing anything worth posting about.

However, I see I am approaching 300 words.  I call that good on what is often a Wrist to Forehead Sunday.  I hope you all had a lovely weekend.

 

Sunday Stroll, Post-Pedestrian Post

I took a walk with my phone on Sunday, thinking to make a Pedestrian Post. I don’t see any reason not to makes the post now (for the record, it is early Wednesday morning and I failed to make my Tired Tuesday post) (me and my obsession with accuracy).  Sunday was perhaps the last beautiful unseasonably warm day, and I decided to take advantage of it, waiting till the sun was up to take my stroll.

I suppose it would be a stay-cation if I stayed here, but I would like to.

On a walk some time ago, I wanted to get a picture of the Grand Colonial Bed and Breakfast, to give them a shout-out, but could not get a good shot from across the street.  Sunday, I was on the right side of the road.  I have been inside there (when I wrote about them for Mohawk Valley Living magazine).  It is beautiful!  And I’ve seen the breakfast menu: Wow!

Another view.

Continuing down German Street, I turned left onto Main.  I wanted to walk up the hill, where it is only open to local and pedestrian traffic.  I like the exertion of walking up a hill, although I admit I can get too much of a good thing.

As usual, the picture does not seem as steep as it seems to me when I am walking or running up it.

They recently paved it.  I wondered if that means they are going to do something about the area on top of the hill, where the road is partially collapsed.

This section has been collapsed for some time now.

I see they added a branch to the barricade.  As usual, I interpreted it to mean it was closed to vehicular traffic, not middle-aged pedestrian ladies (other pedestrians, too, of course, but I was the only one there at the time).

Pretty!

As I continued my walk, I took care to appreciate the color that yet remains on our trees.  This time of year, I feel I must just look and look, because it lasts such a short time.

I don’t know why this caught my eye.

Bare trees and dead trees have a fascination for me, too.  I will probably share a lot of pictures of bare branches against the sky in future Pedestrian Posts.  To me, it never gets old.

I maybe should have gotten to this tree earlier in the season.

I have been admiring this particular tree for a while.  So big!  So bright!

I enjoyed my walk very much, and I see I have gotten a 400 word blog post out of it.  That’s long for Mohawk Valley Girl!  I hope my readers have enjoyed it.

 

Rehearsal Was a Laugh

Last night I meant to take pictures of our rehearsal for He Laughed Himself to Death, the murder mystery we are putting on to benefit the Herkimer County Historical Society this Saturday.  Alas, I was so busy acting, I forgot.

I think it is time for this blog to become All He Laughed Himself to Death All The Time.  After all, it is only three days (Yikes!) till performance.

Hey, it’s a graphic.

This pretty much tells you all you need to know.  The mystery is a pretty silly story.  I guess most of mine are.  This one concerns a novelty joke company called Gorman’s Gotchas.  We are at a stockholders meeting to discuss a proposed merger with a much larger entity called Consolidated Realignment Associated Products.  Norman Gorman, founder and president of the company is late.  We do hope nothing untoward has happened to him.

Rehearsals are going well.  I have a good cast, and we are all excited for the show.  If you live nearby, I hope you will consider coming to see us!

 

Past Pedestrian Pictures on Tired Tuesday

Oh it is Tired Tuesday.  I do not see why I should feel so tired, although I have a couple of educated guesses.  Never mind those, I always question self-diagnoses anyways.

I went for a nice walk earlier, snapping pictures on my smarter-than-me phone, in hopes of doing a Pedestrian Post.  I got some good ones, but then I remembered I still had a couple I had taken on a previous walk.  Under the heading Waste Not Want Not…

Some flowers still bloom!

This outside Basloe Library in Herkimer,  NY.  I have not had a container garden in the last few years, but when I see an urn of flowers, I start planning for next spring.  Then I start thinking of all the things I have to do to make the plan happen and get bogged down in discouragement and remember that my plans all go to hell anyways.  Still, I might be able to make something happen.  One must not give way to despair.

Well, this is what happens to me on Tired Tuesday:  I can’t share an innocent picture of flowers without starting to whine and cry about something.  I really need to get over myself. Quick, share another picture.

Sometimes I see red.

This was also outside the library.  I love the red against the white.  Maybe I could plant a tree like that in my yard (see, there I go making plans again).

Now that I look at it, not the best shot. Oh well.

This was in Meyers Park.  There are a lot of trees there,  in various stages of color.  I took a picture of a different tree there tonight, I mention as a preview of coming attractions.  Tomorrow I may use some of the pictures I took today’s (I think I took enough for two posts), but I have rehearsal for He Laughed Himself to Death,  so no promises.

 

Sweet Halloween Spirits on Throwback Thursday

We can call yesterday either a real Wuss-out Wednesday or a real Blogger’s Sick Day; the result is the same, and the least said, soonest mended.  Already I have said too much.  I continue to say too much by complaining that headaches continue plague me.  I daresay I do not lead a healthy enough lifestyle.  I must work on that, but in the meantime,  let me attempt another Throwback Thursday Post.

That is a good quote.

I went back to October 2016 for a shot of one of my favorite places, the So Sweet Candy Shoppe in Utica, NY.  I have not been there recently so cannot report on their current Halloween decor.

Must have spirits on Halloween.

I looked in my Media Library in October 2017 and found this shot from Dikin Durt Distillery in Herkimer,  NY.  I do not know that it is overtly Halloweeny, but it does involve spirits.  I say that counts.

Those are some big pumpkins!

Skipping ahead to October 2019, here is a more Halloweeny shot from Pumpkin Junction in Sauquoit, NY.  I have been there once this year (perhaps you read my blog post about it) and hope to go again.

I think my concluding paragraph will bring me to 200 words, my admittedly arbitrary blog standard (it did).  I will provide the headache and healthy lifestyle update in a future post.

 

I Did Not Wuss Out Of My Run

I knew it would be a good idea to run today.  I had neither run nor walked for two days.  Accordingly,  I spent part of my day at work telling myself I would run.  I pictured myself putting on running clothes and getting out there.  I planned how I would put in a load of laundry while I ran (pretty much the extent of my ability to multi-task).  I told myself it would make a good blog post.  What I specifically tried NOT to do was tell myself that I needed to run, or that I ought to run, or should run.  Thus I use these little semantic tricks to back into doing what is good for me.

Some readers are now waiting for me to explain how I succeeded in talking myself out of running (you know who you are).  My back hurt, I could run tomorrow, there was no 5K looming to get myself into shape for, etc.  Well, I did not succeed in that but rather went for a run and am now hoping to get some semblance of a blog post out of it.

It was a beautiful fall day, sunny and warm, but not too warm.  I got my laundry in.  I set out.  Where to run?  Which direction to take?  I decided to take German Street to Main and go by my beloved Herkimer Historic Four Corners.  For one reason, I could probably find a picture of that to illustrate my post.

Found one!

Ah, here is the 1834 Jail.  I love that place!  I ran by it and on down to Basloe Library (yes, autocorrect,  it is BASLOE Library, not the Be slow Library; what the hell kind of library is the Be slow Library, for heavens sake?) (and I did mean hell not he’ll!).  The library’s sign was missing (Basloe or Be slow).  I wondered what that was all about.

My body was not best pleased to be running, but I managed to keep it up for 20 minutes.  I saw some fun Halloween decorations along the way and petted a sweet puppy on my cool down walk.  I managed to get my load of laundry into the drier (and the non-drier items hung up elsewhere), but unfortunately that was the extent of my ambition.  The laundry is still in the drier, and this will have to do for my blog post.  I think it is OK for a Wuss-out Wednesday.

 

Sad Shout-Out, Sweet Shop

Well, this is sad.  I was about to give a long overdue shout-out to A Little Touch of Country, a lovely gift shop in Herkimer, NY.  Accordingly, I logged onto Facebook and went to their page for phone number, hours, etc.  And I saw a post saying the store will be closed for the rest of the week due to a loved one losing his battle with cancer.  Very sad!

However, the shop will re-open next week with new hours, so I will share the pictures I took the last time I was there and post about them again next week when I learn the new hours.

Pig, sheep, and Betty White, what’s not to like?

A Little Touch of Country has been in business a little over a year.  I know this, because the last time I was there was when I saw on Facebook they were celebrating an anniversary.  I stopped in and took these pictures. I also purchased a present for a friend who needed a little pick-me-up. I admit with some shame that this was probably a couple of months ago.  Well, regular readers know I have been a bad blogger lately. I am trying to do better, hence this post about a local business.

Yes, thankful and blessed is how I ought to feel.

I first discovered the shop even longer ago, when I was in a rare run on that side of town.  I usually stay on the north side of State Street, also known as Route 5, not from any feeling that it is the “right” side of town but because it is a large, busy street, not easy to cross.  In this case, I was glad I did and soon made my way back to shop.

Dolly knows it’s a good place to shop.

I do not go to Touch of Country very often, only because I do not shop for this sort of thing very much.  Quite frankly, I have too much stuff in my house and need rather to get rid of things.  On the other hand, perhaps I will get rid of some stuff so I can go back to A Little Touch of Country and purchase more!

A Little Touch of Country is located on South Washington Street in Herkimer, NY.  Oddly, their Facebook page does not mention a number, but you can’t miss it.  Their phone number is 315-219-5650.  I’ll share their new hours as soon as I know them!

 

Tuesday Trudge?

I have long tried, sometimes successfully, to motivate myself with the mantra Just Do One Thing.  I recently encountered a similar thought in a Facebook meme.  It went something like, Can’t do the dishes? Wash one plate.  Can’t take a shower?  Just wash your face.  So this morning when I woke up with my entire body and psyche screaming that they did not want to walk, I thought, Just go around the block.  Take a short walk.

I was doing really well with my early morning walks for a while.  I was up to 30 minutes, drinking water while I walked and making my way to the spring to refill my bottle. Yesterday I did not walk at all. This morning I told myself a ten minutevwalk would be acceptable.

Temperatures have dropped somewhat as fall approaches, but it was no cooler than sweatshirt weather.  That is fine with me as it gives me pockets for tissues and my phone.  I took a bottle of water but did not intend to refill it.  It was kind of nice to walk a different route from to the spring and back.

Down to Church Street and over to my beloved Herkimer Historic Four Corners, I decided.  That would make two blocks.  Further than intended but not as far as previously.  Thus I compromise with myself.

I did not take any pictures with my phone, because pictures taken in the dark so rarely turn out well.  But perhaps I can find something in my Media Library to pep up the post.

It looks more mysterious in the dark.

Here is the graveyard surrounding Herkimer Reformed Church.  I find it fascinating any time of the day or night.

As I approached the church, I saw a bicycle in the parking lot entrance.  It looked for all the world as if it had been left out with the trash.  Tuesday is trash day in Herkimer.  That can’t be, I thought.  Still, there it was, and who knows what the garbage collectors might think.  I took it upon myself to move the bike from the curb.  I leaned it against the railing of the steps leading up to the church’s back door.

That was the only excitement in my walk, which lasted 17 minutes, by the way.  So I got some semblance of exercise today.  And now I have made some semblance of a blog post.  Score!  Not bad for a Tired Tuesday.

 

Not a Lame Walk, But Maybe Lame Photography

I thought I would try for the Pedestrian Post I missed earlier this week, in lieu of my usual Lame Post Friday post.  Accordingly,  I armed myself with my smarter-than-me phone and set out shortly after supper.  I have done several of these picture walk posts in Herkimer, NY, and knew my adopted hometown would not disappoint.

My first photo op was the Grand Colonial Bed and Breakfast at 122 West German Street.  Unfortunately I was across the street and did not get a good shot.  So Herkimer did not disappoint,  but my camera did.  Most likely it was operator error as usual.

This is from my Media Library. I’ll try to get a full view later.

Continuing with my walk, I crossed Main Street and started down the lovely walkway over what used to be a hydraulic canal.  It is a wonderful re-purposed space, which, alas, I also did not get a good picture of.

Also from the Media Library and not the view I wanted.

I took a turn halfway down the path and walked down a sidewalk with few photo ops.  It was then I remembered I had been going to go to Mohawk Community Market on Main Street for the Grand opening on their newly renovated downstairs.  Well, it will still be renovated in days to come.  I’ll get there soon (preview of coming attractions).

Continuing my walk, I noticed the signs on the parking lot to the county office buildings.  Regular readers know that I can rarely resist entering where it says not to.

Oh, sure, THIS picture comes out!

I went out the entrance and the wrong way down Mary Street but did not take pictures of those signs.  Then I was on Main Street, heading towards my beloved Herkimer Historic Four Corners.

You can only really see two of the corners.

I tried, once again unsuccessfully, to get a picture of Suiter House.  By now I am too lazy to search my Media Library for one of those.

I had better luck with the 1834 Jail.

 

I could not resist a shot of the graveyard at Herkimer Reformed Church.

It was a very enjoyable walk.  I may take another one soon, if for no other reason than to get pictures of the things I missed.