Tag Archives: herkimer ny

Fun and Games on Scattered Saturday

He looks mean, doesn’t he?

I was hoping for a picture of a big explosion to start off this week’s Scattered Saturday post, because that is pretty much how Demolition Man (1993) begins.  It is what we are watching now.  I suggested it because it is a funny, fun, fast-paced flick.  We had just watched The Bad Seed (1956), a perennial favorite of ours.

Isn’t she sweet?

Our day was even more fun before we got to the movie-watching portion.  We went to Little Falls for the grand opening of Meeples Mug House, the new board game cafe.  We played gin and then Yahtzee, in between enjoying a delicious sandwich (me) and soup (Steven).  I’ll write more about Meeples in another post (preview of coming attractions).

I took more pictures for subsequent use.

Before that, I went running and, um, not much else.  I made a phone call to arrange donating an afghan to the H.A.L.O. Chinese Auction tomorrow at the VFW (another preview of coming attractions).  While watching movies, I did a load of laundry and popped a bowl of popcorn (yum).  It was Aversa’s Popcorn, just to add a little local flair to the post.

For local readers, the HALO Chinese auction is at the  Herkimer VFW from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.  HALO is the Helping Animals Live Organization, a no kill, not for profit, cat rescue group.

Meeples Mug House is located at 598 E. Main St., Little Falls, NY.  They are open from 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday, 5 to 10 p.m. Friday, 2 to 10 p.m. Saturday, and 2 to 8 p.m. Sunday.

And that brings me over 200 words, which regular readers will remember I consider respectable.  I WILL write more about Meeples, possibly in an article in Mohawk Valley Living magazine.  I will also write again about H.A.L.O.  Right now, however, I have knitting to do, and I have to watch Sylvester Stallone kick Wesley Snipes’ butt in Demolition Man.  Happy Saturday, everyone.

 

Rapunzel, I’m Not

Here is a good idea for a Non-Sequitur Thursday post:  a PRE-shout-out to a local business I am ABOUT to go to.  And I’d better hustle up, or I won’t have time to shower first.  Oh dear, do I even have time if I hustle?  Well, I’ll just start typing and see what I can do.

My hair has been growing at its usual annoying rate, that is, fast till it gets to where I can’t do anything with it and then stop.  I was undecided to cut or not, because I did not know what my director wanted for the play I’m in (remember? Morning’s at Seven at Ilion Little Theatre) (the murder mysteries don’t matter; I can make any number of ‘do’s work for them).  When the stage manager said she had a grey wig that would work for me, my first question was, “So it’s OK if I get my hair cut really short?”  It was.

Hence, I have an appointment with Clair, my usual stylist at The Hot Spot Salon and Spa in Herkimer.  I decided I might as well have a pedicure while I was at it, if the appointment time was available.  It was!  The appointment is for five tonight.  When I made the appointment, the lady making it said I would be out by about quarter after six.  Perfect for a six-thirty rehearsal in Ilion!  I hope.

Hmm… this is kind of a boring blog post.  It might have been more interesting if I had waited till after the appointment.  I could have included a picture of my toes, at least.  Well, I can’t help that.  I have a shower to take.  My appointment is for a cut without shampoo and blow-dry (I get a REAL low-care cut).  I still don’t know what I’m going to wear to rehearsal.  How flustered I get!

The Hot Spot Salon and Spa is located at 121 E. Albany St., Herkimer, NY, phone number 315-866-9113.  You can also Like them on Facebook.

Saturday Fun in Herkimer

My husband, Steven, and I made a few stops this afternoon.  I brought along my Tablet and took pictures at each one, for a proper Scattered Saturday post.  Let’s see if I can actually make one.

I foolishly did not get the name of the fellow doing the pouring.

Our first stop was at Valley Wine and Liquor in Herkimer for a tasting by Thousand Islands Winery. Alas,they were not pouring any of their dryer wines,but we enjoyed talking to the young man pouring.  From there we went to Hummel’s Office Plus for some paper for our printer.

Look at all that paper!

After that, we stopped at a new business in Herkimer, Wakefield Furniture. Full disclosure:  we do not need any furniture at the present time.  However, the next time we do, we will go to Wakefield. They are very nice, in addition to having a very attractive store showcasing some lovely items.

I LOVE a tall table!

One of the first things to catch my eye was a tall table with matching stools. However, there was another table which I wonder would not be even better for my house.

I don’t know if this picture properly captures this table’s beautiful top.

Leaving the furniture store, I had the silly idea we should do a little bar hopping, a pastime in which we rarely indulge these days.  Accordingly, we stopped at the Endzone Pub and Grub.

They carry a lot of beers at the End Zone.

Can you read “Herkimer” on the shirt?

We admired the ceilings at the End Zone.  Wakefield also had lovely ceilings, but I neglected to take a picture.

After the End Zone,we stopped at Pete’s Tavern, at which we tried our luck at a couple of scratch-off lottery tickets.

This was our nice bartender, Cecelia.

I won $10 on one, $2 of which I re-invested in another scratch-off.  That one was not a winner, but I got a $1 scratch-off that won me $2, so I was still $8 up.

The other pub in close proximity was Asteroga Ale House, so we stopped there as well.  We had a cup of clam chowder along with our wine. Very tasty.

I do not remember this lady’s name.

The we finally went home.  Full disclosure:  I am having another glass of wine as I type this. I hope it still makes a fun blog post. Happy Saturday, everyone.

 

Wordless Shout-Out?

So I’m Tablet posting today, and I think I’ll pep things up with a few pictures and try for a Wordless Wednesday.   I wonder if there’s anything on the Tablet that’s any good.

Kim in black dress number fifty-one.

When in doubt,  go with the beautiful blonde. This is the picture of my dear friend Kim at Renewed and Rescued, the consignment shop in Herkimer I wrote about for Mohawk Valley Living.  The dress may or may not be exactly the fifty-first in Kim`s wardrobe, but close enough. As I related in my article,  I saw the dress, knew Kim would like it , brought Kim to the shop, and found that I was right.

I love the lights.

Here is another picture of the shop.  I really must do a whole post about them. For now, a couple of pictures must suffice.  For one reason, I HATE typing one letter at a time with the stylus.

Another part of the shop.

The store offers upscale clothes as well as vintage and locally made jewelry.  I purchased earrings and a bracelet.  In addition to the dress, Kim found a pair of shoes .

Renewed and Rescued is located at 142 North Main St., Herkimer, NY, phone number 313-628-1506.

As I said earlier,  I hope to do a better post at a later date.   In the meantime,  Happy Wednesday,  everyone.

 

 

Is It Romantic?

Happy Valentine’s Day from Mohawk Valley Girl.  I am tired and wanting to watch 20/20 on OWN, so I am going to give a brief overview of our Valentine’s Day activities, hit Publish and move on.  I find that appropriate for Non-Sequitur Thursday.

I was late getting home, never mind why, I’ll tell you later, if I remember to, no promises.  I had to email my article and pictures for the March issue to Mohawk Valley Living magazine.  I hope they like it.  I had mentioned to Steven that there was a Korbel tasting at Valley Wine and Liquor at five.  He did not remember my mentioning it but was amenable to attending such a thing.

After I got my submissions taken care of, I showered and put on a Valentine outfit.  I tried to take a picture of it, but I am incapable of taking a decent selfie, so never mind.  Just take my word for it that I looked good.  We went to taste some champagne.  We liked it and bought a bottle of Rose Brut.  Or was it Brut Rose?  I cannot be bothered to go out to the kitchen to look at the bottle or find the little notebook I took my tasting notes in.

We continued our evening with dinner at Salvatore’s in Herkimer.  Yum!  I could do entire blog posts about the tasting or the dinner, and I do not rule that out.  In the meantime, I repeat, Happy Valentine’s Day, and Happy Non-Sequitur Thursday to one and all!

 

One Must Begin Again

I read somewhere that wintertime running is about maintenance, not necessarily improvement.  I told myself this as I finished a fairly short run this morning.  “It’s about maintenance,” I thought.  Then I thought, “My runs are about blog posts, weight-loss goals, health, and my own entertainment, not necessarily in that order.”  I had thought  doing a Sunday Running Commentary as I set out on my run.  I last ran a week ago and quite frankly did not feel like running today, but, as I said to Steven as I went out the door, “One must begin again.”  Then I thought, “That would be a good title for a blog post.”  So here we are.

We had a couple of days of spring-like weather last week, but I, perhaps foolishly, did not run then.  For one reason, my body was in its final throes of rebellion against 10-hour days.  I know, other people work longer days at more difficult jobs, and they don’t even complain.  All I can say is, that is them, this is me.  I was dead tired all week and not up to running through all the puddles which were the inevitable result of the warmer temperatures.  Today was cold, and it had been snowing.  Snow offers traction, so I thought.

Turns out I shouldn’t think so much.  I tried to run on the sidewalk and soon found there was a LOT of ice under the snow.  After my trailing foot zooped out from underneath me for the third time (luckily my weight was already established on my leading foot at the time), I went into the road, which was a little better.  And a little worse, because of traffic.  Sunday mornings are usually pretty tame traffic-wise, but I had waited till after eleven to run, hoping for a warmer temperature.  Well, the cars would just have to watch out for me; I was staying where I was.

I did not spend much time on German Street, which is one of the busier streets, but soon turned down Margaret. That was quieter, which was good, because it was also pretty snow-covered. I went for the barest part of the road and did now worry too much about staying close to the curb, except when I saw or heard a car coming.  It did not feel too bad, running along at my usual shuffling pace.  The air was cold, but you’ll have that.

My deal with myself was that I only had to run 20 minutes.  I can worry about building up when the weather is better.  If I worry about it at all. I mean, why should I worry?  Worry doesn’t burn calories or build muscle mass.  It is a quite useless activity.  I ran, I wrote a blog post.  Let’s leave it at that.  Happy Sunday, folks.

 

Several Stops on Scattered Saturday

It is time to make my Scattered Saturday post so I can return to the bra off, sweats on, wine drinking, movie watching portion of the evening.  It has been a cold, windy Saturday, yet I managed to get out for a bit.

First I got my post cards written, as well as a short letter which Steven helped me finish.  We were both having a hard time getting ourselves started this morning.  At last we had both washed up and dressed.  We stopped first at the post office then at Basloe Library, where we returned the two movies we watched last weekend as well as two novels I read (I still have a biography of Rasputin, which is not due for another week or so).  Then we headed out Route 28.

Our destination was the Rusty Nail Grill in Little Falls, where I wanted to drop off an afghan for a fundraiser they are having tomorrow.  I would like to write an entire blog post about our drive out and the Rusty Nail itself.  Maybe tomorrow.  We drove back a different way, going through Little Falls but not making any stops.  Back in Herkimer, we went to Hannaford (a grocery store that loves local, by the way), then back home.

After relaxing at home for a bit, we gassed up my car then went to a wine tasting at Valley Wine and Liquor in Herkimer.  The wine tasting rates a blog post as well, as I took a few notes on what we tried.  Soon we were back home and into our sweats.

While we watched an old monster movie I DVR’d some time ago, Steven fixed us some yummy BLTs.  Now we are looking at a movie we have seen many times but love.  However, that is a subject for perhaps a Sunday Cinema post.  In the meantime, I am over 300 words. Happy Saturday, everyone!

 

Lots of Local!

So I thought I could do a kind of a regular post today, giving shout-outs to a couple of local businesses.  Then we went to a third local business, where I had a couple of glasses of Chardonnay, which is not at all a bad thing.  Hmmm… well, let’s begin at the beginning.

I had a prescription to pick up at the Medicine Shoppe.  It has been ready since Tuesday.  Tuesday afternoon, I called Steven from work and said, “I had a kind of a wild thought.  Instead of going and picking up my prescription after work, how about if I come home and shower, you come with me to pick it up, and we go out to dinner.”  Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, Steven had already planned on fixing tuna-noodle casserole for dinner and was not inclined to go out.  I say “fortunately” because the casserole was quite tasty.

Fast forward through Wednesday (which I only vaguely remember anyways), and I made the same suggestion.  I had an additional reason for doing this:  I finished the salad I made for my lunch, and if we went to dinner I could get a salad and perhaps have some left over for tomorrow’s lunch.  Steven was non-committal, so I thought it would be a good idea to pick up my prescription before coming home.

So I knew I could give a shout-out to the Medicine Shoppe in Ilion.  They are really nice there.  If you do not have a regular pharmacist that you like, I highly recommend the Medicine Shoppe.

Whenever I stop at the Medicine Shoppe, I often go right across the parking lot to Ilion Wine and Spirits.  They are very nice there too.  I purchased a bottle of my favorite champagne,  Great Western Extra Dry.  It is a New York State wine, from the Finger Lakes.  It is yummy, if you like that sort of thing, which I do.

When I arrived home, I found that Steven was quite willing to go out to dinner, especially since he had turned me down earlier in the week.  I felt it was a good day for Steven to go out, because he was looking quite handsome.  Earlier today, he got his hair cut and beard trimmed at the Hot Shot Salon and Spa in Herkimer.   Ooh, another local businesses to give a shout-out to!

We went to Salvatore’s in Herkimer, one of our favorite places.  I could write a whole post just about our dinner.  Perhaps I will, but not tonight.  For one reason, I am over 400 words.  That’s pretty good for me.  I may drink some more Chardonnay.  Happy Thursday, everybody!

 

Monday Mail Meanderings

This is not a Monday Mental Meanderings but a Pedestrian Post.  I walked to the Post Office to mail the post cards I usually send out on Saturday.  I took my Tablet along to take a few pictures, thinking to make a change from my usual Monday Monsters (don’t worry, monster lovers; no doubt I will resort to my frightening friends later in the week).  I thought of this alliterative title as I walked home.

I put the Tablet into a soft bag I got at Paca Gardens in Little Falls (just for a little more local color).  I did not trust myself to carry it the whole way, especially not in its case.  I was only a little worried I would not be able to see the screen properly, because it was quite sunny.  I put my prescription sunglasses in the bag, thinking I might need them.  Not neglecting to also put in the post cards, I set out.

Right away I saw what I considered a cool-looking tree.  I love the look of bare branches against the sky. I got the Tablet out of the bag and tried to log in without the stylus.  That didn’t work, because I was wearing gloves.  So I got out the stylus and promptly dropped in in the snow.  It is a combination pen/stylus given to me by Herkimer County Historical Society after Shattered Angel, the play they put on at Ilion Little Theatre last fall.  It says “Shattered Angel/Ilion Little Theatre” on it (see? more local color!).  It is a very cool thing.  I brushed it off as best as I could, logged into the Tablet, and could not get the picture. I include the story of me trying, because it is just so typical me.  I walked on.

As I approached St. Francis de Sales Church, I thought I would get a shot of the statue of St. Francis wearing a red scarf, as he does this time of year.  I worried it would be back-lit, but it did not turn out too bad.

He looks saintly, does he not?

After I crossed the street, I tried to get a shot of the whole church.  That one turned out too shadowy, so I do not include it here.  I walked on into Meyers Park, where I knew I could take a picture of the statue of General Herkimer.  First, however, I saw the stone bench I have often admired but never sat on.

I was hoping the inscription would be legible.

Beyond the bench is a statue, only I do not know who it is. However, according to the inscription, he was instrumental in having women work for the government. I’m all about good jobs for women!  I was worried I had cut his head off, but I see now that I did not.

It seems they engraved his signature but did not print out the name.

I also got a shot of the pavilion, which is always a pivotal location when the park hosts community events.

It may not look like such a much now, but the potential is there.

I think my picture of General Herkimer is just a little back-lit, but in a blog about a walk in Herkimer, I feel I should include the General.  Here he is, in the iconic pose, directing the battle though morally wounded.

I see he has a similar scarf to St. Francis’.

On the other side of the park, I walked by the Methodist Church and decided to get a shot of that.  It turned out better that the one of St. Francis, so I include it.

Perhaps I should learn how to photoshop out power lines.

I was happy to get a shot of the post office.  I think I had a post card of it but already sent it to someone.  I do love sending local post cards.  In fact, I am not sure if the post card was of this post office or Little Falls’.  They are similar buildings.

My weekly destination. I do love post offices.

I had meant to talk more about the actual walk, over the ice and through the snow.  However, I see I am approaching 700 words.   Do my readers want to read over 700 words on a Monday? I hate to try people’s patience.  Additionally, Dateline is on OWN as I type.  So I say Happy Monday, and stay tuned for monsters later in the week.

 

Scattering before the Storm

Scattered Saturday it is!  For one reason, I can type this in quickly (I hope) and get back to the relaxing portion of the day.  Just a note of background:  today is supposed to be a major winter storm.  The weather people have been talking about it for days now.  Right now is the part of the day we are supposed to be hunkered down, waiting till it is time to go out and do some major shoveling tomorrow.  I suppose I can make a blog post while I hunker, but I would rather be watching a movie or true crime television.  On with the blog post, so I can get back to it!

We got up early today, having gone to bed early last night.  I felt rather ill-used to have a headache first thing in the morning.  I hadn’t even had a Friday night libation!  I wondered if too much sleep was to blame.  YES, I slept a lot on Friday.  I had a migraine, remember?  At least, regular readers will remember.  For sporadic tuners-in who missed yesterday’s lame post,  I had a migraine yesterday.  I sought exercise as a cure:  first I drank two large glasses of Gatorade, then I ran in place on the mini-tramp.  The headache wasn’t gone, but I could live with it.

After my usual call to Mom and Dad, I wrote a few post cards.  I was puttering around getting my act together when Steven went out to brush off the cars.  We feared the winter storm had started early, but it was merely a dusting overnight.  I got outside in time to help with the brushing, then I was off to Ilion.

My mission in Ilion was to get my work shoes for the year from Melfe’s.  I will no doubt write a blog post about that; I usually do.  My plan after that was to go to Moose River Coffee for a cup of the BEST coffee.  I could sit and write while I drank it.  Alas, they were not open.  A sign in the door said they were doing a tasting at Little Falls Food Co-op.  Well, I love Little Falls Food Co-op but was not into driving to Little Falls.

As I pulled into the parking lot for Ilion Wine and Spirits, I remembered Honey Brook Hobbies.  Maybe they had coffee!  Alas (again), they did not.  I bought a few cookies, though, because they looked really good (they were; I ate one right away).  Then I went to the liquor store and got a couple of bottles.

Back home I thought I was in for the day.  After all, it was already snowing.  However, my friend Kim needed to go to the liquor store and get something to see her through the storm.  Naturally I went with her to Valley Wine and Liquor in Herkimer.  After all, I still had my bra on (do NOT say TMI!) (you know who you are).  We tasted some wine and purchased some as well (oh, don’t shake your head or your finger at me!) (or even your booty, although that would be less of a problem) (it’s not like I’m going to drink it all TONIGHT!).

I cooked a pretty good dinner (not early enough to call it supper) while we looked at a Dateline I had DVR’d a while ago (judging from the taped commercials).  Now it is over so I must find something else to watch.  I see I am over 500 words, which I call more than respectable.  If you are in the path of the storm, I hope you are hunkered down.  For all others, Happy Saturday!