Tag Archives: husband Steven

What’s a Good Name for a Bat?

Posted on February 1, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

Here at last is my shout-out to To Niche Their Own, a lovely shop on Mohawk Street in Herkimer, NY.  I have been there several times, finding some beautiful Christmas gifts and once saving myself from my own carelessness when I left the house NOT wearing earrings.

Extra points for a punny name!

The shop features the works of several local crafters.  Crochet items, stuffed toys, jewelry and more.  It is fun just to walk around and look.  The last time I was there (about two days ago), I fell in love with some Valentine bears.  I don’t have a Valentine any more, but maybe I could think of somebody to give one of these adorable bears to.

So cute!

I did make a purchase when I saw a lone bat left over from Halloween.  I told Ashley, the proprietress, about Mookie Wilson, the bat my late husband Steve won from a claw machine many years ago and which has hung from various light fixtures in our house ever since.  My sister Diane suggested the name.

Me and Mookie Wilson.

I wondered what I should name my new bat.  I don’t think I can do much better than Mookie Wilson as a name for a bat.  Ashley suggested I ask my blog readers.  Accordingly, I took a picture of the bat:

He is a two-sided bat.

Or maybe it is a she-bat. Oh dear.

Maybe it is a trans bat.  In any case, I was quite delighted with my purchase and happy to mention a fun new business in my blog.

To Niche Their Own is located at 127 Mohawk St., Herkimer, NY.

 

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Lame is the Answer

Posted on January 31, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

Oh dear, I wanted to make my Lame Post Friday blog post before going out adventuring today, but I sit here at my Chromebook feeling headachey and dull.  Where’s that sparkling personality I thought I had?  And here we come to the ugly truth about me.  Never mind.  I want to make a blog post and I will.   Quick, throw in a picture to lighten  up the mood.

Who could be uncheered by a snowman?

I have not seen any snowmen recently.  It has not been warm enough for the snow to pack, unfortunately.  The caption, by the way, is an homage to Winnie the Pooh.

You KNOW I am going to enter!

Here is a sign I have not seen in a while, because I have not been running.  I really want to start again, but with below zero wind chills and ice on the roadways, I keep putting it off. I have been saying I am going to run the Boilermaker 15K in Utica, NY this July but have not yet registered.  I heard open registration started, so I better get moving on it.  It will be good for a few blog posts anyways.

Bittersweet is the word.

I close on a melancholy note.  I shared this picture on Facebook this morning after it showed up in my Memories.  The mugs were a Christmas gift from my sister Cheryl, the Queen of Christmas, to my dearly missed husband Steve and me. I said that I rarely use these mugs, but perhaps I would today for a cup of hot cocoa.  I recently purchased the necessary ingredients.  Hmm, that motivates me to get out the door and get on with my errands and adventures.  I can return to a steaming mug of hot cocoa.  Maybe I’ll add a shot of moonshine from Dikin Durt Distillery, just to give a local business a shout-out.

 

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Blog of Christmas Past

Posted on December 25, 2025 by mohawkvalleygirl

How convenient that Christmas falls on a Thursday, so I can do a Throwback Thursday Post.  All I need do is consult my Media Library.

A great place for Christmas goodies!

Of course I must include my late, dearly missed husband Steven.  Holidays are difficult when you have lost somebody so important to you and with whom you have shared so much.  But I must keep my spirits up.  My family and friends help a great deal.  Anyways, this is the So Sweet Candy Shoppe, which used to be on Varick Street but has relocated to a nice spot in Clinton.  Check it out; it’s a great place to shop any time of year.

 

Random Christmas picture to denote passage of time while I scroll my Media Library indecisively.

This is not going well. I keep looking at different Decembers and not seeing anything that I feel like sharing.  Come on, me!  Grow a brain!

I haven’t a ghost of a chance of making a good blog post today!

I thought at first this was the Ghost of Christmas Past, which would have been SO appropriate for a Throwback Thursday. However, we must make do with Jacob Marley.  I have not seen any Christmas movies in the past few years, largely because Steven was the one who was always popping them in.  For another reason, I disconnected my DVD player when I got a new table for my television and have never hooked it back up.  I only have RokuTV and have not figured out where the free movies are.

Yeah, I’m a ding dong.  But not a rama-lama ding dong.

I close with a Christmas Cowbell, gifted to me by my sister Cheryl back in 2020, just because.  I see I am approaching 300 words.  Score!  Merry Christmas to those who celebrate, Happy Holidays to others, and Happy Thursday just to be all inclusive.

 

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Christmas Wrist to Forehead

Posted on December 21, 2025 by mohawkvalleygirl

Oh, it is Wrist to Forehead Sunday.  Not even 10 a.m. and I have dithered enough to send a normal person into a tizzy.  Fortunately, I am an experienced ditherer, and nobody has ever for one minute in my life accused me of being normal.  I have not actually swooned, dramatically posed with the back of one wrist to my forehead, but let me tell you, I’m close.

I can’t seem to find that necklace. Rats!

What, don’t you decorate your gorilla for the season?  This is actually from last year.  I have not decorated my house nor even cleaned it thoroughly.  Judge me if you are so inclined.

My favorite socks and slippers.

Maybe if I get a few things done, I will feel justified in putting my feet up and taking a rest, as in this picture from 2023.  I went out this morning to purchase wrapping paper, etc.  As I searched for what I needed, I kept hearing Boris Karloff’s voice in my head saying, “It came without ribbons.  It came without tags.  It came without packages, boxes or bags.”  Well, it very nearly did come without tags, because I couldn’t find any for what seemed like the longest time.

We were a cute Christmas couple.

I close with a picture of myself with my late, dearly missed husband Steve.  We were at Salvatore’s in Herkimer, one of our favorite places to eat.  I have not been there in a while.  I do not think they are open on Sunday, but perhaps tomorrow I could stop in for lunch or dinner.  Maybe I will even wear the vest I have on in the picture.

 

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I Run in the Slow Lame

Posted on December 13, 2025 by mohawkvalleygirl

Hello and welcome to another Lame Post Friday post.  I went for a short run earlier this morning (ooh, it is still morning; I have not wasted away the whole day).  Am I ready for the Reindeer Run 5K in Little Falls tomorrow?  Was I ever going to be?  No matter.  I have a new theme song that goes:

We do what we can do

And if it’s not enough

Tough.

I sang it to myself during the latter part of my run.  It was quite snowy.  I meant to take a picture after the run to show what I was dealing with but was feeling rather defeated at the time and could only go in the house.  I was happy that I made the effort, though.  I am sure my body will feel better tomorrow because of it.

Preview of Coming Attractions?

That was me after I ran in 2018.  I was thinking of going to a dollar store and getting some garland to drape myself with this year but do not know if I can muster the oomph.  I find I have a very short supply of oomph these days and a whole reservoir of I Just Can’t Even.  That the hell, me?

I return to my theme song.  What I can do today, it seems, is a lame blog post.  I wonder if I can find a fun picture to close with.  Come on, Media Library, don’t fail me now!

Cheers to the season!

How about a very nice picture of my dearly missed husband, Steve.  He loved Christmas as much as I did, and he was proud of me for running a 5K, even if I was pretty slow about it.  I treasure warm memories, even as I search for a little more oomph.

 

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Still Ill, but Throwback Thanksgiving

Posted on November 27, 2025 by mohawkvalleygirl

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody, and welcome to a Throwback Thursday post.  I am feeling a little better from my ailment of the other day.  Not 100% but on the mend, and I thought I could make a quick post, just to not go to many days without.

Lovely fall colors, yes?

This is a picture from 2016.  It is a bouquet of flowers my dearly missed husband Steven sent me when I was leading lady in the play The BusyBody at Ilion Little Theatre.  Come to think of it, that play happened in the spring.  I don’t know why I shared the picture in November.  I’m sure my husband picked the colors because they are my favorites.

Look how cute they are.

Here are some fall decorations.  I decided the bigger ones were sweethearts and the little one was the guy’s little brother.  Note the straight mouth; he wishes little brother would go away so he can kiss his girlfriend.  However, the girlfriend thinks little brother is cute and his happy he is there.  I have shared that story before, but it is Throwback Thursday after all.

Wow, look at all that stuff!

And here is another picture of when my husband used to decorate.  Perhaps I will see what I can do for Christmas.

I see I have reached 200 words.  That will do, I say.  I hope to be up for Mohawk Valley Adventures soon.  After all, Shop Small Saturday is coming!

 

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I’m 61 and I Still Run

Posted on November 13, 2025 by mohawkvalleygirl

I thought of that rhyme as I walked my cool-down walk after today’s run.  I’ve been 61 for over 11 months, and this is the first time I thought of it.  What the hell, me?  However, waste not, want not: I’m still 61 and I can use it for a headline for a Running Commentary post.

I did not run for the last two days, so I really felt obligated.  In my defense, yesterday it was snowing and I just couldn’t trust the roads.  I walked later in the afternoon and couldn’t trust all the sidewalks, but it is less of a problem for walking.  I did not trust the sidewalks today but stuck to the roads for the most part.  In general I prefer to stay on the sidewalks.  I like to give myself every advantage of not getting run over by a car.

I often run by the Court House.

Full disclosure:  This picture is from February 2021, but it shows a landmark I ran by and it shows snow.  Regular readers may recognize this as part of Herkimer’s Historic Four Corners, a favorite place for me to walk or run by.  I was on the second half of my run by this time.  I was using the Map My Run app on my phone, making a lot of turns in hopes of mapping out an interesting shape, and saw that I was just over a mile.  Go, me!

I was holding the phone in my hand, because I could not find the strap I hold it on my arm with and was too impatient to look for it.  It made it not so easy to blow my nose as I ran, but you can’t have everything.

Also not taken today.

I could not find the picture I wanted to share but came across this one.  I was wearing that headband today.  I purchased it in Niagara Falls while on my honeymoon with my beloved dearly missed husband Steve in 1990.  My hair is not that long, but it’s growing.

My run was not too bad.  I went almost two and a half miles in 33 minutes, which while slow is faster than my recent runs.  I did not pet any dogs, although I saw a couple nice ones.  I did get to pet one of my favorite doggy friends, Pugsley the morkie on my cool-down walk (it was right after I thought of today’s headline).  I may be ready for the Reindeer Run 5K in Little Falls this December.  I hope they have one.

 

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No Blog November?

Posted on November 2, 2025 by mohawkvalleygirl

I pause in my gyrations to try for my first blog post in a week (and a day).  I have been in the midst of a deep dark depression (excessive misery) (AAAUUU!).

Now I pause because I don’t know how to spell OH.  Not everybody will get my tele-literary reference above, but there used to be a very silly show on Saturday nights called Hee-Haw!  They featured some very talented musicians, but I was there for the comedy, some of which was musical.  There was one recurring sketch with these old hillbillies lying around singing, “Gloom, despair, and agony on me!”  letting off a wail of despair at the end of each line.

If I was on one of my older devices, I could perhaps have found an appropriate illustration, but I have not figured out all the ins and outs of my Chromebook yet.  I am SO twentieth century!

Coffee always helps.

I am currently sipping coffee out of this mug.  It was Steve’s.

I’m sorry, I forgot where I was going with this blog post.  I guess I was just feeling kind of mortified that I have not posted in over a week and since I was taking a break to sip some coffee, I would try for a few words.  And I see I am over 200.  Score!

OK, my mini challenge to myself is to post every day in November.  Only a 30 day month, how hard can it be?  As always, I thank you for tuning in.

 

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Whiskey and Rye

Posted on September 20, 2025 by mohawkvalleygirl

Thursday I made my way down to Valley Wine and Liquors in Herkimer, NY for a tasting with Cooperstown Distillery.  I went to Cooperstown Distillery some years ago with my late, dearly missed husband Steve, and knew they had good stuff.  And of course I am always up for checking out a local or area business.  I was very glad I went.

He was great.

The pourer was a nice young man named MacGuire Benton.  I told him having a last name for a first name was sexy.  I thought I could get away with a remark like that at my age.  At least he didn’t seem to mind.  By that time I had sampled all his wares and we had established something of a rapport.  He gave me lots of good information about the distillery, and encouraged me to return for another visit.

“They’ll take good care of you,” he said.

He said they get their grains locally from Crowe family farm in Canajoharie.  More local!  Spent grains are placed in an underground tank, and farmer’s take them for their cattle.  MacGuire said it was circle of life when he eventually ate a steak from a cow that ate some of their grains.  I speculated that whiskey grains made the cows happy, but I suppose that is just a bit of fantasy on my part.

I tasted a blended whisky, a rye (making reference to “good old boys were drinking whiskey and rye”), bourbon, and some single malt.  I like them all!  I am not much of a booze hound these days, being more of a winer (and and regular readers know, something of a whiner), but I got a bottle of the blended whiskey.  It will make for some good hot toddies if I get hit with a cold.  Or if I just feel like having a hot toddy.  Maybe a shot in a cup of coffee.  Or just on the rocks.  Oh dear, maybe I will become a booze hound after all!  Don’t worry: I won’t drink and drive!

I may, however, take a drive to Cooperstown Distillery (preview of coming attractions).  There are a few other things in Cooperstown I could check out.

 

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NoBLOG Oblige

Posted on August 31, 2025 by mohawkvalleygirl

That second word is pronounced Oh-bleezh.  You know, like Noblesse Oblige.  The title was suggested to me some years ago by one of my more intellectual friends.  I am finally getting around to using it.  I see that I last posted on Tuesday.  That is not as bad as I thought it was; I thought I had gone a whole week.  Still, four days without posting after a six-day streak (as counted by WordPress; I have no idea how it would go by my calendar) is not good for a would-be daily blogger.

No BLOB Oblige?

I throw in a picture to pep things up.  I have mostly been sitting around like a blob.  I wake up every morning determined to change. As the day wears on, I find I am still the same stinker.  I try to do a few things here and there, though, so maybe I can make a little progress.  Oh dear, have I written the same blog post before?  I fear so, numerous times.

He was the best adventure partner.

Here is a picture from October 2016, when I figured out how to add pictures to my blog.  That is my late, dearly missed husband Steven at Pumpkin Junction in Sauquoit.  I feel an October picture is appropriate, because today feels SO fall-like, right down to my allergies making me miserable.  Yet there is comfort in allergy misery, because I love fall.

Janus Daisy?

Looking for a third picture to round things out, this two-headed daisy caught my eye.  I look ahead and I look back.  Today I will strive to look ahead and move on with things, particularly moving on to making more substantial blog posts.

 

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