Tag Archives: husband Steven

Music, Wine, and Scenery, Yes!

Yes, it is another late Saturday blog post, but at least it is prior to whatever time I was posting last Sunday (don’t remember, but it was later than this).  I had a wonderful time yesterday, but it was such a lot of car time to get to it!  Worth every mile, but it wore me out.

Not the best lighting, but you can read it, I think.

My parents, sister Cheryl, and I went to Geneva, NY, to the Inspire Moore Winery, to hear Big Blue House.  What a great band!  What a beautiful setting!

My pictures of the band didn’t come out so great, either.

When we arrived, a guest artist had joined them for a couple of numbers.  I stupidly did not write down his name, but I loved his harmonica and vocals.

At one point, a guy in the band reminded us that the open space in front of the band was there for a reason.  He didn’t have to tell me twice!  I got up and started dancing.  If Steven had been there, he would have gotten up, too, so I guess I was dancing for the both of us.  I was soon joined by three other ladies, and we all four loved it.

After they sat down, another song I couldn’t resist played and I was dancing by myself again.  An older man started crossing the area, and I danced around him, thanking him for dancing with me.  He said he was looking for his wife and did not bust a move, but I think he was amused.  Later I saw him slow dancing with his wife.  When they finished, I went over and said, “Sure, you wouldn’t dance with me!”  We had a nice conversation.

Just to share another picture of the winery.

I had other conversations with other people, including a couple cousins and my sister Vicki, who had driven up from Pennsylvania with her husband.  I also tasted some wine and enjoyed a glass of dry Rose (how embarrassing that I do not know how to put the accent on the e).

Lots of gorgeous scenery.

The afternoon came to an abrupt end with a loud rumble of thunder.  The musicians quickly unplugged their instruments.  The downpour started almost immediately.   One aspect of my personality which I particularly enjoy is that I laugh at bad weather.  When I am getting rained or snowed on, I find myself laughing.  I laughed as Dad and I walked to the car.  We drove back to pick up Cheryl and Mom,

I was happy to finally make it back to Herkimer, although I felt too tired to articulate a blog post.  However, I think I did OK with it this morning.  Or do I flatter myself?

 

Maybe The Blog Post Should Have Stayed Absent

Yesterday was a true Blogger’s Sick Day.  I even called in sick to work, which I rarely do.  It was a migraine.  You know, one of those headaches where the only thing you can do is Have a Headache. It makes for a long, singularly unproductive day.

Now it is Friday morning, I am sipping coffee, and feeling tremuluosly happy NOT to have a headache.  Who knew the absence of something could feel so good?  Oh wait, I knew it, from previous migraine-free days.

Steve had a Get Out of Jail Free Card.

I threw in a picture to pep things up.  Here is my late husband Steven outside the 1834 Jail on Herkimer’s Historic Four Corners,  which regular readers know is one of my favorite places to walk or run by.

One of my all-time favorite couples.

Since I am apparently doing a Throwback Thursday Post,  here is a shot from July 2017 of our friends Jim and Phyllis at Gerber’s 1933 Tavern.  Phyllis sadly passed away in 2021.  I will never be done missing her, either.  One must treasure the memories.

And here’s all four of us.

What a weird post this is turning into.  I begin being happy my headache is gone and move on to being sad Steve and Phyllis are gone. There is a lesson or profound point in there somewhere, but I have had insufficient coffee to articulate it.  I guess I’ll bill this as a Non-Sequitur Thursday Post and drive on.  I hope to see you all later when I attempt a Lame Post Friday post.

 

Dracula, Joan, It’s Lame Post Friday!

I was thinking about making my Lame Post Friday post late once again, but I decided not to be so lame as all that. Earlier  I thought I would have a lazy, relaxed Friday night, so I am lounged on the couch in pajama pants, sipping Sauvignon Blanc and looking at movies.  I just watched Taste the Blood of Dracula then put in Sudden Fear.  Christopher Lee to Joan Crawford.  Why not?

Dracula likes Friday.

I have been watching too many DVDs since I got rid of cable.  Of course I have a somewhat extensive collection, mostly curated by my late, beloved husband Steve.  My problem is, I have to be in the mood for a particular movie, and I seem to have watched all the movies I am currently in the mood for.  I wish I could change moods as easily as I change DVDs.

There’s the right picture for the movie I watched.

Maybe I should stop being in the mood to watch a movie and try to get in the mood to clean this house.  I know, I need to clean my house regardless of mood.  I’ll work on that tomorrow.

Two of the people in this picture are up to no good.

I like this movie, Sudden Fear, but it starts so slowly.  I figured that was all right, because I intended to make my blog post while I watched.  Unfortunately it took me so long to find the pictures I wanted, the movie has started to heat up.  No matter.  I’ve seen it before.

So this is my Friday night.  I am enjoying it and hope you are enjoying yours.

 

I’m a Monster Before Coffee

I guess late posts are still a thing, because here I am on Tuesday morning, lounged on my couch, pecking in one letter at a time with the stylus on my Tablet.  When I went to bed last night, I had pictured myself sitting at the dining-room-table-top (previously a laptop, as regular readers may recall), ten-finger typing.  I felt too tired for such effort, and my coffeemaker was taking forever.  Now, however, I have had a few sips, so phew! I am a slave to the brew!

“It’s my coffee!” “No, it’s mine!”

It never fails.  I go searching Facebook for an image I have seen many times, and it is not to be found.  I am not adept at these things. I finally went to my Media Library and settled for Bela Lugosi fighting a beast in The Ape Man.  I believe I have seen that movie but cannot remember who wins the tussle.

On the cuter side…

I would like to say this is me after coffee, but no such luck.  I have my cute moments, but…

One of my favorites.

I am not currently drinking out of this mug, but wouldn’t it be cool if I was?   The mug was given to me by my late, much beloved husband, Steve.  We loved The Princess Bride.

And now I am over 200 words.  Score!  Time for another cup of coffee before work.

 

I Walk, I Blog, It’s Sunday

I took a walk earlier in hopes of making a Pedestrian Post with Pictures in lieu of my usual Wrist to Forehead Sunday Post.  I do not know how well it went.

Gotta get me some of these.

I paused to take a picture of a snowball bush shortly after I left my house.  It was a bit of a challenge to do, since the sun was shining brightly on my Tablet and I could not see to unlock it and get to Camera.  At last I managed it by peeking underneath my prescription sunglasses.

 

Don’t know what it is; must find out.

I paused to take another picture, this time of a plant I might like to get for my yard.  I had realized by this time that it was warmer than I liked for a walk.  However, I persevered, for exercising and blogging purposes.

 

I am still hoping somebody does something with this building.

Having walked down Bellinger Street to Meyers Park, I decided to walk up Prospect Street to home.  I paused to take a picture of the former Quackenbush building, now taken over by Herkimer 9.  I must find out what the current status is.

I gotta love daisies.

I walked all the way up Prospect Street to German then back to my house.  I walked past the house and back then up and down the driveway to make it a full mile.  I took a picture of the daisies in my front yard then picked a few of the lilies of the valley which the daisies obscure.

A nice display, or do I flatter myself?

I put the lilies of the valley in a champagne flute which I put next to my husband Steve’s ashes.  One does like to put flowers near one’s loved ones.

I guess it makes an OK Pedestrian Post. Or, once again, do I flatter myself?

 

A Little Seltzer and Lame?

I feel a definite desire to make my Lame Post Friday post on Friday, that is, today.  As I lounge on my couch, pecking in one letter at a time with the stylus on my Tablet, a neighbor is doing something loud with some sort of machinery.  I find the noise very annoying.

I came upstairs to my bedroom in hopes it would be a little further from the noise.  This necessitated turning off the movie I had just started, The Screaming Skull, one of my favorites.

Sometimes I feel like screaming too, Skull.

I did not feel too bad about stopping the movie, because I was not paying much attention to it anyways.  I feel worse about not having anything good to make a blog post about.

I guess I do too.

I do feel kind of good that it is Friday.  Unfortunately I let the week get away from me without getting done everything I had intended to.  So I am feeling a little pressure to get at least some essentials done (Oh CRAP! I just remembered another one!).  Yes, I KNOW it is my own fault.  This knowledge brings me no comfort nor any insight on how to improve matters.

Cheers!

Friday is a good day for a libation, if one is so inclined, so I will close with a picture of my late dearly missed husband, Steve, at the Waterfront Grille in Herkimer, NY.  I was just there last Saturday.  Full disclosure:  I only toasted this Friday with seltzer and lemon.  It worked perfectly well.

No promises about Saturday.

 

What Were We Talking About?

I am sitting here playing with the predictive text thingy and typing things in and backspacing them out.  I have had a headache all day, but it was not bad enough to make me leave work, so I have that going for me.  I even managed to mow my lawn, after spending over 45 minutes on the phone trying to get a bill straightened out.  Never mind which bill; that company doesn’t need a plug from me.

Where was I?  Nowhere I suppose unless it is in the midst of a Non-Sequitur Thursday Post.  How about some non-sequitur pictures, since I don’t have much in the word department.

You had me at Vincent Price.

My late, dearly missed husband, Steven, gave me the Vincent Price Pumpkin Spice Coffee for either a birthday or anniversary present.  The caption is something I had said to him some years ago.  He was reading to me all about a movie on TCM.  He read the cast, the director, that it was based on an Edgar Allen Poe story, etc. etc.  I interrupted him with, “You had me at Vincent Price.”  I have probably told that story before.

“I’m a man.”

This is the final scene in Some Like It Hot, one of the funniest movies ever made.  Oh dear, this makes a kind of a movie theme.  That is not very non-sequitur-ish of me, is it?

I say, no matter.  I am over 200 words.  I can always bill this as a Blogger’s Sick Day instead.

One more random shot, just for good measure.

Happy Thursday, everyone!

 

Lame About Me

I got up this morning, having slept in till the for me late hour of six, with two thoughts vying for supremacy in my foggy head:  “Coffee first,  then run,” and “Run first, then coffee.”  Coffee won.  Hello, and welcome to another Late Lame Post Friday post.

I delayed making this post until I had a few sips of that magic elixir that renders almost any morning less hideous.  Thus I indulge in a little hyperbole. Is that an oxymoron?  Since hyperbole is exaggeration for effect, can you, in fact, have only a little hyperbole?   Points to ponder.

One problem with a personal blog: I tend to start all my paragraphs with “I.”  Because it is All About Me (ooh, that just gave me my title).  I have to watch that.

By now I think it is quite clear I have nothing whatever to say and am only rattling on in hopes of reaching 200 words before I run out of coffee.  I’ll throw in a picture to pep things up.

Who, us? Be silly?

This was taken at the H.A.L.O. Hoedown, a fundraiser for the cat rescue group, Helping Animals Live Organization.  It was some years ago and never became an annual thing, much to my disappointment, because I had a blast.

Yes, that is my late beloved husband Steve in the picture.  I’ll never be over being sad that he is gone, but I can smile at all the memories.  On that melancholy note (sorry about that; I know this is billed as a “totally fun blog”), I see I am over 250 words.  Score!  Thank you for tuning in.

 

Monstrous Monday Sucked the Life Right Outta Me

All I can manage today is a Monstrous Monday Post, and we’ll see how well I can manage that.  Full disclosure: sometimes it seems easier to troll my Media Library than to download new stuff.  My technological know-how seems to be going downhill.  How can that be?  Never mind.  On with the post!

“I bid you velcome to my blog post.”

I just watched the Bela Lugosi Dracula yesterday.  I was trying to think of a horror movie to watch and remembered this was one Steven did not often want to see.  Under the heading Now That He’s Gone, I suppose, although I confess it was not the thrill I was hoping for.

“Uh, I’m kind of in the middle of something here!”

Moving to an older vampire movie, I think Nosferatu looks a little startled in this shot.  Of course, vampires do not usually expect to be interrupted in their work.  I understand that is one advantage to the night shift.

These two look rather neutral.

 

To continue with the vampire theme, here are two from  Mark of the Vampire.  I have not seen this one in a while.

Gotta get me an outfit like that!

Not having much else to say, I add another photo from Mark of the Vampire.  I’m afraid this has been rather a dull post, but I hope you have at least enjoyed the pictures.  As usual, I’ll try for a better blog post tomorrow.

 

Are Wednesdays a Thing Again?

After deciding last week that I was going to stay home every night this week, I  decided to go to Fratello’s Pizzeria in Frankfort, NY for food and music, as I used to do almost every Wednesday.  A quick check of their Facebook page told me Justin Smithson was playing acoustic guitar.

He is an excellent musician.

As I walked in, I was greeted by Geno the bartender and Justin Smithson himself.  I ordered a garlic pizza with sausage and mushrooms.  It was one of Steven’s favorite things to order.  I was sipping some Chardonnay, also a favorite of his.  The music started shortly.

I was loving it right away.  Justin started with a beautiful James Taylor song.  Then I dissolved into embarrassing tears as he got to the chorus:  “But I always thought that I’d see you again.”  This is what happens.  Every day I realize I will never see my husband Steve again.  However, I must try not to make a spectacle of myself.

This one turned out a little dark.

Justin moved on to play a variety of tunes.  At one point he asked for requests, and a man said, “Cat Stevens!”  Justin played “Wild World,” which is a song that plays in my head when I am running and go by a WildWood camper.

“Made my night!” said the requestor when the song was done.

I greatly enjoyed hearing the music.  I will be back at Fratello’s again soon!