Tag Archives: husband Steven

Memories of Coffee and Steve

Posted on November 15, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

I guess I am back to late blog posts as I site here early Friday morning to make a Throwback Thursday post.  I am up early, having gotten up just prior to five o’clock.  I like to be up early; I just don’t like to get up early.  Right now I am not even sure I like to be up early, but at least I have got coffee.  Thank God for coffee!

No fan needed today, though.

Ah, I knew I had a picture of the mug I am currently using.  I wonder if I can get to Dyn’s Cider Mill before they close for the season.  Perhaps a drive there today would be in order (preview of coming attractions?)

I rarely look this perky and cute, no matter the time of day.

I noticed this picture before I found the Dyn’s mug and thought, why not do a coffee mug throwback?  My late, dearly missed husband Steve and I collected many mugs in our years together.  I keep thinking I need to get rid of a few, but getting rid of things is not my strong suit.  Additionally, I use all my coffee mugs.  Many people have one favorite they use all the time, but Steven and I liked to use them all in turn, often depending on season or mood.

A favorite line from a favorite movie.

This was a present from Steve.  He always got me the best presents.  Well now I am throwing back to the great romance of my life.  Perhaps I should close with a picture of Steve.  If I had one of him with a coffee mug, how nice that would be!

 

Steven with wine is almost as good.

Looking through my Media Library for pictures has reminded me about a lot of good memories I have made on Mohawk Valley adventures.  I should do more Throwback Thursday posts.  And have more Mohawk Valley adventures.  But first, more coffee.

 

4 Comments

Posted in humor, personal, Throwback Thursday and tagged , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

I Try to Run Away from Depression

Posted on November 6, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

I went for a run this morning and thought to do a Running Commentary Post.  Full disclosure:  I was trying to run away from the depression that threatens to overwhelm me. In the immortal words of Young Frankenstein:  It! Could! Work!  (If you do not get the reference, I encourage you to seek out Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein) (I would really like to insert a picture of Gene Wilder, which I know is somewhere in my Media Library, but I do not feel up to searching for it)

I set out before breakfast but after coffee.  My legs were almost immediately shrieking at me, “We didn’t sign up for this!”  I reminded them that they did too sign up for it (at least, I signed them up which is practically the same thing), that they had run for 30 minutes two days ago and walked for longer than that yesterday.  To no avail.  They impersonated overcooked macaroni for the entire run.  However, if nothing else, I know how to persevere.  To an extent.

I couldn’t blame him for taking a good look.

It was soon clear this was not going to be a 30 minute run.  However, I encouraged myself to at least make it a mile.  Maybe even 20 minutes.  All I wanted was to sit down.  I ran through Meyers Park, wondering if I shouldn’t just go home from there.  I have a picture of Meyers Park in my Media Library, I thought.  It will look good in the blog post.  Then I thought I could run past the post office and up to my beloved Herkimer Historical Four Corners.

Oh, my body did not want to! But through persuasion and stubbornness, I kept going.  I thought of cutting through parking lots in back of my four corners, to make a shorter run, but then I thought, No!  Run by the 1834 Jail and let Chester Gilette take a good look!  After some internal debate, Chester won.  I didn’t even cut a small corner and run over the memorial bricks which help finance jail restoration (note to self:  I must sponsor a brick in honor of my late husband, Steve).

So the run was just over 20 minutes, about a mile and a third.  Chester was the only picture I could readily find in my Media Library, so my blog post only has one illustration.  However, I see I am approaching 400 words.  It is much easier to type than to run, but then, I only have two legs but I have ten fingers.  As always, I thank you for tuning in.

 

2 Comments

Posted in humor, personal, running commentary and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Color Me Lame

Posted on October 26, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

Here I was, all set to make my Lame Post Friday Post ON Friday, and suddenly I have this weird, inexplicable headache.  What have I done to deserve a headache?  That was rhetorical; you are not expected to answer (don’t you just hate people who answer rhetorical questions?).

Fall color to brighten the day.

I threw in a quick picture to pep up the post.  This is from October 2022 on my street.  As you can see, there used to be two trees there.  I do not know why somebody felt the need to get rid of one.  I don’t think anybody is currently living in the house, but it is really none of my business.

With a blue sky!

I might as well throw in some more fall color, since I don’t have a whole lot to say.  The sky was about that same color yesterday.  Our stretch of beautiful weather continues, although the temperatures may have dropped a little.

Speaking of the sights of fall.

On a previous post, I remember looking for a picture of our mantle decorated by my late, wonderful husband Steve, but being unable to find one.  And here one is!  I think sometimes my Media Library plays tricks on me.  Now I am looking at this picture and saying, “Damn! where’s that?  And that?”  Oh well.  I can’t worry about these things on Lame Post Friday.  Isn’t there a wine tasting at a liquor store I should be going to?  Or Happy Hour somewhere?

In any case, I am over 250 words.  I hope you all have a delightful weekend.

 

5 Comments

Posted in humor, Lame Post Friday, personal and tagged , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

I Get a Little More Seasonal

Posted on October 18, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

Yesterday (Thursday; yes, the late posts continue), I did a little more cleaning in my living room and, more importantly (for blogging purposes anyways), I did more Halloween decorating!

I think she feels pretty.

I mentioned how I may find some Halloween togs for my skeleton Bonita.  I found a shoulder cape and my Halloween gloves.  A little large on her, but they’ll do.  The black rose was there already, not sure where that came from, and the feathers I put in her head must have fallen out of one of my boas (well of course I have more than one boa!).

Not exactly a June bride.

Burt the Birt-day Gorilla wanted to be a bride. Actually it was my idea.  I found the veil, probably a First Communion accessory, at a recent rummage sale.  I mentioned as I paid for my purchases that I clearly did not NEED it.

“But you know someone who does,” said one of the volunteers in an approving tone of voice.

“Actually, I’m going to put it on my gorilla,” I confessed.  All the ladies there expressed their wish that they could see it.

I’ve had those skulls for a while.

This stool has been kind of a catch-all for a while, so I was pretty pleased with myself for cleaning it.  The light was a present from the late, lovely husband Steve.  It has different colors.

Too dark, but I guess that’s seasonal.

I tried to take a picture of the whole space, but I obviously did not adjust the light properly.  I’ll try again sometime when there is a lot of sunlight.  The ghost, by the way, stays out all year long, because he sheds a lot of light.  I don’t like too dark of a living room.

My ongoing quest for a clean house continues. I did not realize what a motivating factor decorating can be.  Yay, Halloween!

 

Leave a comment

Posted in decorations, Halloween, humor, personal and tagged , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

I Need Halloween Monsters!

Posted on October 15, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

Hello and welcome to another late Monstrous Monday post.  It is the season for monsters, after all.  I have not been in a particular Halloweeny mood recently, which is too bad, because it is my favorite season.  Yesterday I was struck with yet another bout of Don’t Wanna Do Nuthin’.  I kept bestirring myself to At Least Do One Thing, with varying degrees of success.  Here is the result of one fairly successful foray:

My mantle.

I was happy to find the lights to hang.  They were in a bag on the knob of the door to my attic, where they have been since I took them down from the porch, an embarrassingly long time after Halloween (then again, they only went up Halloween Day; feel free to judge me).  I don’t know if you can see Santa Claus in the background.  He stays there all year round.  I always think he looks like he is saying, “Good grief!”  In this case it is probably because he is wondering why it took me till nearly halfway through the month to get a single Halloween decoration up (although in general, I think it is because that long piece of paper he is holding is the Naughty List).

The well dressed skeleton.

I looked for a picture of the mantle decorated by my late, dearly missed husband Steve but could not find one.  He had a flair for decorating.  Here is the Halloween outfit he put together for Bonita, our skeleton.  She has been embracing nudity lately, but perhaps I will help her into some seasonal duds before too long.  Bonaparte, her small, admiring friend, you may have noticed on the mantle, sitting in a mug from Adirondack Railroad.  I think he is irresistibly cute.

The Ghost of Christmas Past? or Present?

I close with another decoration of my own:  our other Santa Claus dressed as a ghost.  I purchased that Santa the first year we lived in this house, 2005, walking home from the store with him tucked under my arm and feeling rather pleased with myself.  My mother gave us the other Santa one Christmas, having purchased him at an antique store in Pennsylvania when she was visiting my sister Vicki.

I guess this post has not been particularly monstrous, unless you dislike reading about personal reminiscences and the other drivel that comes out of my typing fingers.  Sometimes one can only type what comes out.  However, if you’ll stay tuned, I hope to have other Mohawk Valley Adventures later this week.

 

5 Comments

Posted in humor, Monstrous Monday, personal and tagged , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Will I Live Up to Halloweens Past?

Posted on October 4, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

Hello and welcome to another late Throwback Thursday post.  Thursday was a kind of a wasted day for me, although it had a few useful moments, a few fun moments; who is the arbiter of saying whether a day is wasted or not anyways? Not me.  But I veer into half-baked philosophy, more suited to Lame Post Friday, a post often made early Saturday morning.  And I wonder why I am in a time warp most of the time.

I throw in a photo before going to get coffee.

I thought a throwback to Octobers past might be fun, and a change from my usual theatre throwbacks (autocorrect does not approve of that spelling of “theatre” but I like it).  That is my late, beloved husband Steven at Pumpkin Junction in Sauquoit, NY, one of my favorite Halloween places.  I would like to go there soon, but I really need to clean my house more before adding Halloween decorations, which I inevitably will.

Looks like a fun party!

Speaking of Halloween decorations, here is an arrangement Steven made on our buffet in 2017.  Right now the buffet still has most of his nutcracker collection.  Oh dear.

Isn’t he cute?

To end on a cheerful note, here is the sweet little vampire Steve gave me (it came in a coffee cup), sitting in a delightful pot sent me by my friend Marsha.  The orange is a t-shirt I didn’t like much anyways (advertising something I don’t even like any more, but that’s a long, dull story).

This is all encouragement for myself to get this house in better shape today and put out some Halloween decorations.  That would make a good blog post.  As always, I hope you’ll stay tuned.

 

Leave a comment

Posted in Throwback Thursday and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Slacker, then Shout-out

Posted on September 28, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

It’s that awkward moment when you realize this is your best chance to get your Saturday post on Saturday, yet you can think of nothing to write about nor have you any of your adventure books handy.  Adventure Books (yes, I like it better when I capitalize both.  I believe I have never used the phrase in the blog) are the cute little blank books I buy when I see them cheap.  I sometimes start to use them for a specific purpose, which usually peters out, and often end up carrying one or another with me when I go adventuring.  I realize I should use one, fill it, then move on to the next, but anybody who expects such organizational miracles from me is doomed to disappointment.

At wine tastings, the pourers are often surprised and delighted when I start taking tasting notes.  Taking random notes is also comforting when I am out alone or bored waiting someplace.  I try never to leave without a notebook or at least an adventure book.

OK, so I guess this post started as a Slacker Saturday then went to babbling on about my writing habits.  I’d better throw in a picture to make things look good.

A fun memory!

Here is an adventure I definitely took notes about:  a ride on Richfield Springs Scenic Railway.  This, of course, is my late lovely husband Steve.  So now I have also given a shout-out to an area attraction.  I wonder if I can link to their website so readers can check them out.

Looks like it worked!

 

 

Leave a comment

Posted in Slacker Saturday and tagged , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Pop Fly to Lame Field!

Posted on September 28, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

I have been sitting here trying to think of something to type for a blog post.  A baseball game is on the television.  I don’t follow sports, but I do enjoy to see a game.  Live is more fun, but sometimes television will do.

“OOOPER DOOPER!”

I turned to my Media Library for inspiration and found this picture from Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein, one of my all-time favorite movies.  Earlier today I had “Puttin’ on the Ritz” playing in my head, especially the version shown in this movie.  I considered posting as my Facebook status, “OOOPER DOOPER!”  but forgot till just now.  Anyways, I have not spent much time on Facebook today.

An excellent theatre memory.

Another memory that popped into my head today was Splitting Issues, which was presented by Ilion Little Theatre in 2015 (I think). It is a series of short scenes having to do with relationships between the sexes.  I was not going to audition but went with Steve, my late dearly missed husband, who did want to audition.  I read a scene with him, just for fun, and, well, these things happen in community theatre.  We had a great time with our little scene.

 

 

I just realized my headline is about baseball, but I barely mentioned the game in the first paragraph.  I do not think I have any baseball pictures in my Media Library.  Oh dear.

Also blog posts.

Oh well, it is Lame Post Friday.  Will I have a better blog post on Saturday?  No promises, but I hope you’ll tune in.

 

Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Late Shout-Out to Phil

Posted on August 18, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

I have done it again:  posted then missed several days.  How can I make it up to my readers (if any remain)?  One thing I could do is tell you about a recent Mohawk Valley Adventure.

One of my favorites!

Last Saturday I walked down to Meyers Park in Herkimer, NY for the Elks Club Car Show.  I love old cars, but my primary reason for stopping by at that time was that Phil Arcuri would be playing music.  Regular readers know he is one of my favorite local musicians.  I have seen him many times at different venues and enjoyed him very much. He always has such a good time when he plays.  I love his big smile.  His daughters come up and  sang the Baby Shark Song.  I am not really familiar with that song, although I know it was very popular among a certain segment of the population.  When they were singing about Grandpa Shark and Grandma Shark, I wished they had a verse about Aunt Cindy Shark.  Of course, I am not their Aunt Cindy, but couldn’t we stretch a point?

It is pure joy when he plays.

Of course he noticed me, standing as I was right in front of the pavilion and dancing to every tune.  He added my name to “Under the Boardwalk,” singing
“under the blanket with my Cynthia…”  I remember one time at Fratello’s Pizzeria in Frankfort,  he sang the song that way and added that we would let Steve (my husband, for anyone just tuning int)  get in on it, too.

I had had a headache earlier that day, and after standing (and dancing) around in the sun it started to come back. After chatting for a little time with Phil, I took my leave.

I feel bad that it has taken me this long to write even this brief shout-out to such a good musician.  I encourage everybody to hear him play if possible; he plays at several area venues.  The area is so blessed to have such talented musicians!

 

Leave a comment

Posted in humor, personal, Uncategorized and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Where Did I Put My Brain?

Posted on July 22, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

Here I am back again at Wrist to Forehead Sunday.  One would think I could make a good post at this point, but I must ask, which one is that?  I mean, which one would think that, not which good post can I make, I feel obligated to elucidate.  My Mohawk Valley Adventures are in the increasingly distant past, and I feel not capable of writing about them.

My brain? Not likely.

As I like to do when I am feeling particularly brain dead, I share The Brain from Planet Arous.  It is quite the cheesy movie.  I have a cheesy movie playing now, but I am not paying the last bit of attention to it.  It is The Beast of Yucca Flats, starring Tor Johnson, if you wanted to know.  I may have an illustration of the movie in my Media Library, but I am not at all sure of that and dread more searching.

Ooh, here’s a creepy one!

I looked through a couple of months to see if I could find a picture of a movie I have seen recently or am inclined to see now and came across this shot from Mr. Brooks.  My late, dearly missed husband, Steve, and I went to the theatre in Georgia (where we lived at the time) to see Mr. Brooks when it was first released.  We appreciated it but thought it was not one we would care to pop in on a regular basis.  Fast forward to the early 2010s (I think) when a cousin of mine was selling some of his DVDs.  Steven bought a few, including Mr. Brooks.  I found it was, in fact, one I could enjoy multiple viewings of.  I especially felt this after my husband’s passing.  Make what table-top psychology of that you like.

In the meantime, I have gotten over 300 words. As regular readers know, I find that respectable, especially for a Wrist to Forehead Sunday post.  I shall sign off now and look for the DVD of Mr.Brooks, since The Beast of Yucca Flats ended as I typed.  I hope you are all having a pleasant end to your weekend.

 

Leave a comment

Posted in humor, personal, Wrist to Forehead Sunday and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.
← Older Posts
Newer Posts →