Tag Archives: husband Steven

Two Walks and a Library Visit

Posted on March 28, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl
Two Walks and a Library Visit

I did not make a blog post early this morning, because I went for a walk.  I brought my phone with me, in case I saw anything I could take a picture of, but, alas, no photo ops.  It was the first time I had walked since Saturday, though (today being Wednesday, although I wonder if this should count as my Tired Tuesday post), so I was glad I made a bit of an effort.  I took another walk this evening (afternoon?  Kind of a grey area) (the sky was grey, too).  This was a walk with a purpose, as I went to Basloe Library to print out my work-in-progress murder mystery, Deadly Night Life.

One of my favorite places.

As I walked down my street, I saw a male and female cardinal.  Steve and I had seen a cardinal couple a few times while sitting on our front porch.  I wondered if it was the same couple.  Steve always loved cardinals.  Whenever I would see one when I was out running, and I often did, I would tell him, and we would speculate about which departed loved one had paid us a visit.  Now I wonder if Steve is the one sending the cardinals to say hello.  It is a comforting thought, anyways.  Alas, I did not think to pull out my phone and get a picture.

The picture of the Basloe sign, by the way, is from my Media Library.  I do like to have some sort of illustration.  It was a pleasant visit to the library.  The kind ladies there helped me get my script printed out.  We chatted about the need to see physical pages for some editing chores.  I did not take the time to look for a book, unfortunately.  Then again, now I have a reason to return to the library soon.

 

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Lame Snowstorm of the Year?

Posted on March 23, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

I had hopes of making my Lame Post Friday post ON Friday, but alas, they came to naught.  It is not so early Saturday morning (for me), and I am on my second cup of coffee as I contemplate a rather bold statement I have been making recently.  I said if it snowed again, I would NOT shovel.  I would wait it out.  I look out the window and see that Mother Nature has called my bluff.  Oh well, I had planned to have a Stay at Home Saturday.  I do not rule out clearing part of my porch and a path to the road, so the mailman can deliver and so I can get a walk in.  That is for the other side of coffee and breakfast.

I don’t think it is this bad.

This is a picture from March 2017.  I had a husband to help me shovel in those days.  These things are so much better when you do them together.

This picture brings up a topic suitable for Lame Post Friday: pictures of snow.  Some people on Facebook snark, “We all know what snow looks like! You don’t have to show pictures every time it snows!”  I say, “Why the hell not?”  I like to share the everyday lives of my friends.  I don’t mind pictures of food; I like pictures of sandaled feet with a beer nearby (although I admit to being jealous of those shots sometimes); I especially like pictures of people’s pets, even if they are not doing anything particularly noteworthy at the time.

Substitute glass of wine for beer.

That reminds me, I need to get a pedicure soon. Perhaps a call to Hot Spot Salon and Spa is in order (just to give a quick shout-out to a local business) I feel certain sandal weather will soon arrive, and I do so enjoy seeing a little color on my toes.

I see I am over 300 words.  Score!  I do not expect any real Mohawk Valley Adventures this weekend, although I still have a few past ones I have not written about yet.  That is for the future.  A Saturday post on Saturday?  Time will tell.  I always say, Time is certainly a blabbermouth.  But as my sister Diane says, “Time is relative.  Not our relative.”

 

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Where’s That Chaise Lounge When You Need It?

Posted on March 11, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

I am having a dreadful case of I Just Can’t Do It.  And by “It”  I mean anything.  Of course this is not true.  I have done a few things today.  I do at least a few things every day. But the list of things I have yet to do grows ever longer.  I believe I have just started making a Wrist to Forehead Sunday Post.  For those just tuning in, Wrist to Forehead signifies that situation when all you want to do is swoon, dramatically posed with the back of one write to your forehead, on a handy chaise lounge.  I really need to get myself a chaise lounge.

This looks like an unrelated photograph, but I will explain.

I was looking in my Media Library for a picture  of myself having a wrist to forehead moment, but then I saw this one from Witness for the Prosecution, one of my favorite movies.  I watched it earlier and thought maybe I could find this picture and make a Sunday Cinema Post.  Then I thought, “Probably not. I can never find anything in my Media Library.”

What I feel like now.

I took a quick look for a picture from the other movie I watched, And Then There Were None, but no luck.  Both movies, in case you didn’t know, are based on works by Agatha Christie, the acknowledged queen of mystery writing. Oh, I suppose YOU never acknowledged her (you know who you are).  Anyways, I thought the picture of fake poop was apropos.  See, I don’t even feel like real crap, just the plastic stuff.  Oh, stop playing those miniature violins (again, you know who you are)!  It was a joke!

Hey, look what I found!

While looking for a cheerful picture to end on, I found And Then There Were None!  How lucky was that?

OK, one more from the movie.

I think this might have been a publicity shot, because I do not remember seeing these two characters so posed in the movie.  The woman is the marvelous Judith Anderson.  I do not remember who the man is, but my late husband Steven played that role onstage when Ilion Little Theatre did the play version some years ago.  He was wonderful, and I am not the least bit biased.

And now I see I am over 350 words.  I am feeling a little less inclined to swoon.  I will feel even better when I get back to making real blog posts about Mohawk Valley Adventures.  I do hope you will stay tuned.

 

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Once Again, I Return to the Blogosphere

Posted on March 5, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

Last week was a bad blogging week.  I actually have a couple of pretty good things to write blog posts about but not much brain with which to do so.  However, I wanted to make some semblance of a post so my readers would not feel I had completely deserted them.  My last post was a Monstrous one, I think (if I go back and read it now, I may lose my momentum and never finish this post) (which some would feel was no tragedy, but I can’t worry about them).

Random photo to liven things up.

I found this picture in March 2017 of my Media Library.  It is our sweet pooch Spunky.  Speaking of dearly missed loved ones, Sunday was my late husband Steven’s birthday.  That  could explain the funk I have been in.  Grief is a weird, unpredictable kind of chronic pain.  Of course, I am a kind of a pain myself, so make of that what you will.

Steve in his natural habitat, surrounded by murder suspects.

Here is a picture of Steve doing something he loved: acting.  He is the handsome dude in the suit.  It is the cast of A G.R.A.V.E. Murder, an interactive murder mystery we did to benefit the Herkimer County Historical Society.  It was a really fun show.  I am, of course, grateful for all the wonderful memories I have.

We really were the perfect couple.

One more memory:  Fabulous and Fatal, another murder mystery for the Historical Society.  We were drag queens, or thought we were.

I will try to follow this with posts about my Mohawk Valley Adventures, of which I have had a few recently.  As always, I thank you for tuning in.

 

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Still Working on that Daily Thing

Posted on February 19, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

Is it time to admit I am no longer a daily blogger?  Say it ain’t so!!! (My Chromebook does not seem to have a caps lock, and it is too much trouble to hold down the button) (I get lazier by the day).  Where was I?  Ah yes, early Monday morning, ten-finger typing (got the Chromebook back on; did I mention I was having trouble with that), and not having much to say.

My crooked path, as a writer and in life.

When in doubt, throw in a picture.  Snow has returned to Herkimer, NY, but I have not gone for a walk so do not know if this wavy path is back.  Foolish of me not to walk.  It can benefit one’s physical and mental health, but one must be regular about these things.

I have not been having many Mohawk Valley Adventures lately.  I drove into Rome on Saturday to visit my parents, but Route 49 is not a big thrill.  A convenience, yes, but nothing to blog about.  After I returned to Herkimer, I got together with my friend Kim, but we merely ran a couple of errands then stopped at Asteroga Ale House for a little food and drink.  I suppose I could have written about that interlude, but I neglected to take any pictures.  I am kind of addicted to pictures since I added them to the blog in 2016.

I just can’t get enough skeletons.

This is one of the first pictures I shared in October 2016, when I first figured out how to do so.

OK, last week’s storm was not that bad.

It was not until the following January that I learned how to download pictures from the internet (usually Facebook) for blogging purposes.  My husband Steve (miss him so much) found this gem.

Ooh, look, I am over 300 words.  That works for a placeholder post, I think.  Once again, thank you for tuning in.

 

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Dare I Call This a Post?

Posted on January 31, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

Yes, I was too tired to make my Tired Tuesday post on Tuesday.  I am in fact a little hesitant to make the post this morning for reasons which I will not go into (explanations are so tiresome).  I am ten finger typing on my Chromebook with the very necessary cup of coffee at my side.  At first the Chromebook could not seem to get on the internet.  It tends to jump off and on, which is weird, because when I click on a little thing in the corner it tells me the wi-fi signal is strong (why is wi-fi underlined?  Is that not a word?).  I do not properly understand technology, as regular readers know.

A holdover from Monstrous Monday?

I pause to put in a coffee-related illustration.  I don’t know that I feel dead inside, but I feel a certain amount of pressure to update my life insurance.  That was a joke.  I guess brain dead would be a better way to describe me this morning, but I am far too tired to look for picture from The Brain From Planet Arous.  Imagine my delight when somebody referenced that movie on one of my monster pages recently.

He was a handsome dude.

Sorry to interject a sad note, but I am approaching the one year anniversary of my husband Steven’s death.  I guess I can blame that for my current malaise.  However, one learns to deal with one’s grief and go forward one step at a time.  And in this case one blog post at a time.  So having said very little of substance (do my posts ever have much substance? Discuss amongst yourselves), I dare to call this a post, hit publish, and drive one.  Once again, thank you for tuning in.

 

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Like the Plague

Posted on January 12, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

So I did not make my Thursday blog post on Thursday.  Never mind why; explanations are tiresome.  I had meant to write it “about” something, you know, a Mohawk Valley Adventure or some such, but you know what they say about good intentions.  Something about some road to somewhere being paved with them.  I really should avoid cliches, but sometimes they are oh so tempting (as Oscar Wilde once had a character in a play say, I can resist anything except temptation!).

Where was I?  Nowhere I guess, except perhaps leading into a Throwback Thursday post, and another opportunity to work with my Media Library on this new computer (scrolling issues aside, I do love to ten finger type while lounged on the couch).

I don’ think they have taken the lights down yet this year. Must check.

I first throw back only a year to Janurary 2023 and a shot of the pavilion in Meyers Park in Herkimer, NY.  I walk by or through this park many times and enjoy how the seasons change its appearance.  I believe there is a similar amount of snow there now, as we have had snow then rain.  The rain is dreary, but it clears away some snow so I don’t have to shovel, so I count my blessings.

Look how cute he is!

Now I go back to January 2017 (my Media Library began in November 2016) and a shot of Spunky.  That basket was given to me by my sister Cheryl to put yarn in, but Spunky took one look and claimed it for his bed.  I naturally gave him his way.  One side is still caved down where he used to climb into it.  I think I still have the crumby sneaker I forgot to remove before taking the picture.  This is one reason why I am not a professional photographer.

Scary!

Here is a throw back a bit further, 1963’s The Bird, directed by the late, great Alfred Hitchcock.  The picture was in my Media Library in January 2018.  I mentioned the movie in a Facebook On This Day post, mentioning that Steven (my late, great husband) and I were watching it.  I always thought it strange that there seemed to be no cats in Bodega Bay, where the movie takes place (I add for the benefit of those who have not seen the movie), especially since Annie Hayward clearly should have had a few.  Annie (I also add for the benefit of etc) moved to some dumb little burg with nothing going on just to be near a guy who didn’t want to date her any more.  “That friendship means a hell of a lot to me.”  Yeah, right!  You were hoping he’d change his mind!  But I digress.  Before I finish digressing, though, in the interests of Judge Not, I will confess that I may have done something similar, probably based on mixed signals which I would have interpreted in the best possible light for me.  Many years ago when I was young and stupid(er).  There I go, continuing to digress.

Holy cow, my digressions have gotten me over 500 words!  My blogs never run that long!  Oh well, I guess sometimes.  Is exaggeration (which you have told me 1,000 times not to do) as bad as cliches? Points to ponder.

 

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Monsters from my Media Library

Posted on January 11, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

How about a Mid-Week Monsters post?  For one reason, I can get a little more practice in navigating my Media Library on this new computer.  For another reason, well, I like monsters.

“You want to do WHAT?”

This was the first monster I came to, a nice wolfman (I don’t know why my computer is underlining it; isn’t that how you spell “wolfman”?).  He looks a little surprised.  I’m a little surprised myself, posting three days in a row not early in the morning. Has it been three days?  Of course I am too lazy to go back and check.

Accused by his wife of being “the only ghoul here.”

Here is my guy Vincent Price in House on Haunted Hill.  I just watched that again the other night.  Sweet!  I loves me some William Castle.

“A little more claw here!”

And here is the great Castle himself, directing one of his cast.  Actually I am not sure if this is actually a picture of him directing or a publicity shot, but I like it.

I think he is nice!

And here is a little cuteness to round out the post.  The awesome pot was sent to me by my good friend Marsha.  The vampire was given to me by my late, dearly missed husband, Steve.  The orange is a t-shirt I didn’t really like anyways (it was advertising for a place I used to work; I folded it so no logo showed).

Some of my Facebook groups are already counting down the days to Halloween.  I have other deadlines to worry about.  In the meantime, I see I am over 250 words. Score!  I must try for some more Mohawk Valley Adventures to blog about, if only the weather will cooperate.  As always, thank you for tuning in.

 

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A Little Spring in my Step?

Posted on January 9, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

As the anniversary of my husband Steven’s death approaches (Feb. 3), I have been feeling low.  Of course there are many reasons to feel low these days, and other people have greater problems and stresses than mine.  I am not starting this post to complain but to mention a delightful thing that happened to cheer me up.

At Steve’s funeral last February, only one person sent flowers.  Jenn, a good friend from our days doing community theatre in Massena, NY, and her family sent hyacinth bulbs.  They did not grow and bloom till after the funeral, but I certainly enjoyed the sight and scent of them on my kitchen counter.  I meant to plant the bulbs in my yard, where I hoped they would spread their joy every year hereafter, but, well, with one thing and another, it was not a good year for yards and gardens.  The pot with the bulbs continued to sit in my kitchen, moving from the counter to the floor when I needed the space.

Imagine my surprise when I noticed a little green beginning to poke its way out.  Not daring to get my hopes up, I watered it and waited.  They grew!  They bloomed!  They got a little top heavy and bowed over, so I tried to prop them up with glasses.

I should have cleared away the clutter in the background. I never think of these things.

Oh dear, that picture looks blurrier than it looked on my phone.  I should have used the Tablet.  Of course the clearest picture in the world would not share the lovely scent.  Spring time!  It gives me hope.

Not huge, but lovely.

I went in for a close-up of some of the blooms.  I know sometimes hyacinths have greater bunches of flowers, and perhaps these will too, eventually. In the meantime, they are certainly making a bright spot in a gloomy January.

 

 

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My Decorations Are Late, Too

Posted on December 17, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

I guess 7:30 on a Sunday morning is early for some people, so I will count this as my Saturday post, although WordPress will not credit me for a four day streak.  How the mighty have fallen!  I used to never miss days.  I think I was in my 40s or 50s back then (wow, I have been blogging for a long time!).

Only I’m not that skinny.

I decided to throw in a picture to pep things up, as I often do, and that was when my Tablet started behaving badly. Now I am on my dining-room-table-top ten-finger typing.  Now I still have not much to say but can say it faster.

Yesterday (Saturday) was a lovely day.  I got my Christmas lights hung.  By that I mean that I switched out a string of pumpkins for a string of multi-colored lights and Witchy for Santa Claus.  Traditionally I leave Santa and Witchy out all year, dressing them for the holidays with which they are not usually associated.  This past Halloween, however, as I was putting up lights on the actual day, I took Santa off the porch and put him in my living room.  Look at me, going all conventional in my old age.  SAY IT AIN’T SO!!!  I had a little trouble with the colored lights:  they had worked in my house when I tested them a few weeks ago, but they declined to light up after I had gotten them hung.  Luckily I had another string of colored lights.  Now I have no colored lights on my mantle, but these things happen and we must deal with them.  Anyway, I will try to get some pictures of my porch later today for a future blog post (preview of coming attractions).

He looks a little ghostly, no?

Here is my porch on another year, when I was a little closer to having my act together, and my husband was able to participate in the light-hanging.

I see I am over 300 words, not bad for a late, insubstantial post.  As always, I will strive to do better, but I feel that almost any post is better than no post at all.  Do you agree?  Discuss amongst yourselves.

 

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