Tag Archives: late post

Walking Back to the Blog

I have not posted in two weeks (I did the math: 14 days, then I looked at a calendar).  It just got easier and easier NOT to post!  And here is a philosophical question (whose answer will be half-baked, no doubt) suitable for a future Lame Post Friday post (if I can manage to keep posting that long):  why are good habits so hard to get back to and bad habits so easy?  I can go a week or two without eating chocolate (I can’t tell you the last time I actually did that, but I’m sure I can), then one little bite and I’m all, “YUM!  Why did I ever stop this?”

Full disclosure:  right now as I ten-finger type on my dining-room-table-top, I am a bit,  “This is awesome!  Why did I ever stop this?”  Yet I cannot guarantee I will be here tomorrow morning at this time doing the same thing.  But, as I said, these questions are for Lame Post Friday.

The current state of my blog.

As I often do at these times,  I throw in a picture to pep things up.  On Sunday (today is Tuesday, but the way; I mention it because my WordPress timestamp does not always jive) I took a walk with my camera, taking a few pictures, thinking to make a Pedestrian Post.  These rotting pumpkins caught my eye. I thought it was a brave smile, such as I feel myself giving these days (my teeth are in about as good shape).  At least this one has not started molding on the inside.  I once saw a really scary one with its mouth wide open to a black interior.  Alas that I had no phone or tablet with me at the time.

A nice place. I should join.

My walk continued and eventually I went past the Herkimer Elks Lodge, the site of my recent theatrical triumph (I feel I do not flatter myself as I give most of the credit to my fellow actors), Lights, Camera, Murder!  Imagine my chagrin when I discovered there were several other murder mysteries with the same title.  These things happen, I suppose, and I have heard you cannot copyright a title.

Why isn’t he in his cell? Is it a jail break?

Because I am still (let’s face it: almost always) in Halloween mode, I took a shot of the ghost of Chester Gillette peeking out of the 1824 Jail.  I guess it is not technically a ghost, but I think it has a nicely creepy air to it.

I see I am over 400 words.  That is long for one of my posts!  I hope I can get back into daily blogging. I may even waste a post detailing why I was away for so long, but as I often note, explanations are tiresome.  I sincerely thank you for tuning in.

 

This Blog Needs a New Plot

Well, this is embarrassing.  It seems I have had almost an entire Blogger’s Sick Week.   In my defense, I have been ill with some unnamed, unhappy malady (oh, come on, autocorrect!  “ill” is a word; you don’t have to change it to “I’ll”!).  However, my purpose today is not to get bogged down in my tiresome ailments but to get back to blogging with a Late Lame Post Friday post.

That was as far as I got on my Tablet, curled up comfortably at the end of my couch, pecking in one letter at a time with the stylus.  Now I am ten-finger typing on my dining-room-table-top and kind of missing the predictive text thingy.  Oh well, one can’t have everything after all.  I do have coffee and that will have to suffice me.

Aren’t they cute?

I thought I would throw in a picture to pep things up.  These are some of our fall decorations from November 2017, ones that can count for Thanksgiving as well as Halloween.  The two larger scarecrows are sweethearts, and the little one is the younger brother of the boy scarecrow.  The big boy scarecrow wishes his little brother would go away so the sweethearts can be alone, but the girl scarecrow thinks the little guy is adorable.  See, I make up plots for everything.  I have probably shared that one before and ought to make up another one for these three.  Incidentally, they are not out this year, and I have no idea where they are.  That is the kind of year I am having.

Looking behind to look ahead.

You can accuse me of rushing the season all you like; I will admit the fault.  This is a shot of my late, sadly missed husband, Steve’s nutcracker collection in December 2019.  The collection has grown since then.  The reason I wanted to share a picture of the nutcrackers is that they are still on the buffet and I can look straight at them while I type.  I have thought about packing them away any time since last January, but now it seems more appropriate to let them stay and perhaps be my only Christmas decoration this year.  Um, except for a couple of thing we keep out year round.  Full disclosure:  I do not remember if I put those nutcrackers out in 2022 or an earlier year.  I daresay regular readers will not be surprised.

A toast is always seasonal!

I looked around for a good picture to end with, and this nice shot of Steven caught my eye.  It is one of our many happy times hanging out on the front porch.  In the background, you can see another scarecrow peeking around the post.  I suppose she is spying on the neighbors, but I do not judge her for that.  I love hanging out on the porch, but it might get boring for a scarecrow to be there 24/7.  Full disclosure:  she is there 24/7/365.  She is out there now.  I may make up a new plot for her later.

It is good to be blogging again.

 

 

About That Party…

I guess workday mornings before work are my times to make blog posts these days as my Tablet continues to foil me and my body rebels from sitting up at the dining-room-table-top.  What’s up with that, body?  My mind seems to be giving me a few problems too.  Just now the word “sitting” was underlined in blue and it took me a few minutes to figure out where the extra “t” was (I had typed “stitting”).  Then I left out one set of “in” in “dining room” and I had to ponder which “in” it was, the one in “din” or the one in “ing.”

Be all that as it may, here is some semblance of a post to try to start my week on the right foot.  In my last post, I was requested to share pictures of my costume from Friday, when my friend Kim and I went to a Halloween party featuring our favorite band, The Posers.  I had a little problem there and this is the best I can come up with this morning.

I think it is a kind of a cool shot.

This is my shadow in the parking lot of Ilion Elks Lodge, before we went into said party.  You can at least see that I am wearing a cape and have a bat on my head.  I only got one picture of the band.

They are awesome, yes!

We had a fun time at the party, dancing to a lot of great tunes.  I had not brought my Tablet with me, because I did not want to worry about it when I was on the dance floor (it is still taking OK pictures for me at least).  I had my phone in a little bag looped on a scarf around my waist.

And I see I am up to 300 words (more with this paragraph!).  I call it respectable for a Monday morning.  Once again, I will strive to improve as the week wears on.

 

All Lights, Camera, Murder! All The Time?

Full disclosure:  I would not have made a blog post this morning, but my attempt to walk was foiled by rain.  Yes, I know, some people like to walk in the rain.  I personally do not mind it but did not want to either change my clothes or show up for work in a sodden state, although in a general sense I am not especially fastidious (I just wanted to use the word “fastidious” in a sentence. How often to you get to do that?).

Where was I?  Ah yes, making a blog post.  I think I will begin with a plug of our latest murder mystery, Lights, Camera, Murder! to be presented Saturday, Nov. 11 at the Herkimer Elks Lodge for the benefit for the Herkimer County Historical Society.

May be an image of text that says 'HERKIMER COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY AND CYNTHIA QUACKENBUSH PRESENTS LIGHTS.... CAMERA... MURDER!! CAN YOU SOLVE THE MURDER BEFORE MURDERER IS REVEALED? SATURDAY NOVEMBER 11th Elks Club 112 Mary St. Herkimer, NY Doors Open at 5:30pm Dinner at 6pm Basket Raffles & 50/50 Raffle Dinner catered by PK Pubs Tickets $40.00 per person Tickets are available at The Herkimer County Historical Society 406 North Main St, Herkimer 315-866-6413'

Wow, that turned out big!

I am a little embarrassed they put my name up there in big letters.  I think I should give my little murder group a name like “Q Mysteries” or “Murder for Non-Profit” for such situations.  We have rehearsal tonight.  Perhaps I can get a few pictures for blogging purposes.  In the meantime, why don’t I finish out this post as a Throwback Thursday (or late Way-Back Wednesday) and share a few shots from previous mysteries.

She is always fabulous.

Here is my friend Kim in Fabulous and Fatal in 2019.  She is in the new one, and I expect she will be equally as fabulous.  It is always good to have a tall, gorgeous blonde in the cast.

He is fine, too.   I need to get the other one in a murder mystery sometime!

This is not from a murder mystery but from Love’s Labour’s Lost presented by LiFT, Little Falls Theatre Company in 2022.  That is local author C.T. Avis, who is cast as Jarod, the screenwriter of the movie in Lights, Camera, Murder!  He asked if he was being typecast as a writer.  I said that actually I gave him the role on the strength of his portrayal of the lovelorn Don Armado (he was in love with Jacquenetta, played by me, I add modestly.  It was so flattering!)

I will try to show a couple more cast members after tonight’s rehearsal.  I don’t promise any hints about the plot, though.  I want any local readers who decide to attend to be surprised.

 

A Long(ish) Post for a Blogger’s Sick Day

So it has been a couple more Blogger’s Sick Days for me. Today will likely be another one,  because I am on my Tablet, which continues to play funky computer games with me, like not letting me add a title.  Could it be, once again, that bane of my existence, operator error?  Sometimes I am my own worst enemy, which is good news for anybody who wants to do me dirt but is too lazy: I got you covered.

Well, that was a longish paragraph of nonsense.  I wonder if I can throw in a picture to pep things up.

Apparently not.

I usually enter, as readers of my Running Commentary posts know.

My Tablet allowed me to put in a picture, but when I tried to add a caption, the picture disappeared to be replaced by a link!  I do not want my dear readers to have to click on a link to see my pictures.  That is way too much trouble.  Anyways, I am sitting up now at my dining-room-table-top, on my second cup of coffee, and determined to finish this blog post.  Or at least hopeful of that end.

That is not the picture I tried to add last night, but I feel it is symbolic of my Tablet’s efforts to stop me from blogging.  It lets me enter, but not title or illustrate.  However, there are few road signs that read “Do Not Title” or “Do Not Illustrate,” as you probably know or at least suspect.

Aaaahhh! Coffee!

This happens to be the cup I am using.  I really ought to get a clearer picture of it.

Last night we had another rehearsal for Lights, Camera, Murder!  the murder mystery we are presenting for the Herkimer County Historical Society.  I was feeling discouraged as two of my actresses were down will illness (Actor’s Sick Day).  We have limited days when everybody is free to rehearse.  However, I felt better as soon as I walked into Herkimer Elks Lodge.  A members said, “It’s one of the actors!” Of course I told them a few things about the mystery, hoping they will decide to attend.

I was further encouraged by the actors who were able to attend.  They are doing very well with their parts.  Additionally, they complimented me on my script.  One actor, who has worked with me several times before, said that my scripts were always good.  Maybe he was just buttering me up, but I always enjoy a compliment.  Then again, why should I insult his intentions by saying he had an ulterior motive for giving me a compliment? I was about to speculate that he may have been just being nice, but why am I looking so deeply into these thigs?  Just take the compliment, Cindy!

Well, that veers into half-baked philosophy, the prerogative of Lame Post Friday.  With that minor faux pas, I sign off, perhaps just adding one more picture for good measure.

I remember taking this picture in 2020.

I am enjoying the fall colors!

 

Murder Makes Me Feel Less Lame

I begin my Lame Post Friday post on Friday but fear I will not finish it till Saturday.  I am on my Tablet,  pecking in one letter at a time with the stylus.  Once again I am unable to add a headline.  That will be my excuse.

My real excuse, unfortunately, is that I have waited till too late and am too tired to make a decent blog post.  I guess that is not much of an excuse but is in fact the reason.

A picture from a long ago walk.

Once again I put in a picture to show the passage of time.  In the first paragraph I mentioned pecking in one letter at a time with the stylus, but I’m afraid I was letting predictive text do the talking, I mean typing.  I keep losing my stylus and have to use my fat finger.  It feels fatter on my phone than on my Tablet, but still.  My fingers are a lot more clever when they work together, as right now as I ten-finger type (I love typing; it is so much fun!).  There’s a metaphor for life:  everything is better when we work together!

And that, if you like, was a bit of half-baked philosophy suitable for Lame Post Friday.  Only I don’t think it was half-baked; I thing it is the truth.  For example, I felt much better about Lights, Camera, Murder!  after the cast had met and started working together.  It is going to be great!  My actors will make it great!

They ponder the clues.

Here is a shot of my last cast making Shooting at the Grange great.  I like working with a movie theme; it give us all a chance to be real hams.  Oh, who am I kidding?  We can ham it up in all my murder mysteries.

Who, her? Be a ham?

One more shot of a great actress.  I knew some of the lines I wrote were funny, but I didn’t know how funny till Mary Jane put her special spin on them.  I love theatre!

So I have gone from a late, lame post to raving about theatre, my own murder mysteries, and the casts that make them wonderful.  I think that is work enough for a Saturday morning, and I adjourn for another cup of coffee.  Once again, thank you for tuning in.

 

It’s Been Murder on my Blog!

I guess this has been a Blogger’s Sick Week.  I have been plagued by terrible headaches.  I try so hard not to whine but sometimes find embarrassing little whimpery noises coming out of my mouth.  Luckily nobody else has heard them.  Even more fortunately, my bosses at work believe me when I tell them I have a migraine and need to go home.

Oh dear, what a boring post this is turning out to be!  I don’t suppose it matters, though.  I am on my Tablet which still won’t let me put in a headline.  I will try to finish this in the morning, when I will feel more like sitting up at the dining-room-table-top.

This was taken at the Inspire Moore Winery.

I put in a picture to represent the passage of time.  It is now early Friday morning and I am at my dining-room-table-top, ten-finger typing and waiting for the coffee to perk.  I think it finished perking while I searched for an appropriate picture.

Ah yes, coffee always helps.  When I write letters to my sister Diane, she likes it if I give her a blow by blow of where I am and what I am doing while I write.  I tend to use the same technique with my blog.  Is a blog like a letter to anybody who chances to click on it?  Discuss amongst yourselves.

I may wear the same dress in our upcoming production.

I was going to share the posed picture of the cast of Fabulous and Fatal, which I have shared many times, but opted for an action shot instead.  This was the murder mystery we presented to benefit the Herkimer County Historical Society in 2019.  I use the picture because last night I was at the first rehearsal for Lights, Camera, Murder!  the murder mystery which will benefit the Historical Society on Saturday, Nov. 11.  Yes, it is close.  We put these things together quickly.

So there you have it:  an apology for my absence and a Preview of Coming Attractions.  Am I back to daily blogging?  I hope so.  And I hope people will continue to tune in.

 

What to Wear, What to Wear, What to Wear?

Yes, hello, I am making my late Saturday post on Sunday morning.  I woke feeling down but with less of a headache than I had yesterday, so I have that going for me.  I spent part of yesterday walking around Herkimer, trying to assuage my loneliness, with some success.  I will write a blog post about that later, I hope.  This is in the nature of a place holder, so I can continue to pretend I am a daily blogger.

A great place to go!

If I muster enough energy, I may go to the last session of Brookwood Market.  It is handy walking distance from my house, so I can get some needed exercise. Additionally, they are doing some Halloweeny stuff.  I can put on a costume.  I think I have a few laying around here somewhere.

I thought I looked good. But perhaps I flattered myself.

Here is me in a costume I threw together for the Ilion Days Doodah Parade in July 2019, just to show you what I can do off the top of my head.  My goal at the time was to keep cool in the heat, so I threw some light shawls over a camisole and bicycle shorts, topping it off with my beloved tiara (I only had one back then).

I put a spell on you!

Here is a costume I took a little more trouble with, even going to far as to make myself a wand out of a knitting needle, although it is not shown in the picture.  I was a Silly Wizard for a March of Dimes event.  The kids there were not impressed, but I had fun.

I guess for a place holder, this turned out to be a blog about me in costume.  We’ll see if I actually get into one today.  I will try to get a picture for the blog, but I am no had at selfies.

 

I Hope It’s Not Too Lame

Hello, and welcome to yet another Late Lame Post Friday Post.  Part of my problem is that my Tablet has not been cooperating, so I must sit up at the dining-room-table-top.  At a certain point of the evening, which seems to come distressingly early these days, I am far too tired and lazy to do so.  Well, one must press on, especially if one is me.

So here I sit, ten-finger typing, which seems kind of weird after I had gotten used to pecking in one letter at a time with the stylus.  I still mostly write in cursive, by the way, speaking of things feeling comfortable.  Where was I?  Ah yes, nowhere in particular.  I’d better throw in a picture to pep things up.

The nicest people!

I go for sentiment, with a beautiful picture of my parents and my niece Jenna.  It was the first one to catch my eye as I scrolled down my Media Library.

Schmuck couldn’t have held out one hand to save her!

This was the second picture to catch my eye, a publicity still from Tormented, one of my beloved cheesy horror movies.  I hesitated for a moment between the two pictures before deciding to use both of them.  What does that say about me?  Ah, now we are veering into half-baked philosophy, a staple of the Friday Lame Post.  Two of my great loves:  my family and cheesy horror movies.  If only my family shared my taste in movies, we could have a great cheesy film festival. I would of course serve lots of delicious cheese.  And popcorn, gotta have popcorn.  Maybe a little wine…

Now I am off and planning a party.  This may provide motivation to clean my house, which is beginning to resemble something out of Hoarders.  I’d better have at it, and hope to pause at some point for an on time Saturday blog post.  I do hope you will continue to tune in.

 

Late for Throwback Thursday or Wayback Wednesday

Wednesday was a real Blogger’s Sick Day.  I had one of those migraines where the only thing I could do was lie around and have a headache.  For Thursday I have no excuse, unless it was my ongoing struggles with depression.  You would think I would be used to it by  now, and being a fairly high-functioning depressant (or do I flatter myself?) still be able to get things done.  At least more things.  I did do a couple of things but hesitate to list them because (1) there weren’t that many and (2) they were late.

Never mind all that, it is early Friday morning, and I need coffee.

A little blurry, but cool mug, yes?

I paused before getting coffee to take a picture of the mug I am using.  It was Steven’s mug (my late dearly missed husband, I add for anybody just tuning in), so I celebrate a memory as I sip.  I am, of course, using Halloween mugs this month.  I have too many coffee mugs in general, but NOT too many Halloween mugs!

They were a delightful couple.

I share the picture of Bridezilla and her consort, because I dreamed about her last night.  In my dream, I was telling somebody about the costume, and, as happens sometimes in dreams, we were watching it as I was telling it.  Only then she looked all different and was in a different costume, as also happens in dreams.  Don’t tell Dr. Freud on me!

He was looking good!

Bridezilla and the above picture were at a Halloween party at the Herkimer VFW in 2021.  We had a great time.  Another attendee told us me and Steve were the best couple.  How sweet!

She was the Woman of Many Hats.

Our friend Tracy was visiting at the time.  She dressed as herself:  a Woman Who Wears Many Hats, because she does, if you see what I mean.  Nobody took a picture of me.  I was just a common or garden ghoul.

One more scary picture couldn’t hurt, might help.

So I guess this is a Wayback Wednesday or a Throwback Thursday post.  We’ll see if I can be on time for Lame Post Friday, but no promises.