Tag Archives: late post

Ran Myself Ragged, But Didn’t Run

Last night I felt so tired from my after-work gyrations and reflecting that I had today (July 4) off, I lazily put away my Tablet and went to bed.  After all, I continued to justify to myself, I was unlikely to wake up with a headache, since I am going wine-less (but not whine-less) till after the Boilermaker 15K.  As it happens, not all headaches are due to wine.  However, it is not a bad one, and I expect it will go away as the morning progresses.

Where was I?  Ah yes, a late Monstrous Monday Post.  First, perhaps, a word or two about the previously mentioned gyrations.

“No! Monsters first!”

Maybe one monster.

I got home and immediately got on the phone to take care of a couple of things I had neglected.  Never mind what.   It’s not that interesting, and I am quite disinclined to emphasize the extent to which I do not have my act together.  I ran one errand, still dirty from work (for which you are welcome to judge me), and returned home to realize it had stopped raining long ago enough to make lawn mowing eligible.

Me hacking away at the overgrowth.

Regular readers may recall that I use a non-power mower.  It makes for a pretty good work out.  Since I had walked in the morning but not run that afternoon, I praised myself for the exertion (hey, I have to keep myself going anyway I can).  A soapy shower felt good after that.

My stomach, urging me to the grocery store.

I sat down for a while, but my body was soon reminding me I had not eaten.  One must stay nourished, I suppose.  I dragged myself to the grocery store.  As it happened, it was a great time to go.  The crowd had already gotten their Fourth of July supplies and left.  I got everything my list plus a couple of treats, which I felt I had earned.

“Did somebody say treats?”

Now I have made my Monday blog post, I can get on with my Tuesday gyrations.  Once again, thank you for tuning in.

 

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.

 

How Much Slack Can I Get Away With?

So I let all of Saturday and a good part of Sunday slip by without making a blog post and am feeling a bit guilty about it.  The fact is, I am having the damnedest time getting myself to do anything.  I did go for two long runs this weekend.  Yesterday I did a load of laundry and washed the dishes before I petered out.  Eventually I wrote a few post cards to my usual peeps.  However, there is a lot more that I need and want to get done.  What the hell, me?

Pretty!

I threw in a picture, before I sank into a boring morass of self-recrimination.  These are my front lawn daisies from two years ago.  They are starting to die off now, and I just spent some time trying to cut them back.  This was after mowing the grass with my non-power mower and pulling up a bunch of other stuff on the side of the house.  And that was after my 50-minute run earlier.  A woman my age gets tired.  I never made it to the back yard.  In fact, a number of failing daisies remain out front.

Now I am lounged on my couch pecking in one letter at a time with the stylus on my Tablet, and sipping a glass of wine,  because I feel any effort deserves a reward.  I think I can move on to the movie watching portion of my Sunday.  Maybe I can even do a Sunday Cinema Post.  But no promises.

 

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.

 

My Brain Would Die

I am sitting here hoping to make my Saturday blog post  but keep hiccuping. I think I have finally stopped.   Phew! I am watching Attack of the Killer Shrews and thinking this could be a good topic for a blog post.  I have written about this cheesy movie before.

That was as far as I got on Saturday.  I never finished the movie but am now watching The Brain That Wouldn’t Die, my all-time cheesy favorite.  I have had a dreadful headache since the middle of last night, but it seems to be easing somewhat.  Just to add a complaint.  My sister Vicki says the more you complain, the longer God lets you live.

The sound of one hand clapping?

I can’t find any pictures of the Brain herself, or Jan in a Pan, as some call her.  There are some blank spots in my Media Library.  What’s that all about?

And Jan thinks she is more horrible than this?

Jan just said, “Like all quantities, horror has its ultimate, and I am it.”  I respectfully beg to differ, but I guess we can agree to disagree.

By now it should be quite clear that I got nuthin’, and this is yet another post about not making a blog post.  As usual, I conclude that a bad blog post is better than none at all.  Once again, thank you for tuning in.

Perhaps I’ll try Attack of the Killer Shrews again next.

 

My Cinco de Mayo

Yesterday I inadvisedly decided to do something for Cinco de Mayo, a holiday which for one reason or another I have never marked.  One reason was that I read that Matt Grainger was playing at the Saalty Dawg Saloon.  I have not heard him in a while.

I started out in some trepidation, because I have been to the Saalty Dawg once, and that time my cell phone told my friend Kim where to drive.  I no longer have a cell phone and I have never had a very good sense of direction.  Hoping for the best, I drove through Ilion till I got to the sign that said “Saalty Dawg” and pointed up Barringer Road.

And drove and drove.  I had it in my head that the Dawg was not actually on Barringer Road, but I had foolishly not written down the address.  I took two wrong turns, turned around in some dumb places, and had just about decided that I had gone too far when I found it.

Imagine my disappointment when I found out Matt would not start playing till eight.  I had a margarita and some chips with queso dip while I was there.  I admired the view and worked on a letter to a friend.

I didn’t mention that the Saalty Dawg is next to a golf course.

By this time it was after six (still too long to wait for eight), and I remembered that the Phil-Ins were playing at Fratello’s Pizzeria in Frankfort.  This is a band with Phil Arcuri and friends.  They would start at seven.  I drove there with no false starts.

Geno the bartender greeted me as I came in. I sat at the bar and ordered Sauvignon Blanc and a slice of cheesecake.  I never have room for dessert so thought for once I would get some.  I did not have long to wait for some good music.

They were great!

Unfortunately, my stomach soon let me know that the queso dip was a big mistake.  I confess to having some fears when I saw the peppers but of course I ate it anyways.  In my defense, yum.  I hoped the cheesecake would help.  It sounded soothing.

I fear it is a symptom of getting old that my stomach did not settle down.  I enjoyed some music but felt forced to head home.  I stretched out on my bed (by this time it took some effort to get there) and proceeded to feel miserable for a few hours.  That is why I did not make my Lame Post Friday post on Friday.

On the brighter side, before I left Fratello’s, Geno read me some of their upcoming musical entertainment.  Matt Grainger plays on Wednesday!

 

Still Shooting (for an On-Time Blog Post)

Before this blog at last segues out of All Shooting at the Grange All The Time,  I would like to use up the last four pictures I took on Saturday.  For a late Tired Tuesday Post, I thought it would beat whining about how tired I am (more than is warranted, I feel) (both my tiredness and my whining).

One actor is blurry; I am nobody’s idea of a good photographer.

This shot shows the stage, which we only used briefly.  The actors thought it would be better to stay amidst the audience, and I agreed.  We have a lot of Actor’s Choice in my murder mysteries, although I reserve the right to all final decisions.

Another blurry actor, but what a fabulous outfit she has on!

As I said before, it was very uncomfortable for me to watch the mingling without participating.  To me it is the most fun part of the shows.

You wouldn’t believe this was the guy with the bugs in Donate to Murder.

One of the other fun parts of these shows is seeing actors play different roles.  Tucker, for example, was the dashing leading man on Saturday but previously played the creepy Renwick Spaulding.  I was thinking about writing a mystery called Renwick’s Revenge (preview of coming attractions).

A better view of the fabulous outfit, including the boots.

The actor on the right (as you may have noticed, I do the thing of referring to both male and females as actors) is new to my murder mysteries.  She came on Tucker’s recommendation, and a good recommendation it was!  The other two, a mother/daughter team) participated last November in He Laughed Himself to Death.  I was delighted to work with them again.

So I have gone a whole two days without definitely committing to another murder mystery, although I know a few groups who would like one.  Well, perhaps with no commitments or definite plans to actually perform it, I might just start writing a few notes on Renwick’s Revenge. No promises.

 

 

About That Murder Mystery…

Regular readers may be anxious to know how our murder mystery turned out, and I kept them in suspense by neglecting to post either Saturday or Sunday.  Or perhaps I flatter myself.  For anybody just tuning in, I refer to Shooting at the Grange, which we presented to benefit Salisbury Grange on April 29.

She welcomes you to my blog post.

I foolishly did not get pictures of each character, but I did take a few shots while the actors mingled with the audience before the scripted part of the performance.

They got a big crowd.

Everybody seemed to be having a fine time.  For my part, I was a little uncomfortable, because I am usually one of the actors.  I wanted to be out there interacting with the audience, dropping clues and dissing the other characters!

The Grange volunteers were very sweet.

They served pulled pork, corn, potatoes, cole slaw and rolls.  The actors and I ate after the performance.  It was delicious!

I should have gotten a closer shot of that glamorous character.

The whole thing went pretty well.  The audience seemed to enjoy it.  The actors did a good job.  The Grange people are hoping we will return with another murder mystery,  perhaps this fall.

I personally need to take a break.  When I mentioned this to a co-worker on Friday (incidentally, I had named the victim after this particular co-worker), he said, “Then on Monday, you’ll say, ‘I have an opportunity to write another murder mystery.’ ”

Who, me? Write another murder mystery?

 

Still Flustered, No Longer Friday

As flustered as I was on Thursday, I remained so on Friday.  So much so that I did not make a blog post.  Part of me says, why call attention to my failings?  Just make the blog post.  No one will care if it is late.  If they do, as a co-worker of mine used to say, they’ll get over it or they’ll get therapy.

Once again making this blog  All Shooting at the Grange All The Time,  my mission, if I chose to accept it (just to throw in a ’70’s television reference), was to print out and photocopy programs for our murder mystery, which goes up today, April 29 at Salisbury Grange.  A cast member has revised the program I had first typed up, a mere one page outlining the setting and characters.  She had also made up little forms for people to write their guesses on.  My cast members always go above and beyond!

I love my cast.

My problems were mostly of timing.  I wanted to go to Basloe Library in Herkimer to print them.  They close at five and I believe like to shut down the computers a half hour before closing.  I get into town just before four, filthy dirty from my job (I add, in case anybody thinks I am complaining, that it is a perfectly good job and I am washable).  I prefer to shower and change before inflicting myself upon places.

As the great philosopher Mick Jagger said, you can’t always get what you want. I went to the library dirty. Nobody complained.  They are always very nice there.  I found out they also make copies, charging the same that they charge per sheet for printing.  In hindsight, I wish I had just printed out 80 copies and had done with, but I wanted to get fancy.

Back home I contacted a couple of retail places that do copies, hoping I could also purchase colored paper to copy on.  Did you know you cannot just call a store and talk to a person any more?  Your call has to be “directed” and sometimes you have to listen to an automated voice and press a bunch of numbers first. Technology! Sheesh!

After that annoyance (yes, yes, I know it is a first world problem!  Once again, Sheesh!), I found out that the places I called charge as much or more as the library! I decided to give my money to the library.  A quick look at Facebook told me Frankfort Free Library was open till seven.  Sweet!

I took a fast shower and hurried to a store which does not need a plug from Mohawk Valley Girl for fancy colored paper.  Feeling I now had plenty of time, I stopped at Valley Wine and Liquor, where they were doing a tasting of Apothic Wines.  I’ll have to write a blog post about that (preview of coming attractions).

In Frankfort I discovered that Facebook had betrayed me.  The library had closed at five.  Alas!  I gave up the mission till Saturday morning.  Since I was in Frankfort, however, I went to Fratello’s Pizzeria for some food and relaxation.

Wow, look!  I am over 500 words!  If you have read to the end, I offer you my most sincere thanks.