Tag Archives: late post

By the Way, Happy Easter

Late posts on the weekend.  It’s a thing.  Anyways, here I sit early Sunday morning, lounged on the couch, pecking in one letter at a time with the stylus on my Tablet.  I have pecked in that sentence many times, according to the predictive text thingy, but it is the case so I make bold to repeat it.

My favorites are the two-tone ones.

I thought instead of an actual post, I would share the rest of the pictures I took with my phone the other day.  I saved all the pictures on my phone to my blog before returning the phone and cancelling my cell service (long story, and I don’t look so good in it).

But the deep purple is pretty, too.

 

This one looks a little wilted.

There weren’t any yellow ones, of which I usually get one or two.  Also, the ones in the front yard haven’t gotten beyond a few pretty green shoots.  Further updates as events warrant.

I didn’t plant these.

I also saw some white flowers over by the fence. I don’t know how they got there, but I was happy to see them.  There is only a parking lot on the other side of the fence, so it is unlikely the neighbors planted them.

I admit, not the best picture.

I guess these flower pictures are appropriate, being as it is Easter Sunday.

And then there’s this.

I end with a preview of coming attractions.  I am hard at work on the next murder mystery.  I hope to make a post about rehearsals next week.  I hope you’ll stay tuned.

 

Too Busy to Blog?

So yesterday was a Wuss-out Wednesday,  blog-wise.  I went for a walk in the morning and a run in the afternoon.  I had a Mohawk Valley Adventure of going to Fratello’s Pizzeria in Frankfort for music and food.  And I took some pictures of crocuses in my back yard.

But I did not make a blog post about any of it.  What the hell, me?

Now it is Thursday morning, and I contemplate the coming day with dread.  How’s that for a little bit of melodrama?  I need to get over myself.  Never mind, let’s get on with the blog post.

I knew it wouldn’t be a great picture, but I had to try.

On my morning walk, I admired the full moon.  Full disclosure:  I like to see the moon at whatever phase it is in.

I love to see them every year!

I felt the need to take pictures of all the crocuses that were there.  It occurred to me that some people might shame me for it (you know who you are): “We all know what a crocus looks like.  We see them every year.”  Like how some people don’t want to keep seeing pictures of the snow.  I can’t worry about those people now.

They were awesome.

This is the new to me band I heard at Fratello’s:  Gridley Paige Naked and Scared.  I loved them.

So once again I give you a blog post about what I could have written a blog post about.  At least it was over 200 words.

 

I Hate Late

I read a quote from a writer, I forget who or even the whole quote, but it started, “One must be pitiless in the matter of mood…”

He is right, of course.  But it doesn’t really help me right now.  I am sitting here with my Tablet (the laptop-come-dining-room-tabletop is dying a slow painful death, as it gets slower and more painful to do anything on it), feeling it would be a good idea to make Saturday’s blog post even at this late hour.  Yet I also feel paralyzed by indecision and resistance.

I’m also a little hungry, although I did have some scrambled eggs earlier.

Lately I feel overwhelmed by all I need and want to do, with the vicious circle result that I do not do any of it.  Well, sometimes I do some of it.  For example, yesterday I worked on paying bills.  This is one chore my late husband Steve always did, and I was SO grateful that he did.  So naturally,  I am not only not very good at it, it is doubly painful, because it emphasizes once again that Steve is not here.

I guess this is another thing to be pitiless about.  I keep telling myself I have to learn to be alone.  So yesterday I sat down with the checkbook and a stack of bills and told myself, “Just pay one bill.”  This was me applying my method of Just Do One Thing.  I started by putting the bills in order of due date.  I hate to be late (blog posts notwithstanding).

Somewhere in the midst paying one bill online, one by phone, and writing a couple of checks, I felt a surge of… not quite happiness, but of not depression.  “I’m doing this,”  I thought.  Of course I have a lot more to do, but maybe I will be able to do it.

Hmmm… I guess the quote I referenced earlier did help me, because, look, I have blogged over 300 words.  I say “blogged” instead of “written” in deference to the Truman Capote line, “That’s not writing, that’s typing.”  Do you suppose if he were still around, he would sniff at my blog, “That’s not writing, that’s pecking in one letter at a time with the stylus”?

 

Saturday? Sunday? Just Another Blog Post

It is a well known fact that I have never, at any point in my life, for one minute, ever had my act together.  It seems unlikely that I will achieve such a status at this late stage, even if I were to make the attempt.  Full disclosure:  I tend not to try.  At worst,  I survey the damage and make embarrassing weepy noises.  At best, I just drive on.  I am hoping for a drive on day today.

I am lounged on my couch, pecking in one letter at a time with the stylus on my Tablet, trying to remember why I did not make my Saturday blog post on Saturday.  I am further wondering if I can count this post for both Saturday and Sunday.  Would that be cheating?  I do not approve of cheating, even if it is on my own rules for me.  Still, one resorts to  these measures on occasion.

It has not been a bad weekend so far.  I went for good runs both yesterday and today, going further than last weekend and even including a few hills.  I petted a couple dogs today.

The sign is looking more faded now, and the trees in the background have no leaves.

I ran by this DO NOT ENTER sign yesterday.  Regular readers know I love to enter when it says not to.

That car wasn’t there today.

I ran by the post office today.  I walked there yesterday to mail my post cards and a letter.

I keep hoping for some of those endorphins to kick in.  One reason I try to be vigilant about running and walking is for the mental health benefits.  However, I don’t suppose anything will be a miracle cure.  Again I ask, why can’t I have a miracle cure?

And again I answer myself, never mind why, you can’t and that’s that.  However, it seems I can make a blog post.  It may be a late, foolish blog post, but what can you expect from someone who emphatically does not have her act together?

 

Blog After Run, Such As It Was

As often happens, I neglected to make my Saturday blog post on Saturday.  This morning I thought to make it first thing, but after I had futzed about (holy crap, autocorrect recognized “futzed” as a word!) with coffee and Facebook (judge me if you will, I find Facebook sometimes comforting these days), I really felt more like running than blogging.  It was almost light out.  I decided to go for it.  For one reason, I have been trying to self-medicate my depression with exercise.  For another, the Boilermaker 15K is coming up.  Eventually.

Holy crap, it was cold!  Never mind, I told myself.  You’ll warm up as you go.  Ignoring the logical part of my brain that said my fingers and face traditionally do not warm up, I kept going.

More problematic was the ice.  There were patches of ice EVERYWHERE!  Some of it was insidiously hard to see.  I found a nice bare strip down the center of most roads I went on, but clearly it is a mistake to run down the center of, say German Street, which I happened to be on.  Well, maybe there wouldn’t be much traffic.  In fact there was not a lot, but it only takes one car to obliterate one middle-aged lady runner.  I sprinted for Prospect Street as I heard then saw one approach.

I quickly decided a long-ish run such as I had enjoyed yesterday was not necessary.  15 minutes would be OK, I told myself.  Even at my cautious shuffle, that would be at least a mile.  As it happened, I went for 20 minutes, just under a mile and a half.

As I went, I did not observe much, since I was mainly keeping my eyes on the road.  Therefore I did not enjoy the benefits of distraction which running outdoors usually brings.  Never mind.  We all know some runs are better than others.  The point is, I ran.  And now I have blogged.  Bring on the rest of the day!

 

Blog Before Run, Or Am I Too Lame?

Last week I hoped I was ushering in a new era of Not Late Lame Post Friday posts.  Alas, it was not to be.  Here it is Saturday morning, and I sit on my couch (lounge, really), listening to what I think is some kind of pigeon (maybe a mourning dove? It sounds pretty sad) and wishing I was already out running. One thing I love is running or walking in the morning and hearing the birds sing (or is it a morning dove with no emotion attributed?  I don’t know from birds).

One reason I am blogging before my run is that I am waiting for it to be light out.  I just can’t trust the sidewalks and roads this time of year.  I have wiped out on the ice too many times this year just walking (one hideous incident on my uneven concrete front steps).  I emphatically do not want to do it while running.  At my age I could break a hip.  Well, maybe not a hip, but something.  At least I would bruise my body and damage my fragile self-esteem.

My day stretches before me in a fairly threatening fashion.  That run to take, post cards to write, a house to clean, a murder mystery to write AND this afternoon auditions for murder mystery actors.  It is a general audition;  I want to develop a pool of actors to draw from as murder mysteries arise to be cast.

Now I feel threatened, because there is a something inside me (my depression?  the aforementioned fragile self-esteem?) strenuously insisting that I CANNOT POSSIBLY do a murder mystery at this time.  I MIGHT be able to write it (low self-esteem aside, I rarely admit to being unable to write something) (yes, yes, there are times when I say I CAN’T write a blog post, but I just mean I can’t write it right now).  But print it out, get a cast, schedule and go to rehearsals…

What am I saying?  Of course I can do all that!  The voices in my head are full of beans!

Talked myself right into that, didn’t I?  Guess I’ll go for my run now.

For local readers interested in theatre, auditions are today, March 18, at 1 p.m. at Ilion Little Theatre,  13 Remington Ave., Ilion, NY.  For more information,  you can visit the theatre’s Facebook page.

 

 

I Guess It’s My Thursday Thing Now

Never mind how I ended up at Fratello’s Pizzeria in Frankfort, NY, it’s a long story (and I may make it my Lame Post Friday post,  but no promises).  The point is, I walked in, heard music, and right away saw my niece Kimi and her boyfriend,  Matt.

“Boy am I glad to see you!” I said.  Friends, music, food, this was the cure I needed.

I loved his sound.

The singer was Tom Maneen (good God, autocorrect tried to make it Hanson!), who I had never heard before.  He played acoustic guitar and a wonderful mix of music.

At one point he asked for a Jack Fire.  I asked if he had tried Mohawk Valley Fire from Dikin Durt Distillery, which I like to recommend to people when they are having something similar.  He said he had tried all their stuff and loved it.  It’s always nice to encounter someone who likes the same local business I do.

Matt asked for Cold Play but could not pick one of their great hits.  I asked for something from the ’80’s and got “Purple Rain,” which I realized I was writing about with a purple pen.  It’s the little things.

We were soon joined by Matt’s friend Dan, who I had met before.  I was pleased that I remembered his name, because I usually can only remember one person per name, and I already know a few Dans.  Dan was drinking Utica Club, which I mention in order to plug another local business.  I told Dan he was going in the blog for that reason.  He agreed to it, mentioning that he always drinks UC.

As I said, the evening was just what I needed, even if I did wait till Friday morning to make my Thursday blog post (I don’t know why I feel compelled to point up my lateness, but so it is).  I can only hope I get just what I need on Friday.

 

One Reason Why I’m Tired

I will tell you about my Tuesday.  The Mohawk Valley was hit with the nor’easter which I suppose is plaguing the entire state.  I can only suppose, because I have yet restored any real television to my television set (long story, not very interesting) (although I do not rule out making a blog post out of it at some point).  I arose in the morning with trepidation, prepared to dig out my driveway prior to departing for work.

Imagine my delight when I found that shoveling was not yet necessay.  I merely had to clean off my car.  I could see snow heavily falling, though, so allowed extra time, which I definitely needed.

Oh, the roads sucked.  I reflected as I drove down Rt 5 at 30 miles an hour, that a year previously, I had turned around in such conditions and gone home.  Full disclosure:  if my husband Steve were still alive, I probably would have yesterday.  In fact, Steve would have urged me in strong terms not to go in at all.  (“You’re NOT going to work today,” was the way he put it the time I turned around) (yes, I disobeyed a direct order, but let us not discuss the dynamics of my marriage).

Driving up Ilion Gorge was an adventure.  It was a decision whether it was better with or without high beams, because of all the snow.  The light reflects each and every flake, you know. I decided I liked it better with.

I further reflected (see what I did there?) that my drive was a metaphor for my current life.  I was going slowly.  I could not see very far ahead.  I was just trusting to be able to reach my destination (one day when I didn’t even try to get to work, I later learned a fallen tree had blocked the road anyways).  It was not much fun.

Actually it was a little fun.  As often happens, I had to laugh at myself.

Further trials and tribulations were in store for me as the day went on, but I see I am over 300 words.  I do not care to tax my readers’ patience at this time (but do not rule it out at some future date).

 

At Least It’s a Post

My trials and tribulations with the cable company continue. I am lounged on my couch typing in one letter at a time with the stylus on my phone, not my Tablet, because I am currently off line. It seems I need new equipment to connect with the internet now that I cancelled cable television.

My first inkling of this was when I received a package from the cable company yesterday. I said, “What the hell is this?” They patiently explained things to me on the phone (which apparently and luckily was still working) (I should perhaps mention I have a landline as well as a cell) and scheduled a semi-convenient time for a tech to come hook me up.

My internet had been working earlier in the day, but it stopped sometime after said phone call. Yes, yes, these are first world problems. I am grateful that I still have my cell and can at least make some semblance of a post.

I must say, it is a little awkward posting this way. I don’t have the tool bar I am used to and I don’t see a word count. YES, these are first world problems, you don’t have to keep telling me! (You know who you are.)

I am just going to count this as a Tired Tuesday Post and drive on. Perhaps I can get to the library later and make my Wednesday post from a computer and on time. As always I hope you’ll stay tuned.

Bad Sunday, Good Pizza

My Sunday was really crappy, although I’ll admit my problems were primarily of the first world variety.  Then again, when you feel your desires are simple, it can be twice as frustrating to be unable to meet them. Additionally, my whole life these days is overshadowed by the grief of losing my husband.  I am afraid anything that sucks is going to suck a little bit more for the foreseeable future.  One must live through these things.

All I wanted to do was watch television.  A little news in the morning while I played solitaire (on the floor with a regular deck of cards), a little Snapped in the afternoon while I knitted.  A relaxing Sunday.  However, it did not work out that way.  Once again, my television persistently told me “No Signal.”

I spent time on the phone with cable people, I drove to New Hartford, NY to pick up a cable they said I needed, I figured out how to replace said cable, I spent more time on the phone, I drove to Little Falls so the UPS store could send my (brand new) cable box back to the cable company, I required two more phone calls to actually cancel service.  Phew!  That is the short version, but I did not want to skip any steps.

So now I sit in silence on Monday morning, pecking in one letter at a time with the stylus on my Tablet (I always feel the need to tell you that), making my Sunday blog post late once again.  As you see, I did not cancel internet.  I am not a savage, after all.

Just to add a plug for a local business,  in between the last two phone calls, I went to Mangia Macrina’s which is handily located in the same building, for a wood-fired pizza and a glass of wine.  While I sipped and munched, I wrote another character sheet for my upcoming murder mystery, Shooting at the Grange (more about that later) (preview of coming attractions).

Good pizza!

Mangia Macrina’s (Macrina’s, not Marine’s, autocorrect!  Sheesh!) is located at Canal Place in Little Falls, NY.