Tag Archives: Little Falls NY

Return to my New Favorite Bookstore

Posted on January 30, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

I made it to Athenix Books and Brews yesterday, so I can make a real blog post today!  I am still anxiously awaiting the Brews part of the equation.  Nick, the owner, told me to watch his Facebook page, because the public will be invited to a tasting to decide which roast will be the Chosen Brew.  He said he sought out the best of the best: local, ethically sourced, etc.  That will certainly be worth another blog post.

Speaking of local…

I naturally asked where my sister’s books were.  I found Soulmates and Wednesday Wine Club by Diane E. Young on the Local Authors table.  I browsed the whole store, of course, and found another Fanny Flagg book as well as a self-help book I had previously gotten out of the library at a doctor’s recommendation:  Atomic Habits by James Clear.  I thought if I actually had my own copy of the book I might actually change some of my habits for the better.  No promises, of course.

Owner Nick Bennett designs and makes all his merch.

While there I got my free monthly t-shirt, because I am a member of The Keep.  I got a discount on the books too.

Other goodies for a future visit.

As I said, I browsed the entire store, including some lovely jewelry and tempting hats.  Shouldn’t everybody have a witch’s hat?  OK, I already have two or three, but there are different!  And I will never have enough earrings.

Athenix Books and Brews is located at 624 E. Main St., Little Falls, NY.  They are open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.  And you should totally follow them on Facebook, because Nick is often posting something interesting about a specific book or progress he is making on the store.  Check it out!

 

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After the Snow, Adventures?

Posted on January 27, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

I had meant to make a post yesterday (Monday) about my adventures in snow shoveling (yes, I did try to PUSH the snow when possible, don’t judge me), but I neglected to take before or after pictures, and then, well, time got away from me.  I managed to NOT give myself a heart attack.  Note to self:  do not watch Reels on Facebook that explain with illustrations just how easy it is for a woman of my age to do that.

Where was I?  Ah yes, on Tuesday morning, hoping to make some semblance of a blog post.  Quick, throw in a picture to pep things up.

Random snow shot from a couple of years ago.

Most things have been shut down around here since Sunday.  I think they are back open today, so it would be a good idea if I got out and gave a local business some, you know, business.  I can’t keep the local economy going all by myself, but I can spend a few dollars here and there and give some local places a shout out.

Maybe I could buy myself a Valentine.

This is a decoration from Home Town Diner on Main Street in Mohawk, NY.  I’ve already eaten breakfast, but I will be hungry for lunch before I know it.  I could also stop by To Niche Their Own in Herkimer.  I don’t think I have ever taken decent pictures there nor given them a proper shout-out, but I did purchase some excellent Christmas presents there last month.

Will I make it to Little Falls?

And there is my new favorite bookstore, Athenix Books and Brews.  There are a number of good places in Little Falls: Venture Fourth, Chickweed Boutique, the Mustard Seed… I’m sure to leave somebody out.  Oh dear.

So now I have cheered myself up to the tune of 300 words of blog post and plans.  I hope everybody has their parking lot plowed out by now!

 

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Still Ill on Throwback Thursday

Posted on January 16, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

Well friends, it is another Blogger’s Sick Day, but I think I can manage a Throwback Thursday post.  I spent most of the day trying unsuccessfully to sleep.  Perhaps I will be better enough tomorrow to get some exercise, which I would think would help me sleep.

He was so cute and sweet!

This is from January 2017, our second dog, Spunky. That basket was not meant to be a bed for him but a container for my crochet projects.  However, he went right over and made himself at home.  How could I deny him?  I am thinking about getting a dog, for company and for a reason to go for more walks.  We shall see.

 

My reason for attempting a blog post.

My brain truly does not want to write today.  I attempted something earlier and managed a page of nonsense.  By my rules for me, Any Writing Counts.

A fun theatre memory.

Since it is Throwback Thursday, I share a picture from rehearsals for Rubbed Out at Ruby’s, the murder mystery LiFT, Little Falls Theatre Company, did at the Overlook Mansion, back when it was a Bed and Breakfast and Destination for weddings and other things.  It was a 1920’s setting, and I am dying to do another set in that period.  I started to write one that I hoped to do at Salisbury Grange.  I could work more on it.  When my brain feels a little bit better.

In the meantime, I am over 200 words.  Score!  Maybe some more hot tea with lemon and honey would help.

 

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Scattered Tuesday?

Posted on January 14, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

I just went adventuring with my mother and my sisters Cheryl and Diane.  Did I take any pictures?  Um, ‘fraid not, but perhaps my Media Library can help.

Our first stop was Athenix Books and Brews (only books so far) in Little Falls, NY.  They are going to carry some of Diane’s books.  Yes, she is a published author, and I must up my writing game.

A regular stop for me now!

Mom, Cheryl and I browsed around while Diane talked with the owner.  I found a book by Fannie Flagg, one of my favorite authors.  Cheryl and I were looking at the shirts when she pointed out me one with a ghost.  It was 50% off.  How could I resist?  She took a picture of me holding it before I decided to buy it; maybe I can get it from her for blogging purposes.

After that stop we pondered where else to go.  So many shops are not open on Tuesday!  When we drove back to Herkimer, looking for lunch, we saw Mohawk Valley Community Market.  How did I not think of that?  It is a great place to shop!  We spent a goodly amount of time browsing.

I have one of those bags!

Renewed and Rescued is the anchor store of the Market, the people that started it all.

At last we went to lunch.  Many places are not open for lunch on Tuesday, but one my favorites, Salvatore’s Pizzeria and Restaurant is!

There was snow on the ground today.

We had a delicious lunch.  I’m still full!  And after all those adventures, I have plenty of time left to do something useful around the house.  As soon as I read some of that Fannie Flagg book.

 

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Mummies and Memories

Posted on January 13, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

I’m afraid it has to be a Monstrous Monday Post today.  It has in some ways been a Monstrous Monday, as I have been feeling sad and low.  A dear friend from up North passed away.  We had only been Facebook friends recently, but I have great memories of working with her in the Seaway Valley Footlighters, a community theatre based in Massena, NY.

He kind of looks like I feel, only I don’t have a hat like that.

Here is Christopher Lee, looking melancholy as The Mummy.  At least, I don’t think he is a mummy yet.  I have not seen the movie enough time to recognize the scene.

Oops, no monsters here.

Unable to settle on a monster, I share a community theatre memory:  a rehearsal from The Tempest, presented by LiFT, the Little Falls Theatre Company.  There were no monsters onstage, but the blond in the back is a wizard.  Does that count for anything?

Now there’s a mummy, if you like.

This is not Christopher Lee.  I quite frankly do not know which mummy this is or what movie it is from.  This post is definitely not one of my best efforts.  I guess I’m going to bill it as a blogger’s sad day and drive on.  As usual, I will try for a better blog post tomorrow.

 

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Mid Sunday Wrist to Forehead Post

Posted on January 12, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

Earlier today I was at the Regional Competition of the Elks Hoop Shoot.  Alas, I did not take any pictures.  The Herkimer competition took place in December, during which I kept score.  Today I got to chase rebounds, which was much more fun.  Now I am home and waiting till it is time to go to the Mohawk Valley Center for the Arts in Little Falls, NY, where there is a farewell reception for Oscar Stivala.

Oscar Stivala is a doctor, musician and artist.  I know him in the latter two descriptions.

Oscar and friends.

The picture is from The Renaissance Pub on Main Street in Little Falls.  It was the opening of an exhibit of Stivala’s artwork. I went for the music as much as the art.

I guess it all sounds pretty good, with no reason for me to swoon, dramatically posed with the back of one wrist to my forehead, on a handy chaise lounge, or failing that my couch (I STILL don’t own a chaise lounge and I feel pretty ill-used about it).  But I am having a bit of a headache, and I don’t care for that. Ooh, I just remembered, my sister Cheryl gave me a neck pillow, the kind you heat up in the microwave.  Yay, Cheryl!

So this is my Sunday post.  As always, I thank you for tuning in.

 

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Messy House, Many Adventures

Posted on January 10, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

I had an adventure filled day yesterday but foolishly did not take any pictures along the way.  Well, I will recount my activities and trust to my Media Library to provide some illustration.

I started with breakfast with friends at Top of the Morning Cafe in North Utica, NY.  I had never been there before and wish I had taken pictures.  However, the parking lot was quite icy so I did not want to pause and try to aim my camera at their sign.  It was a very good breakfast, though.  I am sure we will return.

Back home, I was planning the best way to go about cleaning my messy house when my sister Cheryl called and asked did I want to go out to lunch.  She needed to get a calendar as well.  I told her I knew a place where she could get a swell calendar free: Basloe Library in Herkimer had a stack of canal calendars.  I told her to take her time coming over, since I was still full from breakfast.

We went first to the library where Cheryl got the calendar and found a couple of books at the book sale.  From there we went to Little Falls and Athenix Books and Brews, where I found a book. I introduced Cheryl to the owner as my sister that did not write novels.  I don’t know if he recognized me as the person who said her sister wrote novels, but it amused me.

A very welcoming sign.

Next we walked up Main Street to Chickweed Boutique, where Cheryl found a couple of things she wanted.  I noticed that the sleigh out front was gone.  The owner told me it had been sold to a man with three kids, so it would get a lot of use.

The sleigh.

I told Cheryl about the sleigh that had been there in December, handmade and beautiful.  I would have loved to buy it myself!

By then I was hungry too, so we went back to Herkimer for lunch at Paradise Eatery.  I had gotten appetizers there but never lunch.  The waitress remembered me, which was flattering.  The food was yummy.  We will certainly go there again.  For one reason, I need to take a better picture.

From a post titled, “Bad Pictures, Good Eatery.”

It was a delightful day.  I was glad I had met my friends, and that Cheryl had called me.  My messy house was waiting for me when I got home.  Full disclosure:  I did not clean it today either.

 

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Return to Athenix

Posted on January 5, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

I got to thinking about Athenix Books and Brews and The Keep and decided I wanted to join.  Also, I had not purchased anything on Jan 2 , and that is no way to support a business.  I am not extravagantly well off, but I can afford a purchase or two.  Accordingly, I drove to Little Falls, NY.

Cool sign!

This time I remembered to take a couple of outside pictures.  I went in and greeted the owner.  He pointed out his two daughters, after whom the store is named, he was holding one and the other was relaxing on a nearby couch.  I looked around to decide what to purchase.  A number of people were browsing, so it was difficult to see everything.  What a good problem for a store to have!  Alas, no books caught my eye.

My purchases.

I had said yesterday that I did NOT need another coffee mug.  Unfortunately, when I was doing dishes the morning, my Dyn’s Cider Mill mug broke.  I don’t know when I will get to Dyn’s again (they are probably closed for the season).  In the meantime, another Little Falls mug can fill in the gap.  Um, yes, I did already have a Little Falls coffee mug.  But this one is purple!  When I went to pay for it, I fell in love with an adorable ghost pen holder (full disclosure:  at first I thought it was just a ghost and had to be told it was a pen holder).

It took a little while, since I was joining The Keep and because, well, I always talk too much.  I apologized to the woman behind me.  She said that was fine, she was enjoying looking around.  She asked the owner what if somebody wanted to buy one of the books hanging from the ceiling.  He said there would be a $100 surcharge for hauling out the ladder.

The outside is decorated with books, too.

We are all looking forward to the opening of the cafe.  I want to sit there and sip coffee and write.  Maybe I can finally finish that novel.

 

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No Brews Yet But Books!

Posted on January 4, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

Athenix Books and Brews in Little Falls is a great addition to the Mohawk Valley.  I went to their soft opening yesterday and was enchanted.  Alas, I did not get any pictures of the outside of the store or the logo.  That is another reason I must return.

Brews refers to brewed coffee, not beer, and they intend to open a whole cafe.  I have been following Athenix on Facebook, as they chronicle their progress, fixing up the space and getting ready. Only the book section opened Jan. 2, but for book lovers and lovers of local like me (oh, how alliterative, “lovers of local like me), that is enough.

SO going to buy a shirt!

In addition to new and used books, local jewelry, candles and other merchandise is available.  When I was there, a lot of people were browsing the stacks and making purchases.

I spoke to the owner, who my sister Diane Young had previously contacted.  A couple of stores in Liverpool carry her books, and she would love to expand her reach to Little Falls.  She had meant to come to the opening with me but was not feeling well (these colds that hang on and on, ugh!).  He said she should come see him when she is in town, and bring copies of her books.  My sister the author.  I really must up my writing game.

Who me? Buy another coffee mug?

For a monthly fee, you can join The Keep.  You get 10% off most purchases plus additional member sales, and you get a free monthly t-shirt.  Wow!  I want in!  I stupidly did not join yesterday.  However, since I plan to make it a regular stop, I’m sure I will have the chance.

Athenix Books and Brews is located at 624 E. Main St., Little Falls, NY.  They are open daily from 9 to 6.  I encourage you to follow them on Facebook.

 

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Just a Couple of Christmas Stops

Posted on December 18, 2025 by mohawkvalleygirl

I pause in my Christmas shopping to make a blog post.  Then I am out to tackle the season once again.  How brave that sounds.  In fact, I paused for lunch, to read a book for a while, take a Facebook break, and do an  anacrostic puzzle (my computer thinks “anacrostic” is not a word, and in fact PennyPress calls them “crostics”) (which the computer also does not like).  Where was I?

Ah yes, beginning my Christmas shopping.  In fact, I think most members of my family would not notice or care if I did not give them presents, except for the great nephew and niece, and OF COURSE I am going to get them something nice!  But I like to give presents, at least small tokens of my affection. Additionally, as Mohawk Valley Girl, this is a golden opportunity to shop at many of the little stores I love and with which the Mohawk Valley is blessed.

Accordingly, I drove to Little Falls this morning.  My first stop was at Chickweed Boutique on Main Street.  There was a wonderful handmade sled on the front porch.

Beautiful!

Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, there is no space in my house for such a thing.  Chickweed has a lot of great stuff for Christmas, though:  jewelry, clothes, books, art, and more.  I found… well, I can’t tell you what I found, can I?  Some members of my family read this blog.  I continued down Main Street to Venture Fourth, a fairly new business in Little Falls but one I had not visited till today.

As I came in I confessed to the man behind the counter that most of the people on my list were not super outdoorsy.  Still, he did have some things that looked nice for anybody.  Candles, coffee mugs, and clothing.

I may need to buy some of this stuff for me!

I further confessed that I did not plan to spend a whole lot per present.

“After all, I’m just the crazy old aunt,”  I said.  He said I didn’t seem that crazy to him, but then again, he had just met me.  I found a couple of items to purchase, and we had a lovely conversation about the area and small businesses, etc.  It really is one of my favorite things about shopping small:  the interaction with the shop keepers.

Anyone can use clothes!

As I left Venture Fourth, I felt tired and hungry, and remembered I had to go grocery shopping. That led to the pause I alluded to in the first paragraph.  Now I have a blog post of over 400 words.  Score!  I think I’ll hit a couple places in Herkimer next.

 

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