Tag Archives: Mohawk Valley Living

A Mention of Mohawk Mall on Wrist to Forehead Sunday

I drag my attention away from a City Confidential on Roku TV to make a Wrist to Forehead Sunday post.  Most of the Mohawk Valley seems to be iced it.  I tried to shovel a layer off the driveway while sleet fell on me, laughing at my efforts.  At least somebody was feeling jolly.  There is no need to dwell on these things.  I wanted to give a quick shout-out to Mohawk Antiques Mall, one of my favorite spots, which I visited a few days previously.

I had not stopped there in a while.  Full disclosure:  I mostly stopped because I was pretty sure they would have a current issue of Mohawk Valley Living magazine.  I do not know how much longer I will be writing for them, but I had a nice story in February’s issue about Back In Time: Collectibles Plus Crafts in Richfield Springs, NY (not to self: make a post about them soon!).  After picking up the magazine, I walked over the whole store, hoping something would tempt me to buy.

I’m sure I need a hat like that.

Further disclosure:  I have to watch my money these days, and I have pretty much zero space in my house to put cool things found at antique stores.  I took a picture at a new vendor.  That is, new to me.  I think I mentioned I had not been there in a while.  One great thing about these antique malls:  you can visit again and again and almost always see something new.

Ooh, those are nice!

Another vendor caught my eye, and I thought it was clearly a local artist.  I quickly saw that this was indeed the case.

I LOVE local art!

In fact, I follow Chickadee Hollow Studio on Facebook (I follow lots of local places I haven’t been to yet), so I was delighted to see some of their stuff.  I’m afraid my pictures are a little blurry.  I must go and get better pictures.  And make more space in my house so I can purchase something!

Mohawk Antiques Mall is located at 100 E. Main St., Mohawk, NY, phone number 315-219-5044.

 

More Lawn, Still No Order

I did not have a majorly productive weekend, but I did manage to do some yard work today, Sunday.  That gave me a good reason to have a Wrist to Forehead moment, but I shall try not to whine.  Too much, anyways.

When mowing my lawn with the non-power mower, I have left a lot of crap around the edges.  Today I tried to clean up some of that.  One thing I learned, or perhaps was reminded of, is that wild grapevines are quite invasive.  The roots go on forever!  And the vines cling with tenacity to everything handy.  I clipped, I pulled, I hack-sawed.  I added to a growing pile of crap.

One nice thing was becoming a pricker bush slayer again.  You see, some years ago I spent a Sunday taking down a huge pricker bush behind our garage.  When Steven got home from work, he took me out to Miner’s Table at the Herkimer Diamonds Mine.  I wrote about it for Mohawk Valley Living magazine.  For the article I took a picture of Steven toasting me.  When the article appeared, the caption of that photo read, “Steven toasts Cindy, pricker bush slayer.”  I may not have that word for word, but close enough.

Evidence of my pricker bush and wild grapevine slaying prowess.

I soon filled a couple of containers for yard waste pick up tomorrow.  I posted on Facebook that I had literally put my blood, sweat, and tears into my yard work.  I do have some bloody-looking scratches on my arms and legs, and I was ready to cry by the time I gave up and went inside.  I have a lot more work to do, but I felt I had made some progress.

I guess it isn’t all that beautiful.

I was thinking I should have taken a “before” picture but it was too late by the time I thought that.  So I took a picture of a section I did not get to.

Something to look forward to.

My father gave me some advice on getting my power mower going, and offered to come over and work on it if I continued to have troubles.  So I may be making more progress on Lawn Order soon.  In the meantime, I have to be pleased with what I was able to get done.  I can only hope it made an entertaining blog post. Once again, thank you for tuning in.

 

I Can Only Do So Much on Tired Tuesday

Did I mention this would probably be a Tired Tuesday Post? I think I did.

Always a favorite meme.

I drove to work thinking that Tuesdays, like Mondays, must be endured.  I remembered a saying I had back in the ’80’s:  “Today is a bad day.  Yesterday was a bad day.  Tomorrow will be a bad day.”  It was my angst-ridden pose, I suppose.  I told my work friend Zach about my saying, and he said, “Now you sound like Eeyore.”  I replied that I have always identified with Eeyore.  Oh, quit playing those miniature violins.  I’m not in a gloomy, angst-ridden mood now, and I am certainly not feeling sorry for myself.  I am merely tired.  Hence, the Tired Tuesday Post.

Earlier this evening, I finished and emailed my submission to Mohawk Valley Living magazine for May.  I hope they like it.  I always say writing begets more writing, but sometimes I am only good for so much per day.  Perhaps if I began to lead a healthier lifestyle, I would not feel so tired in the evenings and I could write more. I must research healthy lifestyles. I am afraid vegetables will be involved.  Cue jokes about how I am already a vegetable.

There’s something healthy

I thought I would throw in a cheerier picture to end with.  I see I am over 200 words, which regular readers know I consider respectable, especially for these nothing posts.  As usual, I will try for something better tomorrow, and hope you will all stay tuned.

 

Blame it on the Rain

Sporadic posting.  It’s a thing now, at least with me.  As a matter of fact, I would not be posting right now, except that it is raining, and I do not want to walk in the rain.  I have walked a mile (but not in somebody else’s shoes) Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of this week before breakfast (today being Thursday, despite what my WordPress timestamp may say).  I believe it has made a positive difference in my mental if not physical health, although I am sure it has not hurt me physically, either.  So my usual morning blogging time has at least been positively spent.

In the meantime, I allow precious time to escape when I would like to be writing. Whatever happened to me writing after work?  For that matter, whatever happened to me writing on breaks at work?  These days I obsessively work on pencil puzzles such as crosswords and cryptograms.  I struggle to finish a letter to a friend, and I totally owe my last two sisters in law letters

So here I am in the middle of a blog post about not making blog posts, and about not writing in general.  A fellow writer once pointed out that writing about not writing is still writing.  Truman Capote once pointed out, that’s not writing, that’s typing, not about me, of course, but I think it may apply here.  Then again, ten finger typing is fun (I am on my Chromebook, in case you were wondering).

Me, pondering my fate.

I threw in a picture to pep things up.  This is from a visit to the Arc Park in Herkimer, NY, with my sister Cheryl and her grandkids, Sheppy and Evie.  I wrote an article about it for Mohawk Valley Living magazine.  Evie made the cover.  I need to work on my article for next month.

The thing about writing, as with many things in life, is you just have to do it.  I observe this and have mentioned it about my MVL articles:  I can’t write the article, I can’t write the article, I can’t write the article, I sit down and I write the article.  I just have to figure out how to get to the last clause sooner.  Likewise with my blog posts.  Thank you for tuning in while I blather on for,wow, over 350 words.  Let’s hear it for the rain!

 

Another Glass of Lame?

I was going to put off making my Lame Post Friday post till Saturday morning but decided to pour myself another glass of Sauvignon Blanc and do it now.  What are you shaking your head at (or your finger or your booty) (you know how you are)?  It is only my second glass of wine.  And it is Friday night!

I am kind of sort of watching The Ape Man with Bela Lugosi.  I found a DVD set I had forgotten I had:  The Best of the Worst.  I already watched Manos the Hands of Fate and Track of the Moon Beast, both of which have been featured on Mystery Science Theatre 3000.  Again, kind of, sort of (the me watching part, not the MST3K featuring part).  I have been looking at Facebook or doing puzzles in a puzzle book.  I need a new puzzle book, by the way.

My current viewing pleasure.

This is not the best picture.  Then again, some of the movies are not the best prints.  I love buying these collections for cheap.  Sometimes I get the same movie two or three times, but that is OK with me.  The Brain That Wouldn’t Die, The Terror, and others bear multiple viewings.

For the record, I have not been completely useless tonight.  I finished two articles for Mohawk Valley Living magazine and got them emailed out.  I hope they like at least one of them.

I see I am over 200 words.  Time to stop babbling on and pay more attention to what is happening to Bela.  Happy Friday, everyone!

 

I Make a Monstrous Post

Oy vey, what a day!  I like to say that, because it rhymes.  In fact, my Monday was no more monstrous than usual, and also as usual, I am here at the end of the day with not much brain power for a good blog post.  In my defense, I finished writing my article for next month’s Mohawk Valley Living magazine.  However, that is also in my accusation (being the opposite of defense), because I always say that writing begets more writing.  So write, me!

She wants them to think she has a pretty face, but not JUST a pretty face.

This is obviously not me, because it is The Brain That Wouldn’t Die.  Mine apparently would.

Not monsters, but maybe murderers.

This picture is apropos, because in addition to monsters, I have murder on my mind.  This is the cast from A G.R.A.V.E. Murder, which we presented a few years ago. I may be doing another murder mystery soon for the Herkimer County Historical Society (preview of coming attractions).  I’ll keep you posted on that.

Scary!

I close with my favorite guy, Nosferatu, from the 1922 silent film of that name.  I have not watched that one in a while.  My favorite way to watch silent movies is while running in place on the mini-tramp.  Come to think about it, I could use the exercise. Perhaps if I am not too tired on Tuesday, but regular readers know how that goes!

 

What Post? How About Some Pics?

What a surprise, that I should wuss out on Wuss-out Wednesday, especially when I had rehearsal (my autocorrect keeps wanting to capitalize “rehearsal” just because I had caps lock on in a recent message I sent) (in my defense, I felt strongly about it) (and lowercase “rehearsal” is getting underlined).

Enough with the parenthetical comments, on with the post!  I shall share a few more rehearsal shots.  I took a bunch to submit with my article for Mohawk Valley Living magazine, and they only used one.  They printed the article, yay!  If you want to pick up a copy and read it, which I encourage you to do,  it is available at Stewart’s shops and advertisers’ locations.

They are not playing jump rope.

This is a very funny scene, among many.  I feel I don’t flatter myself,  because I am not in it and so have perspective.

“He speaks the mere contrary!”

It is a little difficult, looking between my Media Library and device, trying not to upload the same picture  twice.  Wow, it is true what my co-workers say: I AM always whining!

I picked one with more people in it.

This is another of my favorite scenes.  Full disclosure:  hey are almost all my favorite scenes.

Local readers, I cordially invite you to come see Love’s Labour’s Lost, presented by LiFT, Little Falls Theatre Company, 1 p.m., Saturday and Sunday,  Aug. 13 and 14, 2022, at Benton’s Landing, Little Falls NY.  It is part of the Canal Celebration festivities, and it is FREE!

PS.  Autocorrect wants to call it “Benson’s Landing.”  Wasn’t he on a TV show in the ’70’s?

 

 

Lame for the Deadline?

Here is Yet Another Late Lame Post Friday Post. It is almost another feature here at Mohawk Valley Girl. I am feeling sad this particular Saturday morning, because the winter storm the weather forecasters threatened seems to be materializing. It’s not that I do not enjoy a Saturday spent at home, I do. But I need to have some Mohawk Valley Adventures!

Regular readers may remember that I write for Mohawk Valley Living magazine. I got the gig because Sharry Whitney, one of the publishers, read my blog. Every month I try to come up with something, sometimes coming embarrassingly close to the last minute.

Last month I had nothing, due to being sick. I am kind of sort of recovered now but have yet to return to my adventuresome ways. What to do?

I do have one or two places I could write about, places I have been to prior to getting sick. But I always like to visit a place just prior to writing. Then again, perhaps that is just me wanting to go out to eat or shop.

It is easy to beat myself up for not planning ahead, but no amount of planning would have made me recover from COVID any quicker. Then again, a certain amount of planning might have helped me get my article written despite COVID. Perhaps I can plan to do better in the future.

In the meantime, I am over 200 words. I guess I’ll call this a post.

Writing Through the Angst on Tired Tuesday

So it’s Tired Tuesday again.  How did I get to be so old and useless anyways?  Oh, that sounded whiny and self-pitying, didn’t it?  I should erase it, but I am determined to make this post and have done with, so I made up my mind not to backspace out what I typed, no matter how pathetic.

Full disclosure:  I have been sitting here in front of a blank screen thinking that it may be time for me to stop being a daily blogger.  I have been doing this blog since May of 2011.  That’s a pretty good run, isn’t it?  I suppose it would have been a better run if there had been fewer posts about I Can’t Write a Blog Post Today.  Then again, if I had not been trying to make daily posts, there may have been fewer foolish posts. But what about the readers who enjoy my foolish posts?  Why should I deprive them? As regular readers know, I go through these angst-y things every so often, and I always end up hitting Publish and hoping for the best.  And trying again the next day.

If only I could get back into the habit of writing my blog posts during the day while on break at work!  One reason I did not do that today is that a co-worker brought me copy of Mohawk Valley Living magazine, and I was reading it.  I read all the articles and perused the ads, searching for future Mohawk Valley adventures.  You know, stuff I can write blog posts about.  So that is one plan for the improvement of this blog.

I have another plan to improve this blog:  I am going to work to improve my life, then blog about how I have brought these improvements about.  I am not certain how much I can improve myself at this late date (I am middle-aged, if I live to be over 100), but they say it never hurts to try.  If I fail miserably,  I can blog about that.  At least it should be good for a laugh.

In the meantime, this is my Tired Tuesday post.  At least I have found something different to say about not having anything decent to say.  And I gave a quick shout-out to Mohawk Valley Living.  I’ll try not to wuss out on Wednesday, but no promises.

 

All Kinds of Drama in 2017!

Welcome to the first Mental Meanderings Monday of 2017.  I hope nobody is expecting brilliance (I know, most of you never had such expectations of me) (OK, me neither),  because I feel tired and stupid.  These are not unfamiliar feelings for me, but I do not repine.  I just have to wait and sooner or later I will feel some other way.  That is how it works.

Where was I?  Ah yes, mentally meandering.  I’m expecting my post-Christmas letdown to continue at least for a few more days, with the occasional relapse as the month wears on.  On Wednesday I have a meeting to talk more about the murder mystery LiFT Theatre Company is doing at the Overlook Mansion in Little Falls.  Who could be uncheered by a murder mystery? (That is a paraphrase from Winnie the Pooh, by the way.  I think the real line is, “Nobody could be uncheered by a balloon.”) Thursday I have the read-through for Steel Magnolias at Ilion Little Theatre.

And then I have at least two more murder mysteries to write, in addition to writing articles for Mohawk Valley Living magazine and making a blog post every day. Then there is running, finally organizing my house and life, and of course seeking out new Mohawk Valley adventures.  I hope to also find time to crochet, knit, and watch true crime on cable television, as well as the occasional cheesy movie to write a blog post about (I haven’t done one of those posts in a long time!).

I see that I am over 250 words.  Score!  And never once did I whine about my inability to come up with a blog post for today.  That makes me feel a good deal less stupid than I felt when I typed the first paragraph.  You see, I was right:  just wait and I will feel a different way.  Bring on 2017!