Tag Archives: murder mystery

Thank Goodness It’s a Blog Post!

Posted on August 29, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

Actually, I had no pleasant delusion today about it being any day but Tuesday.

You knew I was going to have a Tired Tuesday post, didn’t you?  Any local readers might have guessed it based on the level of heat and humidity we all were dealing with here in the Mohawk Valley (YES, I’m whining about it and will probably continue to do so, if you do not want to listen, just move on!).

More astute readers may guess by that parenthetical comment that I am a little sensitive these days to accusations of whining.  A work friend kept yelling at me to quit my whining and I didn’t think I WAS whining but merely observing some unpleasant circumstances.  I have not spoken to him for two days, because I figured I would actually whine.

Where was I?  Ah yes, whining.  I always say, go with your strengths. No, no, I don’t want to whine but rather to make a respectable blog post.  I am making it before rehearsal tonight.  There is more costume work to be done!  Pieces to be looked for, stuff to be put away, people to talk to, plans to be made.  I was telling another work friend about going to rehearsal and he said, “You just can’t help yourself, can you?”  No, I cannot.

I found this on Facebook just now.

At the risk of repeating what is on the above graphic:  performance dates for Shattered Angel are Sept. 14, 15, 20, 21 and 22 at 7:30 p.m.; Sept. 16 and 23 at 2 p.m. at Ilion Little Theatre, 13 Remington Ave, Ilion, NY (directly behind Remington Arms).  Tickets are $15 general admission, $10 for students and can be purchased by mail by sending a check to: Herkimer Historical Society, 400 N. Main Street, Herkimer, NY 13350, or by calling 315-866-6413 or by stopping by the historical society during their hours of operation, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.  PLEASE NOTE: “Shattered Angel” is a special, additional production in conjunction with the Herkimer County Historical Society and is NOT part of the regular 2018-2019 theatrical season. Thus, subscriptions and memberships are not accepted for these performances.

Tomorrow I have rehearsal for my as yet untitled murder mystery, which will be presented at the Herkimer Elks Lodge on Sept. 15 (another reason I could not audition for Angel).  I’ll have more information on that production soon.

In the meantime, I shall close with a monster picture I could have used yesterday.  In a comment, Pouring My Art Out said Great White Sharks were monsters too. I agree.

How would you like to brush his teeth?

 

 

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Just Type in Some Foolishness and Hit Publish

Posted on August 12, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

I suppose the operative thing to have done today was to have written a blog post about one of the things I mentioned this morning.  Or I could have done a Running Commentary about this morning’s run (it was awesome, by the way).  But here I sit, looking at television and strongly inclined to just type in some foolishness and hit Publish.

Right now Forensic Files is on, but before that we were watching the divine Joan Crawford in Straitjacket.

Don’t lie; we’ve all been there.

During the movie we debated and debated what movie to watch next.  We still have not decided, hence our viewing of Forensic Files.  I was hoping to find the cheesier Deadly Women on ID, but no luck.  Not even a Snapped on Oxygen.  Some Saturdays are bad that way.

I must admit, it is quite relaxing to sit on my couch, wondering how best to veg out.  The last couple of weeks we have been moving and shaking. Even last night we were out and about (as I believe I mentioned).  It is fun to be out and about, but you can get too much of a good thing.

Just to make this a Scattered Saturday post, I will quickly cover today’s accomplishments, although they are a little thin.  My run was long and felt good.  Then I wrote some post cards and we left the house by the front door.  Regular readers will recall that our back door was ailing.  We went to breakfast at Crazy Otto’s Empire Diner then to Collis Hardware to get some screws for the door.

Back home, we fixed the door.  Woohoo, I think it was a success!  Then I had a headache so laid down with my heat-up face mask and took a nap.  On rising, I got on the laptop and typed in what I had written on my murder mystery script.  Later I thought how to finish up and made a few notes about it.  I anticipate finishing and polishing tomorrow.

And that was about it.  Eventually we got to the movie watching portion of the evening, and that is where we are at now.  If only we could agree on which movie to watch next.

 

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Beat the Heat with Books!

Posted on July 4, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

The heat wave continues in the Mohawk Valley, and I do not have air conditioning.  However, libraries do!  In the last two days, I went to two, so I thought I would give them a shout out instead of having my usual Tired Tuesday post.

Monday I went to Basloe Library in Herkimer, NY.  I actually went so I could print out the script to Where’s the Cheesecake?, the play I am in during Little Falls Cheese Festival, July 14 (I’ll make tomorrow’s blog post about that, by the way) (preview of coming attractions).  I still don’t have a printer, but I was just as happy to go to the library.   As I paid for my printed pages, I remarked that it might be time to purchase a printer of my own.

“Then again, I’m not too unhappy to be here in the air conditioning,” I told the clerk.  She agreed that this was a good place to be, especially since they also have books.  With that in mind, I found a few books.  Then I sat down and tried to write.  That did not go so well, because I had a headache.  As I left the library, I saw they had changed the sandwich board outside to say, “Come on in!  It’s cool and we have books!” I only wish I had had my Tablet with me to take a picture.

Today I went to Weller Library in Mohawk. I was determined to write more.  For one reason, I did not have a headache.  For another reason, they have the most beautiful reading room.  Once again, I ought to have had my Tablet with me.  Next time!

Well, once again, the writing did not go so well, so I looked for books. I thought I found a couple of Agatha Christie’s I had not read, only to discover that they were novelizations based on, I don’t know, a movie or a play.  I put them back on the shelf and found a couple of authentic Agatha Christie novels, one of which I actually have not read. Score!

I managed to get a little writing done: some on a novel that I fear is not going to go anyplace, and some on a murder mystery for the fall.  I think the murder mystery is going to work out. I’ll write more on it tomorrow.

So, my advice to anybody who is tired of the head and doesn’t have air conditioning:  go to the library!  It’s cool, and they have books!

 

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Blank Mind, Dumb Blog, Here’s a Vampire

Posted on May 24, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

How many times has Wuss-out Wednesday followed Tired Tuesday?  Many.  Today shall make one more, but I hope to think of something amusing to say nevertheless.  Mind you, my hopes are not high, but any hope on a blank page is nice.

Blank is the operative word.  I have a dreadful case of Writer’s Blank.  That is when I look at a blank page (or computer screen) and that is exactly how it stays, because my brain is just that: BLANK.  It is all very well to say, “Just write something, anything down.”  I can’t think of anything to write down!  Then I think of something, write it down, and it’s STUPID!  I can’t continue with that!  And it would not matter if I bullishly forced myself to continue with it, because I cannot for the life of me think of another sentence.

Obviously that is not what is happening right now with this blog post, but it is what happened earlier when I was faced with a blank page in my notebook.  I started jotting down ideas I had for a murder mystery I must write for September (more on that when it gets closer) (I am, of course, taking it for granted that I WILL eventually be able to write the thing).  I have been tumbling ideas around in my head for a few weeks now.  As I put pen to paper, I realized I had very few ideas after all and the ones I had were dumb.  OK, it was one idea.  One stupid idea.

I will somehow get beyond this idea-less phase.  I will write down words and then more words.  I may even like them.  In the meantime, I am going to end with a picture of Nosferatu and hit Publish.  I may try again later with a pen and paper.  Further updates as events warrant.

Do you suppose I would write better or worse if this fellow was actually standing over me?

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No, I Do Not Have My Act Together

Posted on April 30, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

It is Wrist to Forehead Sunday indeed.  I have been alternately looking at my blank “Add New Post” page and scrolling down Facebook.  I can’t say I was looking for inspiration.  For one reason, I can write a blog post with inspiration (so those of you gearing up to give me a lecture on the hollowness of waiting for inspiration can just stand down).

The murder mystery last night went pretty well.  The audience enjoyed themselves and the actors had fun, too.  Now I plan to take a long break from theatre.  It is time to get my act together, clean my house, and write, write, write.  I mean more than silly blog posts and murder mysteries.

I confess, today was not the first day of Getting My Act Together.  Then again, I have never been able to accomplish much on a Sunday.  That is one reason I started having Wrist to Forehead Sunday.  The feeling that I ought to be getting something done but yet am not getting anything done is very distressing.

Wow, I am not even having an easy time writing a silly blog post.  Can I save the day with a monster picture?

“You say I look like whom?”

I downloaded this beauty a couple of days ago in case of just such an emergency.  It is Alec Guinness in The Lady Killers.  I have never seen the movie, although I hope to catch it sometime.  I love the picture, because I think he looks

like Nosferatu.  Regular readers know of my affection for Nosferatu.  I’ll have to watch that movie again soon.  I have it on two different DVD collections.

I guess that isn’t really a monster picture, so I’ll finish with a repeat.

“Just popped up to say hello!”

I have no idea who this handsome fellow is.  I must have downloaded him one day when I was trolling the internet for monster pictures. Get it?  Trolling?  Because a troll is a kind of a monster.  I know, you aren’t supposed to explain puns.  Cut me a break on Wrist to Forehead Sunday!

 

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Remembering to Breathe

Posted on April 29, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

Oh, this is bad, this is not good, this is a problem.  OK, breathe, Cindy, breathe.  And drink some coffee.  I think I will have to call this a ScatterBrained Saturday post.  All I have done so far today is have a headache, wash some dishes, and feel nervous about tonight’s murder mystery.  I came up with the headline just now when I was messaging my friend Kim on on Facebook, whining about my flustered state of mind.  I typed, “I am trying some coffee and remembering to breathe.”  Only when I typed “remembering”  I missed the “b”  (could have been clumsy fingers, but let’s blame my laptop keyboard; I hate for EVERYTHING to be my fault).  I sat there saying “remember” in my head to figure out where the “b” went.   So I added, “And how to spell remember.”

Maybe my headline should have been, “Where Does That Damn B Go Anyways?”  Sometimes I just have to laugh at myself.  Who forgets how to spell remember?  It does lighten things up when you can see the humor.  And a cup of coffee doesn’t hurt.

I have half my costume on and, as I had feared, my pants don’t want to stay up.  They are fancy silk-looking purple pajama pants. I daresay they look fabulous, but there is no place to put a belt and anyways,  I have them pulled up too high.  Maybe I could tuck them under my bra (oh goody, I just made myself laugh again) (until somebody says “TMI” because I mentioned my bra; you can’t say anything to some people).  My shirt is real silk, a black sleeveless blouse I rarely ware (YES, I remembered to shave!  Talk about TMI: what a personal question!).  I think my earring choices are good, but which socks?  Decisions!

So I guess this is my blog post today:  me dithering and whining.  But what is a blogger to do?  I have a show tonight!  I hope I break a leg.

 

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Add more Monster Pictures and Keep Typing!

Posted on April 28, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

“You called?”

I am having a Nosferatu kind of a day.  By that I mean that I just feel like opening my blog with a picture of my favorite guy (uh, I mean my second favorite guy.  Obviously Steven is my FAVORITE guy).  And since it is Lame Post Friday, I shall. Oh who am I kidding?  When I feel like putting in a picture of a vampire, I do.  That is one of the things that makes blogging such a fun hobby.

I have had quite a day.  Work was stressful, but that was mostly my fault.  Fortunately, this is not a blog about work.  After work, I went and worked out.  It did not go as well as I could have hoped, but you’ll have that.  I feel certain that my body derived some benefit from it.  After coming home, having my usual recovery beverage of chocolate milk, and showering, I went out on a mission.

My mission was to find artificial tulips for props for Spring Into Murder.  I went to every dollar store in the area and then to Wal-Mart (I know, these are not the kinds of stores I normally plug, but in the interests of accuracy, I mention them).  I met success at my last stop.  If I have success in constructing the props, perhaps I will write a blog post titled Adventures in Tulips.

In the meantime, this is my Friday Lame Post.  Unfortunately, I see now that my picture of Nosferatu is completely unrelated to my post.  What to do?  Add more monster pictures and keep typing!

But the full moon is not until Sunday!

In fact, I do not intend to howl tonight.  I am sitting on my couch, chatting with my husband, and watching Dateline.  I believe another episode will follow, or at least one will be available on another channel.  I would like to crochet.  I think one more monster picture and I will be on my merry way.

Next Friday, I think I’ll go dancing!

 

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Looking for a New Throwback on Non-Sequitur Thursday

Posted on April 27, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

So last week I did a Throw Back Thursday with Non-Sequitur overtones.  Then I realized I had used the same photos together in a previous post.  I suppose these things happen, but I hope to avoid such a thing today.  I am posting in haste (posthaste is a word you don’t here much these days, but I like it).  I have rehearsal for Spring Into Murder later, and I am doing laundry now.  You know, that murder mystery we are doing at Morning Star Methodist Church on Saturday, April 28.  I wonder if any tickets are still available.  I should share the Facebook event again, in case local readers are interested (see what I did there?).

“I don’t always do Shakespeare plays, but when I do, it’s with LiFT.”

This is Tucker just before a performance of The Tempest last summer with LiFT, Little Falls Theatre Company.  Tucker is in Spring Into Murder as the trophy husband of Holland Mills, CEO of Two Lips Cosmetics.

“Whoooo says Cindy can’t write a blog post?”

This cute little owl caught my eye.  As I type this, I see part of the title of the book he’s sitting on:  I Hated, Hated, HATED This Movie! by Roger Ebert.  I just love reading unflattering reviews, although I disagree with Ebert on some of his assessments.

Here’s to hasty blog posts!

I end with a shot of Steven and me doing what we do best:  hanging out and having a good old time!  My sister, Cheryl, took this picture at Woodland Farm Brewery in Utica, NY.

Well, three pictures and over 250 words, I call that good enough for a pre-rehearsal post.  I hope to see you all on Lame Post Friday!

 

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Fast Post on a Sunday

Posted on April 23, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

Every Sunday it is the same thing.  I start the day thinking I’ll get all sorts of stuff done. Sometimes I even do a thing or two.  But at some point, I remember, because my body reminds me:  there is no point in trying to get anything done on a Sunday.  I had rehearsal for Spring Into Murder (MUST write an entire blog post about that!).  Steven and I have a dinner date later.  Having gotten a couple of things done but feeling inclined to accomplish nothing further, I thought, “I’ll do my blog post.  Easy, fun, and useful.”  Of course the usefulness can be debated, but you may discuss that among yourselves if you are so inclined.

To make a long story longer (I bet you thought I was going to say, “make a long story short,” and you were taking a breath to say, “Too late!”  Gotcha!), I could not do a blog post earlier. I just sat there scrolling up and down Facebook and watching the clock till it was time to go to rehearsal.

Rehearsal went pretty good, by the way.  We discussed costumes.  I had brought what I intend to wear:  loud purple pants and a louder jacket.  Actually I had two colorful jackets to choose between, and one cast member insisted I must wear the louder one.  I agreed.  Kim had brought every glamorous black dress in her wardrobe for our inspection.  Oh come on, like none of you has more than one glamorous black dress?  I personally have none, but I’m weird. We all know that.  I am unusual among women in that I do not long for the elusive little black dress.  Be that as it may, Kim has some wonderful frocks, and we all enjoyed voicing our opinions.

More importantly, we ran the scripted part of the show a couple of times.  I think it is coming together nicely.  We discussed the black tulips, which are so important to the plot. We discussed the next rehearsal.

The murder mystery, Spring Into Murder, will be presented next Saturday, April 28, at Morning Star Methodist Church, 36 Second St., Ilion, NY, at 5 p.m.  $20 tickets include a roast pork dinner and must be purchased in advance by calling the church at 315-864-4093.

Now I must get changed for our dinner date.  Perhaps I will wear black, but not a little black dress.

 

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I’m So Ambitious!

Posted on April 5, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

I bet nobody believes that, a quite understandable reaction.  At least the headline makes a change from my usual Wuss-out Wednesday whining.  The fact is, I have just about run out of oomph, but I hope to muster enough to make a blog post before Dateline, which I will probably go to bed before the end of anyways.  I think I will iterate what I did to feel so ambitious, and my dear readers can decide for themselves the truth of my headline.

I worked out after work (I’ll write a whole blog post soon about my new work-out routine, but for now just know that I sweated).   I got home, showered, and checked Facebook and email while sipping my recovery beverage of chocolate milk. Yum!  But I had to tear myself away from the computer to start dinner so it would have time to cook before my husband Steven got home.

I chopped up an onion and two potatoes, and put them in a casserole dish with garlic oil.  The garlic oil is some I made last week in the blender with fresh garlic and dried spices.  I always make more than I need for the recipe at hand so I can use it in subsequent cooking adventures.  I put the casserole dish in the oven at 350 degrees, planning to stir it every 15 minutes and add ham chunks when the potatoes were almost done.  The ham was leftover from Easter dinner at my Mom and Dad’s house.  Waste not, want not!

While dinner cooked, I made some cocktail sauce, using my mother’s recipe and going heavy on the horseradish.  I put it in the fridge for the flavors to blend.  I had it in mind to put it on some fake crab meat for one of my snacks at work.  Raw celery and radishes are just not cutting it, and I am out of celery anyways.  Then I remembered I was going to boil some eggs, for breakfast or snack purposes.

Soon the eggs were cooking, the ham was in with the potatoes and onion, and I had put the crab meat with cocktail sauce into a container.  When taste testing, I found I had gone too heavy with the horseradish so added extra ketchup and chili sauce.  Oh, I was doing great!   When the egg water reached a boil, I turned off the burner and covered the pot.  I had good luck with that method the last time I made hard-boiled eggs.   I also turned off the oven, so the casserole would stay hot but not overcook.

I got back on the computer, thinking to make my blog post, then remembered I have a murder mystery to type in.  I got one character sheet typed in by the time Steven got home.  I thought that, in addition to the other stuff I did, on a Wuss-out Wednesday, was not bad.  But perhaps I flatter myself.  In any case, I am getting close to 500 words.  That is a long blog post for me!  I think I deserve to knit and watch Dateline.

 

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