Tag Archives: running

Old Blogger, New Monster?

Posted on December 27, 2022 by mohawkvalleygirl

Could I be getting older?  SAY IT AIN’T SO!!!!  Actually,  that is a silly thing to say, because of course I am getting older.  You get older or you die; those are the choices.  The reason I ask is that this flu has really knocked me down.  I feel so NOT recovered.  I think I am recovered.  Logically I know that I did not even get as sick as other sufferers.  Yet I feel dragged out.  Or like something the cat dragged in, as the saying goes (that is another way to get away with using a cliche, by the way: you add in the phrase “as the saying goes”) (the usual trick I use is to throw in the word “proverbial,” as in, “something the proverbial cat dragged in”) (but I digress).

“Ho! Ho! Ho!” And you can see who he’s calling a ho.

I thought I would throw in a monster picture before I got even more bogged down in parenthetical comments. This is a new picture I just stole from one of my monster pages on Facebook.  I had thought to try for a Monstrous Monday Post.  I kind of feel like I am starting blogging all over again.  In fact, I feel I need to begin a whole lot of things all over again:  running, cleaning my house, getting my act in general together…

So I guess I have made another blogging start.  Future posts may document how I progress with everything else.

 

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Predictably Lame

Posted on December 10, 2022 by mohawkvalleygirl

I was afraid I would neglect to make my Lame Post Friday post on Friday.  Even my predictive text thingy is on to me.  But it is counterproductive to beat oneself up about these things.  I am lounged on my couch, pecking in one letter at a time with the stylus on my Tablet (thank you, predictive text thingy), sipping my first cup of coffee with real gratitude.

I am up as early as I am during the week, which I feel rather ill-used about on a Saturday, but it is by no means unusual for me.  I opted not to run the Reindeer Run 5K in Little Falls, NY this morning.  One advantage,  I said to myself, was that I could sleep in (oh well).  It was still a kind of a load off my mind.  I have not been running as much as I like to before a 5K, and even in my best shape (which is still kind of round and puffy), I get so nervous.  I like butterflies, but not in my stomach.

Predictably,  I feel a little wistful now. It is such a fun run, and I get to dress up.  Oh well, maybe next year.

Oh dear, I suddenly realize:  I have gotten predictable!   We knew I would make my blog post late!  We knew I would not sleep in on a Saturday!  We knew I would feel bad about not running the 5K!  I need to find something unpredictable to do right away.  I can make a blog post about it.

I suppose you knew I was going to say that.

 

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Predictive Text, Autocorrect, and a Late Lame Post

Posted on December 3, 2022 by mohawkvalleygirl

What is my problem that I can’t even make a lame post on Lame Post Friday?  But so it is, many Fridays.  Perhaps if I posted before the third glass of wine.  Or the third DVR’d episode of Dateline.  I’ll have to try that next week.

In the meantime,  here I sit, lounged comfortably on the couch, sipping coffee and pecking in one letter at a time with the stylus.  The advantage of this is the predictive text thingy.  I love those Facebook memes that give you a sentence and tell you to finish it with predictive text.  I tried it once with a blog post, with, I confess, no notable success.

That was a fun day.

I went to my Media Library for a picture to pep things up (thank you, predictive text thingy) and found this gem from December 2017.  It was just before the Reindeer Run 5K in Little Falls,  NY.  Regular readers may recall that I have been debating whether or not to run it  this year.  It is next week, Dec. 10, so I had better make up my dithery mind (autocorrect thinks dithery is not a word!  The idea!).

With this in mind, perhaps I should stop blogging and go for a run.   For one reason, I have finished my coffee.  For another, I think it is supposed to get more cold and blustery as the day goes on.  I should git while the gittin’s good (I guess I can’t blame autocorrect for not liking “git” and “gittin’s”).

 

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Run Thursday, Blog Friday

Posted on December 2, 2022 by mohawkvalleygirl

I did not have to go in to work till noon today, so I went for a run this morning.  I thought I would make a Running Commentary Post.  That was this morning.  Now it is evening and all I have with me is my phone, never mind why; explanations are tiresome.

That was as far as I got on Thursday.  Now it is Friday morning, and I am frantically typing on the dining-room-table-top, hoping to make a Non-Sequitur Thursday Post and get away with it.  That was a trifle dramatic.  In fact, I am not frantically typing but merely ten-finger typing. It is so much faster than pecking one letter at a time with my finger, as I was attempting to do last night (I did not even have a stylus, and that is what you might call a first world problem).

So, about yesterday’s run…  It was windy and cold, but I don’t usually mind that.  I was running early on, so it was still dark out.  Other days when I have gone to work late I waited till the sun was up, but I thought it best to do it and get it over with.  Regular readers know I have a history of talking myself out of these things.

My start was a little later than for my walks this week, with the result that more traffic was on the road.  I realized right away that I had forgotten to put on my road-guard vest (that is what we army people call reflective vests).  So no running in the road, I told myself, except of course to cross the streets.  If I got to an intersection at the same time as a car, I quickly turned the corner, so as to avoid the question of whose turn it is.  Some drivers nicely wave you ahead, but I could not count on seeing that in the dark.  Also I could not count on drivers, nice or otherwise, seeing me without my vest.

No, I did not take pictures as I ran.

I made sure I ran by my beloved Herkimer Historic Four Corners, because I knew I had some pictures in my Media Library that had been taken in the dark.  They are from December 2020, but I thought they would pep up the post nevertheless. Additionally, this adds to the non-sequitur quality of the post.  Side note:  some might argue that since the pictures are related to the subject at hand, they are not true non-sequiturs, but I am no hand at argument.

I did not run as far as I run on the weekends.  I felt I should recruit my energies for my day at work.  However, it was a respectable run.  As I ran, I pondered once again whether I would run the Reindeer Run 5K in Little Falls Dec. 10.  I feel I am in good enough shape to do so.  Full disclosure:  I also feel I could run a 5K at any time, in shape or not, through sheer stubbornness.  I must make that decision soon.  I will naturally let my readers know what I decide.

In the meantime, I see I am over 500 words.  That’s a lot for me!  And I did not even say much about the run.  No matter.  I find this quite respectable for a late post.  I hope my readers have been reasonable entertained.

Another picture of the Four Corners, just for good measure.

 

 

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Sunday Stroll, Post-Pedestrian Post

Posted on November 9, 2022 by mohawkvalleygirl

I took a walk with my phone on Sunday, thinking to make a Pedestrian Post. I don’t see any reason not to makes the post now (for the record, it is early Wednesday morning and I failed to make my Tired Tuesday post) (me and my obsession with accuracy).  Sunday was perhaps the last beautiful unseasonably warm day, and I decided to take advantage of it, waiting till the sun was up to take my stroll.

I suppose it would be a stay-cation if I stayed here, but I would like to.

On a walk some time ago, I wanted to get a picture of the Grand Colonial Bed and Breakfast, to give them a shout-out, but could not get a good shot from across the street.  Sunday, I was on the right side of the road.  I have been inside there (when I wrote about them for Mohawk Valley Living magazine).  It is beautiful!  And I’ve seen the breakfast menu: Wow!

Another view.

Continuing down German Street, I turned left onto Main.  I wanted to walk up the hill, where it is only open to local and pedestrian traffic.  I like the exertion of walking up a hill, although I admit I can get too much of a good thing.

As usual, the picture does not seem as steep as it seems to me when I am walking or running up it.

They recently paved it.  I wondered if that means they are going to do something about the area on top of the hill, where the road is partially collapsed.

This section has been collapsed for some time now.

I see they added a branch to the barricade.  As usual, I interpreted it to mean it was closed to vehicular traffic, not middle-aged pedestrian ladies (other pedestrians, too, of course, but I was the only one there at the time).

Pretty!

As I continued my walk, I took care to appreciate the color that yet remains on our trees.  This time of year, I feel I must just look and look, because it lasts such a short time.

I don’t know why this caught my eye.

Bare trees and dead trees have a fascination for me, too.  I will probably share a lot of pictures of bare branches against the sky in future Pedestrian Posts.  To me, it never gets old.

I maybe should have gotten to this tree earlier in the season.

I have been admiring this particular tree for a while.  So big!  So bright!

I enjoyed my walk very much, and I see I have gotten a 400 word blog post out of it.  That’s long for Mohawk Valley Girl!  I hope my readers have enjoyed it.

 

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A Couple of Pictures, Not Much of a Post

Posted on October 12, 2022 by mohawkvalleygirl

Once again I have left it till too late in the evening to make a proper blog post.  Oh, wait, it is Tired Tuesday!   I am inadvertently appropriate.  What is my excuse the rest of the time, you may ask. I will explain: shut up (with thanks to S. J. Perelman) (look him up) (or just wonder).

Where was I?  Ah yes, tired Tuesday.  My original plan was to go running and make a Running Commentary Post, using for illustration two pictures I took on Sunday’s cool down walk.  I felt too tired to run (what a surprise) but managed a walk, thinking to make a Pedestrian Post .  I took pictures on the walk and had some interesting narration in my head.  But it is too long, which may be surprising for a 20 minute walk but not when you remember how much I like to talk.

I don’t know that I really captured the light.

I cut to the chase with the first picture from Sunday.  I was struck by how the sun seemed to zero in on that one patch of color.

More than just a patch!

Walking up a dead end street, I found some more color.  I spend a lot of time during the fall just staring at the trees knowing the beauty will not last.

I see professional and amateur photographers sharing their work on Facebook, and, yes, it is much better than mine.  But I make bold to share my little contribution and hope you are all enjoying the season.

 

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Flowers for a Blog Post?

Posted on October 9, 2022 by mohawkvalleygirl

As Saturday grinds on (not as grindingly as work days do, obviously), I wonder if I  have the wherewithal to make a Scattered Saturday or even a Slacker Saturday Post.  We shall see.

One anecdote I thought to include occurred to me on this morning’s run.  Full disclosure: it was neither as long nor as strenuous a run as I have done recently.  One does what one can, which is often less than others may deem one is capable of, but that is not what I meant to write about this evening.

As I ran along German Street in Herkimer, NY this morning, I stopped ever so briefly to pick up a bright yellow marigold blossom with mere inches of stem attached.   One sometimes encounters broken-off flowers of this sort.  I like to pick them  up when I can.

It reminded me of a time when I picked up a lily blossom.  I thought as I ran on that if things got to be too much for me, I could lie down with the lily resting on my chest, making a tableau.  I was not forced to resort to such measures but found a dime to pick up as I ran on.  When I got home, I handed the flower and the coin to my husband, Steven, saying, “Could you trim the stem of this lily and put it in some water?   Here’s a dime for your troubles.”

I confess to being highly amused with myself.  Today I handed the marigold to Steven with a similar request but had no tip for him.  Sometimes he is a rather ill-used husband.

And that is my Saturday blog post for this week.  It may not be such a much, but at least I did it on Saturday.  And no, I do not expect flowers for such a feat!

 

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I Did Not Wuss Out Of My Run

Posted on October 6, 2022 by mohawkvalleygirl

I knew it would be a good idea to run today.  I had neither run nor walked for two days.  Accordingly,  I spent part of my day at work telling myself I would run.  I pictured myself putting on running clothes and getting out there.  I planned how I would put in a load of laundry while I ran (pretty much the extent of my ability to multi-task).  I told myself it would make a good blog post.  What I specifically tried NOT to do was tell myself that I needed to run, or that I ought to run, or should run.  Thus I use these little semantic tricks to back into doing what is good for me.

Some readers are now waiting for me to explain how I succeeded in talking myself out of running (you know who you are).  My back hurt, I could run tomorrow, there was no 5K looming to get myself into shape for, etc.  Well, I did not succeed in that but rather went for a run and am now hoping to get some semblance of a blog post out of it.

It was a beautiful fall day, sunny and warm, but not too warm.  I got my laundry in.  I set out.  Where to run?  Which direction to take?  I decided to take German Street to Main and go by my beloved Herkimer Historic Four Corners.  For one reason, I could probably find a picture of that to illustrate my post.

Found one!

Ah, here is the 1834 Jail.  I love that place!  I ran by it and on down to Basloe Library (yes, autocorrect,  it is BASLOE Library, not the Be slow Library; what the hell kind of library is the Be slow Library, for heavens sake?) (and I did mean hell not he’ll!).  The library’s sign was missing (Basloe or Be slow).  I wondered what that was all about.

My body was not best pleased to be running, but I managed to keep it up for 20 minutes.  I saw some fun Halloween decorations along the way and petted a sweet puppy on my cool down walk.  I managed to get my load of laundry into the drier (and the non-drier items hung up elsewhere), but unfortunately that was the extent of my ambition.  The laundry is still in the drier, and this will have to do for my blog post.  I think it is OK for a Wuss-out Wednesday.

 

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Is It Still Thursday?

Posted on September 30, 2022 by mohawkvalleygirl

What is it with me and late blog posts?  I guess I am just too tired and lazy.  Oh dear, that doesn’t make me sound very good.  Then again, I am kind of a stinker.  Never mind, let me see if I can manage a Throwback Thursday Post.

Oh, yeah, I used to do 5Ks.

Since it is the last day of September, I looked at September 2017 in my Media Library and saw this.  I only did this 5K once, although I know they did it other years as well.  I did not notice if they did one this year.  I am not exactly in 5K shape these days, although I am running a few days every week.  Some people run these races with no training at all.  I believe I could run 5Ks or more at almost any time, from sheer stubbornness.  I would just start and not stop till the end.  I prefer to train, at least somewhat.

I am not really an afternoon or an evening person either, and certainly not a night owl.

This delightful fellow was also first shared in September 2017.  It is high time I got my Halloween decorations out for the year.  Perhaps this weekend.

Speaking of Halloween decorations…

I had to go to 2019 to find a picture of my Halloween decorations.  Full disclosure:  the witch is on my porch as I type (I was about to put “as we speak” but felt that was not strictly accurate).  I dressed her as an angel at Christmas time.

Ooh, look, I am over 250 words.  Score!  I would say I will try for a better blog post later, but it is Lame Post Friday after all.

 

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Sad Shout-Out, Sweet Shop

Posted on September 28, 2022 by mohawkvalleygirl

Well, this is sad.  I was about to give a long overdue shout-out to A Little Touch of Country, a lovely gift shop in Herkimer, NY.  Accordingly, I logged onto Facebook and went to their page for phone number, hours, etc.  And I saw a post saying the store will be closed for the rest of the week due to a loved one losing his battle with cancer.  Very sad!

However, the shop will re-open next week with new hours, so I will share the pictures I took the last time I was there and post about them again next week when I learn the new hours.

Pig, sheep, and Betty White, what’s not to like?

A Little Touch of Country has been in business a little over a year.  I know this, because the last time I was there was when I saw on Facebook they were celebrating an anniversary.  I stopped in and took these pictures. I also purchased a present for a friend who needed a little pick-me-up. I admit with some shame that this was probably a couple of months ago.  Well, regular readers know I have been a bad blogger lately. I am trying to do better, hence this post about a local business.

Yes, thankful and blessed is how I ought to feel.

I first discovered the shop even longer ago, when I was in a rare run on that side of town.  I usually stay on the north side of State Street, also known as Route 5, not from any feeling that it is the “right” side of town but because it is a large, busy street, not easy to cross.  In this case, I was glad I did and soon made my way back to shop.

Dolly knows it’s a good place to shop.

I do not go to Touch of Country very often, only because I do not shop for this sort of thing very much.  Quite frankly, I have too much stuff in my house and need rather to get rid of things.  On the other hand, perhaps I will get rid of some stuff so I can go back to A Little Touch of Country and purchase more!

A Little Touch of Country is located on South Washington Street in Herkimer, NY.  Oddly, their Facebook page does not mention a number, but you can’t miss it.  Their phone number is 315-219-5650.  I’ll share their new hours as soon as I know them!

 

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