Tag Archives: sister Cheryl

At the ARC Park

Posted on September 12, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

This is why I never know what day it is.  Wednesday I made my Tired Tuesday post, now on Thursday I am about to make my Wednesday post.  Wuss Out or Waste Not Want Not is the question.  You could argue that it was Wuss Out Wednesday in any case, but I am no hand at argument (and I am so tired right now I forgot how to spell “argument”).

Is that Friday peeking around the horizon at me?

I knew this picture would turn out dark but hoped for the best. Then the kids refused to climb up the other side and repeat the pose with the sun on the other side. The kids, of course, are my great-nephew and -niece, Sheppy and Evie.  We were at the ARC Park in Herkimer, NY.  I had walked up to join Sheppy, Evie and their grandmother, my sister Cheryl.

The rear view of them climbing down.

It was a great deal of fun.

Sheppy and my nemesis.

This wormy-looking thing goes up and down as you walk across it, if you are heavy enough.  Sheppy is light so navigated it handily. I, of course, being rather a tub of lard, sink down at the designated places.  Sheppy was standing at the end when I walked along it and went down.  He went up and I said, “Eee!”  However, he kept his stance.  When I got to the end, I expected it to go down, but it did not. Then I fell off.  I love that spongy ground!  It keeps women my age from breaking a hip (I actually like to think I have a few more years before I have to worry about hip-breaking).

Evie likes to pose.

I followed the kids around, climbing on most of the stuff they did.  I did not, unfortunately, make it to the top of this tower.  Maybe next time.

Another climbing shot.

Cheryl sat like a lady while I followed the kids around like the silly-head I am.  I especially enjoyed the swings.  Great abdominal exercise, I ought to go there every day!  I pushed Evie on the swing.  Later another little girl asked me to push her.  Her mother came over and asked her if she had asked me nicely and said please.  I assured her she did.  However, I encouraged the little girl, and Evie for that matter, to pump.  I worry I will push too hard while the child being pushed always wants to go higher.

So I have gotten over 400 words.  Not too bad for a Wuss Out Wednesday.  Tune in later, when I hope to make a Pre- or Post-Rehearsal Post (preview of coming attractions).

 

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A Lot of Help from my Family

Posted on June 13, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

A long time ago, my father did the laundry, and my mother marveled that she had been visited by the Laundry Fairy.

“The Laundry Prince,” Dad corrected her in a dignified tone of voice.

Well, the Porch Prince and two Lawn and Deck Princesses visited my house yesterday while I was at work, performing miracles for which I am very grateful.  And a little ashamed, because I feel as a homeowner I ought to be taking care of these things myself.  However, we all need help sometimes, and I am so blessed to have a family that helps me.  After all, I often quote the song,  “I get by with a little help from my friends.”  My family are my best friends!

I do not have before pictures of the porch, but it was in sorry shape.  It was concrete that had been eaten away by erosion, largely because Steve and I never replaced the gutter which the guy took off when he repaired the porch roof after we had just moved in.  One of those things we always meant to get to but really only remembered about when it rained.  I really wanted a wooden porch, and Dad had an idea to use the concrete steps as a base for building one.  My Dad can build or fix anything!

He is amazing!

My sister Cheryl, one of the Lawn and Deck Princesses, sent me pictures.  That was when I realized she was going to do something about Frankentree.  I knew she wanted to, using the chain saw she had recently purchased (and not being one to perpetuate the Mohawk Valley Chainsaw Massacre) (I add for the amusement of my horror-movie loving readers), but I had rather thought she would pick a day when I would be there to help.  She texted, “Too late!”

Who knew it could look like that?

I may have a a before picture of Frankentree.  I guess I will have to give him a new name, since he looks all of a piece now.

This is from 2020.

The tree had only gotten more out of control, with a lot of the lower branches dying off.  The lawn, also, has gotten out of control, largely because I have allowed the daisies and other invaders to grow unchecked.  Mom and Cheryl cleaned out all under and around the tree, as you can see.  They left the daisies, because some blooms remained, but I will be cutting them back soon.  Cheryl suggested that I dig them up and replant them closer to the porch.

My back deck, too, has needed some work.  It was covered with leaves from the tree which gives it so much shade.  My two Princesses performed miracles there, too.

I may actually get to deck sit this year!

My three benefactors were waiting for me when I returned from work.  They showed me everything they had done and offered suggestions for what I should do next.  If only I could think of some way to properly thank them!  They already have plenty of afghans.  Any suggestions?

 

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Family, Food and Fun at Asteroga

Posted on May 9, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

Wednesday night I walked down to Asteroga Ale House in Herkimer, NY, to meet some members of my family for dinner.  It was half price burger night. I got there a little early so sat at the bar and sipped a glass of wine while I waited. My sister Cheryl and my parents soon showed up, and we sat at a table.  We were joined by Cheryl’s daughter Kimi, Kimi’s boyfriend, Matt, and his daughter Athena.  We were a merry group, having a lot of laughs while we enjoyed our meal.

Kimi and Athena.

I had a cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, and red onion, well done.  Athena had the same but no tomato, and added waffle fries to hers.  Mine came with homemade chips and a pickle.  Athena is particularly partial to pickles, as am I.  Kimi opted for a Reuben and regular fries.

Athena and Matt.

I forget what kind of burger Matt got, but it had an onion ring on top.  Cheryl got the bacon-mushroom-Swiss burger.  That sounded yummy.  Mom got the same, and Dad got an Italian burger.

Mom and Dad.

I did not take any pictures of the food.  Quite frankly, I was too interested in eating it.  My dining companions graciously agreed to have their pictures taken for the blog.

Cheryl and Kimi.

I took half my burger and some of the chips home, for future enjoyment.  It started to rain when I walked home. I often say, I ain’t sugar; I won’t melt.  Lately, however, I begin to wonder:  would I melt like the Wicked Witch of the West?  At least this time I survived to make the blog post.

 

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Fun on the Train!

Posted on April 20, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

Last Saturday, I had a great deal of fun riding on the Adirondack Railroad with my sister Cheryl and her grandchildren, Sheppy and Evie.

My railway companions.

The train went from Union Station in Utica, NY to Remsen, where we got out of the train to make s’mores.  I laughed at myself, because we were seeing sights I have seen many times:  Utica, Utica Marsh, Marcy, trees, etc, but it was so much more fascinating seeing them out a train window!  I think I was more excited than the kids.  We passed behind Cheryl’s house.  Cheryl texted her daughter, Kimi, so Kimi could be in the window waving.  I think the other passengers enjoyed that as well.

Our destination.

It was a cold day with some rain, but luckily none was falling at the time we were in Remsen.  We toasted our marshmallows and enjoyed the warmth of the fire pits.  In the depot was a vat of hot chocolate. Yum!

The hot sips were very welcome!

There were a few other cars at the depot.  One had recognizable profiles.  How cute was that!

A train with celebrities?

At the depot, they moved the engine to the other end of the train to tow us back to Utica.

Next time we want to ride in the bubble on top of that car!

Cheryl and I talked about going on one of the wine or beer trains sometime.  I thought the kids would also like the Richfield Springs Railroad.  Lots of adventures to plan!

Sheppy and Cheryl.

 

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Blame it on the Rain

Posted on March 7, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

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!

 

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Which Childhood Was That?

Posted on February 13, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

This is swell.  My Chromebook for some mysterious reason will not turn on (YES, it is charged! Sheesh!)  and my laptop, perhaps because I have been neglecting it and it feels hurt, has become as slow as dial-up!  I was going to say the slowest device on the planet but decided to date myself with a reference to dial-up.  Is that even a thing any more? Shows how much I pay attention. Never mind all that.  On with the post!

Saturday was an unseasonably warm day in the Mohawk Valley, and when my sister Cheryl invited me to the playground with her and her grandchildren, Sheppie and Evie, I said, Yes, please!  They picked me up and we drove the short distance from my house to the Arc Park on German Street in Herkimer, NY.  It is a wonderful playground with all kinds of fun things to climb on, slide down, walk over, and ride.  I especially like the rubberized ground.  I can fall down (which I did, but only once) without breaking a hip, something of a consideration at my age.

Wheeee!

I did not utilize this fun thing.  For one reason, I am too tall.  Yes, I could have bent my knees up, but to grip the bar with my weight hanging off my hands… I passed.  Sheppie enjoyed it, though.

Right up to the top!

I climbed on this with Evie.  When I told her I could not climb as high as she could, she kindly suggested I get down.  At one point a little boy I did not know made it to the top but did not think he could make it down.  I encouraged him to take it one step at a time.  I don’t know if I was especially helpful to him, but he did make it to the ground.  Cheryl asked Evie what she could see from the top, and Evie answered, “Everything!”

Photo op.

Cheryl asked Evie and Sheppie to pose at the top, with this delightful result.

I did get a little dizzy.  Yes, I mean more-so than usual.  Sheesh!

I participated as much as possible for one of my years and weight.  I especially enjoyed sliding down the twisty slides, but nobody got a picture.  I pushed Evie and another child on the merry-go-round for a while, saying I would get dizzy if I rode it.  Nevertheless, Evie wanted me to sit down so she could push me.  I did not know Cheryl intended to photograph the event!

Old Aunt Cindy was tired by the end.

Cheryl had a good laugh at me “reliving my childhood,” as she put it.   I guess at my age, one can be excused for having a second childhood.  However, I think the number might be a little higher for me.  But I had fun.

 

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A Little Light in my Life

Posted on December 31, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

Now we’ll pretend it’s still Saturday, and I will not apologize for making yet another late post.  Sometimes apologies are appropriate and sometimes they are just tiresome.

I went with my sister Cheryl and her delightful grandchildren, Sheppie and Evie, to drive around the villages and look at Christmas lights.  We began in Frankfort, NY, where there is a lovely display at the Marina.  I pointed out Heelpath Brewing, but we did not go in for a libation.  We got out of the car to get a closer look.

The kids graciously posed for one shot.

This was the best picture I took.  I quickly discovered that my Tablet is not best suited to take pictures at night.

You see what I mean.

I think the kids are in this shot too, but it is hard to tell. In any case, they soon decided it was too cold to get out of the car, and we drove on.

The semi-good shot I got at the Marina.

We drove through Frankfort into Ilion, where I knew a few good places to see some lights.  Alas, I did not get any pictures.  We went on into Mohawk, where we especially admired the street lights, then to Herkimer, where I also knew of a few good displays.

It was a nice little post-Christmas interlude. I confess I have had less of a Post-Christmas Letdown than in previous years, probably because, as regular readers know, this has been a difficult year for me.  I am not whining about this (I hope) but merely making an observation of a small silver lining.  I continue to count my blessings, in which my family ranks high on the list.  Thank you, Cheryl, Sheppie and Evie!

 

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Late Post, Lots of Stuff

Posted on February 16, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

Well, yesterday was a Wuss-out Wednesday as I did not post at all.  I think I jinxed myself by declaring on Monday that I was going to start posting every day again.  But late posts have been a thing with me for a while, so I press on.  I had quite a busy day yesterday, doing at least three blogs-worth of activities.  Right now, however, I want to post quickly, because I really would like to go for a run.

I ran yesterday, a little faster than the day before, although I studiously do not worry about that.  I really try not to put too much pressure on myself, as I am feeling quite fragile these days.  I puttered around the house a little but was mostly killing time till I was to join my sister, Cheryl, for adventure.

I met Cheryl at her house in Marcy, and she drove us to Syracuse, where her car was going to get worked on.  Our sister, Diane, who lives in Liverpool, picked us up at the car place, and we went to take a walk along Lake Onondaga to look for eagles.

It is a great place for a walk.

After our walk, we went to Destiny, USA for lunch at World of Beer.  I got home shortly after four, with time enough to type in, polish, and email my article for Mohawk Valley Living magazine (I hope they like it).

I think he is fun.

After all these exertions, I relaxed with a DVR’d episode of Svengoolie. It was not until I was headed for bed that I remembered I had not made my blog post.  I thought, would a late post be so bad?  I trust not.  But now I really have to go for a run.

 

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Scatterbrained, Not Scattered Saturday

Posted on July 10, 2022 by mohawkvalleygirl

I am very tired, but I will attempt to make some semblance of a blog post before I turn off the light and wish I could sleep. It will not be a Scattered Saturday post, unfortunately, because there was not much scatter to my Saturday.

I mentioned this morning (in my late Lame Post Friday post, in case you missed it) that I went for a two mile walk. After that I did battle with a migraine, even as I ran to the store on a fruitless errand. At least the migraine went away, although it may have been a sinus headache. Either way, I felt very grateful it left. Then I ran to the store again, this time meeting with some measure of success.

Oh dear, am I being too mysterious about my store trips? I went to two large chain stores, not the kind of local, distinctive businesses I like to plug. Also, it was a little silly how I got to dithering over potato chips. Long story, not very interesting.

The highlight of the day was my sister Cheryl’s birthday party. Never mind how old she is; these things are not important. Only I chuckle to myself when I remember how many years ago she was happy to point out to me that she was really almost two years older than me, not one as I always thought. Now I say we are the same age: middle.

I see I have babbled on for some 250 words. I say, Score! And I hope to see you all again on Wrist to Forehead Sunday.

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Strolling to Sidewalks to Skeleton

Posted on June 25, 2021 by mohawkvalleygirl

How about a Throwback Thursday Post? I do not know how far back I can throw, given my difficulties navigating my Media Library (do other bloggers have these problems?) but I’ll do my best.

A woman and her grandson.

I somehow found one of my favorite photos. It is my sister Cheryl with her grandson Sheppie strolling through Root Glen in Clinton, NY. I just love a nature walk.

I also love a good pun.

I could not find another picture involving a nature walk, but I also like to walk on sidewalks, making the above headline kind of sort of related. Or am I veering into Non-Sequitur Thursday territory?

Never mind the sidewalk, look at the sky!

Here is another sidewalk (to continue a theme). This is from the rainy Halloween night of 2019. I love the colored trees against the grey sky.

Your dose of cuteness for the day.

I wanted to end with a monster. The utterly adorable skeleton is sitting in a mug which celebrates my last murder mystery, Fabulous and Fatal. I only hope it is not my Last murder mystery, if you see what I mean.

Looking at the headline I just typed in, I realize I should have included a picture of my husband, Steve. Maybe on the next Throwback Thursday.

Or maybe right now.

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