Tag Archives: sister Diane

Good Apple Stuff!

Last weekend (before all the dog stuff went down), I had the pleasure of tasting the wares of Beak and Skiff at Valley Wine and Liquor in Herkimer, NY.  They were offering only a fraction of their many products, and I am now anxious to try more.

The first thing I tasted was the Honeycrisp Vodka.  Vodka made from apples instead of potatoes?  Interesting!  I liked it.  When I said it was seasonal, because of the apples, Kyle, the pourer, hasted to assure me it was available year round.  I am not a big vodka drinker, but this one could change my mind.

Kyle and I had a fun time tasting. Of course I did most of the tasting.

The same vodka with blueberries added was also good.  I also enjoyed the Pommeau, a French drink combining brandy and apple cider.  There was one wine, Honeycrisp Apple Wine.  I found it a good middle of the road wine: both dry and sweet wine drinkers could enjoy it.  The last thing I tasted was the Bourbon Cream Whiskey, 75% cream, 25% whiskey.  Yummy!  That would be so good in a cup of coffee!

Beak and Skiff Apple Orchards is located in Lafayette, NY.  Of course Mohawk Valley Girl was even more delighted to find she was sampling local products (yes, I talk about myself in the third person sometimes).   Lafayette being closer to Liverpool than Herkimer, I envisioned a visit to my sister Diane in the near future.   I think she would be delighted to visit Beak and Skiff with me and see what else they have to offer.

 

Lawnmowers and Lame Hopes

One of the quintessential sounds of summer is the sound of a lawnmower.  Personally I could live without it.  It is too loud for me.  That is my random observation for the morning.  I am sitting at my sister Diane’s house, listening to a neighbor being ambitious (mowing the lawn prior to 9 a.m.?  Isn’t there some rule of etiquette about that?), and trying to make a Lame Post Friday blog post.  Quite frankly, I don’t got much, except for a little bit of a headache.

Could it be a preview of coming attractions?

I throw in a picture to pep things up.  This is from May 2017, a “before” shot of my container garden, which I used to have in those days.  I am hoping to have a container garden this year, but this is not the weekend it will happen.  This weekend is about cleaning the inside of my house.  I hope.

This may also be a coming attraction.

Here is a picture from May 2021 at Diane’s house.  It shows me, Diane, our mother, and our sister Vicki.  I am wearing a tie-dye shirt and pearls again today, but different shirt and pearls (my late, beloved husband Steven and I between us wore out that shirt, and I have many pearls) (although I do not clutch them) (but I digress).

Diane and I will be returning to Herkimer this morning, where she will help me in my quest to get rid of things and clean my house.  I am afraid, however, I may be distracted with taking her to some of my favorite places to go for Mohawk Valley Adventures.  I will rationalize such behavior on the grounds that it will make for better blog posts.

 

Not Doing the Things on Wrist to Forehead Sunday

It has not been a good blogging weekend, and I am capping it off with a Wrist to Forehead Sunday post.  I really need to get the picture my sister Diane took of me on her Fainting Couch.  I think she sent it to me on Facebook Messenger or as a text, but, as regular readers know, I am not that tech savvy.  Also, I have not been feeling well lately.  I know, boohoo, poor pitiful me, play the miniature violins and shake your heads (you know who you are) (you can also shake your fingers or your booty, I don’t mind).

I do love Columbo on a Sunday.

It has not been an unhappy Sunday for me.  I did a little cleaning, grocery shopped, and have been watching Columbo and knitting.  I will probably go to bed early, because extra sleep is often helpful when one is suffering from a cold.  At least, I think it is a cold.  It could be allergies or something else.  I don’t know from illnesses.

Can you really outrun Monday?

I thought I should throw in another picture, to interrupt the whining.  I am really not that much in fear of Monday these days.  Still, things I have left undone hover above me, making greater or lesser threats.  Why don’t I just do them, you may ask.  People often ask that kind of question, as if it is so easy to do everything and they don’t have chores they have been putting off! Well, I hope to do some of my things tomorrow.  I hope to make a plan to get all my things done eventually.

For today, however, it is Wrist to Forehead Sunday.  I can only feel pleased that I have made some semblance of a blog post.  Now I will swoon, dramatically posed with the back of one wrist to my forehead.  If only I was close to Diane’s Fainting Couch!

 

Trying for a Wrist to Forehead Sunday Post

It has been a few days since I made a blog post.  I almost made one on Thursday after trick or treating.  I got this far:

I hope everybody had, or is still having a happy Halloween.  I greeted trick or treaters, ran out of candy, and handed out spider rings to the last few.  Now I am tired and do not know if I will be able to finish this post before my Tablet runs out of charge.  Or I run out of oomph.

Then my Tablet got a little hinky about adding a picture, so I got a little discouraged.

Random Halloween related picture.

The Tablet is still jumping around like a — oh crap, I am no good at analogy!  Never mind.  All I want to do is make a simple Wrist to Forehead Sunday post, when I shall swoon, dramatically posed with the back of one wrist to my forehead.  My sister Diane actually has a chaise lounge; she calls it a fainting couch.  Nice!

My computer problems may be under control soon.  Diane is sending me the charging cord for my Chromebook.  I don’t know that I can really blame my computer problems for my blogging shortcomings.  After all, here I am pecking in one letter at a time with the stylus, and I can get on my phone to add the title.  And there is the library for computer use, at least Monday through Saturday.

I was there Saturday but did not get on a computer.

Well this has been another foolish post, but I think we have established that a foolish post is better than no post at all, have we not?  Once again, I will try for a  better blog post tomorrow.

 

Another Walk, Another Post

I am daring to make two Pedestrian Posts in the same week, because we are enjoying a short stretch of the most beautiful weather.  In fact, as I type this I am sitting on my front porch, enjoying a slight breeze and the tune it plays on my wind chimes.  I ran yesterday but had less oomph today.  Finally I said, oh just go take a walk.  I hoped it would improve my disposition.

I had my phone with me, because I use the Map My Run app to track my walks and runs.   It makes a map, which I post on Facebook, so my friends and family can amuse themselves and me by saying what it looks like.  I had not thought to take any pictures till I paused right below a gorgeously colored tree.  Would a picture come out?

It did!

There were two trees, so I walked by them and took a shot of both.

Twinsies!

As I started to continue my walk, I heard a voice say, “That’ll cost you $45!”  An old man (he may actually have been my age, but I’ve been told I am old) came up the driveway and said it would cost me $45 to take the picture.

“Oh, OK, just send me a bill,”  I said.  I usually don’t argue with these things.  The man told me how he had planted the trees about six years ago.  I said I remembered seeing them when they were just small.  We agreed that they are beautiful now.

I saw other beautiful trees and some delightful Halloween decorations as I continued my walk. I would like to go for another walk when it is dark, so I can enjoy the ones with lights or glow-in-the-dark.  I did not take any more pictures, because my sister Diane called me, and I did not like to put her on hold for a photo op.

It was a very pleasant walk, and, I hope, a pleasant blog post.  As for me, I am going to continue my porch sitting for a while.  Maybe a cute dog will walk by and I can pet it!

 

A Few Things That Caught My Eye

I thought I would do a Waste Not Want Not Wednesday.  It is still Wednesday, so I have that going for me.  I am also looking at a Dateline with my favorite, Keith Morrison.  I have seen it before, but I do not remember whodunnit.

Bonita is buried!

I begin with a Halloweenish picture.  It is our skeleton Bonita, and it gives some idea of the volume of clutter in my house.  I am working on excavation.  Then I may be able to decorate for the holiday.  I would like to put Bonita and Burt the Birt-day Gorilla in Halloween garb.

I think it is cool.

This is a sight I have often wanted to take a picture of and finally did.  I love stuff painted on the side of buildings.  I never did get a picture of  “Mungers” on the side of a building on Main Street.

Too dark? Or can you see it?

Here is a shot taken last weekend, when I was in Rome, NY.  My sister Diane and I took a couple of walks and observed some of the damage from the tornado that happened some weeks ago (too lazy to look up the exact date).  We were sad about a lot of the downed trees.

Can’t see this one too well either. Oh dear.

This one was taken during the daytime, but the cool part is in shadow.  There are two little windows on the side of the stump, like it is a little hobbit house.  Or maybe a house for a troll or faerie.  I am not up on these fantasy creatures.

I love that our phones take pictures, so we can shoot any little thing that catches our eye.  We also get a lot more pictures of people we love. I may share a few of those tomorrow.

 

It’s Been Murder on my Blog!

I guess this has been a Blogger’s Sick Week.  I have been plagued by terrible headaches.  I try so hard not to whine but sometimes find embarrassing little whimpery noises coming out of my mouth.  Luckily nobody else has heard them.  Even more fortunately, my bosses at work believe me when I tell them I have a migraine and need to go home.

Oh dear, what a boring post this is turning out to be!  I don’t suppose it matters, though.  I am on my Tablet which still won’t let me put in a headline.  I will try to finish this in the morning, when I will feel more like sitting up at the dining-room-table-top.

This was taken at the Inspire Moore Winery.

I put in a picture to represent the passage of time.  It is now early Friday morning and I am at my dining-room-table-top, ten-finger typing and waiting for the coffee to perk.  I think it finished perking while I searched for an appropriate picture.

Ah yes, coffee always helps.  When I write letters to my sister Diane, she likes it if I give her a blow by blow of where I am and what I am doing while I write.  I tend to use the same technique with my blog.  Is a blog like a letter to anybody who chances to click on it?  Discuss amongst yourselves.

I may wear the same dress in our upcoming production.

I was going to share the posed picture of the cast of Fabulous and Fatal, which I have shared many times, but opted for an action shot instead.  This was the murder mystery we presented to benefit the Herkimer County Historical Society in 2019.  I use the picture because last night I was at the first rehearsal for Lights, Camera, Murder!  the murder mystery which will benefit the Historical Society on Saturday, Nov. 11.  Yes, it is close.  We put these things together quickly.

So there you have it:  an apology for my absence and a Preview of Coming Attractions.  Am I back to daily blogging?  I hope so.  And I hope people will continue to tune in.

 

Late Post-Liverpool Post

I am still lame as the weekend wears on, making my Saturday blog post late Sunday morning.  I am back home from my sojourn in Liverpool and feeling quite tired.  I went for a run both mornings I was there and got lost both times.  This is as usual when I visit my sister Diane.  I swear the streets in the area where she lives were laid out based on a plate of spaghetti.  I set out to do 20-minute runs and ran for 31 minutes on Saturday and an hour today!

On the brighter side, on today’s run I petted two dogs and twice got directions from nice people (I got confused following the first set of directions, what a surprise).  I also felt pleased that my body stood up to the abuse.  I walked but did not run every day since last weekend.  So I guess I haven’t lost what fitness I gained training for the Boilermaker 15K.

Not the sneakers I ran in.

I took this picture after the run, a shower, and putting on party clothes.  I did not just sit around;  I helped get ready for my niece Camille’s graduation party, the occasion for my visit.  It was a wonderful party.  I saw members of my family, some of Diane’s in-laws, and a number of friends, including some new ones.

And now I am home and wishing I had made it to the grocery store last week.  However, I cannot do everything.  At least I finally made my Saturday blog post.

 

Lame at Liverpool

OK, any local readers who are at all likely to go to my house and rob it (I’m thinking not very many of you), do not bother.  There is nothing there worth stealing.  However, if anybody does decide to break in, please clean up a little while you are there.  At least do the dishes and throw a little cleaner into the toilet, there’s a doll.

Where was I?  Ah yes, posting away from home.  I am at my sister Diane’s house in Liverpool.  It was a great deal of trouble to get here, but I am here now, relaxing and sipping Diane’s wine.

Well that was annoying.  I took a nice picture of my glass of wine with Diane’s pool in the background, and my Tablet did not save it.  In the meantime my cousin Mary said it was too chilly to remain outside and we all came back in, so that is a photo op lost.

A little blurry, but it will have to do.

I tried to take a picture indoors, as you can see, with lesser success.  However, it seems everybody has gathered in the other room, and I am missing out on some good visiting. Damn it!  That is why I drove there tonight!

So this is my Friday Lame Post.  No promises about tomorrow.  I have some visiting to do!

 

Lounging on Lame Post Saturday

It is nice when one of the chores on your to do list involves lounging on the couch and drinking coffee.  No, I did not write, “Lounge on the couch and drink coffee,” on my to do list, but now that I think about it, it is not a bad idea.  I encourage any readers to put it on their to do list.  The beverage, of course, is interchangeable.

The item on my to do list, if you haven’t guessed (which I feel sure some clever readers have), is to make my Saturday blog post.  How different is that for me?  Usually I am typing (pecking in one letter at a time on my Tablet) my Lame Post Friday post at this time (early Saturday morning)  and do not get to my Saturday blog post till Sunday if at all.

I am disappointed this image isn’t bigger.

I was inspired to make my blog post when I saw this picture on Dracula’s House of Halloween, one of my favorite Facebook pages.  Regular readers may recall that Dracula also likes Friday.

By the way, I meant to mention, regarding the parenthetical comment in the second paragraph, particularly alert readers my have noticed I did not say I was pecking in one letter at a time with the stylus. Talk about First World Problems:  I can’t seem to find any of my styluses (autocorrect seems to think “styluses” is not a word.  What’s the plural of stylus, autocorrect?  Styli?) so am using one finger.   I keep trying to switch fingers, because my right index finger is sore, but all the other fingers have longish fingernails.  The trials and tribulations!  I have to laugh at myself.

Looks like a fun time to me!

This is a picture from last May about this time, when I drove to my sister Diane’s house for a birthday party for my Dad.  This is the other reason I am making my blog post now: I hope to be in Liverpool later.

So this has been kind of a Saturday Lame Post, but it amused me to write it.  I hope it amused at least some of you.  And, bonus points for me, I made it on Saturday!  Have a great weekend, everybody!