Tag Archives: Tom Maneen

It Is Not a Headache to Find Mohawk Valley Adventures

Thursday turned into a real Blogger’s Sick Day as I left work with a dreadful migraine.  And then I had to deal with some stuff I did not want to deal with, with a headache or at all.  Oh dear, that sounded mysterious since I do not intend to explain.  Regular readers know I consider explanations tiresome.  Never mind. Suffice it to say (I love that expression, “suffice it to say”), I dealt with stuff, competently or otherwise, continued to deal with stuff Friday afternoon, and it is now Saturday morning when I hope to make my Lame Post Friday Post.

Full disclosure:  I have another headache.  However, it is not a migraine, and I have reasonable hopes it will go away, if not with coffee, perhaps with food and an OTC pain reliever.  Enough about me; on with the post.  Which may also be about me, but you will have that with a personal blog.

I don’t usually whine when I wine.

This is a shot from a wine tasting at Valley Wine and Liquor in Herkimer, NY.  It was Bully Hill, a New York State wine, obviously something near and dear to my heart.  There is a tasting today of Menage a Trois wines, another favorite.  I thought a picture of local interest and a preview of coming attractions would be a nice change form my beloved monster pictures.

Fun bartender at a fun bar.

Here is Tino, one of my favorite bartenders at the End Zone Pub, also in Herkimer.  I was there last night (not long enough to be the source of this morning’s headache, I don’t think, unless my capacity has gone WAY down in just the last few months) (SAY IT AIN’T SO!!!).  It is easy walking distance from my house, which is nice.  It also tends to get a nice clientele.  I had a great conversation with some folks I just met.  So there is another shout-out to a local business.

They were nice!

Speaking of nice people I just met, this picture was right there when I returned to my Media Library.  This was a couple who sat next to me at the bar on a busy night at Fratello’s Pizzeria in Frankfort.  The husband said, “We’ll be your new acquaintances.”  We had a lovely visit.  I gave the wife a piece of my garlic bread with mozzarella.  The husband gave me one of his bucket of beers.  We enjoyed the music of Tom Maneen.

Well, this has turned out to be not such a lame post after all.  I wonder if I ought to bill it as a Scattered Saturday instead.  In any case, over 400 words and three pictures, I call it a post.  Thank you for tuning in.

 

From a Swoon-like Position

I once again try to make a blog post from my phone, as I did Thanksgiving weekend (perhaps you read that post). I am lounged on my couch after a singularly lazy Sunday. Then again, why not a Wrist to Forehead Sunday post? To a casual observer, I look like I might just have swooned, dramatically posed or otherwise.

I need to get a closer shot.

I took that picture when I walked to the post office yesterday. I usually go through Meyer’s Park in Herkimer, NY, where I live (I add for the benefit of any reader just tuning in). I meant to take a few more pictures and make a Pedestrian Post, but couldn’t make up my mind on any.

An excellent musician.

Here is another picture I took but had not used in the blog yet. It is local musician Tom Maneen, who I enjoyed seeing at Frattello’s Pizzeria in Frankfort last Wednesday.

My phone does not seem to tell me how many words I am up to. No doubt I have just not clicked in the right place. Regular readers know that most of my problems can be explained with the words Operator Error.

I say no matter. This makes three days in a row that I have posted at least something. I will let that content me. Now then, how to add categories and tags…

Fun at Brookwood Market

I thought I might have a Scattered Sunday Post when I took a walk to Brookwood Summer Market in Herkimer, NY.  I had taken another walk earlier and thought to get together with my friend Kim later for further shenanigans.

Tom Maneen, he is fine, yes!

I walked around the vendors and enjoyed music by Tom Maneen.  However, I was hoping to return later with Kim and with more money to spend.

You can’t see their wares from here.

I wandered around and took a couple of pictures.

Still, you can see the tents.

There were a number of vendors with tempting wares.  I needed to get myself to an ATM and get some cash.

I got some extra exercise strolling by the market.  Spoiler alert:  I did return later with Kim and bought a few things, Kim nicely driving me to an ATM first.  We adjourned to Fratello’s Pizzeria in Frankfort where we took a couple of pictures of our purchases.  I will let that form the substance of tomorrow’s blog post.

Brookwood Summer Market runs on alternate Sundays in Brookwood Park in Herkimer, NY through October.   You can catch them September 17, October 1 and 15.  You can follow them on Facebook for more information.

 

Monday Music

I mixed things up a little and went to Fratello’s Pizzeria in Frankfort for music and food tonight instead of Wednesday (of course I could still go on Wednesday; no promises there).  Tom Maneen was playing acoustic guitar.  I have only heard him once before.  He is excellent!

I enjoyed his tunes a lot!

I sat at the bar as usual.  Kayla, the bartender, took good care of me.  I had Buffalo Chicken Salad with Mozarella Garlic Bread.  Yum!  Full disclosure:  I mostly ordered the salad so I could bring leftovers for my lunch tomorrow.

A couple sat down next to me.  They were very friendly.  First they asked if the seats were taken.  They were not.  I said they could certainly sit down.

“We’ll be your new acquaintances,” said Michael, as I later found out was his name.  His wife was Alysha. Michael decided to order a bucket of Utica Club, because it would be more economical, even if he didn’t drink one.

“You might as well,” I said.  “It’s on your bucket list.”  He appreciated that.  We chatted quite a bit.  Alysha tried a piece of my garlic bread.  Michael gave me a Utica Club from his bucket.  Eventually I asked if I could take a picture for my blog post.  They graciously agreed.

Nice folks.

I had a really nice time.  It was a pleasant start to my week.

OK, one more picture of Tom.

 

I Guess It’s My Thursday Thing Now

Never mind how I ended up at Fratello’s Pizzeria in Frankfort, NY, it’s a long story (and I may make it my Lame Post Friday post,  but no promises).  The point is, I walked in, heard music, and right away saw my niece Kimi and her boyfriend,  Matt.

“Boy am I glad to see you!” I said.  Friends, music, food, this was the cure I needed.

I loved his sound.

The singer was Tom Maneen (good God, autocorrect tried to make it Hanson!), who I had never heard before.  He played acoustic guitar and a wonderful mix of music.

At one point he asked for a Jack Fire.  I asked if he had tried Mohawk Valley Fire from Dikin Durt Distillery, which I like to recommend to people when they are having something similar.  He said he had tried all their stuff and loved it.  It’s always nice to encounter someone who likes the same local business I do.

Matt asked for Cold Play but could not pick one of their great hits.  I asked for something from the ’80’s and got “Purple Rain,” which I realized I was writing about with a purple pen.  It’s the little things.

We were soon joined by Matt’s friend Dan, who I had met before.  I was pleased that I remembered his name, because I usually can only remember one person per name, and I already know a few Dans.  Dan was drinking Utica Club, which I mention in order to plug another local business.  I told Dan he was going in the blog for that reason.  He agreed to it, mentioning that he always drinks UC.

As I said, the evening was just what I needed, even if I did wait till Friday morning to make my Thursday blog post (I don’t know why I feel compelled to point up my lateness, but so it is).  I can only hope I get just what I need on Friday.