Tag Archives: weather

It’s Late! It’s Lame! It’s a Blog!

Posted on September 21, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

Have I used that headline before?  I somehow think I have but as usual am too lazy to go back and check (as if saving this sentence and clicking “all posts”  and typing… oh wait a minute, it is a lot of trouble).  I thought of “It’s Late! It’s Lame! It’s a Blog Post!” as I was making my way downstairs this morning.  Then as I was switching out my Tablet (easier Facebook scrolling) for my Chromebook, I remembered Underdog:  “It’s a bird!”  “It’s a plane!”  “It’s a frog!”  “A frog?”  “Not bird nor plane nor even frog, it’s just little old me (CRASH!)… Underdog.”

A picture of Underdog would be really great right now, but I still haven’t figured out how to download pictures onto the Chromebook.

The headline is pretty much all I have going for me this morning.  Yesterday (the real Friday), I felt marginally better than Thursday and got myself through work.  I actually did improve during the day and took a nice longish walk after work.  Walking is often a good idea.

A place I often walk or run to or by.

Regarding the weekend ahead, I do not know what I will do.  I made a list of things to get done while I was at work (it was during a moment of down time) (in case one of my bosses reads this blog) (which is really unlikely, now that I think about it).  I think the list is still in my work pants pocket.  One thing I did not do was mow the lawn on Friday.  If my bunions were correct and it rains today, I will be unfortunate.

“I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!”

I often put that caption on that photo, because my sister Diane told me it was funny.  I add it to end on a note of humor, and to depict my current level of difficulty in getting things done.  But I persevere.  I fear this is a rather dull blog post, even for a Late Lame Post Friday post.  Perhaps I could find one more silly picture.

It’s still summer till tomorrow!

How about Bonita in her summer outfit, with her friend Bonaparte?  My late, dearly missed husband Steve, dressed her.  He purposely left the tag showing on the headband, because he was going for a Minnie Pearl thing.  Younger readers may not appreciate the reference, but us older folks are pickin’ and grinnin’!

 

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Late Monsters, Love Coffee

Posted on July 23, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

A late post is better than no post at all.  This week I am either back to late posts or no posts and I choose late posts.  Hello and welcome to a Monstrous Monday post made early Tuesday morning.

Random monster to denote passage of time while I go get coffee.

Everything is less monstrous with coffee.  Coffee drinkers will agree; non-coffee drinkers may substitute the beverage, comfort, or wake-up aid of their choice.  I am feeling a bit monstrous this morning for no particular reason.  At least, there may be reasons, but it would be dull to get into them.  Could I be getting old?  SAY IT AIN’T SO!!!

At least I am not toothless. Yet.

Yesterday I heard music wafting up from Meyers Park, where the Herkimer Downtown Chowdown was taking place, just to give a shout-out to a local attraction.  The Chowdown is the food truck event that runs Mondays in Meyers Park in Herkimer, NY.  They have some great musical entertainment.  I did not walk down yesterday, though.  I may stay home all week.  Judge me if you are so inclined.

He is watching you.

However, I do plan to go for walks this week.  I went for one yesterday morning.  Unfortunately (or fortunately, because I am feeling tired and lazy), it is raining this morning.  I hope it will not be too hot or raining this afternoon when I get home from work. If I do walk, there is a good chance I will walk by my beloved Herkimer Historic Four Corners.  One of the corners is the 1834 Jail, seen in the picture above.  I feel free to include it in Monstrous Monday because of the cut-out of Chester Gillette, a real life monster.  He only committed one murder in his short life, but if he had gotten away with it, I’m thinking he would have done away with other inconveniently pregnant girlfriends.

Ooh, look, I am over 300 words.  Score!  Let’s see if I can do my Tired Tuesday post later on ON Tuesday.  I am pretty sure I will be tired, but thank you for tuning in.

 

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Would Shirley Mind a Slacker Saturday?

Posted on June 23, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

AAaaand we’re back to late blog posts.  Yesterday was indeed a Slacker Saturday.  The heat wave is technically over, but my house was not a comfortable place to be.  Additionally, I had a terrible headache.  It came to me during the night, when I tried to fight it with acetaminophen  (I had to look up the spelling, but at least I did not call it acetaphetamine, as I used to).  Surely coffee on rising (I slept later than usual for a Saturday) would help (I call myself Shirley in times of stress).  Then a long walk.  All the while drinking water, because, hydration.

I started with a full bottle of water, then refilled it at the spring.

At last I ate a few crackers, took some Migraine Relief, and laid back down.  It was starting to storm by now, so I told myself to just listen to the thunder (I had stopped calling myself Shirley by then).  When I woke up an hour or so later, my headache was better, but I was dreadfully sick to my stomach.  I did not mention earlier that the nausea had come and gone a couple times during my walk.

Would you believe washing the dishes helped my stomach?  The dishes have been looking at me resentfully for the last few days (don’t judge me) when with one thing and another, I just did not do them (oh, go ahead and judge me).  I thought to myself I would do a few dishes, till the nausea was too much, then sit or lie down for a while, then try a few more dishes.  It was one way of passing the time.  Well, I managed to do all the dishes and felt much better.  A cold shower, and I felt ready to enjoy the rest of my Saturday.

Which I did, without doing anything particularly blogworthy.  But I see I am approaching 300 words with this nonsense.  What will Sunday bring?  A trip to Brookwood Market?  A show at Ilion Little Theatre?  Or just more coffee and delight at NOT having a headache?

I’m already anticipating Monstrous Monday.

 

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Is It a Hot Blog Post?

Posted on June 19, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

It probably comes as no surprise that I am doing a Tired Tuesday post, especially to local readers who are also experiencing the heat wave currently visiting the Mohawk Valley.  Perhaps some are surprised that I am making the post on Tuesday rather than early Wednesday morning.  As for anybody who feels I am being a big baby to be melting in the heat, either because they LOVE hot weather or because other places have MUCH hotter weather, I can only suggest you find another blog to read (you know who you are).  There are many available.  Of course you are welcome to continue reading this one, but a baby I am and a baby I will remain.  A big fat baby brat.

It was a hot scene.

I was looking for a non-baby, non-bratty picture to counteract the whining and defensiveness in the first paragraph.  In fact I have been trying to complain less.  I spent most of the day at work telling myself, “We all feel the heat; we all know it is hot.  I do not have to remark on how hot it is.”  A co-worker tried the opposite approach by saying how cold it was.  I had no clever comeback.  My brains, such as they are, were pretty much boiled, broiled, and steamed.

The picture, by the way, is from Love’s Labour’s Lost, as presented by LiFT, Little Falls Theatre Company two summers ago (or was it three?  How the time flies!). It was quite warm rehearsing and performing outdoors, especially in costume, but a lot of fun.

Here’s some cold weather, if you like.

My late, dearly missed husband Steve used to say, “You don’t have to shovel humidity.”  That is true.  However, in the winter time it may not snow, and then you will not have to shovel, while in the summertime, the grass is definitely going to grow, and you will have to mow.  Well, I can’t complain about that right now.  My father mowed my back lawn and my sister Cheryl mowed the front.  Did I mention I have a very nice family?

Sometimes it is nice to just lounge around in the heat.

To end on a more positive note, here is me, or part of me, enjoying summer in sandals and painted toenails.  Pedicure is from Hot Spot Salon and Spa in Herkimer, NY, just to give a quick shout-out to a local business.  I have since broken those sandals, alas, but my toes are currently a very similar color.

I see I have rattled on for more than 400 words.  Not bad for a Tired Tuesday.  I wonder what I can come up with for Wuss-out Wednesday.  As always, I hope you’ll stay tuned.

 

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It’s Never Too Lame!

Posted on June 8, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

Once again I make my Lame Post Friday blog post on Saturday morning.  I thought about making it last night, but bed seemed like such a good place to be.  It’s been a difficult week, although it has had its good points.  Nothing is all good or all bad, I hope.  At least, I hope nothing is all bad.  All good, I would like to try and see.  There is some half-baked philosophy for you.  We are used to finding the silver lining in bad times, or at least it is a good idea to do so.  Do we ever look for the fly in the ointment in good times?  Are there any other hoary expressions I can throw in?  Really, me, “silver lining”?  “fly in the ointment”?  Have some more coffee.

Ah ha ha! Coffee can be evil!

I throw in a random picture while I go get another cup of coffee.  I do not want to speculate on whether coffee is or can be, in fact, evil.  I put the caption because I believe that coffee mug looks malevolent.

Since this is my second cup of coffee,  one might think I had just rolled out of bed, but that is not the case.  I got up prior to six and went for a run.  The problem with running before coffee is that sometimes I forget to make coffee.  I had my recovery beverage of chocolate milk (it’s science!), made myself an egg sammich for breakfast…  oh yes, coffee. Ahhh… coffee.

I got rained on during my run, off and on.  Now it seems mostly on, so I am sorry about the local events going on today, for example, Little Falls Pride 2024 and Dolgeville Violet Festival. I had been thinking of running the Pride Stride 5K in Little Falls.  There used to be a 5K associated with the Violet Festival, too, but I don’t know if there still is.  How uninformed of me.  Anyways, I am not in 5K shape at this time.  I am in shape, though, because round and puffy is still a shape, you know.

I don’t think these two are in 5K shape either.

Here are Bonita and Bonaparte to wish you a happy Saturday.  I will never be as skinny as Bonita.  Puffy little Bonaparte is more my speed (almost literally).  I suppose I am not as cute, although my husband, Steven used to think so.

 

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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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Monday Mosey

Posted on April 23, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

Earlier this evening, I sat here, logged in and looking at a blank “Add New Post” screen, with a mind equally as blank.  Finally I decided to go for a walk with my phone and take some pictures for a Pedestrian Post.  I did not have as many photo ops as I had hoped, but I did manage to get a few.

You can’t really see how lovely the green is.

 

It was a beautiful sunny evening.  Unfortunately, the sun was in a bad place for some of the pictures I would have liked to take.  Maybe I could have gotten some evocative back-lit silhouettes (holy crap, I spelled that right at the first try!), but I am not such an artsy photographer, especially with my cheap-ass phone.  I tried to capture a tree with the leaves just unfurling, with not much success.

I just now learned how to rotate a photo!

 

As I walked up Maple Grove, I saw a commemorative stone where a house used to be, till the flood of 2013.  I did not think it would be commemorating the house, which was not an historic structure.  I guess it marks the project of flood abatement.  Anyways, I took a picture.

My main purpose was to walk by the spring.  I was drinking out of a bottle of water that I wanted to finish and refill.  I am feeling rather dehydrated today.  Too much salty food, I suppose.

One of my favorite places to stop during a walk or run.

I continued my walk, trying to take a couple of different turns from previous walks I had mapped.  I like to post the map on Facebook and my friends say what they think it looks like.  Sometimes I make a psychological analysis or prediction based on what they see.  Analyses and predictions for entertainment purposes only, I hasten to add.

Things are more interesting when I go on longer walks and runs.

I went for a run this morning but did not map it.  I just re-started running on Sunday (after beginning again then stopping again etc).  I feel pretty well exercised for the day, I suppose.  And I have made a blog post of over 350 words.  I call that not bad for a Monday.

 

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Oh, All Right, I Shoveled!

Posted on March 24, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

I decided, as I hefted another shovelful of snow onto the growing bank, that when my co-workers taunted me for saying I would not shovel again, I would say in a nonchalant tone of voice, “I was just talking smack as usual.”  They don’t believe me when I say I am going to knock them down and step on their heads; why should they believe I was not going to shovel?

Full disclosure:  I did consider hunkering down in my house and ignoring the white stuff. However, I thought it would be a good idea to at least clear a path for the mailman.  Then I thought I could use said path to take a walk later.  Additionally, I felt it would be a good idea to clear the sidewalk in front of my house as the village requires homeowners to do. At least it would be exercise, I told myself.

First “before” shot.

My next-door neighbor had cleared a path from his half of the double garage up my driveway (the driveway belongs to my house, but he has right of way to use it to get to his half of the garage.  It’s weird).  There has clearly been deeper snow to shovel in Herkimer, NY.  However, I feel we have a right to feel just a little ill-used shoveling in the last week of March.  Oh, don’t lecture me on winter/spring in Central New York; I’ve heard it all my life and read it on Facebook recently (you know who you are).

Hard to tell the depth without the snowblower path.

So I grabbed my shovel off the front porch and went to work.  I tried to lift with my legs not my back and not try to go too fast.  I also tried not to think of all the people I had heard of who dropped dead of heart attacks as a result of shoveling snow.  For heavens’ sake, I am only 60, not severely overweight and try to exercise on a regular basis.  This would be fine.

And it was.  I got the path to the road and the front walk clear.  OK, it was a narrow path. A person could fit along it.  Then I thought there was an off-chance my friend Kim would be able to get out of her driveway and come over.  She would need a place to park.  So I started to clear the driveway behind my snow-covered car.  I was managing it, but then a miracle happened.  A sweet, wonderful neighbor asked if I wanted her to snowblow.  Did I!  I explained how all I wanted was a place for my friend to pull in, and she went to work.  I kept shoveling, feeling I should take responsibility for my own snow, and the work was soon done.

“After” picture.

My neighbor went on to widen the sidewalk path a little.  I got her in one of my “after” shots so asked if I could use it in a blog post.  I further asked the next door neighbor if it was OK that he was in a couple of the pictures.  They were very gracious about it.

Sweet, wonderful neighbor!

The entire process had only taken about 20 minutes, so I felt I had gotten some exercise.  Nevertheless, I did take a walk later.  It was still snowing, alas!  I’m not sure yet if I need to shovel again.  Will I clear off my car and go to the grocery store?  Or will I walk and leave car-clearing chores for tomorrow morning?  A little uncertainty adds interest to my day.

 

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Lame Snowstorm of the Year?

Posted on March 23, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

I had hopes of making my Lame Post Friday post ON Friday, but alas, they came to naught.  It is not so early Saturday morning (for me), and I am on my second cup of coffee as I contemplate a rather bold statement I have been making recently.  I said if it snowed again, I would NOT shovel.  I would wait it out.  I look out the window and see that Mother Nature has called my bluff.  Oh well, I had planned to have a Stay at Home Saturday.  I do not rule out clearing part of my porch and a path to the road, so the mailman can deliver and so I can get a walk in.  That is for the other side of coffee and breakfast.

I don’t think it is this bad.

This is a picture from March 2017.  I had a husband to help me shovel in those days.  These things are so much better when you do them together.

This picture brings up a topic suitable for Lame Post Friday: pictures of snow.  Some people on Facebook snark, “We all know what snow looks like! You don’t have to show pictures every time it snows!”  I say, “Why the hell not?”  I like to share the everyday lives of my friends.  I don’t mind pictures of food; I like pictures of sandaled feet with a beer nearby (although I admit to being jealous of those shots sometimes); I especially like pictures of people’s pets, even if they are not doing anything particularly noteworthy at the time.

Substitute glass of wine for beer.

That reminds me, I need to get a pedicure soon. Perhaps a call to Hot Spot Salon and Spa is in order (just to give a quick shout-out to a local business) I feel certain sandal weather will soon arrive, and I do so enjoy seeing a little color on my toes.

I see I am over 300 words.  Score!  I do not expect any real Mohawk Valley Adventures this weekend, although I still have a few past ones I have not written about yet.  That is for the future.  A Saturday post on Saturday?  Time will tell.  I always say, Time is certainly a blabbermouth.  But as my sister Diane says, “Time is relative.  Not our relative.”

 

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Nice Walk, But Little Spring in my Step

Posted on March 20, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

Monstrous Monday post on Tuesday, Tired Tuesday post on Wednesday, I’ve done it before and I will no doubt do it again.  I took a walk yesterday after work, thinking to do a Pedestrian Post with Pictures.  I took two but passed a few places I have pics of in my Media Library.  Let us see what I can come up with.

It was cold.  With Mother Nature’s macabre sense of humor, she gave us spring-like weather last week and winter weather on the first day of spring.  I dressed accordingly, wearing a lovely red cape/coat I picked up at a rummage sale but have rarely worn.  Searching for a hat worthy of it, I found one that had been crocheted for me by my dear friend Heather (I had sent her baby afghans for her beautiful newly-adopted twins) (oh, I also sent her a scarf I knitted; maybe the hat was in thanks for that) (and here I am bragging about stuff I send other people. What an ego!  What have I done for anyone lately?) (that last was a rhetoric question).

Where was I?  Ah yes, taking a walk.

Two venerable buildings.

I walked from my house to German Street, eventually turning down Main Street, where I passed my beloved Herkimer Historic Four Corners.  I continued down Main past the former Christ Episcopal Church, which I used to attend.  It is no longer a church, and the For Sale sign is gone.  I wonder what the future will bring for that lovely building.  The other building in the in the picture is the Herkimer County Courthouse.

There was a bank on the side of the road I was on.  I noted a Do Not Enter sign on the drive-thru. Regular readers know that I just love to enter when they say not to.  No cars were currently using the drive-thru, so I walked through it the wrong way.  I took a picture to commemorate the event.

I maintain my rebel cred.

The wind picked up as I continued my walk, so I cut things short.  I went through the park by Basloe Library (must make a trip there in the near future), went by a No Not Enter sign onto Bellinger Avenue and thence home.

I KNOW they mean cars, not old ladies walking; let me enjoy my little rebellions!

I took a selfie when I got home, thinking to post it on Facebook, so Heather would know I am still wearing her lovely hat.  I take terrible selfies.  They remind me that I am not nearly as cute as I like to think I am.  Then again, we are none of us the best judges of our own looks.  And I tell myself, “For heavens’ sake, how cute does a sixty-year-old lady have to be?”

Don’t look at me; look at the hat!

My walk ended up being 20 minutes, just under one mile.  I was and am glad I took a walk.  Exercise is a potent anti-depressant, and I need all the help I can get!

 

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