Tag Archives: wrist to forehead

Wrist to Forehead Bad Seed

Posted on July 31, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

We are watching The Bad Seed, a DVD of one of our favorite cheesy movies.  Spoiler Alert:  I’m going to give away major plot points to this movie, if not the ending.  I don’t know if I’ll give away the ending and I know that by the time I finish the post I shall be far too lazy to go back and edit this paragraph.  In my defense, it is Wrist to Forehead Sunday.  If you will not accept this defense, I will explain, shut up.

The Bad Seed, for the uninitiated is a movie made in 1956 about Rhoda, a little girl who kills people, and the devastating effect this has on her mother, Christine.  It was considered very shocking at the time, first as a novel, then as a Broadway play.  Who could believe that a sweet little girl was a murderer?  And that she had inherited the murderous gene from her grandmother?  Apparently her mother was just a carrier.  Well, I guess a lot of things skip a generation.

Steven’s biggest problem with the movie is that Rhoda right away seems like the kind of bad-tempered brat that might kill people.  She is supposed to be the perfect little girl.  She wears dresses, she keeps her room clean, she makes perfect curtsies at appropriate times.  The busybody landlady wishes she had “just such a little girl.”  We’re all supposed to buy into it too, apparently, and be shocked as we slowly realize what she is really like.  Steven does not see how it can even be a mild surprise much less a shock.  I have to agree.

My biggest problem, though, is that she never really cops to being a a murder.  Everything is, “But it wasn’t my fault!”  If Claude Dagel hadn’t said he was going to tell on her, she wouldn’t have had to kill him!  If he would have just quietly drowned when she pushed him off the dock, she wouldn’t have had to hit him with her shoe.  At least that would have been manslaughter, although this point is not thoroughly hashed out in the dialogue.

Steven is also bothered by the close-mindedness of Rhoda’s grandfather, Christine’s adoptive father, who pours self-righteous cold water on the theory of the “bad seed.”  Christine, who has been chewing up the scenery ever since little Claude’s death was announced on the radio (providentially, as it often is in movies, as soon as the characters just happen to turn it on), is horrified when she realizes her biological mother was a beautiful murderess.

The high points of the movie are the two scenes with Eileen Heckert as the drunken mother of the murdered little boy.  What a piece of acting!  She lift the movie temporarily above the melodramatic abyss.

I probably could do a much better write-up for this movie, and perhaps I will sometime.  I’m pretty sure I have mentioned the movie before, although a quick search of my posts did not show it.  I say, no matter.  It is Wrist to Forehead Sunday, and I have written something.  Have a lovely rest of your weekend.

 

4 Comments

Posted in humor, movies, personal, Wrist to Forehead Sunday and tagged , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

I Did the Damn Dishes!

Posted on July 17, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

It is Wrist to Forehead Sunday indeed.  I return to work tomorrow after two weeks off.  YES (with eyes rolling), I am GRATFUL I have a job and YES I am GRATEFUL I got a vacation, some people just can’t bear to hear anybody else complain about anything.  Sheesh!

Be all that as it may, I need to make a blog post before returning to enjoying what is left of my vacation and my Sunday.  I must say, I am really looking forward to next Friday, when it will really be Friday for me.  This past Friday, it being the last “real” day of vacation (since I normally have weekend off) (don’t hate), it felt not as delightful as a Friday ought, by rights, to feel.  But, again, be that as it may, on with the blog post.

I have long felt that there was no point in trying to get anything done on a Sunday.  Some Sunday I lament this, others I embrace the uselessness.  Today I actually did a few thing.  I took a short run (which, truth be known, I often do, even on the most useless of Sundays), I did the dishes, I did a load of laundry AND folded two baskets of previously done laundry, I laid out three outfits for work (I need five to get me through the week, but I only have so many pairs of work pants) (and I’ve gained weight, so they don’t all fit), I put away the dishes after the air and patience had dried them.

That is more than I have accomplished on previous Sundays.  However, as I typed in the preceding paragraph, I realized there are a number of areas where some reader (or the critics in my head) could judge me.  For example, why was there a pile of dishes to do first thing in the morning?  Why was there laundry previously washed but still waiting to be folded?  Why did I not immediately dry and put away the dishes, and where do I get off counting that as another chore and not part of “doing the dishes” as a normal person would?

To any such judgmental sorts, I explain, “Shut up!”  mentally thanking S.J. Perelman as I do so.    I see now I am over 350 words.  I call that respectable for Wrist to Forehead Sunday.  I hope you’ll tune in tomorrow for what I hope is not too Melancholy of a Monday.

 

2 Comments

Posted in humor, personal, Wrist to Forehead Sunday and tagged , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

One Week! Seriously?

Posted on July 3, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

It is one week before the Boilermaker 15K.  I hope all the flooding in Utica does not t put a — wait for it — damper on the proceedings (you must see that I had to make that pun).   I felt that I had to go for a good, long, challenging run this morning, especially since yesterday’s run was cut short.  Accordingly, I got dressed for it as soon as I got out of bed about 6 a.m.  I drank water as I got ready, stretched out a little (which I often neglect to do), and set out.

I expected a lot of mud so had put on an older pair of running shoes.   It was mostly in the gutters but parts of the sidewalk were covered and in places the whole road was awash.  I was running with a bottle of water in my hand but tried not to sip too fast and get nauseous.  It was not as warm and muggy as it was on Friday, but neither was the air fresh and clear.  I was grateful for the occasional breeze.

I headed for my go-to hill, the one up to Herkimer College (or HCCC as I used to call it) (pronounced “H-triple-C,” although real natives say  it “H-trip”).  I figured there would be less mud as I ran up.  There was plenty near the bottom of the hill.  I was surprised to run into more as I went up.  The road wasn’t coated, but there were a couple of places where a swath of stones and gravel angled across, even close to the top.  I maneuvered around these without too much problem.  Lack of traffic helped.

As I ran across the campus, I felt quite solitary.  I thought I would at least see Campus Security making the rounds, but no.  I did not run into any problems, though, so that was good.  As I was running up the steepest part of the hill, I reflected sadly that it was not becoming easier to run hills; merely, I was practicing my ability to keep going even when it sucks.  When the upslope became a more reasonable angle, it stopped sucking, so I felt better about things.  I ran all the way up, around the athletic fields, and down Reservoir Road.  I would have liked to run on the Nature Trail but feared it would be too muddy after yesterday’s rains.

The back road down was not as bad as I had feared.  That road is being worked on so parts are not as well-paved as one would like.  There is one area where there are plants growing up through the gravel.  I kind of admire the plants’ perseverance.  Life, as they say, will find a way.  One little plant is even growing out of a crack in the pavement.  I can almost hear it saying, “Hey, guys, look at me!  I’m over here!”  I angled around the plant as well as some stones and mud.  I changed my mind a few times about which way to run, based on which choice was less muddy, but I got pretty dirty anyways.

I was in the latter portion of my run when I stopped by the spring to re-fill my water bottle.   The stones and board surrounding the spring had moved somewhat but I managed to get close enough with little problem.  Then I headed home, debating on if my run would be exactly an hour or a little longer.  Longer won.  Then I stopped to chat with a couple of neighbors on my cool-down walk, so I was gone long enough to make Steven wonder a little.  He had expected me to run for exactly an hour, and he had forgotten about my cool-down walk.

I felt pretty damn good about myself and more confident about running the Boilermaker 15K in a week.  I still feel I haven’t run enough, but there isn’t anything I can do about that now.  I guess now is the time to begin feeling nervous about where I’m going to park and how early I ought to get there and will I be able to find my way through the crowd after the race to get my beer.  Oh, swell, now this is turning into Wrist to Forehead Sunday!

 

Leave a comment

Posted in humor, personal, running, running commentary and tagged , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Not a Wrist to Forehead Run

Posted on May 28, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

I will probably be doing a lot more Running Commentary posts for the next month and a half (or so), as I continue to prepare for the Utica Boilermaker 15K.  I thought I was in excellent shape for it already, having run just over an hour yesterday.  My feeling is if you can run one hours, you can run two; just don’t stop.  And I have run the Boilermaker in under two hours each time I have run in.  Then again (second guessing myself is apparently my favorite indoor sport), I took a three hour nap yesterday afternoon.  Maybe I’m not in such great shape (although I still maintain that round and puffy is a shape).

Today I have a few things I would like to get done, and I will not have time for a three-hour nap, so I thought I would run less than one hour.  This is not my normal M.O.  Usually I make long runs on both weekend days, when I don’t have to work.  However, this is a three day weekend.  I can go for a long run on Memorial Day.  I will wear an army t-shirt and run in honor of fallen soldiers.  So today could be a shorter, easier run with no hills.

I made this plan while I was still in bed, knowing it would be a good idea to get up but really wanting to sleep some more.  I finally talked myself into rising and immediately started drinking water from the bottle I habitually keep next to the bed. I got right into running clothes and was out the door before I had decided which direction to run in.  I turned the opposite way from what I usually take, toward State Street instead of German.  I had only gotten a block when somebody called a greeting.  It was the owner of Chico and Bear, two neighborhood dog buddies of mine.

She was dressed for church and taking the pups for a business meeting.  I stopped my watch and went over to pet the pups and chat with the person. I told her I had thought of going to church yesterday but woke up from my nap twenty minutes after mass started.  When we finished our chat, I reset my watch to zero and started again.  This time I ran down Church Street toward Main.  I still had no idea where I would go but knew I could figure it out as I went.  The sun was in my eyes, so I turned up Prospect and headed toward German.

On German, I turned left, so the sun was behind me.  I decided to run up the hill by Valley Health.  Yes, I had thought “no hills” but one hill was not so bad, especially compared to what I ran yesterday and what I hope to run tomorrow.  As I got to Valley Health, I mixed things up a little by going around the building the opposite way I usually do.  It’s the little things that add interest to my runs.  Running in front of the building as I was, I realized I was on an upslope.  I had never noticed it being a downslope when I ran on it in the opposite direction.  And isn’t that a metaphor for life, I thought.  We don’t always notice when things are a little easier, but, boy, let them get the least bit harder and wham!

I did not mind the upslope, nor yet the steeper hill.  Soon enough I was running down the side I usually run up.  The view is much better the other way, but I appreciated seeing something a little bit different.  I ran down to the Jr/Sr High School, eventually going over the little footbridge.

I ended up running for 37 minutes, and I felt pretty damn good about it.  I got tired by the end but concentrated on my breathing.  I know how getting a VCD (vocal chord dysfunction) attack can rack me up later in the day.  I felt truly awesome on my cool-down walk.  I feel pretty pleased with myself that I have made my blog post already too.  It looks as if I am not going to have a Wrist to Forehead Sunday.  I hope everybody else’s weekend is going as well.

 

Leave a comment

Posted in humor, personal, running, running commentary and tagged , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

No Matter on Wrist to Forehead Sunday

Posted on May 22, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

I ran this morning, thinking I would go ahead and make two Running Commentary posts in a row.  Then I thought a common or garden Wrist to Forehead Sunday would be OK.  Now I am sitting here at the laptop, typing nonsense, and watching the clock creep closer to when my friend Kim comes over and my husband Steven gets off work and we head to the Little Falls Cheese Festival Fundraiser at the Overlook Mansion.  There will be wine and craft beer samples there.  If I wait and make my post later, I fear I will drink and type.  Of course I have done that before, but it is not ideal.

Then again, it may be better than what I have so far.  Perhaps I should compose two posts today, one now and one later, publish both and let the readers decide.  Ah, but what to write about NOW?

This morning’s run was pretty good.  I ran down to the canal trail, starting by Mohawk Valley Ambulance Corp, running for as long as I ran yesterday.  Yay me.  Back home, I made a macaroni salad for my lunches this week, also chopping vegetables for snacks.  Yay me again, although it might be better if I did not eat all kinds of other crap besides the vegetables.  However, I can’t worry about that now.

My real wrist to forehead situation today is what to wear to the fundraiser.  I have a color coordinated outfit on now but I’m not in love with it.  I think I look like an overweight middle-aged lady.  Oh wait, that’s what I am.  I suppose I will look like that no matter what.  Ah, and what’s in the middle of that last sentence?  “No matter.”  That is what I often say to myself, and it is what I say now.  I don’t like my outfit.  I don’t like this blog post.  No matter.  I’m going to have fun at the fundraiser.  I wonder if I can get anything else useful done before I go.

 

Leave a comment

Posted in blogging, humor, personal, Wrist to Forehead Sunday and tagged , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Wrist to Non-Sequitur Monday

Posted on May 9, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

Sometimes after you indulge in a Wrist to Forehead Sunday, the very next day you experience a Wrist to Forehead Monday.  And then what do you do?

Well, if you’re Mohawk Valley Girl (that is, me), you go ahead and post something anyways.  But what to post is the question?  I suppose I could go to my other standby: posting pictures.  What have we downloaded lately?

I like dogs.

Have I used this picture before?  It was in my Media Library here on my WordPress dashboard.  I have to appreciate a rebel.  I wonder what else I can find?

Isn’t he wonderful?

From dogs to cats, here’s Felix.  My husband Steven likes Felix the Cat.  I do, too.

One sacrifices one’s yarn basket to a sweet pooch.

 

Doggy buddies.

Back to dogs!  The top picture is our recently departed Spunky.  When I thought my yarn basket was still my yarn basket, Spunkman had other ideas.  He looked so sweet in it, I gave it up to him. I haven’t been using it as a yarn basket again yet, even though I suppose I could.  The second picture was taken at my sister-in-law’s house.  It is her husky, Sapphire, and our schnoodle, Tabby, both sadly passed over the Rainbow Bridge.

I see I am over 200 words, so I end on a sad note, thinking of our dear, sweet doggies.  Still, one must take the sadness of losing them after enjoying the joy of having them.  I suppose that is a trite, obvious thing to say, but it is the best I can manage.  I guess I’m kind of all over the place today, which gives me an idea for today’s headline.  I hope you will all tune in again tomorrow, when I will probably have a Tired Tuesday post.

 

Leave a comment

Posted in humor, Middle-aged Musings Monday, Monday Mental Meanderings, personal and tagged , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Sue Me on Sunday

Posted on April 24, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

I was going to write about last night’s theatrical triumph at the murder mystery Who Shot JS?.  I even had a title picked out, “We Killed Off Jack.”  Oh well, maybe not the best title, and perhaps I would have come up with something better.  If I would have written that post.  Logging on to WordPress, I thought perhaps I should look forward not back, and write about the audition I just had for The Tempest for LiFT Theatre Company of Little Falls.  I didn’t do very well but feel I may get a part anyways.  Additionally, I ran this morning, so a Sunday Running Commentary is well within the scope of possibility.

But here I sit, typing in a common or garden Wrist to Forehead Sunday post.

I just can’t help it: I am hard-wired to take Sundays off.  I am not exactly programmed to work as hard as I ought the rest of the days, either, but let’s take our week 1/7th at a time, as God intended (I use that expression a lot, “as God intended,” although I do not really purport to understand the mental workings of the Almighty).

The nice thing is, for the rest of the week, I have no place I have to be until Friday.  Go to work, come home.  Run.  Do laundry.  Clean the house.  Make blog posts.  Simple, right?  Well, I still feel I need to take it a little easy on myself on Sunday.  Sue me.  In the meantime, I am over 200 words.  I am in the bra off, pajama bottoms on, wine sipping, crocheting, TV watching portion of the day.  Time to stop typing and get on with the crocheting and TV watching.  Happy Sunday, everyone.

 

Leave a comment

Posted in humor, personal, Wrist to Forehead Sunday and tagged , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Spooky Space on Scattered Saturday

Posted on March 19, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

So I registered for the Boilermaker 15K.  And then I went running.  Not immediately, but soon enough.

OK, I think it is fate that I use the above sentence.  You see, earlier I typed it in, then erased it, then decided I would make my post later so exited out of WordPress.  The computer asked me did I really want to leave, as what I did might not be saved.  I looked at the blank space and hit “Leave.”  Now, returning to WordPress and wondering what I will say, I see an untitled draft saved from earlier.  It is the sentence I erased!

Could it be returning to haunt me?

The question is not an idle one.  I have been in I guess what you could call a spooky space lately.  I shared pictures of Nosferatu a couple of days ago, yesterday I wore a spider earring and Halloween socks, I am currently sipping Malbec out of my Trick Or Treat wine glass (purchased at Pumpkin Junction in Sauquoit, NY) (and, yes, I did flash on Bela Lugosi as Dracula saying, “I never drink… wine”).  OK, so now I have my headline.

There really wasn’t much to my Scattered Saturday this week.  I worked. While working, I dithered some more about whether or not to run the Boilermaker 15K (the 5K isn’t even on my radar, by the way).  I decided to run it.  Then came home and changed my mind.  Several times. And you see by my lead what my ultimate decision was.  Yes, yes, I could still opt out, transfer my registration or get a deferment (because, you know, shit happens), but I feel fairly confident that I will follow through on this.

I had meant to write a Saturday Running Commentary about my run, but such a post was not forthcoming from my brain.  It is not a well-trained brain.

I have not done much else today.  I am currently cooking supper for my dearest husband, Steven.  Perhaps a cooking post tomorrow, instead of Wrist to Forehead Sunday.  Or maybe Sunday Running Commentary?  A little uncertainty will add interest to my weekend.  Happy Saturday, everyone.

 

Leave a comment

Posted in humor, personal, Scattered Saturday and tagged , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

I Think I’m Rubbed Out

Posted on February 27, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

Nobody thought I would not have a Wrist to Forehead Sunday today, least of all me.  I’m TIRED!  We had a wonderful show last night.  The audience loved us!  And we loved the audience!

I am speaking, of course, of Rubbed Out at Ruby’s, the interactive murder mystery presented by LiFT Theatre Company at the Overlook Mansion in Little Falls.  They served hors d’oeuvres catered by That Little Place on Main, and they were, you should pardon the expression, to die for.  Of course, I did not eat a lot.  I was busy acting.

Now I must gear up for a bear of a week, that is, production week for Steel Magolias at Ilion Little Theatre.  Opening night is March 3.  Yikes!  I don’t think I even have all my costumes together, but I am working on it.   Additionally, I must finish writing, cast and begin rehearsals for not one but two murder mystery dinner theatres.  If anybody says, “Well, you’d better get writing,” I’ll scream.

In the meantime, it is Oscar night, traditionally a big night in our humble household.  My dear husband, Steven, has watched them every year since 1965.  In previous years we have had better luck in catching more of the nominated pictures.  Additionally, in previous years I have not been in the habit of going to bed as early as a much older woman or a little kid.  I do not apologize for my nocturnal habits but merely note them.

Well, one can’t do everything after all.  I write, I participate in community theatre, I work full time, and I get what sleep I can.  Additionally, I intend to start running again.  I do not have time to go to movies that tend not to play around here in the first place.  Clean my house?  Who brought that up?  And what are you implying?

I say never mind all that.  Sunday is traditionally a day Steven and I spend time together.  I am going to hit Publish and get back to him.  As a closing note, here is the final cast picture of the marvelous actors of Rubbed Out at Ruby’s.  Happy Sunday, everyone.

16998193_741653016009980_6826252372676158970_n

What a crew!

Leave a comment

Posted in humor, personal, Wrist to Forehead Sunday and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Too Much Theatre?

Posted on February 16, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

It’s that moment when you are pondering what, oh what, to make a blog post about and you’ve got just about enough time to do it, and you find out your rehearsal is at 6 not 6:30.  Oh NO!  I can’t handle it! (Said in a dramatic tone of voice, posing with my wrist to my forehead).  Incidentally, it is rehearsal for Steel Magnolias at Ilion Little Theatre, which will be presented the first two weekends in March.

I’m thinking it’s Wuss-out Wednesday, but given that last parenthetical comment, perhaps it is Wrist to Forehead Wednesday.  The sad thing is my husband had just started to tell me a story about his past.  I may have heard it before, but I do not mind a re-run.  That is one of the secrets to a happy marriage (not a very well-kept secret). (A lesser known secret is to have a husband that tells good stories). I guess he’ll have to tell me later.

AND we are watching WKTV News at five, where I believe there is to be a NewsTalk about Rubbed Out at Ruby’s, the murder mystery to be presented by LiFT Theatre Company at the Overlook Mansion in Little Falls. DVR to the rescue!

You may have noticed that I am a little stressed lately.  I have mysteries to write, costumes to find, lines to learn and blog posts to make.  And who’s fault is it that I have too much on my plate?  That’s right, the overriding problem in my life is ALWAYS Operator Error.  Maybe I can get caught up on the weekend.  But don’t count on it.  Happy Wednesday, everyone.

 

Leave a comment

Posted in blogging, humor, personal, Wuss Out Wednesday and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.
← Older Posts
Newer Posts →