Tag Archives: writing

Two Walks and a Library Visit

Posted on March 28, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl
Two Walks and a Library Visit

I did not make a blog post early this morning, because I went for a walk.  I brought my phone with me, in case I saw anything I could take a picture of, but, alas, no photo ops.  It was the first time I had walked since Saturday, though (today being Wednesday, although I wonder if this should count as my Tired Tuesday post), so I was glad I made a bit of an effort.  I took another walk this evening (afternoon?  Kind of a grey area) (the sky was grey, too).  This was a walk with a purpose, as I went to Basloe Library to print out my work-in-progress murder mystery, Deadly Night Life.

One of my favorite places.

As I walked down my street, I saw a male and female cardinal.  Steve and I had seen a cardinal couple a few times while sitting on our front porch.  I wondered if it was the same couple.  Steve always loved cardinals.  Whenever I would see one when I was out running, and I often did, I would tell him, and we would speculate about which departed loved one had paid us a visit.  Now I wonder if Steve is the one sending the cardinals to say hello.  It is a comforting thought, anyways.  Alas, I did not think to pull out my phone and get a picture.

The picture of the Basloe sign, by the way, is from my Media Library.  I do like to have some sort of illustration.  It was a pleasant visit to the library.  The kind ladies there helped me get my script printed out.  We chatted about the need to see physical pages for some editing chores.  I did not take the time to look for a book, unfortunately.  Then again, now I have a reason to return to the library soon.

 

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Some Blog Post, Any Blog Post?

Posted on March 18, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

I have been writing the following in my head for a number of days now:

I look at my pile of dirty dishes and think, “This is what depression looks like.”  I look at the unwashed laundry and think, “This is what depression looks like.”  I lie down, unable to sleep yet do not get back up and do something and think, “This is what depression looks like.”

And when I think about typing that into a blog post, I think of readers who will say, “Oh, stop feeling sorry for yourself!”  Sometimes I say it to myself.  More often I just force myself to do something, anything.  Wash a few dishes.  Do one load of laundry.  At least move some dirty clothes from the floor into a laundry basket.

Make a blog post.

That last is what I have emphatically NOT been able to do lately.  What the hell, me?

Sign of spring, sight of hope?

I thought I should throw in a picture before I got too bogged down in discouragement.  I found these crocuses in my back yard the other day and took a picture with my phone.  I was happy to see them.  Since I never raked up any leaves last fall, I wondered if any crocuses would be able to bloom.

Ooh, a deep metaphor just occurred to me:  The un-raked leaves are my depression, and the crocuses are the little baby steps I take to try to help myself.  Oh well, maybe it is not a deep metaphor, or even a particularly accurate one.  My excuse for not raking the leaves is that I read somewhere that it is environmentally better:  bugs, birds, etc. use leaves for shelter or something like that.  I read it in a Facebook meme.  No, I do not believe everything I read on the internet.  Only when it provides a handy excuse for my own laziness, I suppose.

Funny thing: I am feeling a little more cheery now.  The magic of writing something, anything?  The act of using my brain to delineate a metaphor?  Or just laughing at myself for getting so profound over my failure to rake a few leaves?  As I have observed many times:  It is not easy being me, but it is at least mildly entertaining.  But once again, I thank you for tuning in to my little blog, and I will try for more regular and entertaining posts in the future.

 

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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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Once Again, I Return to the Blogosphere

Posted on March 5, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

Last week was a bad blogging week.  I actually have a couple of pretty good things to write blog posts about but not much brain with which to do so.  However, I wanted to make some semblance of a post so my readers would not feel I had completely deserted them.  My last post was a Monstrous one, I think (if I go back and read it now, I may lose my momentum and never finish this post) (which some would feel was no tragedy, but I can’t worry about them).

Random photo to liven things up.

I found this picture in March 2017 of my Media Library.  It is our sweet pooch Spunky.  Speaking of dearly missed loved ones, Sunday was my late husband Steven’s birthday.  That  could explain the funk I have been in.  Grief is a weird, unpredictable kind of chronic pain.  Of course, I am a kind of a pain myself, so make of that what you will.

Steve in his natural habitat, surrounded by murder suspects.

Here is a picture of Steve doing something he loved: acting.  He is the handsome dude in the suit.  It is the cast of A G.R.A.V.E. Murder, an interactive murder mystery we did to benefit the Herkimer County Historical Society.  It was a really fun show.  I am, of course, grateful for all the wonderful memories I have.

We really were the perfect couple.

One more memory:  Fabulous and Fatal, another murder mystery for the Historical Society.  We were drag queens, or thought we were.

I will try to follow this with posts about my Mohawk Valley Adventures, of which I have had a few recently.  As always, I thank you for tuning in.

 

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I Ask Myself…

Posted on February 23, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

Every other day blogger?  I guess that is what I am for now.  And here I am Friday morning, ten finger typing on my Chromebook, which I still cannot navigate handily but is becoming more familiar. I sip Irish Breakfast Tea and ponder my day.  Will I do anything blogworthy?  Perhaps.  I had a rather blogworthy Wednesday, but did I write about it?  Um, no. Once again I ask, what the hell, me?

I like old buildings against a grey sky.

I throw in a random picture to pep things up.h  I am going to call this my Lame Post Friday post, so the pressure is off.  This was taken during a walk on Main Street in Herkimer, NY, the former Christ Episcopal Church and Herkimer County Courthouse.  The latter is part of Herkimer’s Historic Four Corners, which regular readers know I love to walk or run by.  I walked by them the other day but did not make a Pedestrian Post mentioning it.  See, I have all kinds of things I could write blog posts about, I just don’t.  What’s that all about?

Do Not Enter my brain; it could get scary.

Another landmark I passed on Wednesday’s walk.  I do love to defy a Do Not Enter sign.  Oh, don’t worry; I never do it in my car.  Sheesh!

Will I see any of these any time soon?

I close with a bit of hope for spring.  I’m afraid my crocuses will have a hard time showing up this year, because dead leaves from last fall lie thickly on my lawn.  Once again I neglected to put down more crocus bulbs, as I have intended to do every year since I moved in (2005).  That is, I put some down in 2005 but have never done so again.  I am not even going to ask myself why not.

However, this bit of nonsense is now over 300 words, so I say, good enough for Lame Post Friday. I adjourn for another cup of tea.

 

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Not Too Lazy to Look for Monsters

Posted on February 21, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

Did I jinx myself by Monday’s headline?  Or was it my innate laziness that caused me to miss posting on Tuesday?  I called myself lazy at work, and a co-worker nicely said I was not.  I replied, “There are worse things to be than lazy.  I’m a few of those, too.”  I did not specify.  Be that as it may, I am lounged on my couch, ten finger typing on my Chromebook, a little later that my usual morning posting time, because I took today off.  I have an appointment in the morning and fun plans for the afternoon.  A Mohawk Valley Adventure or two?  I hope so!

In the meantime, I would like to make a blog post now.  A late Tired Tuesday Post or an on time Mid-Week Monsters Post?  One could argue that Tuesday is mid-week, but I am no hand at argument.

Me fighting my own laziness.

I have not idea who those two monsters are, but I downloaded them to the blog in February 2023, which was a monstrous month, to be sure.

That’s my problem! No coffee!

I am, in fact, on my second cup of tea, so I am somewhat caffeinated.  I gave up coffee for Lent, which I realized yesterday is in fact longer than 40 days.  I am not exactly a practicing Catholic or even an Episcopalian (which is one of my all-time favorite words), but when Lent rolls around, I feel I should mark it some way.  This is the most drastic sacrifice I have made in years; usually I just do something extra, like read  x chapters of the Bible every day, or pray a Rosary. However, I do not mean to get into religious discussions. I just see a bunch of pictures and memes in my Media Library pertaining to coffee, which is on my mind to a greater extent than I had anticipated.

I might scream, only my throat is a little sore.

Here is a picture from one of my favorite cheesy horror movies, The Screaming Skull.  I have written about it in this space.  I wonder if I can find it and link back to the post.  Am I un-lazy enough for that?

Random picture to mark the passage of time.

As it turns out, not too lazy.  I think it was a pretty fun post, but perhaps I flatter myself.

And this post is over 400 words. Woohoo!  Were they good words?  Where they un-boring words?  Let us not ask for miracles.

 

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Still Working on that Daily Thing

Posted on February 19, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

Is it time to admit I am no longer a daily blogger?  Say it ain’t so!!! (My Chromebook does not seem to have a caps lock, and it is too much trouble to hold down the button) (I get lazier by the day).  Where was I?  Ah yes, early Monday morning, ten-finger typing (got the Chromebook back on; did I mention I was having trouble with that), and not having much to say.

My crooked path, as a writer and in life.

When in doubt, throw in a picture.  Snow has returned to Herkimer, NY, but I have not gone for a walk so do not know if this wavy path is back.  Foolish of me not to walk.  It can benefit one’s physical and mental health, but one must be regular about these things.

I have not been having many Mohawk Valley Adventures lately.  I drove into Rome on Saturday to visit my parents, but Route 49 is not a big thrill.  A convenience, yes, but nothing to blog about.  After I returned to Herkimer, I got together with my friend Kim, but we merely ran a couple of errands then stopped at Asteroga Ale House for a little food and drink.  I suppose I could have written about that interlude, but I neglected to take any pictures.  I am kind of addicted to pictures since I added them to the blog in 2016.

I just can’t get enough skeletons.

This is one of the first pictures I shared in October 2016, when I first figured out how to do so.

OK, last week’s storm was not that bad.

It was not until the following January that I learned how to download pictures from the internet (usually Facebook) for blogging purposes.  My husband Steve (miss him so much) found this gem.

Ooh, look, I am over 300 words.  That works for a placeholder post, I think.  Once again, thank you for tuning in.

 

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I Finished It on the Dining-Room-Table-Top

Posted on February 14, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

My computer woes continue, as do my problems of getting my brain to work and overcoming my inherent laziness.  Perhaps I should say indolence.  It sounds nicer and conjures images of lounging with bonbons.  I’m not sure I have ever had an actual bonbon.  They sound good, though.

Be that all as it may, it is early Wednesday morning, and I am lounged on my couch pecking in one letter at a time with the stylus on my Tablet, because I fear my Chromebook will still not turn on, and it seems like too much trouble to check.

Aaaand the Tablet does not want to Add Media.  At least, it let me insert the photo but would not allow me to add a caption.

This was the first picture to catch my eye in my Media Library.  I feel my post is like the largest pumpkin:  toothless.  Let me be honest:  I am making a post for the sake of making a post and will try for something better tomorrow.

I throw in a random picture of me at a dramatic moment.  Don’t you just love the yellow tights?  It is when LiFT, Little Falls Theatre Company presented The Tempest.

So, is this an early Non-Sequitur Thursday Post?   Perhaps another picture will make matters clear.

This picture looked less blurry in the Media Library.   However, it illustrates a maxim seen in a Facebook meme:  sometimes you have to know when to call it quits and pour yourself a glass of wine.  At this time of morning, I will substitute tea, but the sentiment is the same.  As always, thank you for tuning in.

 

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At Least It Is Over 200 Words

Posted on February 12, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

Oh dear, I have the dreaded type it in, backspace it out disease.  Or should I spell it type-it-in-backspace-it-out?  Or use capital letters?  I fear I am in a more dithery mood than usual today.  Which is not a bad state for a Wrist to Forehead Sunday post.

 

“Oh shame! Oh degradation!”

I had to search my Media Library for a picture of myself with my wrist actually on my forehead.  Then I had to fight with the Chromebook to get it in the right place in the post.  I know, first world problems.

The mood I was aiming for.

One reason I am having trouble concentrating on the post is that I am also looking at an episode of Columbo.  I have not seen Columbo in a while (and why is “Columbo” underlined?  That is the way it is spelled!).  I loves me some Peter Falk!

Not yet! Not yet, please!

Oh dear, the Type–It-In-Backspace-It-Out is back (do you like it better with caps?).  I was hoping for a paragraph to tie things together and get me up to 200 words.  Unfortunately, looking back at what I have managed to leave typed in, it seems I do not have much to tie.  I guess this is another post about not being able to make a post.  I’ll try for something better tomorrow.  I hope you will tune in.

 

 

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Brains Aren’t Everything

Posted on February 8, 2024 by mohawkvalleygirl

So… I missed making my Tuesday blog post Wednesday morning. I overslept as the introduction to a very weird day. And then I did not make my Wednesday blog post on Wednesday, and it is Thursday morning, and I thought I should post something.  I do not know what I will end up billing it as, but I confess at the outset, that I do not have much in the line of brain power.  If only I could handily find the picture from The Brain from Planet Arous, I could properly illustrate this post.

This group didn’t have their act together either.

I veer into Throwback Thursday territory (Wayback Wednesday?) with a picture from Much Ado About Nothing, presented by LiFT, Little Falls Theatre Company in, I believe, 2016 (no, I can’t go back and look it up, go ahead and roll your eyes at me) (you know who you are).  I had a lot of fun playing the Watch, or whatever we were called.  We played it really dumb.  I always say, go with your strengths (that was directed at me; I was not casting aspersions on the brainpower of my fellow thespians).

Ah yes, more theatre in the offing.

I add a picture of Salisbury Grange in hopes of inspiring myself to complete the as yet untitled script for the murder mystery we are doing there in April (preview of coming attractions).  What is with me that I have not finished it yet?  Get to work, Cindy!

“I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!”

Yes, that is the caption I usually use with this picture.  It is how I feel:  half buried and unable to do anything but wave my arms and wiggle my toes!  I remind myself that how I feel is not necessarily reality.  I may be buried, but excavation is possible.  So is writing that damn script.  Look, I managed over 300 words of a blog post.  I think I will call it a Non-Sequitur Thursday.

 

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