Tag Archives: writing

Blank Mind, Dumb Blog, Here’s a Vampire

Posted on May 24, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

How many times has Wuss-out Wednesday followed Tired Tuesday?  Many.  Today shall make one more, but I hope to think of something amusing to say nevertheless.  Mind you, my hopes are not high, but any hope on a blank page is nice.

Blank is the operative word.  I have a dreadful case of Writer’s Blank.  That is when I look at a blank page (or computer screen) and that is exactly how it stays, because my brain is just that: BLANK.  It is all very well to say, “Just write something, anything down.”  I can’t think of anything to write down!  Then I think of something, write it down, and it’s STUPID!  I can’t continue with that!  And it would not matter if I bullishly forced myself to continue with it, because I cannot for the life of me think of another sentence.

Obviously that is not what is happening right now with this blog post, but it is what happened earlier when I was faced with a blank page in my notebook.  I started jotting down ideas I had for a murder mystery I must write for September (more on that when it gets closer) (I am, of course, taking it for granted that I WILL eventually be able to write the thing).  I have been tumbling ideas around in my head for a few weeks now.  As I put pen to paper, I realized I had very few ideas after all and the ones I had were dumb.  OK, it was one idea.  One stupid idea.

I will somehow get beyond this idea-less phase.  I will write down words and then more words.  I may even like them.  In the meantime, I am going to end with a picture of Nosferatu and hit Publish.  I may try again later with a pen and paper.  Further updates as events warrant.

Do you suppose I would write better or worse if this fellow was actually standing over me?

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Not an Anniversary Dinner

Posted on May 23, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

It is my blogoversary.  At least, in my notifications, WordPress wished me a Happy ANNIVERSARY.  I could swear they called it a blogoversary in year’s past.  Anyways, I have been publishing this blog for seven years now.  Yay me, I guess.  I would like to say something profound about it, but I am having a Tired Tuesday.  I feared that I would.

I thought of doing, not exactly a cooking post, but a What We Had For Supper post.  Steven had a craving for Chinese food.  Rather than sending out for delivery or even pick up, I suggested I go to Hannaford and pick up some frozen stuff we could pop into the oven.  I was pretty sure they had some Chinese appetizers, and appetizers are what we like best.

As I was driving home, I thought to myself, “OK, don’t let Steven throw away these boxes before I make my blog post, because I won’t remember exactly what these were.”  Sometimes my husband gets a little too enthusiastic about cleaning up, a quality I definitely do NOT share.  And now it is time to hang my head in shame, because guess who threw the boxes out?  Yes, I did.  Do I remember what I fixed?  Not exactly.

The standout were Potstickers, that I remember.  I had to cook them in oil in a pan, then add water, cover, and steam.  That is obviously a little more complicated than just putting it in the oven, but I was up to the challenge.  It was worth it. Yummy!  The stuff I put in the oven was a little complicated, too, because of course out of three things, none were the same temperature nor the same amount of time.  Also, I do not own three flat pans that fit conveniently on my two oven racks.  Oh, the trials and tribulations!

By now I suppose any new readers are wondering how in the world I managed to make seven years’ worth of blog posts if this is the kind of material I write.  I confess I sometimes wonder myself.  But what are you going to do on a Tired Tuesday?

 

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Not the Most Interesting Blog Post in the World

Posted on May 19, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

Likewise blog posts.

So here I am on Lame Post Friday, feeling too lame to make any post at all.  We can’t have that, can we?  I just made a wand for my wizard costume for tomorrow, using a knitting needle and a few things I had on hand because, well, I almost never throw anything out.  Ooh, I just flashed on the Most Interesting Man in the World:  “I don’t usually throw things away.  But when I do, I need that very thing the next day”.

“I don’t usually pose like this, but when I do, somebody takes my picture.”

I guess this is not the official Most Interesting Man in the World, but unofficially, I am put him in the top ten.  Of course, math is not my strong suit, and I don’t know all the men in the world (I could name you a few I’d like to meet) (don’t worry, Steven; I’m sure they would not be that into me).

So I guess I’m non-sequituring as well as posting lame.  I suppose you’ll have that on occasion.  The fact is, I was all set to wax eloquent (which is not the same thing as waxing the kitchen floor, although I daresay it needs it) about how I just can’t get enough of what Steven calls murder and mayhem.  I’m watching 20/20 on OWN.  Love that John Quinones.

“We’ll be right back.”

Although I confess, my favorite guy (other than Nosteratu) is Keith Morrison on Dateline.

This is in Newport Beach, FL, by the way.

I picked this shot, because I thought he looked a little like the Most Interesting Man in the World.  Somebody commented on this photo that he should narrate all the Dateline’s, because he is her favorite.  I like the way she thinks.  I wonder if there is a Dateline on at seven.  Happy Friday, everybody.

 

 

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No, I Do Not Have My Act Together

Posted on April 30, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

It is Wrist to Forehead Sunday indeed.  I have been alternately looking at my blank “Add New Post” page and scrolling down Facebook.  I can’t say I was looking for inspiration.  For one reason, I can write a blog post with inspiration (so those of you gearing up to give me a lecture on the hollowness of waiting for inspiration can just stand down).

The murder mystery last night went pretty well.  The audience enjoyed themselves and the actors had fun, too.  Now I plan to take a long break from theatre.  It is time to get my act together, clean my house, and write, write, write.  I mean more than silly blog posts and murder mysteries.

I confess, today was not the first day of Getting My Act Together.  Then again, I have never been able to accomplish much on a Sunday.  That is one reason I started having Wrist to Forehead Sunday.  The feeling that I ought to be getting something done but yet am not getting anything done is very distressing.

Wow, I am not even having an easy time writing a silly blog post.  Can I save the day with a monster picture?

“You say I look like whom?”

I downloaded this beauty a couple of days ago in case of just such an emergency.  It is Alec Guinness in The Lady Killers.  I have never seen the movie, although I hope to catch it sometime.  I love the picture, because I think he looks

like Nosferatu.  Regular readers know of my affection for Nosferatu.  I’ll have to watch that movie again soon.  I have it on two different DVD collections.

I guess that isn’t really a monster picture, so I’ll finish with a repeat.

“Just popped up to say hello!”

I have no idea who this handsome fellow is.  I must have downloaded him one day when I was trolling the internet for monster pictures. Get it?  Trolling?  Because a troll is a kind of a monster.  I know, you aren’t supposed to explain puns.  Cut me a break on Wrist to Forehead Sunday!

 

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I Feel Like a Monster

Posted on April 11, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

It was going to be another Monstrous Monday.  I found some monster pictures in my Media Library, I wrote some foolish comments about them. I was just finishing up and ready to think up a title and hit publish when I remembered:  It isn’t Monday!  It’s Tuesday!  This is what happens when you don’t go to work on Monday.  It messes up your head.  It doesn’t help that I’m not feeling well (my ostensible reason for taking a Monstrous Monday).  In fact, my stomach is starting to roil as I type.  I’m just going to slap a headline on this, hit publish and stretch out.  Here is what I typed in when I thought it was Monday:

I’m afraid it is going to be another Monstrous Monday.  Both Steven and I seem to be down with some 24-hour (I hope) bugaboo. But I shall not go on about our health woes. For one reason, it would be a HIPAA violation.  For another reason, it is boring and a little disgusting.  Never mind, let’s find a picture of a monster to share.

Raise your hand if you think these Monster Monday posts are silly!

I couldn’t find a new picture so I went to my Media Library and found one of Frankenstein’s monster I haven’t used recently (I hope).

He’s been hanging around for a while now.

Here is a friendlier monster.  My husband Steven got me this nice vampire for Christmas some years ago. He’s been hanging in our living room ever since.  As regular readers know, I like to make Halloween last all year.

This plant required a red thumb, not green one.

Oh, here’s a picture I haven’t used more than once, I don’t think.  It is from Roger Corman’s Little Shop of Horrors (1960).  I confess to not being a fan of the musical, but I LOVE the cheesy black-and-white horror flick.

So say I.

I end with how I feel:  tired and ready to say good night!  Full disclosure:  I probably won’t go to bed for a while yet, because I don’t want to wake up at 2 a.m. unable to get back to sleep.  You know how it is.  I’m afraid this has been a foolish post.  We’ll call it a blogger’s sick day and drive on.

 

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I Like a Semi-Colon on Lame Post Friday

Posted on April 7, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

Oh crap, it is almost 10:30 at night and I have not yet made my Friday Lame Post.  Can I make it before midnight?  A more practical question is, why am I up so far past my bedtime?  Well, I just got back from A Bad Year for Tomatoes at Ilion Little Theatre.  I think I can write a quick post while I sip a glass of wine with my husband.  What, you thought I wasn’t going to have a glass of wine on a Friday?  I don’t think anybody thought that.

Normally when I have someplace to go on a Friday, I try to make my blog post first. I did not do so today, because I was working on Spring Into Murder, the murder mystery we are putting on for Morning Star Methodist Church in Ilion on April 28.  Earlier today I saw a flier about said murder mystery, so I was all psyched up to get what I have typed into the computer so I can get it out to the cast and we can start rehearsals.  I’m getting there!  Oh, you think I should have had it completed, typed in, polished, and have started rehearsals already?  That would have been nice.  But this is me we’re talking about.

Oh dear, two paragraphs into the blog post and I’ve got the type-it-in-backspace-it-out disease.  Part of me is saying, “You’re over 200 words; that’s plenty for Lame Post Friday!”  Yes, the voices in my head use semi-colons when they talk.  The voices in my head are all about grammar and punctuation.  If anybody would like to comment below, pointing out any errors I may have made today, go right ahead.  I will only laugh, because I have forgotten more grammar than most folks ever knew.  The rest I willfully ignore as it suits my purpose (insert evil laugh here).

In the meantime, I think I need to hit Publish, finish my wine, and go to bed.  I hope to see you all tomorrow on Scattered Saturday or perhaps Slacker Saturday, whatever it turns out to be.

 

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Most of the Time, I’m a Regular Fool

Posted on April 2, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

So I guess my stomach problems yesterday were not purely nerves.  At least, I seemed OK during the murder mystery (which was a blast, by the way) and not bad this morning, but as soon as I ate something… well, these things happen, I suppose.  I really hate to make another blog post whining about my petty health complaints. I will try not to whine but merely state the facts.  Then again, it is Wrist to Forehead Sunday.  Perhaps a “woe is me” followed by a swoon is appropriate.

Most of the audience seemed to really enjoy Secrets at Suiter House, our murder mystery, last night.  Now I must rush headlong into the next, Spring into Murder.  I’ll have more blog posts about that, no doubt.  Theatre is my life!  Part of my life, anyways.

I had a very nice Easter dinner with some members of my family.  My stomach allowed me to partake of ham, cheesy potatoes, and Heidelberg rolls, among other treats.  I admit it: I am rarely too ill to eat.  I keep thinking if I eat the right thing, it will make me feel better.  This explains my continued failure to meet my weight-loss goals.

However, as I often say, tomorrow is another day.  I guess a lot of people have said that.  How embarrassing to resort to cliche.  Well, what do you people expect of me when I have a bad stomach on Wrist to Forehead Sunday?  I can’t be profound under these circumstances!  But apparently I can make a blog post, however foolish.  Hey, I just remembered something else:  it’s April Fool’s Day.  That’s it!  I’m just an April fool.  Happy Easter, everybody.

 

 

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Stomach-ache at Suiter House

Posted on April 1, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

I’m sitting here wondering if my upset stomach is due to the piece of leftover pizza I had for lunch or to nervousness about tonight’s murder mystery.  It feels more like a pizza upset stomach, quite frankly, but one cannot completely discount pre-performance butterflies.

As more astute readers will have guessed, this is going to be another foolish post.  However, since I often have foolish posts before a theatrical performance (oh, OK, and the rest of the time too), I think I will be forgiven. And if not, oh well, I will just have to live with the disapproval.

The murder mystery, in case you didn’t read about it in a previous blog post, is Secrets at Suiter House, to benefit the Herkimer County Historical Society.  I think it is one of my better scripts, but perhaps I flatter myself.  I have an excellent cast assembled.  I know they will do a marvelous job.  I dare to include myself in that confidence.  Accuse me of tooting my own horn if you like, but I maintain that there are worse things than having an ego the size of Manhattan, especially for an actor.

Is my ego the size of Manhattan?  I’m sure these things are difficult to measure.  I certainly have ego enough to set my foolish words afloat into the blogosphere (there’s a silly word) and trust some people will be entertained by them.  I have ego enough to write a murder mystery and present it to a room full of people, trusting that they will be entertained.

And yet I sit here with my stomach roiling, saying to myself, “What the hell am I thinking?”  I guess a gigantic ego does not always translate into a plethora of self-confidence.  Never mind.  Overconfidence is a dangerous thing, and sometimes nerves are a good sign.  So I say, break a leg, me.

Maybe I’ll try the effects of some ginger tea on my stomach.

 

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Well! It’s Another Monstrous Monday!

Posted on March 27, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

I think Monstrous Monday is going to be a regular thing here, and I think many people can identify with the sentiment.

A common sentiment, am I right?

I know, I KNOW, I must plan ahead and write blog posts in advance.  Well, some readers enjoy my silly posts about not being able to write a post, so there.  Still, you can get too much of a good thing. Isn’t there some saying about going to the well too many times? I try to avoid such cliches, but I do say “well” a lot.

Be that as it may, on with the blog post.  I wrote a very little on the next murder mystery, Spring into Murder, but am not making much progress in finding a complete cast. I thought everybody wanted to act!  Oh well, I guess not everybody (see, there I go with “well” again).

I act, with gestures!

Speaking of everybody wanting to act, here is a picture of me acting up a storm in last summer’s The Tempest with LiFT Theatre Company.  That was one of my big, dramatic scenes. OK, I am big and dramatic in all of my scenes, in real life as well as on stage.  I always say, go with your strengths (I suppose that is a cliche.  Oh well!).

A graphic depiction of how I feel about my continued inability to write a decent blog post.

I swerve into non-sequitur territory with a picture of fake poo.  These were props from one of last year’s murder mysteries, He Laughed Himself to Death.  I have long been an aficionado of fake poo.

And now I am over 250 words, which as regular readers (if any remain) know, I consider respectable.  I return to my Monstrous Monday and, as always, hope for a better blog post tomorrow.

 

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More Murder and Mayhem!

Posted on March 23, 2018 by mohawkvalleygirl

I believe I have mentioned that I have another murder mystery to write.  I may also have mentioned (once or twice) that I have been having trouble writing ANYTHING lately.  Well, just now I surprised myself.  I wrote a brief overview of said mystery, to send to the venue for publicity purposes.  The venue is Morning Star Methodist Church in Ilion, NY, and the performance date is Saturday, April 28, 2018.  They are serving a roast pork dinner, which was quite delicious when we performed there last year and the year before.

So I have been writing this mystery in bits and pieces, and second guessing myself about everything.  I tried writing the overview twice on breaks at work today, to no avail.  Finally I sat down at my laptop and said, “Well, I’ve got to do this now.”  And here is what I wrote:

Spring into Murder takes place at the kick-off dinner for the Tulip Festival sponsored by Two Lips Cosmetics. The founder and CEO of the company loves everything to do with The Netherlands, so much so that she changed her first name to Holland and hired a bodyguard named Dutch. On the agenda for tonight is the unveiling of the spring line of lipstick colors, to be modeled by Holland’s spokesmodel and partner, the beautiful Ariel Angelica. Holland is accompanied by her new husband, Rod. Also on hand are Holland’s nephew Benedict and recently adopted daughter Windy, as well as the designer of this year’s colors, the brilliant if eccentric Giselle Ellison.

Unfortunately, all is not beauty and harmony at Two Lips Cosmetics. Rumor has it that Holland did not want to take on Ariel as a partner, that Benedict wanted Windy to be the spokesmodel, that Giselle feels badly paid for her work, and nobody knows quite what to think of Dutch. Additionally, we don’t know who sent Ariel a bouquet of BLACK tulips!
There may be murder before the night is out! Who will solve the crime?

I was rather pleased with it myself.  The new husband got his name as I wrote it, and Giselle Ellison (my part) changed from a dedicated secretary to a lipstick designer.  I think diva is much more fun than downtrodden.

Having written that much, I feel fired up to get the whole thing done.  I’ll share more information about the performance — times and prices — when I know more.

 

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