Tag Archives: writing

Still Talking about That Murder Mystery!

Posted on May 1, 2025 by mohawkvalleygirl

How about one last pre-rehearsal post?  This evening we are meeting one last time before our second performance of Recipe for Murder Royale this Saturday, May 3 at the Herkimer Elks Lodge to benefit the Herkimer County Historical Society.  I wonder if my readers are getting sick of hearing about it?  If so, they c;an always skip this post.  I do have just a couple more pictures.

Oh dear, it’s a little blurry.

This is Carmen Sophronia, our Italian chef, who fancies herself as a singer.

I knew this one was blurry, but who could argue with a queen?

This is Queen Elizabeth Foredore.  When I told one audience member at Salisbury Grange her name, he said that was kind of cliche.  For heavens’ sake, there have been two English queens named Elizabeth in history.  How does that make it a cliche?  Anyways, it is a Queen Elizabeth costume.  I guess no writer likes to be told her work is cliche.  Maybe I’ll kill off that guy in my next script.

I gotta share it one more time!

Two more days for local readers to decide to attend!  It isn’t sold out yet, but while I was at the Elks Lodge yesterday, somebody called and said they were going to stop down Friday and pick up tickets.  I’d best look over my lines again!

 

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Sometimes Lame Will Do

Posted on April 26, 2025 by mohawkvalleygirl

It is early(ish) Saturday morning and I thought I would attempt a Late Lame Post Friday post.  For one reason, I really got nothin’ except perhaps for some half-baked philosophy and random observations plus a couple of pictures from my Media Library to pep things up.  I confess it cheers me up to make a blog post in the morning.  Something about putting words together makes me happy.  I must do it more often and wonder at myself that I do not.  I know, many people wonder about me (you know who you are).  I feel it is part of my charm, but perhaps I flatter myself.

Both missed, but at least I can talk to one.

Here is one of them there pictures to pep things up.  It is my late, dearly missed husband Steve and my friend Kim, who moved to Colorado, at the Waterfront Grille in Herkimer NY.  I have not been there in a while.  It is a bit of a walk for me, although I surely need the exercise (I will call you Shirley if I decide to).  Today it is raining, so I am unlikely to make the journey.

Since I brought up Steve, I will give a brief grief update (didn’t mean to rhyme) (honest).  I slowly find my way to being alone.  I will never be done missing him.  I will always be sad at times.  However, I try not to dwell on it or feel ill-used.  I guess I don’t have much to say about it.  Oh well, it was to be a brief update.  Back to being Lame.

It will look somewhat different this year.

I add this picture to encourage myself.  I said I would have a container garden this year.  I am struggling to get my house in better shape, and I must soon move outdoors, where there is a LOT to do!  In fact, I should get off the computer and get to work.  Well, maybe one more picture.

I haven’t worn those socks in a while.

This is another picture to encourage me:  the thought of relaxing after a job well done.  My relaxing feet on the front porch or back deck may have been more appropriate after the container garden picture, but this one was handy.  Full disclosure:  I spend a lot of time with my feet up, job well done or not.  I’m old and my feet hurt!  Never mind.  I have managed over 400 words worth of a blog post and that is not bad, however lame the post may be.  Will I have a productive Saturday?  Will I relax after a job well done?  For the answer to these and other burning questions (or do I once again flatter myself?) stay tuned to Mohawk Valley Girl!

 

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A Blog Post Was Made By Me

Posted on April 19, 2025 by mohawkvalleygirl

So I didn’t make my Lame Post Friday post on Friday.  Saturday morning has never been considered too late to do such a thing.  That is, I have never considered it so.  Passive voice is sort of slimy, isn’t it?  I hate it when politicians use it.  However, Mohawk Valley Girl tries to stay off politics (talking about yourself in the third person is quite acceptable, although some find it pretentious) (you know who you are) (and dammit, I used passive voice again!)

Where was I?  Sometimes I get all bogged down in parenthetical comments.  Regular readers may have noticed.  Anyways, I am going to make a silly blog post and then get on with my day.  We’ll call that first paragraph a little half-baked philosophy about grammar.  But just to continue the point:  passive voice is not inherently slimy.  In an English textbook, an example might read, “The ball was kicked by the child.”  I call that awkward but not slimy.  “The ball was kicked,” now, that’s a little slimy.  Who kicked the ball? I’m thinking the little turd that said the sentence that way, because the ball went somewhere to was not supposed to go.

I think they’re cool.

I wanted to throw in a picture just then, because I was afraid others might not find the preceding paragraph as interesting as I did.  Of course I do not have a picture of a ball in my Media Library, nor one of an English Grammar textbook.  Then I saw these typewriters and was reminded of the line by Truman Capote that I often quote, “That’s not writing, that’s typing.”  I say, it is at least closer to writing than what I did last night (unless you count the letter to my sister I worked on while I waited for my fish fry at the Elks).

In any case I am over 300 words.  Perfectly respectable for a Lame Post Friday post, according to my rules by me.  Will I have any Mohawk Valley Adventures today?  Will I even manage a Saturday Running Commentary?  Or even manage to go running?  A little uncertainty adds interest to my day.

 

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Tired Tuesday During Dateline

Posted on April 16, 2025 by mohawkvalleygirl

The quest to be a daily blogger continues with numerous setbacks.  Yes, I missed making a post on Monday and am here with little to say on Tuesday.  I just can’t get myself out to do things to blog about.  I have gone running for the past two days, with a fairly amusing narration in my head, so I could have done Running Commentaries.  I had another rehearsal for Recipe for Murder Royale, the murder mystery we are doing for Salisbury Grange and Herkimer County Historical Society, but once again neglected to take pictures.  And that’s about it.  Oh, I went to a meeting of the Village of Ilion Board of Trustees, to cover it for Sentinel Media.

Right now I am lounged on my couch, half looking at a very interesting episode of Dateline on Roku TV.  I am disappointed I did not catch it from the beginning, but perhaps it will come my way again.  I like to watch the Roku channel that is All Dateline All The Time. True crime is my life!

I love Dateline.

I just took a long time to find that illustration in my Media Library.  I keep thinking I am going to make an index of everything that I have in my Media Library, but it seems a daunting task.  Then again, I am daunted by many potential tasks these days.  I must do something about myself.

In the meantime, I am over 200 words.  I shall call this a Tired Tuesday Post and drive on.  I suspect I have already used the headline “Tired Tuesday During Dateline,” but these things happen. I continue to strive for a better blog post, and once again I thank you for tuning in.

 

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This is Surely a Lame Post

Posted on April 11, 2025 by mohawkvalleygirl

OK, so the blogging has not been going very well post-Prescription: Murder.  I have not been having very many Mohawk Valley Adventures.  I have been getting out to walk and even taken a couple short runs, but nothing worth making a Running Commentary or Pedestrian Post about (as if that ever stops me).  Now I sit, typing into my Chromebook on Lame Post Friday, thinking, surely I can manage at least a Friday Lame Post (and I will call you Shirley if I decide to).

In my case, they have done their job.

I thought I would throw in a picture to pep things up.  Yes, I have been brain dead for some time now, as regular readers may have noticed.  I have been writing letters, which I suppose counts.  By My Rules for Me, Any Writing Counts.  But I have not been, for example, making entries in the TV Journal or even my Running Journal (yes, I have multiple journals and am thinking of adding a few more to fail to write in).  For a week or more I made a daily blog post.  I hope to get back to doing that.

Cheers to Mohawk Valley Adventures!

I scrolled further down my Media Library, looking for a Mohawk Valley Adventure I could aim for.  This is my friend Kim at Rock Valley Brewing Company in Little Falls, NY.  Alas these adventures are always better with a friend, and Kim moved far away.  I wonder what other friends I could find to get into trouble with.

Then again, coffee is always nice.

Another place I haven’t been in a while is Joseph Putrello’s Coffee Barista Bar in Utica.  Will I venture as far as Little Falls or Utica today?  A little uncertainty adds interest to my morning.

In any case, I have at least written to the extent of a Lame Post Friday blog post.  One has to start somewhere.  As always, I thank you for tuning in.

 

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Blog Now, Panic Later

Posted on March 30, 2025 by mohawkvalleygirl

Oh dear, can I make a pre-show post before I have to finish getting ready to go to the matinee of  Prescription: Murder, the play I am in at Ilion LIttle Theatre?  Naturally I must make a big deal of things on Wrist to Forehead Sunday.  I just took a two-mile walk, towards the end of which I figured out a few things about my character’s motivation, background, and relationship with her (murderous) husband.  I suppose real actors might argue that I should have settled all these things during the rehearsal process, but I am always adding things, filling in blank spaces, refining, etc.  I like to think it is the writer in me.

In any case, I have a few minutes before I have to start bustling around, saying, “One more thing!” like Columbo, and I have a few more backstage pictures to share.

He is telling Columbo the facts of life as he sees them.

This is a guy from the district attorney’s office who happens to be close friends of my (stage) husband (that character’s wife is my character’s bestie, but she is only mentioned).  The guy in the raincoat is, obviously Columbo.

I think the guy on the right looks evil.

The man in the hat has a small but pivotal role; the other one is the murderer himself.

We couldn’t have done it without him!

This is the assistant director and stage manager, Mason, obviously an extremely important person.

I will try to get a few more backstage shots today.  In the meantime, I need to start running around my house saying, “I know I’ve forgotten something!”  I sure hope it isn’t my lines!

 

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Pre-Rehearsal Mental Meanderings

Posted on March 25, 2025 by mohawkvalleygirl

I begin again as a daily blogger.  Today will be a Monday Mental Meanderings. For one reason, I am too old to do Middle-aged Musings.  It’s funny how fast you move from middle-aged to old.  Oh well, as my sister Diane says, Time is relative, not our relative.

It seems he has been there for some time.

I thought I should put a time-related picture just then but could not find any clocks in my Media Library.

AAAaaand then I just sat here with nothing to say.

That is as far as I got this morning.  It is now almost four in the afternoon and I have to start thinking about getting to a dress rehearsal for Prescription: Murder, the play I am in at Ilion Little Theatre.  Friday is opening night.  I think I need to study my lines some more.

I think this is my new favorite picture of myself.

That picture was to denote the passage of time while I heated up leftover coffee from this morning.  I read my lines out loud while it heated and then while I drank it.  I have not had as easy a time learning my lines as I usually do.  Do you suppose my brain is getting too old?  SAY IT AIN’T SO!!!!!

Now I have blathered on for over 200 words and must deem that all right for a Monday Mental Meanderings post.  I’m afraid for the next week this blog will be All Prescription: Murder All The Time.  Oh dear.  I’d better check again to see that I have all my stuff together (no, not my act!  Regular readers know I NEVER have my act together!).

 

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I Can’t Be Tired! I Have Rehearsal!

Posted on March 19, 2025 by mohawkvalleygirl

Oh it is a Tired Tuesday post.  It is SUCH a Tired Tuesday post.  What, I must ask, the hell is the matter with me?  I did not follow my new habit of posting early in the morning.  In my defense, I was working on an article about a Herkimer Town Board meeting for the Sentinel Media Company (I think I have mentioned my side hustle covering valley meetings for them).  Then I did some other stuff including a run (it was a pretty good run).  Now I guess I’m just being a big fat baby brat (that is an old expression of my late husband’s, invented before he even met me).

Where was I?

Not so random picture.

I have rehearsal tonight for Prescription: Murder, the play I am in at Ilion Little Theatre (perhaps you read some of my other blog posts about it).  I have gone over my lines a few times, saying them out loud.  I was unable to do that for a while, due to the cold I was suffering from.  I need to get that mouth muscle memory going on.

A rehearsal for my big scene.

Earlier today I had some breakfast at the Java Shop in Herkimer, just to give a shout-out to a local business.

Must get a better picture of the sign.

Looking back at the day, I do not see why I should feel so tired.  In fact, I feel a little better now that I have completed my blog post, which I feared I would not do since I missed doing it this morning.  I guess it hasn’t been much of a blog post, but there is every chance I can do better tomorrow.  In the meantime, I think I have time to go over my lines again.

 

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When In Doubt, Add Coffee

Posted on March 14, 2025 by mohawkvalleygirl

And now my headache is back.  I begin my Lame Post Friday Post with a whine.  It is too early yet for wine, which might help my headache but could also cause a worse one tomorrow.  Ah, the trials and tribulations.

Random picture to denote passage of time while I go put on coffee.

I had tea instead of coffee earlier this morning, which is usually fine.  I had a headache, which got worse after I ate breakfast and took some Migraine Relief (with the magic ingredient caffeine, as a boss of mine used to say).  After lying down for a while, my head felt better, so I went for a run.  I did not run yesterday due to a back ache (YES all I do at my age is feel pain in various parts of my body.  Either you know what I am talking about or you eventually will).

Where was I going with this?    What a dull, boring post!

 

The inspirational bumble bee.

I looked for a more exciting picture to pep up the post and found this from The Mustard Seed in Little Falls, NY, thus adding a shout-out to a local business.  The bumble bee is part of their logo, because of the story that aerodynamically speaking, the bumble bee should not be able to fly, but somehow does.  Thus, the owner of the Mustard Seed never lets anybody tell her what she can and can’t do but somehow does what she does.  I have not been to the Mustard Seed in a while, but it is a very fun place to shop.  There are several fine places to shop in Little Falls.  I must take a drive there soon.

Don’t I look like a little devil?

I close with the wine I mentioned in the first paragraph.  I was wearing that shirt and drinking white wine yesterday, but my hair does not look like that these days.  I started to grow it out when I knew I was going to audition for the play I’m in (perhaps you have read my blog posts about that).  It will probably not stay long.

However, this blog post has gotten a little long for a Lame Post Friday post, approaching 400 words.  And I think the coffee I put on earlier is done.  Can headache relief be far?  In any case, I thank you one again for tuning in and hope I have managed to be at least mildly entertaining.

 

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Recipe for a Blog Post Anyways!

Posted on March 10, 2025 by mohawkvalleygirl

Sunday I went to the Herkimer County Historical Society where they were celebrating the launch of their new cookbook, Home Town Recipes From Our Table to Yours!  They had several of the recipes represented, and encouraged me to sample whatever I wanted.  Yum!

I just love the cover!

Alas, I did not take any pictures other than of the cookbook itself, but I sampled carrot cake, rhubarb cake, and chicken wing dip.  I can’t wait to try those and other recipes in the book.

While there, I chatted with Cassie Castle about this spring’s murder mystery, which I am supposed to be writing to benefit the society.  Naturally I am having trouble with it.  However, Sunday morning when I noticed the cookbook launch and decided to attend, something clicked in my brain.  As I washed the dishes and did a few other chores, in my head a voice was saying, “Cookbook… cookbook.”  And the next thing I knew I was making notes and starting a script with the tentative title, Recipe for Murder.

Of course there are still several hurdles to get over before I am once again murdering for fun and non-profit.  For one thing, I need to field a cast.  Oh yeah, and finish the script.  Maybe if I make one of the recipes in my new cookbook, I can get even more inspired.

If you are interested in purchasing Home Town Recipes From Our Table to Yours! you can contact the Herkimer County Historical Society at 315-866-6413.

 

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