Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - January 27, 2013

It's Sunday morning, time for my weekly off television topic reflection on the week gone by in both words and photographs I've taken along the way. For much of the week, all of it really, it was too cold to take photos. But I did come across a few things photo-worthy of taking off my gloves and risking the batteries in my camera.

This way below freezing usually accompanied by biting winds weather this week has taken a toll on me. I think I could sleep three days straight in my nice warm bed. I've also been really cranky this past week. I blame that on the weather, too. While I don't really mind the cold itself all that much -- it's the bundling all up and the wind which just won't stop. 

The knees are doing fine. However, one day when I was walking against strong wind, I felt a weird sensation in both of them. I believe it was so cold, the wind was so strong and I was out in it long enough to drop the temperature of the metal in both knees. It was a weird tingling almost burning sensation from deep within the knees, not really painful, certainly not like the prior arthritic pain. Just very bizarre. It went away when I warmed up inside work.

Once again this week, I keep falling asleep in front of the television. Thankfully Letterman was in repeats this week, as were many of the CBS shows I usually watch. I've been watching American Idol auditions and I'm really not keen on Nicki Minaj. Not at all. While at times I do like how she interacts with the contestants, her speaking voice and weirdness just to be weird bugs me.

I watched Kevin Bacon's new FOX show The Following and, despite the pans I've seen from critics, it kept my interest. I'll be watching it again this week. I'm still ticked that Criminal Minds killed off Reid's first love interest, but I'm stuck on that show anyway. I fell asleep right before the end of The First 48: Missing so I don't know if he's missing, found or dead. Oh my.

Really ... I know I need to post on both the Survivor and Amazing Race casts. I know this, then I fall asleep. I blame the weather. It's been bitter cold all week and was the coldest week in 17 years. Our big snowstorm on Friday evening ended up being less than a half-inch.

Onto this week's photos. Clicking on an image will open it in a new Photobucket window, clicking again on it will make it larger. To return to the blog, just close out the Photobucket window. 

City possum

This was an unusual sight. I got off the train after work one day and saw this opossum lumbering alongside one of the car repair places by the 4th Street side of the Plainfield Train Station. They're generally nocturnal and tend to stare like a deer in headlights or run when they see a human. He did glance my way but ignored me and kept lumbering slowly.

He didn't really look sick, but his behavior was a bit off for an opossum. As there have been rabid feral cats on and off in that area (none lately that I know of), I was cautious. But he just ignored me and made his way under a bush. When I got home, I Googled opossum rabies only to find out that opossums rarely contract rabies as they have a natural immunity to the disease. Huh. I did not know that. Maybe the cold week got to him. 

While they're as ugly as all get out, I do kind of like his two-tone ears. This one was quite large. When I first noticed it, I thought it was a GIANT rat.

Watchung Avenue before the dawn

On Monday morning, I took the bus to work as the train was on a holiday schedule and I had an 8am meeting. I took this shot looking down Watchung Avenue from the corner at East Front Street in Plainfield. 

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Plainfield opossum again (or still)

I think he's cringing in the sun.

Plainfield Train Station lamps

I used the "clothify" filter on my GIMP photo editing software for this shot. I actually had to fade the effect a lot as it clothified much too much! However, the colors are as they were. The skies were grey.

Plainfield Train Station

The cold is ruffling their feathers

Checking out red sky in the morning

Red sky at night, sailor's delight. Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning.

And, it was sort of true. Our "big" snowstorm was on the way. I edited this shot to leave the view out the window in color. Donald and I were checking out the red breaking through on the horizon from the train window on our way to our workplace(s). Neither of us had our feet on the seats although we sat in a four-seater. We don't believe in that.

The sunrise

Stunning colors, aren't they? It's almost worth being up before dawn and going to work in zero degree weather with strong winds. Well. Hmm. Bed may not be as pretty, but it's a heck of a lot warmer!

A few minutes later

Reflection of a sunrise

This historical home is across from the Bridgewater Train Station. The pink sunrise lit it up nicely. I edited the shot to leave only the front of the house in color.

Pigeon tracks in the snow

Dave, the proprietor of The Corner Store on Watchung Avenue and East Second Street in Plainfield, feeds "his birds" daily. Everyone who regularly frequents that corner refers to them as Dave's Birds. They're mostly pigeons, but I've seen sparrows, chickadees and starlings hanging out with birds of a different feather due to bread crumbs!

Plainfield Train Station in the snow

When they started to first talk about this snowstorm early in the week, they were saying five to six inches. Bwahahahaha!

My ride is arriving

Yes, my chauffeur is here. It's Saturday morning. I must go to work. Plainfield Train Station. 

Snow on the fake coyote

I'm not sure if it's the fake coyotes or the grid of strings that's keeping the Canada geese out of the TD Ball Park in Bridgewater. If the geese were smart, they'd know real coyotes would shake the snow off! But, then again, they're geese. They're known for their proliferation more so than their intelligence.

Don't think we need the snow guide

At the shopping center across from the Bridgewater Train Station they strategically place these snow guides along all the curbs so snowplows won't slam into said curbs. The winter before last they were buried. Last winter and this, not so much. They're about three feet high.

Everything sits better on a Ritz

Yes, like the old ad campaign for Ritz crackers. But I said it to Vincent and he thinks he's always better whether he's on a Ritz (box) or not. As with shiny paper, he will bite chunks out of the box and spit them out all over the floor until I take the box away.