Off Topic: That Was the Year It Was - 2017

It's not only a Sunday, but it's the last day (Sunday or otherwise) of the year. This is my last off television topic photo post of the year. Television fans should make note that The Amazing Race season premiere will air this coming Wednesday, January 3, at 8pm ET/PT. I will be posting about the cast before the premiere and, of course, live blogging the show and hosting the blog party as it airs.

So ... to the off television topic stuff. Between really feeling horrible and the bitter cold this past week, I don't think I took any photos at all. That's a first in years. What I did do for this week's post is go through photos I've taken during 2017 and pick out my personal favorites, one for each month. Then I threw random photos I took of Vincent the Cat just because he's such a big part of my life.

To be honest, I won't be sorry to see 2017 go away. Between the political landscape disharmony, my increasing dissatisfaction with my workplace, declining health and more ... it's not been a good year for me. For years I had planned to retire this year. Health insurance costs, not a benefit for retirees in my company, have made that impossible. Maybe in 2018 I'll have some way to get out of the rat race. 

I even had more problems on the blog this year than in the past. I was about ready to throw the towel in on it with the Big Brother blogging this past summer. I find it ridiculous that people get so hung up on the show that they feel the need to turn their vitriol on "fans" of cast members they don't like. Sheesh. Not only was there controversy, but BB used to be my summer cash cow. I once got paid good freelancing money to cover the shows and live feeds. Neither the ads revenue nor the donations make the work I put into it worth the headaches I had this past year with it.

I am grateful for the friends I have, the roof over my head, enough money to live on without worrying that there will be more bills left than month to pay them in. I've certainly gone through worse financial years in my life. I've also gone through worse personal loss times in my life -- flashing back on decades (scores) of years ago when I lost my parents five months apart. So, it hasn't been a good year for me ... but, in many ways, it hasn't been the worst year of my life, either.

I hope 2018 is a better year for everyone!

January

My train home arrives in Bridgewater as the snow comes down. I must have left early that day because it was still daylight! I probably headed out early due to the snow.

February

Historic train wheels captured in a sculpture at the Somerville Train Station.

March

After snow cover went and before new snow cover arrived, this is a shot of the main building at the Plainfield Train Station.

April

A hawk on the stadium lights at the TD Bank Ball Park in Bridgewater. He seemed to be watching the game.

May

The coolest looking potato beetle (or false potato beetle, not sure which) posed for me at the Bridgewater Train Station.

June

Making eye to eyes contact with a starling.

July

I took so many photos of the Plainfield 4th of July Parade that it was hard to pick just one. So, I picked none. Instead, I went for this photo I took of one of the painted utility boxes in Plainfield. This one is at the corner of Watchung Avenue and East 4th Street.

August

Gull on a lamp post on North Avenue in Plainfield.

September

The marigolds in planters at my workplace were fun and colorful to photograph.

October

Yep, like birds, the trains and train stations are repeating photo fodder for me. This was taken as the sun was setting at the Bridgewater Train Station.

November

What year would be complete without a moon shot from me? This one is the Full Beaver Moon.

December

The great escape from the rat (pigeon) race. I envy that bird.

And then there's Vincent ...
He isn't always sleeping, mind you. But it's easiest to photograph him when he is! 

Off Topic: That Was the Week(s) It Was - December 24, 2017

An oldie, but a goodie

I'm not sure where the Santa suit is these days. Vincent probably destroyed it!

Another oldie, but goodie. This was created some years back for the blog by Zoetawny. I miss her! Not quite the best photo of Vincent, though.

I apologize for my absence the past few weeks with the exception of covering Survivor. I've had a mix of bad health issues, overwork and severe stress on my job, a lost camera memory card and, to be honest, the holidays in general aren't a good time of the year for me. They were great when I was a child and I do have precious memories of those days. 

Tomorrow I'll cook the small ham I bought on sale, make some side dishes and bake the Mrs. Smith's apple pie to round out my feast. Vincent and I will be alone for the day. That's been the story of my big holiday doings for most of my life. Well, not always with Vincent, but with a cat or two. Oh, well. It could be worse. I could have to work. I've had to do that some Christmas days in the past.

I hope those of you with families and loved ones have a good Christmas -- but try not to overeat!

The majority of the photos this week were taken with my cell phone camera. Although I have a different memory card in my camera, I just didn't see much in the way of photos to take this past week.

Brightly lighted these days

The white lighting at the Plainfield Train Station does seem to cut down on the vagrants hanging out at night. Yet, they're still there in the daytime.

Crescent moon

My camera picks up detail not noticed by the naked eye. You can actually see the whole moon, even a touch of detail with the markings.

**CLICK THE 'READ MORE' LINK TO SEE THE REST OF THE PHOTOS**

Survivor 35: Heroes-Healers-Hustlers - Season Finale Blog Party

As the show airs here on the East Coast, I'll be updating this entry with the latest happenings during the two-hour finale. Refresh the page to get the latest! The party itself is in the comments -- join in on the discussion! Come the reunion show in the final hour, I'll more likely be hanging out there than posting on this entry.

Lifeguard Laurie has updated the blog pool and here ya go:

Survivors 
Ben D. - Donna in FL, Merrilee, Tammy.
Chrissy H. - Donna in Alabama, meb, SueGee, KelseyNY
Devon P. - David, Margo, Laurie, Fred aka TwoBlackAces
Mike Z. - Becky, Janice, Rbennie, PDX Granny
Ryan U. - Anonymouse, Glenn Allen, Nickelpeed

Jury
Desiree W.
Cole M.
JP H. 
Joe M.
Lauren R.
Ashley N.

Five are left. Who will be the sole Survivor? 

Hmm. Los Angeles once again for the show. They used to flip back and forth each year between NY and CA. I should mention that two fellow New Jersey people are still in it to win it --Chrissy and Ryan.

Mike is grateful that they voted Ashley out instead of himself. Once back at camp from Tribal, Ben is already out looking for an idol. Ben is once again named Public Enemy Number One, this time by all four with him.

Ben is determined he will find an idol while the rest sleep. So far, nothing. 

And, then ... he finds it!  

Oh my. Chrissy decides that she will make up with Ben. Of course, she's using him. Will he fall for it? Nah. He thinks she's his biggest competitor and wants to blindside her at the next Tribal. 

Right to the Immunity Challenge! Swim to platform, climb stack of crates, leap, retrieve keys, balance board, more keys and then a roulette type puzzle thing. Reward is a chicken feast. 

CHRISSY WINS IMMUNITY AGAIN! 

She brings Mike, then Devon. Hmm. Ryan and Ben get nothing. 

Mike has them looking for a clue, but obviously the last idol isn't there for them. Chrissy wants a contingency plan in case Ben has an idol. Mike wants to use Chrissy's dead super immunity necklace. They figure they can trick Ben with it. No, they don't think he has one.

She shows Ben her necklace and the letter from Ryan. Ryan and Chrissy think Ben bought the story. Meanwhile, Ben is laughing about the fake idol. 

Ben tells us he will decide who goes home. His strongest competitors are Devon or Mike. He dismisses Ryan. And, of course, Chrissy is safe. Devon is considering a Mike vote just to make sure his own butt is safe.

Tribal Council time. Chrissy puts on the necklace. She talks about finding a clue to the idol and digging it up. Ben admits she told him about it. He plays being dumb at an Oscar level. Ben claims she gloated about the idol. He's really putting on an act. Heh. While I want Ryan or Chrissy to win, Ben does deserve it. Or Chrissy. 

Heehee. Ben pulls out his idol and shocks them all!

The tally:
Ben, Ben, Ben, Mike, Devon.

It's a tie. Ben, Ryan and Chrissy must re-vote for either Mike or Devon. 

Re-tally:
Devon, Mike, Mike

Mike is out. He takes it well.

Caution: Twist Ahead. 

At camp, they talk about a record for playing idols in a row. Ben knows no one will take him to the end. If he doesn't win Immunity, he'll lose it all.

Immunity Challenge time, for the last time. Stack letter blocks on a wobbly platform. Must spell Heroes Healers Hustlers. Twist is the winner receives a final secret advantage in the game. 

Ben is done, but a letter is upside down. Whoa, he loses almost all. Then Ryan and Chrissy and then Devon. It's anyone's game.

CHRISSY WINS IMMUNITY ONCE AGAIN! 

She reiterates the idea that Ben will go home. 

Ben tries to schmooze Chrissy. She promises him that she will hear him out at Tribal. She tells us Ben needs to go. She runs off to read her advantage. She has won information. Tonight she will cast the final vote. She will sit next to one to "save" him. The other two will do a fire challenge for the final spot in the final three. She thinks Devon will do better. She warns Devon. She tells Ryan. 

As Ryan says, his inability to make fire will get him into the final three.

Devon starts practicing to make fire. He broke the flint. He decides it's meant to be. He doesn't want to expend more frustration. Ben still has no clue. 

Tribal Council time!

Jeff asks if Chrissy shared the advantage. She admits sharing it with Devon and Ryan. Then she reads it to the jury. 

As discussed, she chooses Ryan to sit next to her. So, Devon and Ben must make fire. 

BEN WINS THE FIRE CHALLENGE!

The final three are Chrissy, Ryan and Ben. 

Ryan knows he's the underdog. He feels he needs to convince the jury that he's been in control of the game all along. He admits that's not true, but ...! 

Time to face the jury.
Jeff tells them it's all about Outwit, Outplay and Outlast. 

Outwit:
Desi -- Ryan, all thought they could beat him. He tells of finding the advantage, building alliance with Chrissy and Devon. Had to depend on social game. Devon admits that Ryan's social game was sent via him. Joe tells Ben and Chrissy that their social games were horrible. Ben says he's been trying to work on his social skills. Chrissy said her social game was remaining loyal to her alliances. She points out that she remembers all that people told her. Ryan is really playing his social game even now. Oh my, Chrissy is being rude to Ryan. 

Outplay:
Cole respects the shelter building, Chrissy wins challenges, Ben finds idols. What has Ryan done? Ryan claims he's never done any of the things and didn't want to mess up. He says it wasn't his strength in the game. He then talks about the advantage and finding the idol. The jury brings up that women won eight of the nine challenges. Chrissy talks about her wins. Ben talks about knowing no one was on his side and how hard he looked for idols.

Outlast:
Ryan couldn't rely on winning challenges. His name never on chopping block, not due to pity but due to the social bonds, finding an idol, finding an advantage. He says he's now looking introspectively. Ben said all the others were hurdles, wanted to win for family. Joe tells him he needs more and Mike wants to know why he should win. Ben says he got himself there and fought all the way. As expected by me, he brings up the military and PTSD. Chrissy says she came in underestimating herself. She thinks she kicked ass in challenges, played a good clean solid game, all Moms are heroes. They're also healers and hustlers. She's been applying for 16 years.  

Lauren votes Ben. Devon votes Ryan. Ashley votes Chrissy. They show no more.

Back to California --
The tally:
Ben, Ryan, Chrissy, Chrissy, Ben, Ben, Ben.

BEN WINS! 

Next season - Ghost Island. 

Jeff tells us that bad decisions by former players will come back to haunt the Ghost Island season.

The "reunion" show is only going to be a half-hour. 

Congratulations to blog pool winners - Donna in FL, Merrilee, Tammy.
If I'm not mistaken, this might be the fourth blog pool win for Merrilee.  

Survivor 35: Heroes-Healers-Hustlers - December 13 Blog Party

As the show airs here on the East Coast, I'll be updating this entry with the latest happenings. Refresh the page to get the latest! The party itself is in the comments -- join in on the discussion!

Lifeguard Laurie has updated the blog pool and here ya go:

Survivors
Ashley N. - Donna NY, MikesGirl, tbc.
Ben D. - Donna in FL, Merrilee, Tammy.
Chrissy H. - Donna in Alabama, meb, SueGee, KelseyNY
Devon P. - David, Margo, Laurie, Fred aka TwoBlackAces
Mike Z. - Becky, Janice, Rbennie, PDX Granny
Ryan U. - Anonymouse, Glenn Allen, Nickelpeed

Jury
Desiree W.
Cole M.
JP H. 
Joe M.
Lauren R.

I'm not sure how well I'll be able to keep up with updates tonight -- I've been having some rather severe sciatica issues. But I'll try.

Six are left. Who will be voted out tonight?

Ben tells us it was all a ploy to keep Chrissy in the game by deflecting the votes to himself and using the idol. Of course, now they're all more determined to send him home and he (currently) doesn't have an idol. Devon tells him that he won't be winning immunity because he (Devon) won't let him.

Ben gets up before the rest and goes off idol searching in the guise of collecting firewood. A few get up and realize what he's up to.

Reward Challenge time. Divided into pairs, tied together, obstacles, target toss. Feast on a private island is the reward -- with an overnight stay. 

Devon and Chrissy win! They can choose one person to go with them. Chrissy suggests Ryan and Devon agrees. Ashley is upset. But, heck. Ryan needs the food!

Mike thinks Ryan was the least deserving one to go and he's upset. He's also suspicious that Devon is trying to flip Ryan back. Ben thinks that both Ashley and Mike are whiners. Ben tells us that Mike is his next target because Mike wants him gone. Ben tries to work on Ashley to little avail. So he goes idol hunting.

Par for the course, the ones on Reward decide to make a final three pact. So, Devon is back with his buddy Ryan. 

Chrissy tells us that she thinks it makes more sense to vote Ashley out first because of the Devon connection, then Ben next (as he's not really attached to anyone). 

Time for the Immunity Challenge. Race through articles, release two different ladders and climb, solve cog puzzle. 

CHRISSY wins Immunity! 

Ben offers to get water for people to go idol searching. He's surprised no one is following him. I am, too. Ashley thinks they should split the vote between Mike and Ben to flush any idol. Chrissy still wants Ashley and tells Mike, Ryan and Devon.

Devon isn't too pleased with that idea.  

Meanwhile, Ben finds the clue to the idol which is hidden right in their shelter at camp. They don't show him actually getting the idol, but I would guess he has it.

They go to Tribal Council. Jeff rubs the salt in the wound over Ashley not going to Reward. He continues to ask his Probsting questions. As the questions go on, Ben pulls out his idol even before the vote. Then he plays it before the vote.

The tally --
Mike, Ashley, Ashley, Ashley, Ashley.

Ashley is gonzo, just as Chrissy wanted. Not that it went down quite the way she planned, mind you.

Survivor 35: Heroes-Healers-Hustlers - December 6 Blog Party

As the show airs here on the East Coast, I'll be updating this entry with the latest happenings. Refresh the page to get the latest! The party itself is in the comments -- join in on the discussion!

Lifeguard Laurie has updated the blog pool and here ya go:

Survivors
Ashley N. - Donna NY, MikesGirl, tbc.
Ben D. - Donna in FL, Merrilee, Tammy.
Chrissy H. - Donna in Alabama, meb, SueGee, KelseyNY
Devon P. - David, Margo, Laurie, Fred aka TwoBlackAces
Lauren R. - Brian, Jennasmom, Rochelle, Judi Sweeney
Mike Z. - Becky, Janice, Rbennie, PDX Granny
Ryan U. - Anonymouse, Glenn Allen, Nickelpeed

Jury
Desiree W.
Cole M.
JP H. 
Joe M. 

We get the "loved ones" visit tonight. Gee, golly, whiz! You'd think they're being reunited after a lifetime apart instead of around a month. I know this episode always seems popular with many, but it always comes across as super schmaltzy to me. 

Seven are left. Who will be voted out tonight?

Once again, Mike is blindsided by the vote. Ryan is a bit worried as his only ally is Chrissy and now he doesn't have his idol. Ben and Chrissy are having words ... heated ones at that. She feels that Ben betrayed her and was being a jerk. She's determined to make it to the end and get back at Ben.

Time for the Reward Challenge. Another new challenge -- running in pairs with loved ones. Here comes the schmaltz. And, it's delivered. Bags with marbles, one black, one white. Must match. Last pair survives and gets a feast, goes to camp. Lauren/sister out. Mike/wife out. Ryan/Father out. Ben/wife IN. Chrissy/husband IN. Ashley/father out. Devon/mother out.

Second round -- Ben/wife out. Chrissy/husband IN. Chrissy and Keith win! In charge of love. Can take one -- she chooses Ryan and father. One more -- Mike and wife. One last choice -- Ashley and father. 

Chrissy is looking at this as vengeance on Ben. Hmm. I'm not sure if it's the best path for her to take. But I am happy with her Ryan choice. 

Ben decides to make and hide a fake idol to cover his search for a real one. Devon and Lauren know. Lauren knows that Ben wants to embarrass Chrissy with it. She has a problem with him taking things to a personal level.

Ohhh ... Lauren finds one half of an immunity idol with a note that the other half will be at the Immunity Challenge. Of course, Ben and Devon were nearby and know all about it.

Immunity Challenge time! Arms stretched out, fingertips holding against two wooden disks, disks drop, you're out. Jeff goes on about the heat to make it feel even hotter for them. Ben out first. Chrissy out. Ryan out. Lauren out. Mike out. Devon says to Jeff that he and Ashley are strong allies. Then he negotiates for a massage with Ashley and he drops the disks. Ashley wins Immunity!

Meanwhile, Lauren did get the other part of the idol. 

Oh my. While she has a solid alliance, Ashley is thinking that she needs to get out the stronger players. She wants Ben gone. Devon wants Chrissy out. Ohh, Ben is eavesdropping on them, but didn't hear what they said. He just thinks they acted suspicious. They tell him the target is Chrissy. Ben thinks they might be targeting him. 

He runs and talks to Mike. He tells Mike about Lauren's idol and how she has both the idol and the extra vote. Then he tells Ryan that he wants Lauren out. Ryan knows they need Chrissy aboard and she despises Ben.  

Ben decides he needs to get Chrissy to save himself in the game ... so he tells HER about Lauren. Oh. And he apologized to Chrissy. She's not too quick to trust him, though. 

Devon runs to Lauren and tells her about Ben's work to blindside her and how he told everyone about her idol and advantage. Lauren gave Mike one half of her idol. Hmm. 

Tribal Council comes rather early -- something will happen! Jeff talks about the Devon/Ashley deal. Devon says he would have done the same with Lauren. Ben pipes up that his name wasn't mentioned. Now they're all talking about Ben telling all about Lauren's idol. Lauren claims she left the advantage at camp and can't use it. Then she tells that Mike has half the idol. She tells of Ben's fake idol. He's wearing it. Mike throws his own real idol into the campfire.

Oh my.

Mike and Ryan are whispering that Lauren needs to go. Lauren tells Chrissy that she'll give her the advantage. Lots of whispering Ben and Lauren going home.

The tally.
Ben speaks up. WHOA! He has a real idol he found! He plays it for himself.

Ben, Ben, Ben, Ben, Ben, Ben, Lauren.

Lauren is out!  

Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - December 3, 2017

Good early afternoon! Yeah, I'm getting this up a little late this week. Since it's a Sunday, it's time for my off television topic reflection of the week gone by in both words and photos I've taken along the way. If you're not interested in either, please feel free to check out my previous and newer posts I will put up after this -- they will be television related! You can find my Survivor posts at this link.

Nothing really exciting went on this past week. One interesting thing ... maybe. I think my upstairs neighbor with the booming loud stereo may have moved out. He was extremely loud for about a week and a half leading into Thanksgiving. Then I heard no more from him since the Wednesday before Thanksgiving night. No stereo. No footsteps. In the daytime on my day off this week, I heard someone enter the apartment, walk through each room, then leave. Sometime yesterday while I was at work, a ton of furniture was dumped by the dumpsters along with several contractor type bags of trash. It might not be related, but ...! This morning when I took my own trash out to the dumpster, I noticed his air conditioner was gone, as were his two over the air digital antennas for TV that were always in his living room and bedroom windows. Hmm. The shades are all drawn. 

I know his lease renews/expires in the beginning of December. When he first moved in, he showed his lack of consideration by vacuuming (for the first time) at 3:30am on Christmas morning. Since he's lived there, he might have vacuumed a half-dozen times. While my apartment is hardwood floors, there's wall to wall carpeting up there. If he's indeed out, they'll probably have to replace the carpet. I'm sure to have to endure daytime noise of work crews up there fixing the place up. But at least they won't have booming stereos vibrating my ceiling, walls and floors at any hour day or night.

I just hope the landlord decides to follow their own rule that no more than two people are allowed to live in a one-bedroom apartment. I've had toddlers up there before and the noise of them running is ridiculous. This landlord has decided to advertise vacancies as "luxury apartments" when they're not. Then they go ahead and let couples with two kids into a one-bedroom! I'm hoping they'll be a bit picky as they know I've filed numerous noise complaints about the guy (who's hopefully out). Maybe they'll rent to a single retired person! That would be perfect.

If wishes were horses ...

Anyway, onto this week's photos ... 

It's a bird's world

A seagull poses on a lamppost as one flies overhead. North Avenue and Gavett Place in Plainfield.

Pedro's latest

Pedro Baez, commissioned by Plainfield to paint some of the utility boxes, has added some color to the corner of Watchung and East Second. That's the Main Post Office in the background. 

The eye has it

I edited this shot to leave only the orange eye of the pigeon in color.

**CLICK THE 'READ MORE' LINK TO SEE THE REST OF THE PHOTOS**

Survivor 35: Heroes-Healers-Hustlers - November 29 Blog Party

As the show airs here on the East Coast, I'll be updating this entry with the latest happenings. Refresh the page to get the latest! The party itself is in the comments -- join in on the discussion!

Lifeguard Laurie has updated the blog pool and here ya go:

Survivors
Ashley N. - Donna NY, MikesGirl, tbc.
Ben D. - Donna in FL, Merrilee, Tammy.
Chrissy H. - Donna in Alabama, meb, SueGee, KelseyNY
Devon P. - David, Margo, Laurie, Fred aka TwoBlackAces
Joe M. - Cheryl ICNY, Krysa Gibson, Sharon C.
JP H. - Cheryl in NC, Krisen from Ohio, Shannon
Lauren R. - Brian, Jennasmom, Rochelle, Judi Sweeney
Mike Z. - Becky, Janice, Rbennie, PDX Granny
Ryan U. - Anonymouse, Glenn Allen, Nickelpeed

Jury
Desiree W.
Cole M. 

We're in for two hours tonight and two Tribal Councils. Grab yourself some beverages, snacks and a comfy spot. Nine are left. Who will be voted out tonight?

Chrissy is ecstatic because not only is Cole gone, but Mike played his idol. Mike thinks he did right playing the idol. Joe thinks it was wasted. Joe is right. Mike thinks the target on his back is much bigger than it actually is, methinks. He keeps it up and the target will grow. He thinks rather big. Hmm.

Time for the Reward Challenge. Use feet only, release rope, drop blocks in bin, stack in circle, flag in center. Seaplane tour of the Sacred Island, cheeseburgers, fries, cold beer is the reward.  

LAUREN wins Reward! Who will she bring with her? Devon! Ben. Ashley. Ryan tells Jeff he supports Lauren in her decision when Jeff asks him. I think Ryan needs some cheeseburgers. Lauren tells us she didn't pick them as Ryan says -- Devon is a big guy and needs the food, Ben has never been on a Reward -- she says it's strategical because there are cracks in the seven.

Mike's not a happy camper back at camp. He thinks because he and Joe are targets, they should spice things up some. In other words, annoy the others. Ryan tells us he's starving, but thinks that it's good to have Joe and Mike around as targets before he's one. Chrissy and Ryan think they actually need to target Ben out first.

Lauren tells her Reward crew that the seven won't last -- they need to break out early. Whoa. Both Ben and Devon tell of Ryan's idol. Lauren tells them of her two vote advantage. She thinks that Joe and Mike need to stick around for a while and Ben agrees. They make a final four pact. Under their burgers, they find letters from their loved ones. How touching indeed.

Ben found a clue with a map which claimed a clay pot is the location of a hidden idol. He's on the search. He sees it up in a tree! Yes, it's an idol. He knows that others are revolting against him and vows to us that he will tell no one about it.

Time for the first Immunity Challenge of the night. Perched on a narrow raft structure, moving up make it more narrow. Jeff offers forgoing the challenge and indulging in peanut butter and chocolate. Devon, Ben and Lauren sit out for the goodies -- even though all three just ate during Reward.

JP out first. The rest go up to the top level which is precarious. Chrissy out. Joe out. Ryan out. Mike out. ASHLEY wins Immunity!

Ryan thinks it's good that Ashley won. In a seven meeting, it's discussed that either Joe or Mike should go. Ryan was surprised about the three who sat out. Devon thinks it's mindblowing that that neither Chrissy or Ryan see they're in danger. Lauren thinks JP, Chrissy and Ryan need to be broken up and they need to flush out Ryan's idol.

Devon thinks that Ben should act like he's not with them and vote out Mike. Then they trick Mike and Joe into voting with them against Ryan, Chrissy or JP. Hmm. It's a scheme, all right. 

Mike and Joe are thrilled to play along. Gulp. Doesn't look too good for my NJ peeps -- Chrissy and Ryan!

Time for Tribal Council. Jeff will ask his Probsting questions to get them riled up. Uh-oh. Ryan's being a bit too confident. Lauren predicts a perfect storm. Jeff keeps going on about the seven. Lots of talk about trust. Time to vote. I think it will be a blindside. I hope Ryan stays.

The tally -- no idols played.

Mike, Joe, Mike, Mike, JP, JP, JP, JP, JP.

JP was voted out. Ryan is shocked. I'm glad it wasn't Ryan!

Now Joe's all cocky back at camp. Chrissy thinks the five treated the three horribly back at the camp, all snarky and such. Ryan went more for a diplomatic approach.  

Ben and Lauren think they're all that and a bag of chips. Ryan talked to Devon. Devon told Ryan that he doesn't trust Ryan over the idol thing. He tells us that Ryan's no longer a part of his plan to get to the million. 

Devon thinks he has it in the bag with Ben being a double-agent, knowing where idols are (he doesn't know Ben has one).

Time for the Reward Challenge -- two teams of four, swim to boat, collect bags of logs, push puzzle pieces through tunnel, solve puzzle. Survivor Spa with chicken, vegie wraps, pie and fruit. 

Lauren, Mike, Ryan and Chrissy vs. Devon, Ben, Ashley and Joe. 

Joe, Ben, Devon and Ashley win! Joe thinks the tables have turned and he finally has a true alliance. I think they're just using him. But that's me.

Joe is falling for Ben's act hook, line and sinker. But that's making Ashley a bit wary of Ben gamewise. Ashley and Devon bond a bit more and Ashley thinks she's finally playing the game.

Back at camp, Ryan wants to try to convince Mike to work with him. Mike tells us he wants to stick to his plan to work with the other five. He isn't buying what Ryan is selling -- Ryan told him no so many times before. Chrissy tries to talk with Lauren. Lauren tells us she's not likely to change her mind. She reacts much like Mike to Ryan. Not looking good for my Jersey peeps!

Chrissy is worried. She wants to save her game and hopefully have the last laugh.

Immunity Challenge time rolls around again. Use a driving wheel to transport key over obstacles, puzzle pieces, word puzzle.   

CHRISSY WINS! She needs it. Hopefully, Ryan will make it through Tribal even if he has to use his idol. 

Ben tells the alliance of four that Joe needs to go. They agree. Devon schemes the play to vote out Joe. It sounds so solid that I doubt it will go down that way. Devon tells Joe that Lauren will use her advantage, they'll get Ryan to use his idol and vote out Ben. Chrissy tells Ben that she wants either Ashley or Devon out. Hmm. Lauren and Ashley are talking about voting out Ben. Oh my.

Ashley tells Devon about possibly voting out Ben. He seems conflicted. 

Time for Tribal again. This time the focus is testing alliances. Ben says he thinks he's going home tonight. He just may and he thinks it's an act! Joe says he feels comfortable and he doesn't even have an alliance. Ben claims every comfortable alliance gets blindsided. Ryan didn't go to prom. 

Tally time. Ryan plays his idol, so they did flush it out.

Ryan, Ryan, Ashley, Ashley, Joe, Joe, Joe, Joe.

Joe is voted out by his "incredibly tight alliance" as Chrissy puts it. 

Loved ones visit next week.

Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - November 26, 2017

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving and a great holiday weekend (if you had one of those)! I'm thankful for all of the loyal blog readers out there -- many have also become my friends, too -- who have followed this blog year in, year out ... even when Big Brother isn't in season! Safe travels to all heading home this evening.

Since it's a Sunday morning, it's time for my off television topic reflection of the week gone by in both words and photos I've taken along the way. If you're not interested in either, please feel free to check out my previous and newer posts I will put up after this -- they will be television related! You can find my Survivor posts at this link.

I actually had two days off from work in a row this week -- a rarity in my life. True to form as of late, I spent a lot of time napping on the first day off. The days off in a row were Wednesday and Thursday. My third day off during the holiday week was the Sunday leading into the week. 

While the two days in a row off were nice, it's not enough time to even travel up to my nearest relative in upstate New York for the holiday. I had to be to work Friday morning (and Saturday, too). So, it was a solitary, with the exception of Vincent the Cat, holiday for me. I'm used to it. I often do get invitations to join in at local friends. But I feel it's uncomfortable to intrude on family gatherings when I'm not family. I don't like eating with a crowd of strangers where I might only know one or two people. I prefer to be alone rather than to do that.

On Thanksgiving, I made myself a little feast -- turkey breast, sausage stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, asparagus and a Mrs. Smith's apple pie for dessert. Heck, the rest of the stuff was more work than I usually do, no way would I throw in a homemade pie! I had/have enough leftovers to last me through the weekend so I didn't/don't have to cook for four days after my big kitchen doings. I spent a good part of the day binge-watching The Sopranos on Amazon Prime. After all, that's a family-related show, right? Right? Heh. It's even a New Jersey family! But, I'll admit I don't know anyone in the mob in NJ. I did know some in both New York and Connecticut. But I'm not part of those families, mind you.

What else? Oh, here's a bit of urban life in New Jersey for you ...
I was waiting for the bus to get across town one evening after work. A street kind of guy pushing a bike stopped to wish me a Happy Thanksgiving. He showed me his tire was flat. Um. Okay. What do you want, dude? He showed me the glue and patches for the tire from his pocket. But then he hit me up. He only had a dime and the cheapest air is 35 cents. Oh, well. It's a quarter. I gave him one. We commiserated a bit about how air used to be free and it no longer is such. As he parted, he told me he shoplifted the glue and patches from the store down the street. ACK! I felt like an accomplice after the fact! Thankfully, my bus came shortly afterwards. I cannot fall into a life of crime in my advanced years!

I'm thankful that the guy upstairs went away for the holiday weekend. The quiet is nice. He's had his loud visitors there for the past few weeks and I meant to call the landlord about his extremely loud stereo on Monday this past week, but I forgot. 

Onto the photos for this week. I don't have a lot of them for you and many were taken with the cell phone rather than the camera. The moon shot was the camera. I can't get the cell phone to focus on that.  

Okay, train station. I'm here.

Train be on time. A friend often drives me in these days when our work schedules mesh. However, she had a four day weekend. I didn't. Taking the train on random days the past few weeks has made me late to work twice even though I should have an "early cushion" with the departures. I'm not happy about that. I always plan to be early and NJT makes me late. I'm always at the train station early to catch my train. The least they could do is run vaguely on time!

Friday's moon

You know I can't resist shooting the moon. Had I been out about four hours later, some meteors streaked through the New Jersey skies.

Chotola Pigeon Gathering

Pigeons often line the roof at the front of the Chotola Apartment Building on North Avenue in Plainfield. When I feel I have little photo inspiration while across the street waiting for my train, I turn to them. I often wonder what the building was like in its heyday or what the apartments look like inside. But I wouldn't want to live there even though it's so close to the train. I prefer to live where I don't have to worry about the denizens of the night ... even in the daytime.

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