Good Sunday morning to you! Since it's Sunday, it's time for my weekly off television topic reflection on the week gone by in both words and photos I've taken along the way. Later tonight, the blog party post for The Amazing Race will be up and running, albeit not quite racing around the world. We will remain in our respective homes watching the scenery! If you watch the show and would like to discuss the happenings as it airs with a group of friends, here's your place!
Tonight will be the
60 Minutes interview with serial killer Charles Cullen. That's the man who admitted to killing 13 people in the very same hospital where I had my knee replacements. Although he was caught at "my" hospital (Somerset Medical Center), it sounds like they dropped the ball as much as the other hospitals he worked for did. He admitted to killing around 45 people, but it's estimated that he may have killed up to a few hundred. My friend who was working there at the time Cullen was doing his stuff said he would see him where he wasn't really needed just kind of lurking and that Cullen didn't really make eye contact with people. He creeped him out. Cullen is the first serial killer to appear on
60 Minutes in its 45-year history.
The weather has been actually spring-like this week with some beautiful daytime temperatures, yet still down around freezing or in the 40s in the overnight hours. I'm not too keen on wearing a light jacket in the morning, then having to carry it home. But I'll take it. On the other hand, the pollen in the air has been making this a bit miserable. Congestion, eyes watering, sneezing ... yup, that's me! I'd still rather this, massive pollen levels included, over the 90+ degree high humidity days of the summer.
On the home front, I still haven't seen my new upstairs neighbor who moved in at the beginning of March. He's still the best neighbor up there yet although he does sing loud enough for me to hear it at times.
Also on the home front, the not really new any longer landlord -- it's been about a year now -- ripped out the front and side doors of the building and replaced them with very nice quality slightly tinted thermal glass and metal doors. We all received new keys. Some idiot already lost the key and stuck up notices with some sort of odd black gum-like stuff on the new glass. Sigh.
Even though the doors were supposed to be done by Monday, work was still going on when my Peapod grocery order came in on Wednesday. The poor delivery guy had to lug them down three steps, then up seven steps, wheel them all the way to elevator on a hand truck. Then a second trip with two cases of water and some other bags taking the back stairs. Oy. I helped carry up some bags on the second trip. Yeah, I can do stairs. It doesn't mean I like them, though.
On the other hand, the main superintendent for the landlord, not really quartered in this building and I haven't really seen him since last summer -- went on and on about how beautiful Vincent is. Vincent purred all over him and would have jumped on his shoulder if I hadn't stopped him.
Other than that, work consumed a good part of my life this past week as it always does. I have a staycation planned for the last week of May, then my July vacation with a trip to upstate NY for my high school reunion, the first one I've ever attended. My old high school friends found me on Facebook and, apparently, I wasn't as much of a outsider as I thought I was there. In school I tended to have just a small group of friends, got my A's, was put on independent study (so I didn't go to classes so much, did papers and projects) in many courses and left after my junior year to go to college. I really wasn't comfortable in high school although it was better than junior high with the bullying. No, not me doing the bullying ... getting bullied. College, I liked and even felt comfortable. We'll see how the reunion goes this summer.
Onto the photos for this week --
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| Beetle on new poison ivy |
I like how the grey in the background turned out in this shot. What it is is that this sprig (whatever) of poison ivy was growing on vines on the concrete overpass by the Bridgewater Train Station. It's actually the street in the background and from above. With the camera focused on the poison ivy and beetle, it makes the street almost look like some kind of backdrop. That said, the beetle is kind of cool. It's about the size of a ladybug.
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| Pink in the planter |
This is one of the flowers growing in that huge orange planter by the U-Haul building at East Front and Roosevelt in Plainfield. I also solved the planter mystery ... kind of sort of.
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| First azaleas of the season |
As is the standard custom, the pink azaleas by the TD Ball Park (adjacent to the Bridgewater Train Station), came to life first. Next should be the white, then the red. Only a few of the plants have blossoms right now. I should get better shots in the weeks ahead.
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| Yet another huge orange planter |
Oh my. When I saw the one by U-Haul, I thought it was tied in with the orange of U-Haul. This one is about a block away on East Front Street. They're really over-sized and way too bright orange. I hope the city of Plainfield got a good deal on them because they're very garish. Bright orange? Who thought of that one?
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