Bits and Pieces

A Public Works staffer was busy this afternoon readying this tree for the Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony at 6 p.m. Friday. Once the star was on top, he strung red lights on the tree.
Click to enlarge any image.

Across the street, the mayor has opened new campaign headquarters. All mayoral and Fourth Ward candidates must file in April. The primary election is June 4, 2013, as the signs remind us.

I know I already wrote about these Calendulas, but I just can't get over how jaunty they look on Dec.4!

I was quite taken by this sign. Who knew there was a Spanish word for spaghetti? And here's a recipe for Espagueti Verde to make at home.

And now for a little story. On Monday, I had to lug laundry in a cart to Soapy's laundromat, as we had gone a week without being able to use the washing machine in our building. Update: Washer operative as of Tuesday. While I was waiting around for various cycles to be accomplished, a young girl and her dad came in. The girl was busy working on a play Smartphone and wasn't even looking where she was going, which made me realize how the texting generation was spawned.

Later, she took a small case out of her purse and spread out a bunch of figurines, including what looked like Disney princesses and various dragons and animals. Her father was not the least bit embarrassed to be seen playing along with her as she made up stories about the characters. What a nice Dad to indulge his daughter this way, I thought. I'm sure she will have fond memories of her father showing appreciation for her imagination. When she becomes a famous playwright or author, Dad will be at the awards ceremony!

On a less pleasant note, it turns out that the organizational meeting of the Charter Study Commission will conflict with the December PMUA meeting. The latter is 6 p.m. Dec. 11 at 127 Roosevelt Avenue and the commission will meet at 7 p.m. in City Hall Library the same night. So meeting mavens will have to flip a coin.

Lastly, this collage of storm debris consists of broken pieces from the damaged utility pole that caused our neighborhood to be without power for 10 days. Parts of it are still on the lawn at Viola's Place apartments. I get a shiver every time I go by, remembering those dark, cold nights.

Today was another anomaly, but in a good way. I saw people walking around in the sunny weather with tank tops and shorts, a weird contrast to winter holiday decorations.

--Bernice