Good morning Diners. A Wintry sky, so it's porridge and a shot of whisky please, Janie.
Christmas is a'coming. Dawn is wrapping the last of the presents.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aGGOhowYdk&ab_channel=Manu%C3%A8l%E2%80%99sChristmasland
Time for coffee.
Edit Top of the page. Girls give whatever everyone wants and put it on my tab.
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
Good Morning All,
I'll have a coffee and a blueberry bagel with cream cheese please Zoe Not too much to report. My COVID test came back negative so that's good and the rest of the Christmas lights are up at the house. I did a couple of revisions to what we normally do just because it's a new house and the norm didn't quite look as good as we wanted. CFO even bought a big wreath for the wall next to the front door and put lights in it. Some of the neighbors have nothing up and some of them must have their own power plant to run them. We should fit right in the middle of all that.
Shop is still bustling and the crew for the R-8 is in today so that will be a bunch of extra as a lot of it has to come apart for repair after the shunt at Sebring. Busy, busy, so I gotta run. Hope things are well with the rest of you. I'll try to catch up later. Ciao, J.R.
Good Morning Gang.
gmpullmanFor some reason I keep looking for Bing crosby and Rosemary Clooney in this ad!
Had Christmas with my family this weekend. As usual, it was over all too quickly. My Mom tries so hard to keep everyone entertained with games and such. It's fun, but sure does make the time fly.
Bought a programming track booster to try to help reading CV's on already programmed locos. Planned on hooking it up yesterday, but ran out of motivation. Had to go pick up groceries last night and upon returning home found that a bottle of lemon juice (A big one. Quart?) had been turned upside down when they loaded the stuff in the car and half of it had leaked out on the short ride home. That was a fun discovery that took a while to clean up. That on top of a number of items they claimed they were out of, and I think it's time I go back to regularly shopping in store. So much easier to adjust plans and look for alternatives when you are shopping in person. Now I just have to find time to go.
Mike
NorthBritA Wintry sky, so it's porridge and a shot of whisky please, Janie.
Hi David,
I'm curious. Do you use the whiskey to get up the courage to eat the porridge, or is it just there to hide the taste and consistency?
My mother's family was from Sheffield, and when they moved to Canada just after WWI they brought their porridge recipe with them. As a child I was routinely subjected to the abuse of having the grey stogey stuff forced upon me! I hated it! I couldn't understand the attraction of eating something akin to freshly mixed lumpy plaster. No amount of brown sugar piled on it would conceal the truth! My mom would say "...this will stick to your ribs...." as though there was some perceived health benefit related to the fact that the stuff would get stuck inside your body. As a child, the thought gave me the creeps!
Seriously, each to his own! Enjoy your porridge! I'll just take a shot or two of the whiskey!
Cheers!!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
My mother used to make Ralston Purina for me. I thought it was pretty good. I like traditional oatmeal. I feel pity for kids brought up on the instant stuff. Now THAT is nasty.
Ralston_Purina by Edmund, on Flickr
Meanwhile... On the New York Central —
Central_Christmas by Edmund, on Flickr
Regards, Ed
hon30critter Hi David, I'm curious. Do you use the whiskey to get up the courage to eat the porridge, or is it just there to hide the taste and consistency? Dave
Porridge on a cold morning. A shot of whisky for that bit extra. Sticks to your ribs as my Grandmother would say.
The porridge thing sparked a memory David, Dave.
My Grandmother who I stayed with through carpentry Tech told me a story once. She had a round kitchen table with 4 drawers. When my mother was a child my Grandmother noticed a foul smell in the kitchen. She couldn't seem to locate it for quite a long time. One day while cleaning she pulled the drawer out where my mother always sat at the table. It was full of porridge were my mother would dump it
That same kitchen table was still there when I lived with her going through school and almost as nice as the day she bought it. She was very thrifty! Grandfather told me once "that's the same furniture we had since we bought the house".
She was one of those Grandmothers that had the plastic covers over the furniture in the living room so they will wouldn't get dirty or worn. I hated that, they were cold for a while when you sat on them
I also remember Grandfather saying, "Her thriftiness is the reason we're paying to send all you grandchildren to school", then he laughed My Grandpa was a jokester. He flipped the bill but that wasn't why.
TF
Good morning, diners. Bacon, eggs, and coffee on this frosty morning.
White Christmas is also one of our favorite Christmas movies. I guess we watched it when our daughters were young. Now that they are grown with their own families, they still want to watch it when they all come here for Christmas.
I wonder what Kevin's posting problem is. The diner misses him. I hope he can clear it up soon.
I guess my layout should be a winter layout -- for the past two years it's the only time I work on it. I keep thinking I'm finished with all the outdoor projects, but each summer those outdoor projects stop all the layout work.
It's been fun to get started on the railroad again. I'm building a house that will sit by the church. Cutting in the N Scale windows is now through. That is the most difficult part of the scratch building that I do. I change my Exacto blade pretty often doing that.
I used to see ads like this when I was a kid and dream of getting something like this for Christmas. Of course, we had no money for such things.
I hope everyone has a good day!
York1 John
I asked my doctor if I gave up delicious food and all alcohol, would I live longer? He said, "No, but it will seem longer."
We watched White Christmas on Netflix last night. We do every year, along with Miracle on 34th Street. The classics remain the best.
I suppose White Chrismas counts as a train movie, even. Exactly what a Santa Fe F-unit was doing between New York and Vermont, I suppose I'll never know. Another train shot was a Southern Pacific.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
MisterBeasleyExactly what a Santa Fe F-unit was doing between New York and Vermont, I suppose I'll never know. Another train shot was a Southern Pacific.
I guess to me, mistakes in movies make part of the fun. It's kinda neat to look for things like that.
One of my favorites is the boy who covers his ears before the shot in Hitchcock's North by Northwest:
Garry's wife said she is doing mostly ok and misses Garry (understandable) and the storm that went through missed them.
Best to all on sick call and those recovering
Duke
"Don't take a wooden nickel,because it isn't worth a dime" by my Dad
"There are only 3 things you need out of life:A gentle grade,the wind in your face,and cinders in your hair.....But keep an eye on the water glass!" Jack Evans
Good Afternòon,
Duke, thanks for the update on Garry's wife. He is missed in the Diner too.
Speaking of missed, I miss hearing from Cuda Ken. Hope he and Dirk are ok.
Ah, porridge. I actually like the stuff. When I was young lad my Mother rarely made it but we did get Cream of Wheat and sometimes Red River Cereal. She didn't care how much brown sugar we used, she was a great Mum.
TF, I too used Sculptamold with the foam to get nice curves as not all rock is jagged.
We have just about finished all the holiday shopping. We will be staying home what with Omnicron. We get our booster shots on Wednesday.
CN Charlie
bjdukert misses Garry
Me, too.
Terry
Terry in NW Wisconsin
Queenbogey715 is my Youtube channel
Hi Everyone,
Brunhilda, coffee with cream, please.
We're having unusually warm weather for this time of year. Wednesday, it's supposed to get into the mid 60s. I'm not complaining.
The recent tornados were devastating. The people killed in the Amazon plant were reported to be at the opposite end of the building from the designated shelters. That's unfortunate and sad. Prayers for all affected by this tragedy.
Seasonal movies: One year, my son and I watched Its a Wonderful Life from like 6:00 pm clear through to midnight just by switching the channels.
Jim (with a nod to Mies Van Der Rohe)
For the bird watchers out there, Dianne and I went birding on Monday afternoon and were treated to a wonderful display of a rough legged hawk hovering low over the fields. We were able watch it for about 20 minutes from a fairly close range. There was a strong wind which allowed the hawk to simply stay stationary in the air with very little effort. It dove into the grass along a ditch several times but unfortunately came up empty handed. The sun was behind the hawk so it took a while to identify the feather patterns but eventually we figured it out based on overall colouration and its flight patterns.
We also saw four red tailed hawks, about 200 sandhill cranes, numerous snow buntings, two deer and a coyote. Not bad for 45 minutes! Oh, and we also went through an impaired driving check point in the middle of nowhere, and no, we didn't get pulled over for a breathalyzer test despite David's offering of whiskey shots at the top of the page!
Good morning
A while back I watched two Red Tailed Hawks fighting over a young squirrel while I was building a fence. The screeches they were making were cool.
Last spring I was watching a Northern Harrier hunting from my patio. Quite the handsome bird of prey. I would see them at times in Voyagers National Park where I lived but this was the first one I ever seen near the city.
He landed near my truck after the rabbit was wise enough to high tail it into the hedge.
Not a very good picture but as shy they are of humans it wasn't too bad taken from a phone.
I'm going to take you up on your suggestion of using sculptamold with the foam Charlie. Alan was suggesting that as well.
I was looking at pictures of rock formations on the North Shore of Lake Superior, Voyageurs National Park and Lake of the Woods Canada. All quite similar cosmetically.
My near fourty year memory of these rock formations all being jagged must be of my favorite examples. I noticed there were rounded smooth ones as you stated, a lot of them huge. Also rocks like that mixed with the jagged ones as well.
I think your suggestion will make for some easier and quicker modeling. Thanks for pointing that out.
Make it a great day y'all!
George says...
Go Pullman or Go Home —
Pullman_Winter by Edmund, on Flickr
This guy likes to count the chickens:
hawk1crop by Edmund, on Flickr
Enjoy the day, folks — Ed
Good afternoon Diners. A coffee on the go please, Flo.
A busy day ahead.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKK5AIVfk_w&ab_channel=Miriam%27sManner
Stay Safe Everyone.
Morning all. Flo, a pot of coffee and a dozen doughnuts. Oh and give the guys some too. Swamped at work today and need all the caffeine and sugar I can get right now. Gotta run.
Good morning, everyone. It's still morning here, anyway.
I've had a busy morning moving furniture (under protest).
With the Christmas visitors coming to stay in less than two weeks, my wife decided yesterday to visit the furniture store. Her purchases are arriving in an hour, so we had to move things around to make room. I also had to take two doors off so things would fit into the guest rooms. I'm not real thrilled about any of this, but I don't have a vote. I just move stuff to where she wants it and say, "Yes, dear."
The Durango and Silverton RR is one of the nicest tourist railroads in Colorado:
Have a good day, everyone.
I'm a little miffed with Home Depot. We are replacing our difficult to access pantry (former broom closet) with a new pantry cabinet with roll out trays. When I first talked with their designer I told her that I had 30 3/4" of available space so I wanted a 30" cabinet. She explained that, because the cabinet sits beside a wall, I needed enough clearance for the doors to swing more than 90 degrees so the trays would clear the doors. Her recommendation was to go with a 27" cabinet and a filler strip at least 1 1/2" wide. Of course I assumed that she knew what she was talking about so I ordered a 27" wide cabinet.
The cabinet was delivered on Tuesday and I unpacked it to check for damage and also to see how the doors and trays worked. I was rather upset to discover that her information about the door/tray clearance requirements was wrong. At most I would need a 1/4" filler.
One of the reasons that we are spending the considerable amount of money on this project is to maximize our storage space. The designer's recommendation has reduced the available storage space by roughly 15%. That is unacceptable!
What is also maddening is that they did the measurements. Clearly the designer and the measure person do not understand how the pantry doors and trays work.
I have asked for the cabinet to be replaced with a 30" unit. I'm sure that they won't be happy about that but they are the ones who messed up. We shall see how far that gets.
Oh the joys of home ownership!
Good morning Diners. A full English please, Janie.
Seems rather quiet in the Diner. I hope everyone is well.
Dave. We have had similar challengers over time with Companies over promising and under achieving. They are a pain.
Christmas Layouts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PDMrwr41a0&ab_channel=kstrains
Thoughts & Peace to All who Require.
23F this morning but only scattered high elevation clouds so with the sun just rising as I came into the shop the scene was nice. I'll have just a reggular to go please Zoe. I've now gotten most of my doctor appointments out of the way with just the dermatologist and a physical to go. The older I get, the more doctors I seem to accumulate. Funny that.
I've generally had good luck with Home Depot though to tell the truth I haven't availed myself of their design services. Next big job for me will be to install a fold down stairs set in the main hallway. The house was built with just a little access hatch to the attic and I need to sort and tidy the insulation as well as get some wood up there so as to move around. Can't currently fit anything wider than 30" up there and I'm not sure if an entire 8 foot anything will fit. Did the same thing wth the last house and afterwards I could yoik a whole 4' x 8' sheet up there with a little cleverness. We shall see.
Good to hear Garrys missus and the rest of you were not harmed by the storms and twisters. I've had a couple of near misses over the years including watching an identical but empty barracks to mine get leveled in Pensacola.
Time to pick up tools and get after it in the shop. One gearbox done and another near plus a third underway. Wish me luck, I always have a tussle setting the gear pattern. Ciao, J.R.
Nothing like a cozy ride in a Blue Ribbon Fleet roomette!
PRR_Roomette_xmas by Edmund, on Flickr
There was something special about the comfort of the Pullman crisp, white sheets and the woolen blankets...
Who's the lucky kid getting a broom for a present? Can't wait to see the joy on their little face when they see that under the tree
I've got a couple of Home Depot horror stories but I'll save those for another time.
Speaking of — can we get Kevin rescued? He's been AWOL since his reply button disappeared!
Cheers, Ed
From da LION... Watt else wood ewe expeckt?
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
Good morning, diners. I'll have the full English breakfast with David, please.
I'm on the way outside. We are in line for a storm coming out of Colorado. Prediction is for 30 - 50 mph sustained winds, with gusts to 80. One forecast said 90 mph is not out of the question. I will batten down the hatches outside. Thankfully there isn't any snow with this.
Have a good day, everyone. I'll find something solid and hang on.
York1Thankfully there isn't any snow with this.
Looking forward to getting this week over with. I have to stay late tomorrow and Friday to make it happen, but it will be worth it.
Best wishes to all.
GMTRacing I've generally had good luck with Home Depot
Hi J.R.,
We have used Home Depot several times and there have been very few problems. In fact, most of their work was top notch. That's why we went back to them for the pantry cabinet.
I'm hoping they won't put up too much of a fight. I really don't want an allowance. The price is not an issue. I want them to give me what I wanted in the first place which is a 30" wide cabinet that will make maximum use of the available space.
I'll let everybody know how it works out.
I'm heading for the basement. We've had 85 mph wind gusts, and now the town's tornado sirens are going off. Excitement I don't need.