Tinplate ToddlerLots of traffic up in the sky - flocks of geese, herons and cranes heading south. Sometimes they take a stopover in the meadow behind our house. While a nice sight, the noise these little birds emit is deafening!
Ulrich,
That would be music to our ears! Others complain about the noise that the usual birds make in the morning. Dianne and I take pleasure in trying to identify each individual song (not that we are any good at it). To have such a view right from our house would be too much to hope for.
We have lots of geese and quite a few herons locally, but seeing cranes is a rare sight. If we see even a single sandhill crane on one of our birding trips we consider our mission to be accomplished! Fortunately we are told that their numbers are increasing despite the odds.
Dave
Edit: Top of the page again!
This time the diner is serving supper! I have described this meal before but it was so good that it bears repeating.
You will be treated to a beef tenderloin roast, wrapped in bacon and then lightly smoked. It will be cooked low and slow on the BBQ in a foil pan (so the bacon drippings don't flare up). The BBQ seems to do a much better job of cooking the bacon to perfection.
The meal will be accompanied by Yorkshire puddings (which are basically just an excuse to have gravy), mashed potatoes with enough aged cheddar and parmesan to make them sinful but not too sticky, roasted seasonal veggies drizzled with maple syrup and balsamic vinegar, and gravy that has been weeks in the making. The diner has saved every smidgeon of beef drippings from the past couple of months, and some steak bones (all frozen to preserve them, to heck with the food regulations!!) and we have added a decent amount of 2012 vintage Port wine and just a bit of garlic. A dollup of butter will finish the gravy off.
For dessert, we have home made butter tarts with vanilla ice cream, and/or apple pie with a slice of cheddar.
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
hon30critterThat would be music to our ears!
Dave - when up to 100 of these rather "voicy" birds settle within 30 yards of your home, you can stop any kind of conversation. I don´t mind hearing them when they fly over our house, but listening to that "music" for over an hour gets a bit unnerving.
Happy times!
Ulrich (aka The Tin Man)
"You´re never too old for a happy childhood!"
Tinplate ToddlerDave - when up to 100 of these rather "voicy" birds settle within 30 yards of your home, you can stop any kind of conversation. I don´t mind hearing them when they fly over our house, but listening to that "music" for over an hour gets a bit unnerving.
Okay, I guess I have to concede that all good things can be overdone. That doesn't change the fact that Dianne and I would love to have the opportunity to get tired of hearing them!
Actually, we are really enjoying the experience. If it gets too much, I just use ear plugs.
“A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.”-Marcus Garvey
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
My condolences Ed.
Just peeking out from my corner of the diner. Trying to keep my head above water at w*rk right now. Just finished up with a government audit last week, which I'm happy to say we passed with flying colors. Thank goodness, it's part of my job to keep us in good graces there. Trying to catch back up with everything else that had to take a back seat for the audit.
Cheers everyone.
Mike
How about Steamed Golden Syrup Pudding with whipped cream as “afters”!!
Looks yummy!! I do have to admit that we Canadians are rather partial to our butter tarts. They come in several varieties including plain or with raisins or pecans. The ideal tart is runny inside so you have to be careful how you eat it or you will have the very sticky filling all down your chin. We even have butter tart festivals where you can sample dozens of different styles, that is if your stomach can handle all the sugar. I hate to admit it but some of the best butter tarts come from Costco! They make them right in the store and they are to die for. How's that for a commercial plug?!?
Ed, sorry to hear of your sister's passing.
Not much to report here, it sure is less bs this week at w*rk than last week. Last week someone at corp decided that it was a good idea to push out an update that no one tested, on top of another software update While upgrading hardware on a system that passes pateint vital signs to the system. Hmmm I see nooo problems there......
well someone's head rolled and they rolled back the one update that no one tested.
Good Afternoon!
Ed - I am sorry to hear about your sister passing. Petra and I extend our sincere condolences to all of your family!
The dentist appointment didn´t go to well. The check-up is OK, but the cleaning bit didn´t go to well. The lady must have had her thoughts not on the job. My mouth and gums hurt a lot! The first time in years. However, I did not complain about it. It will take a few days until the irritation wears off.
Ed Sorry to hear about your sister.
Ken
I hate Rust
Beautiful sunrise over the Peace River ths morning. My wife shot this terrible picture from the car window, but I still want to share it.
.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Good morning! It was a nice walk on the trail this morning. Cold, but no wind.
Ed, sorry to hear about your sister. It sounds like she had not been sick, so it is such a shock to your family.
Ken, good luck with buying a new computer. I can help you with what I know ... there's a button that you push to turn it on, and there's a thing I use that's called a "mouse" that moves a little thing around the screen. There. I've now told you everything I know about computers.
This is the time of year that we have lots of birds around our house. The woodpeckers seem to be stocking up for winter. Yesterday there were no birds around except for one - a large hawk. Every so often, he visits our feeders and takes off a small bird that wasn't quick enough.
The vacant lot next to the UP train station is finally getting a new tenant -- Starbucks is putting in a building. Today I'm putting in some lights and then adding the roof. The roof is easy on this build -- it's flat. No angles for me to cut 22 times to get them right. As frustrating as things get sometimes, scratch-building these N Scale buildings has become my favorite part of railroading.
Have a good day today!
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."
Ed,
Sorry to hear of your sister's passing, prayers for your family
Jan
Ed, I'm so sorry for the loss of your sister. You have my sympathies.
If you don't take her cat, what will become of him/her? The stress of adapting to a new household with 5 other cats is nothing in comparison to turning him/her in to a shelter he/she may never make it out of.
--Steven Otte, Model Railroader senior associate editorsotte@kalmbach.com
Ken: Are you looking at laptop or desktop? What besides hanging out in the Diner, what do you use the computer for? (I know; I just left my participle dangling.)
Richard
Thank You, everyone, for your support and condolences. Linda was about five years my senior. We have not heard from the coroner so have no cause so far. My wife is an RN and has experience in dealing with these situations and she said Linda's death looked like it was quite sudden and that there were no signs of distress or suffering.
We spent much of the day sorting through papers and belongings with my other sister. Linda's cat, Bijou, came around and became familiar with us — from a distance. We will definitely adopt Bijou but there may be a period of adjustment. She will feel welcomed. When we bring Bijou here we will also bring her favorite toys and bed so she will have some familiarity.
Linda enjoyed her life of solitude and was a very warm and friendly person to be with.
Thanks again and I'm grateful for your concern.
Regards, Ed
Ed You have our prayers. I wouldn't hold out a lot of hope for the coroner. Sometimes things just come to an end.
Larry How much space did they give you? Does the home subsidize the venture or just give you the space?
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
Ed .... Sincere condolences regarding your loss of your sister.
I am dispatching the Chapel Car to the Diner for those who wish to have a quiet place to pray for you and your family.
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
Eveing Diners
Flo, give the gang and I a and Dirk his Buffalo Treat. Hum, he has Buffalo Breath.
Ed Hope things go smoothly with dealing with the lost of your sister and her estate. Hope her cat will take to you and the rest of the family.
Richard I am looking for a desk top tower. I do some book keeping and photos storage on the current computer and it does fine. I do not need a lot of storage, I think I have been using this Dell unit for 8 years or so and have only used 40 gigs of it 80 gigs of hard drive spaces. I do no on line gaming, I get my butt kick with this computer! Maybe later but more than likely not.
Only complant I have is on line. When on this site, well it is slow but doable. On sites like Home Depote or Model Train Stuff it takes for ever for the site to respound. Walmart site, I hardly ever try. U Tube is a little slow sometimes but I can live with it.
Main thing is I don't want the next computer to be antiquated in the next 2 years. When I say antiquated I mean on line shopping sites. I know the technology will keep marching forward. I just want to keep the column in sight.
Little bit of good news on my credit score. Took a small hit when I paid off a personal loan, down 2 points. Today I paid on my Discover Card and found I had a $1800.00 increase of my credit limit!
Sat out a little with Dirk after I got home and we both enjoyed our selfs.
Later, None Smoking Ken and Dirk says Woof.
I'm so sorry to learn of the loss of your sister. She wasn't very old. I lost a brother when he was only 58. It leaves a big hole in your heart when you think of how much they still had to look forward to.
I'm sure the cat will find a way to adapt to your situation. You will be as good a caretaker as anyone on the planet.
I apologise for being a bit late with this but I missed your message the first time around.
Take care,
Tinplate ToddlerThe check-up is OK, but the cleaning bit didn´t go to well. The lady must have had her thoughts not on the job. My mouth and gums hurt a lot! The first time in years. However, I did not complain about it. It will take a few days until the irritation wears off.
Hi Ulrich,
Sorry the cleaning wasn't quite as comfortable as it could have been. My dentist had three hygenists. Two of them were great and are still. The third was a butcher. I had her once. I told the receptionists to never schedule me with her again. I suspect that others had similar experiences because she is no longer there.
I'm not being critical of you for not speaking up. I usually bite my tongue too, but she stepped over the line.
Cheers!!
You know, Judy and I are working our way over to Mandan North Dakota. We decided to tour the town of Fargo a little more than the last time.
A seven and a half hour drive is not exactly my idea of good Leisure Time. We checked out the town and checked into Element Westin. Paid for a late check-out tomorrow.
Tomorrow we will go across the street and have a really good lunch in the Irish Pub.
This I can live with, It's all about having fun isn't it?
I will be hugging my new Grandson tomorrow.
TF
Thank you, Dave
For about twenty years we had a great dentist, he kind of reminded me of Mr. Rogers, from the Neighborhood. He retired and turned the practice over to a new dentist who must have been a linebacker in school. Not exactly a gentle touch.
I've had the same experience with the hygenists, too. Generally good but there is the occasional one who likes to draw blood. One time I was half way through my cleaning and the hygenist was describing how she had delivered a foal the night before (the mare, that is). I couldn't help thinking about where her hands were a few hours earlier. I suppose she washed up afterward?
Sometimes I wonder about "sterile" conditions in the room, too. The doctor has nitrile gloves on but grabs the bottom of his chair to scoot closer then sticks his hands in my mouth? Afterward, when I could speak, I asked how often the underside of the stool is sanitized.
Well, now this dentist sold the business to one of those franchize outfits, the Smile Center or something corny like that. I go in for a cleaning on the 15th of November so I'll see how that goes. Hate to shop for a new D.D.S. this late in the game.
My present computer, a Dell desktop, is like Johnny Cash's Cadillac. In fact I just put a new, fanless, video card in it just last night. The old one had two noisy fans on it and the new one only has a big heat-sink. Nice and quiet.
Changed the hard drive twice, power supply and network adapter once, added a DVD burner and probably a few other things. Still plugging along after nine years.
One of my first computers had a ten megabyte hard drive. Today I upload one photo that size
Cheers, Ed
Good Morning!
I am running a little later than usual today. I didn´t sleep well last night, so everything will be a little slower today.
The hygeniest working at my dentist´s is not really a butcher. She usually is very careful not to hurt anyone in the execution of her not always pleasant job. Next time I will ask her to be extra gentle with this old boy
My body is starting to go into hibernation mode. I feel like eating more than is good for me and I start to get really sleepy. Sunrise is later than 8am and sunset before 6pm. That´s going tonchange by the weekend as we will reset our clocks to "normal" time. Until the days start to get longer again by Christmas we will lose nealy 5 hours of daylight! That´s going to get worse when we move to Denmark!
TF - I am jealous! I will never hold a grandchild of mine in my arms!
Good Morning All,
That insomnia thing must be catching. I woke up wide awake at 4am so I just decided to get ready and go to the shop. I'll definitely have a regular and a blueberry bagel Zoe.
Ed sorry to hear of your sisters passing. It's been tough here too with first our secretaries husband and then a friend passing within days of each other. 50's is just too young.
Still struggling to get caught up in the shop. Hopefully the light at the end of the tunnel isn't an oncoming train.
Ken - nice job - nearly 6 months now. Also good to hear about Dirks' exploits. My son had to put Allie McBeagle to sleep (cancer) but he still brings overenthusiastic black Lab Grover in to keep Bristol and Amelia company at the shop.
Three weeks to Daytona now so things are ramping up getting ready.
Ciao, J.R.
gmpullmanFor about twenty years we had a great dentist, he kind of reminded me of Mr. Rogers, from the Neighborhood
I recently went to a new dentist office in North Fort Myers and had a wonderful experience. This guy looks about 20 years younger than me, so I hope he can be my dentist for the remainder of my life.
I only remember 3 dentists. Dr Reed was the first and maybe my first dentist. I kept him for 25 years and his assistant Miss Horne. I pronounced the 'e'. She wore more makeup than any woman I ever saw outside of an adult entertainment district. She just handed instruments, he did all the work. I don't think she was a hygenist, but she could have been.
In those days, no one wore gloves.
Got my second dentist when I moved to Annapolis in 1981. His daughter is now working in the practice, but he still shows up now and then. Going to need a new dentist when I move next year.
I also had an orthodontist. Had DAV tags on his car and walked with a bad limp. I never asked about it, but given his demeanor, he must have been a marine.
Mornin' Everyone!
Just stopping by for a mug of Dark Roast Coffee, before I head out to a County Retired Teacher's meeting, program, and luncheon.
Ed, I'll add my condolances to you and your whole family on the loss of your sister! Yes, 50's now sounds so very young....
My computer system here on my desk in the office area has 4 Tb of hard drive space (close to half full, BTW), and a 3.4 GHz Intel core i5 processor, and 8 GB 2400 MHz DDR4 Ram...... Of course I work with somephotos and other files that are major big and use the speed very often.
I will be cat sitting my sister's kitties for 12 or 13 days soon (at my house). She has to leave her house while her new replacement wood floors are refinished (along with the wood floor that could be salvaged) after the water damage her house sustained when a pipe fitting on her upstairs toilet ruptured in the middle of the night a couple months back. My sister is taking off to visit a college friend of hers down in the Carolinas while the work is being finished....
This afternoon I will be driving to Penfield, NY to deliver about 9 cubic feet of topsoil to a lady friend. She had about 20 pine trees removed last Spring/summer and has holes to fill in. I have topsoil I need to get rid of, so this is a good reason to drive to her house to see her........
Hope you all have a good day out there in cyberspace!
73
Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO
We'll get there sooner or later!
Howdy..
I see some of you are talking about dentists. Currenrly , I am having a lot of dental work. My dentist worked on me Tuesday for 2 1/2 hours. This morning I had a root canal. I go back to the dentist for more work in two weeks.
meanwhile our trip to Arizona begins this Saturday, and we will be there for a week.
I don't have much model railroading to report.
Good afternoon all.
Lunch time. I've always loved Irish food. I had the corn beef and cabbage with small red potatoes here before. I find something good, I usually stick with it
I like this place, it feels like you're going into a warehouse to eat.
It looks like they are mashed red potatoes this year, they were even better. If you want a plate, I'm buying