Well, we didn´t come to common terms on where to park our Trackside Diner this month and who will facilitate the move from the November location to the new place, so I took the liberty of stepping in! For the twelth time this year -
welcome to Jeffrey´s Trackside Diner, which is located in the Northeast of the USA for us to celebrate Christmas in Vermont and Maine for this month! Our base for the month will be the Boothbay Railway Village, as we explore the region, hopefully with the help of fellow diners familiar with this region with both Vermont and Maine.
Jeffrey´s Trackside Diner is the place for you to go to relax and talk off topic about most anything - as long as you stay within the forum rules, which means certain hot button topics are excluded. Please refer to Steven Otte´s post on Forum Policies. Everybody is welcome to participate in the Diner !
The staff - that´s Zoe, Chloe, Flo, Janie, and Brunhilda - is very friendly and will serve up plenty of virtual food with a smile. Just don´t forget to leave a generous tip! Now and then, our host Steven Otte chips in and brings along some goodies for us to try - which is always heartily welcomed!
At the beginning of each month, it is the time to pay our respect to friends no longer with us.
Barry Arnold aka BlownoutCylinderJerry Cox aka Cox47Wolfgang Dudler aka Westport TerminalBob Hartle aka cmrproductsEd MurphyBill NorthStein Rypern, Jr. aka SteinjrAndy SperandeoJeffrey "Running Bear" WimberleyAlan BTom MillsJames W. Rohde aka CapeJimMichael L. Myles aka Inch
Gone, but not forgotten!
Happy times!
Ulrich (aka The Tin Man)
"You´re never too old for a happy childhood!"
Portland Maine was one of the major rail junctions during WW1. (As well as WW11)
During WW1, over 70% of all the horses used in the war were shipped out of Portland Maine. The pileings are still in place in the harbor from the wharves that were in place for this endeavour.
herrinchoker
Has anyone used a thread holder used in fly tieing to run power lines, or fencing? It is a "Y" shaped tool that holds the spool of thread/wire between it's arms, that is then fed through a brass tube to the working end. To feed the thread through the tube, a short section is started down the tube, with slack thread handy, the working end is placed in the mouth, inhale sharply to draw the thread the length of the tube. Pull out the slack, and start whatever----I have found it is easier-(for me) to run phone lines, fence wire, compared to trying to hold a spool in one hand. Also easier to make loops, tie knots.
We came home to a few surprises yesterday. We had never been gone for four weeks straight before.
.
Number 1: If you stay gone for four weeks, all of the water will evaporate out of your toilet bowls. This water in the toilet is what keeps the sewer smell out of your house. We opened up the door into a terrible odor yesterday.
Number 2: My lawn service does a great job! They picked up all the newspapers and garbage from the driveway and kept the house looking "lived in" while we were away.
Number 3: If you have your mail held for four weeks, you will have a ton of mail when you return! We had three big totes of mail on our front porch! It took hours to go through all of it.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
SeeYou190Number 1: If you stay gone for four weeks, all of the water will evaporate out of your toilet bowls. This water in the toilet is what keeps the sewer swell out of your house. We opened up the door into a terrible odor yesterday.
Must a Florida thing, I've never had that happen. I didn't think the air in Florida was that dry.
My grandfather had a small home in Northern WI., it would sit for over a month, and that never happened.
Just seems odd.
Mike.
My You Tube
Some friends invited us skiing at their vacation home in New Hampshire. Evaporated? Nah, the toilets were frozen solid.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
SeeYou190Number 1: If you stay gone for four weeks, all of the water will evaporate out of your toilet bowls. This water in the toilet is what keeps the sewer smell out of your house. We opened up the door into a terrible odor yesterday.
That´s a new one for me, too!
When we escaped tom Denmark earlier this year, we were gone for quite some time, but neither had the water in the toilet dry out nor was there a terrible smell in the apartment. But than it doesn´t get as hot (or warm?) in my neck of the woods.
I spent the better part of this day on my computer, making new plans. Petra is next to me, so she does not complain about me spending so much time on the "drawing board".
I took up the suggestion the nice lady in Greece made to cut down on cost. The basic idea is to use just two 40´shipping container for each house. While this offers sufficient living space for a single person household, it´s not enough for two, so I decided to "insert" a section of roughly 3´by 40´ as a kind of spacer between the two containers. This really adds a significant amount to the space, enabling us to furnish the home according to our liking (and using the furniture we have to a large extent). It´s nice to see not only whether the furniture fits into the house, but also what the rooms will look like!
This is what I did today:
Floorplan
And some views
From the entrance:
From the garden:
And from the sides:
There are still some details missing - like the rooftop deck and the rooftop shed, but that will have to wait until tomorrow.
Time to light the first candle on the advent wreath!
MisterBeasley Some friends invited us skiing at their vacation home in New Hampshire. Evaporated? Nah, the toilets were frozen solid.
Mr. B .... i agree New Hampshire should have been included because it is between ME and VT.
Ulrich .... Thanks for moving the Diner. Perhaps you can add New Hampshire.
Everybody: Have a good day.
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
mbinsewi I didn't think the air in Florida was that dry.
The air inside my house is dry. I have a constant recirculating fan with a dehumidifier. I leave these on when I am away from the house.
I wonder of leaving the lids down would have helped.
Kevin - I am so deeply indulged in planning our future refuge, that I forgot to say thank you to you for being our tour guide last month! You did a smashing job showing us around!
MisterBeasley Evaporated? Nah, the toilets were frozen solid.
And they didn't break?
Keeping the seat down would help, I'm sure. Maybe the next long work/road trip, you can tape the plastic over the bowl, then put the seats down.
When we closed down our place up north, I blew out all the lines, and poured RV antifreeze in everything with a trap, including the toilet bowl.
mbinsewiMaybe the next long work/road trip, you can tape the plastic over the bowl, then put the seats down.
I'd put a big sign on the toilet seats, otherwise Murphy's law will take effect.
mbinsewiWhen we closed down our place up north, I blew out all the lines, and poured RV antifreeze in everything with a trap, including the toilet bowl.
What does that do for the septic tank in the spring?
We vacationed in Bar Harbor 15 years ago. After taking a carriage ride on what was John Rockefellers carriage path, now NPS, we asked for directions to a place to eat lunch. I don't remember the town, but it was south of Bar Harbor.
We got there and the recommended place looked like a shack, but there were people dinining on the porch of a big old white house. We decided to eat on the porch at the white house. We were seated and asked for ice tea and a menu. For the next 20 min we never saw our waitress again.
While we were waiting, we noticed we were the only heterosexual couple there. No problem there. There were 3 women at the next table and one had a UK accent and was hard of hearing so we heard every word.
Two of them were friends of long standing, one a Brit and the third was new to the Brit. The Americans worked for "Foundations" (The very rich set up a foundations to do charitable work, mostly.) The Brit said she was a cook, but not wanting to feel left out, added "my lot (meaning her employer) has their own foundation too".
There seemed to be no possibility that we were going to see our ice tea or a menu, whether because of incompetance or they didn't like our kind, we will never know.
We went to the dive, which actually had quite good lobster rolls.
The take away message is, you aren't really rich unless you have your own foundation
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
There was another surprise waiting for us when we arrived at home.
They are buillding a new house on the empty lot across the street. The permit box says the builder is "Express Homes", which is bad news for us. Express builds the cheapest "Spec Homes" you can buy. They are designed for high density communities (less than 1/10 acre lots), and thse houses look stupid when you put them on a normal building site.
These are the houses you see advertised in new communities like "Move to Del Opra Creek, Homes from the Mid-200's". Then they put them 3 feet away from each other. They have ridiculous entry ways, because that is all you can see from the street, and over half the front elevation is garage doors.
Oh well, at least we will not be able to see our neighbor's junky back yard across the way any longer.
Now we will be down to six unbuilt homesites on the road.
SeeYou190They are buillding a new house on the empty lot across the street. The permit box says the builder is "Express Homes", which is bad news for us.
I googled their name and saw a few pictures of the houses they build. I don´t think I like them - they pretend to look like a million dollars, but everyone can see they don´t.
BigDaddyWhat does that do for the septic tank in the spring?
No problem. RV antifreeze is propylene glycol. It's non-toxic and can be safely used in plumbing and septic systems.
Vehicle antifreeze is ethylene glycol, which is highly toxic to humans and animals.
Tinplate Toddler I don´t think I like them - they pretend to look like a million dollars, but everyone can see they don´t.
I don't like it either.
This is the house that was permitted for across the road. It clashes with everything else on the road. Every other house has at least 60 feet of frontage on the elevations toward the road, This one will be less than 40.
If you want to move to the US, this house is for sale, and the family next door are immigrants from Germany also.
Whoever is going to move into this house, must love his cars more than his family! The floor plan shows a long a narrow hall - what a waste of space! People coming to visit must queue to enter the place.
How much does a house like this cost?
To be fair, the "normal" family home in Germany is not an iconic masterpiece of architecture, either - usually just a box with a roof on top, either covered covered in red brick with black roof tiles, or rendered and painted white, with a red tiled roof.
Pretty always costs a pretty penny!
My house was built in the traditional way houses have been built over centuries - as a half-timber framed house.
It broke my heart when we had to give it up!
Tinplate ToddlerThe floor plan shows a long a narrow hall - what a waste of space! People coming to visit must queue to enter the place.
That is the standard design for these narrow houses that are intended for high density communities. I hate them, but they sell easily, so they keep getting built.
With the garage taking up 65% of the house frontage, there is not choice but to make a long hallway to the center of the house.
Tinplate ToddlerHow much does a house like this cost?
Depending on the location, $210,000.00 to $250,000.00 for the completed models for sale.
SeeYou190$210,000.00 to $250,000.00
That kind of money buys me this 2,700 sq.ft. house in Denmark:
The price includes 3/8 of an acre land.
A little bit more character the "Express Homes" can ever offer.
Tinplate ToddlerA little bit more character the "Express Homes" can ever offer.
Most of the houses here in the USA that have been recently built have "0" character compared to that house Ulrich.
That roof looks massive! It looks like it's 2' thick! I bet it adds a lot of insulation value.
How are those built?
Eveing Diners
Flo, give the gang and I a please and Dirk his Prdigree treat.
Not a single dry day off for me this week. Yard is a mess with leaves again! Hard to believe I have leaf mulch twices this fall.
Wife, Dirk and I went to Lowes today. We are seeing more dog's in Lowes of late and my wife is driving me nut! Over all Dirk is a friendly dog with humans and other dogs when I hold his leash. When my wife holds the leash he goes nuts if he see's a dog! While we where in Lowes we came across 3 other dog and my wife was going nuts. Dirk on the other hand was wagging his tail wanting to smell what dogs like to smell.
Seems Dirk wants to be groomed so later.
None smoking Ken and Dirk says Woof, Woof, Howling for me to come in.
I hate Rust
mbinsewiHow are those built?
What better way to describe how a thatched roof is built, than to show a picture!
A thatched roof costs about twice as much as a normal, tiled roof. Add to that the annual premium for your mandatory fire insurance, which is about 15 times as high, than you know that the family living in house with a thatched roof is rich - and I mean filthy rich! It used to be the other way around.
When I had my house built, I wanted it to have a thatched roof, but the planning commission said no - too close to the neighboring houses.
This is how my house was built -
Not a nail in the whole thing - just wooden pegs!
Evenin' folks!
Janie, I could sure use a cup of hot decaf to warm me up. Please and thanky Ma'am!
Tinplate ToddlerA thatched roof costs about twice as much as a mormal, tiled roof.
My son in England done gots one of them fancy, expensive type roofs...
Luckily he just rents the place so he doesn't have to maintain it I guess.
We are closed tomorrow here in the Finger Lakes of NYS... Weather guessers are predicting, oh about somewhere between 9 and 17" of the fluffy (actually heavy, wet) white "stuff" by tomorrow night.... I think my lady friend in the Rochester area may have it even worse.... I will call her tomorrow evening to see how she is doing. She, at least, has someone contracted to take care of her driveway. I get to grab a couple EGO Batteries and go out and play in it....
Have a good one out there!
19 or maybe 31 actually...
73
Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO
We'll get there sooner or later!
Tinplate ToddlerThis is how my house was built -
Around here it's called "post and beam". I love it!
The thatched roof does look like maintenance nightmare!
Evening folks,
Ulrich, house plans looks good!
It appears your planning on using seacans/shipping containers? Definitely interesting, I wish you luck in the endeavor!
Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!
I'm considering starting a YouTube channel, no not trying to be an "influencer" or making a living through YT, but just something to have fun with.
Perhaps I'll do like a late night talk show or something, I don't know at the moment, should be an adventure!
Steve
If everything seems under control, you're not going fast enough!
Hi Steven,
Did you get the Mustang yet? I hope everything is working out in that regard.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
mbinsewiThe thatched roof does look like maintenance nightmare! Mike.
Ulrich,
Is that true? What maintenance do they require, and how long do they last? Do they get attacked by vermin or birds? Also, just out of curiousity, how are the ridges done? They look like they are woven somehow.
Probably nobody else cares, but having sold close to 800 roofs during my career, I'm intrigued.
P.S. Thanks for opening the diner again! I'll make sure you get an extra helping of plum pudding!
Hey Dave,
Not yet if everything goes right should be this Saturday I go get it.
NWP SWPNot yet if everything goes right should be this Saturday I go get it.
Without wishing to throw a damper on your fun, please respect the fact that you will have a huge amount of power under your foot. Things can go south really fast if you drive with your adrenaline instead of your brain.
My eldest son Glenn bought a Porsche 928 when he was 18. It was an amazingly fast car. He killed himself in it two weeks after he bought it. He was showing off to a friend who nearly died as well and will never fully recover from his injuries. 'Nuff said.
Tinplate Toddlerso I took the liberty of stepping in! For the twelth time this year -
Thank you for opening the Diner again Ulrich. Every month of this year? That's amazing. Quite an honor.
Winter In New England
Here's a scene from an excursion of the Dartmouth Outing Club taken by my dad's brother-in-law, Stanley Mackenzie who was agent at Warren, New Hampshire. January 26, 1936:
Flying-Yankee at Warren, NH by Edmund, on Flickr
Cheers, Everyone!
Ed