Welcome to the August Diner, this time in sunny Mexico

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 gang

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the

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 Give

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 Flo

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 Diners

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 Eveing

[BroadwayLion]

York1

Last year I went with my son-in-law to a Menards. He always used Home Depot, and he thought Menards was the same. He was amazed at what Menards had besides lumber and paint. In many cases, the prices are better, too. I'm sure contractors and experts avoid it, but for amateurs like me, Menards is like toy store.

Menards does cater to contractors, in fact more so than Home Depot or Lowes. HD had the efrontery to build across the street from Menards. That was over ten years ago and the building has been vacant for nine of them.

The contractors have their own desk in the back of the store, and can get stuff made to order, although it is not made in store, they will deliver right to your construction site.

They also make nice model train structures... Too Gaudy for a real layout, but great for kids who like action and stuff, and a BIG improvement over the Plasticville structures I had as a cub. But it that is what it takes to get kids into the hobby so be it, they will figure out the difference when they are in their 30s.

[BroadwayLion]

hon30critter

Of course, life has a way of balancing things out, unfortunately. I have started to suffer from vertigo and it is making me feel lousey. My back has also decided to act up badly to the point where I have had to resort to Oxycocets and I had to spend the last 24 hours in bed.GrumpyBang HeadBang Head

 

Gotta watchout for those meds... The dizzyness (vertigo?) could be a sign of dehydration. That one is easy to fix says the lion with a gallon of diet pepsi by his toe.

Backs are more difficult. Did you try the Chiropracter? Some good it might do, but they seem to think that you need chiropractac every week or two, and at our age it really does not help for long. For a young sprout, yes things can be put in lion, but for us old' backs its "easy in, easy out".

 

ROAR

[SeeYou190]

There was a train show in Saint Petersburg, Florida today. I am not going.

The big annual Golden Spike show at the Tampa Fairgounds in December was cancelled.

Going to train shows again is something I am really looking forward to.

-Kevin

[York1]

Good morning.  Bacon, eggs, and coffee.  Again.

Good luck, Kevin.  That tool will make things a lot easier, but I know about the dust.

I'm working in the basement bathroom today.  I got started yesterday by taking off some sheetrock, and today should not be difficult.  I'm hoping some wiring is not where I will work.  If it is, moving it will add to the job.

Hope everyone has a good day today.

[SeeYou190]

Track fiddler

I would make it easy on yourself and float a Quality Floor Crete.

The entire house is tiled. This room, and the bathroom were the first two rooms to be tiled, and they got different tile from the rest of the house. Now they are being re-tiled so everything matches.

If I just float over the existing thin set, there will be about a 3/8" transition into this room.

I would not be happy with that, so I am going down to the slab.

-Kevin

[Track fiddler]

Good morning

It's actually cold out this morning, another sign of fall.  Sounds good to me, Coffee time.  Only half days at the hotel,  business is way down lately.  

Gonna start winterizing things today before the last minute.

 

 

TF

[Track fiddler]

Post Hog!

No matter what you do Kevin,  I have all the faith in you in the world.  I have seen your work and I know you know exactly what your doing

 

P.S.  I'm up too late!  Perhaps it's not my fault and must be blamed on the Beautiful Day we had up here

Yep, ...that works and now I must hit the rack

 

 

TF

[Track fiddler]

Actually that surfaced doesn't look too bad.  I would get a half inch by half inch trowel and use a $30 bag mix and just float it on with a half inch trowel to retile over it.  Done everyday. 

That is if you are re-tiling over the surface.  Otherwise just floor crete it.

 

 

TF

[Track fiddler]

I would make it easy on yourself and float a Quality Floor Crete.

I bring my wife's measuring quart container to add the exact amount of water for the bag mix in a bucket,  spin it and pour it but I wet the surface first

 

TF

[SeeYou190]

Track fiddler

Goes without saying but I must say it.  A while back one of the off members here was talking like they knew everything and said you don't buy expensive thinset for tile is just a waste of money. I have seen even contractors skimping on thinset laying porcelain tile only to see it pop up about two years later because that's about how much time it takes but it always will.

Yup, I could not believe that when I read it. There is a lot of that going on now.

I put the tile down in this room around 20 years ago. In that time no tile came loose, sounded hollow, or cracked. It had been perfect.

It might be a pain to remove it now, but that sure beats doing repairs on a shoddy job.

As best as I can, I do not skimp on materials.

This is what I am attacking tomorrow:

-Kevin

[Track fiddler]

You know Kevin,  I'm sure you are prepared for what said tomorrow

Goes without saying but I must say it anyway.  A while back one of the off members here was talking like they knew everything and said you don't buy expensive thinset for tile is just a waste of money, ...I held my tongue

I have seen even contractors skimping on thinset laying porcelain tile only to see it pop up about two years later because that's about how much time it takes but it always will.  I'm confident you know that but I seen someone else here that didn't

 

Oh!  your chipping the old stuff off the concrete tomorrow.  Better you than me  

 

 

TF

[SeeYou190]

Well, I am finally ready to start attacking the thin-set again tomorrow.

On my trip to Ohio I was able to find plenty of N-95 masks at Menards.

I now have a proper Makita SDS-Plus electric hammer.

And I have the workbench well cocooned and hopefully I will keep the dust out this time.

Tomorrow will be quite a day.

-Kevin

[York1]

It's good to hear from you, Lion.

I think I'll be heading to North Dakota sometime in September -- maybe.  Right now there are some changes and I may have to cancel plans for this year.

Dave, I feel for you.  When I was younger, I got vertigo.  I didn't realize what was happening as I fell into a wall.  I will say it is horrible, and I spent several weeks sick to my stomach and dizzy.  I hope yours goes away quickly.

Nice pictures, TF!

Chip, it looks like you'll have several days next week of a little cooler, but don't get your winter clothes out yet.  My friend in Gilbert says it gets hot again later next week.

MoeLarryCurly, you are in our prayers.  Whatever is going on I hope everything turns out OK.

Ken, it's sometimes nice to have a day when you don't accomplish much.

Tim, nice pictures.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

[Track fiddler]

First day with low humidity and you know where I went

My favorite town right across the border, I love little towns and would move there in a minute

Liked the orange F7 in the window so I had Judy snap one.  Just subtract the R and it sums up the pic

I hear the train a comin

It's rollin round the bend

One machine's nose is, another's tale my friends

Double Stackers  I jump States just to see those things

Hope you all are having a great Friday night

 

 

 

P.S.  You must forgive me

Sometimes I have a bit too much junk in the trunk

 

 

 

 

TF

 

[SpaceMouse]

It never got above 97 degrees today. Brrrr. Where's my hoodie.

[cudaken]

 Eveing Diners

 Flo, give the gang and I a and Drirk a dog treat.

 Did not get a darn thing done today. The reson Dirk was just into a loving frame of mind. Every time I went into the bed room he would jump up and lay against then roll on his back and want me to rub his ears. Normal he will let me love on him say 30 minutes to a hour. Today there was no limt to the loven he wanted.

 Later, Ken and Dirk says Woof, Woof!

[hon30critter]

You may recall that my wife Dianne suffered a concussion as a result of a fall last October. She has pretty much recovered but the incident has been stressful.

Fortunately there have been a couple of positives over the last week. One is that she has been able to resume playing Pickleball without any dizziness issues. We were really concerned about that.

The second is that we finally received the settlement cheque today so all the legal crap is done with. The bank balance is looking a bit better, although I don't recommend using concussions as a way to make a living!

Of course, life has a way of balancing things out, unfortunately. I have started to suffer from vertigo and it is making me feel lousey. My back has also decided to act up badly to the point where I have had to resort to Oxycocets and I had to spend the last 24 hours in bed.

Cheers!!

Dave

[maxman]

BroadwayLion

Well, I set up the prior with a new computer.... But he never found the on button.

I never have any problem finding the "on" button.

 

However, I'm still looking for the "any" key.

[SeeYou190]

Cap'n:

The picture of the steel church is amazing. It is beautiful. Thank you also for sharing its interesting history.

The 0-6-0 tank engine would be a neat looking model.

-Kevin

[CapnCrunch]

Well that was frustrating.  When I tried to edit the text, the photos were lost .  Here are the pictures (again).

Tim

 

santa rosalia train 2 by Tim Neely, on Flickr" alt="" />santa rosalia train 1 by Tim Neely, on Flickr" alt="" />santa rosalia smelter ruins by Tim Neely, on Flickr" alt="" />santa rosalia church by Tim Neely, on Flickr" alt="" />

[CapnCrunch]

 

Good Morning Flo, I'll have oatmeal and an iced tea please.

Before the diner departs from sunny Mexico, I thought I would share some pictures from a trip I took this spring to Baja California.  The shots are from Santa Rosalia, a small mining town on the Gulf of California that had an active copper mine from 1884 to 1954.  The mine was operated by a French company named Bolero and involved a small narrow gauge railway to transport the ore from the mine to the smelter and from the smelter to the dock.  Not much is left now except for the ruins of the smelter and a restored 0-6-0 engine which is on display as you enter the town.  This could make for a unique small mining layout if anyone were interested. 

Another curiosity of Santa Rosalia is its church.  It is constructed of prefabricated metal that was manufactured in France and shipped to the site.  The story goes that the church was designed by Gustav Eiffel (yes that Eiffel) as kits to be erected in French colonies.

Tim

 

(Sorry the pictures got posted out of order.  I'm still trying to get the hang of this.)

[York1]

SeeYou190

What shocked me the most was how everyone was involved in our business. It did not matter where you were or what you were doing, people would ask why you were there and why you were doing that. There were no secrets.

That's the truth!  Nothing happens secretly in a small town.  And look out when talking about someone.  Chances are the person you're talking to is related to the person you're talking about.

[SeeYou190]

I spent my 13th year on this planet in Slaughter, Lousiana, population around 500.

That was enough for me. Moving from super-cool-college-town Gainesville, Florida to Slaughter, Louisiana when you are a 13 year old boy is a special kind of torment.

What shocked me the most was how everyone was involved in our business. It did not matter where you were or what you were doing, people would ask why you were there and why you were doing that. There were no secrets.

I like being able to "blend into the scenery" and not be noticed in a real city.

-Kevin

[York1]

We were married and raised our kids in Mid City New Orleans.  Then we moved to this town of 7,000.

It took getting used to.

The local Walmart had their bicycles for sale, all on the sidewalk outside the store -- with no locks on them.  They left them out all night!

The local hardware store displayed their new lawnmowers on the sidewalk in front of the store, day and night, with no locks on them.

Unfortunately, times have changed, and they don't do that anymore, although I really don't think anyone would take them.

I now complain about too many people if there are two cars ahead of me at the town's stoplight.