March Coffee Pot 2016. 11 years old. Wonderful grits and sweet ice tea for the southern gents. Coffee and oatmeal for the Yanks.

[rtraincollector]

Morning all. 

Should of added last night I definitely not a spring chicken. 

Not much going on here yet. No plans can here my neighbor cutting up a big pecan tree they had some one drop for them but not clean up. There going to be trying to cut like a 3' trunk with a chain saw into pieces they can move/stack then what there going to do with it beats me they don't have a fireplace. this is one of those jobs you leave for someone else or the person dropping the tree. The son in law has access to a chain saw but thats about it. It's going to be more of a job than they where really thinking it would be I would bet. I'm staying away and out of it. 

I have 2 trees I need brought down but right now isn't the time or do I have the money at this point. 

I have enough going on.

Hope all have a good weekend

[wrmcclellan]

Morning/afternoon all!

Cold front last night dropped temps. High today a crisp 60 and sunny. Same for tomorrow.

Relaxing today. No big projects.

Ray

[Sturgeon-Phish]

Afternoon all from overcast and cool (40'sF) Southern Ohio,

My bride and I had a meeting in Lancaster theis morning and the kids were staying with the other grandparents.  Now I am getting ready to go to the west side of the county for Palm Sunday Vigil Mass, then after that I am going to a father (grandfather)/daughter dance!  This will be interesting.  I'll report in tomorrow.

Bob-I can understand your situation.  The shift work was a major part of my decision to take the volentary layoff. on 2/29/16.

Catch you in the morning

May God bless

Jim 

[SPMan]

Good afternoon all,

Been getting some extra help for my wife lined up starting next week.  I have contacted a home care place to come about three days per week starting next week.  This will give me a much needed break.  We  also get some professional help ordered by the doctor.

I only have about a week left to get my business in order for the tax person to do our return.  Might have to get an extension if I run out of time.

Hoping for a better weekend.

Ray

[submmbob]

Hello all

Just got back from the Corvair club picnic. Like is often said, a good time was had by all. Starting to get a bit warm in the Ol' Pueblo today. We are having a very early spring this year.

Got to drive Bill's '61 Lakewood wagon today. That car drives like a dream. 

JimS - I used to like the shift work, but as time passes and I got older, not so much. The altitude is also a factor in play. I've been working on some personal issues for some time now and realize the job situation has a major impact there.

RT - I turned 48 last Nov, so not a spring chicken, and if I am going to make a career change, now's the time.

May call my buddy w/ his outdoor RR and see if he wants some help assembling some buildings. Other than that, no major plans for the rest of the day.

 

[KRM]

Bob, you are still a young guy, and a good friend. Best of luck on what road you take. Life changes for most of us. Be cool and hang in there.

I been doing some other than train stuff the last few weeks.

So hey guys get this, Brian my neighbor and I went and got the diesel fuel tank I won yesterda at Ritchie Bros auctions in Morris IL. Man it is nice almost new pump but only 15 gal not 20 like I thought, auto shut off handle and everything works like it should. But get this,,, the thing has 70 + gallons of off road diesel fuel in it already. When you take out the cost of the fuel already in it I only have about $145 in the whole system.

I think I hit the lotto on this one. The fuel looks clean and smells just fine. I still am going to have it checked before I dump it into the tractor but it looks to be fine. I need to get a plastic battery box for the battery and run a ground line to the tank from the shed wiring.

You guys have a good one.

 

Going to the basement to run trains.

Tomorrow is our daughter Katherine's 28 birthday. Where did the time go???????

[cheapclassics]

Good evening all,

A good day.  Went to a TCA meet.  Thought it would be open a hour later than when I got there, but they were closing up.  I did get some switch parts for the manual Fastrack turnouts and 3 1970 Lionel boxcars.  Worked on taxes today.  So dang complicated.  About gave myself a coronary working on them until I realized where the mistake was.   Good return on federal and owe the state some.   All in all it was a good day.   Submmbob, good luck on the job search.  I hear you on the job stress.   Glad you had a good day with the Corvair people.  That is one vehicle I would love to have again in the family.  My dad had one for 11 years.  I hope everyone has a good day.

Keep on training,

Mike C. from Indiana

[Sturgeon-Phish]

Morning all from cool (30F) clear Southern Ohio

Bob-Never thought about the altitude as a factor but I understand how it would.

Kev-Good job on the tank.  I'd still swap out the filter, add some conditioner and for a while mix fuel new with old if possible or use the old fuel up with your older equipment.  Seems like the older diesels are more tolerant with fuel condition.

My granddaughters and I had fun at the father daughter dance last night.  It was the first one for the school and it was a big hit, and well attended.

My neighbor got the fender for the Civic painted.  It looks good.  There is a run but I'm going the buff it out.  I'll try to bolt it on Monday.

I've ran 2 ranks of gas through the Civic and got 36 & 37 mpg.  I'm like this car more and more.

Enjoy Palm Sunday

may God bless

Jim

 

[JTrains]

submmbob

Going to have to quit my job soon. The schedule is physically and mentally killing me. At 14 years, it's been a long run and mostly good, but it's time. I've got a little over 3 months until my yearly contract ends, when I will tell them I'm not renewing it. Understandibly this is a bit nerve wracking for me, but somehting will work out.

Certainly don't know your situation, but just a thought: when your contract is up, perhaps you could try asking for some time off (maybe a month?) to give you some time to mentally and physically recharge?  That could buy you some time to clear your head and see what you really want to do.  If they say "no", you're no worse off than if you just quit - and if they say "yes", you might end up feeling differently during that time than you do now and can stay there longer.

After my first wife passed several years ago, after going back to work for a year I then ended up taking three months off to think about where I wanted my life to go.  I thought about career changes, lifestyle changes, moving, etc. and ultimately decided that I wanted to continue what I was doing before. Wasn't great for the checkbook in the short term, but it was great for my long-term quality of life.

[KRM]

Good morning,

34 cloudy may get to 45 later. Weather looks about the same for the whole week.

Did you guys get hit by the snow???

I think Katie and clan will be stopping by today on their way home from the water park they staid at yesterday and last night. Today is Katherine's 28th birthday.

Phish, I am going to put a new filter on it and I already added conditioner. My John Deere 3203 will be ten this July. No electronic junk on it's engine so I should be good. A close friend of mine who is a fuel engineer told me to check it this way. "Look at it in the light and see if it is cloudy.  It should be red and translucent.  It should not be cloudy.  Then stick in frig cool to 32F-35F look for cloudiness.  There should be no cloud" So I did and it is clear still have to see what it looks like after having it in the fridg in the shed overnight,

 

No other plans.Have a good day.

 

Here it is set in place on the cold side of the shed.

[sir james I]

Good Morning to Spring.

Sun and 40s today. NO SNOW expected.

Just checking in.

S.J.

[rtraincollector]

Bob you are a youngen don't know why but thought you were closer to my age ( 61) like mid 50's You should do okay but did like JTrains idea sure sounded nice but your the one that has to make that decision. 

Morning all cooler here today only 49 right now going up to 62 or somewhere around that.

No real big plans for today.  

[dougdagrump]

Just dropping in to say "Howdy".

Not much going on, museum keeps me somewhat busy. The rest of the time just to tired to do much of anything. Still waiting for the doc's to get my meds figured out, visit the vampires tomorrow so they can take a withdrawl.

Later all

[Sturgeon-Phish]

Kev-You're good to go!  What a bonus

Jim

[cheapclassics]

Good evening all,

Did 11 miles in 3:02:53 and "coasted" the 12th mile for an overall time in 3:22:36 for a better than 17 minute mile average.  Will go for 13.1 next weekend.   Team Haas finished sixth in their F-1 debut for a US team (with Ferrari power and technical help).  I hope everyone has a good day.

Keep on training,

Mike C.

[submmbob]

Hello all

Nice warm day in the Ol' Pueblo.

Went over to Bill's and pulled a 2-spd wiper motor out of one of the cars we are parting out for the van. Then I helped Bill pull a head off a '61 Lakewood wagon one of the other club member's owns. It dropped a valve seat, but the piston is OK so I'm donating one of the original heads from the van to get it running. My buddy from the trolley is interested in buying it. Then we assembled the rear bearing units for the 4dr. Hopefully we can get them installed on Tuesday. I have another friend who is interested in buying that car. 

Thanks for the thoughts on the job situation. The bottom line is this: 1) I hate the schedule and the isolation, 2) I would really like to just work in town and come home @ night, 3) after 14 years I could give a rat's @SS about astronomy, it just doesn't turn my crank anymore and I'm often simply bored to tears, and 4) they really don't pay us that well anyway considering what we do. 

If I switch to what I'm thinking of doing, I may have to take a significant pay cut for a while, but it will solve all of the above issues and eventually may end up making more. 

Ran trains or train last night on the N-gauge layout. Picked up a Daylight GS-4 and some passenger cars from my friend. 

 

 

[fifedog]

Happy Monday boys.  Sunny & 35 in the Mid-Atlantic region, where we had a little shohizo over the weekend, which might have been why we didn't have any viewings.  Hardest part of selling your home is keeping it ship-shape (read - getting on the fifelings) at all times.  Youngest broke down a little at the dinner table when we discussed moving.  (Knew that was gonna happen....)

[KRM]

Good morning,

Moving kind of slow. Started a different med yesterday. Done with the steroid I was on for the rotor cuff tear, Whatever it is I slept!

34 heading to 51 with sun.

No plans

Bob, Rember Ryan, He has all of his N gauge up for sale. His E-bay name is    zeroexport check him out. Maybe send him a message.

[rtraincollector]

Hey fife so you don't have to rent a moving truck get all your buddies from the station that have Pick-up trucks come over and throw as much as they can in the back and take it to your next place and dump it on the front lawn for wifey to go through and see what she wants to yard sale and whats still worth keeping  

 

No seriously thou bet you could get help loading thou from some of your old co-workers from the station you worked out of.

 

I know it's kinda quick but if you could find a place you could occupy by April 13th you could invite all the ones that go to York over for a view of your layout but really be to help you move  

[fifedog]

rt - Wifey wants all new "stuff" for WV, so pretty much all we are taking is a bedroom set, some antique pieces, decorations, clothes, tools, and trains (of course).

[cnw1995]

Aloha. Sunny and cold today. I had a quiet weekend. Hope you had a good bday, Brent. I saw the green river last Sat - for some reason, Chicago celebrates StPDay on the weekend nearest to the actual day. Kev, that tank / pump is a steal and the extra fuel is sure a bonus. Bob, sounds like you have a plan for the next step in your career -- as JTrains said, it's sure worth reflecting on what you'd like to do. Fife, is the Yachett making the trip to WV?

[rtraincollector]

fifedog

rt - Wifey wants all new "stuff" for WV, so pretty much all we are taking is a bedroom set, some antique pieces, decorations, clothes, tools, and trains (of course).

Sounds like Yard sale at Fifedom to me. Avertise with lionel trains and put out some you really don't want or ger some cheap stuff from the bay add a few $$ to it and that helps draw folks who may not of come :)  

[fifedog]

cnw1995 - Yatchett is staying.  Kids can use it, and I haven't finished 'sploring the Chesapeake.  Plus, gives me a place to stay during visits with grandson.  As long as I can afford the slip fee, no need to rid myself of it.

[wrmcclellan]

Afternoon folks!

The Ides of York approach...

A cool sunny day. Temps in low 60's today. 

Fife - good plan!

 

[lion88roar]

Afternoon fellas

The circus was a big hit with the kiddos. Was happy the kids got to see the elephants once in their lifetimes, sad what has happened to the circus. No lion act, no bear act, clown acts reduced to dancing and falling down... probably that last time we are going to see it.

Made the first trip with the trailer on Saturday. Took the old grill to the dump, there had to be at least 15 grills at the recycling area, most I've ever seen at one time. Then got home and started a fire as the temps were falling faster than Matthew's pants! Saturday evening we headed out to exchange the kitchen scale I got for my birthday, then TheQ decided she wanted to go to PA to do some clothes shopping for the kiddos, think we got home @ 9:30, man was it showing (very little accumulation).

Sunday we did lunch for my birthday with TheQ's Father, Brother, Sister-In-Law and niece. Then it was home to watch MD beat Hawaii to make it to the Sweet Sixteen.

Not much else going on. Easter Bunny comes this Saturday night... kids are looking forward to his visit.

[Sturgeon-Phish]

Good afternoon from Sunny and cool 50F Southern Ohio,

Kev-Just being able to sleep helps you feel better

Fife-Can’t imagine what it would be like to keep it in “showing condition” with kids living in the house

Bob- I believe I understand.  I had similar reasons for accepting the layoff.  I did not want to tear apart what I’d worked on for 11 years, and the shift work was getting to me.

Brent- Too bad the circus did not meet your expectation.  Another victim of our “modern” way of life.

I got the fender on the Civic this morning.  The paint matched pretty good.  There is one run that will need buffed out.  

 

I got a job offer this morning to work on the same DOE reservation I left 02/29, in another aspect of the site remediation working as a Training Instructor.  Job starts April 11.  Great benefits, fair salary, and getting back to less stress & responsibility.  I imagine my honey-do list just got firmed up.

There is a scrimmage baseball game this evening to go to.  It will be cool when the sun goes down.

May God bless

 

Jim

 

[rtraincollector]

Good news on the Job offer Jim. 

Morning all. no real plans for today. I may cut our grass. Suppose to get up to 69* today presently it's 39* 

Hope all have a good day

[cnw1995]

Aloha. Grey and cold-ing today. Congrats on the job, Jim! Fife, whew! Last year for the elephants in the circus. No elephants at the local zoos anymore either. I remember when half the fun of the circus coming to town was watching them put up the tent.

[KRM]

Good morning,  49 and heading to 63 with on and off sunshine.
Just opened my eyes at 8:00. Slept so so. Arm was kind of bad last night. A trip to Menards to get plugs for the mower is the only plan for today. Looks like the other parts are close to getting here as they show out for delivery. So maybe I will finish up the mower service today.

Good news on the job Jim.

Bob, I am sure whatever you do it will work out. Cat made sure I always knew how to find othe kinds of jobs. Lets see, three lay offs, two strikes, one lock out, and a crushed arm. You will be fine!!!

[cheapclassics]

Good morning all,

Test post.

Mike C. from Indiana