CNCharlie John, just checked and the hotel we stayed in Venice is still going. It is the Seguso. It looks the same outside as it did in '88. It is in a great location and we found Venice most magical at night as most tourists stay on the mainland. Hard to believe it is 34 years since we were there.
John, just checked and the hotel we stayed in Venice is still going. It is the Seguso. It looks the same outside as it did in '88. It is in a great location and we found Venice most magical at night as most tourists stay on the mainland. Hard to believe it is 34 years since we were there.
I went to Venice on my honeymoon and then again many years later. The second trip was with the ex-wife and our college age daughter. She was spending a term in Florence, another lovely Italian city, and to get to Venice we rode through the countryside on a great Italian train. We rode first class, because the train was otherwise sold out, and first class was only a few dollars more.
Splurge and take the family on a gondola ride. It's touristy and overpriced, but there's nothing quite like it in the world.
My first time there, we dined outdoors on the Grand Canal, the Rialto, in the shadows of that famous arched footbridge. Our waiter spoke fluent English. Then I noticed that the same waiter was also just as fluent in German, French and of course Italian. The diners at the next table spoke Japanese. He didn't miss a beat with that, either.
When I got home from the Florence trip, I finally put myself on a diet.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Good evening Diners.
John and CNCharlie. Thanks for your concern. Living with the pain most of my life hasn't been too bad. Just now things are getting annoying. Fortunately my bad days haven't coincided with Dawn's bad days, so we get by.
Italy.
Venice. A little off the tourist track was very interesting. Visited the Dolomites. Amazing. Lido di Jesolo was great fun. Sailing in and out was fantastic. We want to go again.
Naples. We were told 'See Naples and die'. The traffic I am not surprised. That apart, Naples is one of Dawn's favourite cities in Italy.
Rome. Well Rome has to be visited (like New York is to America).
Vatican City. When in Rome the Vatican is a must.
Pisa. Memorable. A must see. I wish we had time to see Florence on that trip.
Messina (Sicily) A beautiful city. A city both Dawn and I adore.
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
Ah Venice, loved it. I was on the ferry in New Zealand going from the North Island to the South Island sitting out on deck just taking it all in. I had been watching this drop-dead gorgeous girl on and off as well. So part way through the crossing she comes and sits down next to me, well we spent the next three weeks traveling together around NZ. We parted ways in Christchurch as we were going in different directions, she had two months left in her trip and I had five weeks. She then came to Vancouver and stayed for three months. Later I flew to Zurich and we took the train to Venice.
I agree the food in Italy is superb, the best steaks, prime rib, and other meat dishes on the planet. I also had pizza. They eat pizza there by folding the whole thing up and picking the whole thing up and eating it that way.
The girl I was traveling with was not well one day and so I went off on my own. After exploring for a few hours I found myself sitting at an outside cafe on the edge of a canal drinking wine all afternoon and watching the daily lives of the people go on. Seeing boat ambulances, fire rigs and police going by on the canals was quite fascinating to watch as was the mailman in his boat.
In Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade, they show a building that was supposed to be the library where X marks the spot. I took a photo of this building before the movie was made and when I saw it in the movie I remember thinking I'd been in there! I went home checked the photo and sure enough, except it was a church, not a library and I have photos of the inside as well. I just had to go inside as it was such a beautiful building.
The wife said this morning I'll be right back and left, she came back and got busy in the kitchen, she had gone and bought lobster tails and made a lobster bisque. It was sooooo good even at 11:00 in the morning. She does things like that, we each had a big bowl and she said enjoy it, that's a $20.00 bowl of soup.
Well, I wasn't going to blow up the pool this year and was going to get rid of it. However, Meryl insisted, so after patching two more holes I put the hoses in and hoped for the best, so far so good. I hear we're having a heat wave this weekend of 30 plus, what timing, after three days, 60,000 Ltrs of BCs finest is in place. I will move the big screen out so I can watch the playoffs while floating on my two-beer holder floaty thing. The patch kit is handy.
My brain is strained (not hard to do) trying to figure out why I can not program my latest Rapido Loksound V5, but I think it may just be my old NCE system needs a little help.
Lots to do today so I better get off my butt.
All the best to all.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
Good evening
Track fiddler You guys are killing me. The inbox site hasn't worked right for years But sometimes neither do l
You guys are killing me. The inbox site hasn't worked right for years
But sometimes neither do l
https://youtu.be/d9mRf3ojIiA
TF
Brent, your memories of sitting on the patio in New Zealand reminds me of this simple video of my kid and his band buddies over there. I watch it from time to time and it always makes me wish it were summer, and that I was about 30 years younger. They wrote the song. My son is the one sitting on the rail.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-UpfsgBdHw
Tin Can IIOur neighbor called my wife this morning, the interior paint she wants from the local Sherwin Williams is $106 a gallon.
I became aware of the price jump a few years ago when I had to re-side the caboose. Originally I used Duration and back in August of 2011 it was $55/gal after any promos, usually a 30% off sale.
Sherwin Williams Duration by Edmund,on Flickr
IMG_8303 by Edmund, on Flickr
Buying the same paint after the new siding was applied in September of 2020 the best I could do was $96/gal. after any promos or discounts.
End-grabs-91908 by Edmund, on Flickr
C'est la vie
Cheers, Ed
Evening
And a wise choice at that. I always called them Sherman's and what I chose to paint the house in Prior Lake 30 years ago before I sold it. It looked just as new 15 years after.
The Caboose sure looks nice after some good paint.
I seen Wilson approved too and that's good enough for me
Sparky Rail Brent, your memories of sitting on the patio in New Zealand reminds me of this simple video of my kid and his band buddies over there. I watch it from time to time and it always makes me wish it were summer, and that I was about 30 years younger. They wrote the song. My son is the one sitting on the rail. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-UpfsgBdHw
MisterBeasley My first time there, we dined outdoors on the Grand Canal, the Rialto, in the shadows of that famous arched footbridge. Our waiter spoke fluent English. Then I noticed that the same waiter was also just as fluent in German, French and of course Italian. The diners at the next table spoke Japanese. He didn't miss a beat with that, either. When I got home from the Florence trip, I finally put myself on a diet.
Did the diet improve your foreign language skills?
JW
Speaking of good paint, those Ol' Rusty's spoke for themselves.
https://youtu.be/Us040irLbuU
Hope you'll enjoy the Ol' Pennsylvania's this evening.
The World Is A Beaurtiful Place
-Photograph by Kevin Parson
It didn't rain today! It has been at least two weeks since we had a dry day.
Work was a nice steady pace today, nothing crazy happened, and it was just an all around good day. I am off for the next two days, and I am hoping to finish the trip tomorrow and then get some paint on the living room walls on Friday.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Good morning Diners. Tea and toast please, Brunhilda.
Another warm day.
Daughter and SIL have gone to Glastonbury. (They have been going every year since almost the Festival began.) We shall be looking after the children over the weekend. That will be fun.
Stay Safe Everyone.
Sparky Rail. They wrote the song. My son is the one sitting on the rail
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
Good morning.
The day has been busy so far. I got back from my morning walk just as the insurance adjuster got here. Very interesting to talk to.
I was on my roof last week, and I didn't see any obvious damage like I have after other hail storms. I think the high-impact shingles were probably worth the money last time.
Hope everyone has a good day today.
York1 John
This one starts with the Newfoundland theme but may get moved to Prototype. I hope not.
I seem to recall way farther up the string that there would be rail ferries bringing cargo to various points of entry for Newfoundland's narrow guage system. Did all of that cargo functionally have to be hand-transferred to NF rolling stock? Where did they do it; before or after the ferry journey? Needless to say, a major inefficiency of necessity. Wonder how much that added to costs, both for consumers and railroads.
John B
BTW, Terrible Joke of the Week:
What did the slug say while riding the back of the tortise?
Wheeee!
(Sorry, couldn't resist.)
Good morning everyone. I slept for ten hours last night. I must be making up for all the lost sleep for the past couple of weeks. I feel great again this morning. Life is very good.
Today I am finishing the trim in the living room... I better get to work on that.
See you all a bit later.
Good afternoon
I haven't made up with my layout yet because last time I was working on it I realized I have to take five steps backwards after my 10 steps forwards. My layout and I fight sometimes and the inclines punch harder than I do
Today I had nothing to do and all day to do it.
I started at 8:30 this morning with a new concoction I will call Judy's Comfort Food Feast. I just kind of winged it starting like I always do with jalapenos as a natural heat.
The garlic with the onions take a little longer to get soft.
We brown and season chicken burger over here because it's better than turkey burger.
Of course the King Arthur flour for pizza crust Ed and Brent both suggested works good for making homemade Alfredo sauce too.
Baby steps when you slow cook all day introducing each ingredient after seasoning and simmering to each other.
Look Mom! the fork floats
Well, When you have two pounds of cheese, what else are you going to do with it?
During the pandemic I learned I really like these big flat sheets of pasta when they were out of the wrinkly thinner ones.
And the layers in-between.
That ought to get me some Brownie Points tonight when I pick her up from work. Judy's Comfort Food Feast is white-based alfredo lasagna...
Haven't baked it or tried it yet but I don't see how I could have missed today
Tomorrow is my Judy's last day at work for a while and we're heading out to Wisconsin for another one of those two-three week Sabbatical Lake things for a while.
You guys take care and I'll see you again when I see ya
Good Afternoon,
John B, I think they changed the trucks on railcars from standard to narrow. I wll look through some back issues of CN Lines to confirm.
TF, have fun on your vacation.
Hot day here, about 85 F . Just sitting in the shade drinking mango lemonade.
CN Charlie
CNCharlie Good Afternoon, John B, I think they changed the trucks on railcars from standard to narrow. I wll look through some back issues of CN Lines to confirm. CN Charlie
BATMANThat's a great tune, I thoroughly enjoyed it and will listen again. Does your son live there? Does he have any other songs he has written or has published on Youtube?
Thanks Brent. He does not live there. About a week after he graduated from high school he headed over there with just a work visa, a back back (more like just a book bag), and a guitar. He was registered into some type of program for kids like this, which sounded to me like not much more than a one day hotel seminar and a good luck handshake. But by the time his airplane landed he had already met a couple that invited him to stay with them for a week or two while they helped him figure things out. Never even bothered with the program. He worked and wondered the county for a year, and loved it immensely. I never would have even dreamed of doing something like that when I was young. The video is from when he went back a second time, with his buddies. He'd probably still be there, but sadly one of his friends back here put a rope around his neck, and he rushed home for a while. Then came Covid. On the positeve side he's having great fun making music and they are getting very good. There are a couple more videos on YouTube, False Harbor. They are not a good representation though, as the last year and a half they have really grown and refined their craft. It's not the folk type sound, that was just a New Zealand patio vacation thing.
BATMANThey have tracked him down through the internet as he still maintains his professional acting page on Facebook and is listed on IMDB. They are starting to invade his privacy inappropriately just to get a notch in their collector's belt.
That really stinks. I know from reading your posts that the kid has worked his butt off. I hope that going off the grid a bit helps him get back to some normalcy.
I hope I didn't put too many people to sleep talking about my kid. On a MR note, I just received some power supplies and a couple DCC circuit breakers to try out on the 4x8 tonight.
Tom
I knew the smiley face wouldn't survive the oven but the big sheets of pasta wrinkled well.
First and second piece for Bear and Ed. The rest of you are more than welcome in my home and I will show you to the kitchen to Dish you up a piece
Thanks for stopping by and I'll see you soon
https://youtu.be/GmCKvY684WI
I don’t think he’d have been sitting on the rail for a while, now. 30°F this morning. I also enjoyed the song, are there more?.
Hi Bear, thanks for the kind words. There are more, but not like the one I posted. More like new Americana rock stuff. BTW, those last 2 pics you posted are super cool!
Good evening everyone...
TWO DAYS IN A ROW WITHOUT RAIN!
It is a Florida Summer time miracle.
I took advantage of the non-soaked ground to get some work done in the backyard.
The Mango tree is in full production.
I bought a new hybrid "designer" Mango tree to add to the backyard. Today I planted "Son of Mango version 2.0".
This is an "Orange Sherbet" hybrid Mango. It is supposed to be the sweetest Mango ever grown... we'll see about that. I paid $180.00 for that twig. I sure hope it grows well. I think it will be the only thing I plant this year.
The "Orange Sherbet" Mango was first produced by Zill High Performance Nursery in 2020, and has been acclaimed as the best Mango ever produced. I was lucky to be able to get this one. Most of the young Mango trees in nurseries were destroyed by the hard freeze over the winter.
I also did some weeding and put down the bug killer in the yard.
Time to get some rest.
Track fiddlerFirst and second piece for Bear and Ed.
Thanks TF. I'll take a crispy corner piece
Counting our collective blessings that scenes like these can still exist today!
Passing the Museum by Craig Sanders, on Flickr
— and
Cumberland From Baltimore by Kenny Wright, on Flickr
220528_12_elizabethtown by lmyers83, on Flickr
Good evening from the beautiful Pacific Rim.
I was just settling down with a Rum and Pepsi last night to watch the hockey game and the kid calls, his girlfriend has totaled his car. He was still at work and could not leave so I got on the phone to give her some support. The RCMP showed up and one constable stayed with the car and called the wrecker while the other drove her home the final 20 kms.
We drove into town today to empty its contents and the doors would not open or close and her driver's seat was partially torn off. Surprisingly enough she is no worse for wear, so far.
We bought the car in 2016 when he started his movie work as he needed it to get to work and home at all hours. When he graduated, we gave it to him as a grad present. It was a fun car to drive. My daughter also learned to drive in it.
After we emptied the car of its contents today we went for lunch at the Flying Beaver at Vancouver Airport. It is on the river with lots of float plane action happening. I ate there a lot when I was working, great grub. The kid was a little upset at losing his car as there were so many fond memories attached to it. Now he is making big bucks, a BMW is in his sights.
York1 I think the high-impact shingles were probably worth the money last time.
John, we use to have cedar shakes, and when it came time to replace them we went with the steel roof as it is pretty much bomb proof. With the storms seemingly being more frequent and more intense it seemed prudent. Not a repair since we got it including when some pretty big branches came down on it that would have gone right through the shakes. It's rated for winds of 240kmh.
Bear, nice shots of Mt Taranaki. I went for a very long 14 hour day hike at mount Cook while I was there. A memory that stands out. Had the crampons on crossing the ice fields. When I think back to NZ, it was a most relaxing time.
Every time Kevin post one of his "the world is a beautiful place" photos I keep thinking of how lucky and smart I was to get out and see some of it.
Mt Cook, NZ.
Sparky Rail BATMAN They have tracked him down through the internet as he still maintains his professional acting page on Facebook and is listed on IMDB. They are starting to invade his privacy inappropriately just to get a notch in their collector's belt. That really stinks. I know from reading your posts that the kid has worked his butt off. I hope that going off the grid a bit helps him get back to some normalcy. Tom
BATMAN They have tracked him down through the internet as he still maintains his professional acting page on Facebook and is listed on IMDB. They are starting to invade his privacy inappropriately just to get a notch in their collector's belt.
I was talking to him about it today at lunch. A couple of these goofy kids showed up at a conference he was hosting asking if he could come out and sign an autograph. These kids need a job.
Well, Meryl just brought me a sour whiskey made with Crown Royal, it is pretty good, shaken, not stirred. I had to take her to Vancouver to another specialist today. Now she just brought me a slice of her homemade pizza, tough to refuse.
Don't think I'll get much more done today. I may crank up the big screen and big sound and see what I can find.
York1I was on my roof last week, and I didn't see any obvious damage like I have after other hail storms. I think the high-impact shingles were probably worth the money last time.
I am not familiar with high impact shingles.
The shingles on my roof are Dade County Code approved. They are supposed to be good for 175 MPH winds. The house has survived multiple category 3 storms with no damage, so I think they were worth it.
Supposedly the shingles have a fiberglass core, but I have never cut one open to inspect it.
Here is a video about Zill's High Performance Nursery here in Florida. It also has a little bit of an explanation why backyard Mangoes in Florida are better than any Mango you can buy in a store.
(72) Mango Megastore! Largest Tropical Fruit Nursery in the Country! - YouTube
Hybrid designer mangoes are amazing.