Glad it finally made it there Ulrich! I will PM you all the names of the people that helped out. To be honest, I have to look them up, there where 3 Johns alone.
I was taken back with the amount of funds that was sent, I was hoping to get you a couple of turnouts, never thought we could get all 4 of them!
Hey, wait a minute! Where the stick from my yard? Bet customs stole it!
Looking forward to seeing more pictures of the layout. If things turn around for me, there will be a third box.
Enjoy and Merry Christmas Ulrich.
Ken and the Mail Box Helpers
I hate Rust
Good Morning!! Wow! Where’s my sunglasses? Sure is bright this morning. Oh, it’s Ulrich, must have got his package.
Coffee and the #3 breakfast special over easy please. Brenda’s home, she took Wed, Thur and Friday off. Gonna be a long week.
Why you ask? Well, the Williamsville ComMUNITY FOUNdation usually has their (our) village 4th of July celebration sometime between the first of May and the 15th of August. Whatever works out tto be convenient and doesn't interfere with folks Independence Day plans to insure a good turnout. Only in Williamsville will you get a reasoning like that for not celebrating the holiday on the day. This year I think they are going to celebrate Christmas sometime in February. Rumor. Anyway, the event happens to be this Saturday and she is trying to get all the odds and ends worked out without having to be pestered with her JOB that PAYS! She did not take my sagely advice after having been there done that too many times to count. In fact, I don’t believe I’ll ever have to buy a T-shirt again. My dismissed advice was at the meetings, when they are planning all the things they want to do and where to put things and how they should do it, when someone pipes up with a suggestion, ask them “are you going to be there to physically help? Not just now, but the day prior to and or the day of the event. If you are, continue. If not…, shut up. We don’t need arm chair quarterbacks, or sideline judges, We need boots on the ground. Oh and by the way, if you say you are going to be there and help, but are planning on waiting til the last minute or after you are pretty secure in the feeling your idea is gonna happen and then call and say you can’t make it for some hairbrained reason like my 23 year old son has to go to Peoria and I figured I’d better take him just to be safe, or I have tickets for such and such and I forgot I had them...., I will hurt you. Bad. Real bad”. Now she is down to just a couple people. In case you’re curious, I did indeed say “I told you so”. (nothing broken yet, but the event has not passed)
Ken- You do better without the spell check quietly and unbeknownst offering up words for you. (although I gotta admit some of them are hilarious. "Genital breeze" Best one yet!!!ROFL)
Bob- nice to meet you , glad you stopped in! Great story about the dining car. Don’t worry you owe nothing for the meals here unless you get Top Of Page, then virtual cash or credit /debit will do. They prefer no checks because we travel and the checks are from all over the place and can be troublesome to get cashed.
Lee- Wish…., Dorothy a happy B-day. At least she, like Brenda, prefers Carnations. Odd though, at one time Carnations were much cheaper than Roses. Now….I think I’ve been suckered in advance.
Ah wheelies on a Schwinn Sting-Ray. Brings back memories of a better time. Nah, not really better, just different.
Best get a movin.
Ya’ll have a Great Day!!!
(two blasts on the whistle)
Todd
Central Illinoyz
In order to keep my position as Master and Supreme Ruler of the House, I don't argue with my wife.
I'm a small town boy. A product of two people from even smaller towns. I don’t talk on topic….. I just talk.
Goooood Morning (well, it´s past lunchtime here)
This year´s Christmas came early to me, to be precise, on June 22nd, 09.39 hrs. The package passed customs and was delivered to our doorstep.
This is the content of the package:
Together with the contents of mail box # 1 from Ken, I will now be able to finish all the track work, get the switches running and do all of the mountain scenery!
Oh joy, oh rapture!
To all those who contributed (Ken has not yet disclosed the names) - words cannot sufficiently express my feelings about your generous gift. Without your I would not be able to be back into active model railroading. In deep humbleness I´d like to express my sincere thanks to all of you. I hope I´ll be able to make up one day, either to you or by supporting someone else in need.
My special thanks go out to Ken, who took the time and care to arrange for all of this, even in times of own deep worries about his and his family´s future.
Thank you, Folks! You are more than just friends!
Ken - I´d like to name some places on my layout to honor the donors. Unless they wish to remain unnamed, would you be so kind to let have their names?
Lee - and a birthday to your GF!
Janie, as today´s my personal Christmas, put whatever the guys want on my tab - for the rest of the day. I pay cash, in real money and I mean $$$!
Blessings!
Train MasterI think Jeff overdid it today. He has gone to bed with spasms in his arms and back and a whale of a headache. I hope he is better in the morning.
oooo...not good...
Hope he is better today....
Any argument carried far enough will end up in Semantics--Hartz's law of rhetoric Emerald. Leemer and Southern The route of the Sceptre Express Barry
I just started my blog site...more stuff to come...
http://modeltrainswithmusic.blogspot.ca/
Good Morning, My girlfriend turned 36 (again) yesterday. I bought her a new laptop (i5 Toshiba) and an all in one printer with fax capabilities. On the way home from work I bought her two dozen carnations and took her out to dinner. She said it was her best birthday ever. Funny; my credit card company said the same thing…
No Fear; I should have everything paid off before the train show season starts.
Galaxy, There is a great house here in Euclid for $80K, too bad it’s outside of your shopping area. 1 story, full basement, 2 car garage, 1/10 acre of land, 3 bedroom, 1 bath, 1955’s hardwood floors, lots of closets. It’s a ranch but has a German accent to the front.
Has anyone considered joining the Walther’s train club? I was looking at it and I’m not sure it’s a good deal or a bad deal. Comments?
Rob, you need to borrow some beavers from our Wisconsin or Canadian friends.
Welcome aboard Bob.
BM1 Lee Soule USCG (ret) L.S.&W Railroad Serving the Lower Great Lakes
Good Morning
Well...kind of dry...it is going to be a somewhat wet day for us..both in the humidity department and in the rain department...those ol' t'under'boomers showed up and gave us the old whatfor last night..3 trees struck by lightning in our neighbourhood and several houses struck as well...plus a couple of transformers down in the crescent behind us....our power went off 5 times last night...3 momentary and 2 somewhat longer ones...oh..and we did get some hail as well...lots o' fun....
Today I will be getting ready to do a bloodfast for a vampire visit tomorrow morning...yay...
And as well some LHS visiting to see about a couple of orders as well....
Flo, I'll just have a coffee for now please...I'll be at the RC for a bit...
Good monring again.
Going to be a CHopper SHopper soon. Get the groceries while they are hot, on sale and I have coupons!
Then I'll see what other trouble I can get into.
FOr those who missed it..the house with the asbestos siding is OFF our list.
TTYALLL8R
-G .
Just my thoughts, ideas, opinions and experiences. Others may vary.
HO and N Scale.
After long and careful thought, they have convinced me. I have come to the conclusion that they are right. The aliens did it.
Curses, foiled again.
GOOD MORNING !!!
From the FIRST ONE UP. NOT WHO STAYED UP PAST MIDNIGHT!! {wetidlerjr!! HA!!}
AND STRANGE CONTINENTS don't count either!! {Ulrich!! HA!!}
SO there.
Why am I up? joining the insomniacs club I guess.
Good Morning ! from Tipton IN.
Bill Tidler Jr.
Near a cornfield in Indiana...
Good Evening,
Welcome to the big green Sea Monster guy!
A rare do almost nothing day...maybe THAT's appropriate for the longest day of the year??? Did dig out a Walthers tank car kit THAT has been sitting on the "to build someday" shelf. I got it as a two-fer deal on theBay sometime last year. It's got the GATX reporting marks and I figured it would be perfect for the Cargill wet milling corn plant (to be built on the to be built layout). Well (full currently, bullfrog sitting there croaking tonight), I now see it says "Caustic Soda" on it. I do a little looking, and THAT is Sodium Hydroxide. Hmmmmm. I do a little more digging, and the closest plausible destination would be Proctor and Gamble in Iowa City. But, with all of the manufacturing plants for Sodium Hydroxide (THAT I could find) being located in Texas, Louisiana and other points south and west...routing a car load through my little part of the known universe just won't make sense. But, I'm knocking it together anyway. As is typical, I've got a nice little gap on one end and on the seam where the two halves meet (on top, of course). It's easy enough to fill with Squadron brand putty, but it is amazing how hard it can be to match "black." I can't do a lot of weathering, it's in a '91 or '92 repaint scheme, so would be quite "new" for my era. I think Walthers used Scalecoat paints on their 1980s stuff...maybe they did on the 90s kits too??? Might have to put a Scalecoat 2 "black" on my next order from the Big W...
I think I got my ticket to the RC punched yet again though. After looking up Sodium Hydroxide, and noting the four empty placards... I found the appropriate placard online: save as, insert, re-size, print, cut...and somehow I got a perfect fit!
I'll have me a seat, grab a cup of coffee and try to find a destination and routing for this tanker...
Chris
The Cedar cRapids Industrial Branch: Proudly Shipping Yesterday's CrunchBerries Tomorrow!
Evening Folks.
Flo, Big Boy Sub, tender of fries and a Want to take a guess?
Bob, what that big green thing you have with you?
Funny, I really don't have a thing to say right, so I am off to the Rivet Counter to enjoy my meal.
Later.
Ken
Evening All,
Can't stay except for a few minutes. At w**k and it is fairly busy. The heat index today was 108F.
Jeff- I lived in El Paso (east side) from 1963-1971 then moved to Germany in general area of Frankfurt. My dad was in the Army. Take care of yourself.
Bob-
Everyone have a good night
Curt Webb
The Late Great Pennsylvania Railroad
http://s1082.photobucket.com/albums/j372/curtwbb/
yougottawanta Galaxy DO NOT BUY any thing with asbestos.The government regs are costly for the removal,and it is never all removed. Even the floor tile in that era house has asbestos,read sure bet for cancer. Further more many of those houses used sodder with a high lead content, the paints used in many of these also have lead paint. WALK AWAY from this one.
Galaxy DO NOT BUY any thing with asbestos.The government regs are costly for the removal,and it is never all removed. Even the floor tile in that era house has asbestos,read sure bet for cancer. Further more many of those houses used sodder with a high lead content, the paints used in many of these also have lead paint. WALK AWAY from this one.
Yep we hear you.Already a done NOT deal. THe asbestos sided house is OFF the list as much as the ones with cracked foundation and standing water in the basements. We asked a thrid party who has an interest in seeing us buy a house and decided no too. SO we will nto be buying that house!!
At least I know you read my post!
TTYALLL8r
David Parks I am the terror that flaps in the night!
Bob welcome,do we have any monster foor around here ?
Jeff For some reason I trhought you lived down south all your life. Were you ever around Ulrichs neck of the woods ?
Steamed veggie plate, please.
***Bob, welcome to the Diner.
Lost another good size tree today during a stout wind (edge of a storm). It twisted 1/3rd of the way up but is still attached to the trunk. Will be a tough one to safely cut down.
Wife helped me take down a smaller tree which was inches from our power line. I cut while she pulled on a rope with the 6x6 Ranger. Still two more trees to take down along our driveway, but neither of us were feeling good today so they will have to wait.
Healing thoughts to those in need.
Cheers! Rob
Good Evening Diners!
First of all a Welcome! to Seamonster ( Bob) . I too live in Winnipeg so no need to comment on our weather to you! l live in the south part of the city, near U of M. Anyway send me a P.M. if you like and we can comiserate about the weather. I have a small H.O. layout but am just about to start construction of a N scale door layout.
Galaxy, I can understand that now you have made the decision to buy a house, you can't find one that suits. It can be a trial and I've, as they say, 'been there'. You never know though, as we looked at a house 21 years ago that was out of our price range by 20k. We signed a guest book and the agent called us and encouraged us to make an offer anyway. We did saying it was our one and only offer so take it or leave it. We were shocked when they took it. Seems the owners were moving to another city and had already bought there so were now desperate.
Yesterday was a bit of a sad one for me as we finally had the internment for my mother. We didn't do it back in December as it was so cold but my sister was supposed to make the arrangements with the minister to do it in the spring. I finally told my sister a month ago to do it or I would. Anyway it is finally done. Her 3 sons turned up but couldn't even bother to dress better than old jeans and T-shirts. Not much respect shown for Mum who had always been very generous with them.
We went to a pet store to buy food for Robbie yesterday and of course my wife had to buy another toy for him. We are up to 44 now that he can retrieve by name. We called the toy lemie as it is supposed to be a leming. It took Robbie all of 2 minutes to learn its name. A while ago my wife asked him " Where is lemie?" . He ran off and came back with it a couple of minutes later.
I started painting a Walthers underpass kit last night but it needs another coat so I think I'll get busy otherwise that door won't ever see tracks on it .
See you soon,
CN Charlie
Well.
WE looked at two houses tonight. $5K apart in price, similar in configuration {both capes, 2 BR I bA down}. ANd 3rd BR up. Both higher than our budget, but make take offer to fit our budget, though it would require a chunk out of asking price.
Number one was dirty and needed paint everywhere. eatin galley {2 sides} kit had decent size space for a smaller round table or corner banquette. The finished basement had a wooden exposed floor that they supposedly peeled carpeting up from and painted paneling that A} was painted white and was filthy, And b} was peeling off the paneling anyway. The roof was 20 yrs old but still looked in great shape. The basement had a radon remediation system in it. The furnace was "not new" to the previous owners of 15 yrs, so older than 15 years easily, but newer than the house's age we think {built 1955}. Basement dry but musty. Apparently someone has POA {Power Of Attorney} for the seller, so I imagine old and living in home now.May need to sell. lot 50 x100 standard "city lot" for around here. next to corner lot that is vacant and somewhat over grown. somewhat private yard if fenced of form neighbors. PROBLEM: house has ASBESTOS Siding covered by vinyl siding except on an enclosed porch where asbestos is exposed and on part of STORAGE garage {not big enough for a car}. The more My Other Half {MOH} thinks about it the more the asbestos siding scares. Taxes $210/mo.
Number two is on similar lot, similar cape style . Had a half finished basement nicely done...far nicer than the first house. The basement dry and cool due to Central A/c. BR upstairs had 1/2 bath, but we would probably use downstairs BR as master.so Ba and 1/2 in this one and C A/C. over other one immediately. Could move in and not paint if we adopted a purple room and a very Dark green LR. eatin galley {all along one wall} kit leaved a lot to be desired on space for table. neither had DR. Up BR was nicely done and 1/2 bath nice. WOuld have made a 3/4 bath we thought, but might not fit roofline well. Hardwood like other one as carpets main level pulled up except newer in purple room {obvious for a girl}. The siding is painted cedar shake that is peeling {and we know cedar shake is hard to keep painted once painted} Garage was oversized, insulated and would fit one car easily. Slightly deeper lot but Backs up to a creek that had bank issues in 2006 flooding that required town to re-riprap banks BUT DID NOT FLOOD HOUSE. House unfortunately a "meca for neighborhood children who like to play on play set in back yard" according to owner. We will have to change THAT in a hurry! we DON"t have kids and do NOT want Other's hanging around either!!! Owner WAS home as he had not checked hio email but saw one form hi agent and didn't open. Gleaned the info from our agent he had a few offers he just wasn't happy with and a few that wanted owner financing. He didn't like any offer he had. More expensive that first house, but he is wiling to entertain any and all offers.Taxes here higher by another $110 a month over first house. Electric/heat budget with C A/C was also $125 MORE than we pay now with running window A/cs here in the trailer with same kind of heat.
FOr any and all offers we can make, we have STRONG offer that {generally} cannot be passed up if it will meet our budget range. If owner wants over our maximum budget amount WE CANNOT stretch our budget or "go back to drawing table" for more.Just can't.
So. We don't know. The privacy the first had was nice, but space was nicer in second. First to fit our budget better on all accounts- closer to our budget, lighter on elec. bill and cheaper on taxes.. BUT asbestos siding could be a killer. If we want to add on, make alterations to house, ALL asbestos siding and vinyl siding would have to be removed and abated and new siding put on. Second house more expensive and could be budget buster.
So we still don't know. Will think on it tonight and see what we think tomorrow.
have a great night.
Good evening. It's a cool 81° and cloudy with a 50% chance of rain.It's been busy for me today! I woke up this morning at 4:30 to the booming thunder of a storm and it was raining to beat the band. In all so far today we've gotten 3 ans 13/16thths inches of rain. I had to go over to my parents place at 9 am so I could take my mother to a doctors appointment in town (using her car), so the first thing I did after starting my van was to turn on the wipers. They cycled twice then clunk! No motion on the wipers. I could hear the wiper motor running. It seemed pretty obvious to me that the driver arm from the wiper motor to the wipers connecting rod had dropped off. Well, no time to fix it then so I drove it down there as it was. Besides, I didn't have any replacement bushings. So I took my mother to her appointment then I went to the barber shop and got a haircut. The barber asked me what I wanted but instead of telling him a regular haircut and leaving him to figure out what that was I indicated his haircut and told him I wanted one like it. So now the barber and I have the same haircut. I picked my mother up from the docs office and took her to Lowe's to she could buy more of those weeds she calls flowers. While we were there the bottom dropped out! It was raining so hard you couldn't see thirty feet and that was sitting still. I picked up a new 1/2 pint can of paint while I was there. A Valspar color called 'Brick 6'. Once the plants were loaded into the cars trunk in the pouring we headed home. After we got I realized I had forgotten to get the wiper rod bushings. So after a late lunch my father and I went to town. We stopped at Advance Auto Parts and picked up two packs of the bushing in question. Two packs because it's an assortment for Chrysler, Toyota, Ford and Jeep so I wanted to make sure I had enough of the Chrysler pieces. We went to Wal-Mart and picked up a few much needed items then went back home. Once there I got the pieces I needed from one of the assortment packs and set to work on the van. The last time I put these bushings on (they're plastic) I had followed the directions carefully and it didn't say anything about any lubrication. Well, they wore out quick, give or take a couple of weeks about six months. This time I put some Vaseline on the bushings before popping them into place. Maybe they'll last longer, maybe they're just cheap plastic junk that's made to wear out fast to keep you coming back for more. I got the front of the van put back together in about ten minutes. Now I'm so tired even my eyelids ache. That was my day.
Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running BearSpace Mouse for president!15 year veteran fire fighterCollector of Apple //e'sRunning Bear EnterprisesHistory Channel Club life member.beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam
yougottawanta Jeff - I am shocked , would never have suspected that you were in Va. What part of this state were you in ? You have the weather right. Most years we have three seasons Winter straight to summer then a month of fall
Jeff - I am shocked , would never have suspected that you were in Va. What part of this state were you in ? You have the weather right. Most years we have three seasons Winter straight to summer then a month of fall
Afternoon All,
Well almost evening. Got loaded up and off to Lexington Oh .tomorrow. Got a bit done on the one building in the l of the layout that will end up hiding the entrance to the incline. See if I can spend a couple of minutes down there again tonight but do need my beauty rest as I drive the Kenworth tomorrow.
Welcome Bob! I've seen the handle about the forum for a while - glad you dropped in.
Good luck with the house hunting G. I think we looked at over 50 before we found the house we still have (32 years ago).
Lots more to say but no time to do it - gotta run and finish packing. CUL, J.R.
Bob!!! We do pretty much the same thing here with the day trip scenario...except I'm doing this a little less because we are still w**king here...
Good Afternoon
It s a bit sticky out here....only 80F but feels like 95F....mmmmmmmm
I have the little Spring curled up between my arms here so I am typing chicken wing stylee here...
LSWrr Galaxy, 43 Riverview Ave - Binghamton, NY almost looks like my house except I paid $105,000 for mine in 2000, in 2005 it was appraised at $130,000. I have an addition on the back adding a dining room and a 4th bedroom. I think my last appraisal for taxes was $90,000. I’m drooling over the ranch homes in your last post. Someday I'll get one...
WEll, we have thought about and may be forced into a 2 story for now, then have to save pretty pennies to move up to a one level ranch someday in the future before we get "too old" to climb stairs. WE figure either with a finished basement or one we finish ourselves that when we get to old to climb up and down, then we stick to just the one level.
Any house lower in price than what I showed in the second set of listings are dumps, really. OR they are in bad neighborhoods and there are plenty of those around. We feel they would be a step down from our trailer!! WE would like to have some land around us, but land costs in taxes...we want to try to stick to $200-$250/month in taxes if we can so we are not bogged down by taxes, which are among the highest inthe country so much so that NYS gov't is trying to pass a bill to limit taxes increases to just 2% a year. But that will strangle local services as the amount of state mandates often climbs higher than the 2%, let alone local costs going up too.
Ah well, maybe we find somehting, maybe we don't. There is always next winter when price drop lower {hopefully} again.
TTYalll8R
Galaxy, 43 Riverview Ave - Binghamton, NY almost looks like my house except I paid $105,000 for mine in 2000, in 2005 it was appraised at $130,000. I have an addition on the back adding a dining room and a 4th bedroom. I think my last appraisal for taxes was $90,000. I’m drooling over the ranch homes in your last post. Someday I'll get one...
NS3010, I made castings in HO-Scale. I can teach you how to make your own if you want a fully stocked lumber yard. I cast them in plaster of Paris and stain them with wood stain.
Bob - a big from the other side of the Big Pond and a sincere thank you for your kind words. You have come to the right place - there is a mighty fine bunch of folks in here, real friends, although most of us have not and maybe will not meet in person.
About my tag line - I once had a shirt with that line, bought it in Seattle. I thought this fits the bill to where I live now. Hamburg has a reputation for bad weather - wet summer, wet fall, wet winter and wet spring. This seems to be changing now, as winters become colder and summers a lot warmer than before. Right now it is back to the usual state, which is pretty miserable.
Janie, I am going for a and will you please serve Bob whatever type of poison he´s preferring? Thank you!
I received an "invitation" to our welfare administration. This is meaning trouble. Another cut in our "allowance"? I am feeling very much uneasy about this.
My parents won´t be having a celebration on Thursday. We have postponed this until my mother is feeling better. I have my doubts on any improvement, though. Makes me sad.
Well, Petra is calling for supper - see you guys tomorrow!
Good Afternoon All!
Not much to report from the land of Buckeyes on this Tuesday morning other then the NS F units is suppose to roll through town on the CF&E from Ft.Wayne.I'll be spending a lot of time trackside next week.I went railfanning yesterday evening and saw 5 trains in 90 minutes.I read my newest issues of N Scale Magazine and N Scale Railroading between trains while sipping on a bottle of water.
Slate Creek news:I still haven't made up my mind yet on using C55 or C80.I like the looks of C55 but,it looks fragile and there's a need to switch out MT pizza cutter wheels for low pro wheels.One question is "Can I justify the added costs? Either way Slate Creek will be my last layout unless I move to bigger house or bigger retirement apartment.
I shall have a cup and look over the forum.
Have a good'un!
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
cudaken Hello Fellow dinners! "Warning I am at work so no spell check" Galaxy When we where house shopping I had been approved for $150,000.00, found are house listed at $90,000.00, I offred $87,000.00 and they took. VA charged me a extra $1,500.00 for funding and we where good to go. That was all most 20 years ago.
Hello Fellow dinners! "Warning I am at work so no spell check"
Galaxy When we where house shopping I had been approved for $150,000.00, found are house listed at $90,000.00, I offred $87,000.00 and they took. VA charged me a extra $1,500.00 for funding and we where good to go. That was all most 20 years ago.
20 YEARS AGO? $150K would buy us a VERY NICE house here NOW. If only we were in THAT budget bracket!
Heres some samples:
http://www.johnburnsshow.com/binghamton/real_estate_buyers/property_info.php?mls_num=179542
http://www.johnburnsshow.com/binghamton/real_estate_buyers/property_info.php?mls_num=178352
http://www.johnburnsshow.com/binghamton/real_estate_buyers/property_info.php?mls_num=179893
http://www.johnburnsshow.com/binghamton/real_estate_buyers/property_info.php?mls_num=179475
http://www.johnburnsshow.com/binghamton/real_estate_buyers/property_info.php?mls_num=180060
http://www.johnburnsshow.com/binghamton/real_estate_buyers/property_info.php?mls_num=179083
Ah, but we can only dream of those.
here is more in our range, but still have issues such as standing water inthe basement, cracked foundations, etc or just to small a lot to even park two cars inthe drive without blocking the city sidewalk and are still budget stressors:
http://www.johnburnsshow.com/binghamton/real_estate_buyers/property_info.php?mls_num=178809
http://www.johnburnsshow.com/binghamton/real_estate_buyers/property_info.php?mls_num=179559
http://www.johnburnsshow.com/binghamton/real_estate_buyers/property_info.php?mls_num=178434
http://www.johnburnsshow.com/binghamton/real_estate_buyers/property_info.php?mls_num=180247
To give you an idea. Note there are plenty of 2 story houses that are cheaper but not what we want. We want a ranch or a cape with BRs on first floor.and bath.
TTYALL8R
Well, I've decided that it's finally time to quit lurking about outside looking in the windows and come in. You all seem to be a friendly bunch in here, so I'll come in. Zoe and Chloe, I hope you don't mind serving a green Seamonster. I'll have a late breakfast, bacon, two eggs over easy, and a short stack of pancakes with Quebec maple syrup. I'll be over in a window booth where it's quiet.
The diner makes me think of another railroad diner years ago. Back in the 70s we lived in an isolated northern town (about 600 air miles north of the Canada/U.S. border). Back in the day, it was a division point on the CN line to Churchill, Manitoba, a large grain shipping port on Hudson Bay. Back then they had a roundhouse and a turntable. They both were gone by the time we moved there. However, there was still a very large yard that still remained, which was a good thing because the town was the centre for a number of mega hydro-electric developments on the Nelson River and it saw a lot of traffic of construction materials, big machinery and big parts for the generating stations. Anyway, tucked away on a back track was an old dining car. It was known as The Beanery. The wife of a co-worker was the cook, and he often went there for breakfast and lunch. I went with him a few times. She was a good cook. I'm modelling a compressed version of the rail yard and I'll be putting a model of The Beanery in, of course.
I've been following the posts of the regulars for quite some time now, and, if no one minds a stranger sticking in a few comments, I'd like to comment on some of the posts.
howmus, I know what you're going through with trying to control your blood sugar. My wife and I both have type 2 diabetes and we are both on Metformin. We use a different measuring scale than you do, though. My wife has her levels down to the low range of normal, despite her love of chocolate. Mine fluctuate all over the place no matter what I eat or don't eat. Our doctor has added Glyburide for me but it doesn't help.
Stan, incredible paintings! What can I say? They're beautiful.
Galaxy, isn't house hunting a real bummer? I'm so glad we will never have to go through it again. We plan to live in our house until we can no longer take care of it, then it will be some kind of assisted living housing for us. That may not be too far in the future. The worst part will be having to give up my model RR and workshop. At least you have time to look at houses and pick one. When we got married in 1965, we rented an apartment (for $95/month!) for 3 years, then I got a job move to a rural town in company housing for a few years , then moved up north, into company housing again. When we moved back to the city, the company gave me 3 days off with pay to look for a house. We combined it with a weekend to make it 5 days. Fortunately, we hired a RE who was familiar with company moves and we had his undivided attention for the 5 days. We looked through about 50-60 listings in this office and went to see about 25 houses. Talk about a whirlwind tour! We found this house, put in an offer, it was accepted and we've lived here happily ever since. But, I never want to go through that again. I can relate to your migraines. Back in 1964 I received a very severe head injury in a vehicle accident and for 30 years I had headaches, some of which made migraines look like a pleasant alternative. All the doctor could do was supply me with the strongest painkillers that were available by prescription. Thankfully, they eventually went away, but it was pure h**l for those 30 years.
Ulrich, sorry to hear of the sudden death of your friend. My best friend was someone I had known since we were 7 years old. We were like brothers. I was driving to his house to spend an evening with him drinking coffee and shooting the bull as we frequently did. When I got there, his daughter's boyfriend answered the door and informed me that my friend had just had a massive heart attack and died and the family were all at the hospital. He was only in his 50s. That really shook me up. I don't even remember driving back home again. I feel for you with the problems you're having with your mother. It's one thing to be sick or injured. That we can rationalize and deal with. To have the mind go is something we can neither rationalize or understand. It's so hard on those who have to care for the person. My wife is a two time cancer survivor, and cancer doesn't scare her nearly as much as the thought of her mind going. We just hope and pray it doesn't happen. I don't know how I could deal with it and I know you're having a tough time of it. Just hang in there.
Oh, I love your tag line, "People in Hamburg don't tan, they rust." I'll have to tell that to my daughter's boyfriend. He's from Germany, recently became a Canadian citizen. A year and a half ago, they spent a few weeks in Germany, visiting his parents and touring around a few of the towns and cities within driving distance. She enjoyed the trip immensely and brought back lots of photos. I think the highlight of her trip was attending a concert by Rammstein. She doesn't act her age when it comes to music!
I suppose a few words about myself are in order. I've been retired for 11 1/2 years now. I (we) lead a quiet life, nothing exciting. Our favourite summertime activity is to take day trips around the southern part of the province of Manitoba where we live. We head out in the morning, drive the back roads looking at the sights along the way, check out small rural towns, have lunch in whatever town we're in at noon, maybe have supper in another town somewhere and then head home. Sometimes we'll go across the border and drive around North Dakota or Minnesota and we try to take a 3 day trip and stay somewhere either in Canada or the U.S. and explore from there and do some shopping once a year. My model railroad is N scale. I've got a U-shaped layout made of 2 foot wide sections, or "dominos" as they're sometime called. It's still under construction and I haven't got any trains running the length of it yet. I enjoy the construction, making scenery, laying track, making structures, detailing scenes, etc. so much that I haven't gotten around to running trains yet. It's totally freelance except for the big yard modelled after the one in the northern town we used to live in. That takes up 8 feet. My buddy is convinced that I will never live long enough to run trains on it, that I will always be building it. Maybe he's right.
Well, this turned out to be a much, much longer post that I expected it to be. So, since I'm finished my late breakfast, it's time for me to go. How much do I owe you, ladies?
..... Bob
Beam me up, Scotty, there's no intelligent life down here. (Captain Kirk)
I reject your reality and substitute my own. (Adam Savage)
Resistance is not futile--it is voltage divided by current.
Morning all.
Curt, that's definitely an upside for me! I wouldn't say that not being close to the tracks is a dealbreaker, but trackside is +1 for any college! Back in April, I visited Lafayette College in Easton, which is also about a mile from the Lehigh Line. When I mentioned visiting the school in English class, my teacher said "and another advantage is that it's close to Dorney Park!" THAT's something I'd never thought I would hear from a nun!
Stan, your paintings are amazing! Keep 'em coming! They inspire me to want to try my hand at a few! I had wanted to a year or two ago, but forgot, and never thought of it since. Now's my chance to try!
Lee, I'm going simple with the lumberyard, only because space is limited. It'll just be a paved lot with a few lumber stacks, forklifts, and fencing (and of course, the siding). The buildings and storage racks will be "in the aisle". I bought the Model Railstuff castings. Which ones do you have?
Just got back from senior portraits (bom bom bom)... I feel old! Hopefully they weren't too bad. I'll know in a few weeks.
Over in the train world...A little mix up with the Walthers order. For the last three or so orders, I've been using my debit card to order them, so I've been putting my name in for the billing address. However, my mom's name is on the account, so Walthers has been giving me a new customer order. So yesterday, after placing the order and getting my new number, I made a new account so that I could access the tracking information. I get a call from Walthers. Apparently, they can't have accounts for minors because of legal issues, so they can't fill the order. So they void it and I have to place the order again (all I had to do was put my mom's name in for the billing address), so now everything's a day behind (it's processing AGAIN as we speak), and I may not get my stuff until after I leave for the shore. I understand why this happened, and it makes sense. The lady I talked to was very nice and extremely helpful, and she understood that in reality, there was no problem with me having an account, but it wasn't permitted, and there was nothing she or I could do about it.
Well, I better get going on the day's chores. Today's activities include cleaning and packing for Pennsylvania. Fun...
See ya,
[Joe]
My Model Railroad: Tri State RailMy Photos on Flickr: FlickrMy Videos on Youtube: YoutubeMy Photos on RRPA: RR Picture Archives
Flo, English Muffin please and a Dew.
Any comments about the Amp readings I posted about last night? I did install a decoder and it runs fine. Tested the B unit with it installed in the chassis and drive wheels hooked up, pulled 0.40 amps and stalled at 0.89 Amps so I should be good, right?
Stan $250.00 sound more than fair! Maybe one of thses days I can afford to have you do one for me. I like to have a painting on Monon F Units, I like Monon!
Galaxy When we where house shopping I had been approved for $150,000.00, found are house listed at $90,000.00, I offered $87,000.00 and they took. VA charged me a extra $1,500.00 for funding and we where good to go. That was all most 20 years ago.
Ulrich Well it looks like it is all most there, Rocks and all! I am just a little worried that Karl might be a Model Railroader, he will know there is more than 45 Euro's of goodies in the box.
Talk at you all later!