Good afternoon Diners.
I spent the morning at Seniors' Cricket Practice. A few aches and pains.
EDIT - TOP OF THE PAGE.
Open a tab, Flo. Send the bill to me.
Lovely pictures by all. Well done.
Two grandchildren staying overnite tonite, so that will be fun.
I am 'ordered' to make burgers for dinner tonite.
Thoughts & Peace to All who Require
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
Good morning.
Hello David. Where is everybody else? Enjoy the grandchildren.
Everybody .... Have a good day.
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
Good morning, everyone. Bacon, eggs, and coffee, Flo.
David, I've mentioned before that cricket is a game I've seen in movies, but I've never understood. I'll have to watch a Youtube video on that sometime.
Ed, that's a neat photo of a firebox and boiler. Also, I agree with your Via photo -- that's the way a train should look. The only thing that would have made it better was a couple of E units at the front.
Kevin, thanks for more great pictures. I wish I was riding along on your trip. I love the photo of the old caboose.
Douglas, I agree about Atlanta traffic. I have a brother there, and we use I-285 to get there. What an experience! Driving bumper-to-bumper at 80 mph is not my idea of a relaxing car trip.
Henry, I experienced the same thing about losing physical condition. With a hurt knee, I didn't do much walking for months. Now, trying to get back into shape, I realize how out-of-shape I've gotten.
I hope everyone in the diner has a great Friday today. My wife and I are staying in today. Temperature will be in the 90s with high humidity. I wonder if Kevin traveling to the north has anything to do with this?
York1 John
Does anyone know the CV numbers and values for controlling ditch lights on a Digitrax DN163A4 decoder? Their manual tells the values if one wants them flashing alternately, but is silent on the matter of both on or both off. Around here the locos run with the ditch lights on on lead locos.
"There are always alternatives, Captain" - Spock.
Howdy fellas. Flo, can I get a grilled ham and cheese please?
Never played cricket, but did watch part of a game one time a couple years ago. Was waiting for a soccer game to start and the park had a group of men playing that got rather heated! In fact at one point, two guys had to be separated by their teammates, with an umpire ejecting one of them. I have no idea what led to it as I have no clue what language they were speaking. Their gestures left nothing to the imagination though! I was almost disappointed when my daughter's soccer game started.
David (der5997)- Fish burgers? That anything like salmon patties? I think I'll stick with David's(NorthBrit's) burgers instead. I hope he's using beef. NorthBrit, as you are top of the page and didn't offer something specific up, I assume that means we are all invited for dinner? What time should we all arrive?
Good to see Kevin's road trip is going smoothly. Hope Track Fiddler's is as well.
Have a great rest of your day gentlemen!
Mike
Water Level Route(der5997)- Fish burgers? That anything like salmon patties?
did watch part of a game one time a couple years ago. Was waiting for a soccer game to start and the park had a group of men playing that got rather heated! In fact at one point, two guys had to be separated by their teammates, with an umpire ejecting one of them.
Hey Dave and/or der, singular or plural as the case may be --
Everything I know about cricket I learned from reading P. G. Wodehouse, which is to say next to nothing. Lots of narrative, and interesting, but he could have been describing an exciting Mah Jongg game for all I know.
Robert
LINK to SNSR Blog
Good Afternoon, It is a very hot 96F here which is unusual. The A/C is on and it is nice and cool in my basement lair.
Der, I enjoy a nice fish burger but we have to make do with frozen fish. A&W do a fairly good one for a fast food place from time to time.
I did run a freight with the RS3 but it is back on its siding and the Pacific is back out with a mixed.
I got the car clean up done and it looks good, certainly doesn't look like an 11 year old car.
Ed, glad to hear Ken is ok. I understand his pain on the lumber issue as we have to do our fence this year. We could have saved 3 grand if we had done it a year ago but I don't see much to indicate lumber will go down, maybe up more with the economy recovering.
Time for lemonade.
CN Charlie
Hi der5997. Cricket - in days gone I was mainly a batsman that bowled a little bit. Now my shoulder and wrist hurt when I bowl or throw. So now I bat and field close to the wickets. When I play now it is just for fun. No league or anything. It gets me out of the house and I get the exercise.
As for fish burgers - normally I make them for the grandchildren. Not tonite though. Beefburgers were the order, with a Yoghurt Surprise.
I went in to get lab work done, bought a bunch of baby-back ribs, and then got a haircut. It was fasting-required lab work, so I was up before breakfast to git 'er done.
Pizza tonight. I went to a new specialty store that opened. We got a couple of "pizza kits" which were dough, sauce and cheese. Why, you ask? Because their pizza oven was broken. So tonight we have leftover pizza. My job tonight is just salad. We now have two places on our revisit list, this pizza place and a brewpub we went to earlier in the week. With 24 craft beers on tap, we only scratched the surface.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Fish burgers? McDonalds has had these for decades. Where have you guys been? They taste better than they look. Who knows what kind of fish?
A local roadside produce stand advertised Steamed Crabs in Facebook. I went to check it out, because a Marylander's idea of steamed crabs could be different.
Sure enough, they get the crabs already steamed and put them in a refrigerator. They also had a 1.5 football field of pick your own strawberries.
Not nearly the same as freshly steamed crabs.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
Howdy ......
Ed .... Thanks for updating us in your post yesterday about Ken. I hope he knows we all care a lot about him, and we lookd forward to seeing him here again.
CN Charlie .... It is good to hear you are running trains. You mentioned cleaning your car, and I just did the same thing. It needed it.
This weekend is the annual 400 mile yard sale along US 68 in Kentucky.
Everybody...... Have a nice evening.
I am very upset right now. It's 7:15 p.m., and I just found out that today is National Donut Day.
I've wasted an entire day eating eggs, bacon, roast beef, and French Fries.
I may celebrate a day late tomorrow.
John York 1: .... Does that mean you missed the hole day ? ...LOL ..
Now that's funny!
Good evening from the tranquil shores of NE Ohio.
Today was a busy — yet rewarding — day as we were honored by a visit, albeit brief, from Kevin and his charming wife as they passed through Ohio.
We had an enjoyable time chatting at the caboose (where did the time go?) and that left us with only about another hour, that actually turned into two, before the travelers had to hit the dusty trail to points west.
Camaraderie and conversation could easily have gone on for countless hours. We all came to the same conclusion that this is a FUN hobby to be in
A Big decal job!
MON, Lafayette, Indiana, 1960 by Center for Railroad Photography & Art, on Flickr
Cheers, Ed
Good evening diners from Lafayette, Indiana.
I started this day in Ohio up near Ed's residence. I have never been to Northeast Ohio (Northeast of Cleveland), and it was not what I expected.
This area is absolutely beautiful, practically paradise.
Then we made our way to Ed's home.
Ed is one of the most charismatic people I have ever met. He is an absolute pleasure to be around. He gave us the quick tour, and we ended up sitting in his caboose for a long while chatting about this and that.
Ed is such a great host that my wife, who does not like anyone, had a great time with him and his wife.
I was shown his incredible layout which has been shared here in countless pictures. This was such a great experience. I am more inspired than ever to get my house completed so I can start my own layout.
Oh, and I was introduced to Wilson and Phoebe. They are real characters and I see why Ed is so fond of them. My wife was amazed how easy going and laid-back the cats are.
Ed gifted me with a six pack of local beer from the Great Lakes Brewing Company.
So, I had to get pizza for dinner!
My wife noticed it was a Porter beer, and she asked if Ed was "Pullman" on line. I said yes. She said that made the beer a "Pullman Porter"!
My wife made a train joke! How cool is that?
I want to thank Ed for ONE OF THE BEST DAYS EVER! I really had a wonderful time with him today.
BIGGEST REGRET: I forgot to get a picture of me and Ed on the deck of the caboose.
Tomorrow I am visiting an old and dear friend. A fellow I have known since 9th grade is now a professor of psychology at Purdue University. I am going to hang out with him while my wife sees a couple of members of her family.
Then we are off to Michigan.
The World Is A Beautiful Place.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
I got a very pleasing phone call from my Honda dealer this morning. We have a fairly large spot of peeling paint on the tailgate of our 2014 Odyssey. I had asked a reputable body shop about touching it up and they explained that the only way they would deal with the problem was to strip the whole door bare and paint it all. I didn't really want to spend that much money on it so I decided to buy a cheap can of spray paint and patch it myself. Fortunately, I never got around to buying the spray can.
Fast forward a couple of weeks and I had to take the van in to the Honda dealer for service, so I asked if they could recommend a paint shop that would do a quick fix. To make a long story short, the service advisor suggested that it might be under warranty so he would put in a claim. The call this morning confirmed that Honda will do the repair properly for free! They will even give us a rental car for the week that the paint job will take. The car is seven years old and has 180000 kms on it! Needless to say I was quite pleased.
Cheers!!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Good morning Diners. Toast and tea please, Janie.
A warm, sunny weekend. Taking the grandchildren home then off to the coast. a quiet few days ahead.
My local model store owner new I was after some military tanks for the railway. He told me he had a couple that he bought in a job lot from someone. They came with Lomacs (tank carrying wagons). The price was right and are now in the train room. They have not been ran on the layout yet. They will be later.
A trip to meet the esteemed gmpullman would make it all worthwhile. A wonderful beer and a visit to his railroad is icing on the cake. I have to believe it is as amazing in person as it is in pictures. Sounds like a great day.
Well, I got the lawn mowed last night and the air conditioners in the windows. Might work on a new light for our back door. As most things on an old house, what should be a simple job is not. The old light has to be pulled, the sheathing and siding cut back, the box in the wall extended, mounting block replaced, replace siding, and finally the new light installed. Good times. Oh well, at least I'm able and have the home to be able to work on.
Should be a warm one today, but nowhere near CNCharlie. Thank goodness. Well, on to my chores. Have a good day guys.
Flo, I'll have bacon, eggs, and coffee.
Saturday morning! Isn't is strange that while working for 45 years, the term 'weekend' meant something. Now in retirement, Saturday is just like any other day of the week. Life in retirement is great!
David, it sounds like you have a great hobby shop you deal with. We'll be looking for pictures of the tanks.
Henry, we used to eat steamed or boiled crabs in New Orleans. We loved them, but it depended a lot at which restaurant you were in. Once a week, an elderly neighbor used to boil crabs and make crab cakes. At her back door, she would have a collection of flea-bitten cats who would gather to go through her garbage cans.
MisterBeasley, working your way through 24 different craft beers sounds like fun. I would join you for any of them except the IPA ones. I don't like most of those.
Ed, it sounds like you had a good day entertaining Kevin. I think I've mentioned in the past that my wife grew just up a couple houses from Lake Erie in Euclid. She hasn't been back for 40 years, but we will try to get there next year. She says the same thing as Kevin -- northeastern Ohio is beautiful country.
Kevin, it sounds like you are having a great trip so far. Have fun visiting your old friend in West Lafayette. I love all the pictures.
Dave, that's good news about your car. It sounds like you have a good dealership there.
Mike, I know what you mean about the amount of work just putting in a light entails. Several weeks ago, my wife had me do the same thing. To her, it was just 'put a light there'. To me, it meant tons of work. She watches too much HGTV.
I hope TF checks in with some South Dakota pictures.
To all the diners I haven't mentioned, I hope everything is going well.
I also hope we hear soon from some of the diners who haven't been here in a while.
I have a full day of nothing planned -- just the way I like it. Have a good Saturday, everyone.
Good day Diners! A black coffee and a blueberry muffin svp.
CNCharlieDer, I enjoy a nice fish burger but we have to make do with frozen fish. A&W do a fairly good one for a fast food place from time to time.
Found out that I wired the ditch lights incorrectly for that DN163A4 decoder, so I'll switch the wiring and see if I get any joy. However, I think I am also going to have to wait to get individual surface mount 800 ohm resistors for each light - that will take a few more days after Monday to come from Digikey. After Monday also because I need to get a reply from their tech dept as well.
In the mean time there is the yard to rend - and the summer shirts to get out of storage and ironed. Summer may actually happen!https://imgur.com/0jCphCKhttps://imgur.com/0jCphCK
Howdy .....
Kevin ..... Thanks for psoting pictures of your trip. It is fantastic you could meet with Ed. Yes, it would have been nice to get a picture of both of you and his caboose. Not surprised to hear Ed has a pleasant personality. Your perssonality is also pleasant. I am riminded of your visit here which certainly was enjoyable.
Dave Critter ... That is good news about your car repair.
Good morning from the beautiful West Coast, though a little cloudy and damp today.
It is nice to follow Kevin and TF on their road trips, I wouldn't mind going on one myself but there is too much going on around here to leave at this time.
We have been getting some outrageously high offers on our house lately but we are too busy to think about moving with my wife having to deal with her elderly parents. We did drive up the coast North of Vancouver yesterday and looked at some nice waterfront homes but in the end, decided it is not a good time to downsize.
We took two of the dogs on the trip and stopped at some remote beaches on the way home. We were the only ones at two of them and they were shooting a movie at the third. We stood and watched a scene being filmed not 20' from the two actors doing their thing. I asked one of the P/As what the movie was and he said "Harry and Megan 3" We have not even heard of Harry and Megan 1 or 2 and they are working on 3. The actors looked like the Royal couple but we couldn't figure out the context of who they were until we asked. We stopped at a well-known seafood joint for a very late lunch and then headed home.
Dave, that was a good break from Honda on the paint. Dodge did paint on one of our caravans that was peeling years after the warranty was up. Dealers tend to be more expensive than other places for repair, however, the thousands of dollars I have saved through things they have fixed no-charge through service bulletins issued by the manufacturer is long and I am a lot of money ahead for that reason alone. My 21-year-old pick-up just had a three-hour repair done, no charge as it was a service bulletin fix which is where they fix it for free but it is not a recall. Plus I have never paid for sensor replacements and I have had three go on the truck.
Had a phone appointment with the Doc and he gave me crap for not getting my annual blood panel done as it has been over two years. I said OK, I promise to go next week do I have to fast. He said that just shows you how long it has been as there is no more fasting required on standard bloodwork we are out of the stone age. I told him my BP was 100/60HR42 on average, I take it before I work out just in case this old body has something not up to snuff before I turn on the jets. Oh ya, I also keep getting letters in the mail saying I am way overdue for lab work. He also told me as he said goodbye to keep up the good work staying in shape as my numbers are that of a healthy teenager.
We live out in farm country and one of the local farmers has a large salmon trawler. When he brings in a catch he puts a flag at the end of his driveway and all the neighbours can go get a fresh-off-the-boat salmon. He gives us a 20 to 30 lb salmon for a flat $10.00 My next-door neighbour goes crabbing all the time and just gives us half a dozen fresh, still dancing crabs every couple of weeks when he comes home. He has a 30' boat and goes out often.
I went and got my haircut, I get it cut twice a year whether I need it or not. One year I shaved it all off myself at the end of May, that was a mistake as I had to deal with a sunburned peeling head all summer. I hate wearing hats.
My kid is still grumbling about having to pay for haircuts, even though he is making well over $100,000.00 a year right out of University. When he was doing movies the make-up dept always cut his hair and he got paid while they did it. He went over three years without paying for a haircut. When he was in Ottawa at University he got booked on a movie and wardrobe needed his measurements and wanted to fly him back to Vancouver just for the wardrobe fit. He could not leave as he was too busy at school so they found a tailor in Ottawa to do the work and had him go there. He got $300.00 for taking an hour out of his day to go to the tailor. The fit was almost perfect when he actually put the costume on.
We like to take road trips and just go at our own pace and just find accommodation where we are at the end of the day. We rarely stay at a place on the highway and drive a few blocks into town and find somewhere away from the noise. My wife always likes to try highly rated off-the-beaten-path eateries that are not chain restaurants. I don't think we have ever been disappointed doing that. She just pulls out her laptop and has hotels and restaurants come up instantly, books on the spot, and gets a good last-minute rate.
I am not sure we will do another cruise, we felt like we were in a cattle car, especially when getting on and off the boat either with the tender or when at the dock. Renting a house on a beach on a South Pacific Island is our speed. The kids and friends and family can come and go, we just pick them up at the airport. Give me a hammock under a palm tree with a good book, pina colada, and diving gear at my feet any day over the cattle car. Must be the hermit in me.
This is the Vancouver CP station, I am amazed at how clean it looks.
Enough blab from me, I need to cut the acre of lawn we have.
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."
There used to be a cat around here I called "Phoebe Cat" because we saw her by Phoebe Drive. All our streets are named after less common birds. Phoebe Cat looked clean and well cared for, so I hope she had just gotten out for a while. There are enough predators outside that we always keep our cats inside.
Brent, I think fasting for blood work depends on what tests I'm getting. I have diabetes and I take meds for cholesterol so my blood chemistry depends a lot on what I've eaten earlier.
The GF is smoking ribs for dinner later. We're having another couple over. We did that last week, too, and had a great time. That was a surf and turf night with shrimp, clams and grilled steaks. Our neighbors to our left don't live here in the winter, but his Dad had a knee replacement and needed a place to stay with a downstairs master bedroom, so they were here. We thought they deserved dinner, so we invited them over. Great time.
MisterBeasleyBrent, I think fasting for blood work depends on what tests I'm getting. I have diabetes and I take meds for cholesterol so my blood chemistry depends a lot on what I've eaten earlier.
Yep! My doctor(s) always orders fasting blood work. This last time my A1c was 5.1. My doctor actually asked me if I had ever been formally diagnosed as diabetic. I told him yes! He replied that 5.1 is non-diabetioc. I grinned and told him my former doctor put me on some major meds when it got to be about 7.4! His eyes got very big and he just stared at me. I guess my lifestyle and excercize regimen are working for me.... Even now if I eat te wrong thngs my blood work later will bump up to where I don't like it (even though it is still OK).
Just got am email that the NMRA Region Convention in October is on!!! So I am starting to make plans to drive to Wedstford, MA to get to it. YES!
Just got the lawn finished (Mowed, Trimmed the sides, and blew the errant clippings back onto my lawn. City likes us to not leave it in the road...). Temperature is 88°F out there! I didn't do it all at once.... LOL
Oh.... Caught another mousie down on the layout. Commited suicide for some nice sharp cheddar cheeze I used.... That makes 6 total. Grrrrrrrr!
73
Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO
We'll get there sooner or later!
Brent, my doctor says don't fast, while my wife's doctor wants her to fast for the blood work. Not sure why.
Good evening all. Just a quick catch-up. The last of the grandchildren have gone home. The house is quiet.
No to run trains. It is dinnertime.
Mexican Style Beef with Guacamole. Coconut Yoghurt to follow.
Stay Safe Everyone
York1Brent, my doctor says don't fast, while my wife's doctor wants her to fast for the blood work. Not sure why.
In my case it's a blood sugar thing. Are these tests before breakfast? That's usually the case. "Fasting Blood Glucose" is an indication of how well the body is handling blood sugar. At least, that's what I've been told.
Shirts all ironed (17) so bring on summer! Thought of running a train while the ironing was happening - but didn't want to bring out all the gremlins at once!
I just get the basic blood test that looks for trouble, they usually take three to five tubes worth out of me along with the poop and pee screen. I think anyone diagnosed with a condition would get a more refined test that likely could require fasting. I did do some quick reading on the changes made in having to fast or not and whether or not they apply to someone is up to the Doctor and/or if the lab is up to date with new equipment.
It doesn't matter what condition someone might have, in the end, the individual should learn all there is to learn about their individual issues and they will do more to help themselves in the end as we are all different. I would be bedridden if I relied solely on the medical establishment. Proper nutrition changed my life completely around. I was on medications for a number of years while waiting for my spine to fuse from arthritis. I started doing way better when I started to read and read and then told the Doctor what meds I wanted to try. Now my spine is completely fused and looks like a melted candle on an X-ray. I take no meds since removing refined sugar from my diet. I love Rum and Pepsi but rarely have it as I'll be on the pain train in short order. Refined sugar also really inflames the gut and digestive tract which over time can lead to cancer. We all know people that have/had cancer. The ones I know/knew had high sugar content in their diet.
I convinced two of my old geezer (same age as me) friends to go off refined sugar as they were on Proton-Pump inhibitors for severe indigestion that would inflame their guts. That drug is nasty long-term. Not only did their gut improve enough they didn't need them anymore, and they lost a ton of weight. One just bought a new $5000.00 bike and started riding again. He did 75 kms yesterday.
It's funny how some people's cars are in perfect shape but not the people.