Good Morning Al. Clear and 58° here on the plains of North Central Texas. No change in the weather here, 55° - 88° for the next two weeks with a slight chance of rain on the 13th. Weatherman is being optimistic there.
Speaking of optimism, Mr Dow Jones is in a good mood this week so far. May be time to move more $$$ to equities. I'm only down 40 grand in the market itself for the year so far. Could make it up in a couple of weeks if things continue which looks positive again today. Bonds and money markets are currently doing rather well for a change which has blunted the market losses. Which brings up another concern. Since retiring and moving to a self-managed retirement portfolio, I am making money faster than when I was was when working! We don't seem to be spending it as fast as I am making it. We've both been rather thrifty all of our lives and can't seem to kick that habit. I don't want to leave it to the kids, they don't need it.
I had to repair my graywater drain yesterday; it seems that some creature may have taken up residence in the pipe while we were on vacation. Never saw any while flushing it out, but got nesting materials and coagulated soap and grease remnants. I also mowed a bit around the garden since it gets irrigation water and is the only real green space I have right now. Today I will be setting up the sprinkler around parts of the house to green things up and reduce grassfire risks.
Thanks to all for the comments and likes regarding the food trailer;
Tom O, Smudge, Jaz, Louis, Dave B, Hughie, George, Gary, Patrick, Curt, Tom, Rick, IB Ken, Joe.
OK
Guy, this is for you. You expressed some frustration regarding roads and real estate last month, here are a few of my solutions.
I have a few full sized roads although I narrow the lanes to 8'. The illusion works.
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In some places,, the road is entirely off the layout and sidewalks butt up to the fascia.
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Many lead off the layout.
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In one case, just three of the four lanes are represented.
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Here's another full road with 8' lanes.
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Oooops! Picture was taken before I added the road striping!
Troy - Get well soon. Good luck with Mom.
Todd - Your comment regarding your wife's "accomplishments" list is right on target. Completing the newest version of my model railroad in the "new train shed" was just one of mine. Improving on my track record in the garden was another. Recovering the part of the yard that got lost when I had a health issue in 2005 was another. There's many minor ones along the way. In my wife's case, she has no immediate goals except to try to fully recover from the succession of knee surgeries that she's been through. That is one reason that she's bored.
Jaz - I see that you found the period (.) key on your keyboard.
You asked about
Terry. He really isn't MIA, but he posted about backing off social media a bit, and while not too badly affected, he is dealing with the aftermath of the hurricane.
Your suggestion of a figure with a sombrero is well received, but isn't really realistic for one of those food trailers. In reality it would get in the way. I am leaning more to having an "on the ground" cashier with one though. That is rather common.
Dave B - You're right about the cheaper than normal steak prices, but they won't last long. The rancher who owns a lot of land across the road is thinning his herd, but not by much yet. Most of my neighbors had a good hay season, and I myself got two cuttings, so not much thinning is needed. He's cutting by just 2% and is not replenishing all of his breeders right now. He has over 5000 head of cattle, so eliminating 100 head is not going to hurt him. He wants to be ahead of the game when prices start to go back up next spring.
Regarding climate change - It's been going on for millions of years, it's only recently that it's been attributed to mankind, which is BS in my opinion.
Mike - Destructive as it was, Hurricane Ian could have been a lot worse had it veered a little either way. It missed or brushed by some significant areas like Miami, Tampa and Jacksonville. Orlando got a lot of rain but I didn't see many reports of major damage.
Your story about your friend reminds me of when I reached the legal drinking age in Texas years ago. Since the bars were open until 2:00 am, and most gave free beer on the day you reached the legal age, I went to one after midnight and drank free for two hours, then went back the next afternoon for more of the same. As a poor college student, it was a great birthday gift.
Today is National Taco Day and also National Vodka Day. And in honor of
Todd,
Dave (PV) and our missing friend
Lee, it's also National Trucker Appreciation Day.
Everyone have a great day.