Running Bear’s April 2026 Coffee Shop

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Here's your morning breakfast shot, since Bill has us all on a diet.

toast.jpg


Did breakfast with a gaming friend yesterday. Not only did I learn that a beloved breakfast and lunch spot that closed on our side of town (sold to another, renamed, and the quality dropped), reoppened five miles away... but, I also learned my friend is moving off to N Carolina to be close to family.

So it was a good time to get together and catch up.

In layout news, I parked outside so I could mess up the garage yesterday. Broke out both the mini chop saw (It can handle up to a 2x4, but that's it. Fortunately, I was cutting 1x3s) and the table saw. I got to start ripping down the old 2nd level backdrop to turn into fascia board. Fortunately the backdrop boards were 16" tall. And I wanted 8" tall for my fascia. I decided to go with hard corners this time around

Here's what I cut (most of it):

Fascia 2.jpg


And here's the mostly finished install:

Fascia.jpg
Old screw holes have been filled. Everything except the back side of the West leg of the E is cut and up.

Thought I needed one more 2x4 ft sheet of tempered hardboard. But I found a piece of the lower level backdrop I forgot I slid in next to the Diet Dr. Pepper fridge. It's got enough length and depth to get the three pieces I need to finish the backside of the that W leg. I'll get that cut once the neighbors are awake.

Once those pieces are up, I'll break out the grey fascia paint and get it all uniform in pigmentation.

In other news, I'm now shopping for fabric to use as skirting. I need 40" in length on it. But I'm debating on landscape cloth that comes in a 60" - A 100ft roll is way more than I need, but it's either too short by 4-6 inches, or too wide and too long. Oh, I'll need a bag of clothes pins (with springs) and some hot glue sticks as well.

Screenshot 2026-04-08 at 6.09.25 AM.png
 
Good morning all!

Happy Hump Day!

Currently a cool 34F, but the temps will soar into the low 70s.

Usual household stuff this morning. Laundry, dishwasher, etc.,,,,I do have to run down to Staples this morning to return some Amazon
stuff the wife and daughter ordered and decided they didn't want.

Not much else going on at the moment.

Have a safe day everyone!
 


Good Morning All!
34F @ 52% severe clear.

Fun yesterday. We upped our INet speed to 500M. Works fine on the desktops. Phone/Tablet/TV however is still at 100M. So busted out the HP laptop to get into the NightHawk - ya, BSOD. Frustration got the best of me, so went to the local watering hole before dinner last night. Liver and Onions were great! Anyway, this morning will get on that laptop in a bit.

Y'all know that light is faster than sound ... right? Proof is people look pretty bright until they open their mouth.

L8r
 
Morning all,

51° and clear high of 79° later.

Weird morning thus far. 7:23 am as I type this, City Hall opens at 7:30 and I'm the only one in the building.

I hit a deer on the way into work and as far as I can tell, no damage to the truck. I saw 4 of them in the ditch moving towards the road and slowed. Then a 5th one bolts out of the tree row in a hurry and jumps out. I hit him hard enough to toss him into the lead one. They both start running along with the other 3. So I must be in some sort of Twilight zone existence and really laying dead in the ditch...Or they closed for the day and didn't tell me, or everyone is just running late.

While we were moving the Senior Center yesterday, the director asked me if I was a member. I said I could be, but driving 32 miles to come in on my day off wasn't really practical and besides, I don't like hanging around old people. She laughed and said a 70 something Senior Board member says the same thing.

I hear people coming in.
 
Here's your morning breakfast shot, since Bill has us all on a diet.

View attachment 262391

Did breakfast with a gaming friend yesterday. Not only did I learn that a beloved breakfast and lunch spot that closed on our side of town (sold to another, renamed, and the quality dropped), reoppened five miles away... but, I also learned my friend is moving off to N Carolina to be close to family.

So it was a good time to get together and catch up.

In layout news, I parked outside so I could mess up the garage yesterday. Broke out both the mini chop saw (It can handle up to a 2x4, but that's it. Fortunately, I was cutting 1x3s) and the table saw. I got to start ripping down the old 2nd level backdrop to turn into fascia board. Fortunately the backdrop boards were 16" tall. And I wanted 8" tall for my fascia. I decided to go with hard corners this time around

Here's what I cut (most of it):

View attachment 262392

And here's the mostly finished install:

View attachment 262393Old screw holes have been filled. Everything except the back side of the West leg of the E is cut and up.

Thought I needed one more 2x4 ft sheet of tempered hardboard. But I found a piece of the lower level backdrop I forgot I slid in next to the Diet Dr. Pepper fridge. It's got enough length and depth to get the three pieces I need to finish the backside of the that W leg. I'll get that cut once the neighbors are awake.

Once those pieces are up, I'll break out the grey fascia paint and get it all uniform in pigmentation.

In other news, I'm now shopping for fabric to use as skirting. I need 40" in length on it. But I'm debating on landscape cloth that comes in a 60" - A 100ft roll is way more than I need, but it's either too short by 4-6 inches, or too wide and too long. Oh, I'll need a bag of clothes pins (with springs) and some hot glue sticks as well.

View attachment 262395

Dang that bacon looks good! FYI - the Duraweave fabric has green lines in it. https://www.gardienproducts.com/products/duraweave The material weave also unravels really easy. The edges are "fused" but when cut there is nothing holding the weave together. It might be more of a hassle than its worth for skirting. I have the 100 ft roll I use for landscaping.
 
Good morning folks, 59F here and sunny. Going to a ceremony this morning for several Veterans being presented with handmade quilts. A good friend of ours is one of the folks being honored, so looking forward to this. Watching this morning's news, praying for wisdom for all involved.
@traiNscale gorgeous cats, err, excuse, Feline Overlords.
Hope you all have a great day.
 


Dang that bacon looks good! FYI - the Duraweave fabric has green lines in it. https://www.gardienproducts.com/products/duraweave The material weave also unravels really easy. The edges are "fused" but when cut there is nothing holding the weave together. It might be more of a hassle than its worth for skirting. I have the 100 ft roll I use for landscaping.
Yeah... I went to give it an eyeballing before purchase, and wasn't happy.

Got the wife to volunteer to cut and add hems to some broadcloth I found at Hobby Lobby. Came home to check the interwebz for a better price before I go spend 75 dollars

and she just found it by the bolt a lot cheaper at Michaels/Joanns...
 
Good Morning All. Cloudy and 55°. Same forecast for the rest of the week, except temperatures nearing 80°.

PCP visit yesterday went OK, slight adjustment in medications and a blood draw. Wife had plans for the return trip, so we stopped and bought bedding plants, BBQ to go, and at the local grocery for a few things. Later on, I mowed for almost an hour and got close to 1.25 acres done. Could have done more, but I took my time around a bunch of trees.

Mowing will continue today and I'll have to plant some of those bedding plants that my wife bought yesterday, mostly to just get them out of the way.

Out in the train shed yesterday, I only did more ground cover. Didn't take any progress pictures since...well ground cover is just ground cover. I'll take some today. I did decide to just make the blank area between the track and backdrop a cow pasture. I have over 80 extra cows that Chet sent me in one of the boxes. Rangeland fits into my locale well.

Tom O - Lots of good eating around there and in many other places in Texas. A lot of German heritage settled here 150 years ago, now interspersed with the Mexican cuisine. And Laotian as you mentioned the other day. Then there is BBQ and real Chili!
Mike - While I never saw the actual video of the intentional train derailment, I had read about it. The fellow should have to pay BNSF back what they had to spend to fix things.
Troy - There was a lot more to Herman's Hermits than Henry the VIII. They didn't write a lot of their early stuff, but made a lot of money for Carole King and other fledgling songwriters at the time.

Everybody have a wonderful Wednesday.
 
The Good morning from Austin. I’m ready for home especially my own bed but it’s not on the schedule for awhile. The last 2 days of golf have been spectacular Chamber of Commerce days with beautiful sunshine, 70’s, low winds and low humidities. Today it will be low 80’s, no golf and again low humidity. The son said his work crews really have been moving along in these gorgeous days. Productivity is high in low humid days and really slow in high heat and Austin humidity.

Today is just a day for Terry and me. We might go to dinner with the son and girlfriend. The son wants us to look at a cow company in Wimberley next to his ranch that went on the market for sale recently. It would make a great addition to his property but he is tapped out at the bank of mom but wants us to look anyway. He has a great condo downtown we are staying in but the market has plummeted the last 18 months. He does want to sell it but he’s not desperate to do so. We are heading over to Hutto and Taylor today. Hutto was enlarging its transload facility a couple years ago and had a very good breakfast place. Looks like it’s where Tesla is now loading the cars from its Austin factory onto rail. Taylor a few miles east of Hutto has a decent sized rail yard that looks accessible on Google Earth and a “historic” downtown. Historic in Texas just seems to mean old but we’ll check it out.

Enjoy the day

.
 
Good Morning All. Cloudy and 55°. Same forecast for the rest of the week, except temperatures nearing 80°.

PCP visit yesterday went OK, slight adjustment in medications and a blood draw. Wife had plans for the return trip, so we stopped and bought bedding plants, BBQ to go, and at the local grocery for a few things. Later on, I mowed for almost an hour and got close to 1.25 acres done. Could have done more, but I took my time around a bunch of trees.

Mowing will continue today and I'll have to plant some of those bedding plants that my wife bought yesterday, mostly to just get them out of the way.

Out in the train shed yesterday, I only did more ground cover. Didn't take any progress pictures since...well ground cover is just ground cover. I'll take some today. I did decide to just make the blank area between the track and backdrop a cow pasture. I have over 80 extra cows that Chet sent me in one of the boxes. Rangeland fits into my locale well.

Tom O - Lots of good eating around there and in many other places in Texas. A lot of German heritage settled here 150 years ago, now interspersed with the Mexican cuisine. And Laotian as you mentioned the other day. Then there is BBQ and real Chili!
Mike - While I never saw the actual video of the intentional train derailment, I had read about it. The fellow should have to pay BNSF back what they had to spend to fix things.
Troy - There was a lot more to Herman's Hermits than Henry the VIII. They didn't write a lot of their early stuff, but made a lot of money for Carole King and other fledgling songwriters at the time.

Everybody have a wonderful Wednesday.
Willie

chicken is also everywhere around. Feels like old Wisconsin where every corner had 3 bars and a church. We did a pizza last night but it was underwhelming but we’ve eaten so much the last 2 weeks it was a good come down
 
Mike - While I never saw the actual video of the intentional train derailment, I had read about it. The fellow should have to pay BNSF back what they had to spend to fix things.
I was wondering about that if restitution would be part of the sentencing and would he get hit with the full amount. I would suppose
BNSF could come after him for the amount as well.

Never having been in trouble with the law, not sure how this would all play out.
 






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