Running Bear's December 2019 Coffee Shop


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Good evening Shop Dwellers! 30*F, calm and clear here in central MD.

Beady - sorry to hear about your MIL's condition, especially that it had to happen on Christmas. Keeping you and the wife in my prayers.

Ray - hope you don't suffer any impacts from those wildfires!

Karl, glad to hear you're on the mend from your cough. You can stop by here anytime you want, but the layout is currently totally incapable of operating trains - it is buried under several layers of scenery materials, tools, etc. I'm trying to get it scenicked in time for the 2021 MER regional.

Justin - I really enjoyed watching your "collage" of Chessie/B&O videos, keep 'em coming!

Been working on one area of the layout for the past 4 days and getting nowhere...but I won't bore you all with the gruesome details, want to end this holiday post on a positive note. So...

Merry Christmas to one and all!
 
Just coming to the end of Christmas Day here, but not too late to wish you all a good one. Went down to my older Son and DIL's place for a nice late lunch and chat. The cloud left over from the storms kept the temperature pleasant enough to have it outside.

IronBeltKen said:
Ray - hope you don't suffer any impacts from those wildfires!
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Not so far, we were getting smoke from the ones in NSW when the wind was from the south, a few days ago. The smoke from there had been reported to have reached NZ too, when the strong winds were from the West previously. Since September when this fire season started, I read that 19,300+ square miles of Australia has been burnt over 5 states since then. Put that in context with the total land mass area of 2,950,000. This is an extremely early start to the season and we are only half way through it, with Jan & Feb yet to come.
 
Well the pets are napping after playing with their toys. Got some patch work and decaling done. Dull coat and some weathering next. A better/straighter tape job on the next Chessie car.
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MIL is still with us. We got home early yesterday evening after another full day at the hospital and Kringle, our black cat, got out. Ever look for a black cat after dark? He came back after an hour or so, with white fur caught in his claws. Whatever he got into, Ollie now hisses at him whenever they're in proximity to each other. We're staying home today, resting; my brother's wife called to check in, and we declined her invite for dinner. Neither of us is up for a big do. We'll be heading back to Detroit tomorrow, unless something happens in the meantime.

Today, though, we've got a few presents to open, there are trains in the basement, and peanut brittle and rum and eggnog in the kitchen. And now this:

'There are many things from which I might have derived good, by which I have not profited, I dare say,' returned the nephew; 'Christmas among the rest. But I am sure I have always thought of Christmas-time, when it has come round...as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys. And therefore, uncle, though it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe that it has done me good and will do me good; and I say, God bless it!'
 
An unheard of 50 degrees here today. More like I would have expected back in Birmingham, not Milwaukee! I got all of the painting done on the passenger cars yesterday, now for the decaling tomorrow. Stripes and lettering. Dinner in about an hour. Company's gone home and it's just us. Progress shot:

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Good evening to all. Well the crowd has left, the conductress and I finally sat down. It is absolutely great to have the entire family here. It is also great when the last one leaves and you can put the house back together. I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas as much as I did.
PS Santa left me a BLI SD40-2 which was on the top of my list.
 
In my time zone, most of this Christmas day is gone. I hope that everyone is satisfied with their day.
My MIL is progressing in rehab with her hip replacement enough that my wife came home today in time for the family dinner and present opening ceremony. Just having her back brightened my day.
Now I can bring out four flatcars my wife found for me at a modelers estate sale a couple months ago. I can use them for some pipe loads I made and some other machinery loads I have been working on.
Alan- You still make repainting those passenger cars look easy.
Sherrel- nice pool ornaments. Forty years ago, I had to take my twin girls for a short car ride to get them to sleep. Looks like you had a good day!
 
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