Running Bear's December 2021 Coffee Shop


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Been up for an hour and a half ... BOO!
I think we have to help ourselves to the fixins' this morning ... Too early for the regular help!

The Spousal Unit cooked a roast last evening - and that with a couple of bottles of vino polished both of us off! She said that I was asleep right at 8 pm - and she followed soon afterward.
Fast forward - she just went upstairs to put on her jammies, and I wandered downstairs in search for a coffee cup full of fresh coffee.

JESSIE - I practically lived on coffee back when I worked - crossing the pond on those all-nighters required lots of coffee for me. The coffee was delicious and warm and did not seem to affect my sleeping at the other end.

KARL - The flooring looks good! The Spousal Unit is making noise about getting rid of the carpet and putting down some type of vinal. I'm not looking forward to that, because of added rugs that she will want to cover up the vinal (her list is long and never-ending).

Going to make myself another coffee ... bbl
 
Good morning all! A frigid 33 and fair heading for a day of sunny and 63. Had a great couple days off. Spent a lot of time just messing around home, but didn't really accomplish anything. Yesterday was so nice that my wife and I wound up eating lunch out on the patio instead of staying indoors. Hard to believe it's this nice in December. Gotta enjoy it while it lasts.

Now it's off to work for one day before getting the weekend off. Sometimes I wind up working 6-8 days in a row before getting one day off and then work one day before one day off again. It's so silly. This week it worked in my favor with two sets of two days off separated by one day of work, but it's usually not anywhere that good. I can't complain about my situation this week, but overall I'm pretty sure our schedule is done by chimps with keyboards.

The family is still recovering from Covid. My grandson must be feeling better because he was outside shooting baskets yesterday. I know it's just killing him missing out on playing with his school team right now while he gets over Covid. He lives and breathes basketball and loves playing in games with the team.

Time for a little more coffee and then heading off to work. Hope you all have a great day.
 
LVP goes great on concrete or wood. I did the basement 5 years ago. On concrete as well as the steps, works great!
Here are the before pics,
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And after (before final trim out)

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It wears well, is waterproof unlike carpet. A few minor basement floods have reinforced that claim. Plus it looks like wood, but with only weekly vacuuming, mainly because of the fuzzy cat! We had Berber carpet prior to this so there was a good bit of prep to level the flooring, fill in divots from tack strips, and removing the glue that held the padding down, but it was totally worth it.
You can build a hell of layout in your basement. Can't wait for the next step !:)
 
You can build a hell of layout in your basement. Can't wait for the next step !:)
Christian, Refer back to post #902 in the November , this IS the next step! :)

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BBL, gotta work a bit!
 
Good morning y'all. We're having a heat wave here in the Carolinas. It is not yet 3 am and the temperature is 52. Three days ago it was 28.

Flo- Coffee please, and just some bacon this morning. I hate traveling on a full stomach.

Headed home today to take care of a few things and do my laundry so I can repack my suitcase and head back out for Raleigh on Sunday. Fun times. At least that will be my last out of town trip for the year. Perhaps I will finally get a chance to visit the last hobby shop on my list.

Y'all have a blessed day. I'm going to drink my coffee and hit the road.
Your not near Yellowstone are you!
 
Morning all,

Going to be a busy weekend with having to help the daughter and SIL building the new house get their internet stuff online. 6 camera and wireless throughout the entire building. Been a while since I've done any of that type on configuration.

Not much yet going on here, but it is my "short" day. I don't usually start anything new as much as finish off stuff I started earlier in the week.

BBL
 
Good Morning All. Foggy and mild at 58°, might reach 80° later today. Record high for today is 89° so I don't think that we'll get near that. I am very much enjoying this Indian Summer weather that we're currently having. A norther blows in Sunday night and then mixed weather pattern for a week or so. Despite the norther, temperature is only supposed to drop to 40° at night. The La Nina weather pattern over the Pacific that is currently directing our weather normally brings us very mild but dry winters in the lower third of the US, but colder and wetter conditions in the upper states and into Canada. By observation, Guy seems to be colder for this time of year and it's certainly much wetter west of him in BC.

Made the weekly grocery trek yesterday without too many issues. Some shelves were empty, but store employees got me everything that I needed from carts parked in the aisles, all the time mumbling about the lack of help. Everything but Fritos! They seem to be in short supply in Texas according to the Frito/Lay employee stocking the shelves there. Ironic since there is a Frito factory 50 miles south in the Dallas suburb of Irving TX.
Fritos shortage.
No shortages at all in the beer aisles.

Mask compliance yesterday was nearly nil except for employees there (Kroger) and at Walgreens. However at the time that I go, there is generally no issue with social distancing. They've never worn masks at the small town Dollar General that I went to on the way home, even back in the beginning of the so-called pandemic. I did wear mine at the drugstore though. I hate wearing it as it sometimes stifles breathing, and it puts a crease in my beard; but I do carry it and use it as the situation dictates.

I don't mind Christmas music so much, but it does really get old after 10 days or so of constant blasting. My wife hasn't gotten to that stage yet but I know that it's coming. I do need to get some decorations out of the attic soon before the prompting begins. I don't anticipate a major production this year as her mobility is limited right now. I'll put up some as a seasonal gesture of goodwill.

Looks like Mel finally came in to help Flo and Francine this morning. Let's put him to work making me a chicken fried steak with southern cream gravy and hash-browns. A healthy piece of cornbread with it should put me over my carb limit for the whole day! Blood sugar reading this morning was just 108, well within what the doctor recommends which is 100-150. Actually a surprising number since I had leftover turkey, dressing and smashed taters last night. The rest of the turkey went back into the freezer to be resurrected into turkey enchiladas next week sometime. All of the other leftovers from Thanksgiving are now gone.

Thanks as always for the likes and comments regarding the pictures that I posted yesterday; Jaz, Karl, OB Ken, Christian, Tom O, Patrick, Hughie, George, Curt, Tom, Guy, IB Ken, Gary. I never thought about it, but maybe y'all are reacting to my commentary instead of the pictures???

Minimal time out in the train shed yesterday as the grocery trek and other tasks took longer than anticipated to complete. I did start a new small project. I have an extra storefront came with a Walther's kit, they've been doing that a lot lately, so I am looking at adding some additional DPM walls to it to make a complete structure.
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It looks like the DPM walls are a perfect match except for color.
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However I had originally planned to use the storefront as a backdrop structure and I had glued all of the windows/doors in. That required about an hour with an Exacto knife and single-edge razor blade to successfully remove them so that I could assemble and paint them.
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I have never been real good at masking.
More to come as I get back to it.
Meanwhile I stopped by Home Depot to replace the 5/64 drill bit that I have misplaced.
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Jesse - I respectfully disagree that stupid people aren't readily identifiable. I can generally spot them as soon as they open their mouths. They are generally in love with themselves as well.
Good luck with your wife's car.
Terry - I have gotten to the age that I don't care if I do offend someone any more, with discretion of course. I regale in offending stupid people who provoke me, so that they don't realize it until later!
Personally, I consider any music filled with 4 letter invectives many times more offensive than any "seasonal" music could ever be.
Rap music is an oxymoron.
Louis -
Coffee seems to have no affect on me, thank God.
Seems like it makes you drink more of it!!!;)
Troy - Neat little planes.
Chad - Glad to read that there are others as yourself that realize that Epiphany is the end of the Christmas season. I believe that the season starts on the First Sunday of Advent, not Black Friday.
Steve -
Apparently I had to try out Covid-19 for myself.
Get well soon. If you don't mind my asking, were you vaccinated? Despite taking precautions and vaccinations, I am somewhat concerned due to four underlying conditions, age, BP, type II diabetes and bronchial issues. I am curious regarding others experiences so I might be prepared.
IB Ken - My wife and I had virtually no side effects from the original Moderna shots except the normal soreness at the jab point. I have read and heard both ways regarding mix and match of the vaccines and we have not yet decided which way to go. We're eligible and intend to get the boosters together, but my wife's surgeries and antibiotic regimes have precluded that for now. Apparently antibiotics and vaccines don't make happy partners. My doctor had not formed an opinion yet regarding mixing at the time of my last visit. I've been taking the aspirin for over 12 years now.
Gary -
I heard that they have closed shop Alco, has anyone else heard anything?
I read that about 18 months ago, but I believe it was a false rumor. Unfortunately my inside source retired and no longer runs his LHS.
Karl - I say to ditch the lounge and expand the layout plan.
Jaz -
Your not near Yellowstone are you!
I think that Jesse is on the road right now, so I will answer. Yellowstone is over 2000 miles from him.

Now that it is daylight, the fog is extremely dense. I cannot see either road going by the house, I live on a corner.
Everybody have a great day and stay safe.
 
Anyone have experience in using Micro Engineering ladder track switches? I am looking to buy 12 pieces to create a ladder track for my small yard. Also where would you get the best deal? They are pricey boogers....

Heres what I am talking about.....


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Yes! I used the Code 70:

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Not sure about the closed shop or not - - did see in Model Railroader that the company is for sale.

I am pretty new to the hobby, but I used the system and I think it worked pretty good.
 
Good morning Everybody!

Did not have time to stop by this morning, off to a busy start.

My stamina is improving, bathroom trips are fewer and I'm not going to push it. What gets done, gets done and I'm not going to worry about the rest.

I hope all is well with Everybody, have a great day!

 
Happy Friday Morning Everyone! Hope this day finds everybody well! Lots of non model railroading stuff going on, as with a lot of people.
I have been able at the least, to do some model building.
Here is the first of the fleet I got done, the type 27 tank car.
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Then it was this type 103W car
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The consist...
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All have Kadee trucks & couplers

EVERYBODY HAVE A SAFE DAY!
 
Good Morning!

Willie - Thanks for the mention in a recent post. Actually, the weather around here has been unusually warm for most of November. We could/should have been below zero, but, that didn't happen much. Today is 19f, which I consider warm enough where gloves arn't necessary.

A busy day ahead house cleaning. The wife was nagging me before she went to work. It's one of the disadvantages of retiring before the spouse. Usually, I'll just sweep over using that infernal vacuum. Brooms don't fight back.

Question for you all. In the vintage photograph below of Mountain Park, Alberta; do the buildings in the foreground look like a sawmill? The background buildings are a coalmine, but, the foreground buildings are hard to tell.
Mountain Park (2).jpg
Mountain Park no longer exists, however, the graveyard and some building foundations are still there still. I've spent a-lot of days camped in that area.
I need a vintage sawmill for my layout, and if that is a sawmill example, it looks like something I could manage to scratch build.

Time to walk the dog, I suppose. Have a great day.
 
Good Morning all!. A pretty nice day starting. Rain forecasted for later.
Flo, my favorite please, breakfast burrito with diced jalapenos.
We got a later start going to the grocery yesterday, so by the time we got home there was no time for Christmas light installation. Now you know what I'm doing today. I did however plant some trees at Jefferies Point and installed one of the crossing signals. Time permitting, I'll install the second one this afternoon.

Guy - I'm with Willie, nineteen is cold.
Louis - Thanks for the Mario Lanza link. I have his Christmas station on Pandora.

Crossing,
crossing.jpg


Trees,
Jefferies trees.jpg


STAY SAFE
LATER
 
After editing and deleting some (blurry)of the last pictures I took on the On30 layout, here are a couple I liked.
Jake, the practical joker, swung open the occupied outhouse door.
A storage shed near the log pond.
Another shady storage shed across behind the train shed.
 

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Guy, I was always of the mind that "it's not cold until we get to single digits". This morning it was in the 30s, I noticed my hands were "talking to me". I put my right hand to my face and realized it was ice cold. My body was comfortable, but not my hands. Looks like glove weather for me is now anything below 40!
 
Terry you are one of the smartest people I have ever met, you are going to do fine. The problem when you are smart is stupid people don't/can't recognize your intelligence. You need to get free from stupid people.

Terry: Always think with a cool head and wait and give the new management a chance while you look for another position. Time is on your side. At one of my jobs, I got ticked off and wanted to quit, but I waited for the right opportunity and then gave my notice when I found the right replacement with higher wages and benefits and the new job was mine for the next 39 plus years.

Stay cool and things will work out for you.

Greg
 
Good Morning Everyone.....overcast and chilly this morning with light snow overnight on the grassy areas. More snow expected on Tuesday....?

Changed the oil on the snow blower yesterday. Reading the oil dip stick on the 6 HP Tecumseh engine is a bit had to read, so I add oil just as much as the specifications call for and in this case 21 oz of oil. At least I changed oil when it was 55 degrees and not 25 like so many years in the past. Its a 24 inch, 6 HP Ariens snow blower that Ariens made for a short time. I can tell the difference between the former 5 HP and now the 6 HP models with just one HP a huge difference in power.

Finally made it to Walthers yesterday in the late morning. The Showroom had only one other couple and three sales people so the service was excellent without a wait. I had a list so I didn't spend more than what I planned to on this trip. Cathy remarked over $100 in that small bag!!! The cost of a enjoyable hobby. When we toured on our Goldwings, a oil change could cost $100.

I stocked up on some supplies that I was running low on like Ex-Acto blades and other items. On Walthers display layout, I saw Walthers Center beam cars and really like them. But at 72 feet they are a bit long to run on the CM&N Railroad. I can sit at the Walthers layout and watch the two trains run for hours. It's relaxing for me to watch trains run. Walther's display layout is roughly 8 X 26 feet in size and has a mountain down the middle that acts as a display block. Once the mountain was covered with fall trees, but now maybe 15% of the trees are fall colored.

When did Ex-Acto blades change their name to Excel???

My favorite Christmas album is by the Carpenters and one of their songs is my favorite. I listen to this album so many times I know which song is next. Here's my favorite....................


Being in the shopping center business Christmas was a very important time for us and the retailers. We started planning the next year's Christmas the day after the previous Christmas. We knew what went right and what not so good and then planned accordingly. Some things as simple as what color Poinsettias looked the best under the mall lighting or do we do artificial snow in Center Court again next year? Or how was Santa in his house greeting children?

I had a mall music speaker outside my office door and after two weeks of Christmas music, I had the Facilities guys disconnect the speaker. Too much of a good thing!

This is Riley's first Christmas and she is handling the tree and the floor standing decorations just fine.

So many of our Christmas' we spent at Cathy's Aunt's house that her Aunt decorated to a outstanding level. Twice her Christmas decorated home was featured in national magazines. Everything had to be natural looking and many items made out of wood. On the first floor the dining room, den and living room had at least 150 burning candles. The dining room table could hold 22 people and all the glass ware was crystal. The Aunt collected the glassware from estate and rummage sales so most of the water and wine glasses didn't match, but the cut crystal shined in the candles' light. The house was built in the late 1930's and just set in a mature oak woods.

So much about Christmas for now....

Later

Greg
 
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