Good Morning All. Foggy, maybe misting and 43° on the SFW estate. The ever-changing forecast, while still has temperatures rising for a few days, has had rain re-inserted for tonight after it was removed yesterday. Mother Nature does whatever she wants to do! Right now it looks like mid-60's all of next week, with the one constant of rain this Friday. Under a dense fog advisory until 10:00 this morning like the last 3 days.
Once again yesterday was a dismal day outside; after emptying the dishwasher I was bored enough to deep clean the stove top while my wife was out shopping. She didn't even notice!
Brought in extra wood to dry underneath the heater, it's actually only wet on the outside! It does seem that the field rat situation outside under all of the wood stacks has been resolved. I haven't caught one in 10 days after catching 8 in the first 7 days of setting traps out there. I hope that the birds of prey enjoyed the meals that I left out by the edge of the hayfield. They always seemed to disappear.
Today brings an annual gathering with an ever diminishing group of our college friends; a la "The Big Chill". Times are beginning to catch up with us. Pre-Covid, we used to have a rather raucous get-together in the evening, where some weren't allowed to drive home. This year we're doing a luncheon at a restaurant. There used to be 16 of us, now there are 10. Cancer claimed 4, auto accident claimed 1 and the last fellow dropped off the radar when his wife passed...he had married in, in the 80's, and was not part of the original college group. With the exception of the last three years, we've gotten together for this occasion for just over 50 years. Although we see some of these friends at other occasions during the year, this will be the first time together since wife and me celebrated our 50th anniversary party in '22.
There it goes again! No matter how many times I have texted "STOP" to the senders, I am still being barraged by text messages (addressed to Tina, the previous holder of my cell phone number), asking me to donate to Joe Biden. They're not only coming from Joe and Kamela, they're coming from Hillary, Chuck, Ro Khanna, Nancy, and now James Carville. This "Tina" person obviously didn't want to be traced, as over the last 5 years, I have gotten to know her doctor, dentist, beautician, another doctor, when her Walmart grocery pickup is ready, Amazon passwords, numerous lawyers and collection agencies, at least a dozen realtors wanting to buy her house (so I also know where she lives), several ex-coworkers from UNT where she worked, info concerning her Netflix account, many unknown persons and even her mother who never updated her contact list. She obviously donated to the Democratic party based on the number of texts that I receive...at least 10/week now. I have been invited to birthday parties, retirement parties and a wedding. I have thought about just showing up at one of these events but didn't want to waste my time. I could have had AT&T change my number, but it's actually been entertaining except for the political begging.
My time out in the train shed yesterday was more cleaning and dusting structures and freight cars. I am getting the urge to build another structure, but I promised myself that I would finish the cemetery first. I did start on the assembly of the second fence, but that is a slow process because I can't go far without letting the white glue dry thoroughly.
Sherrel, Swal, Curt & others - Yes that club layout is astounding and that's why I took so many pictures. I don't think that I got it all yet, even after two visits. Here's today's offering:
First is a member's open locker displaying UP 4014, Big Boy and other treasures.
And some scenes with homesteads.
And random shots of businesses.
There will be more to come until I can get some more progress shots on my own layout.
Sherrel - No oil wells on that layout and no refineries that I can tell. Plenty of fuel distributors and an ethanol plant though. That steel mill is something to behold. It occupies a space that I estimate is 2'x24'.
Louis - I probably see Amazon, Fedex and UPS drivers more than most, since I am outside a lot and can see them coming for a distance. I always thank them and they're all pretty friendly except one particular UPS guy. I know that they are on a tight schedule so I don't linger and engage in any extended conversations, although sometimes they do on their own. I believe that they are allowed more leeway on the rural routes.
Today is Beer Can Appreciation Day, commemorating the introduction of the beer can in 1935. Yes it is a monumental event, but I still purchase my beer in bottles. The pull-tabs get hung up in my mustache.
Everybody have a great hump-day.
