Running Bear's June 2022 Coffee Shop

[D&J RailRoad]

Stem to stern? Hope they pull the curtin first and send visitors out.

 

[Jaz avalley]

I find American chocolate horrible, just sickly, definitely an acquired taste, only 10% coco?? and lots of preservatives.

10 percent cocoa shudders…I nowadays like 90 percent and montezuma does 100 percent black cocoa buttons still has a small ‘sugar’ content but not because of added sugar, I usually indulge in some strawberries,cream and sone chocolate and if still peckish sone nuts.
I honestly believe lowering my actual sugar intake reduces my potential for dementia heart attack etc, and although I am lucky enough to not be diabetic have happily embraced a mostly Keto with the very occasional breakout - when cheating which is rare a rice pudding tops my list, I could replace the sugar with erythritol or similar no issues and happily increase the cream content but the rice itself is a carb issue….so strawberries which are much better than raspberries or blueberries are my go to, and home grown pesticide free is preferred
at the moment scoffing strawberries and peas - yes peas are not very Keto but homegrown no pesticide whst can I say - I cheat

strawberries borage in pots cucumbers cucamelons in tree guards

peach tree no fruit strawberries tomatoes and peppers in foreground

Three sisters beans squash and corn, corn non gmo intended for birds,beans is back up food,squash is butter nut, zucchini, courgette as called here, and red quash and stores well if matured skin,

garlic from cloves and seeds,

spinach for birds or us with extra cheese as oxolates leech calcium

Peas yummy

 

[chadbag]

Thank you. I will have to look into trying this. I have not found a drinkable cup of cocoa commercially available, YMMV. Your homemade mix sounds interesting. Thanks

I left out a few optional things like optional cocoa butter and grass fed butter. I am doing this as a way to try and stay Keto for breakfast so I adsd in extra fats.

You can make it as interests you but I use the raw cacao powder from Costco (or Walmart if Costco doesn have it at the moment -- but any would work). The raw cacao powder supposedly has more of the minerals and anti oxidants and stuff as it is less processed. I also buy Rodels baking chocolate at Costco (only the large business center carries it but the large bag is only $6). It is a really smooth and rich dutched cocoa powder. I use 20-40% of the Rodells and the rest the raw cacao. Dutched cocoa powder is smoother because it is treated with an alkaline process which makes it less acidic than normal and this tends to really bring out the cocoa flavor.

I have real monk fruit powder so a small scoop of that, plus 1-2 teaspoons of an erythritol / monk fruit blend. For sweetness.

Then I add some non dairy creamer (no carbs or sugars -- just fats).

I optionally use the sugar free Torani or Da Vinci (same thing, different company) coffee syrups to change the flavor, as I tend to drink this almost daily so a mix-up in flavors is good. The sugar free ones tend to use sucralose so I get a little of that as additional sweetener. Without it you may want an extra teaspoon of the erythritol. The Costco business center has Da Vinci coffee syrups and for sugar free they have vanilla, caramel, hazelnut, strawberry, raspberry, and coconut. I tend to put a little vanilla in no matter what, then either hazelnut or caramel (or both, with the emphasis on hazelnut and just a very small splash of caramel. I then will often add raspberry to the hazel nut or sometimes strawberry. Coconut very occasionally. That bottle lasts a long time. Again, the goal is to just experiment and vary the flavor day by day. I also have these sugarless mints from Japan that I sometimes drop a few in instead (with just a small amount of vanilla syrup). You can totally dispense with the syrups and I don't always use them.

I add a few tablespoons of MCT oil and optionally 1 or 2 small wafers of (organic) cocoa butter. I also buy (mainly Irish) grass fed butter for eating (vs cooking) so I'll put one small spat of that in too. (What is butter? cream and salt, and a little salt in the butter helps bring out the cocoa flavor).

I use an oversized mug. Just add hot water. I tend to stir it into a paste with the oil and syrups before adding the hot water as it dissolves easier in the hot water in such a form. Adding hot water to the powder tends to leave you with clumps of powder.

This is very rich and sometimes a little too rich. Recently I've liked it watered down, so I'll drink a little, and add some more water, and drink a little, and add some more water, until it is more thinned out. I go through phases. Sometimes I like the melted chocolate richness and sometimes more watered down.

I'll try and get some pics tomorrow.

It really is a great way to start the day and makes it easier for me to get a boost of oils and fats for KETO. If I have bacon grease left over I'll sometimes add a small bit of that to the cocoa as well -- more salt and "umami"-ness.

ETA: If we have real whipping cream in the house I'll use that instead of or replacing a portion of the creamer. Either straight liquid or I make whipped cream with erythritol and my home made vanilla... This is not that often but is awesome as well.

 

[TLOC]

I left out a few optional things like optional cocoa butter and grass fed butter. I am doing this as a way to try and stay Keto for breakfast so I adsd in extra fats.

You can make it as interests you but I use the raw cacao powder from Costco (or Walmart if Costco doesn have it at the moment -- but any would work). The raw cacao powder supposedly has more of the minerals and anti oxidants and stuff as it is less processed. I also buy Rodels baking chocolate at Costco (only the large business center carries it but the large bag is only $6). It is a really smooth and rich dutched cocoa powder. I use 20-40% of the Rodells and the rest the raw cacao. Dutched cocoa powder is smoother because it is treated with an alkaline process which makes it less acidic than normal and this tends to really bring out the cocoa flavor.

I have real monk fruit powder so a small scoop of that, plus 1-2 teaspoons of an erythritol / monk fruit blend. For sweetness.

Then I add some non dairy creamer (no carbs or sugars -- just fats).

I optionally use the sugar free Torani or Da Vinci (same thing, different company) coffee syrups to change the flavor, as I tend to drink this almost daily so a mix-up in flavors is good. The sugar free ones tend to use sucralose so I get a little of that as additional sweetener. Without it you may want an extra teaspoon of the erythritol. The Costco business center has Da Vinci coffee syrups and for sugar free they have vanilla, caramel, hazelnut, strawberry, raspberry, and coconut. I tend to put a little vanilla in no matter what, then either hazelnut or caramel (or both, with the emphasis on hazelnut and just a very small splash of caramel. I then will often add raspberry to the hazel nut or sometimes strawberry. Coconut very occasionally. That bottle lasts a long time. Again, the goal is to just experiment and vary the flavor day by day. I also have these sugarless mints from Japan that I sometimes drop a few in instead (with just a small amount of vanilla syrup). You can totally dispense with the syrups and I don't always use them.

I add a few tablespoons of MCT oil and optionally 1 or 2 small wafers of (organic) cocoa butter. I also buy (mainly Irish) grass fed butter for eating (vs cooking) so I'll put one small spat of that in too. (What is butter? cream and salt, and a little salt in the butter helps bring out the cocoa flavor).

I use an oversized mug. Just add hot water. I tend to stir it into a paste with the oil and syrups before adding the hot water as it dissolves easier in the hot water in such a form. Adding hot water to the powder tends to leave you with clumps of powder.

This is very rich and sometimes a little too rich. Recently I've liked it watered down, so I'll drink a little, and add some more water, and drink a little, and add some more water, until it is more thinned out. I go through phases. Sometimes I like the melted chocolate richness and sometimes more watered down.

I'll try and get some pics tomorrow.

It really is a great way to start the day and makes it easier for me to get a boost of oils and fats for KETO. If I have bacon grease left over I'll sometimes add a small bit of that to the cocoa as well -- more salt and "umami"-ness.

ETA: If we have real whipping cream in the house I'll use that instead of or replacing a portion of the creamer. Either straight liquid or I make whipped cream with erythritol and my home made vanilla... This is not that often but is awesome as well.

Thanks, forwarding this to the wife. She loves hot cocoa so this is up her alley and I will give it a shot.

 

[TLOC]

The son spoke with the wife after dinner which always means something financial. He sold 2 of his aircraft and both to the now ex-girlfriend. The aircraft I knew he had a deal going but guess I never asked with who. Turns out I was about 6 weeks early on my break up prediction and then thought maybe this was the one. Turns out she has a roommate and while they were looking at a new place the roommate said, just move in with Brian. Turns out she realized he never asked her to move in or even talked about it. So she ended it. He said they will be buddies but now also business associates. He said the air taxi business has become a big thing and getting bigger in Central Texas. He has lost some business as he now refuses to fly into Mexico due to hassle from the Border Patrol. He says they do their jobs a bit too well and very enthusiastically.

Our travel plans for this Friday have changed. Our granddaughter who is 10 and Down Syndrome graduates from elementary school to middle school 5th grade to 6th. On June 8th, so we will be home for that.

Let’s see, watching the Rangers and Lightning and after last nights game Avs/Oilers that I watched the replay of this afternoon, this game seems like the skaters are in slow motion, exciting game just seems in slow mo. I am actually pulling for the Rangers as I want the Oilers to beat their asses into submission. 4-2 Rangers right now. I am jumping sometimes to the golf match between the 4 quarterbacks and it’s is ok golf, just not exciting. Tom and the prima a donna are down 1 with 3 holes to go. Popped into the Brewer/Cubbie game and went over to Sox/Blue Jay game. Baseball is soooooo slow on TV.

Tomorrow I will head to the train room. I didn’t want to start a new project because we were leaving Friday. But now that we will be home, there is more to be done.

 

[Boris]

Good evening. 59° and cloudy, which is 20° cooler than it was at Midnight this morning. 40% to 60% chance of showers or thunderstorms overnight into tomorrow.

Tom O": I'm disappointed that Gotham is ahead of Tampa. I so dislike that team and it's arrogant fan base. Objectively, it should be a good series. The Edmonton - Colorado was a real "defensive battle with outstanding goal tending", eh? Oh well, the TV networks have wanted more scoring for years, and now they have it. Baseball is slow anywhere. Only thing slower is golf or cricket.

Willie: I'm grateful that y'all came through your procedure with flying colors.

I sort of glazed past the four pages of posts from today. Between shopping for necessities, and preparing for our weekend in Northern New York, I really didn't have time to read through the posts.

I did make a lot of progress on the Helm Tobacco model, when we get back, I will place it on the layout. I'm trying to make a convincing standpipr connection for the side wall of the building. I have to fabricate railings for the entrance, then attach it as well as a ladder forexternal access to the roof. May install interior lighting if I feel ambitious enough.

Another shooting in Oklahoma this evening....

As I alluded before, I did not have any desire to watch sports this evening.

Southern Railroad of New Jersey local on the NJT Atlantic City Main, passing through Hammonton enroute to Winslow today, 6/01/2022. Photo by Eddie Slimm. Train operates as needed between Winslow and Absecon - Pleasantville, NJ.

 

[JeffH]

Made it in great time. Had some oysters and crab claws on a rooftop bar with my wife, daughter and groom. Counting my blessings tonight.

The whirlwind starts tomorrow morning, lol

 

[troyphoto]

Well, howdy there sleepy people

It's Troy again...

I tried going all day with none of the supplements I had been taking. No MCT oil in the coffee, no extra magnesium beyond what's in my daily multi-vitamin.

With my mother's recent decline in mental powers (connected to her AFIB), I wanted to get ahead of such in my own late 50s brain. And I started wondering if it was too much and causing me sleep issues. Having a brain that kicks on at 2:30 am was not helping the sleep pattern.

I did add in half of a 5mg Melatonin pill. Man, that tasted weird. Looked at the bottle after splitting the pill, and then choking it down.

Yep. Quick dissolve. It still worked though. Morning pee break made it til 4 am, and the brain wasn't rebelling like a bunch of southerners flying the stars and bars. The cat even snuggled in for some pets. I didn't get up until 5:15.

As for mother, I think I mentioned she was back in the ER Tues nite. Tues day, she got her macular-degeneration shots.

Called my sister at 10pm in mega-pain. Couldn't even open her eyes. And the eye surgeon with Call-Rotation wasn't returning calls. Not even to the ER. Someone forgot to take their phone off of silent mode!

I mentioned mother's mental memory decline? Well, she kept forgetting to take her eye drops. The ones that have the pain reliever.

ER got her a general one, but without the eye surgeon calling back, they couldn't treat. And she was in such pain, she wouldn't open her eyes without a nurse basically in bed with her, holding her head in position, so the ER Doc could administer the eye drops well after they should have been.

So, we've got mom, grumbling and griping, switched over to the daily pill caddies for morning and evening. As a transplant patient, she's got 25 years of taking a LOT of meds... but we don't have any way of tracking her, since she's still living on her own. Now, my sis that lives close (and gets up at 2:30 to be at work at 4am) can swing by in the evening and check both pill caddies.

But, for the eye drops, we're going to need to call at the prescribed times the day of and following the shots. "Did you put your eyedrops in? Go put your eye drops in. Leave the phone on your chair. Go put your eye drops in NOW mother!"

OK, enough from me.

Hope Willie is recuperated enough to get out into the garden today. Unless he talked a nurse into following him home for more checks.

 

[OBTC 1909]

Good morning all! Overcast and 64 on the way to 69 with a 30% chance of rain. We had a larger chance of rain and didn't get a drop, so I wound up spending time watering the garden last evening after dinner. Had a busy day at work as I was expecting. Today is my wife's birthday but I doubt we'll do anything special today since it's in the middle of the week. May go out to eat or something this weekend.
Nothing else to report. Hope you all have a great day!

 

[D&J RailRoad]

Another great morning for a walk. 70 degrees, slight breeze and those darn biting flies. Left a trail of em down the street. Feel like I'm doin the Hawiian slap dance.
OK, gonna try this again today. Goin to see the movie Top Gun: Maverick. Hopefully the lines of unsure people won't be there today to tie up the ticket lines.
Next loco project is a Bachman F40 Amtrak loco. It's been sitting in a cigar box for a few years. I don't recall what the problem may have been. It has a Wow sound decoder in it, but the speaker is too tall for the shell to fit down over the chassis. It has a basic light board in it, almost 2/3s the size of the chassis. An LED board is fixed to the top of the cab to run the cab roof flashers. I'll prolly strip out the light board to make for room from the Wow and speaker. I can prolly get a Keep Alive in there too.

 

[Patrick]

Morning all,

Read many posts before work, but didn't get a chance to reply before now.

Currently 54° and mostly cloudy. Supposed to be about 78° and sunny later today. Currently under flood warnings as the rivers and streams continue to drain from the rain we had Tuesday night\Wednesday morning. The town I live in east of Wichita received 5.5" officially of the wet stuff, I had 5.25 in my gauge when I got home yesterday. 90% of this falling in 5 hours Tuesday night.

Willie: Glad to hear the procedure went well.

Jaz: I like fresh peas, and those looked yummy. I will have peaches this year, just not sure how many. They are currently about 2.5" in diameter, but won't be ready for another 60 days or so, usually mid August. I'll probably send some to the 3 closest neighbors. I'll post some pictures when I mow tomorrow. I just wish the apples were doing as well. my one disappointment tree has dropped it's apples again. Seems they get the size of a large marble or ping pong ball and it just drops them. my other 2 trees are so far doing well.

Well, people know I'm here, so back to it for now...

 

[Smudge617]

Good Afternoon All. Wife just brought me her laptop since I can't see or type on the forum on the phone. It appears that all was successful this morning. The doc put in one stent just to get additional $$$ from Medicare, I believe. Was out of recovery by 0930 in time for breakfast. I've been bored to death in a regular room since then. Every hour a nurse checks the entry wound and the family jewels. Nurse in recovery room only checked the wound! Had lunch and I am waiting for supper before being released at 1900. Glad to be going home, although my BP is a little high. That should go down once I am out of here. Got to make this short since she forgot the mouse and I am all thumbs on the touchscreen and touch pad.
Thanks for all of the well wishes.

Nice to see that all is well after your op. bet the nurses loved having you as a patient.

 

[logandsawman]

Good morning all,

Beautiful sunny morning in Northcentral Minnesota. High today about 65°. We have been below normal since December, it is a dang ice box here in the mornings. We had 30's two days last week.

Jaz - what a greenhouse. Send some of those peas my way.

Willie - great you are recovering well!

Left my samsung phone at home today, happens about twice a month. Good to remember that I can live without being constantly connected.

Here is an action shot from the sawmill:

more later

Dave LASM

 

[santafewillie]

Good Morning All. Heavy thunderstorm and 64°. Since midnight we have received 2" of rain. It's still raining and we are under a flood advisory. High temperature today and tomorrow will remain below 80°, rain continues into Saturday morning. Flooding doesn't necessarily affect us except the run off is slow to leave the yard.

Thanks to all for the well wishes and comments regarding my day yesterday. Interesting to me that no Covid test was administered at any time.
While most of yesterday's medical procedure went as planned, but I was not released from the hospital until 11:00 pm, four hours later than anticipated. The surgery went as planned and took less than an hour. Local anesthesia only and I was hearing the surgical team conversing and talking with the nurse who kept asking how I was doing. There was a general anesthesia that had me groggy but awake. and had been healing as promised, but my damn BP remained too high for them to release me. The nurses didn't understand that the longer that they kept me there, the higher it would climb. I simply dislike hospitals and I suffer from what my doctor calls "white coat syndrome". After giving me increased doses of drugs, I finally took a sleeping aid and an extra BP medication that I had brought with me. An hour later I had a 137/81 which passed their muster. As I posted yesterday, many of the female nurses peeled back the hospital garment just enough to check the incision, but two in particular seemed to really want to get an eyeful of the family jewels. For a while (seven hours) they were checking every 15 minutes! Even the young lady who did the shaving did it modestly without exposing anything. I'll just say that she made an interesting "landing strip" pattern. She did both groins and left the middle untouched as she said that she didn't know which side the doctor was going to use. At least it's symmetrical. No pictures here.

We haven't decided whether or not we're going to make the weekly grocery trek today as planned, neither of us slept long enough last night, and the rain may put a damper on driving.

There are 71 posts made since the Coffee Shop opened yesterday morning, I don't know how many I will be able to read and comment on (if needed) this morning.

Karl - Congratulations to your son.
Troy - Get used to the increasing number of "potty breaks" during the night as you get older. It's as inevitable as taxes. Diet DP here is nearly caffeine-free, although it has a little. Prayers and well wishes for your mother.
Sherrel - My surgery started at 6:30, so there was plenty of healing time by the expected release time of 7:00 pm.
Guy - Those 6 hoppers are definitely ballast hoppers.
Ken (D&J) - Private rooms only here.
Jaz - Nice looking hot-house garden.

Everybody have a great day.

 

[Sirfoldalot]

WELL, Howdy there RR folks (and those who like and love trains).
I just finished my first cup of dark roast coffee and will be going for another - juat sitting here reading posts and sucking on the vapor from the nebulizer machine - seems it has helped my breathing more than anything?

Other than a few stiff/sore places - I feel pretty good and the Spousal Unit and I put in a good hours work repacking "stuff" in the garage, the reason is that she is planning on several different pieces of furniture from the ranch along with a freezer (don't know why) we can't afford to put anything in one ?

The appraisal came in on the ranch - way outta my league at 1.9 mil! I just don't see it - So many remodeling items need upgrading and repairs?

I have given up on it ever raining here again - we have only had 9.18 inches for the Jul - Jul rain season ... the last week has not produced a single cloud and looking at the next three days (local forecast) shows nothing but clear, sunny, and breezy.
I wonder all the time where CA is going to get the waater for the thousands of new homes that are being built everywhere?

It's not going to happen today, or tomorrow, but I have decided to sell and give away most all of my power tools and lots of other "stuff" that I have been holding on too for way too long!
Then I will have a bay in the garage for a railroad -- I should have done this 10-15 years back -- but life seemed to be in the way -- followed by health problems -- and I am not getting any younger!

Have a great day, folks .. I am going to try too !

 

[D&J RailRoad]

Yep, will have to remove the existing light board. I think I'll just install an ESU decoder with sound.

 

[TLOC]

Good morning Crew. It’s nice in Wisconsin, bright, clear and warming up. 57 now heading to 75f degrees. We actually made it to 80 higher by 8 degrees then the prediction.

My doctor appointment tomorrow I have been informed in a email last evening has been denied for coverage. It’s a frickin follow up to my surgery which was approved. That is 2 now denied. My last PT visit was also denied after previous written approvals.

WILLIE, at my angioplasty the young female nurse who shaved me seemed embarrassed and Terry standing next to me said to her, could you add a heart shape to the forest! Their laughter didn’t help calm me. The nurse who shaved me for the gall bladder was definitely experienced and just a few swipes and was done, no expression. The vasectomy cleanup was done by a male nurse and I was the embarrassed one. Glad you are feeling well. Follow the instructions and everything will be fine

BORIS, I dislike intensely any of the NHL other 5 of the original 6. I grew up a Chicago BlackHawk fan and we back then could watch all away games on WGN. I want NY only because I don’t want the Lightning in the Finals again. I also believe the Rangers are most likely to be embarrassed more by the Oilers then the Avalanche and I want to see that.

TO ALL, have a great day.

 

[McLeod]

Good Morning!

It's going to be a great day, even though it's only 42F in the sun at the moment. Willie's still alive after an operation, Sherrel is thinking about a railroad in the garage, and the fencing is all done. Add to all that, the wife is going to work tomorrow for 3 straight days, which means I'll be left all alone with my modelling desk.

I'm thinking about cleaning it up, so I can see what I'm doing:

This weekend, I'll be working on trying to get structures ready for prime. If I have to decant primer from it's aerosol can, I'd like to do it for a number of models, including trucks, caboose switch's and buildings. So, there's lots of cleaning-up and prepping to do.

Right now, I'm going to go dump the old fence material. After that, I'm on my own time.

It's going to be a fine weekend of modelling, with not much else in the way.
Have a good one!

 

[TLOC]

WELL, Howdy there RR folks (and those who like and love trains).
I just finished my first cup of dark roast coffee and will be going for another - juat sitting here reading posts and sucking on the vapor from the nebulizer machine - seems it has helped my breathing more than anything?

Other than a few stiff/sore places - I feel pretty good and the Spousal Unit and I put in a good hours work repacking "stuff" in the garage, the reason is that she is planning on several different pieces of furniture from the ranch along with a freezer (don't know why) we can't afford to put anything in one ?

The appraisal came in on the ranch - way outta my league at 1.9 mil! I just don't see it - So many remodeling items need upgrading and repairs?

I have given up on it ever raining here again - we have only had 9.18 inches for the Jul - Jul rain season ... the last week has not produced a single cloud and looking at the next three days (local forecast) shows nothing but clear, sunny, and breezy.
I wonder all the time where CA is going to get the waater for the thousands of new homes that are being built everywhere?

It's not going to happen today, or tomorrow, but I have decided to sell and give away most all of my power tools and lots of other "stuff" that I have been holding on too for way too long!
Then I will have a bay in the garage for a railroad -- I should have done this 10-15 years back -- but life seemed to be in the way -- followed by health problems -- and I am not getting any younger!

Have a great day, folks .. I am going to try too !

Sherrel glad to read the nebulizer is helping. I have the same thoughts not only about California but Nevada and Arizona. With the water sheds and storage depleted they still allow new home building, occasional grass watering and pools. If you don’t have water and you refuse to build desalination plants those states deserve every issue they get. But, I know the Federal government will be coming to the rescue, never fear!

Just a thought. $1.9 seems a lot to you now but doesn’t the wife inherit a percentage of that? That would definitely reduce the actual sale price to her. Plus of course minus whatever you get for the place you are in now will sell for. But, is it worth the hassle of the younger one probably objecting?

 

[TLOC]

Good Morning!

It's going to be a great day, even though it's only 42F in the sun at the moment. Willie's still alive after an operation, Sherrel is thinking about a railroad in the garage, and the fencing is all done. Add to all that, the wife is going to work tomorrow for 3 straight days, which means I'll be left all alone with my modelling desk.

I'm thinking about cleaning it up, so I can see what I'm doing:
View attachment 146770

This weekend, I'll be working on trying to get structures ready for prime. If I have to decant primer from it's aerosol can, I'd like to do it for a number of models, including trucks, caboose switch's and buildings. So, there's lots of cleaning-up and prepping to do.

Right now, I'm going to go dump the old fence material. After that, I'm on my own time.

It's going to be a fine weekend of modelling, with not much else in the way.
Have a good one!

Guy, plenty of space to build on that desk. Looks organized to me.

Have fun