Running Bear's May 2022 Coffee Shop


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Greetings all, happy May!

0400 reveille yesterday to catch the 0705 flight. Scheduled a Lyft for 05-0515 and was completely ready to walk out at 0430, including having consumed two cups of hotel-room coffee and the yogurts and croissants I had squirreled from the conference breakfast the day before.

Slept a little on the plane, but was so tired all day yesterday. But home. Dau and SIL decided to stay with us another night. Was fun. Watched one of my all-time fav movies as Greek SIL had never seen it: "The Replacements." So funny - I still laugh, only now about 3 to 5 seconds before the actual line delivered! Noticed my lib/progressive dau wince a few times, but she still enjoyed it.

Thanks for all the empathy re the sons. Time will hopefully heal.
 
Things are changing at Terry's house. Some things are even changing for the better.
Not everything seems to be changing, though...
I went to our car insurance website to remove my wife as a driver. They will only remove her with a certified death certificate, and (the person I talked to) said they would do it when the policy is set to renew. I guess that makes sense, though still seems like an excuse. So, I went car insurance shopping, and found the same coverage for nearly $100/month less at another place. I guess the old company had become complacent, since we've had the same policy since 1997.
Since saving $1200/year is pretty significant to me right now, I made the switch.
That's when I found out that the more things change, the more they don't. I went to print my new insurance card, and the printer went South on me. So, I need to head to my local Big Box store to pick up the replacement printer after 11 today. The new printer was only $30 more than I saved in the first month...
 
Rabbit Rabbit
(it's a new month, so I gotta type Rabbit Rabbit)

Sigh... I feel for you, Terry. I get that all the time in whatever business I'm running. Save a little here, oops, this broke and drained the savings away.

In other news, MIL is doing well. She's starting to look at the clock when the daughters are over, and 4 pm, she locks up her phone in the "safe drawer" and gets her wrist-stretchy-bracelet with the apartment key, then sits staring at the girls.

D#1 "Do we need to leave, mom?"

MIL "Well, it's 4 o'clock."

D#2 "Must be time for supper..."

MIL "The girls are saving me a seat in the dining room"

Ds "Bye Mom!"

They laugh about how she has adapted to finding new friends and making sure she gets her meals on time. Things she seldom got right as a diabetic living by herself in the middle of Rural Corn and Soybean field Indiana...

Now, to my mother with the AFIB. She made it to the Cardiologist early because of a fainting episode when the visiting nurse was there....

The cardiologist wants to treat with meds, not with heart shocks. Sister pressed him and said he was guarding his speech in front of mom. But, her heart doesn't sound strong enough for the cardio-inversion.

Translation, we're in the last year or so with mom.

She's still having short-term memory issues. But is proudly announcing when she made the bed, walked down to laundry, that sort of stuff. My sister who checks on her daily says Sundowners is becoming more noticeable.

So, we're attempting to get our minds around that.

In other news, I'll be heading out to get GREEN paint to get rid of the yellow fence today. Just need to wait on the fence to dry out following last night's rain.

Oh, and I'm expecting the book with the railroad guest stars back from the editor this week. Once I get the final revisions out and back from my beta readers, you three (Willie, Smudge, and Sherrel) will get a message from me with a link to download a copy before it goes on sale. The question isn't just "Whodunnit?" but also, who has the biggest and fanciest railroad-themed BBQ Smoker?
 
Things are changing at Terry's house. Some things are even changing for the better.
Not everything seems to be changing, though...
I went to our car insurance website to remove my wife as a driver. They will only remove her with a certified death certificate, and (the person I talked to) said they would do it when the policy is set to renew. I guess that makes sense, though still seems like an excuse. So, I went car insurance shopping, and found the same coverage for nearly $100/month less at another place. I guess the old company had become complacent, since we've had the same policy since 1997.
Since saving $1200/year is pretty significant to me right now, I made the switch.
That's when I found out that the more things change, the more they don't. I went to print my new insurance card, and the printer went South on me. So, I need to head to my local Big Box store to pick up the replacement printer after 11 today. The new printer was only $30 more than I saved in the first month...
We have had the same insurance agent and best friend since I moved to Wisconsin for good in 1975. He and his group constantly looked yearly for best deals for us. He sold the agency in 2012 before I retired in 2014 to a huge group. Then right before retirement time Terry had heard this group didn’t review yearly for customers. So we did and would have saved about 1800 more per year. We didn’t switch then because I retired and sold the house we waited till we were in the new house. Found a new agency where we moved to and saved even more. Sorry to say but we really should review ALL contracts ourselves and not rely on the sales people and their staffs. Service has really disappeared. Since then Terry before renewal time starts checking. Now that we are older I feel in many cases folks our age are taken for granted.

TomO
 
Good morning from Wisconsin where it is still dreary looking out but there thankfully is no rain.

I am trying to figure out how to weather the roofs on the 3 WC covered hoppers I have been working on. Had them covered Thursday and on Friday decided they weren’t right. On Saturday I power washed the weathering off using my airbrush filled with 99% Isopropyl Alcohol and the PSI cranked to 60. I might work on them today as I found a decent picture that almost shows the roof top. I have looked at many pictures of this type of WC car and this is the best roof view.
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Not sure what the day will bring. Most likely we have the granddaughter till at least 5. The wife and g/d are out riding. Most of my energy is ebbing from lack of the thyroid replacement meds and as of today I cannot drive. Definitely no swimming either, so maybe a lot of time in the train room.

TomO
 
Rabbit Rabbit
(it's a new month, so I gotta type Rabbit Rabbit)

Sigh... I feel for you, Terry. I get that all the time in whatever business I'm running. Save a little here, oops, this broke and drained the savings away.

In other news, MIL is doing well. She's starting to look at the clock when the daughters are over, and 4 pm, she locks up her phone in the "safe drawer" and gets her wrist-stretchy-bracelet with the apartment key, then sits staring at the girls.

D#1 "Do we need to leave, mom?"

MIL "Well, it's 4 o'clock."

D#2 "Must be time for supper..."

MIL "The girls are saving me a seat in the dining room"

Ds "Bye Mom!"

They laugh about how she has adapted to finding new friends and making sure she gets her meals on time. Things she seldom got right as a diabetic living by herself in the middle of Rural Corn and Soybean field Indiana...

Now, to my mother with the AFIB. She made it to the Cardiologist early because of a fainting episode when the visiting nurse was there....

The cardiologist wants to treat with meds, not with heart shocks. Sister pressed him and said he was guarding his speech in front of mom. But, her heart doesn't sound strong enough for the cardio-inversion.

Translation, we're in the last year or so with mom.

She's still having short-term memory issues. But is proudly announcing when she made the bed, walked down to laundry, that sort of stuff. My sister who checks on her daily says Sundowners is becoming more noticeable.

So, we're attempting to get our minds around that.

In other news, I'll be heading out to get GREEN paint to get rid of the yellow fence today. Just need to wait on the fence to dry out following last night's rain.

Oh, and I'm expecting the book with the railroad guest stars back from the editor this week. Once I get the final revisions out and back from my beta readers, you three (Willie, Smudge, and Sherrel) will get a message from me with a link to download a copy before it goes on sale. The question isn't just "Whodunnit?" but also, who has the biggest and fanciest railroad-themed BBQ Smoker?
Good to hear your MIL is being looked after, sounds like she is enjoying her surroundings, health wise, not really much I can say but the nursing staff seem to be aware and on top of the situation.
I look forward to reading your latest book, it's not a genre I'm familiar with, but I do a lot of reading, so you might well have a convert here. :)
 
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Now that we are older I feel in many cases folks our age are taken for granted.
Tom O': You are very correct in your assessment. But take it a step further, they thing we are all trusting, gullible chumps, ripe for the plucking.

I have not had a "friend in the insurance business", since I relocated to Jersey 36 years ago, and I have found that most agents are not just self serving, but some are outright deceptive.
 
Good morning Shop Dwellers!

Troy - Sorry to hear the news about your mom! I guess all you can do is try to make the best of the time she has left.

The layout open house yesterday was successful; not a very high turnout, but that's ok since I wasn't selling tickets for it LOL. Those who attended enjoyed their visit, and Karl did an excellent job running the trains while I did the tour guide thing.

That's the good news. On the downside: I discovered that I apparently corrupted the programming of my turntable when I killed power to it the other day [because I couldn't get it out of "calibrate" mode]. It worked for a few of the tracks, but not most of them. So I figured I would just go to the Walthers website and download the manual for it so I could reprogram it. NOPE! They only have the manual for the 2018 model, but I bought mine in 2013. All my google searches give me plenty of hits on the 2018 model and nothing on any earlier models. So...hopefully I won't have to scrap my TT because of that? I'm not quite ready to try to convert it to manual control, but at the same time, my mrr budget can't accommodate spending $370 on a new TT...
 
Good morning all! Sunny and 58 heading for sunny and 68 today. Got a lot of short rain showers late in the day yesterday, so things are pretty wet out there but hopefully the sun and wind will help speed up the drying process. Been wanting to get the garden started but it's been too wet to do it so far. Still need to get the tiller attachment on my tractor and get it ready for use.

Had a great time at our great-nephew's birthday party yesterday. That little guy is just so smart and cute and he's just fun to watch run around. I made him laugh pretty hard a few times and he made me laugh a lot. Fun day.

Hoping to just stay home today. Planning to watch the Indycar race and maybe work outside a little if it isn't too wet
Hope you all have a great day!

Morning all,

It's Mayday! I so want to quote the line from "Airplane!", but I won't.


Going to be a busy day!
Love that movie still today!
 
Good Morning!
37F, with a very welcome rain happening. Hopefully, the rain will take care of the last of the ice. It's gonna be another nice one!

I am trying to figure out how to weather the roofs on the 3 WC covered hoppers I have been working on.
TomO - Here are some covered hopper photos I captured in 2020. Perhaps they can assist you with the 'look'. Hope they help in your efforts.
CovHop_WFRX 403224_09-26-2020 (1).JPG
CovHop_WFRX 403224_09-26-2020 (2).JPG
CovHop_WFRX 403224_09-26-2020 (3).JPG
CovHop_HPJX 5091_09-26-2020 (1).JPG
CovHop_HPJX 5091_09-26-2020 (2).JPG


This is the time of year that folks are calling me to do this and do that with either carpentry or electrical work. Usually, they call me for one of two reasons: 1) They don't have the skills to do it themselves or 2) They are physically incapable or just too lazy to do it themselves; so it's worth it to pay someone instead.
I'm surprised this year; the calls are coming early, and in quantity. If I commit to them all, I might be able to afford some new locomotives to add to the collection.

Troy - I also feel for you with regards to mother and MIL. Most of us suffer through that pain at some point. It's never an easy thing.

Ken - Great to hear the open house went well. Very fortunate that you have members close enough to visit and participate.

Other Ken - Glad the birthday party went well. Birthday parties are important and necessary for children. Not so much for us old fellas.

SteveJ - I've always found it odd how offspring reach a stage where they figuratively backstab their parents. Mine did it to me, and I suppose I did it to my own parents a-bit. Suppose we reach a stage where we're just tired of the attempts at guidance, and decide to buy our own cow.
The thing is though, sooner or later they/we always come back; or are forever sorry if the coming back is too late.

A suggestion was made to correct my layout yards track-work somewhat. So, yesterday I removed a bit of track and I'm going to make corrections. I'll probably work on the corrections today, and I'll take some photos to share at a later time.

Right now, I need to feed and walk the dog. I believe she has her own dog sundial to know what time it is. She's never far off from being right about the time.

Enough yap! Thanks for the coffee; time to get on with the day!
 
Good morning y’all
Yesterday was a blast running trains at Ken’s. It also made me think of getting my own layout built and running.
To that end, I did get the layout area lighting hooked up on one side of the basement Friday night.

5000k 4 inch LED dimmable lights by Infinibright. Home Depot and Lowes both carry them. Now I can ditch the single 4 tube fluorescent lamp and the desk lamps over my old modules.
 

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Good Morning All. Happy May Day. Nice calm morning at 58° and clear skies. Cool front blew through yesterday afternoon although the temperature still reached 80°. The winds will return today from the SE, those always bring rain which we should see for four days starting tomorrow.

Busy day for me yesterday. I installed the first of two ceiling fans that I bought Friday, replacing the 40 something year old one in the room that my wife wants to remodel first. The old fan worked, but the light fixture was beyond repair. It is operable by screwing the bulb in and out! I did laundry, stacked firewood that I split or cut earlier in the week, changed the oil in the limo, mowed a bit with the new mower and did general yard and garden work. It was a relief to just use leftover chili for supper, just heat and serve!

Thanks to all who liked or commented on the Roadside America pictures that I posted yesterday.; Tom O, Rick, Hughie, Guy, Smudge, IB Ken, Louis, Patrick, Curt, Sherrel, Karl, OB Ken, James.

Out in the train shed, I just cleared out some stuff from the underside of the layout in preparation for my next project which is to run a 120v electric circuit underneath the layout to power the lights that will be under the upper level. Some of the fixtures are already installed but with temporary wiring.
Let me continue the tour of the Roadside America museum in Hillsboro TX this morning. We'll leave the garage and look at some of his extensive collection of American memorabilia that he has amassed.
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This next picture is from a normally locked room named the Amos and Andy Room, which is only shown to select visitors due to some of it's non-politically correct material. I wasn't supposed to take pictures, but I snuck this one for historical context only.
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This museum is in an old Ford dealership that he bought to house it. Yesterdays automobile pictures were in the repair part of the building, today's are in the showroom/customer part of the building. All of this memorabilia is genuine and came from remodeled or salvaged businesses from the past. The day that we went we were the only visitors at the time so we got a personal tour with all of the historical tales. Some areas are quite cluttered.

Troy - That is the ugliest shade of yellow that I have ever seen.
Tom O - Thanks for the light review of the mower. I used it some more yesterday trying to get a feel for the darn thing. Definitely different than gas powered ones that I have used all my life. It works well, is quite quiet and will require much less maintenance.

Everybody have a great Sunday.
 
I spent about an hour on the phone dealing with more unpleasantness, this time with our mobile phone company.
We currently have a very reasonable price with two smart phones with unlimited data, 20gb/month tethered data to each phone, plus a tablet with unlimited data. We also have Netflix provided free as part of the package.
I called to inquire what would happen if I turned off service to my wife's phone, since everything is based on two lines of service. The person on the other end and I determined it would be most cost effective to suspend the phone number associated with my wife's phone, and leaving everything else as-is. The now-suspended line costs $10/month, where to get something even close to what I now have without the phone at all would cost $50/month.
So, the phone is suspended, and if I need to, I can reactivate it without any penalty.
 
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