Good Morning All. Clear skies and 57°, quite a bit chillier than predicted. Still headed into the 80's for a couple more days before more seasonal weather returns.
I had an extended visit/conversation with my 80 year old neighbor yesterday. He's a farmer/goat rancher who lives alone in his trailer about a quarter mile up the hill. This guy is a genuine "country bumpkin", and not in a bad way. In our conversation, he used a couple of phrases that always make me giggle inside, he referred to "moo cows" and "hoot owls" keeping him up the night before with their noise. I asked if he referred to his dog as a "woof dog" and he laughed and said that it was what his mama and grandma always called them.
New update on my wife's condition. Since she stopped taking the narcotic pain relievers on Wednesday, she poured herself a glass of wine yesterday evening. That's a good sign of mental improvement! New home care nurse this morning to do the blood draw as Staci is sick today.
Thanks for all of the many likes and comments regarding my progress on Ramone's;
Louis, Karl, Guy, Christian, Jerry, Rick, Tom O, Hughie, IB Ken, Sherrel, OB Ken, Chet, Curt, Joe, Troy, Jaz, Patrick, Chad.
Morning there Flo. Have Mel make me a large order of scrambled eggs with a double order of bacon.
Out in the train shed yesterday, I gave all of the workers working on Ramone's the day off. That would be me. I sort of cleaned the workbench up a bit as it had become rather cluttered. As usual, I found bits and pieces of other projects that got mislaid so I tried to finish up a couple. Nothing major, a sign or two to apply, a figure or two to position and some random detail parts that were painted and set aside.
One item that I uncovered was a sign that I needed to add to a bookstore that I did a while back. Store has been in position for about three years, but I finally got around to making its sign last summer.
Here's Argosy Booksellers in the town of Vernon. I guess that I should have made sure that I had the sidewalk aligned with the street before I took these pictures, duh!
I actually did some looking at part of Ramone's, the rooftop water tank, and fabricated a pipe for it to drain into the sprinkler system. Next I will make an inlet pipe and mount the whole thing on the roof. I have decided to attach the loading docks to the structure, which will make it heavier and more unwieldy, but overall I think it will be for the better.
I do need to start to look at the building site and mark out the plywood base for parking lots and ground cover. Also what I am intending to do with the backdrop in this area.
Jerry - Finances - We only write checks for bills that we mail in. Overdraft protection from our small town bank takes care of things if needed (never yet). Having a large money market account and a savings account there makes the protection free. Almost all other purchases are made with the Amex card which we pay off every month to avoid any interest charges, it also pays a handsome cash back once a year. It's the only credit card that we have. Debit card is used at the very few merchants that don't accept regular credit cards.
Guy - Nice memory from your youth. Yes, things have changed drastically since then. It's a shame.
Christian - Now that's the kind of scenery you need on your layout!
Tom O - Continued safe travels for you.
Hughie - I really like the Jefferies Point kit. Unfortunately it is not available in HO.
Chet - Those are the saddest pictures that I have ever seen.
Curt - Congratulations on finally finishing up Dad's house. I know from your posts that it must be a great relief. Tell that rascal
Phil to start posting again! He's been pretty regularly sending assorted E-Mails!
Everybody have a great day. Stay safe.
