Running Bear's January 2025 Coffee Shop

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Good morning from a crisp So. Central Wisconsin. It is 18f degrees going to maybe 30. It’s a work day in the train room and stay away from Ms. crabby this morning.

I have brought up the 2 bins for the Christmas tree ornaments and the family room decorations. That’s all she wants and will tell me when the tree is ready to be stored away.

Enjoy the day
 
 


Good Morning All. Clear and 33° , hopefully going up into the 60's today. Pleasant weather for a couple more days, and then they're predicting a cold snap starting Monday. A couple of days with overnight lows in the low-20's. Cold but not unusual for us.

Daughter #2 brought the granddog up yesterday for a country vacation while they travel to South Jersey to visit in-laws. She (granddog) will temporarily scare off the resident rabbits and squirrels, who really don't bother us to begin with. It's mating season for both, so there's a few extra here anyway. I managed to do some seasonal pruning with some trees yesterday. I am leaving the tornado-damaged ones alone this year to see how they recover unless there's something obvious that needs to be done.

Back on schedule today with the weekly grocery trek. A visit to the Vitamin Shop and post office are also on the itinerary. Maybe something else when my wife adds her input.

Out in the train shed yesterday, I started the quarterly layout cleaning project. For those of you who haven't known me for that long, my layout is divided into 8 sections, each of which is roughly 40' in length. Every quarter I take one section in succession and deep-clean it. Every section gets it once every 2 years and It spreads the chore out over time. It gives me a chance to make changes, add details or figures, rearrange vehicles etc. on the whole layout. Yesterday I started the upper level along the east and north walls. Here's a bit of an overall view of the area, the east wall which is the northernmost part of the railroad.
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This is the town called Rycon Township. Along the north wall is Charlottesville.
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Follow along for the next few days. I'm going to deviate a bit and clean structures first on the east wall, so it will be easier to access the rail line that travels through the layout here...as opposed to traveling in the front of the layout.

Troy - Did you notice that some of your rabbits only have one ear? Is that intentional?
Todd - My wife also could not find a channel with the ball drop Tuesday night.
David - There is no particular tradition here, to stay up and watch the new year come in. It's a common practice that wanes as one gets older. At a certain age, you also realize that travel by car is quite hazardous on New Year's Eve. At least around here it is.
Mac -
KriegslokBR52 said:
Makes me wonder how many rattle snakes made their home there
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Perfect environment for rattlers there, but in 44 years of living here, I have not ever spotted one. Lots of "rat snakes" and other species though.
Louis - There is a lot to the rooster raising business. Back when it was still legal here in Texas, until the late 80's if I remember correctly, he used to have regular exhibitions and sales in that barn. There would be a steady stream of pick-up trucks in and out, and a lot of hooting and hollering coming from there. He'd even hire a local sheriff's deputy to maintain order.

Everybody have a great Thursday. Stay warm if needed.
 
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Good morning all!

Currently 24F going up to maybe 30F. Looks like winter will start to move into the area later today. The above average start is over and big changes look to be on the horizon. Predicted to have 3-4 inches of snow later this afternoon into tonight. It was bound to happen.

Last of the Christmas totes were carried downstairs this morning. The tree has been down and stored for several days. The living room furniture has all been moved back to their respective spots and all's back to normal till next year.

Other than laundry and some light domestic duties, not much else going on. Wife is back to work today thank goodness. Still working remote, but she will be occupied all day and the steady I need help with this, or we need to get this done has ended.

have a safe day everyone!
 
santafewillie said:
I agree with Louis. Our countdown starts on December 26, thus making January 6, The Epiphany, the 12th day. The tradition varies by both religion and region though.
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Christmas Day is the 1st day of Christmas. Not sure how you can get around that.

The 12th day of Christmas is Jan 5. Epiphany then follows on January 6 to cap the season off. But it’s not a day of Christmas, so to speak. It’s its own holiday that ends the Christmas season (for western Christians).
 
santafewillie said:
Troy - Did you notice that some of your rabbits only have one ear? Is that intentional?
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Nope... but they are warrior rabbits. Some might have battle wounds.

Bruette said:
What about taking the easy way?
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Excellent idea. Ordered to see how they work. The motion sensor may be just what we need. I use the basement staircase to "entertain" the cat with his automatic red dot machine. A light that comes on only with human motion would be a good thing.
 
troyphoto said:
Nope... but they are warrior rabbits. Some might have battle wounds.


Excellent idea. Ordered to see how they work. The motion sensor may be just what we need. I use the basement staircase to "entertain" the cat with his automatic red dot machine. A light that comes on only with human motion would be a good thing.
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You just need to keep a headlight on the night stand.

https://www.amazon.com/Headlamp-Rec...ext&ref_=fplfs&smid=A235QF176W8DVY&gQT=1&th=1

They also come in handy when you are under the layout!
 
kbkchooch said:
You just need to keep a headlight on the night stand.

https://www.amazon.com/Headlamp-Rec...ext&ref_=fplfs&smid=A235QF176W8DVY&gQT=1&th=1

They also come in handy when you are under the layout!
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I'm doing good to get my hearing aids in the correct ears, my watch not on my ankle, and my spectacles on the front of my head when I rise.

And it's not only when I rise. Wife likes DARK in the late evening. Earbuds in for music, and she de-stresses. No lights allowed.

OH, crap! Left the headlight upstairs, and I'm in the basement. That's two flights up. Can't turn on the light to figure it out. It's only 8 stairs up to the landing... CRAP! I meant 7 stairs up... pulls head out of wall after tumbling on the landing. Guess I'll fix that hole tomorrow... :p
 


Well, we got the call a bit over an hour ago that the wife's older brother passed due to complications from Parkinson's. When the wife called me at noon, telling me he was moaning every time he was moved, I knew it wasn't going to be long. Same type of symptoms dad had before he passed.
 


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