Running Bear's January 2026 Coffee Shop

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Good Morning All. Happy New Year. Clear and 43° here; they were predicting 37° so I started an unnecessary fire in the wood-burner last night. House will usually stay above 70° without a fire unless it drops below 40° outside. According to the weather geeks, we have at least another 10 days of wonderful weather. Maybe some much needed rain on the 8th.

Back into the normal routine today with the weekly grocery trek. That's our only scheduled stop unless my wife came up with somewhere else in her dreams! Fridge is empty and the list is long, the result of skipping last week. Been eating out of the freezer and pantry, but fruit and beverages (not beer though) are running low. The rest of the day is unplanned right now.

Out in the train shed yesterday, I didn't accomplish anything major, but tied up some loose ends. I found a suitable sign in the stash to use on the Walther's Commissary Building, as the original sign sheet was damaged by the leaky roof after the tornado in 2024. I wasn't intending to use it as a commissary building to begin with since I do not run any passenger trains.
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This is a cardstock sign so I had to glue it to some .030" scrap styrene strips.
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The gap is to fit around the pilaster on the wall. I also painted the edges black to blend in better.
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As you can see, I added a forklift, driver and spotter to the scene. It did take me a while to find a driver who would fit comfortably without trimming. I still need to go back and dirty up the forklift a bit, as they generally only look this good for about 2-3 weeks after going into service.
I also did some more work on the pipe-load for the bulkhead flat car including 2 coats of matte medium to dull things up a bit. Spray, wait, inspect, spray, wait, etc.

Mike - Sorry, but it is mildly amusing to read that you consider mid-30's as warm! Regarding the year, I had to sign and date so many things over 40+ years working, that changing the year still seems easy for me; despite maybe dating something only once or twice a month now.
Todd - Sears? I haven't seen one of them around here in over 15 years.

Everybody have a great Thursday.
 
Morning all and Happy New Year!

31° and getting cloudy/foggy.

Not much celebration, heard the booms outside at midnight, and the cellphone pinging like a paying out slot machine, but couldn't get myself awake enough respond.

Wife sent me out before the stores closed at 9:00 to get the black-eyed peas. Get to the aisle where the have the canned beans, and they have everything except the peas. Stocker came out of the back and asked what I was looking for. When I told her, she said they were on the end cap of aisle 1, and that there were at least 15 other guys that got sent in by their wives. 🤣 At least I wasn't the only one...
 


santafewillie said:
Mike - Sorry, but it is mildly amusing to read that you consider mid-30's as warm!
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Yea, we up north get pretty excited about temps in the 30s this time of year knowing what it could be.

I was in shorts all day yesterday. Of course I never really put them away. As I have gotten older I just hate wearing pants for some
reason, so I will wear shorts whenever possible.
 
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migalyto said:
Yea, we up north get pretty excited about temps in the 30s this time of year knowing what it could be.

I was in shorts all day yesterday. Of course I never really put them away. As I have gotten older I just hate wearing pants for some
reason, so I will wear shorts whenever possible.
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Heck, we almost had our first frost yesterday morning. It hit 33 for about an hour. We normally have our first frost the week of Thanksgiving.
 
Good morning and Happy New Year to all.

Amateur night on the highway is no way to spend NYE. It’s bad enough on a late night Saturday/Sunday after midnight but NYE forget it. We stopped hosting NYE parties with the 1999 one being the last. I had a friend who was the police chief in a small North Central Wisconsin City. He’d put all 8 plus himself on duty starting at 6pm NYE. Between the normal speeders and the amateur drunk driving the ticket fees would pay for the department’s 10 patrol vehicle maintenance for the year. He was not a believer in speed traps and never assigned officers to speeding duty on I39 where the next City up the Interstate made their department budget for the year on speeders. But NYE was a definite money maker.

We stayed in last night and there no plans for today other than staying home. I could have signed up in September for a spot at an OPS session today and it’s a coveted spot. It used to begin with an all night New Years Eve party with spouses but I was told it was getting to be too much for some of the older crew.

Not sure if I even want to venture into the train room today. Well intended plans to work on the layout yesterday were all for naught. I grabbed a train and just played at the paper mill. Maybe 3 hours that were spread out from 10am till 9pm. Just nothing else done, but enjoyed it.

I have been doing a deep research dive into cement plants in 1965 served by the Great Northern RR in Washington. 2 cities of interest whose cement plants both booming in 1965 but were closed by the end of 1967. One in Concrete ( off a branch line) and another in Grotto, Wa. on the mainline. Told my friend he’ll have to build whatever I find if he wants it in 2026. I’ll be busy with the paper mill build provided I get the power plant finished.

There is a stunning concrete arch bridge crossing the Baker River
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It is the Henry Thompson Bridge and it should be on my friend’s GN layout. Somewhere!

The last few weeks I have spent way too much time agonizing over financial things but mainly over health insurance, the stock market and Warren Buffet retiring from Berkshire Hathaway. I did fund our self insurance thing for after we use our Medicare benefits. My supplemental carrier I used for over 30 years dropped me because they no longer have to accept anyone or continue coverage.. I’m high risk, so I’m gone. Basically it’s a HSA (health savings account) without the rules of a standard HSA. It’s way over funded but it can earn interest where I parked it. Real Estate in our part of Wisconsin is still doing unbelievably well. When that bubble bursts, people with loans will suffer. The family is doing well and that’s all you can wish to happen. A couple friends retired for years are back in the daily job pool. Health insurance costs got to them, mainly drug prices. At the pharmacy yesterday I picked up 5 prescriptions between Terry and me that I paid zero on co-pays but will be over $500 in 90 days when filled again. Life is always interesting and rarely a “bowl of cherries”.

It’s going to be a lazy day here but what the heck, I deserve it.

Be well and enjoy the day
 
Tom - I empathize with what your are going through healthwise. I have been blessed with exceptionally good health.....for now. Genetics

My wife has cheated death 3x in the last 5 years ( endocarditis & osteomyelitis, a ruptured bowel, and electrolyte imbalance) that all required ICU stays. Unfortunately she feels her luck is running out no matter how well she eats, works out, and lives clean. She's 5 years older than me.

We worry more about our son. He's the only child or heir to my family name. My older sister has never married and my younger brother and wife never had children. When we're all gone he's on his own unless he finally decides to get married. That eats away at me and Nicki.
 
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And a Happy New Year or Happy Gnu Year for you animal lovers. 55 and sunny here today, supposed to be decent through the weekend. Quiet night last night and a quiet one this morning. Drinking coffee and debating whether we shall go out later for shopping and dinner. May God bless this year to you all.
 
Marlin39 said:
Tom - I empathize with what your are going through healthwise. I have been blessed with exceptionally good health.....for now. Genetics

My wife has cheated death 3x in the last 5 years ( endocarditis & osteomyelitis, a ruptured bowl, and electrolyte imbalance) that all required ICU stays. Unfortunately she feels her luck is running out no matter how well she eats, works out, and lives clean. She's 5 years older than me.

We worry more about our son. He's the only child or heir to my family name. My older sister has never married and my younger brother and wife never had children. When we're all gone he's on his own unless he finally decides to get married. That eats away at me and Nicki.
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Thank you.

Our son at 40 is still single but this current relationship (2) years seems good. If he marries he marries but he never wanted kids and she at 44 is older and never had kids or married. That hasn’t ever bothered us but what did was his being single without a relationship. We are all different but can’t imagine living without a partner or significant other. I also couldn’t imagine the hook up and leave ‘em thing either.
 
Chad - Wanted to get back to you on that Lee-Enfield that goes live Sunday.

It's a No.4 Mk1, 1945 DOM. They were made by Savage and Small Arms LTD in Longbranch, Canada. This one is marked "Longbranch." I went over it with a fine tooth comb because I thought it couldn't be unissued, but it is. There's still cosmoline and gunk in the screw holes and recesses in the bolt. It has the Century Arms import mark on the muzzle.

I'm not going to list the early Swedish Mauser because the wood had been refinished....poorly.

There will also be a Benelli M1 Super 90 12g, 20" barrel, but not the tactical. I need to check it tomorrow to confirm my assumption that it is an HK Benelli.
 


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