Running Bear's January 2026 Coffee Shop

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My other hobbies include camping in my old (2003) 23’ Class C RV and birding. ...

I use my camera with digital zoom, a bird book, and the Merlin bird app on my phone to help me ID birds. Started this hobby about 20:years ago with my now-deceased father-in-law. He was a special man and special friend… an accomplished birder. I have just under 500:species on my list… it’s a great hobby and keeps me outdoors and hiking!


View attachment 254596
Nice shot. Good twitching!

No, I'm not a birder, but I wrote a mystery book focussed around a birding event and learned what "Twitcher" means. I use it rarely due to the unpolitic nature of the term.
 
Good afternoon all. My last update this month.

We have arrived in Rome.

Dawn wants to visit Vatican City tomorrow

A visit to Anzio on Tuesday.



Saturday 24th we travel on La Dolce Vita Orient Express




We end the month in Civitavecchia

Take Care
 


Good Morning All. Partly cloudy and 36° here this morning, winter has finally arrived with a high today only in the nid-40's and tonight's low in the upper teens. Tomorrow we return to 61°/30° and Monday is a repeat of today although not as cold overnight. Tuesday brings back normal conditions for a few more days. Still no precipitation in the forecast. Last measurable rain was in October!

Managed to get a little time outdoors yesterday, cleaning up brush and small broken branches in the woodsy part of the estate. Mostly too small to use as firewood and I already have enough kindling for 2-3 years. So into the brush pile for an eventual bonfire sometime after we get some rain. I always notify the local VFD when I do it and sometimes they come on out for some brush fire practice. Hotspot practice, they don't extinguish my fire! Today is going to be too raw for any kind of extended chores outside. I'll miss that since I like it. I guess that I could always bundle up like you northerners do, but this cold usually doesn't last long...except the "deep freeze of '21", which did. Not expecting anything like that this year.

Nothing special planned for today. I do plan on making a batch of croutons for salads this morning, clear all of the leftover bread from the freezer. I used to make bread every winter, but stopped a few years ago when I had to reduce carbs for various health reasons. Still generate some odd slices since my wife still buys it. And I'll have to resume the wintertime exercise routine of bringing in firewood today. At least I won't be trudging through snow.

Of course I made a visit out to the train shed yesterday. Still looking for the postal figures that I know exist somewhere, but not on my figure box. You may recall that I keep a stash of unpainted figures next to the workbench and dab some with paint whenever I am painting something else. Or whenever I just feel like painting them. I keep the completed ones in a compartmentalized hobby box for future use.
1768659598981.jpeg

I'm a little ahead right now.
i also added pennies to the two containers that I purchased this week. I add 14¢ to all 40' containers to provide some weight to the intermodal well cars. Even though these two will be used initially for the chassis's that I also purchased, they'll be ready for rotation in to and out of the cars.
1768659877406.jpeg

Since I only have one available tractor right now, the other will be parked in the TOFC yard on the outskirts of Ft. Wish. I do have a TOFC facility but no container facility on my layout. Intermodal containers are only run as expedited freights from staging to staging to interrupt local switching operations.

Michael - Since I have stubbornly stuck with Win10, I no longer get automatic updates, so I determine when to reboot. I suppose that I will eventually go to Win11 and use a Classic Shell like I use for Win10 right now!
David (Marlin) - I used to use the chimney brush that I shoved up and down, for nearly 40 years. When I stopped going up on the roof, I paid chimney sweeps to do it for me. The last one that I used in 2022, had a flexible brush and some 3' flexible rods that snapped together, and connected with a portable drill to provide rotation. It was all done from inside. Once I saw that, I purchased my own kit for under $40 and have done it on my own ever since. The kit came with rods, brush, an extra brush and a reusable plastic sheet for sealing the opening. I use my 5-gallon shop-vac to remove the creosote after sweeping. The professional sweeps cost me $200 per visit, so I saved money on my first use!
Mikey -
a 10 minute chore into a 2-1/2 hour experience.
I resemble that! And I tend to forget what the original chore was!
Jim - I watch birds as well. Maybe ID the bird that you posted so we don't have to look it up.
Patrick - Glad that it's you enjoying the snow and not me!

Controversial rocker Kid Rock is 55 today.

Everyone have a good Saturday and stay safe.
 


Good afternoon all. My last update this month.

We have arrived in Rome.

Dawn wants to visit Vatican City tomorrow

A visit to Anzio on Tuesday.



Saturday 24th we travel on La Dolce Vita Orient Express




We end the month in Civitavecchia

Take Care
I’ve been to Rome once. I found it very congenial. That was 26 years or 27 years ago so who knows how it is now. I’d like to visit again.

Don’t forget to rub St Peter’s foot.

Enjoy.
 
We had five minutes of snow and now it's over. Didn't even show up on radar, but my trash can radar shows it well.
Got to love Illinois weather! There was no precipitation in the forecast for today and about 10:30am a snow squall came thru and lasted
maybe a couple minutes longer than yours. Even though its only 20F it pretty much has all evaporated due to the gale force winds.
 
Good Morning All. Partly cloudy and 36° here this morning, winter has finally arrived with a high today only in the nid-40's and tonight's low in the upper teens. Tomorrow we return to 61°/30° and Monday is a repeat of today although not as cold overnight. Tuesday brings back normal conditions for a few more days. Still no precipitation in the forecast. Last measurable rain was in October!

Managed to get a little time outdoors yesterday, cleaning up brush and small broken branches in the woodsy part of the estate. Mostly too small to use as firewood and I already have enough kindling for 2-3 years. So into the brush pile for an eventual bonfire sometime after we get some rain. I always notify the local VFD when I do it and sometimes they come on out for some brush fire practice. Hotspot practice, they don't extinguish my fire! Today is going to be too raw for any kind of extended chores outside. I'll miss that since I like it. I guess that I could always bundle up like you northerners do, but this cold usually doesn't last long...except the "deep freeze of '21", which did. Not expecting anything like that this year.

Nothing special planned for today. I do plan on making a batch of croutons for salads this morning, clear all of the leftover bread from the freezer. I used to make bread every winter, but stopped a few years ago when I had to reduce carbs for various health reasons. Still generate some odd slices since my wife still buys it. And I'll have to resume the wintertime exercise routine of bringing in firewood today. At least I won't be trudging through snow.

Of course I made a visit out to the train shed yesterday. Still looking for the postal figures that I know exist somewhere, but not on my figure box. You may recall that I keep a stash of unpainted figures next to the workbench and dab some with paint whenever I am painting something else. Or whenever I just feel like painting them. I keep the completed ones in a compartmentalized hobby box for future use. View attachment 254603
I'm a little ahead right now.
i also added pennies to the two containers that I purchased this week. I add 14¢ to all 40' containers to provide some weight to the intermodal well cars. Even though these two will be used initially for the chassis's that I also purchased, they'll be ready for rotation in to and out of the cars.
View attachment 254604
Since I only have one available tractor right now, the other will be parked in the TOFC yard on the outskirts of Ft. Wish. I do have a TOFC facility but no container facility on my layout. Intermodal containers are only run as expedited freights from staging to staging to interrupt local switching operations.

Michael - Since I have stubbornly stuck with Win10, I no longer get automatic updates, so I determine when to reboot. I suppose that I will eventually go to Win11 and use a Classic Shell like I use for Win10 right now!
David (Marlin) - I used to use the chimney brush that I shoved up and down, for nearly 40 years. When I stopped going up on the roof, I paid chimney sweeps to do it for me. The last one that I used in 2022, had a flexible brush and some 3' flexible rods that snapped together, and connected with a portable drill to provide rotation. It was all done from inside. Once I saw that, I purchased my own kit for under $40 and have done it on my own ever since. The kit came with rods, brush, an extra brush and a reusable plastic sheet for sealing the opening. I use my 5-gallon shop-vac to remove the creosote after sweeping. The professional sweeps cost me $200 per visit, so I saved money on my first use!
Mikey -

I resemble that! And I tend to forget what the original chore was!
Jim - I watch birds as well. Maybe ID the bird that you posted so we don't have to look it up.
Patrick - Glad that it's you enjoying the snow and not me!

Controversial rocker Kid Rock is 55 today.

Everyone have a good Saturday and stay safe.
Willie I don't see any church people in the grouping. Sitting women in church Swal.
 
Wonder what it might cost to send the key by Uber?

Actually, the trip didn’t take much longer than it goes on sale, a rainy day. Most of the roads were slushy to clear. And of course, as we got ready to leave the wife pops in with a laundry basket full of different things for the boy. As it was, it only cost me a few hours and a little over a quarter tank of gas.
 
Good afternoon all. My last update this month.

We have arrived in Rome.

Dawn wants to visit Vatican City tomorrow

A visit to Anzio on Tuesday.



Saturday 24th we travel on La Dolce Vita Orient Express




We end the month in Civitavecchia

Take Care
We will be very disappointed and might even contact Italian authorities to keep you there...until we get some train pictures at Roma Termini.
 


Good morning. 6C right now and it looks clear outside. Have a dental appt at noon as a follow up to my fake tooth top installation. It has a 5 yr warranty so I hope it lasts. So far, no issues.

Amazon will be delivering one of these things that I have had on pre-order since Sept. Fleet of boxcabs growing.
EF15.jpg
 
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