Running Bear's November 2025 Coffee Shop

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We almost had our first freeze of the year. 34 this morning and heavy fog. Usually we get our first frost the week of Thanksgiving.

It's going to be a busy next couple of weeks. Our son's birthday Saturday, Thanksgiving, I go in Dec. 1 for a dermatology PDT, then down to the Bay Area that weekend for my BIL's celebration of life.
 
Good morning from a late starting morning in So. Central Wisconsin. The weather sucks! It’s 39f degrees now and the high per the app will be 31! It’s dizzling, it’s windy, I got up late and it is predicted the White Gifts from Above or WGFA will grace us around 5. My lawn over is still sitting were the snowblower needs to go.

Movie at 1:15pm today with decent free popcorn. I take some and then the real popcorn person in our family will take it over plus her own. The movie is NOW YOU SEE ME NOW YOU DON’T. The third movie in the series’s. Mediocre plots but some twists. The previous 2 were just fun mindless entertainment. That’s all I ask of a movie, let me be entertained even if the actors are medium.

I worked on the paper mill including a $62 run to the LHS ( 4 miles) for supplies from 2pm to 9:30 yesterday with a dinner break and a couple time outs. I would have stopped for the items on the drive home from Rochester but I left the list on my bench. I needed specific Evergreen Scale Model styrene and without a list I tend to buy stuff I don’t need on a current project. The time at the bench was enjoyable and the time flew! It’s good to be in a groove

I completed the eastern approach double track girder bridge. It’s a kit bash of single track bridges and was way more effort than it should have been. This is the 2nd kit bash for this location. The 1st one the girders were like 8’ high in HO scale where these are 5’. He had a deeper river crossing where he has installed the 1st one.

I am specifically working to complete 3 building fronts in the paper mill
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The Pulp cleaning and chip storage building. The Bleach and chemical building and the stock prep building. This segment of the complex sort of sits behind the Digester feeding it the chips where the pulp slurry is created and the Paper machine building where the paper is created. 26” long and of varied heights. See my thread let’s build a paper mill for a friend. These are the easiest fronts other than the shipping department. No train room till after dinner tonight

Enjoy the day
 


Good Morning All. Mostly sunny and 62° now. Headed for the upper 80's before the day is done. Still have rain in the forecast for Wednesday, although it's been backed up to late night instead of daytime. Then we cool off for at least a week. It will still be shorts and tee shirt weather though.

Spent part of the afternoon yesterday cutting a week's worth of firewood, still working on the trees that the tornado donated last year. Most are in the woodlot part of the property so they're somewhat "out of sight, out of mind". I still have two over by the (still dry) pond to deal with. It's all in the cart now and needs to be stacked today. A couple of loads of laundry rounded off my day. A longer than average sermon at Mass yesterday, as it's the feast of St Margaret; Father John's mother was named after her so we got an in-depth history. It's a minor feast day at any other Catholic church.
Today I have to stack that firewood and I may cut up some more, depends on how I feel. We're expecting a bit of a breezy day so the warmth won't be overwhelming; not that 88° is overly warm for us. I don't know what other tasks will come up but I will take advantage of this lovely weather.

Out in the train shed yesterday, I finished installing all of the glass and shades in the windows for the Hydrocal structure. I also continued working with the signs. I have a number of paper signs that I want to look like they are painted on the walls. Many of you already know how to do this, but for others, here is a brief how-to. First I use some 400 grit sandpaper and sand down the backs of the signs to make them much thinner.
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The point is to make it thin enough to be able to see the ink from behind.
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I'm not ready to apply this one yet, but here is another one being done. Once cut out and ready, I apply "wet glue", thinned down Elmer's White Glue and water to both sides to soften it up and hold it in place. Then after it's added, I gently use a pair of tweezers to make it snuggle up to the brick lines.
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Here are the three that I put on the side of the bar.
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I had brushed an A/I wash over them as well.
Other signs on the front have been added, I still have some more to do along with the Card Room one, but I ran out of time.
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You can also see the completed window installation here.

Karl - Nice looking loco.
John -

I look forward to your posts as a fellow Texan. Your weather pretty much mirrors mine and it's interesting to compare. Like me, you're still mowing at this time of year. Nice haul from the train show.
Tom O - Have a safe trip home. While it has no allure to me, my parents took an Alaskan cruise for their 40th anniversary; and liked so much that they went back 2 more times before Mom's untimely passing.

The late singer/composer Gordon Lightfoot was born on this day in 1938. He finally met up with the crew from the Edmund Fitzgerald a bit over two years ago.
Everyone have a marvelous Monday.
Hello, I really like this building. Is it a kit or did you make it from scratch? I'm looking to build my first building. Where did you get the sheets of brick? I'm trying to find a good source. Is it plastic? Who makes them? Thank you, John
 
Good Morning All!
48F @ 92% raining. It was 49F at 0500. To be 47% the rest of the day. Guessers say it is to be in the low 30's for a few days in the upcoming week, so I expect we will get a white dusting, then melt.

Just heard that penny's are going away. How is that going to effect our pocket books? I mean, probably pretty easy for business to round to the closest $0.05, but what about tax or interest on whatever. New tables ( or calculations ) for either/both? That could be an industry/government wide cluster. I really don't care about $0.01 anymore as I stopped bending over to pick one up more than a few years ago; not worth the body contortions. $0.05 is now questionable. Just my $0.02 ... oh, wait.

Got a lot done in the Chick house yesterday and Maria is smiling. More again today mostly focused on the sliding barn door. It is to be on the outside which is easy. The hard part is insulating it. Found 'brush insulation' which should stick to the door, somewhat like the way a garage door is setup. Ya, with the temp swings around here, probably won't stick so will have to tack it down or the like.

The Propane wall heater was a breeze, take off the front and vacuum out the pilot light thingie, put it back together. Only down on my knees twice and on top of that, I grabbed the correct nut driver the first time.

L8r
 
Good Morning All. Clear and 68°, didn't cool off much overnight. Going back up to near 90° later on, actually only reached 87° yesterday. The irony is that the trees are losing their leaves fast and the grass is turning brown with this weather; as a result of the hard freeze Sunday night a week ago. This current weather is not unusual, the freeze was. Still have a chance for modest thunderstorms on Thursday, but a big chance for heavy but not severe rain again next Sunday when the wind shifts from the east. Only does that once or twice a year and it's always heavy continuous rain.

Raked leaves yesterday for the newly turned compost pile and mowed some open areas to reduce grassfire chances. Always a possibility under these conditions, although not real severe due to little wind right now. Rain later this week, if it happens, will dampen everything for a while. Stacked a week's worth of firewood that I had previously cut. Later we journeyed into town to visit our favorite Italian restaurant. Same one that we took Sherrel and Kate to a few years back. I miss him.

Today is set up for more outdoor stuff while the weather is still nice.

Out in the train shed yesterday, I advanced some more on the Hydrocal structure. It is essentially finished except for maybe some more minor weathering and figures out on the sidewalk. I got the Card Room sign on and some posters on the right wall. I also got the awning over the entrance.
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That brown strip along the bottom of the wall will be for landscape that goes with the building, and will be blended in to a probable parking lot next to it.
On the bar side I got that sign up and a light fixture over the door.
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Not sure I will keep that light fixture. It came with the kit. It's just a pearl bead with a wire glued in.
Added a couple of plumbing vent pipes to the roof as well.
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It now resides on it's unfinished site in the front of the main line. The street out front is off-layout. It will be almost the first structure on your right to be seen as you enter the train shed. Note that the homes to the right are not intended to be there later, they're just being temporarily stored there until I develop the remaining third of both layout levels.
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The sidewalk adjoining the building on the left will have a couple of vagrants mounted on it.

Tom O - Working on and operating on OPL's (other people's layouts), is an aspect of this hobby that you can indulge in; that is something that I haven't really been able to do. Lucky you! All of the operating layouts that I know of are over an hour away. Locally, there is a model railroad club in Denton, but they're strictly modular and only set up at area shows and in the outlet mall nearby during Christmas. The downside is, any time at OPL's would take away from the time that I can devote towards the completion of my own.:(
Joe - Love the Accurail cars. Yours looks pretty good.
Mikey - I've been taking naps for 40 years, mostly during lunch breaks at work during that time. I had a private office since 1982 and I would just shut the door and put my feet on the desk and snooze away. Great refresher from the job.
Patrick - That's good news on the medical front.

Mickey Mouse is 97 years old today!
Everyone have a good Tuesday.
 
Hello, I really like this building. Is it a kit or did you make it from scratch? I'm looking to build my first building. Where did you get the sheets of brick? I'm trying to find a good source. Is it plastic? Who makes them? Thank you, John
Welcome to the Coffee Shop and to the forum John. Thank you for asking about this build.
This structure is a kit from Downtown Deco. It's made from Hydrocal, a harder form of plaster. This particular structure is called Addam's Ave Part 3. All of Randy's (owner) structures are castings like this. He mostly specializes in "other side of the tracks" type structures. I have built many. Here are a few of the others that I have built. This one is Addam's Ave Part 2.
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Addam's Ave Part 1.
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A shot of the right side showing some of my detailing.
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Here's one called Blair Ave Part 1. Note that the sidewalks and details out front came from me and are not included with the kit.
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These are just a few of the kits offered. Not all are still available since the molds do wear out. Check out their website: Downtown Deco
 
ust heard that penny's are going away. How is that going to effect our pocket books? I mean, probably pretty easy for business to round to the closest $0.05, but what about tax or interest on whatever. New tables ( or calculations ) for either/both? That could be an industry/government wide cluster. I really don't care about $0.01 anymore as I stopped bending over to pick one up more than a few years ago; not worth the body contortions. $0.05 is now questionable. Just my $0.02 ... oh, wait.
Just the physical penny is going away. Banks, stores, etc., will still use it in transactions and non-cash situations. How an individual business will do the rounding will be quirky. Several states will not allow rounding up of totals, or rounding down of change.
An interesting side note is the cash vs credit card scenario. When we went on vacation, the states of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana all allowed businesses to charge more for purchases made on a credit card. The state of Texas doesn't allow that. However in Texas, they can give a discount for cash, essentially the same thing!
 
Just heard that penny's are going away. How is that going to effect our pocket books? I mean, probably pretty easy for business to round to the closest $0.05, but what about tax or interest on whatever. New tables ( or calculations ) for either/both? That could be an industry/government wide cluster. I really don't care about $0.01 anymore as I stopped bending over to pick one up more than a few years ago; not worth the body contortions. $0.05 is now questionable. Just my $0.02 ... oh, wait
Yep, you now have to give a nickel instead just your two-cents

In Canada, transactions ending in 1 or 2, 6 or 7 cents round down. Those ending in 3 or 4, 8 or 9 are rounded up. Since the rounding occurs after taxes are applied, it's just a bit for the store... they lose a cent or two on some transactions, and gain a cent or two on others. Comes out in the wash.

I'm surprised we hadn't done this earlier. But now the stores have to catch up with their tills/computer systems.
 
In other news, the Earl is changed is the Toyota. Got the buy 3, pay for 2 special. I have two more oil changes on my account that can be used any time, but only on that vehicle and that location. At $100 per, sure, I'll save a hundred. Not planning to trade that one in any time soon.

I did get the white headlight bulbs, but from Autozone and put them in myself. Only did the low beams. Figured Highbeams won't matter since both H & L come on when I hit the highs.

While I was sitting in the NEW showroom for the Toyota Dealership, waiting on the service to finish up, I worded a bunch of words and finished the chapter I started writing this morning. Looks like an oil change takes 2/3rds of a chapter to complete.

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Welcome to the Coffee Shop and to the forum John. Thank you for asking about this build.
This structure is a kit from Downtown Deco. It's made from Hydrocal, a harder form of plaster. This particular structure is called Addam's Ave Part 3. All of Randy's (owner) structures are castings like this. He mostly specializes in "other side of the tracks" type structures. I have built many. Here are a few of the others that I have built. This one is Addam's Ave Part 2.
View attachment 248257
Addam's Ave Part 1.
View attachment 248260
A shot of the right side showing some of my detailing.
View attachment 248261
Here's one called Blair Ave Part 1. Note that the sidewalks and details out front came from me and are not included with the kit.
View attachment 248265
These are just a few of the kits offered. Not all are still available since the molds do wear out. Check out their website: Downtown Deco
Welcome aboard John!

Willie - Great job on the DC kits! I forgot I had a Downtown Deco model up on the shelf. I added my own extra details to it.

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Yep, you now have to give a nickel instead just your two-cents

In Canada, transactions ending in 1 or 2, 6 or 7 cents round down. Those ending in 3 or 4, 8 or 9 are rounded up. Since the rounding occurs after taxes are applied, it's just a bit for the store... they lose a cent or two on some transactions, and gain a cent or two on others. Comes out in the wash.

I'm surprised we hadn't done this earlier. But now the stores have to catch up with their tills/computer systems.

While they were discussing the fate of the penny on the news, they mentioned that the nickel costs .14c to make. The fate of the nickel can't be far behind that of the penny. The Government really loves to waste our money.
 
Yep, you now have to give a nickel instead just your two-cents

In Canada, transactions ending in 1 or 2, 6 or 7 cents round down. Those ending in 3 or 4, 8 or 9 are rounded up. Since the rounding occurs after taxes are applied, it's just a bit for the store... they lose a cent or two on some transactions, and gain a cent or two on others. Comes out in the wash.

I'm surprised we hadn't done this earlier. But now the stores have to catch up with their tills/computer systems.
Other countries did this ages ago.
 
Welcome to the Coffee Shop and to the forum John. Thank you for asking about this build.
This structure is a kit from Downtown Deco. It's made from Hydrocal, a harder form of plaster. This particular structure is called Addam's Ave Part 3. All of Randy's (owner) structures are castings like this. He mostly specializes in "other side of the tracks" type structures. I have built many. Here are a few of the others that I have built. This one is Addam's Ave Part 2.
View attachment 248257
Addam's Ave Part 1.
View attachment 248260
A shot of the right side showing some of my detailing.
View attachment 248261
Here's one called Blair Ave Part 1. Note that the sidewalks and details out front came from me and are not included with the kit.
View attachment 248265
These are just a few of the kits offered. Not all are still available since the molds do wear out. Check out their website: Downtown Deco
Wow! Hydrocal buildings! That's quite the build. And your additions are wonderful. Thanks for taking the time and efforts to answer my questions!
 
Good afternoon folks, 75 and sunny here. Feeling better after a bout with a virus this weekend. Waiting on a new deep freeze today, not sure when it will arrive. Had to move a couple of signs in the garage today where the new freezer will go. Then later, will take Lady C to dinner.
 
Welp... it happened again.

Never heard of a company called Uni Uni
Screenshot 2025-11-18 at 2.48.31 PM.png


But they got a package with a gift for the wife, and delivered it today.

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Note the proximity to the green sign.

Dude had time to take three required images to prove he delivered said package:
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but didn't have time to read the sign that says "Please place all packages inside gate"

The email telling me my package had been delivered, also had a "tell us how we did" link.

So i tapped the link and told them.

Next time, the Uni driver will probably step on my package before tossing it over the fence... into the neighbor's patio...
 


Troy: Probably!

Got home Saturday after the grandson's play to find one of the torsion springs on the main garage door broke. So as I was leaving through the front door, I darn near tripped on a package that was showing to be delivered today. Had spent the night on the porch, delivered sometime after I locked the door at 8:30 last night. Wife said it was still showing as out for delivery. Garage door getting fixed for the 4th time since we bought the house as we use the big garage door (double bay) a lot. Last time I asked them why they seem to be failing a lot and was told because we're using it a lot. He suggested I have them install heavy duty springs, so that's what they're supposed to do. I had jinxed us the day before by telling the wife that it had been a while since we had to replace a spring (I have them done in pairs).
 
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