Running Bear's October 2022 Coffee Shop

[Bruette]

Liquor and wine bottles as well.

How could I have forgotten that!

 

[Bruette]

I've done in-home hospice myself (dad), and anticipate doing it again one more time (for my own mom). There will hopefully be help from hospice people who may sometimes do "house calls," I hope there will not be much if any pain for you mom.
In dad's case he suffered COPD, and the local hospital simply would not release him unless he met a certain relatively low standard for blood-oxygen. This surprised me, particularly as the ICU could administer, at most, just just 15 PSI of additional oxygen, and it was only borderline enough to make the grade.
As it turned out, in-home hospice was allowed to administer as much as needed--four heavy tanks every couple of days, running about 30 PSI in the last day or two.
The other, very helpful thing (the traveling nurses monitored the levels very carefully, to make sure no one else was using it too) was anxiety meds, and eventually morphine for just that purpose. Dad was reluctant to use morphine at first--"morphine is what they give you on a battlefield before you die"--but he finally relented, and it did help keep him calm.
That was administered with a syringe. No need to worry about air-bubbles, just draw it in and then drip it into his mouth below the tongue. Every twelve hours, as I recall it.
Of all of it, the worst was dealing with the commode--well, so what. He required help on and off, and cleaning his backside up afterward was only a small chore--the bigger problem was being available when he needed it done. But things settled down fairly quickly to a daily schedule, so it all worked out as well as could be expected I guess.

I hope your family can find ways to back each other up and cover all the bases for each 24 hour period. If you have even three bodies, it can make it a lot easier (roughly eight hours on call) vs. just two (as with us). If it's just you, then you will need to make major adjustments to your own schedule (particularly work schedule), and even then, it's going to be stressful. There is the real problem if going solo: "caring for the care-givers," and if it goes on for many months, that may prove to be your biggest hurdle. But you have to have some time for just yourself, else it can drive you mad with worry that you will slip up, but also that you can feel utterly claustrophobic. Closed in by it all.

Any in-home meal deliveries you can get will also be a help, and there won't be a real need to watch diets or salt or anything much else, as it's already the end game. I would favor getting for your mom anything she wants, provided you can afford it. Make this last time as happy as it can be for her.

Best of luck to you in this sad time. I'm sure you WILL handle it. You'll surprise yourself/yourselves.

Thank you for taking the time to write that Snowman.

God Bless you

 

[bnsf971]

Diarrhea is hereditary, it runs in your jeans.

 

[troyphoto]

Morning all,

Not much happening this morning. Made Ham and Cheese omelets for breakfast. Got some additional stuff to get at the grocery store this morning and still have to mow. Aldi's doesn't always have what you want, much like our local Walmart. They won't have it if you need it, but if you don't check, you'd have saved a couple of bucks. Yeah, I rarely go there anymore.

Troy: The water battery idea isn't new. Consumer's Energy in Michigan has one south of Ludington off of Lake Michigan. Has been in operation since the early 70's.

Storage Hydro Facility

I believe it's the idea of using excess solar/wind to fuel the water battery. Looking at the Michigan one, I couldn't tell the energy source they're using to store the water.

 

[santafewillie]

Good Morning All. Clear and 69° on this fine Saturday morning. Expecting 93° today. Big change tomorrow as the NWS has us at 100% chance of thundershowers, which may begin around midnight and really hit around 0800. However they are not supposed to be heavy, and the temperature will not reach 70° for the next four days. Back to normal on Thursday.

Yesterday's tasks again consisted of splitting and stacking firewood since the day was good for that. That's three days in a row with only minor aches after the first one. I think that I am actually good with cut firewood until late February, but I still have a lot of large logs that need to be split up and now is a great time for that task. They're already dry enough to burn but won't fit through the door of the heater.

I have to socialize tonight at my daughter's home. Both of my daughter's are having a party honoring wife and I's 50th anniversary. They both had too many other commitments to have it last month. Drinks and dinner for 25 guests, including my best man and 11 others who were at the original wedding. I'll be spending the night there rather than driving 65 miles home late on a Saturday night. Too many crazies on the road on Saturday night in Dallas plus the chance of rain. So I won't be posting in the morning.

Thanks for the likes and comments yesterday despite the lack of pictures.

Out in the train shed yesterday, I made one last look for the missing raccoons that are believed to be on the layout somewhere. Didn't locate them so I will not spend any more time looking. Perhaps I never put them out there to begin with? Anyway, here's a picture of one of them from June in case anyone spots it.

I have six more to paint, just don't know when. I was hoping to use this one as a model since it turned out so well.
While looking, I took pictures of my cats on the layout. Just another small detail that I like to add since I like cats to begin with.

James - You don't need my approval to detail stuff on your layout. But you have it anyway! I am just glad that I can be an inspiration to others. There are others on this forum and in this Coffee Shop who also detail scenes rather well, but I won't attempt to list them for fear of leaving someone out and hurting feelings. Off this forum, George Selios has always been an inspiration.
Dave B - I am notorious for keeping appliances for as long as possible, much to my wife's dismay. I finally had to replace the freezer 16 months ago, after parts were no longer available for the old 30+ year old one. Same with the washing machine which so far has worked well for 5 years. I have had issues already with the freezer and despite it being a very recent model, there is a part that isn't available. Dishwasher is another story though. I relented years ago and replaced the "hand me down" that we got from her mother. The replacements seem to last about 8-10 years before I am forced to get a new one. The dishwasher in my late brother's house that was just sold, still had the dishwasher that my parents installed in 1964, and served well through six kids and was run every night for years.
While my wife sometimes elbows me when I look at "girls", since I don't touch she mostly ignores it.
Joe -

WW is one place I won't shop at. The lower prices are insufficient to overcome the negatives of shopping at Walmart.

My feelings exactly.
Troy -

Yes, I understand that June in Texas is HOT.

Not always. This past June, we only had two days above 100° between June 7 and June 14!

Grocery shopping: Yes there are less expensive places to shop for groceries than the Kroger store that I patronize, but it's not worth it to me in most cases. Sure I can save a few cents at Aldi, but the selection is extremely limited, and I have to drive to another part of town. The Walmart's near the Kroger store that I use, are scary to go into. Plus you usually have to park a half mile away, made worse by the panhandlers and half clothed people with a herd of screaming kids that don't yield to cars. One of the two, has a permanent police presence out front! At Kroger, I get member discounts, digital coupons, paper coupons, and gas points; all of which add up. Tomorrow morning I will see what Trader Joe's is like, but they're 65 miles away. Maybe worth it if I lived around the corner, but my wife describes it as a Central Market or a Whole Foods with a different twist. Kroger is one-stop shopping with no interference at check-outs from merchandise shoppers like at Target or Walmart.
My .02¢ worth.

I knew that it would happen sooner or later; today is National Cheese Curds Day. I tried them for the first time while on vacation recently and i was not impressed. I'll have to wait for a Culver's to open near me to try again.

Everybody have a great day.

 

[santafewillie]

Troy - The water battery is a great idea, but it is not new. Many were built back in the 70's, but the concept goes back much further. The reason that they were originally built in the 70's escapes me right now, but I seem to recall that it had something to do with sustaining the grid during the day without building any additional generating facilities. Very similar to my local water company filling up their water towers at night. I think that it is one of the best ideas for storing solar/wind energy as it doesn't use lithium or cobalt to make traditional batteries. I think that they are in more widespread use in Europe.

 

[ctclibby]

Good Morning All. Clear and 69° on this fine Saturday morning. Expecting 93° today. Big change tomorrow as the NWS has us at 100% chance of thundershowers, which may begin around midnight and really hit around 0800. However they are not supposed to be heavy, and the temperature will not reach 70° for the next four days. Back to normal on Thursday.

Yesterday's tasks again consisted of splitting and stacking firewood since the day was good for that. That's three days in a row with only minor aches after the first one. I think that I am actually good with cut firewood until late February, but I still have a lot of large logs that need to be split up and now is a great time for that task. They're already dry enough to burn but won't fit through the door of the heater.

I have to socialize tonight at my daughter's home. Both of my daughter's are having a party honoring wife and I's 50th anniversary. They both had too many other commitments to have it last month. Drinks and dinner for 25 guests, including my best man and 11 others who were at the original wedding. I'll be spending the night there rather than driving 65 miles home late on a Saturday night. Too many crazies on the road on Saturday night in Dallas plus the chance of rain. So I won't be posting in the morning.

Thanks for the likes and comments yesterday despite the lack of pictures.

Out in the train shed yesterday, I made one last look for the missing raccoons that are believed to be on the layout somewhere. Didn't locate them so I will not spend any more time looking. Perhaps I never put them out there to begin with? Anyway, here's a picture of one of them from June in case anyone spots it.
View attachment 153607
I have six more to paint, just don't know when. I was hoping to use this one as a model since it turned out so well.
While looking, I took pictures of my cats on the layout. Just another small detail that I like to add since I like cats to begin with.
View attachment 153608
View attachment 153609View attachment 153610
View attachment 153611
View attachment 153612
View attachment 153613
View attachment 153614
View attachment 153615View attachment 153616

James - You don't need my approval to detail stuff on your layout. But you have it anyway! I am just glad that I can be an inspiration to others. There are others on this forum and in this Coffee Shop who also detail scenes rather well, but I won't attempt to list them for fear of leaving someone out and hurting feelings. Off this forum, George Selios has always been an inspiration.
Dave B - I am notorious for keeping appliances for as long as possible, much to my wife's dismay. I finally had to replace the freezer 16 months ago, after parts were no longer available for the old 30+ year old one. Same with the washing machine which so far has worked well for 5 years. I have had issues already with the freezer and despite it being a very recent model, there is a part that isn't available. Dishwasher is another story though. I relented years ago and replaced the "hand me down" that we got from her mother. The replacements seem to last about 8-10 years before I am forced to get a new one. The dishwasher in my late brother's house that was just sold, still had the dishwasher that my parents installed in 1964, and served well through six kids and was run every night for years.
While my wife sometimes elbows me when I look at "girls", since I don't touch she mostly ignores it.
Joe -

My feelings exactly.
Troy -

Not always. This past June, we only had two days above 100° between June 7 and June 14!

Grocery shopping: Yes there are less expensive places to shop for groceries than the Kroger store that I patronize, but it's not worth it to me in most cases. Sure I can save a few cents at Aldi, but the selection is extremely limited, and I have to drive to another part of town. The Walmart's near the Kroger store that I use, are scary to go into. Plus you usually have to park a half mile away, made worse by the panhandlers and half clothed people with a herd of screaming kids that don't yield to cars. One of the two, has a permanent police presence out front! At Kroger, I get member discounts, digital coupons, paper coupons, and gas points; all of which add up. Tomorrow morning I will see what Trader Joe's is like, but they're 65 miles away. Maybe worth it if I lived around the corner, but my wife describes it as a Central Market or a Whole Foods with a different twist. Kroger is one-stop shopping with no interference at check-outs from merchandise shoppers like at Target or Walmart.
My .02¢ worth.

I knew that it would happen sooner or later; today is National Cheese Curds Day. I tried them for the first time while on vacation recently and i was not impressed. I'll have to wait for a Culver's to open near me to try again.

Everybody have a great day.

Grocery shopping: We only have 2 major stores here Rosauers and Empire Foods. We have found that if we are planning on spending more than $100, we make the trip to Bonner's Ferry and hit the Super 1. 90 Minutes round trip gives us about 1/3 more stuff for the same price. We are pretty cheap and buy bulk when it presents itself and don't really do any impulse buying. Meat is 90 ( Kalispell ) or 150 (Spokane) miles away at The Chef's Store ( formally Cash-n-Carry ). Both locations also have restaurants that we like so we use that to justify stuff, besides the cheaper prices. Besides, it gets our butts outa the house. Spokane has a new train store out on E.Sprague of which I do not remember the name, nor do I know if they made it through the plague. Sunset Junction closed before the plague and the one up on Francis is still there although more RC stuff than trains now days. So Spokane is a good place for me to go. Kalispell used to have 2 train stores, they went kaput a few years back. If I don't make it to the train store after grocery's, I make up for it by stopping near the BNSF yard's; Yardly and Parkwater then watch trains for awhile. Maria always has her Kindle so that keeps her busy.

Girls What would we do if we could not eyeball them? Maria just rolls her eyes when she catches me, but knows it is nothing as I am just not interested in others. I catch her butt watching guys too. I don't even care if she talks to others either; she knows where home is.

Later

 

[Boris]

Back on the solar/alternative energy front... Seems like some folks are thinking ahead.

'Water batteries' could store solar and wind power for when it's needed

San Diego has an ambitious plan to store renewable energy, using extra solar power to pump water up a mountain. This old-style "water battery" technology could be set for a revival.

www.npr.org

In a nutshell, they are looking at using a lake and reservoir that are at different elevations, and when solar is generating more than the grid is pulling, use the excess to pump water uphill. When the sun goes down, use gravity and water to power hydro-elect generators and let it run downhill. Basically, a water battery.

Yes, there is some loss of energy running the pumps, but they avoid all of the issues with massive banks of real batteries.

That's actually encouraging. The story goes into more details about the plans.

Not for nothing, that is a great idea.

• Using geography and other local resources to resolve the overnight supply issue. The energy consumed pumping the water would otherwise be lost, so there is no negative there either.
• Muddy Run, in Pennsylvania along the Susquehanna was built for peak usage. Water was pumped from the river up the mountain side to a reservoir, and held until needed for peak summer load. Idle otherwise. This is a similar concept but ised daily. Fantastic.

Our problems can be solved with practical projects that work, and don't require a lot of hype....Even is Southern California.

 

[logandsawman]

Good morning all, 32 and frosty this morning,

Terry - you are full of it this morning

Jaz - thanks for commenting on my issues, yes we make it work!

Metric - it is a cruel trick by Russia to screw up the Americans. Yes, we need two measuring systems going simultaneously, just to make things interesting (not), We do have some Metric road and bridge plans from the 80's and they all require english translations.


Willie - I love the small animals in your layout, makes me want to add some

Todd - I am getting ready to do a pour, I hope it isn't 190 per yd as you were quoted, I suppose I could get Chad up here to help since he doesn't have anything to do right now

Will be working on the layout some today, also finish prepping for my carport/apron/sidewalk

This is our yard about 7 AM:



Here is where I was, note our new rug, hand woven in India (I hope the people got paid)



Here is my concrete pour project, should take about 9 yards:

There will be a form along the trench where the power cord runs

Later, Dave LASM

 

[truckdad]

On the Power & water subject, here is some good and interesting reading. A time when brilliant men could do brilliant things. Their wisdom and foresight died with them however, and all we have in this Golden shower State is drought & high speed rails to nowhere...................

Big Creek Hydroelectric Project - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Smudge617]

Postage and import is about $ 75.00!!! So more than the total amount of $$ to the seller. But nice cars!

That's the starting bid lol

 

[Smudge617]

Terry, I have always wondered why Coke, Pepsi and other soft drinks were able to go metric, when not much else did.

Probably because World Wide sales vs US are so much larger, also it's easier to get the ingredient ratios correct, so it's the same drink in the UK as it is in Hong Kong etc.

 

[Smudge617]

Good morning all, 32 and frosty this morning,

Terry - you are full of it this morning

Jaz - thanks for commenting on my issues, yes we make it work!

Metric - it is a cruel trick by Russia to screw up the Americans. Yes, we need two measuring systems going simultaneously, just to make things interesting (not), We do have some Metric road and bridge plans from the 80's and they all require english translations.


Willie - I love the small animals in your layout, makes me want to add some

Todd - I am getting ready to do a pour, I hope it isn't 190 per yd as you were quoted, I suppose I could get Chad up here to help since he doesn't have anything to do right now

Will be working on the layout some today, also finish prepping for my carport/apron/sidewalk

This is our yard about 7 AM:

View attachment 153617

Here is where I was, note our new rug, hand woven in India (I hope the people got paid)

View attachment 153618

Here is my concrete pour project, should take about 9 yards:

View attachment 153619

There will be a form along the trench where the power cord runs

Later, Dave LASM

Remember to move the car BEFORE you do the pour.

 

[Boris]

Aldi's doesn't always have what you want, much like our local Walmart.

Patrick: Reason why wife and I gave up on the concept. Wally's and Aldi are across the street, so it's easy to get stuff at each, without spending a whole lot of time. Problem was Wally's is never stocked, and Aldi apparently re-stocks once a week, then sells off from inventory. Back to ShopRite

I have always wondered why Coke, Pepsi and other soft drinks were able to go metric, when not much else did.

Louis: Like when gas stations went to liter pricing in the '80s, less product for same price...note Willie's comments on wine and liquor.

Willie: Shopping used to be simple, Paper goods, and other bulk stuff from BJ's or Costco, and use Acme, or ShopRite for the rest. Since my back's been acting up and the wife's RA was flaring, our modus operandi changed to follow the path of least resistance. Now, we are trying different things. For example, a couple of "upscale" Italian shops one that specializes in Beef products, the other in Pork products. Both have great baked goods, either in house or imported daily from Brooklyn. The groceries are expensive, so we obtain them elsewhere. Traders has niche stuff that works for us also. No one place can provide everything.

 

[Smudge617]

I've received this 4-6-2 loco last night, I already have this loco, but I like these old metal bodied Triang kits, it was sold as Spares or Repair, I wonder why

Think I'm going to need something stronger than IPA for this.

 

[NorthBrit]

I've received this 4-6-2 loco last night, I already have this loco, but I like these old metal bodied Triang kits, it was sold as Spares or Repair, I wonder whyView attachment 153620
View attachment 153621View attachment 153622
Think I'm going to need something stronger than IPA for this.

In the first picture it looks rather rough.

It went downhill inm the following photos.

I hope you did not pay a lot for it?

David

 

[Smudge617]

In the first picture it looks rather rough.

It went downhill inm the following photos.

I hope you did not pay a lot for it?

David

As I'm sure you remember, it's a Triang Kit, so pre 1971, all metal body, chassis and tender, (except the tender wheels) Brush painted (cheap air brushes weren't a thing then as I'm sure you know) but this is my second one, plan is to experiment on this and see if I can't get a half decent paint job done.

Cleaning the con rods etc isn't a biggie, soak 'em for a week, and there will be fine, fixing the broken body parts, not so easy, but I have a cunning plan, I hope, Oh, and it was £34 inc

Chris.

 

[NYC_George]

Getting the bench work ready for 2 tall viaducts.

 

[Boris]

A time when brilliant men could do brilliant things. Their wisdom and foresight died with them however, and all we have in this Golden shower State is drought & high speed rails to nowhere...................

Dave: That's what happens when Politicians make decisions based on pleasing specific groups, vs. the greater good. Happens everywhere, not just Cali, but Cali is more extreme.

 

[montanan]

Good afternoon. Still hurting pretty bad but I knew that before I made the decision to have the surgery.

Took the girls to the dog park before heading back to the grocery store. Todd, I go to Rosauers being that it is about a quarter mile from me. Did what I thought was my complete trip on Thursday, wasn't. It's hard cooking for just one person and I was going to make a beef stew and found that my daughter has used up my last onion and that beef stock I had. Rosauers is a bit expensive, but they do have a wide selection there. I haven't hit or even got neat the $100 mark yet.

Grocery stores sure have changer since I was a kid. The cereal isle alone today is almost as large as a complete grocery store back in the day. People cooked from scratch. Growing up, we raised our own beef and swapped some of it with the neighbor for pork.



Willie - As usual, your photos are top notch. I love all of the little details that you put into your scenes. Still haven't gone through any of the boxes of model railroad items yet. The shoulder isn't quite up to it yet.

TomO - I have used tubing like you did on the steamer. I went to the hardware store years ago and cut an assortment of different size clear tubing and still have a lot left. Have no idea what I am going to use it for now.

Halloween - Broke down the other day and did pick up some candy in case the little troll show up. At my old place I never had a single trick or treater show up at the door. I did get something that I would enjoy in case there was any left over goodies.

Having traveled fairly extensively while I was in the Navy, I learned the metric system out of self defense. Not all that hard really.

Joe - Excellent shot of that CSX unit.

Dave - What happened to the walls on the garage???

Here are a few more photos from the archives.

The shoulder is starting to ache so it's time for a break before starting the stew.

Later