Summer is over :(

It has been quite a few weeks since I last posted. The golf league has ended and my partner and I won the scoring for the league. I don't really think I can call it a championship since there wasn't a play off. There hasn't been a lot of work on the railroad due to all of the good weather activities , and if that wasn't enough I installed a new laminate floor in our kitchen last week. I have included a picture of the floor and one of my garden, and a picture of the sunflowers I have surrounding our air-conditioning unit. I do have to be honest and admit part of the sunflowers are free gratis and part I planted from seed. So with gardening and outside maintenance, golf I have been very busy. To top it off Faye and I spent one Saturday traveling to southeastern Ohio to go to a "Chile Pepper Festival" . The drive was beautiful through the Hocking hills and Appalachian foothill area. I had prefaced out trip by telling Faye I had found this festival online on a something to do this weekend type of webpage and I wasn't sure what we were going to see at the festival. I had thought it could be pretty lame but I had no idea just how lame it could be. We arrived at this little town and followed the directions to the festival. We arrived and I really just wanted to turn around and leave but we got out and walked around. There were a lot of young ladies dressed in fancy "prom" type dresses milling about and there was one food concession trailer selling hot dogs and sausages, there was a fairly impressive stage that was very out of place and on the far side of the field there was 3 or 4 vendor type canopy tents with people selling there cast offs flea market style. Oh and I forgot to mention there was an ambulance just in case somebody over dosed on fun (read boredom). Notice I haven't said a word about chile peppers! Well the chile pepper festival did not have one single pepper on display there was no oversize fiberglass red chile pepper, there was no chile pepper roasting going on, there was no chile pepper largest grown contest going on, there was no chile pepper tasting tent, tasting line, or salsa tasting. THERE WAS NO CHILE PEPPER!!! We did have a good afternoon meal on the way home from the non-festival. In the Hocking hills there was an Amish style restaurant with a buffet going on that had some tasty vittles so all was not lost. Back to the subject at hand there was a weekend in there that we watched Abby and Lily so Carrie and Matt could paint their living room so there wasn't any railroad work that weekend either. It will probably be a while before I post again, Faye and I are going to vacation in Georgia and we will be preparing for that. I also forgot to mention that over the 4th of July my son in-law Matt and I constructed a playset for Miss Abby for her birthday and it took all of a 3 day weekend, life has been busy which is a good thing. All is not lost thought I have been able to sneak in a little workin on the railroad and I even snapped a couple of pictures to add to my written report, so with out further ado here are the latest pictures of the L&B Railroad.

I refuse.

I refuse is an apt title for what has been going on lately. I was playing golf quite a few weeks ago with my sons-in-law on a little par 3 course in Indianapolis. It was the first tee, as I usually do, I step up to tee off. Since it is my first swing it is a bad one, I dig a big divot, my club twists in my hand, my middle finger on my right hand immediately responds with an intense pain, and begins to swell. A more intelligent person might have called it quits for the day due to the injury. I kept on playing and aggravated the injury further. I had joined the golf league at church which required an up front non-refudable payment. Back to the story, we get back to my daughter's house and the women of my life urge me to seek medical attention which I refuse to do. Monday it is really swollen and painful, this is the day my golf league plays. I call for a substitute early so I can give it a rest. Flash forward, two weeks ago after continuing to play in the golf league the finger is not really improving, I finally seek medical attention. The x-rays show no break so my doctor informs me that I probably damaged the connective tissue in the finger joint. If I had sought attention within 36 hours of the injury it could have been fixed. Since I waited so long there was not much that could be done other than "buddy tape" it to the finger next to it for support. I did that last Monday for the weekly golf round with the league and shot the worst round of my life, it was embarrassing but the finger was none the worse for the experience. yesterday I went to the driving range to try to improve the taped finger swing. I discovered a method for taping that allowed me to swing somewhat naturally and not damage my finger any more than I already had. I will test the results tonight at the league play. Wish me luck I just don't want to embarrass my self again. The railroad has not had a lot of work performed on it due to working outside in the yard and garden and playing golf. I have made and placed some trees and yesterday I built the control station for the transformer and a place to put the switches for the electronic turnouts. I will add some pictures when time allows. That is enough rambling for today so I will wish every one a good day.

Tree Work 301

It has been quite a while since the last post, it is not that I haven't accomplished anything, just that my accomplishments are more in tune with nature. I have been working out in the yard and my garden and playing a little golf. Faye and I have also made a few trips to Indy to visit and see everyone, and then typhoid Faye hit not once but twice so we have battled a little illness too. Perhaps you can tell by the title of this blog I have been perfecting my tree fabricating skills, and feel like I am getting close to them being good. I will include some pictures so you can see how I have done. I figure that I have probably built quite a few prototypes that didn't measure up, I didn't keep track of the failures but let me say they have been numerous. I owe a lot of what you see to the wonderful invention of the internet, you can find any information you desire there and I have combined several techniques I found and tweaked them to the way I wanted to build my trees. I am not sure how many trees I will need for the L & B but they are something I can work on upstairs for the most part and don't need to be exiled in the basement all of the time. I am actually pretty proud of the results of the fir trees in the pictures they are pretty realistic I think. The top picture is the wire armature that I have "painted" with a tinted mixture of plaster of paris with white glue mixed in, and the others are different views of the first three finished success stories. Let me know what your opinion is or if you have any ideas to improve on what you see. Until the next time!

Recession has hit the Railroad

Sorry if you have been financially affected by the recession, but then who hasn't when I think about it. My philosophy is to make light of serious things and perhaps they won't seem as bad. The only recession that has actually hit the railroad is a slowdown in the time I have been spending working on it. I would post some pictures but the differences are too subtle and they would not reveal much. The underlying reason for the work slow down is not a general labor strike or anything ( more humor), I have just been busy in other areas. You might ask for an accounting or you may not care but I will give one any way. First I have been obsessed with a computer that suddenly decided it was missing a registry file, I spent way too many hours trying to restore it and finally gave up and reinstalled windows. Second the weather and time of year are ganging up on me and I have had to spend quite a bit of time outside doing yard work, I am not complaining, I enjoy this labor so I am stating fact. Thirdly my loving wife finally decided on a color to paint the kitchen so we painted it which led to me painting the laundry room yesterday and that led to a general sorting out of the shelves in there and scrubbing the floor as I moved appliances. I realize that I have been wordy and if you are reading this saying to yourself I don't care but I am not twisting the proverbial arm and making you read this so if you are still reading and don't want to be shame on you for not having the will power to stop. Plus I am setting here getting a bit of a private chuckle thinking of you reading this and saying to yourself what am I wasting my time on. Then the third reason behind the work slow down getting back on the original subject is once again weather related and it is now nice enough for me to spend way too much time chasing that little white ball around the converted cow pasture. What? Playing golf is one of my vices which as I age my vices seem to become fewer and tamer, not a bad thing either because most of my vices in my earlier years were unhealthy to say the least. I have rambled on far too long, so I am going to draw to a close and get back to work on the railroad! Later Gator.

I've Been Working on the Railroad

These are the latest pictures of the L&B Railroad taken tonight. The kids were here for Easter last weekend and Miss Abb's and I worked a little on the scenery together on Saturday. I am working on making trees to add to the layout and also starting some building construction. I have laid a few pieces of cork rail-bed and will lay some more as soon as I am able to buy some. I am really enjoying the time I am spending on the layout and find it therapeutic. Well here are the pictures.

L & B Railroad update!

Here are a few of the latest pictures of progress on the railroad. I couldn't get a picture of the color on the mountains that was true to the actual colors I have painted. My less than expert opinion is the lighting I am using which is mostly florescent with halogen spots. I do know florescent lights play havoc with camera colors. I read somewhere the key to realistic looking mountains in your scenery is using several colors and thinning the paint to the point that it is more a wash than a paint. I have used five colors with a black over-wash to dull the colors back. So here is the result just keep the lighting in mind. The bridge piers are a work in progress but you get the idea. I have also been producing doll house furniture, Abb's is coming to visit next weekend and I hopefully will have some new pieces for her to play with.

UPDATE!

This an L&B Railroad update! Things in the basement are progressing quite well. I have been spending a couple of hours a day down there working between the railroad and making furniture for the doll house. I will add a couple of pictures of the rail progress to show the progress. I am spending a lot of time on it because as the weather improves I will probably spend less time down there and more time outside. I joined the church golf league and that will take Monday evenings starting April 20th, but that is a good thing. I will update again as I progress and remember to document the progress with pictures. I was hoping to be a bit more on the ball and take pictures more often, but I get involved and time flies and yada yada yada excuses, I just don't get the pictures taken. There just isn't enough time in the day for all my activities, work, and yuck sleep, what a waste of time sleep is! That's all folks as the cartoons used to say.

The Secret is Out

The Indianapolis crew was here last weekend and the project I have been working on for the last year was presented to Miss Abby. I will include a couple of pictures I snapped when she first spied it. I think she liked it! There isn't much furniture yet but as you can see from the last picture she got busy moving and playing with what there was. I am also including the latest updates on the L&B Railroad build. It is coming along well I have actually started building the tunnel portals and the retaining walls for the mountains and hills. Tonight I added some more roadbed to the grades leading to the mountains, although there aren't any pictures of that. I had to hurry upstairs to catch the beginning of my favorite tv show NCIS.

The Latest Project

I actually started this project a while ago. It has been a couple of years because it entailed first finishing part of the basement in preparation, then building what is known as the bench-work. Then finalizing the layout and finally building it. Guess what I am doing yet. It is not as common a hobby as it was in the past and it is something I have always wanted to do. I can remember my Great Uncle Louis having one in his basement but it is not a very vivid memory. Ok I am building a model train layout in HO scale. It will be complete with mountain lake town and factory/train yard. I have been planning it out in my head and on paper now for quite a while . I am limited by the shape of my basement and must put the layout up against the wall which is not recommended but can be done. I am going to document it with pictures and will post them here from time to time. If anyone has a suggestion I am open for constructive criticism. It is getting late and past my bedtime. I won't get as much reading in tonight as I would like but I was downstairs most of the evening working on my two projects. The other project must remain a secret until it is unveiled to Miss Abby, because it is for her and Lily. It will be presented to Abb's though since Lily is too small yet, and I can hardly wait to present it to her. Any way here are the first pictures of the train layout.

Get Over It!!!!!!

Has any one else heard John McCain and his bitter comments about the new presidential helicopters? What Johnny is commenting on is an overpriced new helicopter fleet that was the creation of the prior administration, the administration of his party the GOP. These outbursts seem to be sour grapes at his loss of the election and make me even more glad that he lost, he can't seem to understand the simple concept that President Obama is not responsible for the helicopters. So here it is Johnny if you happen to read this, have some one who is not suffering from GOP' itis explain to you how the president is not responsible for the helicopters. If you can't find anyone give me a call and I will try to communicate the concept to you. And oh yeah OOPS! if you read my prior blog this busts me, I do listen to the news at work on the radio if I am at my desk when it comes on.

A few thoughts on a Monday!

Is anyone else as fed up listening to the doom and gloom of the news as I am? The economy and all of the collective news is just downright depressing. The only correlation I haven't heard yet is connecting this with the apocalypse, I am not saying no one has compared them, I just haven't heard it. I probably shouldn't even say it because it next thing you know someone will make the comparison. The fact is I don't really turn on the the TV news all that often, I even turn down the volume on the radio on my desk when the news comes on if I think about it. I am getting quite a bit more accomplished around the house since not watching the news when I come home. I have actually started working on the train layout in the basement, and I am working on some other projects, one of which remains secret until the Indy crew comes to visit. My job has been going well, I am so thankful to be employed, and the fact that I actually like my job is icing on the cake. Things seem to be going ok at the firm they actually opened a new office in Mexico City. I was talking to the Habitat for Humanity coordinator for our church and our group is still on track to build two houses this year in spite of the economy. It will be great to get back and do something that feels so rewarding. I am pretty excited about the prospect of actually doing a build last year we rehabbed a house and it was enjoyable but to build a house from scratch will really be a gas. The houses will be side by side and start a couple of weeks apart so they will be at slightly different stages of build so that when one house is waiting on mechanicals or inspections the other house will need work. I have carried on long enough for tonight. Bed time is drawing close and it is early to bed so I can get my reading in. More another time!

Just Checking In.

The drive home today was a treat, the rain storm slowed traffic down to a crawl on the freeway. All in all it didn't take that long though. Does any one know what you do when there is a firetruck/ambulance bearing down behind you on the freeway and all four lanes are clogged. Past experience living in a small town reaction is to immediately pull to the side of the road. Not a good idea on a clogged freeway because the berm at the side of the road is the only place for the emergency vehicle to pass. Enough on that subject, I just read Carrie's blog and it sounds like things are going swimmingly in the west. I do think the second baby and the familiarity there makes all the difference in the world. Finally is anyone else getting as sick of news reports and hearing about the economy as I am. I don't want to turn the television on anymore and that is out of character for a tv junkie like me. The doom and gloom and interviewing the fat cats who still don't, and I am afraid never will get it, is depressing. I am probably not as interested in hearing about it because after all that has gone down in the past couple of years I am extremely thankful that Faye and I are still gainfully employed. Things are very bad in our old hometown in Indiana, it has been in the headlines recently and not for good reasons. I and my family (I hope I can speak for all of them) are hoping and praying for all the people living in Elkhart. Their future does not look great right now and they can use the thoughts and prayers of all of us, along with any financial aid that can be spared. Faye has cooked a good supper and it is ready so that's all for now!

New addition to the family!

I really meant to post before now, no excuses other than distractions. Last Friday the 30th of January we welcomed Lily Noelle to the family. She is healthy and so is mom Carrie. They are home now and Faye is with them this week helping out. Reports from Faye are that she is a really good baby (like she would say any thing else). I will post a couple of pictures of Lily, I am not the photographer, I had my camera, but either I was holding Lily or I forgot to snap pictures. Thank you to Faye for taking the pictures and then emailing them to me!
The pictures are pretty self explanatory so I am not going to caption them. More later!

Erring Out

Well once again I feel a need to put some more private thoughts out there, not necessarily for any one else to read but hopefully as a means for self improvement/healing. It was conveyed to me some time ago that in conversation between two of my relatives that I became the topic of conversation. During this conversation one person said to the other you know I love him but he is lazy. When this was relayed to me my first reaction was how dare they I have always held a good job never been fired from a job, etc. etc. All of that indignant self defense crap. The typical I am better than though B.S. After settling down and giving it some long hard thought I came to the realization that the person speaking knew me better than I knew myself. My life has been me giving up when the going got tough. If it was not easy for me, or not on my terms, I quit. I could go on and on about this but it started when I was very young and continues even today. The things I claim that are or were important to me if I had to actually work for them I quit. I realize now that what I thought was hard work was no such thing because I was doing what I enjoyed, and when doing what you enjoy the most strenuous physical work is as they say a labor of love. I can't change the past even if I wanted to, I do however have it in my capacity to alter the future. I intend to do just that, perfection, probably not, my best effort, with God's help and a better focus, I hope so. I have in the past found my self feeling sorry for myself because of what I have accomplished so far in life. I may not have accomplished what I had envisioned for myself, I may not have the education I had envisioned, but I can do what I wanted to do when I was younger. What I envisioned when I was younger was to help people, to assist them in feeling better. I can still do just that, not necessarily with the same capacity as my younger vision, but in some capacity. I am not sure how, as I sit here I am going to accomplish that goal, but with some thought on the subject I am sure I will figure it out. Enough for now, as always I will report back when I feel a need, or actually have something to say or report. Bye for now!

New Year

Well here it is 2009 already. The first weekend of the year was a busy one spent out of town. My cousin Lyndsay got married on Friday the 2nd and we celebrated Christmas with Carrie, Abby and Matt on Saturday. I am posting a couple of pictures in case you are interested, the middle two pics are from the wedding and the top and bottom pics are from Christmas in January. The wedding was very nice and we had fun at the reception being entertained by Melissa, that's her in the red blouse above. She was dancing with all of the small kids and when she tired them out she danced solo. As always it was a blessing seeing Abby, oh yeah it was fun seeing Carrie and Matt also. Abby just simply makes me smile she is the cutest little girl, she loved to pass out the presents and also had a great time opening them. It is fairly difficult keeping this page current after spending all day on the computer at work I really don't feel like getting on at home. I was off work part of the day yesterday and all day today, I had a gout flare up over the weekend and it is still really painful today. I have been taking pain med's and also the gout preventative but from what I have read the preventative is not affective after an attack has taken place. Hopefully it will be better in the morning and I will be able to get back to work. I received a new Wii game for Christmas and it has been consuming a lot of my time, it is a Lego game Indiana Jones. It is not the typical game when you think of Wii, it is a sit on your butt and play more like the older video games. Well Faye just walked in from work and I have supper on so I will attach the pictures and sign off for now. Happy New Year to all, and I am praying for a better year for all.