Come on back to the caboose and get a cup of coffee [or sweet ice tea] - Part VII

jeffrey-wimberl

Active Member
There was a tragedy in my life today. My G Scale narrow gauge Silverton Flyer which had been on static display (motor was burned out) in the front yard for 12 years was lost in a fire. It was a 4-6-0 Baldwin with tender, 40 foot wood boxcar lettered for Cascade Canyon and a combine custom lettered for the Durango and Silverton. My father and I were burning off the back yard and had a sufficient fire break between the front and back yards and the area around the display had been wet down to the point of being a mud hole. Somehow the fire jumped the break and broke into the front yard. Pushed by the breeze it headed straight for the display and somehow got past the muddy ring. All that's left is a few chunks of carbonized plastic and some metal wheel sets sitting on brass rails, the ties of which were burned away. Of the seven G Scale trains I had this was the only one I had kept, notably because I wasn't going to sell something that no longer ran.
 

jeffrey-wimberl

Active Member
Good morning.

It's 52 and clear. The high should be around 80 and it will be partly cloudy.

Didn't get any work done on the layout yesterday as I was too busy helping my father get pine straw moved from the rental properties. Personally I'd hand the tenants a rake each and say get with it. As for burning off my yard yesterday (I've received some flak about this from some wishful know-it-alls), it's an accepted method down here for quickly clearing low brush and stimulating new growth as there are plant species here that drop their seeds only after fire has cleared the ground and given the seeds their best chance for growth. The ash also returns much needed nitrogen to the soil without the expense of buying fertilizers that contain things I don't want in my yard. The major down side is my trailer smelled like a stubbed out cigar afterwards. Being as there was almost no wind at all the smoke just hung in the air and finding fresh air was a hit and miss proposition. At times visibility was about five feet. The only time a breeze sprang up was when we absolutely DID NOT need it. Of course the neighbors had been duly alerted beforehand about the burn. I've had the AC going all night with the fresh air port open and it has cleared much of the smell out. Today I'll be helping clear more pine straw from the rental properties IF my father doesn't get called for work that is. He's on call 24/7 and doesn't have any set times for work. With today's economy his chances of having work are much better than mine. I haven't had employment in so long I've forgotten what a time card looks like. Everybody is cutting back. Maybe if we cut back on driving the oil companies will pay us for a change. Probably wishful thinking at best.

Today's Weather for:
Sundown, LA 71446-6114 3/22/2009

Wind Chill: 56°F
Humidity: 95%
Dew Point: 54°F

So Far Today
High: 56°F
Low: 52°F
Rain: 0.00"
Rain Rate: 0.00"/h
Gust: 3mph E

Today High: 78 Partly cloudy in the morning then becoming mostly sunny. Patchy fog in the morning. Highs in the upper 70s. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph.

Tonight Low: 58 Mostly clear in the evening then becoming mostly cloudy late. Patchy fog after midnight. Lows in the upper 50s. Southeast winds around 10 mph.

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jeffrey-wimberl

Active Member
I was busy this morning moving pine straw to my father's burn pile. Finished that around noon. Afterwards I had lunch with the parents. One of my favorites. Tacos! Then went and mowed my sisters yard then mowed my niece's yard then helped them put in a gate between the two yards. Tomorrow I'll be mowing my parents yard. I'm gonna find out how much of that 5 acres their new 19 horse Yardman will cut on one tank of gas. It has a 42" cutting width. With the old Peerless tractor (15 years is old for a tractor) I can cut their 5 acres, my sisters 2.5 acres and my niece's 1/2 acre and still have gas left over. Big difference is it has a 60" cutting width. My father jumped on the Yardman because it was on sale for $900 new. I like the cruise control on it but I hate the reverse mechanism. It's a small pedal you have to push straight down with the ball of your foot and it just creeps backward. The old tractor goes just as fast in reverse as it does in forward. Pretty handy for getting away from a stirred up hornets nest.
 

jeffrey-wimberl

Active Member
Good morning.

It's 61 and cloudy. The high today will be in the upper 70's and it will be mostly cloudy. Good mowing weather.

No layout work yesterday. If I wasn't busy moving pine straw I was mowing grass, if I wasn't mowing grass I was working on a gate, if I wasn't working on a gate I was caught up in something else. It was a mad house around here yesterday! Today I only have to mow my parents yard then the rest of the day will be mine, yeah, right. I've heard that one before. Just you watch, something else will come up then something more after that, etc. Mowing must be done today because rain is in the forecast for tomorrow. Why do I have this feeling that today is gonna be one of those days I should have stayed in bed?

Today's Weather for:
Sundown, LA 71446-6114 3/23/2009

Wind Chill: 59°F
Humidity: 88%
Dew Point: 57°F

So Far Today
High: 62°F
Low: 61°F
Rain: 0.00"
Rain Rate: 0.00"/h
Gust: 18mph SE

Today High: 78 Mostly cloudy. Highs in the upper 70s. Southeast winds 10 to 20 mph.

Tonight Low: 65 Partly cloudy. Lows in the mid 60s. Southeast winds 10 to 20 mph.

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jeffrey-wimberl

Active Member
So far my day has gone about as I predicted. I went down and mowed my parents yard. That done I get told that there's a picnic table (one of two on the property) that needs to be moved. I can't move it myself so I push it to where it needs to be with the tractor. Then there are some piles of weeds to be picked up. They're very small piles so that's no problem. Then an old Murray-Ohio lawn tractor needs to be moved so it can be picked up and taken to 'Metal Mountain', a recycling place near here. The engine on it is dead so it has to be pulled. No problem. I pull it with their new Yardman tractor. By this time my father has left for his work. My mother is preparing to leave for most of the rest of the day and informs me that there are several (10) large piles of pine straw and branches to be picked up and I'll have to do it myself as there's no one to load the stuff. Know what? I'm here at home and those darn piles still aren't picked up. Ain't gonna be either, not be me at any rate. Last couple of times I did that I ended up in the hospital with massive infections. No more of that for me.
 

steamhead

Active Member
It's great to help folks out....but you do have to draw the line somewhere, particularly if your health might be at risk....
 

jeffrey-wimberl

Active Member
Good morning.

It's 54 and very wet here with more thunderstorms rolling in. High will be around the mid 70's with thunderstorms.

Between doctor appointments, visits to the parents and sifting through stacks of computer specs for my sister I actually got some MR work done yesterday, notably adding railings to my GD30, a 6 axle short range version of a GP30. It took a couple of hours, a lot of drilling and a chopped set of railings from a Bachmann GP50. I finally added the last couple of pieces to the rear steps last night. A set of railings made specifically for the model would have been nice but Athearn hasn't made a GP30 since what, around 1965? Now about the above mentioned stacks of computer specs, my sister has decided to get a computer for use at home and she doesn't want some Wal-Mart special from Dell or HP. The hours of going through dry specs came down to a decision between a HP notebook that had a lot going for it and a desktop from ZT Systems. Both are comparably priced. She doesn't need the portability and convenience of the notebook and she really likes what the ZT has to offer and I must say that I'm impressed with it as well. It looks as if she'll be ordering that system. Looks like it's gonna be pouring down rain today and tomorrow. Good thing I got the grass cut when I did. Right now I'm looking over the layout and determining what other mayhem I can get into. There are some city scene details (phone booths, bike racks, etc) coming but those are still days away.

Today's Weather for:
Sundown, LA 71446-6114 3/25/2009

Wind Chill: 51°F
Humidity: 97%
Dew Point: 51°F

So Far Today
High: 72°F
Low: 52°F
Rain: 0.50"
Rain Rate: 0.60"/h
Gust: 33mph NNW

Through 7 AM...numerous showers with a few thunderstorms will move northeast at 25 mph across portions of southeast Texas and central Louisiana. The majority of the activity will be northwest of a line from Marksville to Silsbee. A few lightning strikes and brief heavy rainfall with rates around 1/2 inch per hour can be expected with the storms.

Today High: 75 Showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid 70s. North winds 5 to 10 mph in the morning becoming east in the afternoon. Chance of rain 80 percent.

Tonight Low: 62 Showers and thunderstorms likely. Lows in the lower 60s. South winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70 percent.

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Sirfoldalot

New Member
Good morning all. Been absent for too long. Have no idea where the last two weeks have gone. Looks like a nice day here, so, will have more yard work to do. Wife insists on planting some fruit trees, so have been busy with that and trying to get yard sprinklers in shape for the coming summer. I really hate the sprinklers - too much up/down which my knees do not like anymore. About 15 min of digging and 45 min of rest - can't seem to last much longer than that. Getting older really sucks. The "golden years" stink. Now I understand why my father sort of gave up doing much after he got older.I thought he just did not like to do the work. Now I am finding out why!

clear.gif
40.1 °F / 4 °C
Clear
Windchill:37 °F / 3 °C Humidity:63%Dew Point:25 °F / -4 °C Wind:0.0 mph / 0 km/h
Highs expected in the high 60's today. Been a little chilly at night. A strange Spring here - colder than normal.

Have a nice day - all.
 

sir james

Member
Old age does suck. Completely agree, things that use to be easy have now become a chore. We have rain and I don't have to shovel rain, so I am happy. Perhaps trains later,not sure yet...S.J.
 

jeffrey-wimberl

Active Member
Good morning.

It's 53 and mostly cloudy here. The high will be around the mid 70's and there's a good chance of thunderstorms.

Received a 'Dream, Plan, Build' DVD in the mail yesterday. I've heard a lot of good things about this series so I took the time to check it out. I must say that I was not impressed. The featured layouts are nice and there's a lot of good advice given but it's nothing that I haven't already seen and learned online. The medallion they sent along with the DVD is nice and looks good among my other collectibles. The DVD however will be going back today. We had a pretty intense storm blow through here last night and my yard is now covered with a thin layer of pine straw and microsporangia (those little pollen things) and a bunch of pine cones. We didn't get all that much rain but we did get a lot of wind. The showers passed quickly. My father's yard looks like it hasn't been raked in a couple of months. Fact is he just raked it about a week ago. He won't be a happy camper.

Today's Weather for:
Sundown, LA 71446-6114 3/26/2009


Wind Chill: 51°F
Humidity: 98%
Dew Point: 53°F

So Far Today
High: 55°F
Low: 53°F
Rain: 0.01"
Rain Rate: 0.00"/h
Gust: 20mph NNE

Today High: 78 Mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 70s. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph.

Tonight Low: 60 Showers and thunderstorms likely. Some thunderstorms may be severe. Lows around 60. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60 percent.

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age

Sir James, you MAY be right in that old age sucks, but it is MUCH, MUCH better than the alternative. I'm tickled to be able to plant my feet on the floor each morning, get vertical, and my body is still warm.:wave::wave:

Lynn
 

jeffrey-wimberl

Active Member
Good morning.

It's 64 and foggy. High today should be near 80 and there's more thunderstorms coming in.

Hope today isn't like yesterday was. We had one thunderstorm after another come through. My yard looks like a war zone. I heard some branches falling yesterday but none hit the trailer. Surprisingly the power never went out, just flickered a bit. The cable though was a different story. It went out several times but came back on after a few minutes. I had absolutely no problem with the satellite signal. I've heard people dissing them for going out during storms. Even during the most intense part of the storm I never saw even as much as a spot in the picture and it was so cloudy and raining so hard that it looked like late evening at five in the afternoon. I hope to get some layout work done today but that depends mostly on old Mr Murphy.

Today's Weather for:
Sundown, LA 71446-6114 3/27/2009

Wind Chill: 64°F
Humidity: 100%
Dew Point: 64°F

So Far Today
High: 64°F
Low: 60°F
Rain: 0.00"
Rain Rate: 0.00"/h
Gust: 7mph SE

Today High: 78 Mostly cloudy with a 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 70s. South winds 10 to 15 mph.

Tonight Low: 48 Showers and thunderstorms until late night...then a chance of showers late. Some thunderstorms may be severe. Cooler. Lows in the upper 40s. West winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70 percent.

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jeffrey-wimberl

Active Member
Good morning.

It's 43 and cloudy. The high will be 60 and it will clear off to partly cloudy.

Nothing much done on the layout yesterday as I was occupied doing a backup on my computer. A DVD can only hold so much and I went through quite a few of them. I'm really not sure what I'll be doing today. I got a really interesting phone call yesterday from a guy who said he was with the IRS and had to discuss something with me about the amount of reportable income on the tax return I filed this year. I knew this guy was a scammer right from the start but decided to play his game up to a point. Apparently he had questions about how much I earned each month and needed to check it against my bank account activity. Of course for this he would need the number of the account in question. This was all very amusing and I was trying my best not to burst out laughing. You see, I had no reportable income last year and there was none listed on my income tax info, all that was listed was simply a 'not required to report' since my income was below the amount that can be reported. He tried the old 'if you don't tell me what I want to know I'll sieze your account' routine, (an account he didn't have a number for in the first place, otherwise why would he be trying to get it) at which point I hung up on him. There was no phone number data on the caller id entry so I have to assume he was using a caller id blocker. If he calls back (He's a fool if he does) I will be recording the conversation. I'm just wondering how he got my number. Only a handful of people know it, mostly fellow modelers. The main thing that tipped me off that he was a fake early on was when he said he was looking at my return and noted I was living in the New Orleans area. The only thing I have that's from that area is my phone number area code. I'm on the other side of the state and a heck of a lot farther inland. Texas is only 18 miles away. Boy, some of these scammers are D-U-M-B!

Today's Weather for:
Sundown, LA 71446-6114 3/28/2009


Wind Chill: 35°F
Humidity: 60%
Dew Point: 30°F

So Far Today
High: 55°F
Low: 43°F
Rain: 0.00"
Rain Rate: 0.00"/h
Gust: 34mph NW

Today High: 60 Mostly sunny. Cooler. Highs around 60. West winds 15 to 20 mph.

Tonight Low: 38 Mostly clear. Lows in the upper 30s. Northwest winds 10 to 15 mph.

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jeffrey-wimberl

Active Member
Good morning.

It's 41 and clear. The high will be around 67 and it will be partly cloudy.

Didn't get much done on the layout yesterday due to neck and upper back pain most of the day. I finally got a few small things taken care of. Hope to do more today. One thing I'm thinking about doing is tearing down pedestrian bridge and using part of the stairway for the outside stairs to Ezra's digs over the gas station. I'sure I can make use of parts of it elsewhere. It looks good but at the end of the day it just gets in the way. I have a barbecue to attend this afternoon at my niece's home. Think I'm going to miss that? Not on your life! I couldn't miss it even if I wanted to. She'd carry me over there hog-tied if need be! This is one of those 'neighborhood events' where any and all in the neighborhood can attend, and I'm sure there will be plenty of folks there.

Today's Weather for:
Sundown, LA 71446-6114 3/29/2009


Wind Chill: 39°F
Humidity: 88%
Dew Point: 36°F

So Far Today
High: 48°F
Low: 39°F
Rain: 0.00"
Rain Rate: 0.00"/h
Gust: 21mph NNE

Today High: 68 Sunny. Highs in the upper 60s. North winds 5 to 10 mph.

Tonight Low: 45 Mostly clear. Lows in the mid 40s. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph.

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jeffrey-wimberl

Active Member
Good morning.

It's 47 and partly cloudy. The high will be around 75 and it will be partly cloudy.

Things went well at the BBQ yesterday AFTER the grilling was well underway. It had been decided that a charcoal grill would be used. I prefer gas grills myself. Anyhow, the appointed chef (not me) loaded the grill with what I believed to be an inordinate amount of match-lite charcoal. He then lit said charcoal and closed the lid neglecting to open the draft on the lid. Five minutes later there was only a slight amount of heat from the grill. Without thinking about what kind of Pandora's box he might be opening the chef snatched the lid up and, you guessed it, WHHOOOM! Flames shot five feet straight up and about two feet to all sides. I lost half the hair on my right arm, the chef lost his eyes lashes, eye brows, the forward part of his hairline and his composure. One of my sisters cats which had been sitting nearby jumped three feet into the air and four feet back, landing on my niece's pit bull and proceeded to tear the dog a new one as this must somehow all be his fault. As the somewhat bewildered dog ran for the hills I slammed the grill lid down and opened the draft, losing most of the rest of the hair on my arm in the process. The poor chef was the object of much ribbing for the rest of the day. On the layout front I tore down the pedestrian bridge. I used part of it to make a stairway to Ezra's home over his gas station. As to what today holds in store, well, as they say, I'll know that when the time comes.

Today's Weather for:
Sundown, LA 71446-6114 3/30/2009


Wind Chill: 45°F
Humidity: 91%
Dew Point: 45°F

So Far Today
High: 48°F
Low: 45°F
Rain: 0.00"
Rain Rate: 0.00"/h
Gust: 6mph SSE

Today High: 75 Partly cloudy. Highs in the mid 70s. Southeast winds 10 to 20 mph.

Tonight Low: 62 Partly cloudy in the evening then becoming mostly cloudy after midnight then becoming partly cloudy late. A 20 percent chance of showers. Warmer. Lows in the lower 60s. South winds 10 to 15 mph.

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sir james

Member
Good Morning
We had rain turning to snow yesterday but most of the snow melted as it stayed above freezing till into the nite. Had a "bug" catch me the end of last week so no trains lately. TTFN...S.J.
 

jeffrey-wimberl

Active Member
Good morning.

It's 64 and cloudy. The high today should be around 70 and there's a chance of thunder storms.

I got a little layout work done yesterday. nothing spectacular, just moving some trees around. Maybe I'll be able to do more today. I still have a few structures to place. I likely will not be on tomorrow as I'll be watching to see what this 'Conflicker' virus that's got the techs running in little circles will do. Personally I think it's a bunch of April Fool's hogwash. Look at the big scare that was thrown up about that worm a couple of years ago. What happened? It turned out to be a big fat goose egg!

Today's Weather for:
Sundown, LA 71446-6114 3/31/2009

Wind Chill: 64°F
Humidity: 94%
Dew Point: 63°F

So Far Today
High: 64°F
Low: 63°F
Rain: 0.00"
Rain Rate: 0.00"/h
Gust: 12mph NNE

Through 8 AM...isolated light to moderate showers will continue to move southeast through east Texas into southwest and central Louisiana. These showers will generally affect locations fro the northwest of a line from port Beaumont Texas to Alexandria Louisiana. Rainfall amounts will be light...averaging around one tenth of an inch or less.

Today High: 75 Mostly cloudy. A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Some thunderstorms may produce large hail and damaging winds in the afternoon. Highs in the mid 70s. Southwest winds 5 to 10 mph in the morning becoming northwest in the afternoon.

Tonight Low: 48 Partly cloudy. Cooler. Lows in the upper 40s. Northeast winds 10 to 15 mph.

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