Model trains and other things

[ryanbp01]

Well, my train club and I had another successful run at the local library! It still continued to draw people in who hadn't set foot in a library in years. from another thread, I thought maybe Farmer would show up but to no avail. It was hard to take down, but thanks to my son-in-law as well as club members, the train modules have been taken down and stacked until needed for the Three Rivers Festival in Fort Wayne.

In another category, I had written about being out of the shop due to shoulder surgery. It seems that it has been a success, although I am still in the immobilizer (my 2nd since I wore the first one out). The Physical Therapy is the hardest part to get through. However, it seems to go from one thing to another. A week and a half afterward, I went to a podiatrist to see about persistent pain in my heel. An x-ray showed two fractures in the heel bone. So now, I'm wearing a "boot". At least I have been able to catch up on my woodworking reading when I'm not teaching.

That reminds me, Fine Woodworking sent their promised replacement DVD archive for 1975-2011. It is a definite improvement! I still highly recommend this if you have not yet purchased it. At $99.95 divide by 223 issues, I figure that comes to around 44 cents per issue, not to mention all that shelf space saved! Having these magazines in digital format really helps when searching for a particular article or technique.

Last, but certainly not least, it has been a joy to keep up on this forum. It is really enjoyable to read what everyone has been up to. Please accept my apologies for such a long entry.

BPR

[JPG]

Well, my train club and I had another successful run at the local library! It still continued to draw people in who hadn't set foot in a library in years. from another thread, I thought maybe Farmer would show up but to no avail. It was hard to take down, but thanks to my son-in-law as well as club members, the train modules have been taken down and stacked until needed for the Three Rivers Festival in Fort Wayne.

In another category, I had written about being out of the shop due to shoulder surgery. It seems that it has been a success, although I am still in the immobilizer (my 2nd since I wore the first one out). The Physical Therapy is the hardest part to get through. However, it seems to go from one thing to another. A week and a half afterward, I went to a podiatrist to see about persistent pain in my heel. An x-ray showed two fractures in the heel bone. So now, I'm wearing a "boot". At least I have been able to catch up on my woodworking reading when I'm not teaching.

That reminds me, Fine Woodworking sent their promised replacement DVD archive for 1975-2011. It is a definite improvement! I still highly recommend this if you have not yet purchased it. At $99.95 divide by 223 issues, I figure that comes to around 44 cents per issue, not to mention all that shelf space saved! Having these magazines in digital format really helps when searching for a particular article or technique.

Last, but certainly not least, it has been a joy to keep up on this forum. It is really enjoyable to read what everyone has been up to. Please accept my apologies for such a long entry.

BPR

Long it ain't. Interesting it is!;)

Good Luck with the PT!:)

[robinson46176]

While I would enjoy getting to a train show I am still in the very earliest stages of even thinking about a set-up. Part of the reason I got to thinking about it was that I was looking at my new basement woodshop and wondering if I wanted to set aside a corner for a train set-up as I planned the woodshop. While it is on my "Bucket List" I have a lot of stuff competing for priority spots.
The woodshop setup has slowed down some due to other things but I try to do something on it everyday (sometimes in the wee hours).
Yesterday I was going to move 3 more Shopsmiths in but got derailed. I helped Diana move some “extra” Xmas decoration materials to the old wood shop for storage there. I guess that was woodshop oriented since that was where they had been sitting. Then the battery on the truck I wanted to use was down from too many short hops without decent recharge time so I put a charger on it for the morning.
By then it was lunch time and time for a few errands. By mid afternoon I got started building a half mile of electric horse fence. I still have about a half day days work to go on that today if it quits raining. It was taking a lot longer than normal because I was having to take time to cut brush first on about half of it. On the up side I can fence grass a lot cheaper than I can buy hay and this warm winter has kept the grass growing a little.
I'm still slowly working on my western boot / shoe / saddle and tack repair shop. I wanted to have it operational by January first but that didn't happen. Not a problem, I am now shooting for March first. I do have some work coming in next week that I am far enough along with the shop to do. Funny how word sneaks out.
Two years in a row of record drought summers and wet water-logged winters have really decimated a lot of our pastures so we are shifting gears a little. We are going to switch most of the horse operation from individual 24-7 pastures with a run-in shelter (which I prefer) for client horses to having the horses stalled with scheduled turn-out to limit the stress on the pastures. I have started moving stuff (most of it now obsolete to our current operation) out of a 28' X 64' tool shed and building 5 horse stalls and a wash bay in it. I am only building one stall to start and will add stalls as the interest dictates. I don't have to build them all at once. I can build one in about 2 days if pushed.
I need to have 2 enterprises going to make some $$$ to pay for the woodshop which does not.
Then there is our former house to remodel to rent.
And 12 old tractor projects...

I never get up in the morning and wonder if I can find something to do.
It's a good thing I am retired.

[beeg]

I need to have 2 enterprises going to make some $$$ to pay for the woodshop which does not.

Farmer, ya ever think of selling a couple mark5's to raise some money for other things?:D

[fjimp]

Farmer, ya ever think of selling a couple mark5's to raise some money for other things?:D

The only reason Farmer isn't answering being that he is fighting to recover from such a crass suggestion. It's okay Farmer just take a deep breath. Jim

[robinson46176]

The only reason Farmer isn't answering being that he is fighting to recover from such a crass suggestion. It's okay Farmer just take a deep breath. Jim

SELL!!!??? SELL!!!??? Choke, sputter, gasp, choke...

Actually we are talking about maybe selling a piece of real estate (better than selling a Shopsmith ).
We have some things that we want to do that need more money than just selling some odd stuff will produce. Traveling, remodeling, a couple of simple small add-on's to the house etc. as well as having some more quickly available investments. We are at the age where our "window" to do things has gotten narrower and we need to act while we are still able to be active.

Branching off into an extreme ramble here now... We were discussing an old friend of mine this week. He was much older than I and I got to know him at my first off-farm job in a plastics factory. Today they would probably call him a warehouse manager but he was much more. His job was of great importance to him and he performed it very well indeed. He was near retirement age but very active. His job required a lot of lifting and hand material handling and he stayed very busy. He had been at that job for most of his life. He was a really nice guy but had few non job interest beyond a little interest in watching sports on TV. I well recall when he retired, I would see him often since he lived only a block from work and on my route to and from work. He basically retired, went home and sat down on his front porch. He was sitting there most days as I went home. As far as I know he did nothing but mow his postage stamp yard when needed then sat back down on the porch. In winter he holed up in the house by the TV. He was 65 when he retired and he was dead inside of 2 years...
I was only in my mid 20's when he died but I vowed then that that was not going to be how I finished my life... I may have gone the other extreme but I have a ton of interest and spend a lot of days doing things that some others like to tell me that I shouldn't be doing. Most days I try to plan like I am going to live forever. I got a lot of inspiration from my very nice late mother-in-law who at 93 was legally blind, almost deaf and walked using a walker. Still she always referred to other seniors as "those old people"...


.

[fjimp]

Farmer, Your boss reminds me of my Dad. He retired at age 75. Although he lived an additional 14 years he found no enjoyment in life. Lack of income and hobbies robbed him of the enjoyment of living. I have been pushing my younger brother who has been retired due to Disability (Viet Nam Vet) for a number of years to find hobbies and learn new things. Granted his disability ruins some days but he just purchased his second Shopsmith. He is learning new things daily. I have heard more from him in the last three months than the last 20 years. He travels across metro denver at least twice a week to spend a day learning in my shop. Last Saturday he purchased his 1966 greenie from a seventy five year old gentleman who used his tools to enjoy and extend his life. As I understand he is suffering from liver failure and no longer safe using tools. Purchasing from him was a joy and highly educational. As we were picking up the greenie I offered he and his lovely bride each the choice of pens I had turned just for them. They were both thrilled. In fact his wife asked if I would have any interest in two slabs of maple from a tree they had cut down. What a gift, I can hardly wait for the weekend so I can cut it into useable pieces. I am enjoying my semi retirement and soon total retirement from my insurance business. Hang on to those thing you enjoy and love. Jim

[robinson46176]

By mid afternoon I got started building a half mile of electric horse fence. I still have about a half day days work to go on that today if it quits raining. It was taking a lot longer than normal because I was having to take time to cut brush first on about half of it. On the up side I can fence grass a lot cheaper than I can buy hay and this warm winter has kept the grass growing a little.

For those who can hardly wait to know I did get that fence finished today. I even got another much smaller lot fenced to supply a bit of grass for a client's 3 horses to help her stretch her hay. Hay is tight this year.

Maybe I will get those 3 Shopsmiths moved tomorrow. I haven't really made specific plans, I often don't. It is more fun if you just let things happen when you can.


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[derekdarling]

... is it just me, or would anyone else like to see PICTURES of the afore-mentioned trainset(s)?

Derek

[dusty]

Pictures are always interesting and fun to view.