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Help for those of us with distorted (or not) self images, I present UGLY OVERLOAD!

Synchronistic nexus

Last Friday, as I was dropping my car off for service, my cell phone indicated a voice mail awaited. It seems that my renter had called, the spring on the garage door had broken and he was headed out of town for a week.

Visions of a massive time sink hole floated through my head. 90 minutes later my car was ready, but I needed to stop by the caboose to check the tarps because it was raining. It turns out the tarp over the cupola hole had come undone and the new T&G cabinets were soaked. So I retarped the caboose. Someone else showed up and we tied them down.

I went home, had lunch, grabbed a phone book so I could look up a number for garage door repair after I drove up and confirmed the diagnosis.

I arrived at the rental and as I was fiddling with the bypass key, a worktruck drove down the street which proudly proclaimed "Overhead Door Co"! I was too shocked to make my legs run after it, and by the time they unlocked, the truck turned into the parking lot and parked two spaces away. The driver notices I'm staring at him (with my jaw hanging open) and smiles. My renter said nothing about calling and I didn't ask him to since he was leaving. I ask the driver "Did someone call you?" "No, I'm visiting someone" (2 doors down in turns out)

"Have I got a job for YOU!"

Anyway, he put a temporary fix on the door, and came back today with a new spring for the permanent fix. I didn't write about it before because I didn't want to jinx it.

It was like I was in a Murphy's Law free vortex. My jaw was hanging in amazement the whole time he was there. What are the odds?

Stolen (borrowed) wisdom

If you can start the day without caffeine or pep pills,
If you can be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,
If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles,
If you can eat the same food every day and be grateful for it,
If you can understand when loved ones are too busy to give you their time,
If you can overlook when people take things out on you when, through no fault of yours, something goes wrong,
If you can take criticism and blame without resentment,
If you can face the world without lies and deceit,
If you can conquer tension without medical help,
If you can relax without liquor,
If you can sleep without the aid of drugs,
Then you’re probably a dog.
Quoted by Tara Brach, from an unknown source

Taken from Yoga For Cynics

Petaluma Veteran's day Parade '09

Here is the local newspaper article.

The driver owns this jeep and that's her original uniform.


These guys played pretty good!

A Russian T-34 tank, yes it runs.

Kitties at the Coast

We're spending a few days out at the coast. Lily wants to be involved with the jig saw puzzle. She was quite insistent.
Lenora spent the first 12 hours in bed under the covers. This is her usual 24 hour protest at being uprooted. (Sitting in one spot) This was the only light she saw for 12 hours. We actually couldn't find her for awhile. She laid very flat and hasn't really been undercover before.
Lily, having tired of puzzle solving, joins Lenora (the bump to the left)
Tues. was warm in the 70's, yesterday was cool and cloudy, this morning started off with rain, occasionally heavy.

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a .....CABOOSE?

After weeks of anticipation, the notice went out, The caboose will be flying "early" on Halloween! Those who read carefully, NOT including moi, read further to see that the time was 7am instead of the usual 10am. I arrived "early" at 9, and it was done, the crane was packing up and headed home! (Thank you Gus C for the flying pictures.)

This was a major milestone.



The president of our group is quite ill it turns out, and I was asked to fill a position on the board (not president) for the remainder of the term of several months.

Everyday art

I often walk by this on my morning walk. It's at the far end, and it's all downstream from here.

Ah Memories

Someone else's facebook entry reminded me that the physical for my first job as a Firefighter was given by a woman doctor. (in the mid '70's)

Like Arlo, I was injected, inspected and detected. When I got home I announced to my future wife, "Good News Bad news dear! I got the job but I think I'm engaged!)

Storm & social update

2.55" rain, lowest in the area. North 15 miles was 3+, south 20 miles was 5+, south 75 miles 10+

Picked up 4 gallons of walnuts off the porch. (they have very little meat)

House at the coast has a leaning fence.

Tonight Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt.

RAIN!

Our first real rain in a very long time. We've had 3 years of drought. We're in between pulses right now, heavy rain this am and more on tap for the afternoon. This is unusually heavy for us this time of year, but we'll take it. Also it seems like most of the good storms the last couple of years have been at night. I love watching storms during the day.

This is out the front door

This is out the back door.

The storm brings high winds which are dropping black walnuts onto the corrogated tin roof over our back bedroom. They sound like gunshots.

Truth in blogging

I hear there's a move to require bloggers to reveal when they have received something back when they have promoted something. So I feel I have to reveal that in exchange for talking up the caboose restoration, they have allowed me to strip copious amounts of paint.

I feel a lot of weight off my chest.

Welding on the ole RR

Today was a rare Friday work day to get a head start on some vital stuff. The caboose has three large timbers that run the length of the caboose. Each has a severe crack. As a consequence the caboose has exhibited yoga like tendencies in that you could pick up one end 1.5 feet and the center would not move. SO, several steel beams have been inserted. Today there was a lot of welding to get them doing their job in preparation for the big move when the caboose is moved onto it's trucks.

So besides a brief round of paint stripping, I spent the day as a gofer/fire watch. More welding & fire watching tomorrow. Plus I have a meeting in the morning and a retirement dinner in the evening!

What makes you think I want a subscription to LOL cats??

Progress on the P&SR RR

This is the part of the caboose that sits on the trucks. One was missing, but a replacement was located in a scrap pile far away somewhere. There are two and they are now mounted with aircraft grade nuts and bolts. They are VERY heavy.

An interesting bit of information I learned, is that the pin which goes between the two pieces, is dropped into the hole(s) from above.

What this means is we are noticeably closer to the day when we will have the caboose lifted onto the trucks. In fact this last Saturday, "Crane dude" stopped by to work up an estimate.


Another sign of progress is the delivery, and setup of some longer pieces of track to put the trucks on, and then the caboose. An old wooden baggage car will go in the spot where the caboose now sits. That should arrive in the near term also.

So how do you know how far apart to put the rails? With a track gauge of course!

Where to begin?

Well, the most important thing going on is that a neighbor and friend, who has suffered from emphysema for as long as we have known her, was given 1-2 years to live unless she gets a lung transplant. Lots of tears shed there.

There aren't any pictures from the caboose project because most everybody went on a 4 hour road trip to get some rare but vital parts. I stayed behind and vacuumed the caboose because there are going to be people touring in two weeks. This DOES mean however, that I get a month respite from paint grinding! (It was too hot to do it Saturday)

Due to the previously mentioned water leak in the garage, I have been on a cleaning binge, both here and out at the coast. I can see the floor again! Lots of stuff recycled, and thrown away. One of the nice things about getting older is that I no longer keep things "Because I might use it someday" and instead, when I find one of those previously saved items, I can toss, recycle or find a new home for it.

HOWEVER, in the process of cleaning out at the coast, I was making many trips to the garbage can when my eyes wandered to a 2X6 board that holds up some roofing over the cans. "Is that a bit of dry rot?" I guess it's best that I looked, however, this is what I found after poking around.

I was pondering whether to replace the boards myself, or call our favorite contractor for a short little job. My problem was that a 16' board was needed and I don't have a way to get it here unless I borrow a truck. Hassle, but as I left the house, who was parked next door? None other than favorite contractor! So we (he) did the job this afternoon.

Remember the century plant? Here is a picture from about July 4th.

And here is a shot just before I cut it down.

And here is a gratuitous shot of some of the landscaping Moonrabbit has been working on. I just hauled the rock, and made gopher baskets.

Caboose milestone

One of the last big pieces of the truck assembly. I was torn away from stripping, to take pictures for a bit.


Meanwhile, high on a ladder inside the caboose, paint stripping has moved from the "relatively" pleasant heat stripping to the distinctly unpleasant grinding removal. Despite goggles, respirator, cap and long sleeve shirt (in warm temps) I emerge every 10-20 minutes looking like a green tinged raccoon.

Other things birthers believe

My neck hurts from shaking my head.

Check THIS out.

What's next?

On the theory that things go in threes, yesterday the Odessey had a dead battery because an interior light in the back had been turned on, and we didn't drive it for a couple of days. This morning, Moonrabbit, at the last second before leaving for the morning, took something out to the garage and found a cracked water fitting spewing water and soaking a lot of stuff. It could have been MUCH worse, and the garage may get a bit of cleaning as a result , but WHAT'S GOING ON? I can't imagine any reason for this fitting to suddenly crack.

At least it was cheap and easy to fix.