I think Bernie Madoff got a raw deal!

I think 150 years was entirely too much, I think 125 would be about right.

Lenora portrait

Poor Lenora, she's got such a dark face that it's hard to get a really good picture of her.

Caboose progress report

The ladders are being remounted.


Boards for the roof walkway are being painted...

More nails countersunk, holes filled, sanded and primed

While I'm inside stripping copious layers of old paint off the roof beams. At least there was a nice breeze.

Pictures of lots of little things

The closest thing our little coastal community has to a historic structure. This was the first house/sales office built in the early 1950's.

A nice action shot I thought



And Finally... (almost)

So I heard a fire engine siren stop on the next block so I trotted around and saw this, then remembered they were doing a practice burn of an old bldg.


Went to the annual awards dinner for the NWPRRHS Saturday. How cute is a train made from brownies? Later someone added some model RR trees with snow and added powered sugar to the "trains"
This could not be saved "On" the caboose, but it's nice that it was able to be saved otherwise.

It's getting a little claustrophobic

Besides the connection I mentioned before made at my nephew's wedding, we were seated next to another guest, whose sister lives a block from our house.

Moonrabbit does some part time work for a small non profit group that uses child labor to restore wetlands. That is under the umbrella of a larger non profit nature restoration/protection group, which just announced yesterday that they had purchased the SF Bay Aquarium. At the press conference/reception she met a man who works at the aquarium, who looked a bit familiar. Eventually they realized he lives across the street!

I Hear Puns!

It's an affliction not generally recognized, but tortuous in any case.

Today on the news, (with a straight face) "Violaters of the ban on plastic bags will face Hefty fines"

An uncomfortable moment

When a former high school classmate who "friended" you (on Facebook) joins the Sarah Palin fan group...fortunately you can unfriend someone without making a big fuss.

Busy Saturday and a small world story

10 to 3 on Saturday (with an hour for lunch) I spent (with help) pulling the last of the floorboards in the caboose. Some of the boards of the subfloor were replaced due to dry rot or the apparently requisite burned wood beneath where the wood stove had been. Cabinets and seats were being fabricated as we labored, and the skeletal beginnings brought in after I left to go to my nephews wedding.

The wedding was lovely, it was a beautiful day by the bay. A good time was had by all. But during the dancing later in the reception, Moon rabbit had an "AHA" moment.

In 2000, she had taken a month long painting class in a small village (Sorese) in France. The 10 or so students stayed in a very old building (christened Art Heaven) where each room was painted in the style of a famous painter. (two to a room) Watching my nephews' new In Laws dance, she suddenly realized that the MIL had been one of the other students! So they had a mini reunion. They had kept in contact for a few years after, but it was well after that that the "kids" met and fell in love.




Anyway, I give you the adorable couple


As a footnote, this is very close to where Otis Redding wrote "Sittin' On a Dock By The Bay"

Holy Cactus!

Two weeks ago at 58" (measured at base of stalk)

Last week 78"
5 days later  89"

updated caboose photos

We had to tarp the caboose because of the weather forecast. (Rain in June?) So I got a more current picture of the caboose with the windows in and painted.

Here are both the trucks in a better light and lens setting.

I understand one coupler has been located,but not yet acquired.