Good evening, everybody !
We returned from AZ, and we had a great visit with our youngest daughter and her husband. While we were there, they had maybe 1/2" of the 5" of annual rainfall they get there. So the weather was less than ideal. Each morning, a large flock of morning doves was loud.
Speaking of colds, several passengers on the plane obviously had colds, and I hope we don’t get it.
Looks like you Diners were busy, and I have much to catch up on. I’ll get back with you tomorrow.
Cheers
Good Morning, everybody!
The night was pretty bad for me. For whatever reason, I got all panicky and started to hyperventilate and fainted. Petra called the paramedics, who got me back somehow. Apparently there is no physical reason, just reacting to the threatening circumstances we live in. I hope today will be a better day.
The morning video is about a steam train in rural Japan - enjoy this short film of a well made video of an amazing N scale layout!
Ulrich:
Sorry to hear about you having such a bad night. Not fun!
How is Petra doing? Does she have a date for her surgery?
Take care,
Dave
Thanks for asking, Dave! She is doing fine - for the moment. She has a doctor´s appointment next week, at which we´ll probably find out the when and where of her surgery.
In any case, the timing of all what´s to come is not really good, with me being in the sick bay as well.
Ulrich:
I’m glad to hear that she is not in pain. When my back went bad from an infection in my spine in 2008 I had to wait 10 months for the infection to subside before they could do the fusion. In fact, the infection did a lot more damage before it was brought under control. The pain was incredible. I was on Hydromorphone (Morphine) for the entire time. Not fun for me or Dianne, but the hallucinations were interesting [swg][(-D][%-)].
Wish her well please! And you hang in there too!!
Dave
Been there, done that! The best part were the withdrawal symptoms when they took me off that stuff. I spent my days on the sofa, covered with all the woolen blankets we could get hold on, trembling and shivering. That was no fun at all!
Giving up smoking was a walk in the park compared to that!
I was very lucky in that regard. Amazingly I only had a couple of days of the shakes and chills and feeling faint. Why that was after the length of time I had been on the painkillers I do not know, but I’m not complaining![tup]
What scares me a bit now is that my back pain is slowly getting worse. It is now pretty much constant if I am standing or walking, and recently sitting in the car has caused problems too. Previously that was one of the few places where I was comfortable. I am resisting going back on the painkillers. I may see what medical marijuana can do for me at some point. A good friend has been using if for severe knee and foot pain and he says it works quite well. I may become a dope fiend![:-,][(-D][(-D][(-D]
Cheers Ulrich!
Dave
We share that as well, Dave! I owe to my size and weight, 6´5" and 245 lbs. don´t do your spine a lot of good. Add to that a nasty car accident some 40 years ago and you´ll understand the issue. I am not taking any pain killers - yet.
Ulrich:
I’m 6’ 2" (in the morning at least[swg]). I’m so used to looking straight at or more usually down at people that when I meet someone as tall as you are I find it a bit disconcerting.[(-D] At 245 lbs. you are doing well. I’m a little over 310 lbs. and I am very heavy boned. When my spinal fusion was done the surgeons said my bones were so dense that they could barely drive the screws in. Even then, they didn’t get them in all the way. The excess fat is mostly in my gut. My arms and legs are relatively fat free. My doctor has mentioned to me several times that my back would benefit if I were to lose weight, but alas I lack the resolve. I like good food and good liquor too much! My bad!
Dave
Leave out the liquor and I am with you - third time around!
Petra is just too good a cook for me not to enjoy eating - just as much as she likes cooking! I know I should also lose weight - to the tune of 50 pounds - to ease of the burden on my heart, literally speaking, but I doubt this is going to happen in my lifetime.
Just woke up from a nap on the sofa. I am not feeling refreshed - au contraire Isay (if I were French). Now I need coffee in an IV bag to get me going. And, Chloe, I don´t mind if you throw in a slice of that apple crumble pie, thank you!
And now, for some entertainment, the early afternoon Japanese N scale layout video:
I have to admit confess that I start to like those Japanese layouts. I should bring my mini-modular layout back into life …
Good morning …
I’ll have oatmeal and OJ please. (You guys reminded me I need to lose weight.)
I am still catching up on non-mrr stuff, but hope to be back to the model railroad this weekend.
Cheers.
Jello all !!
Train front - Trucking company stopped by yesterday to review access. He agrees with my estimate that I need approximately 15 loads of fill. I have requested Friday or Saturday haul in. Hope he can find fill material.
Work has evened out. Finall delivered the last house, New model is open, Preconstruction meeting out of the way, rest is on cruise control with some tweaking.
Garry - Glad to be home ? Here you can have my Oatmeal - YUCK - I think the two bravest people in the world was the first two guys to eat raw oysters or slimy Oatmeal - yuck !
Ulrich - What do you like about the the Japanese layouts ? They are very well done. Maybe if you get back into modeling that will help the panic attacks ? I am with you on the coffee and IV bag, Here lets have a [C] and sit and talk about pleasant things like what we like about modeling. Congrats on passing teh 9000 mark : )
Dave - Ouch ! Where the screws are not run in all the way can you feel that ? Does it hurt ?
MoeLarry - When I get that sick I take EmergC 1000 and Cold Eze (SP?) . Knocks the flu/cold out in very short order.
Ken - Good price on the new to you door. Install is a bit high just for install. Does that include removal and haul off of old door ? What about the opener ?
Angel - I think many of us have that problem !
History qoute :
The best form of government is that which is most likely to prevent the greatest sum of evil.
Good Morning,
Something light please Chloe, just toast and a coffee I think. I get hungry but don’t have a very big appetite since my surgery. Just as well as I’m not getting much exercise either.
Dave, my wife has back problems too. She had a herniated disc about 25 years ago and since then her back gives her major problems from time to time. She has done a lot of research and excess weight especially in the stomach area can really amplify any problems. She finds that even 5-10 lbs. too much can make a difference. By the way she is fairly tall at 5’10". We belong to a gym that specializes in medical rehabilitation and that really helps even just walking on the track. I will start a class next Monday for prostate cancer survivors. They have nurses on staff at all times and have ‘crash carts’ for any emergencies. Needless to say the cars we have bought since her problem have all been based on what she finds comfortable. So far that has only been a Volvo. They do have fabulous seats.
I got out one of the Red Caboose kits I thought I might put together but realize they are too involved to do at the breakfast counter. I need a space to put things aside where I can just leave them so I’ll just have to wait until I can get down to my workbench. That should only be another couple of weeks.
Yesterday my wife went out shopping with a friend and afterwards they picked up some sushi for lunch. That sure was a nice treat. The last 2 times we got it from a place that is farther away but sure worth the extra drive as it is really fine sushi. The place has been there a long time but we just didn’t go there.
Nothing planned for today. I’m starting to get cabin fever.
CN Charlie
angelob6660: Sent you a PM about C&O steam possibilities in N scale.
Bill
Afternoon Folks
Flo, Ed will have Crown Royal and I will have a [B] please.
VA Visit. Meet my new Doctor and I like him so far. From the Far East, maybe Japain? Could understand him just fine. Only thing he told me that I had not heard before is I have early signs of Kidney problems. I was in and out in a hour which is pretty darn quick by VA standerds.
Got a Goosh Dang Parking Ticket while I was at the VA and I am PO’ed! St Louis installed a parking meter system where there are Poles then one central meter. It was cold, and I needed to hit the head so I was in a hurry, might have done something wrong. Dumped in $3.00 in change, said I was good till 3:59 and I was out at 2:40 and there was a parking ticket on my car! [:(!] Saw another Vet dropping coins in the meter and he got a receipt, I didn’t? Maybe I need to hit the head to much and missed something? I did call the number on the ticket to report a metter error. We all know how that went, never spoke to a live person! [banghead] With it being only a $15.00 fine, not worth fighting. [sigh]
Ulrich [:D] that Petra is doing well and the cooling pad is doing the trick.
Rob Are you ever going to post any picture’s of your layout?
SS Rich Do you like the new Company or is it just the same old stuff?
YGW Do you still need me to post the photos for you? I saw you where able to post some. Photo Bucket bogges my main computer down badly.
Ed, is there any Ant-Vires on the note book? Slowly getting the hang of it. Very happy to have it! [Y] The Bessmer’s seem to like it much better on the A line with the CB&Q’s for some reason. Wheels are staying cleaner for some reason.
In a gadda da vida
Ken
Good evening all!! Flo, I’ll have a large mug of hi-octane and two boston creams please and thank you…
YGW…I have no love for the current crop of NASCAR drivers, which makes watching the races on Sunday afternoons more like a snoozefest!! I made it a point to do local Saturday night, grass roots racing a few years ago. Hopefully I can get out to some local dirt tracks this spring with my little ones.
Cuda Ken…Friday will be a full week at the new shop. Not as clean or organized as my old one but so far seems to be a good bunch of dudes in my department. Medical parts can get a bit tricky when trying to hold tolerances like +/- .0002 inch. Some machines do it better than others, but it takes time to learn the different machines, controls and programs. Sure makes for a quick day though!!
I didn’t really get a chance to check in on the HVBL this week. Just a quick fly by to make sure there was no flooding in the basement. I have a leaky roof on my garage that was covered up by a tarp. This past week we had some serious wind and rain and the tarp took flight, the garage flooded out and I lost my temporary hobby station and most of my cardboard templates and other home made goodies for detailing. I don’t even want to talk about my camaro. That’s going to need some serious cleaning come springtime. If it isn’t one thing it’s another…
Rich
Evening all, can I get a barley pop please Flow… Cloudy, cold n gloomy all day, even seen a few snowflakes, the same tomorrow.
URICH, good to hear Petra’s Improving, hopin you will to.
CN CHARLIE, Sure glad you got some good news from your doc too.
GARY, glad you guys had a good trip
KEN, Glad you like the new doc. Too bad bout the ticket, at least it’s cheap enough
Well the Indy VA visit was both bad n good, the spot was cancer [singlecell] and had not spread any that they could tell, so no chemo or radiation at this time. I go every 6 months for a CT scan and doc visit, but these will be in Danville VA, so no more trips to Indy for a spell I hope. RT lung still sounding rough and easily short on breath, those will be watched by my primary care doc in Mattoon. Both problems should improve in time. I don’t think I’ll ever to be able to run a mile n a half in 9.78 again I like I did in the service.
No Mrring goin, my ankles had been bothering for a couple days. When I got up Sunday I couldn’t walk or stand to be on them they were swollen so badly and they still are. I go to doc in Mattoon Wednesday for them… So for now I spend mos
Hi YGW:
The screw heads are sticking up a little bit above the surface of the titanium rods that hold my bones in position. They should be flush. The screws themselves don’t cause pain but the whole area aches when I stand or walk. The surgeon, who was a petite lady, had to ask her pro-football sized assistant surgeon to drive the screws. He had to straddle my back to get enough downward force to drive the screws. He drove the screws as far in as he could before the risk of the screwdriver slipping outwayed the benefits or potential problems from having the screw heads sticking up a bit. The bone eventually filled the small gaps between the vertebra and the rods.
That was one extreme that they ran into during the surgery. The other thing that they had to contend with was damaged nerves. The bone had healed improperly from the infection and there were bulges of excess bone material. Those bulges had stretched some of the nerves coming out of my spine to the point where the nerve sheaths had split open leaving the raw nerve exposed. They had to stitch the nerve sheaths back together without hitting the nerves themselves! The nerves are tiny! The fact that I am walking and standing at all is a small miracle. Cudos to the surgeons for their skills!!![bow]
I count my blessings!!
Dave
Fri. 68/38 Sat. 74/39
I take a walk everyday with my dogs for exercise. My Border Collie is really strong and he knows where there are other dogs in fenced yards. What he does is as we get to the end of the fence he gets behind me the length of the leash and at the right moment he dashes forward at full speed the length of the leash. He thinks he is gaining a element of surprise and play fights with the other dogs through the fence.
I am aware of this and usually am prepared but today I wasn’t paying attention and today he yanked me forward and I lost my balance and skinned up my forhead some and my nose.
So now I am going to look like heck for awhile and for all my weekend church events.
Dennis:
At least nothing got broken!
Dave