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Showing posts from December 6, 2015

Some Work Outdoors

It is supposed to be sunny and warm outside again today so I've switched gears and pushed Lukey's little railroad Christmas present aside so I can get outside to get some much needed winterizing work done on the house. I hope to get this accomplished relatively quickly and easily. Then I will come back indoors and get some work accomplished indoors, as long as my health allows. We are cutting Christmas trees tomorrow morning so I need to ensure I am well rested for that. This means I will accomplish absolutely nothing after noon today so I can sleep and rest for the remainder of the day. Cutting Christmas trees is usually a fun morning in the snow for everyone and then a nice leisurely lunch in a restaurant. Tomorrow morning promises to be muddy this year though. Hopefully, all will go smoothly and not wear me down!

Update on Building a Railroad

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I ran out of supplies yesterday while building Lukey's Christmas present... his little railroad. This slowed down progress but I needed a serious rest and some recovery time for my health anyway. Before running out of supplies, I cut a 1/4" plywood base to be glued to the bottom of the foam I had cut and shaped previously. I laid down some heavy duty plastic in the living room to protect our carpet and then applied an adhesive to the plywood... then carefully placed the foam in place on top of the plywood... I placed books on top of the foam to apply pressure while the adhesive dried and cured. This morning I was able to move the books back to the shelves in our bedroom. Unfortunately, I was out of supplies at this point and needed a run to Lowes and Home Depot before getting any more accomplished on this railroad. So, here are a few more photos (in addition to my previous blog posts with photos) showing the process of building Lukey's little railroad... Marking

Finishing Up Christmas Shopping

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Other than picking up a Christmas card or two at a local store and maybe some last minute wrapping paper and some tape, I do believe we finished up our Christmas shopping tonight. We headed up to Burlington and Williston tonight to pick up some more supplies for Lukey's train set that I am building for Christmas. We had a few stores to visit and then we walked through the Christmas decorations at Maple Tree Place in Williston. After shooting some photos of the Christmas decorations, we had a really nice dinner at The Longhorn.  It was a really nice night... although far too warm for this time of year... and it was really nice to get all of the Christmas present shopping out of the way.   Here are some photos from this evening... I shot all of these images using manual focus lenses only... I seem to be turning to my manual focus lenses more and more lately and I am enjoying the results... At the big Christmas tree...

Health is in that Danger Zone

I've been too busy and not resting enough lately. Just as significant is the fact that I'm eating things which are known to add to my Systemic Mastocytosis problems. Avoiding these "bad" foods can be tough sometimes. There is little choice when we eat out... there is little choice when we have dinner at someone else's home... and leftovers are always bad for me.  Cooking fresh food for every single meal is difficult... and extremely expensive for those of us living in this neck of the woods. Needless to say, we always resort to eating leftovers because of financial concerns. Another problem I routinely struggle with is staying well rested and avoiding overdoing it! This time of year is tough for this one. Not taxing my body at all is tough to do through the holidays. Finding time for my everyday naps is difficult... even when I do lay down to try to nap. Something always keeps me up or awakens me far too early. This may be my biggest struggle through the hol

A Remote Upgrade

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I've been wanting to upgrade our collection of television/media remotes. Sheila doesn't even have a clue how to access anything on the television at all so I have been on a hunt for a good universal remote. The deciding factor was that I like technology which truly makes life easier...  not just technology because, "I can"... but technology which makes my life easier. A good and effective universal remote could indeed make our lives easier! We went from this mess... Logitech has a good selection of advanced remotes and I have had my eye on one of them but the price was crazy. I've been in no hurry (as in almost all of our purchases) so I would periodically check the price. I've been doing this for about eight or ten months. I finally found a good bargain just after the Thanksgiving weekend so I immediately put the remote in my cart and pressed the "Place Order" button. I bought a Logitech Harmony Ultimate One remote. It arrived today and I

For Those Who Could Not Envision It...

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(As mentioned previously, please do not let Lukey or Kenzie know what they are getting for Christmas... I'm only posting it here because they cannot yet read.) In my previous blog post, I wrote that I had started working on Lukey's Christmas present... an HO scale train set in a dog-bone shape with a donut hole.  Well, for those who could not envision what I was talking about, here it is after cutting the rigid foam to shape... It is looking good!  I wanted a free-form, flowing type of thing rather than just a rigid rectangle or even a perfect oval...  I want the landscape to roll and flow with a nice train running through it. That area adjacent to the train station on the right is for a future town... maybe a couple of small houses, a firehouse, a gas station...  then a road coming toward the front of the photo and leading around to that little freight station on the left side... and, I left some room over there for some other building or detail. With a little town a

On To Next Christmas Present

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(If any of Lukey's or Kenzie's older cousins are reading this blog... please don't tell them what they are getting for Christmas!) Now that Kenzie's dollhouse is finished...  "finished" meaning finished enough for Christmas...  I'll add more details and more things to play with for future presents... now I am focused on Lukey's Christmas present.  Lukey's present will be a set of trains with some basic scenery. I came up with a plan which would make it large enough for any kids in the 3-5 year old range (actually, it would seem very big to kids this age) yet small enough to easily store in our storage shed or a spare room.   A bit over a year ago, I picked up a "metal train" series of cars and a diesel locomotive which is made specifically for children. The metal cars and locomotive make them a bit more sturdy for young, fumbling hands. The company that manufactured this "metal train" series was going out of business and

Dollhouse Update - Finished!

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The dollhouse is finished and ready for Christmas morning! As I've mentioned in previous blog posts about this dollhouse, I designed this dollhouse to be a Georgetown-style townhouse with a brick sidewalk and small patio. I wanted to build a townhouse-style dollhouse so that the dollhouse could sprawl vertically, rather than horizontally, saving precious floor space in our small home. This was the right idea for our small home. I'm quite happy with the design but actually wish I had more time to add more details. If I were to add more details today, I would add curtains, lighting, pictures to hang on walls, window boxes with flowers, and more kitchen details.  As it is, however, it is definitely ready for Christmas morning and an excited grandchild. I'm sure Kenzie will be glued to this dollhouse the moment she sees it! Kenzie will also be receiving a doll family to use with this 1:12 scale dollhouse... a mom, a dad, a young girl, and a baby...

The Christmas Season is Here!

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Although one would never know it by our unseasonably warm weather and very obvious lack of snow, the Christmas season is here!  Each year, we kick off the Christmas season by going to dinner with friends so, yesterday afternoon, we headed up to Stowe to begin our Christmas by celebrating with this Christmas dinner. Stowe was having their annual Charles Dickens day yesterday as well so this quaint ski town was decorated for Christmas and filled with Christmas Carolers strolling around the streets and establishments in authentic period clothing. Even considering the obvious lack of snow, the atmosphere was definitely filled with a vibrant Christmas vibe. We spent some time in the bar for a few cocktails and appetizers before dinner. The pork belly appetizer was mouth-wateringly delicious! The drinks were delicious! The beer was delicious!  And, thankfully, the bar service was outstanding! Once seated at our table, we were treated with a very professional and knowledgeab