Scattered Thoughts . . .

I 've been feeling rather lousy the past few days....  maybe COVID again or maybe a cold with all the symptoms that go with each...  so I've been doing a little work on the trolley between naps.  It's been raining steadily most of this time so I've been stuck inside the house anyway.  This allowed me a bit of time to go back to working on my large scale trolley for our garden railroad.  The new motor block that I added to the trolley about a month ago is slightly taller than the original motor block which changes the appearance of this trolley.  Even before adding this motor block, I was never all that happy with the way the trolley appeared to just teeter on the four wheels near the center of the trolley.  I felt like it looked like the trolley was set upon an upside-down triangle.  Raising the body of the trolley up slightly to fit this new motor block made this odd look even more noticeable.  I figured that adding some skirting to the underside of the body might help

K enzie had spent a few days with us last week and, during that visit, she and I did a couple of art projects.  This week, both Lukey and Kenzie were with us so we pulled out the art supplies again.  Kenzie didn't feel like painting so Lukey and I tackled what I initially thought would be a simple project.  Honestly, in hindsight, it was not the best project for someone completely new to watercolors but we still pressed on and did the best we could. We chose to paint a silhouetted girl on a swing against a colorful sky.  Since the girl on the swing was silhouetted, we wouldn't have to worry about depth nor details.  What I didn't think about was how difficult it would be to paint the fine lines of the rope holding the swing.  Drawing is one thing once a child learns to control a pencil but painting fine lines is completely different and requires a different skillset.   Painting fine lines is really a skill that requires a lot of practice.  This is especially true when paint

I'm adding an update at the top of this blog entry since I was notified of most of the laboratory test results shortly after writing this blog entry.  There are no big surprises so far in these test results so that is good.  We're still waiting on the results of the newest type of test that is mentioned below.  Honestly, I really don't expect any life-changing revelations to come from that test either though.  The severity and frequency of anaphylaxis that my body is enduring is a bit of a problem though. W e had to head up to Burlington a few days ago for what we thought would be a quick and uneventful visit to Oncology for me.  This is an every-six-months visit (well...  it is supposed to be every six months but the Oncology department is so busy that they are scheduling about nine months out at this point...  the soonest they could get me in for my next appointment isn't until June, 2025).  Since we're at oncology approximately three to six times a year due to re

L ukey and Kenzie are staying with us for a few days again.  Tomorrow we plan to go on a cruise on Lake Champlain and tonight we're hoping to get a fire going in the backyard if the weather cooperates.  We're having Pork Street Tacos for dinner tonight...  one of our favorite dishes.   The pork loin is slow roasted on the grill with a dry rub.  After it reaches temperature, I add a glaze to the meat.  While that sets for a bit, I grill some pineapple brushed with butter, brown sugar and cinnamon.  After grilling, I chop that up.  I will saute some onions until the onions are slightly caramelized.  We also have a mix of spring greens to add to the street tacos.  Each taco is wrapped up in a warm tortilla with a delicious sauce that is both slightly spicy and citrusy with a sour cream base, the caramelized onions, the chopped grilled pineapple, the spring greens, and sliced slow cooked glazed pork.  My mouth is watering now! After preparing everything needed for the Pork Street T