Scattered Thoughts . . .

S heila and I just arrived home from my father's funeral late last night.  I've been thinking about what I would write about his passing for quite some time.  For now, however, this blog entry isn't specifically nor solely about my father.  This particular blog entry is more about the social aspects of his funeral this past weekend.  I do plan to write a blog entry specifically about my father but this blog entry is strictly about the social aspects of the funeral weekend.   Sheila and I drove down to Long Island the previous weekend to see my dad one last time.  My brother had called to inform me that our dad wasn't doing well and his time left was now very short so Sheila and I immediately started packing and drove down there the following day.   That drive to Long Island was worthy of its own amusing blog entry but I'll keep it very short here.  -We had car problems and the traffic was horrendous.-   Our drive which should normal...

I accomplished a bit more work on the bridge yesterday and then shot a few photos. I decided to add an on-off switch for the grade crossing signals rather than using the on-off switch on the battery packs.  Adding this on-off switch provides far easier access.  Actually, I decided to do the same for the street lamps also.  In this photo, below, you can see the new weather-proof push button switch for the grade crossing signals (the black button next to the big red button).  The red button is used to activate the grade crossing signals...  push and hold to activate... I installed both grade crossing signals.  Routing the wiring was a bit difficult for this front signal though.  It required a few holes and a 12" long drill bit! The street lamps are in place temporarily to see how they will look.  I think they'll work just fine where they are placed in this photo.  The bulbs and the tops of the lamps are not installed yet.  This was just t...

This has been a French toast weekend!   I have a fresh loaf of Challah bread on hand so I made French toast both Saturday morning and Sunday morning before the bread gets moldy.  I had some fresh blueberries to go with it too.  Sometimes I make a blueberry compote but this time I left the blueberries whole.   I've been making my French toast using Challah bread in recent years...  which allows me to make it much thicker than usual...  upwards of two inches thick...  and the Challah bread adds a very nice texture with a smooth taste.  At this point, there is no way I could ever go back to making French toast using white bread!  I soak the Challah bread liberally in a thick batter...  pan-fry it slowly over low heat...  with a crispy sugary outside to the toast.   Depending on how I feel, I sometimes add powdered sugar before serving it and I felt like that this morning so it is dusted in powdered sugar too... EDIT...