Scattered Thoughts . . .

Those who are following this blog fairly regularly, probably already know I've been struggling for about a year with the idea of whether or not it is time to purchase a wheelchair. Well, there now is no doubt that I am well beyond the need to purchase a wheelchair for those times when my legs and/or spine are not cooperating with my brain or for when walking is far too difficult... no doubt whatsoever.  What I am now struggling with is choosing a wheelchair suited to my needs. Some wheelchairs are designed for those with foot or leg issues. Some wheelchairs are designed for those permanently needing a wheelchair for mobility. Some wheelchairs are designed to be controlled by a caregiver while other wheelchairs are designed to be self-propelled. Some wheelchairs are adjustable one way but not other ways... some are adjustable in different ways... while some wheelchairs are not adjustable in any way other than folding for storage.  Of course, I've never really noticed sign

I started a rather small repair/renovation in our master bathroom about two weeks ago and my health is interfering enough to continue to put this small project on hold. As of today, this bathroom is still only partially usable... it sits in a vulnerable, unfinished state with bare wood exposed to a humid room (we are still using the shower daily) as I wait for my health to recover.  This time, the primary issue keeping me from this project is related to my extensive spinal injuries rather than my Systemic Mastocytosis. Although the past few days have been more about recovering from Systemic Mastocytosis problems, overall, my extensive spinal injuries have interfered with this project more than anything else. We've had to cancel a few other plans recently because of these issues as well. That is never fun. Everytime I need to cancel social plans because of my health, I worry that people will just stop inviting us to social events because we cancel our plans so often. This just a

From this angle, you can see the tender marker lights and the firebox glowing in the cab. As I wrote in a previous blog entry a couple of days ago, my O scale MTH Hudson steam locomotive arrived back from the shop. I had sent it in about a month ago to have some major upgrades installed so I was pretty excited to get it back... especially to have received it in the days right after our annual train show excursion! I had the ProtoSound electronics upgraded from version 1.0 to version 3.0. This upgrade is a significant sound upgrade as well as a very significant control upgrade. Slow speed control is outstanding now... slow and steady... chuffing smoke... the sound is great and it runs silky smooth.  This upgrade also included the ability to control the rear coupler with my controller. And, naturally, this useful feature includes an uncoupling sound as it uncouples.   While it was in the shop, I had marker lights added on the front of the locomotive and the rear of the tender.

After our breakfast at The Cracker Barrel and buying a few gifts in the gift shop, we headed across the river to the Big E for the Amherst Railway Society's Railroad Hobby Show.  This is an awesome annual event. Not only are there eight acres jam-packed with train stuff, train vendors, and more than 50 operating layouts but it is a very worthwhile benefit fundraiser. The proceeds of this show go toward a children's hospital, railroad museums, and historical railroads in the form of grants. This year, a little over 23,000 people wandered around the 350,000 square feet of show over the course of the weekend.  My weekend was cut very short due to spinal pain. Subsequently, Sheila and I only spent two hours at the show each day. My spinal pain was brutal and the only relief was to get back to the hotel and get off my feet. On the positive side, this allowed me to take in a college basketball game I would have otherwise missed! We really missed quite a bit at the show though.

Around lunchtime today, FedEx pulled into our driveway... the moment I saw the box in the driver's hands, I knew what it was... my upgraded O scale Hudson steam locomotive! It was packaged exactly how I had packaged it to send it in to the facility to be upgraded. I actually made a box to perfectly fit the manufacturer's box. Apparently, this worked out well since it appears to have arrived safely and securely.  I haven't had a chance to put it on the tracks yet, but it is looking very nice!  I had the electronics swapped out completely with the newest available today. The electronics that I had originally were two generations old and quite lame by today's standards. This upgrade also provides better control, far better sound quality, better chuffing smoke, and more sounds than was previously available. Mostly, however, I'm excited about the better control. Additionally, I had an engineer and fireman added to the locomotive... a firebox glow effect with LED

Every year, the Amherst Railway Society's Railroad Hobby Show starts with a rather high-pitched steam whistle blowing in the distance when the doors open. This year, the steam whistle was from a real, life-sized narrow gauge steam locomotive! We parked in a sea of cars and then started our trek toward the four huge buildings housing this immense train show. Typically, this can be a brutal, bone-chilling walk but, c ompared to our weather in Vermont, the weather in Springfield this year was quite mild in the upper 30's which allowed us to dress relatively lightly. This makes a tremendous difference while walking around indoors all day long.   Between the four buildings showcasing this train show, Boothbay Railway of Maine, set up some temporary narrow gauge tracks and one of their steam locomotives. Throughout the show, we would hear this locomotive's steam whistle blowing... we could even hear this whistle blowing while at our hotel a couple of miles away... boy, that

While in Springfield every year for the train show, until recently, we always attempted to find edible food at the hotel each morning. This proved to be a very bad idea every year!  Even putting aside my health issues when eating anything less than fresh food, it was always difficult finding anything satisfying to eat at this free breakfast buffet (a 'buffet' is enough to turn me off... food sitting out where every stranger in the hotel can touch it as it gets cold = very bad idea) so Sheila and I decided to start a new tradition... breakfast at The Cracker Barrel. We started going to The Cracker Barrel last year because I simply could not stomach another bite of the garbage they call breakfast at the hotel. Once I brought Sheila to The Cracker Barrel, there was no turning back! This year, two other couples joined us for breakfast. Everything... and I mean everything... was delicious! The biscuits were warm, soft and buttery... the bacon was smoked, thick and crisp..

The first time we ventured down to the Amherst Railway Society's train show eight years ago, we simply drove the three hours down there, visited the show, and drove back home that night... completely exhausted.  Once we arrived at this show that year, we immediately realized that there was no possible way to see all of the show in just one eight hour day so we decided it would be wiser to stay overnight the following year so we could attend the show both days. This would also allow us to avoid six hours of driving in one day. The following year (our third year), we decided to start heading down to Springfield on Friday and stay an extra night. This allowed us to settle in and relax a bit before heading to the hectic, crowded show on Saturday. We would use the pool, hot tub, have a few drinks and have food delivered to the hotel on that first night. This plan seemed to work out much better for a train show that is spread out over eight acres! Over the years, more and more

Sheila, talking with one of our newest train show fanatics... He went home with a new train set and a few other toys. Sheila and I had a great time at our annual train show extended weekend. It sounds as though everyone who joined us had a great time as well!  My spinal injuries were putting a painful crimp in our time at the show but, overall, we had a great time and are glad we ventured to the show regardless of my spinal injuries. I couldn't walk at all in the days before we left for the show so it was a bit iffy whether I would make it to the show at all. We still probably would have traveled down to see everyone but being able to walk around the show didn't look promising in the preceding days. After having problems getting around the show on my own this year... as well as some problems last year which weren't as bad as this year... and even some problems the year before that were milder (I see the pattern and it isn't a pretty pattern)... I have de

The pain from my spinal injuries is pretty damn close to the worst it has ever been in the past 20 years.  Back a few months ago, I was shopping around for wheelchairs because I had a feeling I'd need one for our upcoming extended weekend in Springfield as well as any other event that requires a lot of standing and walking. I quickly came to the conclusion that I might be jumping the gun on this purchase. After all, at this point, the train show was months away and I've always managed until now by taking a lot of breaks... why would I think I would be having more or worsening spinal problems in the coming months?  I was wrong... Getting around is difficult, slow and extremely painful..  sleeping is damn near impossible... my hips feel as though I have a nail driven into each hip... my torso, front and back, feels like it is on fire, inside and out... my spine is red hot inflamed... and the nerves throughout my entire back are tingling... I also get shooting pains down thr