The Hobo Camp Fire Is going well #X.. Stop In!!!

[ezdays]

Good morning all, yup, it's Saturday and yup, got an extra hour of sleep in. Time whooshes by so quickly I almost missed sleeping in.

Got a few house chores today nothing more so there may be time to get working on my challenge. I couldn't do squat until I had all my wiring issues fixed and I found more than one. I'm embarrassed to say that I'm the one that did all that soldering and to be frank, I took the quick way rather than the right way.

The past few days there's been spots of mud on my truck, probably just peripheral sprinkles. Like last night, it rained pretty heavy about four miles west of me, but not enough here to even wet the pavement. Sometimes we have rain that evaporates before it hits the ground, they call that, "Verga".

That's it for now, gotta get going on my chores. Enjoy the day and don't overdo it.

[hillyard999]

Back from camping.
Day 2 of clean-up & put-away. 
My mosquito bites have _almost_ quit itching.
Hope to run trains today or tomorrow.

[tompm]

Good afternoon folks

It is currently 81 going up to 83. The weather says it is ot going to rain but it looks like it will.

Yesterday was just a crazy day I never had a chance to sit down and look at the forum for more than a few moments. I did get to put away some rolling stock I recently been running. I also tuned up some of the cars that I had done before.

Today, Saturday we have run a couple errands to drop off Amazon returns at Kohl’s, and the produce store. We still need to go to the pharmacy, and eventually the grocery store. We have been having issues with the doors on the bathtub/shower. Since we moved in 30 plus years ago, they have been a problem. My wife wants to look into removing them and replacing them with a shower curtain. Later I want to finish putting the rolling stock away. I want to test my new Bachmann Spectrum Jersey Central 0-6-0.

Sunday, I have no idea what is planned. I guess it will be a day that we will catch up on what didn’t get done today. There is always laundry. I want to continue running the 0-6-0. I want to work on the Bridges Area.

I hope everybody has a good evening.

[sir james]

Sunday 7/21
Hello Blue
Sun and mid 80s, for the week actually.
Our club hosted a 2-day affair, with a whole heap of 3 rail out-of-towners. Was a big success, we had visitors from all directions with some traveling many miles to be here. We did a layout on Friday evening, then,
#2 son and I Visited 3 layouts yesterday, then headed to the clubhouse for the evening. That's where everyone met for chit-chat and a catered meal.
S.J.

[Charlie B]

Good evening or morning. 

     Blue seems to be on a different time than I am but that's OK. 

     Yesterday I logged off to try to log in with my phone. When I tried logging in on the pc my password would not work and I thought I was a gonner because I could not get the password reset function to work.  Finally I tried a different browser, and that didn't work, but when I went back to chrome I finally got a password reset email and got back in. I am blaming the web outage but at this stage I am happy to be back. 

     I am installing a decoder in an old blue box bicentennial locomotive. I have it wired for the motor function but the headlights are requiring some glue to hold the LED.s in place so they are setting overnight. 

     The battery died in our 2018 Kia and the ones local were not as many CCA's so I ordered one but it will take 4 days to get here so my truck will get some run time. I can't believe a 30 dollar battery is now 265 dollars but by ordering it on line it was only 129 and it is American made. 

     We had a perfect day to end the weekend. 

Cheers
Charlie

[tompm]

Good morning folks

The temperature is 79 with a high of 86. We are supposed to get thunderstorms later in the day.

I tried to work on removing the bathtub/shower doors, but I ran into a problem right at the beginning. The tension shower curtain rod we had would not lengthen. Apparently, the spring was frozen. I had to order a new one from Amazon that arrived later in the evening. The wife and I ran to Kohl’s to drop off a couple Amazon returns and then we went to the produce store. On the layout I finished putting rolling stock away that I had used in a couple of train running sessions. As I did so I tuned up a couple cars that I had not done before.

On Sunday I did the normal chores such as watering the gardens and the potted plants. I did a couple of loads of laundry. I tested the new shower curtain rod to see if it would fit which it did. I made a grocery store run. I finally was able to run my new Bachmann Spectrum CNJ 0-6-0 locomotive. It performed extremely well. I added four cars to begin testing its pulling power.

Tonight, I want to work on the shower doors, Afterwards run some train and add more sidewalk to the Bridges Area.

I hope everybody has a good day.

[ezdays]

Good morning all, it was 81 on the way to breakfast this morning and felt cool enough to grab a sweater.... but I didn't since I know it'll be 11 by this afternoon. We did get a lot of wind and some rain last night, my entryway is full of leaves and I don't have any trees out front.

Gas keeps edging down a few pennies at a time, Costco at $3.12, several others now at, $3.29 and up.

Not much else going on, I need to get going on ballasting now that I've got my wiring problems straightened out, then on to the actual challenge.

Take care, enjoy the day and stay safe...

[jim currie]

Hi all. its Monday again, was in Tucson Thursday to see cardiologist and gas at the arco was 2.99 got to go again Friday to see the bone doc for hands and hips can't hardly walk more than 40 feet till the pain gets to me, modeling is out of the question till get the hands under control.
anyway stay safe and cool if possible Jim.

[ezdays]

Good Tuesday morning. Gas is always cheaper in Tucson Jim, around #3.29 here. They say it's because they're closer to the pipeline, but then how does that justify $2.94 in Bullhead City, 100 miles further from the pipeline than Phoenix is.

I'm with Jim, I've been pecking away at getting my layout ready to start my challenge and it's hard when you can't stand for very long thanks to some medical issues, so I choose to do things that I can while sitting. I'm hoping to get my challenge done by the deadline, but we'll see.

Temps today around 111 with about a 15% chance of rain. That's what they say, but it's a crap shoot regardless.

Take care, stay safe, stay cool...

[FiatFan]

Greetings, gang.

66 and hazy going to the low to mid 80s and humid.

Had a spectacular trip and saw some very interesting sights while traveling over 2800 miles and 10 days. My niece and her family were wonderful hoists and tour guides. Today is laundry and otherwise a day of rest.

Gas price here is $3.37, the highest price I've seen since the beginning of my trip. It was $3.11 here when I left and most prices i saw were in the $3 to #.05 range with prices as ow as $2.89 just before I left Santa Fe.

All stay safe.

Tom

[ezdays]

Good morning all, got woke up several times last night with cell phone notifications, I figured weather alerts, but when I checked this morning they turned out to be lightning strikes that set off my doorbell camera. So I checked the county rain gauge map and there was rain last night, kinda like a donut, and you can guess what area was in the donut hole. A look outside and not a puddle anywhere. More of the same on the schedule for today, temps still at 110+, lows are still in the 90's. No wonder my electric bill was almost $400 for last month.

Nothing significant going on here, well, a lot of school districts have started school already, and it's still July. I remember when I was going to school in New Jersey, we would start after Labor Day when it was a bit cooler.

Tom, sounds like you had a fun trip. Santa Fe is an interesting place to visit, we spent a few days up there when Pat got married. Gas here is still well over $3.00, but there are a few stations here and in Tucson that are sitting at $2.93. I still can't understand how a chain like Costco or Walmart can sell gas so low in one station and be 20 cents more at another station a few miles away. Competition is weird at times. They say, and I have found, that Walmart has different pricing for the same item in stores that are a few miles apart because of the demands for that item in different neighborhoods.

Getting close to the time to head out for breakfast, got a free day today, maybe get something done on my challenge, it's getting late.

Take care everyone, have a great day....

[sir james]

Thursday 7/25
Hello Blue
We have sun and 70s for the day. For those of you without rain, I sure wish I could share, we have had 1 storm after another this summer. Lots of power outages and trees down all summer long.
Gas was around $3.59 when I was out the other day, TV news says prices are rising. 
Got a doc appointment this morning, a follow up on the stroke I had. All seems to be ok, for now. At 85 who knows what might be next.
No other plans.
S.J.

[Charlie B]

Good morning

     I finished a decoder install in an older Athearn locomotive. I guess it is almost 50 years old because it is a bicentennial locomotive. I runs great, It got a good lube in the process. 

     Don it is not only Walmart but I have noticed price differences in Home Depots and TSC too, Several years ago I needed some cement and the difference between the HD in beaver Falls Pa and Salem, Ohio was almost 5 bucks a bag. We live about half way so I can drive either way.  # months ago I wanted some 3/4 thick rubber stall mats. TSC in Salem had a price of 54 bucks each, East Liverpool, 48 bucks and Beaver Falls was 39 for the exact item. Now that is a considerable difference. 

     Tom, I am glad your trip was as good as it was and that you are home safe.  I want to visit my friend that is CMO at the Heber Valley and it is just shy of 2000 miles one way.  I will not fly, and a train does not come very close and I would need to rent a car so my only option is to drive. I hope I can do it next year, and I would like to have 4 or 5 days to visit him and see his operation there. 

     I got the battery for the car yesterday. It is twice as heavy as the original and when I looked at it in the box I thought no way could it fit. They had a foam insert the size of the battery top and I put it in the tray and it was 1/2 inch longer but there was room for the battery. Honestly when looking at it in the box it looked to be 4 inches longer, a real optical illusion.  It is installed and my wife and dogs are happy to have the car back. 

     Gas here is 3.35 and not fluctuating much. 

     We did get a nice rain yesterday and it is mild here today. 

     Cheers to everyone. 
Charlie

[tompm]

Good morning folks

It is a pleasant 67 currently. Hig is supposed to be 82.

We have a concrete pour this morning so this may be my only chance to post for most of the day.

Last night I worked on the Bridges Area. I began filling in the gaps behind walls. I can’t believe I actually got two evenings in a row to work on the challenge project.

The weekend is shaping up as shown below.

Friday. I will help my wife set up her Poshmark Show which is a live online show where she tries to sell things. I will probably deal with some laundry. Depending on if the spackle has dried on the Bridges Area I will work some more on the area. I have some foliage and ground cover to add. If there is time run some trains.

Saturday. We are meeting up with a friend of mine for lunch. Afterwards we will have some errands to run such as Amazon returns, trips to the produce store, and PetSmart, and perhaps the grocery store. My wife got a couple of Ring security cameras which I hope to set up. On the layout it will be work on the Bridges Area and running trains.

Sunday. If the weather holds up I will be weeding the front gardens and some other areas around the house. Later it will be again helping the wife with her Posh Show. For modeling it will be more work on the Bridges Area and running some trains. I may do something different such as build a rolling stock kit or two.

The wife and I are contemplating a trip out to Cumberland, MD to do the dinner train on the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad. If we can swing it, we will go sometime in August.

I hope everybody has a good day.

[ezdays]

Good morning all, once again, our area skipped the storms, we seem to get the wind but not the rain. The one the other night was worse than most, several roofs were torn off a couple of huge industrial buildings near downtown Phoenix. One man is missing and they are still searching through the rubble. The TV reporters are shocked as such destruction but I still remember that picture of the entire roof of a motel that was sitting in the parking lot back in the 60's. They weren't even born then so I guess it's new to them.

Got one appointment early today, my shopping list is growing and so I might stop by Walmart on the way home. Just one thing, they've chose to remodel all the Walmarts in the immediate area at the same time. They keep moving things around at night so what was there yesterday is over there today. They are finally finished with two out of the four near me, but the closest one is still chaotic and has a sign, "grand reopening September__", I can't remember the day, but they should just shut the store down for a month and get it done quickly rather than keep it open and take six months to complete. I guess I'll just drive the extra five miles to keep from getting more confused.

Another weekend is upon us, have fun but stay safe.