Thanks guys, I spent the entire afternoon in the basement today, but it wasn't all trains. We had to replace the water heater after 19 years. It kept tripping the breaker, or so we thought. As it turned out it was the lift pump for the basement that had the electrical short that was the problem... dead short. Probably a bad seal. We replaced that thing less than two years ago.
A train buddy of mine has done all my HVAC since we built the house, water heaters aren't really his thing, but he was nice enough to do it for me. I did the original install, but he did the gas hookup.
With all the running around down there, my knee is really barking.
I did get my home made static grass applicator finished, by soldering on an alligator clip to the ground lead. I don't know if you remember I said I accidentally glued the bush button during the conversion from an electric fly swatter. Yup, I glued it. I put the batteries in and the LED stayed on. Maybe that's not such a bad thing. Just remove a battery to turn it off. It runs on two AA's.
I also found my Noch Grass Master 2.0, and unpacked it. I thought the end cap was supposed to unscrew to access the battery. I couldn't get it open to save my life. Enter Google, and I finally found a post that said you need the strength of a bull to unscrew the cap. This is something I no longer possess due to neuropathy. Using my channel locks, I finally got it. Of course I nicked the finish a bit. Oh well. This one takes a 9V, I'll have to bring one down. Testing on Tuesday.
I relayed your messages, about the painting, to my wife. She says thank you. She posted the picture to her watercolor group, and it got over 150 likes in a group of around 3000.
Mike - Kadees are one of the reasons Clem was able to do that and keep the train together. I didn't know you were converting your fleet. I decided long ago that it wasn't practical for me. What kind of problems are you having?
Bob - Thanks, I'd be even more reved if this knee would stop hurting. Today was kind of tough on it.
Art - It's tough getting going again after you stop. Maybe I can crack the whip on you from my couch?
I get those "anything but trains" distracted feelings too, but just like you once I get going it all gets better. Just say to yourself, I'm going downstairs. Then stand for a few minutes and look at the layout, and the ideas of what's next will pop into your head. Then your body will follow. After a couple times doing that you're on a roll again. Just like that. Deadlines also work well, even when self imposed. One last trick I would suggest is, get yourself a train calendar, and write down your hours each time you work. That'll get you going! It's kind of like exercise (or so I'm told).
The more you do, the more you want to do. Now get going!
Dave - When am I going to see you next? Isn't your swim meet coming up in a month or two? We went down to Rochester last fall for an auction, but it was when you were out of town. Nice drive down 52.
Mark - Me too, fortunately I'm not flying solo on this. It's kind of going to be a group effort. I'll be trying my hand at it Tuesday.
