Wrap it up!

Fall decided it was over on Monday and so I got to spend Tuesday shoveling about 12" of snow this week. It's still not real warm (read still well below freezing at mid-day), but at least the sun is shinning and I'm not shoveling.

The last few months have been occupied with either getting ready for winter or trying to get things done before winter.

At the TV District that has included getting some small repair and maintenance items done out on mountain tops before it snowed -

(this is our transmission site on Cave Mountain)

- and of course getting equipment serviced and ready for use. Last weekend I spend a few hours, 15 quarts of oil, and three filters servicing the snow cat. 

I'm hoping El Nino comes through and I actually get to use it sometime this year. So far the forecast is looking good.

Earlier this fall I took a trip back to Virginia to see some family get put in a bishopric. It was a quick trip but a fun one. (sorry, no pictures) They live right outside Shenandoah National Park. It was some great country I hadn't seen before. On the way back to Baltimore to catch our flight I insisted we drive though Washington DC so I could get a quick look-see. I was pretty disappointed. Nothing really great to see from the street in DC. I'll have to go back when I have more time.

At the railroad I've been taking contractors around to look at our big spring time project which is a track maintenance and tunnel repair job. It's interesting between my different jobs being on different sides of the construction process multiple times a day. As we are putting this track project out to bid at a couple of junctures I've thought,"if I were trying to bid on this I'd be really annoyed by what I've done in these bid documents here." However I usually follow that thought up with,"well I'm glad that it's not my problem!" Minus the fact that I then have to answer the contractors' complaints and questions. Oh well.

(Look Ma! No hands!)

I'm afraid I appear much less than competent when trying to put the Hy-rail truck on the track. I'm getting better though.

I'm really looking forward to hosting Thanksgiving this year (a tune that will most definitely change at some point). All my siblings are coming and I'm excited to see my nieces and nephews. Their visits are always fun.

I mean when your uncle is cool enough to let you ring the bell and blow the whistle on a train what kid could possibly be having more fun.

Also, at some point this fall that I don't quite recall I purchased another car. I had looked at this car back in January some time, but he wanted too much and I wasn't really sold on it. I guess nobody else was interested though (which now that I'm saying that probably should have been a sign) and he had drastically dropped the price by the time I stumbled back onto his internet ad.

I'm still prepping for the big car exchange this Christmas with my garage mate. We gave each other a budget of $500 (along with some other rules) last January and each bought a car for the other one. It's going to be a real hoot. (I'm just saying, he's going to have a hard time topping the car I got for him)