Posts that Didn't Happen - December 2022

And finally - December . . . and a somewhat busier month on all fronts!

Started with some rearrangements down the Folly - with the idea of fitting the desk into a corner and making more room around the railway table - while Martin tackled the project to 'hard-wire' in the internet connection to the garage (from where it makes its way to the Folly itself).

Took him most of that first weekend (channeling through concrete and across the lawn), but by the end of it we had fast, reliable connections in place.  Plus I got the Christmas tree up!

It was a good job the cabling got done that weekend, because the next week brought some really freezing weather, which lasted for a good ten days, and saw temperatures as low as -7 on some mornings.

We haven't really had weather this cold for years, and we were soon turning on the rayburn (despite resolutions to save oil and not use it this year) to keep us warm.

More Folly rearrangements followed, finally fixing on a new layout which works, with the desk benefitting from the light from the window, but allowing more space for moving around.  Also got some blinds fitted to the window (and door):

Noises in the bedroom cupboard (where we store all the Christmas decs), led us to think we finally had mice. Martin investigated (my hero), and managed to capture the culprit - a small (very speedy) and rather cute shrew. 

No idea how it got in there (unless it hid in a Christmas box, while they were downstairs), but it was soon released back to the wild.

And then of course there was the run up to Christmas, with a couple of meals out (one with Epic, one with former colleagues), Christmas shopping, making up our own Christmas cards, etc., etc.

Christmas Eve saw us on the road to visit family in Cambridgeshire - no cooking for me this year, the brother-in-law did the lot (except for contributing the traditional Sticky Toffee Pud!).  Lovely to all be together for Christmas!

Back to Wales for 'Second Christmas' with family here, and for a few days R&R - catching up with festive tv, eating chocolate, finally setting up the model train, etc. etc. - then it was all over for another year.

Hope yours was a good one!

Planning the Track

Spent some time today trying to finalise the track layout on the baseboard - in theory we came up with something like this:

Experimented with other layouts, but this still seemed to work best in terms of making use of the space - and the smooth running of the trains.

Will probably mull it over for a bit before fixing everything down mind you!

Getting Set

Having sorted the baseboard for the train set, we then needed to decide how to set it up - primarily so it could be 'deconstructed' if we ever have guests staying in the room!

We'd been through options such as pulleys to haul it up to the ceiling, foldable legs, etc. In the end went with a couple of portable trestles, (which were simple, cheap, and work a treat).

So . . . on to the next step - covering the board in cork sheets.


We'd finally got four rolls of cork of an appropriate size (bit of a 'fail' on our first purchase, where we'd misread 75mm width as 75cm!) . . . , which we were going to glue to the baseboard to provide a decent surface and some sound 'dampening'.   

Out with the PVA and one roll down - needed plenty of tins and jars to weigh it down and prevent it bubbling up, mind you.

  

Once that one was dryish, on to sheet two - then we did three and four together, as they were covering a smaller area (and we managed to find some more tins!)

Job done - looking good - next job finalising the track layout (not sure yet about the one shown here):

And So It Begins . . .

As mentioned, one of my Christmas gifts this year was a train set, and while the Virgin Pendolino had to go back due to a fault, it has duly been replaced by a Flying Scotsman.

A baseboard has been constructed, and much time is now being spent on track layouts, researching the ins and outs of track underlay, points, building models etc., etc.

We hadn't realised quite how many YouTube videos there were out there on model trains - the level of detail some enthusiasts go into is phenomenal . . .  but I don't think we'll be going as far as airbrushing our track with 'sleeper grime'!

For us, I think this will be a work in progress for quite a while - but expect lots of train set related blogs over the coming months.

Christmas Day

So here we are again . . .

. . . turkey on to roast, table laid, fire lit, veg prepped, and mulled wine warming on the wood burner.






Of course, we cooked far too much food (as usual!).






Then, with the table cleared, time to play with the pressies.  Hadn't anticipated getting a train set (I'd always wanted a 'proper' one as a child as I told Martin on our recent visit to the National Railway Museum in York), so this was his gift.

Wasn't entirely sure first off, but a few times round the track and I can feel myself getting back into the idea!  Unfortunately this particular train has a fault, and will have to go back, but watch this space in 2016.

Nadolig Llawen i Bawb!