Train Set – The Beginning

Posted on by

In the fall of 2020 I decided to convert the unused 3,000 square feet at our Cedar Shoals location in to a big office/personal space. At the time Pam was diagnosed with osteoporosis. She was in constant pain and couldn’t travel much. I wanted create a space in town where we could all be together and entertain friends. I had the bathrooms, breakroom and general back area all redone and painted. The front area was made into a small theater with comfortable chairs where we could watch TV or movies.

General Area – left door leads to kitchen area and right doorway to the front theater area

I’m not actually sure when, how or why I decided to build a train set. I have always been fascinated and liked trains, but never a fanatic. I remember when our son, Robin, was young we surprised him at Christmas with a train set built on a 4’x8′ piece of plywood. I worked on that train set at night for weeks in the back of our frame shop on Cedar Shoals Drive – and had a lot of fun doing it.

One side of train 3.5×16
Base of train
Room for train set

The Table
With some advice from Mr. Lewis, from Memory Station train store in Watkinsville, I decided to build the table 7ft wide and 16ft long. A width of 7 feet gave me a enough room to use the largest size curve pieces; 072. My reach is about 3-1/2ft, so anything much wider than 7ft I would have trouble reaching the middle. I built 4 – 3-1/2 foot x 8 foot sections then screwed them together to create one big 7 foot by 16 foot train table. I built the height at 36″, standard counter height so I wouldn’t have to bend over much. I painted the whole base black. For the top, I used 1/2 inch plywood then topped the plywood with a 1 inch thick insulation foam. l

The Walls
One things usually leads to something else. Once I got the train table done, I realized, I could no longer stand the exposed insulation on the walls around the table. I decided build walls 8 feet tall to cover the insulation.

The Layout
It took some time and playing around to finally decide on the type of layout I wanted to create. From the beginning I knew I wanted to run at least 3 trains and have 2 levels with a tunnel.

Electrical
I knew there would be a fair amount of electrical work to be done in building this set and I was a little apprehensive because I was a little afraid of electricity and what it can do. I met a new friend Greg, at Memory Station, who lives close by and knows a lot about wiring a train set. He came over several times to help and give me pointers. It also turned out that his wife and Pam knew each other from 35 years ago – small world.

Terrain

I was glad to have some help from Robin, Andrea and Greta on creating and painting some of hills and mountains.

Barkerville

In February 2022, when Pam got diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, I quit working on the train set. Now, almost 13 months later, I’ve half-heartily decided that I want to finish. It make take several years, but I’m okay with that.

More progression posts to come….

St. Marys Georgia

Posted on by

Dates: March 15-19, 2023
Distance: 279 miles – Travel time: 5 hours and 45 minutes.

Me and the girls at Driftwood Beach, Jekyll Island

It started with a dangerous combination; Greta on spring break, with an unused flying voucher and flying points. They were burning a hole – so she decided to fly to Jacksonville to celebrate Robin’s birthday a week early in St. Marys. I of course couldn’t be left out, so I drove down from Athens with Cleo and Aspen. My departure from Athens wasn’t as early as I had hoped because of a last minute phone call from my accountant about our corporate tax return which was due, today, the 15th. I was on the road by 10:30AM. Since I was traveling with the girls I decided to pack a lunch to eat on the way. We had been driving for about an hour and a half and were just leaving the city of Sparta when I started getting hungry. I noticed a road sign for the Hamburg State Park and on a whim, I decided to head for the state park.

Hamburg State Park, Georgia

The beautiful Hamburg State Park comprises 741 acres of land between Sparta and Sandersville. There is a 225 acre lake in the park that has large mouth bass, bream and crappie. There are 32 tent and RV campsites within this park. It was a great place to stop, walk and eat lunch. I hope to come back camping some time soon.

Robin & Andrea’s house
Road leading to Robin & Andrea’s house

Robin and Andrea have a lovely house on Point Peter Place in St. Marys. The neighborhood is quiet and loaded with many old Live Oak trees that are dripping with Spanish Moss. They’re house is only a few minutes drive to the downtown area and neither Robin or Andrea have much more than a 5 minute commute to work.

Robin and Greta
Silver Bluff Brewery
Greta and her friend Steve
The whole crowd celebrating Robin’s birthday

Robin had sent out a few emails telling some folks that we were going to be at the Silver Bluff Brewery celebrating his birthday on Thursday, and they should stop by. We had no idea who or how many people might show up. We ended up putting 3 big picnic tables together with close to 30 people showing up. These folks were co-workers, past and present, Interns past and present, Fort Frederica staff, and Greta’s co-worker, Stevo, from the Last Resort. There was a Mexican food truck providing plenty of yummy food to go with the excellent beer selections. What an extremely fun night with plenty of interesting conversations.

Greta and Cleo
Taking the plunge
Lunch at Zachery’s on Jekyll Island – Robin, Greta and Andrea. Cleo, Aspen and Banjo are by our feet.

No visit to St Marys is complete without a trip to Jekyll Island. So on Friday morning we all loaded into my car, 4 adults and 3 dogs, and headed to Driftwood beach on Jekyll Island. Even though the temperature was cool, Greta was not going to miss the opportunity to get into the water – Brrrr! We walked a longtime on the beach and then headed over to Zachery’s Riverside Café for lunch. The girls and Banjo did great – laid by our feet the whole time.

You can not make a trip to the Lego capital of the world without getting a little Lego grease on your hands. Our group project for Friday night was to put together a Jazz Quartet Lego set. I got a little worried when I saw the 18+ age recommendation and there were 1,600 pieces. We each took a person: Andrea the drummer, Greta the piano player, Robin the bass player and me the trumpet player (with some help from Rob). We got an energy boost part way though our build from Andrea’s delicious Carrot Cake she made for Robin’s Birthday.

Robin and Greta in the kitchen making dinner Friday night – kabobs

Saturday was rainy and cool and we were glad to have a rest day. That evening Robin had planned a small party for the volunteers, who help out on Cumberland Island, at one of the covered pavilions at the Crooked River State Park. Even though the weather was less than perfect the turn out was great.

Sunday was departure day Greta and myself. What a great trip – our family rocks!

No Knead Buckwheat Bread

Posted on by

This bread is a spin of my PCB artisan bread – but I substituted the 50 grams of rye flour with 50 grams of buckwheat flour. The finished bread was darker in color and was firmer and dryer than the PCB bread. It had a lot of flavor and texture – I liked it!

  • 250 g Organic All-purpose flour
  • 100 g White whole wheat flour
  • 50 g Buckwheat flour
  • 1 Tbsp Wheat germ
  • 1 Tbsp Cane sugar
  • 1-1/2 tsp Kosher salt
  • 3/4 tsp Dry active yeast
  • 1-1/4 water

    Directions: Use a whisk to mix all of the dry ingredients together, then mix in the water and stir until combined. After all of the loose flour is wet from the water use your hands to form a ball. Drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil on the bottom of the bowl and on top of the ball in your hands. Place the dough in the bowl and cover.

    Let the dough rise in a warmish place (about 70 degrees) for 12 to 18 hours. After the dough has risen, pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees with your Dutch oven inside to pre-heat as well. While your oven is pre-heating tear off a piece of parchment paper and flour the surface. With floured hands remove your dough from the bowl and knead with your hands for a few minutes. Knead by pulling the dough and folding under four or five times. Lay the dough back on the floured parchment in the shape you want. Using a sharp knife cut some slits on the surface of the dough and sprinkle a little flour on top – it looks cool.

    After the oven has pre-heated carefully remove the very hot Dutch oven and take off the lid. Place the parchment with the dough on it directly into the Dutch oven – with the lid on place return it to the oven. Bake for 25 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350 degrees, remove the lid and bake for another 10 minutes.

    St. Marks, Florida

    Posted on by
    The St. Marks River – St. Marks Florida

    It was cool and barely light outside when I took the girls for their morning walk. It was earlier than usual but I was trying to get on the road to St. Marks, Florida as early as possible. I pulled out of the driveway at 8:15 AM on Saturday morning February 5 and arrived in St. Marks at 2:30 PM. It was an easy drive and an interesting route that I have taken many times from Athens. Not sure if it’s the fastest route but it’s my favorite. Athens to Madison on 441, then Hwy 83 to Forsyth, then I-75 to Cordelle, then 300 the Georgia / Florida Parkway to Albany then 300/19 down to Capps. At the only intersection in Capps take a right on to 27, then a few miles down the road in Waukeenah make a short left, left, right jog down to Hwy 98. Then right onto Hwy 98 for a short to Hwy 59 (Lighthouse road) where you take a left to St. Marks. 

    I had booked a room in the Sweet Magnolia Inn, the only place I know of to stay in St. Marks. It’s a small 6 room bed and breakfast that requires advanced reservations and does not offer Sunday check-ins – so plan your trip accordingly. More about this fabulous inn in a separate post.

    Bo Lynn’s Grocery – St. Marks, Florida

    St. Marks is a city in Wakulla County, Florida and is part of the Tallahassee metropolitan area. The city is located on the banks of the St. Marks river just before the river merges with the Wakulla River then flows to the Apalachee Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. If you want to see birds or wildlife this is the place to be, St. Marks is flanked on the eastside with the Flint Rock Wildlife Management Area and the St Marks National Wildlife Refuge on the westside. St. Marks is also the location of the San Marcos de Apalache Historic State Park.

    Riverside Café – St. Marks Florida

    There are a couple of good restaurants in St. Marks – The Riverside Café and Cooter Stew’s burger and wraps. I had good meals at both of them. A short drive down the road on Hwy 98 there is the famous Ouzts Too Seafood and Oyster Bar that always has live music on Sunday’s.

    Ouzts Too – seafood and oyster bar.

    Piccata Sauce

    Posted on by
    Piccata Sauce – a great sauce for poultry or fish

    My first known taste of piccata sauce was from The Table a restaurant located in Athens Ga. The menu item is a macadamia and coconut crusted fish with picatta sauce – the dish and sauce is amazing. So, I had to learn to make this sauce. My recipe is an adaptation of several recipes based on my own tastes

    • 3 tablespoons – Butter
    • 3 Cloves – of garlic (minced)
    • 1 tablespoon – E.V. Olive Oil
    • 3 tablespoons – All Purpose white flour (I make them heaping tablespoons – that way I can always thin the sauce with extra chicken stock our white wine if I need to.)
    • 1 cup + a little extra if you want a thinner sauce – Chicken stock (low sodium and at room temperature or slightly warmer)
    • 1/2 cup – white wine (room temperature)
    • 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
    • 2-3 tablespoons of caper (a little of the juice won’t matter).

    Over low heat sauté the garlic in the butter using a medium sauce pan or skillet. After sautéing for 2 or 3 minutes add the olive oil and flour – whisk the flour so it will cook evenly for 3 or 4 minutes. Flour will give off a slight nutty smell when it is cooked – at this point slowly add the chicken stock, then the white wine and lemon juice – finally add the capers and simmer and whisk for about 10 minutes. Serve immediately or save in the refrigerator in an air tight container for a week.

    Piccata sauce over pan seared Alaskan Sable fish with rice vegetable medley.

    Piccata sauce can be made a day or ahead and refrigerated until needed. If I’m going to make it ahead of time I sometimes, leave out a little of the wine and chicken which will make the sauce a little thicker. Then when I’m ready to use it I will deglaze the poultry or fish pan with a little white wine or chicken stock before adding the premade piccata sauce. The poultry or fish drippings add some flavor to the sauce.