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Merry Christmas!

Started by Dan/Panther, December 10, 2008, 08:19:34 PM

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.....

Calling you from the kitchen to wish you a Merry Christmas.

HarrySmith

Agreed, welcome back Vern!

Merry Christmas & Happy Chanukah to all!
Harry Smith
ATCA 4434
TCI

"There is no try,
there is only
do or do not"

TelePlay


Greg G.

So far, so good.  Anita and I are hold up with plenty of food, drink, logs for the fire.  Much better than last year, which was a disaster.  Here's the story as Anita has documented it:

OUR CHRISTMAS 2015

We are still recovering from last Christmas. It was such compilation of disasters. Firstly, Greg arranged to have new windows installed to replace the 50s-era single pane windows, and the 2 huge living room windows and the kitchen windows reset. We had to make a 3 ft space in front of all the windows for access—not a small job; and take down living room curtains.

While moving the furniture, Greg accidentally knocked his computer off his desk and damaged it. He took it in for repairs, which entailed a week without his computer. He suffered huge withdrawal symptoms, assuaged by using my computer. The computer still had problems after the "fix", and he had to take it back a couple more times, but still had problems.  He decided not to throw good money after bad and gave up on it and bought a new computer.

Our telephone landlines went out—no dial tone. Century link told us we could have service by Jan 12, in two weeks. How kind!

We got limited telephone service after Greg called the phone company multiple times and tried a variety of fix suggestions he found on-line. Then we got one short ring and woe betide us if we didn't get there in time.

We set out to buy a Christmas tree on Dec 20th. Three places we went to were sold out. The last place told us that Costco had bought out tree farm inventories leaving limited numbers for smaller retailers and customers like us.

We were both pretty tired and grumpy by the time we found a place with a few trees left. We wanted a small 3 ft tree but the smallest one they had was 5 ft. We bought it.

When Greg went to bring the truck around to the loading area, he noticed the dash light on that said a door was open.  He tried opening and shutting the passenger door several times, but it still wouldn't shut completely.  He gave up and drove around to the loading area.  When he got out to check the passenger door, he discovered the reason it wouldn't shut - his cell phone, which had slid off the seat and into the door jam and was crushed. Now our only reliable phone was my very basic flip cell phone that I usually keep turned off.

But wait, there's more!

The next excitement happened at 11:30 pm Christmas eve. The toilets and the bathtub blocked up. After trying the usual chemical drain openers to no avail, Greg found a few emergency plumbing services, and called them at midnight. The first place said they couldn't come until between 9 and 12 Christmas day. Greg tried another service and they said they could be with us in about 2 hrs. We found out the plumber, Tim, had to come all the way from Tacoma.

When Tim arrived, he couldn't find an access to the pipes from outside so he had to reach the blockage from the bathroom by taking off the toilet (in our newly remodeled bathroom). He started cleaning the pipe with his large noisy grinding machine then the machine broke. Tim said he would have to get a new machine from the main office in Auburn and he would be back in 2 ½ hrs—about 6:30 am. Greg and I went to bed for a nap. After using the new machine for 20 min or so, Tim said the pipe was so clogged with tree roots, the machine couldn't clear it. The fix entailed digging a trench in the backyard and replacing several feet of pipe. Three thousand dollars later, we had a clear-out access to our sewer line pipe in the backyard and were once again able to flush the toilet with confidence. Even then, it was only a temporary fix.  It was a few more weeks before a permanent fix was done, inspected, and the pit filled in. 

So, this Christmas we are hunkering down with spirited refreshments, a fire, and no commitments.
The idea that a four-year degree is the only path to worthwhile knowledge is insane.
- Mike Row
e

AE_Collector

Are you certain that you have enough RUM on hand this year Greg?

Merry Christmas everyone.

Terry

Phonesrfun

A heart-felt Merry Christmas to all!.  I am visiting my oldest son and their two kids, and my grand-daughter and her two kids will be coming over later today.  It's great spending time with the family when we all seem to be spread out all over the place these days.



-Bill G

Doug Rose

Merry Christmas to all my friends on the Forum. ,,,Doug
Kidphone

Dennis Markham

I hope everyone has had or is having a Merry Christmas.

Greg, that is quite a story from last year.  I'm glad that 2016 has been better for you.  I hope I didn't jinx it since there is still a week left.

I hope Santa was good to everyone.

~Dennis

.....

Santa stopped by the garage tonight on his way back to the North Pole. He needed to use the phone and wanted to say Merry Christmas to all the Classic Rotary Phone Forum members. Santa showed me some buffing techniques, he said he had been doing this over the summer months. My dog Midnight even enjoyed a treat from Santa. He really enjoyed looking at my phone collection and then in a flash the door closed and he was gone, all I heard was a HO HO HO.

TelePlay

This may seem early but it is only 12 days until the CP Rail Holiday Train begins its 2017 journey from the east side of the continent  to Terry's back yard, a month's long journey on both routes.

They must have two trains since the Canadian stops mirror the US stops. 12/3 where I live so it you are on or near the route, it is quite the thing to see in person.

http://www.cpr.ca/holiday-train/united-states

AE_Collector

#280
Oh wow, it's that time of year again ALREADY! I'm not ready....

Having Two trains must be new for this year. I think they just had the one that did some time in the US before heading west but this year it looks like a much longer route through the US so I guess they have decorated a second train now.

<edit> checking CP Rail on Wikipedia, it mentions that there are two Holiday Trains but doesn't indicate whether this is fairly new or not. Added the third picture below which is the Wiki section referencing the Holiday Train. <end if edit>

The CP Rail Holiday train certainly does finish up in my back yard. We are right between the Port Moody and Port Coquitlam stations, the final two stops. Port Moody was the original west coast destination of the Canadian Pacific Railway as there is a long inlet (Burrard Inlet - second picture below) of the Pacific Ocean running east (inland) past downtown Vancouver, Burnaby all the way to Port Moody so this was the original Western terminus. But, the next year they added another 20 miles of track to service the newly established city of Vancouver.

From Christmas 2015, (back a couple of pages in this topic) the Holiday Train crossing the Lethbridge (Alberta) High Level Bridge in fog.

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=372.msg160386#msg160386

Terry

.....

Merry Christmas 2017

dsk

Merry Christmas to all of you!

A picture with no visible phones, here is the Scandinavian way of celebrating:
This evening at 5PM the Christmas officially starts, and most families starts on a loooooong dinner with traditional food, and the children just waits for the evening, and opening of gifts.  Sometimes santa comes with the gifts, sometimes he has been there all-ready and put them under the tree.    ;D

Merry Christmas

PS We are so lucky to be able to go in to the woods and find our tree there, as tradition is. Not a tight farmed tree, just a wild one.
DS

19and41

Merry Christmas!  It has been more soaked than picturesque here, but everything works out.
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
— Arthur C. Clarke

jsowers

Beautiful tree, dsk. I wish we had trees like that in NC. All the ones for sale are exactly as you describe, tight and sheared and some idealized version of a tree. I prefer the natural look tree like you have and it's the same kind I remember from childhood, before Christmas tree farms took over and ruined the trees. It would be less work for them, but they just don't see it that way.

I like your candle lights too. I have one or two sets of Philips candle lights--not enough for a whole tree.

And as 19and41 said about GA, it's pretty soggy outside here in NC too, but not too bad. I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!
Jonathan