Printable View
Quote:
Originally Posted by david44
Very nice David!
I have a similar set up from 15 years ago.
It's fun adding a painted MDF base to secure the track so full speed can be attained without derailment .
Then extra track and tunnels etc.
You need a fair bit of extra space for this wonderful present.
Best to keep it up and running in a moments notice than boxed in a cupboard like ours.
I noticed years back, that lots of the presents that I bought for my son, was stuff I wanted when I was a boy myself.
Get my drift ?
It's just coming to the end of 'winter' here in north Laos. Hardly winter, just a few weeks where I need to use a heater to keep my toes warm in bed at night. I use a Chinese heater (all that was available) that would fail any electrical/safety tests. The power cable wired into it at time of purchase was just 60cm long and thin as ribbon. When I plugged it in the plug melted after 5 minutes. I replaced the power cable with a hefty, longer cable and insulated safety plug. Now it works OK, but the metal casing gets very hot and there is no earth/ground connection in case the casing becomes live.
Chinese crap - you gotta luv it :)
Attachment 110693
^ I wouldn't be able to fall asleep knowing the thing was on and ready to burn the house down at any second...
^Supposed to be a champion camera
I was surprised to see that the new S24 Ultra will only have a 5x zoom instead of 10x like the S22 and S23; but with megapixels bumped to 50 from 10 maybe it will still produce the same quality when cropped
^^^Surely heaters are only for keeping you warm when you are not in bed Simon?
When you are in bed should you not be using the correct number of blankets for the prevailing seasonal conditions?
Or are these measures for air-conditioning your lurgi lungs?
I only have one thin blanket! Keep forgetting to buy more :) In any case, it seems like the 'winter' is maybe over because I haven't had to use the heater for the last 2 nights.Quote:
Originally Posted by Looper
@david - some years ago, my BIL bought a train set for his son who was then ~10 yrs old. I think it was used only once or twice by ths son. It's languishing in the box (for many years now, I think). My sis said that her hub wanted the train more than her son. Lol. (Her hub didn't have a train set in chuldhood, due to family finances, so he bought one when he was an adult & had the $$ for it.)
There's a YT channel which features "Katze vs Gartenbahn". Another one is "Diorama Cafe" - a resti in Japan which has a train set & features cats being Catzilla - the cats derail the train. :)
(yes, I sometimes watch short cat vids as a stress reliever!)
@simon43 - how's your cough/ lungs nowadays? (hope you're well)
*****
My latest (not so impulse) buy - a paint by numbers kit. I also posted it in Nigel's artwork thread. It wanted to do something artistic/ craftsy and my choices were crochet, cross stitch or painting. I chose painting and the easy path of "paint by numbers".
Got the package from Lazada. I started with something small, a 20x20 cm project. Now that I've done it, I bought a bigger one, a 40x50 cm paint project (still to be delivered).
Attachment 110910
Attachment 110911
Attachment 110912
^after 3 hours
Attachment 110913
^after 5 hrs (with breaks) ; I'll do a 2nd or 3rd coating later on...
Nice work, Katie, but is it a sport?
Have you been enthused to paint without numbers?
Nice Sunflower Katie, what are you painting next?
https://teakdoor.com/attachments/the...120_171249-jpg
@betty - it's not a sport it's a game. :) I've done artwork - pastel & watercolor painting as a kid. My pastel work even won 3rd place - there were maybe 15 contestants so I wasn't 3rd among three ;) I tried to get back to watercolor painting ~a year ago but the mojo wasn't there. At least in paint by numbers, I know the end goal. I thought of doing cross stitch again but my eyes and hands aren't as good as they were. (I find it tough to thread a small needle now! I must use the big needle.)
@joe - I'll be doing a painting of cats next (pattern from Lazada). The cats remind me of my former cats - similar coloration.
I did cross stitch years ago - I've made 2 projects. First was a smaller one and the pattern was from the 'net. Second one was a custom - I used a softwsre to convert a pic of my dogs to make it a cross stitch pattern. That project is in my room at parents' house. This was my 1st cross stitch project, way back in 1999. Cross stitching was the rage then. The store in my town (which sold threads & materials for crafts) has now closed.
Attachment 110916
To me, making art or crafts is a personal thing. I have to like it so that I'll be motivated to finish it. The 2nd cross stitch project reminds me of my past dogs. My future cat painting will remind me of my past cats.
As for the sunflower, it was a trial project. I chose that pattern among other flowers because I like sunflowers and the color yellow. :)
I've done a few of them. Very relaxing. Which store on Lazada did you order from?Quote:
Originally Posted by katie23
^I bought from Lazada PH - I think they use local suppliers/ sellers? Yes, it's relaxing. I'm listeninv to music as I paint.
The sunflower one, I got from BOB Home shop and cost P109 (free shipping) = around 80 or 90 baht. The cats painting, it was P190 (around 150 baht) from DMY Shoppe Online, also free shipping.
Katie, don't listen to the voices in your head telling you to cut your ear off.Quote:
Originally Posted by Joe 90
Bizarrely Mrs Toots used to knit, no idea why when the temp rarely drops below T shirt weather but she did. Hasn't now for years mind but when we first met she took it upon herself to knit me a scarf (which i still have) and a woolly hat. Now one of these items needs some idea of size and she guessed on the hat. When she presented me with them the hat measurement was a little off to the degree it would fit a Dalek and it came down to my shoulders. She was mortified and me, well i couldn't stop laughing, crying actually. Bless her.
^I learned how to knit in high school but I've forgotten how to do so. I guess if the desire is there, I can relearn by watching YouTube vids.
When I was in uni, I made 2 crocheted blouses - one for me & one for my sis. Took me several months for each. Around 10 yrs ago, I made crocheted coin purses and gave them away to friends & family. I kept one for myself.
Update on the painting - added more coats of paint & finishing touches. Total of 10 woman-hours.
Attachment 110998
^took me 10 hrs & did it in a weekend. In contrast, this cross stich project took me several weeks (or months, can't remember).
Attachment 110999
I'm still waiting for the delivery of the cat painting. That will probably take several weeks/ months since it's bigger & more complicated.
Good channel, thanks.Quote:
Originally Posted by katie23
Our cat used to go mental chasing my Scalextric cars. I can't remember her chasing my Flying Scotsman.
https://teakdoor.com/attachments/the...120_132031-jpg
Very good.
My mum used to do these but she called them tapestries. Not sure if it is the same thing.
^Thanks, Looper. Tapestries are different, I think. Accdg to Britannica, a tapestry is "a heavy cloth that has designs or pictures woven into it and that is used for wall hangings, curtains, etc" . I think the cloth used for tapestry is heavier. I also imagine tapestries being made/ sewn by ladies from the Middle Ages, clothed in their gowns.
The cloth used for cross stitch is called "Aida cloth" and it has holes/ marks for the squares where you're supposed to insert the needle. I think there were 2 sizes of squares: the smaller square is ~3 mm, the larger one is ~6 mm. I have only used the cloth w/ smaller squares. When I did that, I was younger & my eyes were better. Nowadays, I have to use a big needle (double the size of the smaller one).
I had made another painting/craft in my high school days - I think it's called "mesh embroidery". It was a project for Home Economics class. The projsct was ~50 x 60 cm and mesh was made of plastic material. It's similar to cross stitching but the squares are bigger and stitches are only in 1 direction. (In cross stitching, you have to go back to "cross" the other thread.) Yarn was used, not embroidery thread. (Embroidery thread is used for cross stitching.) I did a picture of seagulls flying over the sea. It's on loan to my sister (until I find a place to put it) and is now displayed in her house. I'll take a pic next time. Cheers!
Bought 10 SOS pads for 49 baht. The guy in the "Japanese" thrift shop didn't know what they were.
Saturday, I bought Calumet pro series wireless triggers for my flash units. I had some yongnuo ones, but they have stopped working after 10 or so years. They were also quite unreliable, setting off one flash but not the other or failing to synch correctly.
Anyway, I wasn't going to fork out silly money on pocket wizards since I don't use them enough.
Gave them a good run on Sunday and they were pretty good. I got the odd miss fire, but that was in burst mode and to be expected.
I got a tx and 2 rx for less than the price of one pw.
Sorry, no pics, can't attach from my handy.
---------------------------------------------
A pic...
Attachment 111057
My new kit for "paint by numbers" featuring cats arrived today. Size of painting is 50 *60 cm and there are 24 colors. (Previous one was 20*20 cm and had 8 colors only.) It also comes with an A3 size paper copy of the pattern. Some of the numbers are so small. I took pics of the pattern so that I could zoom in on the pic when I need to clarify the numbers. (Some ppl use a magnifying glass.) This should keep me busy for several weeks. :)
Attachment 111088
Attachment 111089
^^the cats remind me of my previous cats: Yellow cat (2000 to 2010) and Tracey cat (2010 to 2022). RIP kitty cats.
I had three impulse buys arrive today, all in one package. I've been doing a bit of post-Ya Dong online shopping in Europe lately which I sent to my mum's house. She kindly sent it on.
First up was this coffee mug. I did a six month work trip in Scandinavia during Covid, and when I eventually departed Sweden for Thailand I picked up this same coffee mug at Gothenburg duty free to get me through the 14 day quarantine in Bangkok. Those little hotel coffee cups are a per hate of mine.
Anyway, on the day of my departure after the 14 day quarantine I left the damn mug in the sink and for some reason it's bugged me ever since. I grew attached to that cup. The other night I found a website selling them, so that was impulse buy No. 1.
https://teakdoor.com/attachment.php?...2&d=1706695467
My second impulse buy was another pair of cargo shorts. I have found the most comfortable cargo shorts ever on Amazon and wear them constantly... not only cargo but checked and all sorts. The other night I decided to get a few more pairs in case they run out, and my mum used one pair as wrapping for the coffee mug and kindly sent them over (first of four pairs!).
https://teakdoor.com/attachment.php?...5&d=1706695971
I'll probably regret this because there'll be a rush, but these are the shorts...
https://teakdoor.com/attachment.php?...4&d=1706695603
I'm still not sure about my third impulse buy. Occasionally I obviously drink more Ya Dong than is good for me. Even after ironing I can't really think of an occasion where this T-shirt would be suitable... for a grown adult. I think it must be time to get back to work!
https://teakdoor.com/attachment.php?...3&d=1706695484
did you pay extra for the chips or was that mums poor packing?Quote:
Originally Posted by Mendip
not for a pony, you got proper tucked up mate, seen you coming like Hattie JacquesQuote:
Originally Posted by Mendip
^^Champion t-shirt Mendip.
Latest deployment to defend the kitchen counter of democracy from the bad guys and aiming for peas in our time is a US M104 Patriot Missile battery courtesy of our good friends at Raytheon.
Attachment 111336
In service for almost 50 years the Patriot Missile system is expected to be in service for at least another 20 years, with 3 units currently in service in Ookraina on the frontier against the dark side.
This unit is being piloted by a drunken WWII resistance french farmer armed with a moustache and a bottle of Burgundy.
Attachment 111337
^^^£25 quid a pop.
:smileylaughing: