Ruth's Place Diorama

Sorry to hear of this John, hope Mrs. J is feeling better.

WOW !!! What a week indeed John, and it all started with a little foot surgery. Give her my best, and tell her not to kick you so hard next time.

Sorry to hear all this, I wish nothing but the best for you and your mate. I hope she has a speedy recovery.

First of all you don't owe us an apology, the hobby is second to real life.

Secondly pass on our best to your good lady, tell her to accept all the fussing and attention she's getting, she's obviously worth it after 56 years together.

Thirdly don't over do it yourself, it won't do if both of you are run down will it?


hope everything get back to normal as soon as possible for you both.

Take care of the wife, John. They're a lot more than just a hobby.

Thanks guys. Your support is invaluable. She is a great deal better today. We see the doctor tomorrow so we should have some info tomorrow night. Al, Skype usual time on Tuesday, I hope.

good stuff John.

We saw the doctor again this morning and she had the cast removed. Looks like she I healing well. She is now in a removable boot, but will still be non-weight bearing for another six weeks. She's not a happy camper over that.

I'm back to working on Ruth's, but it is slow going. Hopefully I'll have some progress shots tomorrow or the next day. Thanks to all of you who have commented or called. It means a lot to both of us. John

Lets give it another try.  Right after I said I would be getting going again my wife suffered another fall.  This time there was no head injury thank God, but it set her recovery back quite a bit.  About the same time I took a misstep and twisted my right hip severely.  On a scale of 1-10 the pain was a 15!!  I was convinced that I had broken my hip.  Fortunately the damage was all muscular, but I was off my feet for about two weeks.  Thank God for our adult daughters; don't know what we would had done without them.  It has been a rough couple of months around here, but hopefully things will settle down now.

I managed to get back to Ruth's a few days ago.  Here is where the dining car stands at the moment.







As you can see there is still a loooooooooong way to go.  It is going to be hit and miss until September though.  We were scheduled to spend time in Idaho with our other grandkids this summer and my wife will not hear of not going.  We will be back and forth so some work will get done, but there will be a lot of down time.  



The ends of the car will be identical as the car is meant to be a former interurban (street car for you guys not familiar with model railroading.) Here is hoping it will not be so long before the next update.

Sorry to hear about the further woes John, I hope your both much better very soon.
Glad to see 'Ruth's' back and Im looking forward to seeing it come together.
Heres to the next update and take care. 

I've told you guys before to stop knocking each other about!!!

Nice work John, it's looking good.

Sorry to hear about the additional issues, it's always a bummer when life throws multiple curve balls repeatedly. But it is nice to see some progress on the dio, and for something like this the slow and patient route is usually the best. All the best for a summer of smooth roads and pleasant events.

John, some interesting stuff here for your dioramas in which you include police officers.

http://www.policecarmodels.com/g1pofi.html

Gary: Thanks, but I've been aware of this site for some time. I've made several purchases from him and can attest to his excellent response and customer service.

I kind of got sidetracked from Ruth's Place, but expect to be getting back to it next week. Thanks again. John

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Great to read you're back to near normal. Health issues can dominate lives at any age. Your "restaurant" is like so many of the past. Last I saw there was still one in downtown Chicago! Wish you the best and hope Ruth get her place finished!

Blimey mate just back off hols, I hope the missus is still on the mend, that was an unfortunate accident and must have been scary.
The diner is looking great.

Glad to hear all is good on your end John.

Damn John, sorry to hear of all the difficulties. Glad you and your wife are back on the mend.

Some good progress on Ruth's, the end panels are coming along quiet well.

The trolley car you're building looks a lot better than the kit. Really like the red Chev too.

Seems that 2016 was a really nasty year around the Johnson household. Early on in the year I had a severe case of bronchitis that put me down for about a month. Around the first of the year my wife slipped on some ice and severely damaged her ankle which required major surgery to rebuild her ankle and foot in May. When she got out of the hospital a week later the first thing she did at home was fall and split her head open, back to the hospital. We finally got her somewhat back together, but according to the doctor she will be May of this year before she will be able to say the foot and ankle are healed. Needless to say there was not much modeling getting done during this time. Taking care of my wife and some other obligations that I have just did not leave time.

After Christmas it looked like things were enough in order that I could get back to Ruth's. Turned out this was not to be though. The week after Christmas I woke up in the middle of the night with extreme pain in my left neck and left chest. I thought it was that I had slept wrong on that side so I took a couple of hydrocodone and got back to sleep. When I woke up the next morning the pain was worse and I had developed a nasty case of confusion. I really did not have any idea what was going on.

My wife got me loaded in the car and took me to American Fork Regional ER. At the hospital they did a CT of my brain and a chest xray. A bit later the doctor came in and told me I had pneumonia and a severe sepsis. He was not real encouraging and admitted me to the ICU. By that time I was still real confused and did not really understand what was going on. My wife managed to get me to realize that doctor had just told me I might die.

To make what is already a long story some what shorter, I spent 30 hours in ICU hooked up to every tube and wire they had. During that time I did improve somewhat, but remained very weak and confused. After the ICU stay I was transferred to a medical floor for the next five days. I was finally released a little over a week ago and am now at home. The pneumonia and sepsis are gone, but I'm still pretty weak.

Enough whining for now. I'm home and wanting to get back to modeling. I'm going to make another run on Ruth's. Hopefully 2017 will prove to be a better year for us. Tell you though, GETTING OLD AINT FOR SISSIES.

Getting going  again.  The diner will sit on a stone foundation.  The foundation will be made from broken and stained mosaic tiles.




I found these several years ago at Michael's. The tiles are made in Israel. They were on sale and I bought four cans. It's fortunate in that I have never been able to find any more.




I break the tiles and then stain them with an alcohol/ink stain. It takes several times, but the final result is worth the effort. I'll post photos of the stones when finished. Well it's good to be back at it. Hopefully this year will be more productive.

Wow John, Im so sorry to hear of your trauma, lived on ICU for a couple of months with Stevie, SCARY place. Glad to hear your on the road to recovery though. Don't get carried away and build your strength back up, I believe single malt whiskey should be prescribed, A large dose each evening.

I very much look forward to progress on Ruth's and the stones look great, but gradually and only when your ready. (and I mean really ready).

Glad to hear you're back at home and getting better John.