Checking In

Despite rumors to the contrary, I haven't fallen off the edge of the earth. Life in all its forms has gotten and stayed extremely busy since the fall - and things only now are showing some signs of letting up. 
One of the leading time sinks over the past several months has been the process of building the new house. In an interesting turn of events, the people who bought our old house bought the furniture - every stick of it - as well. And although it's been great that we haven't had to pay to move and store tables, couches, beds and the like for several months only to find they don't fit the new house - it's also meant we've been spending a great deal of time shopping for furniture. 

New Layout Area - but what form will the new layout take? 

But the new house is getting dangerously close to be being "finished" - the seemingly never ending extra long days at work seem to regaining at least a sense of returning to normal hours, and things are looking good. 
What I haven't gotten a lot of done lately is model railroading. 
I managed to start a couple of car kits, and they sit in early stages of assembly on my modeling desk. I strongly suspect they'll be getting packed up shortly as we are scheduled to close on the house at the end of the month. 
In fact, the main model railroading thing I've gotten accomplished in the few months we've been living in the apartment is working closely with my friend Lance Mindheim to design a plan for the Richford Branch inspired layout. I'll likely share the track plan here at some point in the future - but frankly want to move in and live with the space for a little while before committing to say "this is the plan." 
To those of you familiar with Lance's approach to such things, the layout is what might, at first glance, seem minimalist. Honestly, there's more "scope" that could be cut from even the "final" draft as it now sits. 
There's also a nagging temptation, based on the ongoing reality of how all-encompassing work has become over the past year, to think a very simple, stand alone layout - perhaps with a radically different theme - may be the best approach for now. 
Expect no decisions anytime soon as the "to do" list for various household tasks after we move in are going to take priority over layout construction. Honestly, I doubt I'll cut the first piece of lumber before the weather turns cold again.