Well, the Grand Duchy of Stollen has shut down today due to an area blizzard blowing through the area! We may possibly get 12" of snow out of the storm by the time it's through. Winds have already picked up, and temperatures will drop to below 0 degrees Fahrenheit by tonight. Windchill temperatures will be even colder.
All area schools, colleges, and universities as well as libraries, shelters, etc. are closed today, so the Grand Duchess Sonja is having a deserved lie-in and awaiting breakfast in bed at 10AM. As for me, I'm enjoying a mug of coffee at the moment and listening to the weather alerts on the National Weather Service Radio.
This is exciting and reminds me of all of those bad winter storms we used to get in Eastern Pennsylvania when I was a child in the 1970s. During the 1977-78 school year, we had snow days beginning before Thanksgiving through March and were in school, making up the missed days, until the last week of June!
I have many happy memories of sitting with my mom and grandparents at the big picture window in the kitchen and watching the snow pile up on days like these as we talked about this and that and drank hot chocolate or tea. There were lots of large Hemlock trees (evergreens) on my grandparents' place, and these always looked so pretty when they were weighted down with new snow. Sigh.
Of course, most importantly, our blizzard in Illinois means that skiing will remain good for a little while longer. We won't head out today, but possibly tomorrow or Thursday and of course the weekend is looking good too. :-) I haven't been able to ski like this since living in Norway -- Hurra, hurra, hurra!!!
On the figure painting front, things are looking good. Squadron B is all finished execpt for the horses. I painted the metallic parts last evening and will let the silver oil paint dry for a couple of days before doing the horses. Tonight I'll undercoat the final dragoon squadron with a coat of black acrylic paint while the others dry. I also base coated, undercoated, and painted the green base on the miniature I'll enter in the Golden Grenadier painting competition.
Last, I traced and cut out 30 thin oval card bases for the 4th (Trakehnen) Dragoons and glued each figure to its base. I've done this because the figure bases on Revell 1/72 cavalry are all different sizes and I wanted a uniform base size, so the unit looks better when all lined up. And it does if I do say so myself. The final thing I'll do before varnishing the 30-strong regiment is to touch up these bases with a coat or two of GW Goblin Green paint. You might say that last night was an especially productive time. I'll try to post a photo or two of the current state of the regiment later this afternoon. Stay tuned!
All area schools, colleges, and universities as well as libraries, shelters, etc. are closed today, so the Grand Duchess Sonja is having a deserved lie-in and awaiting breakfast in bed at 10AM. As for me, I'm enjoying a mug of coffee at the moment and listening to the weather alerts on the National Weather Service Radio.
This is exciting and reminds me of all of those bad winter storms we used to get in Eastern Pennsylvania when I was a child in the 1970s. During the 1977-78 school year, we had snow days beginning before Thanksgiving through March and were in school, making up the missed days, until the last week of June!
I have many happy memories of sitting with my mom and grandparents at the big picture window in the kitchen and watching the snow pile up on days like these as we talked about this and that and drank hot chocolate or tea. There were lots of large Hemlock trees (evergreens) on my grandparents' place, and these always looked so pretty when they were weighted down with new snow. Sigh.
Of course, most importantly, our blizzard in Illinois means that skiing will remain good for a little while longer. We won't head out today, but possibly tomorrow or Thursday and of course the weekend is looking good too. :-) I haven't been able to ski like this since living in Norway -- Hurra, hurra, hurra!!!
On the figure painting front, things are looking good. Squadron B is all finished execpt for the horses. I painted the metallic parts last evening and will let the silver oil paint dry for a couple of days before doing the horses. Tonight I'll undercoat the final dragoon squadron with a coat of black acrylic paint while the others dry. I also base coated, undercoated, and painted the green base on the miniature I'll enter in the Golden Grenadier painting competition.
Last, I traced and cut out 30 thin oval card bases for the 4th (Trakehnen) Dragoons and glued each figure to its base. I've done this because the figure bases on Revell 1/72 cavalry are all different sizes and I wanted a uniform base size, so the unit looks better when all lined up. And it does if I do say so myself. The final thing I'll do before varnishing the 30-strong regiment is to touch up these bases with a coat or two of GW Goblin Green paint. You might say that last night was an especially productive time. I'll try to post a photo or two of the current state of the regiment later this afternoon. Stay tuned!
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-- Jeff