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So much to do, so little time. . .

Yesterday was a full day. Besides speed painting a battery of Zichenauer artillery (above) for the upcoming “Action at Zollamt” and working a bit on preparing the Spencer Smith/Holger Eriksson cavalry for painting, we had SNOW!!! So, it was fairly easy for the Grand Duchess to coax me away from the painting desk for a couple of hours yesterday.


We visited Ewing Park, a local municipal park, where we had a delightful 90 minutes on skis exploring the various sections and paths of the park. It was also fun watching the 75 or so children and fathers sledding down one of the bigger hills. The 2007-2006 Nordic skiing season has begun in earnest!

Today, we have about 6-7” of the fluffy white stuff. So, following a late breakfast, we’ll pick up the Christmas tree, follow with another jaunt on the cross country skis, and then decorate this evening after supper. Hmmm. . . toy soldiers, fresh snow, skiing, a purring kitty, and Christmas trees. Life is good. Oh yes, and somewhere in there, I’ll put in a bit more time on the artillery battery, do some Christmas cards, and tally final grades.

Comments

tradgardmastare said…
Looks wonderful - I really envy the amount of snow you get.We mainly get rain in the winter these days but last night's heavy frost was beautiful.
Hve you ever thought of raising ski troops for the Duchy ? The Norwegians had very effective ones in both the 18th and 9 th centuries. They also had sledge bourn artillery as well as ammunition/ supply wagons on sledges pulled by men on skis. Some super modelling ideas .....
11:44 AM
Bluebear Jeff said…
Actually, Stokes, your "speed painting" already looks better than my finished figures.

Cross-country skiing is lots of fun (as long as one doesn't turn it into exercise). I'm glad that you and the Grand Duchess had a chance to do some.


-- Jeff
6:51 PM
Der Alte Fritz said…
Stokes: I live a few miles north of you and it sounds like you got a bit more snow than we did in Hesse Seewald (around 8" total north suburbs of Chicago). I would be most happy to ship all of it to Tradgardland (or Scotland, as the case may be) as I would not miss it one bit. I'm dreaming of a green Christmas.

I like the artillery crew in the red coats. Where did you get the giant gun models?
1:07 AM
old-tidders said…
it looks a bit cold out there in the snow !

-- Allan
7:04 AM
WSTKS-FM Worldwide said…
Thank you for your friendly remarks, men! The pr-Christmas snow here in the Grand Duchy has been great fun. Funny how the flat, endless stretches of cornfield outside of town look so beautiful with a good covering of snow.

Got a few little things finished on the artillery crews last night, including the officer's horse. They are just about done. Fritz, the cannon are 25mm MinFig SYW pieces that Tom Dye of GFI fame had cast for me last year when I made a small order to supplement my Revell 1/72 plastics.

We'll be in Chicago all day today, but maybe I' can get to work on the guns late this evening. We'll see. :-)

Best Regards,

Stokes
8:52 AM
abdul666 said…
Stokes,
the Zichenauer artillery looks quite impressive!

Enjoy the snow, but don't risk frozen fingers delaying too much the painting of the Cavalry (Cavalry *has* to be rigt in time..)

Cheers,
Jean-Louis
3:08 AM
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