Skip to main content

We need a litte cold and snow in the Grand Duchy!

Here is a picture of Santa Claus/Father Christmas in fur-trimmed purple robes, whch make his look magical and almost wizard-like.

Lots of people moan about winter weather, but I love it.  Winter is my favorite season, and my ideal day is about 20 degrees Fahrenheit with 7-10" of fresh powdery snow on the ground.  Ideal for Nordic (cross-country) skiing even without groomed trails.  Sadly, we have so far had a pretty balmy December here in Central Illinois.  Sunny and 45 degrees Fahrenheit today and warmer tomorrow.  There have been times in recent years (though not in 2011) when is was bitterly cold with snow on the ground by now.  And pre-Young Master Paul, the Grand Duchess and I have even enjoyed skiing locally and in Southern Wisconsin by now.  Sigh.  Yes.  We need some cold and snow right this very minute, to paraphrase the song!

On another note, I've tinkered with the GD of S blog format again, opting for a rather more dynamic appearance that has yet been the case.  It's certainly more eye-catching, and even busier, but I am aware that old black design with white font was not easy for everyone to read.  Hence the new look.  I hope you might like it.

Off to school in  a little while to collect my last batch of undergraduate papers.  I hope to have all of my final grades submitted by Saturday or Sunday this weekend, so I can work on my own things for a while.  And, true to pre-Christmas form, it's a busy time here at Stollen Central.  Friday evening, I play my final gig with my amateur rock band The Indras.  We've had a good four-year run, but it's time to either move on or reconfigure the band.  Of course if I could find guys who would reliably practice and not take months to learn a handful of new tunes.  Sigh.  

On other fronts, the Grand Duchess and I  also have a small party coming up here at Stollen Central on Saturday, and we plan to decorate the Christmas trees next Monday.  And then, it's fairly quiet sailing on into Christmas Week and the end of the year.  And in the meantime, I'll keep plugging away that those 18 remaining Minden and RSM95 staff figures. 

Comments

Peter Douglas said…
Stokes

We have plenty of snow and cold here - and you're more than welcome to it. It's warmed up to -13C today (that's 9F for those of you still measuring in medieval king's body parts) and we've already had more snow that we did all last winter. The link shows a photo (not mine) of the yard at my daughter's high school complete with Coyote.

http://www.theweathernetwork.com/your_weather/details/620/8982506/2/cask0261/plpcities/1920/

As for the band, I checked you out on bandmix and I do bash out early Beatles and rockabilly on an Epiphone Casino in my basement, but that is a long drive from your home base!

Hope you get some results on both fronts soon.

Cheers
PD
11:34 AM
Mike Siggins said…
Blimey Stokes, you have gone all Pinterest on us.

My personal advice would be to adopt a scheme and font that evokes the 18th century!
2:08 AM
Big Andy said…
We have as the local say nae snaa here - yet but you can have the cold- and the frezing fog too if you like.
4:04 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The 18th century? What's the Fascination?

Hessian musketeers by All the King's Men Toy Soldiers of Snellville, Georgia, U.S.A. Just a quick post post today, but I thought the above question might be interesting food for thought. Obviously, there is an array of possible periods, theaters, and conflicts that might catch our eyes. But what is it about the era 1700-1799 -- either real, or imagined? Is it the commanders and politics? The fairly straightforward tactics? The myriad of uniforms and flags? The variety and scope of the conflicts? The patchwork of various and sundry petty states, (at least in Central Europe)? I'm very interested to learn your thoughts. Don't be a lurker! Please leave a comment -- or even two or three. Have a nice day everyone!
35 comments
Read more

An Early July Hussar Update. . .

  Marginally neater in appearance with green bases, girths, and ivory horse markings added, but I need to neaten up some hooves now before moving onto the rest of the tack. W here in the world did June go? While I still ponder the answer to that question, how about a quick painting update on the first batch of 14 Minden Austrian hussars and Nadasdy? Good.  I'm glad we are of a like mind. Still on the sloppy side, but I've managed to move things along, painting the green bases, white (ivory) horse markings, and beginning the miles and miles of tack adorning the various horses.  I always like to begin with the girths spanning the horses' ribs which helped hold the saddles in place.  Even with the figures mounted individually on temporary painting bases, these can be kind of tricky to access, but there we are. I've also used various Army Painter washes (Mid-Brown and Strong Tone) as well as their Speed Paint (Grim Black) to make the manes and tails of the horses a bit m...
9 comments
Read more

And a few more photos. . .

Ok, here are a few of the 2nd Musketeer regiment in process during late-July and August. Enjoy!
3 comments
Read more