Lazin' on a sunny afternoon. . .

In the summertime. Truly one of the great songs by the Kinks, led by the talented Ray Davies.

Our ABBA Fest was a resounding success yesterday evening. Lots of friends, food, laughter, and (campy) 70s music. It was great fun, and the Grand Duchess and I have decided to do it all again in a year. But with Swedish flags next time!

This morning, I put the Grand Duchess on a plane to a four-day conference in Virginia, so now it’s just me and the kitty for a little while. Sad to say, I haven’t done ANYTHING today, and it’s been rather nice. I think I’ll get back to those two mounted RSM generals this evening though. A couple of hours’ work should just about finish them. Tomorrow, I’ll apply acrylic gesso to that unit of Revell Prussians, who are slated to become a pioneer battalion for Zichenau.

In other news, I have my three 30”x 72” folding tables, which will form the basis of my gaming table! Office Max had a sale on these this passed week. Initially, the Grand Duchess suggested we get two for occasional use on the patio in the summers for parties. What a wife! The price was so good, that I returned yesterday and purchased a third. We needed all three tables, it turned out, for drinks and food on our patio in the back yard last night. So, it seems that I was actually a bit foresighted for once. ;-)

Anyway, I’ll also use these folding tables for wargaming with ¾” thick, two-foot square pieces of MDF board on top, painted light green as I mentioned here some days ago. The playing area will be an expansive 6’ x 8’! If the mood strikes me, I might hop in the car tomorrow, go get this stuff, and spend the afternoon painting the gaming surface. If not, then later in the week. Rest assured, I’ll post a few photos with some soldiers and scenery set out when everything is finished.

Monday afternoon is our first band practice session, as also I mentioned here some days previously. I haven’t been as excited by the prospect of a rehearsal since sometime in the early 1980s. Should be fun. Can’t wait to start playing and singing all those old songs.

On another note, Tuesday is our second wedding anniversary already. Where does the time go? The Grand Duchess will return from her conference that evening, and I think I’ll treat her to dinner out with some wine before we head home. I’ve also purchased her an unusual anniversary gift, though it is very appropriate to Sonja, but I won’t spill the beans here just yet because she does visit the Grand Duchy of Stollen blog occasionally.

Finally, I have won the contract to translate a recent Norwegian novel, by Stig Sæterbakken, into English, an exciting prospect to say the least. First, it’s a chance to use my languishing Norwegian language skills for the first time in several years beyond the usual daily dose of Norwegian State Broadcasting newscasts online. Second, the project should pay a reasonable amount for the work involved. Translation work is typically notorious for its low pay relative to the work and time involved. I can attest to this thanks to a truly wretched technical translation project I handled ten years ago – for kitchen sink garbage disposals of all things! Third, with a translated novel under my belt, it will be fairly easy to parlay that into additional translation work in the future. So, it seems that there was some point to all that study, travel, and residence in Norway during the 1990s after all. More on this as things unfold.

Ok, time to scoot my chair on over to the painting desk and put those brushes to work. Enjoy the weekend everyone!