It's the first day of winter. . . Happy Solstice!

Yet another Victorian-era image of Santa Claus/ Father Christmas, this time in red with a sprig of holly, one of spruce, and a pack of toys and assorted goodies for the little ones on his back.

Little of great consequence to report today. Finished the black bits on those current ten figures lats night. This afternoon and evening it's the two-part process on the coats. During breakfast today, I introduced Young Master Paul to a slice of his mother's stollen, which he quickly consumed and then asked for more. Good boy. Can the requisite mug of fresh, strong coffee be far behind? Not, I fear, if we want the Young Master to sleep again before 2020!

Later, I ran a couple of final errands to assist Santa Claus midday and returned in time for a pre-Christmas walk around the neighborhood with the Grand Duchess and the Young Master, who insisted on climbing the stars to the second floor by himself this morning. It's amazing how quickly language development and various motor skills come at this age.

No snow yet here in the Grand Duchy, but the day is seasonably chilly, dark, and damp, very like the two weeks when I visited my mother and stepfather in Southampton, England for the Christmas-New Year's period where Step-Dad was a misplaced Welshman and lecturer in International Relations at the University of Southampton at the time. And although it's been almost 25 years since that trip, its fun, warmth, and delightful experiences are always vivid in my mind come late December. Almost as if it were only yesterday. Sigh. I can't help be feel jolly and full of good cheer at this time of year.

And here is a Norwegian julenisse, enjoying his traditional bowl of porridge on Christmas Eve. In Norway, it is this nisse who brings toys to the children, but you must remember to leave a bowl of porridge in the barn for him otherwise misfortune will befall your farm in the coming year. The tomte is a very similar figure in neighboring Sweden.

The 6th (Luebecker Musketeers) Regiment of Infantry with steps two and three completed.

Presenting the Anspach-Bayreuth Kuirassiere!!!

Here they are, with the rearmost nine figures still drying, three squadrons of the Anspach-Bayreuth Kuirassiere, now in the service of the Grand Duchy of Stollen. And now, it's onto that artillery!

And It's the End of September!!!

Saxony's Ploetz Cuirassiers, an illustration lifted from the Kronoskaf website, which has thus far guided my spectacularly glacial painting of 30 28mm Eureka Saxon cuirassiers purchased all the way back in October 2016. A gray, cool Saturday here in Mid-Michigan with rain in the forecast. The Grand Duchess is away at a conference, so it's just "The Boys" here at home. The Young Master (almost 15) has retreated to his room for something or other following breakfast while I have stolen back down here to Zum Stollenkeller (masquerading as my office) with a second mug of coffee and both cats comfortably ensconced nearby. Enjoying the late morning and still in my pajamas! Not much planned for today beyond designing a couple of promotional flyers for workshops my department is presenting (small parties we will throw?) in October and November. With maybe a bit of on the next podcast script. More important, I am toying with the idea of returning for an hour or...

Happy September 2nd!!!

T his weekend, the question of what, precisely, constitutes an "imagination" came up in an online forum of which I am a part. To be fair, the issue originates from further afield in a Facebook group that I am not a member of, but I weighed in with my own view. The following was in response to the question posed yesterday (Sunday) morning by an exasperated member of my own rather more gentlemanly town square, who had been met with a strident response to information he shared about his (admirable) hobby activities on said FB group. Here is, more or less, what I wrote: To my mind, the concept of imagi-nation(s) is a broad one. It can range from historical refights or what-if scenarios/battles/campaigns between armies of a particular era, to completely made up combatants operating in a quasi-historical setting, to the rather generic red and blue forces of the Prussian Kriegspiel that examine a particular tactical problem, task, or exercise. ...

The Grand Duchy of Stollen

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