A Veritable Fleet of Trucks!

The newly completed trucks just waiting for their coat of shiny varnish later tonight.

Here they are, all done except for a shiny coat of acrylic varnish. From left to right: a city garbage truck, a Federal Express truck, a UPS (United Parcel Services) truck, and a United States Postal Services truck. Paul calls the latter a 'Leslie' since that is the name of our local mail lady.

Normally, we teach him to call all adults either Mr., Mrs./Ms., or whatever professional title might be appropriate, but we are actually friendly with our mail carrier and began introducing Paul to her before we knew her last name. So, she remains Leslie to him.   Whenever we are out together in the car, or on foot, and the Young Master spots a small mail van, he calls out, "There is a Leslie!"

For those who might be interested, the trucks measure approximately 33/4" long x 2" high x 11/2" across. I used blocks of wood plus wooden wheels, tiny metal screws, and washers plus various tubes of acrylic paint by Liquitex. I wish I could add a convincing blue eagle to each side of the US Mail van in the right foreground, but my painting hand is not good with large birds. It's a foul state of affairs, but there you are. I suspect that the Young Master will not mind at this point in his life however.

And it seems that this year is shaping up to be the Christmas of wheeled vehicles. He'll be getting all kinds of cars, trucks, and heavy equipment from various family members and Santa Claus. Christmas Day should be loads of fun for him. The vastly increased level of awareness and excitement the Paul displays multiple times daily this Christmas season about seeing the trees and the Swedish star in the front window are truly a joy to behold.

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!

Having a "No Day". . .

F or the almost 20 years that she lived in Mexico, one of my late mother's Irish friends frequently mentioned having a "No Day." A day with no social obligations, chores, tasks, or other work that interfered with whatever personal interests took one's fancy on the day in question. Since today -- a gray and chilly Saturday -- is Mom's birthday, the Grand Duchess is out with friends, and the Young Master is ensconced on the sofa in the TV room with a cold, yours truly is taking his own such No Day. I think Mom would approve of my decision to make the world go away, as the old Eddie Arnold song intoned, even if only for a little while. So, I will spend Saturday afternoon focused on that first squadron and small regimental staff of Eureka Saxon cuirassiers. These have stood waiting untouched over on the painting table for almost three weeks while we skied and otherwise gadded about with snowy, winter outdoor activities. I hope to share a painting update Sunday a

Keepin' an Eye on the World Going By My Window . .

'The Nap at the Palace' by Jose Triado Mayol N ot much in the way of hobby-related activity happening here in the Grand Duchy lately. Sigh. And no surprise there really since there are only so many hours in the day, only so much mental and physical energy to spare, and you sometimes simply just have to give in and know when to say, um, "When!" A glass of wine and/or evening yoga by the hearth with the Grand Duchess (who has practiced for over 20 years), and then off into la-la land. Zzzzzzzzz. More immediately, I'm recovering, mentally speaking, from a grueling Friday in which I was involved with three (online) conference sessions, one right after the other, followed by a 90-minute meeting at the end of the day. Also virtual. My brain has been mush ever since, so an easy, completely unproductive Saturday watching intermittent snow fall outside (no accumulation however) and drinking coffee while the visiting handymen completed some repair work down her

The Grand Duchy of Stollen

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