Bang! Pssssssssss. . .

I'm afraid that my lack of painting opportunities the past few months are to the far right here!

Sooner, or later, I suppose it happens to everyone in the miniatures painting and (war-)gaming hobby.  Real life gets in the way early on and will not budge and get out of the blasted way.  You know?  Kind of like when you are racing to make a connecting flight across a large airport in another terminal building, and you get stuck behind someone with lots of carry-on baggage and numerous drifting children on one of those moving sidewalk thingies.  But the people who are walking over to your right or left, those smart souls who chose the old-fashioned method of simply walking on the non-conveyered tiled floor, are zipping by at a much faster rate.  It's simply maddening when you think about it too much.  Know what I mean?

Anyway, that is what has happened during the last few months, as the autumn term has worn on, here at Stollen Central.  The sheer number of student drafts and final papers for my three writing intensive courses this semester have come at such a pace and been so relentless that, very frankly, I have simply lacked the mental energy by the end of the day to fathom picking up a paintbrush most evenings or weekends.  And the work has even intruded upon bedtime reading, which is the usual method of escape for a couple of hours most late evenings before turning out the bedside lamp.  Grumble, grumble.   Whimper, whimper.

Oh, sure.  I've done dribs and drabs of brushwork here and there in tiny fits of paniced energy as the water has risen to first to me chest, chin, and then nose.  But of the 20 or so Fife&Drum, Minden, and RSM95 mid-18th century generals and staff officers I pledged to complete in the current painting challenge between my collection of wargaming friends and acquaintances, I have only managed to finish two.  Almost.  The rest remain silently and steadfastly at the ready, still in their two coats of white basecoat on the painting table behind me here in Zum Stollenkeller.  

Still, chin up, eh?  The nice, long American Thanksgiving holiday weekend is just about here, and things will calm down once classes conclude at the end of the first week of December.  That should give me a bit more time than has been the case since late August.  And when classes resume in January, my teaching load will be a little lighter.  Mercifully.  And who knows?  Maybe I can get the 20 or so figures currently on the painting table taken care of by Christmas?  But enough about my hobby tales of woe.  It's time to do a little planning for today's classes.  Sigh.