Happy Thanksgiving from the Quiet Grand Duchy of Stollen. . .

Not a very model soliderly photograph at all, and, sadly, not our dinner table this year either since most of our finer things remain in storage. But maybe by Christmas?

Deathly quiet in recent months here at The Grand Duchy of Stollen without much to report. We are still alive though. The planned solider painting just has not happened due to extremely limited desk space, much of which has been covered with student papers and related course notes since classes began back on September 2nd. Still, we have much else to be thankful for including the sale of our old house in Illinois, which closed yesterday and now belongs to someone else. . . or rather their bank for the next 30 years.

Here in Michigan, we are waiting for our lender to issue a closing date for our own Totleigh-in-the-Wold, but that has been delayed by the long Thanksgiving Weekend. We had hoped to hear on that early this week. Sigh. All desired repairs have, however, been carried out and given the A-OK by our house inspector, all paperwork from us has been submitted with all it the i's dotted and the t's crossed saying we the purchasers approve of said repairs. With any luck at all, we can close shortly, move in just before Christmas, and get the first floor of the house squared away before Christmas Eve. Cross your fingers and toes. The Grand Duchess and I have had it with this blasted apartment into which the three of us have been crammed since the summer.

In the meantime, allow me to wish those of you who celebrate to have a happy and reflective Thanksgiving wherever you might find yourself today. It ain't all just about the food and the NFL games. While I may fret, grumble, and grouse about this and that, we indeed have much to be thankful for. Goodness knows that there are plenty of people around the world in much more dire straights and in want of common necessities that I and many others take for granted from our relatively safe vantage point here in the United States. When I stop and remember that, suddenly my own frustrations seem very small in comparison.

-- Stokes

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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