Our Wedding Anniversary --

My darling bride, Loraine (known as "Lani") and I were married 15 years ago (January 8, 1997).


Tonight we went out to dinner at a local restaurant to celebrate. And yes, that is prime rib on our plates (yum!).

There hasn't been much to report on the wargames front lately. Between the Holidays and my health, I've not played anything for a while . . . but Murdock, Pete and I have tentatively set up for either painting or playing on January 22.

My wish is for all of you to be as happy in your relationships and my wife and I are in our marriage.

-- Jeff

Merry Christmas to All --


I hope that you all have a wonderful day today. May the joys of the Season and the innocence of children wrap you in a warm happy mood . . . and may it continue into the new year.

And may all of that New Year bring each and every one of you good health and pleasant times . . . with lots of new toys and memorable games.

And, finally, yes, that is me in my "Santa" guise . . . and it is okay to smile at this funny old fat man . . . I don't mind at all.

-- Jeff

Our 2011 Christmas Trees --

Last week we got both of out trees up.

Our "inside tree", as seen at left, is about an 8' Fraser Fir. We like them because while they are fairly full, they do have spaces where you make place ornaments "inside" them.

(note: try clicking on image for a closer look . . . well depending upon just how Blogger is treating photos today)

Our tree is mostly decorated with red and/or white ornaments . . . although there are many "specials" that we've acquired over the years.

This year's "special" is pretty much right in the middle of the tree. It features a cameo. As my Grandfather told me (and he said that his had told him), "the men in our family have always given cameos to the women they love".

Now while I've given my wife a few cameos, this was the first time I found one for our tree.

Out on our front porch we have a 6 1/2' artificial tree that must be close to 15 years old.

We have found that some larger seemingly garish ornaments (when seen up close) look good from the street.

A few of our other trees may be seen in some of my older posts. Click here for the 2009 tree. Click here for the 2008 tree.

Here is wishing that you may have a wonderful holiday season.

-- Jeff

A Silly Injury --

A few nights ago I got up in the middle of the night to do something. I raised my left arm up to reach something as I was twisting to the right . . . and it happened.

I coughed.

Pain lanced from my spine along one of my lower ribs on my right side. Very sharp immediate yelp-out-loud pain. . . . all from a silly cough at the wrong time while I was doing the wrong thing.

I didn't pop the rib free from the spine, but I sure did mess up the intercostal muscles. You know, the ones that hurt when you breathe or move or (heaven forbid) cough.

So I've been doing little more than taking pain meds and sleeping . . . all because of a little cough . . . oh yeah, I also feel very silly too . . . but I can't laugh about it because that hurts as well.

*sigh*

-- Jeff

Gout Strikes Me Again --

Yes, being very Eighteenth Century, I am once again afflicted with an attack of gout.

This time it is in my left ankle . . . and it hurts like something that would get this blog censored.

No, gout does NOT just attack the big toes (although those are common and very painful). It can attack in any joint. Besides the toes, I've had it in ankles and knees . . . none of which are any fun.

My only real other gaming news (as reported on Colonel Hud's Colonial Blog) is that my Afristan Campaign is currently in hiatus due to a serious health issue with one of the players (he is facing heart surgery on Monday morning).

Okay, I'll admit that I have also played a few sessions of 1st edition AD&D . . . well I did get my start back in the '70s with role-playing . . . and I've contributed the use of my figures to represent characters and bad-guys on the table top. But it isn't the same as "real" toy soldiers.

-- Jeff

(OT) Trick or Treat Report --

Well it was rather disappointing tonight ala "trick or treaters". Last year we had 108 T&Ters over a 2 1/2 hours. This year we only had 63 over a 3 3/4 hour window. That is 45 fewer than last year


I try to take photos of most of the costumes so that my wife (who is a semi-invalid) can get to see them later. Most kids came in groups like the one above (click on photos for a hopefully better view . . . depending upon how Blogger is dealing with photos this week).


The little fellow above was one of the first; and the girl below (who looks out through the hat) probably had the best costume. Overall it seems to me that we had far fewer "little kids" without a corresponding decrease in teenagers.


Now what are we to do with all of the left-over candy? Both my wife and I have Type II diabetes . . . so we can't eat it . . . ah, well, we'll think of something like having it out for gamers.

-- Jeff

My Paint Rack --

I primarily use "craft paints" . . . you know, the inexpensive ones that come in 2 fl oz (59 ml) plastic bottles. They are usually found in "craft stores" or "dollar-type stores".

Anyway some years ago I purchased a "Provo Craft Spinner Rack". It holds 160 bottles of these 2 oz craft paints. I have found it quite useful for easy view and use of these paints.

Still I had never come close to filling it until this week when my dear wife gave me her collection of craft paints (her "numb hands" prevent her from controlling her brushes) . . . which also explains some of the colors that don't seem very martial.


As you can see from the above photo of the "warm side" of the rack, each side holds 80 paints. (Hopefully if you click on it, you'll get to see a larger image; but Blogger keeps changing the way it acts when you do so . . . so who knows.)

The image below will show you the "cool side" which also contains the varnishes and metallics on the right hand side.


I got my on eBay . . . but you if you want to get one that way you need to take your time. Some folks want outrageous prices for them and others are quite reasonable. I think that I got mine some years back for around $30 plus shipping . . . but check out the cost of shipping before you bid on one . . . again sometimes that cost is unacceptable.

I would suggest that you check with any local craft shops first to see if they carry them . . . or how much they'd charge if you ordered one.

Below is an image of the side of the rack . . . so you can see the central post that the whole thing turns on. By the way, when full of paints like this it is quite heavy.


Finally you will have noticed that I've painted each lid the color of the paint inside. This is because paints can dry either lighter or darker than their "wet" appearance . . . and it makes it very easy to find the shade of color that I want.

By the way, while most come with white lids, some craft paints come with a "gold top" (such as the fourth ones down in the photo above). These I first paint white before painting their proper color on them.

-- Jeff