Family and Friends.

"Horns of a Dilemma. Er, Horns of the Buffalo!"

Photo by Tim the Younger, taken at the Battle of Cowpens Convention back when it was still in Greenville, SC. Left to right: John, myself, Tim the Elder, and an unknown gamer that was on our side. This was a very fun 15 mm Colonial Zulu game.

You've gotta love our expressions! I think this perfectly sums up some of the wonderful fun and dilemmas that a good game can have.

Recently I've been thinking a lot about Family and Friends. I'm sure some of it was triggered by Ezekiel's birth. I'm sure some of it is because of this blog ~ it helps me to think about stuff. Some of it is because of the very nature of sitting quietly and painting figures. You have time to think, to reflect. (If you are like I suspect most gamers are you are superstitious to some degree. Why think about negative crap when you're working on figures that you want to imbue with power and positive energy???)

I really am fortunate and blessed to have an amazing Family. And I really am fortunate and blessed in having some amazing Friends. Sure we all have friends and acquintances. True Friends are something else entirely! True Friends are your Family without the blood ties.

I got a great email from Ted Sunday. He's one of my oldest and best Friends. He's bigger and taller than I am, but he's still my "little" Brother. We met in an art class back in High School. He was a year younger than me and I can't remember if I was a Junior or a Senior. But I will never forget walking past his desk, looking down and saying, "Nice painting of Napoleonic Prussian Artillery!" We were kindred spirits. We still are.

That was the beginning of a life time's Friendship. It doesn't matter what happens in our lives, or how much time time goes by before we're in touch again. We're Friends. We're Brothers in our hearts.

Like each of my Friends, Ted is amazing in his own ways. He made my reproduction of the Churburg armour. He teaches professional Hockey goal tending. He's been called up to play professionally. He's a metals conservator. He and Carlaa have a band with a number of CDs out. They travel the world and Live their Bliss.

Like I said, all of my Friends really are neat people!

You can tell that I've been thinking about Ted lately. Years ago he took us with him when he made made a conservator's trip to the Higgins Museum. He gave me a Scottish Claymore letter opener, because "Every Laird needs his sword." It's in my office, on my desk in the mug that holds my pens. I think about Ted every time I use it.

Until I cleaned and re-arranged the lving room I used it when I was packing rubber molds. But when I was cleaning the desk again I found a burnishing tool that had been my Fathers. Sunday was the first time that I used the burnisher for mold packing. Sorry Ted, that's what I'm using from now ~ no quillons to push against, but the handle fits my hand better when I'm working on molds.

Speaking of Friends and memories . . .

See the little kid? He rolled more sixes than any of us had ever seen! (Their whole side wanted him to roll for them.)

See Tim rolling?

See Tim the Elder rolling another one?

I really think that game was the beginning of his streak of rolling ones. It's been going on for years. It's statistically impossible. (He's kept track, and it is depressing.) We've been teasing him about rolling ones for years. I've always wondered how he offended the dice.

Seeing this photo by Tim the Younger again makes me wonder . . . should we be asking how he offended that kid?!?

Tonight I'm working on the Centaurs!

Thanksgiving Day Thanks

I do have so much to be Thankful for.







Friends and Family and Love above all.






Ezekiel Anderson Gibbs was delivered by c-section after Arie was in labor for 26 hours. They, and Lucien, are well but still tired. Ezekiel will be in the NICU for another day or so before they can go home.

Pat was in the hospital about to have Carl over a Thanksgiving. She definitely relates. Somehow no one thought to bring her a Thanksgiving dinner ~ I wasn't in her life then or I would have. We'll start to make up for it today.

I am going to spend the day cooking. It's what I do for Fun. Cooking is also how I show my Love; how I make it real for others to feel, to taste, to understand . . .

At times I think that we don't think about things enough, especialy the really simple, fundamental, things ~ like Food or Living, or sometimes even Love.

Today I will do my best and I am going to have Fun ~ doing and preping and cooking and being.

Carl and I will drink some beer ~ judging by last night, probably more than we should! We did have fun and we stayed up way too late talking about just about everything. Who knows if we solved all of the world's problems? But we did talk. It was good.

We'll make up plates to take to the kids in the hospital and we will share our love with them.

I know that everyone says it . . . But, Ezekiel really is a beautiful baby! And I am tearing up thinking of him.

I did keep myself busy while we waited, at home, to hear that he was born (with Carl calling Lucien every two hours). I got some painting done on the first of the Centaurs. The night he was born was the first night I worked on this one and I was determined to get his hair done in time. I did. Actually I got quite a bit more done.

I think I spent two evenings painting him so far ~ flesh and hair and saddle blanket that first night. Then his hooves, the armour, sword and shield. No, somehow, it has been three evenings! Last night I did some touch ups, the strapping and his base.

Ezekiel's Own are coming right along!
Appropriately enough, Ezekiel has the most amazing little pointed AElf ears. Just like this Centaur's! (He really does!)

The other two Centaurs have some flash that I need to take care of before I begin painting them. It's been Fun to paint one figure. I am really enjoying myself and it's a great feeling to see these figures coming to life under my brush.

I am thankful that I am painting again.

I am thankful for my very special Friends.

Today I woke, much later than I had meant to, and had a wonderful Thanksgiving e-mail from Tim the Elder. He's as into The Secret Plan as I am! Together we're going to have a great time surprising T the Younger and Poppa John.

I really would like to do this game as a follow up to one of our Castle Devin games. At first I was reluctant to ~ I didn't want to dirupt Tim's world. Knowing that he's as into the idea as I am . . .

Oh, we're going to have Fun with this!!!

As Tim the Elder said today: "Sheriff of Devinville leading a posse chasing the squirmy Welsh into a deep misty woods... but wait, what's that un-earthly sound? A growl? A scream? OH MY GAWWWWDDDD.....!!"

It gets my imagination flowing! And it makes me want to get even more figures painted! I really think we'll have to stage the grand unveiling to celebrate my 50th Birthday. It will make that day even more special.

I think that I will remember painting Ezekiel's Own and all of the Fun and all of the thanks that fill my heart right now.

I am thankful for my Family and Friends. They really are that special. My wife is amazing and I truly love her. My friends are mind boggling. Each is special in so many different ways. It's Fun to Live! It's Fun to Love!
Happy Thanksgiving!

It's Almost Baby Time !

I am ready, and due, for a short break and so I am going to paint up some Centaurs next . . .
Goodness.

We just learned that labor has been induced and that sometime in the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours our first Great Grand Child will be born.

(Gulp.)

So in His Honour it is only appropriate that I begin to paint Duke Ezekiel's Own Life Guards !!! !! !!! !

I present the beginnings of His Grace Duke Ezekeil's Own Life Guard !

Battle Hymn

Nope ~ didn't get any painting done last night. By the time we finished dinner it was 9 PM. Though I did get eight meals made and in the freezer. But it's just not the same as an hour or so of painting time . . .

I think I need to make some changes to my schedule!

As I mentioned before, I am very blessed to have some very good friends. Each are special and talented in their own ways. Since Tim the Elder likes what I'm doing here, tracking my painting progress and recording some of our gaming adventures, it's time for something new . . .

Tim the Elder has for years regaled us (and literally reduced us to hysterics) with his gaming songs. Generally they have something to do with that day's battle. They have almost all been written on his drive to my house, or scribbled in a parking lot. They range from the sublime to the ridiculous. He has made us laugh so hard that we have cryed with our sides splitting!


If you think that's tough, imagine being on his side in the game and getting to be his back up singer ~ 'cause he'll hand you the lyrics, tell you what tune it's sung to and off you go! As in this picture, from January of 2006, I'm obviously stunned in disbelief as Tim gestures to get the accent right as he sings the lead!

So, today's installment was first sung, to the tune of The Battle Hymn of the Republic, by Tim the Elder on February 19th, 2000.

The Battle Hymn of the Wargamer

My dice have been responsible for losing all my wars
Whenever I need sixes they will always come up fours
My game buddies all laugh and tease about my lowly scores
Bad dice roll on and on

I'm such a whiz at flank marches until I roll the dice
My troops that were in hot pursuit are now as cold as ice
It's hard to turn a flank when your own men have turned to mice
Bad dice roll on and on

Lordy, Lordy how they screw ya
Lordy, Lordy how they screw ya
Lordy, Lordy how they screw ya
Bad dice roll on and on

I can occupy the high ground with my back towards the sun
I can fortify positions but before my turn is done
I can test morale and watch my men surrender, die and run
Bad dice roll on and on

I have seen my veteran infantry marching like they were lame
I have seen my charging cavalry run back from where they came
I have seen my 12 pound battery go up in smoke and flame
Bad dice roll on and on

Lordy, Lordy how they screw ya
Lordy, Lordy how they screw ya
Lordy, Lordy how they screw ya
Bad dice roll on and on

I can change the rules to help me but my friends would give me lip
I can change the army lists to make sure mine are best equipped
I can change my name to Gladys Knight to get a decent "pip"
Bad dice roll on and on

Lordy, Lordy how they screw ya
Lordy, Lordy how they screw ya
Lordy, Lordy how they screw ya
Bad dice roll on and on


If only I can find a photo of him on his knees wearing a paper bicorne, with a hand in his shirt, as he was singing his Ballad of Napoleon the Frog . . .

No Excuses.

Despite my best intentions I haven't gotten any painting done all week ~ I got a lot of other things done, but absolutely no painting. No excuses. Time to make it happen.

The general online consensus seems to be that putting in an hour a day painting really adds up quickly. I had hoped to make up for my lost time by getting in a full day over this weekend. Reality intruded and I didn't even get the paints out yesterday. I know that I'm not going to be able to put eight hours in today. But as soon as I finish this post I'm making my run to the store and sitting down to paint! No ifs ands or buts.

I hope to take some before and after photos to help record my progress here. For now though, I leave you with some older photos. The first is from our "In the Cardinal's Garden" skirmish game.

I am truly blessed by having some very good friends to game with! And each and every one is talented in many different ways. Tim the Younger designed a brillant set of Three Musketeers skirmish rules that are card driven and a real hoot to play. For once all four of us can play on the same side, as the King's Musketeers against, of course, the Cardinal's Guards. Being Gentlemen the idea is to wound and incapacitate your opponants rather than simply kill them. (After all, when duelling is illegal why add murder to your problems?)

We had a great time playing and giggling. Unfortunately I only have a couple of photographs. The two Tims supplied the figures, which are pre-painted "toys". We played on my 2' by 3' foot mini-table. I made all of the terrain the week before. Determined to surprise Tim the Younger I busted my butt and ended up staying up most of the night finishing everything before they came. It was worth it!

The flower beds are flocked bases, with craft store flowers glued on very early that morning. The bench is constructed of foam core board. The statue is a knight from my chess set ~ otherwise I would have painted it too. The statue's base is a craft store wooden plaque painted as stone. Unfortunately the fountain I made is just out of sight behind the statue and figures. The trees are smaller scale ones that I use with our 15 and 5 mm games. The pots are craft shop candle holders spray painted red.
This photo was taken on June the 10th of 2005. The last of the Cardinal's Guards has just been driven from the field!

In August of 2006 Tim the Elder came up for a visit and to (drum roll!) unveil his Chateau d'Vin!

We had been talking about it and emailing information to each other for a long time. Tim had worked on it off and on for, I think he said, about thirty-some years . . . Through every move and change in his life he held on to his idea to make a modular castle for 25 mm gaming. No one had ever seen it until that day. He brought along the first version of his De Bellus Skirmishus rules for the two of us to test play.

No, he wouldn't let me into the room until he had set everything up. When I opened the door this is what I saw!

For now, this is the aerial view of the Chateau d'Vin! Tim actually designed it to fit on my table. This first set up is just a rough overview as we tested his rules. Things got much more finished and elaborate in later games and the Chateau de'Vin is now Castle Devin.

The rules work and we have held a number of great games using his castle in the last couple of years. More photos to follow.

Now, just as I am finishing this and about to go to the store so I have the whole day free and ahead of myself for painting . . . Some of our very best friends called asking if we wanted to go to lunch and spend some time together this afternoon . . .

We have eat so this will be a very nice bonus! When we get home I am painting some AElves !!!