Jumping in

Father's Day

I have been posting few photos and even fewer sentences to this blog.

I had a very nice Father’s Day. I was told on Saturday that I had to sleep in on Sunday, so I did as instructed.  This gave the girls time to fix me a breakfast in bed (peanut butter and jelly toast, a sunny-side up fried egg, and chocolate soy milk mixed with La Croix sparkling water.) 

They gave me clay sculptures they had fashioned, which were cute and which I may put on my desk at work. 

I told them that what I wanted to do most was play board games, and let them pick which games.  We ended up playing two games of Clue: The Great Museum Caper.  I was the thief in the second game, and got caught before I even stole the second painting.  Then we played Sorry!, which is not a game I hold in any esteem, but which involves such a barrage of character-building misfortune and eye-poking that I manage to feel somewhat engaged.

Then we met up with some other family members, including a couple other dads, for dessert.  The late afternoon was spent chatting and swimming, then I did a little gardening at home.

Buddy

Potatoes

A couple of months ago I had a few potatoes that were shriveling and sprouting on the kitchen counter, so I buried them in a pot. Today I figured it was time to unearth the resulting growth, since the leaves were yellowing and summer heat is setting in. This is what I got.

Archery lesson

Floyds Fork

Wading at Simons birthday 

Spiderwort and asiatic lilies

Watermelon with teeth

I carved this at the request of my daughters' art teacher as a centerpiece for the school art show.

Farmer vs. Businessman

My family visited some friends over the weekend, and their 8-year-old son was eager to rope someone into playing a board game he had created.  I did not play (he did not specifically invite me), but I watched with interest.  He had obviously spent a fair amount of time putting it together.

The premise: A 2-player game in which one side is a farmer and the other is a businessman. The business man has a car, the farmer drives a tractor.  You select your choice of weapon: bow and arrow, pistol, or musket.  You then fight one another was well as fighting goblins as you work your way up to fighting and defeating the Boss, thereby winning the game.

I gather that some of the inspiration comes from some video game or other that he and his classmates play, but I have no idea what.  Anyway, I thought it was pretty funny, and I was impressed. Hooray for 8-year-old gamers.

 

 

Plein air painting on lunch break

This is the result of several sessions of painting over at E. P. Sawyer Park during lunch. It is acrylic on panel, 10 x 16 inches.

Derby Day corn hole

I took this photo because I wanted it to go with photos from around 1974 of family playing horse shoes in the exact same spot.

Pool duck

It is like a pool toy that can't be touched.

Forbidden Front Porch

Speaking of games, some friends invited us over to dinner last weekend, and it was suggested we bring a few games. I grabbed Forbidden Island as one of the games, and after dinner my 9-year-old pulled it out to play with the other kids (our friends’ two sons, plus three of their neighbors).  I thought it unlikely to work out because I thought they would be too distracted and would prefer to run around. However, when I looked out onto the front porch a half-hour later, I was surprised to see all seven kids sitting beneath the porch light, crowded around the game.  They had somehow devised a 5-player game that involved the Diver giving piggy-back rides, but whatever, they were having a great time.

X-Wing Miniatures and Dominion

Lando and the rookie encountering an imperial entanglement in the asteroid field

The last wounded TIE bomber failing to shake the closing X-wing pilot

I met up with some friends for games today. First we played X-Wing. Aaron and Paul flew a TIE fighter and two TIE bombers; Paul 's son Connor and I flew an x-wing and Lando in the Falcon. It was a tough match. I, flying Lando, 'sploded but inflicted a lot of damage. Connor's rookie then mopped up for a Pyrrhic Rebel victory. Then we played Dominion, and it was my Worst. Game. Yet. Everyone starts the game with three victory points. I ended the game with three. Terrible. It was a very low scoring game, but still. I love the game, though.

"You Are Allowed to Eat A Burger For Breakfast If You've Been Up All Night Fighting Crime"

 I was visiting friends last weekend when I saw this piece of art hanging in their house.  I learned that their teenage daughter, Anna, created it--a combination of hand drawn work, photography, and digital manipulation.  Besides the obvious subject matter, it is also a depiction of her and her father.  Anna kindly forwarded the digital file to me to post on my blogs.  It's not the first time I've been impressed by her work.  I am envious of her creativity.

Lunch break walk

Things are turning green

Painting along Floyds Fork

16 X 20 inch acrylic painting on panel. I stood painting in the field for a few hours, and my neck is burned. I am glad I was wearing long sleeves and a hat. Bumble bees as big as golf balls kept swooping in to investigate, and a variety of spiders wanted to climb to my shoulders to chat with me, but I persevered.

Self portrait

Got a new phone. Still learning to use it. Here is a photo I accidentally took of myself as I tried to change a setting so I could snap a picture of the snow on my car.

Billy Joel: Live at the KFC Yum! Center

 Billy Joel: A Concert Review

An enthusiastic crowd of somewhere over 150 greeted Mr. Joel last night at the KFC Yum! Center.  Mr. Joel immediately gained bonus points for not saying what a horrid, crappy name "KFC Yum! Center" is, and instead complemented the venue based on size and neatness (or so I read into his comments.  I was seated approximately 1.3 miles away and 200 feet higher in elevation, so I may have missed some nuances.)

Speaking of venue and audience, I would also like to mention that all those people didn't smell that bad.  How do you cram that many people into a building, and not have a terrific stink problem?  I suppose that the ventilation system must be top-notch, but I think some credit must also go to Americans in general.  Americans are very good bathers.  This crowd was also very nicely dressed.

Mr. Joel played many crowd-pleasing favorites, and he played them just softly enough to allow me to hear the mellow, joyful voices of my wife and several thousand of our terraced seat-neighbors singing along with him.  The songs, in my opinion, got better as the night wore on.  Perhaps he was wearing me down? Or perhaps he was saving the best for last?

One of the evening's grand highlights was a belting performance of AC/DC's "Highway to Hell" by Chainsaw, one of the road crew, with Mr. Joel on guitar. It was very nice of Mr. Joel to pause his piano performance for an homage to rock and roll, a genre for which he seems to have some fondness, though seems hesitant to venture into himself.

Despite my disappointment with the mysterious absence from the playlist of the theme song to "Bosom Buddies," the Tom Hanks/Peter Scolari cultural watershed from a generation ago, the evening was a delight.

Carlton Winwood opened for Mr. Joel.  I may be mis-remembering the name. I did not recognize any of his songs, but from a great distance his shiny leather jacket and hat looked dashing.

 

St. Louis from the Arch

I took a lot of panaromic photos, and this might be the only one that came out the way I wanted.

Saturday Night Space Combat

Travis came over and we played a couple of games.  First off, we played a few games of Magic: The Gathering.  Travis had to teach me, and after a couple of games I started catching on.  I had been taught to play once, by Kelly, about 15 years ago, but I barely remembered it.  I still have cards that Kelly gave me, though.  I'm sure I'll have the chance to play Travis again.

Next, we played some X-Wing Miniatures.  Travis was called home before we could finish our 125-ish point game;  at that point, I had only lost one Obsidian Squadron TIE, but he had lost a decked-out HWK and had shields stripped from his B-wing and his X-wing piloted by Wedge Antilles, so it wasn't looking too good for him and his Rebels.  My initial maneuvering was good, but just as valuable were some lucky dice rolls on my part.

Photos from early February

It was a long, cold, relatively snowy winter.  We had fun...but I am glad that spring is here, despite my sudden increase in sneeziness.

Games last weekend

Last weekend I was invited to a gathering to play games. There were 14-16 people playing, so it was time for party games. First we played Ultimate Werewolf. I had played simpler versions of Werewolf, with just a plain deck of cards and only three basic roles (villagers, werewolves, and a seer.)  I've always enjoyed that, but it was even better with Ultimate Werewolf because of the additional roles.

We played a couple of games of that; in the second game, I was in the final group of four people before the remaining players correctly guessed I was a werewolf (cub) and killed me.  The last laugh was on them, though, because then the chupacabra ate them.

Next we played  Cards Against Humanity, which I have played before with some of the same group.  I enjoy the game--so far--but I don't know how long-lived my enjoyment would be, and I certainly wouldn't want to play it with everyone I know.  The highlight of the game, I think, was when someone drew the question card: "War, what is it good for?"  Some of the card responses that people had in their hands, and played, were: "Nothing," "Amputees," "A windmill full of corpses," "Land mines," and "Large corporations."  The lady who had the question card, and who had to pick her favorite answer, looked them over and said, "Jeez, what happened to the funny answers?"

Later in the evening, people started leaving, and a smaller group started to pick out a more "gamer-y" game, which I would have loved to stay for, but I did not think I would be able to stay awake for it.

Most of the people at the party were people I had never met, and the ones I had met I barely knew.  I was thinking about this:  I like games so much that I am even willing to play them with strangers, which is tough, because I consider myself pretty introverted.  But then I also started to wonder that maybe that is one of the reasons why I like games to begin with.  Maybe it gives a more definite framework to the social interaction, more of a script to follow. I dunno.

Acrylic landscape

Sycamores by Beargrass Creek - Mark Tabler- Acrylic on panel

Here's a small landscape I completed a few days ago.  It's 12 x 16 (I think! Now I have to measure it when I get the chance, to make sure.)  This is all acrylic, which is rare for me.  Most paintings I've done have been either all oil, or oil over an acrylic underpainting.  I want to work more with acrylics; I need to get used to the fast drying time and how they handle compared to oils, but the payoff will be faster work and easier plein-air transport, I think.

X-Wing Miniatures Custom Asteroids

Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures homemade asteroids

I recently had to use a little Great Stuff spray foam insulation around my house, and when I was done I had a lot left over, so decided to experiment to see how it would work for making asteroids.  I’m pretty happy with the results, so I’m sharing the process for other Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures players.

The cans of Great Stuff are around $7-8.00, and that was the only thing I had to spend money on.  Plenty comes in the can: After some minor hole-filling around the house, I easily had enough left over for at least 50 asteroids, if I cared to make that many.

I have experience with art and with miniatures painting, although I am *nothing* compared to some of the terrain/miniatures builders and painters you can find elsewhere on the internet.  Much of the stuff I list below is the same thing other people do better than I can, and most of this process has been described before elsewhere.  I’m just detailing it all here with my variations on it for the sake of completeness.

I think I’ve seen people mention using craft foam for asteroids. I had heard of people using Great Stuff to build terrain before, but I’m not really seeing anyone specifically mention it for asteroids.  Some people use pumice stones, which look fantastic, but one advantage of Great Stuff  is that it’s very light, easy to shape, and can be easily glued.

Note: follow all warnings on the can of Great Stuff.  It is very sticky, so avoid contact with skin and clothing, and don’t use it in an area that doesn’t have good ventilation.

Materials required:

-Great Stuff foam

-Electric drill

-Needle nose pliers

-Hot glue gun

-Sharp knife

-Paper clips (large size)

-Plastic caps from milk jugs, water bottles, and juice bottles (an assortment of sizes is ideal)

-Paper clips

-Acrylic paint & a brush

Shaping the asteroids:

   1)      Spray small blobs of the Geat Stuff onto scrap newspaper or cardboard.  It expands to several times its original size as it dries, so only use a small amount

   2)      As the foam starts to set, use something small and disposable (a toothpick, a twig, etc. – not your finger, unless you want a sticky mess) to manipulate the foam into bumpy shapes.  Try to get some peaks or roughness.

   3)      Let the foam cure until the center is dry. Overnight works best.

   4)      Tear the dried blobs of foam off of the paper. Use a craft knife or other sharp knife to peel and cut away parts the smooth skin. I liked to leave some smooth areas, but you might not.

   5)      Use your finger nails to pinch out craters and break up any straight lines into more irregular forms.

Painting the asteroids

1)      Thin down some black acrylic paint so that it is pretty liquid. Paint over the asteroid, using the brush to work the paint into the holes and crevices. Allow to dry.

2)      Mix a dark gray or brown (whatever color you think as asteroid should be). Paint over the asteroid, leaving recessed areas and the undersides of ridges with some black for a shadow effect.

3)      Add some white to the paint, and go over the asteroid again, dry brushing higher areas to make highlights. Repeat this step with increasingly lighter paint if you want more highlighting.

Building the bases

   1)      Using a very small drill bit, drill holes in the centers of each bottle cap.

   2)      Straighten the paper clips with needle nose pliers.

   3)      Twist one end of the paper clip into a flat loop, or some other shape that would provide a surface to which to glue the bottom of the asteroid.

   4)      Poke the other end of the paper clip through the hole in the bottle cap, then use the pliers to twist that end into a flat gluing surface.

   5)      Holding the paper clip steady against the top of the inside of the bottle cap, hot glue it in place.

   6)      Hot glue the other end of the paper clip to the bottom of the asteroid.

   7)      I painted the paper clips black, but I’m not sure how durable that is going to be.  The paint might peel off too easily, so you might want to try wrapping the paper clip in black tape, or wrap it in masking tape before painting it black. Alternately, black vinyl coated paper clips might be ideal.

   8)      I cut out disks of black scrap felt and glued them to the tops of the bottle caps so that they matched the play area.  I painted the sides of the bases black, but I think next I will go ahead and wrap the sides in felt, too.

The asteroids are much more stable then I feared they would be; you can bump them and they won’t fall over easily, because the foam is so light.  The one that was just a little top-heavy was fixed by hot-gluing a penny inside the base, although it didn’t really need it.

Just by coincidence, the bottle cap bases I picked to use fit very nicely on the six different asteroid tokens that came with the Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures core set, but I might cut my own out of the black felt and paint them.

In the future, I think I’ll dot the felt play area with white dots for stars, and then do the same for the asteroids bases to “camouflage” them.  I think they will blend in nicely.

DIY asteroid terrain

New house portrait

I finished this a couple of weeks ago. It's 6 x 9 inches.  It was a very nice one to work on because there wasn't any problem getting a good view, and the house has attractive proportions and good contrasts.  Sometimes it can be a real headache, but this one wasn't.

Lunch break walk

With snow, mud, and ducks.

X-Wing Miniatures

I had fun meeting some friends last night for some tiny plastic space combat.  Tiny though the ships are, I set up the largest X-wing Miniatures game I've tried yet: Nine Imperial ships versus six Rebels, on a slightly oversized play area.  It was 166 points per side, with four players, including two who had never played before, so it was kind of slow going for a while.  After we got the rules down, and after a few ships were blown up, things started going a little faster.  Not fast enough, though--we could not finish before the game store we met at started closing.  I'm not even sure who was getting the upper hand.

Weekend games

I'm still not playing enough games, but thank goodness I'm able to work a few in over the weekend.

A couple of times this weekend we got out The Magic Labyrinth. The second time, we substituted little dogs for the little plastic witch and wizard pawns, just on a whim.

I recently got a copy of Memoir '44, and Kevin came over to play on Saturday night.  I had only played once before, with Aaron, but I've wanted the game for quite a while, and thought Kevin might enjoy trying it out.

We played the "introductory" Pegasus Bridge scenario, and then played the liberation (successful this time...we'll see about next time) of Sainte-Mère-Église. I think it's a fun game, especially because it's so quick to learn and, once learned, pretty fast-playing. The two games we played used almost exclusively infantry.  I'm looking forward to trying more armor- and artillery- heavy scenarios.

The Magic Labyrinth

...now with dogs!

Crepes

I decided to try making crepes for the first time. The girls wanted to pitch in. They will be ready to eat in four minutes.

This girl is capable of flopping around in the snow all day.

Ice

Snowwoman

We built a snow lady, Katie-Kate Grape-Eyes, today. I rolled the bottom segment in the back yard, and on the way to the front it got so big I could hardly manage it.

Jill started on the second part, the torso, but I had to take over when it got too big. Erin rolled the head around to the front of the house.

The torso was so heavy that we had to call Kim out. We still could not lift it, so I got two short poles from the garage and Kim and I hoisted it, with difficulty, in the same way the carried the Ark in "Raiders."

We also built a ramp for the sled, which provided an extra level of sledding amusement.

X-Wing Miniatures, Memoir '44

I played some games last night with Aaron and his oldest son. First we played King of Tokyo, which I had never played and which wad great. Then we played a simplified X-wing match, with two X-wings vs. four TIE fighters; the X-wings won. Then we tried our first game of Memoir '44, the Pegasus scenario. Despite heavy casualties, the British seized one of the two bridges and broke up the German defensive positions. It was a good night.