Day 31

I like my days long and my nights short. I rise before sunrise and rest long after the run disappears. It is my favorite day to rise at 5ish, wake up, never leave my house, and do so much. So Saturday was a good day. I am not for a party, but give me something to watch, read, play, or paint (miniatures or models), and I am ready to stay up.

I woke too early (unlike Sunday when I rose after 10AM and the morning vanished before it seemed to start) with plans to enjoy the day, and unlike today, I did not put the blog off but immediately wrote it. I also returned to buying individual songs instead of buying yet-another-service and creating playlists in iTunes of new alternative rock. I like a beat that moves. My mind runs twice as fast when a tune beats me forward, especially some tight and new. I give the young artists credit for my continued faith in mankind–humans who can make that are obviously something special.

Doing my best revisionist Dan Brown-style:

Prometheus did not bring fire; we figured that out; he taught us to sing, scales, and beat- something uniquely human. What else is the light of humans? Zeus was angry that the humans invented something new with his Titan’s help, which got Prometheus chained. All musicians push against those chains, trying to break the bounds of limits and find that perfect sound, words, and beat mix. 

All day, I listened online to Kink.fm, and when a song I liked, say “Wish I Knew You” by The Revivalists, I stopped what I was doing, find it on iTunes (each time rejecting Apple’s service for monthly service), but it for a buck or two, and add it to my 2024 Q1 playlist. This is how I used to buy music before being busy with all the events of 2022-23. Nice to focus on new music again–so amazing.

Yes, I am running lyrical this Sunday morning…

I returned to painting figures that morning. I am working on my Egyptian undead and a problematic figure. I care very little for metal figures that have to be assembled. Hard plastic works for me, but most metal figures break, and the parts fly in the carpet. Of all things, the lich (an undead spell caster) figure’s head is unattached. It has an extended neck, suggesting a snake-like origin of the creature. So I glue it on. I start painting and knock the figure to the floor. F**k. I have not dropped anything all day, but my robe, I am still not dressed, is not the best for working on detailed items. I cannot find the head. It flew five feet and was painted red. I spot some fluff and ignore it–it’s red. I return to it. It is the head on which I had painted the crown red (according to the archeological records, it is red and white). I then use a tiny drill bit to drill a hole through the head, exiting in the left eye and the neck of the figure. I place a hard brass deadeye from my wooden ship models, cut off the loop, and use CA glue to lock it all together. If you don’t drop the metal figures over three feet, about a table height, these will hold and, if loosened, require a drop of CA to lock them back in place.

With the figure rebuilt, I returned to painting it. It takes many hours to complete. I take breaks to do other things to get my focus back and let the paint dry, and I decide to use manual shading with bottles of ink. I use Strong Tone on clothing and Dark Tone on the undead features. The figure looks good to me, removing most of the stain from the crown, which stands out too much, but the undead are not known for their color choices!

The figure is dark, but again, it fits, I think. I used the bone color from Army Painter instead of pure white, which I often use for skeletons. I resist dry brushing on some bright colors to get stronger contrasts. It is undead and a gaming figure, actually a named creature, for The Dark Tower 5E version of the old Dungeons and Dragons adventure and time to stop. Done (except for the final protective coat of dull clear spray–very light coat).

Scythe mechs are my next back-logged item that has spent years on my workbench. I start them. I am using a different painting practice for these. These use washed-down paints. They are painted overly bright as the process will darken them. I have all but abandoned this painting style for Dungeons and Dragons miniatures. Returning to this process, I dilute my paints and start the touch-up process to finish these models. I have homemade decals of the Scythe factions and apply them to the mechs to make them more attractive. It really improves the look.

For dinner, I am watching Dan Brown films, thus my lyrical nature today, and made a pasta dinner with baked chicken thighs (skinless and boneless) with salt and Italian-style spices. I heat a spicy sauce from a jar as the pasta and chicken will be too flat-flavored. I use a large glass pan to bake the pasta covered with sauce and the chicken set on top. Dinner is good, and I rotate painting, reading, cooking, eating, and some housework all day.

I finally stopped with five of six factions. I have to paint some white circles under some of the decals as the film is only partially transparent and assumes a white background. I will complete the decals and the decal solvent treatments to lock the decal on the model. If I spray them without the locking, the decal will curl off and fall off when sprayed with a sealant. A frustrating experience for most modelers.

Aside: The SciFi models of Star Trek’s USS Enterprise involve large sheets of decals–I have thus avoided them.

It gets later, and the storm, having dropped only an inch of snow, shut down the area. The winds have taken down trees everywhere. We have power outages (Dondrea, Donna, and Z do not have power or heat) everywhere. Secondary streets are blocked by trees. There is limited plowing as power lines and trees are blocking access. Even the gas lines are partially impacted by the loss of power as a primary power grid is down. While Air Volvo has no issues with this snow and limited ice, there is no reason to try it. I stay home warm and comfy.

I read until late and finally sleep. I woke up a few times.

Thanks for reading!