I've moved!

I've moved over to RomanaSum.com. Come join me in my Roman recreation adventures!

Medieval Pavilion Tent for sale!

 SOLD 1/10/14


Practically new! Panther Primitives French Double-Belled Wedge, 12’ wide x 20’ long (8’ ridge). with sod flaps and doors on both sides. Sunforger canvas with flame-retardant treatment. Green-trimmed dags. You may have seen it this season in a Merchant’s Row, where I do acupuncture and medical massage. This is a large wedge tent with half-circles added to each end for an overall oval floor.  A queen-sized mattress fits easily in the center section between the ridge poles. 

The canopy fly gives gorgeous shade & rain protection. It goes up separately, so you can leave it off, or use it as an unattached day shade. I’ve made a custom curtain (pale green) to provide some privacy (aka hide your stuff, or set a privy bucket) in one of the round ends. I’ve adapted the ties on one door to accept toggle ties (for going in and out rapidly) but you can still use them as normal ties. Stayed dry inside during heavy overnight rains at 2013 Grand Thing, and was rock-solid stable in high winds at 2013 An Tir/West War, where multiple tents blew away. 

I LOVE this beautiful tent. The only reason I’m selling it is to buy Roman-style tents to match my persona (yes, I’m that much of a geek). The canvas is clean, no mildew or wear. One pole cracked after an unfortunate run-in with a steel mallet, but it’s been repaired with Gorilla wood glue and a pair of hose clamps. It’s not pretty, but I bet it’s stronger than the other poles now! I suggest you use that pole for the curtained end and nobody will ever know. Price as listed in the Panther catalog with the extras: $1781. Plus hundreds for shipping? Grab this gently-used beauty for $1200. Also willing to talk trade for Roman-style tent(s). I can deliver, but I may ask for fuel help if you're far away. Note: Poles can be sleeved to break apart for transport. They are currently 100" long.

Available at 12th Night (SeaTac, 1/10/14), or pick it up in Portland now!  Sharon@rosecityacupuncture.com, 503-964-3422

First soldiers (mostly unarmed)

Edited to add: I don't like the gloss on the fur - will cover that with a matte finish or more paint to dull it back down.

For those of you playing along at home, these are 1.3" tall. Compare the pics from the last entry to these: 

I'm really digging the copper armor. Robert doesn't like it, and I don't care. :) Ignore the left guy's hammer, it'll be removed - I was just using it to hold onto while I painted. He was the one that came built. I figured I'd go ahead and remove the chest skull and do him up as an experiment with brown accessories. Then I did the right guy with black ones, and grey fur on his cloak.

Clearly I need to smooth the chests more (post-skullectomy surgery). The good news is that I have slightly more guys than I need, so the worst one(s) will become spare(s). I suppose I should do their arms next. Retrofitting the right weaponry is challenging since the arms don't match the Grey Knight arms. More surgery and sculpting coming...

De-Chaos-ing the Warriors of Chaos

As built by the eBay seller (the other 11 were still on sprue, and I only need 11). Note skulls, horns, rivets... are all now removed. 

BEFORE: Just off the sprue.

AFTER: Cloak, trimmed up and holes patched. Will need a little more smoothing out before I start painting. Still not sure if I want to remove the shoulder spike or not. Big thanks to Val for introducing me to liquid green stuff. Made the hole-patching much easier!

Color tests on spare shields. Copper and various greys.

Color tests, continued. I know it looks black in this lousy pic, but the dark color is actually blue.

If only I didn't *use* my hands...

Fun art concept, but not so useful for daily life. :)

Warhammer, lite

Grey Knight Nemesis Dreadknight

Ok, so let me esplain this Warhammer thing. No, there is too much... let me sum up. 


Basically a bunch of geeks paint (or sometimes buy painted) tiny figures, then play war games with them.  Most do Warhammer 40K, which has a modern warfare / sci-fi sort of feel. You can build your army with a combination of infantry, tanks, air support, etc. It's done on a point system, and you compete against another geek's army of equal point values, although you may have differing weaknesses and strengths.

How the Dreadknight arrives (1 of 3 sprues)

The guys and equipment come in pieces. You get, say, 10 heads, 10 torsos, 20 arms with varying weaponry, and 10 sets of legs, all differing slightly from each other. Plus there's a bunch of decor, kit, and gear. You build fancy bases... You mix and match the bits to create and assemble individuals that tell a little story. Then you pick your color scheme. Some slap on one coat and call it good. For true detail junkies there is layering and washes and custom sculpting. Robert does a 4 color camouflage on his men that's pretty impressive (click to embiggen). I loved watching him do his thing but the army itself didn't call to me.  Then we went to a tournament, and I saw some spectacular paint jobs on more eclectic armies, and that's when I got hooked.

Robert's commander and a few troops

Now I'm designing an army of my own. Painting 100 nearly identical grunts doesn't appeal to me, so my army is based on the Grey Knight codex (each flavor of army has its own rulebook, outlining skills, weapons, and defensive parameters) which lets me have a smaller number of powerful, hard-to-kill guys. Rather than use actual Grey Knight, Robo-Cop-looking figures, though, I'm going to alter some Warhammer Fantasy guys.


In the place of an elite squad of Terminators (giant cyber-soldiers), I'm using Warriors of Chaos. I'll make them look more human, and trim off a lot of the skulls and horns. As I said in the previous post, my aesthetic is "Medieval Badass." There will be lots of before and after pics as I modify and cannibalize in future posts.


Instead of a tank, I'm using a war elephant. To represent an APC (armored personnel carrier), I'm going to sculpt a "tortoise" formation, bristling with firepower. The designation of the pieces is identified by size & shape of the base, seriousness of their armor, and weaponry. This means that my plate- and chain-mail wearing dudes will be carrying guns. I can live with that. :) After all, I'm pairing elephant use with a much later style of dress. This is about fun, not historical accuracy.


Those of you who know me at all are no doubt wondering why I'm not fielding a Roman army. Simply put, they aren't heavily armored enough to be an "elite" squad. I'd need zillions of them, mostly cookie-cutter. And frankly, I'm much more interested in the unique designing, painting and sculpting than the war games. I may wind up building a Roman diorama just for fun, down the road... we'll see.


One final note: I am doing this on a budget. Scrounging in Robert's "extras" bin and shopping on eBay is making this a pretty cheap little hobby. Getting the right elephant from the UK ($30 incl shipping) has been my big expense so far.

A new obsession...

 

I've tried getting back into knitting but it's not really taking... aside from a few little projects, the wool has been neglected since I left Philly. In fact, I sold off the vast majority of my stash when I made room for Robert to move in. Kind of a shame, since I have another kilt hose pattern nearly done, and the leg is *awesome*. I'll get back to designing the cuff someday. In the past I've done drawing, sculpting, photography, sewing, and of course knitting and spinning. It was time for a new artistic hobby and here it is... painting miniatures.

Here's my first one, and I'm not thrilled with the subject matter but it's what Robert had lying around for me to play with. He looks better than these phone pics: He's just under 2" tall, with glossy black horns & nails, yellow eyes & teeth, and orange warts. His tongue is glossed, too. The body, rocks, and sword were done with multiple layers, highlights, and washes. I figured a demon probably wouldn't bother to shine up his sword. :) I hacked up an unwanted skeleton soldier to create the base.  As always, click to get a bigger view. I'll get better pics when I do my real army, which is an aesthetic I describe as Medieval Badass. I'm bending the rules quite a bit for Warhammer ... I'll explain that in the next post.


Oh, and I hate the visible seam behind the head. Robert said I shouldn't fill it in because I might not care once it was painted. He underestimated my perfectionism.

More Singer pics

1929 Singer Model 66

For those of you not on Facebook, here's my newest project (because sure, I have "extra" time!).

Found at a local Salvation Army. The machine seems to work well (the wheel turns silky smooth, and the needle goes up and down), but I don't have a power cord for it or a pedal. Did these even HAVE pedals? I haven't done much research yet - I've only had the thing for a few days. And it's living at my friend's house so I can't look at it now.

She has a garage, and we're doing tandem woodworking projects. She's into "shabby chic" so quick and dirty is working well for her. Sadly, I'm more of a perfectionist. So far I sanded off the horrible cracked varnish and did some wood fill for the worst chips. Next: stain and re-varnish. I am considering ebony stain with a hint of gold trim.

As always, click on pics for a bigger view. Thoughts? Info?

No more Blogger...

The migration is complete! In addition to my personal Facebook page, my acupuncture clinic has a fanpage too. Come play!

Migration

Hey there! I've kind of forgotten about this blog. In case you were actually reading it, I apologize. I hang out on FL and Facebook more now. I don't play any of those games (Farmville, etc - UG!) and I promise not to update you on my breakfast choices. Come Friend me!

In other news, I've been hard at work with my clinic since it opened in my new location November 1st. 3806 SE Belmont St: I'm part of Earth Body Wellness. And mere blocks from a great set of food carts. :)

SuperHamm & Headbutts

There's a rumor flying (cape and all) that Jon Hamm will be the next Superman. Two of my "mad" crushes colliding... this is definitely Dwarf Kryptonite in the making.

Movie: I was dressed for the FrightTown haunted houses (highly recommended) and Figgy gave me the head-butt of approval. :)

Babbling on about Bicycles

Ancient languages still live online ! You can listen to some Babylonian here.

Also (MAN I love the PacNW, and Craigslist), I scored an awesome tiny bike. It's difficult to find a ride with adult features that fits a dwarfy inseam, but thanks to my two-wheeled advisor Wayne I am pleased as can be. Finding a used one makes me even happier. I want my wallet fat and my hips slim, and this bike should contribute to both goals!

Language

The new Knitty came out yesterday, and I'm one of the featured designers. It's a warm fuzzy feeling to see people "hearting" and "queueing" my work on Ravelry. I've even gotten some sweet fan mail! Thanks for the encouragment, everybody!

Meanwhile, my inner linguist is tripping the lights fantastic ... Studying Latin has sparked up a whole new part of my brain. I'm remembering French I haven't thought of since college. I'm fascinated by how the words we use change our way of thinking.
Read this, and this! Comic by xkcd.com.

PS - this is cool too. Fluid dynamics are so beautiful!

Rose City Acupuncture

New website for work! RoseCityAcupuncture.com: It looks pretty much identical to the old one. I don't have a location yet, so that info is still pending. Waiting on my OR licensing, but please spread the word that I'll be open soon!

PS - for those who don't know, Portland is the City of Roses!

Gorgeous Nae! Pic by Matt.

First-of-Many Tea/Crafty Parties!

Left to right: Linda (also seen showing off her new market bag), Fran, Dianna (maker of vast quantities of Cthulu masks), and Paddy. The first group shot: Birthday girl Dianna being surprised with her (and my!) favorite: Carrot cake. As you can see we did not lack for sustenance. Homemade scones, quiche, and even cucumber sandwiches were featured in the feast. And yes, there was tea at this tea party. Linda and I supplied prodigious amounts*, which were both consumed on site and packaged in little DIY teabags for later. You should have seen us - it was a cross between a wine tasting and an opium den. "Ooooh... smell this one! It's smokey!" "Oh my god... the lavender is so subtle!" "This orange one would be perfect iced!"

We even did some knitting and crocheting. It was, as they say in the Pants, totally awesomesauce.

I followed it up with a sushi dinner with a different batch of buddies, then collected Nae at the airport. You'll be seeing lots of her in the next week. :)

*Props to AJ for being my personal tea hook-up.

LOLCats at home

Tubecat aka Cubecat is on a restricted diet and has been losing weight. We're very proud of his progress. Still... he's got some more work to do.

Puella Amatur. Puella Beata Est!

More Roses

Back to the Test Rose Garden, this time with the girls. My next camera will have smell-o-vision. My favorite variety today: Rainbow Sherbert (pale pink with yellow inside), which actually smelled like orange sherbert!

Surprise Catting!

We stumbled onto a shockingly good zoo today, hidden deep inside a carnival at Portland's Waterfront Park. The fair was the usual collection of traveling ring toss scams, wretched vaudville, mildly thrilling rides, and greasy food. We were wandering around killing time before collecting Maddie (junior year finals today - woo hoo!), and were about to leave when I saw the pony rides. The ponies were clean and not underweight like most at these things. Next to the corral was a petting zoo consisting of sheep, goats, a mini bull (yes, intact, and loving on the kids petting him!) and a potbelly pig that was so happy to be getting attention he was actually wagging his tail! Next to that was a reptile tent. Tiny crocs and lots of snakes (which for some reason had "Prohibited in Oregon" on many of the cages). A handler was wearing a giant iguana.

Then I turned the corner and nearly plotzed. "Oh my god! There's a tiger here!" He was about 5 feet from me, gnawing away on a raw piece of meat. He was so beautiful... I'd never been that close to one before, not without thick glass between me and those teeth. In fact, his cage was sorta flimsy... thin metal bungied together, and the gate had drop hinges! Anyway, I was looking at the white spots on his ears, and that broad, gorgeous forehead, and I wanted to touch him... He totally heard me thinking that. Stopped eating, looked up, and said very clearly "No, you don't touch me." He was angered and offended that it would even cross my mind. I slunk away to the next cage...

There were all sorts of fun creatures. Patagonia cavies, a lynx, a bobcat, a lion, a porcupine, etc. They all looked healthy and happy. The cages were clean. I usually hate zoos because the critters look miserable if not downright insane (don't get me started on elephants), but this place impressed me.

Then we got photo ops with Nala, a 7 week old lion kitten. She was very sweet and playful. Her fur was rougher than I expected, more like wire. What an experience! She was playing with my finger, just holding it in her mouth, and I was loving it until I realized I shouldn't let her do that.
Even brand new she had a formidable amount of muscle and giant claws.

The Rose luck strikes again. Random wonderfulness around every corner. :)