End of July, End of August and more....

 Well, July is over with, and now it seems that August is also almost over with, and we are now pushing into September and my beloved Fall Season.

Not much has been done on the gaming side for July and even less for August, or even the painting side.

So without further eloquence, here we go....

Buildings and such....

Our gaming group is taking a summer break, and we won't reconvene our D&D game until September, so I decided to get on my Western building kick for now. After Widow Morley's Cafe and Bakery, I've kind of hit a slump.

Right now my current project is finishing up a project that I started approx. 10 years ago, and that was "Working an ERTL Cowtown Barn into a decent building for my Western Town".

I started the project back in 2012, and then just "stopped". It's sat quietly for 10 years now, and I have now just started it up again. 

I decided to make the barn a livery stable, and in honor of my late friend Dan Merchant, am making him the proprietor of it.

(The front of the building showing the wood covering I am putting over the plastic. A slow process but the results are good.)

(Test fitting the building together to see how it fits and looks. Right now the front and back are complete and I just need to do the sides.)

(An oblique shot showing the front, part of the back and the undone walls. The sign is a test sign and the final one will be bigger and will cover the blackened square area.)

The ERTL Building is now coming along quicker than I thought, and all I have to do now is the interior, the sides and paint it up and weather it, (as well as adding signage).

I'm also working on "The Newspaper Building".

Right now it's called "The Rimfire Herald", but there's also a chance that name will change too.

(The future home of "The Rimfire Herald"; "All the news that's fit to sell...")

While working on these, I took a quick look at some of the buildings, I need to finish, and this is the gist of it:

(Projects to be completed....)

It's a mix of Arnica, Knuckleduster, Hovels, and some Old Glory "Foam" style buildings. (This doesn't include the ones I am working on, the scratch builds, or the Ertl stuff...)

After that, I decided to try to do a "group town photo", and this is most (not all) of my current Western Setup.

(Rimfire, Arizona Territory...or what I have so far to build the town and populate it...)

(A close up shot of the town and it's folks, and the visiting "Lil Ole Band from Texas"....

And as the time passed... My Wonderful Wife was able to get her hands on this:

(Yeps. Her very own copy...)

And then it hit us....

So I had started working on a project at a major university. The money is really good, and the work is good. I am enjoying myself.

I took a different route one day on my way home and saw something that made me think about "What Orcs could do if they truly put their minds to it"...

(Wonder if they have a union?...)

So I got home and wasn't feeling too well...

Went to bed early and slept for almost fourteen hours.

Woke up feeling horrible....

Took the test....

(Well crap....)

So there I was...COVID had dropped by to say "Hello".

I was isolated for 2 weeks, (I failed the second test also), so I had some time on my hands, and could've painted, etc. but it's just too much. As of this writing, I am still suffering some long term effects, (still dealing with cough, sniffles, body aches, and fatigue, as well as slight loss of coordination, some memory issues, and complete loss of taste and smell.

But while I was down, I was able to see them move the USS Texas from her tired berth in San Jacinto, to the shipyard in Galveston for the work she so desperately needs. It was a grand thing to watch.

(Moving her past the Stewart, and the Cavalla at Seawolf Park)...

(A deck honor crew on the Cavalla waits as the USS Texas, (BB-35), passes by...)

(An edited photo of the Texas in Galveston Bay. Tugs edited out.)

The current plan for Texas is to get repaired, and then from there to get an idea of where she is going to go, as San Jacinto is now out of the picture. Most people are hoping for Galveston, but Beaumont, and Baytown are trying to get her also. Gods I hope not.

And the Ginkgo is coming down....

TMP readers and some other folks will remember that in the past I have discussed getting the Ginkgo Tree that we have down due to it interfering with our backyard, house, and the smell of the pods when they drop and rot. 

So we had the tree team come out, and in the first of two sessions they got approx. 85% of it down.

(The Ginkgo Tree as they started to take it down...Sad but necessary.)

(The yard starts to quickly fill up with brush and branches....)

(Working on getting more down....)

(A massive amount of brush and limbs taken down...)

Truly it was kind of sad for the tree to come down as it was a pretty tree and offered nice shade, but then again, the roots, were causing issues, the branches, were also problematic, and the smell of the pods were a cross between fresh vomit and dog poop. We hired a couple of guys that do yardwork to come and remove the currently photo'ed six foot pile of branches. Three trailer loads full, and it was finally cleared, and we were ready for the next and final phase, (next weekend to be exact)....

And a quiet anniversary....

So on the morning of Sept, 2nd I woke up to the realization that it was "40 years ago on this day that I started my first day in the Army..."

Forty years...

Wow....

And I had coffee, and said, "Yeps"....and got on with life....

(Just a dumb 18 year old kid from Texas, that liked tanks...)

More to come for the month of September!

See you soon!

"Widow Morley's Bluebird Cafe and Bakery"....

 So I continue on my building spree to work on my Western buildings, and as luck would have it, I have completed another one. 

I actually started the idea for this building back in 2016, and during the 2017 Super bowl halftime show, I had a drawing of names of my female friends that volunteered. My friend Sarah Morley won "the honor" *ahem* of having a café and backstory.

Originally I had called it "The Mockingbird", but I didn't like how the sign looked, so I redid it, and changed it to "The Bluebird". Very little modification was done to the building, (one of the older TCL laser cut buildings that Knuckleduster used to carry back in the day), and just added "window glass", and a wooden frame around the sign. 

Coloring was also done by Apple barrel, and Folk-art Craft Paints, "(Victorian Blue), and weathered with Burnt Sienna and Antique White.

This building adds a bit of color to my town. It makes for two blue buildings, (this one and the barber shop), and now it will be back to the tired worn brown ones that are more common. 

Here are some pics of the completed building, (and some other pics also).

Please click on them for larger pics.

(A frontal view of The Bluebird. Good lunches and suppers, fresh pies, and hot coffee; All served by the charming Widow Morley. This one is showing the weathering and wear on the buildings and boardwalks. These buildings drybrush very nicely.)

(A side shot showing the weathering.)

(Rear Oblique pic showing the weathering and wear on the building. Paint was expensive in the Old West, and painted building were exposed to harsh elements, and weathered quite quickly.)

(A comparison of The Bluebird with the still under construction Newspaper and Printing Shop. Both kits are the same one by TCL. I just modified the windows of the Newspaper Office by making them two BIG glass windows. That way the Newspaper Editor can see what is going on, (just like everyone else), and then write about it in the paper and sell the paper to folks for a nickel each telling them exactly what it was they saw...)

(Playing around with some figures and stuff. Henry Plunkitt, Ollie Olaffson And Winston Sinclair, (with his hands behind his back), hold a casual conversation outside of The Bluebird Café before it opens for lunch...)

(The conversation continues and meanders between "What kind of pie will Widow Morley be serving today?" and "Do you think she is looking for a suitor?" )

(A comparison shot of The Bluebird, and Wun Hung Lo's Chinese Laundry. The laundry and boardwalks are from the Arnica Montana line, the fence, barrels, and barricade items are from Acheson. The figures are a mixture of Pulp Figures and Dixons.)

And now for the "Backstory"....

As promised....

For your viewing enjoyment is "Mrs. Morley's Bluebird Café and Bakery", also known simply as "The Bluebird".

It is owned by Mrs. Sarah Morley also known in quieter circles as "The Widow Morley".  

The story around these parts is that she came out west and opened it up to make a living after losing four husbands during the war.  

Husband #1 was Alvin and he died of fever right before First Manassas (Bull Run to you Yankees).

Husband #2 was James, and he was run over by a runaway supply wagon during the frenzied, chaotic, Union retreat from Second Manassas, and was mashed into a pulp in the Virginia mud. 

Husband #3: was named Robert and died of diarrhea during the battle of Gettysburg. 

The fourth (and final) Husband was Thomas, and he used the top of his skull to catch the business end of a double canister round, courtesy of R.E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia during The Battle of Cold Harbor in 1864.

After the war, Sarah didn't marry again, although she had various suitors and gentleman callers and at least three of them also mysteriously disappeared...

After the sudden disappearance of the last one, a series of ugly rumors started going around the town back East where she lived, and people were whispering that "foul things were going on", etc.. So in order to prevent a scandal, and/or arrest and trial for "murder most foul" (even though there was no direct proof, but rumors are nasty things aren't they?), and to protect her good name, she quickly headed out west and settled in Rimfire.

She is quite the accomplished cook, and along with her cook/helper ( a fellow named "John Smith", that is real quiet and keeps to himself), her small café provides delicious lunches, and suppers as well as fresh pies, and hot coffee for hungry paying cowboys and townsfolk alike. She is well known for her fresh, delicious pies and freshly made powdered sugar almond cookies that she cheerfully bakes for special customers.

The Bluebird is always clean, bright and cozy, and is freshly painted. It is closed on Sundays and Saturday nights supper is always beefsteak, beans, bacon, and biscuits night.  Buttermilk and fresh milk, as well as coffee is an option, and occasionally she will have fresh lemonade.  No smoking, liquor, or tobacco chewing (or spitting), is allowed in The Bluebird.

Rumor is out that "The Widow Morley" may be looking for a feller, sometime in the near future, so all available and eager bachelors should apply.... The lucky guy could be "Husband #5"!!!!

Blog Update: The Missing June Post....

 So it seems dear reader that somehow or someway I seemed to have missed putting in a June update to what is going on around House O' Murphy.

So please consider this a late June submission, and some other stuff also....

D&D Game....

Yikes! Where do I go with this one?

Well...we continued our D&D game and the June adventure was one of frustration for everyone. The summer season, and "real life" has cut into our gaming tremendously, and that being said, we were only able to get one game in for the month of June. We are also taking an August break so we have 2 games for this month planned.

The game was also frustrating, because I knew due to the players previous actions, not only were the bad guys going to be waiting for them for some hard fighting combat. I also told them to be prepared "as this will probably be the hardest fight in this part of the scenario that you will encounter." 

And so it began. 

And it took almost three hours of real time to finish one major combat. 

The two big bads for the scenario were reinforced by some low level NPC assistants, and the PC's not only had bad dice rolling, but the rolling was horrible, and the fumbles were many.

The ranger had three fumbles in a row, (breaking bowstring, slipping, and mishandling weapon), while trying to get one up on the evil cleric.

(Click on pics for larger version)....

(Snacks this game included fresh stollen, chips, salsa, queso, pastries, jerky, and fresh lemonade and tea...)

(Meanwhile the fridge was ready with backup munchies and drinks!)

(Mr. Fridge is well stocked. BTW...the Mezzo Mix is MINE! NO ONE ELSE gets it!)

(The party prepares for the adventure! Treasure, XP's and Glory await!!!!....or errr....something like that....)

(The PC's burst through the trapdoor ("X"), into the room, to be greeted by the bad guy in armor (BGIA),  the evil priestess in the back and a couple of flunkies! Battle is joined!)

(The evil priestess steps through the doorway into the other room to prepare a spell as the BGIA, and the flunkies hold a defensive line in the room. Meanwhile the ranger tries to get off a shot with her bow.)

(Realizing that the battle is "not going the way they want it to", some of the players huddle and start to plot and scheme...Is it against the BGIA, the flunkies, and the evil priestess? Or is it against the DM???....oh dear....)

(The struggle continues as bad rolls hamper the PC's and they take damage. Meanwhile the evil priestess returns back to the room, to cast a spell....)

(Only to luckily be taken down by a critical hit as two of the PC's go at her. Another flunky from behind appears and drags her body back into the room. Meanwhile the rest of the group is seriously stuck in a problem with BGIA as yet MORE flunkies come to join in the fun....)

(The ranger player after her third fumble in a row... Things were not good for the party...)

(Eventually the party succeeded in beating BGIA, and the flunkies, but the priestess and her flunky had vanished! Following a small blood trail, they were now moving to the stairs of the second floor of the temple. Here they take a well deserved Chinese Dinner Break, and while eating a delicious Chinese dinner, listen as the ranger players speaks with them on "Needing to fight smarter and NOT harder"....   Meanwhile, behind my screen, orange-cola mix, dice, note stickers, egg rolls and crab rangoon....)

So the party starts this weekend going into the second floor to find out and hopefully end this part of the scenario. TBH, I wasn't happy with the battle, and neither were they, but as I explained to them, this was indeed going to be difficult.

Meanwhile, some folks asked me about Mezzo Mix.

It's a German Cola-Orange drink that I fell in love with, and am only NOW being able to find it (somewhat) in Indy when I get down there once a week.

(Mezzo Mix goodness....mmmmmm.....)

PAINTING:

Meanwhile for the month of June, I was able to get some figures painted up. These are mostly from Reapers Bones IV and V KS line. 

(Everyone needs a bear figure at some time in their gaming life. This one was easy to paint up, and the groundwork was fun, however, the gloss effect is what throws me off. I did a base coat of gloss spray for protection with two overcoats of flat and the gloss still came out.  I'm going to go back and try some brush on flat to take out the shiny effect.)

(A Reaper figure that came out pretty good. Painting on him was quick and easy. I really like the skin detail that was highlighted on this guy.)

(Tessa, a village maiden. Each village has that "one gal" that you don't know whose side, or which side she is on, or if she is just playing both sides, and looking for a husband in the process. This one has the look on her face of "I've got a secret."  Another Reaper Bones Villager figure.)

(Ed, the Villager. He's not the sharpest tool in the shed, but he works hard and does what he is told. Unfortunately I expect him to be killed by either a monster or a group of wandering murder hobos in the future...)

(Ella, an angry woman villager. Her emotions are running just as hot as that torch she is carrying and with her fierce yell, she is ready to use the rolling pin to dispense justice and vengeance upon drunken husbands, tax collectors, murder hobo characters, elected politicians and French Aristocrats as the need requires....)

Meanwhile, on one of my trips to Indy, I stopped by my favorite Middle Eastern market....

(Nice to see you can get this here if needed....)

However it was the tea that confused me....

("Green Gunpowder"???....)

(From Morocco...)

Meanwhile the Chinese refuse to be done over by the Moroccans....

("Special Gunpowder Tea"

So after my store visit, I got back onto the Old West project that I was working on years ago and stalled.

I decided to delve into my Arnica Montana resins.

(The Hotel, Shop, and Boardwalks all drying after being thoroughly cleaned...)

(Base colors for the boardwalks went on easy. Some TCL building parts are also painted up. I found out that I use A LOT of "Burnt Umber" in my Western building painting, so Apple Barrel Craft Paints for this color happens to be my friend.)

I got the hotel assembled and base colored. There are a few design issues with it that I am not happy with, but being the creative sort I am, I can get around it. "Improvise, Adapt, Overcome."

(Not a bad kit....)

(A cowboy on his way to being "The Rawhide Kid", with the base colored shop building in the back, that would soon become "Wun Hung Lo's Chinese Laundry".... Figure from Pulp Figures.)

The building was also an easy assembly and open to customizing and modification, (which I did somewhat). Of concern was an issue with the roof support which I easily addressed with two pieces of plastic supports.

(The main work is done....)

(The inside of the shop. I have added ceiling supports to the front angles, (marked here in pencil), and added a floor to help strengthen the walls. Soon it will be painted up and smelling of bleach, hot water, and lye soap....as dirty drawers and stinky socks get cleaned. All for a fair price....)

Other fun things....

Things in life continue to go on even as I and others continue to try to game and I keep trying to decrease my little lead mountain and pile o' stuff.

Some of the other things we have had happen.

1: I got the replacement flex shaft for my Dremel 4300, so it's up and running again. A good 30 buck purchase. Glad it was the flex shaft and not the Dremel itself.

2: I got our property tax assessment lowered by 24K.

3: We had storm damage at the end of May and are currently waiting on the insurance adjuster to call us about filing the claim.  The roof tiles are the original roof tiles to the house, (from October 10th, 1916), and we have to find tiles of a style and color that is close to what the house had as it's historically registered.

4: I've gotten my A1C down to 7.0 and have lost over 40 lbs.

5: I'm planning on going to Little Wars next year.

So that's it for now with me, and June's post here (posted in July), is submitted for your approval.  As usual, there is more to come and things that will be happening, so stay tuned, and enjoy!

Comments are appreciated!

Thanks for reading!