After a nearly 20-year hiatus, I bought myself some paints and set up a table in the basement for painting miniatures. For those not in the know, these are the little figurines that are often featured in tabletop role-playing games.
I got my first box of minis in sixth or seventh grade. They were made of lead back then and I painted with oils and turpentine. The hobby has come a long way since then. Minis are made of safe metals, plastic, or resin. A plethora of acrylic (water-based) paints are available now, and YouTube, of course, features endless hours of tutorials.
My first two minis are somewhat random. A camel that I started in 2001 but never finished. And a disgusting giant rat. (I’m rusty, so I wanted a model that would be tolerant of errors.)
Painting table, new magnifier lamp, and the giant rat before painting.
Finished rat.
Loaded camel. Still need to do a few touch-ups, finish the base, and remove from the craft stick.
Griffin signed up to play volleyball this fall. It’s his first formal sport. He’s a few weeks into the season now and has played his first two games. The picture below shows him serving. This serve got him on a roll: he scored three of four points in the subsequent serves, pulling the Spartans into the lead. They ultimately lost the match, but it was great to watch. When the game ended, I asked Griffin how it went and he said, “That was SO much fun!”
When the cone doesn’t work, you bring out the old Spanx. I think they are serving a better purpose on the dog than they ever did on me. (She is doing fine, btw: she just got spayed on Tuesday and we’re trying to give her a good chance at healing quickly and well.)
My friend Kevin invited me to see a soccer game at Allianz Field tonight. Spectacular stadium to watch a great game. Minnesota commanded the field, beating LA 3-0. Many great plays throughout.
It’s first day of 4th grade for Maggie, first day of pre-k for Oliver, and first day with everyone else in school outside of the house all day in over a year and a half for Mama.
I found this screenshot while cleaning up my computer today. It’s from a Roy virtual get-together on March 14, 2021. Some of us were having fun with virtual backgrounds.
It’s odd to think that in the five+ months since this shot was taken, two of the three Roy-boy families have moved into new homes.
Griffin is joining me at SPA (St. Paul Academy) for seventh grade. We will be driving to school together each day in our electric car. Although I don’t teach him, I will see him around school regularly. We are both quite excited.
We spent the final week of July at Camp Du Nord family camp. This was our third trip, and we all agreed that it was our favorite one. The weather was fantastic, despite the wildfire smoke, and the kids were at good ages to maximize their fun. Oliver had no separation anxieties when he joined his age-group for morning activities, often scampering off to get there early before Sarah and I were ready.
Some highlights of the trip included:
Polar bear plunge — we woke up every morning to run into the lake with a bunch of other howling campers. The kids were extremely excited about this.
Seeing the kids being increasingly independent and excited about being outdoors.
Numerous hikes on the North Arm trails. This area is on a triple continental divide. Depending on where you hike, water may flow north to Hudson Bay, east to the Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence River, or south to the Mississippi.
Canoeing in a 25-foot replica of a Voyageur canoe.
Playing a spooky role-playing game adventure on our screen porch during a thunderstorm.
Intense Yahtzee and Farkle games.
Ice cream at the camp store.
Seeing our friends, the Browns, as well as a number of Andrew’s former students (some of whom are Du Nord staff now).
Watching Oliver scamper over the “Goat Trail” at high speed.
Swimming in the cool lake after spending time in the sauna.
Finding the fabled “Bonzo Block” on our last day. (It’s hidden somewhere in camp with a cryptic clue released every morning.)
The only bummer about the trip was the smoke in the air from the Canadian wildfires. It was pretty intense, often making the sun and moon appear orange or red.
We also had some insane red squirrels who would drop pine cones on our cabin every morning at around 6:00. They sounded like gunshots as they ricocheted off the steel roof!
Piper and I went on a lovely walk along the trails across the street from our house. Highlights included wildflowers and some wild turkeys.
Only two miles, but it was hot and the hills had me winded. I need to make this a daily routine.
Turkey parent on the left. You can just see one of the youngsters on the right. (Baby turkeys, I just found out, are known as “poults.”)
In the following video clip, you can see two poults fly up into a tree just as we come around the bend. Then a third one struggles to get aloft and follows the first two.
Poults taking flight.
Massive bumble bee on one of our flowers when we got home.
