Back from Vacation and Basing Kit

I am back from vacation and we had a great trip. We drove through the Smokies, ate a lot of great food, and played Black Light Pirate Mini Golf (left).

We also played Munchkin and dug out the old Magic: The Gathering cards. I haven't played Magic in years and we had a blast. I even got to teach my roommate Magic and we have played a few games since we got home. Good times!

Before I left, I received the Basing Kit I won from Santa Cruz Warhammer. Its a nice kit and here are a few pics.

From 01/30/10 Basing Kit

The kit includes static grass, slate chips, sand, tooth picks, and a basing wash.

From 01/30/10 Basing Kit

This shows the size of the containers. This container of slate chips would probably base a whole army for me, if not more! Now I just have to get in gear and finish some minis =)

On Vacation

I am on vacation in Pigeon Forge, TN!!! We are here with friends for the week and the only thing we have scheduled is indoor skydiving. That's right, Indoor Skydiving! There is a wind tunnel turned upwards and you get to skydive with out the messiness of planes and the possibility of dying. That's tomorrow. Yesterday, we drove in, unpacked, ate at Fuddruckers (a great hamburger place not found in Kentucky) and I learned how to play Munchkin. Today, there are pajamas, video games, Munchkin, and sleep. What a way to start a vacation!

Anyone Know a Good Book?

I love reading. My mother introduced me to Sci-Fi and Fantasy at an early age and I am still hooked. The problem I run into is finding something worth reading. So I am asking you:

What are a few of your favorite books?

I am not just talking about ones you have read lately. I am talking about ones you would consider reading again. And maybe even a third time!

In the spirit of sharing, here are the ones that immediately come to mind:

The Vorkosigan series by Lois McMaster Bujold. The first two books, Shards of Honor and Barrayar have been republished in the omnibus Cordelia's Honor (June 1, 2000).

Cordelia is a science officer surveying a planet which happens to host a forward scout base for an enemy world. All I can say is it is an interesting story with great male and female leads. After the first two books, the story shifts to focus on her son. He is brilliant but handicapped in a world that highly values physical prowess. There are moments where I laughed aloud while reading and other darker moments that I still think about today. It's a great series. You can (legally) check out one of the short stories for free here.


The next series is the Honor Harrington books by David Weber. Pictures left is the first book in the series, On Basilisk Station, though it has had several different covers. There are 11 books in the series if you like it and there are a few more dealing with the universe he created. Honor Harrington is the name of the main character. She is a strong female lead with her own demons. Life is tough and she has to be tougher. The space battles are amazing and the military side aspect is well developed. I think I am doing a lousy job explaining why it it is a great series, but it is.

Part of this idea came from cruising the web. I came across Green Skeleton Gaming Guild. It's not miniatures but but he has a few pics of his game room posted, including his stack of books. They are impressive, check 'em out =)

I have several other books in mind that I have gone back and read again. I guess I am hoping you might have a favorite to share here or on your blog. If you do, link back to here so I have something to read this spring =)

I Won!

The guys over at Santa Cruz Warhammer write some great articles and have some really nice give aways. Recently, John wrote Basing 101: Broken Ground which went through a great way to base your models quickly. As a bonus for reading through the article, he snuck in a give away at the end of the post. 18 readers commented and I was one of three chosen. What do we get?

• A tub of Super Secret Sand
• A tub of Slate chips
• A bottle of Custom Base Wash
• A tub of their choice of Static Grass or Snow flocking (I chose the static grass)

As you probably have noticed, I haven't been posting much lately. Working retail during the holidays is... exciting. Exciting is a good word for the madness of shopping, returns and 1000's of customers a day. Winning the basing set is really a great way to get me motivated again. Now I need to finish off those darn gun mages so I can base them...

BTW - the next time you return something, please don't yell at the girl behind the counter because YOU lost your receipt. Sure we can look you up if you payed with credit or debit. But you paid cash and now your yelling at a girl who gets paid minimum wage. I hope Santa Claus is watching for next year. (Sorry, had to get that off my chest.)

Thanks for reading!