I am shogun.

Now I can resume painting after defeating the computer on hard. Shogun Total War can now gracefully exit stage left from my evenings.

Finding time to do a physical hobby

OK I have to admit that Napoleonics has fallen by the wayside over the course of the last few months.  The culprit for this has been my addiction to Shogun Total War 2. Ever since I pimped my PC, I have been fighting my way through Medieval Japan. STW2 is  gobsmackingly beautiful in terms of graphics and fiendish in terms of AI. I admit that I am a pretty poor player but the AI is really nasty. I have been playing so much recently that my wife has had to lay down the law a little to stop me spending all of my waking moments attatched to the pc. I promise to stop playing once I get to be Shogun. Actually, I have downloaded a few faction packs so maybe after all of the factions get a chance to be shogun I'll stop. I am going to be a camp-dad on Victoria's intermediate camp soon, so that may give me the opportunity to wean myself off ambushing samurai armies. Here's hoping.

Waitangi Day

The weather was supposed to be great for Waitangi Day but as I write the clouds are covering the sky as far as the eye can see and the city is basking in a balmy 11 degrees. Today's holiday jobs are going to be 1) Organising the basing of my British Command and finishing the first two of eight command figures. 2) Mowing the lawns. 3) Taking back my books to the university library. Althought he university library is a great source of material on my hobby, as an ex-student I only get limited borrowing time. Since I am generally busy, this means that the books that I borrow often lie unopened before I have to take them back. So it is goodbye to Mr Chandler's History of Napoleon's Campaigns and Mr Esdale's The Peninsular War.

Saturday work

On Friday the girls and I went up to my mum's house to cut the hedge and mow the lawns. The weather over the last few has been nothing short of amazing. We spent an really busy  day hacking, chopping and cutting. The end reult - a reasonably tidied up house. As I am typing, it is 8.30 and the sun is beginning to set. The garden smells delightful and the kids are glued to a rerun of Doctor Who. I have a book about the Peninsular War upstairs waiting for me and the whole evening to enjoy it. Life is truly good!