Hobbies and other pursuits

Today I went climbing for the first time since November, and I also did a total of 21 chin ups, which is surprising because usually when I go climbing I’m a physical wreck for the rest of the day. Perhaps all the chin ups from my new year resolutions are paying off.

I managed about 45 minutes before I was exhausted. Most of the routes are the same as before the lockdown, and most of them I can still do. Occasionally my left calf would cramp up and I’d fall off the wall – I guess it’s time again to work on my lower body fitness. I drove home, happy to avoided any injuries, and then took on the rest of the day.

After lunch and helping manage the girls a bit, I drove to the homeless outreach, with 36 cans of coke, a birthday cake, and some water. I spent some time talking to a guy called Rico, who was repairing his punching bag. At night, he has a strobe and punches the speed ball until he breaks it, which is something to do. I had a good chat with him, then headed back home to be with the family again; late afternoon was a bit of a blur with chores and shopping. At some point I picked up a bottle of acetone, for hobby purposes (not removing nail varnish from my hands, honest) and then put the kids to bed, before gluing together some more Blood Bowl players.

I bought some Green Stuff a year and a half ago. It’s an imaginatively named modelling putty, and then I was not confident enough to use it, so it sat around since then in my tool box. Today I finally started working with it, customising some of the players for my Nurgle team. (Rather than buying the standard one and painting it, I’m collecting as many different Blood Bowl players as possible, then customising them.)

Green Stuff turns out to be both easier and harder than expected; it kept sticking to my hands when I wore gloves, whereas barehanded it was easy to work with. To begin with, all I made were not very good tentacles, but over time I began to sculpt some disgusting eyes, and some better tentacles. I now have three of my Rotters ready to prime, and a couple of Pestigors. Spraying with primer is a drawn out affair because it can end up making the whole house stink, so I did a bit in the back garden earlier today, but it’s also not good to do if it’s humid, and you get terrible results if you try to do it in the dark, so it may be next weekend before I can make another move on it. I do have eleven evil Space Marines and a chainsaw wielding nutcase primed though.

So, a productive day. To bed, now, and Port Townsend tomorrow… Let’s hope there’s no rain.