Yup, I'm Still Here!

Erm... hello?  Anybody out there...?

Nope, this isn't a post-apocalyptic message to the great out there in hopes of finding fellow survivors.  Quite the opposite actually.  It's more about saying hello to any fellow hobbyists who haven't given up on the hopes of me posting again!

Life has a habit of affecting and waylaying the very best and most honest of hobby intentions.  And no matter how important our hobby may be, some things are just more important in the greater scheme of things. 

So, for the first time since I started this blog back in...well...in quite a few years, I didn't get to put up an obligatory annual retro-fest of 'Ooh, look at all the stuff I did and what I will do in the coming year.'  No siree, not me.  To be honest, I'd kinda steered clear of that last year.  But as we stepped not just into a new year, but also into a new decade, my blog was conspicuously absent of... well... any post whatsoever. 

How did this happen?  Well, now.  There's a question. 

For quite a few reasons, probably.  And I guess they're not too unfamiliar for fellow hobbyists. 

First up, simply being busy.  Over the years, I've enjoyed my hobby whilst juggling the constraints of a very small income (in which I made scenery out of nothing, which seems to be the most popular stuff I post about) and having limited free time.  Family responsibilities can curtail our options, as too can having multiple jobs to make ends meet.  Both have been my lot over the years, and at times both in abundance. 

Nowadays I'm rather humbled to be both self-employed and successful.  Whereas before I was broke and busy, I now find myself able to provide for my family for the first time in years.  However, success means busy.  So whereas I had no time and no cash to spend, I can now buy stuff and still have no time to enjoy it!

And you know what?  I'm not even slightly miffed about this.  Life should be about priorities and having fun.  Don't get me wrong, I see all this #hobbystreak Day 54 stuff all over Twitter.  It seems that not a few people are finding time to do some hobby every day of the year.  Good for them, I say.  I don't. Should I be worried?  Nope.  Should I be jealous?  Nope.  (Even though we can all succumb to the green eyed monster from time to time).  If it's possible for some of us to do our hobby each day, for many others it's just not.  And I'm one of them. 

But what I am is incredibly blessed.  For years I couldn't afford more than a box of plastics once a year.  That was it.  If you don't believe me, trawl back over my posts and you'll see what I mean. Now, I'm able to provide for my family and be able to purchase things I would like to have.  I'm not going to go mad.  But I can no w buy the things I haven't been able to.  Large scale skirmish games like those written by the excellent and unsurpassed Too Fat Lardies are now affordable projects I can work on over a period. 

And this freedom gives me the opportunity to start projects I know I can actually finish.  And that's revolutionary.  It's liberating. 

But it does mean one thing.  I've got to knuckle down and paint my models.  No longer can the fear of messing up hold me back.  And this is a really, really good thing.  My long dreamed of Napoleonics can properly happen.  As can so many other periods I've wanted to game for so long.  And I can even get some of those lovely plastic models from Games Workshop!  And that's been impossible for more years than I can actually count.  Seriously.

So, as you'll have seen if you've read this far, I've been using what free time I have to assemble and paint some models.  It's quite an eclectic mix of stuff. 

And what about the scenery?  Well, stick around. I have more ideas than I have time for just now, but I think you'll like what I have in store in the coming weeks. 

So keep your eyes peeled.  I'll be back in the next week or two, mixing up foamcore, extruded polystyrene, garden wire, cardboard and maybe even a few bits of tubing.  Intrigued?  I hope so!

As always, thanks for stopping by.  And please do feel free to add a comment or seven below!