A Land Far Away

Good morning ALFA -

I just wanted to write a quick message here. You may have noticed I haven't been playing lately. Thanks to those of you who have dropped PMs or reached out on social media to check if I am OK...

So first, Yes. I am OK. In fact, things are great out in here in RL!

And No... I'm not mad at anyone in ALFA. You're still my best gaming friends around!



My lack of ALFA time is purely self-imposed.

To start, I got a promotion a little while back and am now section chief. That takes up a bit of administration time.

But mostly my lack of on-line gaming time it is because Elisabeth and I have decided purchase our family property in Canada. This is a large time commitment. My parents are in their 80's and the place needs work. There are a dozen outbuildings to care for, all nearly 100 years old. There are 14 small engines to maintain ( Yes, I counted). There is a ton of dead fall, with tress to cut and brush to clear and docks to repair.

I am taking a ton of my vacation time to get up north this year and work on the place.

And when I am back in Cleveland I am working a lot of extra hours for pay in order to finance the above endeavor. We're short staffed and they're offering nearly double hourly pay to people willing to read more x-rays and MRIs after hours. An offer I can't refuse.


________


But do not fret. My life still has some D&D in it. My ongoing summer campaign, which I only play at my Canada place when the boys come up, is nearly ready to start again. I've been working to get enough in place so that we can play my Shadows of the Moonshaes game in a couple of weeks. (Don't tell anyone, but it draws heavily on a lot of stuff from ALFA ... NPCs, plot concepts etc ..... there are "necromantic shards" involved, for those of you who remember that from ALFA)



And the biggest plus...

Here's what D&D looks like from our Canada place. It's the perfect setting:











That's our gaming site in a cabin named "The Castle." The last pic is me and my older brother Dan who I only get to see a couple of weeks a year. We've been playing D&D up here in Canada since 1978.


Anyways .... all is well. This is my life and I am happy and blessed for it. I will certainly see you when the days get short and the wind blows cold and I hunker back into my "regular" life in Cleveland.

Best regards to all!

pete/dergon

Very cool! Good luck with the new place!

I’ve been wondering, but I figured you were probably on vacations, since it’s summer time!

D&D in table top form is great!
Good luck with the new place, it sounds fantastic.
Unfortunately, the images aren’t loading at all for me.

Take care!


Dan

Wish I could have seen the pictures


Come back to us soon

We shall hold down the fort till you return!

We'll keep a light on for the Wayfarer!

Wow. That is really awesome, Peter. I join Ari in wishing I could see the pics though. A dozen outbuildings and a dock? Damn, makes me think of summer camp all those years ago. Know all about the looking after parents. My dad is 92 and lives close by - still sharp as a tack, but he's becoming less and less mobile.

Must remember that you are in Cleveland ... My neice is in Twinsburg so I may be in your neck of the woods at some point. We can grab an ale.

FYI, my neice's husband is a minister and social worker at the Cleveland Clinic - not sure which branch though.

Wild Wombat wrote:Wow. That is really awesome, Peter. I join Ari in wishing I could see the pics though. A dozen outbuildings and a dock? Damn, makes me think of summer camp all those years ago. Know all about the looking after parents. My dad is 92 and lives close by - still sharp as a tack, but he's becoming less and less mobile.

Must remember that you are in Cleveland ... My neice is in Twinsburg so I may be in your neck of the woods at some point. We can grab an ale.

FYI, my neice's husband is a minister and social worker at the Cleveland Clinic - not sure which branch though.

OK .. you asked for it .... here's a smatter ... missing a few sheds, a couple sleeper cabins and a couple boat houses.... but this gives a sense of it

The North dock rainbow time



Wood to split (there are 5 more cords down the hill)


In our D&D Cabin "The Castle" ... same guys 25 years apart





Shower House




White Quartz (where I sleep)




The north dock (with a bit of the kitchen to the left) as a storm rolls in



Doing plumbing under the kitchen




Doing chimney repair at the Castle



Using child labor to build a deck



Fallen Leaf, a sleeper cabin (in early Spring)



South Dock looking West



Another part of the south dock as we load the canoes on to a float plane for a portaging trek in the bush



Still enough to keep beers cold behind the kitchen cabin in late May





The kitchen dining room hangs out over the water ... it is hard to paint



My parents have a modern house there as well ... with a big deck that we will repair over Labor Day . Here's a big dinner on the deck with friends and family



The north dock showing the kitchen and White Quartz




Building the deck on the Castle a few years ago



Christening the Castle deck with Dom Perignon (out of plastic glasses of course) .... it just also happened to be my parents' 60th Anniversary and my dad's 80th birthday too



Then it's back to work digging out an outhouse that is full. Real dirty work

Still cannot see the pictures but from the way you talk it must be paradise.

Stormbringer wrote:Still cannot see the pictures but from the way you talk it must be paradise.

I still can't see them either.

Not sure that paradise comes with an outhouse, but ... yeah!

Wild Wombat wrote:

Stormbringer wrote:Still cannot see the pictures but from the way you talk it must be paradise.

I still can't see them either.

Not sure that paradise comes with an outhouse, but ... yeah!

Gotta poo somewhere.

Damn it .... I didn't know that google photos stopped hosting for urls....


what do you people use now?

dergon darkhelm wrote:Damn it .... I didn't know that google photos stopped hosting for urls....


what do you people use now?

Give this a try:

https://www.google.com/intl/en/drive/

I don't think it will put the pics right in there ... at least I was unable to figure that out. But you can link to them. Bit of a pain, but better than nothing.