Eleanor

@ellieiactaest

Quiet New Englander, living her best life in a less great world. Scale modeling, wargaming, overly complex computer games. Fewer jeremiads then there used to be. 🏳️‍⚧️

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Eleanor@ellieiactaest· 16d

Besides, how could I ever be angry with this view?

A pasture of tall grass, with a line of coniferous trees behind it, and a mountain ridge beyond that. The sky is blue with sporadic cloud cover that has left the pasture in shade but the trees in full evening sun.

Eleanor@ellieiactaest· 29d

Oh, so the takeaway ISN'T "The French hate Dodge"

A closeup of a circular chrome medallion with a red center on a black automobile. The outside of the medallion reads "Dodge Division." The center is red and bears a triangular insignia made up of three v-shaped pieces like arrowheads. Did you know this thing was called the "Fratzog"? Because I sure didn't until now.

Eleanor@ellieiactaest· Jul 10

Unfortunately I don't really take pictures as I work! But here's one I took of the pens I was carrying one day for a friend. The leftmost is modern, but the middle is from the 1960s and the rightmost is from the 50s and I've done work on both of those.

Four objects on a grey countertop. From left to right, a letter opener, a silver fountain pen with a chevron pattern in a band around the middle, a black fountain pen with a silver cap decorated in parallel lines, and a red fountain pen with a brushed aluminum cap with a polished band at the bottom.

Eleanor@ellieiactaest· Jul 8

Getting called out by a cookie.

A fortune cookie fortune reading "Prioritize self-care; it's a lifeline for your mental health."

Eleanor@ellieiactaest· Jun 19

If you see this, post a picture from your device with no explanation.

The rear bumper of a gunmetal grey car with black plastic trim. It has two bumper stickers: the first is clear with white letters and reads "you're so close you might as well get in." The second is black with pink letters and exaggerated sparkle, and reads "On June 13th, 2009 at 9:37 PM, this driver beat all five members of The Black Eyed Peas in an illegal road race in Kansas City, MO"

Eleanor@ellieiactaest· May 6

Eleanor@ellieiactaest· May 3

Mint juleps, with garden fresh mint.

Two clear glasses of a light brown liquid in crushed ice sitting on a red and white table top. Green sprigs of mint rise out of the top.

Eleanor@ellieiactaest· Mar 30

Finally finished that Polikarpov resin kit! How will I torture myself next?!

A small model of a Polikarpov I-15 on a wooden table. It is a biplane with a gull-winged upper wing and an open cockpit. It is drab green all over, with a pattern of sandy yellow and green spots on the upper wing. The wings have red tips, the fuselage has a red band, and the rudder is a red-yellow-purple tricolor; the colors of the Spanish Republic

The same green, yellow, and red biplane from the side. From this angle you can see the lower wing, the aircraft number, and the unit insginia; a penguin sitting on an ice floe.

The underside of the same aircraft in light blue, with drab green struts and landing gear.

Eleanor@ellieiactaest· Mar 20

A welcome sight on the first day of spring.

Ground covered in pine litter and sparse grass, including pine cones. Also present are many purple crocuses with bright yellow stamens. There is no rhyme or reason to them; this is not a flower bed, merely a lawn with flowers growing as they will.

Eleanor@ellieiactaest· Mar 14

Finding people's old conversions and substitutions is one of the best bits about trawling sites for old minis.

A wargaming miniature of a kneeling man in body armor with a sniper rifle, a four-crease "Smokey the Bear" hat, and a camouflage cloak. The hat and cloak are olive green and the armor is blue. His pauldron has the white U and red skull of an Ultramarines sergeant. This is not a Games Workshop space marine scout miniature, but is rather a Heartbreaker Hobbies Capitol ranger sniper for Warzone.

Eleanor@ellieiactaest· Mar 7

If winter comes, can spring be far behind? -- Percy Bysshe Shelley

Snowdrops, little white flowers on pale green stems, growing out of leaf litter.

Eleanor@ellieiactaest· Feb 23

Still a work in progress, but have some Marik Militia!

Four miniature giant robots (for the initiated, a Griffin, a Wolverine, a Phoenix Hawk, and a Trebuchet) on a paint covered white plate. They're all purple with steel details. The right side of each robot has red highlights, the left has blue.

Eleanor@ellieiactaest· Feb 23

And that's another one done. An Antoinette VII, or close enough for this old kit.

A model of an Antoinette VII, an early French monoplane. It's bright orange and has threads rigging it everywhere. The engine on the front looks like it was attached as an afterthought.

Eleanor@ellieiactaest· Feb 20

Nothing for a bad day and a mild panic attack like some FREEHAND!

A model of an orange Antoinette monoplane sitting on a green cutting mat. A white band on the fuselage, about the size of a dime, has the number "37" painted on it in black. By hand. Because I'm a masochist.

Eleanor@ellieiactaest· Feb 15

After writing something about our society's obsession with the appearance of business and productivity, I decided to make sure I did nothing else of use today and mixed a Tortuga. Cheers!

A ceramic vessel in the form of a purple cuttlefish, with a hole at the top, sits on a wooden desk.. The side bears the text "Latitude 29." The contents are a dark liquid mixed with ice. A bendy straw protrudes.

Eleanor@ellieiactaest· Feb 12

Taking a quick break from the Chaika to do a February group build and explore curious frontiers in scale modeling.

A green cutting mat with a yellow line grid. On the mat is a model airplane in progress, bare frames painted light brown. The right wing has a tan sheet of paper being glued to the underside, and the rear fuselage has a similar piece on top. The wing has four clothespins holding the paper on.

Eleanor@ellieiactaest· Feb 4

Yeah, this week can fuck right off.

A grey concrete sidewalk. The shattered remains of a pair of black eyeglasses and a turquoise plastic case can be seen. One lens is broken into many pieces, all pieces are mangled beyond repair.

Eleanor@ellieiactaest· Jan 29

Say what you will about the quality of his various games, but Sonic has never been this cool.

A piled snowbank between a cleared grey sidewalk and a snow covered road. Someone has drawn a pretty good representation of Sonic the Hedgehog into the bank with their finger.

Eleanor@ellieiactaest· Jan 22

Caught a local grabbing a quick bite on the way to work today.

A red-tailed hawk, wings furled, sits on a largefueled, with a red-brown sandstone building in the background. Draped over the branch is the tail of a squirrel. The hawk fearlessly surveys it's domain. The squirrel could not be reached for comment.

Eleanor@ellieiactaest· Jan 19

Post a car pic you took. This one's fresh from yesterday. Some people need to take better care of their toys.

A burgundy Porsche 944 sits in a side yard under a light dusting of snow. You can faintly hear Sarah McLachlan singing.

Eleanor@ellieiactaest· Dec 24

And with the lighting of the glögg, the festivities kick into gear. A merry Christmas to you and yours. May it be warm and glowing and beautiful.

A white gas stove in a dimly lit kitchen. On the burner is a large steel saucepan filled with dark liquid, which is on fire with blue flame. Above it is a steel sieve containing sugar cubes, which are also on fire. If by the blue flame light you see a cluttered countertop, no you didn't.

Eleanor@ellieiactaest· Dec 21

The Knifegrinder, or Principle of Glittering -- Kazimir Malevich, 1912-1913

A cubist painting in grays, reds, and blues. You can make out the figure of man hunched over a whetstone, running the blade across it.

Eleanor@ellieiactaest· Dec 14

So remember when I said I was trying to build every 1/72 scale model of the P-40 I could get my hands on?

A shelf covered in boxes in white, blue, and red. The one thing in common is each box says some variation of P-40 or equivalent somewhere on it.

Eleanor@ellieiactaest· Dec 14

If you see this, I IMPLORE you to post a picture from whatever device you’re using without explanation

A bare tree in winter. Clinging to a branch is a small bird of prey with a white and brown belly and yellow talons, with a grey-brown back...but there's a branch in front of the head so you can't see it.

Eleanor@ellieiactaest· Nov 27

And here's a selection of pre-dinner drinks. The left is a Boston bog: rum, apricot brandy, cranberry juice, lemon juice, and ginger syrup. To the right is my mocktail selection: ginger syrup, cranberry juice, and lemon juice.

Two cups on a countertop. The left one is a classic martini glass filled with a ruddy peach colored liquid. The other is a water tumbler filled with a ruby red liquid and ice cubes.

Eleanor@ellieiactaest· Nov 27

A happy Thanksgiving to you all! My contribution to mine today is cocktails and other drinks, so I started off with some ginger syrup. There are lots of commercial products that will add a polite hint of ginger to the proceedings. This isn't that.

A wooden cutting board on a wooden countertop. A large silver chef's knife sits to one side. On the board is a large piece of ginger root, next to a chopped pile of the same, about to go in a steel 1-cup measure already mostly full of chopped ginger. You can smell this from the other side of the house.

Eleanor@ellieiactaest· Nov 16

Couldn't fit the whole recipe, but the instructions were "quick blend with ice, serve over crushed ice." The rum, syrups, and liquors open the Campari flavor up a lot, bringing bitter orange and herbs into the traditional mai tai profile

Ingredients

1 1/4 oz Campari
3/4 oz Jamaican rum
3/4 oz fresh lime juice
3/4 oz orgeat
1/2 oz dry curacao
1/4 oz Becherovka
1/4 oz Demerara syrup

Tools:
Blender

Glass:
Mai Tai

Garnish:

Mint bundle and orange peel

Eleanor@ellieiactaest· Nov 13

A black and white still from the film Casablanca. A white man in a dark uniform with a mustache and gold braid on his hat and collar addresses a policeman facing away from the camera. The subtitle reads "Round up the usual suspects."

Eleanor@ellieiactaest· Nov 2

Today's experiment, the Barnum. Cribbed from a dodgy 1980s cocktail manual, but it's good. 1 1/2 oz gin 1/2 oz apricot brandy Several dashes lemon juice Several dashes Angostura bitters.

A martini glass with a twisted stem sitting on an oak table, with white curtain and dark sky behind. The liquid in it is orange-brown, and seems lit from behind.

Eleanor@ellieiactaest· Oct 31

Ate the last outdoor meal of the year (hotdogs and baked beans) with the lights off as I leaned back and watched the clouds whip through the dark sky. I listen to Danse Macabre while doing this. Happy Halloween!