Battle Axe

Birthday Bragging

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing this week? I can’t believe we’re already in the down swing of January. Next week is my end of the month book review. Time just isn’t going to slow down anymore. But I’ve been writing. Still only a quarter of what I used to write, but it’s been steady and it’s getting easier to start each time, so hopefully I can work my way back up soon. Aside from that, I have nothing writerly to talk about. So, I thought I’d share my birthday swag with you.

Food and sharp things, you perverts.

For my birthday meal, Dad made a pastrami and smoked mac-n-cheese! Yum… And when I say he made a pastrami, it started out as a brisket. He corned the beef, then did the magic that makes it into a pastrami. I don’t know the technical details. It’s magic! And it includes smoking it for around 20 hours. With his new smoker, he should’ve been able to set it and mostly forget it, but the fan/billows thing decided it didn’t want to work properly, so he didn’t get much sleep that night since he had to check on it periodically. I don’t have any pictures, but there are five more bags worth of meat in the freezer (a couple of meals each). The mac-n-cheese had four different cheeses, totaling about two pounds. A panko breadcrumb topping. Some beer. Such cheesy. Much yum. You can be jealous. It’s okay.

Then, a couple of days ago, I got a box from Enza in the mail. It was the New Years in Kamakura box from Sakuraco! There’s a lovely set of chopsticks and a bunch of snacks and some tea. It’s from Japan, so of course all the labels are in Japanese. I know a little of the language, but not that much. I didn’t keep up with my studies (ごめんなさい, 先生). Luckily, a booklet is included that tells you what everything is, tells you a bit about the region everything comes from, and is very specific about how to make the tea. As of the time I’m writing this, I haven’t had a chance to try anything, but I’m looking forward to it!

Borrowed from the website.

Yesterday, a package arrived from the Ukraine. Dad got me my first axe! See, at least one person reads my posts. He started looking after he read this one. It’s beautiful and heavy and sharp. He bought it from ValhallaWorld on Etsy. Don’t be fooled by the cheaper versions. If you look closely at those shops, you’ll see the telltale signs of imposters. All of the descriptions are the same and slightly wonky. It’s weird. But my new axe is excellent. Now, I just have to figure out where I want Dad to hang it!

So, I had a lovely birthday week. Thank you again to Dad and Enza and everyone who sent me birthday love! I’m old. I know. As always, feel free to share your thoughts and comments here or on my social media pages!

What Do I Want?

~ shawnaborman ~ 4 Comments

Howdy, howdy! How’s it going this lovely day? Things here are pretty much the same as always lately. I avoid productivity and mostly just read. The world is still chaotic and filled with the plague, so I mostly just sit at home and mind my own business. Social media is kind of annoying with all the drama, so I lurk instead of participating. That’s about it. But I’m not here to whine. No one wants to listen to that. Instead, I’m going to ramble about things I want. People (mostly Dad) keep asking me what I want. What I’d like to have. And I keep saying nothing, which is true. If I want something, I usually just buy it or save up for it. But there are things I want that I won’t buy because I don’t know where to get good ones (and if I look it up, I’ll be tempted to buy stuff), I can’t actually use them, and I’ve run out of space for most of them. Weapons. I’m talking about weapons. The sharp pointy or slicey kind. I also like whips, but that’s another post. Anyway, in no particular order, here are some things I want but will probably never get.

Not these specifically. This is just so people know what I’m talking about. This goes for every picture in this post.

1. A new pair of sai. My current pair are just cheap and purely ornamental. I got them on a whim at an anime convention, so they aren’t great quality. I don’t mind them being ornamental, but I would eventually like to get a decent pair to replace them. No idea why. I can’t use them, so it doesn’t really matter if they’re good or not. I just like them and as I get older, I prefer nicer things.

2. A new katana/wakizashi/tanto set. Again, I already have one that my folks got me a while back for Christmas (birthday, maybe?). It’s nice, but you can never have too many blades. And again, I can’t use them, so there’s no real excuse to spend that kind of money on a good set. I’d feel sad if they just sat there, not getting any use. But deep down, I still want them.

3. A battle axe or two or three. Mostly because I can’t decide which style I like best. Axes are a relatively new interest for me, so I don’t currently have any. Only got into them a couple of years ago. I have no idea where to look for them (which is fine, because I would want decent ones and have no money or space for them). They range from pretty plain to super ornate, so I suppose I could get some good looking decorative ones and not feel too bad about not being able to use them. But I won’t.

Glaive of the Bodyguard of Guglielmo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua and Monferrato, ca. 1575 Italian, Etched steel, wood; The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

4. A glaive/fauchard. The picture doesn’t really show it, but they’re polearm weapons (on a long shaft). You can blame Sailor Saturn and her glaive for my interest in these things. There are a lot of variations of this type of weapon across cultures, so I’d have to do more research before I actually consider getting one, but they’re so pretty they had to go on the list.

This is nowhere near a full list of the weapons I want. If it’s shiny and stabby, I probably want one. I might already have one. But yeah, blades are beautiful. What kind of weapons do you prefer? Or, if you’re not into stuff like that, what are some things you want but probably won’t buy? What do you collect? As always, feel free to leave your thoughts or comments or questions here or on my social media pages!