52 weeks of color - Week 39

Well, now its time to just start doing these one at a time. SO much easier.

Week Thirty-Nine: Melon

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Dress - [Wishbox] Folklore Dirndl (Watermelon) SLURL Hair - >TRUTH< Miku SLURL Pose - 'NSA' - Blue Bird SLURL Sim - Karazhan SLURL

One thing I was wanting to do with these is to also show off photos of the sim I took the color portrait at. This way I not only get myself out there exploring all the landmarks I have in my "to be explored" folder. But I also can share some amazing places with people. Which is kinda the point of this journal/blog to start with.

The sim I went to I found on the journal of the lady that started the 52 weeks challenge and it is lovely build. Very simplistic but stunning for that. It's called Karazhan and has a small store, a small art gallery and some scattered places to go look at. In the photo above I am actually underwater!! It uses a custom windlight setting so I left it on that for my sim lighting.

I can't pick which part I loved the most about it. The peacock feather trees, the swing, or the birdcage.

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For today's color I had in fact chosen a different dress and sim to use. But I didn't like how they turned out. So instead of going with the same dress and a new sim. I totally switched both!

But hey, I can still show off the photos of the place I went.

I had originally went with katat0nik's Fruit Swirl Dress for the dress. Hey can't get more melonly then watermelons them self! And honestly it wasn't the dress that just wasn't clicking for me, I think it was the hair. I had picked *BC322 EMO princess and it is just so HUGE. And since it ended up being no mod and I removed the script after thinking I had it a good size. HUGE on me. You can see it here

I hate no mod hair, and if I buy a hair not sure if it is mod or not and find out it no mod, I resize it best I can then never buy from that store again. As a fur I NEED my hair to be mod so I can make adjustments to placement of the hair prims in my face not just how big it is overall. There is one hair resizer script that allows for moving individual prims, but not many I have found use it.

The sim. well more like the build, is something I found on the destination guide. where I get a lot of my locations. Called -ajisai- it will only be around till the end of August. SLURL You'll TP into a boat and then you have to click a sign to get to the build. It made me feel like I was inside a giant water globe, with huge flowers and snails. It's really something to see. Oh and you get a free flower umbrella on your way out!

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You can see photos from both places at the following link..

http://softpaw.org/LJimages/SL/week39/

52 Weeks of Color Challenge ; Late to the party

I am LATE TO THE PARTY!

I've honestly been pondering doing this Blogger challenge for months....yes MONTHS, as its been going on since Last december.

It's called 52 weeks of color and was started by Luna Jubilee

I've seen quite a few folk doing it on the feeds and thought it looked like fun and a bit of a challenge.

So with the creation of the new blog, a desire to get people to go to it, plus I'm bored. I decided to take the plunge. So here is my first one. This weeks color is Patriarch. Which I didn't even know WAS a color name.
But wiki says its just a shade of purple.


 

Week 38 Patriarch

*Evie's Closet* Coppelia - Bitter Wine  Eolande's Hair - Grace  Sim Alirium

But I have some catching up to do! They are on week 38 already! Now I guess I could have just picked up with the color they are on and tracked back to do them after they are finished. Or started with week one and did it week by week that way.

But nnnoooo

Instead, I took my bejeweled tail to a sandbox, set up a photo sphere and went to town searching my inventory for outfits for the past weeks! I didn't bother changing hair, except for the two outfits that came with hair. And I so did not copy down the different poses. I DID copy down the gowns, but not SLURLs and I only wrote down what was on the folder. Which, with a few exceptions, is what the designer used on the box or folder you got with the outfit. I do tend to put CO in front of all Caverna Obscura outfits so I can find them easier though. So if you want to know more about who made an outfit, ask me and I'll tell you.

Each Week Luna not only gives a color name, but a swatch of the color. I'm making MORE work for myself by reading her HTML and using it to put the exact same swatch she did as my header so you can see how close I got with my clothing! Because I am insane that's why. Though some times the common idea of what the color of that name looks like does NOT match the swatch color. I leaned more toward common idea then swatch.

Some colors where clearly way easier for me to find something to wear hen others. BUT I successfully managed it with out getting anything new! I have said a little something about each outfit or the color under the photo for it. Or sometimes just random comments. Hey I've been at this a while. Things got Silly. I don't know where she got her color swatches from or color names. I'm just going by what she posts.

The hair I have on for these is Kay by Truth.

Enjoy my insanity.

Because I can

I am doing a blogger challenge I saw. Pretty much because I feel like it

It's here http://www.harlowheslop.com/archives/1120

I saw it on Emerald Wynn's Blog

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This is me, oh and Adar my husband. At Oklahoma Renaissance festival - AKA OKRF - this year. I'm Head fairy there. Come find me next year in fact! Ask for the fae and I'm Columbine!

OH and every bit of fabric you see on us both, plus my wings. I made! MWHAHAHAHAHA. I did not however make all our accessories because I don't know how to blow glass, throw pottery, metal smith, ect ect..

So what's something I love about myself?

The fact that, at 36 I feel I have at last found my place in the world. And while many wont get why a person my age would want to run around with wings on their back and play a fairy. It's me. And I'm happy with it. Would have never thought it would be what I want to do with my life in school. But HEY, things change.

I love that I can be out there weird strange and not have a problem with it myself. And if others do. HEY no skin off my back.

I love being me now.

And whats better is I have friends who love me for me. My husband loves me for me and all my weird quirks.

And that's about the best thing on the planet.

Flickr

Perma link is to the left in a weird photo montage thingy

http://www.flickr.com/photos/softpaw_sommer/

I UPDATED IT. But not well, can't properly tag it or put stuff in groups till I can afford to go pro again. Bah.

Some photos in it have not made it to the blog yet.

Relay wrap up

The start area

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The current Total is $373,098 US , This us up slightly from the "official" end to this years RFL the weekend of the Relay. The last date they will take money is Aug 20th from what I have heard. Most likely wont break 400,000 this year but its next years goal!

As I said before I stayed up the whole 24 hours. Took photos during the event and then went back and took some after. Missed the great Blow up of the Steelhead build but oh well.

http://softpaw.org/LJimages/SL/RFL11-a/ has all my during the relay photos and

http://softpaw.org/LJimages/SL/RFL11-b/ has all my after the Relay photos. Sadly even though it wasn't 24 hours since the end some folk had taken their builds down by them.

My home base during the relay was of course the Steelhead build. It was a good starting and ending point as it was the last winter sim.

I made it around 7 full times. If I hadn't spent several hours on one lap to take photos I could have made it SEVERAL more, but I wanted the photos!

There were some amazing builds this year. Just stunning. And some ho-hum ones but hey not everyone can build like Lunar!

Different hours had different themes for what you could if you wanted to wear. The first lap was for survivors or Caregivers only so I cheered them on. Second lap was the team lap. Most of the steelhead team had gotten these school of fish avatars and we wore them in mass.

Waiting to head on the track for the first time
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That lap was a HUGE lag fest, As everyone was hitting the track at once, so our group got separated. However I was using Lunar's walk and talk follower and made the lap with him towing me around! IT was rather fun. I kept my wings as the fish and Lunar attached a large Steelhead salmon to the head of his. Next year he says he’s going to mod the school to be all steelheads and give those of us with the avatar the modded pieces to wear. WEEE!!

I also had one of the scuply fish in my mouth the whole time except turning the luminary ceremony. It cracked me up.

My Relay Look, I’m standing in Bryn Oh's lovely build
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I got as low an "arc" as I could and as low a script count. But, I'm a Fur, the only way to get my "arc" number into the greens is removing the fur. Which I didn't want to do.

I skipped out on most of the hour themes but did do a few. The Equestrian hour as I just picked up a new carousel horse, For the masquerade hour..AKA the spooky hour, I discovered my copy of Thriller let me Thriller dance and walk at the same time. And for lap I used this Jump Rope I picked up on a hunt. LOVED that thing.

My carousel horse for the ride your horse hour.
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JUMP JUMP
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I enjoyed all the builds, save one. And this build I found tacky and not well thought out. And quite frankly, offensive. Why? It featured a "Tornado of life"

I live near Joplin, Missouri. Heck I DROVE THROUGH Joplin in the dark hours after if was decimated by the Tornado. As it happened on a Sunday I was at Oklahoma Renaissance Festival and I44 is on our route home. If we had not been warned abut the weather and stopped to eat dinner for a few hours we might have been IN that tornado.

Tornadoes are not life giving. I don't care how you play it up. They are life TAKING.

With the sheer number of people relaying I can't have been the only one from the area on the sims.

Heck I KNOW I'm not as another Steelheader is from nearby as well. They weren't to pleased with that build either.

So yeah. People, when making your builds for an event like this. Make sure you don't include imagery that may upset people like that!

It's a shame about the thing too. The rest of the campsite was lovely. But ruined by one not well thought out item. I have two photos of it. Once in during and one after. taken only to prove it was there, well the after was taken of the designers name, so I know to avoid them.

ANNNYYWAAAYYY, sorry that rant has been inside me a while..

Other then that it was loads of fun. getting to know other Steelheaders better. talking to friends, listening to the stories on the streams.

It was fantastic. Even during the wee hours when I was starting to crash. Can't wait to do it again.

Some more photos

Taken during the fight Back Ceremony. Cracked me up.
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Fireworks at the end
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Track Map
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This was such a stunning build. It used parcel wind light to give it the orange glow.
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Dr Who Fans put together a build based on last years Christmas Ep. It was fantastic
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Babbage's Factory of Hope
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Looket me I'm a RFL DJ / organizer!

yeah no..
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Relay outfit
Top = AOHARU Cotton Shirt with Scarf Vest *Relay Kiosk item may not still be around* SLURL
Pants = Leri Miles Designs Capri Blue SLURL
Hair = !!Calico Creations!! Kay SLURL
Carousel Horse = Mech Wearable Carousel Horse SLURL
Jump Rope = Seasons Hunt Summer 2011 - [MAGIC NOOK] Skipping Rope SLURL
Fish Avatar = Real Shaol Of Fish Avatar!!! SLURL

Post Relay look
Hair = Exile - Glory SLURL
Top = CO Beach Dress ~Morning~ by Caverna Obscura SLURL
Skirt = CO Beach Dress ~Orchid~ by Caverna Obscura SLURL

An interesting machinima

The beginnings is just stunning with the way the view links from one sim to another. There's even a brief bit of Steelhead in it! The light house and windmill

Then it gets into some weird wire frame business and it lost me..but the start is beautiful. I would have liked the whole thing to be like that.

For the Love of Steelhead

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I belong to many groups in Secondlife. Most are just for stores I want to keep up on their offerings. A few are for sim groupings, communities if you will. Most are of the fantasy type and for some reason or another, I've just never really "clicked" and become a true part of a group in SL that is just straight fantasy. I don't know why, it not for lack of trying.

But there is one group I am a part of that I clicked with and is now family. A wacky, weird family, but family.

That group is Steelhead. A Steampunk fantasy group. My Teahouse garden is in it, as is my new home plot that I've not gotten around to talking about yet. It is a set of 7 sims "Nestled in the Coastal Pacific Northwest sits Steelhead City, an American Victorian Steampunk Community". It's steampunk, but very loosely Steampunk. The sim Nevermoor, where my home is at, is more fantasy then steam. But that's how we like it. No hard and fast "gotta be this and this and this" but very welcoming to anyone.

I like it, a lot. No it's not full of magical beings and fairies and the like. Oh there is a few of us. Ambrose has a store, the owner is an Elf, the marshal is a werewolf, But most of the folk are "normal" humans. But the differences don't really matter to us. I feel loved, welcomed and accepted here, wanted even. Which has not been the case in many places and groups in Secondlife, for a variety of reasons.

The above photo is from one of the sims. Steelhead Mt Helens. SLURL.

Lunar and Tensai, Lunar's wife, Lovingly sculpted the land using actual topographical maps of St Helen to create the sim's layout. As the sim is set in Pre blowing its top, St Helen has a full head on it. It is also landscaped in parts, of course leaving plots for people to rent and live in the majestic beauty of the mountain. All those that do so have kept in theme beautifully, though of course with the Steelhead wackiness every so often.

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Recently, due to RL issues one of the major land holders had to leave suddenly. They had 7 plots, there are also other plots with out anyone on them either. This has led to a bit of an issue of the sim not being able to make its tier to Linden. We got told this today at the weekly community town hall meeting. If someone, no one knows who not even Lunar, hadn't donated the $300 US Lunar's account would have been frozen till it was made. And we would have lost St. Helens.

But someone made it and now we have a month to get the sim full up again. Or we loose the sim. We are trying to fill it up as quickly as possible, many of us have already promised to buy a few of the plots. But there are still a lot left. Lunar wants to go in and make a few sim changes as well, such as moving the mountain to the middle instead of the side. But not to much, it's charm is in its rugged wilderness beauty.

He's said this about the sim, to give it a back-story

After fierce negotiations the land around the 'smoking mountain' was sold to the ever growing Steelhead to become the sixth region in the Steelhead territories.

Nestled in a quiet valley the settlement of pioneers called it St. Helens. The rustic frontier community is on a higher plateau dipping into a valley overshadowed by a massive beautiful Mt. St. Helens surrounded by Mt Hood and Garlic Ridge. Picturesque Spirit Lake rests at the bottom of the sleeping volcano surrounded by acres and acres of trees and wilderness.

Away from the busy urban area’s of Steelhead Capital City Mt. St. Helens is one of the last remaining frontiers of the Pacific Northwest. St. Helens is rugged wilderness, unpaved roads and full of dense trees. Geysers and geothermal pools are abundant casting a sulfuric smell in the air. Some of the local settlers harvested the use of the natural hot springs to create steam for power.

I went to it and took some photos to show off its beauty, and its quirkiness. It's not as stunning as it used to be due to the empty plots, But it will be once again after it is filled. You can see all the photos here http://softpaw.org/LJimages/SL/SHMSH/

Photos where taken with the sky setting coastal afternoon and the water setting Glassy. Sadly I didn't get a shot of the sims elusive Sasquatch that can be seen roaming about every so often.

Lunar and Tensai make no money off of Steelhead, they run it for the love of the place. Tier is quite reasonable and they will work with you if you have issues making a payment.

If your interested follow the SLURL above and take a look around. Then IM TotalLunar Eclipse to get your land. You will be added to the group The Citizens of Steelhead City.

Heck ask to join the group even if you don't want land. It's a fantastic group.

It's Family.

It's Home.

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Hair .:EMO-tions:. * SAMARA * SLURL
Outfit * May's Soul* Rescue me pink SLURL




Steelhead's song.

Relay for Life, The total

Relay for life of Secondlife raised $369,062 this year!!!!

It will go up some as they take money till the end of the month, but its now "officially" over.

I stayed up and was on the track constantly the whole 24 hours. Not counting time out for crashes and a reboot.

I went to bed about 1pmish but got up just now as Adar came home.

I'm now heading BACK to bed as I'm still tired but I wanted to give the total. It's a record total for RFLSL and we're awfully proud of it. They are hopping for the slim possibility of getting to 400,000 by the end of the month will happen. That was the goal of the evening and we didn't quite make it.

If you want to help you can still donate at This link here. Till the end of the month!

Photo post coming later, I am exhausted and they have said that the builds will still be up for a bit and there where a few I wanted to explore more in-depth. Also more about the relay experience in general. But I wanted to give the total today.

I'm now heading back to bed.

Relay For life

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I relay for my Aunt - who lost her battle
I relay for my Father in law - who won his..
I relay for anyone I know that has been touched by cancer.
I relay to give hope.

This was taken during the Luminary ceremony , I am in front of the one I donated to in honor of Greg Simmons. There is one near in honor of my Aunt Wilma.

So...

Stuff happened, or more like didn't happen. And now I am NOT going on the Float trip. I get to stay home and Relay instead!

Kinda feeling bittersweet about that. But I've already gone into that other places.

Today I got a sneaky peek at Steelhead's RFL Camp sight and HOOOLLLYYYY COOOOWWW Lunar has done an AMAZING job!! I am in awe and was moved to tears over it.

http://slurl.com/secondlife/RFL%20Advocacy/64/136/23

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The theme for Relay for Life this year is Seasons of Hope, and the Track sims are broken up into different seasons. Steelhead Sponsored a sim and that is the one it's Camp sight is on. Advocacy. It's in the Winter Sims.

Lunar themed his build around Vivaldi's Four Seasons concertos, with a touch of Phantom of the Opera era Paris. A stunning wall of arches greets you. With Statuary on top representing Lunar and his wife Tensai! And under them are two woman holding up a Hammer and a stick of Dynamite. Which also represents Lunar and Tenasi.

Entering the arch you see a wide open courtyard, which a pair of giant ghostly dancers in it. Past them are four pavilions each with a different season on them. On either side of each of the pavilions are two scrolls, on one side a quote from the song "Wishing you where somehow here again" from Phantom of the Opera. On the other different stages of Helping someone with Cancer. In front of those scrolls is a flower for each season.

Steelheads Owner and Master Builder Lunar

Spring has a lovely butterfly filled meadow surrounded by lovely pink trees. Summer, a fountain with a mermaid statue in the middle surrounded by tall green trees. Autumn, fall trees surrounding fallen leaves and apples. Winter, a sparkling snow field surrounded by barren trees and magical ice trees. Do go into Midnight to see winter in all its glory!

Scattered about the pavilions are many candles you can click to light in the name of someone. I chose my Aunt Wilma who I lost to Pancreatic Cancer several years ago.

Ready to Relay

I mostly took straight noon sun setting photos, but did mess about towards the end with some wind light settings and poses in the pavilions. I may go back and take more like that if I have the time.


http://softpaw.org/LJimages/SL/steelrfl11/ go there to see all the photos in this set!

I'll take more tomorrow of other camp sights that catch my eye.


In related news, at tonight’s RFL Ball in Steelhead I offered my services for an auction. People bid to have me take them on a tour of a Fae Sim and to have me read one of the MANY Fairy Tales I have over voice. Mind you I NEVER use voice so that is a big deal.

I got "won" by a twosome. I will be taking Mindy, a Child avatar on a tour of the Enchanted Sim. And reading out loud for the Steelhead Library for CeAire. There was a minor bid war as Mindy REALLY, REALLY wanted the tour and CeAire wanted the reading. So the settled on splitting it! Works for me! I have no idea right now when either thing will take place.

But I look forwards to it and I will announce when the reading takes place as that will be a public event. Yes I am nervous about that!

Gown -Evie's Closet Aventine gown rfl *SLURL*
Hair - Pocket Mirrors - Nastassja * SLURL*
Jewelry - Evie's Closet - Briar Rose (Gold) (Color Change) SLURL
Sim - RFL Advocacy *SLURL*

Relay For Life

It's the last weekend for Relay for Life.

I did not get to participate as much as I wanted to. Nore will I this last weekend. Real life interfered with OKRF Academies and then the run of the faire and other things. And this weekend, the weekend of the big Relay, Is also my husbands 30th birthday and our friends annual float trip is on the same weekend. So we're going to that. It was SUPPOSED to be earlier in the month but it got changed. Grrr

Oh well. I wont be able to officaly Relay, but hopefully some of the sims will still be up when I get home Sunday night. I'll make a lap or two if I'm able anyway.

I've decked myself out in Purple In honor still though. Wearing a Gown I got at Fantasy fair and a hair I picked up at Hair faire. And I tinted my fur purple for the weekend!


I am still trying to raise funds. If you can spare 5 bucks PLEASE go here and donate!! I see NONE OF THIS MONEY...EVER!!! It all goes right to RFL with out me doing a thing. I do most of my donating in world but I did make one donation via this, as has another friend just today! Its not much but HEY it's something!




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If you don't remember why I Relay.

Gown - !Boaz! Spring Maiden RFL version purple BOXED SLURL
Hair - DQ...Sharon Red SLURL
Pose - No Strings Attached - Blue Bird SLURL
Sim - World's End GardenSLURL

testing

yes this is your typical HEY testing to see if this thing works post for my first post.

Older posts can be found at http://softpaw-sommer.livejournal.com/ as well as every post you see above this post.