Day Two with no laptop and no Second Life®. but what with Plurk and the Second Life feeds, I am not completely cut off. In fact, I am developing a shopping list for when I get back.

1. Summer in My Winter: I love the first picture. I like to see folks shoot from different angles and  capture emotions with their snaps. It’s a great shot by Virtual Evangelical.
2. Prim Perfect Talks at Home & Garden Expo: Prim Perfect will be hosting 17 or more creators in a Q&A format with audience participation/question time during the Expo. The complete schedule is posted here.
3. Challenge Gallery 40: Engage and a Special Challenge: The Single Frame Stories website should just be bookmarked to check every week for the new challenge gallery because there is always something worth seeing. This week, Sinjin Cooperstone offers an amazing photo that I would love to have framed and on my wall.
4. Second Life’s Favorite Game Show: Tymmerie Thorne presents a fun, excitement filled episode in the game we have all experienced – what was I wearing when I logged out.
5. May Rain - I live in Oregon where May=Rain so this spoke to me no matter what.

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My laptop’s graphic card died an ugly and painful death. Services were held at the Mac Store and it’s been shipped back to the factory for resurrection. Luckily, I can still stay in touch on my 10 year-old desktop, so long as I don’t try something too fancy. Remembering how incredibly fast it was when I got it 10 years ago, it’s funny how mind-numbingly slow it is now. Everything is relative.

1. Blog the Beat: A Weekly Musical Challenge – Harlow Heslop jumps into the weekly challenge field with an innovative challenge that may be more interesting than most. I have mentioned before that it seems like many bloggers have lost their own voice by doing so many challenges, particularly those who only blog once or twice a week. If they do two challenges, they blog nothing driven by their own interests. That said, this challenge opens the door for a lot of creativity and should not generate dozens of look-alike responses. From her own first entry, Mirrors, it looks like it may inspire exciting creative exploration. So, to Blog the Beat, read the lyrics from her song of the week and see what pictures they inspire for you.
2. Frequently Asked Questions: Lette Ponnier’s FAQ for Firestorm has some essential reading for everyone.

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Well, my computer went wonky this morning. Each photo I shot crashed my entire laptop and turned my screen to a jumbled mess of multi colored pixels, so it is off for repairs. Fast repairs, I hope.

Meanwhile, I got a couple snaps of this outfit that features a gorgeous sleeveless top with gorgeous collar points on the collar. The folder comes with your choice of gold or silver collar points (or tips). I chose silver because the belt on the pants is silver, too. Collar points are more common in menswear, in particular Western style clothing. At one time no self-respecting country singer would be found without collar points.

I added the fabulously strong silhouette of these high-wasted pants from Gizza. With the wide, long legs, they have a powerful style all their own.

My hair is from Truth – a new release with a lovely casual style. The skin is another of the special release from Glam Affair for Collabor88.

Store info at Blogging Second Life
****SHOPPING LIST******
Poses: Adorkable
Skin: Glam Affair – Margot – Europa 01 – Red @collabor88
Eyes: Insufferable Dastard
Lashes: Lelutka
Mani/Pedi: SLink Mesh Hands w FLAIR applicator manicure #2
Hair: TRUTH HAIR Lotus – Reds01Fade
Clothing: Remy !.RR.!AvaTucked-L-Silv/Salmon
GizzA – High Waist Woolen Pants [Grey] Size M» View author and full post…

I am ready to plan with my notebook and laptop tucked neatly into this fabulous tote from BSD Design Studio. The fun and flirty skirt is from the brand new store, Lacuna. it comes in all sorts of happy, stripey color combinations.

Strawberry Singh’s Teach Me Something meme appeals to me. To be honest, I do not do a lot of the memes and challenges because what with all the weekly challenges from colors, to Disney characters, to concept challenges to these weekly memes, a person can easily lose track of their own blogging and become just one more iteration of the various weekly themes. However, this meme is particularly fascinating. I would love to learn about skills people use in their real lives – and get an insight into their interests and passions outside of Second Life®.

In my professional life, I probably spent more time planning than doing. After all, there were lots of volunteers and members for the doing, carrying out the plans we made. I did all sorts of planning: planning for conferences, board meetings, dinners, auctions and other fundraisers; planning lobbying campaigns to pass legislation, planning electoral campaigns for candidates and for ballot measures, strategic planning for long-term growth and development.» View author and full post…

Giz Seom goes big. Look at the size of that print and of those sleeves. That is the hallmark of a designer confident and unafraid to take risks. I love the floral chintz fabric even though in careless hands it could look like a sofa cushion or the remnants of curtains ripped from the windows to make a gown to impress a certain dashing gentleman. But these are not careless hands, so it looks bold, fresh and ready to conquer.


I chose to highlight the green with my accessories, opting for bright green shoes from MiaMai.

I shot a close up because these MiaMai Milady Jewell shoes are exquisite in their details. I had some trouble with the shoes alpha, but just wore another alpha from another pair of shoes by MiaMai. It is most likely SL® acting up and nothing to do with the real alpha, but I mention it just in case it happens to you – if it does, you can use an alpha from any similar court shoes by any other designer.

I added this gorgeous and over the top jade necklace and earrings from Donna Flora. With such a wild and exuberant print, I wanted a bold statement necklace, too.» View author and full post…

Kauna has Christmas Sweaters for men and women in all the holiday shades and patterns at faMESHed. Everyone needs a Christmas Sweater for holiday pictures, parties and holiday cheer.

Until glaucoma took away her ability to see the details, my mother knit a sweater for me every Christmas. I can remember most of them. My least favorite was a traditional Scandinavian pullover in red, white and blue she made for me when I was in 3rd grade, even then my color palette was subtler than that. My favorite was a longer tunic sweater she knit in a dark sienna with a Scandinavian knit border print from hip to mid thigh with sienna, pumpkin, cream and dark forest green. One of the most stunning was one she knit of variegated yarn that through serendipity happened to have the exact number of stitches so the yarn formed a gorgeous argyle plaid pattern on the front panel. She knit a gorgeous lacy shell one year that was so soft and made with such fine yarn I could squeeze it into a ball in one hand. The last one she made before her vision dimmed permanently was a soft dove gray, seashell pink and white Scandinavian cardigan with silver buttons.» View author and full post…

There’s a nip in the air today that asks for a big, comfy sweater. And you can find just the thing at Zenith for the With Love Hunt. This is a nice, tunic sweater with a beautiful snowflake pattern on the bottom. It also comes with a big woolen scarf to wrap around your neck that is edged with round puffballs of yard. The scarf even has a color change HUD to let you choose among the different colors in the sweater to coordinate. It’s not cold enough, though, to haul out the scarf today.

Under the sweater, I added the Maitreya leggings and shoe combo with the ultra-modern heelless shoe. I love the combination of the modern shoe with the the traditional knit pattern.

I added some jewelry from Dark Mouse which is now closed and no longer available. Sorry! I still love it though. The long gold necklace is available – and only 10L in the With Love Hunt. The hair is a new release from Alice Project.

Adam n Eve is releasing this brand new skin tomorrow. It’s called Carolyn and has that fresh blush of red on the cheeks that suggest a bit of brisk winter wind.» View author and full post…

My computer has been hobbling along lately, in need of a new graphics card and system upgrades. That is one reason why I shoot fewer pictures with shadows and projectors. I can crash if I even think about doing that. But the worst symptom is how antisocial my computer has become. Any crowd, even if I drop RenderAvatarMaxVisible to 1 overwhelms and crashes my computer. I can rez about two people before crashing, so when I DJ I zoom in on the wall so I don’t see anyone. Needless to say, huge events like the Arcade Gacha are completely off limits. I saw one item in the shopping guide that I wanted desperately. I did run around to several yard sales on this huge list of gacha yard sales, but the people who are buying the pesca stoles are keeping them. Fortunately, I get by with a little help from my friends. The red plaid stole I wore yesterday was a gift from Gidge and Sylvia Olivier dropped this and a pink version of the Pesca stoles on me. They are certainly my favorite of the Arcade Gacha treasures made even better by virtue of the generosity of friends.

With the stole, I am wearing this fabulous Freedom shirt from Drift.» View author and full post…

I have been seeing this fabulous damask dress from Vero Moderno lately, a bold red and white baroque pattern with modern styling such as dolman sleeves that drape open from the shoulder to the hem of the sleeve. I don’t know why, but when I saw the ad for Pesca’s shawl at The Arcade Gacha event, I immediately knew I wanted to pair the red plaid with the Vero Moderno dress. Plaid and damask are not patterns that come together naturally, but I decided to go for it. I think it works because the prints have similar values but different densities.

I added fun glitter pumps from Deco. I should click my heels together while repeating, “There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home.”

Here’s a closer look at Pesca’s Belted Stole. It’s just so fabulous and comes in so many stunning patterns and colors.

Another short, cute cut from Dura and a lovely skin with rich, red lips from Glam Affair’s newest release Amberly finish off the look with fun, free earrings from Yak & Yeti where everything is free. » View author and full post…

One of the blessings (curses) of living in an upper floor apartment is the simple law of physics that heat rises. What that means in practical terms is that my downstairs neighbor pays for heat and I get most of it. I don’t turn on the heat. Right now it is 48°F outside (9°C) and I have two windows open and the fan running and it’s 76° in here. I imagine my downstairs neighbor as a lizard cranking up the heat and basking by the heater, warming his cold blood. It is hard to imagine a warm-blooded creature needing that much heat.

Heat rises in fashion, too, and I think the heat is bringing some really great stuff to the top at faMESHEd. Take this fabulous bodycon dress from Pink Outfitters. It’s figure hugging as any bodycon dress should be and comes in rich, saturated colors such as this fabulous eggplant. It also comes with fitted belts in silver and white. I love the long sleeves and simple round neckline that makes it perfect for big statement jewelry. My only quibble is that while dancing, there is an occasional break on the back of the legs where the leg will come through the mesh in some movements.» View author and full post…