Ups and Downs

Spent a lot of time on my kraken project last night, and am extremely happy with how it's turning out.  I thought I had it finished, in fact I had started boxing it up for publication last night when my connection went down.  It was midnight though and I decided it could wait until tonight.

But isn't this how projects go?  Since I hadn't sent it off last night, I gave it more thought this morning and decided there is more tweaking to do. If I'd been able to send it, I wouldn't be putting more thought into it. (Well, maybe i would, but I probably wouldn't do anything about it.)  So...just a little bit more work on it tonight and then it's done. It shouldn't take much to get it wrapped up.

After that, I will post pics! I'm very excited!

In other news, I've decided to give up my property in Caledon Kittiwickshire.  It pained me to tell Desmond given how welcoming he was when I came back, and how much I like Caledon. When it comes down to it though, I'm paying for property that I'm not really using, and I can't afford to do that right now. So I'll be packing up my cottage there soon.

I'd like to buy into Caledon again at some point in the future, when finances are a bit looser, or when I'm able to make some Linden in-world.  It will take more thought and time next time though, to find a parcel that I know I'll end up using.  As much as I like my little beach spot, I just don't spend much time there.

New friends!

I was in and out of world a number of times yesterday.  Attempting to focus on a short story that occurs in New Babbage, I kept finding myself needing to go check out something or other in the city in order to maintain continuity.  This, of course, would lead to distractions and I ended up spending more time in the city than working on my story.  *sheepish*

On one such interval in the city, Master Nathaniel Lorefield introduced himself.  He was working on a house in the Academy square as I walked by.  I was headed into the Academy of Industry building and somehow managed to walk right past the house without really registering that it was something new.  We chatted for awhile about his build, and he asked if I'd yet seen the sewers.  Thinking I had, since I'd seen the area beneath city hall I said yes, but didn't know about an empty space beneath the square.  We went down to check it out and then spent some time walking through the tunnels.

I was amazed at just how extensive the system is.  When we reached water too deep to wade, since I can't swim (yet), he rezzed a raft and rowed us through.  We traveled like this all the way up to the Palisades train station, and I must say - for someone who is familiar with the sewer system, it was much quicker than walking.

At some point in the evening I parked myself in my house while working on my story, and was surprised by a visit from Mr. and Mrs. Melnik - Scotty and Sky.  They came to the house for the express purpose of paying a visit, which I found immensely kind.  We lounged comfortably in the sitting room for a good long time, drinking tea and plotting world domination.

Okay, so maybe not the world domination part, but I felt that we got along famously. They're fun people, and I look forward to seeing them in-world more often.

I've been spending more time in Caledon Kittiwickshire.  Matthieu and I ended up sitting in the cottage there for awhile last night, but earlier in the day I went alone.  I feel that this snapshot captures almost entirely my reasons for wanting the property:

Sheik and Sari Ball

Tonight Ms. Bianca Namori held a Sheik and Sari ball in honor of her former home, Cala Mondrago.  I never had the good fortune to visit the sim when it was online, but I understand it had a desert steampunk theme.  I wish I had been able to see it!

The event was held in the sky over Caledon Kittiwickshire, strangely enough, so I knew I had to attend! (Also, I had just purchased a sari to wear to a different upcoming event, so I was happy to have a reason to wear it already.)

Me, trying out my belly dancing skillz:

Back in New Babbage, I didn't have much going on, so when Mr. Manamiko asked what I was up to, I was eager to go exploring again.  We started elsewhere on the grid taking a drive in his car, but sims started going down left and right in a griefing attack, so we made our way back to the (relative) safety of NB.  Neither of us had checked out the The Palaeozoic Museum and Library, so we spent some time seeing what there was to see there.  I was much more impressed than I thought I would be!

The museum library:

At some point we decided to see the Melnik Sky Tower (I believe that's what it's called).  We had some difficulty with the elevator initially, but after that it was only our attempts to increase our draw distance that resulted in problems.  I think Matthieu was able to get a snapshot of my house all the way over in Academy, but I crashed before I could even make an attempt.

The moon over the airship dock:

I just have to say that I'm having an incredible time being back in-world.  The level of creativity and ingenuity demonstrated by the builds never ceases to amaze me, both inside of New Babbage and elsewhere, and I really value the friendships I've made (and renewed).  And I'm starting my own New Babbage story on the Reader!  *happy bounce*

Operation: Kittiwickshire Redecoration

I've been sorely neglecting my property in Kittiwickshire.  I've been having so much fun (perhaps too much fun if one were to have observed chat on the steampunk group last night...gah) getting to know people in New Babbage that I've just not been going back to Caledon very often. 

When I last left the cottage I had set out some of my very old high-prim furnishings, and had been frustrated with how archaic they looked and how far they set me back on my prim count. So last night I spent some time there putting out some new furnishings and warming the place up a bit.

The sitting area:

Desk and dining table (I put a picture on the wall after taking this snapshot...this area needs something more, perhaps a couple of additional rugs):

I put a dock and some Adirondack chairs in the back, but it needs some plantlife:

In contrast, here is what I had in the cottage before:



It's done!

I think I'm done with the Kittiwickshire house.  Well, I'm sure I'll do some tweaking here and there, but it's done otherwise.

If it looks like a girlie house, that's because it's what I was shooting for.  A little beach cottage fit for a lady.

Too bad it's me that will be living there.  ;-)

Next step:  Garden!

Above:  The photo I worked from compared to the finished product.

 

The cottage is coming along

Tonight I did some retexturing work, added a gable and some sculpted window frames.

Still on my to do list:

• Window panes
• New foundation texture
• Back walls (!)
• Interior textures
• Porch posts, balusters, rails, and maybe spandrels

I'd also like to add some kind of garden, and an area in the back for sitting and looking out at the sea.  Perhaps a dock, but I'm not sure.

More work on the Kittiwickshire house

Last night I decorated my new room at the Porthead Tavern in Port Babbage.  I was going for a 19th century Bohemian look, and this is what I came up with:

Tonight I opted to spend the evening in Caledon working on my build in Kittiwickshire.  I had decided already that the scale of the build I had started was all wrong, so I more or less started from scratch.  Using the door at the Porthead Tavern as a model for a good height relative to my av (everything has to be scaled bigger for avatars anyway because they're generally taller than humans, and the camera angle makes realistic scales impractical).    Then I sized a door in Kittiwickshire to roughly the same proportions and, silly as it sounds, I built the house around the door.

I'm using a picture of a small Victorian cottage as inspiration.

Here is how my newbie house is turning out.  I'm using stock textures and it's flashing all over the place, but I'm working it out.  The scale is better not only for my av, but also relative to the builds all around it.  I was aiming for a small structure in comparison to the others, so this is a bit closer to the mark.

It's not special, but it's exercising some muscles that haven't been used for awhile...

Building a cottage

I started framing out a simple cottage in Caledon Kittiwickshire last night.  At the moment it's very square.  It was fun to start a project like this though, and in the process I got to see Desmond and meet my neighbor, Lindy, whose store is just across the way.

Caledon Kittiwickshire

When I first returned to the grid, I found a nice, quiet plot of land in Caledon Kittiwickshire and decided to make my country home there.  As was my tradition years ago, I prefer to maintain a home in the city as well as in the country, and a dual New Babbage / Caledon citizenship has suited me well.  There was no open land near my old location in Caledon on Sea (how I loved both the Mt. Caledon and the seashore!), so I decided to explore Kittiwickshire.

While I was there, I spent a good deal of time riding the CAT (Caledon Air Transport) airship.  I sat back and allowed it to take me wherever it went, and simply enjoyed the view.  Then I rode the submersible transport, and then the train. (Tonight a horse-drawn cab drove right past me!)  The parcel I chose in Kittiwickshire is near the corner of the sim where the CAT platform is, next to the lighthouse.  I paid the meter and awaited Mr. Shang's reply.

Tonight the busy Guvnah replied to my query and got me all set up on my new plot (actually two adjoining parcels).  It was fabulous to spend some time chatting with him and catching up!  And now I'm able to start building at my leisure.  In the picture below, my land is where you see trees near the lighthouse.

While I was inworld, I decided that I must begin to show my age.  It is almost my 5th rez day after all, and I'd prefer to wear my years proudly.  It would sincerely rankle me to be thought of as some young ingenue.

In any case, here I am with my new hairstyle.  I adore the shock of gray.  By the gods, I've earned the right to wear that stripe, and I'm going to own it!