I thought I blogged this a week ago. Oops! First, I have to deal with the quote I used for the title. The internet is a disaster for quote lovers and this is an example of why. Which Helen Thompson? My guess this quote may have come from the wife of the race horse trainer, David Thompson. I am pretty darn sure it did not come from this Helen Thompson and by the way, I am even more sure that fifth quote is also one that belongs to the woman whose life was in racing, not the psychologist studying gender differences who was born in 1874.
Tag Archives: Pixel Mode
Rescued
My great-niece recently rescued a couple horses from a kill pen, the third generation of horse rescuers in my family. Kill pen horses are usually sold for pet food because they are considered problematic, untrainable, vicious and dangerous. They usually require a level of training most people just will not invest. In time, though, they can learn to trust and be trusted. If you want to see the evidence, see my great-grand niece cleaning this rescued horse’s hooves just two weeks into training…and the foundations for a fourth generation of rescuers begins. It was thinking about them, the work they are doing, and that two other nieces are doing, that I thought I might take this month’s house from Barnesworth for Collabor88 and set up a farm. I tinted it, one of the things I love about Barnesworth homes.
Casual Country Comfort
So, I love to laze about and read. This lovely Boho bed from DRD at The Arcade is big enough for lots of layers.
My lazing cottage is the Daisy Cottage from HIVE for The Arcade. It has a lovely window that is perfect for some plants or pillows if you like hanging out front. In the background you can see a gramophone from Contraption, some artwork, a lemon tree, and The Secret Stores gorgeous vintage desk.
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Lazy Days with Collabor88 and The Arcade
It’s a good think I got this gorgeous rare bed from the DRD gacha at The Arcade because it’s perfect for lazing about and so are some of the new releases from Collabor88
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WWDW
Maylee Oh of The Secret Store answered the burning question, “What Would Dita Wear?” for the September Collabor88 showcase. And she answered it beautifully with lovely rockabilly lingerie that hits all the right notes. Not only that, she answered ten times over in beautiful color combinations of polka dots and solids.
Life Is Uncertain, Eat Dessert First
The uncertainties of life are manifest every day. Some uncertainties are harder than others. My sister has Stage IV lung cancer. But her future is still uncertain, it’s quite possible the chemo will kill her long before the cancer can. She’s been in the hospital for two weeks now as a mold has developed in her lungs, thanks to chemo bringing her white blood cell count down to zero. On Thursday, I learned she has developed VRE, a anti-biotic resistant bacteria similar but much more rare than MRSA, the OMG of countless House episodes. Of course, because when you are going to ER three times a day for 90 minute infusions of antibiotics, you develop anti-biotic resistant bacteria. I think it is time for her to eat a lot of dessert. Ice cream, apple pie, chocolate cake, brownies and coffee nips. Go for it!
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Hoggy Love
If you aren’t ready for the next round of COLLABOR88 it’s time to get your mind prepared. I’m showing off some new things that will be available tomorrow! Addams has this adorable short set with a top separate that is perfect for warm island days. But my real centerpiece might be my new hoggy from Birdie. I had to have the pink one, obviously.
I’m also showing off a new skin from BELLEZA for the Lelutka mesh head – called Julia. PERFECT name, just saying. Continue reading
If Only In My Dreams
Christmas Eve’ll find me
Where the love light gleams
I’ll be home for Christmas
If only in my dreams
Lelutka has released a new mesh head called Simone. It’s a special edition head with additional expressions including this mournful one that perfectly captures some of the emotional turmoil I am feeling this Christmas season. With the passing of my aunt this summer, everyone from my parents’ generation is now gone. My sister had a tough struggle with cancer last year and came though in the end, but now has a new cancer that has gone from Stage One to Stage Four in just one month. I will confess I cry a lot lately, but I am still hopeful she will beat the odds. She is the strongest woman I know. Homesickness has manifested itself in the kitchen with traditional Christmas baking like lefse and rosettes and cooking up Cherry Soup with Dumplings, the foods that make me think of home and family.
No one loved Christmas more than my mom. Each year, my dad and my uncle would scour the woods for the perfect black spruce or balsam fir. It has to be 17 feet with no bare spots, so when I put the angel on the top it stopped just shy of the ceiling. Dad made a tree stand with wheels so we could turn it to decorate it evenly. I did the top from my bedroom balcony while they did the middle and bottom before we oh-so-carefully wheeled it across the living room so it was framed in the center by all the windows that faced onto the lake. It was a huge undertaking that was never done in a day, particularly since many of the ornaments were generational hand-me-downs and hand-made memory-laden pieces that prompted stories and remembrances of the past. There were no themed trees or single-colored trees because that store of ornaments was much more precious – a store of memories.Cooking and Eating at My House
I live in Barnesworth Anubis’ Classic Brownstone which has a huge kitchen/dining room. I contemplated using it for a roller rink, but well, that would be silly. Instead, I have a formal dining table on one side, a casual nook for solitary meals and a fabulous kitchen. Here’s a tour of the space and the Christmas decor.
The focal point is the dining table and chairs from The Loft. They were released in October and remain a favorite because of the powerful statement their sleek style and form deliver. The come with gorgeous place settings and I imagine will serve well throughout the year. The NOMAD Baubles Tree from The Arcade is a modern and minimalist bit of decor and the Schadenfreude Festive Cheese Snack was a gift I found under the tree at The Arcade
I’ve tucked the Swedish dining table chairs and candelabra from Nomad into a corner for a less formal place to drink some coffee, read the paper or grab a bagel. The fruit bowl is also from Nomad. All of those items were released in November at Collabor88. The lovely red cuckoo clock is from Fancy Decor and was released in a panoply of colors at The Arcade. The washbasin planter and hedge are from Trompe Loeil and is also at the Arcade. The chalkboards I repurposed from floorplan and Willow’s Astrology Chart, replacing the chart with some chalk art I found on the internet and tinting the frames red. Many of the frames sold at events are modifiable and will allow you to replaced their pictures with your own and some, like this wonderful one will let you change the frame’s color and size. Over the table is a big chalkboard from Clutter. They have released several different ones for the holidays. Below that, you can see Trompe Loeil’s JOY letters, a part of the holiday decor collection at The Arcade.
On the left, you can see the black Christmas ribbon from The Loft for the Botanical Christmas tree at Tannebaum. I thought it would be fun to use it as a sculptural tree on its own. For me, it seems a fitting complement to the dining table and chairs. On the wall, you can see the sign I made using Riders Mesh Factory’s Neon font rezzer. Riders Mesh Factory makes all sorts of fonts and to make your own words, you just rez their contraption, and follow the directions in the blue window. They are really difficult directions like press Start and press Finish. The other decor on The Loft’s Baxter buffet that matches their Baxter table and chairs will be highlighted in closer pictures.
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At home with the macabre
I do not decorate my home for Halloween and only add a bouquet of colored glass bulbs and a gold tabletop Christmas tree for Christmas. My apartment is small and I don’t waste my limited storage space storing decorations. My second life, though, seems to have infinite storage space so I love to decorate there. Also, it’s much less work to pack up and move and also less expensive. Here,then is my home for fall inspired in part by the macabre aesthetic of Tim Burton. I began by tinting my Tabor Cottage from Barnesworth to saturated dark colors instead of the natural stucco that it was originally. There’s a barn in the background with a few animals and a dock on the water.
I added this prop fence from Vespertine because I loved the bright colors and though it did not add anything macabre to the home, I liked the colors and the idea of it. Not everything needs to be macabre. Continue reading