Landscaping

I have always admired all the beautiful sims perfectly landscaped and tried to do my best with my place, the Retreat.

Although I retired from my teaching job in real life, I eventually returned as a substitute. This left me less time again to spend in Second Life. When I was asked to landscape a sim by a long-time friend I said yes.

It is satisfying and relaxing to create a place you have visions of. I love all the creativity involved. I spent a weekend creating this for the sim's owners, and I must say it turned out really beautiful.

Hopefully, the owner will let other residents give them the chance to visit and see it.

There are so many fantastic creators who design flowers, trees, grasses and so much more. I love it and my inventory is full of many many items.

“My garden is my most beautiful masterpiece.” — Claude Monet

In real life, I like to collect seeds, plant them, and see what grows. Sometimes, it is a success, and sometimes, it fails, but it is lovely to watch the progress.

Here is Secong life you can just delete the items and start all over again without any effort. The result is kind of the same. On the other hand, a garden requires patient labor and attention. Plants do not grow merely to satisfy ambitions or to fulfill good intentions. They thrive because someone expended effort on them.

Go out there and plant something , you can practice here in Second Life.

When to wear tights

 You can choose to wear bare legs or cover them up with tights. There is a difference between pantyhose and tights, mainly in the material.

I actually prefer wearing them in Second Life (even in real life), why show everything off at once, right?

Always match your tights with the material and silhouette of your dress or skirt for the ultimate wow effect!

I know he was checking out the tights or was he?

And there I was just walking on Route 12 in Second Life when the mystery man appeared because he had a matching suit to my tights. I suppose that works too is to find someone that has some matching colors. 

Tights can often hide some of the flaws in legs, but then again, in Second Life, we are all forever "28" and flawless.

I found that these tights in SL never run or tear, which is a big bonus. Unlike jeans, which can be worn with holes and tears, tights shouldn't. Again the colors of your tights and clothing should complement each other, avoiding excessive contrast for the most polished and stylish look. Then again I do not know much about fashion and have been told I wear baggy clothes and am very conservative and mostly covered up from neck to toe. I guess that is true. I have tons of dresses and skirts in my inventory and I have no clue where to find them what they look like and even where I got them from. That of course is a whole other story.

Mystery man thought my tights felt smooth at least that is what he said he could get carried away and he could become overly enthusiastic or lose control of his emotions, actions, or thoughts, which could lead to excessive or inappropriate behavior. Me being German I thought being carried away meant he was gonna carry me for a bit, but then what do I know.

All this from just wearing some tights. Be aware of when to wear tights and when to be bare. (I wonder if he had cold hands?)

Superheroes wear tights and so did Shakespeare, so I have some style I suppose. In German we call the tights " Strumpfhose" which means sock pants. Of course, we are more logical when it comes to the ordinary things.

More about the Mystery Man in later blog entries.

I don't really care, Margaret

Opinions of other people fall into the second and third categories. In some cases, we can do nothing about what others think.

Life is really too short to worry about what others are up to or what they think. Some people can be pretty intuitive and see through the cracks of our masks; moreover, they can notice behaviors about us that we aren’t even aware of. But they can never be sure about our true motives, secrets, and hidden personality traits because these are reserved for ourselves only. So, people’s thoughts about us based on what they perceive often don’t align with reality.

Deep inside, we know what we want, and the more we stay true to that, the more authentic we become, and the less we conform to what other people want us to be.

I like people guessing about me because they are usually wrong. They may think they know me but they really don't. 

No matter how close we get to each other, our minds remain a private space and often don’t fully resemble what we show to the world.

Let's say I had a really good time stepping out of my norm in this second life and who knows what becomes of this, maybe a new trend for 2025. The possibilities are endless and they are all up to me and it does not matter what Margaret thinks.

Hush, don't speak

When you spit your venom, keep it shut I hate it

When you hiss and preach
About your new messiah 'cause your theories catch fire

I can't find your silver lining
I don't mean to judge
But when you read your speech, it's tiring
Enough is enough

Sometimes when life is tough and you want to get out you have to be strong and find ways to cope with pain and abuse. I know this so well when in my real life I felt I was trapped and the lyrics of this song fit perfectly. 

(Songwriters: Al Hakam El Kaubaisy / Frobyisher Mbabazi / James John Napier / James Terence Murray / Jonathan Charles Coffer / Mustafa Armando Ibrahim Omer / Samuel Smith / Shahid Khan
La La La lyrics © Concord Music Publishing LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC)

Learn to LOVE yourself

I'm covering my ears like a kid
When your words mean nothing, I go la la la
I'm turning up the volume when you speak
'Cause if my heart can't stop it
I find a way to block it, I go
La la, la la la la la na na na na na

If our love is running out of time
I won't count the hours, rather be a coward
When our worlds collide
I'm gonna drown you out before I lose my mind.

If you are in an abusive relationship whether it is in real life or in second life there is help and you can get out of it. Reach out to someone you can trust. Enough is enough. I recently saw an email that was sent to me from an ex who fit this description of the abuser and still to this day tried to manipulate me by making me feel guilty for the suffering he endured. (I did not respond to the email, because a narcissist can only be handled with silence). 

Nutty as a Fruitcake

 

Sometimes things look normal at the Basement Club, but most of the time it is as nutty as a fruitcake. This week DJ Casey and her number one were dressed as "Ruth" (you have her in your inventory) to celebrate Indie Tunes from 2003. The music of course was great as always. Who would have known that these songs are already that old? Time flies for sure.

DJ Casey is here every Thursday night starting at 6PM SLT. It is always an adventure.

Devon as a Basement Dancer

The show is followed by DJ Shallan who comes on at 8PM SLT every Thursday and Friday with various hits from the past and as well as from today. 

Even with her group of people, things can go quickly unhinged when Devon shows up. One cool thing about Second Life is that you can change your avatar and clothes to whatever you like and even be a non-human. 

The basement has been around for over eight years and will celebrate nine years very soon. It is a hidden gem, once you have seen it, you will love it because you will hear unique and different music.

What is your favorite type of music? Come and stop by the Basement at any time, because even when no live DJ is here, the music continues and it is a great place to escape with someone special where you can dance. This is not an overcrowded place at all. The aliens here do not bite, they have been here since the Basement opened and have become part of the family. 

Above the Basement Club is the Retreat and Gallery which are another great place to hang out and explore and to take pictures. 

See you soon!!!

How would you define freedom?

"Freedom is the ability to make choices without being controlled by others. It's the right to act, speak, and change without restraint."

Our last TikTok Dance

We all know that freedom is not free, and many sacrifices must be made to achieve it. We often take for granted the freedoms we have here in the USA. However, these freedoms may differ in other countries because they are defined in written laws.

When freedoms are being taken away it hurts everybody in the long run. Don't let that happen. Always believe that you can make a difference. 

What is coming in 2025?

You matter! I am not here to make any political statement, but we all know what is going on, and we all have our opinions, and that is okay. Do what is best for you. 
Consider the consequences of any actions taken.

Count your blessings! And do follow the rules.

Second Life is free for the most part, but you have choices to improve your look, what you do, and where you land. Those things are not free and may cost you some Linden Dollars, which is real money.

To log into SL you need a computer (not free), and the internet (not free). In this case, Second Life is not free, but your choice to have the items needed to log into the platform is free. It is all up to you really. This does not always apply to Real Life, because many things are not free.

Want to get away from some of today's stresses you can go visit Clef des Champs , a scenic sim to explore and take pictures in. There you may be thinking about what freedom means to you, your family, and your friends. 

Borkum

 Borkum is a small island in the northern part of Germany in real life, but it is now here in Second Life, although I do not know if the creator of this sim is German.

Here, you can relax from all the hustle left behind from the holidays and enjoy the idyllic postcard views of the island. Watch the clam waves on the beach and hear the birds fly by; it transforms you to the island. 

This is an excellent place for your photography to fill up your album with beautiful images. It makes you instantly happy and you forget about your troubles, knowing that is important in these times.

I enjoyed all the flowers around the island, they are so colorful.

If you have a chance to visit this wonderful sim and take lots of photographs :) I am only sharing a few in this blog entry but I have many more and may turn them into real-life postcards.