I had it all figured out

I could've sworn I saw fireworks
From your house last night
As the lights flickered and they failed
I had it all figured out
Why do I do this to myself every time?
I know the way it ends before it's even begun
I am the only one at the finish line.

I don't want to wait anymore I'm tired of looking for answers

Take me someplace where there's music and there's laughter

I don't know if I'm scared of dying but I'm scared of living too fast, too slow

Regret, remorse, hold on, oh no I've got to go

I won't take the easy road
The easy road, the easy road

Show me my silver lining, I try to keep on keeping on

Only dreams give birth to change

New Year's Day. A fresh start. A new chapter in life waiting to be written. New questions to be asked, embraced, and loved. Answers to be discovered and then lived in this transformative year of delight and self-discovery. Today carve out a quiet interlude for yourself in which to dream, pen in hand. Only dreams give birth to change.

So I wonder where the new year will take me. What travels of new adventures will I take? 

A lot of these resolutions fail because they’re not the right resolutions. And a resolution may be wrong for one of three main reasons:
It’s a resolution created based on what someone else (or society) is telling you to change.
It’s too vague.
You don’t have a realistic plan for achieving your resolution.

Your goals should be smart — and SMART. Specific. Measurable.Achievable.Relevant.Time-bound.

There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind!

Wonderful Winter

Wintertime in Second Life has so much to offer, there is not enough time to see it all. Winter reminds me of my childhood when I spend many hours in the snow.

Shimmering lakes of silvery ice
welcomes skaters' scarring slice.
Hills adorned in lacy white
watch children sleigh into the night.
In the brilliant pristine light,
snowbirds in tall trees take flight.
Evergreens draped in capes of snow,
their heavy branches hanging low,
blanket earth as north winds blow.
Winter's dance is quite a show,
an ice-kissed, dazzling, magical place,
transformed by winter's cold embrace! © Patricia L. Cisco

I met these nice furries who shared a sleigh ride with me. Thanks, Umber, Blimp, Sobe, Nichole and Syrithareal for the fun adventure. I ran into the gang later that day at another Winter Sim, which was cool because it was like we knew each other. :)

Santa Giveaway

Every year for the past five years Jake Vordun plays Santa to his Second Life Customers. 

I do not know of any other creator in Second Life who does this. The wait is long but so very worth it. Thank you Jake for doing this, it is absolutely amazing. This was my third year being part of it and I love what I got. I ended up buying the rest of the set and am very happy with it.

If you never been to Fancy Decor you should really check it out. The quality of the items are first class. Everything looks great. Don't forget to visit the museum which will give you the feeling of a real museum. One of my favorite places to visit in Second Life.

Thanks again Santa Jake...

Celebrating the holidays in Second Life

Celebrating the holidays in Second Life is a lot of fun with so many winter sims and decorated places. There are many events going on as well where you can grab some holiday gifts for your friends or maybe just for yourself.

Please do stop by the Retreat and enjoy the holidays here. It is a perfect place for your winter pictures too. There are free little gifts you can pick up along the way as well. This is open to the public. Members of the group are granted Rezz rights so you can use your props for pictures.

quiet time inside the chapel

Come inside the cozy chapel to find some quiet peace and reflect on the past year. Maybe you are planning a wedding? It can all be done here at the chapel.

Relax in the info center which is the first building to your right when you enter the gate. Meet up with friends and chat and make plans.

The Retreat plaza is designed to dance under the moon (literally) or you can just sit down and enjoy the scene. Go visit the gallery while here and enjoy the art. 

Want to ice skate? No problem! Follow the path all the way to Gray's Ice-skating rink and grab some hot chocolate to warm yourself.

Happy Holidays and a very Happy New Year from everybody at the Retreat and Basement Club!!!!

There is a train heading to nowhere

There is a train heading to nowhere

With me as its only passenger.

With every hour that goes by

It is taking me further away from you.

Time flies, the hours pass by

Soon a new day will arise.

It's not too late yet

But if the door shuts, then what?

There is a train heading to nowhere

Soon you will be alone just like me.

But say a word, say just a word

And everything will be the way it was.

Inspired by this song:

Holiday foods from Europe....now I am hungry

Glühwein is a spiced hot mulled wine, commonly prepared in fall and winter in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
The alcoholic beverage is a must-have german holiday drink at the Christmas markets and après ski parties in the mountains.
It’s guaranteed to warm you up from within!

During the "Weihnachtsmarkets" we have these little stands where you can drink the Glühwein or some other hot drinks and eat some potato pancakes.

"Kartoffelknödel"

What’s a holiday feast without spuds? Potato dumplings ("Kartoffelknödel" or "Kartoffelklösse") are another go-to recipe at Christmas-time in Germany. "Kartoffelknödel" is most often made to complement a roast with gravy alongside a hearty helping of "Rotkohl." The side dish begins as a dough made from potatoes, flour and bread. It’s seasoned with nutmeg, rolled into a ball, and boiled or steamed in saltwater. Day-after-Christmas leftovers are said to be just as delicious when sliced, pan-fried and slathered with butter. Yum!

There are so many more...Holidays are made for eating so forget about diets.

not natural

What is an alien? Someone belonging to another country or people; foreign. Someone strange; not natural, a foreign-born resident in a country who has not become a naturalized citizen.

The United States defines aliens into several categories:

deportable alien
An alien who may be deported because she was an inadmissible alien when she entered the United States or has violated the regulations (for example, by committing a serious crime) governing the conduct of aliens who are within the country.

illegal alien
An alien who enters or remains in the United States without legal authorization or by fraud.
An alien who marries an American citizen, but with no intention of living with his or her spouse as husband and wife, for the purpose of improperly entering the United States or avoiding deportation.

inadmissible alien
An alien who cannot legally enter the United States. There are many reasons why an alien may be prohibited from entry, including a criminal record or poor health.

nonresident alien
An alien who permanently resides outside the United States.

resident alien
An alien who legally-established permanent residency in the United States.

For many years I was a resident alien and had my Green Card

(actually, the card was blue, no idea why they called it Green card? Maybe because it was quite costly to obtain?)

I think that an alien lives next door.
I think that he does but I'm not quite sure.

I think that he has two alien eyes
just like dinner plates but twice the size.

And alien ears that both stick out
and flap, like the wings of a bat, no doubt.

And frog-like flippers for his feet
upon which he hops down the street.

And tentacles, not arms or hands
that he can stretch like rubber bands.

To capture people when they run
while he's chasing them just for fun.

I think he must eat people too
'cause that is what space creatures do.

I think that he does. He must, you see
if he is an alien just like me.

Come to the Basement Club where the "aliens" hang out and will always welcome you.

to embellish the truth

Gingerbread Man agreed to dance with me since nobody else does.

'Twas the night before Christmas and Santa's a wreck... How to live in a world that's politically correct? His workers no longer would answer to "Elves", "Vertically Challenged" they were calling themselves. And labor conditions at the north pole Were alleged by the union to stifle the soul. Four reindeer had vanished, without much propriety, Released to the wilds by the Humane Society. And equal employment had made it quite clear That Santa had better not use just reindeer. So Dancer and Donner, Comet and Cupid, Were replaced with 4 pigs, and you know that looked stupid! The runners had been removed from his sleigh; The ruts were termed dangerous by the E.P.A. And people had started to call for the cops When they heard sled noises on their roof-tops.

Christmas at Calas Galadhon

Second-hand smoke from his pipe had his workers quite frightened. His fur-trimmed red suit was called "Unenlightened."
Rudolf was suing over unauthorized use of his nose and to show you the strangeness of life's ebbs and flows, And had gone on Geraldo, in front of the nation,
Who suddenly said she'd enough of this life, Demanding millions in over-due compensation. So, half of the reindeer were gone; and his wife, Joined a self-help group, packed, and left in a whiz,
That making a choice could cause so much commotion. Demanding from now on her title was Ms.
And as for the gifts, why, he'd ne'er had a notion


 

Nothing of leather, nothing of fur, Which meant nothing for him. And nothing for her. Nothing that might be construed to pollute. Nothing to aim. Nothing to shoot. Nothing that clamored or made lots of noise. Nothing for just girls. Or just for the boys. Nothing that claimed to be gender-specific. Nothing that's warlike or non-pacific.


https://calasgaladhon.com/

No candy or sweets...they were bad for the tooth. Nothing that seemed to embellish the truth. And fairy tales, while not yet forbidden, Were like Ken and Barbie, better off hidden. For they raised the hackles of those psychological Who claimed the only good gift was one ecological. No baseball, no football...someone could get hurt; Besides, playing sports exposed kids to dirt. Dolls were said to be sexist and should be passe, And Nintendo would rot your entire brain away. So Santa just stood there, disheveled, perplexed; He just could not figure out what to do next. He tried to be merry, tried to be gay, But you've got to be careful with that word today. His sack was quite empty, limp to the ground; Nothing fully acceptable was to be found. Something special was needed, a gift that he might Give to all without angering the left or the right. A gift that would satisfy, with no indecision, Each group of people, every religion; Every ethnicity, every hue, Everyone, everywhere...even you. So here is that gift, it's price beyond worth... "May you and your loved ones enjoy peace on earth."