Dya's Abandoned Vacation Spot :)

Dya's Abandoned Vacation Spot :)

An Abandoned Vacation Spot in the 30s. Sometimes you can still see the glamor of the past...Beaches, Romantic, Photographers...Some attractions for the whole family. Everyone is welcome. Enjoy your stay :)

I found this place quite relaxing and full of picture opportunities. The beautiful landscape around the ocean does make you feel like you are on vacation somewhere. When you visit here, take your time and explore and don't forget to bring your camera.

If I could take a brush and paint the mountains and the moors,
I would splash the hillsides yellow and cover them in gorse.
I'd take the finest needle and the darkest thread of green
And sew a line of bracken along the landscape. In-between

I'd lay a purple carpet of wild heather in the dells
And fringe the edge of all the woods with their pretty lilac bells.
I'd merge the bracken with the heather, mix their colors like the sea,
A green and purple ocean on my own rich tapestry.

Then I'd take a ball of soft, white wool and stitch a mass of daisy chains
Around the lush green meadows and up the sides of winding lanes.
I would stencil on the marshes, just like pure white china cups,
Some fragile water lilies and by the ponds, sweet buttercups.

I'd mix orange, reds, and yellows planting poppies wild and free
Onto nature's colored canvas, my own rich tapestry. ~© Lesley Elaine Greenwood

Fastnacht (Mardi Gras) 2020

S' goht degege! – An obscure old-German saying, deriving from “Es geht dagegen!” (it goes against…) Whether it means against a wall or your principles, fools take comfort in the fact that after the season, it is also before the season!

On Weiberfastnacht or Fat Thursday as it’s called in other countries, cities across Germany turn into real party towns at exactly 11:11AM when the carnival officially kicks off. From Weiberfastnacht, the Thursday before Shrove Tuesday, right through to Ash Wednesday, revelers celebrate the “fifth season” – as it’s called in Germany.

Some people forget that these long traditions of Mardi Gras have their European roots.

Interestingly, the more you look to more you see number eleven popping up again and again in the context of the carnival. It’s become widely used because of the official start of the carnival, which took place on 11th November - 11.11. Also, the Elferrat – our council of 11, has eleven members, as the name suggests. This council usually takes on the organizational tasks and as such, they are in charge of organizing all of the carnival meetings and parades. Traditionally, only men are allowed in the Elferrat councils, but some have since relaxed their rules and also welcome women too.

Büttenrede – A rhyming speech mainly given during the variety shows known as Karnevalssitzungen.  The Bütte, which actually means a barrel, is also the lectern from which they are delivered. The tradition, like everything else Karneval-related, is old Christian, harking back to a time when the Büttenrede was used to utter blasphemies punishable by maiming any other time of year. Germans often like to mark festive occasions with rhyming couplets. Büttenrede can be very sharp-witted and political but should be taken as harmless jokes.

Is PTSD Curable?

Treatment with special types of therapy and sometimes medication can make a big difference, but it is not a cure. But even though patients with PTSD are not cured, they can improve significantly or even see all of their symptoms resolve. 

"It's been a while – you should be doing better by now. Why are you still feeling this way?" Asking a lot of "why" questions can make the survivor feel they're being challenged instead of supported.

If it was that easy we would all just forget about it and be done with it. It isn't PTSD can all of a sudden creep out of nowhere back into your daily life. You have done all the medication, the therapy, read the books and yet it returns. Usually, by the time people get to know me they are tired of the sudden triggers of sadness and unworthiness that they compare with depression and should be medicated.

While it’s good to be a companion to someone who struggles with PTSD, make sure you’re not trying to “fix” them.  What’s the difference?  Being a companion is about being present—to observe and honor someone else’s pain. You do this by listening to their stories, being attentive, asking questions, and making them feel safe. 
The bottom line is this: You don’t have to fix it.  But you do need to be available to them.

The good news is that life can remain pretty normal and with a good friend who stands behind you, you can do this. Friends who are friends with people of PTSD are superheroes, they just don't know it. They truly are. Without them, we fall deeper into the hole of depression and anxiety that will lead to manic depression and no way out.

Many friends who have gotten closer to me, have left. The constant roller coaster of this is much harder to endure and I highly recommend that those who want to be my friend to read about PTSD. You don't have to, but it makes it much easier.

Right now, this moment as I write this all is good, but this can change. I never know when I get a trigger or when my anxiety gets the best of me. I try to bask in the sunshine of feeling good and happy to warm my mind. 

I am not a princess

It feels good to be a princess because a princess is always beautiful. At least that is what we grow up with this belief. I enjoy the fantasy of it for sure.

I think that dream of being a princess as a young girl is what society puts on us to be that perfect woman who does exactly what she is told.  As a child, I never was a princess, I wore mainly pants and my hair was short. I do not think I suffered from this at all. I was happy to roll in the dirt.

I most definitely do not need a prince to make me feel less royal. LOL, I do that on my own. Then again a king would be great to provide the castle and the gachas...oh dear here I go again dreaming of another disaster.

"We're Just Friends" Is Often A Lie

The truth is, many opposite-sex friendships are sustained because of a simmering attraction between two people. If circumstances were different, they could easily be sexual partners. And they know it. This underlying current of attraction makes talking, texting and spending time together as "just friends" all the more exciting. It has an erotic edge to it.

Usually, your gut tells you in a way that the just friends' thing is a lie or at least a beginning of something for sure. We start out as friends and then it develops into more. There are really 2 kinds of men, the ones that fall for women because she is baiting him like an angler. And they forget about their partner or real friends. By the time they realize it the only friend they ever had will be long gone and they end up with nobody. 

The second type is the one who loves playing games. He will turn you on and plays the perhaps-maybe game with you. Women always think they can change this kind of man, but let me tell you:
You cannot!

They continue to make you believe that you may have the smallest of a chance and then let you down not once but many times. He is called a Narcissist and to him, you are a toy. He always looks for a better toy and he always ends up with nothing at the end. People around him figure it out he just is a talker with nothing behind it.

Maybe the really rare men are those that actually look at you as a person they respect. These are super rare and when you discover one, keep him no matter what he looks like. Of course, all of this can be reversed to where the woman is the one who follows the bate or the one who plays the game. Women can be evil in many ways and have these narcissistic traits. Either way, it always fails.

Let's Face it ( The Retreat Art Gallery)

The Retreat Gallery is featuring a new exhibit beside the other artwork already in place. Make sure you check it out soon and discover the Retreat as well. 

The Galley will be featured in the FOCUS Magazine's Art on Tour.

(FOCUS Magazine and Photo Art Gallery is a place to appreciate, be inspired by, and share photographic art in Second Life. A monthly magazine that celebrates photography in SL, each issue features two prominent SL photographers, art activists, and more. In the region, there are three photo art galleries. The main Focus gallery houses the magazine's featured artist of the month. The Focus Artist in Residence Gallery exhibits up-and-coming artists. Lastly, the Exploratorium Gallery displays photographers who are masters of their craft. All exhibits rotate monthly.)

While you are at the Retreat, check out the parcel and enjoy your stay. It is a great place for photography and art inspirations.

Think pink! think pink!

Think pink! think pink! when you shop for summer clothes
Think pink! think pink! if you want that quel-que chose
Red is dead, blue is through,
Green's obscene, brown's taboo
And there is not the slightest excuse for plum or puce
Or chartreuse!

Think pink! forget that Dior says black and rust
Think pink! who cares if the new look has no bust
Now, I wouldn't presume to tell a woman
What a woman oughtta think,
But tell her if she's gotta think, think pink!
Oh just to think about it! We want to think about it!
I'm tickled pink about it!
Pink for shoes! Pink for hose!
Pink for gloves and chapeaus!
Pink for cheeks and pink at your lips
Pink for shirts and all of your slips
Just a touch of pink at your knees
And if you please, pink chemise!

Think pink! Madame will be four star-able
In pink she'll be Haper's Bazaar-able
So turn a new page and let's dig in
We can't begin to paste or patch
We've really got to start from scratch
The first page must be an eye grabber
No no not circles they make me dizzy!
Stripes are chic but not lying down,
Get them up up up!
Hmm, needs contrast
Let's save the pink!
That's got pizzazz!
Now we want a fabulous brunette dressed pour les pour
White! I've been screaming pink!
Not that pink! Stripe it up a bit!
On her let stripes lie down
Marvelous! That's the page!
Page 2, something lush, "Pink on Park Avenue"
Hold it!
Feature the hat, and the shoes, the umbrella, even the poodle!
Marvelous!
Now some pink where you least expect it, I know, pink shampoo!

Pink accessories and give 'em the works!
"June Quality goes pink!"
Some of pink elegance for those nocturnal creatures
Pink little fingers and pink little toes
Play up the human element, pink for the family
Precious stones can be even more precious if they're pink!
And now, pink for the pool!
Why not? Pink hygiene
Ahhh, pink love!
And for the children, pink mischief!
Wonderful hats! So graceful, so pink!
A pink zephyr flying through the air
Pink for a party! Make it a pink Mardi Gras!
There we are girls, that's what I mean by pizzazz!
Think Pink!

That means you too and do something about this office
Think pink! think pink, it's the latest word, you know
Think pink! think pink and you're Michelangelo
Feels so gay, feels so bright
Makes your day, makes your night
Pink is now the color to which
You gotta switch! (Do what you gotta switch!)
Every stitch! (Every stitch you switch!)
Think pink! think pink on the long, long road ahead
(On the road)
Think pink! think pink and the world is rosey-red
(Everything's rosey)
Everything on the great horizon
Everything that you can think
And that includes the kitchen sink
Think pink!
Think pink, think pink
Think pink, think pink
Think pink, think pink, think pink!

What if he is your Romeo but you are not his Juliet?

There are many signs that may be clear to others but not you. You will probably be the last to figure it out that he does not want you to be his Juliet EVER. 

Our values are our guide of conduct that can also satisfy our emotional and mental needs. Following our values can give meaning to our lives and provide a sense of self-worth, so dating someone with a completely different (and possibly contradictory) set of values can create trouble.

He always finds a way of making you seem foolish or ignorant. He might even mock your profession and hobbies. This is a very clear sign that it’s time to let him go, if you haven’t done so already then you’ve taken a really long time.
I often feel like I am in this cage and want to escape out of it, but the people near me do not open the door. No matter how much I tell them how I am feeling, the more they abandon me. Let me out and stand beside me until I can fly.

JULIET (gesturing towards Romeo)

"What's he that follows here, that would not dance?" 
ROMEO "O, I am fortune's fool!"

Just say "NO"

Just like Groundhog Day that reoccurs over and over, I realize that cupid is just about as dead as a doornail.
Maybe it is because I might be just dead as a dodo to be completely enamored of someone, typically the wrong person. Not typically, I should say always. It is ok, I accept that. (Do I?)

I have the tendency to fall into this trap and then ignore all the signs. Cupid knows that. He knows he can just stick me here and there and I forget that it is NOT a match in any way. I get so utterly exhausted that I fall into oblivion the moment my head hits the pillow.

Romantic love is stupid and pointless. Why? Because unlike platonic relationships, romantic love depends on attraction to attributes our DNA decides for us to be attracted to, which are often, if not always, superficial and fleeting. Men love women for physical beauty and women love men for social status. Falling in romantic love is as mindless and as instinctive as pooping and peeing, and as the most intelligent beings on this planet (and most likely in this galaxy and/or universe), we should abstain from such instinctive needs that serve no other propose than to compel us to procreate, and that which often leaves us utterly helpless and empty in the end.

Just say NO!!!