A Winter Wonderland

Getting past the trite post title in 3, 2, 1 ...

The thought of decorating the Isle of Lesbos for Christmas left me apprehensive and depressed for some reason. Then events fell in place and before I knew it, I was done. Mostly. My Big Sister Threshin started decorating the landing area at IOL (SLurl; Women Only). Then she asked me to decorate at the ice skating pond, an area I first created when the Isle completed a sim server upgrade. I love this part of the resort despite the little use it has seen and not because I built it. If anyone else had built this same space I would enjoy it just as much for the tranquility, the quality, and the sense of great area in a small space.

The last event and the one that made the decorating a real joy was an Instant Message from another Lucky Kitty Crew (Web) member. A day or so earlier she had offered a free winter carousel to the first person in our group to contact her. I had just missed it at the time but when she got in touch with me she said she had found another and would let me have it. I was happy, expecting a simple affair probably suitable for a fireplace mantle at most. What I got was an extra large, extra grand piece that has become the focal point for the skating pond.

"Mostly," you may be wondering? I'm never done. I'd like to rework the hang glider area near the falls to the jungle. I found better snow angel animations. The pond could be bigger. Like any project I'm not really finished. I tweak and poke and prod at different times in an effort to keep the area (or any of my builds) fresh and interesting.

Some of the the things I do

Semi-unofficially -- mostly because no one has stopped me -- I build things and add activities at the Isle of Lesbos (IOL), often getting approval after the fact. Like the skydiving center. At one time it was an attraction in the IOL Mall sim. When the mall was recently redesigned and rebuilt there was no provision for sky diving so I simply added it to the main Isle. No one said take it out so I left it there with only minor tweaks here and there. Sensing no further objections I beefed it up today. That is a genuine Cubey Terra jump chair in the foreground. The original base jump at 300 meters (250m above target) is still in place and like nearly all activities on the Isle, the facility is free to use. In the background you can see the free ice skating pond I built.

Not free but nonetheless still fun is fishing! After adding the 7Seas Fishing kit to both the mall sim and parts of the main Isle not too long ago and then telling the owner about it, I've been given the go-ahead (and some cash!) to hold fishing contests. This is a picture from one held yesterday. Turnout is usually decent, which is good as the owner hopes this build traffic in the mall sim. I might try increasing the prize and an "all-nakie" tournament is in my mind for the beach on the main Isle. If anyone has suggestions for making the events more fun, drop a note card on me in-world or leave a comment on this post.

I might schedule a nakie fishing tournament before my Nakie Beach Party in June. This party is held the first Saturday of each month from 3-5pm SLT and, of course, it is Ladies-Only. With the nudity and a prize starting at L$3,000 the party is usually popular and sometimes gathers cheaters. The Saturday parties always start with a prize that large, but sometimes they grow. The 17 May party rapidly built up to a L$25,000 prize with over 60 folks attending.

Many of them originally showed up for our big draw, DJ Kuthola Homewood. If you need a music at an event, contact her. She's awesome.

Look for future posts about IOL ... we are always growing and adapting to make our sisters happy.

My Current Project

"If you build it, they will come." Or something like that. But that doesn't answer the question 'Why build it?" I have no answer for that nor do I have an answer as to why I started building this skate park.

Maybe it is because I know someone who plans on building one. Who knows? (Another question I can't answer.) But as I love to build I went at it. Not sure if I'll even finish it. I have tons of things in my Projects folder that are finished, half-finished, or even one-tenth finished. This will eventually go there.

The Isle of Lesbos: Part I

In Second Life, I work at a wonderful place called the Isle of Lesbos (SLurl). Well, work is not entirely correct. Really I play there and the results usually appear that I had actually worked.

This first picture, for example, shows me working. I'm fine-tuning the 7Seas fishing setup for the mall. It took over an hour of hard relaxing to make sure everything was just right.

In the next picture, Janeforyou Barbara, the sim owner (and Miss Jane to all us who love her) is reviewing my work right around sunrise. She, too, was tireless in her quest for perfection.

Sunrise is the key to the Isle's dance club, hence the name Sunrise Dock and Club. Events are held here almost every day, often a couple times each day, and everyone has a chance to walk away with at least L$500. On Saturdays the prize is L$3000!

Another view of The Dock with the sun position changed. That is me on the left. I'm not hosting this event, but I do host the Saturday events. This is the only "job" I have at the Isle that has regular pay. Bouncing in the air there is DJ Kuthola Homewood. She rawks!


Another 7Seas fishin' spot has been put on the beach. If you look in the water you'll see some fishies! I hope to hold tournaments here and build the traffic to the Isle. Well, that and build traffic to other parts of the Isle, too. Many girls (yes, it's an all-female resort) visit The Dock and nowhere else. Yet there is so much more to see.

Like the Jungle! When the Isle was remodeled last year I was honored to be asked to help. This waterfall and the basic landscaping for the Jungle was one of my first projects. Recently I was asked by "Chief Architect" Threshin Barnett to enhance the waterfall. If you get a chance to visit, try walking through the falls. Near the Jungle is a bath house with some nice animations for those inclined to be intimate. Mostly, though, this area is designed to be romantic and relaxing. And you can even fish here.

Above the falls is my pride and joy. Really, it isn't much if you are looking for spectacular, jaw-dropping, or an engineering marvel. But it is (IMHO) a really nice Winter skating pond. I was given free reign to terraform (so long as I added the waterfall to the Jungle) and even encouraged to expand. What I really love is the ice. Again, not a difficult build but so few people make seamless semi-transparent ice when they make frozen water. Look around for the hidden wolf's head. And the sunken boat for a tribute to an Isle friend. Eventually I'm going to upgrade the trees, if I'm permitted, but I rather like the look right now as I skate around or make snow angels.

The beach (Sappho's Point, but I'm the only one that calls it that) was not my creation but I hold a monthly "Nakie Beach Party" there. At other times it is simply a great place to relax. A steam house and a spa are nearby and it is just a short climb to the forest or castle.


On part of the beach is Tikachu's! This is a little bar I made for a previous remodeling of the Isle. It is fully stocked and has a great sunrise view. In the pic here you can see one of the many signs/posters I make for the Isle.

The forest above the beach is filled with wondrous things and leads you to the dark castle. Like the rest of the Isle of Lesbos, if you explore the forest you will find places to cuddle and "play" with someone special. Heck, if you wander the skies you'll find similar places ... we have airborne gazebos!

Miss Jane would have my buns on a grill if I forgot to mention the mall. It is one of the largest and certainly one of the best in all of Second Life. Threshin is the chief architect here, too, though I was asked to make all the domes (the one in the back is complete, but it doesn't show in this pic), the center hub, the teleportation system (for both sims), landscaping, the fashion show area, and little things. I'm really proud of the work I did on the mall.

You will probably read more about the Isle of Lesbos (provided you come back) as I spend a lot of time there and things are always changing.