Sheila Yoshikawa has just won a ::: B@R ::: Magical Inappi just for being here! and I am Disconcerted

Barerose items won 2: good and bad; People unexpectedly encountered when teleporting into home: 1 (disconcerting)

Am gift stalking in Barerose again. Tried yesterday and was rewarded by a gear bikini and today bagged a magical inappi. If wondering what Gear Bikini looks like, wonder no more as is pictured right, although as as said bikini is v.v.skimpy have retained long hair and taken mid-distance pic. Perhaps should have ditched boots as well. Bikini is rather unlike usual garb in which tend to cover all skin areas except face, so am filing that one in Unlikely Costumes folder.

Am sporting Magical Inappi in 2nd pic., which turns out to be rabbit-like shoulder-pet thingy. Will need to name Inappi: you get 2, so obvious solution is calling one In and the other Appi, though in fact neither one looks particularly 'appy (joke).

When TPed in to latest home, found random person there, so quickly TPed out again. Then sneaked back to take pic. Suppose more sociable person would have invited him to sit down and offered tea. Anyway, he does not appear to be bothering cats, so suppose is OK.

Daily dose

Items received from DSN: 15? 20? (who knows); Ratio of interesting to uninteresting items: 1:1 (not bad)
Have continued to log in eagerly to Accept the items from the Designers Showcase Network (see prvious post). Boxes of free stuff rattle into my inventory like rain onto ... onto land that is pretty damp already. However, present are always good, in my view.
On a serious note (to get that over with) I hope this is still going when I bring in students next academic year, since I could "persuade" them to sign up and it would give them regular practice in opening boxes and learning how to tell what you are supposed to do with stuff (wear, drag to ground, contemplate in wonder, send to trash). Also they could get some decent clothes out of it, because the stuff that is otherwise genuinely ok to pass round full permissions looks a bit dated in terms of textures and prim work.

You see here booty from a couple of days ago: a waterful complete with rocks and plants, a rose bush in a pot, a vase of flowers, and a little brazier. This was actually the box that the real present came in, but I thought the box was more interesting than the contents.

If asked who produced them, I'm afraid that all I can tell you is that the fire-thing came from a designer with the word Phoenix in their name, and the waterfall was from Perfect Prefabs. I know this as it is the first designer where I have gone and looked at their stuff, and I was sorely tempted by their Waterfull Cave grottos. I may yet indulge in another waterfall, though goodness knows I have enough of them already in my inventory. This was a good example of a designer I've visited some time ago, and it was useful to be reminded to go and look for new stuff.

The 2nd pic shows me peeking out from behind yesterday's boxes before I unpacked them, then using a couple of them: a corridor "set" (mainly aimed at fashion bloggers), another plant, the hat with flowers & a veil (cool, I think), a heart-emitting cookie (in my mouth) and the pose itself.
The final set of pictures are from Friday: longing in front of the boxes and then using the sofa. The reason I couldn't use the sofa to start with was that when I clicked to Sit on it, it gave the message "no place to sit", which is not the kind of feedback you expect from a chair.
In the end I found a place to click that allowed me to sit, but I would say I have identified a design fault.

Valentine's hunt at La Reina!

There's a Valentine's hunt on the sim where my shop is, La Reina, from now til the 17th February. Lots of lovely pink hearts are hidden, with lots of goodies hidden inside them. My shop, Pictures do furnish a room (see below), sells mostly pictures (as you might expect) but I also make a few "matching" t-shirts. The Valentine freebie from me is indeed a tee, as pictured here, all pink for Valentine's day. The photo of a rose (as featured on the back of the tee) is the regular freebie instore. My pink hair is "Rainy Day" from Armidi, in Candy.

Valentine hunt at La Reina (155, 185, 24) (just turn round once you are inworld to see my shop!)

Freebies 2

Helicopters found in gift bag: 1 (v.good); Fireplaces found in gift bag: 1 (OK); Friendship bears found in gift bag: 1 (v. useful); Fig trees found in gift bag: 1 (v.good) (and so it goes on)

Main part of this entry will highlight some of the more unusual gifts found in a SL educator's gift bag. First, however, will mention 1st pic which features dress free from Vicious (SL nightclub) exhibition stand at Blogher. The photo was taken in quaintly picturesque Amacitia.

It is worn with burgandy mesh jacket from another suit, and a recent purchase, namely smart briefcase. Latter is of course completely and utterly pointless since all items actually carried in Inventory, but decided that makes the short skirt look businesslike rather than come-hither. In this photo that endeavour undermined somewhat by glimpse of stocking top, so have now removed those leaving only more sedate footless tights.

So on to the mega-freebie giftbag that picked up at the CHSS Instructor Resource Center. Was evidently given out at SL Best practices in Education conference and am seen standing next to it in 2nd pic. There is also some more free stuff including copies of the Jack and Jill boxes that have clothes etc. of use to newbies. As am bona fide educator and intend educating in SL feel that legitimate in picking up bag, through truth to tell has no. of things v. useful to others e.g.
White marble fireplace with flickering fire
Bookcase
Fig tree
Bluebells
Assortment of shirts and trousers
Balloons
Large picture of Shakespeare with embedded sonnet (every home should have one)
Lots of things the use of which have not yet worked out

Most immediately exciting was working helicopter . Got in and zoom off we go at rather alarming rate in that controls work (perhaps) in helicopter like way and am hopeless at straightening up. Before know it am lost in vast horizon and takes while to spot Home and set course back.

So now have helicopter in inventory. Cool.

BTW you will notice broadness and emptyness of horizon. This is because lively Imagination Island which was next door has DIASAPPEARED. Was puzzled abou this until read Art Fossett's blog in which he complains about noise and disruption and had put in request to LL to get Eduserv Island moved somewhere quieter. If only RL were that simple.