I Thought I Was So Over Julia Hathor

Sparkly moon gardens bought: 1 (enchanting)

Although have dozens of houses in inventory, some unrezzed, was prepared to be captivated by some new residence at the Home and Gardens Expo. What had not expected was to be right-click-select-buy-ing on an item by Julia Hathor.
Now, Julia Hathor was designer of first treehouse on Infolit iSchool, in fact at one point island was positive shrine to Hathor, since also had Fairy Bridge, Magic Apple Tree Bridge and Magic Apple Tree. 2 apple tree items are still in situ, near hobbit home (even though pose on Magic Apple Tree went wonky, so you get swallowed by the tree), but tree house and bridge have gone way of all prims, i.e. deleted in favour of newer items.
Old tree house had a waterfall grove at the bottom, spiral staircases (impossible to negotiate, one of the reasons it went), elegant viewing terraces, a splashy pool halfway up the tree, and a nice patio nook with cushions at the top, plus lanterns, nature sounds and some sort of bird of prey. Have numerous pics (e.g. here) of Ishbel and I floating in the pool, Marilena posing elegantly at the poolside, teaching meetings in the top treehouse room etc. Feel quite nostalgic just writing about it.
However don't think was just nostalgia that prompted the click-buy. Products definitely seem improved, but basically as soon as entered moon garden, all with moonbeam twinkles and lush grass and meditation pads and a waterfall and a cool tree-climbing animation - it is is all just SO PRETTY and so SL that I thought - blow realistic baked-in shadows and artfuly distressed concrete - this is Magic.

Was going to replace greenhouse with moon garden, but as noted yesterday, have decided greenhouse is too cute to delete, so it was summery coast house that went. Did a fraps of the house before deleting.
With 600 prims at disposal, rezzed moon garden and set about decorating. The thing about a Hathor garden is that it is pretty much loaded with stuff already, but think sometimes you just have to go over the top, so piled on some more plants, a bird bath, a bird feeder, birds, beer, knitting, more birds, buterflies, more plants, more butterflies and a cute rabbit. I put on my fairy crown and rode my fairy steed around, for added effect.

Yesterday got Pancha to come along and lounge with me by the waterfall. Think this makes the cuteness complete.

Remodelled

Common rooms remodelled: 1 (good)
Have been spending some time demolishing common room and Nigl/Ishbel's office, and replacing them with new common room/office. Not quite finished yet, but almost there. Aim was to free up some space in the corner of Infolit, for the health information literacy stuff.

Probably should have told Ishbel and Nigl before axing their cute cottage. However they now have pleasant area in new common room, so hope they are not too offended.

Can you have too many butterflies?

No. of butterfly objects in room: 11 (good)
Yesterday added another 3 butterflies to my butterfly/art room, namely the 3 hanging in front of the window at the back (they revolve! they are in 3 colours! they are copy! they were only 60 Linden!). This adds to butterfly chairs, butterfly table lamp, butterfly ceiling lights, butterfly table, butterfly ashtray and butterfly emitter. Butterfly emitter is responsible for good number of butterflies visible in picture, and is cunningly placed under table.
Question is: at what point does butterfly overload set in? I suppose at the point that I try to rez one and am told "cannot rez Another Supercute Butterfly in Noyo, because the parcel is too full".
Which means, pretty soon.

Learning from experience

Lessons learned: 1 (i.e. read your own blog)

When had posted previous post, clicked on tag butterflies at end of entry (as can do you, gentle reader) to check that could indeed thus miraculously retrieve entire Curse of Butterflies saga. However when reread posts realised that solution to invisible butterfly emitter issue (CTRL+ALT+T) was given in said posts. So rather than troubling colleagues could simply have read own blog. Is a lesson there for all of us, particularly me.

The pic shows Zoe, who was nervous in case she has to appear at the student session on Monday* and went on a dollarbie hunt to the Glamour fashion show. However, she ended up wearing some group gift butterfly wings and a dress she'd picked up at Relay For Life, always the way. Fun unpacking the boxes, though.

*In case some students have failed to create own avatars as instructed. Is currently odds-on that she will, sigh, but live in hope.

Creating

Hot tubs made: 1 (good): Grass patches made: 1 (good); Creative wall, um, created: 1 (good); Glass flower room created: 1 (v. good, at least I think so)

Am still involved in the Educator's Coop challenge to do a build. Deadline was going to be Oct 5th, but we seem to have a coursework extension, and this without normal procedure of faking a doctor's note or family bereavement. Grandma has done some really nice scripts so that on top level of our build there is a script in each corner. One is for group chat, one 2-person chat, one is a diary room and one will pose pre-set questions. Chat is captured on a website with a page for each session. V. cool.

Since no-one stopped me I spent couple of hours creating settings for each of those: flower/butterfly group area; Diary room; Oriental hot tub (for questioning, might as well be relaxing while you are interrogated) and urban area (as see-saw had already been put in and it looked a bit rusty). The pics show the group and diary room areas (some of which are changed for latest version) and then whole thing.

Wall is rather cool IMHO since I textured each side differently with bark/stone effect on the flowery side, and a photo of some street art in Copenhagen on the grungey side. Am also rather pleased with look of diary room. Used a SL picture twirled round a bit, for the texture, and effect is like a rather expensive pink glass decorative bottle I have. In fact wonder whether might be good enough to offer as freebie in forthcoming Juicy Sim birthday hunt.

Whilst looking for butterfly emitters in inventory, by mistake rezzed the blue butterfly emitter that had such problems with in my early days. Despite my intervening skills acquisition, when fatal blue butterflies started to swarm, and, realising error, I attempted to TAKE it:

a) removed section of floor by mistake; and

b) almost deleted various other objects, since emitter is invisible and had forgotten how to make invisible things appear.

Anyway, is OK now, as other Educators Coop members able to provide answer and blue perils are now back in inventory. Should really delete them altogether. Perhaps can give it to someone that want to annoy someday, though, so best to hang on. What is one item amongst 18,000 (latest inventory count) after all.

Butterfly curse removed, Bloggers' cafe

Butterflies stopped: 1 flock (v. good); New poster created: 1 (good); New outfits bought: 0 (good); Blogger cafes visited: 1 (good); Hours spent in SL when should have been doing RL work: 2 (bad)


Get IM from Thiery Fleury, maker of the Neverending Butterflies. Explains that can Remove them by pressing CTRL+ALT+T. Try it. It works! It works!

Would award Thiery Fleury customer service award if such existed in SL (surely only matter of time) as TF even IMs later to ask if all OK.


Spend some time wandering round new butterfly-free office, which now seems strangely minimalist. Decide that perhaps water feature on roof would benefit from butterflies, creating pleasing landmark. Also add new version of Centre for IL poster on roof.


Decide EVEN BETTER if butterflies came out of poster rather than water feature, as perhaps quacking duck provides enough interest in latter. Able to Remove and Place butterflies once more, but realise must be something you need to do AFTER you've pressed CTRL+ALT+T as many things continue to look strange and blocky afterwards.

Oh well. Fly off to new neighbouring island development inc. treehouse with chairs you can't sit on (odd). Find that can get pleasing view of own office from deck chair on opposite shore.




Also try swing, visit curious airborne swirling fountain and find Secret Garden (after children's novel by Burnett) (pretty). And all my doorstep!


Finally discover via ... actually can't remember now, such was random bittiness of day ... anyway, in some way discover Bloggers' cafe. Visit. It is empty perhaps just as well since not sure am up to sophisticated blogging chit-chat. Try sitting on chairs, flying above to check out flying flexi skirt effect etc. etc.

Have submitted pic to go on wall in bloggers' cafe via RL email (the pic at top of this entry, taken in the office, cool or what). Now waiting in some excitement to see whether will be posted on wall in cafe.

Speaking to RL friend just now who seemed to think that trying on SL frocks was not real. Not sure what he means by this.

Curse of giant butterflies continues

Butterflies halted in flight: 0 (bad); Visits of Friend to office: 1 (good)

Go inworld. Butterflies still flutter by. Find that MK is online. MK is friend from RL who have not yet met with in SL. Give her office coordinates by taking landmark from inventory and dragging it onto her profile. It works. She arrives and am able to show her round office.

Mention butterflies early on, can't exactly not. She agrees that distracting. She tries getting notecard from poster and that works too. MK has joined SL librarians group, and also has had tours. Chat about that.

Note that when cat barges into MK she staggers about in alarming fashion. Must be happening to me too and never noticed. What with cat and butterflies not v. calming environment.

Am still going to keep the cat. But those butterflies!!!

Office, panels, and the curse of the butterflies

Panels mounted: 8 (good); Noteboard skills learnt: 2 (v. good); Butterflies bought: 1 set (bad); Outfits bought: 2 (bad)

Have arranged to meet Art Fossett in Eduserv in order to find out why can't Build things there any more. Turns out that in order to Build need to have Eduserv Group Active (rather than, as currently the case, B5 Fan). Go to Group function and make Eduserv Group Active and lo, can once more Edit and Build. Feel v. foolish.

While AF is there ask how can fix panel (advertising Centre for information Literacy Research) to wall. He says to layer it. This in fact means Editing panel, then using Rotate and Position functions to get it parallel to wall and then flat against it. Feel v. proud when manage this.

Have already Created Notecard (in Inventory) with text about Centre and dropped it into Content bit of panel (in Edit mode) (I hope you are following this).

Google notecard object make. Find useful page (http://www.exo.net/~pauld/secondlife/build_pi_glass.htm) in which one Paul Docherty explains how to Build object and make it deliver up notecard when someone touches it. Am able to amend "give notecard" script appropriately, and lo (again) my panel delivers a notecard when anyone right clicks and selects "Touch". Feel even prouder, so spend some time touching panel and getting notecards.

Place cat who I name Mitsy (after cat belonging to favourite aunt). Put out mat for cat.

Get panel/notecard fever and create a) panel with map of information literacy research to put on opposite wall; b) stretched and repositioned copy of same as carpet; c) 3 panels with different photographs on as decoration in smaller of 2 office rooms; d) explanatory small panel saying what's in photos; e) plain panels in tasteful blue to cover up purple wall.

And now comes fatal error. Suffering from interior design euphoria shop for tropical plant to place near artful photo panel. Am instead betwitched by two blue butterflies ("1 prim") fluttering decoratively. For $199 Linden they are mine. Whisk back to Eduserv Island Office. Place.

A million zillion giant butterflies immediately zoom out of wall. For 30 seconds they look v. pretty. Then I think "enough already". BUT I CANNOT STOP THEM.

Click desperately all over area with butterflies to no avail. Seek out all butterfly-related objects in inventory and delete. And still they come. Log out and log back in. Butterflies greet me cheerfully as I arrive. In end IM vendor and ask how to stop them. Argh.

Last photo shows me perched on wall, looking down on butterflies in doomed fascination.