Rhiamon's Moon Garden

rhiamon @ 2008-07-08T09:03:00

2008-07-08T13:31:16Z

Wow. I feel super productive today! Got up a bit earlier than usual (I am SO not a morning person), and had coffee with my sweetie on the patio before he set off for work. It's just gone 9am and I've already done a load of washing and put it out to dry and have a second load started. I've 'wound me legs' (did a session on the recumbent bike), and am having my breaky of a chocolatey protein shake.

It's all because of my cpap machine. I have, like most users I'll wager, a love-hate relationship with that thing. Now that I'm starting to get used to it, I'm sleeping better at night and feeling more rested, but it plays war with my sinuses, and the pressure's high enough that, even though I used to NEVER breathe through my mouth (unless I have a head cold), I find it forces my mouth open sometimes and I wake up with a completely dry mouth. You know how, when you go to the dentist, and have your mouth open for a long time and it gets really dry - it's like that but more....not fun. Anyway, it's taken me weeks to get used to it (I have mild sleep apnea, but enough to warrant treatment) - I started out not being able to sleep with it at all, and someone who's had one for a while suggested taking it off if it woke me once I got to sleep and leaving it off for the rest of the night, and do that every night and eventually it stays on longer and longer. It totally works to do it that way - the best thing is that the frustration of trying to get used to it is almost eliminated because you don't have that dread of having to force yourself to use it all night and eventually you relax into using it. So, now that I'm used to it, it stays on all night and Grahams finds that it's keeping him awake now! So, he was up early and I just got up early too, since I'd had such a good night's sleep! :P

In Second Life news, LeeLu and I have purchased a 'void' island and have set up shops and homes there. Leelu's side is absolutely gorgeous - it's called 'Stone Rose' and she has furnishings, an art gallery, houses, and garden/landscaping items available. She made these lovely rosebud streetlamps and I liked them so much, I wanted to place them on my side to give a bit of continuity, but instead, she made me some lovely crescent moon lamps to go with the theme of my side of the island, which I've called 'Blue Moon Grove' - they're similar enough to give a sense of continuity, but lend a bit of uniqueness to my side of the isle. I have set up a jewellery shop and an art gallery, and have begun making some other home decor items - I've done some floor and table lamps, and will start on some other things soon. I also began a project before we moved based on one of my favourite places in the world: Biltmore Estate. Here's the first 'in-progress' shot I made:

I finally finished it (mostly - there's still some fiddly design bits I'll do) and placed it on the island (you can see LeeLu's Blue Moon Lamps in this shot, too):

I'm quite pleased with it! It's not an exact replica of Biltmore, but heavily inspired by it, and I wanted it to have an art nouveau flavour to it as well. I've decided to call it 'Blue Moon Grove Nouveau Chateau'. We'll have a big party there soon, as part of grand opening of the isle festivities. It would be great for SL weddings and events!

There - how's that for a big update?! :)

As if.....

2008-07-03T16:59:29Z

As if we artists and authors needed another networking opportunity*: http://wonderlands.ning.com/profile/MaryLayton

* Yes, of course we do - we need all the exposure we can get! :P

Grumblemumblesnarl

2008-06-29T20:49:14Z

Dear Second Life,

Happy #%&^ing birthday - now get yer %#!& together!!

Good Reads

2008-06-25T15:13:43Z

Anyone else on Good Reads? Friend me, please! :D

http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1249433

Thea!!

2008-06-06T22:15:19Z

No longer shall I suffer through the mocking of Neil Gaiman's Last.fm playlist - that torturous 'looky what I'm listening to' when he plays tunes from 'Liejacker', the latest CD from Thea Gilmore. That's right - I can now use my own Last.fm page to send back a (friendly, of course) 'neener-neener' because I went to Amazon.co.uk and bought the damn thing. Not content to await the eventual US release, me - no, I went international for my Thea fix!

Those of you in the UK - if you don't have this yet - what the hell is wrong with you?! Get thee hence to your nearest music shop and buy it, already! Those of you in the States - set aside some funds, because you'll want it. Here's something to be getting on with until you've got 'Liejacker' in your own hot little hands!

Sigh......

2008-06-03T16:33:44Z

I still haven't received my Spring Issue of Faery Magazine. If any of you have a copy handy, please could you check to see if my ad made it in? I should be on the 'Artists Corner' page and should have a pinkish background this time around. Thanks, in advance!

ETA: My FM issue arrived yesterday! All's right with the world again!

Sims 2 vs Vista - Vista's winning.

2008-03-25T17:13:55Z

So, I installed Sims 2 on my new laptop, which runs Windows Vista. I installed the update patch. Moved my old family files over from my old computer so I wouldn't have to start from scratch. Ran Sims 2. It loaded! Yay! Clicked the neighbourhood. It loaded! Yay! Clicked the house I'd created previously (It was there! Yay!) It brought up all the information about the family I'd created previously (They were there! Yay!). So, I select 'enter house' ....loading ...loading ...loading ...loading ...loading ... CRASH. So I try again...all goes as before ...loading ...loading ...loading ...loading ...loading ... CRASH. Not 'yay'. Not 'yay' at all.

I'm famous! Well, no...not really.....

2008-03-09T02:04:48Z

For anyone keeping up with the Neil Gaiman blog feed on LJ - officialgaiman, the 'Mary' who's question is answered in the recent post titled "I am sick of winter and would like some sunshine now please" is, indeed, me. I wasn't new to Neil Gaiman when I got a copy of The Absolute Sandman Vol. 1, but I had not previously read any of the Sandman comics. So, I'm still a bit new as to what I need to purchase separately and had the two volumes mentioned in my question in my Amazon wish-list, but hadn't purchased them yet because I didn't know what, if any, of the auxiliary bits would be part of the Absolute series.

I'm in a showing off mood! I've been learning to build things in Second Life, and my most ambitious project to date is a tiara. It's based on the 'Girls of Great Britain and Ireland' tiara owned by HRH Queen Elizabeth II, and in honour of Brigid and Renee especially, and all of us artsy chicks who are a part of Brythony, I'm calling it the 'Girls of Brythony and Caer Llyr Tiara':

(That's my Second Life self modelling it)

Help the birdies!

2008-03-05T03:15:58Z

I know most all of you love animals, and there are some of us who are especially partial to wee birdies (and some of the big buggers as well). There is a couple who live about an hour and a half from us who have a tropical bird refuge. They are a nonprofit (501 (c) 3) organization dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation and, in some cases, adoption of exotic birds (parrots of all species). They take in abandoned, injured, and otherwise 'damaged' birds when the owners grow tired of or can no longer care for them. It's just the wife and her husband, and various folks who volunteer time to help clean and care for the birds (Graham and I have been a few times).

They do valuable work towards caring for these creatures and educating people about them, and about the illegal pet trade, as well as unscrupulous breeders. Currently, they are in some financial straits, due to the fact that donations have flat-lined as of this month, and both have been ill (the husband hospitalized with a life-threatening illness) and had to curtail their usual fund-raising activities.

Please, if you can and are so inclined, visit their website and donate a few bucks. There aren't a lot of places like this for these birds, and as long as they're still being stolen from the wild and sold as pets we need folks like the Bradfords.

www.tropics.parrotrefuge.com

Finished!

2008-03-04T21:22:07Z

Click for larger version:
Queen of Hearts

OMG! GOLDFRAPP!!!!!11111oneoneonebbq!

2008-03-01T01:46:29Z

This song is just GORGEOUS, and the video's neat, too. It's a bit melancholy lyric-wise, but I can't get enough of it!!!

Whoa.

2008-02-26T22:47:32Z

How surreal. I'd have never thought, back in '97 when I was reading 'Neverwhere', that one day 11 years later I'd be congratulating Neil Gaiman on winning a Henson Honor via his Last.fm profile page. o.O

WIP Update

2008-02-25T19:44:51Z

More progress on the late Valentine's Day themed piece. I've started working on the fabric folds (gaaahhhh - what a challenge - thank goodness for good references!), and have finally decided what to do with the heart behind her. Pardon the smudges around the border - I'll clean it up once I've finished!

Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?

2008-02-23T23:02:35Z

Right, I'm in!

Movie Meme
1. Pick 15 of your favorite movies.
2. Go to IMDb and find a quote from each movie.
3. Post them here for everyone to guess.
4. Fill in the film title once it's guessed.
5. NO GOOGLING/using IMDb search functions.

1. Me? I've had so many names. Old names that only the wind and the trees can pronounce. Pan's Labyrinth
2. Can any of your neighbors tell, ...? I'll ask them.
3. She heard the beetle ticking for your father's death all day long. She knew that when you hear the sound of the deathwatch beetle the man you love is doomed to die.
4. They like you very much, but they are not the hell "your" whales.
5. That's just what this country needs: a cock in a frock on a rock.
6. I did knock.
7. The man I bought it from explained to me that, when a husband gives it to his wife, they become two halves of the same person. Nothing can separate them... not even death.
8. It's been 14 years, and still not a day goes by that I don't miss your dad.
9. I am no man. LotR: The Return of the King
10. We wants it, we needs it... They stole it from us... Wicked, tricksy, false! LotR: The Two Towers
11. What about second breakfast? What about elevenses? Luncheon? Afternoon tea? Dinner? Supper? He knows about them, doesn't he? LotR: The Fellowship of the Ring
12. Always winter, never Christmas. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe
13. I'll tell you one thing about the universe, though. The universe is a pretty big place. It's bigger than anything anyone has ever dreamed of before. So if it's just us... seems like an awful waste of space. Right?
14. I'm not questioning your powers of observation I'm merely remarking upon the paradox of asking a masked man who he is. V for Vendetta
15. Thank you. That will be nice. Yes is being my answer. Easy question.

Can't it still be Valentine's Day?

2008-02-18T21:57:38Z

I'm still working on my Valentine's Day themed piece. OK, so it'll be late, but I'll get it finished eventually! So far, I've done a background wash in watercolour, and have started laying in skin tones in coloured pencil. It's still very rough at this stage, but milady is starting to take shape and come to life:

Quickie! (oo-er!)

2008-02-16T01:43:11Z

Just a quick fly-by posting on my way to Brythony (Second Life, you know)!

I've followed Brigid (brigidashwood) over to Twitter: http://twitter.com/Rhiamon

Last.fm is the coolest thing - I signed up sometime last year, but forgot about it until Neil Gaiman posted about it the other day - now I can't stop listening!

Last night's Lost: Holy Smeg!!! OMFG!!!111111OneOneOneEleventyAnalProbe!!!!

Oh, yeah....

2008-02-14T16:50:08Z

I nearly forgot the day! Happy Valentine's day, everyone! Here's one from last year:

Did I finish the one I posted as a sketch the other day? Did I bollocks. :P

Writer's Block: Repeat After Me...

2008-02-11T14:46:25Z

How have people pronounced your name? How is it supposed to sound?

View other answers

Mary's pretty standard, and I rarely get mispronunciations, but, occasionally I get a "Maria" or "Marie" and I've had junk mail addressed to "Mark" before. It's the last name that seems to get the most abuse: Layton. Seems pretty straight-forward, but I get "Lawton", "Lawson", "Lighten", "Lykon", "Leekon", "Leethum", "Lithum", and occasionally some pronunciations I can't even dissect into printable form.

Buh-bye

2008-02-09T01:43:28Z

Mitt Romney's speech announcing he was 'suspending' his campaign, for anyone who missed it:

Valentine's Day in-progress

2008-02-07T18:18:44Z

Here's what I'm currently working on - I thought I'd post the sketch in progress as I'm not sure I'll actually finish it in time! Busy, busy, busy! The model is the lovely Lockstock, of course!

Gaia, anyone?

2008-02-01T21:57:56Z

OK - who else out there is on Gaia Online? I just joined and I needs friends! Needs them!!!
http://www.gaiaonline.com/profiles/12223193

Holiday Greetings

2007-12-25T03:05:48Z

Pimpin' Brythony

2007-10-27T04:08:12Z

Good grief! I usually do well to get in 2 posts a month, and now here's 2 posts in one night!

I can't help it, though. I have to pimp my favourite place. Favourite Second Life place, that is! I LOVE Brythony! I'd love to see more of you there - it's really not a difficult journey. All you need is the Second Life client (which is a free download). Once you've downloaded that and entered the world, you can customize your avatar (a virtual representation of you - see my previous post for an example, or check my userpic). Then, come to Brythony (just type Brythony into the search function in world). The island (and it's companion residential isle, Caer Llyr) were designed and built by brigidashwood for the fantasy art community and the fans of fantasy art. There are virtual gallery shops (I have one, as do brigidashwood, autumngrove (Renee Biertempfel), jasminetoad (Jasmine Becket-Griffith), cynnalia (Deborah Grieves, selinafenech, thephoenixx (Ash Evans), watercolorwitch (Louise M Scott), Amy Brown, Jane Starr Weils, and more! Brigid has just recently added an additional marketplace on the isle, as the original square is fully rented.

A bit about renting - the shops are rented by the individual artists, but the fee is minimal - $5 to $12 per month, depending on what type of shop you have. Currently, the available spaces are a downstairs shop, an upstairs shop, an upstairs and downstairs shop, or a tent. The rental fees go directly toward the fees associated with maintaining property in Second Life (more details about what it takes to run the island can be found in the brythonyisle community group. Brigid collects the rents, but DOES NOT profit from the rents - all monies go directly back into Second Life for the fees associated with running an island on their servers. It is essentially a co-op of artists, and the more we have, the less the fees are. The fees have been reduced twice since I've been there, and this is because Brigid does not profit from them and reduces the fees so that the costs of running the island are distributed evenly and fairly. I think of it as a 24-hour international ad for my work at a nominal price. And, any money collected from sales of your artwork, or other SL creations is YOURS. The same goes for the residential isle rents - the more renters, the lower the monthly rentals.

Now, I've been snapping photos tonight, and I'll post them here :

The main market place has been completely rented, so Brigid has built another level of shops - there are a few spots still available!

Here's one of my kitties, Luthien, peeking out from behind the pumpkins at my gallery shop.

I've rented a residential spot at Caer Llyr, just next door to Brythony. My lovely house was made by autumngrove, Renee Biertempfel. She's a very talented builder in Second Life, as well as a very talented RL artist. Don't mind the cob-webs - that's just where I decorated for Hallowe'en!

Renee also built a pool for me, and I like to hang out there in mermaid mode.

If you'd like, you can be a faery in Second Life, or even a 'tinie' (cat, squirrel, bunny, ferret, or any other critter you'd like) and Caer Llyr has a faery realm with faery and tinie sized abodes!

Or, if you're a mermaid or merman at heart, you can design your avatar accordingly and live in your own Mer home!

There is a castle and drum circle at Brythony, where fun events are held.

You can even ride unicorns in Second Life! Here I am (dressed for the season, of course) just below the castle at the drum circle, perched upon my white unicorn.

There's even a night club in Brythony! Pearls is a mer-friendly club but anyone and everyone is welcome to come hang out and dance.

It's easy to be intimidated at first, but any of the Brythony folk are more than happy to help you get the hang of things. There are tonnes of tutorials available as well to get you started building things you can sell for real money!

Come visit! It's a wonderful world!

Virtual Sweeties

2007-10-27T01:46:58Z

There are Second Life versions of my hubby and me:

Graham reckons his SL self looks more like a younger Patrick Stewart, but I'm fine with that - I like Patrick Stewart!

Return of the Dream King

2007-10-17T19:40:33Z

Today, my copy of Volume II of The Absolute Sandman arrived! I can't believe I managed to only read the first one and was able to put it down. When I got the first volume, I read and read and read and read...I did not want to stop it was so enthralling. But, I don't want to rush things this time...I just want to savour the Dreamy goodness! That Neil Gaiman...he's a treasure!