Visiting Mirromere

At the beginning of every month, for the last ten years, I go to Mirromere to visit with my late husband  Ars. Sometimes, my husband, Tomais comes with me, but mostly I am there alone.

"Satyr at Mirromere" by BMcM

Mirromere is a part of the Calas Galadhon Park, which consists of seven or eight regions. The park is owned, maintained and operated by Ty(mus) Tenk and his husband Truck Meredith. When Ars passed away in 2010 the men graciously offered to host the memorial service and a memorial place for two weeks I think it was, but my memories from that period. are unclear. 

Once the big memorial place was removed a smaller and beautiful place was made. Ars, and later on Dej, have the honor of having a plaque there among other friends of the guys.

P.S. Here is the SLurl to the memorial site at Mirromere.

Blog Header - Winter 2015

My sweet husband the renowned SL-photographer Tomais Ashdene and I went to Calas Galadhon today to steal this years Christmas tree. Thank you again, Ty and Truck!

We ended up with getting both a beautiful tree and this smashing blog header for Winter 2015.

Ars In Memoriam 2014

Photography by Kent Hutchinson of KH Photo

Joseph Douglas Wilson Jr. a.k.a

Ars Northmead

★ April 21, 1953 (first life)
★ October 25, 2006 (SecondLife)
† March 12, 2010

On this day four years ago my beloved husband Ars passed away after a short illness.

Ars' brothers Dejerrity Mycron and Jeb Nicholls arranged a Memorial Service at Calas Galadhon where Truck Meredith and Tymus Tenk kindly let us use the homestead sim Mirromere for a week before, and their main sim for the big Memorial Service on March 20, 2010. Bora Rossini had created a beautiful setting for the memorial.

All of Ars' family and friends in SecondLife gathered there as well as Doug's parents, one of his sisters, his brothers and and even some of his nephews, nieces and cousins, who joined us in front of a computer screen using an avatar they had created.

I have asked for pictures from that memorial service earlier and this year I was happy to receive two from our friend elis Eun.

Photography by elis Eun

Photography by elis Eun

Although I never at the time thought that I would find love and true joy again, as it turns out life can work miracles and today I am happily married to my darling Tomais. I know that Ars would have wished this for me.

Memories of Bygone Days

In preparation for the upcoming week long celebration of the life and times of Marcus Steeplechase, who recently passed away, old treasures have been unearthed and again see the light of day. The old Ironworks Club is being erected again at this location and friends of mine have already visited.

When I logged into my Facebook-account today I was first struck by the amount of pictures my name had been tagged in, but soon realized why. A display from 2007 has been found in Marcus' Inventory showing frequent visitors to the club or maybe it was participants in a photo contest? I cannot remember anymore. 

Among those shown in the display is the 6-8 months old me (third row from top, seventh from the left in the top picture). I still remember the hair and skin I am in very well, they were among the very first things I ever bought in SecondLife. To my left you see my then friend Drizz and fifth to my right is my brother in-law Dej. The whole display is full of familiar names, some of whom are still with us to this day.

A few months in SecondLife had finally made it clear to me that camping was not a worthwhile way to earn the money I needed. After having briefly considered the sex-trade I shrugged it off and decided to plug in my credit card instead, promising myself dearly that I would never ever spend more than  L$5,000 a month. Ah, the sweet innocence of youth...

In the beginning I did not at all want to look one bit like a Swede, but instead chose dark brown hairs and skins with California suntans (I seem to remember that this particular skin was named Hermes, but I am not sure.).

It wasn't until later, during my first year with Ars, that my appearance started to revert more to my first life looks with blond hair and lighter skin tones, because I realised I felt more comfortable that way. Of course the fact that blond hair finally stopped being a strange yellowish may have helped.

Calas Galadhon Park Sims Reopen Today

The wonderful Calas Galadhon Park Sims are opening for visitors three days earlier than the owners, gardeners, caretakers and gamekeepers, my dear fiends, Tymus Tenk and Truck Meredith had originally anticipated. This jubilant declaration was made on the Calas Galadhon Park blog today.

"With all but about 30 percent of “Autumn Color” in on Misty Mountains, we can announce that the work and changes planned for ‘CALAS’ are complete and ready for the gates to be open on Saturday morning SLT, August 31. We didn't think you'd mind a few ‘men at work’ signs if we opened up early."

Please visit the Calas Galadhon blog (url) for more on this exciting news!

And on a more personal note here is a private message from me to Ty and Truck.
"Guys, I will not mind at all seeing a few ‘men at work’ signs, if you promise me 
1) that the men at work are the two of you and 
2) that you will both be working shirtless and in the skimpiest shorts that can be found in all of SecondLife." 

At Mirromere

The beautiful Calas Galadhon Park sims are closed for a month due to remodeling, but as a member of the land-group I still have access. It was extremely lucky for me because I needed to be at Mirromere today. Although I have a part of the memorial for Ars erected on the home sim, the memorial spot at Mirromere is still the place I go to when I feel the need to be closer to him. Ty Tenk and Truck Meredith have promised to keep me informed of any major changes that may be necessary.

After spending some time there I was calm again and realized that, no matter what, I would always trust in what my Ars and I had and what he had told me.

With Ars and Butch

Today I visited with Ars at the Mirromere memorial site. Mirromere is one of the beautiful Calas Galadhon Park sims, owned and operated by partners Ty Tenk and Truck Meredith. I fell in love with the place when it hosted Ars memorial and have come back regularly ever since.

Today I invited my friend Butch Diavolo to join me there, because we needed to catch up on some things that had been going on in his first life, I had heard the first part earlier and wanted to get an update on recent events.

Butch came almost directly from a wedding where he had been the best man. He looked smashing and very stylish, except for the fact that he had taken the time to stop in at home and take off his shoes and socks before joining me. Well, he had washed his feet for the wedding so that was a small blessing.

We had a good talk and I was happy that things were looking promising although Butch convinced me that we should be patient and not take anything for granted yet. That man has a good, sensible  head on his broad shoulders.

Excellent Service, Linden Lab

Today I got the weekly newsletter from the Calas Galadhon group in SecondLife. In it my friend Ty Tenk, owner of the Calas Galadhon Park sims together with his partner Truck Meredith and gardener extraordinaire, tells us about the how the excellent customer services of Linden Lab came through for them after a recent mishap.

Ty tells us he was cleaning up at the wonderful Misty Mountains sim, and was returning stuff that visitors had carelessly left there, when he by a mistaken click on the mouse ended up sending back all of the beautiful sim to his own inventory. The woods, streams, grasses, flowers, animals - in short everything!

Ty called the customer service at Linden Lab and within thirty (30) minutes of his call for help the sim was rolled back and everything was restored to it´s former pristine condition.

In spite of the constant badmouthing of the customer services at Linden Lab going on among some residents, I have always maintained that they do a great job and handle the issues presented to them with as much speed and empathy as possible in the given circumstances. This just - once again - proves my point.

...and guess what, Ty didn't even have to tweet Rod Humble once!

Mirromere Revisited

I always love to visit with my Ars at the memorial place on Mirromere in Calas Galadhon Park sims.

The calm of the place and the beauty that Tymus Tenk has worked so hard to achieve soothes any worried soul. It always makes me feel close to Ars and I always leave happy from my visits there.

Nobel Prize for Philip Rosedale?!!

Philip in a tuxedo - like I want to see him soon again

So I was dreaming a bit during the night and now I am going to share parts of my dreams with you, dear readers. The dreams were totally wild and crazy but happy ones.

I had a short one about kissing my Ars, it was so real that I even dreamed of feeling his breath on my face. The only thing was my mind could not decide which Ars I was kissing, his SecondLife avatar or his first life person Doug, so it kind of shifted from one to the other all the time.

In my dreams I also remembered the amazing memorial services that were held in Ars honor, first the one at St. Magnus Kirk in Hinterland (arranged by Chade, Hiroku and the other wonderful men at Hinterland) and then the one at the Calas Galadhon Garden sims (arranged by two of Ars´s brothers, Dejerrity and Jeb, and the two owners of Calas Galadhon, Tymus Tenk and Truck Meredith, and finally wonderful builder Bora Rossini).

Come to think of it I really wish I had pictures from those two services, but I was too preoccupied with other things to take any myself.

At both places we had many avatars coming in from all corners of the world to be together and support each other at this point in time and in their busy first life´s. All because we shared a love and admiration for the avatar Ars Northmead and Doug, the man behind the avatar.

The memorial at Mirromere with me, our boys and Millimina
(Photo courtesy of Millimina Salamander)

Did you know that we were more  than 70 avatars at Calas Galadhon for the whole ceremony? And one of the avatars actually had parts of Doug´s first life family sitting there watching the computer screen, his father, his sisters and brothers and some cousin and nephews.

We were all there, from all over the world sharing these moments of remembrance together, being with each other, supporting each other.

The first thing I thought when I woke up was "Philip Rosedale - and possibly Linden Lab also - should be awarded the Nobel Prize!"

The Nobel Prize comes in the following categories Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, Peace, and finally Economic Sciences. The last prize is awarded by Sweden's National bank in Memory of Alfred Nobel.

I can imagine Philip Rosedale receiving the prize in possibly three of the six categories, Physics, Physiology or Medicine and Peace, but maybe also Economic Sciences.

What do you people think? Could he receive the prize? If so, in which category/categories and why? Talk amongst yourselves then tell me. I have a few ideas myself that I may possibly leak.

Karter Stonecutter Live - Today 1 PM at The Dolphin Cafe

I got a notice today from my pal Ty Tenk at the Calas Galadhon Garden sims.

"Join us today as Karter Stonecutter debuts at the new Dolphin Café on the waters of Armenlos.

As a long time keyboardist with a very versatile and longtime professional musical background you’re guaranteed  a solid and enjoyable performance from this popular musician.

Come welcome Karter to Calas Galadhon, have a fun time and support live music in Second Life at the same time.

Hope to see you there!"

 (Landmark will be supplied as soon as I have logged in.)

Spring Has Come

Well not yet, not in my real life location but at the amazing park sims of Calas Galadhon. The sims are owned and operated by my friends Ty Tenk and Truck Meredith. These guys are great and have opened up their beautiful home-sims free of charge

I got this message in the Calas Gadhon group and am now sharing it with you all.  Go there for a visit, you will not regret it and you will go back again and again and again...

YAY !!  Early but we were tired of the snow.  You will find some minor changes..a couple new homes, new cuddles and some new landscaping.

We open our doors to all who seek the peace and beauty we have worked hard to express and share as long as they adhere to the following: 

Just a few but VERY IMPORTANT rules: 

* ANY visitor who´s behavior violates Linden Labs TERMS OF SERVICE agreement will be immediately ejected and banned from the Estate. No exceptions. 

* NO NUDITY whatsoever... not everyone is comfortable with it, sorry.

* NO SEX 

* NO ACTIVE WEAPONS

* NO ROLE-PLAY  that would be considered offensive to others or against Linden Labs TOS. 

* CHILD AVATARS : This is a sensitive issue for some and so we  have adopted the following policy for now: While we welcome "families" with well behaved 'kids' ..... We do not encourage child avatars in the Park ...certainly not alone, and will not be responsible for behaviors that are inappropriate. 

In an effort to keep the park as quiet and peaceful as possible: NO EXCESSIVE GESTURES by ANYONE are allowed.

This is our home which we've opened to you.. Please respect our rules.

This cannot be made more clear. If an avatar is found in violation of any of the above rules or is found harassing, threatening, just being obnoxious or anything other than respectful and kind to another visitor , they will be asked to leave.  If they don't respond positively to the request they will be ejected and banned from the Estate.that said ... ;) 

HERE´S THE GOOD STUFF 
PARK INFORMATION:
Come immerse yourself in the early American coastal countryside of the early 20th Century. We strive to bring the beauty & peace of our natural areas into Second Life for all to enjoy as a refuge. 

There are now 9 sims to the Park.

Each sim has a unique feel, yet are tied together with verdant fields & farms, high mountain meadows and winding streams through its woodlands & valleys which eventually lead to the natural beauty of the coast.  There is also the island of Armenelos where the 'Santorini' build by Bora Rossini, can now be found.

The 'seasonal' build ... The Spring Glass Pavilion is now open.  The TP to it is found near the entrance.

BALLOON RIDE
This is not a tour, but a chance to cuddle, sit back and see the sims by air.  It takes about 40 minutes.  Probably the best overview of the Park is a short amount of time. 

REZZERS: Boats, horses, buggy

You can use your own horse as well.

Explore by small boat, horse, buggy, buckboard or on foot.  You will find the main rezzers for each of these found near the docks & livery stable, a short walk from your landing point.  Additional rezzers are located throughout the sims so you can feel free to get off your boat or horse and explore on foot for a while.  There are also a few new ways to travel around the sims, but we'll let you discover those on your own ;)

WEDDINGS

We consider requests for small , intimate weddings& receptions here (less than 20 avatars .. no more than 10 on the homestead sims) and have built a reception area around the Conservatory on the north side of the main sim where you land.  If interested please contact Truck  or myself, Tymus, for more information. 

ROMANCE

We’ve placed cuddles and slow dance Intan dance balls throughout the sims.  Romance is definitely an important element here*    Some of the cuddle areas are hidden... in fact… there are a lot of ‘details’… special spots you may miss if you don’t take the time to explore, touch & look all about you. Remember though, no nudity please... other spots in SL for that.

NO RENTALS 

This is strictly a PARK sim, meaning no rentals… no shopping… ALL HOMES & BUILDINGS ARE OPEN for you… these sims a gift to our friends and SL family, to provide a spot to sit back , enjoy and find some peace amidst the beauty of our natural world brought into Second Life.

DONATIONS

While we support a favorite non profit of ours... donation kiosk  at the landing point… we ask nothing for the opportunity to share our home but that all visitors treat each other with kindness & respect.

The only non-park presence is found in the HIV/AIDS EDUCATION & LEARNING CENTER located in the small row of town buildings near the docks & livery stable. 

Finally and above all, we want you to have a good time while you are here… to feel better when you leave. Come often and stay as long as you like.  We enjoy visiting and answering any questions with our visitors... so feel free to contact us.

Thank you,

Tymus Tenk & Truck Meredith, owners

UPDATE March 18th, 2011! 
Tomorrow on March 19th, 2011, there will be a tenth sim opening in the park

We give you ERYN VORN ...our new wooded sim ......

Come experience this new SL gem, number 10, in the unique CALAS GALADHON PARK ESTATE,   We look forward to seeing you in the days and weeks ahead.

Treet TV does Calas Galadhon

Treet TV did a beautiful story for Valentines´s day on the beautiful park sims of the wonderful "Calas Galadhon", owned and beautifully created buy Tymus Tenk and Truck Meredith together with their friend the talented builder Bora Rosinni.

Enjoy the beautiful report and then go to the sims for real!

Of course the beautiful temporary memorial for Ars, that was built by the talented Bora, stood at Mirromere. Ty has made the new memorial place an serene and quite place of beauty, I love to go there.

Ars funeral ceremony was held at the main sim Calas Galadhon and a copy of the temporary memorial was moved there for the occasion.

Nakna avatarer i SL 100

This spot in my project for art and peace in Second Life has - almost since the start - in my mind been reserved for a very special avatar in my Second Life, my late partner Ars Northmead.

In this post I will paste in the eulogy I gave at the second Ars Memorial Service on March 20th, 2010, at the beautiful Calas Galadhon sim. Tymus Tenk and Truck Meredith, the owners of that sim, had kindly allowed us to have the second memorial service for Ars there.

You must remember this eulogy was given only eight days after Ars passing away, so please excuse any flaws. There is so much I now want to add and edit, but I will refrain from doing so.

"I followed my Ars for two and a half years. He was the fixed point around which my SL-life revolved and it spilled over into both our real lives too.

Ars was a hard working man. I can hardly remember a time when he was not working. Either he was a DJ himself or managing DJs, building/creating beautiful things or amazing sets for parties or just gardening and decorating at home or teaching me or someone else something.

Ars always loved sharing what he had learned with others and he was the most patient teacher.

Ars was the most wise, loving, gentle and kindhearted man I have ever known. He was always there for me without fail, whenever I needed him no matter how busy he was.

The greatest confirmation of our love will always be the fact that, when he got seriously ill, Ars told his RL family about me. That enabled us to keep communicating until close to the very end. For that alone I will be eternally grateful to Ars.

The ease with which his family accepted the fact that Ars had a partner in cyberspace will always amaze me. The warmth, care and consideration his family has shown me since is a huge support for me at this sad point in my life.

I am so happy that Ars parents, sister and brothers and the rest of his RL family are with us today, as we commemorate his life with us in Second Life.

Earning Ars love was my greatest achievement and loving him was my greatest reward. I am so proud and grateful to have loved and been loved by a man like him.

Ars was in our lives for too short a time. But in our hearts he will be - Forever Ars."

These pictures were taken by Kent Hutchinson of KH Photography about two months before Ars passed away. They show you my beautiful man in some of the best pictures ever taken of him.

When I first saw the pictures, I fell in love with Ars all over again - even if it never really was the looks of his avatar that I loved. It was the man behind the avatar that caught my mind and heart and forever held me captive.

Some people tell me that you cannot really love someone whom you have never met in real life. Once and for all I would like to tell them: "Stuff it, I know what I feel for Doug and I know what Doug felt for me. Don´t ever dare tell me it was not real love!"

Jadå, ni är fortfarande välkomna att skicka era bidrag till mig antingen inworld eller till min mejl lundamats@gmail.com

Yes, you are still welcome to send your contributions to me either inworld or to my mail lundamats@gmail.com

Calas Galadhon utvidgas

Mina vänner Tymus Tenk och Truck Meredith som äger de underbara parksimarna under det gemensamma namnet "Calas Galadhon" berättar att de nu kommer att utvidga de sex existerande simarna med ytterligare två simar.

Som några av er kanske minns var det på en av de redan existerande simarna, "Mirromere", där det underbara tillfälliga minnesmärket till min älskade Ars fanns uppfört under en månads tid.

De två nya simarna heter "Armenlos" och "Misty Mountains".

På "Armenlos" har en annan av mina vänner Bora Rossini uppfört vackra byggnader i stil med de som finns på den grekiska ön Santorini. Alla lägenheter i staden har inretts av Truck.

På "Misty Mountains" har den fantastiske landskapskonstnären Tymus vidareutvecklat det underbara skogstemat från "Mirromere", men med en vildare natur.

De båda nya simarna ligger norr om "Mirromere". De kommer inte att öppnas för allmänheten förrän någon gång i mitten av juli 2010, men jag ger er SLurlen till Calas Galadhon redan här. Vissa av oss, inga namn nämnda, är inbjudna till invigningsceremonierna nu på lördag den 10 juli 2010.

Calas Galadhon drivs helt utan vinstsyfte. Det är det fritt och gratis tillträde överallt. Den som vill uppmuntras dock att stödja den amerikanska Cancerfonden (vid landningsplatsen). Tymus säger på deras egen hemsida: "Truck and I have always approached our work on Calas Galadhon as a 'gift' to our friends and SL family. A place where all can come, noob & seasoned veteran, feel safe and enjoy what the Park has to offer. No shopping, no tenants, just park. Truck and I make it a point to be available to our guests as much as possible ... to visit, help and be there to greet as we can."

Länk till Calas Galadhons hemsida, där ni bland annat kan läsa att det också går bra att gifta sig gratis i de vackra miljöerna som Tymus, Truck och Bora har skapat.

Foto: Tymus Tenk (tror jag)

Marsdeb på återbesök

Jag var på OrmDrickas söndagsparty i full - nåja - läderutstyrsel när jag samtidigt fick IM från Guyke och Millimina om att nu hade Marsdeb loggat in, den avatar som Ars RL familj skapade för att delta vid hans minneshögtid. Det blev ett hastigt klädbyte! (Längre fram på kvällen noterade Guyke, att jag hade två olika skor på mig, dessutom var en svart och den andra brun...)

Nu kom alltså Marsdeb (genom en av Doug´s systrar) på återbesök i SL. Jag samlade snabbt ihop de SL-familjemedlemmar som fanns inworld. Underbara som de är kom de genast trots den sena europeiska timman. Det blev Guyke Lundquist, Janttu Winkler, Millimina Salamander och jag själv. Ars bror Dejerrity Mycron var inte inworld när vi började men anslöt på slutet

Efter att inledningsvis ha visat delar av hemmasimen igen och det nya underbara och permanenta minnesmärket som Tymus Tenk har skapat på Mirromere, så tröttnade vi på Marsdebs "noob-look", särskilt hennes "duckwalk". Vi beslutade oss därför för att ge henne en radikal makeover!!!

Det följde några roliga timmar men till slut hade vi ändå gjort om Marsdeb till en "Foxy lady".

´

Marsdeb på Southern Charm efter makeover

Foto: Millimina Salamander

Jag var själv alldeles för upphetsad för att dokumentera det hela - i vanlig ordning. Note-to-self: Remember you have a blog!

Nu hade vi turen att Millimina Salamander hade mer sinnesnärvaro så ni kan läsa mer och se bilder, hos Magasin Millimina

Nå eftersom modeoraklet Millimina inte berättar i sitt inlägg vart shoppingrundan gick kan jag ju göra det här:
Shape & skinn från Hank Larsons "PXL"
Hår från Carina Larsens "Amacci"
Skor från - naturligtvis - min vän Adrina Welders "AW Design"
AO från "Vista Animations"

Kläderna minns jag inte, det får ni fråga Millimina om...

Ars Memorial Service II

Today there is another Memorial service for my darling Ars, at the beautiful Calas Galadhon sim. It starts at 3 pm (kl 23.00 svensk tid). Teleport here SLurl: Calas Galadhon

I am very happy to inform you that Ars parents, one of his sisters, his brothers and and even some of his nephews, nieces and cousins will join us there. They will all be in front of the screen of an avatar they have created.

You are all welcome to join us and share any memories you may have of Ars Northmead.

Big thanks to Ars brothers Dejerrity Mycron, Jeb Nicholls for arranging this and all their support, to Truck Meredith & Tymus Tenk for letting us use their sim and their homestead, support and loads of work and last but not least to Bora Rossini for working miracles in creating the most beautiful setting.

----
Foto: Kent Hutchinson, KH Photography
SLurl: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Pocasset/47/58/690

Ars Memorial - tillfälligt

Det finns ett underbart - men tillfälligt - minnesmärke för min älskade Ars som jag vill dela med mig av.
Här har ni landningsmärket: Ars temporary Memorial at Mirromere. (Det finns några permanenta som jag kommer att berätta om senare)

Besök gärna detta minnesmärke snart, det försvinner på söndag!

Denna bild har den underbara Millimina Salamander tagit.

Jag vill tacka min Ars bröder Dejerrity Mycron och Jeb Nicholls för att de kom på den goda idén och sedan såg till att den förverkligades och även för allt deras stöd under denna hemska tid för oss alla tre.

Jag vill också tacka simägarna Truck Meredith och Tymus Tenk för att vi fick låna deras underbara homestead Mirromere för att uppföra minnesmärket och för all vänlighet och allt stöd under tiden. Jag vill dessutom redan nu tacka dem för att vi får låna deras intilligande sim Calas Galadhon för genomförandet av en minneshögtid för Ars nu på lördag 3 PM SLT (mer info med landningsmärke kommer snart).

Det gör mig oerhört stolt att berätta att Ars RL-systrar nu har skapat en avatar! Denna avatar kommer att vara närvarande vid minneshögtiden kommande lördag med Ars far och den ena av systrarna framför skärmen! 

Jag vill även tacka byggarna av minnesmärket Bora Rossini och Luckymen Moody för deras vision och genomförandet av den.

Slutligen vill jag tacka er alla - ingen nämnd och ingen glömd - för allt stöd under denna svåra tid. Ni har verkligen varit underbara. Särskild tacksamhet känner jag mot min och Ars son Guyke Lundquist, mina tålmodiga vänner Millimina Salamander och Zigadena Gabardini.