Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Image courtesy of Glitter-Graphics

Wishing you and yours a very 

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Cass

A Very Merry Yule Party in SL

Earlier today, I managed to pop into Second Life (better known as SL) and got a sneak peek at a friend's new mermaid and fae sim, Elementals. The picture below is of the fae mall my friend Leannsidhe designed and built with with help of the highly talented Strand Starsider. Pretty cool, huh. They never taught this kinda stuff back when I was in college going for my degree in fine art! I wish they had, I would understand more now and be better at building. :) As it is, I can barely manage building a box! rofl.

L to R: Leannsidhe Sandalwood, Cassandra *Sharktooth* Curtis. :)

I was lucky enough to secure a spot underwater at her SIM with a poster/billboard of both my and Cora *Waverider* Zane's book cover art, along with a gumball machine that gives out neat little prizes for a small donation of $10L. :) Drop by the next time you venture into SL and check it out: http://slurl.com/secondlife/0%200%20Meleda/90/96/1

Me in second life. Mertail costume by Zohee Goldshark. Hair by Curious Kitties.

Ms. Euterpe Queller, songwriter and songstress in SL.

I stopped back by tonight for the grand opening of the Elementals sim and their nightclub, La Siren. The special treat was a total surprise. I got to listen to this incredibly talented singer and songwriter, Euterpe Queller. Her range is amazing, singing everything from jazz standards to blues, and modern pop.

Her website says:

As the Second Life persona of Oklahoma City
songstress, Shelly Phelps, Euterpe Queller is
alternately categorized as a sultry rhythm andblues chanteuse, a torchy jazz singer,
a thoughtful singer songwriter, or the
quintessential rocker chick. However, all
agree Queller's ever-present smoky and
soulful voice croons, moans, belts, and wails
its way through every song.

Check it out at: http://www.shellyphelps.com/EuterpeQueller.html

She reminded me so much of Vivilyn Ondine, the siren/mermaid heroine in my second book in the Shifting Tides trilogy. All Viv wanted was to sing jazzy torch songs with the boys in the band, but her parents forbid it, thinking it beneath her as a royal heir, and also dangerous to be let loose in the human world above.

After Ms. *Queller* Phelps set, a rock DJ dressed as an Orca Sea Wolf (lol) spun tunes and took a special request from moi—May It Be - Enya.

As you can tell, it was a very fun gathering with some awesome music at the nightclub La Siren.

I also got to reconnect with my bff Jan aka Bryn Forsythe in SL after the party. I hadn't seen her in a while since she moved back to Indy. She's the one who introduced me to Second Life, and the craziness of virtual reality shopping, so the damage to my bank acct. is all her fault. lol.

Jan * Bryn Forsythe* in SL. Hat/hair by Curious Kitties.

All I want for Yule...

Mr. Bear asked me what I wanted for Christmas/Yule this year. I sat and thought about it last night and really couldn't think of a single thing. It's not so much that I have everything I need, as much as it is all the things I need either cost more than I know he can afford (new car, new computer laptop, new refrigerator, etc.) and the things I want are the stuff of fantasy (to be 25 years old again knowing what I know now, to be healthy and a size eight again, to have my mom and dad back...only healthier and not in pain). ::sigh::

He says I am hard to shop for and I guess I am. He tells me we are having a Christmas this year, complete with presents under the tree, because this is his Christmas too, and it's what mum would have wanted.

My little goddaughter wants a DQ Blizzard Station and I planned to grab her one tomorrow, except I just read the reviews for the food-maker toy on Amazon and from what I can tell, the thing is a plastic piece of shite. So I'm wondering if I should just go on and buy it for her since it's what she wants and let her parents (my nephew and his wife) deal with putting it together and giving it a toss after she tries it one time and it breaks. If I don't get it, what do I get for her?

My sister already got her an Easy Bake Oven type thing and mum had already gotten Aleah this gorgeous carved, wooden, ballerina music box with a slide compartment for jewelry and put it up for her months ago, before mum got so sick. We found it in mum's closet, already wrapped, but no tag on it, so we had to unwrap it and then saw written on the small box—..."for Aleah." Just thinking of it makes me teary eyed. My other sisters chipped in and got little miss a genuine silver and amethyst ring and gave it to her early since both live out of state (middle sis out of country) and so wanted to give it to her before they left town.

Which leaves her great auntie and godmother—me. I want to get her something special. Not something she'll outgrow and will get pitched in a few months, never to be worn again. Nor do I want to buy her something she'll get bored with or get broken after a single use.

Hmm, I wonder how upset nephew would be if I brought little miss a kitty-kit home from the Humane Society? lol. Probably a lot since they already have a Beagle.

What to get her? What to get her? ::thinking cap firmly on::
Sheesh, you'd think the girl's faery godmother would know exactly what to get her!

At the rate I'm going, I may never earn my wings! Hey! That's what I can tell Mr. Bear I want! Faery Wings! rofl. Can't wait to see the look on his face when I tell him that! Somehow I doubt they carry them at Sears. :P

Until next time~
Cass

No Heavy Lifting

My SL location in Land of Sidhe, Tokara will be no more after Yule, so my billboard and freebie story boxes will be moving to a new place. This is the SLURL link for the main teleport hub, for the underwater shops and village. http://slurl.com/secondlife/0%200%20Meleda/88/75/2 Once I find out the actual location of exactly where they'll place me, I'll post it on my blog. :)

The neat thing about Second Life is that when you have to move, the boxes aren't heavy and you won't need to rent a U-Haul. lol.

I'll do readings from my books at the new location and will post the schedule once I've discussed the details with the new SIM's owners. :)

If you're new to SL or never heard of it before, you can check it out at: http://secondlife.com/

It's free and once you get the hang of it, it can be a lot of fun.

Remember, you can always stop by my booth at the Book Fayre in Awen ( http://slurl.com/secondlife/Awen/228/206/22 ) or the 3-D version of the MMC in SL at Awen http://slurl.com/secondlife/Awen/196/225/22 and stock up on freebies. :)

Holiday Stocking Winners!

The winners of my Christmas Stocking Contest are...

::drum roll please::

Moonsanity and Pam K.

Congratulations, ladies! Please email me at cass at cassandracurtis .com (no spaces) with your full name and mailing address so I can get those stockings in the mail to you both. :)

I hope you enjoy the goodies!  To those of you who didn't win, the MMC has more holiday fun and cheer planned on the MMC blog, so watch for your chance to enter and win!

Until next time...
Cass

Stocking Stuffers Contest

Win one of these cute little Yuletide stockings. 

To enter, leave a comment. 

Two winners will be chosen. Contest ends Monday, December 13, 2010 at midnight. Winners will be announced next week here on my blog and at the MMC blog.  Good Luck!

The Last of the Out-of-Town Rellies

Well, the last of my out of town relatives, my middle sister, has left and is now on the way home to her house in Oz. No, not the prison show or the fabled land from the Wizard of Oz, but Australia. I keep waiting for her to acquire an Aussie accent, but no dice. She's still got her American one. I bet they love that over there. lol.

It's been great having her here, but the reason totally sucked. I imagine it's going to be awhile for all of my family to get over the grieving process. Our mum was a huge part of our lives, the grand matriarch of our clan, and our best friend and confidant. ::sigh::

I know she wouldn't want us to be sad all the time, but be happy. For her sake, and the sake of my own sanity, I have to try, but not a day goes by when I don't think of her. I hope all my friends and other family will be patient with me as I relearn what it takes to be happy. :)

I really have no interest in Yule or Christmas this year, but again, I have to try. I know Bear is looking forward to the normalcy of putting up and decorating the annual tree, so I guess we'll get one and I'll go through the motions.  He lost his father several years back, on New Year's Eve. We'd just celebrated Christmas and got the word on the 26th, that his dad had been rushed to the hospital and they didn't expect him to make it to New Year's Day. We raced to Charlotte (where my in-laws lived at the time). From that point on, he declined rather fast and I believe was simply holding on until all the family came in and all goodbyes were said.

I've tried to make an effort since then, to brighten the holiday spirit for him, and keep him active around the holidays. My own favorite holiday was and has always been Halloween, although I do enjoy Yule. This year both Halloween and Thanksgiving were bittersweet. And I know it will be the same with Yule and Christmas.

As a very good friend of mine said yesterday, we are the living, and we have a job to do. To keep living and loving and enjoying the gifts we are given--because anything less would be an insult to our deceased loved ones who cared about us just as deeply as we cared about them.

Jammed

When my sisters and I cleared and cleaned out mum's refrigerator and cupboards, I never realized before exactly how much my mum loved jam and preserves. I think I managed to get the lion's share, but OMG. lol. I have enough seedless blackberry jam to last five years! And strawberry, and blueberry, and raspberry, and orange marmalade, and grape, and apple butter, and apple jelly, and apricot, and several other flavors I never knew existed!

The entire bottom shelf of my pantry is nothing but jams, jellies, and preserves! lol. Anyone care for a biscuit?