Summer Festival 2011 Scrapbook (Week 2)

The festivities continued into the second week with several notable moments!
First off, Luivia made her first trip out of the Shire in order to claim her prize for winning the horse race in Michel Delving.  She was understandably nervous, but she followed Gelmirian's directions to the letter and didn't get lost once on the way to Hengstacer Farm.

Luivia in Breeland on her new horse!

Luivia also stopped in Bree on her way home, and what should be her first sight in the "Big City" than a trio of performing hobbits!

Bree is not just for the Big Folk

Back in the Shire, Gelmirian attended many more Taste of Hobbiton races, and she's pretty sure Gladdy Chubb Baggins is the overall champion.

Daffadilly and Burdy filling their faces on a hot, hazy day.

During all those races, she earned enough tokens for this year's festival mount. Needless to say, she then worked hard to find an outfit to match.

Posing next to the new summer hammock.  For details on the outfit, check out this post.

What a great week of festivities!

Summer Festival 2011 Scrapbook (Week 1)

Luivia is too busy cooking during festivals to take part in much of the fun and games, but Gelmirian takes a break from adventuring abroad to return to the relative peace of Hobbiton, Bree, Colondim, and Thorin's Gate.  Here are the highlights of the first week of the Enhedrin Festival.

Dancing under the stars at the Party Tree.

Betting on the Taste of Hobbiton races . . . go Daffadilly!

Riding away from Hengstacer Farms with her newly won Pale Golden Summer Horse

A bite on the hook . . . will it be Starry Flounder or weeds?

A new horse needs a new outfit! Check out this post for more details.

Excuse me, Sir Cat, but someone seems to have misplaced this string.

What lies in store for Week 2?  We'll see, but among other things, I predict another horse, outfit, and housing purchase!

Low-Level Outfitting: Hauberks

Gelmirian has just leveled to 40, so I'm starting to collect a few of the outfit items that end-game outfitters use constantly. Most of the items in my wardrobe, however, are low-level items, and many of these have no minimum level restrictions. My favorite type of versatile clothing for low-level characters is the cosmetic hauberk.

Reasons to try out hauberks:
1. Low cost
Several hauberks are available at Outfitters for less than 20 silver. Others can be purchased inexpensively by watching the auction hall offerings.
2. Less complicated
one-piece, so don't have to match shirt with leggings
3. Still interesting
Most hauberks dye well in multiple colors for very different looks.  Add accessories for an outfit all your own, and adjust them for combat or for a concert.


For example, in the picture above, Gelmirian is wearing the Leather Hauberk dyed violet along with a violet cloak. The cloak dyed in sienna also looks lovely, and the gloves and footwear can be adjusted to match the occasion. Some hauberks are offered only in one region. Celebrate a character's arriving in Bree by picking up this hauberk!

In the next case Luivia is modeling the Sherriff's hauberk, which can be purchased from the Michel Delving Outfitter for 19 silver and 32 bronze.  The hauberk is paired here with my favorite low-level helm, Torchar (optional quest reward from "Payment in Full" which can be done as early as level 12).

Below, Gelmirian wears the Dwarf-Make Hauberk dyed gold with gold-dyed cloak, gloves, and shoes. This ensemble is quite fitting for questing in Ered Luin or wherever dwarves are found.

Other examples of my use of hauberks can be seen in the posts Spring Festival Mount Outfit and A Tribute to Evandim. A full pictorial of all the hauberks available in LOTRO can be found here; note that the dyable parts are grey.

A Sense of Scale

Luivia was doing some banking outside the Town Hole when she suddenly realized that something very big was very close to her.  She had been so engrossed in arranging her business affairs that she hadn't heard the soft clops of hooves draw near!

While playing a hobbit, it's easy to forget how short they actually are - until the relative scale of an elf on a horse appears.

How Luivia Got a Horse

Not long ago Luivia was horseless, which meant a lot of tedious running or purchasing stable mounts that slavishly stayed on the roads despite there being shorter ways across fields.  When various blogs started running contests for PAX East mount codes, I entered one on Casual Stroll to Mordor.  In essence, this contest asked for a screenshot and explanation of why we needed the mount.  The following picture and story were my entry.

Luivia sighed as she ran across the Bywater Bridge towards Michel Delving.  At least today was a beautiful day; that made the long run easier to bear.  Back and forth, back and forth.  As a little hobbit lass it was such an adventure to go from Hobbiton to Michel Delving and back.  Now it seemed like just more of the daily grind.  

“Now, be grateful,” she scolded herself.  She had much to be thankful for, including her new status as Master Artisan Cook.  Even Aesseledh, Leader of the Cooking Guild highly complimented her first large master repast.  She smiled to herself savoring the sweet memory.  She knew Petunia Greenhand was envious of her fast progress; Petunia kept whining that “Luivia must have a secret ingredient”.  

Luivia threw back her head and picked up speed.  Her secret ingredient?  Hard work.  No vendor food for her dishes where she could help it; her primary ingredients were sown, reaped, and processed by her alone.  

Once she became able to grow expert crops, though, her work became harder.  Those crops needed the superior soil of the Hobbiton fields she played in as a lass.  So back and forth, back and forth she ran.  Sometimes she made use of the stable horse, but that cost precious silver so generously given to her for supplies by her patron, the elf Gelmirian, Honorary Sherriff of the Shire.  And every trip on the stable horse made Luivia long for her own.  

The last time Gelmirian had stopped by for a new supply of Shire Rations she had told such wonderful stories of great adventures in the North Downs.  Luivia’s Tookish blood tingled, and she was proud that she too had become a bounder and could help the Shire in her spare time.  But she couldn’t keep her eyes off of Gelmirian’s new Spring Festival horse.  Gelmirian noticed and told her of other steeds in Middle Earth, including a very rare one that Luivia had been dreaming about ever since.  It was called the Cremello:  smooth blonde skin with light brown mane and tail, smart red and blue tackle with white fringe.  Liuvia could see herself astride, feeling the wind whip in her hair . . . she would name him . . .

“Luivia, why has this happened, you ask? Because the few privileged have hoarded the best fillings for their own!''  With a start she realized she had entered Michel Delving, the statue of Bullroarer Took loomed over her, and that crazy hobbit with the pie conspiracy theory was trying to get her attention.  Quickly she turned towards the crafting area and its superior ovens.  The lovely dream quickly faded; it was time to make some tasty frosting.

The winners of the contest were announced here, and others' plights were deemed more critical than that of Luivia.  But a friend of CTSM graciously offered Luivia the mount code he won upon spotting her comment congratulating the winners!

Now Luivia rides her own mount with pride across the Bywater Bridge.  For details on her outfit, check  out this post.

Do You See What I See?

After a rainy spell in the Shire, the sun broke through the clouds.  For those who looked East, a pleasant sight awaited them.

Heading East from Michel Delving

Rainbow beyond Frogmorton

I don't know how often rainbows actually appear in LOTRO, but this was my first. Now the rainy days in-game are made more interesting by the potential for a rainbow once the rain stops!

Luivia's Shire

Luivia has never been beyond the bounds of the Shire.  In fact, she's hardly gone further north than her birthplace of Hobbiton or further west than Tuckborough.  She grew up in Hobbiton, and one of her favorite views is on Old Mr. Baggins' porch. With the Sackville-Baggins in residence, however, that once peaceful overlook is no longer available.  On one of Luivia's errands to that curmudgeon Lobelia, she quickly but firmly fixed this image in her mind to carry with her as a reminder of the many fond memories.