Return from Vacation

In real life, I've been on vacation. My original plan was to use some of that time to write a bunch of posts, but I quickly realized that I needed a complete vacation from every aspect of "normal" life, including Lotro and the blog. Although our vacation spot did not have the gorgeous views of Evendim, my husband and I had a wonderful time, and  I came back refreshed!

Misty Mountains

We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming (i.e. the starting outfit series) for a short break. Gelmirian has started questing in the Misty Mountains and has been enjoying the frosty weather. I managed to catch this moody night shot in between snowbeast attacks.

Does anyone else find it strange that the clouds seem to be behind the stars?

Summer Riddle

Question: What is at the end of the rainbow?

 Answer: A Pale Golden Summer Horse!

For more details on the outfit check out this post.

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!

Aurë Entuluva

Darkness hung heavy over the land.

Gelmirian is now Einior (Founder) and  Tûr (Leader) of the kinship Aurë Entuluva.

Gelmirian has a soft spot for new adventurers, particularly young females of any race who are just starting to spread their wings and sharpen their talons.  She first noticed the plucky Luivia during her travels through the Shire and quickly procured her services as cook.  Lately she's begun mentoring/partnering with a few others, and she realized that with her growing network, she could form a kinship.
  
The name of the kin comes from the story of the fifth battle against the forces of Morgoth. Here is an excerpt from the Silmarillion:

"Last of all Húrin stood alone.  Then he cast aside his shield, and wielded an axe two-handed; and it is sung that the axe smoked in the black blood of the troll-guard of Gothmog until it withered, and each time that he slew Húrin cried: 'Aurë entuluva! Day shall come again!' Seventy times he uttered that cry; but they took him at last alive [. . .] Great was the triumph of Morgoth . . ."

Once again in Middle Earth darkness is encroaching upon the great and the small. Gelmirian remembers how dark the night can become before daybreak, and so she takes up the ancient cry. Aurë entuluva!

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!

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!

Tribute to Evandim

Gelmirian arrived in Evandim just after Update 2, and I have been enjoying this region immensely.  The quests have been interesting, but I keep getting distracted because the scenery is simply amazing.
Exhibit A: Lake Nenuial . 

In honor of the region and particularly the beautiful lake, I created an outfit for Gelmirian using pieces dyed with Evandim Blue. The Elven Hauberk with its natural array of blues provided the perfect canvas to reflect the many hues of the lake.

Full Details:

Back: Plain Hooded Cloak (Evandim Blue)

cosmetic item available at all outfitters; no min. level required

Chest: Elven Hauberk (Evandim Blue)

cosmetic item available at Celondim outfitter, no min. level required

Hands: Forge Crafted Gloves (Evandim Blue)

T2 single-use metalsmith recipe that is world drop, min. level 20, heavy armor

Feet: Seeker's Shoes (Grey)

quest reward (The Top Hiding Place; Shire; Lvl. 6); any shoe that dyes solid color will do


One thing I found amusing: I'd never noticed the super-girly bows on the sleeves of the hauberk.  I love the whimsy, especially juxtaposed with the heavy gloves.

Off the Beaten Path

I like to poke around the edges of regions and to discover delightful scenery that some players never see.

In the case of the picture below, Gelmirian was picking flowers on a hillside in Nan Amlug West (North Downs); soon the hillside became quite steep. But instead of encountering impassable rock, she was able to wind all the way up to the peak.  The view was spectacular.

 
The really neat thing, though, was that Gelmirian also discovered a signal post with wood laid ready to light in time of trouble. The structure is stone and clearly old, but who put the wood there recently?  Rangers of Esteldin?  Dwarves of Othrikar? Dourhands? Hillmen?

Perhaps she will find out the answer in a future adventure.  Maybe it will stay a mystery.

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.

The Beauty of Middle Earth

In my non-Lotro life, I enjoy nature photography.  It's no surprise then that I take a lot of screenshots while playing Lotro.  I'll be in the middle of a quest, riding from one place to another, and suddenly I'll notice the way the light is playing on a mountain or a majestic ruined arch.  Unless the quest is timed, I stop and play with angle and zoom, taking many screenies.  Later I sift through them, cull out the best, and neatly file them in the appropriate folders.

Gelmirian's house is in the Falathlorn Homesteads.  Here is a view of the homesteads from across the river and below Duilond

.The whole Falathlorn area is peaceful and life-giving with the ever-blooming spring flowers.  Even on a rainy day, Gelmirian can find beauty near her home.