Saturday, April 22, 2017

Of Anniversaries and the Ithilien Spring



Seldom do I get overly excited about my character's attire. I've been in cosmetic overdrive since I returned to LOTRO. In such overdrive that, in fact, I've had dreams about what my characters could wear. Moments I've been at my job mentally piecing various skins together and dyeing them. I guess that having worked with the cosmetics from LOTRO for so long that I don't even need to be logged in anymore to do this. Once I envisioned this, I wrote each of the pieces down, and sat down at my PC the first chance I had. I've been waiting for an opportunity to use those North Ithilien cosmetics!

When was the last time I devoted an entire entry to a dress? And when was the last time I jumped into a Spring theme? I wanted greens, whites, yellows, pinks, flowers...anything that captured the heart and soul of the warming, sunny weather and the flowers beginning to bloom.




Luckily, I was able to catch the tail end of the Spring Festival and barter for the Lissuin Dress once again. I had loaned this featured dress to a friend who stopped playing well over a year ago and never returned it. If it weren't for LOTRO extending the festival, I'd have missed out on other gorgeous cosmetics too like the Moon Moth dresses and cloaks, as well as the matching war-steed appearance.

If for some reason, you don't have the Lissuin Dress, the Exquisite Long Sleeve Dress dyed bullroarer green also works very well. You'll have much less pink and far more green with a golden pattern, but it looks just as lovely!


Today's post also marks Material Middle-earth's fifth anniversary! I couldn't believe that it's been a five years already. Doesn't seem so long since my first post, which opened up with a kinship cosmetic contest. Technically, the actual date is April 21st, which was yesterday. In a couple of days, the official 10-year anniversary for Lord of the Rings Online begins! I originally intended this entry to be posted on that day, but I thought it would be best to stick to my regular Saturday schedule.

Writing this gave me the chance to reflect on how far Material Middle-earth has come. There have been a lot of ups and downs the past couple of years. I had retired from this blog back in February 2015 with a big goodbye, not expecting to return. I had burned myself out posting every week for at least a year. The lack of inspiration was rather noticeable. However, the months rolled by and my resolve waned. I made an unexpected return in September, adopted a relaxed monthly posting schedule and struggled to remain original with my outfits. That lasted for about a year before running into serious computer problems, like a failed hard drive that took forever to replace on this aging PC. I resumed blogging two weeks ago, after replacing that hardware, only to end up unexpectedly mentioned in Issue #7 of the LOTRO Beacon! That was certainly an unexpected honor!

Thank you for having stopped by today and celebrating this blog's anniversary! It has been wonderful serving the LOTRO community for the past five years. Without the support of readers, comments, friends, and kinmates, Material Middle-earth may have never made it this far!

And make sure to enjoy the festivities, both old and new, that this 10th Anniversary festival offers!


Head: Circlet of Fresh-picked Flowers (Rose, Farmers Faire token barter)
Shoulders: Wreath of the North Ithilien Wilds (White, Henneth Annun Herbalist vendor)
Back: Mantle of the North Ithilien Wilds (Default, Henneth Annun Herbalist vendor)
Chest: Lissuin Dress (Rose, Spring Festival token barter)

Cosmetic implements: Iris (Volume 3, Book 10, Chapter 15 reward)**

**Much like the Slapper Fish, this serves as a weapon of hilarity on a dual-wielding Champion.

2 comments:

  1. happy anniversary! That's a very pretty combo with the pink and pastel colors :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! I should work the rose dye, perhaps shire-plum, into my outfits more often. I just wish they were a little easier to work into LOTRO's clothing!

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