I went with the Imperial Black color, which isn't as glossy as some product images implied, but that's OK — I like the feel of it, since it's kinda like a thick powder-coat type paint, and I know that it won't show smudges or scuffs like the smooth finishes will. It reminds me of a well-used, well-seasoned cast iron skillet.

My first project will be these espresso chocolate chip shortbread cookies that Peter and I have become addicted to. They're insane. Here's the blog post on Use Real Butter, which is where I found the recipe, and it links back to the original recipe on Smitten Kitchen. They vary a tiny bit, but the Use Real Butter version/method has worked out amazingly for me. It'll be extra nice not to have my arms and hands cramp up from mixing them manually!

Seriously, bookmark that recipe. You'll be making them repeatedly, and in increasing frequency. XD

• 7 x Black Marble Tile
• 1 x Freeport Round Counter
• 1 x Tuptan Tad Pond
• 1 x Halasian Andiron

I'm going to add a screen and some fireplace tools, so it's not quite finished yet, but it turned out so well that I wanted to share!

(You can see it in Riowa's Lion's Mane Suite [non-status], South Qeynos, Crushbone server.)

The box is gone. No sign of it anywhere.

I drew a few words in the sand, but I'm not sure they'll help: "PLEASE BRING THE BOX BACK"

On our way out to the reservoir this afternoon, Lola and I passed the same couple we'd seen yesterday as they walked the opposite direction. The guy stopped me and said, "You know, that was a real nice thing you did out there, picking up that trash and leaving the bags." I said, "Oh, the bags are still out there??" He replied that they were, and that the trash situation had gotten out of control recently, and he was glad someone cared enough to try to clean it up.

I got all misty!

I half expected to find my plastic box and its garbage bags and work gloves to be trashed themselves, or even stolen, but nope, there they were — although moved to a different rock nearby. Someone had obviously taken at least one bag of trash out of there (a trashed lawn chair was gone, along with pieces of lumber they'd used for the campfires), and there was another half-full bag that I added a few items to and took back with me. The entire area was MUCH cleaner than it had been; it was very nearly completely garbage-free.

I guess sometimes a little nudge is nudge enough.

Teenagers/20-somethings have been going out at night and starting campfires, which is bad enough; however, they were also drinking quite a bit and just leaving their cans wherever they fell. There's also a lot of broken beer and liquor bottles littering the ground…I think Lola's cut her paw a few times on them (nothing serious, but still).

Long story short, they volunteered to help me clean the place up a bit. I told them I'd bring out some garbage bags this afternoon, and they said they'd try to meet me out there after lunch to pick up some of the trash.

Well, the boys didn't show, but that's ok. The weather was nice, although warm, and Lola and I were by ourselves, for the most part. I spent an hour or so picking up handfuls of glass; Lola spent an hour or so splashing herself silly in the water. I half-filled a big heavy-duty bag with broken glass and various other bits (including a discarded blanket and some plastic cups that were tossed into one of the campfires to melt).

There's still a lot to be picked up out there, but cleaning up just a small portion of it made me feel awesome.

I left a weatherproof plastic box out there that contains a big box of heavy-duty garbage bags and a few cheap pairs of work gloves. I taped a sign to the inside of the lid; hopefully it will give folks the nudge they need to do the right thing.