A few tidbits of information you might have missed over the last year or so since you started:
People can make their own client mods now. One of the big things you can do with it is hide all the trees, rocks, and other things that get in the way of your vision.
Curios, learn them!! You can have yeomanry within about four to six hours of starting a character. Or, you can stick a couple of longer study curios in so that you can pretty much have it the next time you log on. (The hard part will then be getting the bones for the claim marker.)
It doesn't matter if you have a claim or not. People know how to work the curios now and have all the black skills already. If you don't want it stolen, keep it on your person when you log off.