Is a Richmond, Virginia writer, internet enthusiast,
history lover, crafter, and compulsive organizer.
She works in Community Support at Tumblr.
I got a Nielsen Survey in the mail today, stuffed with $30 cash and equipped with tons of pages like the one you see above. I filled out the demographic info, and then just wrote “NONE: we only use Netflix or our own DVDs or stream directly from web sites like PBS.org (Downton Abbey!!!!!).” Thanks for the $30, o keepers of a dying technology!
I wanna be a dowager countess when I grow up.
The only thing better than literary action figures and cultural icon finger puppets? Printable Downton Abbey paper dolls.
Good grief, get a load of that porch. Beautiful. Who needs a place to live?
chpn:
House for rent on 23rd Street. Large Victorian with a big fenced-in back yard. Washer/dryer. Central air. Screened-in upstairs porch. Available now. Pets with approval.
The fact that our little blizzard had already turned to slush by the time I got up at 7am didn’t deter me from a snowy walk around the neighborhood. Goodbye, snow! Come back soon.
As a favor to a friend from church, I took her elderly mom to the hospital for an appointment today. Here’s a tiny sample of some of the things she said in the brief interlude between me helping her into my car and me leaving her in the waiting room.
Hanging out with her was delightful. Just another reason why I should help people more often — I always end up being the one who’s helped.
Today is my one-year anniversary at Tumblr. Time flies when you’re working at the internet! I love this place and I love these people. From 2.16.2011:
All ready for my first day of work at the Tumblr office! I’ve got some gumbo in a glass Lock & Lock (Lock & Lock 4 lyfe!) and clearly, I’m ready to roll.
The Love Competition: The Stanford MRI Lab hosts the world’s first ever love competition, in which seven contestants have five minutes to neurochemically love someone as hard as they can. Via McSweeney’s.
Others “in the know” of what’s really going on don’t speak up because they also know that ultimately, it doesn’t matter. Stories fade. New ones rise. Everything is forgotten in an instant. Roll with it. If anything, speaking up simply often makes things worse because it validates the original story in a strange way.
And then there are the people simply too busy or who don’t give a shit what the press says. That’s the right mentality in my mind since actions do always trump words.
This.
Wow. Very eye-opening. ”Print circulation is dying and pageviews are all that matter in keeping advertisers happy. This means, whether writers like it or not, there’s an underlying drive for both sensationalism and more — more — more.”
REBECCA BLACK, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE WORLD’S NEWEST AND BIGGEST TROLL
Oh my.
YOU ARE NOT SERIOUS.
PLEASE TELL ME YOU ARE NOT SERIOUS
…what?
REBECCA BLACK I SALUTE YOU
YOU ARE THE GREATEST TROLL KNOWN TO MAN
I don’t know what I just watched.
It’s like I’m reading Portrait of the Artist again and suddenly even going to the toilet is symbolic of man’s struggle against the inevitable.
what tjhe hell was that
Ahaha I love this. ”Do I have to spell it out for you?”
Gorgeous artwork for The Blue Letter’s forthcoming record, by our friend Mike of the band Junius.
So here is the final cover of our new album Love is Not Control. The rest of the art/layout is being finished up as we speak and everything should be out to pressing by the end of the week. Just in time for our full US tour coming up in March. Get stoked.
Kerri from NY and all the new hires! So excited to have them on board. (Taken with picplz.)
Well, this is awesome. I became a huge Meat Puppets fan in the mid-90s, thanks to that one boyfriend with that one mix tape. My parents later confiscated Too High To Die, which was duly returned to me like five years ago. It’s neat to see these old flyers, some from before I was even born. BRB, off to listen to “Why?” and feel fourteen again.
fully awesome!
Sweet!
Richmond chosen (#2) to be one of 5 new US Cities with their own FourSquare Badge! Have your friends follow the RVA list.
(via City badge winners announced! #visitUS | Foursquare Blog)
My husband makes this stuff called Light Tape at work. It is OF THE FUTURE. It can be used for a million cool things, like costumes for the recent Tron re-make, but right now we’re just testing it for backlighting our bar at home.
Also, because I know dudes will ask: he started the beard on January 1.
New and improved camera strap made out of a silk scarf. Today, on “Craft Ideas I Saved on Pinterest and Then Actually Executed.”
Our parlor has been sadly devoid of much seating since we moved into the house, so we're always having to move chairs in from the dining room any time it's more than just Dan and I sitting in there. We'll still have to do that because I only bought one chair today at the antique store, but it's quite a beauty. I think this chair is my spirit animal.
We got our first snow! It was lovely, though short-lived. What's left of it is already slush. Many more pictures are here.
Our roommate Lianna has finished unpacking and we took some photos of her bathroom and bedroom this weekend. I think the Princess Suite looks amazing.
What's going on at the house? Not much. Dan and I are both very busy with work and other stuff right now, so the little bits of work we've managed to fit in on the house haven't amounted to much.
We did get a chance to play around a bit with Light Tape, the lighting that Dan makes at work, and tested it out as a backlighting concept for our bar.
We're getting ready to order supplies for finishing the dining room. But in the meantime, we've been on the hunt for some things at antique stores, thrift stores, etc.
We knew we wanted a few large mirrors for the parlor, dining room, and entryway. So we pretty much just bought some cheap ones that needed a little work, and I spent a day cleaning, covering, and painting them last weekend. Here's the one that ended up on the parlor mantel:
Yesterday we drove to Waynesboro to pick up our new dining room table, and it looks great. Thanks so much to Dan's mom for this excellent Christmas present!
Yesterday before the Thanksgiving hubbub really got started I took a few photos of the house. Here's the entryway in its current state:
Here are some quick shots of the office that I took yesterday. It's hugely important for the office to be comfortable, since I'm working from home a lot now. So far, I love it.
On the north wall are these very useful bookshelves, where we keep general office supplies and books related to our jobs and hobbies. Dan's side is full of books about electrical codes and tube amps. Mine is full of fashion, crafting, and etiquette books. [The vast majority of our books have now been organized downstairs, and photos will come of those soon.]
The front of the house probably can't be considered "done" until at some point the exterior gets painted, but here's what our doorway looks like in the meantime.
Here are the pictures from the finished master closet. This is the "girliest" room in the house, and pretty much the only one I was allowed to make as girly as I wanted. Which is fine, because though he's greatly outnumbered in terms of gender (by me, Lianna, Sophie-kitty, and Gracie-kitty), Dan is indeed a dude and his interior design concerns need to be heard. Still! This one's my favorite room yet. Though it might not be saying much, since only three rooms are really "done."
Right now we're doing tedious, time-consuming jobs that need to be done before we can unpack. Baseboards, painting doors, doorknobs, etc. In the meantime, here's a followup to the "master bathroom (pretty much) complete" post. Just more photos of the only room in the house that's really "done," now that it's furnished.
We've obviously got so much finishing, so much moving in, and so much decorating to do. For now, here are a few photos I snapped when I got home from work today.
Yesterday we passed our final electrical inspection. Today we passed our final inspection by the City of Richmond, as well as our final inspection from our HUD inspector (for our 203k loan).
Aaaaand...exhale.
We'll focus now on finishing up the renovation. Oh yes, there's so much more to do (like baseboards). And then we'll focus on relief, recovery, and putting our sanity back together slowly.
Good job, Dan. Thanks for putting in all those 20-hour workdays.
Thanks also to the huge cast of characters who showed up to volunteer this week. And to anybody who fed us, let us stay at their place, let us borrow things and / or money, or just listened to us. Your support has meant the world to us.
Hello for real now, Church Hill.
Sorry for the lack of updates, we've just been hurtling so quickly toward the deadline that time for blogging as well as photo-taking is non-existent.
Countertops are in. Here are the guys from Custom Countertops, Inc. doing the installation. We had a great experience with this vendor and can highly recommend them. They came out immediately for a consultation, then sent guys out to make the template for the countertops on the same day, and had them installed in exactly 1 week and 1 day. For WAY cheaper than the other quotes we got, including Lowe's and Home Depot. Definitely go with them if you're going to be spending money on countertops anytime soon.
After much assembling, the kitchen cabinets are done and waiting for their countertops to arrive. They're supposed to come a week from today, after which the plumber will need to come hook up the sinks and such.
Firstly, the roses are killing it. Super high winds today, and they seem unfazed. The pink ones are bigger than Sophie's head.
I've always wanted black floors and now I have them. Boom.
Today the plumber was at the house finishing work in the master bathroom. So now we have two full, working bathrooms in the house. It seems like a miracle. No hot water yet, though...for whatever reason he has to come back later and turn that on.
Guys, this is a big moment.
Here's the princess suite bathroom floor, pre-grout:
It's happened to him, to her, and to you. A moment so silly, so juvenile, yet so undeniably human: contagious laughter. This week, our guide to all that is proper tackles an interesting topic--what do we do when we can't stop laughing.
It's been another banner year here at Richmond Proper. We've examined everything from street harassment, to proper condolences, to cycling, to parenting during these past twelve months. Let's wrap it up with a year-end collection of etiquette thoughts from seasoned professionals and tween bloggers alike.
This week's Richmond Proper answers what to do when you catch your friend cheating on their partner, and how do you turn down a request for second date when the first didn't go so well.
We all know that Richmond Proper adores order and exhorts her readers to live as peaceful an existence as possible. But this week, as a sort of rebellion perhaps, I'll address the subject of...rebellion.
With the holidays fast approaching, we thought it would be a good idea to take down the the tome that is our on-going Richmond Proper article, blow away the digital dust, and look over some hard-and-fast rules to make the holidays more mannerly. For instance, what's the best way to set the table before dinner, and how should we interact with family members that we'd like nothing more than to punch in the face.
This installment's question certainly strikes me as particularly Richmond-relevant. Tumblr user Sofisopaipilla asked: I'm hosting a vegan potluck, is it out of the question, crass, rude, icky to ask people to bring a meat-free dish to share?
As fall descends and party season ramps up, Richmond Proper seems to be accumulating more seekers of event-related advice.
Someone once said that if you really want to make the world a kinder place, require that all people work one full year in retail. That way people get to see first hand how unmannered and rude people can really be, thus inspiring workers to go into the world with a more munificent demeanor. Unfortunately, that won't happen. Luckily, we have Richmond Proper to right our wrongs.
I don’t make it out to Carytown much anymore, being an East Ender now, but the last two times I was there I witnessed some pretty egregious etiquette blunders on the same block of Cary Street. You know the one — Cary Court, Can Can, Sweet Frog, etc.
Richmond Proper is back, my well-mannered ladies and gentlemen! This week I answer questions about timing The Big Question, and delve into the age old question of "what's with kitties!?"
Learning to ride a bicycle is one of those childhood rites of passage that almost everyone goes through. Nowadays, with rising gas prices and an ever increasing downtown population, it only makes sense that people look for alternative means of travel. So what are the rules of the game when you take a bike into the streets? In actuality, they are the same as if operating a motor vehicle. Here is a rundown of things cyclists should be aware of.
A reader writes: is it proper for dads to celebrate Mother's Day for the mothers of their own children? My dad dismisses this and refuses to wish my mom a happy Mother's Day, saying "She's not my mother." Which is ridiculous.
Richmond pride is running high these days, and what better way to show it than to support local artisans? Here’s our third annual (!!!) Mother’s Day gift guide featuring mom-appropriate Richmond area goods.
Expressing sympathy for those who have just lost a loved one seems to challenge most of us at one time or another. Here are a few guidelines to keep in mind the next time you find yourself searching for the right words.
Because we have a lot to learn about manners from teh kittehs. And because it seemed like the right time.
Those folks who only offer rants and vitriol are known as "trolls." A troll is the person who consistently posts spiteful comments ranging from threats to nonsensical babbling just to fill up space. Just to bother. Just to provoke.
Whether you just like celebrating any holiday that comes down the pike, or you truly want to show some Irish pride, there are plenty of good reasons for wearing green on St. Patrick's Day. However the perceived right to pinch people who are not wearing green has been taken a little too far.
A few local creatives have started SmileDials, a web-based service that allows you to send audio greetings to friends and family. More than just the latest in a string of tech startups to call Richmond home, SmileDials hints at the growing market for unique online services
"A myth exists that one of the pleasures of private life is the ability to drop manners and -- as people always put it when they assert the desire to be repulsive -- be themselves."
The level of the relationship is of the utmost importance in selecting the right gift for your love. Here's a guide to either (1) inspire you, (2) make a no-effort decision for you, or (3) remind you that Valentine's Day actually does exist and is, in fact, coming up soon.
I'm sure this is a nightmare you're well-acquainted with: You're walking down the street minding your own business, when suddenly a stranger squawks a bunch of nonsense at you, and you can't think of a great comeback until after you've already stormed off.
In this darkest, coldest, and most depressing stretch of the winter, it seems particularly appropriate to discuss negativity. Friends, do not commit conversational suicide by being a Negative Nancy. Please, we love you and we want you to step back from the ledge!
"New Year's Eve parties, being long and not carefully orchestrated -- as, say, a dinner is -- offer many opportunities for behaving badly, in ways one will suddenly remember with a sickening flash at breakfast the next afternoon." -- Judith Martin.
SNOW SNOW SNOW SNOW!!!! Check out our picks for the best sledding spots all over the good old RVA. Have fun (and be sure to wear your mittens)!
It has long been considered a kind gesture to set aside a little something extra for the folks who perform routine services for you -- like the mailman and the babysitter. These are the people in the background, helping you get things done all year long. Why not show them how much you appreciate it this holiday season?
As the holiday season gets underway, all Chanukkah means to some of us is that there will be blue decorations alongside the red and green ones at the store. This year we asked for the Messianic Jewish perspective on the festival that continues to be so mysterious to the rest of us.
Between Thanksgiving and Christmas most offices see an increase in food brought in to share, whether it's leftovers from a big family meal or an overzealous baking spree. Take a look at the following tips to keep office kitchens bearable despite the holiday influx.
Ready to snazz up your space for the holidays? Local Etsy crafters will hook you up with decorations that are fun, festive... and a little bit different. Before hitting up the mall this holiday season, consider supporting Richmond by buying local.
One reader asks our etiquette expert if her husband's boozing at a friend's wedding falls under expected party antics...or if it crosses the line to flat out rude. We'd love to hear your thoughts as well.
I'm doing the online dating thing, and I need to know what to do when someone who you have no interest in messages you. Which is more rude: not responding or responding and saying "uh...nope"?
Fredericksburg is one of those towns that's been lucky enough to preserve plenty of colonial buildings all these years. Some blocks probably look similar to how they looked in the 1700s, minus the power lines and parked cars. I think most Virginians visit Fredericksburg on elementary school field trips, as I did, but I was well overdue for another visit.
Lots of cool things going on at the Poe Museum this month, so check out their calendar for details. They've also got all your kitschy Poe-related gift-giving needs taken care of!
Got an email from the Historical Society with the following info. Oh man, I wish I could go! Three different guys specializing in the history of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries respectively? Be still my heart.
Join the American History Guys as we share a heaping helping of conversation on one of the Virginia Historical Society's favorite holidays: Thanksgiving.
On Monday, November 21, at 7:00 p.m. in the Robins Family Forum, we will host a live staging of BackStory with the American History Guys.
If you do not know who the American History Guys are, let me introduce you to renowned U.S. historians Peter Onuf, Ed Ayers, and Brian Balogh, or as they like to call themselves: 18th century guy, 19th century guy, and 20th century guy.
The American History Guys will peel back layers of tradition and competing myths that have created the celebration that we know today. From Pilgrims, to turkey, to football games, to parade floats, the Guys will offer surprising perspectives on the shaping of one of our nation's most beloved holidays.
A special guest -- who will make a case for Virginia's claim on Thanksgiving's roots -- will also join the Guys.
BackStory is a program of Virginia Foundation for the Humanities.
Please join us at 7:00 p.m., Monday, November 21, in the Robins Family Forum. This event is open to the public and admission is free.
I look forward to seeing you.
Sincerely,
Paul A. Levengood
President and CEO
Virginia Historical Society
I love the Virginia Travel Blog. I particularly love it when they do a piece on fun, spooky, historical places in Virginia. See if you can scratch all of these sites off your list:
Ghostly Haunts: Touring Virginia's History
Richmond paranormal author and friend of the Midnight Society Beth Brown was interviewed by RVAudio recently. Click here to listen to her interview. Bonus: she shares her favorite local ghost story!
Oh, how I love Halloween in Richmond. This year is kind of sad for me, as we're still in the throes of construction on our house and all my costume-related gear is packed away in one of the million boxes here. But if, unlike me, you are free to roam about as you please and are looking for fun things to do, this might be right down your alley.
Katie from Agecroft Hall writes,
Tess:Here is an upcoming event that may be of interest to The Midnight Society.All Hallow’s Eve: Living History Tour at Agecroft HallThursday, Oct. 27 6:00-7:00 pmThursday, Oct. 27 8:00-9:00 pm(almost sold out; please call 353-4241)Friday, Oct. 28 6:00-7:00 pmFriday, Oct. 28 8:00-9:00 pmFor additional information, and a new article titled, “All Hallow’s Eve: Watch Your Step” please go to our e-newsletter and calendar atwww.agecrofthall.org/newsletter.
In our modern age of photo PowerPoints and online eulogizing, we forget how previous generations mourned the loss of loved ones. There's an article at Art of Mourning about this striking Victorian mourning miniature, analyzing its meaning and contrasting it to others of its time. It really is a gorgeous piece.
Now, obviously miniature portraits captured the depiction of the subject and there are jewels which show the individual painted into the scene, but we’re dealing with a quite standard mourning depiction where the woman was considered the essence and centre of grieving. Yet, this piece shows the young lady with her eyes gently upturned and her chin resting upon her right arm, without the outpouring of sadness, but with a look of reassurance in the afterlife.
The Legacy Project is a team of archivists from the Library of Virginia who scan your documents in a community near you. What is of interest to them? Civil War-era letters, memoirs, pension materials, military passes, discharge papers, diaries, hand-drawn maps, photographs, and other manuscripts. In doubt about what you have and if it’s of interest? Bring it to an event near you and let the experts decide.
It’s somewhat eerie and depressing seeing remnants from better times and fingerprints on windows caked with dust for years. The metaphor, of feeling neglected and abandoned, resonates in many of our photographs. Many of the kids interested in urban exploration are filled with angst, and look at these spots as an escape.
Check out this article about possible witch bottles found in Hopewell at City Point.
Wait, WHAT? Witch bottles?......uh, yeah, I had no idea what a witch bottle was either. So:
Witch bottles were created out of glass bottles or, commonly, bellarmines, as a means of reversing a witch’s evil spell. Literature from the 1600s provided advice as to the creation and use of witch bottles. The “recipe” involved adding human hair, nail parings, and urine to the bottle, as well as bent pins or nails and heart-shaped pieces of felt. The bottle was then stopped and buried, often inverted, near a threshold or hearth. People believed that this act would throw the spell back onto the witch who had cast it, by making her unable to urinate, and subsequently causing her demise. Another option was heating and exploding the bottle, which would also destroy the witch. Central to the ideology of the witch bottle was the belief that by casting a spell, a witch linked herself to her victim, so that she could be killed by an injury to her victim’s body (represented by the materials in the witch bottle).
Y'all know we love some Evergreen Cemetery here at The Midnight Society, and we've visited / posted about it several times. But RVANews just published a story with some fantastic photos by Mel Kobran, so get on over there and take a look.
We're in the middle of a major home renovation, so blogging has slowed down for me on all fronts. I had to stop and grab this picture the other day on the way to work, though. Every time I've driven by this building in Manchester (which is almost every day since the middle of February) there have been a bunch of vehicles in front of it, but I finally got it alone. :) See it larger here.
Around 1740, a series of pug related items were designed as secret emblems for a German underground Masonic-styled lodge known as the "Order of the Pug." .... Members were required to wear dog collars and had to scratch the door of the lodge to gain entrance. Initiates were said to have been blindfolded and led around a symbol-filled carpet nine times while the assembled "Pugs" of the Order barked loudly and yelled “Memento mori” ('Remember you shall die').
We've mentioned this before, but there's kind of a ghost town on the outskirts of Richmond. Known as the Elko Tract or The Lost City, CBS just did a segment on it. Check it out here, via Neighborhoodr (an awesome way to stay current on neat things in Richmond, by the way!).
A quick update:
We had a great Christmas, random day trip to Fredericksburg, and New Year’s Eve.
The house is coming along, at its own slow pace. I am trying not to freak out in my eagerness to just have an open house already.
Work is still amazing and I’ve been hiring hiring hiring like crazy. Or at least working on it. I guess you could say I’ve been interviewing like crazy. Loving this new role so far.
Dan went on a business trip last week to New Hampshire and really enjoyed himself. He seemed to learn a lot, and I’m super proud of him for taking on more responsibility at work.
Last weekend we went on another long neighborhood walk in obscenely warm weather.
Our City Group has been awesome so far. Last week there were some birthdays so after dinner, cake and cupcakes were rolled out and “happy birthday” was sung. Our group is packed, but it’s a good problem to have. So thankful for these guys.
I started tutoring at CHAT last week. As soon as I walked in this little girl ran up to me and hugged me, and said to the volunteer coordinator, “I want this to be my tutor.” I did end up assigned to her, and her name is Harmony. She is so cute, though a little distractible, and she desperately wants to read well and to get all the rewards that come with it. I helped her through the first couple of chapters of Mr. Popper’s Penguins and was somehow completely exhausted afterward. I can’t wait to get to know her better throughout this semester.
Dan’s reading The Hunger Games.
Our church is electing deacons this Sunday — fancy! Our roommate went on a (successful) date. The cats are hissing at each other a little less. And we’re preparing to have more houseguests staying with us soon.
This is probably the longest hiatus ever from Parasol Party, so I’m going to break my update down into categories for simplicity’s sake! And I’m going to use a “continue reading” break below, since I’ve gotten into using those on Tumblr.
The house.
Construction is very close to being done. We’ve been living in the house for a couple of months, and it’s finally starting to feel like home. I’m really enjoying Church Hill and, surprisingly, all the changes that living in a new neighborhood brings. I love finally getting to reap the benefits of the endless string of choices we made, and settling into our very comfortable closets, kitchen, etc. Dan has worked so hard and made everything so beautiful. And for the first time in about a decade, I’m enjoying the luxury of central air. Whatever witchery they use to keep your house temperate all year long is truly amazing. The dishwasher I’m still suspicious of though.
So the only room that’s really still half-finished is the dining room, and that’s on a little break until after the holidays. The house exterior still needs to be painted and the backyard has a major overhaul in its future. And of course almost none of our wallhangings are up yet. So those things will all unfold whenever we get there. You can read OH so much more about the whole thing on our renovation blog.
The jobs.
You know that part in the job life cycle where you start to see how things really work and start to get disenchanted and hate your job a little bit? Yeah, that’s hasn’t happened for me yet. And I feel very lucky about that, since I’ve been at Tumblr for almost a year. We work really hard and have a lot of fun, and the people I’ve met have astonished me by being such fantastic colleagues. The office here in Richmond has such a diverse group, and we have the most interesting conversations together. They’re the kind of people you’d hang out with anyway, not just because you’re at work.
In addition to my regular tech support duties, I’ve been in charge of office life in general, ordering snacks, supplies, and even furniture for the space, and planning outings and parties and all of that stuff — which you know I love to do anyway. I also just found out yesterday that I’m being promoted, and I’m very excited about it. In the new year I’ll be managing several employees, and I’ve found myself racking my brain for all that business school management technique stuff. Turns out, I actually need it. It all feels like a really beautiful dream and I’m grateful for my job every day.
Dan has begun a new job recently at a company called Electro-LuminX, which manufactures a cutting edge lighting technology called Light Tape. It’s this thin, flexible stuff that lights up and is able to be used pretty much anywhere. It was used on the costumes in the Tron remake, etc. Very versatile and just really interesting work, and I think Dan really likes that he’s always working on a different project.
It’s been a huge relief to have us both gainfully employed in jobs we like.
The extracurricular activities.
Pretty much everything was put on hold in 2011 because of the house, and we’re starting to ease back into things. I’ve been writing regularly at RVANews again for a while now. I’ve been back on a good workout regimen in the mornings. We’ve gone to a few parties. We’ve actually shown up at church a few times, not just when I’m on nursery duty or Dan is running sound. I indulged in one of my long-walks-with-podcasts-and-a-camera a few weeks ago, and it felt wonderful. I’m cautiously beginning to cook again. We will start attending the City Group in our neighborhood after the holidays, and I will start volunteering at a local organization that tutors and teaches life skills to kids who desperately need it. I will start crafting again. Day trips are in the works.
Slowly, life is coming back to us.
But I want to be careful not to take the relative peace we have now and turn it back into an overscheduled grind, like I’m wont to do. I want to remember that I need plenty of rest and focus in order to run this household well and to realize our major goal with the renovation, which is to be able to extend hospitality to others. We want to be here with our doors open when people need a place to stay, we want to offer up our table as a place to eat, drink, laugh, and converse, and we want to make people feel welcome. So in 2012 I’m hoping that we find a balance between all the activities we want to participate in and making this home a calm, unrushed oasis for us and others to enjoy.
The online presence.
I think I’ve figured out a bit more concretely what exactly is going on in my corner of the blogosphere.
As it stands right now, Parasol Party will continue for general updates like this one. They will happen more frequently, I swear! Tumblr is more day-to-day tidbits and stream-of-consciousness type stuff, and just sharing fun and interesting things I find online (much like my old lists of links at the end of Parasol Party entries used to be). And other blogs and sites still exist of course for specific areas, like the house, photography, what books I’m reading, journaling about faith and other thoughts, crafts and inspiration for crafts, collecting images, adventuring, etc. etc. etc. And all of that, and any link of any consequence that pertains to me, can always be found on Flavors. You can’t say I don’t at least keep it all in one list somewhere!
Another thing of note that happened this year is that I discovered Pinterest, which I have to point out as particularly useful. I’ve basically extracted everything remotely visual that I’ve been saving on Delicious for all these years and organized it better on Pinterest, so that at a glance I can see everything I’ve saved in a certain category for the past few years. I get tons of ideas for ways to make stuff, to reuse things, to entertain children (friends with kids, I see how creative you’re getting and I like it!), and a million other things, and it’s very encouraging. So besides Tumblr, Pinterest is the main thing I want to recommend to anybody looking to organize their thoughts more clearly and more visually on the internet.
BYE 2011.
My heart is very full when I think about this year and how hard it has been and how many people have labored to get us through it. I can say that 2011 was the worst year of my life so far, a year marked with despair and mistakes and absolute powerlessness. I like being the one that people run to; I like being the calm one that is ready to help and listen and set things right. And even though on a deeper level at my core I still am and want to continue to be that beacon of calmness, this year a lot of that was peeled back to reveal the helplessness a situation can wreak. But it’s also been a year marked with growth, sacrifice, forgiveness, and learning. And I know it’s been good for me to just be imperfect and be vulnerable and be reminded that we’re all a part of something way bigger than ourselves, and that we are connected to others and we do need them. And to partake of the grace so freely given to me.
Family and friends have provided a roof over our heads, they’ve fed us, they’ve entertained us, they’ve loaned us embarrassing sums of money, they’ve checked in on us, they’ve known when to not check in on us and just leave us alone, they’ve swung a hammer or a paintbrush, they’ve picked up our slack, they’ve prayed for us, they’ve left gifts on our porch, they’ve given advice without passing judgment, and they’ve just listened to us while we (okay, while I) wept and lamented and questioned. This idea of community and of mutual support that we’ve been talking about for years but never really had cause to use much — well, this year, we used it to the fullest. We saw it in action. And it worked. It carried us, and my only hope is that we can keep contributing to this awesome community and have the honor of carrying others when they need it too.
Thank you, really, truly, thank you all. Every day I wake up and can’t believe how blessed I am.
Thanks to love and grace and as Thomas Jefferson would say “a benevolent arrangement of things,” I already feel a hundred times better than I did just a month ago, and a month ago I felt fifty times better than I had a month before that, and I can’t wait to continue this upswing in 2012.
I’m back, y’all.
I think I’m going to continue to do occasional life updates here at Parasol Party, keeping this the spot for general Tess-related news. Though I’ve got other blogs going on for specific pursuits, this still seems like the appropriate venue to give more general updates. Although I consider my Tumblr to kind of be my “main” blog now, my updates here will feed automatically into that site as well. So, hello again.
Work is fantastic. Just the eight of us doing support for over 15 million blogs is hard work to say the least, but we have a blast. We have a lot of neat tools to help us do our jobs faster (hello Textexpander. where have you been all my life?), we have comfortable rolly chairs, we have a dart board, we have huge monitors (so much better on the eyes). Our office is a place of relative calm, with low lighting and the sound of hushed typing. The silence is broken periodically by one person giggling or full-on guffawing at something ridiculous they’ve seen on Tumblr. I never thought I’d see so many animated gifs in one place! It has been a challenging, wild ride so far, and I look forward to it to every day.
The renovation of our house is still going on. It’s a lot of hard work physically and planning-wise for Dan, but it puts a lot of stress on both of us. The simplest choices stress me out, so just imagine a huge, months-long project riddled with important choices. Crazytown. I’m mega proud of the way Dan has persevered on this, even when everything that can go wrong does go wrong, as predicted. As stressful as a major renovation can be, we’re way luckier than a lot of people because we don’t have to live in the house while the work is going on and can stay at Mom and Dad’s instead. My parents have been so generous and have made us very comfortable, but I just miss my own household and miss the cats terribly. In the end I think that whatever happens with the house, whether it’s a success or a failure, we’ll be happy no matter where we are. A venue is a venue, and life hums along with or without the comforts we’ve been convinced we need.
Speaking of Dan, we’ll have been together for four years this summer. I can’t believe it’s been so long, because time has flown. But on the other hand, I can’t believe we haven’t been together all our lives. He’s my best friend. We’ve both been so exhausted lately with me starting a new job and with the renovation, so we try not to waste what little time we do get to relax together. I love quiet nights spent just talking, and I love late nights spent out with wine and friends. One of those late nights recently, we ended up at Aladdin having our favorite pizza with extra fresh garlic. On the walk back to the car we got caught in a rainstorm, cracking up as we ran down Laurel, ducking into doorways and kissing and jostling each other into puddles and laughing. I was thinking about how amazing our life is and how much we enjoy the little things. I think with relationships it’s so easy to remember and focus on all the negative things, because that’s our nature as human beings. Like when someone gives you a compliment that’s super genuine and well-thought-out, you say “thanks” and forget about it in five seconds. But when someone insults you in a moment of carelessness, you gnash your teeth over it and weep over it and internalize it and repeat it to yourself for years like some kind of a sick mantra. It’s so weird that we do that, and it’s especially true with significant others. Certainly nobody’s perfect, no matter how much the world tells you to expect them to be — but there’s a temptation to only focus on those negative aspects. In this relationship it’s so easy to break out of that pattern, because I’m given so much love, so many compliments, and so many positive things to focus on that I don’t internalize the few negative specks that are bound to pop up. I don’t have much to complain about in this relationship, and when I think about how much abundant, overwhelming goodness has come out of meeting this guy randomly in Illinois, I’m grateful.
City Church has gone through big changes with moving to a new, much larger space at Beth Ahabah. We’re loving it there so far, and it definitely feels good not to be packed in like sardines anymore. Dan and I were asked to join a Leadership Group that meets some Thursday nights, and the friends we’re making there and the things we’re talking about are both humbling and exciting. Dan’s still running sound some Sundays at church, and I’m teaching Children’s Worship. The photo below is of my class this past Sunday, after a rousing round of Pictionary. Cuties!
My friends continue to amaze me on so many levels, and as usual this ramps up as the weather gets warmer and we all come out of hibernation. I’ve been getting closer with several friends that I’ve known for a while but am just now really getting to know. I’ve been trying to keep in touch with old friends as well. One friend mourned a tough breakup and is repairing himself day by day, one came out of a breakup and landed effortlessly on her feet like a cat, one sent me homemade jam, one weathered a long winter with two babies and a husband not able to be around much, one taught herself to sew and made herself an entire new wardrobe, one started a new art project, one is going to go to Japan, several have made major moves many states away, some are getting married, some are having babies, and the list goes on. I can’t believe I get to travel through life with these unique, strong, flawed, passionate, beautiful people.
Always Midnight is back in action with the recent re-opening of my Etsy shop and the launch of a new web site. I’ve got several orders to do for weddings this spring, some large orders for children, and some ideas for upcoming photo shoots. I’m hoping to devote more time to this as my schedule evens out with work and the house. With all the chaos of the past few months, I’ve really been missing my craft time.
So that’s pretty much it for now. As always if you want to see everything else, from what I’m reading to what I’m photographing to what I’m writing for RVANews, you can go to my main site.
I’ll leave you with a photo of Supermoon from Saturday night. I think we can all agree that the only thing missing from this photo is a howling wolf. I’ll see what I can do about getting some wolves imported.
Guys, it appears that I have landed a dream job and will be working for a blogging platform. I’ll be starting soon doing support for Tumblr, and I’m beyond excited. Blogging! Computers! Tech support! Telecommuting! Working in pajamas! Just kidding, everyone knows I was born wearing full makeup and that I would never wear pajamas past 7am. But still! Just knowing I can is exciting.
More info about Tumblr’s new Richmond office here, and about the company here.
Regarding the future of good old parasolparty.wordpress.com, I don’t know what it’s going to be. I have blogs elsewhere to fulfill the functions of journal, house-renovating documentation, travel / historical adventure tales, etc. And I must work on my Tumblr blog as well now, getting used to the ins and outs of the service and posting some of my more introspective thoughts. I guess I’m entering a time of fleshing out the different blog ideas I have, and figuring out what will stay and what will go. For now, I think that Tumblr will be where I post any little tidbits or life updates I feel like posting.
So whatever the future of my internet presence looks like, you’ll be able to find links here as usual. See you on Tumblr!
Examples of little treats in my life:
What’s next?
In case you’re one of the two people who hasn’t heard, we finally closed on our house.
Of course this means we’re VERY busy with house-related stuff including but not limited to a months-long renovation, pulling permits, doing research, and keeping track of all expenses. So excuse me if my posts here happen less often.
I kind of hate all the unrealistic expectations that New Year’s Eve typically brings, but this one really delivered. We went to two fantastic parties, and they happened to be at our two favorite apartments in Richmond:
1. A Winter Wanderer’s Wonderland at the Grammercy Penthouse: Treats, drinks, and faux snow at our friends’ intimidatingly beautiful house, featuring a roofdeck view that can’t be beat.
2. The 319 Speakeasy Grand Opening: A 1920s-themed party at everybody’s favorite loft, featuring the photography of genius Karen Seifert.
There are a few more photos from me here, and a million more from Karen here.
I laughed and danced and enjoyed the views, but what I enjoyed the most about this NYE is how much I got to meet fascinating new people and catch up with old friends. Such a wonderful time. Let’s keep the good conversation rolling all through 2011, my loves.
I’m attending a 1920s-themed New Year’s Eve party this year. As always, my problem is not that I can’t find inspiration, but that I’ve found TOO MUCH inspiration. This is always happening to me. I think it’s a good problem to have.
Probably my third most favorite thing about the 1920s is that it was a period of transition. The main image that people have in their heads of the 1920s is that of the flapper, and that certainly existed and had a huge impact, but in reality there were tons of different styles being worn by many different people. It’s not a flat decade of sameness, but a free, unpredictable decade of diverse looks.
My first and second most favorite things about the 1920s are, of course, F. Scott Fitzgerald and T. S. Eliot.
Below, some images I’ve been pondering.
reading. running. day trips. historical sites. picnics. optical toys. founding fathers. virginia wines. photography. oregon hill. forgiveness. etiquette. yard games. storytelling. arachnids and felines. breakfast. archaeology. crafting. old-school Nintendo, new-school Nintendo. dressing well. making itineraries. garden mazes. holidays. tiny stuff. the old south. gadgets. gardening. cooking. the paranormal. sci-fi. rubber stamps. yoga. receiving handmade cards from friends.
online in a million places:
more complete information,
descriptions, and what-have-you about the spiderweb of sites I call my
"online presence". organized loosely in the order in which they're important to me.
recommendations:
..........................................................................................
Yet, though I am not what I ought to be
nor what I wish to be
nor what I hope to be
I can truly say, I am not what I once was.
– John Newton