About GimletBlog

A gimlet defined

GimletBlog was established in May 2006 to keep in touch with family and friends. Its name derives from the nickname of a Certain Person in the family (not to be confused with this guy).

GimletBlog’s original server was StumblingFool; the blog moved from StumblingFool to Solitary Elegance at the end of September 2006.

Topic Categories:

  • Family. Family activities, mostly pictures of the kids.
  • Flora and Fauna. Plants and animals sharing GimletBlog HQ, ranging from the spring display of rhododendrons and lilacs, to the largish, poisonish hobo spider who moved into our guest bathroom. In the past we’ve cared for fire-bellied toads, a hedgehog, fresh and saltwater aquaria (both fish and inverts, especially betta splendens on the freshwater side), and other animals, so their antics would be documented here.  Here’s where you’ll read about our two Ragdoll cats, Chinook and Nanaimo, and the wild birds visiting our bird feeders.  A reef tank is also on the wish list.
  • Housekeeping. Site maintenance, usually upgrades, planned outages or bugs we’re working to repair.
  • Ivory bits. I used to design the bulletins for our church congregation and may occasionally post an inspirational image + quotation. This category also includes favorite finds of all types — food, books, and other small pleasures.
  • Jane Austen. My favorite author; this category is a more personal supplement to the Solitary Elegance web site or AustenBlog articles — descriptions of recent acquisitions or favorite items in the collection, Austen-themed travelogues, reviews of adaptations besides Northanger Abbey.
  • Projects. Our house is a fixer-upper, so this area will mostly document home and garden improvement, but also follow other pursuits.  During 2006-2007 the Gimlet tore the basement down to the studs and completely replumbed, rewired, and rebuilt it.  Interesting reading for anybody contemplating a large scale remodel.
  • Reviews. Sometimes we watch movies or read books, and we have plenty to say about them.
  • Scouts. Thing One’s advancements and achievements, and hikes and camps.  The Gimlet is a scoutmaster, so some of his training experiences appear here.  In the summer of 2009 we attended Philmont as a family; our record of the week appears in this category as well.
  • Sinister Craftiness.  Gauche craftiness probably describes my embroidery projects more accurately.  After a long break I’ve returned to cross-stitch and have been learning about other types of needlework, including pulled thread embroidery and Hardanger.  While I can usually provide information about where to purchase a chart or kit featured on the blog, I do not make copies of charts, so please don’t ask.
  • Surf. Similar to Reviews, sometimes we find cool web sites and want to share them.
  • Travel. Places we’ve been, and the things we’ve seen and done there.

Credits:

  • © 2006-2010 Heather M. Laurence.  All rights reserved.
  • GimletBlog is powered by WordPress and uses Gallery for its image galleries.
  • GimletBlog’s theme is based on elements from Relaxation 2.0 by John Wrana and Lovely Rose 1.0 by Samir Kamble.
  • GimletBlog’s title font is JSL Ancient.