Just when we left Team Gimlet teetering on the edge of Kilauea (check out what’s been happening since we were there - wow!), Thing One’s homework, cello practice, and musical practice schedule really picked up and has been taking most of our free time. But I’ve resolved to bring the blog up to date. Upgrades are available for the blog and photo gallery programs, so expect a little down time while those are installed. The Gimlet and Thing One went to Walt Disney World for spring break, so look for a post and some photos; meanwhile, Thing Two’s new interest in birds led us to install bird feeders in the yard, which has made bird watchers out of all of us.

Happy New Year! With Masterpiece Theatre’s Complete Jane Austen starting this Sunday (13 January), I thought I’d better do a little site maintenance, just like the way I frantically clean house just before somebody visits. If last year’s ITV-related surge is any indication, the next few weeks will be busy.

One of a pair of “Promenade Dress” models from the June 1811 Ackermann’s Repository magazine, this lovely lady now graces the Solitary Elegance header.

The Stumbling Fool gang is moving house again — congratulations to them on buying their first home, by the way; we hope this move may be their last and best — and while packing, Uncle Q found the old, broken server on which GimletBlog was originally stored. He plugged it in, and this time it worked! We successfully transferred the May-June 2006 archives from Stumbling Fool to the Solitary Elegance server.

Many thanks, as always, to Uncle Q for salvaging GimletBlog and walking us through the file transfer. We’re thrilled to have our old posts and pictures back! (Look for next year’s blog anniversary in May rather than July.)

Now that I have a new church job and no longer design the Sunday meeting bulletins, I’ve decided to expand the scope of the ivory bits category. I still plan to occasionally post art + quotation entries as before, but will also write about favorite finds of all types — food, books, and other small pleasures.

Valancourt Books. This independent press (named for the hero in Ann Radcliffe’s Mysteries of Udolpho) is a treasure trove of rare and previously out-of-print Gothic goodies, and their web site is well worth a look. I found out about Valancourt when they started publishing the “Northanger Novels”, a list of Gothic titles found in Northanger Abbey. Valancourt’s editions include interesting and useful editor’s notes. Earlier this year I reviewed their editions of Castle of Wolfenbach and The Veiled Picture for AustenBlog.

Vanilla rooibos. Caffeine-free and high in antioxidants, this red herbal tea tastes good and is good for you. I add a tiny splash of milk to make the vanilla flavor really pop. I have it on very good authority that lemon-vanilla rooibos makes an outstanding iced herbal tea and look forward to trying it.

Victoria magazine is coming back! I was a fan of this magazine since college, and I was sorry to see it end. The resubscription invitation assures that the new magazine (debut issue: November/December 2007) will be just as it used to be. Let’s hope they’re right.

Vintage-style jewelry and art by tartx. Necklaces crafted from antique dominoes and optical lens pendants, earrings, bracelets, pocket mirrors, and more. All kinds of literary and design themed collages from which to choose. (Wouldn’t Catherine Morland just love the Gothic Curiosities bracelet?)

Many of you already blog about your favorites, and feel free to share some in the comments!

In better-late-than-never news, July 4 was GimletBlog’s first anniversary! (Perhaps you noticed the fireworks?) It’s been fun — a little frustrating at times, but mostly fun — learning how to use WordPress, Gallery, and other site maintenance, and we’re grateful to family and friends who have patiently answered our newbie questions along the way. We enjoy keeping up with your blogs and hope GimletBlog has been fun for you, too.

Coming soon: blog posts about this year’s scout camp, a remodeling update, and a set of summer reading mini-reviews. Solitary Elegance’s first anniversary is also in July, so look for some new additions in the near future, especially pertaining to the new Northanger Abbey film.

This morning I upgraded WordPress (our blog software) to version 2.2 and it seems to be allergic to certain characters: apostrophes, accents, em-dashes, and others. This is a small blog, but there are still nearly a year’s worth of posts to correct by hand, so it will take some time before the blog is back to normal.

ETA: I think I’ve repaired all the garbled characters, but please post in the comments if you find any I’ve missed. Thanks.

Understandably, “Thing” is a loaded term at GimletBlog, so first we must state that there is no Thing Three on the way. (Thing Two is very relieved.) Today we’re introducing LibraryThing to the blog sidebar! As per their web site description, LibraryThing helps bibliophiles create an on-line catalog of their books. Users can meet and connect with like-minded collectors; read, write, and share reviews; receive reading recommendations, and more.

Click on a book cover to see its Amazon.com page. A random set of book covers from the GimletLibrary is generated each time you visit the blog (or refresh your web browser). Click on the words “my library” to browse through the our library, and scroll waaaay down the sidebar to the pink LibraryThing button to view Team Gimlet’s LibraryThing profile.

Thanks to Linda for introducing us to LibraryThing, and we hope to see you (and your books) there!

We’ve been informed that our server is being upgraded and IP address changed. This will take place 17 February, so the blog may not be accessible that day.

Other news:

• We’ve started hanging drywall. Rather than provide wall-by-wall updates, the Gimlet will summarize the drywall experience at its conclusion. Meanwhile, pictures are being uploaded to the Gimlet Gallery’s basement remodel album, so readers can always check there for mini-updates.
• The Moondance Film Festival has been postponed from June to September, as the director was a victim of a serious traffic accident. We send her our best wishes for a speedy recovery. Meanwhile, I’m seeking representation for NR, and have been working on my query letter and synopsis, as well as researching legitimate and well-suited agencies. Blogging has taken a back seat until I can get those letters out.
• Thing One is looking forward to the mid-winter break, snow camp with the Scouts, and a day trip to an orchestra festival in Gresham. Thing Two has discovered the thrill of “lift-the-flap” books, and as of last night, is recovering from a messy 24-hour bug. I needed to mop the floors anyway.

This is just a quick note to let family and friends know that we have weathered our wind storm quite well, all things considered. Our neighborhood, along with most of the city, is without power, and several trees are down, but thankfully no trees hit our house. Last night, when we learned the storm was coming, we hurried to get all the lumber, insulation, and other materials into the house (feeling quite a bit like Ma & Pa hurrying to get the hay in before the cyclone), and managed to get about half of it stored before the power went out. After finding our flashlights we were able to finish the job. Grandma and Grandpa have power, so we’re camping out with them for the time being, and hoping our power is restored this evening. Check out the gallery to see photos of downed trees and damage around our neighborhood.

ETA: We’re happy to report that the lights (and heat!) came back on late this afternoon. Most of the trees have been removed from the streets in our neighborhood as well, but there is still a lot of debris to contend with.

Hey, we’re back online! Again!

Earlier this month, Stumbling Fool’s ISP was acquired by a new ISP, who cut off service to their new “customers.” Since then, we’ve been working with Stumbling Fool to retrieve our data and move to a new home on my main site, Solitary Elegance. The move is half-way complete; we’re still working on transferring the Gallery images (Even though the image boxes say you can click to see more images, don’t believe everything you read.).

Meanwhile, update your bookmarks. It’s good to be back.

2 October ETA: The Gallery images have been restored. Hooray!