A normal evening in the Celii-Thackston household...

It all started with Mr. Puppy aka JC enjoying his third mid-afternoon nap.

Meanwhile, Pollux was busy hunting flies (both real and imaginary).

Growing tired, Pollux decided to snuggle up with JC where they remained for the next hour. Then Molly the Terrible came in from outside...

and layed the smack down on Pollux. And by smack down I mean she pinned him and proceeded to like every inch of him.


Satisfied that Pollux is now clean, she turned her attentions to JC.

Not one to turn the other cheek, the big JC retaliates. This continued for quite sometime until finally Molly and JC decided to make up...

twice.

Nella Vita di Taffeta

The past couple weeks have been filled with lots of great projects, one of which is making curtains for Shane's sister Jonelle. She picked out this really pretty iridescent blue crushed taffeta that hangs amazingly. Curtains and I have a love hate relationship and these of course proved no different, but every challenge presents an opportunity to learn something new. In this case if the devil was a shape he would be a rectangle. It's like my Zoolanderish weakness but where I can turn left I can't cut a square. But in the end and I was happy with the results, and hopefully Jonelle is too.

Here you can see one of the small panels and how dramatic they will be.


Here you can see when the flash is one the iridecense of hte curtains. They have blackout backing so the light won't pass through them. At first I was hesitant about how the fabric would look as curatins, but once they were done I was tempted to keep them for myself.

Nella Vita di an underground preservation revolution

As a lover of preservation, the earth, doing the right thing, and not condemning us all to hell, I must admit that I have committed certain sins. It has been two months since last visiting a historic site and I have had impure thoughts about a cul-de-sac. Joking aside, I have, and will continue to, shopped at chain stores including the death star of chain stores, he-who-must-not-be-named, the rose-bud of Satan's childhood: Wal-Mart. Yes, I just can't resist their cheap prices, plethora of supplies, and the golden opportunities to build my self esteem by simply be observing the so-called 'people' who shop there (myself excluded of course). I would much rather shop local independent stores, but pricing and availability makes it difficult sometimes. But I've found there are some things I can do to make an impact, albeit small. First, I always pay with my debit card (not credit, debt is evil…a topic for another day perhaps). Every time I swipe, Wal-Mart pays for that transaction. While normally I eschew plastic bags, I like to bag each item individually at Wal-Mart because they have to pay for those bags. Plus I get the added satisfaction of reusing Wal-Mart bags as litterbox liners and pooper-scoopers. Transversely, when I'm shopping at a local store or my favorite third place near work, Blue Ridge Café, I always try to pay cash so there is more profit for mom and pop. Plus I never use a bag and try to limit using plastic ware because they have to pay for those. Now in no ways am I naïve enough to think that my actions will really make a difference, but at the very least they assuage some of my chain store shopping guilt.

Nella Vita di Secret Gardens

Last week was the United Way’s Day of Caring where thousands of volunteers from area organizations and companies go out into the community for various service projects. The City of Charlottesville was sent to a community education facility for landscaping/yard maintenance. I was looking forward to a morning outdoors away from the office and getting some exercise so I could later rationalize my decision not to go to the gym. The day ended up being more than that, it turned out to be a ‘secret garden, this is why I love preservation’ type of day. It turns out where the school now stands was once a large manor estate. All that remains of this parcel of land’s former identity are a series of terraced gardens separated by field stone walls dating to about the nineteen teens. When we arrived that day all we saw was vast overgrowth and the promise that we may find some cool things. By the end of the day, Charlottesville workers and also workers from State Farm had cleared out level upon level of gardens. Unfortunately, I don’t have pictures of what the gardens look like (I may have to ‘visit’ the grounds to get some). Roughly, they start at the top of a large hill and then descend down the hill towards what is now the Schenks Branch creek. A rock wall wraps around the entire property with a foot trial running along the wall. The manor house is now completely gone along with this large pond that was once on the property (I can understand tearing down a house, but how does a pond just disappear!). The coolest part of the whole day was getting to see all the other volunteers begin to critically examine the history of a place and realize that things may not always be what they seem, but that with a little sweat (literally in this case) the past is just waiting for its secrets to be uncovered.

Nella Vita di Puppers

Nothing makes me happier than seeing my two favorite doggies snuggled up and sharing the sunny spot in the kitchen together. Oh how I love my puppies! If you look closely you can see JC's "baby" fox. He carries it around with him everywhere and since the day we brought him home he always makes sure he has toys surrounding him at all times. Whereas in a classic display of older sisterhood, Molly loves waiting til JC falls asleep to begin to remove all of his precious "babies."

Nella Vita di Future Historic Districts

Recently I was at a lecture with a couple different design professionals and one of them (bless his little heart) stated something that I believe should be tattooed on more than one designer/developer’s head: “We are designing America’s future historic districts.” How powerful is that. Too often those who are in charge of designing and building our new spaces and places can’t see past the potential profit they stand to make. A quick look at materials and construction methods will clearly show that they clearly are not concerned with the longevity of the project. But let’s just say these cookie cutter cracker jack boxes survive into the next 100, 200, or even 300 years, what will they say about life in America in the 2000s? What cultural and social clues will future generations learn from these buildings? I can’t even begin to fathom or comprehend the fact that one day school children may visit Ye Olde Wallyworld where re-enactors in blue vests greet them at the door and show them all the crazy things their ancestors used to buy (“and these q-tips came all the way from China kids on boats and planes but the cotton came from India. Of course this is what they used before ionic ear cleaners…)

Now of course to have an accurate view of history you need to preserve both the good and the bad, brutally and honestly; otherwise you get a false sense of what the past really was. Sure those historic buildings and gardens at Monticello are much more elaborate than what people have today, because hell, I’d have the nicest house on the block if I had a couple hundred people who willing took care and maintained it for free, and sure Germany, Poland, and other European countries have pretty fields full of flowers and soft soft grass at places like Auschwitz…almost as if there is a lot of rich organic matter beneath the ground fertilizing them. I think you can see my point. So it is important to save the good along with the bad (in this case the poorly designed and executed). But when the bulk majority of what our society is creating just makes you want to shake you head and sigh disappointedly, its hard not to write a letter to the future apologizing and explaining that we were not all commercially shallow people who lived in identical houses on identical streets in identical sprawling towns. If nothing else, perhaps we can start designating well-thought out and sensitive developments as historic at their ribbon cuttings, thus ensuring we have some good representation in the future.

Nella Vita di PoPos on the MoMo

Ever wonder what happens to old cop cars? Well like keyboards they wind up at our house. Yesterday was the City’s annual auction and the bargain hunter got the deal of the day: a 2001 Chevy Impala with 100,000 miles for $600. In its prior life it had been a cop car, and it still has some of its lights (or the fun we will have…) Its body is reinforced with steel I guess in case it was involved in a high speed chase, so the dear of North Garden better watch out. It’s at our mechanics for the moment being checked out while we try and determine what to do with it. It will either be sold for profit, kept and used as Shane’s main car, kept as a spare or sold with Shane’s other car to perhaps replace his dearly departed Jetta. So we shall see…

Nella Vita di a Preservationist's Inner Struggle

one of cville's new cranes. photo from the hook.

Today while driving into work, for some reasons all the cranes in downtown Charlottesville seemed particularly noticeable to me and I found myself caught in the age old preservation/planner power struggle. I started trying to imagine what the skyline of Cville will look like when the new towers (dear god at nine stories you can almost touch the heavens!) are built and couldn’t help but get excited to thick about being able to see a place I love from far away. I remember being a child and getting giddy when I saw the New York skyline in the distance and knowing that I would soon be there and the awesome feeling of watching the buildings ‘grow’ as we drove closer. Yet at the same time, I can’t help but wonder how different the downtown will be. Our BAR is very level headed and makes some really good decisions, so I know any new building will be scrutinized and adapted to be the best possible design possible, but still how will the sense of place, time, and scale change when all the new buildings are finally erected?

Pondering this all day, I think for me preservation is more big picture. Some would argue that it’s the buildings that make the downtown mall (well really the bricks make the mall, but you know what I mean), but that is not what makes downtown (or any downtown for that matter) special. It’s the way the buildings are arranged and the way they create the feeling of knowing you are ‘somewhere’ worth being. There is a there there. Will this really be changed by making the buildings taller? I don’t think so. I’m as saddened to see an old building torn down or facaded as the next preservationist, but sometimes I don’t think it is such a tragedy assuming they are replaced with another building that respects the balance of public/private space, complementing design, and the relationship to the street that the previous building had. But even as I write this, can such things ever truly be replaced? New York and Chicago for example, have some truly stunning skyscrapers today, but what about the ones from before. It makes me sick to think of all the Sullivans, McKims, Meads, and Whites, etc that were torn down to make room for today’s skyscrapers. And what of those said lost treasures, what architectural gems did they destroy in their construction? Similarly, what new technology and design will one day lead us to tear down the Empire State Building or Sears Tower?

I think I should also note, that while the preservationist inside of me is sad to see the loss of any building or material artifact of our past, the environmentalist wants to do a back flip. Keep development where it belongs, which is on top of where it already exists. As the old saying goes, ‘farmland lost is farmland lost forever.’ These new residential, office, and commercial units need to go somewhere, so doesn’t it make sense to put them where development has already happened instead of greenfields on the edge of town? And taking a step back to put things in context, what is more important, some old buildings or our children’s future resources? Makes it hard to argue for the buildings. The bottom line is that development needs to happen within the already established footprint of cities in order to ensure the long term sustainability of us all. As preservationists, it is our job to now figure out how to keep development within these existing bounds while protecting our limited historical resources. Not an easy thing to do, but I have faith that our passions and dedications will make it happen.

Nella Vita di Census

The Census is amazing for many reasons. For a planner or anyone interested in better understanding a place, it provides invaluable information on the people and trends of an area. The literally are the federal authority on demographic facts and surprisingly, they actually produce tangible and useful things (true it takes them 10 years, well five thanks to ACS). I recently found another reason to love the Census, this map. As you can see, America is broken into four main areas whose borders confirm what I have always known and said: The South starts the minute you leave New Jersey. Sorry Delaware, you are not Northern! Furthermore, if you look closely you will notice that no part of Virginia touches the North, meaning it is 100% completely in the South. So Virginia, please stop trying to be part of the North like some awkward kid in middle school inviting yourself to the cool kids parties, they are excluding you for a reason: you are not one of them. Now I love Virginia and can’t blame it for not wanting to be associated with Texas or Mississippi, so all I can say is buck up VA, you are a God among mortals and yokels. The one thing that seems wrong with the map is that it is missing Pennsyltucky as a subregion of the North. You know, that area that starts around exit 130 on the Garden State Parkway and contains all of South Jersey and the majority of Pennsy. There is a clear cultural and geographic difference as you cross into this region (usually accompanied by goosebumps and a shudder).

And speaking of maps, take a look at this beauty. In a segment of life I like to cool ‘wow, I’m actually using things I learned and school and making money for it,’ I was hired by Papa John’s to make a map of their different delivery sectors. And after countless frustrating hours and a near nervous breakdown (if Satan spawned a child and it happened to be a computer program, its name would be GIS), my masterpiece was completed, laminated, and promptly splattered with tomato sauce (oh how I lament).

UPDATE: The boys remained undefeated through the DC compition and have officially won that free trip to Atlantic City. Now I have to go buy Shane a fanny pack, roll of quarters, and a jumpsuit that makes swishing sounds when he walks. After all, when in Rome...

Nella Vita di A Pizza Peddler

So after numerous nights of closing and not stumbling into bed until well past 3 am (well one morning it was 6:30 because he asleep in the driveway being too tired to walk into the house…the implications of him driving home this tired make me shudder), Shane was finally home last night and able to go to sleep at a decent time. But instead of enjoying a luxurious eight hours of sleep (or even six) he was up at 5 am my time zone (I say my time zone referring to the fact that he keeps his clock set ridiculously fast, so on my side of the bed it is 5 am while on his it is 5:45ish). Keeping in mind that he is off today, you may wonder what is so important to arise so early and risk incurring my wrath of disturbed slumber. Well it’s ‘Pizza Games 2008! Fastest Pizza Making Championship Qualifier!’ What the hell is that you ask, well Shane and three other franchise managers are competing amongst many other Papa Johners to see who can make a certain amount of pizzas the fastest, with ‘ugly’ pizzas being disqualified. The winning team advances to the finals if fabulous Atlantic City for a chance to win $10,000 and the high honor of being the best pizza makers in the world (or really the northeastern seaboard). Now I’m not one to brag (ha!), but my baby does happen to be the fastest pizza slapper this side of the Mississip! I should know the results this afternoon…if nothing else it’s another great story to tell.

UPDATE: Well the team crushed the compitition. There is another tornament in DC tomorrow, if no one is able to beat their score then they have won the coveted all expense paid trip to the finals in Atlantic City. Could I be any more proud!

Nella Vita di Keyboards

Ever wonder what happens to that old keyboard, monitor, or random computer asseccory that you throw out, freecycle, good will, or leave on the curb? Chance are they end up in my library/guest-guest room:

Now if this picture makes you cringe, you should realize that all of these boxes had been exploded all over the family room before Shane and his sister Jonelle (who is such a good sport) stopped me from having a nervous breakdown by packing up the hundreds of keyboards and moving them into the library/second guest room.

Perhaps you find yourself wondering where did the boxes full of keyboards come from? Well Shane and I have found that we can nicely supplement our incomes by selling things on ebay. We've found that we are particularly successful with computer accessories (mice, wires, speakers, etc). So we have been going to many auctions and garage sales looking for good deals. Leave it to my man to find it. Where others would be intimidated by a pallette (in otherwords a stack) of boxes of 'misc. computer things' that are well over the average person's head, my man gets giddy. And don't get me wrong, there is something strangely satisfy of going through each box looking for the true treasures (or things that we can actually sell).

But of course, after picking out the things of worth we're still left with boxes full of keyboards and a bald spot where we've been scratching our heads wondering 'what the hell do we do with all these keyboards?' We have given some to freecycle (schoolteachers love them), but they can't all be worthless (not that the educational enrichment of the young is worthless). There are far too many to ship, but as I am begining to realize, ebay has the answer to everything. They have a new feature 'want it now' in which potential buyers tell sellers what they are looking for. So on the long shot I searched 'keyboards' hoping to find some poor schmuck to unload on or two on. Wonderously, the first post that pops up is some guy from Bethany, Missouri (take a left at bumbleseal and keep going) is literally looking for hundreds of keyboards as well as forming a possible long term relationship with his supplier. So now Shane and I are trying to determine the best way to get the keyboards to MO. If you should hear about us taking an unexpected roadtrip to Misery, realize the real misery would be my library remaining a keyboard wharehouse.

Along those lines...is anyone in need of a keyboard? I'll give you a good price...

Nella Vita di Me

I suppose that any new blog needs an official first post. So here it is. I've been toying around with the idea of blogging for a while, and finally decided to do it while bored at work from stuffing envelops (btw for those in Cville we are currently accepting Letters of Intent for CDBG funding). My main reasons for not involve such thoughts as 'do I have time for this,' 'do I have anything that important to share,' 'does anyone really want to read this,' etc. But I decided that I can find some time, if nothing else I can update people on my life, and for that reason someone somewhere would like to read this. So that being said, I will try to write about the things I am passionate about (besides myself) history and its glorious preservation, the pursuit of arts, social justice, and foxes (random yes, but how I love those furry little guys).