Mom passed away Sunday.

One year, one month, three weeks, one day after Dad.

This entry was originally posted at http://ladyvyola.dreamwidth.org/160499.html.

Called 911 yesterday evening for Mom and now she's in ICU at Prince William Hospital.

She's currently sedated and intubated to keep her oxygen levels up, her bp is distressingly low, she's got impaired kidney function, she's going septic, she might have had an embollism....

Fuck. It. All.

Literally, the only thing distracting me is the Anderson brothers angst-singing on Glee. It fills my brain and makes the grinding gears stop for a while.



This entry was originally posted at http://ladyvyola.dreamwidth.org/160226.html.

From Chapter Twenty-One - The Masculine Graces

"It is a very nice thing, however, to send flowers for decoration to a girl who is giving a party. I once knew a charming gentleman with imagination enough to do that. He filled my apartment with flowers the afternoon I was giving a large cocktail party -- and sent along his Filipino butler, too, to help out."

p. 184, Amy Vanderbilt's Complete Guide to Etiquette: A Guide to Gracious Living, copyright 1952, 1954

I think she fills a whole bingo card with just one sentence. Now that's impressive.

This entry was originally posted at http://ladyvyola.dreamwidth.org/159758.html.

From Chapter Forty-Two - Gracious Living Without Servants

"It is obviously impossible for a woman doing all her own work and tending several nursery-age children to conduct her home on the same lines as her neighbor does who employs both cook and butler and whose half-grown children are away at boarding school."

p. 380, Amy Vanderbilt's Complete Guide to Etiquette: A Guide to Gracious Living, copyright 1952, 1954

This entry was originally posted at http://ladyvyola.dreamwidth.org/159626.html.

Pick up the nearest book to you.
Turn to page 45.
The first sentence describes your sex life in 2012.

Dr. and Mrs. Grant Kingsley
announce that the marriage of their daughter
Penelope
to
Mr. George Frank Carpenter
has been postponed from
Friday, the ninth of June
until
Friday, the eighth of September
at noon
St. Mary's Church
San Francisco

Well. That certainly portends drama this year.

Serves me right for re-reading one of my favorite works of fantasy, Amy Vanderbilt's Complete Guide to Etiquette: A Guide to Gracious Living, copyright 1954.

Nestled amidst the rustling taffeta, crisp linen, and engraved calling cards is such entrenched racism, classism, and sexism that it makes you long for the enlightened era depicted in Mad Men. One of my favorites is in Part Four: Home Entertaining, under a section captioned "Dinner with One Maid":

Pretention is so very uncomfortable.

Sing it, Amy Vanderbilt, sing it.

This entry was originally posted at http://ladyvyola.dreamwidth.org/159309.html.

So this year I wrote for My Drunk Kitchen, the hilarious and adorable web series by Hannah Hart, all about cooking. While drunk.

My story is about all that. And fire.

And it has pictures.

En Flambé (2108 words)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Hannah Hart, Alcohol (Ingredient), Cheese (Ingredient)
Summary: Alcohol. Cheese. Fire. What could this possibly be a recipe for?

If you are unfamiliar with My Drunk Kitchen, take a look at Episode 1, Butter Yo Shit on YouTube. It's only about 5 minutes long. (You watched the damn octopus video, didn't you? Hannah is cuter. Trust me.)

This entry was originally posted at http://ladyvyola.dreamwidth.org/159021.html.

People, people, people!

I need to tell you about the story I received for Yuletide -- it's amazing and hilarious and absolutely incredible and it's a tragedy that it's in a fandom so small that it doesn't even exist under a microscope.

If you appreciate sly, dry wit, if you like drawing room comedies of manners, if you know anything about the British abdication crisis, if you like small town social circle hijinx, if you saw The King's Speech, if you love absolute mastery of the English language and its nuances, if you need to see the best AU version of Winston Churchill ever (and yes, you do!), read this story and give the author the love they deserve.

Hanover's Seed (2606 words) by Fabrisse
Fandom: Edward and Mrs. Simpson (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Wallis Simpson/David Windsor
Characters: Original Characters
Summary:

This is an AU based on the mini-series "Edward and Mrs. Simpson" which aired on PBS in the late 1970s.

Do it. You won't regret it. I, and the Jackson County (Kansas) Garden Club, guarantee it.

ETA: I also recommend Knowing My Place (1120 words) by the same author. It's a short exploration of Eliza's thoughts a few months after the end of My Fair Lady and is wonderful worldbuilding.

This entry was originally posted at http://ladyvyola.dreamwidth.org/158793.html.

Posted, posted, posted!

Is it Yuletide yet?

This entry was originally posted at http://ladyvyola.dreamwidth.org/158501.html.

Oh, dear god, fandom. It's musKy, not musTy.

Failed out of that story so hard....

This entry was originally posted at http://ladyvyola.dreamwidth.org/158343.html.

First of all, good luck! I'm all over the place this year and I am truly amazed and grateful that I've got a match. (ETA: Or a pinch hitter! I've gotten pinch hitters before and I love you, too! You chose me! You brave, weird soul, you.)

So, first the big picture then a little more specificity on what I like about each request.

( My Yuletide Philosophy )

( Edward & Mrs. Simpson )

( Prey series - John Sandford )

( Star Wars: Revelations )

Once again, good luck and I salute you!

This entry was originally posted at http://ladyvyola.dreamwidth.org/158033.html.