Archive for the ‘Birthdays’ Category

Happy (Official) Joel Chandler Harris Day!

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Today would have been Joel Chandler Harris‘ 164th birthday if he had pledged his soul to darkness in favor of eternal life.  But he didn’t!

Nope, instead he passed away in 1908 at the realistic age of 63.

While we at the Wren’s Nest celebrate Joel Chandler Harris and his legacy every day (well, maybe not Sundays and Mondays), December 9th is the day all Georgians are required, by law, to bow down to JCH’s awesomeness.  That’s my interpretation, anyhow.

You see, in 1958 the Governor of Georgia, Marvin Griffin, formally decreed December 9th “Joel Chandler Harris Day” in Georgia.  The official proclamation is below (remember, you can click on the picture for a closer look).

You’ll note that citizens were urged to “participate in this occasion.”  While I’m not quite sure what means exactly, I’m sure if you wrote a collection of folktales cherished by generation upon generation the world over, that would count.

I’m participating and celebrating by coming to work and writing this blog post.  Lain is celebrating by being in a meeting all day.  What are you doing to participate in Joel Chandler Harris Day, the biggest of all the December holidays?

Wren’s Nest in the Atlanta Business Chronicle and Other Notes

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Three things today:

1. The Wren’s Nest is featured in the Atlanta Business Chronicle because we do things like “blog” and “tweet.”

The highlight is definitely this photo of Lain and his all-child posse.  Since it’s an understandable question based on the photo — no, he did not father all of them.

I’m going to assume that most of you rubes don’t have subscriptions to the Atlanta Business Chronicle, so you can read the first couple paragraphs online or you can glance at this .pdf that we just stumbled across.

2. It’s Ms. Nannie‘s birthday today!

Ms. Nannie’s daughter called to remind us of this special day (it’s totally on the calendar, derr) and to let us know that Ms. Nannie didn’t want anyone to pay her any mind. Too late, Ms. Nannie.  Help us wish Ms. Nannie a happy birthday!  Fan mail and comments are encouraged.

3. Our plea for Wren’s Nest Publishing Company students is featured in Creative Loafing’s excellent blog, Fresh Loaf!  Thanks to Thomas Wheatley for that one.  Who knew Twitter could be used for good?

Happy Birthday, Joel Chandler Harris!

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Today would have been Joel Chandler Harris‘ 163rd birthday if he had defied everything* we know about the human body.

Instead, he passed away at the age of 63 in 1908.

I wish I could show you a picture of the sweet (literally) birthday cake we had for him at Victorian Christmas – complete with “163″ birthday candles – but our camera choked once again.

Regardless, join me in wishing Mr. Harris a happy birthday!  I’ll be eating leftover cake in his honor all day.

*Tortoises seem to have no such restraints.

Victorian Christmas and Joel Chandler Harris Birthday Extravaganza Tomorrow!

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Hey there!  Remember me?  I’m the one who didn’t go to Salt Lake City to see the outsides of many museums and the insides of a handful.  Not that I’m bitter.

I’m writing to remind you of your afternoon plans for tomorrow.

You know, when you come to the Wren’s Nest between noon and 4pm for a tour of the home, storytelling, and libations, all for free.

Bonus: Birthday cake that might even have “Happy Birthday Mr. Harris!” spelled correctly on it!  Yesterday’s ordering experience left me with some uncertainty.

To whet your appetite for Christmas decorations and good company, I give you this:

Hi Asian Cajuns! Hi Imani!  Thanks for your help decorating and see you all tomorrow!

Victorian Christmas at the Wren’s Nest – Come On Over!

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Because we here at the Wren’s Nest know holiday schedules fill up fast, let us formally invite you to the most Victorian Christmas in town!

Need convincing?  Here’s what lies in store for you on Sunday, December 7th between 12 and 4pm:

• Storytelling!
• Treats!
• Activities for children!
• Mrs. Shakespeare’s famous hot chocolate!
• Tours of the home!
• (163rd) Birthday Cake!

And best of all, it’s free!  Even the treats.

Here are some pictures from last year to prove I’m not lying about the treats.

Iverson Park Literary Festival: Awesome Birthday Party for a Young Philanthropist

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This weekend Lain and I attended one of the most fun, creative, and altruistic birthday parties ever.  For a nine-year-old we had never met.  Would you like some background?

Several weeks ago, Lain and I received the following email:

Lain and Amelia,

My name is Jeff, long-time blog reader, first time writer, as well as 19th century folk-tale enthusiast (who isn’t?) and fan of house museums.  I write to you with a proposal/request/announcement/heads-up.  My 8, soon to be 9 year-old daughter Matilda has for the last several years hosted birthday parties at our home in which, instead of children bringing gifts for her, she raised money for some worthy cause.  A car wash for the Humane Society at age 5, hit the dads with pies in the face for the Red Cross and Katrina Victims at age 6, a backyard Hawaiian fair for bookshelves for her school at age 7, and last year’s American Shoe-Kicking Association (ASKA) National Championships for the Red Cross.  I’m proud and a little nonplussed to write that this was her own initiative, though I’m sure taken from some TV show.

I write you now to let you know that this year you are on the docket as planned beneficiaries of the first (and perhaps last) Iverson Park Literary Festival!  Mathilda visited the Wren’s Nest with her class this past year and was impressed by he experience and wants to join in the fun.  Possible events include a short-story telling contest and for those less inclined to prose, a book throwing contest.

Within about two minutes we told Jeff we were in.  Playing it cool is not our strong suit.

The Iverson Park Literary Festival wildly exceeded any expectations we could have had.  I mean, they had tote bags.  And a mascot!

(Haiku the bookworm)

There was a lot of literary fun going on.  You could guess the number of pages in the book.

(Waiting has never been so exciting!)

You could throw books at William Shakespeare, Louisa May Alcott, or Edgar Allen Poe.

(This activity made Lain nervous thanks to the children shouting “KILL SHAKESPEARE!”)

You could even tell your own story.  Curtis warmed up the crowd, and then the kids competed to see who was the best storyteller.  Lain and I served as Celebrity Judges.

Unfortunately, we did not get any pictures of the amateur storytellers, as we took our judging jobs VERY seriously.

Jeff, author of the above email, played the part of our host — Dr. Armstrong, PhD, MA, RN, NASA, from Valdosta State Technical Community College and State University A & M.

We even wore our most literary duds.  A Kenyon shirt and tweed for Lain, and my “I’m a Bibliophile” shirt from age 5 for me.  Still “fits”!

Curtis played it cool, as always.

We especially felt at home because some of the kids tried to bribe the Celebrity Judges by wearing their Wren’s Nest t-shirts.

The children really wailed on the authors.  So much so that they broke and had to be fixed with a nail gun.

We would have left the nail gun by the snacks, too.

By the end of the Festival we had totally forgotten about how we benefited monetarily, being too busy making exclamations like “This is the best thing ever!” and “I love tote bags!” and “Too bad I will never produce a child as awesome as Matilda.”

So thanks to Jeff, Marisa, Matilda, and everyone at the first (and possibly last) Iverson Park Literary Festival.  Did we mention we had a great time?

Whose Birthday is it Today at the Wren’s Nest?

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One of these people is celebrating a birthday today.

Nope, not him.

Not her either, though she looks ready to party.

He’s fictional, dummy.

Nuh-uh. Good guess, though.

I’m pretty sure not him. Though I didn’t actually check.

Bing bing bing bing! That’s right, today is Executive Director Lain’s birthday! Look at you, smartypants.

Here’s Lain hesitantly celebrating his birthday for the first time.

The goals for this year’s celebration are:

1. Lain does not pass out headfirst into a cake. A beer, maybe.
2. Lain vaguely understands what’s going on.
3. Charlie Brown flatware (if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it).

Please join me in wishing Lain the happiest of birthdays. Or at least one that ranks in his top 17.

Victorian Christmas Recap

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For those of you not from the south, it may come as a surprise to you that it actually gets pretty chilly here in the winter. Sunday, however, was a little different.

Bright, sunny, 75 degrees, and we hosted a Christmas party. Bizarre.

Even more bizarre is that at one point it started raining. For those of you not from the south, it may come as a surprise to you that it still rains here, too. Who knew?

Anyway, we planned for about 75 people, and more than twice that showed up. It was a great success, a little circus-like, and certainly light on pictures since the staff was running hither and thither.

Here’s what we did capture–

In keeping with the day’s weirdness, we brought some crazy stuff out of the attic.

Here sit Uncle Remus and the Little Boy, part of a “diorama” donated by Disney for the premier of Song of the South.

Admittedly, they’re terrifying. I guess that’s what happens when you sit up in the attic for a few decades.

We have my mom to thank for a wonderful afternoon. Well, her and the unflappable Lee twins.

Hey, check out that ye olde Victorian punche.

Miss Woodie told stories for a little while as a crowd gathered ’round.

By the time she was done, there wasn’t much room to sit on either side of the porch.

It happened to be Joel Chandler Harris’ birthday. I cut the cake into the smallest squares imaginable.

It went quick. Lauren, you can thank me later for including this picture.

That’s all we got, unfortunately!

If anyone wants to send in some pictures, I’d be happy to forward it to our team of editors. It may just make it on the blog.

Nearly Winter Newsletter

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In lieu of blogging today, Amelia sent out her masterfully crafted Wren’s Nest Nearly Winter Newsletter. For now, it’s the closest thing we’ve got to a traditional newsletter. Team Wren’s Nest prefers to save paper, postage, and time rather than communicate with you in the “real” “world.” Plus, we woudn’t know where to start with a traditional newsletter anyway.

If you don’t get the newsletter and you’d like to, shoot me an email: lain [at] wrensnestonline [dot] com.

If you do get the newsletter and you’d no longer like to, what’s the matter? How can we help you?

If you do get the newsletter and by chance have a question, comment, concern, or suggestion, by all means leave a comment here and we’ll try to appease you next quarter.

Happy weekend, and we’ll see y’all at our Victorian Christmas on Sunday.

The Christmas Shakes

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Nope, not a reference to Lain on December 25th. Rather, Nannie’s excited physical state that accompanies the Christmas season (she doesn’t even drink coffee!).

(Nannie is shown here fluttering her eyelids to best entice the camera.)

Apparently, her grandson inherited the Christmas shakes. He had to be calmed for 15 minutes each year on Christmas morning. Reminder: Nannie is so awesome.

Why does Nannie have the Christmas Shakes on this, the first day of December? Because we’re gussying up the Wren’s Nest, Victorian Christmas-style!

Photographic evidence below:

Asian Cajun Catherine cracking wise while sitting on our crazy painted carpet in the dining room.

One of these volunteers announced to us that she hates doing this sort of thing when she doesn’t get credit for it. To this we responded, ” Hey! This is where we live! Stop being mean. Also, you do realize we’ll sign anything. Seriously.”

Monkey Arms McGee here was brought in to get to the top. Awkward? Yes.

In the end, they brought in someone far less hesitant. You can see his devotion/trepidation through the body language, displayed via rumpus-jutting.

Here’s the decorations boss, Ida Beth, shown with all the Christmas carnage. What a great day for a tour!

Here are both of the Asian Cajuns stylishly making a centerpiece in the dining room. Allegedly it looks better now that it is completed, but I refuse to verify this claim, preferring to remember it as it once was.

Docents Jeri and “Christmas Shakes” Nannie decorating the piano. You should come over and meet them. They’re far funnier than anything I’ve got, though Jeri claims she’s not funny. Nannie is quite comfortable with her personal level of hilarity.

So! Neat, right? Right. To get a taste (literally- wait for it) for yourself, you should totally come to the Wren’s Nest next Sunday, December 9th, for the Victorian Christmas extravaganza. It’s also Joel Chandler Harris’ birthday! Which means cake!

The details, conveniently clustered:

Sunday, December 9th. 1:30pm to 4:30pm, with cake at 3pm. If you think you’ll be able to make it, please RSVP to lain@wrensnestonline.com. And because we like you, it’s all free. We’ll have activities for the kiddies, and family fun abound.

Hope to see you there! Er, here!