I can’t believe that in just two short weeks, greatwhatsitters will begin to arrive in Philly in preparation for our first annual summit!
Farrell and I have officially moved downstairs to the first floor of our house, the one pictured in my previous demolition posts. I know this must seem inconceivable, and indeed, it does still feel a bit like camping, what with the lack of certain conveniences such as heat and a bathroom. But we are hearty folk with large expandable bladders, and we are settling in just fine downstairs. And don’t worry — heat and the bathroom will be completed by next week. If they aren’t, we can light up the fireplace and we have lots of sweaters and boas to loan out. William’s diapers are available for anyone with incontinence issues.
As some of you know, New Year’s Day here in Philadelphia is a special kind of crazy. The Mummers Day parade travels down Broad street (right outside our house essentially) and stops every few blocks for performances.
The parade has been a Philadelphia tradition since 1901. About 15,000 Mummers perform each year, after spending the better part of the previous year building sets, designing costumes, and practicing skits. These guys are serious about their Mummer-ing. There are different categories of performances (comedy, fancy, string band). I am not even going to try to describe what transpires. It’s better to be surprised. So, the day after our rabble-rousing New Year’s eve TGW extravaganza, be prepared to be dazzled by the parade.
We are so excited to see everyone who is planning on coming. Speaking of which, I was thinking that it would be handy to know who that entails, and more specifically, who is planning on spending nights here, and which nights. All are welcome and can be accomodated. Lots of room.
Love,
Trixie
p.s. the rest of the house has heat, and the heat really will be on, possibly as soon as tomorrow. so don’t fret.
Heat! Mummers! Great Whatsiters!
I. Am. So. Excited.
I hear that Dave is a big fan of central heating.
Overrated.
ok you guys.
thanks for the overwhelming response, but seriously, it would be helpful to know who is planning on coming (besides parrish). you can email us directly if that’s easier.
love,
trixie
I’m coming! on the 28th. can someone pick me up?
Great! I’m delighted to pick you up. Can’t wait to see you.
Hello Trixie,
Apologies for not responding earlier, but I wanted a huge tide of positive replies to accumulate before I did what I have to do. It would have been nice to watch all the love flow through numerous comments and then just pop in and say, “Can’t, sorry!” Coming back early in the negative can be, well, a downer to all involved.
Without an further ado, however, I am forced to say that Jen and I will not be able to make it, due primarily to a lack of time off from work.
We’re both very sorry to miss the opportunity to meet those of you with whom we haven’t yet had the pleasure and also to miss what is bound to be a hell of a party, parade, hangover, etc. We look forward to the photos and the stories and the post that will surely capture it all.
Regards and regrets to all,
T (for himself and J)
Okay, I’ll counteract Tim’s bummer: We’re coming! We get into Newark on the 29th (we flew in there so it would be easier on the back end, coming back from Vermont!) We’ll get a car I assume, and are planning to get a room in Philly for the 29th and 30th, but would love to sleep over on the 31st if there’s space for us! Woohoo! (We fly home on the 9th, but will be in NY and VT–hopefully with many of you in tow–after recovering from the GW throwdown.)
I’ll be there, central heating or no.
I am very sorry to hear that Tim & Jen won’t be there. Tim, I need to reconcile the fresh-faced boy in the wedding photo with the broody Jim Morrison-esque man in contributors’ file!
Very happy to say I’ll be arriving in Philly on the 27th for work, and will be there through New Year’s. It would be great to stay over on the 31st if there’s room. Currently I have reservations to leave on the afternoon of the 1st, but that was before I heard about the mummers. Can be flexible. So excited!
We’ll be thinking of you all as we glide down the Grand Canal.
The parade sounds great, have fun.
Have fun, you guys! With the acqua alta so common in Venice this time of year, you are likely to need dependable rubber boots. Stop by the Peggy Guggenheim museum for me. I love that place. Will you have a chance to visit Murano/Burano?
The Swiss-Italian city of Lugano is, I think, the most beautiful place on the planet.
As for Geneva, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum is pretty cool. Nearby in Lausanne there’s a museum devoted to Art Brut. A funicular goes to the lakefront area called Ouchy, with a ferry across the lake to Evian in France.
Oh, I am filled with vicarious anticipation for you. Can’t wait to hear about your adventures!
is brooke (aka jackson 5) going to be there? if so, farrell will not longer have the distinction of being the only one to have met all the TGW contributors in person.
Trixie and Farrell, thank you so much for hosting this gathering. I am so looking forward to a few blustery days in Philly. One thing I hope to do while there that I’d like to throw out as a possible Whatsit field trip is to see Rocky Balboa in a South Philly theater.
Brush off the initial response and think about it, could be a pretty special time.
G-Lock and I will be in attendance. We can’t hardly wait!
I’ll be there! I have a hotel from the 29th-1st. Can’t wait to celebrate.
btw… Is anyone dressing up?
bryan and i have a hotel too–can’t wait to see you and scott, i think rocky sounds fun.
Enjoy enjoy! I’ll raise many, many glasses to y’all from NYC.
Steph and I need a recommendation of a good hotel to stay at. SSW, where are you and the mister staying?
the hotels were pretty packed when we booked last wk. we’re at hilton garden on fri and sat, which is where rachel b is too, at least thru fri. we’re at f&t’s on the 31st of course …
ww — you will be missed by many. and we will raise drinks in the direction of you and other friends at FS.
Sadly, sadly, as John and I save our pennies for the opportunity to offer an open bar at our wedding, we will not be able to make it for the reunion. We propose, however, next year at our house in l.a. (???). Lots of room to crash out.
By the way, if any of yous is in L.A. in October, please come to our open bar…I mean wedding.
We highly encourage costumes and can’t wait to hear what the next GW “Dave I’m home” phrase will be…no doubt to be birthed at this year’s party…
Have fun! Toasting you all now,
LT
Steph and I booked a room at the Club Quarters, which we found through Hotels.com. Looks like the kind of place that’ll have a 90-year-old bellhop named Julius. Anyway, it was a deal and close to all the tourist sights. We are very much looking forward to this.
I wish we had thought to search out a deal–who am i kidding though, we went for convenience only, and paid up the ass for it. oh well, we don’t do that very often at all–and, flip the hair back slowly on each side-we’re worth it.
SSW, our hotel is only about .5 miles from yours, perfect stumbling distance.
our hotel has hottub–we can invite julius over if we want
I assure you, Julius is in.
hi everyone!
sorry it has taken me so long to respond. we are so excited to see everyone that is coming! i have sent an email to everyone on the authors listserv regarding the arrangements. if you are planning on coming and didn’t receive the email, please contact me directly.
we will surely miss those of you that can’t make it. we will carefully document all activities for vicarious pleasure. and we look forward to hosting you at another event in the future.
love,
trixie and farrell