May 11th-16th 2026

It has been one of those weeks that felt longer than a week in the best possible way.

It started with the monthly dispatch letters. After sitting down last Sunday and hand-addressing a stack of them, I realized fairly quickly that my handwriting, while functional, was not exactly rising to the occasion. So I did what any reasonable person does: I checked out three calligraphy books from the library, then drove to one of my favorite creative reuse stores in Berkeley and spent a happy hour digging through their supplies until I surfaced some lovely old ink bottles, a handful of nibs, and a pen holder. There is nothing quite like giving something a second life, finding an object that has clearly been well loved and bringing it home to be well loved again. The calligraphy itself is not technically difficult, but it demands you slow down, which turns out to be its own kind of medicine.

Mid-week I found myself at a new-to-me bar and restaurant in downtown Oakland called Lucy Blue — slight savory mocktail in hand, postcards spread across the table, doing what any reasonable person does at a bar on a weekday. The genuinely exciting part was seeing DPS dispatches landing in real people's hands. Recipients started sharing photos and notes about the activities they were planning in their own cities. That felt like something.

Most of the week outside of that was devoted to gathering and staging for the event I'd decided — last Sunday, somewhat impulsively — to throw this Saturday. Lucky for me I have accumulated a fairly unreasonable amount of beautiful glassware and vessels over the years, so the bones were already there. I also happened to find a lovely wicker picnic basket and an art deco-style wine box that immediately announced itself as the future home for something. More on that in a moment.

The something turned out to be caramels. For anyone who doesn't know me: I do not cook. I own no pots or pans. For the past three years my kitchen has been primarily the domain of a Tovala robot and the prepared foods section of Trader Joe's, and I have been perfectly happy about this. And yet. I was inspired by a Japanese confectionery called Number Sugar and their beautiful individually wrapped caramels, and I thought: I can do that.

Reader, I made caramels in a microwave, and they turned out beautifully. I have since acquired a few more supplies and am planning a rose extract version next — which, if it works, may become part of future DPS events. Possibly available for purchase. We'll see.

While out earlier in the week I spotted a bumper sticker that required me to zoom in quite a bit to fully read. It turned out to be a "Honk If You Love" sticker featuring Hans Holbein the Younger's The Body of the Dead Christ in the Tomb(1520–22, oil and tempera on limewood, 30.5 cm × 200 cm — the sticker was thorough). Morbid, yes. But it also sent me down a small rabbit hole on Holbein, and it made me think about the WWJD swag of the late 90s, which I genuinely wonder if we'll see return alongside everything else from that era that seems to be making a comeback.

On the topic of roses, because apparently that's the theme of May, the internet recently surfaced the AllSaints Ravaged Rose Eau de Parfum and I am trying very hard not to simply purchase it. It apparently came out some years ago, which means I might be able to track down a sample. If anyone has strong feelings about rose perfumes — deeply rosy, complex, not the kind that smells like a grandmother's powder room — I am very open to recommendations.

And finally: my dad recently sent a folder of old family photos he'd been digging through. I have included a selection. I have no further comment except to say: youth.

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The Event

It was one of those days that felt officially like summer — warm, golden, the kind of afternoon the rose garden was made for. I set up the spread, laid out the caramels, got the vending machine positioned, and practiced calligraphy until the guests started arriving. We played some parlour games. I handed out caramels and read relationship matches. The vending machine was apparently quite arresting to passersby — I fielded several questions from strangers, which gave me the chance to explain what Dark Parlour Society actually is, which I always enjoy.

The one thing I forgot was sunblock on my back, so I now have what I can only describe as the most dramatic tan of my adult life. C'est la vie.

I'm already thinking about the next one. An investment in a large outdoor parasol feels essential. But we're halfway through May, and my custom DPS stamp just arrived in the mail, so the focus now is Experiment 2 — and June.