A quick apology

Hi pen friends,

I'm sorry for the dearth of posts here. Things have been rather busy with the family over the last few weeks (kids moving, burglaries, family gatherings, and other assorted Life Occurrences) and it's taken much of my time and energy. I am working on a new pen review and am nearly done; stay tuned...and thanks for your patience!

The Sunday Post: September 11, 2011

Joe and I are going to his annual family reunion today. This requires a 3-hour drive each way, and is held in the picnic area of a public park in a small town in Eastern Washington. It is always very hot. With a few exceptions, the attendees are people that I met at our wedding 19 years ago and see at this event - and nowhere else.

As I think a good spouse should, I go every year. I go for Joe's sake. And secretly (well, not so secretly now) I'm usually a little cranky about it. Long drive. Way too hot. Chock full of strangers.

I don't know why, perhaps to torment myself with it, I jumped online this morning to check the weather report for our day's destination (100 and sunny, by the way).

And it was only then that I realized what day it is.

Most of us have particular memories of that day ten years ago, when the unimaginable happened. Mine are mainly of bewilderment and then horror when I realized what was happening.

The most vivid memory I have of the World Trade Center is a small one: the sight of a woman, in a blue skirted suit and white blouse and navy pumps, clutching her purse to her body as she leapt to her death from one of the upper floors of the World Trade Center. Of course I cannot know her mind, but I imagine that she had realized she was going to die and decided what she thought would be the best (whatever that means!), and was clutching her purse to herself so that her body could easily be identified.

To this day I pray regularly for her, whom I will never know - not even her name. And I pray for all of us affected by the events of ten years ago. And I don't know anyone who was unaffected at least to some degree.

We didn't lose any friends or family members that day, though I spent some hours trying to locate a staff member who was on vacation in New York. We are very fortunate in that.

I think I'm more grateful for that park full of "strangers" than I was earlier this morning.

The Sunday Post: August 21, 2011

An Introduction

It occurs to me I've been remiss in not introducing you to the third member of the household. And, depending on one's viewpoint, he may well be the most important member. (Just ask him.)

This is Gandalf. He is a quaker parrot, and came to us as a rescue in 2003. This photo was taken shortly after he came to live with us; as you can see, he is fond of bathing in the sink.

The story of his arrival is a bit fun. Well, the first part isn't - I had a lovebird for 14 years, who died of liver cancer in late 2002. After a month or two, we got in touch with a woman locally who takes in and rehomes birds that people don't want or can't keep, and offered to give her my bird's cage and some other supplies we had, since we no longer had a use for them; we figured she could give the cage to someone else that couldn't afford one.

She said she'd be delighted to take whatever we could give her, so we gathered up some things and went over to her place.

Pen Review: TWSBI Diamond 530 with Pendleton Butter Line Stub

There have been a lot of reviews of the TWSBI Diamond 530 since it was released in early 2010. The pen was the result of collaboration with, and feedback from, the fountain pen community with the Taiwan-based designer and manufacturer, known on most pen boards as "Speedy." I won't go too far into reviewing the pen itself, since others have done a marvelous job of that already; examples can be found here and here.

TWSBI Diamond 530

This is about the nib. And here's the story.

The Sunday Post: August 14, 2011

Sometimes It's the Little Things

I'm sure all of us are aware of the upheaval the world seems to be in at the moment. In light of all the serious things going on, how can I maintain a simple little blog like this?

I am certainly not unmindful of the many troubles out there; I see this blog as a little bit of peacefulness. I just want to bring a little enjoyment and beauty to others.

And, speaking of enjoyment and beauty, Joe and I just got back from a few days away, and I thought I'd share a few pretty pictures with you. Hope you enjoy them! These were taken over the last few days in Langley, WA.





 Here is a link to an album with the individual photos.

Expanded horizons

Life Beyond Fountain Pens

Joe is a true fountain pen fanatic. In fact, when we recently were signing some legal documents, I was very proud of the fact that he actually didn't make a fuss when he was asked to sign with something other than a fountain pen. Usually such occasions elicit protest from him. (Of course, he was somewhat pacified when I loaned him my Retro 51 Cioppino rollerball.)

Yes, I know there are bulletproof inks. The truth is, sometimes it's just simpler to go along with the attorney/escrow closer/whomever than to fight that battle.

I also work in a busy office with a lot of different people, most of whom don't know what do to with a fountain pen when presented with one. The reactions generally fall into two different camps: either they're afraid of it, almost to the point of not wishing to touch it, or they get aggressive about it: yank on the cap, press hard while writing.

In either case, offering a fountain pen to a coworker doesn't end well.



A few of my Retros,  from L - R: Copper, Dreamcatcher, Cioppino, Bamboo

 For these reasons, I've got a few non-fountain pens in the collection. As you might tell from the mention above, most of them tend to be Retro 51s. I find them to be of durable construction, well-balanced, comfortable to write with, and much less intimidating to the general public. People still tend to be careful with them because they're "nice pens;" I haven't had to go chasing after anyone trying to walk off with one, and yet they know how to use them.

For work, my strategy is to keep the fountain pens near me, and out of easy reach of visitors to my office. I keep a Retro or two front and center for others to use - as well as for me in those situations where a fountain pen wouldn't really work well.

I am of course always happy to delve into the joys and mysteries of fountain pens, should anyone ask; those inquiries seem to be few and far between within the general populace, however.

I'd love to hear in what ways others have expanded beyond fountain pens in their daily lives too!

Pen Review: Guider Jumbo Clipless

(as always, all photos are clickable)
I bought this pen in February. It's now the end of July, and I'm just getting around to writing this review. Why?

Well, yes, I am busy, but so is everyone else, and I've managed a few other posts here between February and now.

Truth? I was afraid of it. Really.