Well Hello Again

Tags

calligraphy ink, pen and ink holder, pen heaven, quill pen, shakespeare, shakespeare 400 anniversary, stylografico la kaligraphica

Hello everyone! I am back, finally. The move is, essentially, over. Some aspects of our lives have unfolded beautifully in our new home, others disastrously. I am married to the most hard working, patient, incredible man who would be a world Tetris champion based on his POD packing skills! And our two fur babies were absolute angels as they navigated moves from a plane to an apartment to an hotel and then another apartment (remember I said some aspects disastrous, and that’s only one!) So now I am very happy to be digitally connected once again, and grateful to anyone who might still be reading!

I flew to Halifax with the cats and some important essentials, like a couple of notebooks, one bottle of ink (it was so difficult to choose just one!) and ALL of my pens. David drove across the country and I had one box in the car with the rest of my essentials (more notebooks and lots more ink!) There are still more notebooks and bottles of ink in our moving container. We honestly shed a lot of possessions, but kept those most precious to us. For David it was his musical gear; for me, my writing gear. Tables and sofas come and go but….. 🙂

Before I left Calgary I added something to my writing gear. As you may have heard the world celebrated the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth/death this year, on April 23. While I could not fly to England to participate in any of the exciting celebrations planned throughout this year, I was inspired by a regular email from Pen Heaven to purchase a pewter feather quill pen with holder and ink bottle. I had it sent to my new office and it was waiting for me when I arrived. Such a nice welcome present! Someday I hope to visit the Pen Heaven store in London.

The set is made in Italy and the packaging is gorgeous.

The inside is gorgeous too. I chose the brown feather and I love how ornate the base looks. The bottle of ink fits into the holder as well. And there is some literature on the history of quill pens and how to write with one.

I thought it would look really stunning on my desk. The ink bottle contains black ink and the bottle says Inchiostro Stylografico NERO La Kaligraphica Made in Italy. According to Google Translate this means Black Ink Stylografico La Kaligraphica. I’m sure this is calligraphy ink and not meant for regular fountain pens.

Here’s a closeup of the base and holder. The ink bottle was wax sealed. I think it’s extremely good craftsmanship for the price. I just realized I didn’t take a photo of the nib but you can see it magnified on the Pen Heaven page referenced above.

The ink is a true coal black. I will have to perfect my technique; the first line came out beautifully but then I had difficulty with the rest with ink blobs and running out of ink. Even if the pen turns out to be more decorative than useful I still love it. I’m sure when my desk arrives it will look great in the corner. Hopefully that will be next week!

It feels good to be back online and writing these posts again. I’m not sure if I will keep the same schedule as before; I’m working longer hours and my set up is much different. We’ll have to see how I get on. Until next time, whenever that is, thank you for your patience, thank you for sticking around and happy journaling!

Meeting Ourselves #giveagirlajournal

Tags

#giveagirlajournal, jamie ridler studios

I recently became a subscriber over at Jamie Ridler Studios, mainly through finding her on YouTube, and because she was talking about a Do Good initiative she was launching called Give a Girl a Journal. And that initiative launched today. Jamie, a creative living coach, has asked journalers to share how they came to journal and why this practice is so important to them. Here is my story.

My earliest memories are of pretending to write. I would find a magazine that mom and dad were finished with and I would cover the page with gibberish. I filled in the spaces between paragraphs and around words; all of the white space would be filled with my scribbles. I felt very important and wise, writing down “words” before I even knew what they were. I saw my parents writing grocery lists, journal entries, expense reports, client summaries, letters and Christmas cards and I was determined to do the same, even though I had no clear idea what they were doing. I just knew I HAD TO WRITE. My hand had a life of its own. It still does.

Once I learned to write I never stopped. I wrote stories and poems. I wrote in my diary about the wonder and pain and sharp edges of being a girl. My notebooks were my best friends because they always listened and never judged. They have been with me for every decision, every celebration, every obstacle, every miracle, every sadness and every triumph. They remain my best friends, still listening without judgement. I still write stories and poems and my notebooks are still my safe place, my world, my greenhouse, my lab, for ideas, plans and schemes. My journal is freedom, the one thing that endures.

Everyone needs a safe place to meet themselves. And through Jamie Ridler’s initiative, Give a Girl a Journal, we can Nominate a Girl to receive a journaling package. Or for $20 USD we can Sponsor a Journal for a nominated girl.

And it’s not just girls who need this; you might remember the post I made about the young man who lives beside me who is facing life with an inoperable brain tumour. I gave him a journal because it was the best gift I could give him. Young people in our community need tools to get through the process of becoming who they are. We know the power of our journals and we should share it. Join Jamie Ridler’s campaign and give a girl a journal so she always has a best friend to hug tight to her chest, and hear her inner voice.

Happy Handwriting Day #handwritingday

Tags

national handwriting day

Links to check out:

http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/23/living/national-handwriting-day/

Why Handwriting Matters in a Digital World

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/12115880/National-Handwriting-Day-What-does-your-handwriting-say-about-you.html

http://www.fahrneyspens.com/content–name-2015-national-handwriting-contest

http://www.handwritingrepair.info/WHAC/

My feet will want to march to where you are sleeping, but I shall go on living

Tags

alan rickman

NaJoWriMo and a Giveaway

Tags

giveaway, monteverde poquito, najowrimo

NaJoWriMo is National Journal Writing Month and this year I’ve decided to participate in the January program. It occurs four times per year: January, April, July and October. You sign up and each day of the month you will receive a journal prompt in your email. The theme for this month is Journaling for Personal Growth and Achieving Goals. Well that sounds pretty good right?

These are the prompts I’ve received so far:

Jan 1: What inspires you?

Jan 2: Create a list of things you’ve never done, and would like to do.

Jan 3: Make a list of 10 questions that you don’t have the answers for right now.

I think it’s going to be interesting. This program was conceived by Bakari Chavanu and he is a journaling enthusiast using the Day One app. He wrote Starting from Day One: Using the Day One Journaling App to Record and Enrich Your Life. I’m excited to see if I can maintain these journal prompts for a solid month. While I don’t have trouble writing in my journal every day, I have not used prompts for a 30 day stretch before so it’s a bit of a challenge for me. But one I’m looking forward to. So far so good!

I also wanted to let everyone know that I am hosting another giveaway. I want to whittle down my pen collection so a few times throughout the year ahead I will be hosting pen giveaways. Please note that all of the pens I will be giving away are used, unless stated otherwise.

The pen I am giving away in January is the Monteverde Poquito in silver. I wrote about it in this post. It is a pocket pen, perfect for my pocket Finsbury. But I’m just not using it at all; I find it a little too small for my hands. It did not come with a converter but I will include a couple cartridges, in the ink of the winner’s choice (from my ink cartridge collection).

Here is a picture of the Poquito with other pens, to give you an idea of scale:

I don’t remember what I paid for this pen, and I didn’t mention it in the blog post referenced above. Currently Goulet Pens is selling these pens for $24 US in Stone Grey, Pink and Turquoise. The silver may be sold out or no longer available.

The rules to enter are as follows:

1. You must be 18 years of age or have parental permission to enter.
2. Be a subscriber to this blog.
3. Leave a comment on this post.

The giveaway is open internationally. It runs from today, Sunday, January 3, 2016, to midnight Mountain Standard Time on Saturday, January 30, 2016. I will use random.org to choose the winner. I will announce the winner on Sunday, January 31, 2016, on this blog. The winner will have until Sunday, February 7, 2016 to contact me with their mailing details, using the Contact Me button at the top of the page, next to the About button. If I don’t hear from the winner by midnight on Sunday, February 7, 2016 I will pick another winner and announce it on Monday, February 8, 2016.

I hope everyone had lovely Christmas and New Year’s celebrations. This is my small way of saying thank you for your support for the past year and beyond, and I hope the winner enjoys this pen as much as I have. And that they have small hands 🙂

Happy Fountain Pen Day 2015!

Tags

fountain pen day

Hope all of you have a wonderful day using and loving your fountain pens! Be sure to check out http://www.fountainpenday.org/ for ideas on how to celebrate and don’t forget the sponsor page; lots of great deals and giveaways. Have fun!

NaNoWriMo, World Mail Panel and Fountain Pen Day

Tags

fountain pen day, leuchtturm, nanowrimo, world mail panel

Today marks the beginning of NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month. I am doing it this year and hope to achieve the 50,000 words but I’m not putting immense pressure on myself to do so. Some writerly friends of mine and I are attending a few writing workshops next weekend and I’m really looking forward to that. We’ll see how it goes. Anyone else doing it this year?

I mentioned in this post that World Mail Panel have asked me to send envelopes as well as log envelopes received. My first batch arrived last week and I spent a couple of hours today getting myself organized.

Sorry about the glare.

I record the letters I receive in the purple Leuchtturm Jottbook and now I’m going to record the letters I send in a black Leuchtturm Notebook.

Each envelope should be sent on a set date and I wrote the first batch in my notebook. If I don’t manage to send the envelope on the specific day I need to tell them what day the envelope actually went out. It’s fun to see the destinations.

Every two weeks I will receive the envelopes for the next week. Currently I have envelopes ready for Week 46. I thought separate plastic pouches for each batch of envelopes would help me keep track. We’ll see how it works as I get through them. Should be fun! If you would like to join the team, go to this page and fill in your details. If they need someone in your area they will contact you. I get paid about $16 per month to receive envelopes and now with sending envelopes as well that amount will rise to $21. It adds up over time, believe me. Each month I am awarded a set amount of points and once I reach a certain amount I can redeem them for Amazon giftcards or Paypal deposits. I can also donate them to Doctors Without Borders. It’s a great program.

Don’t forget Fountain Pen Day is coming up soon: November 6. Anything special planned? Whatever you do enjoy your pens, whether you are a long time fountain pen lover or just discovering the hobby. More on that from me on the day. 🙂

Shakespeare in the Open Air

Tags

de atramentis, monteverde tiger eye, paperblanks, shakespeare on the bow, the tempest, william shakespeare

A couple of weekends ago I went to Prince’s Island Park for a performance of The Tempest by local theatre group, Shakespeare by the Bow. The group is made up of up-and-coming artists who are mentored by members of Theatre Calgary. Each performance is pay-what-you-will and is a really lovely way to spend a summer’s afternoon. I went with friends and we settled on the grass for a picnic and a show and tried to stay cool under the blazing Calgary summer sun.

In addition to blankets, fruit and water, I brought a special notebook with me, one I have mentioned on this blog a couple of times. In this post from June of 2012 I wrote of my search for the Paperblanks William Shakespeare journal and my enjoyment of that years’s production, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (they were called Shakespeare in the Park at that time).  And then in March of this year, in this post, I wrote about finding the Paperblanks Shakespeare journal at Reid’s and how in love I was with it. So it was more than fitting to bring my Shakespeare journal with me to watch this year’s performance of The Tempest.

I realize I should have taken a picture of it “in the wild” as it were but it was so hot that day I was worried my phone would melt. I paired my De Atramentis William Shakespare ink with my Tiger Eye Monteverde pen and I think the combination is just stunning. I talked about this ink in 2014 in this post.

I put this quote from my fave Shakespearean play on the first page. After that I recorded my thoughts about this year’s production of The Tempest, and I made some notes on a television show I had watched the night before discussing the play and how it was so autobiographical. I intend to put any Shakespeare-related writing in this notebook. I thought I might print out pictures of the performances I see as well. I also took a neat quiz that determines what kind of Shakespearean character you are. You can take the quiz here. I got Ophelia. Luckily I know how to swim. 😉

InCoWriMo 2015: Final Update

Tags

incowrimo 2015

InCoWriMo 2015 ended last week. I did not do as well this year; I sent a total of 14 letters and received 7. But the whole exercise has ignited my love of letter writing once again, much to the delight of my Reply To pile (can a stack of letters feel delight? I like to think so).

All of the letters I received were lovely but a few stood out.

At top left the long yellow envelope was very interesting, and was from a brand new pen pal. Actually all of these were from brand new pen pals. I love the gold wax seal and the InCoWriMo stationery is great. I should print those out for myself next year. But the beautiful art card was the gem of the month. Isn’t it gorgeous? I can’t wait to get through my Reply To pile to these folks. I’ve written three letters this weekend so I’ll get there soon.

I hope everyone who participated in InCoWriMo this year had a blast, as I certainly did. I apologize in general to those pen pals who are waiting on a letter from me; and to the new pen pals thank you so much and I will answer your good letters just as soon as I can.

Happy writing.

InCoWriMo 2015

Tags

incowrimo, incowrimo 2015

Well it’s that time of year again. International Correspondence Writing Month (InCoWriMo) is a celebration of the hand-written letter, card, note, or postcard during the month of February. The idea is to write and send something hand-written every day. So 28 pieces of hand-written goodness. Check out the website incowrimo.org (which has been revamped and is super swanky!) and participate in the contests. You can also add your location (I have) and check out the participant map. They’ve also added an interesting tracking feature this year.

Some of the tools I’ll be using for InCoWriMo.

I participated last year; I sent 34 items and received 27. I continued writing throughout the year and still have a sizable reply-to pile which needs to be tackled first. Along with those contest entries!

Maybe I can squeeze in a few letters tonight. Join us and write a card or two. 🙂