Month: May 2016

Pen of the Day: Pelikan Piccadilly Circus

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Pelikan M620 Piccadilly Circus fountain pen

Pelikan M620 Piccadilly Circus with fine nib. We went to Captain America: Civil War this weekend. I am so Team Captain America, and this was the closest pen I could find. Which okay, strictly speaking, is a total fail. But, imagine if Captain America ever went out and had some fun in the West End. Let’s go with that.

The Piccadilly Circus is my most used Pelikan Cities Pen, and in some ways my favorite. It’s the most fun.

Pelikan M620 Piccadilly Circus fountain pen detail

I inked it up with Caran d’Ache Divine Pink.  Yes, Caran d’Ache Week was last week. But I can almost hear a Donna Summer song playing somewhere, and I’m going to pretend the party is still going on.

Caran d'Ache Divine Pink ink writing sample

Pen of the Day: Montblanc 146

Laura5 Comments

Montblanc 146 with Caran d'Ache Infra Red

Montblanc 146 with broad nib. Well, I am nothing if not consistent, because I just realized that the last time a 146 was Pen of the Day, it was this very pen.

That’s not my fault, though. It’s because Montblanc makes a great broad nib. Look at this thing.

Montblanc 146 with broad nib Caran d'Ache Infra Red

The ink is Caran d’Ache Infra Red, a red so special it had to be named for something outside the human visible spectrum.

(Although, actually, it’s now been shown that humans can see infrared light under certain circumstances. And that it looks green. So thanks, science, for wrecking everything.)

But science schmience. Ink is my thing. Caran d’Ache Infra Red ink is very visible, very red and very awesome.

Montblanc 146 with broad nib Caran d'Ache Infra Red writing sample

Wednesday Realization: Milestones

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I’ve liked almost everything about being a parent. Except when they got in trouble. Or got croup in the middle of the night. Or that time one of them gave us all stomach flu. Or when they broke a bone. Or broke our cars. Or their own hearts.

Okay, so I didn’t love everything. Most things, though, were pretty great.

But the best part of being a parent has been watching them grow into their own personalities and their own lives. Yesterday my son finished his freshman year of college. That feels like adulthood.  That’s neat.

Pen of the Day: Pelikan M205 Transparent Blue (Again)

Laura2 Comments

Pelikan M205 blue demonstrator Caran d'Ache Idyllic Blue ink

Pelikan M205 Transparent Blue with fine nib. This was pen of the day fairly recently, but I’m repeating it because it’s got a brand new bag — I mean, ink.  This time I filled it with Caran d’Ache Idyllic Blue, another pure blue. I really like the combination.

Pelikan M205 blue demonstrator Caran d'Ache Idyllic Blue ink writing sample

I get the feeling that Caran d’Ache inks may not sell very well. They are so expensive in the US that I only buy them on sale, or from Europe. But it can’t just be price: other inks that are even more expensive get a lot of internet buzz. And Caran d’Ache inks fly under the radar.

Sample a few if you want to try something new. They are excellent inks. With great bottles.

Caran d'Ache Idyllic Blue ink bottle

Fountain Pen Style: The Official Preppy Handbook

Laura2 Comments

J. Herbin Vert Pré Callifolio Andrinople Pelikan M600 Pink Pelikan M400nn

If you are a certain (excellent) age, and also a woman, you’ll remember The Official Preppy Handbook, a well-thumbed tartan paperback owned by you and your friends. You’ll remember wearing Shetland sweaters, chinos and boat shoes. You’ll remember pink and green everything.

Why not rock that look with fountain pen ink?  Let’s go retro. Let’s go fun. Let’s go little-whales-on-shorts here.

For me, it’s J. Herbin Vert Pré and Callifolio Andrinople.

J. Herbin Vert Pré Callifolio Andrinople Pelikan M600 Pink Pelikan M400nn

Things I Learned Last Week

Laura7 Comments

spice drawer

1. It can be dangerous to alphabetize your spice drawer. Because that puts the cinnamon next to the chili powder. This all you need for an early morning “haven’t had my coffee yet” mistake.  Trust me.

2. I went to a pen club meeting last Sunday, and everyone there had beautiful handwriting. I want to find a meeting of doctors.

3. Does this ever happen to you? You start saying something and realize almost instantly … whoops. Wrong words, wrong audience. No way to finish this with grace.

Well, the other day I was thinking of the group TV on the Radio and I started singing, kind of to myself, but with my husband and kids around, the song Red Dress. And then I get to a part of the chorus that goes, “Come bear witness to the whore of Babylon.”

Let me just say: if you want everyone to stop what they are doing, and look up at you as if you have lost your mind, this is perfect.