If there’s one thing the early history of the internet has taught us, it’s that everyone loves cute animal photos.
Let’s kick off the week, then, with this adorable hedgehog. My friend emailed me this — she set up a hedgehog feeding station in her yard.
My girls and I have named this little guy “Hedgie.”
On the third day of Holiday Ink, I am bringing out the green. This is a cheerful green, J. Herbin Lierre Sauvage, for the kid in all of us.
On the second day of Holiday Ink, I will note that Hanukkah starts tomorrow, which is a fine reason to bring out some blue ink. Montblanc’s limited edition JFK is a nice dark blue with wonderful shading. It was released late last year, so if you can still find a bottle, go for it.
I have been without my computer for a few days, as Apple (very nicely) fixed a video card problem. In the past, I have been without kitchen appliances for weeks (couldn’t cook), without hot water (had to go to friends and family to shower), without a car for a week, and even without power for two or three days.
But being without the computer may have been worse. Not being able to cook has its good side, after all, and without a car you can bicycle or walk. With my laptop, I have everything set up to run seamlessly and automatically — every website is logged in, every email account password is entered and every document for work is at hand. Even my recipes are on that computer. Without all that, I could hardly do anything, and what I could do took forever.
So I found myself reading a book last night. An actual book — printed on paper. Holy “Back in the 20th Century,” Batman.
It was a good book. And I went to sleep earlier than usual. But I was the happiest person in the world when I could pick up this machine again. First world problems, I know. But may it never leave my side again.
With decorations up, and holiday cards next on the list, I’ve been thinking about ink. Let’s do twelve days of holiday inks.
On this first day of Holiday Ink comes an old favorite: Montblanc Winter Glow. This beautiful ink is a deep, warm and happy red. I love it, and use it all winter.
Kaweco Classic Sport with broad Architect’s nib. Today’s Pen of the Day is really a disguised Ink of the Day. This is one of my oft-used Kaweco Classic Sport demonstrator pens, now with an Architect’s nib.
The ink is Caran d’Ache Infra Red, courtesy of an early Black Friday sale. One of the blog’s readers turned me on to this ink. It’s a great color.
Along with my two Architect’s nibs in broad and medium, Dan Smith, the Nibsmith, sent me a Pelikan fine nib that he ground to an Architect’s point, so I could try that.
I always prefer standard fine and extra-fine nibs. But an Architect’s nib is unusual, since it has a relatively small sweet spot, and I am not the most precise of scribblers. So I didn’t know if I could make that work.
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This is the last day of November. The Christmas tree is up and decorated. And we’ve only had four of the light bulbs fizzle in 24 hours, so there’s at least a 10 percent chance it will stay lit all season.
And we’ve already triggered our traditional winter visit to the auto body shop. Yesterday the teenager with the learner’s permit borked a right turn, ran over the curb and rammed into a sign post.
Luckily, that did stop the car. So it didn’t hit the two neighbors right there on the sidewalk. That’s a silver lining. And here’s another: we’ve mutually agreed that dad needs to take her in the future. Apparently I yelled “stop” too much.
Well, it’s obviously time to focus on the past, rather than the future. So here are my own fountain pen favorites for November.
1. Kaweco. I love those AL-Sports in raw aluminum and stonewashed.
2. Seitz-Kreuznach. Those inks are such a great deal and such high quality that if I were starting out today I’d snap up the blue, black, red and brown Seitz-Kreuznach inks and probably use them for half my writing.
3. Pelikan Brilliant Black. Sure, it’s not exciting, or new. But I used Pelikan Brilliant Black a lot during a hellish month of work this November. And I appreciate it. It’s an ink I can count on.
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Photo by Dafne Cholet, Flickr, used under Creative Commons license.
Fountain Pen Follies 