What I'm thinking today: Monday Moanings

Monday 25 January 2016

Monday Moanings - January 25, 2016

Going with the Flow

I was having trouble settling on what to write today. As is my usual practice when a number of candidates are trying to push themselves to the front of the line, I stepped away from the laptop to take up my fountain pen for wisdom.

image courtesy of Laywine's

I must tell you that there's a new kid in my handwriting collection, a Christmas present from my love. Actually he gave me a gift card and together we headed into Toronto, to Laywine's.

OMG if you love writing by hand, if you long for the feel and flow of a good pen, then this is the store for you, (but perhaps not for your credit card). Not only is there a magnificent array of fine writing instruments, there are also journals and stationery, many specifically crafted for the fountain pen of your dreams. Add to this, an eye-popping selection of inks from around the world and you know that you have arrived in handwriting heaven.

I brought along my trusty Parker Sonnet (in the first picture at the top of page), the workhorse of so many of my hand-inked words. I told the staff that I was looking to upgrade. The young man behind the counter happily obliged, but not before asking me a host of questions about my writing habits. He presented several pens for me to test drive. Weight, balance, ink flow, nib size were all tested before I settled on Lamy 2000, a piece of impeccable engineering.

Enough already with the drooling over a pen! Time to get writing, BUT where is my journal book, the one with paper made especially to receive ink from a medium nib without scratching or bleeding? I can't possibly just use any old blank piece of paper! It took a full twenty minutes of turning my spaces upside down and more than a few expletives before the trim blue volume revealed itself. Ahhhh ... now to the writing.

Balanced perfectly in my write hand, my fingers cradling the smooth slim body, I gently pressed the tip to the page. Words were delivered to paper with just the right amount of ink and the page received them with grace, spelling mistakes and all!