Beautiful sunrise.
I have been puttering away. Done for now with the new cabinet...although I may do a little more tweaking...and I have room for lots more stuff! :):)
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The top will remain open all the time because I decided to put ink bottles up there and some of them are tall.
Even with all that space, there was not enough room to put all my ink bottles up there. Right nearby in the desk hutch you can see a couple of boxes that will have to stay put right there.
These two boxes...
...hold two sets of six Levenger ink bottles.
But the rest of the bottles are now in the top of the new cabinet. Starting on the left side, I have my Noodler's collection and the two bottles in the very front were Leah's mom's. I stuck the little spiral notebook up against the back where I can grab to look up which ink is in which pen. ;)
In the center of the top is an assortment of different brands of ink bottles--a couple are over 20 years old and a couple are new.
On the right hand side--in the very back are the inks for my Rapidograph pens and in the white box cover are an assortment of odd inks. There's calligraphy, India, walnut...and, except for the newer walnut, I think all the rest of them are 25-30 years old.
Then there are the six smaller drawers.
In the center of the top is an assortment of different brands of ink bottles--a couple are over 20 years old and a couple are new.
On the right hand side--in the very back are the inks for my Rapidograph pens and in the white box cover are an assortment of odd inks. There's calligraphy, India, walnut...and, except for the newer walnut, I think all the rest of them are 25-30 years old.
Then there are the six smaller drawers.Top left: all these pens are filled with inks from ink bottles I own.
Top right: all these pens are filled with ink samples from Ink Drop.
Middle left: on the left side are all the calligraphy fountain pens and on the right side is the pen with the invisible ink & the blacklights.
Middle right: my flex fountain pens on the left and my set of Rapidograph drawing pens on the right.
The bottom two small drawers are empty!!
Top right: all these pens are filled with ink samples from Ink Drop.
Middle left: on the left side are all the calligraphy fountain pens and on the right side is the pen with the invisible ink & the blacklights.
Middle right: my flex fountain pens on the left and my set of Rapidograph drawing pens on the right.
The bottom two small drawers are empty!!****
There are the three larger drawers under the six smaller ones.
Top big drawer (dip pen drawer): nib collection in the plastic container, current used nibs in the small plastic container, all my various utilitarian nib holders, my rocker blotter (sitting on a paper towel), and my stash of pre-cut blotter paper for my rocker blotter.
Middle big drawer: just stuck these in here for now. Actually use what looks like tiny shot glasses for dip pens--so maybe they should go in the above drawer, now that I think about it. You know what they are? They're small glass containers for people to soak a fingernail in when they are getting their nails done and you can buy them for cheap at beauty supply stores. They work perfectly to hold a small amount of ink for dip pen work so that you don't have to have the larger bottle open for long periods of time or dip deeply (and messily if you are me) into a big ink bottle. The bottles with the eye droppers and the loose eyedropper were used for moving ink around, but now I have my new syringes, which work even better!
Bottom big drawer is refills, converters, and parts.
The wooden box on the left side holds the syringes, rubber rings, silicone grease, and more pen parts.
Whew! And there's no room for all the ink samples from Ink Drop. Well, not if I want them standing upright. But, since I cleared out most of a drawer in my dresser, I now have the prefect spot for one of the plastic ink sample holder trays when I finally buy one. ;)
Middle big drawer: just stuck these in here for now. Actually use what looks like tiny shot glasses for dip pens--so maybe they should go in the above drawer, now that I think about it. You know what they are? They're small glass containers for people to soak a fingernail in when they are getting their nails done and you can buy them for cheap at beauty supply stores. They work perfectly to hold a small amount of ink for dip pen work so that you don't have to have the larger bottle open for long periods of time or dip deeply (and messily if you are me) into a big ink bottle. The bottles with the eye droppers and the loose eyedropper were used for moving ink around, but now I have my new syringes, which work even better!
Bottom big drawer is refills, converters, and parts.
The wooden box on the left side holds the syringes, rubber rings, silicone grease, and more pen parts.
Whew! And there's no room for all the ink samples from Ink Drop. Well, not if I want them standing upright. But, since I cleared out most of a drawer in my dresser, I now have the prefect spot for one of the plastic ink sample holder trays when I finally buy one. ;)****
I can't get over that I can actually see all my inks now! Except for the Levenger inks, they're actually all in one place for the first time! tada! I have room for more, too--LOL! ;)
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I'm thinking I may move my disposable drawing pens and my brush ink pens over into the cabinet, too. I wasn't sure how much room I'd actually have...and I do have more room!
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Anyways, I ended up sleeping from late morning into the evening...and have to be half-ways alert and dressed by 9am for the inspection day. So, I am hoping the do come to my apartment first in the morning. I'll be doing some sleeping during the day...whether in my chair or in bed. Dagan and Leah are coming over tomorrow night. Leah and I will be working on the Christmas cards. Lots of stamping and cutting to do tonight. (I almost said tomorrow, but it is already Wednesday--LOL!) Card making will be my artistic endeavor for today. :)
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The nablopomo prompt for today:
When was the first time that you realized that your home was not like other people’s homes?
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When I was five we moved to the brand new Minneapolis suburb of Fridley. The only thing you have to go on as a kid is to be close enough to compare, right? I discovered that our family didn't function anything like my neighbor Linda's family and was fascinated by the differences. Her family seemed like Father Knows Best on TV. That was probably the first time it registered with me that there actually were families that were more like Father Knows Best and the Norman Rockwell paintings on the cover of Life magazine.
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Of course, when you got even closer you eventually discovered that not everything is as idyllic as it may appear on the surface--but, let's just say, Father Knows Best and Leave It To Beaver were my favorite TV shows back in the 50s. And Linda and I confessed later to being secretly envious of the other's childhood to some extent. She had the routine, rules, family dinners...I had the running barefoot, few rules, fend for yourself environment. Later on, I appreciated the freedom much more than I did at the time. I was born living outside the box. ;)
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No two families are alike.
And nobody really knows what goes on behind closed doors.
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Interesting question today.
Hey--feel free to jump in on any of these!
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Anyways...Lord, just get me through Wednesday--LOL!
Catch you tomorrow! :):)
21 comments:
Wow, I can't believe you posted for Wednesday already and it's after midnight here. I love your box!!! I'm so envious! I may have to get one of those some day but I wouldn't have anywhere to put it so I think I better deal with the stuff I have first. I have a tun of stuff in my garage that I still haven't unpacked from when we moved in here in 2004!!! I was just looking in there and found a set of drawing pencils (ranges of hard to soft) and art tables. It was like Christmas LOL I've also been looking at old pictures. None of my pictures are in albums sad to say. I need to do something about that. I also have a box of pictures that were my mother in laws. I just never got into scrapbooking. I liked making cards better.
That is an interesting question for today. I knew my family wasn't like others pretty early. My dad was the eat off the land type so he was always skinning something in the backyard and me, the animal lover, was always horrified. My dad had to cover up the faces/eyes of animals because I would just stand there frozen...in shock. Also, my dad had this cabinet full of guns where most people had hutches full of fine china LOL When my kids were little they realized that our family was different than others too. Jared went to a birthday party when he was maybe 4 and came home telling me how they didn't have any books! No bookshelves, no newspapers, no magazines.... mom, they don't even read bedtime stories! Jared started reading at 3 years old and he had 2 tall bookshelves in his room full of books. He was also advanced in reading and his 1st grade teacher was shocked that he was reading redwall books then. She said he was reading (on his own) books that are required reading for 6th graders and they have a hard time getting them to read those books. LOL Kids are so different. Riley doesn't like to read as much but he likes it when I read a story and then tell it to him in my words. He doesn't like too many details so I summarize. It's funny how much things change over time.... I was just looking at pictures and my heart is just full right now.
That cabinet and you are really going to get along quite well! :)
I hope you manage to have the inspection done and that you are alert for you visitors tonight!!
Interesting "prompt"... I don't know when I thought "home" wasn't like other peoples - I was rarely in other folk's places. But one family across the street had a 4 boys and 2 girls and the shortest of them might of been 6 foot tall - and I remember how the kitchen sink was always full of dirty cereal bowls (and a little milk) and the living room filled with newspapers and magazines on every surface - my Mom never left anything in the sink - not were there any "paper" spread out in the living room...
They were a nice family - but very different from mine - they often got lost - and my dad never did...
rita...you always amaze me with your art supplies...so organized! i love boxes...and the one you have there with the drawers is perfect!! all those inks...and pens...makes me want to run out to the art store...and wander the aisles. i want this...and that...i get a rush...seeing all the stuff i want to try.
and some of your inks are 20 yrs old!! wow!! i used to use rapidograph pens...but for me, the ink always seemed to clog & dry so quickly in them! what's your secret? you leave ink in them or clean them each time after you use them?
YOUR SUNRISE picture is beautiful! my favorite time of day!
>>my home and other people's homes. i knew from a very early age that mine was different. i felt different. i felt unwanted...like i didn't fit in anywhere. my home...my family...was so dysfunctional that when i saw other people's family life...and especially those on tv (like 'father knows best', etc) it was hard to imagine that people could be so happy. you could see the love. i was adopted. people always told me...if you're adopted...you're special...it meant they really wanted you...they chose you. well, for me, i didn't feel chosen. didn't feel special. i always felt like something wasn't right. something was missing. my parents never kissed. never held hands. never said i love you...to each other...or to us kids.
yeah...my home was different. and nobody knows what goes on behind closed doors.
anyway...i can't believe i rambled on...yikes...you got me going, that's for sure!!
have a happy wednesday rita!! and i can't wait to see the cards you create!! :)
You have already "moved in" with your pens and such! Very industrious, I must say. If it were in my place, I'd look at it and put it aside until I had a block of time and it would probably have stayed in the original box for a day or two. Not with you, so I am very impressed!
I grew up in a poor family with 4 sisters and 3 brothers. All of them are gone now except for my younger sister and younger brother. Looking back, I would have to classify my family as dysfunctional although I know that my parents did the best they could under the circumstances.
I hope the inspection moves along fine.
Hugs,
Beth
You are so organized! When I move I'm going to hire you to come organize my whole house! ;)
I sure didn't grow up in a Leave it to Beaver or Brady Bunch type family. It's funny....back then I thought that was the way life was supposed to be. But in real life, I didn't know anybody like that.
I grew up being barefoot, running in the woods, playing on the docks, and dreaming big dreams. It wasn't too bad if I block out the crazy stuff.
Donna--I'm still up and it's 8:20am! Not my favorite hours to be up. Oh well. ;)
Drawing supplies, art tables, photos...you've been busy! I never got into scrapbooking, either. I think out of all my photos I only have 2 or 3 plain photo albums. You make cards, too! Cool! :)
We always had some books in a bookcase in the basement and lots of magazines around, but they were all my mom's. Oddly, I don't remember her reading to me when I was little, but I remember her reading Shakespeare to me when I was 7-9 years old and quizzing me as to what I thought the sections she read meant! The books I had I used to buy in grade school. They had this book club through the school where you could order books for cheap and I used my allowance for that. But the only children's books we had were some old fairy tale books--like the creepy ones--LOL! Funny that I was such a reader.
Iggy--I really hope I get some sleep during the day today, yes!
Isn't it funny how you see other families when you are a kid and check them out--compare--wonder. I'd even tell a few girlfriends at school what things were like at my house and they didn't believe me--LOL! Like that I often made tomato soup with minute rice in it for dinner and ate it in my room. That all three of us kids made our own food and ate in our rooms with the doors closed. There are worse things. ;)
Laura--I have lots of things because I have always dabbled in many crafts and mediums...master of none. ;)
Too bad you live so far away. I love to have someone over to share stuff. Love to let people play with new things!
I do empty the Rapidographs out when I haven't used them for a while or they can clog. I did have the .30 filled with black ink and it never clogged up for months and months! But then I took it with me on a trip to Minneapolis and lost it somewhere! I think it rolled off the seat and out the car door at a wayside. :(
My parents never said I love you or touched. I saw them peck-kiss goodbye in the morning twice. I was shocked both times. I can relate. ;)
You have a happy Wednesday, too! :):)
Djan--I was too excited--LOL! I had been planning out what to put where in the cabinet in my head for a month! I have other projects which sit around here for months, though--ROFL! ;)
Beth--My family was what they'd now call dysfunctional, too. Three kids. I am the oldest. I know they did the best they knew how, too. I suppose we all do, right? ;)
It is actually 9:15am and I am dressed and waiting for the inspection folks. Been up all night and I think I might doze in my chair while I wait....
Have an excellent day. Be well and stay warm. :):)
It is amazing how much room you have in that box. I do believe you have a new best friend.
That question was an interesting one. I grew up in Linda's Father Knows Best type of environment. I was always envious of Beaver because he seemed to have so much freedom. I would have been envious of you, too. I craved the freedom to run like the rest of the kids in my neighborhood.
Hope you and Leah get a lot of cards made tonight!
Deanna
Barb--Ha! Back when I was healthy, I loved to help people unpack and organize!! Moving in was my favorite thing about moving. The rest--packing and actually moving everything--I'd pass on. But the sorting and deciding where everything was going to go--loved it!! ;)
I thought life was supposed to be like Leave It To Beaver, Donna Reed, Father Knows Best, and all the rest. I thought a lot of people I knew had lives more like that. They probably didn't, but they did eat meals together and their parents cared where they were--LOL! The older we got the less concerned my parents were. Well, my mom. Back then it was the mom's job to keep track of the kids--LOL!
I ran barefoot all summer till my feet were like leather on the bottoms...but I ran in Minnesota Prairie grass fields and by a lake. Got lots of stickers in my feet--LOL! I was never good at blocking out the crazy stuff. ;)
Deanna--That's interesting! I never thought of Beaver as having freedom. He was always supposed to tell his parents where he was going and be back at mealtimes, etc. Isn't that funny! No wonder Linda wished she had the "freedom" that I had. But I envied her parents concern and attention. Grass is always greener, I guess--LOL!
I hope we get a lot done tonight, too. And that I am awake enough. :):)
Dear Rita, this is so exciting to be right here, peeking over your shoulder, at your box of drawers, now mostly filled.
I never realized that some of your inks were so old. You've been passionate about inks and colors and paper and calligraphy and cards and so much for so many years.
I'm wondering if your running free as a child played into that?
Finally, thank you for encouraging me to meander. I'm going to go with the flow as the writing muse inspires me to do so.
Peace.
Wow! What a great cabinet full of arty things! Every time I organize big time (like you did) I get a burst of creativity when I am looking at my newly organized supplies!
Your cabinet is a calligrapher's paradise! So well organised and I like that you keep a notebook of what ink is in what pen.
It's funny that you both coveted each other's lives...the grass is always greener on the other side (or appears to be in most cases).
I don't really know if I ever realised we were different to other families. I used to always wish we were like the Brady Bunch family but, that said, we were a close-knit family too. My parents held a tight rein on us kids and we weren't really allowed to go off visiting friend's homes to be able to compare. I do remember as young kids that we were allowed to visit the old chap a few doors down from us. We were in awe at how he lived. His house had no electricity and he used an open fireplace to do all his cooking. No fridge, so meat was well cooked and hung from the ceiling. He didn't use eskies (ice-boxes) either. Nobody had home phones back then. He would ride his bicycle to the local shops for groceries. I loved the simplicity of his life. He also dabbled in oils and helped my sister and I make some oil paintings for my parents. He taught us to play the violin and even bought my sister and I a violin each...second-hand but he refurbished them and we LOVED them! He was such a nice man and we all missed him when we moved away years later. He was so sad when we left but we did go visit or bring him over to visit with us on occasion. Unfortunately, that habit waned as time went on. Ooops, sorry for rambling on...it's so easy to get carried away with memories.
Have fun with Dagan and Leah and I hope you catch some naps today.
Love,
Serena :)
Wow! I envy your organization. I am amazed that one could be that organized. I missed out on getting that gift.
Sorry if this tries to post a couple of times... Laptop's being a pain today!
Anyway...
Glad you're so pleased with your new cabinet, and also that you have room for more pen goodies! :)
Hope you got some sleep.
I always knew we were different because of the disabilities in the family. I got to experience both sides of the fence with my childhood though; when Dad was around there were rules to obey, and you listened or else. When he wasn't around we could do as we pleased, whether that be run barefoot down the street and across the field to play in the river, or whatever.
This totally Type~A clean freak is in awe of how you organized your supplies. Woohoo!!!!
It's soooo true, we can stand on the outside and peer into that 'perfect' family but we never know what truly goes on in that perfect home.
God bless and have a sunshiny kinda day sweetie!!! :o)
Hope your inspection went well! I like how you organized your supplies in the cabinet! It does look like it holds a lot of things! You are so right, no two families are alike and often we thing the grass is greener/better on the other side, but actually our families are pretty darn nice and for the most part how we were raised, we came out pretty darn good!
betty
What a plethora of pens!!! Ink!! A multitude of blessings....
That's a great looking cabinet. You have a lot of nice pens and ink, and now you have a nice place to keep them. :)
I hope the inspection went well and you were able to get some sleep afterwards. And I hope you and Leah had a nice time together and made some progress on your Christmas cards. :)
Wow, this is incredible - think you have us all having ink and pen envy. Great post. Thanks for sharing, much love, Jennibellie xx
Hi Rita,
I hope your arm isn't giving you any trouble and that you're catching up on lost sleep. Or maybe my time zone has me all out of sync. lol
Love & hugs,
Serena xo
Dee--Ha! I really was like you were peeking over my shoulder. ;)
Yes, been a long time fetish that started out with crayons!
I'm not sure how running free as a wild child plays into that. I'll have to think on that one. ;)
I love when you meander. Looking forward to more. :):)
Carolyn--Yes! Sorting and organizing is like a shot in the arm! :):)
Serena--I need to keep a notebook--LOL! Too many inks/pens. Some are just samples and I need to know so when they're empty I can clean them out for the next sample color. ;)
I loved hearing about when you were a kid and that interesting chap who taught you about oil painting and how to play violin!! What a special thing to have happened--wow!
No, my arm was okay. I just slept forever--LOL! I never know what time of day I will blog. ;)
Sally--Sometimes I think it is more of a curse than a blessing--LOL! But thanks! ;)
Tori--Only posted once. I hate when I have computer problems.
Sounds like you did have both sides growing up. That's pretty cool! :)
Nezzy--Aha! Another compulsive neatnick organizer!! ;)
Yup, you never know unless you live there.
I did! So I wish you a sunshiny kinda day, too, lady!! *hugs*
Betty--The cabinet holds A LOT!!
Yes, no matter what, we turned out pretty darn good! :):)
Carol C--LOL! I love it a "plethora of pens"--how true!!! :):)
AliceKay--Leah thought it was pretty cool, too. Although she'd want to store something else in it, of course-hehe!
We made progress both days on the cards and should be done next week!! Super simple is working well this year. :)
Jenny--I'm so glad you stopped by. I went and watched your video and the linked video. Love the recycled journal from cereal boxes! I'll be back! :) I hope you will, too.
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