Tuesday-10:30am

Good Morning!

Good Morning!

Been another week again already--goodness!

We've had a few days with sun... 

...but a lot of them have been like this. 

I remember seeing Sunday morning that it said it was "30 degrees-feels like 16".  But Karma says--when you're inside on a sunny day you can bask on the carpet without getting too cold...yet. 

She's much less frantically scratching in a frenzy like she was since getting her hazelwood collar.  Not that she's stopped, of course, but she's calmer and her face and ears seem to be slowly clearing up.  ??  I am pleased it has helped at all and a bit surprised, actually.  Whoohoo!  :)

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Exaclair is a company that imports a lot of excellent, fountain-pen-friendly paper from Europe.  They are conducting something they call The Paper Project right now over on the Rhodia Drive blog.  Pen/ink/paper nuts, like myself, can sign up and hope to be chosen each week to get some free paper samples to play with.  (You know it takes a particular type of person to get a thrill from getting three pieces of paper in the mail--LOL!)  Of course, I signed up the second I heard about it.  ;)  I got in the first week when they chose 30 recipients...and just got my envelope from the second week when they upped it to 50 recipients. 

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The first week we got three different samples of graph paper.  For those who are interested, they are left to right: Clairefontaine Classic, white/blue/graph 90g; Rhodia 80th, ivory/grey/graph 90g; Rhodia Ice, white/grey/graph 80g. 

I have to confess that I have never written on graph paper--even though I see graph tablets and notebooks have become quite popular.  (I've also never tried the new dot grid, either.)  I found out I prefer the grey graph lines because they are softer and lighter.  Liked both the 90g papers better than the 80g (little more tooth/resistance and also had a bit more shadowing).  They all were perfectly excellent, though--even with the wide Parallel Pen dropping down a heavy amount of ink...but the two 90g papers seemed smoother to me.   

I use fine and extra fine nibs normally and that makes a difference on preferences.  I still prefer blank or thinly lined paper, but this was fun trying something new.  I had to use the seven fountain pens I happened to have filled right now and, as you can see, I prefer Pilot pens and am presently trying out a lot of their Iroshizuku ink samples that I ordered from Goulet Pens.  (I have fallen in love with Iroshizuku inks, BTW--smooth, flow well, dry fast--just a delight!) 

Noticed afterwards that I misspelled Rhapsody--LOL!  I was just so busy with the writing experience and how the paper responded to the pens...well, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.  ;) 

No bleed through to the back and little or no shadowing.  You'd have no trouble writing on both sides of any of these papers.   

I can hardly wait to play with my next three samples--all blank this time--although one of them is already a staple of mine.  (Clairfontaine Triomphe writing tablets--love them!) 

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I've been slowly gluing the old paper towels together (almost to the end of the stack!)--and I found these two that had herbs printed on them.  They didn't even have paint on them, either.  Glued them together...loved the look and the texture...couldn't resist making one of my bookcards.  

I thought maybe I could tear the edges so I'd have a deckled edge. 

Ah--nope.  The glue gives it a bit of a stiff, plastic consistency so the "paper" tore ragged and uneven.

Got out my Dahl cutter instead...(notice the coffee mug T Stands For Tuesday ladies over at Elizabeth's)...

...and here it is!

I will never look at printed paper towels the same again--LOL! 

Even the inside has the herbal print.  Cool!  (Already filled and off in the mail today, BTW.) 

I cleaned the fish bowl.  Am down to two tetras left and one ottocinclus.  These old fish will eventually all die and then I'm taking a fish break for a few years...I hate to say forever.  There may be a betta, whose great grandparents aren't even born yet, with my name on it--LOL!  ;)

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Last night McFamily came to visit!!  Dagan and Leah got my table stabilized and functional again--whoohoo!!  I got to feed Ian a bottle again, too.  The last time he had one was when I gave him one about a month ago.  He took it more readily this time.  We almost forgot--again--but Leah took some pics.  Ian always seems distracted by the camera...

...but not for long.  :) 

When I say he's growing so fast...well, I told you he started rolling over front to back at 3 months, right?  Well, he already rolled over back to front now at about four months and he's doing the spinning about on the floor using his legs already.  Goodness sakes!  At this rate it won't be too long and he'll be crawling!  Look out cats!

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Anyways, my craft/everything table is back!!! 

See the metal bands on the base?   

I will not hip-move it by myself ever again--promise.  So happy to see it upright again I could have kissed it!  Now I can get the new sewing machine out of the box!!  

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And guess what!  They got one of the end tables together, too, last night!!  I love it!!  So darn cute.  And the red is perfect.  Not a bright red or a burgundy--just a luscious deep red.  You never know for sure when you order online, you know?  I am absolutely delighted.  :)

Karma claimed the empty black end table, of course.  (The old ones will be going down in Dagan and Leah's basement.)

These are all the glued paper towels I have been very slowly working on over the last month or two. 

At first I was putting some extra color on them before I glued them... 

...but them just glued them as is...figuring I can add color afterwards.  

I am almost done with the gluing.  Be finished with what was a huge stack in the next few days.  By then I should be deep into meeting my new "computerized" sewing machine, eh?  

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This afternoon the plan is for Leah and Ian to pick me up to go vote.  And it sounds like McFamily will be picking up Phil on Friday.  He has to be moved before it gets so cold that he'll go into shock if he is thrust into the outside air.  He's gotten so huge that it is quite a project to move him...a lot harder than Fern was.  So, barring bad weather, I think Phil will be gone Friday.  He would not like living in my dark bedroom all winter.

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Oh!  Before I forget!  I have noticed that a couple people's blogs now have that strange little "prove you're not a robot" box in order to leave a comment--and they didn't have it before.  ??  Is this something new Blogger/Google is pulling on us?  Is it on mine?  Let me know, okay?  

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Well, that was the week that was in Fargo--ROFL!

Thanks to each and every one of you who bother to come by for a visit--whether you comment or not.  Just thanks!  You are appreciated.  Enjoy the rest of your coming week.  :):) 

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"Find a place inside where there's joy, and the joy will burn out the pain."

Joseph Campbell