Hello, Micro.blog community! We had such a great pens & ink meetup during Micro Camp last week that I’ve been inspired to make it a more regular occurrence. Please read on for details. First of all, I am so grateful for the advice and support of Cheri Baker and Pete Moore, who started up the Micro.blog Writers' Meetup and made it look so effortless. I am borrowing heavily from their hard work.
It’s colder in the forest today than you thought it’d be. Where the crunchy leaves and soil and roots combine, it’s the color of Birmingham Pen Company’s Oak Moss fountain pen ink. 🖋️
Today I attended a Traveler’s Notebook meetup at Oblation Papers and Press, Portland’s premiere paper boutique and letterpress studio, and one of my favorite places on Earth. I bought my first Traveler’s Notebook in May 2010. The first words I wrote in it were, “I know, I know – a new notebook, really?” Yes, really, self. And look at me, eight years later, meeting other people who probably wrote similar sentences in their own similar notebooks.
Tonight I turned the page to peek at 2017. It looks so clean and new from here. I am sure 2016 looked much the same, last December 28th. Is it foolish to look forward to a symbolic fresh start? Are these merely the first few hours of our darker days? via Instagram [ift.tt/2iHenLA](http://ift.tt/2iHenLA) Writing from: my study in Portland, Oregon. Listening to: Carrie Fisher being interviewed in 1977 about “Star Wars”.
Here is my first Kaweco, a Liliput Fireblue, which is one of the smallest fountain pens – less than four inches long when capped! Each pen is hand-torched by Kaweco CEO Michael Gutberlet to give it the distinctively mottled steel finish. I’m looking forward to putting it through its paces in future ink tests! via Instagram [ift.tt/2iCK3O3](http://ift.tt/2iCK3O3)
A friend asked if I would write some lines of poetry in Pilot Iroshizuku Ku-Jaku fountain pen ink but I need to break out the dSLR to capture the shading. Not tonight! Too sleepy. Writing from: my study in Portland, Oregon. Listening to: an episode of “Take My Wife”.
Some people unwind after a long workday with a martini. I refill fountain pens. Writing from: my study in Portland, Oregon. Listening to: the rain.
I was thumbing through this fun book my dad sent called “Let’s Bring Back: The Lost Language Edition” and found this phrase. It is meant to be soothing but it sounds pretty ominous too. (Bonus failed Uncial in the corner.) Writing from: my study in Portland, Oregon. Listening to: nothing in particular. Must be time for sleep.
The Chicago Cubs won the World Series! Somehow this “Westworld” quote seemed appropriate. Practicing my wonky g’s with some Pelikan Edelstein Amethyst in my Conklin All-American. Writing from: my study in Portland, Oregon. Listening to: November rain. Not the GnR song.
The weekend is nearly over, so it must be time to play with some ink. De Atramentis Charles Dickens is a greenish gray (the bottle says “cement grey”) with excellent shading. Writing from: my study in Portland, Oregon. Listening to: “Little River” by Loamlands. https://open.spotify.com/track/23A5b5ANTO9eYAjA8k8qgc