I’m embracing the season-appropriate inks today. J. Herbin’s Stormy Grey – their 1670 Anniversary Ink from 2014 – is a lovely deep grey with gold flecks.

Writing from: my study in Portland, Oregon. Listening to: the pilot episode of “iZombie”.

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The day I feared has arrived: one of the three fountain pens I filled right before Day 20 ran out of ink. (This photo-a-day project is handy because now I know how much ink my Conklin All-American holds, in days, which is more useful to me than milliliters.)

Luckily for me, I married a man who stashes ink in other countries.

Kind friends gave us a bottle of J. Herbin’s Emerald of Chivor, one of their 1670 Anniversary inks renowned for its crazy sheen. I did my best with a Rhodia No. 16 6 x 8 1⁄4″ Spiral Dot Grid notepad, some amateurish calligraphy, and the camera on my phone, but you should see a master in action.

Not much cheers me up faster than writing with a nice pen filled with beautiful ink.

Writing from: a quiet home in Marin. Listening to: Zen “zip-lining” (what we call her tiny squeezebox snores).