TWSBI ECO in Clear!

Earlier this week we welcomed the newest TWSBI ECO, this time in clear! TWSBI released their ECO fountain pen last year in white and black caps, and it's been flying off the shelves ever since. This newest model now has a clear cap, in addition to the clear body, so the whole thing is looking pretty great. It's a great looking pen with a solid nib, but what really sets it apart is the fact that it's a piston-filling mechanism at probably the lowest price range you're going to see. It's been a real contender in the beginner fountain pen range. For a lot of people just starting out in fountain pens who want the flexibility of cartridges & bottled ink, the Lamy Safari or the Pilot Metropolitan are maybe the way to go. You can either use bottled ink with a converter, but still have back up cartridges just in case. However, for the brave and bold at heart, sometimes when you're going to try something new, you go all in. For the true stationery nuts, it means getting a brilliant pen with a bottle of ink to really commit yourself to a new way of putting your words onto the page. The ECO is a piston-filler, which just takes bottled ink. I should also say because of it's price (just under $40 CAD), we're even finding seasoned fountain pen users buying multiple ones to keep different ink colours at hand, especially because its barrel is clear, and you can see the ink colour inside. If I ever become an artist, I'm going to get ten of these pens and fill them up with my favourite colours - imagine the pen roll!

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In other news, the weather this past week has been absolutely beautiful. It's been just cool enough to need a sweater, but Caleb has been romping around the play structures at the park in just one layer. I feel like I haven't been quite as productive because I've been spending my mornings and afternoons and evenings with Caleb taking strolls and going to the park. It's always a balance, and I sometimes feel like these days and weeks and months while he's still tiny (and while he still wants to spend time with us) are passing so quickly, but there are always e-mails to answer and blog posts to write. Caleb's always been a bit reserved and shy with new people, but he is a very physical kid when he's got the whole jungle gym to himself. He's just learned to climb up the curved metal ladders, and it's incredible to watch, though sometimes a bit freaky. Today he tried to climb onto the ladder from inside the jungle gym at the top, but it had rained earlier in the day and the metal bars were slippery. He slipped, and almost fell, hanging on with those monkey arms, and I almost had a heart attack. We went to go play in the sandbox after that. Even Super is getting in on the action, since when the summer really comes, it's going to be too hot for him to be chasing tennis balls and squirrels with all his fur. Just today he got his ball stolen from him by a much larger dog, and Super scampered off to sniff around the bushes. To be fair, this post is posting a bit later than expected because I've continued to be plagued with my laptop issues. Oh, Apple. Jon has tried to appease me by pulling out some evening snacks, so I guess I could take it or leave it.