Fall Fountain Pen Inks
Fall is here! This is my favourite season, despite it being the harbinger of winter and snow and slush. It's cool and breezy, perfect for sitting outside with a tea or hot chocolate, it's clean school supplies and getting ready for the holidays ahead. Best of all, it's the season of my favourite ink colours - browns and golden oranges and rich reds and earthy greens. It's like the broken clock that's right twice a day: the inks that I tend to have in my pens year round are just right for this season of new beginnings and those glorious fall leaves. Sailor Kobe Arima
Sailor Kobe Amber Arima Writing Sample
An old favourite, Sailor Jentle Epinard - a desert island ink for me, notwithstanding the obvious impracticalities of being not waterproof.
Sailor Jentle Epinard
Another old favourite, J. Herbin Ambre de Birmanie
J. Herbin Ambre de Birmanie
Noodler's Antietam
Noodler's Antietam Writing Sample
Noodler's Army Green
And an ink I've never tried before it but turns out is a real beauty of a shading ink: Platinum Carbon Sepia. While I don't know if I'll ever completely leave behind super saturated, sheening, wet inks, I think my favourites are always going to be the shading sort of ink - and a particular soft spot for the dustier, gentle ones. After having good flow, shading is probably my most important trait of an ink - there is nothing like a letter or journal entry written with a vintage sepia or a purplish grey.
Platinum Sepia Carbon Ink
Platinum Carbon Sepia
All of these inks are in our tester ECOs in the shop. It's nice to have them out again since it's been a while since we've had them out, which is entirely my fault, and actually a bit unbelievable since someone else had cleaned out the pens and had them waiting for me weeks ago.

***

In other news, in this beautiful fall weather, Caleb started preschool last week, along with the throngs of other boys and girls returning to classrooms, and he seems to have adjusted just fine. We've delayed his birthday celebration to give him some time to settle into his new routine, but he doesn't seem to have noticed. I was worried he'd be crying and feeling abandoned with all of these new and enthusiastic strangers (he's not really a kid who embraces enthusiasm from strangers), and it turns out he was pretty okay. Now it's turned into one of those weird things where I see other kids crying when I drop him off, and I ask myself if Caleb is doing okay because he's not crying like those other kids. A large part of parenting seems to be looking at what other kids and parents are doing and wondering if I'm supposed to be doing that too. I've also adjusted just fine, although Super is now enjoying a tremendous amount of redirected affection and love. I have to admit at first I was a bit lost without the padding of feet and yelling and accidental spills around me, but I've come to embrace these hours of freedom I have - although in these first weeks it seems mostly to be have been taken up by catching up on errands and emails, what seems like more than a few appointments and cleaning the apartment. Jon and I are left to wonder about and over-analyze the slightly bizarre ramblings he brings home to us: he talks about monkeys and Santa Claus, eating bread and water for lunch, the rituals of using a communal bathroom. I admit to being guilty of bringing him to the park after preschool and holding some slightly intense interrogations under the guise of casually sitting on a bouncy turtle. He's the only Asian kid in his class, and I'm not sure if that means anything - I mean, at what age do you teach him that some parts of him that are different are because he's Asian and we should be proud of that, and that other parts are different because his mama is just a little weird? Jon says I need to tone down the weird so Caleb can fit in a bit better. I hope the other kids are kind. In any case, I now officially have a preschooler. Time marches on.

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September 12, 2017 — wonderpens

Comments

Anonymous

Anonymous said:

Wow, thanks so much for sharing that article! Jon and I are both “third culture” kids, sort of straddling two worlds, and I’m realizing more and more how important even our third culture can be. There is so much to think and talk about when it comes to teaching our children about race and about our family’s cultures and I love that this article talks about some important ideas.

Alvin

Alvin said:

The NYT has you covered re: the race question: https://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/parenting/2012/04/04/the-danger-of-not-talking-to-your-children-about-race/

Anonymous

Anonymous said:

Hah! You know me too well, that you should give me congratulations for a milestone I think many other mamas may weather with substantially more grace than I.

I know just what you mean – even those big box stores of office supplies make me nostalgic for back to school shopping and all the excitement of a new year. Hope you are enjoying the Amethyste de l’Oural!

Anonymous

Anonymous said:

You’re right, both the customers but also especially the staff he sees every day are such a blessing to have. Caleb is quite a shy kid, but he loves routines and to help, so I’m hoping as he adjusts to preschool, he will find his own place. It’s so crazy to see him grow from a baby to, as you say, a tiny human!

sandra

sandra said:

I think Caleb will be fine. It’s natural for a mama to worry, but growing up around a retail shop he’s probably had a lot more exposure to other people than some kids his age.

He’ll discover soon enough that he’s different from the kids in his class in some ways, but until then, he’ll get a chance to discover what he has in common with them, which is a wonderful thing for a tiny human to learn!

Anonymous

Anonymous said:

I hope you’re right! He certainly knows his way around a fountain pen :)

And yes, he does seem to be enjoying it, and learning lots!

LisaRR

LisaRR said:

Just as a casual blog reader I am sure Caleb is going to care about the important things – taking time to correspond with a friend, using good materials, and making your own way in the world, among others …
Glad he is enjoying (or at least not complaining) about pre-school!

Ruth E. Martin

Ruth E. Martin said:

Congratulations on weathering this milestone. :)
Fall is my favourite season, too, and I’m making good use of my autumnal inks! (Does Amethyste de l’Oural count as autumnal?) I still eye up all the back to school materials with nostalgia, even after all these years.

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