TWSBI Mini-AL

Finally here! A few days ago our shipment of the TWSBI Mini-ALs arrived. I think I'm more of a mini-fan (Vac Mini, too), so this was a particularly exciting release for me. I have the now discontinued Mini White with Rose Gold trim, but I always worry about losing it or dinging it up when I take it out with me since it's no longer available. For a size comparison, from top to bottom: is the Mini-AL, the Vac-mini and the 580 AL-Orange The difference between the standard Mini and the Mini-AL is that the grip and the piston mechanism are made out of aluminum. They'll still take the same nib units as the standard Mini, in case you want to swap them around or purchase a new nib separately. The cap will twist to post securely on the back of the pen, but my hands are small enough that I typically write with my Mini unposted. You can see on the left the standard Mini, with its clear grip (and the black feed housing inside), and also the black plastic piston mechanism at the end of the pen - versus the corresponding silver parts on the right. Most of our Hobonichi shipment has made its way in, fortunately all of the covers were in the boxes that did make this week, so we're shipping out pre-orders now. If you order a Hobonichi Techo or its cover we'll be shipping it out as usual. We've been busy trying to keep up with all the new things coming into the shop, and new photography, and organizing and counting inventory. We're still hiring, and Jon is slowly making his way into booking and holding interviews again. I sometimes go out there to sit in on the interviews with Caleb and Chicken (the cat), but we keep our shop litter box at the back next to the table where we interview, and ever since Chicken made pretty good use of it in the middle of an interview, Jon has seemed to want to fly solo. I dropped a bottle of Noodler's Bernanke Blue earlier today, breaking my previous streak of around 6 months. Fortunately only the lid cracked, so there was only a tiny bit of leaking, but a broken bottle is a broken bottle. Jon's theory is that my six month streak is only because I don't always do the counting in the back anymore, so it's a matter of reduced exposure and opportunity. In our Noodler's shipment, we got a new colour of ink: Golden Brown. This one is a beauty - I actually special ordered a bottle for myself years ago because I just love ...golden browns. I wasn't sure if anyone else would really want a bottle, since it's a bit on the light side - I've got plans to do a review of it soon, since it really is one of my favourite colours. It's not online yet, but should be over the next couple of days. It feels like it's been a while since we got in a new colour of ink from Noodler's, but we can hardly seem to keep up with all the new pens and inks being released, while catching up to products and lines that have been out there for a while, but we just haven't picked up on them yet, like the Iroshizuku line. The fall is bringing with it a few new surprises for the shop, including one I'm basically lying moaning on the floor waiting for. I think it should be arriving in the next week or two.

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In other news, we made some fairly substantial tweaks to Caleb's bed time routine a few nights ago. Maybe it's the fresh cool weather that the fall brings (although I hear it's supposed to go back up next week, here in Toronto), or the fact that Caleb's reached two years, which feels like a bit of a milestone.

Caleb's never really been a terrible sleeper, but at the time and working up to it I was pretty nervous about it all, since I'm the one who puts Caleb to bed. However, it's turned out marvelously, and I can't believe how wonderful it is to have a toddler who goes to sleep by lying down in a crib, and without a complaint.

We moved a part of our sofa, which happens to be at the exact same height as the mattress in his crib, into his room and put it right up next to his crib. I lay down next to him on the sofa after turning off the lights - and he does the same, going right to sleep. A miracle, most likely because he slept in the same bed with us for quite a while.

Previously what was typically a half hour to 45 minutes has turned into five minutes - and I can say this because I set up an audio book to listen to  while waiting for him. He said mama a few times the first night, and mama once the second night, and now on the third night he said mama once again before snoozing and before I made my creaky exit, while holding my breath.