Currently Inked: Holiday Cheer

The baby arrived in this world six months ago: At some point I have to stop using her for an excuse, and that point is imminent. I have books half-read and pens with ink in them from months ago, but it was time for a soak and rinse and some new inks to flow.

The holidays are upon us and these inks are vaguely holiday-themed. It’s going to be Christmas but still, you know I can’t help but hold onto the earthiness of fall for as long as I can.

The paper is my Life Stationery A5 notebook.

Private Reserve Lake Placid Blue in a Lamy Vista with a cursive nib.

J. Herbin Stormy Grey (with shimmer) in a Franklin-Christoph Model 20 fine.

Sailor Manyo Ume in a Sailor Pro Gear Slim Line Friends medium.

Sailor Kobe #22 Shinkaichi Gold in a TWSBI Mini Rose Gold medium.  

Diamine Evergreen in a Sailor Pro Gear Cocktail Medium.

Without a doubt, my favourite is Diamine Evergreen, which is an ink I always love when I have it in a pen. It’s dark enough that it passes without too much thought, but  when you look closely, I love the character of it. It’s an ink that reminds me of being lost deep in a forest, an ink that seems like a good one to ground you to the earth. I’m being dramatic. But there is something about this ink that I love.

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In other news, we continue on. We have a few new things coming, a few restocks. We are getting ready for the holidays! We had some candles broken in transit which is very sad but we put the wax into an empty candle jar and so also now the shop is smelling very nice. I’ve also been lighting candles here at home, usually in the evenings, sometimes when I’m journaling, but also late into the evenings and nights when I’m trying to finish off a few last things on my computer.

After the last few years, I am grateful for the busy-ness of this season: people in the shop, kids’ concerts, holiday cards out into the post, Christmas traditions that I’m still trying to ramp up for the kids. It’s both sometimes a pain but mostly something that I embrace, this privilege and gift and responsibility of creating the winter magic for the kids while they’re still young enough to believe in it. Three Christmas turkeys to squeeze this year, and I’m going to have to stop myself from gobbling them up.