This morning it was a bit sunny but mostly cloudy all day until about an hour before sunset, when the sun broke through. While eating my breakfast I spied a little furry critter up on the birdfeeder at the back of the yard. It was a little chipmunk that had shinnied up the crook to hop onto one of those feeders that is supposed to close when a squirrel jumps onto it. I guess a chipmunk's just not heavy enough to work the mechanism. Look at the look on its face. It knows I'm looking at it.
I found out that my friend, AT, whom I had lunch with on Monday is a huge fan of fountain pens. I'd never noticed that when she pulls out a pen to put our next lunch date in her calendar, a PAPER calendar no less, that the pen is a fountain pen. A Waterman fountain pen. Seeing that got me thinking that I had a couple more fountain pens laying around here someplace and wondered if Durwood had any too. I checked where I thought his would be, with his permission, and found none but this afternoon I pulled out the cup from the bookcase shelf where I keep old pens etc. and there were two of them. One, the red barrel one, is a Sheaffer and the other one is from an "as seen on TV" set of cheap Italian pens I must have sent away for lo these many years ago. I had to soak the nib of the Italian pen to get the crusted ink out (good thing it's water-soluable) and it still doesn't write as evenly as it should. I'll keep working on it. That one even has a refillable barrel so when I run out of cartridges I can buy a bottle of ink and keep using it. Now I can write with a fountain pen any old time and not worry about losing my precious Waterman.
This afternoon I spent a little time down at the sewing machine and finished up the second tank carrier I've had in the queue for months. I need to find two of those barrel things to keep the drawstring tight around the tank neck so I can cut off the extra shoelaces so there's not so much dangly stuff ready to catch on things. I don't think Durwood is as thrilled with this soft one as I am but I'll get it all fixed up, he'll try it, and it can be an emergency backup at the very least.
November 16--William Hayes, Great Spotted Woodpecker. Joseph woke up with a headache. One whale of a headache. He groaned as he peeled open an eye. The dim light that seeped in around the edge of the shade felt like a spear jabbing his cornea. Every movement made another part of him ache. His head felt as if a giant woodpecker was perched on his shoulders trying to peck its way to his brain stem. The room dipped and swayed as if it was a carnival ride. Maybe there was an earthquake and the building was coming down around him. With great effort he swung his feet out of the covers and onto the chilly floor. He sat clutching the edge of the mattress hoping to be able to stand up eventually. He promised on his mother's future grave never to drink tequila ever again. Or at least not for a while.
Okay, this computer is acting weird. I'm outta here.
--Barbara
2 comments:
My everyday fountain pens are ones I found on Amazon; one was about $4 and one was $1.50-ish. They’re fine point, which I like; they bleed through less.
That chipmunk looked like it was all ready to respond if you shouted "Hands Up." Definitely caught in the act.
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