I admit that this isn't the most important of issues, but have you noticed that ball point pens seem to run out ink very quickly? It seems like they used to work forever in the old days. I bought a wooden pen at Asilomar (the real place that the hotel and conference center is based on in the Yarn Retreat series). The original ink cartridge gave out and I ordered refills on Amazon. They came in a bundle of ten which seemed like a lot until I started using them. In no time, the ink grew lighter and lighter and then it was just the imprint from the pen tip on the paper.
I would be happy to buy better quality refills, but it was hard to tell which ones would fit the pen. It was no help going to Office Depot either. I need an old fashioned stationery store with people who know about such things
So. I switched to a ball point that was part of a box of pens I got on sale at Costco. I have been using it for maybe a couple of months and then today, the words started to fade as I wrote in my journal. No worries about refills for it as it's not refillable.
I'm probably a dinosaur for even caring about handwriting utensils since it's all about email, texts, typing into a phone or computer. There are online journals now, but I prefer to handwrite. I have been doing it off an on since I was about fourteen. The boxes and boxes of notebooks are a bit of a nuisance, but it is fun to look at an old one and see how I have changed, or not changed. I use them to vent and a lot of the complaints are the same over the years.
But writing in them keeps me sane and in a good mood. I need to find another pen. Running out of ink could be a real disaster to those around me.
10 comments:
Good morning -- Hope all is well with you -- fine here. There was quite a thunderstorm yesterday with a short torrential rain -- today is bright and sunny.
I agree with you about pens -- and about writing rather than keeping everything online. I do very little on the computer -- check a couple of accounts, check the weather, ask Google a question, email a few people -- and, of course, read your blog each week!! I don't keep reminder lists or any of the jillions of things available. I even have an old Rolodex with addresses on little cards. I needed new cards a couple years ago and went to a stationery store and asked for them -- the young girl there had no idea what I was talking about!! I explained what they were and she said she thought there might be one package of them -- she found them and I've been using them very sparingly.
The best ballpoint pens I've found are from the Project Linus online store -- they write smoothly, seem to last a long time and are also a beautiful shade of blue, my favorite color.
My grandson is headed to Del Mar today to spend spring break week with a schoolmate and his family -- a condo right on the beach. He is excited about going. When we lived in Long Beach, way back in the mid-50s when my husband was in the Navy, we were close enough to the ocean that we could hear the waves and the fog horns at night. I have no desire to get in the water but I do love the sound.
I finished an afghan last night -- just have to put the edging on today. My next project is going to be several big granny square baby blankets -- I have lots of baby colors and the granny square works up quickly.
Enjoy your day, your writing (if your pen keeps working) and whatever else you enjoy.
As my husband was cleaning out a box, he found in the garage he came across a talk I had written and presumably delivered once upon a time. The paper was yellowed and brittle and I realized the page was from one of my children's notepads. The kind with the blue lines spaced far enough that children could practice printing. It was a short little talk with black ink and even though the paper was yellow and brittle the ink was still strong and clear. It made me remember that in the olden days as a young mom I didn't have a typewriter, and everything was written by hand. It was great fun to find it and reflect on the good old days.
Patty, I'm surprised you could find a stationery store. These days, it seems like the only option is Office Depot or Staples. You probably could find the rolodex cards online. Nice that you found a pen you like.
Del Mar is very nice. He should have good weather as it seems the rain here is finally done. It went out with a wild storm yesterday. We went out for lunch and it was sunny and as we were eating, billowy gray clouds moved in and it started pouring. The rain drops were bouncing off the pavement. When we left the restaurant, there was lightening as well. During the drive home, we went through flash flooded streets and hail that was so loud as it hit the car that we couldn't hear each other.
I just started on a big granny square. It's relief crocheting as it doesn't take too much thought. Great tension reliver.
Sally, it is fun to find things you wrote in the old days. I have the yellow legal pad sheet that I used to keep track of my son's eating, sleeping etc from his first day home from the hospital. It was fun to show it to him.
I still have a couple of old typewriter though never use them. I am not the best typist, so need the delete feature on my computer.
Interesting post, Betty! I use a lot of pens to jot down ideas or notes and a lot of other things, and, yes, they seem to run out of ink fast but I hadn't really dwelled on that. Now I'll pay more attention, even as I throw the unusable ones away!
There seem to be quite a few of us who still prefer to "write" with pen and paper. I usually just grab a pack of pens from a dollar store, they last as long as more expensive ones.
Journaling just has to be in a notebook, i have done it on and off since high school, and I can see how moody I was even then !!
It is frustrating to find pens that have been lost in a purse or drawer for awhile. They look perfecyly good, but no amount of scribbling circles can get them started again, I also seem to find markers hiding around the house, dry on paper, but they will still mark my fingers when I find one.
I am still mainly in my wheelchair, but I am sewing again and trying to do my 'normal" stuff. It is really hard to be in the house 24/7. Lets get the new books moving !!
I have always loved BIC pens. I still do. A few years ago I thought they were going out of business so I bought a few packages. I recently found out they still make BIC pens but they changed the design of the packaging. I hope all my reserve pens do not run out of ink before I get to them. I didn't know that there is an online project Linus store. I learned something new.
Linda O. Johnston,I noticed that it helps not to get attached to one pen.I am just using what came in the selection I got on sale at Costco. The two fountain pens are hard to write with. They seem to drag on the paper.
Linda Osborn, you're right that journaling can just be a notebook. It must be interesting to look at old ones from when you were in high school. Mine have a lot of venting and now when I look at old ones, I wish I had put in more about my reaction to what was going on in the world.
I'm sorry you are still stuck in a wheel chair and home all the time. It's great that you are sewing. There is something about having a finished project that is so satisfying. Working on it gives you a direction and a purpose.
I sent in the edits of Knot Dead, Again last night and will get a release date soon.
Chkntza, the pens seem to have something stuck on the point that you knock off when you start using them, so your boxes should good. I used to love the Sharpie pens. They had a fine point, were like markers, but didn't bleed through the paper, but then they changed them and I started noticing they did bleed through the paper which is when I went to the ball points. Now, I'm down to anything that puts ink on paper. I did get a bunch of very fine tipped markers in all kinds of colors to add doodles to the journal and calendar notes.
I didn't know about the online Linus store either and will have to check it out.
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