Paperblanks Filigree Family Portrait

March 19, 2015annabowling Leave a comment

Well, it finally happened. After literally months of drooling over and longing for the Paperblanks grande blue filigree notebook, a Barnes and Noble coupon and well managed family finances allowed Big Daddy Precious to come home. Which, of course, required the family portrait above.

Paperblanks, my precioussssss…

I think the reason I’d resisted Paperblanks for as long as I did was because of the plain pages inside. Technically, very lightly lined, but free of ornamentation, and I generally like to have something to look at while I’m writing. Then I learned to draw boxes around things and add curlicues to the boxes, and that generally makes my brain happy, so I no longer had an excuse.

typical planner page

Paper is smooooth, which I love, and I like the rounded corners on the pages. The covers are beyond stunning, and I suspect that the family portrait is not by any means complete, as there are still other colors and formats to be had.

At present, the small black book (aka Baby Badass Precious) is my daily planner, and the rest are for Her Last First Kiss. Small blue book (aka Baby Boy Precious) was originally going to be my all purpose notebook for this project, but soon found that wasn’t going to hold everything, and I like a larger format. So, smaller books are easier to tuck in my tote or pocket and take my show on the road. The large blue book, (aka Big Daddy Precious) will be taking over from the deconstructed Studio Oh! book I’d been using (Still not sure what purpose that one will serve now; I can’t remove the used pages, and I get funny about switching purpose once a book has been started, so it may be for overflow. Maybe something else. We’ll see. Maybe it needs to go into a resting period. I do still like it, but now that I have a theme going, I like to stick to that. ) and will live on my Secretary desk. I’ve never felt that strong a connection between a notebook and writing surface before, but trust me, these fit.

Baby Boy Precious is now for working out hero stuff for HLFK, Baby Girl Precious for heroine stuff, and they all come together in Big Daddy Precious. May need to keep peepers peeled for Big Mama Precious or some other relatives for overflow.

I’ve only tested three inks so far, but sometimes, that’s all one needs.

Ink Test

Pilot Varsity fountain pen is winning so far, Micron 05 a close second, and I am surprised that the R-2 rollerball, a dollar store find (!) holds its own with the other two. Not much bleed through on any of the three, so I think I’m good whatever way I go with this one. Can’t make myself try a ballpoint on this paper, and it will probably be a while before I put a highlighter to it, if at all.

One parting shot, because I am not going to get tired of seeing how gorgeous these all look together. Methinks the family still needs to expand a bit.

Classy, huh?

Now to fill them all….

Typing With Wet Claws: Creative Thinking Edition

March 13, 2015annabowling Leave a comment

Hello, all. Skye here, for another Feline Friday. Big week at our house, as usual, so that is no big surprise. Anty is very happy that she will be going to three RWA chapter meetings this week. Three. She has never been to that many in one week before. She went to Saratoga Romance Writers on Tuesday (you can read about that here, in case you are new or missed it.) Tomorrow is her day to go to Capitol Region Romance Writers (they are the closest to us) and on Sunday, she goes all the way back to where we used to live (the area, not the house) to go to a meeting of New England Romance Writers. She is gone all day when she goes to that one, but happy when she comes home.

Being around other writers, especially other romance writers, is very good for Anty. She comes home from those meetings all excited and wanting to write more.Sometimes, she comes back with more books. Sometimes, she comes home with snacks. That is people snacks, unfortunately, and not kitty snacks, though that is okay, because I only eat the food Mama, Anty and Uncle give me, and they never miss, so I am fine. This week, Anty came home with flowers. In case you missed them, they looked -and still look- like this.

They’re baaaaack.

Anty getting the flowers was a good thing, because she likes flowers, and she, Uncle and Mama had wanted flowers for the front window (the one I watch birdies through) for a while now. She was happy to get these, and thinks they are very beautiful. There is only one problem, though. They make her head explode. That is very frightening for a kitty. When her head explodes, I run out of the room, because the sound is very loud. Then I come right back, because I am brave and curious. Then her head explodes again. I am exhausted from all the running. That is probably why Anty moved the flowers from the front window and into her office, where she can close the door.

There is only one problem with that. If the sneezy flowers are in the office, she can’t be, and she needs to rearrange the office because a new destktop computer is coming home in a couple of weeks (it is not new-new but it is new to Anty, so that still counts.) This means the flowers have to go, but where? At first, Uncle had a good suggestion. Anty could bring them to a friend who had to stay at the people vet for a while. Anty agreed that was a good idea, and she took the sneezy flowers all the way to the people vet, only to find that their friend’s room was…empty. A nice nurse assured Anty everything was okay and that the people vet said their friend was better and had gone home only a few minutes before. Anty took the sneezy flowers back home and told Uncle they had to think of another place.

Then Uncle had another good idea. He could take the sneezy flowers to the prayer chapel near his work. I should mention that Uncle is Catholic,which does not have anything to do with cats (I know, I was disappointed to find that out, too; it has c-a-t right in the name. That is rather misleading.) even though all the Catholic people I know personally like cats a lot. But some do not. Anyway, Anty was happy to hear the flowers could have a home in the chapel, and went off to write, When she got home, surprise – flowers. She waited for Uncle to come home and asked him why they were still there. He said he’d forgotten it was Lent, and there cannot be any decorations at that chapel during Lent. So much for that.

Anty does not want to throw out these flowers because they are not cut, but are in soil, so they are alive. She says she might take them to her CRRWA meeting tomorrow and give them to somebody there. I hope they are not allergic to flowers, too. Maybe next time, she should get catnip.

Speaking of catnip, since notebooks are like catnip to Anty, she wanted me to share her newest acquisition, her very first 5×8 hardcover Moleskine. Can you believe she went this long without one?

I think the discount helped…

Anty has been very busy this week, not only with meetings, blog posts, and stories, but with her brand newest thing. Today is her day to talk at 31 Days and 31 Ways to Jumpstart Your Life. She is excited to talk about how being creative helps make life better. Tomorrow is the day she posts at Buried Under Romance. If you have never read her posts there, here is last week’s post, about finding new books. Here is the picture she took for this week’s post. What do you think she will talk about there?

what could this mean?

Anty says this is getting long and she needs the computer back, so that is about it for this week.

Until next week…

Until then, I remain very truly yours,

Skye O’Malley Hart-Bowling
(the kitty, not the book)

Lobsterriffic

March 11, 2015March 11, 2015annabowling 2 Comments

Some notebook brands get under my skin. Moleskine, of course, and Picadilly, and Markings are all good, solid workhorse books that I use for my all purpose needs. They get marked up and carried around and hold a rainbow of ballpoint ink colors and highlighters in various hues and formulas. I could not do what I do without them. Try to take them from me, and you’ll pull back a stub. Not giving those up anytime soon, but then there are the other kinds.

By other kinds, I mean the ones that make me drool with their outright gorgeousness, the ones that are works of art all on their own without any help from the consumer. I’ve blogged about a trio of floral notebooks I got from Paperchase before, here. Perfect for a historical romance writer, yes? So, no surprise that Paperchase would do it again, with this lovely specimen.

It’s my lobster

No, I do not eat seafood (allergies) but I have always wanted to write an American Revolutionary era historical romance with Loyalist characters. One of the terms for British soldiers during that era was “lobsterbacks,” referring to the red coats, so of course that’s exactly where my mind went when I saw this beauty. I could write that book in this book, I could. So I picked it up, which is where I found the next lovely surprise:

Red and blue lines. I repeat: Red. And. Blue. Lines.

My heart went pitty-pat at the sight of alternating red and blue lines. My mind whirled – the lines remind me of airmail envelopes, which I dearly love and need to use more, both in correspondence and art, and the mere fact that they are not the usual sort of lines hints at maybe a not so usual sort of story (but still happy ending, because of course, I am me) and I knew a sudden urge to use one of the front pages to list the books in Miranda Jarrett’s Sparkhawk series of historical romances. (I really need to reread those, but my copies are all in storage. :sigh:) At any rate, the book did not come home with me the first time I saw it, because of course it had to be exhorbitantly expensive. Still, I had to pick it up and pet it every single time I came into the store.

Anchory endpapers!

Notebook fiends know what it’s like to imagine all the lovely things we will do to a beloved but not yet owned notebook. What types of ink to write in it with, what colors, which specific pens, the precise size, shape and color of sticky notes, if any are to be used at all. These things matter. As do pockets. Have I mentioned how much I love pockets in the backs of notebooks?

Pocket!

So, notebook love, repeated pettings, all of that means that there comes a point where dang the stress, the book must come home. First, it must be purchased. Only of course there is a snag. This particular book wouldn’t ring up at the register. Huh. Okay, consult manager. Manager also flummoxed. Manager takes book to the special manager cave to check codes and numbers and possibly an oracle or two. Manager comes back out even more flummoxed. According to stock, this book does not exist.

un-American pricing

Blurry shot here, but since nobody could find a US price -tag lists price in British pounds and Euros, but not US dollars- it was determined the book A) could not be sold, B) technically did not exist in the store, so the manager said I could have it for free, since it would need to be damaged out anyway. Definite case of right time, right place for that one. Now to wait for the proper story, and when it comes, I’m thinking fountain pen…

Typing With Wet Claws: Picadilly Edition (not the circus)

January 23, 2015annabowling Leave a comment

Hello, all. Skye here, for another Feline Friday.

It has been an interesting week around here, as usual. Uncle did not feel well at the start of the week, but then we got some medicine and he felt better. Now it is Anty’s turn. She says that having a cold sore is especially bad for a tea drinker who loves lipstick and was looking forward to pizza for dinner. She also mentioned that the bottle of orange pineapple juice in the refrigerator is mocking her. I think that a nap in a sunbeam would do her a lot of good. I will demonstrate by doing exactly that myself and see if she can take the hint.

This week, Anty asked me to talk about notebooks. Not the usual topic for a kitty to tackle, but notebooks are something Anty really loves. She has a lot of them, and keeps getting more, but that is okay because she uses them all at some point. Because there are a lot of notebooks in Anty’s office, we will only look at one kind today; the hardcover Picadilly in the 5×8 size.

Anty was not sure she would like Picadilly books at first, and thought maybe they were trying too hard to be like Moleskines, though at a much lower price. She actually tried her first one by accident -she cannot remember if that was softcover or hardcover, because it is in storage- without knowing what it was, and then she changed her mind.

The paper is thicker than the paper in Moleskines, but she likes them both, so that is not a problem. It also comes in many different colors. I think she wants them all, because she is like that when it comes to notebooks. She is currently using the black one as her general purpose notebook in her purse. The blue one was supposed to be her general purpose purse notebook, but the blue color bothered her when it got to be fall (and she had been using the wrong pens in it, but that is another story; she has since learned how to find the right pens so that will not happen again) and the red one, as you can see, is new. She will not take it out of its wrapper until she has one of the other two finished.

Where did the blue book go? Nowhere.

The blue book took a rest for a very long time, until Anty remembered she had something special. A long time ago, somebody gave her a Celtic leather notebook cover. It had a notebook inside it ,but she did not like that notebook. She gave it to somebody who did like it, and tried to find a notebook that would fit the cover, which she liked and likes a lot, but it took her a long time. A couple of months ago, she decided to see if the blue Picadilly would fit the leather cover, and it did. Huzzah! That notebook is now her all purpose book for her comfy chair. I am not sure if the red book will replace that one or the purse book. I think it is a race.

Here is a better look at the cover by itself:

Inside…

…and outside

Anty does not know if the cover will fit a hardcover Moleskine, because she does not have one at present (I should probably not say this, but she does, only it is not a regular Moleskine, but a special Assassin’s Creed edition she got because she liked the look of the end papers and it makes her think of pirates. She really likes pirates.) but she will check and see if it fits Markings notebooks, too. She has a few of those.

Anty was very pleasantly surprised to find the red Picadilly at Barnes and Noble, and hopes that they get the other colors in, as well. Keeping notebooks in different colors helps her tell them apart, because she works in several at once. She will definitely be writing in some of them this weekend, but I will do my best to make sure she gets some napping in there, too. Naps always make me feel better. I will show her how that works.

That is about it for now, so, until next week, I remain very truly yours,

Skye O’Malley Hart-Bowling
(the kitty, not the book)

Floral Notebook Trio and Fountain Pens

January 13, 2015March 11, 2015annabowling 1 Comment

I think with pen and paper.
–Jude Deveraux

One of the things I’ve come to accept about my writing process in this past year is that I work best getting my initial ideas down in longhand. This has always been the case, and it’s not going to go away. I can stare at a blank screen and blinking cursor for hours, feel like a total failure as a writer and hate myself, but give me a pen and paper and zoom, off I go. Maybe I start off by freewriting, but that almost always shapes itself into something useful within a couple of pages.

What works best-best for me is when the right paper and the right pen for the right story all connect in my brain. This is not some artsy-fartsy time waster; it’s how my brain works, and I am done apologizing for it. In fact, for a writer of historical romance, it makes a lot of sense. My characters, most of them, would have done a lot of writing in longhand (barring those who are not literate, but we’ll get to them in another post.) The hero of Her Last First Kiss, for example, writes and receives letters, so that scratch of nib against paper is something he’d find very familiar.

Future bookmark, as soon as I make a tassel for it.

Even more gorgeous when in focus.

This past weekend, I had the chance to redeem a Staples gift card, a very thoughtful gift from a dear writer friend. I knew right off that I wanted to get backups for my Pilot Varsity fountain pens (recent fountain pen convert here) and so headed straight for the pen section. Three pack, black, blue and purple, the exact colors I wanted. Still need to visit the art supply store for red and turquoise, but that’s for another day.

Since no trip to Staples is complete without a full check of the perimeter, I headed for the back of the store and boom goes the dynamite. Paperchase display. Ohhhhhhhh. Insert favorite starry-eyed, drooling gif here. Stationery triage ensued, and lobster and seahorse themed fabric covered hardcover notebooks are on the agenda for next time (red and blue alternating lines inside, oh be still my heart.) What left with me, though, was a set of three cahier-style 5×8 notebooks, with plain, lined and patterened pages. Patterned.

See? Patterned!

The plain book is, of course, plain inside, but even the lined pages have me drooling, because we have images on every page. Every. One.

Shadow not included

I cannot wait to start writing in this one. All three of them, really. Not sure what they will be for, though the most pressing need is Her Last First Kiss, though I already have notebooks started for that, but I can make these fit, dangabit. One can never have too many notebooks. One of my goals for the year is to get more into visual elements in my notebooks, so we will see if the patterned and/or plain pages can be useful for that purpose.

A friend asked me if I was going to use these pens in these notebooks, because they look like they go together. Still not sure on that, as I need to test the inks on the papers. Fountain pens can sometimes bleed through, and I haven’t used them on Paperchase before, so that remains to be seen.

One last shot before we go today, all three covers side by side.

My preciouses

Typing With Wet Claws: Happy New Year Edition

January 2, 2015annabowling Leave a comment

Hello, all. Skye here, for the first Feline Friday of 2015.

First of all, thank you to all who read my entries. Today’s picture is me, getting ready to blog. I give these posts a lot of thought because I want to do a good job. I am glad that my readers think that I do.

The big news today is that Anty can confirm she has destinked my notebook. She is very happy about that. Even Uncle, who has a super sniffer (for humans; cats are still better at smelling than he is. Nothing personal. It is a fact.) cannot smell my contribution. It is good to be off the hook for this one. Anty has learned she really cannot leave any of her notebooks on the floor, so even she has learned something from this experience.

Two things, really. One, not to leave books near my pee spot, no matter how tired she is, and two, how to destink a notebook doused in cat piddle. In case you want to know how, it is easy.

Put the stinky book in a big Ziploc bag; it must be the kind that zips closed. Ties or flaps will not work, because this must be airtight. Anty says it’s worth going for the brand name on this.
Pour baking soda into the bag. Use a lot. You should be able to see a couple inches of it in the bottom of the bag.
Squeeze all the air out and zip the bag all the way shut.
Keep it shut for about a week.
Every day during that week, shake the bag about twice a day, so the baking soda gets all over the notebook, in between all the pages.
At the end of the week, open the bag. Take the book out and shake it over the trash, to get any excess baking soda out.
Smell the book. Does it still smell like kitty piddle? If it does not, your book is saved. If not, you may want to put it back in the bag and throw it out. Then buy a new book.

Anty also tried this on the notebook that got soaked by her water bottle, and this trick got rid of that smell, too.

She says that saving two notebooks she thought were lost for sure starts the year off on a good note. I think she is right. Now we will know what to do if this ever happens again. I do not think that it will (at least not the part about my pee place) but at least there is a protocol in place.

Happy 2015

i think that is it for now, so happy new year to everybody. See you next week.

Until then, I remain very truly yours,

Skye O’Malley Hart-Bowling
(the kitty, not the book)

Plannering

December 31, 2014annabowling 2 Comments

Monday’s entry on Wednesday, that’s not too bad. Last time this year I’ll be off schedule, I promise. Since today is New Year’s Eve, I am fairly certain I can keep that promise. As for the year ahead, well, that’s still an open -and unwritten- book. Actually, a few of them.

2014 was one of the interesting years, and I am not sorry to see it go. 2015 is full of opportunity. I intend to make the best of it. Not making resolutions this year. Goals, yes. Making those, and keeping track of things in notebooks and planners is definitely part of that.

Though 2014 had its surprises, one of the good ones was me falling in love with Paperblanks notebooks, via my 2014 planner. That’s the green one above, reproduced from a 19th century French silk textile design (I would so get the regular notebook in that design, but I’m picky about closures, and the closure on the pocket size makes no sesnse) It’s paired with my 2015 planner, in my new Paperblanks design crush, the silver filigree, aka “The Precious.”

That’s the entire Precious family to date – planner is in onyx, aka Badass Precious because it’s the tough one. Baby Boy Precious is the blue one, and the first one to come home; I knew right away that was to be the pocket notebook for the new historical, and started it as such. That is going to get a small adjustment as his sister (yes, some of my notebooks have genders) Baby Girl Precious was my Christmas gift to me. I wasn’t sure what to do with her at first, but getting the whole family together, it became clear; Baby Boy gets hero notes and Baby Girl gets heroine notes. Appropriate, because one of my goals (see, goals, not resolutions) is to know the hero and heroine of this book inside out so I do not flounder and we do not end up blinking at each other halfway through the book and wander off in our separate directions. That is so last year. Last several, actually, but moving right along…

The ultimate goal is to nab the desk sized version of Baby Boy, aka Big Daddy Precious. If there is a Big Mama Precious, she is, of course, welcome. Still needed a desk sized notebook because writing in pocket sized all the time makes my hands cramp, so in the meantime, I am drafting this lovely notebook that was a birthday present from my lovely housemate:

This book -oh heck, the working title is Her Last First Kiss– is not an inspirational romance (it’s historical) but when the right notebook calls out, I am going to use that notebook. Colors coordinate with Baby Boy (and someday Big Daddy) so the association is easy to make.

But those are notebooks, not planners, even if what they mostly contain right now is plans for the 2015 book. Whatever works, right? Right now, I want to write in these with fountain pens, to which I am fairly certain I can become addicted to in short order. Appropriate for a historical writer, I say. Microns will do if I find myself without a fountain pen, but first choice right now is the Pilot Varsity.

As for calendars, this one will be adorning my office wall for the next twelve months:

I knew I had to have it as soon as I saw it on the rack at Barnes and Noble, as it fit oh so well with the notebooks below:

Different manufacturers, but same feel, and my brain says they all smell like baby powder, even though they do not. That would be the images smell like baby powder, not the notebooks.

For those wondering if I ever managed to destink Skye’s notebook, I am letting the baking soda sit for one extra day to be extra extra sure, and then finding out.

aoon, we will know…

What planners/notebooks are starting out your new year?

NaNot Ramblings: When Enough is Enough

November 25, 2014annabowling Leave a comment

You must create because the idea isn’t to create something that’s ‘good enough’ or ‘really perfect’ or anything else. You must create because the idea is to create, to make something where something wasn’t before.

-Wil Wheaton

“Is that going to be for writing or art?” my friend asked.

“I don’t know,” I answered as my hand stroked over the smooth, creamy pages criscrossed by thin gray lines. That’s part of the process, feeling the paper, looking through the empty pages to see what will one day fill them. It’s a few days later, after this notebook and I met across a decidedly un-crowded office supply store, but when you know, you know. It was on clearance, I was in love, and when you know, you know. Sometimes, you don’t know everything, but sometimes, you don’t need everything. You need enough.

That’s something I’ve learned from my month of not-NaNo-ing this year. Month’s not over, but some things don’t need a whole month to learn. Maybe this year, I got the spirit of NaNo if not the letter of the law. I can’t tell you how many words I put on a page since November first (okay, I could if I went through and ran word count on my current projects) but I can say that there is story there where there was no story before. I can say that I get up excited to put pen to paper and then transcribe. I have characters living in my head again, jabbering at me and poking me to get their story down. They correct me. He didn’t go there, he went here. She didn’t say that, she said this. The theme of the story isn’t what I planned for it to be, but it is what it actually is.

It’s similar to bonding with a new notebook, bonding with a story, and to a greater extent, with myself as a writer. I am glad I made that my focus this month, because that, in the end, will get me closer to The End than trying to force myself into somebody else’s process. That’s never going to work, and as a living thing, it’s going to change over time. Time was, I didn’t see the point in fancy notebooks. Plain spiral bound notebooks were all I’d ever used and if the whole point was to put what was in my head on that page, what did anything else have any business there?

Don’t ask me when it changed, but over time, it did. There was an alternative to white paper? :blink blink: Ivory or cream is much easier on my eyes, looks delicious and adds a special something extra, so I look for that now. I used to be a lined paper purist. Then I discovered a gridded notebook in a discount store, became intrigued and gave it a try. Then I took a leap and tried unlined pages.. Those froze me, until I read about drawing a box around the page. Tried that, then couldn’t fill pages fast enough. Go figure.

Now, I’m voracious. I want all the notebooks. Some are ready to use right out of the gate, and some, like my newest acquisition up there, need some prep work first. I still don’t know what will ultimately go on these pages. Maybe it’s for writing. Maybe it’s for art. Maybe it’s for both. What I do know is that I’m not going to force it, and I’m not going to force my current writing projects. That’s a hard lesson to learn, but a needed one. Stories, to me, are living things, and there comes a time when they take on their own direction. Forcing them is not ever going to work, and will only end up hurting both of us. Working with their natural inclinations, however, that’s a different story, pun intended, and I can’t wait to see where that’s going to take us.

Typing With Wet Claws: A Few Skulls Couldn’t Hurt

November 21, 2014annabowling Leave a comment

Skye here, for another Feline Friday. It’s been an interesting week here. Though we are in New York, we did not get any of the big snow. We are several hours east of that, and while it is cold, all we have is sunshine and a few clouds. Anty has been at the glowy box a lot. She had two posts go live on Heroes and Heartbreakers:

A first look at Twice Tempted by Eileen Dreyer

and

Heart to Heart: The Walking Dead season 5, episode 6: Consumed by the Chemistry

I do not get to read books because I am a kitty (even though I am named after a book) so I do not know anything about the book she read, but I do get to watch The Walking Dead with my people. They seemed to really like this episode because it was Carol and Daryl and lots of things happened. I like the show because no kitties have been eaten or zombified. That is always the mark of a good show to me. Then again, I have never seen any kitties on that show, but that is my head canon.

So it begins…

Anty has begun the process of “fixing” my notebook alterations. The black and white book is the book that I peed on, but I have nothing to do with the brown book’s funny smell. That one is because Anty did not make sure her water bottle was fully closed before she put it in her purse. She did not check that until things became fragrant (personally, I think it smells fine the way it is, but humans are funny that way) and says this is the last ditch effort to de-stink both notebooks. She may take the paper out of the black and white book and have different paper put in, if only the paper is smelly, and that seems to make her happy. So, with that in mind, did I really do such a naughty thing in altering the paper in this one? I don’t think so. Sometimes, it takes humans longer to grasp cat logic. Really, it’s not that difficult. If this paper is ruined, then Anty can use whatever paper she would like, and since ivory (or cream, like my undercoat) is easier on her eyes than stark white, this is actually a good move. I did what I had to do, and I did it out of love. Also a full bladder.

Listen here….

As part of Anty’s office reclamation, she has (finally) obtained earbuds for the old desktop computer. Anty really likes skulls, so these had to come home. Now if she will get rid of the speakers that came with us from the old house but have not worked in recent memory, that will get rid of some tangly wires and let me sit even closer to her while she is working. Not everybody knows this, but I can be a cat ninja when I want, and get reallyreallyclose without making a sound. Like on the humans’ feet close. It does not hurt that I am somewhat carpet-colored. Anty says I am allowed in the office, though I am not yet sure if I want to go in there. She has a lot of skulls. None of them are kitty skulls, though. Only human, and she says they are made out of things like plastic and rubber, not the actual remains of her enemies or anything like that. I don’t know; that would be an effective way of warding off interruptions. Warnings work, as a show of power and intent. Anty says a closed door does the same thing, but I think a couple of skulls on the door could not hurt.

Until next week, I remain very truly yours,

Skye O’Malley Hart-Bowling
(the kitty, not the book)

Typing With Wet Claws: Domestic Tornado Edition

November 14, 2014annabowling Leave a comment

Cat selfie for the win

Hello, all, Skye here, with another Feline Friday. Anty really needs me to post for her today because this week has been full of domestic tornadoes. That is Anty’s term for things that happen at home that need her attention. She says those are private and I should not tell them here, but she does want me to remind everybody that the bed is usually made (that is Anty and Uncle’s room) and the trash is going out later. Things are a bit behind, but I am eating on schedule, so it is not that bad.

phase one; free writing

Anty had a suspicioin today was going to be another tornado day, so she started out with some Lapsang Souchong tea (she says it is like catnip for people who do not want to be sleepy, but I don’t entirely understand, because catnip does nothing for me. Some cats are like that. I will take her word on the tea.) in the Starbucks mug. If she is drinking out of the Starbucks mug, she is probably cranky and it is not a good idea to sit quietly next to her feet in case she moves unexpectedly. Do not ask me how I know that; I just do. Anyway, she had this tea at the kitchen counter, while free writing in a notebook she assembled from a Picadilly hardcover and the removable cover of another notebook whose insides she did not like. Free writing is writing down whatever is in her head. Then she plays with highlighters and sometimes draws faces. This usually decranks her at least some.

this counts as therapy

Sometimes, Anty needs to get out of the house when the tornadoes come through, and takes her glowy box to a coffee house or Panera. The choice of which often depends on things like wifi and refills. I am not sure what those things are, but if refills of tea are like refills of cat food, I understand that. I do not go with her, because I stay at home because I am a cat. She sometimes mentions finding a ‘Kitty Bjorn,” so she can carry me with her, but I do not think she is serious about that. Probably.

Some of Anty’s current notebooks

Anty has these notebooks with her today. The pastel spiral bound one is by Abbington Park and takes the place of the notebook I improve…um, peed on. That is for notes on one story. The black book is a hardcover Picadilly, and is her all purpose notebook. That gets everything in it and she sorts or copies things later. The small notebook is the white pocket Moleskine, which seems to be working well so far. She likes the smooth paper, the size is convenient and she says the cover feels good in her hands.

That is about it for this week. Anty is fighting tornadoes and still managing to write, so we will call that good. Tornadoes eventually subside, so all will be well in time. I suggest hiding under the bed, but maybe that’s just me. Scritches help.

Uncle scrtiches are theraputic, too.

Very truly yours,
Skye O’Malley Hart-Bowling

(the kitty, not the book)

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