Moleskine

Typing With Wet Claws: Domestic Tornado Edition

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Cat selfie for the win

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

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

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

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.

Uncle scrtiches are theraputic, too.

Very truly yours,
Skye O’Malley Hart-Bowling

(the kitty, not the book)

NaNot Ramblings: This Should Have Been Monday’s Post (and new Moleskine)

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Or Wednesday’s. This week kind of blends.

Domestic tornado -,more accurately more than one of them- touched down and I think it’s Thursday. Probably. Dunno. Hm. Monday, trash day, torndo day number one, tornado day number two, :counts on fingers: Thursday.

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There has been writing, done midst twists of tornadoes, and a momentous day in the life of any notebook aficionado occurred; I started a new Moleskine. Pocket sized, lined, white, acquired during the ridiculously discount period of the closing of what our family termed “the good” Barnes and Noble, which of course we descended upon like the starving hyenas we are during such events.

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Possibly due to thriftiness, and possibly due to masochism, I set myself a challenge when I saw that my current pocket notebook, an unlined (yep, found a way to use them) cahier was close to full; instead of buying new, I’d use the pocket sized books I already had and had not yet used. Hence this one. I’ve never used a lined hardcover pocket size before, so this is new, and I’d been wanting a white Moleskine since before there were white Moleskines.

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Pictures are dark and fuzzy because they were taken on the kitchen counter while I preheated the oven to bake cookies, and the fizzled out flourescent bulb in our lovely high celings is currently in a resting period, so my former bedside lamp, on the other end of the counter, is doing all that bulb’s work.

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Normally, I’m tending more toward gridded or blank pages these days, so of course my next book up had to be lined. Not as much of an adjustment as I’d first thought, so maybe I’m finally at an “everything’s good” phase when it comes to page formats. At least until I try dot grid. I have tried dot grid, on an oddly greyish off white sort of paper, and the color bothered me so much I had to stop using that book. Will try again with got grid Moleskine, but not for a while. I have a few more books to use first. Using my multicolored Bic Cristals at the moment on this one, with Sharpie pocket highlighters. No pictures yet of book-in-action, but that’s for another day.

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Yep, she’s so tired, she’s loopy. But at least she got a blog entry up. That has to count for something.

AnnaLog

Imageannabowling 9 Comments

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I love notebooks. Oversized, mini sized, desk size, pocket size, hardcover, softcover, lined, plain, gridded (my new favorite) – all are good. I’m not a Moleskine purist, as there are lots of other good makers, but I do have a soft spot for them. I love notebooks in general, so babbling about them here feels natural.

No, these were not all purchased at the same time, and yes, they will all get used, each for its own purpose. I find there’s something in paper and pen that a computer can’t provide. I do write fiction longhand, as well as freewriting, which I also term “bloodletting,” dumping whatever is in my head onto the page until my brain has taken care of that business. When writing the rough-rough draft of a story, it comes more naturally to me with pen on paper than fingers on keys, so I am learning to trust myself and do what comes natural. Sometimes, that’s scary, but onward I go. Doesn’t have to be perfect, only has to be.

I used to be a purist about lined pages and nothing else, but after I tried my first gridded notebook, by Markings (will share Markings books in another post) it was love, pure and deep, so gridded pages are now my preference. I’m trying to figure out how I can best use plain pages, but so far, the blankness baffles me, and the unblemished page is lovely and pristine, but I’m not ready to give up on that format yet. Any plain-page fans have any tips?

Next up: a peek inside