• fountain pens,  journal

    Favorite cannot be singular

    Someone asked me today what my two favorite fountain pens were. After several years of using fountain pens I am still unable to answer this question. The best answer is that favorite cannot be singular. I will share with you some of the pens I enjoy writing with and my experiences with fountain pens .

    The three pens I’m carrying today

    I began using Pilot Metropolitan fountain pens. They are reasonably priced and have a good selection of colors and nib sizes to select from. For many years, I journaled with Pelikan M200 and M205 series pens. Not sure how I discovered these but I found they are a perfect size for my hands. I have 8 of them. However, the past two years I’ve been using 14 carat gold nibbed pens made by Pilot. I would not recommend any of these as first pens for beginners because of their cost. The pens I primarily use now, and ones I consider favorites, are a brown marbled Pelikan M200, a blue marbled Pelikan M205, three Pilot Custom Heritage 92, two Pilot Custom 74 and two of Pilot Custom 823. Again, these pens are rather expensive, especially for beginners. It’s also important to find a nib size and style that works for you. There are several nib sizes and styles, calligraphy for instance, depending on the manufacturer. So, the fountain pen’s style, its shape, nib, and ink filling systems are all about personal taste. The world of fountain pens is a world of its own, it’s a science and can (has) easily become an obsession. If you’re a photographer you’ll relate. We also need to make sure we have the right type of paper for fountain pens because fountain pen ink flows through capillary action. And the multitude of ink colors is just mind boggling. Enough from me. May you have a wonderful day!

  • coffee life,  street photography,  sunrises

    Morning Starburst

    It was 37 degrees when I left the condo this morning. Cold mornings like today make for chilly rides. In spite of the cold I do enjoy the short ride. And, the Earl Gray tea at Mugs hits the spot. This image is taken outside the front door of the coffee shop just after the sun has risen. The older buildings are a part of CSU campus. 

    Morning Starburst

    I’m getting accustomed to using the bicycle as my primary mode of transportation now. I used the bicycle to meet my oldest daughter for lunch today, about a ten mile round trip. Again, I took the bike trail so I’m not dealing with traffic. They have built tunnels under the major north south bound roads so I needed to only cross one busy road, which has a crosswalk light. These trails also keep me connected with nature, where I get to experience the beauty of our fall season.

  • fall season,  poetry,  reflections

    A Wonderful Start

    bicycled to coffee shop, indulged in a hot tea
    wonderful start to Sunday or any day

    now mid morning and sitting on my porch
    circled by an almost cloudless blue sky

    the seasons leaves of gold and yellow and red
    reflected in the azure blue sky of the pond

    yes, a wonderful start to Sunday or any day

    mws
  • leaves,  Plants,  quotes

    Radical Amazement

    Our goal should be to live life in radical amazement… to get up in the morning and look at the world in a way that takes nothing for granted. Everything is phenomenal; everything is incredible; never treat life casually. To be spiritual is to be amazed.

    Abraham Joshua Heschel
  • coffee life,  coffee shops,  fountain pens,  journal

    This morning…

    tired after a night of wrestling for sleep
    I settled into silence, prayer, and meditation

    ignoring the cold, I mounted my red steed for
    an invigorating bicycle ride to the arboretum

    then placed a latte made with love by Allie
    on a tabernacle at an east facing window

    with beams of sunlight enkindling blank pages
    I sought words hidden within a favorite fountain pen

    mws
  • clouds,  landscape,  musings,  sunrises

    Just a touch of pink…

    I enjoyed my ride this morning to the coffee shop. It was cool and crisp at about 47 degrees but not cold. I find these rides to be invigorating, actually beginning to look forward to them. No traffic to deal with and parking is a breeze. I enjoyed my coffee conversations this morning with Jeff, Curtis, Shawn, Terry and Adrianna, which always seems to make the coffee taste better.

    A touch of pink over CSU campus this morning

    I journaled this morning about how short life is, aware mine gets shorter each day, each breath. I do not know when my heart will beat its last beat, but I am at a place of acceptance when that moment comes. And that acceptance includes finding myself waking each morning with gratitude, looking forward to the possibilities of the day. What photo will be given? Who will I share a conversation with? What lesson(s) can I learn today? What words will I find on the pages of my journal? Will I be present to experience feelings of gratitude, love, fear, serenity, anger, sadness, and other emotions that make me human? These remind me of Mary Oliver’s question asking us how we will live this one wild and precious life given to us? I will not have an answer until I reflect back on my day when I lay my head on my pillow tonight. But, I must say my day has been rich and fulfilling already and it’s not finished.

  • leaves,  quotes

    Knowing When to Say Nothing

    Fall colors while waiting at the bus stop this morning.

    There is such a powerful eloquence in silence. True genius is knowing when to say nothing, to allow the experience, the moment itself, to carry the message, to say what needs to be said. Words are less important, less effective than feeling. When you can sit in perfect silence with someone, you truly know how to communicate.

    Richard Wagamese, Embers: One Ojibway’s Meditations