rosalita jumps a little higher in 2014: Verse 1.2015

OK, you've all convinced me that if we are going to continue posting on my 2014 thread it really needs a fresh start because that last one was nearly 400 posts.

You should know, though, that just because I have continued this thread, you are not safe from me popping up all over your 2015 threads. Nobody puts Baby in a corner (thread)!

Ha ha ha. I crack myself up.

Hey! This is very surreal of you, Julia! So happy you'll remain a poster with the 75ers!

Ha ha! It's nice to have a place to pop into and shout "Julia?" when you go on one of your late night Iowa wrestling sprees and ignore us. ;-)

^That sounds funny!

Hooray!! I am so excited about this, Julia!! *does happy dance*

>2 Carmenere: That's appropriate, Lynda, as I am somewhat of a surreal person, even to myself. :-)

>3 luvamystery65: Ah yes, those late-night wrestling sprees! Today it's an afternoon wrestling spree, as the Hawkeyes wrestle at Ohio State at 1 p.m. I'm trying to cram in as many LT visits as I can this morning. Along with compulsively checking the library website to see if I've come to the top of the Blessing Way hold list. I'm the next in line but whoever has the book right now must be reading a paragraph a day. :-(

^This is one Happy Puppy!!

So cute!

WooHoo!

Late night wrestling spree...is that as fun as it sounds?

What about me?

>2 Carmenere: Comment of the day: This is very surreal of you, Julia! Love it!

I'm totally confused now, but will keep this puppy starred. :-) It's good to have you around, even if it's in a weird sort of time travel capacity.

>8 scaifea: is that as fun as it sounds Probably not for you, Amber!

>9 Crazymamie: MAMIE!!!! How did I miss you? There were only three other posts and I still managed it. I am so happy you are happy — or were happy, until I snubbed you inadvertently. Please say I am forgiven!

>10 DorsVenabili: If you're confused, Kerri, you should fit right in around here. I am in a state of perpetual confusion myself.

I think because we posted at the exact same time. We're practically twins! You are forgiven, not that there's anything to forgive - I just always point it out to everyone because I know that I would want it pointed out to me.

>12 Crazymamie: I'm happy to be twinsies with you! And I do always want someone to point out if I've mistakenly skipped them, so thank you for piping up. Whew! So glad we are still amigas. ;-)

*grin* And please see Katie's thread about my limited Spanish.

Happy new thread, Julia!

Happy new thread Julia my dear.

I feel so rebellious posting on this renegade thread!

Yay! Julie is gonna keep it going!! I have never time traveled before...this is cool!

Yup, Julia's 2014 verse 1.2015 thread, where time stands still.
;0)

Yay! You changed your mind!

However it works, this is great, Julia!

Happy New/Old/Sideways Year!

Happy New Year/Thread Julia, you'll keep the 2014 group alive!

Happy New Year, Julia!

>15 lkernagh: Thanks, Lori!

>16 johnsimpson: Thanks, John. Same to you and Karen.

>17 katiekrug: It's kinda weird, isn't it?

>18 Berly: & >19 Carmenere: Kim and Lynda, it seems appropriate since I often have no idea what time it is!

>20 drneutron: Well, sort of, Jim. I don't think of this as an actual thread in that I'm not going to be posting updates here but it's a place for people to stand and yell my name to get my attention, I reckon. :-)

>21 jnwelch: I'm not sure what will happen, Joe, but we'll find out together, I guess.

>22 Deern: I'm not sure anyone wants the 2014 group kept alive, Nathalie, since everyone always moves to the new one well before the year is over, but it's here for whoever wants it!

>23 billiejean: Thanks, BJ!

Wait, you're not going to report on your reading? How will we nose through your book business follow what you're reading this year?

Glad that I popped over here, only to find you decided to stay in 2014 - LOL - ok. Let's emply Dr Who this year to make it easier to travel.

I wish you a wonderful reading year. Julia!

Hi Julia, and Happy New Year to you!

So glad you have this thread too!

Checking in on the new thread, Julia!

Happy New Year Julia

>25 scaifea: Amber, I'm tagging my books with "Read 2015" in my catalog in lieu of having a thread. I don't know that that's particularly easy for other people to find, though. I'm also participating for the first time in the TIOLI challenges so many of my planned reads are listed there. And as I complete books in the various other challenges (British Author Challenge, American Author Challenge, ANZAC Author Challenge, Leaphorn/Longmire series project, etc.) I'm posting there. But yeah, there probably isn't a great way for people to see a list of everything I've read to date. :-(

>26 drachenbraut23: & >27 AMQS:, & >28 AuntieClio: & >29 alcottacre: & >30 markon: Thank you, Bianca, Anne, Stephanie, Stasia, and Ardene for stopping by!

Julia, you could do what I do and create a category in your books called Completed in 2015 - I have one for each year so far because it makes it so easy to find what I have read each year.

Do you mean a collection? That's a good idea!

Yes. A collection!

Your wish is my command — I now have a "Read in 2015" collection. Only two books in it so far ... must work on that!

WahHOO!

Yep, that's what I do too. I can look back at each year pretty easily that way. I also have an ARC collection, and ebook collection and a group read collection for the same reason.

That's interesting, Jim. I'm using tags for the various challenges and group reads but I could see collections working well, too.

I love using Collections!

That is all.

Geniuses!

Oh collections! As Gru would say, "Light bulb!"

>41 AuntieClio: Right, Stephanie? I remember when Collections first arrived I made up some "rule" for what would be a collection and what would be a tag. I do this kind of thing all the time, then chafe against the restrictions I've put in place myself. Sometimes it takes a metaphorical dope slap from a good friend to help me see the light.

Boo!

Hi, Julia. I guess I'll start a read in '15 collection too if I ever finish anything. I will continue to keep a running list on my profile page. At this point, I've always made a hard copy of it and deleted it, but there's no reason not to have a record here too, is there?
(Lizzie is awfully slow.)
Anyway, I'm glad you're here! Me too!

haha, now I get it. You are stuck in 2014!

Welcome 'back' anyway :)

The collection categorisation is a great way to keep track of what you have read when, I still write mine down. Like, you know, with pen and paper :)

Yay, Julia! Everytime I don't feel like I like 2015 as much as 2014 I can come here! :-)

>46 souloftherose: Yeah, I'm with Heather! I think I'll be spending alot of time here.

>43 ronincats: Eeek!

>44 LizzieD: Peggy, one of the things i love about LT is that there are so many ways to accomplish the same goals that we all can find something that works for us. Vive le LibraryThing!

>45 LovingLit: To be perfectly honest, I'm probably stuck in about 1988. But my thread is certainly stuck in 2014. What is this pen? and paper? that you speak of? Must be a Southern hemisphere thing.

>46 souloftherose: & >47 Carmenere: Well, Heather and Lynda, please feel free to come hang out where it's eternally 2014 whenever you want to. We'll leave the light on for ya ...

Dropping by to say hello Julia. I'm using collections to keep track of what I read each year too.

And although I haven't written any reviews yet, I've managed to finish three books this month, all good, I hope this is going to be a great reading year. But when will I find time to write a review when my coworker keeps tossing wonderful new books on my chair?

>49 markon: Clearly, the idea of using collection to track the year's reading is one of those brilliant ideas that everyone thought of except me! Three books finished so far is awfully good, Ardene. Writing the reviews can wait if there are new books to read!

A foot in each year. What a great idea, Julia. It works great now, but you'll be doing the splits in a few months! It's good to see you here however you name your thread and manage your reading life!

Have a fantastic time at the Meet-Up, Julia! I hope to make it next year. Take plenty of photos.

Howdy!

>48 rosalita: *guffaw*
I love pen and paper. It is getting to use them again that got me back to university ;)

>53 luvamystery65: Hey, what are you doing here? :-)

>54 LovingLit: Despite my joking in >48 rosalita: I know exactly what you mean. In fact, I recently spent more than I should on the most beautiful fountain pen ever:



Isn't she beautiful? Hard as I tried, I could not take a photo that fully conveys the depth and beauty of the finish. It's absolutely gorgeous.

A fountain pen, how lovely!

I used to do calligraphy. Talk about retro.

>56 Copperskye: I wish I'd learned how to do calligraphy, Joanne. Maybe I'll add that to the list of things I want to learn when i retire, along with playing guitar, playing bridge, painting watercolors ...

>57 rosalita: Moving to Texas in the winter.

The good news is, Julia, in just a few short weeks it will March and then we can start warming up again...

Hugs to my friend in Iowa!

Just checking in, Julia!

Drooling over the GORGEOUS fountain pen. Wow! I really love the color.

>58 luvamystery65: Yes, that too!

>59 msf59: At least that stupid Punxsatawney Phil didn't predict that spring was coming early. I hate when he lies like that...

>60 katiekrug: Hey, it's Katie!

>61 Crazymamie: Isn't it beautiful, Mamie? It's even more gorgeous in person. AND it writes like a dream, too.

I love a pen that fits nicely in my hand and writes smoothly. Congrats on the pen!

>55 rosalita:, Hi Julia. What a gorgeous fountain pen my dear I am jealous. This is one make of fountain pen that I do not own although a nice pen shop in Sheffield stocks this brand and I have got a couple of nice pens from him recently. I adore Fountain pens and for my 50th birthday my wife treated me to a Montegrappa fountain pen and she has seen another that might be a possible birthday present for this year. I have about 45 fountain pens and use most of them in a cycle. Love and hugs to you my dear.

>64 johnsimpson: Oooh, a Montegrappa! Very nice, John — I'd love it if you posted a pic. This one is a Kaweco ART Sport, made in Germany. It's kind of pocket-sized when it's capped, but if you post the cap on the end it feels like a regular-sized pen when you write. Let me see if I can post a comparison picture with my normal pen:



I am only just starting to get back into fountain pens after having a brief flirtation years ago. Between the pens and the various beautiful colors and types of bottled ink, it's so hard to show restraint!

>65 rosalita:, I agree with you're comment about trying to show restraint, it's hard. I will get some photo's done tomorrow when I have better light and show the Montegrappa and the rest of my pens.

>66 johnsimpson: Ooh, great! I will look forward to drooling over admiring your pen collection, John.

Hi Julia!
>55 rosalita: Wow! How neat!

Gorgeous! Have fun with it, not that there was any doubt.

Hey Julia! the picture of the fountain pen brought back a memory to me. For some odd reason when I was in 7th grade (1974ish) all the cool kids were all into fountain pens. Natch, being not cool but wanting to be, I bought one too. What was so uncool is the big ink splotches all over loose leaf notebook paper. Looks like they've really come a long way. Enjoy!

>68 Whisper1: Thanks, Linda!

>69 Berly: It's probably a little silly to have fun with a pen, Kim, but I certainly am. :-) I'm just a big ol' nerd at heart.

>70 Carmenere: Fountain pens most definitely have come a long way, Lynda. Even as recently as the '90s when I first started collecting, the experience of looking at them was far more enjoyable than actually using them. Recently I've been reading blogs and message boards by pen "experts" and I was totally surprised to learn that different pens and even different inks have personalities — some inks are known to be "wetter" than others, and flow better. Which means they do well in pens that themselves have the personality of being a bit "dry" or stingy with ink. I have one pen that I had stopped using because it skipped a lot, but using a different brand of ink made the writing experience completely different. Who'da thunk it?

Oooh, fountain pens - I love yours! I have a couple, although I don't use them as often as I'd like:



I even have a fancy-pants case for them (from Levenger - and the red pen is from Levenger, too):

Loving the fountain pen collection Julia. How many colors can you collect?

>72 scaifea: The red one is gorgeous, Amber! I love Levenger.

>73 markon: I'll have to round them all up for a group photo, Ardene. Besides that gorgeous yellow baby, I have one that is silver/black, a green marble, plain green, white with tiger stripes, and gold. I also have a glass dip pen and a couple of other dip pens.

Ooh, fountain pens. I'm one of the few people I know who uses them. I have a cheapish one for work and a nice one for home use. No lovely leather case though (>72 scaifea: *fountain pen case envy*). I think they make my handwriting more legible.

One half of my fountain pen collection.

My Montegrappa fountain pen.

Montegrappa with cap screwed on.

The other half of my Fountain pen collection.

Sorry to clog your thread up with my photo's, love and hugs.

From left to right, Parker 17 ladies pen, Parker 17 men's pen, two Parker 51's and a Parker 61.

>75 souloftherose: And Heather's another fountain pen user! I agree with you about making my handwriting more legible. If I use a ballpoint or even gel pen I have a tendency to write too quickly which turns whatever I'm writing into an unreadable scrawl.

>76 johnsimpson: & >77 johnsimpson: & >78 johnsimpson: & >79 johnsimpson: & >80 johnsimpson: Now that is a collection, John! The second pen from the right in the first photo looks like a Waterman, maybe a Phileas? I have a Waterman Phileas and I love it.

The Montegrappa is, not surprisingly, absolutely gorgeous. I will have to try to get a good picture this weekend when I am home during daylight hours. It won't be nearly as comprehensive as yours, though!

Did you know that February is International Corresopndence Writing Month (InCoWriMo)? It's a promotion whereby you commit to sending one handwritten note, card, or letter every day for the month of February. If you PM me your postal address, I would love to send you a letter written with my beautiful Kaweco pen!

And that goes for anyone who would like to get a letter from me, no matter where you are. Just PM me your address and I'll put you on the list.

>81 rosalita:, Thanks Julia, I will get my address to you asap and I will reply with the Montegrappa. Getting the pens out was good for me as some needed new cartridges and some needed filling from the bottled ink and I need some cartridges for my Watermen's.

Fascinating about the fountain pens! I tried time and again writing with them, but my handwriting is so terrible and it takes so long to adapt them to your hand (or is it vice versa?). I am always envious when I see people writing with them. Should try again, I guess...

>79 johnsimpson: Isn't this the same picture as >76 johnsimpson:? I'd like to see the whole lot...

I've had fountain pens, but they never really worked for me - no ink on the paper, lots of ink on my hand/shirt/bookbag... My dad collects them, and uses them occasionally. His prize is a Mont Blanc.

>84 jjmcgaffey: Thanks for spotting my mistake, I have rectified post 76 with the correct photo.

>76 johnsimpson:, >85 johnsimpson: Ah, thanks! Nice lot.

Julia, you should have two PMs from me about two different things. ;-)

>63 billiejean: I'm so sorry I missed you up there, BJ! I am loving this pen every day. It makes me wish my job involved doing more writing, but the vast majority of work I do is on a computer.

>82 johnsimpson: Yay! You're on the list, John.

>83 Deern: Nathalie, it does take time to get used to writing with a fountain pen. In particular for me, it took time to get used to not having to bear down so hard with every stroke. Writing with a fountain pen leads to much less hand fatigue for me when I have to do a lot of writing.

>84 jjmcgaffey: Sounds like you've had some rotten fountain pen experiences, Jenn. I can honestly say I've never had a pen leak in my pocket or bag but I know it happens. I usually only get inky fingers when I refill from bottled ink and forget to wipe the section/grip before starting to write again.

>85 johnsimpson: I'm glad so glad you changed your picture so we can see your full collection — and what a collection it is! I'm hoping to get some pictures today if the sun will cooperate.

>87 AuntieClio: I got 'em, Stephanie, and will respond soon. Before the end of the month, anyway. :-)

Happy Saturday, Julia! I hope you have an R & R weekend planned. I am seeing Nick Hornby this afternoon. Should be interesting.

Ha, I found you! When you said you weren't going to start a 2015 thread, I just assumed you weren't going to be posting to your own thread, not that you were just going to stay in 2014 for another year. lol

I've always loved fountain pens, but I've also had bad luck with them ~ ink splotches on the paper, ink leaking all over everything. Perhaps it's because they were never the really expensive ones.

Hope you are having a good weekend!

>89 msf59: Hi, Mark!

>90 Storeetllr: Well, that was exactly my plan, Mary, but people just keep posting here, so what can we do? :-)

Did not see Nick Hornby, but you knew that. Hope you are having a lovely Sunday. What are you reading?

>92 msf59: I did know that, and didn't want to bring up bad memories since we had already talked about it on your thread. :-)

I am reading Season Ticket, a collection of baseball essays by the great Roger Angell, and The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters. Two very different books, i must say, but I'm enjoying both.

Here are some pictures of my fountain pen collection, which is puny compared to John's. The only one missing in this first picture is a Levenger Tuxedo, which I forgot to bring home from work on Friday:


You've already seen that gorgeous Kaweco up top. The others are a Waterman Phileas in green marble, a Pilot Metropolitan in white tiger, and a Pilot Metropolitan in gold dot.

If any of you are looking to get started with fountain pens and want something that writes well without a lot of fussing and isn't expensive, the Pilot Metropolitan is my recommendation. It costs $15 and writes better than pens that cost three times that.

This next picture is the collection of dip pens:


At the top is an antique advertising dip pen from the Hotel Davenport (Iowa), in the middle is a glass dip pen, and at the bottom is a new dip pen with a black/silver swirl finish.

>94 rosalita: The Pilot Metropolitan in white tiger is gorgeous! I wish I had nice handwriting to enjoy a pen like this.

One of our Cardiovascular surgeons that just retired always wrote with a fountain pen. I loved to read his progress notes. He is the only doctor whose handwriting I will ever miss. After surgery he would always dress up in a suit and tie to do his rounds. On Fridays he would wear boutonnière. Classy guy all the way down to his fountain pen.

>95 luvamystery65: I find writing with a fountain pen makes my handwriting better, Roberta. I just take more care with my writing instead of a quick ugly scrawl. The white tiger is my current go-to pen here at home. If you PM'd me your address you could get an example of my handwriting when I use it ... ;-)

As fond as I am of fountain pens from my very brief foray into calligraphy, I love the look of the dip pens in >94 rosalita:. I really like that crystal looking one in the center!

>96 rosalita: Done Julia! Thanks.

>94 rosalita:, Hi Julia I just love the photo's of your Fountain pens and your Dip pens. I remember when I worked at Dewsbury Hospital and had to go to a meeting with a few heads of departments and the Head of Accident and Emergency came up to me and said it was nice to see a fellow Fountain pen user and told me I would always know when she wrote in a patients notes as she used Green ink and produced said pen and wrote me a note in lovely Green ink.

>97 lkernagh: The glass pen is even more beautiful than it looks in that photo, Lori. There's a ribbon of blue glass spiraling through the handle that doesn't really show up there. Unfortunately, I'm not having much luck actually writing with it. The point is rather thick and it doesn't hold ink well. With your calligraphy background you'd probably have better luck.

>98 luvamystery65: Woot!

>99 johnsimpson: Good morning, John! That's a great story. I do think there is a bond between fountain-pen users, just because you don't see many of us out in the wild.

All of those pens are gorgeous, Julia, but I think your latest acquisition is my favorite. The white tiger comes in second.

>101 Crazymamie: Great minds think alike! Those are my favorites, too.

I'm going to have to get one of those Pilot Metropolitans and start writing with a fountain pen again, now that I'm retired and have infinite time to mess about with fun things. BTW, I have (if I can find it) a dip pen that belonged to my grandfather. I think it has interchangeable tips, as I vaguely recall having more than just the one tip. Oh, boy, another safari into the wilds of my storage area in search of the antique dip pen!

P.S. I'm PMing you.

Julia, so glad I finally stopped over to your thread. What a bunch of beautiful pens! I remember my dad purchasing me " space pen" or something - it would write upside down! I really appreciated that back when my kids were young and I wrote sprawled out on the couch as I kept an eye on them. Delicious pens! I love the pens that give such a nice smooth ink flow - but they tend to smear. I've been just using everyday $1.99 pens lately. Hmm. I think I'm going to have to go to a stationary store!

>103 Storeetllr: You're on the list, Mary!

>104 vancouverdeb: Welcome, Deborah! I am a sucker for pens the way some women are suckers for shoes or handbags (actually I am a sucker for tote bags, too) or men are suckers for cars. I remember those Fisher Space Pens — it seemed like magic! A really good "everyday" gel-ink pen is the Pentel EnerGel — it writes beautifully and is my go-to choice for things that fountain pens aren't good for.

Wow! Who knew so many of LTers were into fountain pens?!! I love how they look, but I am a hopeless mess with them. Love the glass one Julia. And John, wow! Have a few!!

>94 rosalita: lol, I love that my little old paper and pen talk went snowballing on to this amazing collection of beautiful ink pens! I have one of those glass dip pens, they seem to carry the ink far sometimes, but then not that far others. I have not got into my zone with it just yet.

And what do we use our pens for? I used to write out favourite song lyrics or poems on to nice paper for friends, but I have not done that in a long time.

>106 Berly: I know, Kim! I had no idea how many people would turn out to be pen aficionados around here. It's so much fun to learn more about the people we hang out with every day.

>107 LovingLit: You got the whole party started, Megan! I'm glad you came back to see the aftermath. I know I need to practice more with the glass pen but my time has been limited. I love the idea of writing out favorite song lyrics or poems — I think I'm going to steal that. I've been writing a letter every day this month, which has been kind of fun.

My goodness, I finally found out where you are Julia! I love your fountain pen collection but you would definitely have to watch me around the white one, that one I would love to own!

I was the first kid in my Grade 5 class that was switched to a pen, but when the teacher went to hold up my work to show the rest of the class what a neat writer I was, he was in for a disappointment. Because I was left-handed, as I wrote I dragged my hand across what I had just written and as it was a dip pen, the ink was still wet. Bang - my work was one scruffy mess!

>109 DeltaQueen50: I love the white tiger print on that one, Judy. Fountain pens can be tricky for lefties. A lot of reviews of inks that I read talk about drying time, because inks that are very wet and take a long time to dry are very bad for lefties whose hand moves through the ink as they write. These are all things it never occurred to me before.

Happy Friday, Julia! Once again, thanks for the beautiful note & bookmark! Smiles...

>105 rosalita: Yay!

Happy Saturday, Julia! Hope you're having a good one!

Happy Saturday Julia, love and hugs.

Stopping by to say hi, Julia and to let you know that I am LOVING A Fine Summer's Day by Charles Todd. It is a prequel to the Ian Rutledge series and I am definitely going to read more in the series. It is going to be a challenge to go to a non - prequel , though, I think.

Hi Julia, just popping by to wish you a lovely Sunday my dear, love and hugs from over the pond.

Hi Julia, Hope you have a great week!

Julia?! OHHhhh, JUUUUUliIIIIaaa....

Julia, I am sure that you will love A Fine Summer's Day. I've already got the first in the series to read in a book or two. I found a New York Times review regarding A Fine Summer's Day which I posted on the main page, and it was very positive - " a gift to readers of the series " in that I think you get to know Ian Rutledge and his backstory really well. So , I am looking forward to the 1st in the series!

I'm really enjoying all the fountain and dip pen love. They're beautiful works of art.
Have a great weekend, Julia, hope it's filled with all you enjoy!

I got your letter, Julia! Thank you! Beautiful penmanship! I've been wanting to get a fountain pen (or find one of my old ones) but just haven't gotten round to it yet. I looked on Amazon for a Pilot Metro, and there's a 6 week or so wait! Anyway, I'll be responding soon, except probably not with a fountain pen but a Pentel EnerGel pen. :)

I'm so sorry I've been neglecting my own thread, I didn't even realize I'd had visitors.

>111 msf59: You are more than welcome, Mark! Thank you for letting me use you as one of my February letter guinea pigs. ;-)

>112 Storeetllr: Hi, Mary!

>113 johnsimpson: & >115 johnsimpson: Hi, John!

>114 vancouverdeb: & >118 vancouverdeb: I'm so glad you liked A Fine Summer's Day, Deborah. I am STILL waiting for it from the library!

>116 Copperskye: Thanks, Joanne! Same to you and the girls (and your hubby, too).

>117 Crazymamie: Now Mamie, I've been visiting you on your thread. What are you doing over here??

>119 Carmenere: Thank you, Lynda. I hope you had a great weekend, too!

>120 Storeetllr: Oh, good! I'm so glad you got it, Mary. That's crazy that there is such a backlog for the Pilot Metropolitan. And I do love the EnerGel as you know, so I will look forward to getting your letter.

>120 Storeetllr:, >121 rosalita: After I posted that, I went back on Amazon and found them in stock, so I bought not one but two! One is fine nibbed black, and one is medium nibbed white like yours. They arrive on Wed. Can't wait!

Oh, lovely! Please post a pic on your thread when they arrive — I want to see them!

Because Pilot is a Japanese company, their nibs tend to run toward the fine end of the spectrum. For example, a Japanese "medium" nib is really equivalent to a European "fine", and your Pilot "fine" nib will be like a European "extra fine". There are times when I really like a pen with a true medium or even broad nib to create shading of the ink from light to dark in the my writing, but I think the finer nibs are more practical for everyday use. They are also good if you don't want to spend a fortune on fancy paper, because the finer nibs generally behave very well with less expensive paper types.

/OK, boring fountain-pen monologue over!

You bet! I may have to write you another note using each of them. :)

>123 rosalita: Sorry, I was editing while you were responding — I always hit Post before I'm ready! You could write half the letter with one pen, and half with the other. :-)

My plan precisely! Great minds and all that.

Julia, that is just not right, you still waiting for A Fine Summer's Day from the library! I'm so glad I splurged for it! :) I hope it will come to you soon - which reminds I need to renew some books online at my own library! Thanks for the reminder!

>121 rosalita: Well, Julia, I am sorry to tell you that it was a routine check of the Emergency Shenanigans System (ESS). Had you been needed for shenanigans, you would have been advised where to report to. You failed. Next time it could be an actual emergency, not just a test, so please try to respond more quickly. Remember, shenanigans can happen at a moment's notice, and when it does, you WILL be needed.

>123 rosalita: Actually, I find all of the fountain-pen monologues fascinating. I am learning so much about things that I didn't even know I didn't know. If you know what I mean. Seriously. Please don't stop.

Morning Julia! Just checking in with my pal. I hope we can enjoy our one day warm up, before the next plunge. Ugh.

>128 Crazymamie: *snork!*

Morning, Julia!

Hi, Julia! My fountain pens have arrived! Yay! I even took a pic of them for you with an example of the way they write:



I do like how the writing of the fine nib one (gold) looks, but the medium nib one (white tiger) seems to flow better and, thus, is easier to write with.

Edited to resize pic.

Woo-hoo! Look at those beauties! Isn't the white tiger gorgeous? I agree with you about the writing — I tend to prefer slightly broader nibs just because I think my handwriting looks better most of the time when I write a bit larger. I was really impressed with how smoothly the Metropolitan writes, even if I haven't used it for a couple of days.

I'm going to guess you are using the ink cartridge that came with the pen, rather than the converter with bottled ink? Watch out — once you get hooked on writing with fountain pens you will want to sample all of the gorgeous colors of ink that are only available by the bottle, and then you will be well and truly down the rabbit hole with John and I. :-)

LOL! I may already have a foot stuck in that rabbit hole. I've been looking at bottles of ink on Amazon. I'm afraid it's only a matter of time before you'll have to shove over and make room for me down there.

>133 Storeetllr: Bwahahahaha! Another one bites the dust ...

:-D

Hi Julia, another convert, we will have more and more soon my dear. Hope you are having a good week, love and hugs.

Hi Julia, I have had a very good day so far, I went to an antique fair this morning and picked up a boxed Parker 51 in excellent condition for £10 and then at another stall a Sheaffer Imperial for £35 also in very good condition, I have been after this Sheaffer for quite a while, I think I am now classed as an addict as this brings the total up to 55 pens.

Wow! I have pen envy! But never would take enough time to write to make it look good. I enjoy seeing the photos and the writing, however.

>128 Crazymamie: Well, Julia, I am sorry to tell you that it was a routine check of the Emergency Shenanigans System (ESS). Had you been needed for shenanigans, you would have been advised where to report to. You failed. Next time it could be an actual emergency, not just a test, so please try to respond more quickly. Remember, shenanigans can happen at a moment's notice, and when it does, you WILL be needed.

OMG I can't tell you how much I love this! It's like a phone tree!

Y'all are the best!

>136 johnsimpson: Nice catch on the Parker 51, John! I'd love to pick one up sometime. There are a lot of large pen shows over here and I may have to get myself to one some time.

>137 markon: The side benefit for me is that it has prompted me to renew writing to friends who are not on Facebook or even online much, and with whom I have missed corresponding. I've already gotten some answers to the letters I sent in February, which is so rewarding.

>138 luvamystery65: One time! I missed my thread ONE TIME and Mamie comes down like a ton of bricks. She's a hard taskmaster when it comes to shenanigans, Ro.

>139 rosalita: I know Julia! How exciting though that she initiated the ESS with you first!

Did somebody say shenanigans?

My Spidey sense tingled...

>140 luvamystery65: And I totally dropped the ball!

>141 katiekrug: I think your thread should be Shenanigans Headquarters, given the traffic there. Or Ro's ...

>142 luvamystery65: :-D

>142 luvamystery65: - LOVE!

>139 rosalita: Well, you ARE on the list of first-responders. And you are part of the posse, so we can't really be expected to function at our highest level without your help. We NEED you, Julia. You will just have to resign yourself to that fact.

>142 luvamystery65: I also LOVE this!

>142 luvamystery65: Hahaha, love it! Plananigans!

Now that I'm back home, I dug out my fountain pens. These aren't classic, but they are lots of fun. All but the old red one use cartridges. It has the lever to pull up the ink, but I don't know if the bladder is still good. And the dip pen with inks. I had two of these and have no idea what I have done with the other--perhaps I gave it to someone.

Roni, thank you for sharing your pen collection with us! What brand are all those at the left of the bottom row? They appear to all be the same brand, but I'm not experienced enough to be able to tell brands at a glance yet. I like the pastel colors of those. The red one at the far right looks lovely, too. And that dip pen is just gorgeous — is it a metal nib on a glass handle? I see some Levenger ink lurking there in the back. I just bought a bottle of Levenger Syrah, which is a lovely dark red, and I am looking forward to inking up a pen with it and giving it a workout!

They were popular cheapies called Sizzle Stix, and an internet search turned up:
During the 1980s thru the early 1990s, one could buy A&W fountain pens at discount stores such as Target and Walmart. According to the packaging, they were made in Germany. The lower end model was the garishly colored Sizzle Stix which sold for less than $5 ($2.89 comes to mind). The higher end model was a black pen with gold plated metal accents which sold for $7-$8 and was called the Marquis.

The red pen is an Esterbrook.

The stem of the dip pen is hand-blown Murano glass with a metal nib. I have red and green inks because I have used them for Christmas cards.

Sizzle Stix! They sound like fun — I wouldn't call those colors garish, exactly, they are really a rather pleasantly pastel to me but I guess compared to boring old regular fountain pens they must have seemed so. It sounds as if they were the equivalent of the current Platinum Preppy or Pilot Varsity pens, both of which are less than $5 (I think the Varsity is even disposable which seems like a waste of resources to me).

I have a couple of old Esterbrooks that I picked up years ago at a flea market. I didn't include them in my pictures because I don't think they are actually usable in the condition they are in — like yours they are lever fill and I'm not confident the ink sac isn't rotten. I always think someday I'll get them repaired but somehow I never do.

I love the idea of writing your Christmas cards with festive ink and a dip pen!

Happy Friday, Julia! Just checking in with my pal. Are you working today? I hope the week went well and you are feeling fine.

I'm feeling a lustful urge to get hold of a Sizzle Stix or two for my "collection" (if you can call two working fountain pens and one or two non-working ones a collection). Such bright colors! Like a little kid, the more colorful the better! (My bedroom colors are purple and red, if that tells you anything.)

>147 ronincats:, love your collection of pens Roni.

Hi Julia! The pens look gorgeous. I bet they feel awesome to hold. Or you could just keep looking at them. So purdy!!

Just stopping by to say hi! Cool fountain pens with the murano glass ends! My sister is lately into making glass stuff - and purchasing it. She has gone somewhere in Vancouver and was helped to make a couple of glass things - one a heart for Valentines - and add colour to it. My son and his finance went once also . My sister is busy chatting to me about slag in glass making, hobnails etc . Now, do you think she could make a fountain pen? ;)

Hi, Julia ~ Just stopping by to see how you're doing. Haven't seen you around lately and miss you. Hope all is well.

Hi Julia, just thought I would let you know that I got another fountain pen whilst we were in Hay-on-Wye last week. We went to visit all the lovely book shops and came across Bartrums stationery shop, this is a traditional stationery shop that harks back to the 1970's or earlier. The young lady running the shop was absolutely fantastic and the range of products was incredible for the size of the shop, all the fountain pens were downstairs and it is laid out as a study. The lady and I got on really well as she loves fountain pens and luckily I had three in my jacket pocket and we discussed various pens. I ended up getting a Troika pen which was set up as a roller ball pen but you can buy the fountain pen top and there is also a stylus that can be screwed into the bottom of the pen so it really is a three in one pen. They have a good online service so until we next visit that part of the country I will be getting in touch with them via the online service.

Hope all is well with you my dear, love and hugs.

>155 vancouverdeb: Deb, there are videos on YouTube showing people making glass pens! I was mesmerized. I think glassblowing is just the most amazing magic; I could watch it for hours. So if your sister ever wants an audience for her creations, let me know!

>156 Storeetllr: Hi, Mary. I haven't been around LT much but everything's fine. I'm still reading! And writing with my pens, of course. :-) Thanks for thinking of me.

>157 johnsimpson: I'm starting to understand how you come to have such a large collection, John! The Troika pen sounds intriguing. I think my next purchase is going to be not another pen, but rather a carrying case so I can have a little selection of pens with different color inks to choose from. Here in the U.S. there is an online-only retailer called Goulet Pens that has become my favorite pen shop. They have fantastic customer service, and every order includes a Tootsie pop or some other sort of candy and a hand-written thank you note. Can you imagine?

Happy April, Julia! Glad to see you check in. Hope your books are treating you well.

Any especially good reads lately, Julia?

>158 rosalita:, Hi Julia, I like the sound of getting a hand-written thank you note and some candy with a purchase. I put a comment on Their Facebook page and I then got a reply from them to thank me for the lovely comments I posted. I only told the truth about my visit so that others can see how good they are.

Hey Julia! How goes it?! I love Storeetllr's White Tiger and it's such a decent price I'm planning on ordering one too but for a newbie do you recommend the fine or medium tip? The info says it comes w/converter and ink cartridge. I'm not familiar w/converters. Does that mean you need to dip the pen in ink? Any advice would be great!

Ooooo, the Goulet Pens are very pretty too.

>159 msf59: *waves madly at Mark*

>160 katiekrug: Lots, Katie! You can look at the list in my Read in 2015 collection.

>161 johnsimpson: I think feedback is really important to the small businesses, so I'm glad you took the time to post on their page, John.

>162 Carmenere: This is a placeholder because I have to go catch the bus but i'll come back tonight at home and answer this more thoroughly, Lynda!

>162 Carmenere: OK, Lynda. I'll apologize in advance that this is so long, so please feel free to stop reading at any point if your eyes get tired. :-)

You asked about fine or medium nib size for your White Tiger (roar!). As you've probably figured out, the finer the nib point, the thinner the line of ink that gets laid down when you write. Whether you should get a fine or medium nib is a really good question, and the answer is it depends on your personal preferences and your handwriting. If your writing is on the small side, a fine or extra fine nib is a good choice. If you tend to write larger, you'll probably be happier with a medium or even a broad nib (I don't think the Metro comes in extra fine or broad, actually, so that is a moot point for you right now).

The other thing to keep in mind about nib sizes is that they are like women's dresses — the size designations are not completely standard, so one pen maker's "medium" nib may be closer to another pen brand's "fine". As a general rule, nib sizes on pens from Japanese companies (of which Pilot is one) tend to be "finer" than European or American nib manufacturers. So a "medium" nib in a Pilot Metropolitan is closer to a "fine" nib in a Kaweco (German pen maker) or Montegrappa (Italian) pen. Similarly, the "fine" nib in the Pilot Metro is closer to an "extra fine" in a European/Western brand pen. I chose medium nibs for both of my Pilot pens, and also for my Kaweco, and the Pilot is definitely a thinner line than the Kaweco even though they are both designated as "medium". I would say unless your handwriting is very small, you will probably be pretty happy with a medium nib on the Pilot pen.

Converter vs cartridge: These are both methods of filling your pen with ink. (There are other types of filling systems, such as vacuum and piston-filler, but let's pretend those don't exist right now, since the Pilot Metro doesn't have either of those.) Cartridges are roughly analogous to the refills you might buy for a ballpoint or gel pen. It's a self-contained unit that comes pre-filled with ink, and you put the whole thing into the pen and start writing. When you're done, you toss the empty plastic cartridge and put a full one in the pen. Very easy! The downside is that Pilot uses a proprietary size cartridge, which means you are limited to only buying ink cartridges made by Pilot, and those only come in a limited number of colors. And, of course, you are generating landfill waste with all those plastic cartridges (they might be recyclable; I haven't checked but they probably are).

Converters are used to fill your pen using bottled ink, like this:


Bottled inks are made by a number of different manufacturers in a million different colors (only a slight exaggeration), and you can use any brand of ink in any brand of pen. There are different types of converters but the one that comes with the Pilot Metropolitan is a squeeze model — it's a little rubber sac surrounded by a metal bar. You attach it to the pen, dip the nib of the pen into the bottle of ink, and squeeze the metal bar to push all the air out of the sac. When you let go of the bar, the suction draws ink up into the converter and fills your pen. Not quite as easy as a cartridge, but you can use any ink in any color in any pen. Since the Pilot Metro comes with both a converter AND one ink cartridge, you can use the cartridge to try out the pen and either continue with the cartridges or decide to buy a bottle of ink and use the converter. You can go back and forth with the filling methods whenever you want; you don't have to pick the one true way and always use that way forever and ever.

(I should tell you my dirty secret which is that I love writing with fountain pens but I love the bottles of beautiful ink colors just as much or more, and that might be my primary reason for using fountain pens. So beautiful!)

OK, almost done. If you do decide to take the plunge, I urge you to take a look at gouletpens.com. They do sell the White Tiger and it's actually cheaper than Amazon (OK, less than a dollar cheaper, but still). They are a great little company and I can strongly recommend them for their prices and their fabulous customer service. And that leads me to the last thing. Goulet Pens has a YouTube channel, and they have a series of videos called “Fountain Pen 101" which you might be interested in looking at. They do a great job of explaining a lot of the basics that I tried to go over here and a lot more, and they do a much better job than I did.

OK, I think that's enough out of me. But if you have any other questions, and aren't too afraid that you'll get an answer that's longer than the last book you read, please ask!

Wow, I hit the jackpot! Now I am a fountain pen expert thanks to you, Julia. Well, maybe not an expert, but I do know more about them. In fact, I've had a Blue Leopard Pilot Metropolitan in my Amazon cart for weeks now. I couldn't decide between the nib sizes. I'm definitely changing from "fine" to "medium". Oh, and I loved the White Tiger one, too, but the blue goes with my new journal. Now I just have to figure what I have to write about. Thanks for your detailed answer to Lynda!

>164 rosalita: I'm impressed if you read all the way through that, Donna! The Blue Leopard is pretty snazzy looking, I must say. That would probably have been my second choice after the White Tiger.

My choice between fine and medium nibs is both!

Since you got one of each, can you tell Lynda and Donna how they are different?

Holy moly, Julia, thank you for the very helpful and concise post!!! I normally go for a fine point when I flick my Bic but because you explained the differences in those produced in Japan to other countries, I'm going with the medium.
Also, I'll look into the Goulet Pen Company. Since I'll be purchasing ink in the future, I'd rather support a small specialty company than a Goliath. Plus, who doesn't love good customer service!

Donna, I love the Blue Leopard too and it may one day lay alongside my White Tiger. The price is so right I may have the entire zoo! But never, ever the Python, just the squeamish in me.

Thanks also to Mary for sharing your pen love with us!

>169 Carmenere: I'm glad it was helpful and not just tedious, Lynda. Please report back when you get your White Tiger and let us know how you like it. Or if you have any other questions. As you can see, I'm always happy to talk about fountain pens!

Ordered! :0D

That gives me a few days to clean up and out my desk. Can't have such a classy pen on a bunch of rubbish, now, can I?!

Can't have such a classy pen on a bunch of rubbish, now, can I?!

Most definitely not! I am excited to see what you think of it when you get it! If you are looking for something to write with it, I'd be happy to send you my address (hint hint). :-)

I like both my Parker fountain pens (the White Tiger is medium nib; the gold one is fine). The fine nib is definitely fine (not meant as a pun but is in fact extra fine), which I like for journaling and letter writing. The medium nib is good for taking notes.

Julia, I sent you a postcard and wrote it with the White Tiger (because I couldn't find the gold one, haha, talk about a messy desk and the need to clean it up). As you'll see, the writing is a bit messy. I think I'd have done a lot better had I used the fine nibbed gold pen.

I ordered the medium point Blue Leopard. If I decide I want the fine nib, I will happily order the White Tiger. I like the idea of a zoo of fountain pens, Lynda!

I continue to love all the fountain pen talk happening here. If my penmanship was better, I would be in the market for a couple of fountain pens, especially now that I know about bottle ink. I absolutely love the colour of the ink in >164 rosalita:!

>173 Storeetllr: Mary, I didn't think your writing was messy at all on the card you sent me!

>174 Donna828: A fountain pen zoo is brilliant, Donna!

>175 lkernagh: You don't need great penmanship to use a fountain pen, Lori. In fact, using an FP has improved my penmanship. And if you really want to wallow in all the gorgeous bottled ink colors available, you should check out the Swab Shop at Goulet Pens. It's a dizzying array of beauty. They also sell sample vials, and I think that's what I'm going to try next because I just can't decide on one color!

>175 lkernagh:, >176 rosalita: Exactly! Writing with a fountain pen has caused me to slow down and concentrate on my penmanship (at least when writing letters; journaling and taking notes sometimes causes my penmanship to sink to new depths (heh, that was a pun ~ get it?)).

Glad to know the writing on the postcard was legible, Julia!

Hi Julia, just stopping by to send Easter wishes to you my dear, love and hugs.

>177 Storeetllr: That's what I'm hoping for, Mary. I had beautiful handwriting and, I may add, was the first 3rd grader to graduate to a pen. However, over time, my writing has become sloppy and a hurried mess. We'll see if this works and slows me down a bit.

>179 Carmenere: Me too! I'd been getting more and more annoyed with my bad handwriting as the years have gone by and blamed age, being in a hurry, and, maybe most of all, using a keyboard for most of my writing. Now, at least when I write with my new FPs, I find my penmanship is improving, at least a little.

>176 rosalita: & 177 - So, there is hope for me after all! ;-)

Happy Easter weekend, lady!!

Happy Easter, Julia!

Happy Day After Easter!!! I bet you have been busy writing with your amazing pens and didn't have any time left over for LT. So sad here. ; )

>185 Carmenere: I can't see your picture, Lynda. :-(

Oops, I'll try again

That is so elegant! Must have one...I need a fine nib for certain things so I have an excuse!

>187 Carmenere: Ooh, that was worth the wait! What a gorgeous fierce tiger you have, Lynda! And I love that you have the tiger mug in the background, too!

>188 Donna828: Oh yes, you do need one, Donna. Something has to keep that sassy Blue Leopard in check. :-)

H, Julia!

>187 Carmenere: Lynda: Oooh, you have lovely handwriting!

Hi Julia, just trying to catch up with you. How goes the reading?

Hi Julia, hope you are well my dear, love and hugs.

Julia, I was pleased to see in my feed that A Fine Summer's Day by Charles Todd was a 4 star read for you! Finally you got it from the library! Was it better or worse then you expected?

>193 vancouverdeb: Deborah, I was just composing a PM to you about this very subject! I liked it a lot. Having read all of the other books in the series, I thought this one did a great job of filling in some of Rutledge's backstory while also serving up a really good mystery and giving us that sense of impending doom from the war that looms just ahead.

The reason I was going to PM you is to ask, now that you've gone back and read the first in the series, if there was anything that surprised you after having read this one first that you. As I was reading A Fine Summer's Day I was particularly thinking of what we know from the very first book about how Ian and Jean's relationship developed. Did you get any inklings of that from A Fine Summer's Day even without having read any of the later (chronologically) books?

>191 DeltaQueen50: I wasn't ignoring you, Judy, but was itchin' to ask Deborah all those questions! The reading is going pretty well, and real life is reasonably good. You can see what I've read in my Read in 2015 collection if you are interested. I think I'm reading fewer books this year but they have been consistently quite high quality which I'm happy about. I've also had almost no re-reads, which I usually do have a fair number, so that's cut my numbers down as well. But I'm happy overall with where I am.

How 'bout you?

Howdy!

Hi Julia. Your 2015 Collection is indeed looking very nice!! Carry on. : )

LOL every time I drop into your thread I always think of this
Off to check out your Read in 2015 collection............zip (back through the tunnel)

ETA: What a great way to keep track of your books read! Hmmm, you've got me thinking.

Julia, in answer to your question, when I read a Fine Summer's Day by Charles Todd I knew enough about Ian and Jean's relationship to not have any questions in my mind, but I think that was more filled out in a A Test of Wills. But I felt at an advantage reading the prequel when I read A Test of Wills because I better understood the relationship between Hamish and also Ian's relationships with his superiors at Scotland Yard. How about you - did you feel that a lot info was filled in for when you read the prequel, A Fine Summer's Day?

And thanks again for your wonderful book layout on my facebook page! So kind of you!

By the way, I notice you have an interest in making cards Me too - I think I know most everything about pigment inks vs hybrid inks vs waterproof inks, copics, best papers to use etc. I used to do a lot more card making, but lately I've been lazy about that! :)

Stopping by again...

^I hope all is well, Julia. Stop in when you can. Hugs!

Hey Julia! I used my fountain pen this morning and thought of you. It really hasn't helped me write in my journal more often but when I do, I feel like writing for hours.
Hope all's well with you!

>166 rosalita: The Blue Leopard is pretty snazzy looking, I must say. That would probably have been my second choice after the White Tiger.
I thought you were talking about books there for a second... My second thought was animals. But of course, no. ;)

It has been an age since I dropped by....and I see you are AWOL too! I hope you are well.

>196 luvamystery65: Hidey-ho, Miss Roberta!

>197 Berly: Thank you, Kim. It just keeps growing, and my good luck with quality reads is (knock on wood) continuing apace.

>198 Carmenere: Lynda, I had never used a collection to track my annual reading list before, but I'm really digging it. And it's also prompted me to keep the Currently Reading collection up to date as well, which is a nice bonus.

>199 vancouverdeb: Thanks for giving me your thoughts, Deb. What I liked about the prequel is that while, yes, I did feel some gaps got filled in, nothing happened that felt out of place with everything we learn in the books that were set later but published earlier. And the gaps were relatively minor things that didn't make me question what I thought I knew about the characters, except that I will say that I'm not sure I had quite grasped just how far back DS Bowles dislike of Rutledge went. I had somehow gotten the impression that he didn't really start scheming against Ian until he came back from the war, but now I know it started a lot earlier than that.

And I wished we lived closer, Deb, and you could teach me about to make cards and do scrappy, crafty things! I'm not sure where this impulse is coming from, but I really think I'm going to fall in the deep end if I'm not careful. It's already been made quite clear to me that this could be an endless sink of money and time if a person wasn't careful! I have restrained myself from buying any supplies ... yet.

>200 Berly: Hello again, Kim, and sorry for being such an LT loser. I must come by your thread and actually leave a post instead of reading and moving on as I have been doing. I promise!

>201 msf59: Now, Mark, I have at least been posting on your thread, and the AAC thread, so you have no excuse for guilting me!

>202 Carmenere: Lynda. Oh, Lynda. I must confess: I have purchased another fountain pen! I will try to post a picture of it this weekend if the sunshine cooperates in taking a good photo. I'm glad you are using your little beauty, even if it isn't quite working miracles for your handwriting (or your journal diligence — it doesn't do that for me, either, unfortunately).

>203 LovingLit: Why, Megan! What on earth would lead you to believe that we would be discussing BOOKS over here on LIBRARYThing? You silly, silly, girl. :-D Yours is another thread that I read regularly but never find myself with anything interesting to say but I will subject you to an uninteresting post just to show you that I am there and have't forgotten you. Thank you for not forgetting me, even when I am AWOL for long stretches.

"so you have no excuse for guilting me!" I wasn't guilting, just missing! I appreciate you posting anywhere, anytime! Smiles...

*Waving* hello, Julia, and hope you had a nice long weekend!

Wasn't sure if you were joining us for Lovecraft but here is the link if you would like to.

https://www.librarything.com/topic/191629

Thanks for the post! ; ) Happy Friday.

Here you are! I just skimmed through your thread, ogling all the fountain pens, and then I skimmed through your reads for this year. You've read some wonderful stuff. We just did The Member of the Wedding in one of our book groups, and it was excellently received by a really critical bunch of folks. I'll have to keep an eye on what you read next. My own reading is a little behind times - life has been busy. I don't know if I'll be able to remedy that until I retire!

Hi Julia, just popping by to say hello.

Just checking in.... : )

Hi, Julia!!
I've requested from Tomm a trip down your way for my birthday - a visit to that amazing bookshop you have there and the chop house you mentioned on Facebook. Interested in having lunch/dinner with the residents of Scaife Manor sometime in the next couple of weeks?

>212 scaifea: Yes yes yes yes yes!! I would love that, in case I didn't already make that clear. :-)

There is also a big new exhibit at the Hoover Presidential Library about Hoover, The Great Humanitarian that Master Charlie might enjoy.

Were you thinking a weekend or weekday visit?

>213 rosalita: Charlie, nothin' - *I'd* love that exhibit!!
It'll have to be a weekend to accommodate my workaholic husband (and by workaholic, I mean 'the one with the M-F job' - *snork!*). Possibly the 8th or 9th of August...

Psst - Julia! As a special surprise for Amber, you should invite her MIL to join you... ;-)

>214 scaifea: Those pesky M-F jobs — they do drag a person down, don't they? I'll pencil you in for the 8-9 weekend, and just let me know if that changes or once you know more.

>215 katiekrug: I've got an even better idea — why don't you come up and join us, KAK??

>216 rosalita: - I'm actually on vacation before and after that weekend..... But I am trying to talk the hubs into a trip to the DR in January with friends, so I have to be good and responsible and not spend money :-/

Whatever. I mean, if you love your husband more than Amber and I ...

>215 katiekrug: Katie: (I super-hate you right now...)

>216 rosalita: Great! I'll let you know once Tomm gets home from his trip and we get our plans sorted.

>217 katiekrug: >218 rosalita: Yeah, whatever, Katie. Sheesh.

>218 rosalita: - :-)

>219 scaifea: - I choose to read that message with the parentheses as you giving me a hug while saying you hate me.... heh.

And, yeah, I may have Google mapped a route from Dallas to Iowa City. Just for sh*ts and giggles, you know... And oops, there I clicked on hotels.com and somehow managed to type in Iowa City. Silly fingers have a mind of their own...

>220 katiekrug: Katie: Sorry - I forget sometimes that not everyone understands my need constantly to quote silly movies. That one is from The Lego Movie and of course it really means that I love you. *grins*

How do I not remember that from The Lego Movie?

I was once sent to my room from the Thanksgiving table for quoting movies non-stop. My favorites are Clue, Vacation, and both Airplane movies - which gives you an idea of the level of my humor...

>218 rosalita: And, yeah, I may have Google mapped a route from Dallas to Iowa City. Just for sh*ts and giggles, you know... And oops, there I clicked on hotels.com and somehow managed to type in Iowa City. Silly fingers have a mind of their own...

Yesssss! Helpful hint: Try Coralville, too, for hotels. There's a lot more in all price ranges in that city which is a "suburb" of Iowa City. The two run together interchangeably, except that Iowa City is cooler. ;-)

>222 katiekrug: Superman says it in an undertone to The Green Lantern, just at the latter gets himself completely stuck in the bubblegum...
And your level of humor coincides right along with mine, sister! Tomm and I quote Christmas Vacation all the time. And I'm partial to quoting Ghostbusters. And The Princess Bride. And all Paul Rudd and Will Ferrill movies. And anything that Amy Poehler or Tina Fey say in any of their shows and movies.

>223 rosalita: - I think I'm going to have to sit this one out, my friend. It's a 12+ hour drive which I would be doing alone, so I'd probably break it up over two days, and I'm only taking four days off from work to begin with. Let's blame The Wayne for not taking time off and wanting to drive me all that way, which he could do easily in a day :)

>224 scaifea: - I'm also big on The Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles. Oh and Goonies! As i've gotten older, my ability to retain dialogue has gotten worse and worse, so I can really only do movies I saw as an impressionable child (when I was probably too young to be watching these movies but whatever....).

I love all of those movies, too, but haven't seen them enough to quote from them. I need to revisit all of those brat pack movies...

>225 katiekrug: *sniffle*

Think how poor Amber feels. You've met me before - she's never had the honor ;-)

>228 katiekrug: *SNORK!*
I have it easy, honestly - I don't know what I'm missing yet!

Julia, I'm happy to see your name popping up around again. Post away, m'dear!
We had lots of fountain pen love on Tad's thread a couple of years ago, and I got Schaeffer to refurbish my polished chrome Targa that my DH gave me 30 or so years ago. I've loved having it back.
(I quote stuff too, but from the video spectrum it's almost exclusively The Andy Griffith Show. Oh well.)
How did I end up in 2014? Now looking for the current year!

Stopping by to say hi and thanks for your efforts re my July reads! :) I certainly had a slow July summer read! I am afraid I am on a Elly Griffiths mystery book binge! :) I am blaming it all on my son's wedding and the stress beforehand and he and his wife are leaving on their honeymoon to Hawaii on August 17th. I am hoping to start a more ambitious book - though I must say I do love the Elly Griffiths series about Ruth Galloway. They are interesting mysteries, with quirky and ordinary people and fairly suspenseful with a dash of sardonic humour. Quite enjoying them!

Your fountain pens are beautiful!

>230 LizzieD: Way to go getting your Targa refurbished, Peggy. I have a soft spot in my heart for Sheaffer, since they were founded right here in Iowa and were headquartered here for many years (I think the HQ is in Connecticut now). There is a Sheaffer Pen Museum in Fort Madison that I've been meaning to visit someday.

>231 vancouverdeb: Hi, Deborah! I think you did fine with your reading considering what real life threw at you in July. I have never heard of those Elly Griffiths books but I'm going to check the library for them on your recommendation. I have gone on those series binges myself a time or two. It can be fun to just completely immerse yourself in a fictional world!

>230 LizzieD: Check the first post - Julia decided she wasn't doing a 2015 thread, but everyone wanted to talk to her so now there's a 2014 Part 2 thread!

Hi Julia, I never realised that Sheaffer pens were born in Iowa and a museum sounds fine to me, talking about Fountain pens, whilst we were on holiday in Madeira they have a craft and secondhand market every Friday and Saturday near to Funchal old town and I managed to pick up two old Portuguese Fountain pens and an old Waterman, these cost me the grand sum of 15 Euros which with the exchange rate of 1.36 Euros to the Pound worked out at £11.03, a right bargain. The Portuguese pens were vacuum filled and the Waterman cartridge filled, there were a number of shops that sold Fountain pens with a wide range, I even saw a Rotring Fountain pen but it looked quite expensive. I am currently looking at trying to get a Delta and a Conklin pen if I can. I hope everything is ok with you my dear and send love and hugs from over the pond.

>233 jjmcgaffey: On the internet it can be any year you want... I *love* time travel paradoxes. Or is that paradoi? Amber needs to help me with the Greek here...

>235 drneutron: Yep, it's paradoxes.

Hi Julia, I heard a rumor there is a book festival in Iowa City. I'm considering a trip to see my family in Cedar Rapids with a side trip to Iowa City . . .

Julia, for certain the Elly Griffiths series improves after the first in the series, Crossing Places. So do try another of her books in the series. I have to admit that the characters play as much a part in the series as the mysteries do, at least in my opinion. I enjoy the character arc of the people from book to book.

Do you have another thread - or just this 2014 thread? Just so I am posting on the correct thread!

>237 markon: There sure is, Ardene — October 1-4! I know there was some talk earlier this year of maybe getting a meetup together, but regardless I would love to meet/have dinner if you're going to be coming through. We've missed connecting so many times!

Here's the link to the Iowa City Book Festival, in case anyone else is thinking of making the trip. It looks like a pretty good list of authors, including Maureen Corrigan and John Scalzi.
Iowa City Book Festival


>238 vancouverdeb: Deborah, I really liked that the characters were interesting and didn't interact in predictable ways. I'm looking forward to continuing with the series. And no, this is my only thread — I wasn't going to have a thread at all in 2015 but people kept posting here so we sort of made it a time-travel thread. I'm a weirdo. :-)

Howdy Julia!

Oh you are not a weirdo - you have not met me , Julia! :) I'll have to look for your other thread and do a little time traveling of my own!

>239 rosalita: I'm still up for a book festival meetup! Who else is in?

Just keeping up with things here....!

I just finished Faithful Place and OMG I really loved it.

I'm glad that you are enjoying the Elly Griffiths. You are one difficult person to find on LT! :)

>245 vancouverdeb: LOL, Hey Deb, Julia's so difficult to find because you need to enter that tricky time warp and it moves around so it needs to be just at the right time, at the right angle. Ugh! I get dizzy just thinking about it.
While I'm here, talking to you, Julia's mentioned to me on my thread that you steered her toward Elly Griffiths. Well, so glad you did, cause archaeological novels are my thing! Love em!

BTW: Waves frantically at Julia!!

>245 vancouverdeb: A moving target is harder to hit, Deborah!

>246 Carmenere: Thanks for giving Deborah the secret behind my bending of the time-space continuum, Lynda. :-)

Piping up to say I love the Ruth Galloway series, too.

Since 2015 is winding down, I hope you'll consider joining us in 2016... Or 2014. Wherever you're happiest. I like to keep up with your reading and miss you. :)

Yes please, Julia! Do join us in 2016 . I miss you too! A new Ruth Galloway novel is out, but I forget the name - wait, it's The Woman in Blue. I'll to catch up on the series. The Woman in Blue is not due out til next year. Good thing!

Hey Julia, special Christmas greetings for you

Hi Julia, sending Christmas greetings to you my dear, love and hugs.

Warm wishes for a magical holiday season, Julia!

Have a lovely holiday, Julia

Best wishes for the holiday season, Julia!

Thank you for your thread visits this year. :)

Merry Christmas

I hope you had a peaceful Christmas, Julia. You won't be shocked to hear I got two new Haiku purses from my personal shopper!

Merry Christmas, Julia!

Happy Holidays, Julia!

Happy New Year, Julia!

Warmest wishes, Julia, for a great 2016 filled with all manner of good things, and lots of wonderful books!

I have been a lurker for most of 2015, so I wanted to stop by and wish you a Happy New Year and best wishes for 2016, Julia!

Happy New Year, Julia! May it be filled with fabulous!