My ADHD brain in blog form.
Posted in Ink
This post is a response to UK Fountain Pens’ post, What Makes a Good Ink Bottle? Reading Anthony’s post got me thinking about what I think makes a good ink bottle. After all, I know I’m a bit odd with how I fill my pens.
While I highly suggest you take a couple of minutes to read Anthony’s post, as a recap, or if you don’t have time, he posits there are four main factors to a “good” ink bottle:
Posted in Cat
When the time comes, the hardest part of being a pet parent is giving your furbaby a dignified exit. I feel it is our duty to gift them freedom from pain and suffering if at all possible. It is a small return for the gift of their love, their presence in our lives. Bumbledore gave me, us, so very much. He completely changed our lives and taught us just how much love can heal. So, we gave him peace, at the expense of our own.
NOTE: This post closes out my 2024 end-of-year and 2025 start-of-year series, and I’m looking forward to a break. I will likely post once a week at most through the end of February.
I think my wish list this year is the smallest it has ever been. But, before I jump in, I will acknowledge that I didn’t, technically, cross anything off of last year’s list. I received the three pens I’d commissioned at the beginning of the year: the 3D scrollwork sleeve, the Eowyn, and the Pride and Prejudice pen. And I commissioned, but haven’t yet received, the Tailored Pen Co. Trekker.
Posted in Fountain Pens, Ink, Paper, and Stationery
This is the fourth time I’m posting under this tag. You can see the previous years’ answers on the “start of year” tag page. This idea was originally adapted from Theresa is Dead’s video: OH 2021… | BEAUTY RESOLUTIONS TAG video. The Beauty Resolutions Tag originated with Mel Thompson.
With each year I’ve answered these questions, I’ve found some of them harder to answer. While I originally tried to stick as close to the original makeup version as possible, I need to make some drastic changes to some of these questions. I tried to choose questions that will work for many years moving forward so I don’t have to keep changing them.
Answer from 2024: I’m pretty happy with my pen routine for now, especially after the changes I made in November. I think I need to come up with a new question for next year. Clearly, there’s nothing to comment on from last year’s answer. Funnily enough, though, I made some major changes this November, too. I’ll try to post about it soon.
Posted in Random Reflections
In my final look back at 2024, I’m looking at my blog performance and favorite posts again. You know that I love data, so this type of post is a lot of fun for me. If you enjoy data, too, take a look at the Data tag for posts you may have missed.
As I’ve said before, I’m well aware that the stats I have available to me are almost certainly tainted by bots, VPNs, etc. But, they’re still fun to look through. I know there are some other data nerds out there, so this post goes out to you.
I’m not sure I’m going to continue this post in future years. I cover my purchases in my pen collection stats post, and I go over my purchasing goals in my pen resolutions post (coming Wednesday). That means the only truly unique information in this post is the purchases by month table. Is that enough to keep this post going?
Moving on… how did I do last year? If you saw my stats or collection posts, you know I actually came in under my 36-pen goal!! Go me!!!
Posted in Book Blogger
Well, first off, welcome to 2025. I won’t lie and say I’m looking forward to this year, but time moves on no matter what we want. I hope 2025 goes better than I currently have reason to expect.
Anyway, another year gone means another reading challenge complete. I’m surprised by how much I read this year. I didn’t feel like I was reading a lot, and there were even times when I read very slowly because I was reading non-fiction.
I find it fascinating to look back and see where I read a lot, where I slowed down, and what I was reading. To facilitate that more easily — and since I’ve gotten tired of Goodreads deleting Harry Potter fan fiction — I also tracked my books manually, this year. Since I’m tired of re-adding books, my numbers on Goodreads don’t quite match my manual tracking.
Posted in Fountain Pens, and Non-Fountain Pens
Another year, another overview of my collection. This is still one of my favorite posts of the year. Based on metrics, you all seem to prefer the “highlights” infographics version of this that I did last year over the in-depth dashboards I’ve put together previously. So, I stuck with that style.
For anyone who needs, or wants, an accessible version of the graphics below, I put together a text-only PDF version of this post. I’ve also made sure that the most important data in the graphics is also in the text of this post. So, you can choose the method of reading this post that most appeals to you: text, graphics, or PDF.
Posted in Ink
Phew, that’s a wrap on the first 24 Days of Dupes! Please let me know in the comments if you’d like to see me match the 2024 Inkvent calendar; it would probably be in late February into March.
As I mentioned in the opening post, Colorverse has no plans to release the full line of Colorvent inks like Diamine does with Inkvent. However, Colorverse does plan to release the “top 3” inks. More on that in a bit.
Posted in Ink
Hello, welcome back to 24 Days of Dupes 2024. Below you’ll find the inks for days 19-24. If you have a suggestion for a possible dupe for any of these inks, let me know in the comments, and I’ll add it to the wrap-up post.
Some info:
Enjoy, and happy inking!
Posted in Cat
Time flies, and we’re now two years out from Athena’s FIP diagnosis. Find out how she’s been since my last update post.
Posted in Stationery
This post is a little different than my standard tag post. I found A Clockwork Reader‘s video Makeup Book Tag! first, which gave me this idea. In the description of that video, they list “Creator’s video: no longer available.” However, Angelica Nyqvist recently posted The Makeup Book Tag | MY FAVES FROM BOTH WORLDS 😱 to her second channel where she credited Belle Terese‘s video makeup book tag! 💋📖 | bookmas day 7 ❄️ (2024) and sarawithoutanH‘s video MAKEUP BOOK TAG (2016), neither of which credit a tag creator. All that to say, the original idea isn’t mine, but I have adapted the idea to the stationery world.
Since I’ve unintentionally gotten known for #MakeupMonday and #FPCosplayFriday, this seemed like an appropriate tag to do. I had to seriously change some steps, because I just don’t use those makeup products, but I made this work for my routine. Without further ado, let’s jump in.
Posted in Fountain Pens, and Non-Fountain Pens
I’m proud of myself for coming in under my fountain pen purchase limit this year! Even if I count my two reserved pens — a Nahvalur and my in-progress Stanford Pen Studio commission — I only acquired 27 pens this year, 9 less than my limit. Go me!
Like last year, I’ve included photos so you can see the pretties. Where possible, I’ve also linked to my dedicated blog posts. Now, enough chit-chat, onto the ranking!
Posted in Ink
Hello, welcome back to 24 Days of Dupes 2024. Below you’ll find the inks for days 12-18. If you have a suggestion for a possible dupe for any of these inks, let me know in the comments, and I’ll add it to the wrap-up post.
Some info:
Enjoy, and happy inking!
Posted in Fountain Pens, and Ink
As I do each year, I’m sharing my current top tens. I’m continuing my approach from 2022 and 2023, with my top ten pens by appearance and top ten nibs. Since I’m keeping to the same format, I’ll compare my lists. This year, though, I’m also adding my top ten inks by usage.
But without further preamble, enjoy my top tens of 2024.
Posted in Fountain Pens, and Ink
Time for another addition to this yearly tradition. If you’re curious, you can check out the 2021, 2022, and 2023 entries. This idea was originally based on the “New Makeup Releases | THE TAG” video from Angelica Nyqvist.
This tag is about evaluating the releases — in this case pens & inks — from the past year. But, this year, I have to add a caveat. My focus has been on indie makers, and I’ve mostly ignored mainstream manufacturers. I had to do some research to find the answers to many of these questions. Let me know if you agree or disagree with me.
Posted in Fountain Pens
Can you believe it’s already the middle of December? I don’t know where this year went, but it’s time to start my end of year retrospective posts.
Before I dive into this post, I want to remind you all that I “discovered” these brands like Columbus “discovered” America. That a brand is on this list doesn’t mean that I didn’t know it existed before this year, it means that the brand did not have any representation in my pen collection before 2024.
Continuing the trend I started last year, I once again purchased from less new brands. Technically, I only bought from two new-to-me brands: one pen, and one ink. However, among other “unique” situations, I gave a brand I’d written off a second chance, and I bought my first modern pen from a brand.
Posted in Ink
Hello, welcome back to 24 Days of Dupes 2024. Below you’ll find the inks for days 5-11. If you have a suggestion for a possible dupe for any of these inks, let me know in the comments, and I’ll add it to the wrap-up post.
Some info:
Enjoy, and happy inking!
Posted in Ink
Hello, welcome to the first post of 24 Days of Dupes 2024. Below you’ll find the inks for days 1-4. If you have a suggestion for a possible dupe for any of these inks, let me know in the comments, and I’ll add it to the wrap-up post.
Some info:
Enjoy, and happy inking!
Posted in Paper
I meant to write this post a couple of months ago, around the beginning of October. But, hey, better late than never, right?
I’ve divided this post into four major sections, so if you’re only interested in some of them, feel free to jump directly to them. Each section has a short update to my previous paper system changes post, followed by the new information.
Topics: Sizes & Uses | Paper | Layouts | Accessories
The short version of this post — the TLDR, if you will — is that things are going significantly better, but I still have a few issues to work out.
As a short aside, I’ve gotten used to bringing multiple binders when I go to work. It no longer bothers me. But, I rarely bring more than my blog binder with me elsewhere. I need to get back into the habit of bringing my Mini 5 (M5) binder with me more often.
