Lined, Or Plain?

[Alexcat]

Alexcat, what is the thriftiest scrap of paper used so far? I have used store receipts, backs of business cards, library scrap paper, old card catalog cards, other half of computer copy paper, less the part printed on.What have you used as scrap paper for your "to do" or reminder lists? I have always kept a journal. Now, I am actually keeping a journal, while using my Samsung Tablet to read how to keep one.

I am learning how to use it for therapeutic means. Believe the rear of envelopes and Filofax paper may have me beat. I tend to forget things I do not write down or repeat outloud to myself more than twice. Believe in years it has become worse, but gives me cause to use my fountain pens more, enjoy my ink much and see what other uses can be made of anything which I can write upon to remember something important.

What a thoroughly wonderful message....my memory is very haphazard these days; after effects of a stroke, plus other stuff. Including age(I am known as 'the elderly lady on the top floor'.....which was said kindly, and I find it rather sweet. Im 59. Everything is relative, I suppose

 

Today's "to do"(bit of a tongue twister there) is written on the back of the white envelope that brought a bank statement. I also have a wee pretty coloured - bright, so it's easily seen - bulldog clip attached to the front of one of the 'worker Filofaxes', and clip the to do list under that, which keeps it all together. The Filofax is just any old out of date diary pages, which I can tear out if I need to take a page with me(eg to doctor, to remind me what to tell him/her) or keep some variations of to do lists....long term, important, etc. and those wee slim sticky notes I put on any page which is important.

 

Sounds much more complicated than it is

 

And, I have a couple - well, alright, three - parker/Whitefriars desk pens on the little table where I sit. One red, one black, one teal. Two are the 'ball' shape, one is the ashtray, which is extremely useful for keeping little bits and pieces in....eg the wee sticky note pad, my eye drops, a little mirror, a tiny rocker blotter, a couple if sweeties, etc. .Really handyy for that.

 

<<<<<I am learning how to use it for therapeutic means. Believe the rear of envelopes and Filofax paper may have me beat. I tend to forget things I do not write down or repeat outloud to myself more than twice. Believe in years it has become worse, but gives me cause to use my fountain pens more, enjoy my ink much and see what other uses can be made of anything which I can write upon to remember something important>>>>>

 

Me too! It makes it more pleasurable, choosing and using different inks, pens, etc. The desk pens are great for when I have to quite literally grab and write before the memory has gone: but when Im writing my Vaptains Log, or anything else, my other pens are a delight to choose and use. The ones currently in rotation are also on the wee table: I have a glass 'thing' with holes in it, which I suspect is for flower arranging, but is perfect for pens, and being able to see them easily.

 

Alex

[Alexcat]

Captain's Log, not Vaptains. As Homer Simpson would say....d'oh.....or my avatar, who would say "bite my shiny metal ass".

 

Alex

[fountainpenlady]

Captain's Log, not Vaptains. As Homer Simpson would say....d'oh.....or my avatar, who would say "bite my shiny metal ass".

 

Alex

 

Captain's Log, not Vaptains. As Homer Simpson would say....d'oh.....or my avatar, who would say "bite my shiny metal ass".

 

Alex

Alex, believe I knew it, I'm almost 56 and I got it.

[Barkingpig]

I think the strangest "paper" I use is the deconstructed cigaret carton. You yield 2 longish rather firm surfaces upon which to write. I have purchased a box of Rhodia note pads (the "Essential") which contains a # 8 which has a similar shape. But to travel to market or remain "in place" the weight of the heavier paper is nice. I witnessed an older friend of mine taking apart an emptied cigaret carton & asked in bewilderment what she was doing? She replied her Mother (another Depression Era Survivor!) ALWAYS did that for market lists. As this type paper does not classify under the recycling grades for paper here I tried it & found it works as directed! Not as nice as a premium brand but I like the "longer lasting" or robust feature!

[ac12]

For my journals, I use Staples single subject wire bound, made in Brazil notebooks. These are wide ruled.

At 17 cents each, I could not pass that up, and bought 30 notebooks. That's enough for a few years. I average about 10 notebooks per year. It was more in the first year as I was practicing to improve my handwriting, and wrote a LOT.

 

For my pen pal letters, I use various blank paper; Staples Sustainable Earth, Hammermill 28# Color Copy Digital, HP 32# Premium, etc.)

I use a guidesheet below the paper, to keep my writing level and even. With the guidesheet, I can choose whatever line spacing that I want, and whatever kind of lines I want. I use a 4 line guidesheet (ascender, x-height, baseline, decender).

 

As for letter writing in days of old, I started on lined letter paper which was about 5x8" and sold in pads. Then I "graduated" to unlined paper with a guidesheet below. I never got to the "air mail" paper.

Edited February 10, 2015 by ac12

[jasonchickerson]

When I write letters, I used unlined A5 pads with a ruled sheet beneath to keep my lines straight.

 

For to-do lists, class notes, etc., I use Rhodia's Dotpad no. 16.

[SockAddict]

I last wrote letters regularly in high school and college to a long-distance boyfriend and a few other friends. They were almost always on lined notebook paper, as were the replies. I have had several nice sets of stationary over the years, but I can't write a straight line without a guide. At ALL. I recently unearthed the remnants of my stationary collection and found a nice set of white, unlined paper with a guide sheet. I'm looking forward to trying that out, as I have it in my memory that stationary like that is very elegant.

[Alexcat]

I'm finding letter writing so good, in several ways....not least that I have been out, twice, this week, to post a letter. Only a few yards along the street, but that really is a Big Deal as I have agoraphobia, which is a beast of a thing.

 

And I got a "lucky bag"..... A big bunch of all kinds of paper and envelopes, on eBay, which was a delight just to look through when it arrived. A lot of the paper is A5, so it will be good for the Captains Log, too. And an assortment of happy, childlike things, such as Mr Men, Sylvester, Hello Kitty....anything that cheers me is good.

 

Alex

[domnortheast]

I'm finding letter writing so good, in several ways....not least that I have been out, twice, this week, to post a letter. Only a few yards along the street, but that really is a Big Deal as I have agoraphobia, which is a beast of a thing.

 

And I got a "lucky bag"..... A big bunch of all kinds of paper and envelopes, on eBay, which was a delight just to look through when it arrived. A lot of the paper is A5, so it will be good for the Captains Log, too. And an assortment of happy, childlike things, such as Mr Men, Sylvester, Hello Kitty....anything that cheers me is good.

 

Alex

Sending and receiving handwritten letters between friends is like having Christmas every week. I have a regular correspondence with 8 or so friends dotted around the UK and abroad. It is the perfect number to maintain; I usually write 2 or 3 letters a week and receive similar, it's kind of like sharing a journal of what we are all doing and thinking that week.

 

Dom

[Blade Runner]

I see lined paper as the training wheels of stationery.

[ndw76]

Unlined. Lines are too confining. Also unlined just looks better.

[cattar]

I'm old enough to have been taught that lined paper is for school and for business notes, unlined is for correspondence

I prefer unlined paper for everything.

But I use so much paper in notebooks, that I buy the cheap lined writing notebooks at the 'back to school' sales. I go through one in 2-3 weeks. I also use a lot of newsprint notebooks for preliminary sketches.

I do use moleskins unlined when I travel.
And I have colorful Florentine stationery at hand. Tho sometimes I cut and use the newsprint for quick notes and copy paper for envelopes.

For celebration cards, I often emboss a design or draw or paint on blank cardstock, then write a note inside. Years ago, a friend's mother told me she was disappointed that I was too cheap to buy her a birthday card.

I'm not concerned whether the notes I receive are on lined or unlined paper. It's fun to get them.

[prophoss]

I have been trying unlined paper and find it better in that I don't cramp my writing which is a bad habit of mine. The lines seem to force me to keep everything close. I do better when I can open my writing. My lines aren't very straight but they ain't bad either.

[Intellidepth]

Unlined for reading, unlined for creative journal work, lined for writing as I still have my training wheels on. But I've discovered the virtues of an ipad (backlight), a sheet of clear 4.5mm acrylic + 4 doorstoppers (light table), and a translucent guide sheet!

Edited March 2, 2015 by Intellidepth

[Blue_Moon]

Apologies for going completely off topic and down memory lane. If Im spared I'll be 60 this year, and life is rather odd right now, trying to just to widowhood.....

Alex

 

I'm very sorry to hear of your loss. My condolences.

 

PS please keep the cat flap....Spock and Data(my cats, who keep me going) would agree...

 

What great names!!

 

To contribute to this thread, I prefer dots & lined. I don't care for plain at all. However, between friends, in this day and age, most people would just be happy to receive written correspondence, and wouldn't care what it was written on.

[Alexcat]

I'm old enough to have been taught that lined paper is for school and for business notes, unlined is for correspondence

I prefer unlined paper for everything.

But I use so much paper in notebooks, that I buy the cheap lined writing notebooks at the 'back to school' sales. I go through one in 2-3 weeks. I also use a lot of newsprint notebooks for preliminary sketches.

I do use moleskins unlined when I travel.

And I have colorful Florentine stationery at hand. Tho sometimes I cut and use the newsprint for quick notes and copy paper for envelopes.

For celebration cards, I often emboss a design or draw or paint on blank cardstock, then write a note inside. Years ago, a friend's mother told me she was disappointed that I was too cheap to buy her a birthday card.

I'm not concerned whether the notes I receive are on lined or unlined paper. It's fun to get them.

<<<<

For celebration cards, I often emboss a design or draw or paint on blank cardstock, then write a note inside. Years ago, a friend's mother told me she was disappointed that I was too cheap to buy her a birthday card.>>>>>

 

What a shame! People can be very .....unappreciative. To get something personally made, for her; in a way I feel sorry for her, as she can't have much depth, if she measures things by the money spent.

 

Alex

Edited March 2, 2015 by Alexcat

[Sandy1]

<<<<

For celebration cards, I often emboss a design or draw or paint on blank cardstock, then write a note inside. Years ago, a friend's mother told me she was disappointed that I was too cheap to buy her a birthday card.>>>>>

 

What a shame! People can be very .....unappreciative. To get something personally made, for her; in a way I feel sorry for her, as she can't have much depth, if she measures things by the money spent.

 

Alex

 

... and it wasn't assembled from clip art!

[cattar]

What a shame! People can be very .....unappreciative. To get something personally made, for her; in a way I feel sorry for her, as she can't have much depth, if she measures things by the money spent.

 

Alex

 

 

 

... and it wasn't assembled from clip art!

 

 

Those were close to my first thoughts.

 

A few weeks later, I asked why she preferred store-bought cards.

She reminded me that she grew up poor and during the depression when buying something unnecessary at the store was a 'luxury', and handmade was 'everyday'.

 

And, Alexcat, your phrasing was correct. She does measure things by the money spent. It's part of every conversation, and I hadn't 'paid' attention to it.

 

So a cultural/generational lesson. Like lined/unlined paper.

 

Of course, she also sews her own clothes! Everyone has exceptions to their own beliefs.

[Alexcat]

Ah, that's interesting....makes me think of my Dad, who was similar....born in 1926, very poor, in a home where he was very badly treated, joined the Royal Navy as soon as he was old enough, and it was like 'family' to him.

 

He always thought bigger/more expensive was better, when giving gifts....because he'd had next to nothing growing up. And anytime he received chocolate, or sweeties, he'd 'hoard' them, rationing himself...such a shame. And he was the kind if chap who'd give you the shirt off his back...real salt of the earth(I just remembered a time when he shovelled a lorry load of dung for the old lady who lived above us: she had a big garden, plus an allotment, and grew loads of veggies. I can picture him, getting stuck into this pile if steaming stuff, as high as him....ah, I miss so many now....)

 

And again, apologies for the trip down memory lane. Who would have thought that dung

and fountain pens would go together?

 

Alex

[Alexcat]

I'm very sorry to hear of your loss. My condolences.

 

What great names!!

 

To contribute to this thread, I prefer dots & lined. I don't care for plain at all. However, between friends, in this day and age, most people would just be happy to receive written correspondence, and wouldn't care what it was written on.

 

Thank you....it's "a sair fecht" as the saying goes(literally, "a sore fight". Self explanatory, I suppose, but "a sair fecht" carries more of the feeling with it)

 

Been thinking a lot about the original Spock, Leonard Nimoy, who beamed up a few days ago....he was quite a big part of my growing up, in a very difficult background. And it was actually my dear husband who suggested Spock as a name for him: Data was my own choice. Seemed to match.

 

I find that getting/sending a real letter or card is lovely....as you say, it doesn't matter, in the end, what it's on. It's just a delight to get.

 

I have a bit of a stationery fetish(maybe that's putting it a bit strongly, but I can't think of another right now).... I've always loved going into stationery shops....right from when I was wee. We lived on the outskirts and a trip "to town, on the bus" was a treat....and I'd ask to go to the stationery shops. I guess I was a wee nerd/geek in the making....and now out and proud...

 

Alex