I'm A Sad, Pathetic Stationery Junkie.

[Misfit]

Um, they provided the inanimate cute quotient. Yeah, that. 

[Misfit]

On 6/28/2023 at 10:26 AM, Stompie said:

These beauties arrived today

 

 

Those look like premium notebooks. What is the size?  Do you like the paper?

[Penguincollector]

1 hour ago, Misfit said:

Um, they provided the inanimate cute quotient. Yeah, that. 

😆 

[Misfit]

I went to the close by Home Goods again to look for discounted Leuchtturm notebooks. It was the same A6 Whitelines. So I got it, and a Denik notebook that usually sells for $11.99 for $6.99. The Pen Addict reviewed Denik, and found it fountain pen friendly. The pattern is called Wild Child. 
 

 

 

 

I placed an order for stamps, Field Notes Train Stations, and a pouch made from recycled mailbags. My new Conklin Duragraph Amber is in the photos. The pouch arrived today. It shipped from the USPS fulfillment center in KC. 
 

[AmandaW]

1 minute ago, Misfit said:

My new Conklin Duragraph Amber...

...matches nicely with both new notebooks.  That's cool.

 

And the penguins are are very cute.

[Misfit]

@AmandaW you are right. I didn’t pay attention to that, but see it now. The Diamine Cherry Sunburst ink is not right for the Denik cover. But heck, does that really matter?

[Misfit]

3 minutes ago, AmandaW said:

And the penguins are are very cute.

I wonder if I should take a photograph of the folders I got. Mine are coffee, constellations, and music. 

[Misfit]

These are clear folders made by Midori. Most of mine are A5 size. I took the photo at an angle to avoid glare on the plastic. 
 

[Stompie]

15 hours ago, Misfit said:

Those look like premium notebooks. What is the size?  Do you like the paper?

I have not yet tried them out but the paper is patented and supposedly good.

 

They say these notebooks last for years, as per comments on reviews of these.

 

Dimensions: W9 x H14cm/W3.5 x H5.5" so a good pocket notebook size

[lascosas]

Just to report back on the order I placed at Milligram's outlet store last Sunday night, it was delivered to California this morning.  Five and a half days.  Free shipping.

[Misfit]

My Milligram order arrived today. I liked the message inside the box, printed on the box.  I also got an order from Goldspot and the USPS.  So three pens, and a set of five Field Notes with the Train Stations stamps plus the official first day post mark on the covers. I’ll edit this with a photo later. 
 

[txomsy]

Maybe one should look for the circumstances first and the stationary afterwards.

 

I say, 'cos I just returned tonight from Israel, had a three hour sleep and off to work, so no time to take pictures or note down details. In Jerusalem, I stayed at the Me'a Shearim neighborhood (not that I am religious at all, it just so happened), where I found most amazingly welcoming people. And, in Me'a Shearim St. itself and its whereabouts, a significant number of books, arts and stationary stores.

 

After much inner fight, yesterday I finally gave in and got four hard-bound notebooks, one of them personalized with a manual engraving as a present for a friend, a second one engraved for my son, and two for me, one of them with an enclosing cardboard box and painted page edges. At the tact all of them seem of good quality paper (haven't had time  to test any yet), and are lined (some with fringe and space for page numbers). I'll post pictures later when I return home if I can stay awake (didn't take any on site out of respect). I also got some books, of course (it seems that June was the month of the book and they had a large sale). Many shops also had fountain pens (mostly Parker). And I saw also many Arts stores with arts materials both in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

 

The store I most liked (among the many) was -I think, but consider the lack of sleep- Or Hajaim (Manny's book store?), in the corner of Me'a Shearim St. with Khavakuk St., in Jerusalem. Well worth a visit if you are in Jerusalem. They have a large collection of religious books, but also novels, children books, and other topics, most of them in Hebrew, but also sections in other languages (English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish...), some judaica and a lot of taste and cozy ambiance. If you do, further into the neighborhood, in Me'a Sharim St. as well, there's a great, small place to have a natural juice, milk or yogurt shake, sweets and bread.

 

Just be respectful to the neighbors and their customs and traditions, and adapt to them, for they dearly hold their sacred beliefs, and -so it was my experience- you'll find yourself welcome in a warm, friendly neighborhood. Which, IMMHO, makes them even more worthy of respect yet.

 

Only inform yourself first before visiting -like any other place- for the cultural contrast may lead to unwanted misunderstandings that would otherwise be trivial to avoid.

 

But the point is, these are notebooks specially thought to hold one's own comments to Holy readings. Therefore, one would expect them to be good quality and lasting. I've also found well-built notebooks with nice paper in stores for accountants, lawyers, and other bookkeeping professions, as well as in Arts stores all over the World.

 

OK, not all places have all kinds of stores and not all stores have all kinds of notebooks, but everywhere I could find one or another.

 

So, maybe, instead of worrying so much about which trade mark is better and where can one find it, it is better to think what properties one desires, who else will be on the lookout for them and where these other customers will expect to find and look for them.

 

Or maybe I was just lucky, as I have always been able to find nice paper in Ye Olde Goode Worlde (including Asia and Africa). Or maybe I'm just an olde not-so-goode junkie that after so many years instinctively knows where to find the things I want.

 

Whatever the reason, a notebook can be much, much more than just a notebook, and widening one's scope can lead to pleasant surprises.

[lascosas]

Another update on my Milligram order.  Four pens and the cheapest was a Kaweco Perkeo Peony.  The cap doesn't fit, which is horrible quality control.  It just falls off, so worthless.  I contacted Milligram and they responded within an hoiur to say I could receive a replacement or refund and could I please send a video showing the problem so they could send it to their supplier.  Excellent customer service!

[jchch1950]

It is always useful to know which stores have good customer service. 

[txomsy]

And so, here are a few pictures. First are of a cream colored notebook, lined, front, open and back:

 

 

 

 

 

Next are from a nicer, brown bound notebook encased in a hard cardboard case, lined, with decorated edges and a page mark ribbon. First, the box, then the front, and then open. The back is like the front without inscription. Yes, I know what the inscription means, and intend to oblige.

 

 

 

 

For the curious, it is "additions/new comments to the Torah" (a.k.a. Pentateuch by Christians and Al-Tawrat by muslims). And BTW, I also got a bilingual copy of the Tanakh at the shop (always wanted to read the original Hebrew Bible --plus, it may be my opportunity to learn Hebrew as well).

 

Now, if only I had time...

[Gloucesterman]

1 hour ago, txomsy said:

Now, if only I had time...

the answer to that question is "Yes".

The true question is, "Is that how you want to use your time?"

And mazel tov on your new books, they are beautiful - JMO, of course. (Just my opinion...

[ParramattaPaul]

Very nice, but I would prefer the seller didn't put sticky labels of such nice covers.

[Misfit]

@txomsy those notebooks are beautiful. Thank you for sharing the information on your time in Israel, and about the notebooks. 

[txomsy]

4 hours ago, ParramattaPaul said:

Very nice, but I would prefer the seller didn't put sticky labels of such nice covers.

Well, there were many without stickers, but I normally prefer to avoid hassles in the payment line, and didn't want to peel them off before taking the picture so one could also get a feeling for the actual price, which I find spot-on right.

 

In general, it is not the sticker that matters to me, but the glue it is attached with, which can be a PITA if bad or meaningless if good.

[txomsy]

15 hours ago, Gloucesterman said:

the answer to that question is "Yes".

The true question is, "Is that how you want to use your time?"

And mazel tov on your new books, they are beautiful - JMO, of course. (Just my opinion...

 

"Free" time is not an option when one has a family. You are absolutely right in the "how one uses time" observation, but, for me, family always comes first, so -in my personal case- nowadays actual free time ends being reduced to a few odd minutes every now and then.

 

One of my lifetime tenets (after I learnt Evolutive Psychology at Medical School) was that one needs to change relationships with descendants as they grow. At the beginning they require your attention, but do your bidding. As they grow, they become independent, you have to order less... and more to worry about. Guidance becomes ever more difficult and time-consuming for one can no longer command, only persuade and that demands more persistence, more attention, more talking, more care... in a word, more time. That one becomes free when children grow up is a myth.

 

That said, I started yesterday Genesis in both a Christian and the Hebrew Bible I got, and must say I'm enjoying re-reading it and the small differences (which I assume are due to the different translators' points of view and backgrounds): these differences are truly interesting, and truly thought provoking when one considers that both texts come from a common origin. I'm starting to think I should add King James' Bible to the comparison as well.