It's Friday!

Simon's Cat sees its first snow.

Field Notes The Pencil

I've ordered several times from Field Notes and received some of their pencils and pens along with my memo books. The recent present also included a pencil, so I thought I'd take a few minutes to actually use it and post a comment. The above isn't the best picture of pencil and scribbles, but it will have to do.

First, I love this color scheme. Cedar, black, silver, and mint green are a very pretty combination and so I'd keep these pencils around just to look at them. The cedar wood actually gives off a faint smell when sharpened, making me think of early American one-room school houses and general stores--places more likely to use pencils than fountain pens to write out homework and orders.

The Field Notes pencil is a standard #2, a wonderful soft graphite and clay mix set in a round (not hexagonal) casing. On one side is the Field Notes logo in black ink (dachshund's nose, I think). The other side has a great "About This Pencil" note: Lacquer-free Renewable Cal-Cedar Wood Casing, Recyclable Aluminum Ferrule, Enviro-Green Degradable Eraser and Certified Non-Toxic Imprint Inks.

It also writes, quite well in fact. A keeper, on my desk, for quick notes.

Carnival Submissions and Interesting Web Sites

The 8th Carnival of Pen, Pencil and Paper will be posted on Pocket Blonde on Tuesday, March 9, 2010. Submissions are due in by Sunday, March 7, and you can do so here.

And a few interesting web sites, some you probably know and some that my be new to you.


Astronomy Picture of the Day

The Ig Nobel Prize

Cute Overload

American cuisine (sort of)

A Present From Field Notes

Just received a wonderful present from Field Notes Brand for responding first to a recent Twitter post regarding a photo notebooks belonging to John Hughes in the current Vanity Fair.

They sent a ton of good stuff! Two packs of Field Notes memo books, an 18 month calendar, a 2010 calendar, a 1-inch pin, a great rubber bank, and a pen and pencil. Interestingly, the two packs of memo books are slightly different in color and size (which can only be seen with nosethisclose to the packs to tell).

Several friends will be receiving some great memo books in the next few days, courtesy of Field Notes and the Pocket Blonde Rapid Response Team!

Tom Bihn Pen & Pencil Organizer

Here's a great pen and pencil organizer from Tom Bihn, a clear pouch that looks small but can fit a lot into it, including double pointed knitting needles which are a must for me right now. (I'm considering purchasing the Tom Bihn Swift knitting bag which looks amazing, and one or two other things that I didn't get with this recent order.)


The Organizer is quite roomy, and fits about 7 or 8 pens depending on how chunky they are (like the Lamy). I love the snaphook that let's me attach it to the inside of my tote bag, and the clear front that lets me see what's in the case and where it it.

I like this little organizer a lot, and will probably order one or two more. For the price, the quality, and the fun they are well worth it.



I didn't specify any particular color when I ordered so they sent this steel-colored organizer. But you can request a color such as Wasabi, Kelly, Navy, Steel, Crimson, Plum, Deep Blue, Sapphire, Olive, Black and the vintage colors of Storm, Pink, Grid, and Cocoa.

Pilot Prismee Ballpoint

Here's a cute ballpoint from Tokyo Pen Shop, the Pilot Prismee Ballpoint with a 0.7m tip. I loved the beautiful jewel-like colors, and chose a clear blue sapphire to try out. The pen clip pushes down the ink cartridge and there is a side release to retract it.

As far as ballpoints go it's a nice writing pen, definitely looks good, and the colors are pretty. The only drawback is that it cannot be refilled. In the age of recycling, I can't believe Pilot couldn't find a way to make this refillable.

As much as I love the design, I'm not planning on buying a replacement when this one is finished. But that won't be for some time, so I'll enjoy the Prismee while the ink lasts.

Virtual Kaleidoscope

I used to have a lot of fun watching the colors and patters of my kaleidoscope. Now there's a virtual kaleidoscope on the Internet that looks like it is just as fascinating.