Bullet Journal

I am trying out a new organizational strategy called Bullet Journal. Check out the link and let me know what you think.

I will be sharing a few pictures of my approach in the next few days. I may have shared in the past that I am a planner geek, but I have discovered that I really don't want to keep carrying around that big old planner binder anymore. So I am adapting this method to a simple yet pretentious Field Notes pocket notebook. This method is part of a feeble attempt I am embarking on to trim the internet tether I seem to find myself on. Technology can be a little too distracting for me at times and rather than use it as a tool, I tend to use it as a crutch.

Yes, its been too long since I last blogged. I hope my legion of follower is still paying attention.

I'm still alive! and a notebook followup!

I am back! No seriously, I am, so my legion of follower can rejoice!

We are all moved into southern Colorado and have already completed 6 weeks of school. We are having a ball. We love the 4 day school week and 3 day weekend, every week!

So, over the past 7 months or so, I have been carrying a little pocket notebook. It is my faithful companion in my hip pocket. I have been using the Clairefontaine Basic staple bound notebook. I wondered how it would hold up to the abuse of my fanny sitting on it every day, being yanked out, scribbled on and unceremoniously shoved back into my hip pocket where it adds a most unsightly bulge to my skinny backside.

Well, I must say, I am very pleased with how this notebook is holding up. Here is a photo with a red notebook that I don't carry. You can see that it is in pretty pristine shape.

Now here is another picture with the one I carry every day in the center.

I really use every inch of this notebook. I take notes on only one side of the sheet at a time. When I finish that page - whatever I have recorded on it - generally some sort of to do list, I fold the page over and move on. Pages aren't folded until I have completed the actions listed.

I am now on lap 2 of this notebook, so it is flipped and I am writing on the blank pages. I think I will have about 2 more weeks on this book.

It has held up remarkably well. Sure the cover is getting tattered and it has sort of a roundish butt influenced profile, but it has been well worth the couple of dollars it cost last year.

Here is my next notebook. It is a simple little composition book that cost me exactly nothing because my darling wife gave it to me! I hope it holds up half as well.

On another note, I am back to writing to penpals. I will start taking pictures of mail as I receive it and hope to get back to blogging a little more regularly.
If you are one of my pen friends and you haven't received a letter in the last few days, drop me an email and I will sit right down and write you one!

I like knives!

My last post made me realize that I seem to have another slight obsession about pocket knives.

I purchased this knife at the New Mexico State Fair in 1981 and it has been a faithful companion since then.

This knife is in my pocket, probably, 3 weeks out of every month.

I also pulled out the knives that rotate through my pocket.

These 'junior' trappers, along with the old Uncle Henry, all seem to work really well. I like them

But I have to admit that my every day carry knife doesn't fit in my pocket. No, it rests on my hip.

In case you wondered, this is what a fountain pen using, letter writing husband of the same wife, father of three sons, ag teaching guy uses.

Now That's a Knife!

The internet is a funny thing. I mean, you go to research something and 6 hours later you have found The Red Hot Chili Peppers covering the Beach Boys here and you know that it costs 2.4 cents to make a penny. Not that your time was wasted or anything.

However, occasionally even a blind hog can find an acorn. I'm not certain how I arrived at Modern Vintage Man, but I did. Tim and Matt are a pair of ministers from the upper Midwest and well, in their words, "We're awesome." After following their blog for less than a month, I have to agree, they are awesome.

These guys are always giving something away. A few weeks ago, they set out a series of internet tasks one must do in order to win the giveaway of one of the products they reviewed. I decided to play along with their game. I faithfully tweeted, followed, got all up in their facebook, commented and did a few other things that made no sense in an internet game, but heck, even possums like Nutella!

Imagine my surprise to know that I had won! Here is their post about my winning a CASE knife! I yelped out loud when I won and told Carla, "I just won a new pocket knife!" She responded in her own understated fashion, "Oh good, you were about to run out."

In a few short days, the friendly UPS man delivered a neat and tidy package to my front door. Inside that package was a little box.

What could it be?

Careful unrolling of the brown tissue paper revealed

a GIANT KNIFE.

I had no idea this thing was so big! And so beautiful!!!! I'm not sure if this is a knife I can carry every day, but I just might...in case I need to butcher something or do other delicate work of that type.

Here are a couple of pictures giving you an idea of the size. The comparison knife if my Case Junior Trapper, a 3 inch knife with 3 inch blades.

I threw in a quarter to give you some perspective:

And finally, here is my hand in the photo as well:

CASE knifes are known for their quality and being made in the USA. This is my second CASE knife and I am sure that it will become a faithful tool in my life. It is just beautiful with the bone handle and super shiny blades and the brass liner and pins holding it all together. Someday, perhaps it might belong to one of my grandchildren, just like I have my Grandpa Mayfield's pocket knives.

Here is a sample of my regular rotation of pocket knive (this is what I could gather up in less that 30 seconds)

Yes, I threw in the fountain pen because the written word can be sharper than any double edged sword!


Head over to Modern Vintage Man and give them a look. Perhaps you can find a gift or an idea for something for yourself.

On another note, my arm and shoulder and wrist and elbow are improving, so I have started replying to the mountain of letters that have built up this week. Keep an eye on your mailbox!

Notebooks

I probably have too many notebooks. But each one was purchased with a specific purpose in mind.

This is my log of mail received. It is a simple Clairefontaine Life Unplugged pocket size notebook.

I use this one at school to capture notes of what is happening in each class.

I keep a journal in a Quo Vadis Habana.

I'm keeping some Bible Study notes in a Rhodia Webnotebook.

And I use this humble composition notebook to keep lesson planning notes in.

I thought I would stack them up and snap a few photos of the notebooks I am writing in at the moment.

Sometimes I practice my handwriting -

I don't have a problem, do I?

Why Don't He Write?

There is a scene in "Dances With Wolves" where Lt. Dunbar is inspecting a skeleton with an arrow through the ribs. Timmons, the mule skinner, ambles up and says, "Somewhere back east, somebody saying, 'Why don't he write?'" Type the part in single quotes into youtube and you will see something that I thought of this week. Why don't he write?

Sometimes in the frenzy of letter and journal writing, responses just get missed. My favorite Californian Bev reminded me of that this week. So dear friend, a letter is winding the tortured path from Northeastern Colorado to Davis!

I also thought the second half of the video clip was appropriate to me, not necessarily the flatulence (well, ok, the flatulence), but the fact that I am always writing in a journal.

So, specifically for Bev, who is a reviewer of some note, I am an intrepid reviewer now! I entered a giveaway at Goodreads and son of a gun if I didn't win!

This is the first review copy of anything I have received, except for papers from my students.

I am pretty excited to be part of a 'first read' group on this book. I have read to chapter 3 so far. Here is a link to the Goodreads page for this book -----> The Games. It will likely take me a few days to read and then write a review. I will be posting the review sometime soon.

Anyways, I know this review won't be nearly as exciting as some of the 'things' that Bev has seen, but, hopefully, I can write it up well.

Noodler's Flex Nib Fountain Pen

I took leave of my senses last week and ordered two new Noodler's Flex pens from Goulet Pens. They arrived yesterday. So I patiently unwrapped the package and got those bad boys out.

This is a green demonstrator.

This is a simple black pen.

I thought I would begin by writing a bit with my older Noodler's Flex Nib pen. I believe this was made in 2010.

These are not expensive fountain pens. They retail for $14.00 each. I know that may seem expensive to non fountain pen users, but trust me, this is dirt cheap. Plus, I can change the ink and feel like I have a new pen every time that I refill.

Why do I penpal?

Sorry, no pictures today.

I have been blessed with a few new penpals in the past month or so. Sometimes, it almost feels like I have too many. But I spent a little time today thinking about the number of penpals I have. I realized I don't have too many.

I live in a little farming town in northeastern Colorado. I am a broke school teacher. I will likely never travel this country, let alone the world. However, because of my penpals I can travel. I can travel through their words.

I've never been to Pennsylvania but I know what that state is like because of Becky and Rachel. They let me in their lives so I know what cold, damp snow looks and feels like. I know what it takes to be a veterinarian and to be a student in college is like. Thank you!

Ilona keeps me apprised as to what is happening in the Northeast, albeit only a couple of times per year, but stories of chasing possums are eternal. Bev is my favorite Californian. She is a theater critic and has reviewed some interesting things! My friend Roger is due back from Florida, tanned, rested and happy. Rob is my fine friend from Italy. Lucas is a kindred soul who has passions for music and fountain pens. Elle and I have invented history together. My new friend Jim and I are sharing a trans-Atlantic spiritual quest to read the entire Bible during 2012.


I have other pen pals that don't have internet personas. Steven and I have have been corresponding for almost 2 years. Bill has become a trusted spiritual mentor (not bad having God and a lawyer on your side). Jane and I share a love of fountain pens and the early American West. Shona is my favorite Scot. Sarah is my sister from another mother (jeez, that doesn't sound as cool as brutha frum anutha mutha) from Great Britain.

I know I have missed some in this tribute. Sorry, I am not the most organized when it come to keeping track of who, what, when, etc. Some of my new acquaintances have been 1 and done, some have been 2 and done, we don't always connect. But each letter is kept safe and occasionally brought out and reviewed.

My life is so much richer because I decided to start using a fountain pen and tried to improve my handwriting.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention my main dealers, Goulet Pens and European Paper gladly fuel my obsession. Check them out.

Thank you all for that you have shared with me.

Rhodia Unlimited pocket notebook

One of the challenges of using a daytimer for personal organization is that the desk size is not always convenient to have with me at all times. But since I am an old guy that always wears shirts with pockets or pants with pockets, I thought it would be important for me to have something that I would be able to carry with me all the time.

I am going to review a couple of pocket notebooks I purchased from Goulet Pens. As always, Goulet's service is impeccable, even e-mailing me to confirm the details of my order. In a few short days, my package of notebooks and paper arrived in the secure Goulet packaging. After 35 minutes of slicing, dicing and pulling, I was able to free my merchandise from the bubbled and shrink-wrapped cocoon.

I purchased the Rhodia Unlimited notebook for $7 and two sets of the Clairefontaine Life Unplugged duo packs for $7 each. Today's review will focus on the Rhodia Unlimited.

Here it is with a Lamy Safari to give you a bit of perspective on the size.

First impression - who doesn't love the bright orange Rhodia cover? But this has a secret inside!

Opening the book reveals the unique "soft-touch" cover is black on the inside. I don't know if I can adequately describe what the soft touch cover feels like. Its smooth, yet has an almost tacky feel that has been dusted with powder - soft and smooth.

Rhodia paper is simply among some of the best for writing using fountain pens.

One final touch with this little book is that the pages are perforated for easy removal of the sheets.

This wouldn't be a good thing if I was planning on using this book as an archive, but since it is only going to be used for on the go notes, I think this is a good thing. It appears that the perforations will help the notebook open up a little flatter, which is always a good thing.

I'll conclude with a couple of photos of the Rhodia Unlimited notebook along with the CF Life Unplugged (what's a blog without lots of gratuitous pictures?)