Excellent book to consider

While I was at the doctor's office the other day, a lot of waiting, I found my loaded Kindle was -- dead. Forgot to charge it in the anxiety of everything. Fortunate I'd added in my current book so all was not lost.

I   really  didn't think a stressful book, very fraught, was a good choice on a stressful day, but there was nothing else available. No internet connection.

And found it was so well written and  helpful that I got engrossed anyway snd learned quite a bit.

She focuses on actual approaches, separating out fact from opinion, spotting when you're hearing one as if it were the other and what to do when you're triggered. Really worth reading.

In other reading, a little package arrived this week, from the Cross pen, writing instrument (!) company. It contained my pencil with the broken propelling mechanism, and a heartbroken note.

They're mortified to say that this year, first in its history, they can't do the repair. Can't get the parts despite efforts and waiting. Supply chain for precious metal parts isn't working. Will I please watch their website to see when they can resume with repairs. 

This probably means they're not able to occupy workers. I hope it doesn't mean layoffs for them. My little pencil is pretty unimportant in comparison to skilled workers maybe being laid off. Sad stuff.

In a happier frame of reference, I, a hellbent Sagittarian, am in good company. Emily Dickinson! Jane Austen! Beethoven! Gary next door! Gary next door's daughter! Another friend's daughter! Former blogger Quinn Piper! Mare! Mare's son Anthony!

No end of people to celebrate!! For the whole period of the Sagittarius season! So I'm doing that.

Summer tea and fore-edge painting

Yesterday's visit by Handsome Son, first for a couple of weeks,  included a summer tea

Complete with lemon bars, plum cake, suntea with lemon and spearmint, and a little bunch of flowers from the front yard. Couple of early chrysanthemums, couple of daisies, sprig of creeping Jenny. Note that we're finally sharing the tea and cakes instead of individual Covid style settings.

Not sure if Handsome Son noticed any of this, but it pleased me!

And he was very happy when I presented him with his Dad's Cross pen and pencil set, all in working order. He hadn't known about it so it was quite a surprise. He loves vintage, especially if it's from Handsome Partner. 

And we pored over the latest dox from the condo association to fathom what they wanted this time. Took both of us to unravel the convoluted prose. Evidently the township has changed the Fire regs yet again. It seems we're still in compliance, though.

Back to reading, I noticed in the Inspector Rutledge book  a reference to fore-edge painting, without an explanation, and remembered what it is. 

Thought you might be interested in this very niche artform. As a kid I had no idea this was a thing, and tried drawing on the page edges of closed books. A few years ago I discovered it was a kind of art, going way back.

When the book's open, or on the shelf, spine out, the art's invisible. You can see it only with the book closed. It's fun to try, if you clamp the book closed to keep the pages tight shut so the paint doesn't seep in. 

This isn't a flip book thing which I expect we all did as kids, little drawings on the top right corners to make a kind of animation when you flipped the pages fast. If you haven't done this, it's fun. Also great for little kids to try, just sayin.

Yesterday's Freecycle listing included this entry

I wondered if she was having a dig at the likes of me, then found that apparently there's a magazine called Lady. And there was a missing comma after Lady. Ah. 

I do like this kind of thing, like the weak old chickens advertised in the local paper. And the eight week old doxins, all weened. Perfectly clear if you read it aloud.

And my current horoscope did a feature assigning characters in the Wizard of Oz by sign. Evidently I'm pretty scruffy but mentally alert.

So it could be worse. I keep telling myself this when I'm bored with being kept home isolated because of another heatwave. Big storms last night, saved me from needing to water the plants today. So there's that.

Winnowing wins

Today being so boring, way too hazardous to be out in temps that felt like well over 100° f, and just not in the mood for ANYTHING,  I ended up listening to an old Christie audiobook and  sorting a few drawers near where I was sitting. 

This became interesting as I happily chucked papers and miscellany into the recycle and the thriftie pile. 

It also unearthed some bits of crochet that might go well in something or other with the mini Tunisian squares. These were from my granny square period. Using up  superfluous embroidery thread. 

Suggestions would be warmly entertained.

And even more exciting, I unearthed two Cross pen and propelling pencil sets. One engraved with my name, leaving gift from a long ago job, the other was Handsome Partner's work award for something. 

In the box to the right, the supply of graphite sticks that are stored in the barrel of the pencil, while I explore the pencil to see if I can get it to work. See the parts there? There's a built-in pink eraser, even. It plugs the container for the leads, and disappears when the pencil's assembled.

Both needed a little something, one pen needed a refill which I also found and installed, this is amazing.  One pencil needs repair, I think,  because, though it's loaded with the little graphite sticks, I can't get the lead to advance. I have a very nice pen and pencil set, one from each original set.

I've sent away for a refill for the other pen, and I find it's worth sending the nonfunctional pencil to the makers for repair. So it's parceled up ready to go in the mail when weather permits.

I looked them up and found people get all excited about this age of set. It's considered desirable! Vintage! Not sure how thrilled I am that my leaving present from midway in my work life is now vintage, but oh well. 

They're both from the late 70s, early 80s, 10k gold filled, made in the USA.  And they'll save me from shopping for pens and pencils for the foreseeable future. This is good.

I'll offer handsome Partner's set to Handsome Son first, once it's functional, because he does like what he considers antiques from a quaint era, namely his parents' youth.

I went to YouTube to learn more and found there's an entire community of vintage pen enthusiasts, with a Cross pen subsection. 

Such reverence, and technical know how,  it's like stumbling over a group of old watchmakers at their benches lovingly restoring old timepieces, same devotion.

It's taken seriously, and the comments on the videos are so technical I'm not sure what they're saying. This is multiracial and age mixed, however, it definitely seems to be a man's clubby thing, full of arcane jargon and in jokes. 

You can just see them at home holed up in their little workspaces, task lights on, happy as clams. I bet they've done fine with lockdown. 

Anyway that was a surprising afternoon's learning. I tried a few ideas to fix the pencil before concluding that it needed an Expert With Tiny Tools And Knowledge. It was fun trying before I arrived at that decision.

I also watched a great Textiles and Tea presentation, Jessica Pinsky. I'll blog about that tomorrow, needs its own space and mood.