Ode to joy...

New stationery, a sunny Sunday afternoon, and THE most beautiful new ink...

It's J. Herbin's anniversary ink - can you believe they've been in business since 1670?? - stormy grey with flecks of gold... oh my... 

Apparently Virginia used to write with purple ink. I also bought samples of Herbin's scented inks and the purple one smells of violets - just like the parma violet sweets :) I'm guessing Virginia's wasn't scented...

I must say, I am soooo enjoying writing with a dip pen - I love to hear the scratchy nib, to see the page filling up word by word, line by line, the pausing to dip the nib, and the sight of inky fingers at the end of the day.

Writing a letter is an ordinary task, but it can become such a sacred act when performed slowly and mindfully...

If you'd like a handwritten letter, send a note in the contact form and I'll get one in the post... And it may even smell of violets! Or roses, or oranges, or...

Words, words...

I've just discovered this! 

Simply magical...

Friendship

One of my favourite sayings as a child was

Strangers are friends you haven't met yet.

It's what my Grandad would say whenever I shared my anxiety of meeting new kids - at school, at Brownies, on holiday...

Of course, I assumed he was the creator of the saying... only to discover at college it was W.B. Yeats, and the actual quote was

There are no strangers here; only friends you haven't yet met.

It's one of the reasons I loved having penpals as a kid and why I sponsored a child in Africa throughout my late teens - to make contact with strangers in other lands, so they were no longer strangers :)

Of course Virginia Woolf had many deep and lasting friendships. This is one of my favourite quotes

And we're lucky enough to read so many of the letters she wrote to and received from those friends.

As I wrote in this post, I love writing and receiving real mail! In this digital age, nothing lifts the spirits quite like hearing the letterbox jangle and seeing a handwritten envelope lying on the hallway mat :)

And yesterday, I received such a gift all the way from Australia, from new friend Robyn. We're both members of a Facebook group called Singing Over the Bones hosted by Sharon Blackie.

And look what was in said envelope...

... a beautiful piece of real art - wow!

The kindness and generosity of 'strangers' never ceases to amaze me - thank you, Robyn!!

I love how the internet connects people and makes the world feel like a global village, but it's the real, tangible objects that make those connections stronger and more vital. It's the fact that someone thought of you, wrote a letter/card/made some art(!), went to the Post Office and mailed it, just so you could know they were thinking of you...

It's a beautiful thing, to be sure, and something to be deeply treasured!

A new toy...

Today I received something I've always wanted...

I bought it on ebay, it's been refurbirshed but the lock doesn't work, which kept the cost down...

It came with the pen tray and the ink well, but I already had a dip pen.

There's plenty of room to store stationery under the writing boards, and I couldn't wait to play...

My first left-handed writing with a dip pen... As I say, 'It's just beautiful! Will I ever want to stop?'

Such a happy, happy girl!