It's the little things.....

That make me happy.....

.....Waking to sunshine flitting through my window. A kind word, a nice cup of tea, a handwritten letter. Quiet content moments. Hearing an old story that I thought I forget, discovering something new that I never knew I didn't know. When things run as they ought to...  Little details that I hadn't noticed....Do I sound ridiculous?

Well here are more things, each with their own little tale that have delighted me recently:

The porcelain Maiden.....


She once stood with her rather ungainly companion on our mantelpiece in Kenya. I remember thinking that they looked most awkward up there alongside a row of licentious sake cups and a few indigenous cavorting carvings. Looking back now, it was very appropriate. We left our home in a hurry and I never thought that I would see this lady again. Many years later, a cousin of mine who left Kenya for USA some time after our departures, sent me a parcel and so it was that I came to own the maiden once more. I look at her differently now. She is a very resilient even though she is made of porcelain. If you are wondering what is her current fate, well then, I can report that she has been spotted doing a spot of modelling in the Fushigi Shop.

"Porcelain.....
Are you wasting away in your skin
Are you missing the love of your kin
Drifting and floating and fading away"

Red Hot Chilli Peppers

The flower headed pins.......

What strange blossoms grow in the House of Worshipblues! Indeed they are odd but they are useful in their sharpness. My brother-in-law bought these for me as part of my Christmas present. They are made by Clover Japan and they are just wonderful to work with. Super smooth, strong and fine with just the right amount of flex so they don't interrupt the weft of the fabric and slim enough to avoid breaking my machine's needles if accidentally left in. I think they are rather pretty to gaze upon in the absence of real blooms. I think he bought these from | The Eclectic Maker |

The white fountain pen......


My last fountain pen gave up the ghost a little while ago and so I bought a replacement at Choosing Keeping. I decided upon a Kaweco Classic Sport in white. The design is still faithful to the original 1935 octagonal form and it is a very durable yet light pen with a gold plated stainless steel nib. The Kaweco Classic Sport has an oversized lid that acts as an extension to the pocket sized pen that allows for comfortable writing. This reminds me, Julia at Choosing Keeping told me that I must never allow anyone else to use my fountain pen as it will conform itself to my hand, pressure and writing habits and may not fare well in the hands of another.

The pen has an amusing slogan " Small in the pocket, large in the hand". Oooooh really!

The tea coloured ink......




I like writing in various tones of brown, grey and red so I was delighted to notice that the | Journal Shop | has a rainbow of Herbin ink cartridges to make a selection from. I eventually settled on Lie de Thé though I must admit to fancying Cacao du Brésil now too! I have long liked Herbin inks but learned from the Journal Shop that Herbin have been making ink for a long time and were established by a Monsieur Herbin in 1670. I like the little metal tins with their illustrated labels, they do a great job of keeping the cartridges intact.

The deceptively humble notebook......






Take one simple looking notebook and fill it with memories. Everyday things that make you smile. This is the Midori Traveller's Notebook Kraft Paper Refill, another gem that I discovered in the remarkable | Journal Shop |
You would be excused for thinking that this is a very ordinary notebook. However, what sets it apart from the rest, is the quality of its 64 pages. They are quite perfect for the jumbled sort of scribbling that I do. They are blank and strong with a nice texture to them that allows my glue and stickers to hold fast. They are also rather magical for although the pages are fine and translucent, they do not allow my fountain pen nor my felt-tipped scrawls to seep through the pages thus scarring the reverse side. Not ever. Delightful!

The pink thing that prints......





I am still enjoying using my little Polaroid Pogo Printer. It's such a brill gadget and I find more and more uses for the sticker photos that it prints. It prints 3"x2" sticker photos that can be full-sized or in sectioned into collages (you will need an app to do this) which is so fun. Thanks to its ZINK technology it doesn't require any ink cartridges.  I bought mine for £25.00 with 80 photo papers on eBay last year. The pics it prints are pretty low-tech but I happen to like such things and they serve my purpose well, which is generally note-taking of recipes, ideas, adventures, things that I have made and random memory-keeping. It is a great shame that the iPhone refuses to print to this (without doing a jailbreak thingy) via its Bluetooth capability. I have overcome this issue by enabling my desktop to print to it instead. 

It seems that I have waffled on a bit today. I hope that it is interesting waffle and I shall make up for it by giving the blog a rest tomorrow. Before I rush off, I have been thinking that there is very little in life that is truly mundane, it is only a mundane imagination that makes something that way. I think.