Photography Obsession: Getting back in the swing of things.

They say beautify is in the eye of the beholder. There is a lot of truth to that statement, especially when you are a photographer. I have been into photography as a side hobby for about 3 or so years now. However, as my life got busier, my time became more limited. Setting aside time to just drive around and take photos became difficult to do. Only recently have I been able to get back into my photography hobby again. As much as a I thoroughly enjoy Fountain pens and writing/journaling, I also really enjoy photography. While I am still pretty new and have a lot to learn, I am pleased with where I have come since I first started.

So, my friends, here are some photos I have taken in 2019.

Disclaimer: Please do not take any of these photos or distribute them without permission first. 

A beautiful long hair German Shepherd female. Photographing this dog was so much fun!

A senior Shitzu male. At least he was fairly photogenic.

The sun shining on the snow frosted mountains that hoover above Lake Ponderay as a storm approached in the background.. North Idaho, USA.

2018 - A Year in Review

As 2019 is looming in the future, I look back and ponder the type of year that 2018 has been for me. In noting a few things, 2018 has definitely been quiet a year for me and my family. A year full of blessings indeed. God granted me the opportunity to do a transfer to another department at the company I work for. This was a huge blessing and helped to reduce the amount of stress that was on my shoulders. It is also a much better fit for my skills and personality. Shortly after that (around February), we found out that we were pregnant and expecting baby boy #3. At first, the discovery of this had me fearful and anxious, considering just several years prior we miscarried a beautiful child - one whom we will get to meet in Heaven. Therefore, this pregnancy taught me a lot about trusting in God with not only our children, but in everything.

In July, we took a week long family vacation to Aberdeen, Washington and Ocean Shores, Washington. We even got a day trip into Fort Stevens down in Astoria, Oregon. The weather was beautiful the whole time. We went swimming in the ocean, and one of my favorite experiences was having breakfast on the beach. My husband brought along his grill and cooked us bacon, eggs, and hashbrowns for breakfast, while I sat in a camp chair and watched our kids play in the ocean. It was perfect, and still puts a smile on my face to this day. We even got to tour two classic ships with the boys. One of which was actually on the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie. They both were beautiful ships to view!

Jon cooking breakfast on a beautiful sunny morning on the beach. Ocean Shores, WA.

Elijah playing in the ocean.

Tanner next to one of the ships in Grays Harbor.

The pregnancy went very well and on October 1st, Caleb Shell was born. Between the farm and my three boys, I have been staying fairly busy. I hardly get the chance to journal and use my pens. Even finding time for photography gets difficult. But in the end, it is all well worth it. Seeing my children grow up into young men makes my heart fill with joy. It was bittersweet seeing our son Elijah start Kindergarten this year. He is becoming such a well-rounded young man.

Elijah and my dog Lily posing for his fall school photos.

However, the year has not been without it's downs. During most of my pregnancy, I experienced upper abdominal pains daily. It was nothing that I couldn't handle most days, and it didn't affect the baby. Two weeks after delivering Caleb, I took a long ambulance ride to the hospital (a disadvantage of living out in the country). I experienced pain that I had never felt before that took my breath away and left in me tears and dripping sweat. Turns out I had Gallstones, which caused the discomfort I was feeling through the pregnancy and got significantly worse afterwards. This also created serious issues with my ability to eat. Therefore, a day after my birthday, I had surgery to remove my Gallbladder. Who knew having Gallstones was a great way to loose weight! Great, but not fun.

So with the surgery and issues that I had since delivering Caleb, we were unable to celebrate my birthday, my mom's birthday, and my oldest son's birthday in November. My husband was ever so thoughtful and caring and did what he could to not only be supportive and helpful during my down time, but gifted me with something I enjoy having. So, he picked up a beautiful handmade fountain pen for me at a local craft show. He knows the way to my heart, besides horses. Now all that is left is to finish the year and get ready for 2019. InCoWriMo/LetterMo in 2019 may see me passing on the opportunity to participate this time, especially with a new baby and just returning back to work. I will try to respond to the letters I already have before then, and continue to write my current pen-pals. So please accept my sincerest apologies for my delays in letter writing. I look forward to seeing what 2019 has in store for my family and this blog :).

Some additional photos from 2018...

Twin doelings born here that we hope to add to our small milk string in 2020.

Lamy Love

My oh my has it been some time since I last posted in my blog! I suppose that is what happens when life takes you for a roller coaster ride. Between work, the farm, my husband and his health, and then our two rowdy boys, I think I am plain exhausted by the end of every day. I was able to get some times to snap some pictures of my favorite brand of pen – Lamy!

Lamy love, call it what it is! I can say with confidence that this is one of the best brand of fountain pens out there. They stand by their products and when something goes wrong, they are there to promptly repair it or give advice. These pens are workhorses. Every single Lamy I have has stood up to purse abuse, slippery hand abuse, unknowledgeable fountain pen user abuse, and much more.  Out of all the Lamy pens I have so far (and I do not even have that many compared to all the models they have), I would have to say the Al-Star is my favorite. It is affordable, flashy, and a work horse. Starts every time, strong enough to take a beating, and very versatile. Daily user, weekly user, doesn’t matter what type of user….this pen will take the challenge.  Even with shimmer inks, this pen writes well (just don’t let the shimmer ink settle too long or you may get some hard starts – as with any pen and shimmer ink)

 

While I would love to sit here and do a review of each Lamy brand I have, I can promise you that there are already dozens and dozens of Lamy reviews online that would have similar opinions. I suppose I just wanted to brag and show off the collections thus far. Currently I have 6 different Lamy’s inked up. If you want a pen that is easy to use, easy to clean, can stand rough handling, then a Lamy is what you want.

Noodler's 54th Massachusetts - Ink Review

 

Noodler's 54th Massachusetts is one of those inks that goes well with just about anything. It is beautiful and has good shading qualities, yet it can still be used in a professional setting. I like a good ink that can be used in a variety of settings. It is a wet flowing ink. I have used it in Pilot extra fine nibs, to the Lamy Joy with a 1.1mm italic nib. The wider the nib, the better the shading. However, this ink shades beautifully in a fine nib too. In this review, I used a TWSBI Vac 700 with a fine nib. So let's get down to the nitty gritty.

 

 



 

 

This ink honestly is a great all around ink. It passed a variety of tests. The paper that I used was a high quality printer paper (in which most of my fountain pen inks do not feather or bleed through. So I decided to do some of the tests on another type of paper that was more familiar to people - Clairefontaine.

 

 

The Smudge Test:

 

This ink is 'almost' completely smudge resistant. I admit, that I probably should have done a 1 second test, but it managed to pass the 5, 10 and 20 second tests. This test was done on both types of paper. Clairefonetaine is known to increase dry time for many types of inks, however this ink performed and dried beautifully.

 

 

The Highlighter Test:

 

This ink performs well under the highlighter test. Due to the fact that this ink dries fairly quick, it also performs well under highlighter use. I would say that it did smear a hair where my pen left more ink towards the end of the line. However, it was very minimal. Writing papers, making notes, and highlighting? Then this ink will perform well for you.

 

Feathering Test:

 

While feathering does in part have to do with the paper you use, it also has to do with the type of ink that is used. Noodler's 54th Massachusetts does not feather, which is great.

 

 

 

Specifications:

Noodler's 54th Massachusetts - 3oz bottle

Price: $10.50-12.50 (depending on the vendor)

Other Images:



Via: Goulet Pen Co.

 



Galen Leather Traveler's Notebook Cover - Review

Galen Leather Traveler's Notebook Cover 

This is a long overdue review of this wonderful Traveler's Notebook cover. The good part about the delay in reviewing this is that I have really had a good chance to see what this leather cover is really made of.  Galen Leather is a small leather shop or of Istanbul, Turkey that is owned and run by a brother and sister team. What amazes me is that is the two of them creating such beautiful leather items to protect our most loved items.... journals, pens,  and tablets (and so much more)! Here is Galen Leather!

The product materials:

The material is 2-3mm vegetable oak tanned cow leather. That is what these lovely cases and covers are made of. That start out a tad stiff (as most leather will) and become more pliable with time. All edges are hand finished

How to care for it:

You can care for this product by using Neatsfoot oil or Olive oil. The leather only requires a light layer of oil 1-2 times a year. You can treat minor scuffs and scratches as follows:

Treating scuffs & scratches 
1. Apply a very small dab of oil on finger.
(If you don't have oil on hand, instructions say you can rub the tip of thumb or finger along cleft between nose and nostril for some oil. Gross as it sounds, I'm sure it would work in a pinch).
2. Rub onto scuff/scratch with circular motion.

If you spill something on it (or happen to smush a bug with it -not that I would know), they clean up really easil. A quick swipe with a baby wipe or paper towel and your set.

Durability:

The durability of these covers is really impressive. This cover comes with 4 elastic straps, which hold the notebooks in nicely.  You can you anything from Moleskine to Piccadilly, and many other journal choices.  The strong elastic straps are great for safely holding and helping to organize you Bullet journal,  Prayer journal,  and General notes journal.

My Opinion:

This cover is beautiful and durable. Well worth the price.  Galen Leather also makes a variety of sizes and options - from iPad covers to mini notebook covers. Their product lineup can be found on their website: https://www.galenleather.com/collections/all
these covers are really nice and durable,  considering my things get packed into my purse and tossed around. There is only one thing that kind of irks me.  The bronze charm, at least the one I have,  trends to scratch up the front of the cover.  Nothing too deep and in most cases a very light application of Olive oil or Neatsfoot takes care of it.  For me,  it adds character.

And finally... the cost:

• Depending on the size -$23 to $48
• Sizes include: passport, pocket, regular, large, A5, extra large. 
• Colors choices vary - GREATLY!

Time to grieve...

It has been a long 6 weeks for me. We found out we were pregnant just to loose the baby weeks later.  What's worse is it was on my husband's birthday.  So I hope you'll forgive me if I done post anything new floor a bit. I have some posts that are long overdue.  However,   I have to figure out how to move forward with life,  without my baby.

Until then....

Photography Share

With the kind of month I have had (2 goat kids die, a third had to be put down), I wanted to share some of the more positive things for me... photography!

A bucket-o-goats! Sadly one of them in this picture was one of the kids we lost,  but it's still a cute photo. Trying to get 7 kids in a bucket and to stay in a bucket is no easy deal.

Feeding time! I had to be quick with this rear shot. My husband was putting hay in their feeder for them.  A good handful of our Nigerian Dwarfs,  but not all of them.

Sebastian.  Born outn of a new doe and buck. He was 1 of three babies, however sadly one of his brothers didn't make it :(.

Lady, our 10 (ish) year old Alpine x Boer doe who have us triplets this year!  2 girls and 1 boy. We are keeping both her daughters.

Millie, one of our doeling girls born this year.

And my favorite shot of a country road...

Exacompta Journal 21 - Page per day

5.25 x 8.25

I have been looking forward to reviewing this daily journal from Exacompa. This is from their "page per day" challenge.  This planner has been wonderful for me worth my busy life.  You can mark appointments by the half-hour starting at 8:00am to 9:00pm. Although my day stays way before 8am, I am still able to utilize this with no problem. What is nice is that it gives you a full day for Saturday and Sunday too! Many calendars share one page for both days (if your lucky that is). When my wetlands are busy and is nice to be able to schedule things or note things I have done. This also comes with a soft, thin,  edit durable leather cover and is refillable.  Which does not contain PVC. What is PVC you say? "PVC leather is a type of faux leather that is made by covering a base of natural or synthetic material with vinyl, made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and plasticizers". (www.shopinfluxx.com › blog ›).

This planner is also fountain pen friendly ...for most fountain pens.  No feathering or bleed through. Smooth paper that is reasonably fast to dry as well.  Thr paper is 72g, acid-free and pH neutral paper. While  I don't fill in every line or day,  I use my journal for other things too. Such as:

• My grocery list
• My to do list
• things of note that I heard 
• spending transactions
• last or songs I heard and like. 
• Keep track of things that were not scheduled that I did

and the list goes on...

This journal also had prefferated edges in the lower corners to tear out after each day had come and gone. It makes it really nice when you are trying to flip straight to the day you are on. You do not have to spend long seconds flipping around to find the right day. Just flip it open. 

It also lays flat with minimal to no effort. Very flexible journal that can fit into your purse (okay, larger type purse), messenger bag, school bag,  and more.  And you can use it with confidence that the spine is all bound and will not start producing loose leaf paper. This little journal is a tough one.

I have never been a person to use planners or calendars much.  However this one had had me working now and more organized than ever before in my life. The can be purchased for around $30 and it includes the journal. Tells can be purchased from $22 to $25 depending on where you go.

Oberon Designs celtic pocket notebook

Oberon Celtic knots leather cover on Rhoda Web
notebook & Pilot Decimo vp.

This is one of my favorite pocket books to carry around with me in my purse.  You can put just about any 3.5" x 5.5" notebook (s) in them.  Field notes makes some notebooks that would fit beautifully - and more than one at a time too. A well built journal to jot down your daily to-do list,  favorite recipes,  favorite songs and artists,  daily thoughts, and much,  much more.

A nice thick Rhodia webnotebook fills my Oberon cover.  The best part is that is refillable. A nice, durable piece of elastic holds the notebook closed.  The layer is thick and stitched around the edges. It also has a ribbon book marker.

There is some ghosting on the Rhodia paper.  Mine makes a great weekly ink tracker.

The costs can vary for different covers. This exact design is $39. You can request larger covers,  covers for phones, and much more.

• Oberon designs 

A Moleskine find!

It's not very often that I find a good journal deal around where I live. Heck,  the nearest fountain pen show is down in Portland,  Oregon. But just yesterday, I happened to stumble upon quiet a nice find while my family and I were out shopping. Plus it was at Costco of all places! With a deal like that I couldn't pass it up.

A 6 pack of large Moleskine cahiers! Usually a 3 pack will cost around $14 at Moleskine. However at Costco,  you get 6 for $20 (at least at the Costco near us.). Being a pen and Journal lover,  this was a very exciting find for me.  

You get two grey,  two tan, and two black journals. These journals are the perfect size for taking notes or staying on that memoir you have been doing to write. I have yet to figure out what I will use mine for. 

I find that these journals tend to be fairly fountain pen friendly,  with quiet a few inks. There is very minimal ghosting...so minimal is almost non existent.  No bleed through. I didn't see any feathering,  but I am sure the effects may vary with different inks and pens used.

I am not sure how long Costco will have this awesome deal,  so go get your Moleskine while you can!