Category: Slice of Life

Fountain Pen Lineup

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/35 sec, ISO800
 “Ink Change” Cedar Park, 2020

Today I changed up the lineup of my fountain pens a bit. I still love my Lamy Safari with broad nib, but have been enjoying the Pilot F nib more lately. Although I have several cheap Jinhao pens, only the Lamy and my Pilots have ink in them now, so maybe it’s time to pare down the collection and give the Jinhaos away.

Here’s my current lineup:

Although I have 4 colors, I like to limit a page to just 2 or 3 if I can. Any of them work well as a 3-color set, but 4 on a page will reveal a clashing pair, in my eyes. It may seem like a silly thing to mention, but I think it’s fun to think about these little things!

I hope you had a great day. またね～

Ukulele Time

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/30 sec, ISO6400
 “Ukulele Detail” Cedar Park, 2020

I’ve been playing my ukulele every couple of days now, which I think is a nice “pace” for me. I don’t like to play every single day for very long because my left wrist still hurts a bit, and also I’ve read that longer gaps between session while learning a skill helps with the long-term memory. So, I won’t practice a song that I am learning every day, but maybe every three or four days. Once I have the song memorized, I might play it once or twice every day to work on parts that need clean up (there are A LOT of those parts).

I’ve recently memorized Al Woods’ arrangement of La Vie en Rose. I really enjoy playing that song, which reminds me of one of my favorite movies, Wall•E, and it’s fun to note my progress in playing it more cleanly, and also find better fingering combinations that make it easier.

On the new song front, I am starting on Ukulenny’s arrangement of I Will by The Beatles which is another of my favorites. The very last chord uses the 14th fret, which a soprano ukulele doesn’t have, so maybe this is a good excuse to pull the trigger on that concert ukulele that’s been sitting in my wishlist? 😋

I love playing the ukulele. I may not be very good, but it’s fun, relaxing, and keeps my 52-year-old brain active.

Cats in Boxes

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/60 sec, ISO5000
 “Cat in a Box” Cedar Park, 2020

Another cat post! Our two cats are sisters and they both like to relax in cardboard boxes, but Anko needs space to stretch out, while Yuzu loves to squeeze into tight spaces. They have their own individual tastes, which is so interesting to me.

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/60 sec, ISO1600
 “Cat in a Box” Cedar Park, 2020

Keeping Me Company

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 19mm, f/2.8, 1/50 sec, ISO3200
 “Sleepy Cat” Cedar Park, 2020

While I work, Yuzu likes to keep me company. Since I use a mouse and another keyboard, I don’t mind if she rests on the laptop a bit. And sometimes when she sees me moving the mouse around, she’ll copy me:

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 19mm, f/2.8, 1/80 sec, ISO3200
 “Mouse Paw” Cedar Park, 2020

Cats are so funny.