I figure it’s probably a gross violation of some healing shawl policy to make one for yourself, but I’m flagrantly doing it anyway, and it’s getting the job done.

I figured as long as I was breaking the rules, I could have any shawl I wanted, and the winning candidate was Lily Chin’s mock Faroese beauty. I decided to crochet it, and I’m using some wonderful hand-dyed cotton from Blue Heron Yarns, an outfit located right here in Maryland.

The act of crocheting the shawl has been peaceful and thoughtful–if drawn-out. I try to spend an hour on it every day after lunch, cozied up on the couch with the beagle, who is intrigued by the ball of yarn and has attempted to leave with it several times. The work proceeds from the top row, with each row a bit longer than the last. The pattern looks intricate but is actually quite simple if you keep your odd and even rows straight, and that makes the process very pleasing. It’s too bad I can’t crochet as fast as Lily Chin, because I’m looking forward to wearing it.

A side benefit: I can’t knit and smoke at the same time.

So that’s my rule-breaking healing shawl, made by me, for me.

OK, so I started a blog just in time for it to be the Christmas holiday shopping season and I’m too damned tired to write in it. What else?

This is the best Christmas sales season in three years, and if I can just keep it together, Atelier-Beads will survive. That’s pretty good news. I also feel prety well–just weary. Weary is good considering the alternative. I went to the bead store this afternoon and was just overwhelmed by the number of people. I had a whole hour to have a good browse and spent half of it outside smoking. Must go right at 10:30 when they open.

Thoughts of late-winter camping on Assateague have sprung up as of late. March is sort of the “shoulder” season there. The state park on the Maryland side opens in mid-April, and the mosquitoes will for certain arrive after a couple of warm days. So cold might be good, and it’ll be chilly in March. I briefly entertained thoughts of getting the canoe over there to paddle into one of the backcountry sites on the Bay side, but I’m thinking the better of it.

Greg and I had a huge discussion on the whole canoe thing. I staunchly maintain that you must plan to capsize, otherwise you won’t be ready when you inevitably go into the soup. He maintains that a positive mental attitude is best and that you must be determined NOT to capsize, otherwise you will. Hmm. The upshot is that tipping over into that particular water at that time of the year would make you wish you were wearing a dry suit–not to mention the risk to the firewood you’d inevitably be hauling in. So on the subject of backcoutry camping on the water at that time of the year, I’m going to opt for leave-no-trace–by simply not doing it. A cozy fire and a nice, two-burner propane stove with perpetually running coffee pot will be just the thing to ward off the inevitable chill, and those are best had in a pre-made campsite.

Ocean City is not all that far away, and if we feel the need for a steak and a beer or want to get in out of the rain, why we’ll be right there. Aside from that, I would anticipate the ocean and the Bay, lots of walks on the beach (which these days I enjoy more when the tide is out), and enough quiet and Big Water to last for a little while anyway.

One of the big advantages of moving my office from the small bedroom to the big front room has been the re-finding of my collection of fountain pens. As much as ten years ago, with some close ties to someone who worked at the local fountain pen store, I began a small collection. I’ve neglected them shamefully over the years, but when I began the big move, there they all were, waiting patiently–including two I had never filled or used. Here’s a recap of the Great Pen Rehabilitation:

Jean Lapine “Samba” in a tutti-frutti color: A favorite, received as a birthday gift in the mid-Nineties. It has a wildly colored barrel with bits of red, yellow, blue, green, and black. The fittings are sterling silver, and the nib is (I believe) gold over steel. I always kept this pen filled with Mont Blank emerald green ink. I’ve been finding out bad things about green ink in terms of who used it, and I wonder if I should change the color. It came right back to life. I still have the leather holder it came in.

Lamy “Safari,” red: Another newer stalwart, now filled and working with Parker Quink in black. Has a very nice and heavy nib. I have rehabbed its matching mechanical pencil simply by adding some new lead.

Sensa, pink: I think it’s a Sensa. I’ve probably had it seven years or so. Whatever it is, it was made in Italy. I tried filling this with deep rose ink, but apparently I haven’t done a good job cleaning it out. It’s writing, but it’s still writing black.

Those are the new pens. Here are the old ones:

40′s or so Eversharp Skyline: First of my vintage pens, and I bought it for myself. I remember being in Austin, Texas working with clients, one of whom was a collector of vintage pens. He remarked that I was using a fountain pen and offered to take me to a vintage pen shop one day at lunchtime. I loved this pen, and it was affordable enough for me to buy on the spot. It’s black with gold fittings and a gold nib, fills with a lever, and works perfectly. On his advice, it’s always been filled with black Quink. Happily it revived immediately.

50′s or so Wearever: It’s got a dark blue body and gold-plated everything else. I bought it in an antique mall in Berkeley Springs, WV. This pen didn’t work when I bought it, and it sat around here forever. After a good cleaning and refill, it’s been working all day today. So far, so good. I think Wearevers were really the pens of the average folk, but I’m not certain of anything. As to whether it will work after a day or so, time will tell.

50′s Shaeffer Snorkel: I was amazed to find this pen. Either my father or my mother had the identical pen when I was a youngster; in fact, it was given to me when I was far too young, and I destroyed it. It’s the same Nile green color with gold fittings. There’s writing in the family Bible in both their hands, using the pen, which was always kept filled with peacock blue ink. Naturally, I’ve filled this one with peacock blue ink. It seems to be holding up well after its cleaning and refill, but it has some inherent problems. It will blob on you if you gesture too grandly while writing; I clearly remember that it blobbed on me the day I started my new job in 1995. And it has a weeeeee little capacity.

Esterbrook Green “J” Pen: Greg bought this one for me just before all hell broke loose with my mother. I laid it aside and never filled it until today. It was in pristine condition and worked as soon as I filled it. This pen has a fabulous looking pearlized finish and is the smaller model.

Esterbrook Red “J” Pen: Another gift from Greg, just filled for the first time. It’s the larger diameter model and has a red pearlized finish. This pen has the best nib ever, and I can see it becoming my favorite.

There’s something quite therapeutic about fooling around with pens.