Pens & Yarn
Oct. 18th, 2003 11:04 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sun_set_bravelyI had a very good 12 hours beginning Thursday night and ending Friday afternoon.
All day Thursday, I knew that I had to write a scene for the script. I had this underlying fear that this scene wasn't going to get written without a fight, so I knew that I had to treat myself well in order to get it written.
So after work, I came home, dropped off my bags, and took my notebook and pen to the cafe across the street. It's still relatively new in the neighborhood, so there weren't more than five people there. I ordered a pot of Jasmine tea, spread out, and started writing.
I've read Natalie Goldberg's praises of writing in cafes and restaurants a hundred times, but I never really believed her. I thought it was too expensive an idea for me, or too public, or too whatever. But I loved it! For $10 I got two hours of private writing time away from home, with no interruptions. And I got a mean-ass scene written. And I got to drink my tea leisurely, and treat myself to a piece of black-out cake.
When I was done at ten, I left a good tip, and walked around the park, holding my notebooks to my chest and enjoying the cool air. I sat on the steps of the monument and looked out over lower Manhattan. I called my friend R. (the one in San Francisco), and we talked and talked and didn't want to stop talking. She just got back from two weeks in Belize, so she had great adventures to tell me about. We talked until I was back in my bedroom, ready to go to sleep.
Friday morning, I woke up early and went to the Fountain Pen Hospital to spend the gift certificate from my Anonymous LiveJournal friend. :) I bought every color of Pelikan cartridge they had (for my Monteverde pen), plus some brown Rotring ink cartridges.
I don't think I've mentioned how much I love the blue Monteverde I bought back in July. It fits perfectly in my hand, it keeps up with my quick writing, and the ink flows well.
And... well... since I was there... I asked if they had any more Monteverde Intimas left. They did. They had one blue, and one tiger eye left. The tiger eye was only $39. I couldn't resist.
So now I have plenty of ink to keep my brother and sister Monteverde pens moving for at least a year.
After the FPH, since I was in the area, I went to P&S Fabrics for some yarn. (I started a blue scarf a few weeks ago and ran out of yarn before it was as long as I wanted it to be.) But P&S wasn't open until 9:30, and it was only 8:45, so I wandered around TriBeCa and Battery Park City for a while. I love those neighborhoods. If I were to live in Manhattan, I would want to live there. There are so many interesting buildings and funky intersections, and you're so close to the Hudson there.
I sat on a pier and watched the water wash up onto the green rocks along the pier. I found a ginkgo tree (that I can now identify, thanks to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
eleanor) and plucked a leaf to hold in my pocket. The leaves are so smooth and comforting to touch. I watched dogs and their human pets jog along the pier. I thought about writing but didn't.
Finally, it was time for P&S to open, so I walked back, and found my new favorite place to buy yarn. They have good old acrylic yarn, not just the frou-frou fancy-shmancy expensive fine merino wool yarns that places like Yarn Co. and the Yarn Connection have. P&S has towering racks of Lion Brand Yarn, which I love working with.
I love it so much, in fact, that I bought two skeins of Homespun in Colonial blue (I have no idea how long this scarf will be when I decide to stop), and I bought some clearance yarn: three skeins of Raspberry and three skeins of sky blue. And I just realized from the Lion Brand website that this yarn has been discontinued, so I might go back and get some more.
And then, with two of my major obsessions satisfied, I went to work.
All day Thursday, I knew that I had to write a scene for the script. I had this underlying fear that this scene wasn't going to get written without a fight, so I knew that I had to treat myself well in order to get it written.
So after work, I came home, dropped off my bags, and took my notebook and pen to the cafe across the street. It's still relatively new in the neighborhood, so there weren't more than five people there. I ordered a pot of Jasmine tea, spread out, and started writing.
I've read Natalie Goldberg's praises of writing in cafes and restaurants a hundred times, but I never really believed her. I thought it was too expensive an idea for me, or too public, or too whatever. But I loved it! For $10 I got two hours of private writing time away from home, with no interruptions. And I got a mean-ass scene written. And I got to drink my tea leisurely, and treat myself to a piece of black-out cake.
When I was done at ten, I left a good tip, and walked around the park, holding my notebooks to my chest and enjoying the cool air. I sat on the steps of the monument and looked out over lower Manhattan. I called my friend R. (the one in San Francisco), and we talked and talked and didn't want to stop talking. She just got back from two weeks in Belize, so she had great adventures to tell me about. We talked until I was back in my bedroom, ready to go to sleep.
Friday morning, I woke up early and went to the Fountain Pen Hospital to spend the gift certificate from my Anonymous LiveJournal friend. :) I bought every color of Pelikan cartridge they had (for my Monteverde pen), plus some brown Rotring ink cartridges.
I don't think I've mentioned how much I love the blue Monteverde I bought back in July. It fits perfectly in my hand, it keeps up with my quick writing, and the ink flows well.
And... well... since I was there... I asked if they had any more Monteverde Intimas left. They did. They had one blue, and one tiger eye left. The tiger eye was only $39. I couldn't resist.
So now I have plenty of ink to keep my brother and sister Monteverde pens moving for at least a year.
After the FPH, since I was in the area, I went to P&S Fabrics for some yarn. (I started a blue scarf a few weeks ago and ran out of yarn before it was as long as I wanted it to be.) But P&S wasn't open until 9:30, and it was only 8:45, so I wandered around TriBeCa and Battery Park City for a while. I love those neighborhoods. If I were to live in Manhattan, I would want to live there. There are so many interesting buildings and funky intersections, and you're so close to the Hudson there.
I sat on a pier and watched the water wash up onto the green rocks along the pier. I found a ginkgo tree (that I can now identify, thanks to
eleanor) and plucked a leaf to hold in my pocket. The leaves are so smooth and comforting to touch. I watched dogs and their human pets jog along the pier. I thought about writing but didn't.Finally, it was time for P&S to open, so I walked back, and found my new favorite place to buy yarn. They have good old acrylic yarn, not just the frou-frou fancy-shmancy expensive fine merino wool yarns that places like Yarn Co. and the Yarn Connection have. P&S has towering racks of Lion Brand Yarn, which I love working with.
I love it so much, in fact, that I bought two skeins of Homespun in Colonial blue (I have no idea how long this scarf will be when I decide to stop), and I bought some clearance yarn: three skeins of Raspberry and three skeins of sky blue. And I just realized from the Lion Brand website that this yarn has been discontinued, so I might go back and get some more.
And then, with two of my major obsessions satisfied, I went to work.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2003-10-18 08:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-10-18 08:55 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-10-18 08:49 am (UTC)They're so pretty, aren't they?
no subject
Date: 2003-10-18 08:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-10-18 10:00 am (UTC)(So spake the narcissist.)
I love writing in cafes and restaurants. Most waitstaff are fine with it as long as it's not too busy, and the buzz of other patrons creates a useful white noise that helps me focus. The secret is leaving a good tip. After that the waiters often remember you and come and refill your water and such. Writing makes you look mysterious, and mysterious is good PR!
no subject
Date: 2003-10-18 10:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-10-18 01:21 pm (UTC)It sounds like lovely sensual times, and those are always good.
no subject
Date: 2003-10-19 05:53 pm (UTC)