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The USS Lexington is the oldest surviving aircraft carrier in the world. Commissioned in 1943, it saw extensive service as part of the Pacific fleet during WWII, where it developed a reputation for being impossible to sink - so much so that Japanese navy began referring to it as a “ghost” ship. This reputation, coupled with it’s blue camouflage scheme, earned the ship the moniker “The Blue Ghost.” Since then, the Lexington has had a long career, acting first as an attack carrier, then as an anti-submarine carrier, and finally as a training carrier.

Hello guest, Thank you for choosing our home. We know that there are lots of great options out there, so we appreciate your decision to stay with us. Here are a few House Rules to help you get situated, and to make sure that your stay here is as enjoyable as possible. Check in is after 4 PM and check out is before 12 PM. You are welcome to park on the street, but you will need to move your vehicle into the driveway overnight.

So many things make me happy: the smell of mulled cider drifting through the house on a cool autumn night, the taste of slightly smoky single malt scotch, the quiet tick of a mechanical watch held close to the ear, the second movement of Beethoven’s seventh symphony. Unfortunately, many of these things that bring me happiness are fleeting – eventually the bottle runs dry, the symphony ends, and the autumn leaves give way to a bright, white cocoon.

Blaze orange is well known to Americans as the color of construction barrels, traffic cones, and hunting caps. It’s a color designed to provide significant contrast to the environment – critical when dodging traffic during rush hour on a busy highway or when creeping through the woods with dozens of other hunters, all of whom have high-powered rifles in hand. In those contexts, the color is aggressively monotone, obnoxious, and prosaic, but when embodied in ink form by Diamine, it becomes delightfully dynamic, engaging, and lyrical.

This is Maya. She’s a teeny tiny bundle of snuggles and giggles, and she just turned ten months old today. As those of you who currently have, or in the past had ten-month-old kids know, they’re fairly time-consuming. Maya joined our family when she was nine days old, the same day I started my new job, which was about six months after finishing my two-year MBA program. It’s been a busy few years without much of a break or time to be creative.

I’m not a connoisseur of green ink. I’ve reviewed J. Herbin’s Vert Olive and Vert Empire, and I have Iroshizuku Shinryoku sitting on my shelf, but none of them have spent much time in my pens. Over the years, I’ve reviewed plenty of red and blue ink, and I love a good purple, but green isn’t a color that captured my imagination – until I tried Diamine Meadow. There’s no mystery in the inspiration behind the name of the ink – no foreign (to English speakers) language to parse or obscure tidbit to research – only the verdant, vibrant, green of an English meadow.

Iroshizuku is a line of ink produced by Pilot under their high-end Namiki brand. The natural landscape and plants of Japan inspire the colors in the line, resulting in some of the most interesting and unique ink around. Some of my earliest reviews were of Iroshizuku ink: Yu-Yake, a delightful burnt orange; Momiji, an incredible, if subtle red; Yama-Budo, a ripe, juicy purple; Kiri-Same, the color of storm clouds in a bottle; and Kon-Peki, a deep and intoxicating ocean blue.

Keep practicing…

Done with a Monteverde Prima 1.1 mm nib, and Noodler’s Black Swan in Australian Roses ink.

About a month ago, Ron from Pen Chalet contacted me to ask if I’d be interested in receiving a pen for review. I happily accepted, and after a bit of back and forth, he agreed to send me a Monteverde Prima with a 1.1 mm stub nib. I’d heard good things about Monteverde, and my only experience with stub nibs was with the wider 1.9 mm nib on my Lamy Joy pen.