Thursday, May 28, 2015

No Surprises Here

Having been participating regularly in the #RhodiaPaperProject, I won't surprise anyone with the news that I loved the most recent samples as much as any that have come before.

Week #17 included three different sheets of 90g blank white paper:
  • GraFit Sketch Pads (the smallest)
  • Trophee Sketch Pads (the middle size)
  • Crok' Book (the largest size)
Week #18 samples included four sheets of ivory, lined paper:
  • Rhodia Webnotebook  90g (small)
  • Quo Vadis Habana 85 g (small)
  • Rhodia Webnotebook 90g (large)
  • Quo Vadis Habana 85g (large)

Of course all the samples are smooth, high quality, and accommodated the wet, heavy inks I prefer -- with no bleed through, no feathering, and no smudging.  The Week #17 samples are best suited for sketching or doodling, and I certainly will use them for that purpose.

By contrast, the lines on the Webbie and Quo Vadis samples make them best for writing. Although I like the size of the large Quo Vadis Habana sheet, the line spacing on the page is too tight -- and not nearly wide enough to accommodate my large writing.  The same is true for the small Quo Vadis and Webbie samples.  Only the large Webnotebook sample has a line width that will accommodate my penmanship adequately, although I could adjust my writing to be able to use the narrower ruled sheets.

Looking forward to Week #19 paper samples and to more experimentation with paper and pens!

Sunday, May 10, 2015

Unbreakable Bonds in a Wedding Dress…and in Genes

Dear Olivia, Madeline, Megan, Hilarie, Mary, and Betsy,

I’m sure that today today wasn’t an easy day for you, Olivia, Madeline, Megan or Hilarie.  I send each of you my deepest condolences on the loss of your mother.  It is, I think, the hardest loss of all – and makes every subsequent Mother’s Day, and all the days leading up to it, difficult, painful, and sad.   

Thursday, May 7, 2015

An Auspicious Day For a Wedding

Today is Lag BaOmer, the 33rd day of the Counting of the Omer. According to ReformJudaism.org, "[T]he period of the Omer is a time of semi-mourning, when weddings and other festivities are avoided, in commemoration of a plague that killed thousands of students of Rabbi Akiva, a Talmudic scholar. Lag BaOmer is considered to be the day on which the plague ceased, and thus became a day on which the mourning rituals are abandoned and replaced with great joy." Observed primarily in Israel, Lag BaOmer is celebrated with picnics and bonfires, as well as weddings.

Sunday, May 3, 2015

A Glimpse Into History: An Anecdote from One Family's BRCA Story

Kate, Karen's grandmother
As depicted in Joanna Rudnick’s documentary In the Family and Decoding Annie Parker, a feature film directed by Steve Bernstein and starring Helen Hunt and Samantha Morton, every BRCA family has a story.