tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60137381751773403252024-03-05T12:43:54.805+08:00Personal Geographictravels in a borderless worldThe Gravelcathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590133021360629169noreply@blogger.comBlogger214125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013738175177340325.post-56696305936883892932013-03-12T21:56:00.000+08:002013-03-12T21:56:58.297+08:00Attractions of the Vintage Pencil
The other night I was cleaning a vintage fountain pen-and-pencil set that I wanted to sell. It was a 1930s Marine Green Sheaffer Balance mismatched
pair - while the fountain pen was the standard length, the propelling
pencil of the same pattern was shorter, sized for a vest pen. (I
originally acquired them together, from the Fountain Pen Network Classifieds
section a few years The Gravelcathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590133021360629169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013738175177340325.post-75181670222446445462013-02-24T17:42:00.003+08:002013-02-24T17:42:48.495+08:00Coffee SafariToday I went with friends on a coffee safari. No, we didn't hop from
one coffee shop to another! We were invited to a coffee-tasting at a
friend's home. The coffees, however, came from exotic locales - where
the best coffees grow.
I
had no idea my friend Dante was a member of a local coffee club. As
you can guess, he doesn't have coffee at coffee shops because he The Gravelcathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590133021360629169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013738175177340325.post-27608214266329168832013-02-14T21:13:00.002+08:002013-02-14T21:14:17.420+08:00A Many-Splendored Thing
It
was 1957. The acacia trees lining the avenues at the University of the
Philippines campus in Diliman were not as tall and leafy as they are
now. He saw her walking to class one day. She walked with a certain
spring in her step, clutching her books. "Magarput" is his word. It's
an Ilocano word that's hard to translate, but it connotes a certain kind
The Gravelcathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590133021360629169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013738175177340325.post-80504923349161007822013-02-11T16:29:00.000+08:002013-02-11T16:29:35.666+08:00Victoria's Leather JournalHappy Chinese New Year! I know most of you already have 2013 diaries
and journals, but I discovered a leather journal recently that can give
the Midori Traveler's Notebook a run for its money. The thing that confused me about is that it's called a Pelle Leather Journal, by Victoria's Journals, but it's not the Pelle Leather Journal
you know of in the US, that directly competes The Gravelcathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590133021360629169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013738175177340325.post-15084821539666663812013-02-05T15:34:00.002+08:002013-02-05T15:38:22.267+08:00Three Pelikan Tortoises
Back in 2009 I was trying to decide on a birthday fountain pen. I'm a Pelikan fan, and decided that I would save up for a Pelikan M400 White Tortoise with
an F nib. It had just been reintroduced as a regular (and no longer
limited production) pen. Prior to this my Pelikan flock was limited to
M200s and M215s. It's the same size as an M200, only with a 14k
two-tone The Gravelcathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590133021360629169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013738175177340325.post-30548705111094771462013-02-03T21:20:00.001+08:002013-02-03T21:23:11.843+08:00Buying Fountain Pen Inks in Manila
(Waterman inks photo by Cesar Salazar.)
More
and more people are growing interested in using fountain pens here in
Manila, as evidenced by the growing membership in our pen group Fountain Pen Network-Philippines.
For a long time Parker, Waterman, Cross and Montblanc were the only
brands readily available in the local fountain pen market. Now there
are new brands available:&The Gravelcathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590133021360629169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013738175177340325.post-65780943660418971922013-02-02T16:54:00.002+08:002013-02-02T16:54:53.149+08:00Two Old Churches in PampangaLast August I joined a group of friends on a day tour of Pampanga.
It's north of Manila, about a drive of an hour and a half. We had a
special ten-course lunch scheduled at Bale Dutung, but had the morning free to visit a couple of old churches and take photos.
The San Guillermo Parish Church of Bacolor
dates back to Spanish times. After the original church (The Gravelcathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590133021360629169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013738175177340325.post-23364540257584168432013-02-01T14:49:00.004+08:002013-02-01T14:56:56.752+08:00Dining at Bale Dutung
When
our American friend Tom said he'd finally visit the Philippines last
August, Carlos immediately organized a trip to the province of Pampanga,
complete with a ten-course lunch at Claude and Mary Ann Tayag's
restaurant, Bale Dutung.
"Bale Dutung" means "house of wood". If this house looks somewhat familiar, it's because it was featured in Anthony Bourdain's Philippines episodeThe Gravelcathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590133021360629169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013738175177340325.post-45420503675993254332013-01-31T18:25:00.000+08:002013-02-01T14:54:25.080+08:00Tinker, Tinker
Everyone
who's ever had a hobby has tried to learn as much as they can about the
things that sustain their interest. I love writing with fountain pens,
so I've managed to learn enough about them to maintain them, thanks to
sites like the Fountain Pen Network, Pentrace, FPGeeks, among others.
I
enjoy cleaning my pens, too. It's a kind of meditation in itself,
whether manuallyThe Gravelcathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590133021360629169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013738175177340325.post-14614412740638653642013-01-30T13:42:00.000+08:002013-01-30T13:42:51.727+08:00Waterman's Ideal No. 3 Set
Some Saturdays come with a happy surprise. A package arrived for me
last weekend! A good friend from the US sent over a combined Christmas
and birthday gift in the form of a vintage Waterman’s Ideal No. 3 set of fountain pen and matching propelling pencil!
It came complete with an original Waterman’s box, complete with paper
insert of instructions on how to fill the pen The Gravelcathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590133021360629169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013738175177340325.post-62397090336123689252012-03-10T14:51:00.001+08:002012-08-18T09:37:27.211+08:00Wheatgrass for the Guinea Pigs
At the end of February, my sister Joy started a new project - growing wheatgrass for our pets Moonball and Walnut. We live in a condo building, and usually have a hard time getting fresh grass. We do mostly small container gardening in the balconies. We give our guinea pigs some inexpensive leafy vegetables, but they're not a substitute for fresh, sweet grass. So Joy did her homeworkThe Gravelcathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590133021360629169noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013738175177340325.post-14545163884838458752012-03-06T17:15:00.002+08:002012-08-18T09:38:23.351+08:00Sheaffer Pens Launch in Manila
One of the first things I ever bought with my first ever paycheck in the early 1990s was a Sheaffer No-Nonsense fountain pen. It was translucent purple, it had a fine nib, and best of all, I could afford it. I bought it at National Bookstore, whose Sheaffer kiosk shared space with Parker, Waterman and Cross pens. I still have this pen, and it still writes as well as ever. I also now The Gravelcathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590133021360629169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013738175177340325.post-74496547012847480792012-02-08T15:46:00.001+08:002012-08-18T09:39:39.956+08:00Walnut the Guinea PigLast Sunday, my sister Joy surprised me with a text. "Check your email for important bulletin!" I was so intrigued I immediately opened my email.
I saw this:
A walking ball of fur with eyes! "Her name is Walnut." Our other guinea pig, Moonball, is an American shorthaired cavy, so the prospect of caring for a fancier breed was exciting. Walnut is approximately 4 months old, The Gravelcathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590133021360629169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013738175177340325.post-7155291804688353262012-02-02T14:18:00.000+08:002012-02-02T14:19:46.721+08:00Two Poems by Wislawa SzymborskaI just found out via The New York Times today that Polish poet and 1996 Nobel prizewinner Wislawa Szymborska had passed away. I had been lucky enough to buy a copy of her book, View With A Grain of Sand: Selected Poems, several years ago at a local bookstore. Later, I found that my sister also owned a copy of her Poems: New and Collected, which contained basically the same poems as in my book, The Gravelcathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590133021360629169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013738175177340325.post-24152337332904427742011-12-10T15:04:00.000+08:002012-08-18T09:40:41.251+08:00The Wahl Eversharp Doric
Sometimes I look for particular fountain pens to add to my collection. Sometimes pens find me. This is one of those pens - I am honored to be its current guardian.This beautiful and iconic Art Deco lever-filling fountain pen is the Wahl Eversharp Doric. Its celluloid cap and barrel each has 12 sides, and it sports the very unique adjustable 14k gold No. 5 nib. The slider on top of The Gravelcathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590133021360629169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013738175177340325.post-30790279824424847282011-11-06T18:51:00.003+08:002012-08-18T09:41:25.222+08:00Little Girls, Team SportsWhen I was a little girl I was bookish and not the least bit sporty. I did, however, love swimming, climbing trees, running with the dogs and playing games the neighborhood children played. I even endured hula dancing class. It wasn't until high school PE that I became one of the goalies of the girls' soccer team. I sometimes walked home all covered in mud. The only time I was goalie andThe Gravelcathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590133021360629169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013738175177340325.post-2579335358732150712011-10-27T13:22:00.002+08:002012-08-18T09:41:49.759+08:00Lilo's Halloween Costume
My 6yo niece has a very vivid imagination. She's wanted to be Medusa for the longest time. Last October 22 she had her fantasy realized - thanks to Mommy Joy's crochet skills. Joy found the free crocheted yarn snakes pattern by Lucy Ravenscar at Craftster.org.
The 14 snakes are made up of combinations of yarn colors, crocheted over four days. The eyes and tongue are sewn on. They The Gravelcathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590133021360629169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013738175177340325.post-2128330997291354422011-10-23T19:07:00.003+08:002012-08-18T09:43:08.963+08:00Fountain Pen Network - Philippines
Our group of pen lovers, Fountain Pen Network - Philippines, is three years old and keeps growing. It started with a handful of enthusiasts in a thread on analog writing instruments at (oddly enough) a local tech forum. It now has about 20-30 active members, many of whom are also members of the Fountain Pen Network forums. Our yahoogroup moderator, Prof. Jose Dalisay ("Butch" to his The Gravelcathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590133021360629169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013738175177340325.post-45852735966768458222011-10-19T15:36:00.001+08:002012-08-18T09:43:46.032+08:00Theo & Philo Artisan Chocolates
I've bought Theo & Philo artisan chocolates three times in the last month alone. My family and I end up enjoying it before I even think of taking photographs. The Green Mango & Salt bar above is the remaining bar in my stash. It's my favorite flavor: unique and very Filipino in taste. The pretty packaging proclaims: "By the Philippines, For the Philippines, Of the The Gravelcathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590133021360629169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013738175177340325.post-7806331280924562982011-10-12T15:42:00.001+08:002012-08-18T09:45:18.035+08:00Attempt At Coptic BindingIt's been a couple of years since I did any bookbinding projects. My last one was full-on hardcover bookbinding (with glue). Last weekend I decided to try Coptic binding, which is a sewn binding that does not require any adhesives.
I once attended a seminar on bookbinding, but it didn't include coptic binding. I knew how to do kettle stitch, but not how to attach the cover boards The Gravelcathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590133021360629169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013738175177340325.post-11270373092185669662011-10-11T10:36:00.000+08:002011-10-11T10:37:20.676+08:00Poems by Tomas TranstromerLast October 6th, I woke up to the announcement that the Nobel Committee had awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize for Literature to Swedish poet Tomas Transtromer. He bested other luminaries in the running such as Syrian poet Adonis and Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami (even long shot Bob Dylan). Considered Sweden's greatest living poet, Transtromer's work has been translated into 50 languages. The Gravelcathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590133021360629169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013738175177340325.post-77542137137203417982011-10-07T13:10:00.003+08:002012-08-18T09:45:53.620+08:00EPP Balcony Herbal Garden
Click on the photos to enlarge.
This is my mother's EPP herbal balcony garden: organic sweet basil, bok choy, Himalayan spinach, tarragon, rosemary and chives. Yes, the planters are converted plastic Coca-cola liter bottles.
EPP stands for Enriched Potting Preparation, which uses a "nutrient-rich compost soil extract, in a watering and aeration-efficient container". It's The Gravelcathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590133021360629169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013738175177340325.post-61086370668220198432011-10-07T10:04:00.001+08:002012-08-18T09:46:33.373+08:00Midori Traveler's Notebook
The Midori Traveler's Notebook is one of those things you end up coveting when you're into fountain pens, typewriters and other analog means of organizing your thoughts. I first saw the standard size version reviewed on Black Cover. Pictured above is the passport-sized one, in brown. It's small and handy enough to fit into any handbag. I found the larger version to be rather long The Gravelcathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590133021360629169noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013738175177340325.post-62035647815336853382011-06-24T19:32:00.002+08:002012-08-18T09:47:27.198+08:00Reviewing Blue-Black InksFor the longest time the only colors of inks to be had in Manila were Black, Blue and Blue-Black. It bothered me that most Black was often grey, while Blue was usually watery and faded. That left me with Blue-Black, a dark blue that stayed, well, dark. Parker Quink Blue-Black with Solv-x, which was widely available in the 80s, was one of my favorite inks. Now that other ink brands have The Gravelcathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590133021360629169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6013738175177340325.post-69934800011668497882011-06-13T17:30:00.000+08:002012-08-18T09:48:18.552+08:00Pen Stories: Parker Vacumatics
The first time I ever saw a Parker Vacumatic was three years ago, at Prof. Butch Dalisay's house, during Fountain Pen Network-Philippines' first anniversary. Butch and another member, George, displayed their collections of Vacumatic models in different colors and vintages. Now I'm not much of a Parker girl (more of a Sheaffer one), but I thought it would be nice to have at least one of The Gravelcathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04590133021360629169noreply@blogger.com0