NovemberJoys

While the days get darker, and the nights get longer, this year I’m finding much to be happy about.

First of all, our new solar panels were turned on yesterday! I am overjoyed. From now on, seeing the sun shining in the clear sky will make me happy, regardless of how hot it may be. Our excess energy will backload into the grid, feeding our neighbors’ electrical needs, so let it shine, baby!

Next up: Today is Fountain Pen Day!

What, you didn’t know I’m a bit of a fountain pen freak? Well, I am. I’m not a “power user,” if there is such a thing. I’m not really a collector, even. I just have a few pens that I love to use, and I love looking at other pens–the beautiful ones, the stunning ones, the bright ones and the sleek ones. Old-fashioned or modern and new, fountain pens are beautiful.

A fountain pen is (or in my mind, should be) a work of art as much as a functional thing. If I merely wanted “functionality,” I’d use a cheap throwaway, right? But no. I want something pleasant to look at, something that feels right in my hand, and whose ink I can change to match my mood. And oh, the inks they make these days! Try looking at these. And that’s just one brand of ink at one retailer (a favorite retailer, I might add)! Check out the other brands there by clicking the “brand” on the left side. A couple favorites of mine are J. Herbin’s Stormy Gray, Pilot Iroshizuku’s Fuyu-gaki, and Diamine’s Eau de Nil. But there are so many more to try!

Thirdly, this is November, and for writers, November means NaNoWriMo–NAtional NOvel WRIting MOnth. I’ve never been much of a fan of this event. It’s just not my type of thing, and never really has been. I’m all for others doing NaNo, mind you; if it works for you, go for it! But I don’t do well chugging out words to meet an arbitrary word count in a long-haul kind of way. I get exhausted partway through, crash, then get depressed that I couldn’t “make my goal.” Bleah.

And yet…this year, I’m doing a modified version of NaNo, along with a group of like-minded friends. We’re calling it “Nearly NaNo,” and each of us has made his or her own private goal for the month. Since I’m already partway through a novel, my goal is another 20,000 words on this novel–not a crazy amount by any means, and utterly achievable IF I don’t slack off at the end of the month!

Cooler weather is another fine thing on this list of happy things. The AC is off, the windows are open. I’m even wearing sweaters in the morning. Sometimes long pants all day! Rotating to a new set of clothes–look! I can wear sleeves!–is such a joy. Enjoying long walks outside is even better.

Speaking of walks outside, don’t forget here in the US, on Sunday we roll back into Standard Time. Which, well, yeah. Time change is not something I’m happy about.

But so it goes. Happy November, all. Go write something with a pen today. Yes, by hand. Maybe sitting in a sunbeam at lunch. You might be surprised how much you enjoy it.