Kittens Sleeping in Weird Positions

This post was inspired by Pet Meadow! I really don't know why kittens like to sleep in the most bizarre positions but alas, here is a small collection of just that: kittens sleeping in weird positions. This series of photos does provide evidence that the Bengals are the weirdest. With the exception of Tyco who, by nature, is peculiar.

Smiling Tyco

I know non-cat lovers would say I'm crazy for pointing this out but I swear, Tyco is smiling happily in this picture...

Homesick?!

The last few days, I think it's really started to sink in that we packed up our lives and moved to Texas. From Winnipeg. Which is a huge change for us. All in all, I think I took it pretty well, especially with Angel and Cheebs passing away back-to-back of one another. Then moving a few days later... I have also really been missing my wonderful friends who have been great to me and who I am so lucky to have. I know that sounds so cliché, but it's true. They have seen me through good times and bad and have never failed to be supportive, encouraging and fantastic. I miss my brothers (yes, both) and my parents. I miss the familiarity of home (even though I was bored out of my skull with the city itself). All in all: I'm homesick.

I thought some fuzz-therapy was in order to help alleviate this feeling.






My cats are the best fuzz-therapy systems available. To me anyway.

Review: Rhodia Webnotebook "Webbie" A6 Black

This is a review of the Rhodia Webnotebook A6 in Black - also known as the “Webbie”.

MMMM!!! More Rhodia!!! Does it get any better than this? No. Well, maybe if I could frolic in a giant room full of Rhodia Webbies, it would be better. Anyway, doing reviews on Rhodia products is a delight. It's really a cinch because it's easy to gush on when you love something!

Features

Hard-bound Italian leatherette cover
90 g ivory paper, acid-free & pH neutral
96 sheets - ruled, blank or dot grid
Ribbon marker
Elastic closure
Inner pocket for notes and cards
Elegant round corners

Styles: Orange, Black

Interior Page Rulings: Lined, Blank, Dot Grid

Okay. Let's start. First, I love Rhodia. I always have. Ever since I bought my first Rhodia Reverse Book at Target over a year ago, I fell in love. Note: in order to acquire this, we had to drive from Winnipeg to Grand Forks. Not a terribly long drive but it’s embarrassing to admit we drove for several hours just for a notebook. BUT NOT ANY NOTEBOOK! I cannot emphasize the quality of this stuff enough. When we finally moved to Texas, it totally opened up the doors for acquiring awesome notebooks, particularly Rhodia. I was really excited about moving for this very reason.

Embossed Rhodia logo is super classy!

Again, fairly standard for most notebooks of this style to have a hard cover, an expandable pocket on the back cover, a page marker, and an elastic closure, as well as being available in a small and large size. On first glance, an inexperienced notebook-lover could mistake this for a Moleskine. And wow. What a mistake that would be.

Top to bottom: Rhodia Webnotebook A6 in black, Ecosystem Blank Journal medium in kiwi, Leuchtturm1917 medium notebook in lavender, Quo Vadis Habana in Raspberry large + Bright White 90g Paper.

The reasons I LOOOOVE the Rhodia Webnotebook (I suppose normal/non stationery freaks would call this section Pros):

- The material is all high quality, from the solid, smooth leatherette cover down to the incredible 90 g paper (archival quality, by the way). Every penny is worth it on these divine notebooks/notepads. You will not be disappointed. To me, the Rhodia Webbie is in the same league as the Quo Vadis Habana. Both will have you drooling. Publicly. Inappropriately.

- It is also available with the dot grid, a ruling that I absolutely love! As I mentioned in my review of the Leuchtturm 1917 medium notebook, dots are awesome for keeping your writing straight but still allowing you to look like you can awesomely write straight without obvious lines for guidance. They’re like a cross between graph paper and lined - best of both worlds for me. And still leaves enough blank page for sketching (sketching on lines looks funny, unless the lines contribute to it).

- Also available in a really nice, not-vile-to-look-at, rather pleasing orange for more pizzazz than black. To me, this orange is a signature orange. I don't know why other notebooks copy. They cannot compete - check out Pantone and Moleskine. This exact point was recently brought up on Rhodia Drive.

- The paper is known for being fountain pen-friendly. You won’t see any bleeding, even with the heaviest writing and broad nibs, nor with inky gel pens. The paper is so thick and smooth that not only is writing with ANY pen an absolute delight, and it won’t feather your inks either.

Note bleedthrough from Sharpie ultra fine point on bottom of left side page. No biggie.
This page written on the back side of the previous page - no bleedthrough!!

- Despite being 96 pages, it keeps the notebook thin enough to be portable, but you can write on both sides! So you have ... *thinks*... (what’s 96 x 2??)... 192 pages of writing surface. ... I should double check that number but I'm too lazy.

- Just as the Quo Vadis Habana has rounded edges and paper, so does the Rhodia Webbie. It look elegant, and it also protects your paper from catching on your sleeve, for example, making your notebook look newer, longer.

- Brings out the beauty of the colors of your inks - fountain pen and gel inks pop and are vibrant and gorgeous. I love the way it looks. It'll really give you a reason to justify needing several shades of every color you already own. I swear. You'll be able to detect every difference. It's awesome.

- Very micro tip friendly. I have a few Pilot Hi-Tec-C 0.3 mm gel ink pens that are a nuisance to write with on other papers (i.e Leuchtturm 1917/Moleskines). I was really disappointed and frustrated because I had gotten a whack load of the 0.3 mm pens and I was wondering how on earth I was going to be able to use them. Along comes the sweet, sweet Webbie. The paper is so smooth, it pulls and draws the micro tips along and feels like it’s sucking the ink out of them, which gives me the smoothest, non-scratchy writing experience with micro tips (an unfortunate thing that can happen on “regular” paper).

Cons:

- The leatherette cover gets scuffs, marks and fingerprints easily. It looks really great new but if you’re obsessive like I am, you’ll notice right away when you get your first scuff. And you’ll dwell on it far longer than is healthy. I've had mine for a few months now and it still looks new but I'm pretty OCD about taking care of my notebooks. If you're careless, you might do some damage to it. But then if you're truly that careless, you should not be allowed to touch a Rhodia.

- Doesn’t lay flat. This generally drives me nuts. Fortunately, the pros outweigh the cons and I can easily look past this downside because of the great quality and wonderful experience writing in this notebook gives me. It sure makes it hard to take pictures of (I apologize for the blurry bits...I couldn't get it flat without my hands in the way and no one wants pictures of that).

- Pressing hard with a Sharpie marker gets the ink to bleed through but I was really squishing down on it. And the bleeding is not nearly as bad as what a lot of other papers do (even when they claim to be fountain pen friendly...*coughLeuchtturm1917cough*). Sidenote: I'm not against Leuchtturm 1917 notebooks, I rather like them. But they're not fountain pen friendly as they claim. Not for my style anyway.

Other Observations (not necessarily pros nor cons):

- The elastic closure is really snug. It left an imprint in the cover and because I’m OCD, I have to replace the elastic back onto the same spot every time I close it. It can’t be in a new spot. That would just be chaos.

- Ink takes a smidge longer to dry on this paper than on “regular” (non spectacular fountain pen-friendly paper) but it’s totally worth it. Just be prepared to not smear your hands all over it until you know it's dry.

Price:

The Container Store - $12.99
JetPens - $14.50 each

Overall:

I can’t say enough good things about this notebook. Except that I can’t wait to get the bigger one. If you are looking for fountain pen paper specifically, or just want a cute and awesome notebook, this is a fantastic choice. You won't be disappointed by its quality and the experience of writing on divine paper.

I had a helper for this review: Koa the Bengal.

Black Cat Appreciation Day!

Happy Black Cat Appreciation Day!

Black cats are half as likely to get adopted as other colored kitties in shelters. As a result, they end up spending several months longer in shelters than others - if they aren't euthanized. Save a black kitty!

In loving memory of my one and only Angel

Fact: Bengal Cats Like Water

Koa is here with us today to verify the notion that Bengal cats are not, in fact, hydrophobic. He kept coming up to us with wet paws, wet tummy, wet face... at first I was worried he had somehow peed on himself...everywhere. It totally slipped my mind that he might just really like water. So, here he is, drinking water Bengal-style!



They really love this water fountain. They also enjoy "attacking" where the water spouts out!

Peaches the Pretzel

I love this picture because I have to wonder...how do cats even bend like that? She seems happy and unbroken, but still...

Review: Uni-ball Signo RT (UM-138) 0.38 mm Gel Ink Pen

This is a review of the Uni-ball Signo RT (UM-138) 0.38 mm Gel Ink Pen in blue-black and lavender purple-black. Not surprisingly, these pens were also acquired from JetPens!

Features:

- Water-based pigment gel ink
- Steel point
- Rubber grip

The Body

The Uni-ball Signo RT (UM-138) line, like the DX UM-151 line, have a good-sized barrel for those who don’t like thin barrels that often accompany micro tips. It’s very comfortable to hold and didn’t strain my hand after extensive writing.

If you’ve read my review of the Uni-ball Signo DX (UM-151) 0.38 mm gel ink pen - essentially the non-retractable version of this one - you’ll know I was disappointed that the grip was so small. There’s a gap between the grip and the metal tip, leaving plastic barrel which is where my fingers are usually gripping!

Top to bottom: Uni-ball Signo RT 0.38 mm in lavender purple-black and blue-black, Uni-ball Signo DX 0.38 mm in blue.

Size comparison, uncapped and nibs out.

Hooray for this pen! The grip actually extends all the way to the metal, giving me the perfect grip. I usually prefer non retractable pens because for me, they are more comfortably weighted when the cap is on the back - a small amount of weight that obviously lacks in a retractable. But in this case, the grip overrides the weight when I have a lot of writing to do.

As for the nib and ink, because this pen is the same as the DX UM-151, only in the retractable form, I won’t blabber on about my impressions - they really didn’t change. The nib still feels solid, the ink is still a nice (dark) color.

From left to right: Uni-ball Signo RT 0.38 mm in blue black, Uni-ball Signo RT 0.38 mm in lavender purple-black, Zebra Sarasa Retractable 0.7 mm in indigo blue, Pentel Slicci 0.7 mm in red, Pilot Hi-Tec C 0.5 mm in cutie grape, Pilot Hi-Tec C 0.4 mm in hunter green, Pilot Hi-Tec C 0.3 mm in mauve.

From my review of the DX UM-151:

The Nib

Despite being a fairly thin tip at 0.38 mm, comparable to the 0.3mm Pilot Hi-Tec C, I didn’t have a problem with the writing. Ink flow was very smooth and, perhaps because I’m used to writing with fine nibs, I did not feel the nib was scratchy. I have a friend who tried it, and she commented it was a bit scratchy for her - but then she usually writes with 0.7 mm nibs and larger.

The nib is also well built. As usual, I performed my highly advanced scientific test of nib strength by violently tapping the nib on my notebook (in this case, I have stuck with my trusty Quo Vadis Habana). The nib held up well to my abuse and again, I suggest you don’t try my HASTONS (highly advanced scientific test of nib strength) at home. Unless you’re prepared to lose a pen or two. Even with heavy writing, the nib held up well. I did not have any problems with ink blobbing on the ends, which results in ink blobs - often a problem with cheaper pens. Personally, though I love the Pilot Hi-Tec C line, I think the 0.38 mm nib feels sturdier than Pilot’s 0.3 mm, or even the 0.4 mm nib.

The Ink

It’s hard to drool over thick, bold lines of ink when your nib is only 0.38 mm. But from the color of the ink through the barrel, it’s pretty nice. And the tiny little 0.38 mm lines left by the pen are pretty nice looking, too. The blue, blue-black, and bordeaux-black** that I tried out are all very nice but obviously are not brilliant, happy colors. They are quite professional looking though.

So far, the ink is lasting me quite awhile. The ink cartridge is quite wide and because the nib is so thin, it doesn’t use up ink very quickly. This is great for those of us who want a pen that lasts a long time. Not so great for those who have OCD and obsessively monitor their ink levels as they write with excitement so they can proudly use a pen from start to finish without their ADD taking over (not me).

**NOTE: in this review, I had the blue-black and the lavender purple-black.

Eco-Conscious?

Fortunately, these pens are refillable. However, like most refillable gel ink pens, the refills only come in select colors. Unless you’re really into black, blue, blue-black, and red, you’re out of luck. Hopefully Uni-ball will add some more colors to their available refills.

Price:

JetPens - $1.65
JetPens Refills - $1.35

Overall:

I really like the Uni-ball Signo DX line. It’s a great pen for anyone who is curious about the micro tip pen world but are hesitant to try a softer nib in fears of breaking it. The pen is really nice looking and the retractable with extended grip is even more comfortable than its non-retractable counterpart. Great for fine details in doodles and writing. I still can’t believe it’s only $1.65!

International Beer Day

HOORAY! Today is International Beer Day! Not that it matters to me because I don't drink beer but I know of a few people who are very passionate about beer. In honor of today, Tyco decided to dress up and celebrate! With root beer. And a remote control. Like a real man.

He needed his glasses to see the TV. But then fell asleep. He's super classy, isn't he?

Ragdoll Flop

A classic ragdoll pose...in the most convenient spot he could find, of course: the kitchen! As in, what other reason would we have to be in the kitchen besides to feed him??

Good point, Tyco. Obviously the only reason we go into the kitchen is to prepare food for you.