Writing by hand

It took just over a year to fill the second composition book, and I like using them (and the cloth covers I designed). A few road trips filled most of the pages: Colorado 2014, Yakima Valley in June 2015, and Colorado 2015. I left it at home for Hawaii and Ireland, and took lighter weight notebooks. So, this year wasn't a great test of how long one of these notebooks will last... I always write more when we're on a road trip.

When I was a working writer, I spent most of my day designing, writing, and editing technical manuals and documents on the computer. I had a second laptop for e-mail and graphics work, and since I also used my journal for meeting notes and project status notes, it was always open so I  could keep notes and ideas updated throughout the day. When I wasn't at work, I used a Daytimer binder for my journal, using pages I designed myself. It went with me wherever I went, and I loved the dark green leather.

Since I retired, my writing habits have slowly changed back to handwritten notes, but I regretfully had to shelve that lovely green Daytimer binder. Once I retired, those custom pages weren't possible anymore.

A couple of years ago, I designed a cover that fits over a standard composition notebook. I liked it so much, I made a bunch more, and gave most of them away. The composition books are perfect for my "new" style: I can tuck one into whatever tote or day pack I choose to carry, and I love being able to pull it out and write whenever the mood strikes me.