On This Day

[callmemadam]

This is a copycat post inspired by ramblingfancy. Her most recent post is about the joy of notebooks, a pleasure I share. I love them; pretty covers, strokeable covers, all those lovely blank pages. I’m also nostalgic for those shiny red notebooks you used to get in Woolworths, with tables of weights and measures printed on the back cover. In a box near my desk I found the notebook shown above. It was a present and I used it for my garden journal for 1987 to 1990. Yes, in those pre-blog days, I actually wrote a proper garden diary.



I will tell you what; my handwriting is much worse now because I do so much less of it. I see that at the start of the year I was remarking on the mildness of the weather and marvelling at the tender plants which were surviving. Then came frost, snow and ‘what they say is the coldest spell this century’ (sound familiar?) and a few treasures died. It makes me feel tired now to see the time I used to spend on the garden, even in winter. It’s a lovely afternoon here today but so cold I couldn’t possibly do any gardening. I’m glad I’ve kept this diary, even if reading it brings some pain as well as pleasure. Hurrah for notebooks.

Comments

[ooxc.livejournal.com]

That is beautiful writng

[callmemadam.livejournal.com]

I'm amazed you think so!

[lsugaralmond.livejournal.com]

What a lovely thing to have. And I very much admire your handwriting.

[callmemadam.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I think my writing's awful!

[(Anonymous)]

I remember those red, shiny notebooks ... seem to recall Silvine on the front cover? And a slightly raised texture that you could scratch? I can almost smell them!
I start a new notebook every time I resolve to get on top of things. Of course, I never do get on top of things because I still have to rummage through the old notebooks to find anything. So I start another new notebook and so it goes on. Perhaps the only cure is to be radical and throw out all of the notebooks.
Because the important stuff is written on the back of an envelope. Isn't it?

[callmemadam.livejournal.com]

Silvine is still going as a brand; I have a small Silvine cash book right in front of me now. They don't have that texture you mention, which I remember, too.
Your resolutions are admirable.

[ramblingfancy.livejournal.com]

Oh I love this Barbara! You have lovely writing (so even and balanced and tidy!), and what a treasure of a notebook to have kept. I know exactly what you mean about the old Woolworths style notebooks. I remember reading once that Miss Read wrote all her books down by longhand in exactly that sort.

[callmemadam.livejournal.com]

I suppose I think my writing's bad because cybersofa's was so perfect. I can believe that about Miss Read. Those books were just asking to be filled with scribble.

[dorianegray.livejournal.com]

I agree with everyone else that you have very pretty handwriting. Very legible, too. And I do envy your ability to write in straight lines; mine always straggle up and down and all over.

[callmemadam.livejournal.com]

I'll have to bow to popular opinion.

[lethe1]

I love notebooks too, but have difficulty using them, because part of me wants to keep them pristine.

You have lovely handwriting, it reminds me of The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady. Except for the illustrations, of course. :-)

My handwriting has deteriorated terribly since the advent of the keyboard.

[callmemadam.livejournal.com]

I have that problem, too!

[lizarfau.livejournal.com]

I adore notebooks, but am not very good at filling them. I start off with enthusiasm, then tend to abandon the content - a bit like my blogging, I guess! But I love all those blank pages and the beautiful hard covers. There are some gorgeous ones around at the moment - they seem to be having something of a resurgence.

And yes, your writing is clear and attractive. Or was. I doubt you write so well now - I certainly don't, because I hardly ever hand write any more, sadly.

[callmemadam.livejournal.com]

I have half filled notebooks. I've been much better at keeping reading records since I started doing it on a computer.