some good things

[kaberett]

1. We had a plumber ALL day today (this is an exaggeration: they showed up a little after 10 and left a little after 4) and consequently we have: Fancier Radiator Valves (of particular interest to A) and a shiny new kitchen tap. The shiny new tap has an EXTENDABLE HOSE to be an ELEPHANT with but the actual best thing about it is I can turn the hot water off one-handed. Old tap was at "need both hands, watch the sink unit flex", so this is extremely welcome.
2. Because Plumber, and in particular their obviously wildly unreasonable need to have Access to Radiators, we (I say "we", it was mostly Adam) Performed The Dread Ritual of dismantling the sofa, propping it up on its side, and vacuuming the hell out of it. Located in the process: a fountain pen that had been vaguely puzzling me, because I thought there ought to be one more in my pen case but couldn't think what it was; the metal thimble I knew I had dropped down the gap between units but had been unable to fish out using a Magnet Onna Stick; more Adventuresome Beans.
3. While coveting seeds last night, I discovered that (i) RealSeeds now lists Trinidad Perfume, a heatless Scotch Bonnet I've been wanting to grow for years but have never managed to get a plant to maturity, and (ii) it was marked as sold out. So I e-mailed them, asking if they were expecting a restock on a timescale such that it made sense for me to hold off on placing the rest of my order, and promptly received the cheerful and helpful answer that YES. (Significantly more expensive than the South Devon Chilli Farm, but they're also currently sold out and I'm particularly fond of RealSeeds.)
4. This evening we have mostly been putting the house back in order, eating Easy Dinner (chilli and cornbread made yesterday; Malvern pudding with apples stewed in 2021 and sat patiently in the pantry ever since, with cut-price supermarket custard), and Looking At Rocks. I finally got my rock collection down and talked A through it (or, well, at least the bits of the stories that I remember now), and it was lovely to handle all of them. (Also I did exercise and got endorphins and Felt Capable, and that too was lovely.)
5. Last week I promised myself A Whole Entire Panettone. I have not actually consumed The Whole Entire Panettone yet, but we do have one, and I have been working on it. And now, hopefully, we are going to have at least a few days with slightly fewer non-maintenance Things happening All The Time...

Comments

[gingicat]

May upward trends continue!

[ewt]

Thank you for the link to Malvern Pudding, I made some tonight and it was tasty.

[kaberett]

Hurrah!

[shannnon_foraker]

Speaking of fountain pens, I'm writing a one-shot (at least I think it'll turn out that way) fic set in WW2 that briefly features them. What type of pen & nib would a rich German army officer use? A rich aristocratic German lady? If both of them do art?

I know little on fountain pens (did a bit of google, then remembered that you know Deutsch and fountain pens).

(It only makes sense if you read this one fic (that I read fandom-blind), so not going to explain the whole thing unless you think that helps).

Thank you!

Edited Update:
Maybe a safety pen for both of them, or at least the officer?

[shannnon_foraker]

Update. Figured what I needed to out.

[kaberett]

I am very glad you are sorted! I was contemplating whether I had any sort of useful answer and had alas been on the point of coming to the conclusion that the answer was "sorry, no, I know very little about vintage pens and even less about German vintage pens" (beyond, I suppose, Montblanc and Lamy...)

[shannnon_foraker]

Okay, it was worth a try. Good to know. I thought you stood half a chance, but I'll try to remember not to ask you random pen questions in the future.

[kaberett]

Random questions absolutely fine, it's just I'm likely to be slow and the answer might be "no idea, sorry"!