A pen friend — who shall remain anonymous — joked with me this week about my penchant for grey over true black inks. “Isn’t grey just wannabe black?” Pshaw.

Woe is me. Fie and bah and humbug. The pastel light of my pen case has dimmed. The nib collar of my pastel green Delike New Moon cracked.

The pen, all-told, survived three inkings. The New Moon was a fun writing option while it lasted.

This year’s DC Pen Show was an absolute blast. I spent most of the week enjoying my purchases from the show.

New pens and ink eased getting back into reading and prepping orientations for the coming school year. I was quite productive this week, all told.

I own one iron gall ink: Kala Nostalgia Spring Rain. I bought it for the paperwork at my wedding. Spring Rain’s iron gall qualities make it waterproof. Permanence felt appropriate and meaningful. Inked and cleaned within 24 hours. The iron gall terrors, indeed.