New study and writing desk setup

We moved five months ago, and it has taken me this long (remember how grad school ate my life?) to get my writing desk and workspace set up in my new study. Oberon and Stella were gracious enough (or curious enough) to help me with this little photo shoot, and above you can see Oberon sniffing around near that one empty shelf cubby on my paper and stationery shelves. (How long will it stay empty? Hmmm...)



Here's a closer look at the writing desk itself. Yes, that is a towering stack of boxed postcards on the desk, and on the bulletin board above the desk, some of my favorite received mail and mail art.

For the first time in many years, I have a room of my own, and I won't go so far as to say I've finished the entire study -- sections of the room are carefully omitted from these photos, because they're still a mess -- but I'm thrilled to have my letter-writing materials all set up and organized.

In the future, maybe I'll need to do a blog post about how intensely I've organized my stamps and stickers now, in a way they've never been organized before; this deep organization project is something I've long been itching to do. It's really exciting and it took me many hours to achieve, with stamps and stickers spread out all over the floor, but I finally know exactly where to find everything. Not only is it efficient, but after years of having things all jumbled together, it's also very satisfying.



I'm thrilled to have natural light nearby. My writing desk in DC was shoved into a dark corner, and not an entirely lovely place to write... but it wasn't an entirely lovely apartment, either. Here, I have my own room, and nice big window right next to the desk. And that's Stella on the floor, walking towards me as I take the photo.

Best of all, this setup makes me really want to write letters! Today is my last day of winter break (back to school tomorrow), so I'd better carpe diem while I still have the time.

Writing desk candid + washi tape storage

Well, I haven't done such a good job of blogging again this month, have I? The good news is that I've been spending a ton of time writing postcards and longer letters, which has been a pleasure. I took a photo in the middle of writing one of those longer letters recently, just to share the mood of my writing desk. I didn't really tidy it for this, so you can see the current semi-mess in action, complete with messy piles.

I didn't set out to talk about this, but as I look at the photo, I'd like to mention my new storage system for washi tape. I mention this in part because I've been really, really into washi tape especially lately, and my collection has grown... thereby increasing my need for a decent storage system. I like to use the tape outside of a dispenser and place it by hand, and I also need to be able to see all my tapes at once. You can see some of them hanging from my bulletin board on a system I've rigged with hanging them on a ribbon between two pushpins; this is nice for visibility, but a bit of a pain for retrieving the tape unless they're the ones on the end. So, the ones I use less frequently gravitate to the middle.

The new system about which I'm most excited is a little less apparent here, but you can see it under and to the left of the hanging tape rolls, next to the mug of fountain pens. They are Mark's Round Pen Cases which I got from the beloved JetPens. Yes, they are technically pen cases, but when I saw these recently added to the JetPens website, the description mentioned storage for decorative tapes, and I thought.... hmmmm.... First I bought the black case, and then I loved it so much I bought another one in white. The round shape perfectly holds the washi tape, and the clear window lets you see what's inside, and it's easy to retrieve the tapes in the middle. Now my favorite, most-used tapes live in the Mark's Round Pen Cases for fast and easy access. As you can see in the photo, they stand up nicely on their own (though they could be hung quite easily using the zipper ring), and if I need to expand, I'll get them in different colors to differentiate. They also feel very sturdy, and would stand up well to travel, I think.

You can see some of my washi tape use on the letter on the desk. I have more ideas for blog posts than I'm sure I will ever execute, but this makes me think I should review some of the utterly adorable tapes I've found recently; the designs available have exploded exponentially in the past few years, and it's pretty amazing what you can find on a tape now.

If you have any nice writing desk photos, or washi tape storage ideas, or any other thoughts, please share in the comments!

A candid glimpse of my writing desk in action

Last night I wrote a long-overdue response to a letter from blog reader The Real Miss Monogram. She asked me a lot of questions about my letter-writing and mail habits, and one of the last questions was about my writing desk. She thought the photos I posted of it looked "too nice," and wanted to know if it really looked like that.

I think what she was getting at was that it looked neat and organized. HA! Looks can be deceiving... but it is fairly organized. As I wrote to her in my letter, I need to have a clean writing surface beckoning to me in order to be encouraged and inspired to sit there and write. But I did admit that I usually take photos of it right after I've tidied it up - and the tidying process is a constant one, given my shifting supplies and moods. In any case, I told her I'd take a photo RIGHT THEN in the middle of the letter to show what a "candid," or at least unplanned, untidied glimpse of my writing desk would reveal.

This is it, Soda and all.

And now it's time to go back to that writing desk and get some mail going!

Soda, feline letter-writing taskmaster

Soda has been very helpful in my return to increased letter-writing this month.



Longtime blog readers know she loves to sit on my writing desk and "help" with mail.



Usually she gets up when I do - letter finished, time to drop it in the outgoing mail slot, etc - but lately she's been staying on the desk and giving me this look: "Are you really finished?" Nope. "Then get back here and write some more."

Okay.

Letter-writing ritual: incense

I know a lot of us have letter-writing rituals: one of mine is incense. I might write a quick postcard without lighting a candle and incense, but a letter always gets my favorite olfactory/atmospheric assistance. When I settle in to a long evening of letter writing (evening is my favorite time to write letters), I'll go through many different sticks, cones, logs, bricks, or what have you. Generally I light the candle first, and then light subsequent "flavors" of incense from the candle throughout the day or evening.



Here are some of my very favorite kinds of incense. I guess this selection illustrates how much I favor spicy, woody scents; the floral, fruity, sweet ones are not for me. Clockwise from top left, my favorites are Piñon by Incense of the West, Paine's Red Cedar, Morning Star Cedarwood, Shokeido Magnificents Jewel Series: Sapphire/Devotion, and Nippon Kodo Kayuragi Aloeswood. The latter is the one that may be my very favorite, but it is a night-time scent... I will only light in in deep evening or dark, and often accompanies my last letter(s) of the night.



This is Paine's red cedar, which I've got burning right now.
I've explained to a lot of folks who ask if I write in cafes and the like: nope. I'm a homebody. I almost always write at home. Having my arsenal of pens, papers, and favorite incense at my disposal is all part of the full experience.

Do you burn candles or incense when you write letters? Do you have any favored rituals?

I has a writing desk!

We letter-writers often ask, talk, and blog about our letter-writing spaces. I love seeing posts on others' blogs about their writing desks, or where they typically write (check out this awesome post about writers' rooms from The Guardian - thanks for the tip, Queenie!) and in my prior apartment, I pretty much wrote at the dining room table. It was sunny and big, and a very cheery space, but of course I had to clear off for meals and games and such, and remove all my piles altogether when guests came. So I didn't feature it on blog posts, and was envious of other folks who had their own spaces just for letter-writing.

But in our new house, I have my own dedicated writing desk! I am so excited. Of course it is just for letters, but my cutting mat and pens can stay there, though I am pretty dedicated to keeping it as uncluttered as possible. (We'll see how that goes.)



The random white lattice is part of the room, and we can't move or remove it. I can't decide whether I'll stick things in the lattice, or not... right now, I'm leaning towards not, because I can see through it to the set of half-stairs behind it, and occasionally a cat will come and meow at me through there, which I find utterly charming.



And here's the context, to show my little writing nook in our larger sunroom. The on the far right are sliding-glass doors that look out to the back yard, and they face west, so it does get quite sunny in the afternoons.

It is a new space that inspires me to write letters, and I have all the tools at hand to do so (drawers undereath! I have drawers! I've just begun organizing stamps in there...) close at hand.

I think it's time to go write a letter...

A visiting bat - a real one!

This morning I found a surprise in our spare bedroom - an actual, real live bat hanging in the corner of a window-frame. I had to do a double-take at this, because I actually have a lot of fake bats hanging around the house. (Really, I do. Y'all know how fond I am of bats.) When it flicked its ear at me, I knew it was not a practical joke from my beloved husband, who occasionally moves my bats around.

I felt really sorry for the bat (and still do - he or she is still up there), and immediately removed the sleeping cat from the room and shut the doors. We opened the window and the screen to let it get out, but it's still hanging out there. It was full daylight when I discovered it, and bats do not like to fly during the day, so said beloved and I agreed to keep the doors closed and window open all day, turn on the light at night and hope the bat leaves of its own accord.



I KNOW this doesn't have anything to do with letter-writing, but you loyal readers know how much I love bats, and often post photos of drawings of them and various bat stationery, so I just had to share this odd story. I have friends who complain all the time about having bats in their apartment (and they usually freak out and swat at them with brooms or -- *shudder* -- tennis rackets), and it's never happened to me, until today. Best guess is that it came through the fireplace in the room next door, and somehow flapped around into that spare bedroom and couldn't figure out how to get out. We haven't disturbed it so don't know if it's wounded, but it doesn't appear to be. Biggest fear is that it was bothered by our cats. Of course we worry about rabies, but it doesn't appear to be rabid and is so far exhibiting completely normal bat behavior - i.e. sleeping and remaining still during the day. I am rather excited to see what happens at dusk, though - I would really love to watch it fly out the window.



Of course I took a million photos - most without flash because I didn't want to bother it.

Here is the whole set of photos if you want to have a look.

And read all kinds of cool bat facts at Bat Conservation International (BCI). Lucky little bat, to have stumbled into the home of a passionate BCI member. :-)