"Essie loves new stationery. She loves the omnipotentiality of a blank page......She wonders if she can trust herself to write on paper so beautiful......She hovers the nib over the page, not wanting to touch it to the paper just yet, because as soon as she does, the possibility of perfection will be lost. She will have begun, and then she will no longer be right at the beginning." (from The Alphabet of Light and Dark by Danielle Wood, p.87-88)
I love getting new journals. I just finished my last one and instead of buying my usual cheap plain black journal to replace it, I decided to get a red Moleskine instead. Unless you start doing things differently, you're in for more of the same (one of many motivational things I wrote down in my first Weight Watchers tracker all those years ago).
I decorated the front with a few of my photographer friend's business cards as I wanted to make it pretty, but I haven't written in it yet. I'm still relishing the new smell. Like Essie, I prolong it as long as possible because as soon as I begin, make the first mark of ink, it is no longer new. (by the way, The Alphabet of Light and Dark is one of my favourite books, by a wonderful Tasmanian writer, I do recommend it!)
I did not intend this post to be about Vegemite as well, so I shall refrain (I've loved your comments on the last post by the way!) from talking about having what feels like summer flu and the only thing I want to eat is the stuff in a jar from my homeland that looks like axle grease but soothes like a mother's hand on a feverish brow.
I'll just go and stroke those fresh new pages for a while and see if the words come.
Do you like new journals? Are you a stationery fan? I'm also a pen person :)