(Alright fellow nature geeks, time to go birding or geocaching!)
My brown manila envelope arrived today, much to my delight. Instead of pulling out a laughably thin laptop (see story below)* I pulled out something much more low tech and satisfying. A clutch of notebooks that could weather this spring and summer with me and the kids. These darlings are called Field Notes and they come in a package of 3, with pen and pencil. I planned to have a nature journal, a homeschooling journal, a to do list and an ‘oh-let me just jot down your email so I can send you that youtube video later’ journal, but my family has already wrapped their grubby little fists around a few.
Let’s face it, in a day and age when one’s daughter is a newly minted vegetarian balking at moleskin, when the dollar is sort of stretched to full capacity already and one isn’t for sure (I’m not stupid, thats a Chicago phrase)that the internet will even be there tomorrow (banking, international mayhem and inflation could twist up those tubes too much?) how great is it to have the old fall back of paper, glorious paper, blank and ready for your own private blog posts-entries? Well, to me it is bliss really. Especially because no moles were harmed with the making of these,they are fairly priced and made in the country of my origin employing good people and they have a sort of online connection. Besides the fact that Field Notes have their own blog and myspace page, the makers suggest (in very timid print) that you send them a picture and description of your use of the field notes booklets and then they will immortalize you on the internet somehow with that information. No promises of course. But if you have ever visited Coudal Partners, you know it wouldn’t exactly be tricky for their creative staff to whip you up as a project. Oh, I’ll have some entries soon boys, just wait.
*So, I was riding to “Homeschool Parent Night” a few weeks ago with my friend Lojo. I rarely can attend but when the topic is slated to be the tween years you know I had to clear my schedule. We picked up a friend along the route who had a surprise friend with her. It was during the cold snap (okay, the cold AGE) and this guy had been waiting for a cab for quite awhile so she offered us as a lift option. He informed us that he couldn’t take the el because he had his laptop on him.We told him where we were going, within two blocks of his destination, and he said “Okay, cool, I can get a cab from there.” Now, we urban fold don’t shrink from a two block walk, no matter how subzero it is out there. And we were running late for our tween meeting, so we thought we’d just explain how close it was to him. “Oh, yeah, I know.” he said patiently, “Its just that I have this laptop.” “Is it very heavy?” I asked innocently, trying not to smirk out of the side of my mouth. Or filled with state secrets perhaps? “No….it fits in a manila envelope it is so light and thin. But it costs $X” Oh. Yes. I see. “But its only two blocks and we’re late for our meeting and you’ll be okay.” “Yeah, sure, I’ll get a cab.” His need to wait for a cab for 25 minutes in subzero weather rather than hoofing it two blocks in order to protect his laptop was something none of us could wrap our heads around. We waved him off, confused, trying not to imagine someone ripping his wafer thin laptop away from him. That, my friends, is why I’m so glad I have Field Notes, because I’d never haul George Elliot two blocks on my back full of fear. I’d be too exhausted from a battery the size of an iguana digging in to my spine.
Side note; what I learned at the meeting, all tweens/teens roll their eyes at you, no matter how long they breastfed as children.
Another side note; there is a Field Notes deal that ends on the vernal equinox (ahem, the 20th) so use this code for the sale price ,ONEGRATIS, and you get three packs for the price of three.
12 responses so far ↓
1 JoVE // Mar 19, 2008 at 8:49 am
What is with that guy? I would have taken it on the El, too. Believe it or not fear of crime has risen as actual incidence of crime has gone DOWN. nuts.
and I love the conclusion on the tweens. LOL. I think it might be like thinking that if you were a better parent your toddlers wouldn’t have tantrums.
2 Todd // Mar 19, 2008 at 11:02 am
There are stupider ways you can behave because you have a macbook: http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/17/charlie-rose-face-plants-to-save-his-macbook-air/
Meanwhile, it wasn’t clear (forgive me for missing it) but you guys do know moleskine books are made of oilcloth covered cardboard, not actual skin, right?
And our cold snap here in Quebec still goes on. Another 30-50 cm coming.
3 Maria R // Mar 19, 2008 at 12:06 pm
So no moles were harmed in the making of Moleskin?? That’s nice to know…But there is a certain “something” (that’s english for je nes se quoi) about these field notes. A certain “not everyone else is doing it and so what if Hemingway didn’t use them and they are very utilitarian” kinda of thing.
Thanks for the website links.
I have a tween.
I’m crazy. BUt she’s crazier.
4 kim // Mar 19, 2008 at 12:07 pm
Yeah, I heard that factoid about moleskin from bryan at Coudal today. But I so wanted to picture me saving the naked molerats that I blanked it out….dangit.
5 Andrea // Mar 19, 2008 at 1:44 pm
I use a 5-subject coil notebook. Cheap, but it gets the job done and there’s only one book to misplace.
The vegetarian moleskin issues is just crazy enough to make sense to tweens - even if they know it’s not really mole skin. (Besides, moles are furrier.)
And I have three teenagers with TWO GIRLS only TWO YEARS apart. I think that says a lot about the state of my mental health.
6 Summer // Mar 19, 2008 at 4:16 pm
Well sure tweens, but what does it mean when my 4 year old rolls his eyes at me?
I’ve been wanting a good notebook for this spring and summer, something for an almost nature journal. I’ll have to check out the field notes, though writing kills my hands in ways typing never does.
7 Lori // Mar 19, 2008 at 9:32 pm
ha ha! that guy was goofy. for anyone who might not believe this, Kim and I both had to positively ZIP our lips to keep from making what surely would have been a series of hilarious, belittling comments to laptop man. Lucky for him, we had friend HeighHo in the back seat giving us the ESP not to say a word.
here’s my two word summary: up tight.
8 Insert corny “Link” pun here // Mar 20, 2008 at 9:52 am
[...] Relaxed Homeskool wrote up a lovely review, though we should point out that we’re fairly certain our erstwhile competitors do not actually slaughter moles to produce their notebooks. Naz linked us up, which isn’t surprising because his wife is at this very moment putting labels on outbound packages of Field Notes. Retrophisch also said “hi,” and the mighty Notebookism gave us a second shout-out. [...]
9 SabrinaT // Mar 23, 2008 at 6:42 am
I love the idea of the field notes. They cost 10 bucks to buy, but I would have to pay 20 for shipping. And it seems they don’t ship FPO.
10 Mom Is Teaching » Blog Archive » Notebook It // Mar 25, 2008 at 9:37 pm
[...] for today’s Works For Me Wednesday I’m pointing you over to Kim at Relaxed Homeskool who wrote about some great little notebooks she just got called Field Notes. These beautifully [...]
11 Jeff // Apr 1, 2008 at 8:52 am
What better way to spend the ‘already stretched thin’ dollar than on $10 ‘designer’ notepads.
Pretty funny.
12 Kimzyn // Apr 1, 2008 at 1:51 pm
We all have our indulgences. For some it is travel, for others its clothes, coffee on the run, designer haircuts or eating out. For me it is notebooks and pens. I don’t have a huge annual budget to spend on them and I’m certainly not deforesting anything with my consumption of paper. But to my mind, $10 for 3 notebooks, a pen and a pencil is not too bad of a deal, clocking in at 2 dollars per item. Designers can’t help themselves either, they just have to design!
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