Caveat: this year’s Inkvent appears to have elusive ink colours. I suggest reading my description of the inks and not going by the photos alone, and comparing my results with those of other reviewers.
The Diamine Inkvent calendar is an advent calendar with 24 tiny (12ml) bottles of fountain pen ink behind 24 doors, and a larger, 30ml, bottle of ink behind the 25th door. All the inks are limited edition, and, at the moment, only available through this calendar.
Day 22’s door.
Day 22’s ink is Diamine Black Ivy, and it’s another surprising choice for this calendar. It’s a dark green/green black ink with a red sheen. Practically synonymous with Christmas, right? 😉
Diamine Black Ivy.
There’s plenty of red sheen going on with this ink, as advertised:
I used a Sailor Pro Gear Slim with a zoom nib to test out Diamine Black Ivy:
Sailor Pro Gear Slim and Col-o-Ring swab.
I drew some ivy with Diamine Black Ivy to test it out on Tomoe River paper. It’s so saturated and full of sheen there’s hardly any colour variation, even on Tomoe River paper:
I was really surprised to find Diamine Black Ivy included in this year’s Inkvent. It’s not a very holiday themed ink, but it is a pretty interesting one. It’s dark enough to be used as a “serious” ink, but it’s also unusual in colour and has a lot of character because of its sheen. I’m not sure if I want a full bottle of this, but it’s definitely an ink that I will consider buying later on.
Caveat: this year’s Inkvent appears to have elusive ink colours. I suggest reading my description of the inks and not going by the photos alone, and comparing my results with those of other reviewers.
The Diamine Inkvent calendar is an advent calendar with 24 tiny (12ml) bottles of fountain pen ink behind 24 doors, and a larger, 30ml, bottle of ink behind the 25th door. All the inks are limited edition, and, at the moment, only available through this calendar.
Day 21’s door.
Day 21’s ink is Diamine Brandy Snap, and it’s a rich caramel brown with plenty of shading.
Diamine Brandy Snap.
A standard ink, but with a lot of shading:
A standard ink.
Here’s a Col-o-Ring swab of Diamine Brandy Snap. You can see the shading here.
Col-o-Ring swab.
I used a Platinum 3776 with a music nib to test out Diamine Brandy Snap, and the nib really allows the ink’s shading to show:
Platinum 3776 and Col-o-Ring swab.
I wasn’t up to drawing today, so an uninspired bottle of brandy and pile of brandy snaps is all I could bring myself to draw. You can see the shading in the text below:
I really like the shading in Diamine Brandy Snap, and its warm, relatively bright colour. Even if you’re not a fan of brown inks, I think that you might like Diamine Brandy Snap, and fans of shading ink will love it.
I’m having my (hopefully) last round of Chemo today and I’d thought I’d document the procedure as I go through it.
4:45 – Woke up and started taking care of my cats, making breakfast, getting ready to leave for the hospital. I need to drink at least two glasses of water before I go, one of then with Normalax. The water is because I have to have a blood test before the Chemo starts. The Normalax is to prevent one of the less pleasant side effects of my Chemo: constipation. As in all the rest of the adverse effects, prevention is easier than treatment.
6:00 – I leave my house and set out for the hospital. My dad is giving me a ride as there’s little chance that I’ll be able to catch a cab in this weather. I’m wearing athleisure clothes (sweatpants, t-shirt, hoodie and a coat because it’s raining). I never wear jeans to your Chemo, because logistically they’re harder to manage one handed, and depending on where you have your IV inserted, you may have to manage your pants one handed. It’s the little things.
6:30 – I’m at the hospital. At 6:45 the line opens up for the secretaries of the Hemato-Oncology outpatient treatments. The secretaries themselves start working at 7:30, even though the nursing staff is here largely by 7:00. The Oncology secretaries start working at 7:00, and I have no idea why. The Oncology outpatient treatment area is across the hall from the Hemato-Oncology one. Usually when I get here at 6:30 there’s 3-4 older gentlemen already waiting to get a number in line for the secretaries. I have no idea when they arrive (I joke that they must have spent the night here to be first), but they’re almost always here, and once they get their number they start a parliament of news analysis and general gossip. Why arrive so early when at the earliest you can start pre-treatment procedures at 7:30? Because this department has outgrown this building a while ago and the new building expansion won’t be ready for 2-3 years yet. That means that there’s a dearth of seating areas for treatment, and and even bigger shortage of good seating areas. When you spend 4-5 hours at least sitting getting treatment getting a good place is a thing. There are two rounds of treatment – the morning one and the noon one. I’m always here in the morning, and if I don’t get here by 6:45 at the latest, I’ll be 10-11th in line and with little chance for a decent spot. You snooze, you lose. Although this time, maybe because of the weather, I’m the first one here.
6:50 – I’m the first in line! The parliament of elderly gentlemen arrived, but arrived later than usual. A lot of sour faces that I beat them to the punch. 😂 As usual, I’m the youngest person around by a pretty large margin. I only once saw a person my age getting treatment while I was here.
7:47 – got my IV in (from a fantastic nurse), blood test done, got a great seating place (private and near a window), and I’m now waiting for my blood test results and to see my fantastic doctor.
8:10 – The usual technician that analyses blood tests isn’t here, so my blood work is delayed. It’s going to take a while.
8:20 – My blood test results are back and they’re good enough for me to get treatment. Yay! Going into the doctor’s office. My brother is saving my seat downstairs, and will be my escort for today. There’s a 30 minute interval where I’m not allowed to move, and during that time I need someone at my side to help me out and call the nurses if they’re busy and don’t hear the call bell to change IV bags. Also, I need help in general once I’ve started the treatment, and it’s nice having someone around to talk to.
There’s a festive feeling now that it’s the final treatment.
8:30 – done at the doctor’s office, and brought my prescription to the nurses. Took my Akynzeo pill, which is a strong anti-emetic with an effect that lasts for 5 days.
8:40 – first IV bag starts – 10mg of Dexamethasone (steroids). It used to be 20mg but I asked for it to be lowered during the last three treatments. It’s still a lot of steroids. They serve as an anti-emetic and to help me survive the treatment.
9:05 – first IV bag finished. Spent the time talking with my funny and entertaining brother.
9:10 – it’s not a busy day here, so the pharmacy fulfilled my prescription quickly. They prepare the IV bags for me specifically, on the spot. I get a paracetamol pill (only one, because it’s part of the protocol, nobody is sure why), and two nurses cross check my personal details against what’s printed on the IV bags and is the computer. I get connected to my first chemo IV bag, Adriamicin. It’s a red fluid that can burn my veins if the IV isn’t in properly, so my nurse checks the IV. This and the next bag are given without the use of a machine, just gravity and my veins. I’m not allowed to move while it’s being given.
9:20 – second IV bag, also outside of the machine and of potentially burning chemicals. It’s Vinblastine, which is what causes the neuropathy side effect. I’m also not allowed to move during this. My favourite nurse came to say hi, and congrats for getting to the end of my treatments.
9:30 – Scary IV bags are done. I get a vein wash and am connected to Bleomicin, my third IV bag, this time through a machine. In 10 minutes I can move and go to the bathroom.
9:50- had my first bathroom break. It’s always a bit of sensation because the pee comes out red because of the first chemo bag. I didn’t know that the first time so it kinda freaked me out. I will be getting two litres of water as part of my chemo (the chemicals are diluted in water), and I’ll be drinking at least another 0.5 litre this morning as one of the chemicals really dries my mouth out. That’s on top of the two cups of water and one cup of coffee that I had this morning. So lots of bathroom breaks in my future, though I won’t be documenting them.
Not a great view outside but at least it’s a view.
10:05 – third bag done. Now waiting for the nurse to change my IV bag. The last chemo IV burns when you get it, so they administer it slowly, and I might need a hot compress on my arm if the vein is narrow.
10:10 – connected to what is hopefully my final chemo bag. Decarbazine.
10:18 – the IV hurts so I get a hot compress (a water IV bag heated in the microwave and placed in a pillowcase) to press to my arm and expand the vein. The alternative is to lower the IV rate, but as it is this bag will take 1.5 hours.
Me and my hot compress.
11:00 – still on my last chemo IV bag. There will be a water IV to rinse out my veins in the end. Got my compress reheated, and I’m reading “Harlem Shuffle” on my Kindle. I’m still using only one hand, so the Kindle is the best for reading under the circumstances.
11:30 – finished the fourth and final bag of chemo. Waiting for an IV flush.
11:45 – I’m done. One of the fastest treatments yet. 🎉🎉🎉
Caveat: this year’s Inkvent appears to have elusive ink colours. I suggest reading my description of the inks and not going by the photos alone, and comparing my results with those of other reviewers.
The Diamine Inkvent calendar is an advent calendar with 24 tiny (12ml) bottles of fountain pen ink behind 24 doors, and a larger, 30ml, bottle of ink behind the 25th door. All the inks are limited edition, and, at the moment, only available through this calendar.
Day 20’s door.
Day 20’s ink is Diamine Pink Ice, and it’s a bright pink ink with pink sparkles – as Elle Woods as an ink can get.
Diamine Pink Ice.
A shimmer ink, with a lot of pink glitter and very little shading:
A fabulous shimmer ink.
Here’s a Col-o-Ring swab of Diamine Pink Ice. You can see just how much shimmer is going on:
Col-o-Ring swab.
I used a Lamy Studio Terracotta with a fine nib to test out Diamine Pink Ice. Even with a fine nib you can see the shimmer:
Lamy Studio and Col-o-Ring swab.
I decided to draw a quick icy landscape to test Diamine Pink Ice on Tomoe River paper. There’s very little shading with this ink, and a lot of glitter. A significant amount of glorious pink glitter:
Would I buy a bottle of Diamine Pink Ice? No, it’s a bit much for me. It is, however, a bright and cheerful ink with a lot of glitter and a lot of potential to make you smile as you’re using it. I’m glad that it was included in a calendar that has had a bit of a tendency towards the dark and muted side of colour.
Caveat: this year’s Inkvent appears to have elusive ink colours. I suggest reading my description of the inks and not going by the photos alone, and comparing my results with those of other reviewers.
The Diamine Inkvent calendar is an advent calendar with 24 tiny (12ml) bottles of fountain pen ink behind 24 doors, and a larger, 30ml, bottle of ink behind the 25th door. All the inks are limited edition, and, at the moment, only available through this calendar.
Day 19’s door.
Day 19’s ink is Diamine Festive Joy, a saturated purple ink with a hint of sheen and some shading.
Diamine Festive Joy.
It’s a standard ink but there is a bit of a sheen to it, likely because the ink is so saturated.
A standard ink.
Here’s a Col-o-Ring swab of Diamine Festive Joy. You can see a hint of the sheen and some of the shading possible with this ink:
Col-o-Ring Swab.
I used a Sailor Pro Gear with a Naginata Togi Cross Emperor nib to test out Diamine Festive Joy. It’s an expressive nib that lays down a lot of ink.
Sailor Pro Gear and Diamine Festive Joy Col-o-Ring swab.
I drew a Christmas tree with ornaments and a few presents to test out this ink on Tomoe River paper:
Diamine Festive Joy is a joyful ink in a lovely, rich shade of purple. If you’re in the market for a standard purple ink, Diamine Festive Joy would be a good choice (once it’s available in a full bottle, like the Blue Edition bottles of the Inkvent 2019 inks). In any case, it’s nice to have a bright pop of colour in an Inkvent calendar that has so far leaned heavily on dark or muted inks.
This week started with a well deserved three day vacation in Haifa and Nazareth. We were practically the only people at the hotel in Haifa, and in the Hula natural reserve, and we took a private tour in Nazareth, well before the holiday rush. Everyone was triple vaccinated, almost everything was outside, and we all got a bit of a break from a very tough year.
Water buffaloes in the Hula reserve.Nazareth Christmas tree.Haifa at night.Ramat Hanadiv garden.
Health
The week started on the rough side. I couldn’t taste anything on Sunday and Monday (due to chemo, not Covid) and my taste only started to gradually return on Tuesday (sweet coming back first, then salty and the rest) and it still hasn’t returned to anything like normal. It’s like someone turned my tastebuds way down. An interesting experience. Neuropathy was also very bad at the beginning of the week, but started improving at around Wednesday. Next week is my 12th and (hopefully) final treatment, and then my body gets a bit of a rest. It’s carried me very well these past six months through all the treatments, and I’m grateful for it (yes, even though it has cancer).
Reading
I’ve finished reading “Everyone Has a Podcast (Except You)” by the McElroy brothers. I was planning on starting a podcast before I got cancer. I’m not sure whether I’ll move forward with my podcast idea now or not. I’ve started reading Colson Whitehead’s “Harlem Shuffle” and it is riveting. He’s such a fantastic writer, bringing people, places and past times to life with elegance and style.
I’ve taken a look at the 2022 Tournament of Books shortlist and unlike last year’s list which wasn’t appealing to me, this year I plan on reading the books on the list in my own version of the Tournament of Books. That’s 18 books, of which I have already read the fantastic “Klara and the Sun” by Kazuo Ishiguro.
Writing
Creating an Inkvent post a day has been really time consuming, and I’ve gotten a sizeable amount of writing homework from my therapist. I’m also running a backlog on my journalling because of a combination of vacation plus neuropathy. We’ll see how next week goes.
Currently Inked
Too many pens, because of Inkvent. Also, a few machined pens have arrived and are waiting patiently for me to try them out. Thankfully I have a lot of writing to do, so hopefully that will help me bring things under control.
Other Things
The rest of my advent calendars are now on hold because a daily post for the Diamine Inkvent one is such a lot of work. My usual resolutions/yearly goals plan is officially off as I’m working with my therapist on planning ahead when you have cancer (doable, but tricky). Once I’m done with that I’ll have a dedicated post about it, because I have the feeling that it could help other people in these uncertain times.
Caveat: this year’s Inkvent appears to have elusive ink colours. I suggest reading my description of the inks and not going by the photos alone, and comparing my results with those of other reviewers.
The Diamine Inkvent calendar is an advent calendar with 24 tiny (12ml) bottles of fountain pen ink behind 24 doors, and a larger, 30ml, bottle of ink behind the 25th door. All the inks are limited edition, and, at the moment, only available through this calendar.
Day 18’s door.
Day 18’s ink is Diamine Subzero, a light blue ink with lots of light blue shimmer. It’s bright and festive and VERY shimmery.
Diamine Subzero.
No false advertising here:
A shimmer ink.
Here’s a Col-o-Ring swab of Diamine Subzero. There’s a bit of shading going on, and a lot shimmer.
Col-o-Ring swab.
I used a Charged Green Lamy AL Star with an extra fine nib to test out Diamine Subzero. I would have used a wider nib to show off the ink’s properties, but I didn’t have one at hand that I felt that I could clean out well enough once I was done with this ink. In the end it didn’t matter much, as there’s so much shimmer going on with this ink you can see it even with a fine nib.
If you’re looking for a festive ink that will cheer you up, Diamine Subzero would make a good choice. I’m pretty sure that I’m not going to purchase a full bottle of this ink once it comes out, but I did have fun using it. Whether I’ll have fun cleaning it out of my pen remains to be seen, as it’s such a heavily shimmering ink. Also, another blue ink for a blue dominant Inkvent calendar so far.
Caveat: this year’s Inkvent appears to have elusive ink colours. I suggest reading my description of the inks and not going by the photos alone, and comparing my results with those of other reviewers.
The Diamine Inkvent calendar is an advent calendar with 24 tiny (12ml) bottles of fountain pen ink behind 24 doors, and a larger, 30ml, bottle of ink behind the 25th door. All the inks are limited edition, and, at the moment, only available through this calendar.
Day 17’s door.
Day 17’s ink is Diamine Thunderbolt. It’s a periwinkle blue ink that is very bright, saturated and beautiful.
Diamine Thunderbolt.
It’s a standard ink with a relatively small amount of shading because it is so saturated.
A standard ink.
Here’s a Col-o-Ring swab of Diamine Thunderbolt. Yes, it’s that bright in real life.
Col-o-Ring swab.
I used a Sailor 1911 with a Naginata Togi medium nib to test out Diamine Thunderbolt.
Sailor 1911 and Diamine Thunderbolt Col-o-Ring swab.
I decided to do a quick sketch of Disneyland Paris’s Big Thunder Mountain rollercoaster, just for fun.
Another blue ink for a very blue skewed Inkvent. I love the colour so much that I will consider buying a bottle of this once Diamine start selling them. As it is, it was fun writing with this ink, and getting to play with such a fantastic nib again. Is it a festive ink? I guess that it’s winter appropriate, and I’m glad that it was included in the calendar, but there are more thematically appropriate inks out there.
Caveat: this year’s Inkvent appears to have elusive ink colours. I suggest reading my description of the inks and not going by the photos alone, and comparing my results with those of other reviewers.
The Diamine Inkvent calendar is an advent calendar with 24 tiny (12ml) bottles of fountain pen ink behind 24 doors, and a larger, 30ml, bottle of ink behind the 25th door. All the inks are limited edition, and, at the moment, only available through this calendar.
Day 16’s door.
Day 16’s ink is Diamine Vintage Copper, a decidedly festive copper ink with shimmer (of course).
Diamine Vintage Copper
It’s a shimmer ink that also has plenty of shading.
Here’s a Col-o-Ring swab of Diamine Vintage Copper. There’s a lot of shading going on and a good amount of shimmer, although the shimmer effect is quite subtle.
Col-o-Ring swab.
I used a Monteverde Giant Sequoia with a 1.1 stub nib to test out Diamine Vintage Copper and the nib size really allows the ink to shine.
Monteverde Giant Sequoia and Diamine Vintage Copper.
Here’s a closer look at the shimmer effect:
I decided to draw a copper kettle to test out Diamine Vintage Copper, and you can see just how much this ink shades on Tomoe River paper:
This is an excellent ink for writing seasonal greeting cards and letters. The shading and shimmer give it a lot of character, while the shimmer isn’t “metallic pen” level shimmer, so there’s some sophistication and subtlety to it. While I personally don’t see a need to buy a full bottle of this ink, I can still see its holiday utility and appeal.
Caveat: this year’s Inkvent appears to have elusive ink colours. I suggest reading my description of the inks and not going by the photos alone, and comparing my results with those of other reviewers.
The Diamine Inkvent calendar is an advent calendar with 24 tiny (12ml) bottles of fountain pen ink behind 24 doors, and a larger, 30ml, bottle of ink behind the 25th door. All the inks are limited edition, and, at the moment, only available through this calendar.
Day 15’s door.
Day 15’s ink is Diamine Night Shade, which is a slightly periwinkle-ish blue with a lot of shading.
Diamine Night Shade
It’s a standard ink in a peculiar colour.
Standard ink
Here’s a Col-o-Ring swab of Diamine Night Shade. It’s lighter here than it was in my later writing and drawing samples – it’s not an issue of photography here, the ink itself is illusive in colour. It does shade a lot no matter how it looks like.
Col-o-Ring swab.
I used a Kanilea Haleakala Silhouette with a fine nib to test out Diamine Night Shade.
Kanilea Haleakala and Diamine Night Shade swab.
I decided to draw a quick rough sketch of some Night Shade flowers, and then I swabbed a bit of ink onto the page to test out this ink on Tomoe River paper. The ink looks like a standard blue black until it dries, and then sometimes it stays in the standard blue black range and sometimes takes a more periwinkle shade.
Why Night Shade and Christmas? Likely because of “The Nightmare before Christmas”. Do I find Diamine Night Shade to be festive? Maybe if it had some silver shimmer to it. As it is, it’s an interesting and somewhat baffling ink that I will need to test some more on different kinds of paper and maybe with another pen before I decide whether I like it enough to prefer it over an ink like Diamine Harmony or not.
Writing at Large 