Commonplace Books
One tool that has been a nice addition to my life is a tool used for writing, commonplace books. Blank books or any variety of notebooks, used for the purpose of recording information. Not the same thing as a diary.
Most often they contain recipes, notes, quotes and sayings, things you don’t want to forget, information you want to keep for future reference. Their purpose can vary and as I learned a few years ago, there are a variety of ways to keep the information organized.
My shelves have have several three ring binder of articles printed from the internet or copied from sources (all sources are annotated) related to writing and publishing. Information in my studies that either I struggled with or wanted to be able to put my hands on it for future reference. There is also one in my kitchen, where I have been trying to discern the recipe for Blackhawk Bakery Dinner Rolls. The former Paducah, KY bakery where many a birthday cake and bag of rolls were purchased. Still haven’t figured out but hope to one day or run across it. One of those childhood flavor memories that can no longer be purchased, like my grandfather’s corndogs. Those are examples of commonplace books that are specific to the subject matter.
Carrying a blank book like a Lechtrum 1917 or a Moleskin version are also stacked on a shelf. Inside random items that cross my path likely to be useful again. Sometimes it is a philosophy or perspective that could be helpful interspersed through with jokes, and tips for cooking to sewing to writing.
We kept one when a short in our electrical system on an old Volkswagen kept shorting out a fan relay. The cost of figuring out why we were going through so many relays was not feasible. So, a mechanic taught me how to test all the lines to track it down. In a spiral notebook with drawn diagrams, recorded dates and milage every time we had to replacement the relay, along with the dates and times of wiring checks. If my memory serves, it was going on two years, when our mechanic called to tell us there was a recall on the particular fan relay our vehicle used; seems that the company with the aftermarket part contract had substituted a cheaper material that was unreliable and failed more often than not. They were pulling thousands of produced relays to supply houses around the world. Talk about feeling better about my efforts to locate a nonexistent short! That recall freed up the weekly hour spent on the electrical system.
There is a Field Notes now, stuck within my datebook for recording blog post topics, that prompted this very entry. But not all entries will make it to the blog. And not all notebooks strictly fit the definition of a commonplace book. They are a useful tool., and it is fun over time to look back over them. They are a recommended tool for life.