The Mayonnaise of Art Supplies - Moleskine Cahiers

We've all done it, at the grocery store. "Do I have mayo, at home? I don't remember. Better get some..."

Then, we get home and find three jars of mayo in the fridge, each bought under the same circumstance.

I carry a Moleskine Cahier in my rear pocket, pretty much all the time. The Cahiers are slim, paperbound notebooks (I use the blank sheet version), which are roughly the size of  U.S. passport, with a small pocket in the rear. For me, they serve many purposes: I sketch in them, take notes, write down song ideas or ideas for standup comedy. In the rear pocket, I keep a few blank business cards for whenever I need to leave some info with someone.

But, the paper covers are not the most durable things in the world, and tend to succumb to the rigors of daily carry. So, I came up with a hack to mitigate that problem. I cover the notebook with black duct tape:

It works really well. The notebooks stay together a lot better, and have a more substantial feel than what the thin card cover affords. But, the downside is that it's somewhat time-consuming to do, and I have to do it to each individual notebook. So, I decided to look for a reusable cover for the Moleskine Cahiers,

The leather versions cost way too much money (at least $35.00, including shipping), so I ordered a plastic cover, printed with a map of Colorado, to use until such time as I get the energy to make a leather cover, myself.

What does this have to do with the Mayonnaisse Syndrome? I'm getting to that...

When I was flying to Pennsylvania, for my Christmas visit with family, I picked up a pack of three brown cahiers at the airport newsstand.

I stowed them in my sketchbook bag, and went about the rest of my visit.

Two weeks ago, I went to the art supply store to get some colored pencils as part of a late Christmas gift for Noella Click. As I walked by the Moleskine display, I spied these on the rack:

"Oh," I thought, having forgotten about my airport purchase, "I should pick up a 3-pack of those." And, so I did.

Then, yesterday, as I ordered my reusable cover, I thought again, having forgotten two previous purchases, "I better order a 3-pack of the Cahiers, so I will have a new one for the cover."

Once that pack arrives, I will have enough mayonnaise notebooks to last me for a good long while...

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