Umm... guess you can't teach an old dog new tricks...well, in my case anyway.

You both have lovely penmanship.

Mine is atrocious, letters slant in different directions and it's a combination of print and cursive.

The best I can say about it is that it is legible, not pretty, but it works.

Mine ends up a scribble. My wife told me that I must print for the rest of my life!

Jim

Won't include a sample, but-- I was very proud at age 9 to receive my Palmer Method handwriting certificate. It was lots of work to achieve that. Started with the ovals and up-down lines.

Suppose nobody else is old enough to remember.

Might mention that I will be 91 years old tomorrow, Friday the 13th, 2013.

I love cake decorating but as soon as I write on it, it looks like a 6 year old attacked it. Terrible penmanship but great at sculpting? I don't get it. I used to be so jealous of pretty penmanship. Now I don't care but still appreciate it.

Not as old as you, Seniorgal, but I rember those exercises. Probably I,m the only one who does

alisande , mine sorta looks like yours but messier. I have gotten careless with my writing, sometimes I can't read it at all. I have no patients for writing anymore.

I also remember the Palmer Method. They were still teaching it in my school district in 1953.

Alisande, if you've been following my Facebook posts you saw the wedding party roster I posted. All done in calligraphy. Probably the first thing I ever did when I was learning. I got much better as the years passed but now I can't even write my own name (cursive or printing) without stuttering. Sad. I did always get an A+ in penmanship when I was a kid though.

Same here... dabbled in calligraphy and was a fast Greg stenographer, but all that requires keeping it up. Pealing hundreds of pounds of peaches recently has also made my thumb to hand joint complain. I didn't recognize my signature when I signed something recently. And.... I used to write journals and stories all of the time.... hand write.... now they are written and stored on computers. Change sneaks up on us all, I guess.

I used to be very proud of mine, but now it looks like chicken scratch. I have arthritis in both hands, so that's had a big impact. Pretty bad when I can't even read my own grocery list lol

My MIL had the most beautiful handwriting I have ever seen.

I used to have great graceful cursive writing. My aunts were third grade teachers, and I wrote in a similar style. When I was in college one semester, I totally changed my style so much that one professor asked if I had a dual personality. I write straight up and down and half print, half write. It's getting worse every year. I wrote a note in a card and was surprised when spell checker didn't come on to correct a word.

without even thinking what I would write, this came out:

{{!gwi}}

This post was edited by OklaMoni on Fri, Sep 13, 13 at 6:38

BTW, my son who is grade 8 was taught cursive and my daughter (two grades lower) wasn't. It was dropped when she went into grade 3 that year and no longer part of our curriculum.

DGS is starting cursive this year (3rd Grade), but most schools here are dropping it.

DH was required to write right-handed despite being left-handed. Even he can't read it. (He also had to play tennis and golf right-handed, and he lettered in tennis in HS.)

Mine was never great and now is shaky. About the only time I use cursive is writing checks!

I've seen my G-g-grandfather's penmanship in an 1844 letter he wrote to a brother in NYC, announcing his marriage to a widow in Cincinnati. He was 41. He learned his graceful handwriting as a child, living on a farm outside of Edinburgh -- one of twelve.

Sue, your son was forced to write with his right hand even though he was left-handed?? What kind of school was that? I hope they're not still doing it.

My Scottish grandfather had beautiful handwriting. Other relatives did too. My grandmother (whose parents came from Scotland) had excellent handwriting that was sharply pointed--a little spiky. Sometimes I see hers in mine, and sometimes occasional letter formations that look like my father's, or my mother's. I think we inherit our handwriting to a large degree.

Moni, I see your European T's and capital H. My dad wrote that H too (his name was Harry). And if you'd written any L's, I'm sure they'd have looked European too. (I love European penmanship--can you tell?) :-)

Huge and messy :) I've been on computers too long. My son chose cursive when given the choice in school. I can't get him to write in block even when he should. I wish I could read what he puts on the grocery list.

It's fun to see other's samples! Here is mine:

Alisande, I wanted to ask if you're a lefty? My guess is that you are.

I'm not. :-)

I'm strongly right-handed--not the slightest bit ambidextrous--and my handwriting started out slanting to the right, not too far from Justlinda's. But as I've gotten older it's gotten more upright, and even leaning slightly to the left. So I can see why you thought I was a lefty.

Thanks for these responses! I agree with Bee....it's fun to see how we write. (Rob, you nailed that signature!) LOL

Yours reminded me of a high school girlfriend's handwriting, Alisande & she was a lefty. Sounds like you somewhat "study" handwriting. At one time I was very interested in h/w analysis & got a book from the library to understand what the slants, loops, flourishes, spikes etc all meant. It was interesting. Not sure how scientific it really is...

I had to read a lot of dr's handwriting over the years in my nursing career & I am sure that I could recognize a good many of them even today. I can picture many in my minds eye.... most were very distinctive. Even many friends/relatives from long ago have their handwriting style locked into my minds eye.... along with lots of other useless information.... LOL!

The nuns in the schools I attended would be horrified to see my handwriting..;Severe arthritis in my hands keeps me from even attempting handwriting - the fingers go every which way.

Stuck inside for the 4th day with this flu, no golfing no fishing, so I decided to hand around with you folks this afternoon, hi.

Ok folks for someone that went to school here in Canada, grade school in the 60's what the heck is the difference between cursive and block writing? Either I wasn't paying attention, probably too busy admiring Nancy Fordes Beatle boots, or I don't remember.

I always had great handwriting, even being left handed, until Pc's came out. Now my wife can't read one word I scribble.

Here's a strange handwriting thing. Being able to use both hands for different tasks, no I can't spell the word, I write with my left on paper and if I need to write on a black board, sorry white board, I must use my right hand.

Great for tennis, I never hit a backhand in my life, just switched the racket and hit a forehand with either.

SouthernCanuck, you are truly ambidextrous--exactly what I am not. ;-)

Cursive is also called longhand.

My mother had the most beautiful cursive, she won an award with her "Palmer Method" handwriting. My uncle was left-handed, but forced to write with his right hand by the nuns when he was in Catholic school - for the rest of his life he could write with either hand. My handwriting here:

I should post the rug hooking picture too.

Here's my hooked "calligraphy." Many of you have seen this before--it's from a wall hanging I made for my grandson before he was born.

Alisande, that is just gorgeous! I love seeing your work!

Rose, I can relate. When I was in grade school the nuns would not allow anyone to write left handed. If you did, you got slapped with a ruler. Poor lefties!

It was my DH who was forced to write and play tennis right-handed. He bats and kicks 'leftie'. He and I are both 'pre-war', but his parents were past forty when they adopted him, and life was all about, "What will people say?" (I was wrong about the golf; he could play well 'leftie', but it was frowned upon, so he gave it up.)

Scotland was ahead of other countries in providing free public education. My Scots ancestors easily found white collar employment in America when they immigrated in the first half of the 1800's. Those Scots were a canny lot; they were developing a good pool of educated employees. The US *used* to be that smart about educatiion.

Susan, are your Scots in GreenWood cemetery in NYC?

No, they're in Woodlawn (the Bronx) and Kensico (Westchester County) in NY, and my stepmother was buried in Florida. My great-grandparents are probably buried in Hartford, CT, where they lived.

This is the gal who works for me. Drives me insane that I can't decipher a phone message. I won't even let her touch the office calendar (should be part of her job)

Even at this elder stage of my live, I still get compliments on my penmanship.

Walnutcreek, this is show and tell, not just tell. :-)

Angelaid, rebreak of a what injury??

Angela, my eyes are goggling; make that girl print!

Handwritten envelope addressed to my Father when he was in WWI in 1918, by his uncle.
I used to have great handwriting but computer has made a sorry sight of it lately. I'll try to get a copy but have a terrible time uploading pictures to any site since I'm on dial up.
My Father's Dad ran a business college in Leavenworth, KS for many years and this uncle was superintendent of one in Seattle WA.
My Mother and sister, both, had beautiful handwriting.

Here is mine, used to be much better.

Ang, had no problem reading your phone message, must be from years of reading Dr's handwriting. :)

I'm with Donna37...really not that bad, Ang. Why don't you post your own instead? LoL

See if this works...

My mother had a certificate in "Hand Writing Analysis". Upwrite lettering=no emotions Slanted to the left=immaturity, Slanted to the right=normal or overly emotional by the degree of the slant

I remember learning a bit.....

Intermixing script with hand written letters is an attempt to hide yourself from others.

Writing with an up slant=optimisism. downslant=pessimism

Crossing your "T's" was telling.....and on and on....:0)

donna37 - Your uncle had beautiful Spencerian handwriting. The school superintendent my junior year taught several of us the Spencerian script. I can still remember some of it. It is a really elegant handwriting.

Duplicate post - sorry!

This post was edited by gmatx on Fri, Sep 20, 13 at 15:50

here is mine.......I tried earlier and I see it didn't post so I'm trying again.

{{!gwi}}

patti

Donna, your great-uncleâÂÂs handwriting is just gorgeous. And that letterhead is fascinating. Penmanship is listed as one of the focuses.

Translating Houndsâ message: What fun! This is a sample of my scribble. Hounds (aka Susan). I think I got it right.

Ha! Another Susan!

Nicole, if thatâÂÂs true, I must be getting more immature as I get older. I guess that figuresâ¦â¦second childhood and all that. :-)

I feel as though I know the handwriting posters even better now!

That phone message said "rebreak of a Dec. injury." I had no problem reading it. For years I had to read doctors" writing and became very good at it. I won't post my own handwriting because it embarrasses me. I had a nerve injury in my right hand 5 years ago. I can no longer use chopsticks and that really bothers me.