Category Archives: Family

December 13, 2020 · 10:03 am

Long Distance Celebration

Our son is 42 today. He lives in Thailand and there is 12 hours time difference, so I sent him birthday wishes last night before I went to bed and then chatted with him real-time this morning. (He was up late trying to finish up a computer project for a client.)

Brian is our only living child. (Our daughter, Jade, died at two months old due to SIDS.) We feel very lucky that Brian is such a good communicator. I can almost forget that he is across the world from us. He set up a secure chat program so that we can communicate on almost a daily basis. We send pictures and videos, leave messages, chat real-time, etc. We communicate more than some people do with their kids who live in the same city.

I miss two things since he lives so far away:

THING ONE – His truly amazing sense of humor. He gets into it, making me laugh, adding to it with gestures, and finally getting up, adding more and more until I’m laughing so hard my stomach hurts. I have to beg him to stop and then rest awhile. :0)

THING TWO – He gives the best hugs in the world. He doesn’t give just a one-armed hug with a quick pat. He envelopes me, hugging me really tightly – asking me to hug him tighter – and really squeezes. We create so much love it makes me cry.

Happy, happy birthday to Brian – a man who is better than his parents ever thought of being – who makes us proud of the kind, caring person he is.

tenor

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December 6, 2020 · 10:04 am

You’re Never Too Old

Yesterday my husband went out to burn boxes in our burn barrel. I asked him if he wanted me to stay and help, but he said he was fine.

I went inside, taking some time for a bathroom break. When I came out, I saw he wasn’t back in the house yet. I went out to check on him.

The burn barrel had smoke coming up, but all the boxes were gone. My husband wasn’t there. I started looking around.

I found him, and wanted to kill him. He was lying on his back on top of the roof of our shop! (He has had several mini-strokes, just celebrated his 77th birthday, and we have agreed that we are too old to be up on roofs anymore.)

I tried to remain calm while talking to him. He wasn’t hurt, but he realized the ladder was rickity when he was on the way up. (He went up anyway.) He wanted to re-attach a wire to the power pole thingie that is attached to the front of the shop. He had gotten the wire re-attached, but realized the ladder might not stay where he needed it when he tried to get down. So he decided to wait for me to come ‘rescue’ him.

I held the ladder (and my breath) while he came over to the edge of the roof and got onto the ladder. He got down safely.

I reminded him that we had agreed that we weren’t going up on roofs anymore. He huffily told me that this job was ‘within his capabilities.’ I told him that I needed to be able to trust him not to do things like this without at least letting me know. He said he knew I would come out to check on him and would ‘rescue’ him then, even if he was lying on the roof all day…

He is lucky to still be alive today.

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November 26, 2020 · 9:37 am

Happy Thanksgiving 2020

I plan to be very lazy today.

Our Thanksgiving celebration will be my husband and I this year. Our son lives in Thailand and we – and all of our friends we usually ask to share our meal – are all in the high risk group in the pandemic. We are thankful we are here to celebrate a hopefully calm, quiet day filled with good food and lots of love.

I will make deviled eggs today – one of my husband’s and my favorite things. Other than that, we will just heat things up when we’re ready to enjoy. We’ll have rotisserie chicken, potato salad, baked beans, and deviled eggs, with peanut brittle for dessert. :0)

We will probably watch more of a new series (to us) we discovered last night. It’s called, “His Dark Materials,” and it a series with a similar theme to “The Golden Compass” movie. We binge watched 4 episodes from Season 1 last night and are hooked.

I’m planning to be super-lazy today. No big projects inside or out. I’m going to enjoy reading my book in my recliner and maybe even curl up under my throw and zonk out for awhile. Ahhhhhhhhh!

I hope that you are safe and well this Thanksgiving.

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November 24, 2020 · 9:52 am

Sweet, Happy Fish

Yesterday afternoon I took the time to clean the aquarium. My fish are now happily swimming in a squeaky-clean tank, even though they haven’t said anything about it.

They did, however, both get into the corner of the tank and wiggle their little bodies at me, opening and closing their mouths, hoping I would put some extra food in the tank. (I caved and gave it to them.)

Albert Einstein – Jet Set Sam Wild Canadian Salmon

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November 21, 2020 · 9:54 am

Birthday Surprise

cooking.NYTimes.com

When we went to Lunch Bunch yesterday, we had several surprises.

First, there was a birthday card and a beautiful box of peanut brittle at my husband’s usual place at the table. He immediately dove into it while I opened the card. The people at the Pizza Barn had remembered his birthday! Talk about a place that goes above and beyond! :0)

Second, only one of our friends was there, and she could only stay as long as it took to get her individual pizza because she needed to meet someone at her home. She didn’t know why our other regular Lunch Bunch friend and her daughter weren’t there. We visited with our friend for a few minutes and then she was gone.

We ordered and ate, but our other friend didn’t come. I found out later that her daughter and her family had tested positive for Covid-19. Our friend doesn’t have it, and is trying to isolate by herself – hoping she doesn’t get it, plus not give it to us, if she does.

As my husband continues to enjoy the completely unexpected and delicious peanut brittle, we have all fingers crossed that our friend’s family recovers soon and that our friend stays safe from the virus.

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November 19, 2020 · 9:44 am

Thoughts on a Thursday 11-19-2020

123RF.com

This is my favorite time each year, where my husband is FOUR years older than I. This all changes when I add another year in March, but for now until then, I smile. I think it’s quite endearing that he reaches all the hard birthdays before I do, thereby making it much easier for me.

We had a really nice birthday celebration yesterday. I basically just went with the flow, doing whatever he wanted to do. He particularly liked the pineapple upside-down cake, so that felt really good. He ate two pieces!

Today we (at least “I” ) am back to our eating-good-food-with-portion-control eating plan. My husband wants to eat more of the cake – and I think he should feel free to do that. He is at his goal weight now. His blood sugar is under good control right now – and it IS his birthday week.

We preordered more meals from REAL FOOD in Greenwood last night and will pick up our meals on Monday.

For Reading Addicts via Cathy Ruggiero

I have sold over half of my paperback collection of Janet Evanovich books now. It’s a bit bittersweet because I like her writing and her sense of humor, but I’ve read each one of these twice or more and it’s time to share the wealth. We’ve sold two books so far today that we’ll mail at the post office later. I will try to get another shelf cleaned out today.

My decluttering/purging project of the moment is to combine my collections on the shelves in my bedroom, plus the ones in our guest room. I don’t know if I can make that much free space in my bedroom, but that’s the goal.

I hope you have a nice Thursday planned. If not, I hope for something wonderful to surprise you. :0)

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November 18, 2020 · 10:14 am

Happy Birthday to You…

My husband – the reluctant birthday boy.

We will celebrate our 52nd wedding anniversary in June. As we age, our lives become more complicated – some things much more difficult – but we both feel we will never get enough.

He wants to get a Subway roast beef sandwich for lunch. I am making spaghetti for dinner with a pineapple upside down cake – his favorite – as his birthday cake.

curphyfc.org

Our son called him from Thailand this morning – the best of surprises. I’m am doing all I can to make this a very happy day for him.

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November 8, 2020 · 10:36 am

A Memory of My Dad

Creative Arts at Haywood Community College

When I was looking for images of artists who make wood come alive, I found the picture above. I was suddenly swamped with memories of my dad and the dogs HE carved. They are two of my most cherished possessions.

Dogs Carved by my dad – Jim Wheaton

My dad is gone now, but he is alive in my heart and always will be. My dad was talented in a lot of different ways – but one was determination.

I say that as a ‘talent’ though it was a character trait, as well. My dad fell off a horse when he was 3 years old, shattering his left arm. Many surgeries were done, but back then they didn’t know what they do now. They saved his arm, but he lost the use of his left hand. His left arm was much shorter than his right, as well.

This could – and did – ruin other people’s lives. I remember us walking on a sidewalk somewhere – seeing a man sitting on the sidewalk, asking for money, holding up an arm remarkably like my dad’s. My dad stopped, held up his left arm, and said quietly, “Get a job!”

He carved the two sweet dogs above, holding the wood in his left hand and carving patiently with his right. I don’t remember him actually carving them, but it amazes me that he lived his life so that we actually FORGOT for much of the time that he might have an extra challenge with something.

I feel my dad looking at me from time to time. Sometimes he is challenging me to get off my duff and quit procrastinating – just because I am intimidated when trying something new. Sometimes he tells me to lighten up, see the humor in a situation, or look at it as another of life’s character-building exercises. Sometimes I’m just swamped with love, missing him, but feeling so lucky he was ‘mine’ for a while.

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October 28, 2020 · 9:55 am

Lovely Day

First Aid for Pets – Dollar Photo Club

It looks like night outside. It is 44 degrees F. (wind chill of 38), and is raining a LOT. UGH. I am very thankful I have a warm, dry house and don’t have to go out.

That said, it’s a lovely day for inside stuff. I am planning to play in my art room today. I dreamed about cartoony ‘animals’ made from old jewelry on a hard canvas board with a colorful, painted background around them. Even if the idea doesn’t turn out at all, it’ll be fun to try… :0)

I am also starting to gather things to add to my booth in town. Next week I will change the Halloween stuff for Thanksgiving and Christmas things. It’s fun to change the whole look of our little booth. I’m hoping people will find something they like and will take it home.

I may be totally UN-technical, but I managed to make Firefox my default browser on my computer yesterday. I have moved most of my stuff from Chrome to Firefox now, and am working to put all the posts I’ve written since WordPress did their upgrade into categories, now that I can SEE them and ACCESS them again. This will take awhile, because, as you know, I write several posts each day, but I’m hoping to be caught up soon.

I had a nice chat with our son this morning. He lives in Thailand, renting a house in the country there, and simply loves it. He has privacy to meditate, do the work he needs to do for his client, make music in his music room without bothering anyone, etc. He is living his dream and it fills me with joy. I feel lucky that he is such a good communicator. I can almost forget that he is across the world from us.

I’m still laughing that Amber, our 95-pound yellow lab, was FINALLY persuaded to ‘get DOWN’ out of my office chair with me. She was just outside. My husband let her in, not bothering to even run a towel over her, and she came straight for me. She was halfway up into my chair before I could react. Now “I” will have to run a towel over BOTH of us to make us acceptable to be in the house…

I hope that you are having a fun day today.

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October 27, 2020 · 11:47 am

Not Eating

boredpanda.com

Actually, there is quite a bit of food that is ‘good to eat,’ BUT …

My husband and I loaded up the back of the truck with our trash and drove down to get our mail and leave the trash for the wonderful people who come, no matter what the weather, and whisk it away.

We came up to find that our 95 pound yellow lab, Amber, had been busy. A transparent cookie container was on the floor – open. It was the box we bought at the grocery yesterday of no sugar added oatmeal raisin cookies for my husband.

Amber has perfected a ‘I haven’t been doing anything – really’ look and was wearing it when we walked into the kitchen. She had the gall to sniff at the empty container avidly as though she were starving.

My husband was NOT amused…

It’s probably a good thing that we are eating lunch very soon.

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September 24, 2020 · 11:23 am

Amber is Mourning

Amber is mourning the loss of all the ‘goodies’ she received while we were eating on the South Beach and BistroMD diet plans.

I think that, left to her own devices, she would eat until she blew up. She happily devoured the meals we tried, but didn’t care for, plus licked the containers clean, gaining some weight in the process. Now that we are enjoying the frozen meals from REAL FOOD, she isn’t getting anything extra – well, maybe a chance to lick a container…

She doesn’t seem to understand why she isn’t getting all the extra food,  following me around, hoping for a treat. (I carry little bitty dog biscuit treats in my pocket so that I reward her for good behavior.)

She will have to be a really good girl while she is in mourning from her lost ‘wealth’ of extra food…

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September 19, 2020 · 10:19 am

“Rub-a-Dub, 2 Fish in a Tub…”

PositivePrayers.com

 

I just finished cleaning out the aquarium, and all is squeaky clean again. The fish are busily checking out the ‘new’ decorations.

 

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September 13, 2020 · 10:35 am

Too Much of a Good Thing

 

 

 

This is my husband and Amber, who thinks she is a lap dog. This was taken in 2018, when she was a year old. Now she is 3 and weighs around 95 pounds. Unfortunately, she STILL thinks she is a lap dog. We have to be on guard all the time to keep her from inadvertently hurting us.

The latest example of this is that she comes and sits beside me each morning while I am at the computer, answering email, writing posts for the blog, etc. I pet her and love her, and then tell her ‘down.’ She complies quite nicely (unless we have people here. When that happens she has never met me and becomes completely deaf to commands.) I again concentrate on what I’m doing and all of a sudden, I have half a lap full of exuberant Amber trying her best to climb into my chair with me.

Thank GOODNESS she eventually responds to “DOWN!” albeit reluctantly. She is WAY too strong for me to have any control trying to grab her collar and pull her down. I think my chair would actually either break or roll and then fall if she managed to get up with me. I have a ‘backstop’ of a short set of shelves on my right, so I don’t think we can roll FAR. We have this test of wills over and over each morning, and we aren’t making much progress in getting the idea across that I do NOT want her in my chair with me.

I’ve tried getting down on the floor WITH her, encouraging her to come sit with me. Her only response to that so far is that she comes over, keeps pushing until I tumble over backwards, and then she leaves.

I won’t quit my day job to even think of being a dog trainer… She is definitely too much of a good thing.

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September 13, 2020 · 9:44 am

Swim in Your Own Direction

Pinterest

I am in awe of people who think outside the box, creating something new and wonderful, making us laugh, touching our emotions with things we probably will never make or do ourselves. I’m grateful to live on the same planet, and hope they continue to thrive – appreciated for their uniqueness and talent.

In a more literal sense this morning, my fish – and their aquarium – have a clean bill of health, all being squeaky, sparkling clean at the moment.

 

They didn’t SAY anything when I scooped them up and put them back in their tank, but they were busily checking everything out when I left.

Do you know any fish who do tricks? I don’t, but I’m trying to get them to do things like swim along with my finger when I come up to the tank and talk to them. I start on one end of the tank and move my finger to the other, trying to get them to follow me. No luck so far. I don’t even know what one would CALL a trick like that, in the off chance they might actually DO it…

 

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September 3, 2020 · 11:06 am

Thoughts on a Thursday – 9-3-2020

Bored Panda

Good Morning!

We MAY finally be getting a reprieve from the rain and some cooler temperatures soon! I couldn’t be more ready. The humidity is 98% right now, according to the local weather website. It’s like pea soup outside. We still have the doors open, getting what breezes we can. I’m ready for fall.

First thing this morning I cleaned out the aquarium. These two goldfish have the award for messing up their water faster than any other fish on the planet, I think. Even with the new, fancy, three-part filter, the water was terrible this morning. Thankfully, I can change things out in about half an hour now.

The water is now clean enough that when I take a picture of the aquarium, you can also see parts of the kitchen behind it, PLUS the reflection of the dining area window on the other side of the room. :0)  I’m trying to teach them to say, “Thank You,” when they get into the sparkling clean tank, but no luck so far. I would even be happy if they did a cartwheel or something, or blew some bubbles at me. They only do THAT when I feed them. The thing I DON’T want them to do is roll over and play dead…

 

 

Today I will try to register for my Amazon Handmade account and see what happens. I am hopeful I can get lots of questions answered so I feel I know what I’m doing.

Amazon Handmade

I have started two leaf bags:

Leaf Bag # 1 is for things to donate to the Disabled Vets Thrift Store in Fort Smith.

Leaf Bag # 2 is for trash.

 

I received an email that we are supposed to receive our first week’s delivery of BistroMD meals tomorrow! We have both chosen the diabetic plan. My husband denies he has Type II diabetes (he says he has a sugar problem). He thinks only people who have to give themselves injections are ‘diabetics.’ Since we are both trying to stay away from any added sugar, we feel this is a good choice for us.  I will let you know how it goes.

My ant stings/bites/welts are almost gone now. I have a couple of spots I still need to put anti-itch ointment on, but I’m back to normal, otherwise. If things dry out a bit, the revenge murdering of ants commences tomorrow…

PestWorld.org

Have a happy Thursday!

 

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August 23, 2020 · 9:51 am

Freewheeling Fish

I am still trying to find a solution to my goldfish messing up the water in their tank extremely quickly. The latest change was the filter system. It has three media in layers to help keep the water clean. You change the charcoal layer each month, the foam layer every two months, and the biomax pellet bag every three months. So much for what the directions say.

I changed the charcoal part last week. All of a sudden yesterday their water was greenish. YUCK.

The foam layer, which is supposed to be white, was pink.

I cleaned out the tank, changing all three layers and now the fish have sparkling clear water again. I have no clue why these two sweet fish continue to be able to make their water so yucky so quickly with seeming so little effort. Speaking to them about it doesn’t help.

At least, with all the practice I get, I’ve gotten down to about half an hour from start to finish on changing everything in the tank.

 

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August 22, 2020 · 9:55 am

Sticking My Neck Out

Getty Images

I have a happy feeling this morning of my parents reaching down and encouraging me in my efforts to join Amazon Handmade in selling the products I make. They seem to like it when I leave my comfort zone, trying something new, learning a ton in the process, adrenaline flowing. They are doing a combination of enveloping me in a huge hug and shooing me out to get with it.

sayingimages.com

I submitted an application yesterday to be able to list my earrings in the jewelry section. They sent an email saying they had received my application, and that I would hear something within 15 working days.

I have decided to call and see if I can reach a human who can answer questions about

  • whether I need to submit a separate application for each category I would like to be able to list products in, or if the one I have sent is an ‘umbrella’ application.
  • whether the Handmade group is handled the way their used book section works,
  • how I submit products, etc.

I’m nervous and excited. I dreamed about it last night, showing my subconscious KNOWS I’m trying to enter uncharted territory.

I hope to be able to tell you I have been accepted…

123RF.com

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August 15, 2020 · 4:21 pm

Yes!

Honest to Paws

I spent two hours in the yard, cleaning up today. I used the leaf blower to clear the concrete areas first, and then tackled the front yard. It took me quite a while, but I finished it. I did short sessions, resting and drinking a ton of water in-between. I will do more tomorrow, but that’s it for today.

 

I also cleaned out the aquarium. This is an experiment, really, because the filter system says to only change the charcoal filter part this time. I did this, but the water still turned cloudy. I’m hoping that with the fresh water and decorations today, we can go another month before having to clean out again. Next month the schedule says to change the charcoal part again, plus the foam part. We’ll see.

Meanwhile, the fish have sparkling clean water to swim around in. They didn’t say anything about the changes. They are just interested in feeding times, but “I” am happy that we seem to be making good progress on coming up with a better system to keep my fish healthy.

I have now taken a shower and feel MUCH better. I’m planning to veg out the rest of the afternoon, enjoying the air conditioning, my recliner, my book, and maybe a nap.

Hope you’re having a fine day.

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August 15, 2020 · 10:34 am

The Goodbye

via Jennifer Ann Mitchell Carroll

Thank you, Molly, for sharing your life with me.

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August 9, 2020 · 9:29 am

Pawprints

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August 6, 2020 · 12:21 pm

Dog Heaven

from my sister-in-law

Molly

Molly will be right with the pack, chasing the truck, licking her lips in anticipation.

We got Molly over 15 years ago. I wanted a ‘lap dog,’ – a sweet, dainty loving dog.

I got the sweet and loving, as well as fun-loving, but NOT the dainty. She LOVED to stick her whole snout into the most awful stuff, coming home really disgusting.

There was nothing to do but pick her up, put her in the kitchen sink, and scrub her down.

She was a companion dog for our other dogs over the years. Two pit bulls and then Amber, our current yellow lab.

She got along with our cats, too.

She was fierce (for her size – or THOUGHT she was), happy, and curious.

 

Here she is trying to see the squirrel in the feeder at the window.

Sometimes she was sleek (spring, summer, and part of the fall) and then we let her go natural for the winter. (Fuzzy Molly)

She was such a HAPPY soul. She loved her people and her fellow animals.

 

She loved to sit on the stairs and look down at everyone.

She was adventurous.

She could be stylish.

But this was Molly at her happiest, looking like a very small sheep dog.

We were lucky to share her life for over 15 years. She will always be remembered with joy.

Catch that ham truck, Molly!

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August 5, 2020 · 10:23 am

Raccoon # 10

Nat’l Wildlife Federation

We returned awhile ago after relocating Raccoon # 10.  Saying this is a record-breaking year for raccoons is a vast understatement.  We are hoping they meet up at the creek and continue to live happy lives elsewhere. We also sincerely hope this is the last of the bunch.

Our tomatoes have slowed way down. I only got cherry sized tomatoes yesterday when I harvested. We can’t be greedy, though. We have been enjoying wonderful ripe tomatoes with lunches and dinners for weeks now.

We are at the time of year here where, no matter how much you water, the sun is so strong it just boils the plants. I checked on my garden yesterday. There are still a lot of plants, and my onions are continuing to grow, but there was just ONE, lone ROUND zucchini. I’m not even sure this will be edible. I’m about to give up and pull the plants for the season. I’ve had a fun year in the garden, growing lettuce and spinach, tomatoes, and some celery (though I’m not sure if we’ll get actual stalks or not – or just leafy plants.

 

While I was out, though, I gathered some Rio Samba Roses to enjoy in the house.

 

Today is a sad day for us. We are having to say goodbye to Molly, a canine member of our family for over 15 years.

She was diagnosed with malignant cancer of the jaw several weeks ago. We have had her on antibiotics and pain/inflammation meds since then to try to give her as many happy dog days as we could. She has milked all the extra attention for everything she’s worth – demanding to go outside, then demanding to come in again – with a treat, of course. I have made sure we had enough treats that she could have all she demanded, and even a few more. Up until a few days ago, she was still having fun, even trying to play with us in the yard. She has given us over 15 wonderful years of her happy personality, cheering up her people and fellow dogs and cats alike. For that, we will be eternally grateful.

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August 2, 2020 · 9:59 am

Hahahahahahahahah!

Source Unknown

Hahahahahahhaha! I love this. :0)

Today is a nice day.

I just finished chatting with our son, who lives in Thailand. He is such a good communicator it’s almost possible to forget how far away he is. The last time he came home, the trip took 24 hours, with the flights and layovers. :0(  We talk almost every day, chatting about this and that, and it adds so much quality to my life. I’m very lucky to be so close to him in all ways except geographically.

It’s cool enough that we still have the doors open, front and back, creating a nice breeze. We will have to close up soon, but I love to air the house out!

Today’s project is gathering more things to donate to Veteran’s Thrift Town in Fort Smith tomorrow.  I’m hopeful that we can make several more donations as I try to go through the house with an eye to getting rid of stuff again.

I hope you have a wonderful, relaxing Sunday.

 

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July 31, 2020 · 6:15 pm

Happier Fish?

The cleaning out of the aquarium today resulted in its designation as ‘project of the day.’ We changed from a more regular filter system, like you can buy at Walmart, to a more expensive, fancier type filtration system. It came in a lot of parts with three different things acting together as the filter. I got a bit intimidated while reading the directions, so I asked for my husband’s help.

At least half an hour later, we finally had the filter ready to go into the tank. We put it aside while we did the regular clean out. I like the fact that the majority of this filter system is on the outside of the tank, giving the sweet fish more room to swim around. If you look carefully at the top of the picture above, you can see (above the blue) the outside of the filter.

 

This picture gives another view from the other end of the tank. You can also see the filtered water going back into the tank. When we got it back together, the top didn’t fit anymore, so my husband took it out to the shop and cut off part of it to make it fit.  There are three filters in this one: a foam piece on the bottom, then activated charcoal, and then a bio filter of a bunch of pellet like things you put into the provided mesh bag. You have to work to get these rinsed and into the filter. This filter is made to handle tanks from 5 to 20 gallons. Since ours is a 5, this should be MORE than adequate to do the task.

You change out each part of the filter at a different time. We’re supposed to replace the foam filter every two months, the charcoal every month, and the bio filter every three months. (I have the directions on the table beside me so that I can mark my calendar with when each thing is supposed to be changed.)

So far, I haven’t seen any reaction from the fish – yea or nay. I really hope that this new style of filter keeps the water cleaner for longer.

 

So the aquarium clean out and filter installation turned out to be the project of the day today.

 

 

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July 27, 2020 · 11:33 am

Muggy Monday

Attack of the Cute

My husband and I did a few errands this morning and then I got on my elliptical trainer for the first time in umpteen months. My trainer lives in the garage and it’s really hot out there. I managed 15 minutes this morning – better than nothing. I’ll try it again on Wednesday and see if I can do 20. I will, of course, do my 35+ minutes of yoga stretching and abdominal exercises this afternoon. (I gave myself a star for the elliptical and will earn another with the yoga this afternoon.) :0)

One of our errands this morning was refilling our sweet Molly’s prescriptions for antibiotics and pain/inflammation relief medicines. I’ve told you she has malignant cancer. It’s in one side of her jaw. She has quite a sizable, firm lump there that is growing. The vet and I talked frankly. Molly was 15 in February. We decided to try to keep her as comfortable as possible, giving her as many happy dog days as we can in the time she has left. She is still able to eat and drink, and enjoys demanding to go out, and then come in again – for a treat. I’m making sure we have PLENTY of the two treats she loves, and am VERY freely dispensing them. She has been with us since she was a small puppy. We are cherishing each day.

My husband is grinning because our grass is at the PERFECT stage, according to him – brown and crunchy! He wishes it would stay that way the rest of the summer. We are due for some rain this week, though, so he’ll have to enjoy it while he can. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday forecasts show a good chance of rain, plus a little bit of relief from the humidity.

I made Suzanne Ryan’s (Simply Keto) recipe for keto chili yesterday, and we ate a bowl last night. My husband sighed with pleasure. We will enjoy a bowl for the second DIY dinner, plus one of the DIY lunches this week.

I haven’t decided what my next clean up project will be. I’ll look around and decide priorities, planning on taking a donation to the Disabled Vets in Fort Smith by the end of NEXT week.

I hope that YOU are having a good day today.

 

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July 23, 2020 · 10:07 am

A Clean Fish is a Happy Fish

My husband helps me clean out the aquarium once in about 10 times. This time he decided that we needed a better filter. I told him that I had researched the subject before and that we had the best reasonably priced filter system and filters for a 5-gallon tank. He asked me to research again and get something else, so I did.

I read and read, compared, then finally found a source that listed the ‘best’ filter systems for 5-gallon tanks. I have ordered an Aqua-Clear Filter System, plus additional inserts.  They are supposed to be delivered tomorrow.  I’ll try it and let you know.

Meanwhile, the fish have a clean tank, clean glass beads, clean decorations, lots of bubbles putting oxygen into the water, and a clean filter and system that is ‘supposed’ to handle a 10-gallon tank, but doesn’t do a stellar job on this one.

I LOVE passing the bright, clean tank with happy fish swimming around, blowing bubbles at me!

(I’m starting to get used to the ‘click-click-click’ sound the goldfish causes as he sucks a glass bead up off the bottom of the tank and lets it go again. :0))

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July 20, 2020 · 10:18 am

I Love Cats

Wim Beunderman-LinkedIn

“Some people say that cats are sneaky, evil, and cruel. True, and they have many other fine qualities as well.” ~ Missy Dizick

“My husband said it was him or the cat… I miss him sometimes.” ~ Anonymous

“You cannot look at a sleeping cat and feel tense.” – Jane Pauley

“‘All right’, said the Cat, and this time it vanished quite slowly, beginning with the end of the tail, and ending with the grin, which remained some time after the rest of it had gone.” – Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

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July 18, 2020 · 12:17 pm

Getting the Lard Off “Progress” Report?

We are ‘regrouping’ on our weight loss and exercise efforts. I say ‘we’ – my husband and I are on two months of the South Beach Diet Plan now, trying to reboot our efforts to lose weight. Excuses abound, but the bottom line is that we have been regaining the weight we lost previously and are trying to get our heads back in the game and remotivated.  “I” am exercising. He encourages me in my efforts, but won’t do any himself.

To date, I have now lost 33 pounds and 28 inches from my most ‘zaftig.’ I’m disappointed that I allowed myself to gain back pounds and inches, but that is in the past now. I am again losing weight and exercising. So far I am walking 10 minutes twice a day, morning and evening. It is too hot in the middle of the day. I AM working in the yard, and I think that should count toward my “30 minutes of exercise each day” goal. I am also doing another 30 minutes of Gentle Yoga stretches daily.

Our initial impressions of the South Beach food are mixed.

Anything in the small cups is good. That includes soups so far. The shakes are fine. I like a chocolate nut bar snack, and my husband likes a toffee bar.  The dinners are okay. We are eating them with a lot of fresh tomatoes from our garden. We have changed our coming order to try to find something we like…

The big thing we are getting is a reality check.

  • portions do matter
  • eating a small amount of the right things several times a day works well on keeping hunger down
  • saving something nice for after dinner snack is good for the morale
  • tracking what you are eating and drinking is a good way to stay accountable
  • watching the scales show general downward progress is a nice thing

I am personally learning (again!) that if my husband slips things we shouldn’t eat into the grocery cart, that doesn’t mean that “I” have to heed the voices calling me into the pantry. I am responsible for what I eat.

My initial feeling is that our decision to do a two-month reboot was a good one.

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July 16, 2020 · 1:53 pm

New Trick!

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I’ve told you before that my two goldfish only do one trick-type thing – both getting in the corner of the aquarium and wriggling their bodies and blowing bubbles at me until I feed them. That’s cute and all, and – to my way of thinking – quite enough to keep them, but I have to admit I would enjoy a bit more.

Recently I did some research on goldfish, learning that they are CHAMPION poopers – the reason I have to completely empty the aquarium really often in order to keep their water sparkling. There were several suggestions on how to cut down on the problem, and I have done them all.

One was exchanging the gravel in the tank for glass beads. They stay much cleaner and don’t allow ‘stuff’ to pack into the bottom of the tank.

This – along with the other suggestions has made it so I can go almost two weeks between tank clean-outs, a very welcome thing.

I heard a ticking sound this morning as we were eating breakfast.  I finally saw where the noise was coming from.  The larger fish is now sucking glass beads up off the floor one at a time briefly while she checks to see if there is any food around! Each one makes a ‘tick’ sound as she drops it!  Kind of bizarre, I guess, as fish tricks go, but I’ll take it! :0)

 

 

 

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July 16, 2020 · 10:15 am

A New Kind of Music Room

Our son lives and works in Thailand. He has recently rented a house out in the country there, wanting privacy to be able to play his music without bothering anyone or always having to have earphones on.

He sent me a pic of his new music room –

 

He has two guitars – they are still in the living room, he says. He also plays the drums and a bit of keyboard. (You can see it there if you look carefully.) His big thing now is recording every day sounds and incorporating them in various fashions, repetitions, etc., to music he composes. He can build the music to his heart’s content, adding track after track to enrich the sound. He says I probably won’t be a fan of his new stuff. :0)

Being old and traditional, I love to hear him play one or more of the instruments, playing something he composed, or singing a cover of a song he likes. I’m happy that he now is starting to feel free to experiment and play in his music room, creating something he likes. He is thinking about starting a YouTube channel.

I can’t wait.

 

 

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July 11, 2020 · 10:17 am

Scrubbing the Fish

Yesterday I scrubbed the aquarium, taking everything out, washing it, changing the filters, decorations, etc. and then filling it back up with treated water. I did everything EXCEPT scrub the fish, though I thought about it.

Due to the things I’ve learned and the changes I’ve made, I have to clean the aquarium every 1-1/2 to 2 weeks now, rather than absolutely every week. I have talked to the fish about the alleged pooping contests that I have read that goldfish have, but they don’t seem impressed with my arguments. Apparently, that is just too much fun…

 

Both fish seem healthy, and they continue to welcome me at feeding time by getting into one corner, wiggling their bodies and blowing bubbles at me until the flakes start raining down. I like it. :0)

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