holiday squishes and kettle burns

Went for my annual mammogram yesterday, nice to have that completed for the year.  I am grateful that these things have historically been only minorly discomforting with no anxiety.   *squish*squish*squish*   "thanks, you can go now" and then get the all-clear a short while later.  No family history, relatively low risk (small asian boobs... ).

So THAT's done for the year.  On  a side  note, the mammogramologist / mammographer / mammotechnician / not sure of her actual title - told me that I have "well developed pectoralis muscles".  HA!  Well, I've been going to the gym more regularly since last spring.  I don't notice much difference from the "before", but I'm sure she's handled a lot more boobs than I have in order to make an informed comparison.  Anyways, it prompted her to make an additional *squish* angle, and then I was done.

I came home and started doing some work after putting the kettle on for tea.  A while later, I emerged from my desk to find the kitchen kind of hazy.  *GASP*- the tea kettle!  I forgot about it, all the water boiled away, and I burned out yet another kettle.  Yes, this has happened before 😒

So, the happy ending is that I now have a shiny new kettle.  My old one was a cheapo from which the cheap spot weld holding the whistle in place failed after about one week of use.  I replaced it with a, hopefully, better stronger whistle.  Because I can be stupid and need these things.

In aquarium news, I've got 6 fish now.  The roots of my bamboo are growing, but I can't tell if the actual stalks are growing.  Oh well, I'll take roots.

In looking at my calendar, I currently don't have any tutees scheduled for the next 6 days - not surprisingly.  I asked Meego if he wants to go with me today to the pet shelter "just to look" at the dogs available for adoption.  

Just gonna look.  

I think.

ringing in the season

We got us one of them Ring®️ doorbells.

Magnum wired it up last weekend, and it seems to be doing its thing.  As far as I know, we've not been victims of porch pirates *knock on wood* *throw salt over the shoulder*, but I know it's becoming a pretty common crime with people increasingly shopping online.

So we'd talked about getting a Ring or some such for a while and finally installed one.  I'm happy to say the feed has been quite boring so far.  It's mostly of my comings and goings along with footage of the neighbor cat looking for Napolion, and one entertaining video of magpies either fighting or engaging in foreplay, not sure which.

I've also learned that amazon has lockers to use for deliveries.  There's a Whole Foods about a mile away from our house, so I'm going to try the locker system next time I order something from Amazon.  Anyone need anything? For my experiment?

Maybe I'll order some fish stuff as my aquarium is starting to take shape.  I added three male guppies, a plecostomus, and a little pagoda lantern thing.

It still seems like there's a lot of empty water space in there, but I'm pretending to believe that the plants are growing and bulbs are sprouting.  

Anyone else have some sort of surveillance system for home or work?  Any stories to share?

the shape of water?

He left me.  After all this time.  He just up and... left.

We had our usual time together earlier that morning. He was happy to see me as always.  Nothing seemed any different.  But then a few hours later, gone.

It's weird.  In  many ways, I disliked him, I resented him.  But these past several months, I guess since he was all alone and completely dependent on me, we bonded.  That no name fish.  I found his body sucked up against the filter intake.

See him?  Dangling there and looking rather pornographic?

Readers who have followed along know the story of the fish tank apocalypse, the "Apocalarium" as it came to be known.  In summary, I had a thriving freshwater community aquarium.  It included a few different species of fish, a happy little snail, and several thriving live plants.  Until that fateful day...

I brought home friendly (NOT) fish that typically do well in such an aquarium as mine.  Over the course of about a week, one by one, all of the other fish died.

But hey, at least the plants continued to look good... Well, until we went away for a couple of days and the monster fish totally ignored the food cube I left and devoured all my plants instead.

Not wanting to risk harm to any other creatures, I let the fish tank become a cold, desolate, bubbly thing.  That environment only seemed to help those monsters thrive all the more as they lived longer than any fish on record (might be an exaggeration, but not by much!).  I don't even remember how long we had them, but they were eventually eligible to be considered "ancient".

But even they couldn't last forever, and at last, there was just the one remaining in cold isolation.  But damn if that last guy didn't plan to live forever!

I dunno, I think at some point, I gave up on the idea of getting the tank back.  It seemed like we would forever have this relationship - him in the lifeless tank, me caring for and feeding the monster.

But alas, now he's gone.  And I remember those who went before.  His victims:  Fin, Gil, Rubberlips, Donatello, Gary...

Rest in Peace, no-name monster fish.

I never hated you.

Blue

Yesterday, Magnum, Meego, and I went on a little field trip to the local  Asian Pacific Market.  We weren't really looking to buy anything pacific... erm... specific, but we'd never been and wanted to check it out and had nothing else going on.

As expected, there was lots of stuff.  In addition to Asian foods and sauces and other accompaniments, there was a lot of cooking equipment - rice cookers, knives, woks, woks, and more woks, etc.  It was a fun little excursion.  I managed to not buy a cute little tea set, but we did we did get a lot of noodles to try along with a bag of dried squid... because squid jerky!

While there, I walked along the fresh fish area - several piles of recently dead fish varieties - and some live crabs in a tank, awaiting their demise.  There was a bed of ice advertising blue crab, but nothing left save for a few small blue legs that got left behind.  This week's prompt at Illustration Friday is "blue", so to honor the dead...

Speaking of Meego and fish, he's managed to land a sweet TA job at school this semester.  Seniors and some Juniors who have enough required credits completed can sign up to be TA's for half credit per semester.  Typically, they get tedious assignments that the teacher doesn't want to do - filing, etc.

This semester, Meego got matched with one of the science teachers, but she seems like more of a mini zookeeper.  Her classroom is literally crawling with all kinds of things and also includes a large saltwater fish tank  as well as a few freshwater tanks.  Meego showed me a video he made while walking around the room. I wonder where the teacher finds the time to teach school AND take care of all her fish and reptiles. Good thing for TAs.

Readers here might recall that my aquarium underwent an apocalyptic event a while back.  I'd  had a thriving community tank with happy fish, snails, and plants when one fateful day, I brought home three supposedly community-tank-friendly fish.  Everything but the three "friendlies" died within a couple of weeks.  Now I'm down to the last of the evil fish, who lives alone in the otherwise dead tank.  We wait. 

Meego told us that the science teacher/zookeeper has a separate tank where she puts "mean fish". 

"Ah", I realized, "I should have had one of those"

"We have one", Magnum reminded me, "It's called a toilet".

Coulda shoulda woulda.

... and then there was one

It's been many years since we welcomed you and your gang friends into our home.

Almost instantaneously, the three of you began to methodically and thoroughly kill everything that was alive, so I didn't dare bring anything else within your reach.

I kicked the meanest of you out, so you and your partner lived a minimal life since then - no new friends nor new vegetation to murder.

As the years ticked by, I wondered at your longevity and ability to thrive despite the depravity.

Ultimately, however, it was I who controlled your fate, as I think you know.

But I couldn't do it, I could not willingly put you to death, so I continued to sustain you both, feeding the monsters within.

But now, he's gone and only you remain.

Why do I feel sorry for you?

The Death of Monster2

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Linking up this week with Mama Kat for the prompt:
1. Write a blog post in exactly 8 lines

she said I was boring, then told me I should stick it where the sun don't shine

I had a "well woman check" yesterday.  It's just another hoop to jump through for Magnum's employer's health incentive program.  We got money for me having a well woman check.

"Well woman" strikes me as an odd term.  Sounds like a character in a Cecil B. Demille movie:

      The well woman was portrayed by Abby Normal
      *publicy photo of me in ragged dress, holding a roped bucket*

My doctor's appointment wasn't nearly as dramatic.  In fact, Dr. told me I was boring.

"I don't see you for two years and you're as boring as the last time!"

I told her I would try to keep it that way.

Anyway, she's quite friendly and laid back.  I think this was only my second appointment with her as she replaced my previous doctor who was also quite friendly and laid back.  So we're going through the various well woman pokes and prods (pick a spot on the ceiling... pick a spot on the ceiling... pick a spot on the...), and she's talking about her daughters and the recent vacation they all took, and next thing I  know, she starts throwing around the dreaded "colonoscopy".

Wait, what?  We were having such a nice visit.
Another perk of turning 50.  Pfffft.

Meanwhile, as I was sitting in the waiting area, I couldn't help but notice the office aquarium.  In addition to other varieties, it is home to three fish that are the same breed as my monsters.  Except the doctor's office fish seem typical as publicized.

"...a South American fish that will make a great addition to any community aquarium..."

HA!  Very funny, not.  Tell that to my large deceased community!

My two monsters continue to thrive in the Tank of Death.  They've even tried to kill the scuba diver/treasure hunter by removing his air hose.  But really, the diver was already suffocated by the copious amounts of algae that have consumed him since the monster fish killed every algae-eating plecostomus I've invited over.

See them here?  Just behind my shoulder?

EVIL!

I continue to care for and feed them as they are totally dependent on me for such maintenance.  But dang, these fish just won't die!  I swear, I think they've lived longer than any fish I've had.

I guess there's something to be said for ruthlessness. If I become ruthless, can I skip the colonoscopy?

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Silver Liningness Sunday

Greetings Sunday friends,  I hope your respective silver linings are thick!

We had another fine week here.  As I adjusted to being finished with another semester, it was a productive week in getting non-school tasks out of the way.  Some of that involved making way for Chaco and Wolfgang and all of their dorm crap.  Somehow, it has all been squeezed into the house.

In the midst of the college boy flux, Meego turned 15 on Thursday!  My Mother's Day bambino is not so little anymore.

Despite the moving and shaking going on, we all managed to celebrate with him on Thursday with cake and presents.  Then yesterday, we all went out for some Famous Dave's and saw The Avengers.





So now Meego has to continue schlepping to school for two more weeks while his brothers are on break and rubbing it in his face.  Chaco and Wolfgang are both set for summer employment, though, and that's certainly a good thing.  Chaco has an internship here in town and Wolfgang is continuing with Edukit.

I got China in for her early summer grooming this week.  She seems quite happy to be free of her long winter coat, and I'm certainly not complaining about the decreased amount of house hairiness.

We've managed to dry out somewhat from our week of drenching.  I've got an appointment to get the Echo fixed after getting a few estimates.  So far, I like the chosen shop and hopefully, that opinion will remain after the repair. *fingers crossed*





On a side note, the waiting area of the chosen shop has a nice, healthy looking fish tank with large  impressive fish.  It served as a reminder of the fresh heck that is my own aquarium.  I'm starting to think those monsters will never die.


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Silver Liningness Sunday

Hello and happy Sunday greetings!  The air is crisp and the leaves, they are a-changing.  Pumpkin season is here, I like it!

I snapped this pic this morning as the peak is covered with its first official snow of the season.  We've had some dustings in the last few weeks, but with this, it's moved officially into "snowed upon".  It's prettier when not looking at it through a dumb phone.

My P.E.O chapter hosted a local Oktoberfest fundraiser yesterday.  I haven't heard the final numbers, but I think we made a pretty good haul.  Beer and brats, what's not to like?

As for us, we actually weren't in attendance.  Magnum, Meego, and I decided to spend a day in Denver.  The zoo has added some nice big habitats since we were last there a few years ago, so we decided to check them out.

It was a great day for it, perfect weather and the summer crowds have passed.  I, for one, still enjoy a visit to a nice zoo, and it was nice to see plenty of others of all ages enjoying it too.  However, it did serve to remind me of the uneasy state of my aquarium...

I remember visiting that zoo nearly 30 years ago with a guy I was dating at the time.  Seems we just went in the afternoon, walked in a loop for about an hour or two, and that was that.  Now the place is huge.

Another good push to get out was the fact that we've been having intermittent problems with our internet service.  It's probably from our modem being about to die.  The bright side to that is that we've seen plenty of Chaco this week since talking to the official "Tech Support" only seems to make matters worse if anything.

So for that, I'm grateful that Chaco lives so close by.  I told him, "shouldn't you just teach me all of this?", but I guess he'd rather just come over.  Surely it has nothing to do with my own computer tech savviness.  Or lack thereof.

And that reminds me, the feed died while Magnum and I were in the middle of watching an episode of "The Walking Dead" - Season 4 just released on Netflix.   We're gonna have to hook in and catch the rest of that episode before the modem zombies take away our streaming capability again!

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Silver Liningness Sunday

I rode by a fully populated pumpkin patch this morning - a sure sign of fall.  I was thinking we should go get some pumpkins while the gettin's good, but then that would break my long-standing tradition of scrounging at the last minute.

I've been contemplating my aquarium.  The zombie fish continue to thrive in their dystopian existence.  I've been waiting for them to die... or whatever it is that zombies do when they "pass".  I don't dare introduce any innocent fish since all of the others I tried died shortly after, even when I check the water chemistry and deem it healthy.

There's just something about those two (Buenos Aires Tetra) zombie fish!  The secret lies with Tina, the sole survivor of the apocalypse.  She was one of the lesbian Black Skirt Tetra threesome.  For some reason, she still lives.  So it's just the flourishing zombie fish and Tina.  They even killed the plants.

In the meantime, I continue to properly care and feed for the monsters and Tina, out of obligation.  My luck, they'll live for another twenty years.  But I've got plans to get a nice Cichlid tank going after deciding that a marine reef setup is too expensive right now.  Magnum suggested getting the cichlids and letting them eat the monsters, but my luck, it would kill the new fish.

cichlids.com

Anyway, we went and looked at nice fish and supplies yesterday.  It was really just an excuse to go for a bike ride on a pleasant Saturday, and it worked.  I managed to not let Meego talk me into buying anything - helped by the fact that we couldn't lug much home on bicycles.  But he did get us to Carl's Jr. to eat like we mean it.

In  movie news, we watched Into the White, which we all liked.  It's based on actual WWII events, and nicely done as far as a story of survival can be done nicely.

And speaking of bicycle rides and survival, I got a flat tire this week.  Unlike my last trailside mishap, this wasn't my fault!  In fact, I've given both Alice and Bella such TLC, it's silly.  Alice was literally running like a well-oiled machine when she pulled up lame.

I was only about a mile and-a-half away from home, and although I had all the first-aid supplies to get Alice rolling again, I was thinking I would just walk it home and fix her there.  So I was walking along deciding if I wanted to pull a PDM - public display of maintenance - when this good Samaritan pulled up and offered me a ride.

Yes, he was a total stranger, but I could (pretty much) tell he was a good one.  I'm not sure, but I'd say he's one of our local military people, he just had that air about him.  He claimed to be an avid cyclist who's "been there", plus he had this roomy SUV.  He was in the neighborhood scoping out houses to buy, so I took him up on the ride offer.

His name is Joe, he drives a newish BMW SUV that's only slightly sullied from carrying a wounded bicycle, and has his left arm in a sling from recent shoulder surgery.  If you see him, give him a shout out.



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fishnado

Yesterday I thought I might draw something.  Or blog something.  Or both. Then an online learning site I use enticed me to play over there for a while.  And I thought, okay, just for a little bit.  PFFFT.

I camped out over in my left-side brain for too long.  My drawing/blogging right side brain went to mush.  Does that happen to anyone else?  It's hard to strike a balance.  Is that how my kids can play computer games for so long? And then are unable to clean up their own messes?

Maybe I should set a timer or something

In the end, I guess it was a good thing.  I went to PEO and was recruited to act as treasurer since the official treasurer was absent.  Yay!  I am somebody!  I have a purpose!   I can do numbers!

Thus my excitement of yesterday.

Another project on the to-do list is to refurb my fish aquarium.  Except the evil fish are still living in there.  Recall how they took over and totally wiped out the tank civilization?  They have continued to thrive, but I can't bring any other tankmates in, lest they become murder victims.  Remember Jansen the plecostomus?  How he totally vanished overnight?  Never found any trace of him.  I don't dare buy another pleco, it just seems cruel.

My only consolation has been that the plants have flourished under this post-apocalypse regime.  Well, that all went out the window over the weekend.

See, I didn't do anything special for the evil fish when we shuffled off to Comic Con.  I made sure they were fed before I left, we'd be gone for two days, they could scrounge the tank.  I think I was secretly hoping they'd eat each other.

They didn't.  They ate the plants instead.

My previously lush tank flora has been reduced to a few scraggly leafless stems.  Like a few skinny grass noodles and nothingness.  However, the algae continues to prosper because there is no resident plecostomus, may he Rest In Peace.

I've quietly contemplated serving the evil fish up as a treat for Reese the snake.

But they'd probably find a way to kill him too.
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no reaction

I thought I'd do a MamaKat's post today.  Since it's Thursday and I haven't linked up with her in a while.  I was perusing the prompts and came across

5.) Your least favorite subject in school.

and I thought, "Oh!  School!  I like school!"  Whod've thought that would be a problem??  I sat here wracking my brain for a LEAST favorite subject.  Geesh, what a nerd.

I mean, I liked school.  Heck, now I'm back in school so that I can work in a school for cripe's sake.  Least favorite subjects aren't something I consider very often.  But surely something must be at the bottom of the stack, right?

Nothing comes to mind, but I'm going with Chemistry, and that's a bit of a tragedy.

When I was a little kid, I thought that when I grew up, I'd like to be a scientist, which is a super vague and broad term.  But I pictured myself in some laboratory with the safety goggles and the beakers and test tubes all a-bubble.




I took chemistry in high school with all the other required sciences.  I'm pretty sure I got an A, but I don't remember hardly anything about it.  Granted, it was *hack* many years ago, but I do remember pieces of my other science classes.


In college, I was required to take General Chemistry (genchem).  I don't remember much of that class at all either, other than I recall thinking it was the same stuff we'd done in high school - which I don't remember, remember?






GenChem marked the end of my chemical romance.  I moved on to other things.  Later on, I worked at a (in the mechanical side) chemical company.  I was intruigued by the work the chemists in the lab did.  Creating new formulations and compounds based on what the chemists wanted the materials to do.

Yeah, THAT'S what I'd seen myself doing in my child mind's eye.  But we didn't do any of THAT when I was in school.  I think we balanced equations and stuff, making sure that the number of molecules on the right side of the equal sign matched the number of molecules on the left.  Okay, there, I remembered something after all.

I don't regret not becoming a chemist.  I've enjoyed the schooling and career path that followed.  But at the same time, I think I would've enjoyed being a chemist of some sort.  As long as I wasn't doing cruel and unusual things to animals.

I think it's why I like having a fish tank.  It's not so much about the fish, it's about keeping it all in the right chemical balance for the fish and plants in their little ecosystem, totally under my knowledge and control.  Which probably explains the apocalarium events...

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and just like that...

...he's gone.  Gone!  Just disappeared into thin... water!

My plecostomus, Jansen.  He's swum the coop!

First, a little background:  A few months ago, the mysterious apocalarium happened.  Recall that I introduced a few new fish into the fold, and then one.  by.  one.  all but one of the previously residing tankmates went on to fish heaven in the course of about a week.  This left just two newbies and one strangely hardy old timer.  This also coincided with a strange flourish of plant health.

I studied up, made a few adjustments, and slowly brought the tank back to a state of, I think,  normal existence.  Since my previous plecostomus, Hot Lips, died in the apocalypse, a noticeable algae problem came about in his absence.

So I went ahead and brought in Jansen.  And Jansen went right to work, cleaning up like nobody's business.  He also managed to stay alive.  For quite a while, actually.

A week ago or so, I noticed my sunken temple, among other things,  was becoming quite green with algae.  Jansen was usually pretty good about cleaning my sunken temple, so what was up with all this algae?

Devil Fish of Algae Town

I've been looking for Jansen ever since.  There is absolutely no trace of him whatsoever.  No carcass, no nothing.  Just lots of algae.  And mystery.  I think it's the Devil Fish of (now) Algae Town.  They've done something with Jansen.

In the meantime...

If anyone's seen him or his  *GULP*  remains, please lemme know.  We need closure.

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Power

This week's Illustration Friday prompt is "power", so naturally, I drew this little fish.

With the end of summer upon us, our minds are (hopefully) turning to thoughts of school and learning.  My tuting schedule is chock full as I want it to be with the test prep season in full swing, and the kids are getting their schedules and supplies in order.  And oh yeah, I've got the student thing going on too.

Knowledge is power.

I've also been schooling myself in fish - ha... get it?? *sorry*.  Recall that my little fish tank recently went all Armageddon on me.  Since then, I've been trying to learn what went wrong.  During this education, I've become bound and determined to foster an aquarium rebirth like no other.

So I've been google schooling and youtube schooling and turning into the resident fish geek.  I explained to Magnum how, as our nest is becoming empty, I am satisfying my need to take care of SOMEthing.  Fish it is.

Yesterday, Meego, Wolfgang, and I visited a local fish shop (I'm still keeping Fridays dumb)  that I learned of.  The building was just a hole in the wall, but we walked inside and it was like a Marine Dream.  BEAU-tiful aquariums, a lovely assortment of fish and other reef dwellers...

I stood in front of the buncha-gallons tank as the fish swam around, giving me the eye.

"Think you could keep me alive and happy like this?  Do you have the POWER??", they asked.

Yes?
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apocalarium

One minute, everything seemed fine,  then everything just went belly up.  There seemed no end to it.  I still don't have any answers.

But for now, anyway, things seem to have calmed down.  Just before the apocalypse, the population stood at eleven citizens.  Currently, it stands at four survivors.

Remember, a coupla weeks ago?  I introduced a few new members to the community?  One turned out to be a terrorist, and justice was swift.  Normalcy was returning, but then, but then...

It started with the guppy bachelors.  One by one, they flailed then dropped.  All three of them.

Next, the swordtail wives.  One sister wife took ill and didn't make it.  The other sister wife followed shortly after.  Husband Zorro died about a day  later.  It was either the apocolarium plague or a bad case of sexual frustration that got him.  

The final straw was when I found Hot Lips the plecostomus swimming with the fishes, but not in a good way.  I mean, Hot Lips was a freaking PLECOSTOMUS!   Those things are like the cockroaches of the fish world, likely to survive nuclear fallout!  

But not the apocalarium plague.

The four survivors seem healthy and unfazed.  

Two black skirt tetras - affectionately known as The Lesbians - look and act as healthy as ever.  They lost one of their threesome a while ago, but that was before the apocalarium plague.  The other two are buenos aires tetras of unknown gender.  There was a third, but he/she was The Terrorist...

I'm thinking that I introduced the plague into the community in my attempts to calm The Terrorist.  I put some happy juice in the water.  I'd never used the happy juice before, but found it on my shelf, and served it up to "destress" the fish.  

Well, seven of them aren't stressing anymore!

On the bright side, the plants never looked better.

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we never even knew his name

I got some new students this week.  They all seemed pretty friendly.  Bright.  According to their transcripts, they should get along fine with the other already established students.

After a while, though, I don't know, there was a shift in the dynamics.  Unspoken rivalries became apparent.  There was bullying going on.  As much as I hate bullying, I waited, thinking things would settle down once everyone sort of figured out his or her place in the hierarchy, such as it was.

I even gave them some refreshments, laced with calming ingredients.  Certainly, that would mellow everyone out.  I waited some more.  Nope, clearly one newbie was bound and determined to be the class jerk.  And strangely, while he picked on everyone, he was most vicious toward the lesbians.  What's up with that?  The lesbians don't bother anyone and are the mellowest of the bunch.

I pulled him aside and told him we don't do that in my school.  I had him go sit by himself and think about how his actions were affecting the others.  I also kept an eye on the others because, sometimes when I've done this in the past, another will emerge and take the place of the class jerk.

But that didn't happen.  It was pretty clear that the others were glad the bully was gone for the time being.  I watched a little longer to see if any of them had picked up his bad behaviors, but they all continued to get along quite swimmingly.

After consulting with the administration, it was decided that the bully would be expelled.  He had been given plenty of chances, but was just not going to fit in here.  I went to give him a talking to.  I had the unenviable job of making him aware of our decision.

Naturally, he was not happy.  But it was clear that he could not be reformed.  There was no remorse, he only became all the more belligerent.  I almost hate to admit it, but I wasn't all that sad to hand him his sentencing.

We donated the body to science.

Rest in Peace, Buttfish.

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growth

Our fish aquarium.  What is its purpose?  It doesn't feed or clothe or shelter us.  It's not particularly interactive.  It doesn't cook or clean or change the oil.  Perhaps it's just one extravagance amid my minimalism. 

I luxuriate in its humming, bubbling presence.  Its meditative spirit fills the room with a certain calmness. The ritualistic cleanings and arrangings make it a sort of zen garden for me, along with the daily practices of feeding and turning the light on in the mornings and off at bedtime.  I would love to have a bigger one or a more exotically shaped one rather than the 30-gallon rectangular, but it'll do. 

Currently, however, its zen presence is being messed with.  We have an intruder.  The intruder is pond scum.

A few weeks ago, the fluorescent bulb in the hood blew out.  I sought out a replacement and selected one that was specifically categorized for plants and aquariums, and then there was light.

Followed by pond scum.

I noticed my zen garden aquarium becoming cloudy and greenish.  It was hard to see the fish when they went to the back.  Cleaning it only makes it a little less cloudy and greenish for a day or so.  

Just my luck.  I've never been particularly good with plants. Seems like all of the houses we've lived in just didn't have an area that provided the right amount of sun, and my plants have struggled.

And yet here I am, procreating a bumper crop of pond scum. 

So I'm calling on the experts:  fish keepers and/or pot growers.  Should I

(a) leave it and realign my zen values?
(b) go without a light in the hood and just rely on nature?
(c) start up a small pot-growing operation?
(d) a and c?
(e) b and c?

I'm thinking if I choose (c), while it won't cure the problem, I just might not care anymore.
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healthy butt?

Every day.  Every day for nearly six months.  Every.  Single  (okay, maybe not EVERY day, but for the purposes of this story, let's just go with that).  Day.

I have fed peas to our goldfish every day since discovering that it was a remedy for floating-upside-down disease.  It's actually a swim bladder problem that is common in fancy goldfish.  They turn into beachballs with fins.  Surely you all recall our discovery of it.

If not, allow me to summarize.  Our goldfish Lilly began having buoyancy issues and couldn't remain upright.  She was usually found, tired of fighting it and floating upside down.  Still breathing, still "swimming", still eating.

I figured she was one for the toilet, but Wolfgang learned of this common problem and the pea remedy.  And so the pea feeding began.  A good pea snack each afternoon would keep her somewhat upright and able to dive deeper than a couple of inches, as long as it was administered daily.  So Every.  Single.... yeah okay.

Until last week anyway.  I noticed that she was no longer bobbing around the water line.  She was swimming around right-side-up and looking like a normal fish.  And that's just not normal! 

Why the sudden change?!  I held back the peas, and still, she swims.  Like a normal freaking fish!  It's just not right to be normal. Not in this house.  All of our residents pets have issues! 

I studied her closely.  Not only does she no longer swim upside down, she's lost her booty!  Her characteristic fancy goldfish booty!

I tried to get a pic to highlight the contrast.  That's the newly svelte Lilly in the center with a more bootylicious tankmate shown on the right.

It's like she went out and got a lipo or something. 


So this worrisome.  She looks happy, yet....

I like big butts and I cannot lie.
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