Mom is Just a Nickname

My house is pulsing with life these days.  I thought I’d give an update on all of my various projects and further prove that my house is full of life.

Our fish tank, which we start in late June, is seething with life.  We have red wag platies, silver lyretail mollies, golden mystery snails, live plants and pond snails.  The pond snails were unwanted hitch-hikers, but they have found our tank very much to their liking.  I can’t even count how many I remove each time I do a water change.  We currently have three adults of each of the other species and an uncountable number of babies in each species as well.  About seven of the first fry have survived and are now about two-thirds the size of the adults.

Much as I despair for my tank with so many fish in it (it’s only a 29 gallon tank, not nearly big enough to hold them all in the long term), it is thrilling to see them all thriving.  There’s something fascinating about realizing how much the fry grow in just twenty-four hours.  I guess I’ll be making phone calls to local pet stores though to see if I can convince anyone to buy the babies, though.  Then we’re looking into getting gauramis or some other fish which will help control the population better.  I thought we’d have no chance to see the fry grow up because everything I’ve read said that if you want the fry to survive, you have to remove them from the adult fishes’ tank.  That hasn’t proven the case in our tank!

Along with our fish tank, we have a betta.  He’s currently living in a jar on the kitchen counter, until he passes quaruntine. Then we’ll see if he will get along in the big tank.  We got him, hoping that he’d help control the pond snail population, but so far he has shown little interest in demolishing them.  I’m also not sure he’ll get along well with the male silver lyretail molly (who has some fancy fins going on).  If not, he’ll go back into a jar where he can keep me company while I do dishes each day.

Also living in my kitchen these days are my worms.  Yes, I got composting worms  and they are now living in my kitchen. It’s just too hot outside for me to leave them out there, even in the garage!  The worms themselves are doing well.  They seem to be happily producing lots of castings for my garden.  Unfortunately, the fruit flies (or some equally nuisancy type of fly) have decided that they like the worm house, too.  So, I’m searching for ways of controlling that population.  Happily, apple cider vinegar and dish soap in a small dish on the counter works well to contain them, but I’d love to find a way to keep them from reproducing to begin with. They are pesky and their presence means I can’t keep a basket of fresh fruit on the counter.

Gardening-wise, my garden is growing slowly.  I have a handful of sunflower plants which are about knee high now.   They survived Fay’s thrashing wind and rain, which is good.  My chrysanthemums didn’t do so well.  I think they got just too wet with all of the water that collected in our backyard with Fay.  Other than that…my basil is doing well.  I have one still in a tiny pot that needs to be given a better home now.  I don’t think any of my oregano has survived, sadly.  I have several thyme plants that are thriving, though.  A couple of moss roses (Portulaca), and forget-me-nots are doing well.  The only catnip which has survived so far are in pots, except for one teeny tiny plant which isn’t showing any signs of getting any bigger.  At least it’s not dead yet though, I guess.

All of the trees my dad sent home with me back in May have died.  Many of the iris have also died.  I didn’t plant them in good places.  If he is gracious enough to send another batch home with me next time I’m down there, I’ll plant them better.  This time, I put them in places too inconvenient…they kept getting mowed down when we mowed the lawn, or drowned by soaking rains.  So, mental note to place them more strategically next time.  The tiger lillies that Dad gave me are doing well, though.  We had several weeks of blooms from one of the plants awhile back!

For my birthday (ugh, I’m 31, now!), I recieved gift cards to a home improvement store!  So, all of that is going towards sprucing up my garden.  Mostly, I want to get an edging or border to define my plant beds, both for the lawn mower and for the grass which likes to creep into the beds I’ve established.  If I can, I’d also like to get some mulch, and maybe some soil to create raised beds near some of the areas which tend to get very wet.  So, the tiger lillies will get a real flower bed, and my herbs will also.  Once the weather turns cooler, it’ll be easier to get out there to take care of them.

In the rare times I sit down to watch a show, I’ll pick up my crochet hook.  I’m working on a blanket for a new baby in the family.  We have three new babies set to arrive in our family soon, but I’m afraid I won’t be able to keep up with them all!  A friend has recently gifted me with quilting material.  I have been playing with the idea of learning to quilt.  Maybe one of the new babies will receive a quilt instead of a crocheted item!  We shall see.

My final big project has been writing.  I actually have had the joy of seeing an article I submitted last fall PUBLISHED!  So, as my family keeps telling me, I can now say I am, in fact, a published writer!  It’s a bit of a thrill to be able to say that.  Certainly opening up that magazine and seeing my name in print has helped me renew my determination to make writing my JOB.  X is in school part time now, so the few morning hours when he’s off at school, I have committed to writing.  I’m editing that torturous novel I wrote last year for NaNoWriMo.  And I’m currently weighing the pros and cons of trying to do NaNo again this year.  Considering the way it killed my wrists and hands last year, I suspect I should not try it again.  That makes me pretty sad, because that month was one of the most exhilarating and inspirational I can remember!

So, a boring blog update, but this is mostly what has been occupying my time lately.

We’re somewhere around halfway through J’s summer break from school.  The kids are bored with each other, and I’m bored of refereeing their constant spats.  I need some inspiration for cheap and easy things to do with them at home!  Getting anywhere in town is expensive these days and I’m trying to cut back to only the most basic trips from home.  Combining trips is a lovely idea, but I can only combine so many activities in one day before I’m a worn out mess!

Our fish tank is providing some entertainment at least.  We all three spend a lot of time staring into the tank, studying it, trying to see what the animals are up to now.  Yesterday was an exciting day because we discovered two tiny snails.  We have three large mysterio snails, but these little guys are different.  They must have hitched a ride on some of the new plants we just got!  I know that snails can sometimes take over a tank, but I’ve also read that they can be good for it, so for now, we’ll leave them and let them eat the foul stuff in there.

It was even bigger excitement when we realized that we have some fry in the tank!  The only breeds of fish we have right now red wag platy (4 of them) and silver lyretail mollies (4 of them).  Both breeds are livebearers and we suspected that the two platy females were pregnant within a week of having them home.  I hope there is enough cover for the fry to survive, but if not, I guess we know there’s population control in the tank. (I know, that’s a horrible way to look at it!) We’ve thought about setting a nursery tank, but for now we don’t have the resources to do that.

I’m not sure if it’s the search for something to do or the realization that in about a month X will be starting preschool, but I’ve been weighted down with thoughts of what I’ll be doing once he’s in school.  Toph and I have always agreed that when the kids are both in school, I’d start working – at least part time.  This year is the year to turn my thoughts that way.  X will only be in school for the mornings, which doesn’t give me much time to work a job, but it would give me time to write or do school work.  So, I’m weighing up my options: either I pursue writing far more seriously or I get myself into a school program in order to get a degree.  It begs the questions of what degree I’d get and what kind of writing I want to do.  So, I have a lot on my mind these days.

For now, I guess I’ll succumb to the madness of life with my children.  I’ve had requests to play with bouncy balls in the foyer (oi! I’m ready to hide the darn things!) and we need to go to the library today.  I’ll have to get some pictures of my seedlings and some of the projects me and the kids have done lately.

Here’s hoping your summers are passing more peacefully than mine!