Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Back in the saddle...

There is a single dirty brick holding up my desk. That about sums it up.

Traveling makes me manic, I think. Sunday I was basking in 80 degree (katie, I cannot make the alt/2/4/8 thing work, what gives?) weather, browsing the handmade soaps and salves at Lush in the Florida Mall, and gawking at the majesty that is the Ikea superstore. Yesterday I spent 4+ hours slopping out a fish tank and contemplating just when we'll have enough money that I can replace my sagging mess of composite veneer that I call my professional workspace. I can't focus on getting back in the swing, but back I am, whether I'm ready or not. Oh well. Such is life. Let's look at the pretty flowers instead.

Our visit to the folks was lovely--a bit of a lost week, like we dreamed it, seeing as we arrived back in Knoxville at roughly the same time we left it the Sunday before, to exactly the same drizzly weather. Seems some of you had some rather big news to share while we were out [ahem, Jessica...], and rest assured, I'm catching up with you all, slowly but surely. Anyway, now that I'm back, we have the wide open expanse of March to fill with projects for the house, and my list seems to double each day. If I can just get my feet planted, I swear, I'll get right on it.

We walked in the door Sunday night to a scene of mass ichthycide. The big 20 gallon tank was green and funky, every one of the 4 neons had disappeared, and the two upside down catfish were floating and fuzzy. I freaked out. How the tank just seemed to explode in algae and disease in 6 days is beyond me, but I quickly set up a makeshift home for the remaining refugees (3 zebras, 3 mollies, Jaws the female betta, and my little blue snail). And yesterday, I completely tore down all 20 gallons of tank, gravel, plants, logs, and decorations, gave everything a scrubbing, boiling, disinfecting, and a rinse, and set the whole she-bang up again. A new tank usually has to set up it's own bacteria cycle, which takes a few weeks from scratch, but I saved a bit of the water and the colony in the filter, so hopefully we'll cycle quickly and not kill any of more of my little friends. Stamp a big "FAIL" on my picture and post it at the pet store, for I am a BAD fish mommy. So, yeah, that--with cleaning the kitchen and slapping together a casserole for dinner--was Monday. ALL DAY.

Today my goals are few, but significant. Laundry, of course, tops the list. Sorting the massive stack of mail and bills from last week comes a close second. I need to do a sweep and dust in, well, just about every room; I have to make out my meal plan and head to the store; and, to be honest, I really need to set aside some time to put fake rubber nails on all the cats. Tonight, while Matt is off to class, I'm going to soak in my tub with a Butterball Bath Bomb, my fresh blueberry mud mask doing it's magic to my face, and think of a few (ten) more projects to add to the house to-do list. They're predicting snow that will never come tonight (Jessica has it all, I'm sure), and I'm thinking chicken soup is in order...

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think fish deliberately wait until you're on vacation to go haywire. I had a tank heater go on the fritz while I was away once. I came back to water that was 140 degrees, and a lot of nasty boiled fish. Amazingly, the danios were fine. Those fish can live through anything.

If at first you don't succeed, just go buy more fish.

KatieKate said...

Yahoo! Welcome back!!!

I dunno what's wrong with your keyboard- Sunday and I figured it out... alt 2 4 8 (all at the same time... try using your number pad, not the numbers above your letters)

°°°°°

Sorry about your fish. Boo.

CortneyTree said...

Nope, still won't work--maybe it's this old keyboard I'm using...Matt makes fun of it, but I like it. And why, you ask? Because it makes good clicky noises, which I *NEED*--when I'm on the phone for work and the inventory system is being slow, I just type random stuff and the customer on the other end hears the noises and thinks I'm working SO HARD at looking up their product, when really I'm just waiting for the security checkpoint to let me in. BECAUSE PLASTIC PIPE INVENTORY IS A HUGE SECURITY ISSUE, dontchaknow?

Michie said...

Welcome back! I missed you. Glad you had a nice trip - sorry to hear about your fishy friends!

Sunday Grant Photography said...

°°°°°°°°°
sorry i don't mean to rub it in. maybe i should send you my keyboard, it makes that noise and I don't have any customers on the other end of the line.
What a stinker about the fish tank. I always prepare for disappointment when i walk in the door from vacation. either worth did not keep the house clean, or the dogs shed everywhere and no one was as obsessive as me. Oh well.
Yeaj good luck with that snow. i think that we have the same predicition. That darn Ten./NC border always gets the good stuff.

Honeyspy said...

Man, I am SO out of the loop! Hey! At work this week I was supposed to call you to remind you of your class dates and times (Tues March. 4, 5:30!) but the number I have for you is wrong. Alas!