Saturday-11:15am

The days have been like beautiful June days.

All the snow is melted...

...except for that snow pile that used to be as tall as the tip of the garage roof...

...that has been shrinking day by day.

This last shot I just took on this cloudy morning. Won't be long and it will be completely gone. They're talking 70s today and 80s the next couple days! Totally bizarre weather for mid-March.

I got my first birthday card...(extra early--not till the 28th)...that absolutely cracked me up! Doesn't the old man look like he's straight out of a Charles Dicken's book?

"You're at the perfect age..."

"...not Dead." LOL!

The card is from my first love, Alan. He emailed me this picture of us he found quite a while back. I don't know who took the picture, but it was in my parent's living room. I didn't want my picture taken so Alan forced me to turn my head to the camera. Get those cat glasses! I was a 16 year old senior with my bouffant ratted bubble hair. We graduated the following spring in 1968.

Anyways, Alan and I have stayed in touch over the years...Christmas cards and the occasional email or letter. He's happily married and has been for many years. We ran our course a long-long time ago and were not a good fit, but it is nice to have friends who knew you when, you know? I am still friends with Linda--the girl I grew up next door to and have known since I was five. :) :)

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Okay. (I am already giggling.) I picked the white church on the hillside to try to draw. I was pencil sketching away a couple nights ago.

But when I woke up the next day and looked--ROFL!--the whole church is leaning in the wind! Sad!

I haven't decided yet if I want to paint the leaning church as is or start over. I suppose it doesn't make any difference since we are just doing practice work. Way too sore to do anything today, anyways. Maybe tomorrow or Monday I can continue with drawing and painting.

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Dagan didn't come over on Wednesday. He asked me if I still wanted him to come over on a Friday (he works half days Fridays) and help me clean the aquarium? Yup! So he said he'd just bring over the sewing machine on Friday. Good deal!

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So, I filled my two blue "reserved for fish only" buckets (never have had soap in them)...

...and the three ice cream pails I had around...

...one of which was for the fish after I scooped them out before Dagan arrived.

I got some of the water out, but I was already hurtin' by that time so I left the rest for when Dagan was here.

We were so busy working for about 2 1/2 hours that I never remembered to take any pictures. We emptied the tank and I scooped out dead plants and found the few live ones left after the heater went berserk and practically boiled the fish and plants--too long ago to admit to. While Dagan cleaned the gravel and the tank I scrubbed off the plastic cover on the top of the dresser. It was hot and windy, so we put aquarium parts out on the porch to dry.

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The tank was cleaned, the gravel returned, the plants planted, the rocks arranged, and the aquarium was slowly filled. Used one of Karma's bowls to set on top of the gravel to keep the cascading water from disturbing the arrangement. Looking pretty good. Sparse, but good. I am so used to a tank filled with live plants. Going to have to make a trip to the pet shops in April. ;)

I set all the rinsed buckets and pails out on the porch to dry and Dagan headed out. They are going to come over on the last Wednesday for my birthday. Dagan said we can order something for dinner...my choice. Probably Chinese. :)

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Last night Karma was lolling about enjoying the summer weather. So warm we can have the porch doors propped open! In mid March!

In fact, I took these this morning. Got out Karma's wooden TV tray...her spy perch.

All morning we have heard flocks of chattery Canadian geese passing overhead. Love the honking symphony!

The tank is a little milky. They always are when they are first set up and run the bacteria cycle. Gets worse and then clears up.

One of the four tetras died of shock in the ice cream pail. So I am down to three fish. Am looking forward to buying some plants and a few fish next month. :)

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I had thought of just waiting till these last few fish died and then taking a fish break...but even the near-boiling only killed about half of them off...and they are so unhappy without some plants to hide in...and if I am going to by them more plants anyways..... ;)

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I am very sore today...non-funtional. I forgot the stool had two steps and kind of fell through space jarring my ankles, knees, and hips--not once, but TWICE--duh!! Dagan thought it was so funny (despite his genuine concern) and we were both laughing at me. We have a similar sense of humor. Then later, in the process of filling the tank, he did the same thing!! We roared! I laughed so hard I got tears in my eyes. But I am sore today and the jostling obviously didn't help--ROFL!

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So, I am on R&R for a day or two. Looks like I am going to be perpetually behind on Cathy's class. Oh well. I have all the info and they say you can go at your own pace. Well, mine is snail--LOL!

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I am giggling out loud (annoying Karma who is trying to snooze) just thinking about my church in the wind and my flopping about and landing on the foot of my bed...twice! Ahhh! God protects children and fools, right?

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Have a wonderful weekend! :):)

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"I've learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions and not on our circumstances."

Martha Washington