Dear friends,
My kids love fish! Not to eat, because I personally don't like seafood and rarely serve it. I'm talking about the ones in aquariums. We've had fish in small tanks on and off over the years, but in the past year, it's been more of a consuming focus for them. They'll gladly pull weeds at a penny for every 2 so they can buy more fish and supplies. Unfortunately, they had their aspirations for a BIG tank of fish, and were trying to figure out how to pool their resources (including next year's birthday money!) to pay upwards of $100 or more to get at least a 20 gallon one from Walmart. Hmmm. They had done a lot of research on-line about different kinds of fish and what they need to survive, which types can live with which, etc. Quite impressively educational, I might say!
Then a few weeks ago, my friend Kim e-mailed and asked if I could let the folks on my local contact list know that she had a 55 gallon tank she wanted to give away. No way! We weren't going to spread the word, because we were going to claim it for ourselves! (Mwa ha ha!) Kim's tank came complete with all of the supplies and six convict cichlid fish, so named because their stripes make them look like jail birds -- um, I mean jail fish!
We went to pick up the goodies on a Saturday earlier this month. Kim's husband transferred the cichlids into a small bucket and drained the tank so we could load it in the van. While the adults were doing this, the kids were out in the back yard looking at their chickens and tortoise.
Back home, we gave everything a good cleaning out on the driveway, hauled it inside, and set it up in the dining room on a sturdy desk that one of my teenagers didn't need anymore. I know virtually nothing about aquariums and my husband was out of town, so I was letting my 11 year old son call the shots. He did well. His research had paid off! We conditioned the new water with the drops and then let it sit for several hours, as you're supposed to do. Meanwhile, we put the fish into one of our smaller tanks to await resettlement in their home. The littlest one didn't survive the trip to our house, so we were down to five convicts, one for each of the five younger kids. They named them Wolfgang, Artemis, George, Einstein, and Pocahontas.
We also decided to move three rosy reds and a gourami from the smaller tanks into the big one. Later, we were told that it's surprising the cichlids didn't eat them. If they had tried to do that, we would have removed the little ones. They haven't yet, so we not only left them in, we bought some more small fish (two platys, a molly, and a smaller firemouth cichlid) a week or so later. So far so good! The only snag was the the new firemouth got stuck underneath the elevated back of the gravel rack, which we then removed.
About the most excitment that happens in the tank is that the cichlids tend to be a bit agressive with each other. Two of the bigger ones will often face off and swim at each other, then seem to bounce backwards. They bounce back and forth several times like this and then swim away for a while. This happens pretty continually. I guess this is some kind of turf war over who gets to hang out in the castle or something. Sometimes, there are two sets of fish doing this side by side, which reminds me of synchronized water ballet.
For the most part, the big cichlids leave the little fish alone. The cheerful looking red and yellow platys (Spark and Sunshine) tend to swim with each other most of the time. My elegant black molly, named Ink, wanders around with them sometimes, too. And our snail just crawls along the glass munching algae.
It's really fun watching all the fish. We keep a chair there at the desk just so someone can sit there and gaze at them. We can even pull out the keyboard tray and use it as a place to eat or do school work while fish watching. It's a great way to relax when you're stressed out, too. Even watching the currents and bubbles from the filters is soothing.
And that's the end of my really fishy tale!
Virginia Knowles
P.S. A little update on the fishy tale: Two of them started nesting a few weeks ago. They would pick up pieces of gravel in their mouths and move them somewhere else. They dug a pit right near one of the hollow rocks so they could get inside from underneath it. Then they laid eggs just outside it, and soon enough probably about 200 baby fish hatched! A couple of the other cichlids gobbled up lots of the babies, so we removed those two to another tank. The mommy and daddy cichlid spent the first week or so very carefully and nervously guarding their babies, and they are still hovering nearby though they are letting them swim a little farther away. If one would stray too far, they would suck baby into their mouths, swim back over to the designated nursery area, and spit them back out. The parents have also banished all of the other adult fish to the other end of the tank, nipping at their tails if they dare come near. The babies are still pretty small, probably less than 1 centimeter long still. We'll have to find a good home for most of them soon, especially since I've seen the mommy and daddy nesting again! The two aggressive fish that we moved to a smaller tank have also been nesting. It's mesmerizing to sit and watch the fish and wonder what it would be like to have to guard such a large brood instead of just the 9 of our own kids we still have at home. These fish parents are quite an example of vigilance to me!
Dear friends,
We went to pick up the goodies on a Saturday earlier this month. Kim's husband transferred the cichlids into a small bucket and drained the tank so we could load it in the van. While the adults were doing this, the kids were out in the back yard looking at their chickens and tortoise.
Back home, we gave everything a good cleaning out on the driveway, hauled it inside, and set it up in the dining room on a sturdy desk that one of my teenagers didn't need anymore. I know virtually nothing about aquariums and my husband was out of town, so I was letting my 11 year old son call the shots. He did well. His research had paid off! We conditioned the new water with the drops and then let it sit for several hours, as you're supposed to do. Meanwhile, we put the fish into one of our smaller tanks to await resettlement in their home. The littlest one didn't survive the trip to our house, so we were down to five convicts, one for each of the five younger kids. They named them Wolfgang, Artemis, George, Einstein, and Pocahontas.
We also decided to move three rosy reds and a gourami from the smaller tanks into the big one. Later, we were told that it's surprising the cichlids didn't eat them. If they had tried to do that, we would have removed the little ones. They haven't yet, so we not only left them in, we bought some more small fish (two platys, a molly, and a smaller firemouth cichlid) a week or so later. So far so good! The only snag was the the new firemouth got stuck underneath the elevated back of the gravel rack, which we then removed.
It's really fun watching all the fish. We keep a chair there at the desk just so someone can sit there and gaze at them. We can even pull out the keyboard tray and use it as a place to eat or do school work while fish watching. It's a great way to relax when you're stressed out, too. Even watching the currents and bubbles from the filters is soothing.
Let's start with our front door. I had been looking at autumn wreaths at Walmart, but didn't have it in the budget to pay the full price of $10-30. I did, however, find leaf garland for $3. I knew I had a red berry wreath at home, which I had bought at Target last year for $2.50. So I bought the garland and had Lydia wrap it around the wreath and hang it on the door. We unwrap the garland again to turn it into a Christmasy wreath after Thanksgiving. Our metal wreath hanger puts it at just the height to overlap the window, so we can actually see the wreath from inside the front hallway as well. I found garland for $1 at Dollar Tree, but it was more silky and less shiny, and not as natural looking. I bought one, along with a wicker wreath and a roll of autumn leaf silk ribbon for my sister-in-law Sue so she could make her own door hanging. 
For many years, I had wanted to buy an autumn-themed flag to hang outside our door; but I never wanted to pay full price. 
I purchased a bag of ornamental gourds from Walmart for about $3. They are coated to preserve, but if they get bruised, they will rot. I paired them with Indian corn on a long table in our front hallway. I put more Indian corner on a tall antique cabinet across from it, along with some grains in an oriental style vase with autumny colors. Something different and something the same each year! These two last pictures are from 2010. 
On top of this cabinet is the arrangement in the last photo. It is an antique radio cabinet originally belonging to my step-grandfather, Dr. Howard R. Driggs, who was born in the 1870s. It is at least 100 years old, I think. The lacy cover is a pillow sham probably made by Thad's maternal grandmother Madeline Scerra. There used to be doors at the bottom of this cabinet, but they were so badly damaged that we removed them. I arranged handmade quilts in it to cover up the rough insides. Occasionally I nestle a few quaint teddy bears down there. The chair is an heirloom from the Hess / Ransom side of the family. Did one of my great-grandfathers make it? I don't remember, but it's beautiful. We never sit on it because it is too fragile. We have another one in the master bedroom. What can you find in grandmother's attic? I should also note that this cabinet stores many of our decorative items and wedding crystal. I have at least two vintage easel picture frames from grandma's attic in there, but I bring them out in the springtime since I put in a welcome sign with spring flowers that I had printed out from our computer.
I found four of these small pillows at Target for $2.50 a piece last year in their "Dollar Spot." I bring them out in the autumn for a change from our usual ones.
Our home is filled with bookcases. This one in the living room has picture books, Bible story books, and lots of good paperback literature. The top shelf is reserved for heirloom books, like our Harvard Classics, as well as Live Language Lessons by Grandpa Driggs, Hero Tales from History (which belonged to my Grandpa Henry Hess when he was a boy), Heidi, Swiss Family Robinson, Aesop's Fables, Uncle Wiggly and His Friends (which belonged to my father as a boy), and others. Many of these books are about how people (and rabbits, in the case of Uncle Wiggly) are resourceful to use what they have. We can do that, too! We also use these shelves for country decorations. The fabric heart and wooden "faith, hope and love" angel were gifts from my sweet sister-in-law Dana, who is married to my brother John. There are two candles in jars, as well as a pair of artificial apples, an apple plate (a gift from my daughters), and an apple basket. You can see my other apple basket in the picture of my front hallway.
OK, we'll start with the time travel. Most of you know we traveled a lot in July, visiting relatives and historical/educational sites. Not everybody went to every place, but various ones of us toured Monticello (where Micah is hugging the status of Thomas Jefferson), the National Zoo (where Naomi and Ben climb on a bear statue), historic Philadelphia (where Melody seems a little uninterested in the Free Quaker Meeting House), Valley Forge, Amish country in Lancaster, the National Air and Space Museum, and the National Security Agency's cryptology museum, too. I bought matching red flag t-shirts for the everyone except the older girls to make it easier to round everyone up when we were in crowded public places. After all of our sight seeing, we took two days to drive straight home! We left Andrew behind in Maryland for an extra few days, so he got to go to Luray Caverns, Hershey Park, and Ft. McHenry before Grandma and Grandpa brought him back to Florida when they came down here to see my grandson, Jacob. We're not quite done with the historical time travel. We are planning a field trip to St. Augustine for tomorrow since we are studying the early American colonies in our home school. I could go on and on about all of this, but for those who are interested, here are some on-line photo albums with more commentary. Most of the photos are of the historical sites, flowers and animals, so it is pretty educational. 
Monticello (Thomas Jefferson's estate in Charlottesville, Virginia): 
My husband Thad decided to join the academic action and take an accounting class at Valencia. He's already done a bunch of bookkeeping for many years, so he's starting a side business in it, which is much needed extra income for us. So if you know of any small businesses looking for someone with integrity and careful attention to detail, let me know!
Julia looked absoutely gorgeous as a bridesmaid in her friend Sarah Grace's wedding on Saturday! (See pictures here.) She's still working full-time, but her office moved so she has to drive a really long way to get there. 
Mary has returned to work as a writer at Wycliffe Bible Translators after her maternity leave. Wycliffe is a family-friendly organization, so she can work from home three days a week, and bring Jacob to work the other two days if she wants. Or, if she needs to leave him home, one of us can watch him after Ryan leaves for work in the afternoon. Sometimes Joanna and/or Rachel goes over there after their Valencia classes, and sometimes Jacob comes here so the rest of us can love up on him for a few hours! So occasionally we have a baby in the house! On those days, Mary stays for dinner since Ryan is at work. We sure do love them! Jacob is adorable at 11 weeks old. 
Next, a valuable insight into the way I'm wired! My sister Barb (pictured at left with our parents and brother John and me) called me a few weeks ago with the news that she had been diagnosed with ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). What's more, my mother immediately replied, "Oh, you mean you didn't know that already? Virginia has it, too!" Oh my. I haven't been officially analyzed on this yet, but the symptoms sure do match up according to this very informative site: ADHD/ADD Adult Signs, Symptoms, Effects and Treatment. 
Hmmm! So that's what's been going on all these years! There are many things (such as distractibility, forgetfulness, difficulty with space organization, and time management) that I struggle with on a day to day basis, and this gives me fresh motivation to find practical solutions. An iPod Touch, an unexpected gift from someone who wanted to bless me, has been a huge Godsend in helping me stay on task with To Do list, alarms that beep when I need to do something, a calendar, and a notepad. I keep it with me all the time so I can make notes when I first think of something and then followup on it later. I also have a Bible on it and my weekly prayer lists, too. One thing I did early on is to encourage myself by writing four lists: ways I already compensate for my ADDled brain, things I still need to work on, my personal strengths, and my personal weaknesses. You can find more information about all of this, including some of my lists, here: ADD and Me? We'll Manage!
Let me leave you with a few last inspirational thoughts. When we were in Maryland, I asked my Grandma Hess, a recent widow at age 95, what her favorite hymn is. She was a church organist for decades, so I figure she knows a whole bunch of them! She thought for a moment, and replied, "Love Lifted Me." I was able to immediately pull up a video of someone singing it on-line and handed her my iPod to watch and listen. It was sort of fun seeing her with it -- such a new fangled device in old-fashioned hands! I'm sorry I can't find the same music video, but here are the sweet lyrics:
