This Old House 2 – Page 64 – Middle aged musings from farm & hearth

Pisces

If you’ve been reading me for any length of time, you know how I love the water. Must be the Pisces in me. And perhaps that’s why I’m drawn to fish. Happily, my son shares this interest, and together we really enjoy our “hobby”. Currently he has two tanks in his bedroom.. a semi aggressive tank with gouramis, rainbows, tetra, a clown loach, some silver dollars. He’s also got the goldfish tank that started with the Fair Fish someone had discarded in it’s leaking plastic bag in the parking lot years ago. He brought it home in a paper cup and the big goldfish tank story began there.

I’ve had betta for years now in various places in the house.. but for a long time I have not had my own little space of aquatic beauty. We had a spare ten gallon that my son wasn’t using, and I finally decided to put it to good use in my office. I love the natural look and a healthy eco system.. and that’s what I’m trying to create with my new little tank. I cycled it for only two weeks before adding my fish… a specialist would tell you a new tank needs at least four weeks to cycle properly for the guaranteed health of new fish. I did have my tank water tested and it is a good way through the cycle process, but not 100 percent. I hope my impatience doesn’t kill my new fish.

“Cycling is the process of creating a biological bed consisting of
beneficial bacteria for a fish to live and prosper within. A fish would
normally live in millions of gallons of water. They are part of a great
cycle of biological changes that makes their environment viable to live
in. For fish to live in a man-made environment, a biological bed
must be made for them also. Fish produce waste which produces ammonia.
Ammonia breaks down into nitrites. Ammonia and nitrites are both harmful
to a fish. Without the beneficial bacteria of an established biological
bed to filter out the ammonia and nitrite, your fish are poisoned by
their own waste.“

Currently, I’ve got two platinum electric blue Jack Dempsey cichlids, an orange crayfish, a snail and two dwarf rainbow fish in there with plenty of live plants, some wood, artificial coral stone and a sandy bottom, which Dempseys like. That is plenty for a small tank. Any more fish and it would be over populated. Their water is heated to 78 degrees with a good filtration system and water flow. JD’s grow to a large size, and these will eventually need to be housed in a bigger tank. I LOVE their color! For now I will enjoy them here in the smaller office tank. Cichlids are shy fish by nature and need places to hide.. often doing so while you are nearby.

The Jack Dempsey gets it’s name from the 1930’s boxer –

an aggressive fish that has become more docile over the years and breeding programs.

Dwarf Rainbow..

orange crayfish

..and that’s your aquatics lesson for today 🙂

Come to my window….

Over the kitchen sink…

and this is what you’ll see…

Bluebirds.. who don’t normally frequent a bird feeder,

preferring insects and berries. The prolonged cold weather

has driven them to the feeders.

They are my favorite bird

Nuthatch

A woodpecker, not sure of the variety..

And atleast five or six of these.

*sigh*

All creatures great and small.. .I do love them all..

except when they wreck the feeder and scare the birds away.

Not cool. I’m thinking of vaseline-ing the feeder post, think it will work?

About that Tin….

I meet some wonderful people now and again through this little blog, and one of you actually brought me to tears yesterday. It’s the gestures that come out of the blue..acts of kindness or extending of a hand…. that bring gladness to my heart and tears to my eyes, because I am that much of an emotional twit, yes I am. You people show me again and again in the ways that you think of others .. that humanity thrives, good prevails..and Virginia, whether there is a Santa Claus or not, there are many truly lovely people in this world.

When I mentioned our Trove visit in yesterdays post, I lamented over a Tin I had admired but walked away from, and you all encouraged me to -go back and get it-. No sooner had your comments started coming in, than Arlene, who had originally tipped me off to the Trove and it’s treasures… left me this message…

Karen,
Thank you so much for featuring the Trove here. That is
actually my little stove in your pictures! Please drop by again when you
are able as there will be a surprise waiting for you.

Stay warm!
Arlene

First of all, you have no idea how I adore that little stove! It’s so well made and in great condition, and it’s just the kind I adored when I was a little girl. There was one like it in my kindergarten class where we would make pizzas out of poker chips. It floored me that the stove is actually Arlene’s treasure! I hadn’t even known she had a section of antiques there! Of the 100 items I photographed, only a few made it to the blog post and her piece was one of them.

Anyway… you can guess where I went this morning…. can you spot my new treasure? Here.. in the dining room… (the flash makes this room look stark, truly the light is more natural in person)

On top of the wall cabinet with my grandmothers Hummels and

100 year old Kewpie Tea Set…

is that Huntley & Palmers Superior Reading Biscuit Tin.

Arlene, you shouldn’t have.. but I thank you so very much.

This tea set was given to my grandmother when she was a little girl.

I remember serving apple juice in the little cups with real sugar

in the sugar bowl. She gave it to me a few years before she died,

knowing how much I had loved it.

Back to the Trove trip today… you know I couldn’t drop in without taking another look around. I love children’s books.. and found an original 1933 edition of The ABC Bunny by an author I bet you are familiar with from many years ago… Wanda Gag. If the name doesn’t ring a bell, maybe one of her best loved books will.

“Best known for her Newbery Honor winner Millions of Cats, Wanda Gág
(1893-1946) was a pioneer in children’s book writing, integrating text
and illustration. Born in New Ulm, Minnesota, she rose to international
acclaim. In recognition of her artistry, she was posthumously awarded
the 1958 Lewis Carroll Shelf Award for Millions of Cats and the 1977
Kerlan Award for her body of work.”

So tired of all the winter weather, I have begun bringing SPRING out

around This Old House. The book is a nice addition to the spring-things

in the dining room.

Because this book was part of the Westbrook Library,

it has been handled by many little hands over a long stretch of time.

I love the taped pages, the smudges, the worn edges…

it has been loved.

So am I pushing Spring, you think?

I’ve added some vintage blue in the form of pillows…

The pillows being a feable attempt to keep Frazier off those chairs..

because he just flops on top of them when no one is looking.

I’ve got a bunny and birds nest on the mantle…

and cadbury eggs and a beach scented candle on the island.

Hey.. SPRING?!!.. I know you’re just around the corner..

I’m throwing out the Welcome mats… the door is always open, you can join us any time!

And I want to thank the lovely people of the Trove once again… so nice to

meet some of you today, and such a wonderful surprise left by Arlene.

It’s a beautiful thing.

Junk Hunting at The Trove

That’s what I call it, but truly it’s not junk, I oughta be clear about that. I’m not big on TV programs, especially reality TV… now that’s JUNK! However, we love the History Channel’s version of reality TV… American Pickers, Pawn Stars, even Counting Cars… because not only are these people decent and genuine, you learn something valuable about items from our past.

Thanks to one of my blog readers (I have to apologize, I forget which one of you tipped me off to this)…I discovered a new junk hunting location not far from here… The Trove in Old Saybrook, CT. Mike and I took a ride on Saturday to check it out, and while we came home empty handed, we saw more than a few interesting pieces.

A Kodak Brownie Camera in very good condition… The Brownie was a very popular simple and inexpensive camera made by Kodak , the first being introduced in 1900, a cardboard model with an introductory price of just $1. These cameras made photography much more accessible for the non professional. This one is the Holiday series with a simple built in flash….made in 1953 through 1957. I’m guessing they were called “holiday” because they were a good choice to take along on vacations (on holiday) , easy to tote.

Mike had one of these when he was just a sprite.

I remember a neighbor of mine had one in green

and he usually had bball cards attached to the spokes with clothespins

to make that awesome sound. This is an Oscar Hedstrom bike..
more info HERE if you’re interested.

Some lovely furniture, all from different periods..the drop leaf table

very reasonably priced. If I had a spot for it….

Some of the curiosities you find in places like this are very… curious.

“Doctor M.A. Simmons
first practiced medicine in Georgia, where he brewed up Simmons Liver
Medicine (curing costiveness, lowness of spirits, colic, foul breath,
dyspepsia, etc.) and drove through the countryside with a five-gallon
keg of it, dispensing however much anyone wanted to buy. He moved to
Mississippi, first living in Holly Springs, but located in Iuka when the
proprietary medicine tax became effective in 1862.”

An ad I found online for the stuff…

I took an immediate liking to this biscuit tin below, no bigger than a pencil box.

I might go back and buy it, although I don’t really have a need for it.

You know how you keep thinking about a thing

even days after you walked away from it?

“Huntley & Palmers started life in 1822
as a small bakery in London Street, Reading. In 1846 the firm opened a
large factory on Kings Road in Reading and by 1900 this business was the
largest biscuit manufacturer in the world, employing over 5,000 people.”

A beautiful two dollar note for the Eagle Bank of New Haven

dated August 1st, 1825. The Eagle bank was the second bank to open in New Haven in 1811.

A Tom Thumb childs cash register/bank from the 1950s.

I love this case.. if only I had a place to put it!

I can imagine hours and hours of imaginative cooking on this adorable

childs stove, hand made with wood and still in beautiful condition.

Hmm.. to go back and get that biscuit tin.. or not.

That’s todays question.

Five Oh

My guy is 50 today.. or yesterday,

depending on how you want to look at it.

Leap year baby, don’t ya know.

Last night we had a family dinner at his favorite restaurant

not far from here. We’ve never been big on BIG,

as in parties. I promised him I would not do the dreaded

suprise thing, and he had better hold up his end of the

bargain when it’s my turn.

So, we kept it small.. just siblings and their families, the parents

and our good friend and office manager, who keeps M’s business organized

down there while I do my thing up here on the farm.

He is our rock, the corner stone of our family foundation.. and then some,

this mountain of a man who is always there for so many.

While he sometimes drives me nutz and vice versa….

I am so blessed to have his love in my life.

(Right here is where he will quite possibly spit out his seltzer water,

roll his eyes and wonder who the entity is

who possessed his wife during the typing of this post)

The kids.. now all teens and young adults.. are at an age where they are

truly fun to talk to. We are blessed with a bunch of kids who are thoughtful,

thought provoking, intelligent, still know it all but also want to listen to what we have

to say, to where we’ve been, to what we’ve come to know.

And we laugh together.

It’s a beautiful thing.. as are this young group of individuals that I’m sure

will bring good things to this world.

The moms….

This family of ours. Best gift of all.

The Lilly Ann workout

Hilarious! One of the Worlds best Dads, right here. Way cool, dude. 🙂

This, That.. and something else entirely.

I am very pleased to see that the powers that be saw the discrimination in the Brewer Bill in Arizona and the state continues to be open for business… to everyone. If interested, read article HERE.

This has been shared on FB, and for me it epitomizes how I felt about the bill

and the mentality of it.

On another note, neighbor Carol Ann sent me this..

Amen.

About the Red Dog Project… since the innaugural group of dogs has now been adopted, they are bringing nine new pups in from Georgia that were living in a small house along the highway, never handled by humans and in danger of being run over by the highway traffic. One of our Rescue friends down there pulled them all after the owner of the house made it clear he wasn’t going to care for them… and they are being vetted and eventually spayed/neutered.. and will be transported to the Correctional facility here in CT for training and care – and then adoption. The Corrections Officers will actually drive down on their own time to pick them up, how awesome is that!! These guys are adorable… not sure of the mix of breed yet.. any guesses from my readers? We call them the Highway Nine.

If you’d like to contribute to their rescue expenses, there’s a donate widget HERE on the Red Dog site. Every dollar helps us achieve our rescue and rehab mission. You know I’ll keep you posted on the highway nine’s progress. Red Dog is trying to bring the mom home too…that will be more expensive, as currently there is no foster available for her and she will need to undergo heartworm testing and possibly treatment.

I love when people come together to get something accomplished in a postive way.It’s a beautiful thing. And you know.. some would say… “it’s just a bunch of homeless puppies, there are so many others.”And I will tell to look at a pebble you toss in a vast lake.. see how far the ripple travels. Every step taken..counts. Every good deed makes the world a better place,no matter the scale of it.

Amen again.

Now, about that Emotional Opinion

I try to stick to the truth here, so in the spirit of being honest, I am both passionate and opinionated. Occasionally I see something that raises the hair on my neck and I’m probably going to spew it out here in my little corner of the public eye.

Many people shy away from talking about controversial issues on their blog space and I understand why one would choose to do so. When people feel passionate about an issue, especially emotionally fraught subjects such rights, religion and equality…..emotion, more often than not, mires what could be a constructive conversation. We all know this to be true, and yet it is so damned difficult to stick to the facts, Ma’am. Just the facts. I can tell you it’s never my intention when I bring up a sticky subject to find someone who opposes me so I can argue the point or belittle them. I am genuinely interested in all perspectives.. sometimes it sheds some light. And sometimes it just tangles the web even more.

That being said, I will continue to bring up topics now and again that I think are worth taking the risk to “discuss”. I welcome all points of view, as long as we are decent to each other in the discussion. I can’t help it if you don’t like what I have to say, and I’m not always going to like your ideas either. I try to be diplomatic and I don’t always succeed. Running away from things just because they can become uncomfortable never solves anything. That’s the nature of life. It’s how we deal with these differences that say a lot about who we are and whether we can be part of the solution or add to the problem, regardless of viewpoint.

(In my best Forrest Gump voice)

… “And that’s all I’m gonna say about that”.

The difference in a day

Saturday beach walk…the sea roiled and the wind blew bitter cold.

Sunday walk….. the same beach… no jackets required.

The Red Dog Project – Success!

Yesterday, the first Red Dog Adoption Event took place in Old Saybrook, CT at the brand new Tractor Supply. I love that store, now even more. For my previous post on Red Dog, click HERE.

Two of the four adult dogs that came to the event were adopted and all nine of the puppies raised at York Correctional Institute have many adoption applications as of today and will be placed with the most suitable families. The puppies were born just days before arriving at the facility and the inmates have been caring for them and have begun their training. The pups mother was owned by a young woman who had a difficult start in life. She contacted Dog Days (also Red Dog Project) to see if they could help her with her beloved dog and the newborn pups. Not only did they step up to help the dog ( now spayed) and babies, this young woman has a job and place to live and a much better chance at life. It’s a beautiful thing.

Tractor Supply is a wonderful company that supports shelter animals

and is generous with their facilities and supplies.

Support your local Tractor Supply.