Hermione

Well, when I got home today, I had my nephew Stephen with me & he noticed that Hermione (our youngest cat) was limping.  So I picked her up & looked at her right forepaw.  I noticed some swelling & then noticed that it appeared her index toe was twisted & that the claw appeared to be stuck between her middle & ring toes.  Well, rather than attempt to help her myself, I put her down & waited until Eric got home.  We couldn’t figure out exactly what was wrong with her toe still, so I called the vet.  They recommended we take Hermione to the emergency clinic or wait & make an appointment for Friday.  We decided to go to the clinic with her- she was very uncomfortable.  So we headed to the clinic & after a rather short wait, we were seen by a wonderful vet.  After a very thorough exam of her paw, the vet saw that her index toe was dislocated & twisted under her paw. But the good news is, is that there are no apparent broken bones. Basically, Hermione had attempted to declaw herself (she had accidentally gotten caught on one of our rugs).  So the vet said that she recommends we leave her alone but keep an eye on the toe.  She said if it gets twisted up again or doesn’t stay straight, she’ll either have to wear a splint or be declawed (at least on that toe).  We also have to keep her claws trimmed (which is normal for us to do).  In the end, it was a rather happy ending.  I mean, at least we didn’t have to pay for x-rays or anything.  They gave us, or rather sold us, some anti-inflammatory medication with painkiller to give Hermes every other day for 3 days.  We determined that taking her to the after hours probably actually saved us money, since I would have had to take off of work AND pay a vet bill otherwise.  Plus, knowing the regular vet, they’d want to set up an extra checkup appointment, for which there’d be a $30 office visit… yeah.  No thanks.  So, that’s all for now! 

-Anna

Baby Registry

We are planning a baby celebration on Saturday, Nov 11^th at 4:00pm at our home.  Dinner will be served.  Please RSVP if you plan to attend.  We are registered at babiesrus.com and target.com

If anyone would just like to donate to the baby fund, we will spend the money to get the supplies we will need! Anyone wishing to donate needs to just PayPal my main email address.

New Fish/Other news

We got 2 Clarkii clownfish, and 2 pyjama cardinalfish. One of the pyjamas stressed out and died the same night, but one is still alive. I also built a new canopy for the top, and got 2 150W metal halide lights. Now our anemone will have plenty of light. The tank seems to get too hot, so I am planning on setting some fans to blow down across the water to cool it. We also got a candycane coral.
We got a toy cabinet, so to speak, for Kat's room. Found it at a garage sale for $15. They asked us what we'd pay for it. We offered them 10 and they said SOLD. We put a lot of stuff (books, toys, etc.) in there. We are going to bring the crib back from Anna's parents house maybe today or tomorrow.
Have a happy Labor Day weekend!

We're Having a Boy!!

We had our ultrasound today & it is definitely a boy!

New Anemone

I just got a Sebae Anemone for the tank. I don't know if I can manage to keep it alive or not, as they need lots of light, but I guess it's worth a shot!

News

We got another new fish. It's a Blue Regal Tang, also known as a Hepatus Tang. So far she is doing well. She is still getting used to the tank, but I think she'll be ok. We got her Sunday.
Things are well elsewhere too. I have the basement east side framed in, and just need to insulate, then ready for wall covering. Then move everything to the other side and start the west side!
That's all for now!

Latest on Saltwater Tank

We have gotten past our Ich incident. We got another shrimp, this one a Peppermint Shrimp. We have 3 red mushrooms now, and a Kenya Tree Coral also. Just this last weekend we picked up a Lawnmower Blenny. I figured out how to make the toilet sound go away from the skimmer, so now it's quiet. Just after we got the Blenny, the shrimp was all over him, cleaning him. He didnt seem to mind, and we managed to get a picture of it :) This tank is a lot more rewarding than my freshwater tank. We even have little TINY shrimp in it.

Tile Done!

Well, that's it. I just finished the tile in the hallway. Posted are pics!

Tile Almost Done

Well I just got done laying the tile in the hallway. Katarina, as always, had to ... supervise me. It went down fairly well. I laid about 30 tiles. about 18 of them were cut. the last few were full tiles. All I have to do in the morning is grout, and the hallway is done.

Ultrasound Pictures

Anna had her first ultrasound today for Baby Ziegler. Here are scans of the pictures.

Boy this is a pain!

Well, our saltwater fish have Ich.  I think the Tang brought it home from the “other” store.  This morning when I got up she looked horrible.  The two clowns had spots on them too.  I stopped at Midwest Corals and got some medicine for them.  It says 5 days should treat it.  We’ll see what happens.  We got more rock for the tank.  Now we have 60 lbs.  There are lots of places to hide and I think the fish are really enjoying it. Gurgle is still hiding a lot.  Once the Ich clears, I think we are going to look into an anemone and maybe some mushrooms.  We are done buying fish, unless one dies.  I have more pictures in case anyone wants to see them.  Just email and ask me for them.

Update

Tonight, sometime after we got home from the grocery store, Nemo jumped out of the tank.  Katarina walked over by the bathroom, looked at the floor and said, “Hey look, Nemo!” He’s dead… hitched a ride on the porcelain express. :( 

New Happenings!

I got the 55 gallon saltwater going.  I have a total now of 20 lbs of live rock.  The skimmer works great, and I got a pump going, and it works great.  We just got some more fish for our saltwater tank.  We got a Clownfish, a Gold Rim Tang and a Coral Banded Shrimp.  My new lights should be here Monday, and then we can host any number of coral, anemones or whatever else we choose.

Anna is 10 weeks along & doing fine.  Her 1^st exam will be on June 26^th. 

Kat is doing well & is looking forward to the arrival of “Baby Brother-Baby Sister.”  (That’s her own special name for the baby).

That’s pretty much all for now!

News!

Well, we just found out proof positive today, Anna is pregnant!  Her due date is January 8.  She looked up calculations online, she hasn’t gone to the doctor yet.  Yes, we have names picked out already. 

Boy: Kaden James

Girl: Kitana Jewel.  

Now you know!

Saltwater tank coming together!

Well, for those of you who don’t know, I have a freshwater 55 gallon tank with my Oscar, and a few other miscellaneous fish.  We decided we wanted to try to tackle a saltwater tank.  People say they are expensive, and hard to maintain.  So far we have had Dan, our blue-devil Damselfish for a month or so.  We have a 20 gallon tank set up with some live rock, and an actinic blue light to promote coralline algae growth.  We bought ANOTHER 55 gallon tank, and I am getting ready to make it a saltwater tank.  Saltwater has to have a top skimmer to filter the water, not a tube down in the water.  I up fitted my aquarium with a corner skimmer box (custom made, of course) and an overflow tube to siphon out the water. (Somewhat complicated if you haven’t seen one before, but really quite simple)  I made it all out of acrylic. I am just getting ready to silicone it to the tank, and test it out.  So far, so good.  A friend at work told me he had a few spare parts for me to use.  After going to his place he realized the kids all but destroyed it.  All the plastic had cracks in it.  He said “fix it, and it’s yours.  I did, so now I have an Amiracle wet-dry trickle filter (these are like $100+ at the LPS…local pet store).  I also fixed overflow skimmer that was broken, but I don’t need it, so I’m going to give it back to him.

Anyhow, once I get the skimmer in place, and get the pump for my trickle filter, I am going to start adding water to the tank, and getting my new 55 gallon tank a reef tank, hopefully.  I want an anemone and a clownfish.  First I need better lighting though.  That’s the NEXT big money sucker.

We had a yard sale yesterday, and made about $20.  We got Katarina’s new windows put in, so that’s done. And, Anna is sick today.

I have to finish up the garage hall, so I’ll close now!

Just when you think it's over!

I was going to work Friday morning, and just after I passed a truck, I smell antifreeze. I took it easy for a few minutes, and the smell went away a little then started to smell stale. I stopped for a stop sign, and when I started going again, I smelled fresh antifreeze again. Here I am thinking, hmm, I hope it isn’t the heater core. I got to the last turn, and when I pushed the gas, the windshield fogged up (classic heater core symptom). I borrowed a couple vice grips from work, clamped the lines off, and drove it home (after staying for almost 3 hours of re-work… OT!)

I know heater cores aren’t easy…. Heard nightmares about 6 hours of work… I can only imagine what the dealer’s cost is on THAT! Advance Auto has the core for $98.99 with a lifetime warranty… for $100 it had BETTER have a warranty!! I decided to do it.

At 2:00 Friday afternoon, I printed out the instructions from my computer, and went to the garage to try to destroy the truck. I wound up having to drop the steering column on the front seat, and completely gut the dashboard of everything. I flipped it over on the front seat, and had to get the heater box out too. For that, I had to take off the right front wheel and fenderwell, and take out two bolts under the engine, and reach my fingers 5” into a 3” square hole (physically impossible) and take out one more screw. VIOLA! I got it out. I opened it up, took out the core, and it doesn’t look bad….great! Here it is 7:30pm Friday, after 5 ½ hours of disassembly.

Now, do I reassemble it, and hope that it works? Do I spend the $100 and get a new one and still smell it? WHAT TO DO!? Well, I decided to buy it after a half hour and 4 phone calls.

I got home and started to put it back together again at 9pm. I stopped at midnight, when I got the dashboard back up in place. I went to bed, and got back up and on it again at 9am. Anna took Kat to a birthday party, and I had the dash done, and the truck running by 11:30. 5 ½ hours of re-assembly. I started it up and turned the heat on…moment of truth. No Antifreeze! Well it wasn’t all worthless after all.

Just for giggles, I called Gates and asked for a quote for a heater core change on 2002 Blazer. He came back and said, “$919, do you want me to get it scheduled?” I said, “NOPE! Just checking prices!”

NINE HUNDRED and NINETEEN bucks?? I saved myself $820. Boy, am I glad I have the book and tools here at the house! (Not to mention the patience and determination to get it done!) Thanks, everyone I talked to, for the advice and confidence to get it done. For those I didn’t talk to, DON’T CALL ME TO CHANGE YOURS!... check that, I’ll do it for $400.. less than half-price. Sorry, cash only please!

Another successful weekend project completed.

Recent Happenings

Not much going on, I just wanted to post since I haven’t in a while.

The trailer still sits in the yard.  No rush on that project.  I started the basement wall, and got plastic up, and some of the studs.  I ran out of wood, and we haven’t gotten more yet.  We started another new endeavor.  We are starting up a saltwater aquarium.  They are very specific and temperamental.  We think it will be a challenge for us. So far, so good!  It’s really nice so far.

On June 5, (Monday after Memorial Day) we are planning to go to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago.  I haven’t been in a while, and it sounds like a good ‘vacation’ from work for both of us.  We’ve been selling stuff on eBay to help pay for it.

TTFN!

Things looking up

Well the trailer is mostly fixed.  I got new steel welded back on the rear. The tongue coupler came in, and I bolted that on also.  So far, I’m only out about $40, plus I have to put new plywood on.  The hitch on the truck is bent, but we don’t think it’s bad enough to change the hitch… yet.  Maybe next year we will.  I plan to go to the store to get the wood, and bring my cordless screwgun with me.  I’ll just put the wood on the trailer there, and then screw it on in the parking lot!  Hey, why not!?

Hours are starting to go up at work.  I worked 10 hours pretty much every day this week, made out with 44 for the week, and was still off at 10:30 on Friday.

The work is done on the basement walls that were cracked.  They installed 4 carbon fiber strips with epoxy, to the walls.  Now I can proceed with my stud and insulation job. 

I can’t think of anything else exciting going on, so TTFN!

Accident Today

Well, we were going to get some wood for the house. We were going up Ironwood, north of Lincolnway, and were stopped on the bridge waiting for the traffic light. Some guy in a red Toyota Supra didn't want to stop for my trailer, and rear-ended me. I got out, called 911, and he drove off saying he was going to get off the road. We never found him. SO, if you see a Red Toyota in the michiana area with the front end completely smashed in, and the hood bent in half, call the cops! He was leaking antifreeze so he didnt get TOO far.

We weren't hurt at all, the trailer got most of the force of his little matchbox car (and his front end). The trailer license plate and rear angle iron were broken off, and the trailer coupler got bent. The hitch receiver on the truck got bent too. In all, we're talking, with me fixing it all, about $250-$300 in damage.... not even enough to pay a $250 deductible to the Insurance company.. unless I find the truck frame was bent.

I have the trailer taken apart already, and just found the truck hitch was bent. The receiver is (only) about $180, and the trailer coupler is about $30. Plus, the wood on the trailer got all split, but it was old anyhow.

We never made it to get the wood, and now we can't without the trailer.

Why are people unable to stand up for what they did?

Progress!

Garage is done. All the work is inside the house now! Once we finish the
hall, we are going to finish painting the bathroom, and then the basement.
Then Anna wants window seats in the front 'porch' area! Busy me!