It has been a busy couple of weeks since my last post. We had a friend from out of state come visit for a week and during that time we celebrated Moth’s birthday and went on some adventures. You can read about our trip to a death museum here if interested.
The grim reaper came to our house too. I announced that Ace passed unexpectedly. Unfortunately, a few days later, Booberry passed. He could not recover from his constipation despite my best efforts. (It could have also potentially been a stomach tumor, hard to tell with fish.) A week after that, Gourdie died as well! So here I sit, currently feeling like the worst betta owner ever. However, I have to remind myself, I’m also rescuing already unhealthy fish.
Booberry was especially hard as he’s the one who reignited my love for bettas and began my journey back into aquariums. D:
For anyone keeping count, I went from 5 bettas to 2 in the matter of a few weeks. That leaves some tanks sitting empty. No rush to add anyone new however, there is only one tank that I trust which is Booberry’s old place. He didn’t die of any environmental ailments that I can tell. I’ve decided the other two will be torn apart. One will be decommissioned and the other will be completely revamped and new plants added.
Yes, I said no rush for new tenants but there may be a new one lurking in Booberry’s place as of this minute. No official announcements until they are adjusted and deemed healthy enough that they won’t kick the bucket shortly after I post about them. :3
In other completely unrelated news, the verdict of the homemade dog food is in. The recipe I shared in my last post, lasted for 10 days, around 20 meals for 2 dogs. That broke down to about $0.72/meal. The cost of the cheapest canned dog food broke down to $0.67/meal. So, for $0.05 more per meal, I have food I can trust, that is healthier, and my dogs enjoy more. I think I will keep with it. I’m sure that I will share other recipes that I try in the future.
Finished books:
I will read about any cult, ever. I find it absolutely fascinating. This one is not for the faint of heart as there was child sexual abuse in this cult and the author is honest about their own experiences with it. I think it was so brave of this woman to come forward and share her experience being raised in a cult after keeping it secret most of her life.
I have had this as my lunch time read at work for over a year now but I FINALLY focused and finished it so I could clear it off of the shelf. While I did enjoy it, I did not like it as much as the first book. But this could very much be my fault, I sometimes did not pick it up for months at a time, so I wasn’t fully invested in what was happening.
Craft club returns for our second meeting ever this coming weekend! I am very excited. We’re trying to make dry terrariums. 😀
What is the most exciting thing coming up in your life in the near future??
In the random workings of my mind, one day I decided that perhaps, I would attempt to make homemade dog food. My reasoning? Canned dog food has gone through the roof as of late. The cheap stuff is $2/can and the more expensive, quality stuff upwards of $5/can. My dogs eat 2/3 of a can per day. Why do they need canned food? They really don’t. It all began with Ozzy YEARS ago. He had to be medicated so much when we got him, we had to hide the meds in canned food to get it down him. Then, add to the fact that my brain decided that it would be really boring to eat the same thing for every meal, and you have my situation 15 years later.
Anyway, I digress. I began researching some homemade dog food recipes online and decided to give it a shot. I am not replacing my dry food but supplementing with homemade. There are MANY recipes on the internet, and this is the first one that I am trying.
In case you want to try this yourself; here are the measurements of the ingredients: 1.5 cups brown rice, 3 pounds ground turkey, 3 cups spinach (chopped), 2 cups carrots (shredded), 1 zucchini (shredded) and 1/2 cup peas (canned or frozen). All cooked up and put together.
It cost $14.40 and made around 4 quarts of food. (I know this because I froze some.) My final verdict on whether this saves me money, won’t come for a minute. I’ll do the math when I run out of food. But in the meantime, the dogs are losing their minds over it:
I’m adding fruits to it at least once a day as well. Strawberries were a hit. They both like banana and I think we’ll try blueberries soon. This was the thing that I was most excited to try over the weekend.
In other C&M news!
I finished two books since my first book of the year:
This was a lunch time book. It was entertaining and incredibly easy to read when you only have 20-30 minutes to do so. It was light-hearted, despite some dark content but there was nothing revolutionary here since I watched the HBO special once upon a time.
I finally picked up book 2 in this steampunk series that I started a few years back. I had a good time and was invested in the main characters (and some of the side characters too). I love the imagination that comes out in steampunk novels. This is a series that I think I will continue although I’m not racing out to find book 3.
Our betta Ace died unexpectedly Saturday night. I had cleaned his tank, came back a few hours later and he had passed. I’m not sure what happened. I don’t know if it was something I did, or the stress just took him. He was the least healthy fish rescue that I’ve had yet. I won’t lie and pretend that I’m not upset. Many people will (and have) said that it’s just a fish but to me, bettas are not your average fish. I will take solace in the fact that he had a very good 6-8 months with me that were not guaranteed when he came so close to dying in a cup at the store. RIP.
So, a mixed bag since my last post folks! How was your week? What was the best thing thathappened?(Doesn’t matter ifit’s a little or big thing, it just had to make you happy.)
There is nothing quite like the promise a new year brings. If nothing else, you get to wash away the mental dirt of the past year and hope for new and better things. As such, I’m marching into 2024 feeling refreshed with many ideas of how to not only survive but thrive.
My first read of the year was an easy, fluffy, fantasy read. I sat down with my mug cake (chocolate with peanut butter chips, ala Reese’s) and hammered out half of the book in one sitting. Which was pretty simple, as the font is larger and 1.5 space. A former murderous orc decides to open up a coffee shop, coffee being unheard of in the city she chooses, and tries to make an honest living. An adorable coterie of characters joins her one by one. 5 out of 5 stars for me, making it a solid way to start off reading this year. (I only read 10 books in 2023, an all-time low. I accomplished zero of my bookish resolutions.)
One of my few resolutions for this year is doing more creative activities. I did succeed at starting that ambition towards the end of 2023 and I’m riding that high into this year. I’ve picked up a couple of old things I used do but that dropped off with the progression of life. I’ve started a sketch book again. I mean to get back to photography and keep trying new craft projects.
For Christmas, my aunt bought me this plant journal. (Check out my post Plantsteria for my rocket launch into that hobby.) I’ve started filling it out a little bit and I’m super excited about it. There is a section to attach pictures, but I have decided to draw the plants with color pencils. Moth is being a dear and giving me some of her old Prismacolor pencils to dabble with in the near future. I also received FOUR plant propagation stations from my aunt and husband. There may be a plant side hustle in my future or at the very least, a crap ton more plants in my house. But with this journal, I can keep track of the information needed on every plant I own and my successes and failures at making more of them.
One of the many cool presents I received from the indispensable Miss Moth, was two hand painted pots for plants. The Trick ‘r Treat one on the left being the first one that I transplanted my rattlesnake plant into. She was overdue for a new, slightly bigger pot. I think she’ll be happy here in the light of the aquarium, with her spider plant buddy and air plant neighbors. That’s seven plants in one spot if that gives you any idea about the rest of my house. :3 (Edgar strutting his stuff in the background.)
What does all of this mean for this blog in the next year? Anything and everything, my friends. I will be posting whatever random thing brings me joy and as the year progresses, probably some frustration posts as well. Overall, I am trying to remain positive and take things as they come. The last two years have been rough and I’m ready for that to turn around if only by the power of my determination.
Do you have any grands plans for your future?
I wish everyone nothing but wellness and joy in the times to come. ❤
One delightful thing about being with one company for so long is that I have accrued quite a bit of vacation time. The downside of this last year has been the constant employee turnover, which led to having one full week of vacation left as the year is winding to a close. So, here I am, on vacation with nowhere to go. That’s not a complaint! I have so much I want to do around the house and never the time (or sometimes motivation) to do it.
I started my vacation out in a bit of a panic. I completely forgot that Cookie Day 2023 was scheduled right at the start of it. In fact, if it wasn’t for a chance call from my aunt, I would have missed it completely. Queue my first few hours off planning two recipes and an early morning trip to the store for ingredients. But I made it! (Only 14 minutes late.)
What is Cookie Day? A few years ago, I was invited by a few bakers in the family to join their little baking club. They meet one day before the holidays and bake their little hearts out. Each person brings two recipes. We bake them up, decorate if need be and split the goods. That means each person brings home 8 dozen cookies at the end of the day.
After that panic (and being stuffed full of cookies), I relaxed all day Sunday. Monday, I went Christmas shopping with my friend and Tuesday, my lease being up on my car, entailed figuring out what to do about that situation.
Yesterday, I was able to stay home and start working on some of those projects I mentioned. First project being to finally decorate for Christmas. I usually do this the weekend after Thanksgiving, but I was busy, and it didn’t happen.
I had the brilliant idea to decorate the tank stand that my uncle and I created together and I’m very pleased with the turnout:
Edgar approves of his festive space.
For now though friends, it’s time for me to spend a minute catching up on fellow blogs and then get back to work! I could truly take a second week off to get things done, but whatever I do now is at least a dent in it. 🙂
Now that I have your attention, hello. How are you doing there? Did you have a good holiday weekend? Did you attempt black friday sales? Are you ready to get holly jolly?
We had a lovely four-day weekend. (Or at least I did. Mr. C&M had to work on Friday.) I currently feel rejuvenated and ready to tackle a work week. I’m sure future me will disagree come tomorrow morning. :3
We shared a lovely Thanksgiving feast with Mr. and Mrs. Moth at Moth’s parent’s house. It’s always laid back, with fun banter and good food. I could go there every year and perhaps we will. We tend to be flexible when it comes to Thanksgiving, but it’s hard to resist a place with zero drama that brings the flavor game every time.
We also had a belated celebration for Mr. Moth’s birthday. He had expressed interest in getting a betta a few months back. As far as I can remember, I don’t think he’s ever had a fish. So as a birthday present, we set him up with the tank he had envisioned. A black light tank. We’ve started him off with a 5-gallon tank and if he should dream bigger, he can upgrade from there. It was so much fun watching him pick out “the one.” It was a daunting task to not bring another one home myself as there were a LOT of dead fish in the wall of cups. But he rescued this handsome devil from a possibly terrible fate:
His name is to-be-determined but I’m so excited to get another person into the betta fandom and to have yet another betta to post about from time to time. 😀
Ridley and Noi were past due for some BFF time. (According to them, one day apart is too long.) Moth captured this very adorable moment when Noi was attempting to spring Ridley from “jail.” She was actively trying to slide the handle with her mouth and using her paws to try to pry the door open. Why was he in jail? He had just eaten his breakfast and I wanted him to chill a minute before getting rowdy again. Not on Noi’s watch!
As this fabulous weekend comes to a close, it chose to start snowing just before we started our journey home. We took our time and arrived safely, but it reminds me that it’s getting to be that time to hunker down for the winter. I regularly look forward to hermit season. Time to pull out all the ultra-warm pajamas, tons of blankets, and get back on the hot cocoa train. WINTER IS COMING. BUT DEFINITELY NOT THE NEXT ADDITION TO THE SONG OF ICE AND FIRE SERIES.
I honestly gave up on that LONG ago, but I intermittently like to complain about it still. Currently, Moth and I are rereading Little Women. I haven’t read it since I was quite young so it’s almost entirely new to me. I remember that it was one of my aunt’s favorites and that I enjoyed it too but that’s about it. I’ve also surprisingly never watched any movie adaptations since I was a child either. It has a very cozy feel to it which I think is perfect for this time of year.
I have not made any wood projects since 2020. The first summer of the pandemic, I built my dad a gun rack for his hunting cabin for Father’s Day. Shortly thereafter, wood prices sky rocketed. So, the hobby I just gotten into, went on its own hiatus until summer 2023.
Per my last post, a new obsession evolved in the past 8 months. With that, I began to look at fish tank stands. I only had so many surfaces that fit so many aquariums, so naturally I began searching the internet. Long story short, tank stands are either too expensive or ugly or frankly, both. I rang up my uncle, a jack of all trades, and asked if he would be interested in collaborating on a fish tank stand for my house. He happily agreed and we began plotting our creation. Over several weekends, we worked on different aspects. He taught me several sanding techniques, how to use a variety of tools and the most exciting, how to weld.
According to him, and he’s not one to lie, I didn’t do too shabby of a job for my first-time welding. He only had to fix a couple of spots for me. I would be lying if I said I didn’t want to try to weld more things together. It doesn’t even need to make sense; I just want to melt metal and fix it to stuff.
I couldn’t be prouder of our end product. It officially jumped to the top of the list of my favorite pieces of furniture in my house. (Top being things created by grandpa who has passed but who inspired this hobby.) It has to weigh at least 70 lbs (the legs alone weigh 35 lbs) and can withstand dogs bumping into it, with a 10-gallon tank sitting on top.
Fast forward a few months later and…..I could really use another tank stand. A much smaller version. Lucky me, I have all kinds of random wood scraps in my garage. Not to mention multiple color stains. My garage is both a reflection of me and the people in my life who have encouraged me to pursue wood working. I have more types of saws than I know what to do with.
This next creation isn’t the prettiest. But she was fun to make, cost me $0 and did exactly what I needed her to do.
Unfortunately, since my last post, Elvira (pictured here) passed away unexpectedly. D:
It felt really good to be back in the garage, creating new wood projects. It has definitely reignited the flame to create and build. Of course, the temps are dropping, and winter is around the corner. I do have a heater in the garage, so maybe this will be the year that I experiment with whether it actually warms the place up or not.
What do you think? I know they’re not expert level but I had a lot of fun and learned a lot and that’s all that really matters to me. Each time I make something, I get better!
Prior to my hiatus, I had rescued a couple of betta fish. Well, during my hiatus, I didn’t stop. I even attempted to rescue, rehabilitate and rehome. That didn’t work the way I had hoped. Not because of yours truly! But because of Mr. C&M. We will get to that story down the line.
There is a final number of bettas in the C&M household now. SIX. Far more than I had planned. So, today’s post will be an introduction and story to how each betta came to our home. If you don’t like looking at beautiful fish, stop here.
Booberry – You might remember the OG betta that reignited the love I have for bettas. He was sickly and discolored in his cup at a chain store. I convinced the cashier to give him to me for free. His color came back some but never has fully returned. He’s my largest betta in size and my favorite. I try to not have favorites but the first is always special. Plus, he just has such a dignified attitude. He resides in a 10-gallon tank. I’m planning an upgrade for him soon. I love aqua scaping and using live plants, so I’m planning some fancy renovations for him.
At the time I posted about this rescue, he didn’t have a name. (He was so small, he couldn’t fit the food pellets in his cup in his mouth. He was so thin, and I did not think he would make it. Store manager gave me a discount on him.) In fact, he remained nameless for a few months while he came into himself and inspired the proper name. Which per Mr. C&M was Fawkes, after Dumbledore’s phoenix. Look at that color up! He is our feistiest betta. He resides in a 20-gallon tank in Mr. C&M’s office. There were originally 3 guppies and 6 neon tetras with him, however the guppies attempted to bully him. 2 out of 3 met their demise because of their poor decisions. The third was moved in with Booberry who won’t put up with any shenanigans but doesn’t actively try to kill him either. The neons remain 6 and no one bothers anyone.
Edgar – This stuff muffin was not a rescue but a birthday present to myself. We were at an independent fish store for supplies and this little guy was on sale because he had been there for so long. (I will note that this fish store has them in actual filtered tanks and not cups.) It was almost my birthday and I have never had a betta of this fin type before, so here we are. Edgar resides in a 10-gallon tank and is currently under the weather from what, I have not determined yet. Keep your fingers crossed for my extra long-finned buddy.
King (RIP) – Historically, I have not had much interest in white bettas. While at Petsmart, I noticed this guy had an Adopt Me! sign on his cup. He had a condition called diamond eye. Diamond eye is when the scales start to grow over the eye and cause partial to full blindness. Adopting him was free, so of course, he came home with me. Unfortunately, despite being partially blind, he managed to jump out of the feeding hole in the lid (literally like 3″ x 1″) while we were gone for an entire day, and he died. I only had him a week and his death hit me harder than I expected. I would like to have another white betta one day.
Gourdie – This guy came to live with us after I had a particularly bad day at work. I decided to make myself feel better AND save a life, I would go rescue someone. It was a mission. I had almost given up, despite the historically bad care of bettas in stores, currently everywhere I went, they all looked rather healthy and not in need of my help. I spotted this unusually colored boy and took a closer peek. His fins were crumpled, and a part of his tail was missing. I didn’t even try to get a discount on him from the store, I was too ornery to interact with humans. His tail is almost fully grown back now. He remains this tangerine color which is fairly rare, and some light blue streaks that are coming in. He resides in the 3-gallon tank I had bought for King’s disability. Once Booberry receives his upgrade, Gourdie is in line for a larger set up.
Elvira – My only girl! I was at Petsmart for supplies and always at least look at the bettas. I had never seen a jet-black betta before. I’ve seen some black ones, but they always had another color spotting their bodies. But this girl, just black from nose to tail. I was telling Mr. C&M how cool she was over the phone, and he said, “Sounds like she should be named Elvira.” I told him that I didn’t buy her, and he said I probably should before someone else grabbed her up. As you can see in picture 2, she’s developed some deep red in her bottom fin. Between her color and her non-stop movement, she’s hard to photograph. She resides in a 5-gallon tank with mostly fake plants. She will also receive an upgrade after Booberry gets his. (Trickle-down effect.)
Lastly, we come to the boy that I did not plan on keeping. I didn’t know if I could even save him. The manager gave him to me for free, he was that bad. Picture 1 is what he looked like when he came home. He could not swim right. He stayed in that bent position most of the time. He had what is called Swimbladder disease. There are many possibilities to the cause, some reversible, some not. So, I thought to myself, if I save him, I will find him a new home. Mr. C&M wasn’t entirely thrilled that I had brought home “another one.” Fast forward to him getting better (he’s not 100% normal but pretty good!) and me thinking about posting him for adoption, and Mr. C&M informs me that he should be called Ace (after Ace Frehley) and he should stay. He had become attached to him. Here is when I realized that I could not continue saving bettas because we would end up keeping every single one. Ace still resides in this what we call ‘urgent care’ bowl. Smaller tanks are easier when medicating/rehabilitating. The environment and dosages are easier to control. Now that he is in good health, he will get an upgrade as well.
This won’t be my last betta post! Hopefully not because I’ve adopted yet another one, but because I find everything about them so fascinating and fun. I’ve learned SO much and I would like to extend that knowledge to others where I can. Plus, they’re really pretty to look at.
What do you think? Am I crazy? Are you a betta fan?
Look – I’m just going to stop saying anything about my absences because they keep happening and there really isn’t a good excuse. I’m flaky!
It’s almost one month since Icepocalypse 2023 happened, and our insurance adjuster won’t be out to look at the damage until Thursday this week. All the contractors we called to get estimates on repairs, have not called back. It’s been fun.
Anywho, the actual point to this post is as advertised in the title. My sweet little Booberry has been with me a month now and I’m starting to see some color come back. I’ve added more plants to his aquarium along with a few bottom feeder friends. (Might be getting some floating plants this week.) For tank mates, I decided on panda corydoras. They’re super cute. Luckily, when they were introduced, Booberry checked them out and then did not care one bit about their presence. I’ve watched one swim right into him and he’s just too chill to care. There are three of them so Mr. C&M decided they should be called Lock, Shock and Barrel from Nightmare Before Christmas. I agreed wholeheartedly.
Thanks to this first betta rescue, I’ve become obsessed with both bettas and aquariums again. I’ve really enjoyed learning about aquascaping, and all the plants that come along with it. I haven’t read a book in about a month because my nose is constantly in my iPad watching YouTube videos and researching any questions I have.
Which, leads me to the latest development…
Meet my latest rescue! *Insert hysterical laughter here*
This little guy is barely old enough to be sold. He’s very skinny because the pellets they’re trying to feed him don’t even fit in his tiny mouth. He has pretty much starved with food right in front on him. I just got him yesterday and I didn’t think he was going to make it. He pulled through the night and perked up a bit. No name until it seems like he’s going to be okay. I haven’t decided whether I will keep him or adopt him out. Time will tell.
If I’m absent again, just know that I’m somewhere, doing fish related stuff like setting up a hospital tank and planning future tanks. :3
Give me your best aquarium tips if you’ve got ’em!
One might think, can you rescue a fish? And the answer is, yes. From poor care by either people or the corporations that sell them. Now, it’s not actually something I had even thought about until IG showed me videos of a couple of ladies and their quests to revive sick fish/eels.
It also happens that stores tend to take very poor care of one of my very favorite fish. Bettas.
I’ve had many bettas in my life. I bought and kept countless ones when I was younger. My last one was in 2011. I was an adult at that point and took better care of things, so he lived for a few years if I remember correctly.
Not long after this realization, I found myself at a grocery store that just so happens to sell fish and what do you know? They were taking poor care of their bettas. Not all were sick but there were a few, unhealthy fellows. Convincing the cashier to give him to me for free took no effort. She promptly said, “YUCK!” and gave him to me. So that’s how I ended up with this guy:
As you can see, his color is bleached from all of his fins and head. Luckily, I don’t think he has fin rot but he was on his way. I don’t have fish, so I had to go out and buy all this stuff to essentially use as a hospital tank to nurse him back to health.
This has led me down the rabbit hole that is proper betta care. Little me would have had her mind blown at what crappy lives she was giving her bettas. (Although still better than in the stores.) It will probably take him about a month or so to heal. So, now the plan is to get a 5-gallon tank and try my hand at live plants, something I’ve never done. Should this little guy live, he’ll have a cool new home and a much more entertaining life. No name until he makes it. (Plus, I’m kind of married to naming him Booberry but I have a feeling he’s going to have a lot of teal and green once he’s healed. Not a color match to Booberry cereal.)
Long story short, welcome to my new obsession. Bettas and aquariums, as now I’m half tempted to just continue to rescuing bettas. Hard part would be finding them all homes though.
cupcakesandmachetes 