Fire from the roof

There's been a bit o' drama going on about 1/3rd of a mile from our house. 


Ryan took this photo from the roof:

Just after dropping a load of fire-retardant.

As a former firefighter, he says there is no chance that it'll get to our house.  Keeping fingers crossed, anyway.  There are a heck of a lot of planes, helicopters, and fire engines making a crazy racket in our neighborhood.

Instagram

Since I got a new phone with a pretty good camera on it and lots of space for photos, I have been introduced to the world of Instagram. 

If you'd like to follow my blog-related one, it's... *drum roll*... leavesinmycup. 

It will just contain extra photos that don't make it onto the blog or facebook (plus the ones that do).  For example, this was today's post:

A shrimp and a ramshorn snail bask in the new aquarium light.

That new plant light looks good!

I received a Finnex Stingray aquarium light today, which is good for growing low-medium light plants.  The extra shallow depth of my tank plus the bit of sunlight from the window (most of which is blocked, due to the heat) mean that I should be able to grow medium light plants pretty easily.  I'm not going to get into high-light plants at this time, because I don't want to deal with injecting CO2.

The light has mostly white LEDs, but also a few that are red (for optimal plant growth) and blue (for picking up fish sparkles and magic??).  It definitely gives the tank a more natural feel than the worn-out fluorescent I had been using. 

Trello... the latest list-making adventure

Yes, I realize that my compulsion to make lists gets a little crazy at times... the crazier the times, the crazier the lists.

My husband ran across the Trello website/app, and thought it'd be right up my alley. 

It's based on a Japanese "Kanban" board style of organization/productivity:
- left column:  To Do List
- middle column:  In Progress
- right column:  Completed

The point is to create a flow of work from left to right, and to minimize what's in the "In Progress" columns. 

Normally my lists are kind of a hybrid calendar/chart form, where I can see all tasks for all days, and everything is divided by priority... I'm going to try using Trello to ONLY see what is relevant for the current day, and to automate all the recurring tasks.  Very simplified, kind of a pinterest-ish feel (you can add photos too). 


Here's how I set up mine: 

The first quick attempt at Trello* (click to enlarge)

- far left column:  the 1-time tasks To Do list
- left column:  Daily (recurring... this is the same list every day)
- middle column:  Weekly (tasks that recur once a week, plus anything that must be done on a specific day)
- right column:  Done (drag and drop finished items here, and the list will be archived at end of month)
- far right column:  Skipped (will be compared to the Done list, then archived at the end of the month.  This is my "list of shame," hahaha.)

Daily and Weekly are basically my "In Progress" columns, and I tried to keep them as minimal as possible... it doesn't necessarily list the things I already do automatically (aka, all Torin-related things), it lists the things that are the most tempting for me to slack on when I'm tired or rushed.  It also spreads the biggest housekeeping tasks throughout the week in an attempt to reduce binge-cleaning. 

And lest you fear that I don't floss at the end of the day, it's just that I end up doing my flossing and such at 1am... my nighttime routine needs to be moved much earlier!

Trello doesn't let you set up recurring lists, but IFTTT (IF This Then That) does!  It seems complicated at first, but it's super instinctual and fast to set up.  You can set it up so that, for example, if it's 4am on a Sunday, it adds "Take trash and recycling out" to your Weekly to-do list.



But wait, there's more!

The photo above is one "board."  Each column is a "list" and each item is a "card."  You can open up the card (or "look at the back" of it) to see any pertinent notes about the task, or drag and drop them.

I'm also using Trello to set up other boards...
- Recipes and meal planning
- Vacation planning
- Garden planting schedule and ideas
- Big house projects
- Life goals (kind of a bucket list)

Anyway... I'd highly recommend checking it out, there's a lot that can be done with the website, and it makes organizing pretty fun once you get used to the layout. 


*If you read the Trello list... yes, my crock pot died.  So sad!!  Send me your best 6+ quart slow cooker recommendation.

The Great Aquarium Escape

Life has given me an awful lot to think about over the past month.  

There is a ton of impending change hanging in the air, and I will be the first to admit that I don't do very well with the ambiguities of change until after said change has occurred. 

As a result, a sudden hyper-focus on aquariums has hit!  One of my biggest interests since childhood has been reptile/amphibian/bug pets (really, any non-traditional-pets) and their habitats.  Aquariums fit that mold perfectly, with the added benefit of the science of perfectly balancing the bio-load of the tank.  This is the first time that I've indulged in a hobby purely for myself ever since Torin came into the picture.

The 20-gallon long shrimp tank.

Wait, what?  I have a hobby now?!


In the last 2 weeks, I've added the following:

• A 55-gallon aquarium with a long-lost turtle pet.  
• The 10-gallon planted shrimp tank has been transferred to a 20-gallon long aquarium, and some chili rasbora have been added, and the temperature has been brought up to encourage shrimp breeding.
• The empty (except for snails) 6.6-gallon has been revamped and is now being used to produce guppy fry for turtle snacks.
• A10-gallon bucket holds a huge clump of java moss as I try an anti-algae experiment.
• A fish bowl is growing 2 types of duckweed which I collected from a pond today.
• Some manzanita driftwood is being water-logged in a trash can.
• A second bucket is soaking some mopani driftwood that's having a serious outbreak of saprolegnia fungus. 
• An infusoria experiment is in progress.  

If I totally focus on aquariums, then I don't have to think about anything else, right? 


So... just a warning...

The blog is going to be very heavy on aquatic life over the next month or two.

Oh, and I have completely fallen off the weight-loss wagon and dropped the 3-month plan.  Should probably get back on that.  :/