20 fish, 30 fish, goldfish, dirty fish?

Okay, that title was supposed to be a take on Dr. Seuss's book. How many of you got it?

Well, anyway....

Our Farmer (see earlier post) keeps cattle. And the cattle have water troughs. And our farmer is, shall I say, very laid back about all things hygienic on his farm. So, anyway, the water troughs have been filthy for some time. Which was driving me crazy. (Cows have feelings too, right?)

So, I asked mr. Farmer (names have been changed) if I could put some Goldfish in his cattle watering troughs to keep them clean. Mr. Farmer was totally cool with that idea, even a little intrigued. So, I emailed my Riding Instructor and got all the details on keeping fish in troughs. She told me to expect about a 50 percent rate of survival of the fish we buy.

Last Friday, we decided a goldfish adventure was just the family fun we were in the mood for, and we headed to the pet store. We even found a "One Free Fish" coupon in the phone book. Grace called it her ticket.

The guy at the pet store was also very laid back. We asked for 20 fish. $2 worth, plus the ticket. After filling a clear bag with a big crowd of 10-for-a-dollar frightened fish, he asked us if we had far to drive. I was curious why it mattered since we were planning to go shopping and maybe run a few errands before going home. He said he could add oxygen to help the fish live longer, which he did. I thought the fish would be okay in the bag for a few days, and at this point I realized I better find out.

"How long will they survive in the bag?"

"Oh, maybe an hour with the Oxygen."

Apparently realizing how unprepared we were to keep these fish, he added, "Why don't you keep your free fish coupon for the next time you come in?" I later realized he probably predicted we would kill all 30-or-so. That made me laugh, realizing he was probably right and secretly hoping he was wrong.

So, we went straight home to find some container to hold these poor 30-or-so fish until we could clean out the filthy troughs. (I was going to add the fish to clean troughs, and then let them maintain the cleanliness.)

A 3 gallon bucket was our golden boy.

Well, the next day Royal and I cleaned both troughs out. Much less trouble than I had expected, really. And, we put about half in each trough. No fish died up to this point. (SCORE!)

Today is Monday. 2 days later, Our death count is up to 9. We have 8 living in one trough (metal) with no cover, and about 16 living in the other trough (plastic) with a cinder block for protection.

It feels great to be caring for something living. And, it feels great to see those beautifully clean troughs.

A Really Good Book about Sex

You may notice, if you study this blog scrupulously, that I've added a book about Sex to my favorites list. I just have to explain myself a little.

Kosher Sex explains sex in the sacred, beautiful light it deserves. Boteach (author) teaches some Jewish beliefs about the centrality of sex to a marriage, and how nothing could be more special, or bring two people closer than proper sexual relations WITHIN a marriage. He goes into great detail about how sex before marriage actually destroys one's ability to be completely trusting and innocent when married. He also explains some things that can inhibit a couple's sexuality, and he explains why masturbation and pornography can never bring a couple closer, only make one another more replaceable.

I love this book. I read it twice before I had to return it to the Savannah library. I recommend this book for all people who want to someday have a great sex life with a committed spouse. I did not find it explicit or offensive in any way. (There are no illustrations, but a few strange quotes at chapter headings.) I found it uplifting, profound, and deeply connecting with my religious beliefs.

Please email me if this book enriches your life. (If you want to share. No details, please. royal.spamcan@gmail.com)

Have you ever really lived in the country?

The first morning I spent at our new home was a Saturday. I had come alone to wait for our movers. I did everything I could to put our new, empty home in order. It took me about 15 minutes. Then, I sat outside on the big swing under our big shade tree. There is something very different about shade here. Shade in AL and GA isn't really any cooler than the sun because of the extremely high humidity. Here, in the shade, it is ALWAYS cooler. A lot cooler.

First, all I could hear were the bugs singing. Then, cows mooing. (We have a herd of cows behind our backyard.) Then, I heard a clip-clop, clip-clop sound. I waited and watched to see what it could be. A horsedrawn buggy full of Amish neighbors soon appeared. They waved and continued down the street and out of sight.

Royal and the girls came before the movers. That was fortuitous because it allowed us to decide together which bedroom would belong to whom. The girls busied themselves on the 2 childsize swings hanging on our big shade tree. They were only content with that for about 2 hours.

So, that was my first morning. Since then, we've become good friends with our Landlord who farms behind us. He lets us feed the cows at night, and occasionally takes Royal out to help with farm chores or other misc. work. We LOVE it more than I could have guessed. We've told Mr. Farmer that we'd love to someday raise chickens. He immediately said we could do it here, in our backyard. He would help us build a coop! Yeah, this is cool.

To Sneeze or not to sneeze is never a question.

Let's start my description of our new idyllic home with my only complaint.

I've never had allergies before moving here.

Please email me any ideas for battling them without medication. royal.spamcan@gmail.com

I'm taking prescription antihystamine eyedrops, claritin, and a daily dose of local honey. So far, I haven't clawed my eyes out. I've only wanted to.

We're no longer on the road!

Dear Fans,

My apologies for the LONG wait for more lovely posts.

To chronicle our exodus summarily:

July 22- Aug 3: Royal travels to Southeast Alabama to work TDY and visit his Mom and family
Aug 3-4: Royal brings Elizabeth and children to Alabama to stay with him at his Mom's house.
Aug 4-11: Royal and Elizabeth visit family in Alabama, meanwhile:
Sunday night, Aug 5, Royal hits a deer and totals our beloved Intrepid
Tuesday, Aug 8, We buy a relative's car to continue the Exodus
Saturday, Aug 11, we drive north to Central KY to find a place to live
Aug 12: Go to new church congregation (called a ward), meet people, drive to Lexington to stay with Elizabeth's Mom while we look for housing in KY

Aug 13-17: Search desperately for something large and inexpensive, meanwhile:
Monday, Aug 13, Royal throws out his back while in town (all the driving is very hard on his lower back.)
Tuesday, Aug 14, Elizabeth narrows search down to a tiny rental house and a larger trailer in a park.
Wednesday, Aug 15, Royal goes to sign lease on tiny house- which he hadn't previously seen- and sees a Dr., Chiropractor, and physical therapist (all in one day.)
Thursday, Aug 16, We have a little Bday celebration.
Friday, Aug 17, we drive all the way back to Savannah to close the sale of our little home.

Aug 18-23: Sell and empty our home. Prepare to drive back to KY.
Aug 24-26: Stay with Elizabeth's Mom and wait for stuff to arrive

Aug 27: First night in our new home. It is completely wonderful. More on that to come.

Aug 28-Sep 3: Unpack most everything. (THANK YOU, ROYAL!!!!! He worked like a slave.) Elizabeth develops deathly allergies to heaven-only-knows-what.

Sep 4-7: Royal brings us with him to work TDY at FT. Campbell. We stayed in a hotel.

Sep 8-9: Home sweet home. Allergies return. Elizabeth goes to an urgent care clinic. We meet our church friends again.

Sep 10-14: Another week at Campbell in a hotel. Meanwhile:
Tuesday, Sep 11, Grace smashes her head into a corner in the hotel corridor, and receives 10 stitches in the ER.


Wed, Sep 12, We rent gamecube game Cars. It's very fun.

Sep 15-present: WE ARE FINALLY BACK FOR "GOOD"!!!!!!!!!