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1月23日 Preparation is KeyLast Saturday (Jan 17th) I did my second power walk training with the group. Once group did 6K and another did 9K. We were suppose to do 12K but given the deep freeze no one wanted to. Given that it was so cold (about -22C with the wind chill) I was bundled up in my heavy brown coat with the hood. In no time though I was warm to the point of hot. Even my fingers were very warm due to the fact that a friend had loan me a pair of heavy duty mittens. Plus I was wearing a light pair of gloves inside the mittens. Eventually I had to take of the mittens and at one point I wasn't wearing either gloves or mittens. After I walked about 6K I started lagging behind a bit because I was feeling weak. Silly me didn't eat anything. Well the truth is sometimes I find it hard to eat that early in the morning. However, the mistake I made was not having something to snack on as I walk. I was feeling so bad that I thought I was going to puke. Lucky for me I was able to continue to the end. I was glad we didn't do the 12K after all. Well they do say you live and you learn. I definitely won't be making that mistake this week or going forward. It does take a while to learn the ropes of training for a marathon so I am sure I will make more mistakes along the way. Tomorrow we are definitely hoping to walk the 12K but we are headed for another period of deep freeze again so I am not 100% sure we will. Of course you will hear whether or not I walk the 12K in my next blog. Before I sign off here is some exciting news, at least for me anyway...I signed up today for the 8K Harry's Spring Run Off. I did the 5K last year so I am looking forward to doing the 8K this year. I must say one of the things I like about these runs or marathons is that they always support some charity and the Harry's Spring Run Off supports Prostate Cancer. This is in April so it gives me more than enough time to prepare. I am looking forward to it. After that my next meet will be in May or rather I am hoping to do another in May. Will tell you about it when I sign up. 1月10日 Marathon WalkingMostly my blog is about my fish family or my plants and the occasional rant about something that occurred. Now I am taking my blog in a slightly different direction and hopefully in the weeks and months to come my blog will include more on the subject of Marathon Walking. As of today I have started training for Marathon Walking...yep believe it. Will I keep it up? Who knows, but for now the most important thing is that I actually started. Just to tell you a bit about how I got started...I have been doing the odd 5 km races but without the training and I usually run, walk. I have a colleague who is a marathon walker, not just here in Canada but she travels to the USA quite often for races. She has been at me for a long time now to get going and last week she found the perfect thing to get me interested....the Florida Disney Marathon. This marathon is held every January and you can do either a 5 km, a 1/2 marathon or the full marathon. Doing both the 1/2 and the full marathon is called the Goofy. To accomplish this you do the 1/2 on the Saturday and the full marathon the Sunday. Since I am not Goofy...well not just yet, my goal is the full marathon in 2010. In the mean time I am hoping to do my fist 1/2 marathon later this year and I also plan to do some shorter distance before that. Today was the start of my training. I did my first walk this morning...9 km and yep I survived it, despite the -13C weather and it being slippery as heck. Lucky for me I am a cold weather person so it works perfectly. We started at 8:30 am...well I started a little bit later because I got there about 5 minutes late. I was able to catch up with some of the members of the group. So how was my first walk this morning? I have to say it was really great. First...I have a great coach and the other walkers in the group seems to be really great individuals. After the walk we went for breakfast and so I was able to spend some time getting to know a few of the members. Some were telling me a bit about what to expect and what I need to do and basically just being very encouraging. Given that it was my first morning the one thing I realized is that there is a lot that I have to learn, especially when walking in this type of weather. I knew I had to dress properly and for the most part I was. However, the one thing I didn't do was take my mittens with. I was wearing leather gloves and believe me in this weather they don't work really well. So that is one mistake I won't be making going forward. The other thing is I knew attempting to do a marathon wasn't going to be easy...but I am now only realizing the effort it will take. To be able to walk the distance and maintain a certain speed will require lots of training, mental stamina and most importantly, discipline. The good thing about it though is that it is a goal to work towards and since I have always liked to be challenged I am looking forward to it. So for now this is what I will be doing and you will hear more as my journey continues. Ciao for now... 7月31日 Another 1 Bites the Dust I lost my last Oranda Greedy Bugger last night. If you have been reading my blogs you will know that he is my favourite of the lot. On Saturday I noticed he wasn't swimming around like he normally did and so I made sure I did a water change and added some salts to the tank. It didn't seem to help much. So on Monday I did another water change since it appeared that he may have clamped fin which is as a result of too much ammonia or nitrate in the water. I also gave him some green peas just in case he had swimmers bladder, given how greedy I know he is. Yesterday he seemed worst and I knew he wasn't going to survive. Nevertheless, I cleaned the gravel and did another water change and added a bit of salt. This morning when I woke up he had already left for Fish Heaven. I miss him and sad that he had to go, but I am glad he is no longer suffering. Yeah I know you may think he is just a fish, but he was a very friendly fish, I couldn't help but love him. So now I only have from the original batch Thumper Tail. He seems to be a surviver but only time will tell. On Saturday I bought a pair of Fan Tails, they seems ok, just that they run away every time I put my hand on the glass. Not like Greedy Bugger or Thumper Tail, they like to swim to the glass and try to nibble on my hand...so very funny to see them do it :) I don't know if the new pair will eventually bond with me, only time will tell. I want to get 3 more Fan Tails to make it 6, but I will have to let the tank settle first and see how the others fare before adding more. I am also thinking of changing the gravel from the white gravel I have now to black gravel. That will take some detailed planning, since the current gravel would have already settled in with the good bacteria. Yippeeee, it's a long weekend for us Canadians, with Monday being a holiday. I will be away for most of the weekend so I doubt I will be doing any blogging. I am playing Mas in Caribana on Saturday and should have some new pix to up load, and no not of me. Also I may go to Niagara Falls on Sunday, if I do I will take some pix to post as well. Well that's it for now...take care and have a fantastic weekend....I sure plan to  7月23日 Hobbies = Responsibilities = WorkAquarium Having hobbies, especially live hobbies may amuse, entertain and even keep you happy. However, it also comes with responsibilities and can be lots of work too. It's not like I didn't know it. I even expected it, but as we often forget, perception is often different from reality or at best misjudged  Maintaining an Aquarium is a wonderful thing, but takes some work. For example I knew that I had to clean it regularly if I want to keep my fish happy and healthy, just like us human beings. I also knew that having the tank where the sun hits it daily is likely for algae growing much faster than if it's in a dark place. I just didn't anticipate how fast it would accumulate. I was actually planning a major cleaning this weekend but noticed the algae on Monday. I know I can put something in the water to deter the algae but for now I want to avoid putting any other chemicals in. So today I came home and thought to myself I can not take the sight of it any more, so I decided to clean it. Granted it wasn't exactly all that bad. Lucky for me I had purchase one of those floating magnet device so I could clean the glass. I set about scrubbing the glass with my device, and lo and behold it's looking clean again. After doing this I did approximately 10% water change. I didn't want to do more since I did one on Friday and I want to do another on Saturday after I clean the gravel. So I learned that...it's not just having a tank, feeding the fish, making sure they live and enjoying them, I also have to clean the glass of algae, clean the gravel and do water change on a regular basis. And that my friends is just one hobby. Indoor Garden Now my indoor garden also requires a fair amount of work too. Just this week I had to prune the tomatoes, plus I am constantly watering them these day given how hot it is. I also have to deal with gnats due to the type of soil and the water in the soil. Even though I try to let the soil dry out they seem to appear. To top it off I now realize that I have to look around my place carefully, because I recently noticed that they die on the windowsill, which means I have to vacuum it. Lucky for me I don't mind doing all this. It's a part of the pleasure I derive fro taking care of my plants and fish. It would have been very sad if I discover after acquiring them that I did not want to have to deal with all the work involved. Life goes on... On a positive note, my 2 remaining fish, Greedy Bugger & Thumper Tail seem to be doing well. Also as I previously mentioned my Rubber Plant which I had to chop down and is now growing again, is doing very well too. I keep looking at all the leaves and shaking my head in amazement I have been using a mixture of 2 tablespoon of H2O2 with 1 quart of water to water my plants and it seems to work just fine. Now I just need to figure out what to do with all the herbs I have. Granted I suppose I could dry them :) And that's all for now folks...until next time.... Walk good... 7月17日 Survival of the Fittest Well of the 8 fish so far 2 are hanging on, for how long I don't know. I am very happy that they are fighting to survive, especially Greedy Bugger the Oranda that I have grown attached to. The other is the one I call Thumper Tail, he is the other baby Fan Tail. I will do a 10% water change this weekend and definitely buy a heater although I don't think they need it. I think getting the master test kit is more important so I can keep testing the water. If these guys survive through next week then I will see about getting another Oranda and Fan Tail. For some reason I like the idea of them having company of their own kind. Wish me luck... 7月15日 I Murdered my Fish Family Slap on the hand cuffs, lock me up and throw away the key. Not even 2 weeks and I murdered them. I finally realized what was wrong with them yesterday, when I noticed the Black Moors had spots all over them, they have ick. I should have realized it, especially when the first Oranda died. He or she was losing some of her scales, but being the novice I am I didn't. I saw maybe 1 or 2 spots on her but that was about it, so it never really hit me that it was ick. Yesterday when I finally realized, I went and got some medicine that should have helped. Foolish me however, ended up over dosing the tank, even though I red the instructions. I was so worried about the ick I wasn't paying attention. I bought Jungle Ick Guard and it is lethal if you over dose them. When I realised I immediately did about a 25% water change and add back the carbon filter to take out the medicine. It was too late though and last night the second Comet that was already sick and struggling died. I just came home and 1 of the Black Moor & Fantail are both dead. The other Fantail, Black Moor & Oranda are suggling and I don't think they will make it. In fact the Black Moor doesn't look like he will make it through the night. I will obviously have to restart the tank from beginning. Not sure right nowif I want to do that just yet. It's too painful to see them die. I am thinking maybe I should just keep a Plant Aquarium . Will think about it over the next couple of days... 7月12日 FishicideI know these things happen but it's tough to deal with. I lost another on Thursday,
I was so shock when I realized he was dead I had to sit for a while. I came home and one of my Comet
was curled around the filter thingie, dead as a doornail. At first I thought he was just playing with the darn thing. So now whenever I go out it's like I expect to come home to a dead fish. I rush through the door, drop my bag and run to check on them. It's nerve wracking I tell you. Nevertheless it's really nice to have them. When they see me coming they immediately rush to the top looking for food. They are such greedy buggers that even when I put my hand on the glass they are trying to nibble on it. They sure make me smile with their antics :) I went to the store today and was looking for a master kit but ended up buying this liquid called Cycle. It is suppose to introduce good bacteria into their environment to reduce ammonia and nitrite. I am suppose to use it every week. I also intended to buy a thermometer, even picked it up but silly me forgot to include the darn thing when I was paying for it. Oh well I will just buy it next week when I go to get the gravel pump & master test kit. I tell you, keeping an aquarium is a very expensive business, which must tell you that I must be nuts since I am thinking about getting another. The truth is I need to first get this one to the level I want it to be, which means getting a cover with lights and some additional plants plus a new filter. Until next time...walk good... 7月9日 Fish Heaven I lost one of my Orandas today and it's a really sad thing  The good thing is when I came home from work he was still alive so I saw him just before he died. Not sure what cause it but I think it could be a combination of getting stucked in the wave maker and then yesterday when I came home he had gotten himself stucked between the bubble maker and the glass. I sure miss him already. The Orandas made me laughed with all their crazy behaviour. A part of me can't believe he is gone. Will have to watch the others carefully to make sure they are ok just in case something is wrong with their environment. I think maybe I should get a master kit and test the water just to be sure. So far though most of the others seems ok. I added a pair of Black Moors on Monday and they seem to be doing well. 7月6日 Fishdom & Plant LifeGood morning one and all. Tis a beautiful Sunday morning and I have to work, how sad is that? Lucky I can gaze at my fish friends and look out the window while I do so  So here is the latest on my Fish World and Indoor Gardening: I added a pair of Comet Goldfish yesterday and some Java Fern to the tank. I also go the air bubbles going and they seem to like it a lot. So far everything seems fine, except that one of my Fantail somehow lost it's tail. Not sure when it happened, could have been from when he got stuck in the wave maker and I didn't noticed it before. I have been feeding them twice each day, 8:00 am & 8:00 pm, but will have to change there schedule tomorrow since I usually leave the house by 6:55 am. No doubt I will have to get an automatic feeder for when I have to go away. I sure hope they won't eat the plants, but both places I went to said that they won't eat the Java Fern because its too hard. They have been attacking it, so we will see. Greedy Bugger, (I gotta find him another name) likes to nibble at my arm. Lucky for me he isn't a Piranha :) Indoor Gardening On another note, my Hawaiian Ti Plant that I brought back from my Hawaii trip and planted in February is now growing at a rapid rate. I planted 2, a green and a red leaf. At first they took forever to grow, especially the green. Now the green leaf has surpassed the red leaf plant. Also it looks like I am gonna have to cut my Basil again, it is way too big. It sure is nice to be able to use the things I plant. I used some thyme from my herb garden this morning :) I also pruned my Tomato plants this morning, taking off the lower leaves so that the top can get more nutrients. Just last week it had 4 blossoms but they fell off, probably male flowering I was going to take some pix but didn't get around to it. Will make sure I do so with the next batch of flowers.The Bell Pepper plants are also growing nicely as ell as the loose leaf Lettuce I planted. I will take some pix in another few weeks or so. That's it for now... 7月5日 Fishy Business I have a new hobby and it's the fish business I finally got an aquarium installed last night, a 45 gallon tank to boot and it sure is an expensive business to have and maintain. Lucky (thanks to a friend) I didn't have to buy the aquarium, but I had to buy everything else. I also got a filter but will have to get a new one because it's way too noisy for me. So far I have 4 Goldfish and 1 plant I hope they don't eat, gravel and a wave maker. I also bought air bubbles but the wrong size hose so will have to buy a new one. I also need to a cover, lights, gravel vacuum and some more plants and fishes. Now I am the proud the mother of 4 scaly babies, goldfish:
I have been watching them swim around and it is a peaceful thing to see. However; not even 2 hours after installing the tank, I had some drama. I swear drama follows me around. You wouldn't believe it, but 1 of my Fantail completely disappeared. I was in shock. I spent about a hour searching the tank, which by the way is quite empty. I just couldn't believe the darn fish had disappeared. When I couldn't find him I started searching on the ground....duh? What did I think? The fish sprung wings and decided to fly out? Anyway, I came to the conclusion that he must have gotten eaten by one of the 2 bigger Orandas. I especially thought so because one of the Orandas that I call greedy bugger...(hopefully it will not be his name)...was just gobbling the food when I put it in the tank:) Anyway, it wasn't until later in the night I got up and check I noticed that 1 of the bigger Oranda (could be greedy bugger) was stuck in the wave maker. I unplugged it and he got away and out came the disappearing fish:) For a while I was worried that the stucked Oranda wasn't going to make it because he was just wobbling around on his side. So far though they both seem ok and are swimming around the tank. I just gave them their morning feed and will check through out the day to make sure they are ok. I checked the wave maker and realized that it was installed incorrectly, also there is apart that though not shown in the instructions can go on to keep them from disappearing inside or getting stucked. Now I just hope that my journey into Fishdom will be a successful one. Will take pix eventually and upload them. More to come.... |
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