I am a bad fish mommy.

Yesterday I cleaned the aquarium. Now, I've been feeding the fish but apparently not really looking at them for the past few days ... there's an outbreak of fungus among my black neon tetras. :-( I did a cleaning and water change, and treated with a broad-spectrum antifungal/antibacterial. I hope they get better. I feel terrible. :-(

Trader Joe's Peach Salsa makes a great marinade. I used it on shrimp to tasty effect, adding just a bit of salt and pepper; I suspect that salmon, chicken, and pork would also respond well.

I sure am looking forward to this three-day weekend because, let me tell you, I have earned it.

That is all.

almondroy, this pic made me think of you. I couldn't help it. ^_^

I did an unorthodox thing and made zucchini nut bread ... in the form of a layer cake. The proof is, as they say, in the pudding (and I won't be serving this cake until tomorrow) but so far everything looks all right ...

I am also making cupcakes (chocolate).

And I was a good daughter and called my mother. Initially to ask a question about the zucchini nut bread, but I stayed on the phone to chat for half an hour or so. My new Bluetooth headset means I could comfortably wash dishes, mix batter, &c while talking. Not bad! And I made my mother happy, so bonus for me. :-)

One of my clients has a book on the shelf entitled "Never Check E-Mail In the Morning: And Other Unexpected Strategies for Making Your Work Life Work."

It's true. I need to stop checking e-mail in the morning. I sit down at the damned computer and half an hour evaporates immediately, usually just when I really ought to be getting myself out the door to go to work. Bah.

Okay, I'm gonna try to turn of the machine and brush my teeth and leave now. Really.

By way of giddysinger for those of you who don't read his journal. Funny primarily to music geeks. ^_^

I still have a lot of stuff at my parents' house.

Slowly, I am trying to bring these items west. Some of them I am keeping; some of them I am bringing back just so that I can drop them off at Goodwill -- my mother is such a packrat that if I tell her to get rid of this stuff she will never, ever do it.

Some of these things are vintage/heirloom items that I am proud to own.

This weekend I finally got around to retrieving my set of silverplate. I am told that the set was gifted to my great-grandmother on the occasion of her 25th wedding anniversary. It's a complete service for 8, including 16 teaspoons! I would love to expand it to a service for 12, with vintage pieces only. (Not the modern "replica" pieces manufactured by Replacements, Ltd.) As luck would have it, I can get a jump start on my project on eBay. ^_^ The pattern is Garden of Roses by National Silver.

Sadly, this year's birthday was nothing compared to last year's. (Last year, my birthday was a Saturday, and also the Sharp Edge's European Beerfest; it's tied for first place in my best-birthday-ever competition.) Most of yesterday was spent on the Turnpike driving back from my parents' house, and even though I just sat on my butt for six hours, traveling seems to take more out of me these days.

But thank you all for the birthday well-wishes! They really brightened my evening. I feel loved. ~blush~

As usual, I have a lot of thoughts rattling around in my brain but not a whole lot of energy to commit them to the keyboard.

Whatever happened to the separation of church and state, people?

Rar.

Please take your religion and get it the fuck out of my government, Mr. Metcalfe. Thank you kindly.

In other news, I'm heartened to hear that some other people can see the writing on the wall. For several months I've been reading, in business and industry mags, predictions about a rail renaissance and population movement back towards urban and transit centers. I have a lot to say about these issues, but here I'll sum up by stating my delight at real-world numbers that seem to support these predictions.