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2011 was a busy year . . .Refinancing, new roof, driveway, greenhouse. Although 2011 started out quietly, it didn’t stay that way for long. With the drop in interest rates, we decided to refinance the mortgage again. We were able to roll in the cost of a new roof and the cost of repaving/extending the driveway, which is often a muddy mess as some of you know. Of course, this was not a simple process. We had to get a mason to repair the chimney before the roofer was scheduled to come and since the driveway is near the property line, we had to find a surveyor to mark the boundaries in addition to getting a permit from the township. While I was at the township, I also got the permit to put up a permanent greenhouse (the greenhouse tent from last year had issues with the zippers). Enough to keep us busy, right?
Joel’s Open Heart Surgery Well, as many of you know, one more thing was added to this. Joel was playing a video game (Demon’s Souls) in early March. After an intense online battle, his heart wouldn’t stop racing. He got out the stethoscope and it didn’t sound right. So we made the 1st of many trips to the ER. We were referred to Dr. Acker at the University of Penn in Philly, who said that Joel needed open heart surgery to repair his mitral valve. The surgery was performed at the end of March and was without complication. However, as Joel recovered, he started to have issues with arrhythmia, which resulted in an ablation at Hahnemann Hospital in Philly. He has not had problems since that surgery. We want to thank you for your prayers and support for Joel’s heart issues. We are especially grateful for my parents who helped us by watching Shane and driving to Philly (one of my least favorite things in the world).
New Car After life calmed down a bit, I realized it was time to replace my ’98 Sable wagon (an electrical nightmare with a bad tranny). There was no question in my mind that I wanted an Outback, as Joel’s Outback has been reliable and is great to drive in the snow in our hilly area. I ended up getting a 2011 Outack (photo taken before the driveway was repaved) that had just arrived at the dealer with 6 miles on it. I have no regrets; it is a sweet ride!
Vacation Since Joel’s heart issues took most of our vacation time, we took some long weekends instead of one big vacation. Assateague - for Shane to see the ocean for the 1st time and to climb the lighthouse. We saw the ponies from a distance. Jim Thorpe - to see the mountains and go for a bike ride. We also saw a tulip tree moth and a luna moth. Shane has never been to a cave, so we went to Crytal Cave. We also let Shane choose the color to repaint his bedroom. Yes, his favorite color is red, a decorator’s nightmare. However, I think we pulled it off rather well.
Welcome Jadon On June 30th, my sister gave birth to Jadon , a healthy baby boy. Angela and Jude are enjoying parenthood and took Jadon to meet Jude’s side of the family in Sri Lanka over the holidays.
Insects Although we did not have many monarchs this year, we did raise and release some in addition to swallowtails. We also found a hickory horned devil, a mammoth caterpillar, which is as big as Shane’s hand.
The Fish Joel had promised Shane a pet fish. So, in September I took Shane to the pet store and we got several fish and a new 5 gallon aquarium, which turned into a project for the next 6 weeks. There is more to putting a tank together and dumping fish in than you’d think. . . the big goldfish ate $10 of guppies and tetras and then died . . . We had too many fish in the little tank which caused the ammonia to overload and fish died. We learned that goldfish create more ammonia than any of the other fish and should be separated from tropical fish. . . The male betta didn’t like the female and attacked her. She died . . . Joel found a clump of cat fur at the bottom of the basement stairs and it was staring at him. Apparently one of the 3 panda cory catfish jumped out of the tank and the cats batted it around and down the steps . . .
So, after a great many hours of internet research, Shane and I headed to the pet store (one of many many trips) for a 2nd tank. I was thinking 10 gallon, but Shane wanted the 20 gallon with the base, which was on sale. This proved to be a better choice as I later found out that 20 gallon tanks are easier to balance than the smaller ones. Instead of a Tetra tank system like the first one, I went with separate components and a glass tank. A little old gentleman with a 300 gallon aquarium recommended to stay away from the Tetra filters, which proved to be sound advise. We kept the 2 goldfish and male betta in the 5 gallon tank and moved the rest of the tropical fish to the 20 gallon one.
Of course, the fish stories continue (and there will be more in 2012 to be sure) . . . Zoey (one of our cats) went fishing and caught 2 of the fish, which, you guessed it, died . . . And then the fish started having babies. We have 2 baby platties and, oh, I’m guessing 50-60 baby guppies . . .
And so, I was pretty drained this year and gave up on artwork and played video games instead. I played 6-8 games of Dragon Age II. I tried to play Uncharted II and III, but the camera angles make me nauseous (I get motion sickness easily). I was bummed because it is such an awesome game series. Now I am completely hooked on Skyrim, which is everything I’d wished Oblivion would have been. If they can just get the lag glitch fixed for the PS3 . . . Time for a long winter’s nap!
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