It was a Merry Christmas! Happy New Year to All!

Hard to believe that our Christmas vacation is almost over!

We began our vacation a week ago Saturday with an overnight trip to Seattle to see the Nutcracker Suite. It was a wonderful evening, we were all dressed up and I thoroughly enjoyed the show! The dancers were marvelous, especially the children. The sets and costumes were extraordinary, too!

Brent and I in the lobby of McCaw Hall, Seattle

Our tickets were a wonderful Christmas gift from our daughters. I would love to make this an annual event for us! The following day, we slept late, then spent the afternoon shopping our way northward, picking up a few odds and ends, last minute stocking stuffers. That evening, we stopped in Mt Vernon to enjoy the Bronn Journey concert.

http://bronnjourney.com/

Going to the Bronn Journey concert is an annual event for us. I look forward to it all year long. I waited too long to buy tickets and the Everett Concert sold out! I was so upset, then I saw they also have an annual concert scheduled in Mt Vernon, at the lovely McIntyre Hall Performing Arts Center at Skagit College. I think I like this venue better, it's closer to home and a little smaller and more intimate. His performances are light hearted and fun, his wife Kathryn is an outstanding soprano that really gives the Christmas carols a meaningful punch. They also do other music, this evening was music from the 70's. Thoroughly enjoyed it!

Fierce will to live!

Ever seen the cartoon movie Finding Nemo? Remember the scarred and battered Moorish Idol fish named Gill that presides over the aquarium in the dentist’s office?

Well, we now have our own Gill: a female black Molly. Our Gill has the strongest will to live I’ve ever known.

We are having a problem with the fish tank heaters, the temperature keeps creeping up. So when DearHusband noticed the temperature was at the top of the green (ideal temperature zone), he opened the glass tops to let some heat out. That seemed to be working well until SonMySon noticed our giant black molly laying on the floor of the dining room. He picks her up, lays her out on his palm, runs over to the couch and puts it into DaughterA’s face to tease her.

Yes, there was shrieking! A lot of shrieking, DaughterA because SonMySon is waving a dead fish in her face. And me, too, demanding custody of the small body. I sadly slipped her into the toilet, about to send her off with a “Bye ‘Ya, Mickey” when she suddenly started swimming around the toilet bowl!

This was a fish that was not moving, stiff as a board and dry to the touch!

More shrieking as I scoop her back up and run to the bathroom sink to rinse the toilet water off her. Yes, adding insult to injury, I, not thinking, subject her to a cold shower! Then yelling for a glass or something, I spy the cat’s water bowl on the counter. Into the water, splash! Then DearHusband, who is trying to warm the tap water to something more than freezing and less than boiling, says “Not in there! Let‘s just put her back in the aquarium!” .... I’m thinking, “Ewwww! Ich! Toilet Water! That won’t be good for the other fish…“ So when SonMySon crowds into the bathroom with the glass I’ve been calling for, we add fish to clean, warmer water and then run her down the hall to the tank that divides the living room from the dining room. In she goes!

I was sure she’d expire after all that! But no, tonight she’s swimming around the tank, eating and doing the usual fish-stuff just like before.

Well, now that I think about it, NOT just like before. As I sit her on the couch, looking at the aquarium, I'm noticing I’m not hearing the occasional splash I’ve grown accustomed to hearing. Guess she’s decided to stay IN the water for awhile!

How long does it take a fish to dry off completely while laying on a cold wood floor?
How long can fish go without breathing water?

This fish is amazing! Maybe we should call her Lazarus!

I know exactly how he feels....

I love the internet, shop without leaving the couch!

After surfing the web for awhile, I took a break, set my laptop to the side and leaned back against the pillows in the corner. Brin moved right in, laying on my feet and watching the slide show screen saver! Even after reclaiming my laptop, she hasn't moved far. Now she's leaning against me while I try to type without bumping her. From the thumping of her tail, I'm can tell I'm moving too much for her comfort!

I love the snow, too bad it's gone already