Fishing for an update

When I was a teen I had two goldfish.  Angelfish, more specifically.  Calvin and Hobbes.  Calvin was orange with white fins tipped in orange.  Hobbes was a charcoal black with grey/white fins tipped in orange and black.  They were beautiful fish and I had then for about 3 years.  

It should also be noted that I lived in a room with two outside walls and a third wall that was only the garage (so not well insulated) and not a lot of insulation.  It got cold.  I mean, cold, in the winters.  There were times that I’d sleep on the sofa as my room was too dang cold.  Sadly, during one of these cold snaps that is common in a WI winter, my room just wouldn’t get warm and it got below freezing.  Enough so that when I went into the room in the morning there was a scrum of ice along the walls and top of my aquarium.  Angel Fish, I found, don’t do well in sub freezing water.  I wish I had a picture to share, but that was the 90s and before the days of cellphones and 24/7 access to pics and camera.

I mention this because we have some new members of the house.  12, as of yesterday.  11 as of this morning, as one of the guys got a little to friendly with the filter unit and couldn’t escape it’s pull.  Sorry little buddy.  Kiddo took it emotionally and had a minute of cry.  I rearranged some things so the filter would be harder to get at so we don’t have any more mishaps.  Kiddo, even with the minor setback, is a happy fish mom.  Look at the smiles.

It was fun getting her fish.  It’s been a process.  She asked, first, way back in October.  We (J and I that is) made her a deal that if she could be better (not perfect, just better) about keeping her room tidy we would get her a fish (or 12) for Chinese New Year.  Seeing as that’s in a week, we called it close enough.  Besides, we could beat the crowds as we explored where and how to acquire a fish in Shanghai.  It was a bit of a process.

Pet stores, you see, don’t carry fish like an American type pet store.  We needed to venture to a flower and bird market.  It was cool, as we saw a ton of flowers and vendors with plants.  We should have gotten pictures, but we were handling an excited 7 year old and navigating a strange and colorful market.  After a bit of wandering about, we found fish.  It turned into one of the most aggressive fish buying experiences of my life.  

Kiddo was thinking betta fish, but when we got there and she saw the array of fish, she decided that she wanted to get a fish that could have friends.  She found the type she liked and we told the lady running the stall that we’d want three fish.  NOPE!  She saw the fish that Kiddo was debating over and since they could habituate together, she gave us a bunch of each.  We literally had to cut her off.  Even Kiddo was like… How many fish am I getting?  I want pets, not a whole fish store.  Yes, that’s quote on quote.  LOL

We got home and she spent the rest of the afternoon sitting in a chair in front of her aquarium just watching fish.  She had a snack sitting and watching.  She needed to introduce the friends to the fish.  Poley was beyond excited and even promised not to catch salmon (his favorite food) and put it in the fish tank.  That crazy polar bear even wants to learn how to feed them in case he needs to step up in times of need.  Mittens the (stuffed) kitten (hey Doc J) needed to be taught that they are pets and friends and not snacks.  Needless to say, she was disappointed, but Poley had a word with her and all is good now.  If only our kid had an imagination.  HAHA

We also picked up a few snails to help keep the tank cleaner.  Also, in the 30ish hours that we’ve had the fish, J and I have gotten about 20 updates of their movements (snails included), what she imagines they like and think, and a myriad of other Kiddoisms.  

When we weren’t doing fish stuff J and I managed to have our 6th puzzling session.  I mentioned the puzzle a few blogs back so I figured an update was in order.

Beyond that, break has started.  A month off.  A whole month.  Strange that it comes so late, but the ladies needed it and I’m happy to have them around for the next month.  It’ll be nice to have time with them, but also to NOT travel.  We get to see China in the Chinese New Year.  Also, we get to explore the city some.  We already have some ideas and have found the train lines to get us there.  Most of it seems pretty easy and 30 minutes or less.  At 50 cents a piece (maybe 75 but I’ve not yet figured out the delineating factor for when the fare goes from 3 RMB to 5 RMB) it’ll be a good way to fill some days and it’s beyond cost effective.  Plus, we’ve got to do the library at least twice during break, so that will fill some more days.  

Let’s go, Kiddo…. It’s finally break time and we have a whole city to explore.  We can’t wait to explore it with you and see more and more of it.  Plus, we’ve got some fish to take care of and feed.  Some new shows that you’ve found on AppleTV+ and our nightly nature documentaries.  We look forward to resting and exploring with you and hope that you keep putting your Chinese to good use and helping me and Mumma around the city.  Keep helping and we’ll keep trying, but you’ll need to be our leader on this.  We’re so glad to have you be the leader of our first CNY adventure.

PS.  Tomorrow is the NCAA National Championship football game.  ND v Ohio State.  Let’s go Irish!  If any Suckeye fans are reading this…. Booooo!  I do say that tongue in cheek.  I’m rooting for the Irish, but I am hoping on a good game.