StL Aquarium (356/366)

Sandbar Shark                            Atlantic Sea Nettle

                                                            

"Lord Stanley" the blue lobster

Cownose Ray                    Giant Pacific Octopus

Leafy Sea Dragon

TIME: 1:00 to 2:15 pm
PLACE: St. Louis Aquarium at Union Station

*~*~*

SD and I finally visited the Aquarium at Union Station today.

The otters were sleeping, so we didn't get to see their antics, but, we were able to spend about 20 minutes doing one of my favorite things....petting stingrays.  We even got to feed them.

I was happy.

I took my mask off for Lord Stanley's claws/hockey photo shoot.

 

All Drains Lead to the River (190/365)

TIME: 8:02 PM
PLACE: S 17th St.
SUBJECT: Drain

Taken on the evening walk with Mulder.

Belly Up (018/365)

TIME: 3:42 PM
PLACE: Dad’s house
SUBJECT: Guppy wine charm

These wine charms were an impulse purchase last night at the grocery store.

I think they are supposed to be attached to the stem the other way.

I like mine like this.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Solstice, Sleeping and Son (172/365)

“Care to join me for solstice caroling?
[sings in a high voice]
Walking in the grass, it's so fine, don't need shoes in the summertime!”
Spongebob, “Krabby Land”, Season 3, Episode 57a, April 3, 2004

TIME:  6:08 AM to 6:50 AM
PLACE:  Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site
SUBJECT:  Woodhenge

I convinced the husband to wake at an ungodly hour to be at Cahokia Mounds at 5:20am to observe the Summer Solstice Sunrise.
Unfortunately, Mother Nature did not cooperate. 
The rainy weather refused to leave and the sun was not visible.
Still, we heard an excellent explanation of the post circles and we hiked up to the top of Monks Mound for some spectacular views.
(The mound bisected by the back middle post is Monks Mound.)


The steps leading to the top of  Monks Mound


Looking west from the top of Monks Mound 

The east side of Monks Mound
(for perspective, you can just make out a person standing on the top at the far right)


There were many deer on the site.
These guys were hiding out in the tall grass.
~*~*~*~

TIME:  2:44 PM
PLACE:  The car
SUBJECT:  Sleeping children

In the afternoon, we had a graduation party to attend.
They all complained about how the back seat was too crowded now that they are older.
It didn’t stop them from all falling asleep on the hour-long ride there.


TIME:  3:43 PM
PLACE:  Pond at Brother-in-law’s
SUBJECT:  James and a fish

We did some fishing while we were there.

Fish Heads (032/365)

Fish heads, fish heads
Roly-poly fish heads
Fish heads, fish heads
Eat them up, yum
”Fish Heads”, performed by Barnes & Barnes, Voobaha (1980) 

TIME: 10:26 AM
PLACE: Seafood City Grocery Store, St. Louis, MO
SUBJECT: Fish heads & other stuff

We went to this grocery store to pick up some shrimp and other items for the Super Bowl.


See?
Shrimp.


Sriracha anyone?


Maybe some tilapia?


Finally, is this not the cutest potato flavored character you’ve ever seen?
I wanted to buy it just for the package.
I didn’t though.

~*~*~


Later, since I am a good wife, I made HH his favorite fruit tart/pizza for his birthday as usual.
Confession: I love it too.

Vacation-Day 2 (216/365)

TIME:  7:10 AM
PLACE:  Miramar Beach, FL
SUBJECT:  Shayne and StellaDella

We were up early and walked to the beach to check it out in the daylight. 

TIME:  12:35 PM
PLACE:  Grayton Beach, FL
SUBJECT:  Charter catch

We drove east to Grayton Beach to meet up with my brother-in-law’s uncle and his family for a picnic.  This charter pulled up behind our shelter with it’s catch.



We buried DramaQueen in sand and made her into a mermaid. 

The kids had fun, swimming and collecting sea treasures.

It was a wonderful day.

Botanical Garden (170/365)

TIME:  9:51 AM

The girls and I went to the Missouri Botanical Garden today.  (MB is at Boy Scout Camp this week)


TIME:  9:53 AM

We saw this gecko in the Cilmatron

TIME: 10:12 AM

Peeked into the Blanke Boxwood Garden.

TIME:  10:26AM

Fed the Koi in the Japanese Garden.


TIME:  10:35 AM

Posed for a photo.


TIME:  10:54 AM

Admired the colorful glass Walla Wallas (made by artist Dale Chihuly) floating in the water in the Milles Sculpture Garden.

TIME:  11:00 AM

Love these Shasta Daises (Leucanthemum x superbum 'Becky')

It was a good day.

Oh, So It’s A *Girl* Fish (049/366)

Jenny: Well, if those are the teeth, and that's the tongue, then that must be the uvula!
Chowder: Oh, so it's a *girl* house...
Jenny: [looks at him] *What?*

Monster House, Columbia Pictures, 2006.

TIME:  10:01 PM
PLACE:  Home
SUBJECT: Plecostomus mouth

Who knew that algae fish have uvulas?  I didn’t until this evening.  I’ve learned something new today.

Fish Face (273/365)

“No good fish goes anywhere without a porpoise”

Lewis Carroll (English Logician, Mathematician, Photographer and Novelist, especially remembered for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. 1832-1898)

TIME:  11:02 PM
PLACE:  Home
SUBJECT:  The goldfish

I was noticing that the two goldfish (Juicy and Citrus) were looking too big for the fish tank we have.  Or is it the other way around?  The fish tank we have was looking too small for the two goldfish we have.  In any case, we either needed smaller fish or a bigger tank.  I figured that we would go up from the 2 gallon tank we had to a 5 gallon tank.  Not too huge, or expensive.  Boy, did I think wrong,  HH volunteered to take SD to the pet store to help out.  That was a mistake sending those two together.  We ended up with a bigger tank all right.  A 10 gallon tank.  And another goldfish (observe the multi-colored fish in the background which was promptly named “Poseidon” by SD).  And did I mention the $16.99 TWENTY-FIVE pound bag of gravel?  Yeah  Because apparently the last thing we need is to run short on aquarium gravel. *rolls eyes*  Let’s just say a small fortune was spent.  Good thing the HH put in some overtime yesterday and today.

Fish Sitting (315/365)

“Fish and visitors smell in three days.”

Benjamin Franklin (American Statesman, Scientist, Philosopher, Printer, Writer and Inventor. 1706-1790)

TIME:  8:43 PM
PLACE:  Home
SUBJECT:  Goldfish

My sister and her family went out of town to visit relatives and I was asked to “fish-sit” my niece’s goldfish.  Say hello to Barbie and pray that she doesn’t turn into a “floater” before they return from their trip on Sunday.

Food Chain (245/365)

 
“It was the Law of the Sea, they said. Civilization ends at the waterline. Beyond that, we all enter the food chain, and not always right at the top.”

Hunter S. Thompson (American Journalist and Author, 1937-2005)

TIME:  8:26 PM
PLACE:  Desk
SUBJECT:  Jack and the goldfish

Whenever Jack hears me flip open the lid of the aquarium to feed the goldfish, he comes running to watch the show.  He thinks if he bats the tank hard enough, he will catch that shiny swimmer.  Of course, he hasn’t and won’t, but that doesn’t stop him from trying.

Catch Of The Day (182/365)

 
“everything
was rainbow, rainbow, rainbow!
And I let the fish go.”
 
Elizabeth Bishop (1911-1979), U.S. poet. The Fish (l. 74-76). . . The Complete Poems, 1927-1979 [Elizabeth Bishop]. (1983) Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

TIME:  8:40 PM
PLACE:  S. 11th Street
SUBJECT:  Large mouth bass

MonkeyBoy’s baseball team had a team party this evening hosted by one of the boy’s parents at their house.  They had a trampoline, a pool and a lake for the boys and their siblings to jump on, swim in and fish.  StellaDella took advantage of all three.  I helped her fish and even did a little fishing myself.  We tight lined, using a rubber worm on a hook and a small weight.  After about 15 minutes of casting, I ended up hooking this bass.  SD was originally holding it by the pole for a photo, but it broke the line and I had to scrambled to grab him before he flopped off the dock.  After re-catching him, I quickly held him out with my left hand and snapped the photo with my right; then SD helped me release him back into the lake.

Fish And Poultry (015/365)

   
“One fish
two fish
red fish
blue fish”

Dr. Seuss, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, New York: Random House, 1960

TIME:  3:23 PM 
PLACE:  1517 Bond Ave., East St. Louis, IL
SUBJECT:  Sign

I ended up taking both DramaQueen and MonkeyBoy to the pediatrician this afternoon.  DQ had not been feeling well the past two days and probably has a viral infection.  Just ibuprofen and rest for her.  MB has had ringing in his ears for awhile.  They ruled out an ear infection and gave me a referral to make an appointment for a hearing test.  On the way home, we passed by one of my favorite signs.  I noticed that it has sustained some damage since the last time I drove by it.  Bummer.  I still stopped and quickly took this picture from my car. 

Life In A Fish Bowl (289/365)

  
“How I wish, how I wish you were here...
We're just two lost souls
swimming in a fish bowl,
Year after year....
Running over the same old ground.
What have we found?
The same old fears.
Wish you were here.”

Pink Floyd (David Gilmour/Roger Waters). "Wish You Were Here." Wish You Were Here. Harvest, EMI (UK) Columbia, Capitol (US), 1975.

TIME:  4:06 PM
PLACE:  Radiology Dept, St. Louis Children’s Hospital
SUBJECT:  Aquarium equipment & Butterfly fish

This afternoon, StellaDella had an appointment for a renal ultrasound and a
voiding cystourethrogram (VCUG) to check out her kidneys.  The ultrasound was a piece of cake, the VCUG…not so much.  Hey, I completely sympathized with her, I always said the catheter insertion was the worst part of my c-sections.  But, she was a trooper and survived the procedure.  Turns out, Miss SD has vesicoureteral reflux with her left kidney.  This is when urine from the bladder flows back up into the kidneys.  This can lead to germs in the kidneys and an infection in the urinary tract.  The treatment?  She will be taking a mild dose of antibiotics daily to prevent further urinary tract infections.  As she gets older, I was told that the reflux should go away on its own.

The hospital had a fish tank in the waiting room and SD enjoyed looking at it.  The fish “wrangler” was there, preparing three new fish for the tank.  He sat for about 20 minutes, answering SD’s questions about the fish and listening to her stories about school and her pets.  I thought that was very nice of him to do that.

Call Me Ishmael (083/365)

Homer Simpson is at a union meeting at the nuclear power plant.  The latest contract proposal gives them a free keg of beer for their union meeting in exchange for giving up their dental plan. All union members rush for the keg.
Lenny: So long, dental plan!
Homer: [thinks...]
Lenny's voice: Dental plan!
Marge's voice: Lisa needs braces.
Lenny's voice: Dental plan!
Marge's voice: Lisa needs braces.
Lenny's voice: Dental plan!
Marge's voice: Lisa needs braces.
Lenny's voice: Dental plan!
Marge's voice: Lisa needs braces.
Lenny's voice: Dental plan!
Marge's voice: Lisa needs braces.
Lenny's voice: Dental plan!
Marge's voice: Lisa needs braces.
Chuckie: [as a prank, drops a pencil into the crack of Homer's butt] Carl: Bull's-eye!
Homer: Thanks a lot, Carl. Now I lost my train of thought.
Lenny's voice: Dental plan!
Marge's voice: Lisa needs braces.
Lenny's voice: Dental plan!
Marge's voice: Lisa needs braces.
Homer: If we give up our dental plan... ... ... I'll have to pay for Lisa's braces!

The Simpsons, Last Exit to Springfield, 11 March 1993 (Season 4, Episode 17)

TIME: 3:14 PM
PLACE:  Associated Pediatric Dentistry
SUBJECT: Stuffed fish and model of teeth

All three children had dental appointments this afternoon.  These stuffed animals with plastic teeth are scattered around the exam area.  There was this fish, a monkey, a dragon, and a starfish.  They cracked me up. 

The good news is HH has a decent dental plan at work, and the twice yearly visits for the kids are covered.  The bad news is that MonkeyBoy was found to have the beginnings of a cavity on his lower inside molar.  Sigh.  The first cavity in the brood.  I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later.  We are scheduled for a filling on May 13th.  He's not looking forward to it.  But now, maybe he'll take heed when I tell him to go up and brush his teeth after breakfast and before he goes to bed!