Today is potting/re-potting day!

First time re-potting orchids. The tiny cup was what the smaller one was in. Hopefully they'll like it. I hope they do okay--the orchid medium I got was good for several different orchids, including phalaenopsis, but not specific to that type, because the smaller one looks different when blooming and I think it's a different type. Both were in peat moss, whereas this is soaked bark, activated charcoal, and pellets for drainage. So I'm hoping they'll do okay, but they should get more air to the roots, which is good. In fact, the larger pot has holes on the sides for that purpose, and the smaller orchid went into the former pot of the larger one, and there's a shorter cup inside that lifts the roots from the bottom of the actual pot. I obviously didn't re-pot the other two because they are actually blooming. I have more medium for that when it happens.

The lavender was sagging every other day from being potbound. The Christmas cactus had very dense dirt. It had been in a bigger pot that was 40 years old and split at work, so I had to put it in an emergency pot from Recreation Therapy that was smaller. Both should do better now. Thanks to Brenda for the advice on the lavender.

Three of the African violets got re-potted [the one on the upper right, and the ones on the lower left and the center left.]

The window boxes are back! This time there are sweet potato plants, light purple petunias, and dark purple calibrachoas.

Same thing at the bedroom window.

So now everything is cleaned up, and I gave all the plants, not just the ones I potted, a good drink with the aquarium water I'd saved, so there's some fertilizer courtesy of my goldfish. I am so sore, though, even though I did it all sitting on a metal chair while potting on another. Plants are back. I've called pulmonary rehab to let them know I'm not coming today. I have another appointment at 4 pm, so I have awhile to do dishes and pull out a few light things from the hall closet. And of course I need to shower and get ready. Brenda suggested going to Petsmart for fish. I must confess, I totally forgot about them. I usually avoid them because they have cats and dogs up for adoption and I'm afraid I'll see one and try to get it (I do not need to do that right now), but the fish are on the opposite side of the store. :) There's a Petsmart in Hamburg that is closer to me than going all the way over to Southland. There's also Animal House nearby, an independent pet shop, and they're excellent and knowledgeable, but I'm not sure they sell feeder goldfish, and I tested the tank and while the nitrates are down, I'm not sure I want to put anything else in there right now.

Okay, time to check my list and see what else to do right now. I may stretch out for just a bit, listen to some music, and then work on the dishes, closet, and do the job application and do some job board searching. going to PetsMart after my appointment with my counselor. I'm really aching.

Let there be light

So I finally took my aquarium light in (and got toilet paper, which is good, as I was down to two sheets this morning), and it turns out that while I have an electronic ballast, and many of the early ones of those had issues, the problem was simply that my replacement bulb that I got at Incredipet was bad. So I got a new one from Animal House, they took care of my old bulb, and I'll take the bad one back and get my money back from Incredipet. Sometimes, apparently, you just have to deal with a real pet store run by people who know what they're doing, who have been doing it for years (I've watched this couple's kid grow up over time). Anyway, the fish seem happy. The new light really picks up their colours and shifts the water to a nice green.

While I was at Kroger I found a cart that is smaller than mine, a much better size for the bus, but which will carry about two or more reusable bags and save wear and tear on my little suitcase. It has a heavy-duty blue and grey cover, rugged wheels, and an aluminium body. It carried a large thing of Cottonelle toilet paper, a grocery bag, the aquarium hood, and the old bulb, and I still could have gotten a bit more in. I put it together when I got off the bus (the bus came the moment I got to the stop at Kroger) and carried everything in it. At first I thought it was broken; there were broken plastic pieces that were basically place-savers and didn't go back on after the wheels snapped on (no tools required). It was $15 or so, which I thought was very reasonable, and looks pretty sturdy.