Introducing Fortis

Two weeks have passed since I brought home my little betta. He has survived beyond the period in which I would have been able to get a refund for him if he had died (like the first one did). Since this guy has made it through his "probation period", he now gets his official name: Fortis.

He is named for a big dog who was "online friends" with Boomie a couple of years ago. Fortis had bone cancer, and had his right-rear leg amputated, just like Boomie, and passed away the month before Boomie did. Fortis was dearly loved by his human parents. His dad often took him to the river. Fortis loved to swim.

  I have been taking lots of pictures of my fishie-Fortis, most of them pretty crappy. For such a beautiful fish, he's just not very photogenic. His body scales are somewhere between blue and green. They are metallic, or maybe iridescent, or maybe a little of both. They sort of change color depending how the light hits him. The fluorescent light in his tank goes through my camera and makes him look gray somehow. I haven't been able to figure out how to adjust the settings in my camera to make him look better, so I have been using the filters from Picasa to try to get his colors to look more like what I'm seeing in real life, but it's still too grainy. Oh well.  Maybe I'll give it a try with Jerry's camera some time.

There were a few days last week where he wasn't feeling well, but for the most part, Fortis has been very lively and energetic.  He learned quickly that when I open the little lid in the top of his tank, there's a good chance he'll get some food.   He has a good appetite, and he snaps up his tiny betta pellets with gusto.  I'm just sorry I can't feed him more, but bettas apparently have tiny stomachs and can only eat a few morsels a day.  The Jewish mama in me has had a bit of a hard time with that, but I am determined to keep him healthy and not over feed him!

Sweetest hose doodle yet

Totally unplanned, but so perfect!

Ah, sweet catharsis

ca·thar·sis noun \kə-ˈthär-səs\ plural ca·thar·ses
Definition of CATHARSIS
1 : purgation
2 a : purification or purgation of the emotions (as pity and fear) primarily through art
   b : a purification or purgation that brings about spiritual renewal or release from tension
3 : elimination of a complex by bringing it to consciousness and affording it expression

Well, here we are right in the middle of the summer doldrums, and I have been frustrated and agitated because our home remodel has stalled.  It's been almost 4 months since the kitchen was finished, but work has yet to start on the bathrooms.  I had hoped they would be done by now!  And it's not the contractor's fault, either.  I won't go into detail on the who and the why of it all.  Suffice to say I grew very impatient and tired of waiting!

Before I came to terms with our current state of affairs, I found myself looking for projects to distract me from my frustrations. (and just maybe make a little statement to somebody. ahem)

The first thing I decided was that this empty corner of my new kitchen counter needed an aquarium. So I put up a little 5 gallon hex tank for a betta fish. Fits just perfect in there, huh? Jerry is not thrilled with this, but I love it! I had a big goldfish tank many years ago, and I had been kinda missing having fish for a while now.

  Here's my fish. :)   When I first put him in the tank, he spent a long time staring at the rocks.  I can't imagine what he thought about them, or the rest of his new home, after living in a cup for most of his life.

    A wider view of him in his tank.  He doesn't officially have a name yet. I'm afraid to make the commitment of a name until I feel reasonably certain that he's not going to die right away. (Here is where I must admit that this is actually my second betta. The first one got sick shortly after I brought it home, and died a few days later.)


My other cathartic project has been painting what amounts to cute graffiti on the walls of my bathroom.


This is actually something I had considered doing years ago, but at least I've done it now, and I can enjoy it, even if it gets ripped out and painted over in a couple of weeks. But I have a feeling I'll get to enjoy it for a little longer than that. And my frustration? Well, I suppose it's still there, under the surface, but greatly reduced because I realized I just needed to reduce my expectations.