Monthly Archives: March 2023

The pond is wet!

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No leaks! Happy days!

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Early settlers.

I dropped in to Aquaristic today (I now live next door to one of the best small aquarium shops in Sydney) to buy some dechlorinator. Not so surprisingly (as Aquaristic tend to sell some really special things) they had one single red rice fish! I passed on the fish for now but I did pick up 2 banana leaves (free-floating, no stems, the roots sprout out from directly under the leaf itself). They only had a few and these were the only 2 in decent condition (they were the biggest ones too). The guy who looked after me said they will flower if they get full sun.

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Outdoor furniture set

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Paloma Jedeaux 4 piece iron outdoor set.

Just bought this outdoor set from Living By Design for my rooftop. Looked at a lot of more comfy lounges but the afternoon sun up there is just SO harsh. None of it would last more than 6 months. This should last a little longer me thinks!

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Acapulco chairs

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$57 at Bunnings.

I initially saw one one of these chairs on Facebook marketplace, but I’ve since seen these Acapulco chairs absolutely everywhere; in YouTube videos, via google image search and all over Pinterest. I reached out to someone selling some on FB Marketplace, asked if I could pay via PayID, her reply was “so many scammers on PayID”, so I dropped in to Bunnings and bought some instead.

I’ve got them on my balcony and love how they look (they’re comfy too), but I doubt they’ll survive the harsh afternoon sun for long.

I’ve since done more research on these, turns out they’re quite an iconic design. The Acapulco chair originates from Mexico and is associated with the glamorous vacation destination of the 1950’s and 60’s. The chairs are handwoven in Mexico and are still being made to this day.

Looks like the original differs from the Bunnings ones in a few ways; overall shape (original looks more egg shaped and these Bunnings ones look more round), the original has 3 feet not 4 and a sturdier looking base frame and it looks like the original chair is a little bigger too.

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Plant update

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My Queen Anthurium has pushed out a new leaf and it’s beautiful!

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In love with my Watermelon Peperomia. Not only because the leaves look like watermelons, but they sparkle in the sun!

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Japanese Rice Fish Patio Pond

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75mm wide x 40mm deep fibreglass pot from Bunnings (holds 176L which is massive!). Came with a drainage hole unfortunately so I had to make it watertight with some 2 part epoxy.

I often think about setting up another aquarium, but then I think about the maintenance (cleaning algae off the glass daily and weekly water changes) and all the livestock I’ve killed over the years. These thoughts have usually been enough to keep my want for another aquarium at bay, but I’m super into growing plants right now and I’ve spent some time looking into terrariums, which then led to looking at paludariums as well as ponds.

Since I’m starting to work on setting up my rooftop I started looking into ponds a little more. Whilst I’m still put off by having to do weekly water changes I stumbled upon Japanese Rice Fish (Medaka) and how many Japanese keep them outdoors in small ceramic pots without filters or heaters all year round (with no water changes!).

The more research I did the more I’ve found that these little fish are perhaps the hardiest fish out there (and I think they’re beautiful!). They’re found in rice fields, and have been kept by the Japanese since the 17th century. They can tolerate temperatures form as low as 3 °C to as high as 42 °C (nuts!) and pH levels from 6.5 through to 8.0 (basically they can live in fresh or salt water, again… nuts!).

A low-tech pond sounds like a really fun project so I dropped in to Bunnings this morning and picked up a huge plant pot and some epoxy to fill up the drainage hole. I’ve made an online order for some pond plants and some rice fish too. I’m excited!

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Made Of Tomorrow FOLD Arch Planter Box

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Love at first sight!

When I was looking for planter boxes I came across this one designed and made by New Zealand based company Made Of Tomorrow. I had to have it! They make and sell a whole lot of other stuff I’d absolutely love to buy too. Visit: https://www.madeoftomorrow.com

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Moon & Back Cafe

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Breakfast with Gina (and Minty!) at Moon & Back cafe.

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Immortality!

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It’s been challenging co-leading my gaming clan (Australia in Diablo Immortal) over the past few months. Lots of ups and downs, but as of this morning we’re the Immortals of our server! I wrote up this announcement on our clan discord to thank all 100 of our members.

Hey all, this morning we woke up as Immortals!

Just wanted to say thanks to all who stuck with us through the leadership change, and to all members both new and old who put in the energy to push Shadow Wars over the past few weeks, we did it!

Special thanks to all our officers for morale support, especially Lunate for being our rock through our climb to the top. Thanks to Tazz for pushing me to be a better co-leader. Tazz and I are different people, with different values. We’ve butt heads, but we’ve worked through our differences and come out stronger each and every time.

In the past, in multiple IRL businesses I’ve run, I’ve found myself walking away from it all when shit hits the fan with my business partners. I think that was immaturity on my behalf. Working through stuff with Tazz. Listening to his ideas, thoughts and values in relation to the clan has been both challenging and highly rewarding.

The proof is in the pudding!

Loving the vibe in-game today. It feels like a reward for all the hard work and also a fresh start. Sure, not all of you will enjoy being an Immortal, but let’s just enjoy it whilst we can, and be happy for those who have never tried the Immortal experience in Diablo Immortal.

Have a great week all!

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Great week of catching up with old friends

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Beers at The Rosebery Hotel with Richie.

Had such an awesome week catching up with old friends. Got a call from my bestie Liz, Kristi came around to pick up a massive artwork of hers from Maroubra and beers at my local pub with an old school mate. Life’s so good!

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Sunset

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Amazing sunset last night in Rosebery.

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