3 years in, not a single water change. I still have rice fish in the pond on the rooftop!

Had the final inspection yesterday. Buying off the plan is whack as it’s nothing like I thought it would be, nothing bad, it’s great! Just totally different. The idea was for me to go over the apartment with an eagle eye and look for any imperfections which I’d like fixed before final settlement. Found a fair few issues, nothing major!

They started construction on this apartment right when I moved into mine (which is next door) 2 years ago, so it’s somewhat satisfying that all that construction noise I’ve been hearing over the last 2 years has paid off. Next step is to pay up, then look for an agent to get renters in.

Remnants from when I was a weight weeny.

Asahi top cap!

Got my Wahoo trainer in the mail. It comes with an 11-speed cassette which won’t work with my 80’s Paino road bike, nor will it work with my 9-speed cassette on my Giant Reign 1. Had to give it a go though so managed to get one gear working, and tried out Wahoo’s fitness software, and yeah, it’s not for me (I knew it wouldn’t be). It’s cute, and uses WiFi to add resistance to the trainer during workouts (where you watch a video and have lots of data up on the screen), but my main intention was just to get it so I can pedal whilst listening to podcasts (vs playing computer games whilst listening to podcasts!).

Will figure out whether I want to change the freehub and get an old campy cassette on the back for the Paino, or just buy a 9-speed cassette for the Reign (again, kicking myself now I got rid of all my bike tools!).

Balmain bed from Koala Furniture came in today and Gina and I got straight into setting up the guest bedroom.

Gina’s renting an awesome space in Paddington for her ZEN Thai massage business so she’ll be coming into the city from the Blue Mountains a lot more often. At the moment she’s crashing out on my couch which isn’t ideal as I get up super early and usually hop on to play games, which I can’t do if someone’s sleeping on the couch so I’m making moves to turn my art room into a guest bedroom (probably what I should have done all along!).

I’m a little bummed I didn’t get the “art bug”, but I’ve got plenty of time, and I’m still hopeful that I will pick up drawing and painting again down the line.

Sunrise to sunset hangs with Gina. Been a while since we’ve shot, but we thought… why not!

From Western Australia with love.

I’ve decided to leave them in the sphagnum moss they arrived in (for now).

Philodendron El Choco Red already looking amazing!

2 of my fave show plants (Alocasia Watsoniana and Longiloba) have grown so large that they’re touching the light in my cabinet. Not good as A) the leaves will burn and B) they’re shading all the plants below. I’ve had to move both of them out and so far they’re doing just fine, but the cabinet is looking bare, and no longer has that lush jungle vibe I love so much.

I was watching a Sydney Plant Guy video where he featured a Philodendron El Choco Red he bought online from WA. I did some googling, found the site (Flora Magnifica Australia) and put an order in. I have all 3 babies on the top shelf atm and they’re doing well!

I’ve gotten to the stage now where I’ve started to identify which plants I love more than others, and this has helped me to stop the impulse buying (I have a fair few plants outside of the cabinet now), and instead create more of a wish-list of plants I’d love to one day own.

I’m still upset that my Alocasia Watsoniana outgrew the cabinet. It was such a great centre piece. It’s since pushed out a HUGE new leaf outside of the cabinet though. I did try to get it back in there, but 100% no go. The Alocasia Longiloba ‘May’ (Hybrid) has now pushed out a massive new leaf too (you can see it in the background at the top if you look closely). It’s also outgrowing the cabinet!

I have 2 Queen Anthuriums in there. A baby one (top right) and a bigger one I bought (it was all bashed up on purchase). Both have pushed out new leaves, but even the new leaves have come out imperfect (I swear I didn’t touch them at all!). Seeing the imperfect leaves every day is just… depressing! I’ve cut a few yellow bits off, but as much as I’m obsessed with the plant I find more joy in the plants that are pushing out perfect new leaves.

Figuring out which plants bring me joy (and which do not) is all a part of the journey I suppose!