Make your own aquarium filter

I've been meaning to post about this for quite a while - every month we change out our aquarium filters - and new ones cost about $14 - I know that's not a lot - but I can make a filter for less than a dollar - so being my frugal self - that's what I do - of course...

You will need:

Activated Charcoal
Quilt batting
scissors
sewing machine - or a needle and thread if you want to stitch it up by hand


This is a nasty old used filter...

...snip the outer lining away from the frame and discard that and the charcoal from inside...

...rinse well and sanitize with a solution of hydrogen peroxide and water - and rinse well again - don't use tap water if your water contains chlorine...

...measure the quilt batting to make a pocket for this frame...

...I just lay it on top of the batting fold it over and cut around it...

...stitch up 2 sides if folded or 3 if not...

...slide the frame into the pocket...

...now you'll need the activated charcoal...

...open the pocket and pour in about 1/3 cup of charcoal...

...and there you have it - a sideways picture of a finished filter...

...our filters have the little frames or carriers that they sit in - so if yours does too - just slide it in - if it's a little too snug - carefully trim away some of the batting...

...then pop them back into the filter - and enjoy your nice clean aquarium water...

Pareidolia

Pareidolia
Main article: Apophenia
Pareidolia is a type of apophenia involving the finding of images or sounds in random stimuli. For example, hearing a ringing phone while taking a shower. The noise produced by the running water gives a random background from which the patterned sound of a ringing phone might be 'produced'.

Recent real-world examples: the 'finding' of a cross inside a halved potato, the 'appearance' of Jesus and Mary inside a halved orange, or Jesus' face on a piece of toast or in the frost on a car window.

...someone told me once - shortly after we got here (5 years ago) - that Jesus' face appears in our rock wall at Church...

...I didn't pay too much attention then - but I went looking for this example of pareidolia - and I found it - below and a little to the right of the eternal flame...

...can you see it now - it's sort of like those 3D art posters - once you see it you'll always see it...

The Family that travels together...

...well they stay together, for sure, and that would be us...

...even though we flew to NC this time - it still seems like we spent half our time traveling - it's 2 full days of flying as opposed to 6 days of driving...

...but the flying is fun - all of it - from the airport coffee - to the vibro-massage chairs...

...there was lots of window gazing...

...lots of cloud watching...

...there were even trivia games to play on board - a first for us - and a good way to pass the time on a long flight...

...the answer, of course, is Howard...

...once we arrived - we had visits with family - and picnics in the forest...

...and trips to waterfalls...

...and golf cart rides...

...and power-washing brick - believe it or not this counts as fun...

...and a new hedge was leveled and mulched - I wish I had a before picture of the terribly overgrown hemlock hedge - it must have stood 12 feet tall...

...and lots of cousining - before we packed up and made the trip in reverse...

Knitted Warmth

I absolutely had to share these with you...

...I love them so much...

...I love that they knitted everything - in such detail - and then unraveled it all - amazing - the world really is a 'warm' place...

Customizing Star Wars

We all already knew that Scout loves his Star Wars figures...

...now he has taken this to a new level...

...as he creates a special character for each of his figures...

...and works tirelessly to bring them to life...

...like this guy in his new red uniform...

New Curtains

Remember when I stained all those curtain rings - in order to replace...

...these rather institutional looking vertical blinds....

...with some nice cozy curtains...

...I'm quite pleased with the new softer look...

Another Winning Essay

Scout has won another essay contest - oh my - that boy amazes me...

This one won the district and the State competition and will compete at the National level this fall - I'll keep you posted...

Light Fixture Fix

We had two light fixtures exactly like this - one in the entry hall - and one in the stairwell...

The one in the stairwell got broken by 'someone' carrying something downstairs - so it was just hanging there with a light bulb - it still worked - it just looked ugly...

...so while I was perusing the thrift store - looking for food molds - I spied these chandelier covers - there were 3 of them - and the hole was too small for our fixture...

but I thought I could make the hole bigger with the dremel tool - so I did - the plastic cover will just hang on the bulb...

...another finished frugal (25 c) project...

Crazy Socks

Right on the heels (pun intended) of finishing the Easter Sweater I cast on for a pair of Super Simple Socks - I loved the colours of this yarn - it's just Sugar and Cream - and a super simple pattern - I'll finish this one this week - and they'll sure be fun to wear...

Watercress Experiment - Update

Remember Scout's Watercress Experiment...

...well - it's doing quite well - and he can't wait for his first harvest...

Easter Sunday Menu

TRANCHES DE JAMBON MORVANDELLE - [Sautéed Ham Slices - Cream and Madeira Sauce]
POINTES D'ASPERGES AVEC SAUCE HOLLANDAISE - [Asparagus Tips with Hollandaise Sauce]
Nanny's Sweet Potatoes

All the details are at The Vegan Version

Happy Easter

I hope you all had a blessed Easter with your families!

We had some last minute prep last night (of course - it really wouldn't be a holiday at all without that)...

Scout's alb had to be hemmed (considerably) - as we will be our Light Bearer on Easter...

...I did add another flounce to the bottom of the skirt - and I would have worn it that way - but neither of my boys liked it that way - so I took it back off...

...about midnight - the Easter Bunny came - and I hope he came to your house too - he left an awesome Warrior book - and several papier mache Easter eggs stuffed with goodies...

...then we slept for a little while and got up and enjoyed our goodies for just a few minutes before Church - you see the book trumped even chocolate...

...but he eventually tore into all of that too...

...then Scout (and his Papa) carried the Light of Christ back into the darkened Church...

...this rather dark photo will give you a good idea of the length of the finished skirt...

...I was ok with it in the end...I guess...

Walking the dog - a new way

Scout looped Jack's leash over his handlebar and rode around the Church parking lot with him in tow - this was fun to watch - I don't think I'll let them out on the highway like that though...

Easter Sweater Update

The Easter sweater is finished - ahead of time - and by that I mean - before midnight on Saturday - so YAY!

The skirt has been quite a challenge - as it needed a lining - at first, I thought that I would just wear a black slip underneath - but I tried that and it looked like I was wearing a sheer skirt with a black slip underneath - not so nice...

...so, I decided that I would have to actually line the skirt - I took it almost completely apart and cut lining from the leftover shiny material from Scout's Darth Vader costume - see it's always nice to keep things like that in the stash FOREVER - here's a better picture of the material...

...anywhoo - after all that - it's a really cute skirt - in fact it's almost too cute - if you know what I mean - it's a little bit too short for what I'm used to - falling just at mid-knee - it's not the pattern's fault - I'm sure it's supposed to be that way - there's no picture of the skirt on a person on the front of the pattern though - I should have made it longer - and I might still - I've got a little bit of extra material - I may just add another flounce below the knee - what do you think?

Spring Thaw

The snow is almost all gone now - really the only remaining snow is where there were drifts of 4 or more feet...

...Scout got a new pair of mud boots - right now we almost wear the same size shoe - so I'll be keeping these when he outgrows them...

...he has so much fun just stomping around in the slush and snow melt - one of his favorite things to do is find a clump of snow/ice overhanging where it has melted underneath - jump on it and have it break away with a clean snap...