I seem to be on a blogging kick. Hmm.

Tonight I went on errands, then I tried out my new helmet and pads for my rollerblades. Well, I tried them on and wore them while moving about on my rollerblades. I never actually put them to the test, thank goodness. I was just trying to get my wheels under me, so to speak. It's been a few years since I've been on wheels and my balance leaves something to be desired. I'm hoping the safety gear gives me the confidence I need to get good on the blades.

Now I'm making a double batch of oatmeal raisin cookies for a birthday at work tomorrow. The oatmeal raisin are just about as popular as the chocolate chip and they go fast.

I got my Hoya obovata and my H. pubycalyx 'Red Buttons' in the mail today. The obovata is huge and beautiful! It is trained for a trellis so I had to find a stand in until I can find a suitable trellis. WalMart and Home Depot were not helpful at all. I used the fire tool stand that I was using as a jewelry stand. It has been repurposed more than any other item I have I think.



This is my first trellised Hoya and the one with the biggest leaves. It also isn't as common as the ones I already had. I feel like a "real" hoya collector now! Not just an amateur.

It is going to be a late night. I still have several pans of cookies to go in the oven and I need to shower. It is already after 9:00.

My tortoise can hatch anytime between now and a month from now. I have the cage itself but it is still empty. It needs substrate and a hide box and grass and stuff. I think I'm going to take a patch of sod from the backyard to make the main substrate. Grass and weeds are the bulk of the diet. Then I'll have a wad of coconut fiber that I'll keep moist and I'll find an appropriate sized cardboard hide box. Torts grow fast and there's no reason to buy an expensive hide box that it'll outgrow in a month. When it is still a hatchling they recommend keeping the climbing structures to a minimum to avoid toppling over. Oh, I also need to make corner blocks. Torts like to climb into the 90 degree corners and tip over so if you block the corner with a 45 degree piece of wood or something they can't tip themselves over. It's like babyproofing! I think I'll put Ezri the Gecko over beside the tortoise and they can share a heat lamp. Ezri doesn't need to be as warm as the lamp makes her, so I'll position it to straddle the two enclosures. I just need to buy the UVB lamp and then I think we'll be ready to go.

My lenten rose is going to town with the blooms. I have daffodils opening up every day. It hasn't gotten below freezing in several nights. I know we're not done with the cold weather but Spring is really here! It is VERY early Spring but it counts.

Ooh- here's a picture of my Philodendron hederaceum 'Brazil'. Check out the new leaf on the top!


Ick. With the flash you can really tell I need to wipe off those lower leaves.

And! My biggest amaryllis is going to bloom soon! Here it is last year:



And just because I can, here's my spoiled rotten cat. I love her so much!!


Ok, it's past 10:00 and I'm almost done with the cookies. Good night!