We welcomed a new addition the the family today: Chess the corn snake. While technically she’s too young to determine gender, we’re referring to her in the feminine. She’s only four or five months old right now and quite small. Right now I’m living with Kristen (my sister), and Hannah (Julie recently moved out). Victoria decided that she will be moving down in the fall, and while Kristen is moving out for summer, she is returning in the fall. This is the first time I’ll not have at least one roommate who can’t stand snakes. I was planning on waiting until fall to get one. But Victoria made me go dress shopping so I made her go to the pet store with me. After holding her I waited 24 hours, thought it over, and went back today to buy her.

Chess joins my Beta fish, Tamale, and my Scorpion, Lesath. I do enjoy critters. I hope to someday have some larger ones, like horses and dogs. I’ll soon be adding galleries of all my pets, plus my gardening work. This weekend I’m going to work on a table-top aeroponics unit. Victoria is doing research on greenhouses. We’re hoping to start working on a greenhouse and experimenting with aeroponics and hydroponics.

It’s that time again. Spring is gardening time. I’ve already bought seeds for herbs and veggies. I’m going to the hardware store today to pick up some flowers to dress up the porch. While I’m at it I think  I’ll pick up some wood. I’m determined to start a worm bin this year.

Graveyard shift has me interested in another project. Sleeping during the day has been tricky. The light coming in and the noise of the grounds keepers tends to wake me up. I’m sleeping longer during the day than I should be. On top of that the plants in my room are suffering from the lack of light since my blinds are closed during the day. I think I’ll move my  bed to the other end of my room. I want to build a sort of headboard to go with it. I want it to be wide enough to put my stereo on it so that I can play music to drown out the noise without playing it too loud. I’ll also hang some dark fabric from it to keep out the light so I can keep the blinds open for my plants.

My latest project is in action right now. I’m typing this post on my new OLPC laptop. I asked for one for Christmas and play time has finally started. It only just arrived. I’ve been quiet jealous of others who received theirs earlier, but it’s been worth the wait. It’s so small and light and cute! I might need to plug in a USB keyboard. I doubt this one is ergonomical. Still, I love it and I’m anxious to see what all it can do.