Plant pets

I was sad to have to leave my violet/s and other bits and bobs of potplants behind, but a week or 2 ago, we bought a violet.  Then, while I was raking on Tuesday, I discovered a tiny little plant which seemed to be an escaped indoor plant.  It wasn't very big, so I dug it out of the surprisingly hard, rocky clay ground and potted it.

These are the two plants we now have:

 

The 2nd plant surprised me this morning with a precious little flower.  I hope it's a sign that the plant is relieved to be in softer soil and glad to be indoors!  I had plants like this before, and they didn't seem to hard to keep.  The only problem I had (when we were still in the unit before last - the Pink Prison) was a lack of light, so the plant got taller and taller and taller, and then lost all of its leaves as it worked out that there *was* no light to be gained.  That was a pretty glum flat, so I'm not surprised the plant didn't last.

Another pic, I'd been meaning to take it since Easter weekend.  I got (and hid) a group of these guys for G, and once he'd rounded them all up, we sat on the couch.  I showed one of them (the right-side one) to Bird, who was instantly besotted.  This is just a pic to show you how cute they are!

I worked out yesterday that I've applied for over 45 jobs so far, had 7 interviews and only 1 day of work.  There are lots of jobs out there, I'm just not finding *my* job.

The home inspection happened without fuss.  I think we have a good case for getting a 'green' bin as we currently have 14 black-bags of garden waste lined up by the fence.  The lady didn't seem to have found any 'faults' or problems, I hope that means we're doing ok!  She didn't go out into the back garden though, obviously it looked spiffy enough out the windows... I must say it looks so nice now that it's mowed, even if it is, in reality, pretty weed-infested.  It's more welcoming and it makes me want to go lie out there on the grass with a junky magazine, a small bottle of coke and some other treats and while away a sunny afternoon.  Sis and I used to do that back home, mostly on the stunning sunny winter days.

The Australian sun is a bit less forgiving than the South African sun (but not by a whole huge lot...), so I think we need to buy a sun-umbrella.  We also need (would like) to buy a small patio table + chair set.  It really is beautiful on the porch in the morning.  Would also be nice to get some potplants but I think it'll be a bit of a 'strain' for now while we're still adjusting to living here having to tend to plants.  I'm still getting back into the swing of fish-tank maintenance.

Talking of the fishtank, we're going to (finally!) buy some sandpaper so that the under-tank board can be completed.  Yup, it's varnished but needs sanding and touching up before I can set up the fishtank in its permanent spot.  I'm going to pop into the aquarium shop too, to buy 5 more glowlights.  Once the tank has been relocated and has been settled for a while, I'll buy some cardinals.

Ok, that's all for now!  Gotta go check the tank water stats and possibly do a waterchange.  Adieu for now!