Has it really been this long since I added to this blog? I guess so. I often think I have nothing to blog about, but when I get going there is little one can do to stop me. About 2-1/2 months ago we cleaned our daughter's fish tank as usual, but I probably added too much algicide and the two fishies were dead the next morning. For the previous year, Kim has been asking "When my fish die can I get a hamster?" And we would say "No." and enumerate the reasons why - including the noise, odor, mess, and general pain in the buttness of having a hairy rodent in the house. Anyway we were now victims of the question: "Do I get a hamster now?" I responded with a "How about a lizard?" as I braced myself for a "Ewwwwwwwww, NO NO NO NO NO! I want a hamster!" I did not get that. As we were due to go a vacation in a few days, an immediate replacement was out of the question, but we did go directly to a pet store. Within half an hour she had decided on a bearded dragon, AND picked the name DAKOTA. Dakota has been a great addition to our house and I hope to write about the reptile often.