Tag: update

Midweek Koi Pond Update

The Portly Politico8 Comments

I’ll be weighing in soon on the capture of the Venezuelan dictator Maduro soon over at Free Speech Backlash.  The quick version:  it’s the Monroe Doctrine, baby!  More to come.  —TPP

Yours portly has found a new obsession:  the koi pond that came with our new home.  I’ve been so passionate about tending to this pond, Dr. Wife bought me a book that is apparently the authority on all things koi (that link is an Amazon Affiliate link; I receive a portion of the proceeds from any purchase made through that link at no additional cost to you).

The previous owners constructed a very nice pond; from what I can tell from my research, they built a textbook pond for koi.  The problem right now is that the water is incredibly murky, so we can only see the koi when they surface to feed.  It being winter, our koi don’t eat often—they largely hibernate when the water temperature gets below 50 or 60 degrees Fahrenheit.  Currently, our water temperature is around 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

To that end, I’m looking to purchase some Japanese Trapdoor Snails (JTSs).  These snails are amazing:  they are cold-hardy, so they survive through winter; they give birth to live young, so they reproduce slowly, virtually eliminating the risk of overpopulation; and they are living vacuum cleaners for muck and algae.  However, Fishy Business in Columbia, South Carolina still doesn’t have any in stock.

I’ve been having late-night conversations with Microsoft’s CoPilot AI about stocking the pond, in addition to doing research on my own.  CoPilot brought up ramshorn snails, which I have read about as well.  Unlike JTSs, they lay eggs, so overpopulation is more of a concern; however, koi and the rosy red minnows I added to our pond will often eat the eggs and/or baby snails, so the population should stay in check.  I’ve ordered around twenty of them from a seller on eBay (apparently, you can purchase live snails from randos on the Internet) and will introduce those when they arrive next week.

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It Is My Birthday.

The Portly Politico8 Comments

Today is my 41st birthday.  Dr. Wife is taking me to our favorite local Italian place for dinner, and surprised me with a nice card and a cool LEGO set.  I spent the morning selling two big-ticket items on Facebook Marketplace—both of which have been dangling around my neck like an albatross for weeks—and we’ll be attending the swearing-in of new Lamar Town Councilmembers this afternoon (my term is done).

More updates to come!

Happy Saturday!

—TPP

TBT: Happy New Year from TPP!

The Portly Politico7 Comments

2025 was quite a year!  Dr. Wife and I often talk about how long the year felt, for good and for ill.

It was a year with many ups and downs.  Dr. Wife’s third year of residency has been brutal, but she is doing well as the co-chief resident.  My work schedule has been far more manageable, but financing and buying a house—as well as planning a wedding!—took up a good deal of my time in the latter half of the year (to Dr. Wife’s immense credit, most of the latter-stage wedding planning fell to her—she really nailed the fun details, things I would have neglected or not thought of).  My maternal grandfather passed away; several of her close friends and family have had personal and medical crises.

But we also got married—woooooot!—and bought a house.  We have great dogs and even better families.  We have immensely enjoyed spending so much time together over the Christmas holiday, even if we’ve been rocketing all over the Carolinas moving furniture.  We are excited for 2026!

What are your hopes and dreams for 2026, dear readers?  Leave a comment and let me know.  I think Dr. Wife and I primarily want to get moved into our house completely—and get her through residency!

With that, here is 1 January 2025’s “Happy New Year from TPP!“:

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Midweek Moving

The Portly Politico2 Comments

Dr. Wife and I continue our gradual moving process today with another big load.  This time, we’re heading from her current residence in North Carolina to our new house in South Carolina.

As part of this stage in our moving process, we stayed overnight at her parents’ new house in another part of North Carolina to dog-sit their precious pug:

Her parents gave us an[other] awesome recliner, so I decided to rent another U-Haul in their town to take advantage of our visit.

However, we ran into a bit of a logistical problem:  how do we get two cars and a moving truck down to South Carolina?  Alternatively, how do we get vehicles where they need to be without necessitating a six-hour-roundtrip drive to and from Dr. Wife’s place?

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Moving Saturday 1 of X

The Portly Politico2 Comments

I’ll have some classic SubscribeStar Saturday content up soon-ish, but Dr. Wife and I just got back from the first of what will likely be several days of moving furniture and such from our respective houses to our new home.  We managed to get all of the furniture her parents gifted us this summer, as well as some furniture I already had.  Additionally, we managed to unload some items at Goodwill.

We’re taking a minute to catch our breaths before indulging in some much-needed protein at the steakhouse.

Stay tuned for more!

—TPP

P.S.—We had a nice Christmas card from regular contributor Ponty and his significant other waiting for us at our new home!  It’s now festooning the mantle in our new living room.

Married Life

The Portly Politico19 Comments

Well, I’ve been married for a whopping eleven-ish days—and I love it!  Specifically, I love my wife.

Naturally, a good chunk of those days were spent living the sweet life aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise.  We went down to Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic and to Royal Caribbean’s private island, Coco Cay.  It was my first cruise and I loved spending all of that quiet, relaxing, unstructured time with Dr. Wife.

Now, it’s back to Reality for both of us.  Dr. Wife is finishing up her residency in North Carolina and I’m still at my school in South Carolina, so we’re living apart during the weeks until she wraps up residency next summer.  That means we’re delaying the usual first-year-of-marriage stuff, like adjusting to living together full-time.

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Memorable Monday^16: Thanksgiving Week!

The Portly Politico4 Comments

It’s hard to believe looking back at this post that Dr. Wife was Dr. Girlfriend around this time one year ago.  It’s wild to contemplate how much can change in a year.

Dr. Wife and I have this conversation frequently, especially when enduring some trial or difficulty:  it doesn’t last forever.  Indeed, things can change very quickly.  It’s also a reminder to enjoy the good moments—and with Dr. Wife, there are many of those!

We’re honeymooning, so I actually wrote this post while Dr. Wife was still Dr. Fiancée!  I’m thrilled that she is not the former.  I’m very thankful for her, my family, my friends, and God.

With that, here is 25 November 2024’s “Memorable Monday^4: Thanksgiving Week!“:

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Gettin’ Hitched

The Portly Politico2 Comments

Well, it’s finally here—your portly is getting married.  By late afternoon, Dr. Fiancée will be Dr. Wife.

It’s been a pretty wild week, as I imagine most wedding weeks are.  It’s been fun, too, to celebrate with friends, family, colleagues, and—of course—Dr. F.

I told her that there would be some weird feelings and thoughts this week as we processed this massive life change.  We’re both beyond ready for it.  At the same time, it feels like we’re formalizing before God what He Has Done.

It was about a year ago that Dr. F—then Dr. Girlfriend—and I realized that we wanted to get married.  It was quick, but each passing day has only cemented that initial conviction.

I’m so, so thankful for her.

Thanks to everyone who has sent along well-wishes and kind words.  If I don’t respond to new comments imminently, please know that it’s because I won’t exactly be hanging out online today—ha!

Thanks again!

—TPP

Wedding Week Madness

The Portly Politico12 Comments

It’s been a wild and wooly wedding week for yours portly and Dr. Fiancée.  Our closing on Monday went well, and I spent Tuesday morning visiting the DMV, the courthouse, and the city hall of our new town to get everything setup.  I was apparently so quick, the attorneys had not gotten the updated deed to the courthouse yet!

I also picked up our marriage license.  Dr. Fiancée and I applied for it on Monday, but South Carolina requires a twenty-four waiting period, I suppose to allow cooler heads (or shotguns) to prevail in the event of impulsive (or coerced) marriages.

The past few days—even the past few weeks!—have felt like a marathon of threading needles of time.  But it’s all coming together!

Now I’m just praying my tuxedo arrives at my local Men’s Wearhouse this afternoon, so I don’t have to make a special trip tomorrow.  If that’s the only snag in this wedding week, though, I’ll be very pleased!

Dr. Fiancée and I are super excited.  We’re also ready to disconnect for the honeymoon.

To that end, I’ll be running TPP’s Greatest Hits (or something like that) next week.  I’ll catch up on comments and such when we are back.

Just three days!  We’re so close!

—TPP

Closing

The Portly Politico4 Comments

Today Dr. Fiancée (she’ll be Dr. Wife as of Saturday afternoon!) and I are closing on a house in the small town where we’ll be moving once she completes residency.  We weren’t going to purchase a home at this point, but when another house we’d looked at went under contract, we started looking again.

The house we’re purchasing today had gone through a couple of price reductions since we’d first seen it on Zillow.  Dr. F looked at me and said, “I want this house,” so I went to work.

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