Matt got a week off, so we traveled to Qingdao to visit some friends and give him a chance to spend some relaxing time in Qingdao since he didn't get to enjoy it much while being so busy at work there last year. We had some nice meals, got to hike a little bit, visit the beach near where we used to live, and hang out with many friends. We finished the trip off by getting food to go from one of our favorite restaurants in Qingdao - Burger and Bun.
After we came home from Qingdao, I discovered that my Worm Inn had gotten infested with fungus gnats. I've been trying to starve them out by not feeding or watering the worms this month and kill off the adults by putting a bowl of apple cider vinegar and dish soap in the Worm Inn. As you can see in the photo, I've successfully killed lots of gnats, but there are still some in there. Frustrating! So, I've ordered an improved worm home that zips at the bottom and the top (whereas the one I have now just zips at the top and has a drawstring at the bottom, so that's probably where the gnats entered). I'll get the improved worm home when we go to the U.S. in December, so hopefully that will solve my gnat issues once and for all!
As soon as we got back home, we had another factor to contribute to busyness. Earlier in October, our friend asked us if we would help her family by taking a dog that they had been given by another friend who moved away. Our friend's family is in a busy season right now with health problems, and it was getting difficult for them to care for this dog. Our friend knew that we were open to getting a dog eventually, so she thought this would be a perfect solution. We met the dog earlier in the month and then after our travels were finished, he came to live with us. We've spent the past week adjusting to him and getting him adjusted to us. He was already potty trained and now we're working on getting him to go to sleep later and wake up later (instead of sleeping from about 7 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. like he was used to) and we're trying to teach him to sit and fetch. He's about a year old, so he has a lot of energy but fortunately, he also doesn't mind cuddling with me during the day and taking naps in the sun. So, without further ado, meet Aka!