Happy Late Easter

 pretty much forgot it was a holiday this week.  aside from the candy.  it's the last big candy holiday until Halloween.  was at the groceries today and they had 3 shopping carts filled to top with bags of candy.  clearing out the easter stuff and getting ready to load out summer/garden stuff.

 these are more of the ice sculptures.  these first are from the one block of ice contest.  i wasn't very good at capturing them all on the camera..the details in person are more clear and pretty awesome.

 tired and sore after just 2 nights of work.  was in the ICU both nights, adult.  sounds like loads of bugs going around out there. wash your hands everyone.

 best intentions today.  headed to gym to swim but they had closed early.  i can still make my 3 days/week goal but today was a no go.  actually looked on line to see if there was a time change.  none noted so i headed over.

 instead i did get a few things kicked off the to do list.  deposit check ready to mail off for Hallo Bay bear viewing this summer.  also got on the IRS site to do the WARIS 990EZ tax form.  we are a small non-profit so if we stay under a certain amount of money the IRS doesn't bother with us.

 we have been able to get support enough to keep us rolling and that is great for us...many thanks to all who have donated to Walrus Advocates of Round Island Sanctuary-WARIS.  it pays for the logistics of keeping us running and helps us get the word out about walrus, Round Island and the Sanctuary.  it has been very rewarding to be able to get this non-profit started and feel like we can make an impact.

 it's easy to think that no one individual can change the world, but we all have more power than we know and put that together with others who are like minded...well, you never know what you can do.  i sent off a note so find out exactly which groups and contacts have again assisted with funding for our islands.  thinking it would be fun to fill our po box with thank you notes from individuals out there and perhaps drawings by kids of walrus with thank you notes.  would mean so much more to these larger non-profits to get these personal notes/pictures of thanks.

 we could even turn it into a contest where we pick our favorite walrus drawing for a little prize.  will have to work out the details and brainstorm a bit.  anyone have ideas?  we do still have room for more board members if anyone is interested.

 doesn't take up too much time at this point really.  in this modern world much can be done via texting and emails and such.  would love to find an enthusiastic person who is great with computer stuff to keep our webpage updated and active.  would like to add a store onto the web page so we can sell product and eventually make more serious money for the sanctuary.  each step up though requires more time and effort and training.  it's a learning process...learning how to start/run a non-profit.  it's been an interesting challenge.

 perhaps a new challenge is happening as well.  a product idea i've had for years.  we shall see.  i think it's a great idea and i always figured if the idea worked, well, some of profit would have to go to my walrus right?  that could take years if it happens at all.  so perhaps we all have more of an ability to make a difference than we think.  laziness is always my worst enemy.  sometimes though, you really just have no idea how you take something that is an idea or a desire and make it into the bigger thing.

 WARIS wasn't easy to start but it wasn't as difficult as i would have thought.  forms and some money of course, details had to be worked out.  help from friends, leaps of faith.  often you just have to remember to make decisions with confidence.  there were times i found myself hesitating and then i could see random other folks trying to direct me in details.  the details were mine to decide on...if they had wanted those details different, well, they could have done what i was doing.  in truth nobody else was willing to start this up though many wanted someone to do it.  some days we all just have to step up and be that someone.

 had to get form filled out for Blossoms insurance.  she had pet insurance thankfully, so hopefully i can get some of the money i spent back.  she seems to be feeling much better.  hate when she is sick...it's this reminder to me that she will not be with me in the next 20 years.  i don't want to remember that.  i want my sweet pup to live forever.  still feeding her rice/burger but have started mixing her regular food back in.

 like this cabin of ice...nice.

 while i was in Fairbanks they were working on the multi block entries.  too bad i didn't see the finished product but other friends did go up in the weeks after i did and saw them.  so i saw pics of many on facebook.

 made the rounds in the back yard for dog poop pick up. snow is melting fast so i try to make more frequent rounds back there so the yard isn't disgusting in a few weeks.  it is trash day tomorrow anyway.

 i still have my own taxes to do.  it's almost April!! aack!! i have packages ready to mail for tomorrow.  wrote this quick to do list and it took me awhile to figure out that "mail packages" was what i had written.  my penmanship is pretty bad.

 nurses write all these little notes about their patients...well most do.  we tend to call this list our "brain".  everyone writes different stuff down.  i tend to change ink color if i have the same patients more than one day so i can do updates.  mine has basics name, docs, diagnosis, allergies, systems, medications,lines, drips....

 you can imagine it can get pretty sloppy. in the morning with tired eyes i'm occasionally trying to sort out what i had said.  those scribbled notes help me keep it all together and organized.

 people rarely have any idea what nurses do.  they have their preconceived notions  and yes, i do wipe arses from time to time but we manage an orchestra of medications, we monitor constantly and have to react rapidly.  it's not unheard of to have up to 15 different medications dripping into a patients veins at any given time.  not to mention all the various intermittent medications.

 i had 2 total care patients last night.  as an ICU nurse..we love that.  sedated or incapable of moving on their own. ventilators doing the breathing. that is an ICU nurses happy place, really.  if their family goes home for the night....we may just cheer.  some families are great really..then there are a few that are more annoying.

 and then there are families that you are doing everything you can to smile and play nice with.

 i remember once i was taking care of a very ill baby with many drips and monitors and issues.  the parent wasn't happy with me because i didn't coo with the sedated and ventilated kid who was less than a month or so old.  trying to keep the kid alive...no time for cooing.  really?

 pretty amazing what people focus on.  often with all the stress people are under in hospitals you just have to accept that you will be the punching bag as it were for peoples emotions.  they are emotional and exhausted and stressed.  people lose it from time to time.  so do nurses.  we are under stress and tired and often in very emotional situations.  we are often dealing with issues related to death and dying and ethics.

 went on indiegogo tonight and hopefully bought a new cool thing for camping.  never used it, but i guess it's a bit of a leap of faith.  you hope they are able to get their product idea together. you are helping fund their product before it's fully developed.  it is great how many of these web pages exist for stuff now.  change.org really helped us get that petition out there in the world for WARIS and i think that put a lot of pressure on those in charge at fish and game to get the Walrus Islands Sanctuary funding somehow.

 cute little penguins.  above is the big ice slide. they have lots of smaller slides there but this one is the biggest.

 at night it's all lit up.

 thought this was pretty.

 will need to do a news catch up day.  Sanders took the Alaska and Hawaii caucuses for the Democrats.  this Presidential race has been pretty nuts.  Drumpf is crazy and more and more i wonder if his goal all along was to destroy the Republican party.  he offends everyone.  the other main Republican candidate was saying Drumpf seems to write many of these offensive texts late at night...it occurred to me that he probably is up late with a drink or two and then posts idiotic stuff. some find him entertaining.  i'm not one of those.  i'm just in shock that this is the best we have to offer out there. decent people don't have the stomach to deal with the crap that politicians have to deal with these days.  decent folks don't want to risk compromising their morals and values.

 above is one of the smaller slides.  kiddie sized.  like you would have in your back yard.  below is one of many photo op ice sculptures.

 race cars and planes below.

 i liked how they did the steam on this train.

 and these turtles were totally cool.

 a volcano erupted up here in AK...it's pretty far away. i think out on the Aleutian chain.

 there are probably walrus making their way south to Round Island right now...so fun.  can't wait to watch them on the web cam.  i'm sure they are busy at fish and game getting the crew ready to head out to the island.  the cameras will be put up. perhaps even improved after a first year.  such an amazing location.  on the brink of being discovered.  been very happy and grateful for the folks on the chat at the walrus web cam site.  they have continued to chat all during the off season and post photo's and news and have been supportive of WARIS.  if nothing else, we are starting to get the walrus lovers out there together . they are out there, across the globe.

 big fancy ice shoe.

 so it was good to get a few things accomplished today.  there is hope for my to do list.  i'm sure i was supposed to be doing more Eastery things today, but oh well.

 even bought new seat covers for the car and got those in.  the ones that were in there were pretty trashed.

 me in Fairbanks with this pretty cool antler thing in Fairbanks.

 it's almost 2 am...i really should get to bed.  enjoyed a chat with one niece and texting with another.

 good night.

thankful for: 1.  that feeling of accomplishment when you check off some boxes on the to do list 2. homemade meatloaf tonight.  not a fancy meal but it did remind me of mom and those old family meals of yesterday.  3.  a happy and healthier pup. if she's happy, i'm happy

what a difference a day makes...

 this week has been a bit of  a bust.  got a few things done on the to do list but much left to do.

 Blossom was sick so she kept me up at all hours of the night for outside runs..literally runs.  poor dog.  not sure if she will just be more sensitive to episodes of bloody diarrhea since she had hemorrhagic gastroenteritis or not, but i really hate when she is sick.  she was puking Wednesday and not eating.

 of course, i suspect my state must have come related to lack of sleep from her being ill.  yesterday i couldn't move.  i'd get up let her out, lay down, get up let her in, lay down.  felt like crap.  i called out.  sucks cause i think it was to be holiday pay. Good Friday.  after 9pm i finally decided i'd better just take her to the vets office for fluids.  didn't want her to get dehydrated. i no doubt should have gone earlier but i really just couldn't move...can't remember if i even showered yesterday.

 still a bit undecided about returning to my regular vet after what happened when the day came to put Rio to sleep.  the vet i like was at the Emergency Vets so i suspect i will probably end up splitting it up a bit. it wasn't my actual vets fault, but i was thinking i may just use them more for routine vaccines and take the animals to the ER vets office for sickness.

 this was the day of the big snow.

 waited a few hours at the vets office.  they only take walk in after a certain point and they handle it sort of oddly.  having worked in a super busy pet ER in my past, it was strange to watch how they handle stuff.  we'd take your pet back and have you wait up front while someone else got seen.  they leave you in the room until it's determined if dog is staying night or not.  if they aren't staying they leave you there until you are ready to go.  seems a waste of an exam room.

 i think Blossom was the only pet not actually triaged.  the one squirting blood out her butt...she was wagging but i think the same thing happened last time until she puked blood in their waiting area...you go girl.

 some guy who had a cat that looked perfectly fine got pissed because the tech wanted to take the cat to the back to better assess it.  she wasn't very good with her explanation and the dude got pissed that he couldn't go back with the cat so he left in a huff.

 i tried to rest and read a bit of my Nat Geo  on the Ipad.  those gadgets sure make waiting much less painful.  i just wanted to curl up and sleep but those chairs aren't comfy at all.

 was reading about Ghandi, good article, of course, i found myself focused on the vow of celibacy he took.  that sounds so much less pathetic than just being a spinster that nobody loves.  haha.  i'm not pathetic...i'll just say.  "i've taken a vow of celibacy".  then i will sound honorable and important and nobel!! of course, i may want to review the rules involved in this vow of celibacy before i really commit !!  yes, this is how i entertained myself.

 felt better after i had Blossom taken care of.  i think i finally got some serious sleep last night.  came home fed her rice and burger, got her started on meds and felt comforted that she was loaded with SQ fluids. don't feel 100% but much better.

 i'll have to try and take another nap again before heading off to work.  have managed walks the last two days, not sure it was the best idea for either of us.  i'm not always good at taking a day off.

 snow is melting quickly and the temperatures are in the mid 40's.  super nice out.

 above is the picture you get when it is snowing and you can't keep the flakes off the lens.  haha.

 the rest of these are from the Fairbanks Ice festival.  these are from the 1 block entry.

 i'm always amazed at the detail they create in these.

 ICU just called to see if i would be calling out sick. not sure they are supposed to do that, but i assured her i had no plans on calling out again. may be a soda pop night to keep me awake.  hopefully, i don't return home to diarrhea in the house.

 just went to an hour long class Tuesday and ended up needing to do spring cleaning inside the car.  it was time.  got that accomplished i guess.  the joys of being a pet owner.

 maybe that was Wednesday...?  can't even keep days straight still.

 have always been interested in NASA and the space program...so this was a super cool ice sculpture

 loved how you can see the details of his face in the mask.

 have packages ready to mail, just have to get to the post office.  need to send off the deposit for our Bear viewing trip, need to get our train tickets, arrange water taxi...

 did get my missed Krono's mess cleared up, scheduled for my review thing at work, got two classes done, put in for non-PTO days off...so i guess i did get some stuff done this week...and the car is cleaned out (inside anyway).

 my body aches...maybe some ibuprofen would help with that.  will head for a nap here soon.

 Blossom is resting downstairs so i don't think she'll mind us taking a day off of walking today.

 cute river otters above and chess pieces below.

 should have gone back and taken night shots of these, but i can only look at these so many times.  hadn't noticed this back trail with the one block entries last year when i was there or the night before when i was there.  now i know.

 just realizing the ICU charge called me on the house supervisors number.  strange. they must have been planning my fate together.

 ibuprofen in...hopefully that helps a bit.

 no checks on bear these past few days.  suspect that bear will be heading out of her den and off to find food for herself and the cubs soon.  i won't be as excited to run into the 4 of them on the trail.

 lots of things get adjusted with the change in seasons.  i alter where i walk. i tend to try and find buddies for more of my walks. i change the lotion i wear in summer to the less fragrant forms.  i am already  carrying my bear spray and air horn.

 it's early...but it's break up.  soon spring and then summer.  those all go super fast.  always so busy and then it's back to fall and winter.  i think we are all just packing it up on this winter and hoping next winter is more of a usual snow filled winter.

 as they say, be careful what you ask for, we will probably get more snow than we know what to do with...people will complain.  haha.  can't please us humans

 as i walked i noted all the litter that had collected through the winter.  people suck in many ways.  they seem to so often do bad when they know they can get away with it.  slobs...jerks!!

 that is the part of break up that bites..all the litter that has collected through the winter months.

 the chains were super cool to me for some reason.

 medieval times horse and lion below that.

 WARIS news....none really at this time.  i'll have to find a deal and make more of those grocery bags.  those are pretty nice and would probably be a good fund raiser for next year.  must send off our tax card saying we didn't make more than such and such.  i'd rather find corporations and other non-profits to send funds directly to fund Round Island and keep us small and advocacy driven.  make enough money to keep us running.  if we give to Round Island it's not as simple as writing a check from what i understand.

 the state's budget is again crap so convincing politicians to bring funds back to Round Island is a tough sell.  will mostly have to keep on top of them to make sure they do continue to find funds.  hopefully, Explore falls in love with the walrus and promises to help out again.  i'll have to get a list of where they are getting funds from this year and send off notes to those places and also encourage others to repeat their donations to Round Island.

 this week is a bust exercise wise as well.  guilt sets in.  next week i shall make amends to myself and go at the work outs full bore again.

 detail on the paws.

 behind on the latest news.  it's depressing mostly. the Presidential race with no good outcome anywhere for anyone.  what a mess these next 4 years could be for our Nation.  we have survived some crap in the past, will just have to remain hopeful that we will survive the current mess coming down the road.  not sure the main parties will survive as they are for much longer.  way too much corruption and greed in those parties.

 they have mostly lost their vision and moral compass.  the rest of us suffer.

grateful for:  A.  this nation.  there are things that do make it great and that will survive the current issues B.  Blossom being on the mend.  when she's not well, i'm not well C.  sleep, our bodies know when we need it and when we haven't gotten enough of it.  yesterday, i shut down on many levels.  happy to be feeling better today.