playing and working...

 sometimes i just play with some of the old pictures with an app...like the one that makes everything all look a bit furry..it doesn't work well on humans though really. we look silly in fur.

 have been hitting the dog park a lot lately in life.  was walking with a dog park friend and he showed me what he'd done with the dead salmon in the creek..i thought it was pretty hilarious...and disgusting really.  that smell doesn't come off you for some time.  enjoyed the effect though as long as i wasn't touching the dead fish...it also kept some dogs from rolling/eating them too..thankfully, so far my two have not shown much interest.  the fish have all dropped back out again now though.  we hit the dog park today.

 the mini Skelly's are delighting me with their yoga poses.

 worked ER two nights and ICU one night.  got over staff around 3 am the first night!! that never happens...i mean never! did some education and woke to a walk at Campbell Airstrip. dogs love when i come home early

 they sure are cute!! it's almost scarf season for these guys...they look adorable in their scarves! hopefully i can move some of the Skelly/camping gear into the old cabinets in the garage eventually and make the guest room more useful for crafts and painting projects.

 i trimmed Ivy's face/ears this week.  she looks cute with less facial hair...not sure i will do the same with Tusker.  he wears his beard well...

 ER was steady, busy work.  bummed as one of the really good charge nurses had his last night last night.  boo!! they have lost lots of fun folks.  still a good crew down there though. i put in lots of IV's, meds, remove IV, discharge...repeat.  haha.  that is how it can be. i like the busy work with not tons of brain work some nights.

 really need to start uploading pictures from this year to Shutterfly and get the calendar made.  no idea how long the Kitchen will be in production.  the prep work may drag a bit. grabbed a neighbor to help me lift the old dishwasher into the car so i can dispose of it. then she came in to take a look at the demo work.

 have been picking away at the sub floor stuff this week.  the bulk is off, just leftover bits that are glued on....will be continued project. nearly done though so tonight i started back on the project of removing the dry wall from the beam to expose that. one section done. 

 the range hood arrived.  the lights should be arriving this week.  i just need to select the under cabinet lighting.  also need to select a new dishwasher. i hear with the iitoo tariff's on China the prices will start rising on appliances. 

 making decisions on some final design ideas.  need to order metal tin sheets...the ceiling type, so i can put those on the back side of the cabinets that are on the floating island.  if i am going to eat there it will be nice to have something that can take some beating by feet. thinking I'll square off the end of the island, put a short false wall back up at the end for electric components. would like to figure a way to create a butcher block table that could slide up to the end of that bar and pull out for eating as well if needed. would also work as extra counter space for cooking.

 puppies below...then and now.  can't believe how they have grown. they will be 3 this February.

 i recall hearing through my life how underhanded the Dems were with elections...the GOP is pulling ahead in the world of disenfranchising voters.  there are some very questionable things happening in several states.  worse i think or most obvious is a guy running for Governor of Georgia who is currently the guy in charge of elections.  he's created a situation there that has many in black communities being prevented from voting.

 it's pretty sad what tricks are played on the folks to prevent us all from voting.  the natives are getting the shaft in another state where many who live on reservations don't have addresses so they are being prevented from voting.  students not being allowed to vote...it's all over the place...not to mention the gerrymandering.  both parties have done this to their favor but the GOP seems to have perfected shady voting deals in their favor.  it's time for these practises to be stopped on all sides.  gerrymandering needs to end for sure. 

 the GOP should be embarrassed as they get caught in these practises but those DC folks seem to have lost all ability to feel shame. 

 another horrible story this past week is about the missing and presumed dead journalist Khashoggi.  he may have actually recorded his own torture and murder on his iphone watch.  that is pretty horrible.  this current administration has not shown much of a desire to condemn the killings as many of them have and had business dealings with the Saudi government. the current iitoo and his administration spend a great deal of energy blasting journalists...may be tough for them to turn around and act sympathetic when one is murdered by a foreign government that they fawn over. he is a permanent resident and works for the Washington Post i think it is.

 things at the border with Mexico have not really improved.  still many kids remain separated from parents.  this administration already has a terrible reputation for putting off immigration/refugees....there is the white supremacist element, which many prefer to just ignore exists.  it's there though. just listen to Stephen Miller's rhetoric over the years and it's pretty clear where he stands on refugees/immigrants...any non-white.

 i guess recently one 5 year old was tricked into "signing" away her legal rights...as if she had any idea what the hell she was doing doodling on a legal document.

 i really do feel hopeless most days about how our nation will ever be able to unify.  the divide seems to great with many not able to see that there is middle ground in all things.  many just scream at each other, which is totally easy to get sucked into.  winning a debate doesn't mean you are right though, it only really means that you can argue well. 

 most people back down from the most heated of arguments rather than get demolished by a good debater.  this is so well known to me.  my two oldest brothers are great debaters.  everyone just backs down who disagrees with them...over time i believe they just believe every time they "win" the argument they have been proven to be "right".  it's really become a disservice to them...they are now incapable of losing and just annihilate any opponent who attempts to counter their views with a stockpile of "facts".  the facts on the other side just don't ever seem to see the light of day in an argument.  i have backed away from them both nearly completely as it was getting uncivil. 

 i do fear these stressful political times have not only divided a nation but that many families are hopelessly divided as well.  not sure those divides will be easy to mend either, if they ever are.

 the rest of these are out at Hatchers Pass. Gold Mint Trail i believe.

 a hurricane came out of nowhere it seems and was suddenly much more powerful than anyone expected.  evacuations did not happen in many cases as folks simply did not have time react to the late warnings.  there are many missing still after the catastrophic hurricane Michael made land fall.  many communities suffered greatly it looks like.  of course, the iitoo has spend the week after golfing and having hate filled rallies, and strange meetings in the oval office with nut job Kanye West. 

 I'm thinking though that the Floridians can expect a good response as the iitoo wants votes there, sadly, that is now how assistance is given out...those who adore the leader will get the leaders assistance, those that don't, won't.  his fragile ego...it's pathetic.

 the stove sale has been full of flakes this week.  may just call the donation centers around town and see if anyone will pick it up as a donation.

 i will be pretty excited to cook again when the kitchen does get back together.  it's pretty dull eating of late, mostly it seems like i just snack or eat out.

 the GOP media storm is busy on Faux news trying to make the protesters out to be mobs or lunatics.  there is also new rules being proposed to prevent many of the protests that occur near the white house or the mall i think it is.  chipping away at our rights.

 catching up on my reading.  last week i was catching up on the newest episodes of Midwife...a favorite.  a sad season!!

 got some older papers in my group...i still try to support newspapers...i know i mostly read it online but something about the real news...don't expect it will last much longer.  things are changing.  many don't have the patience to actually read the stories the papers print...or they only comment and share articles for their headlines and often have not actually read them.

 we will probably have a nut job get elected as our governor this year.  there will no doubt be a split between the pair of "independents" and the Dem.  there are still many dark days ahead as far as our government is concerned.  radicals are taking over...time will tell how long they reign and how much damage is inflicted.

 Tusker swimming in a beaver pond....a risky business.

 lingered in bed today...so hard to get moving after the run of nights.  happily the dogs seem fairly happy to linger in bed with me.  puppy snuggle time only increases my desire to linger. of course, once i get moving the dogs get all excited!!

 we really need to support science in space exploration and not be so dependent on rus for space travel.  there was a malfunction on a soyuz which caused an emergency situation.  both a US and Rus astronaut were returned to earth safely.

 the Mormon church leadership has been pushing for years to alter the image of the church as seen by other Christian groups.  not sure how easy it will be to get people to stop referring to them as Mormons or LDS members....many of them refer to themselves as such and have for generations. 

 in another revelation...mind you i have always found these odd and convenient even in my youth as a member...one that occurred when i was young that i found strange then has now been amended. i guess the 3 hour block program on Sundays will now be a 2 hour block program. of course, from my experience Mormons are in and out of meetings all day on Sundays...for their benefit i do hope these are cut back as well.  Sundays have become a day of meetings for all, all day it seems.

 i remember visiting relatives in Idaho i think it was soon after the revelation that our 2 church sessions each Sunday would be changed to 1 block session.  i over heard the adults speaking of there having been a pilot program for this in Idaho...at the time i thought it odd that something that was a revelation from God would need to be piloted...just seemed that if God told you to change it, you would just change it. 

 of course, i also recall having strange thoughts in the late 70's was it when the church had a revelation to allow blacks to have the priesthood.  for all my years before that blacks were allowed to join the church but the men were not allowed to hold the priesthood that all other males could have.  in truth as a child i recall being taught that blacks had been turned black originally because of some horrible sin and that it was then a mark on all of them for some reason. i thought it odd that if someone had sinned and had their skin turned black that all their relatives would be also marked...and also when the revelation occurred to now allow blacks to have priesthood i wondered why their skin then did not return to white...as in white and delightsome, from the scriptures. 

 it's still a bit confusing but i guess everyone finds their own way to deal with the beliefs of their religions..if they can't, like me, they leave. some of us get more hung up on these details than others i guess.  perhaps, it's the science in me.  i need answers, i ask too many whys.  I've never been one to just accept things at face value...i have to ask why?  it's annoying to some i know, but people are just wired different. 

 i have many memories of finding oddness in the religious belief's i was being taught, then i made friends who also asked the questions to me that i had already been asking internally...it took some time but eventually it just seemed better to walk away than to stay and battle all these confusing things out over and over.  why make others question their beliefs because you did.  still, just leaving is a big in your face questioning.  there really is no way around that.  either stay and be conflicted for not believing, feel you are constantly weak in spirit because you can't find the answers they tell you must be found or just just walk away and find your peace.  walking away was not easy, but it was the best decision for me. i found my peace.

 these are out in Palmer on the way home.

 there is some more space in the valley, many commute from there.  just too far for me.  i guess i am always a bit city...Anchorage is still pretty small by comparison to what i grew up around.

 guess i should find another snack and head to bed.  good night....

thankful for: A.  fun and fabulous co-workers  B.  friends and family who don't give up on you C.  the adventures of every day life.