working on my festive...

 dog park and then to Bass Pro to get the annual Christmas shots with Santa.  he's a pretty legit looking Santa.  the pups were not thrilled with the outfits but they sure got a lot of attention because of them...and the pictures are cute.

 i also took some time this week to get the Skelly scene up for the holidays.  i think it turned out smashing!!  figured the inside decor would be a bit slack this year due to the remodel so I'd concentrate on the Skelly.

 we have continued to have aftershocks that are 4.5-5 at least...thankfully, it seems i am lucky enough to be sleeping through the bulk of these. for one larger back to back aftershock i was driving to the dog park so i didn't notice it.

 spent time on my days off cleaning.  feels a bit like spring cleaning early.  still lots to do as there is too much crap in my life and that is just crap that falls over in a big quake. 

 i am most thrilled to have lights again in the downstairs area...especially as it is our darkest days of the year so having actual bright lights inside is good for the soul.

 strange week work wise in that it seems like there is another round of you must do every bit of education that any one who plans to work full time in the ER must do...it seems like the few others that also work regular ER aren't quite as held to this standard. i got an email saying i would be removed from doing ER until i complete all this crap that they hadn't bothered to even put in my to do list.  i was quite annoyed and let management know.  i worked last night in the ER as regular staff.  apologies but i still seem to have a pile of crap in healthstream to do.  i busted it out a bunch when i could...it occurred to me that perhaps the ER wanted to have one float employee's papers to pull out for Jahco's next visit and maybe since I'm there the longest it would be the easiest to bull shit.  i have no idea...still annoyed. 

 was going to talk to my manager about it the other morning but her kid got sick and i think she's on holiday after that.  i have a bunch of crap coming up due so I'll have to get it all done...happy holidays. 

 this week i worked adult ICU, then Pediatric ICU then on to ER.  kept busy all three nights.  good nights though

 as i was feeling a bit picked on and unappreciated due to this ER education crap, so i was happy when a young nurse gave me a big hello and then told me that in her annual evaluation when they ask her what her goals are she always says to be Betsy.

 most of the citizens up here just seem pretty tired.  aftershocks and all, i think sleep has been tough for many.

 our new Governor has fired the few psychiatrists that exist at API at this time as they flex their muscles and request resignations from everyone...more than normal administration changes...there is no longer tea party Republicans there are trump Republicans and then the quiet ones who i guess are not happy with all things trump but still seem willing to do or say nothing out of fear.

 at some point many of them may have to painfully admit that trump has turned out to be more corrupt than all the conspiracy theories have made hrc out to be.  I'm guessing that may be a tough pill to swallow. the idiot they elected is worse than the woman they hated.

 Flynn sounds like he's been spilling the beans on whatever he knows.  Cohen seems to have come around as well.  Manafort, he continues to lie and will pay for it...it could be he fears much more than the special counsel.  he's in pretty deep with some pretty nasty folks internationally. 

 i suspect the greedy crawled out of the woodwork to join this campaign.  none of them believed trump had a chance of winning so it was a huge racket of money making potential to them all, trump and family included.  trump is the narcissist and when he did win he probably thought that put him above the law, but i still think he has only ever really seen the position as potus as an ego boost and means of boosting his personal holdings.

 there is all the inauguration money that was donated but never used and now he's collected well over 300 million for his 2020 election...sometimes i think he may just take the money and run rather than run for another 4 years.  in a way i think that would be great in that perhaps that way all his sheepish followers may finally get that this was all a racket and they were played.

 his followers will believe nothing from Mueller, no matter how many facts come out...they simply do not care a whit about facts.  science, liberal plot, impeachment, liberal plot...looks like Kelly is out as well, will he put hannity in there...he seems to make some selections from fox news. he talks such crap about anyone who makes an attempt to work with him..if you are not 100% loyal to him he goes all tweet on your ass. at some point i can't imagine one of those won't finally turn on him...greed and power make people  willing to compromise themselves though. our nation is not above anything. we are just as susceptible as any to corruption. 

 the rest of the pictures are from fall hiking.

 Arctic valley

 some schools will not be re-opening after the quake any time soon.  some businesses will struggle as well, while others will have a boom.  my handyman was getting a steady stream of calls when he was at my place.  he texted he plans to come by on Tuesday.  I'll try to get some more stuff done tomorrow(i realize it's actually tomorrow now, but for a night shifter tomorrow is usually after you wake up no matter what time it is)

 as of Thursday afternoon we were at 2,888 aftershocks...after the '64 quakes they had 11 over size 6 the first 24 hours so i try to keep that in mind as we get rocked.  I've been sleeping pretty well.  have continued to leave a light on...though electric often goes out anyway. flashlight by my bed, boots by the bed. I'm not alone.  i think many in town slept with clothes on or flashlights and boots close.

 damage reports on buildings keep coming in...initially, you just see the obvious but over the week more damage gets reported and verified.  a row of homes in Jewel lake have some major structural issues. 

 former potus GHW Bush was laid to rest this past week.  a rather uncomfortable row of Presidents was pretty much the talk of that event. Carters, Clintons and Obamas all fine and then the iitoo, who has said horrible things about all of them, came in...it's sad because in the past it seemed that no matter which side of the aisle the Presidents were on, post Presidency they all seemed to set that aside and join in the little club..trump will never be in the club.  he is just an ass to everyone he meets it seems.

 thankfully, my pups seem to be settling in post quake.  Tusker seemed the most upset that first 24 hours.  he initially bolted out the dog door and lay in the middle of the yard in an open area. he stayed out there for several aftershocks.  Ivy stayed close to me.  i checked on Tusker outside several times and eventually encouraged him to just come on in.  at that point he settled on the couch for several hours with Ivy and i close by. when i took a nap that afternoon, i woke with him at my feet. 

 there are many dogs missing still and more cats.  i guess the moose at the conservation center had been eating in their shelter and they booked out of it...like it was the cause.  the musk ox formed a protective circle, which is their response to danger.  i guess like humans, every animal has it's own reaction.  i haven't spent too much time pouring over the UAF earthquake site.  that can just make you nuts.  better to just try to carry on...in general the aftershocks are a bit unnerving but they shouldn't be as large as the initial....

 the stories of the '64 quake make the rounds again.  many who survived that still live in the area.  I'm sure this quake made them more anxious than most. one woman recounted being 8 during the '64 quake.  she, her brothers and her mom escaped their house, which split in two. but they were in turnigan, liquefaction zone. the clay liquefied and they rode a slow landslide toward the inlet...two neighbor boys, who had lived next door....went into a crevasse that opened and they have never been found as it closed around them.

 i think a 9 quake is like 1000 times stronger than what we experienced, that is just hard to fathom and i hope i never have to.  i know there was an 8 something up closer towards Denali soon after i arrived in Anchorage. i think it was 2002 or 2003? i felt that pretty strongly, but folks were tossed around pretty bad up there i guess.

 always love the patchwork of fall.

 have another round of gifts getting ready to mail.  will need to hit the post office. Christmas is pretty close.  without the kitchen i am keeping it in perspective.  still debating a smaller tree for inside. 

 the DOT made fast work on the 3 sections of road that were all broken up.  pretty impressive.  our city doesn't have a bunch of options in/out though so it does become an emergent situation when there are breaks in the transportation like that.  that was what i was thinking that first day.  i figured I'd need to go into work since the roads seemed to be busted up.  folks who lived in the valley might not be able to get to work.  all i could think was i needed to get some sleep so that i could work if needed. happy i got to stay home with the dogs though.  so many aftershocks. 

 sales at shutterfly this week.  had a few gifts I've wanted to purchase on there.  local stuff.

 still a great deal redacted in these filings regarding flynn, manafort and cohen..but "individual 1" is coming up and it really doesn't look too good i suspect.  not surprising that the iitoo has been lying about potential deals with Rus to get a hotel built there.  as i said though, i suspect they just carried on, using the run as a potential business boom.  get their hotels built, make a few promises to Put, who cares, they figured, they were never going to win.  must be a bit sticky now that they have won.  what deals were made with the killers of Kashoggi in Saudi as well. 

 we've had a wee bit of snow, enough that the place isn't a sheet of ice now.  which is great.  we would all still love some real snow though.  enough to ski and sled!  feeling the weather folks should stop promising us snow that doesn't come and instead just be more general and say..precipitation is coming.

 comforting to read that the type and size of the '64 quake is pretty rare...a once in a 500 year type of deal. it also lasted over 4 minutes...that extended shaking and the rolling nature caused much more damage.

 catching up on some reading and news....

 bought some Sees chocolate today.  nummy.  we don't have a full store here but we have a kiosk size area at Bells Nursery and gifts. i usually get my favorites, milk patties, but they did not have them!! so i just bought plain caramels. i stopped by Mooses' tooth to pick up a pizza for dinner..and a salad. one day i will cook again.  i will have to re-instate new recipe nights and test out some new stuff.  strange to not bake at all this year.

 interesting to discover that Anchorage for sure beefed up their building codes after the big '64 quake.  sadly, Eagle River, north of here, has a long history of not enforcing any of the codes to that level and out in the Valley, where damage was also worse (and they were closer to the center) they just don't have strict codes at all.  people want to be free from government regulation....but often that regulation saves you from businesses taking short cuts that could be catastrophic in the end.

 a few of the crew take a ride up the hill to test equipment

 well, it's getting late i guess. 

 folks are always pretty kind post these big events.  my neighbors came over and checked on the dogs while i was at the work the first night....all was well. i had texted that i was off to work and to please check dogs if there was another big shocker.great to have good neighbors.

 we both have checked our crawl spaces and haven't noted anything damaged. 

 pups are tired.  it's been a long week for all humans and animals. wonder if any bears were roused from the wake.  thankful the big bear den tree appears to be standing still...that would be a rude awakening for a bear i guess.

 we had a 5.0 i think yesterday while i was sleeping.  i have happily slept through several. of course, i have noticed how much my bed shakes on a normal day when I'm sleeping.  two large dogs and a cat up and down. scratching, licking, breathing.  i guess I'm probably pretty used to the constant movement so maybe that makes it easier for me to sleep.

 dog park i think.

 the 17th we will plan to decorate a tree on the Monday walk!  tennis balls must be purchased! :-)

thankful for: A.  no real damage B. nice neighbors and a supportive community C. sleeping through aftershocks