it wasn't just toxins from the massage....

 it was a bug and i got sick.  bites....but it does seem to be improving. i mean I'm coughing and still getting some ugly crap out of my nose....the cold and walking does a great job at clearing the sinuses and  helping me cough up the crap in my lungs...hopeful this episode won't turn into a multiple week affair like it did in the spring when i had influenza.  this feels like a breeze in comparison right now. 

 ended up needing to call out all week from work though.  they changed how we input our sick time i think so i put something in and who knows if I'll get paid for it at this point.  i head back to work tomorrow night. 

 still a  bit tired but i try to avoid medications as soon as i can....gets to that point where you wonder if the cold medications are making your brain fuzzy more so than being sick.  frost on a spider web above...always looks cool.

 the pups woke me up the other morning.  i figured it was a cat out there in the neighborhood, but this pair was on my front driveway, working on my little tree out front. 

 missed walks a few days being sick but i try to get out as soon as i can and as much as i feel up to.  it really does clear my head, my sinuses and helps me take those important deep breaths and cough crap up.  i joked in my head that a few of those snot rockets perhaps should have been picked up with a doggie poop bag.  hehe.  that may make SH gag a bit...hehe.

 today's Monday walk, just a few of us walkers, it is a holiday.  we did get several to join us for coffee and then i invited the coffee crew all over to check out the new kitchen. i think they all approved.

 Ivy settled in for a nap after the days activities.

 a trek to the dog park the other day.  there were some icicles on the piles of dirt that had been plowed up.  sun must have been hitting it at some point.  i love icicles though.

 Tusker also opted for an evening nap.

 i think we may be getting some snow in the forecast.  last night we had the treat of a wolf blood moon..eclipse.  i snapped a few pics with the iphone but mostly i just enjoyed what i could before the fog rolled in.

 i have cooked a few meals in here and tonight i  baked some cupcakes. seemed basic and it seemed like i should test out the new range oven.  no directions came with it but i figured it out. 

 had a friend over for dinner Sunday night, he's in from Hawaii.  he flies in to work so he just popped over between shifts and i ordered Taco King.  have known him and his wife since meeting them in Ketchikan.  Alaska is one big small town in many ways.

 Tusker shows off his beard

 it's MLK day...the iitoo went to his memorial statue and walked past it while saying hello, nice weather and goodbye.  he was there all of 2 minutes maybe...but it was still him showing more respect than he could muster for Veterans Day i guess. there will certainly never be any quotes from this POTUS that will be spoken generations from now. or maybe he will have quotes that will live on in history like, "I never had sex with that woman" or "I'm not a crook" .

 the way it is looking he may have loads of quotes like those.  what he will lack is quotes that illicit any inspiration. in the end he will no doubt make any criminal appearing acts by all the past Presidents combined seem like child's play.

 Ivy looks pitiful at me on one of my sick days...hoping i will get active and play with her and the tennis ball she has placed in view.

 the partial government shutdown continues...thank you iitoo and his cast of clowns.  he refuses to give in on his demand for 5.7 billion for the wall his base and band of lunatic followers have come to believe will save them from all things bad...because apparently all things bad come from Mexico.....but that isn't racist at all.  of course, if the Dems give in to his demands he will have learned to just shut down the government and cause all the good citizens of the US great pain and suffering in order to get his way. 

 when two year olds have tantrums it's best to not just give in to their demands...therefore i do hope the Dems do not give him his ludicrous wall funding.  he had two years of total control and his own party did not give him the wall funding.....why is that?  he vetoed a perfectly good and agreed upon deal that would have given him some funding for a wall with the border security package, but he listened to the idiots at faux news and turned it down.  we are being run by far right conspiracy theorists...

 the wild conspiracy theories just seem more rational to some than years of scientific facts and data.  i mean it is fun to theorize about things such as who killed JFK but when it comes to making actual decisions about global and international issues, even domestic issues....it's best to step away from the crazy conspiracy theories and turn to research and data and those with experience and knowledge. 

 the GOP voted to release sanctions from one Oligarch.  NYT i believe had an article on this.  the oligarch has ties to Manafort.....not sure  how deep those ties are or where the various connections all interlace....these are conspiracies that are actually being tied together with facts....too many coincidences.  a Rus escort? arrested in Thailand, held there longer than would be normal for her charges due to pressure from Rus, she is later released and returns to Rus only to be grabbed at the airport and arrested.  she had made claims in Thailand of tapes and videos of connections between that oligarch and US citizens related to Rus interference with the election of 2016...what does it all mean?  what are the connections?  interesting that the same folks who were so gung ho to discover who Bill Clinton was having sex with  in the oval office are the same ones who seem completely unconcerned about connections with Put and Rus in interfering in our election.  are not concerned about all the connections between Rus and this administration.  are not concerned about financial ties between Rus and this administration. 

 when I'm sick i hole up in bed and binge watch some old shows...this weekend i was on a Gilmore Girls kick.  always fun.  not sure why i like some of the shows i like, but sometimes it just a matter of shutting down your brain a bit. 

 i think my body gets sick when it wants to force rest on me.  the kitchen just finished, I'd been working on that these past several months....seems like spring break when you were a kid and you'd get sick. 

 the dogs are sleeping behind me.  they can crash hard when they want. 

 the rest are from our walk into Manitoba Cabin.

 sled loaded and ready to go.  it's a pretty short walk.  longer on the way in just because it's new...isn't that how that works

 hopefully, we will get out exploring a bit more in February.  as the light returns it is easier to feel more adventurous. 

 pups were good i thought out there.  they are really good overall i think.  not perfect, there are no perfect dogs, just like there are no perfect humans.  we all have our flaws, but these guys are really just more and more fun to be around as they settle in.  they keep me entertained, they keep me company.

 the crew coming up behind me

 GT and i were the only ones dragging our gear in sleds behind us.  everyone else stuffed their gear in back packs.

 we all brought snow shoes but in the end we never really needed them. 

 they still used them to come in....probably easier with the packs on to get a better grip. 

 hope someone in DC figures out a way to get the government workers back to work.  we need them.  i for one appreciate them.  i know there are many who do not like that our government has so many workers but we are a large nation and it takes a lot of folks to keep our nation running.  they just want all their tax dollars to got to a war machine... fear, paranoia...not good for any society.

 at one point i think my sled did a bit of walking on it's own.  i let it go down a hill...of course, if it had gone over a hill and into the creek below that would have made for a very uncomfortable overnight.

 two bridge crossings.  one small and then one larger

 the creek below did look pretty, we all stopped for some photo ops

 this is the larger bridge

 once you get here you are almost to the cabin

 when we headed out the next day that round bit had collapsed through the night.

 a bit cloudy heading in, going out the blue skies emerged. 

 the snow shoe crew taking a selfie on the bridge

 a few more of the creek

 thankful for: A.  new appliances and some freshly cooked cupcakes  B.  sleeping puppies...it brings me peace. c.  colds that go away quickly and don't last for a month....hoping that is the case.