each day an adventure in alaska: i have bruises where???

so i clearly was focused on my knees last week. i didn't see any other obvious bruises on my arms though or my hands. well, today i went for my mammogram...so much fun. the girl doing the xrays started to ask me about this huge bruising on my breast. never even hurt. i suspect the camera caused those bruises when i landed on it. she marked the area and will put a note but said if the bruising interferes i may be in for a repeat exam.

my knees are still pretty ugly looking...of course, who has beautiful knees? i do not. even at baseline. never heard of any knee fetishes. the bruising is still there, it's spreading and changing colors as bruises are want to do. sore but not painful. not really kneeling yet but getting there.

lots of new fires and old fires acting up. many structures gone north of here which is horrible and sad. was talking to a woman today at the dog park. her friend lost their home to fire a few years back and just lost a second one in the past 24 hours. so heartbreaking. the roads both north and south of here were closed. the fire north crossed the parks highway around mile 90.

the smoke was terrible in Anchorage today. i have the Hunter cabin in K'seugi campground for the next two nights....can we get there? will it be totally smokey even if we do get there. planning on just heading north and then see what happens. we can always turn back if traffic is too backed up i guess. just LM and i so far...anyone else want to join? just message or text me.

i also got a bone density scan. i should make a few more phone calls to make other appointments for a skin check and now a urology check...i am beginning to suspect i may have a kidney stone. they can be familial and i know of two siblings at least who have had stones my urine has had a bit or blood in it so gotta get that checked out. no pain so far though. something to look forward to i guess.

the diet...well, keto diet was too restrictive and limiting. i think when i fell down at Portage i knew i needed more calories and probably more carbs. i am being much more mindful of my food choices and have eaten only like 10 chips, a few slices of bread in the form of toast and very little chocolate over the past few weeks. the goal is to be healthier and if i can drop a few of those extra pounds that would be awesome.

morning pics with the pets...always fun. so i still have to pack up the gear. i think some is in the car. no open fires obviously.

some of the comments on these fires across the arctic from AK to Russia and beyond...one person went off parroting the ridiculous comments by the iitoo about raking and undergrowth. millions of acres of land in the arctic and this fool thinks a few folks with rakes will prevent forest fires...also not sure what one rakes on the tundra.

some folks will say anything, no matter how ridiculous and foolish in order to hang on to the conspiracy theories and ignore the truth...the earth is warming. that warming is happening at an accelerated rate due to the activities of humans on earth.

what a surprise billions of humans on the earth will have an impact on things. tearing down trees, putting in concrete...I'm not sure why this seems so unfathomable. 98% of science is screaming...but it's easier to believe infowars and hannity and a reality tv star than actual scientists. baffling.

i just finished 4 nights of work. first night was in the ER and then the next three were in the ICU. fun crew to work with. good thing because my one patient was screaming. in the end...the theory we ended up with is people lie about how much alcohol they drink.

having been in medicine for years i have become a bit of an expert on alcohol withdrawal. it is not pretty. some crazy stories that i wish i could tell you and write about but stupid people are protected by hippa. don't do stupid things while on meth may suffice and you are better off being an ambulance chaser than being chased by an ambulance. the line from that Cruise flick, "help me help you" often comes to mind.

it is fun to watch people at work grow in their skills. one tech is transitioning from house keeper to tech. that is one thing about this nation. you do have that opportunity to work your way up, if you are willing to do the work. many previous techs are now nurses, some are even in management. so it's fun.

rolling my eyes as a friend of one of my brothers posted this meme. it was innocuous. it was just praising Carter for all his work with Habitat, building homes for those less fortunate. what made me roll my eyes was 1. it's sad that he felt the need to supply a disclaimer when posting this...something about how he doesn't agree with his politics. we can't just say nice things about nice people without fear that someone will attack you for saying said nice thing or otherwise politicize it. 2. sadder still was that one of my brothers did feel the need to bring politics in to it. how carter hates Israel. Dems do not hate Israel. you can disagree with how Israel handles certain things, especially with the Palestine situation, without actually hating Israel, but the bottom line is...

it was just a meme about a decent human doing decent things. there was absolutely no need to infuse politics into it..but some can't help themselves. i just made a comment that theirs is a great love story as well. he and his wife have been together for over 73 years. that is a long time!!

these are powerline pass...you can see a bull moose below. i saw something but it took a minute to spot the moose. he's a bit early for the rut party. :-)

a few super cute puppies at the dog park today. seemed a good place to head since i had those two radiology appointments. will a third be upcoming. CT looking for a kidney stone perhaps.

so the fire north of here is being called the McKinley fire...it's just north of Willow...a site of another big fire recently. loads of dog teams in the area. hoping all the animals got out. i haven't heard of any human loss though the structures lost are noted to be over 50 at this point. one past co-worker appears to have lost a family cabin, thankfully not a primary residency but lots of memories with family. so very sad for all who suffer this horrible loss.

the winds got several smaller fires started, even a few it seems in the Anchorage area i think. everyone needs to be extra cautious. the winds seemed to have died down today at least. we need rain...

at the same time they were closing the Parks road they were having to close the Sterling road to the south. the swan lake fire was given a boost by the winds as well. that one also crossed over the highway as the one up north had done. hoping the fire fighters are successful in their battles and are watched over and kept safe.

sleeping lady appears to be hovering.

lichen on the rocks.

dropped off some ashes. i should refill the container to take north. always good to bring all the furs along on our little adventures. summer is fast coming to an end.

can't believe my one friend has missed the entire summer. come home SH...you should be joining us at the cabin this week.

oddly, Denali National Park area has had a lot of rain....over 300 tourists were stranded in the park after a mud slides and flooding caused that tenuous road to be closed down.

the iitoo is continue to tweet the ridiculous...buying Greenland? it's all really just attempts at distractions from his failed policies. tax breaks for the wealthy and trade war with China are hurting many who voted for him...the farmers...and the deficit keeps going up. the GOP screams about being fiscally responsible while pushing fiscally irresponsible agenda.

England is mired in it's own mess with the Brexit crap.

a few flowers still out there. the usual mushroom population has not shown itself. boo. i love those mushrooms.

Tusker finds a place to cool off...and get muddy

clearer water to cool off in.

this is Byron Glacier hike.

a bottle with a note from a Russian sailor washed up in Shishmaref this month. it took 50 + years to travel here by sea but the internet connected the tossed bottle with the Russian captain in less than a month. the guy that wrote it is alive and in Crimea. not sure what the note said. strange it's not mentioned.

saw this cow moose in the water near Seward. of course, i had to stop and take a peek

she was grazing on under water greens

my heart goes out to a co-worker who lost her mom while hiking to a fall. sounds like a very stressful and painful situation. my heart breaks for she and her family at this time....

we all slip and fall. we all find ourselves in positions that can go either way. mostly we survive by luck...but sometimes our luck runs out. each day is a gift. best to take each day and strive for kindness and love over hate and anger.

will have to head down for my evening snack and more water...a lot to do tomorrow to attempt to get out of town.

moose have no baggage...just go where they want. i always worry with all these fires about all the animals impacted, both large and small. a moose may be able to outrun a fast moving fire...but all those smaller creatures just die...and not a good death. fire sucks...