Kinda Keto

 these are all from Sitka, day one mostly.  i walked into town to meet LM and her niece.  the trail takes you through old growth. 

 i have gotten my a1c results and they show elevated normal so that has made me realize that the gravy train of carbs and sugars must come to an end.  I've begun detoxing from sugar/carbs of 55 years.  i had a good run.  hopefully, i can bring the A1C down and lose some weight and generally just feel healthier and be healthier. 

 i know myself enough to know that i won't be 100% but it does seem like at first i should do the best i can to avoid flours and sugars.  i have felt a twinge of hunger pretty much constantly since i started a few days back.

 for a label avoider it's been pretty eye opening how many carbs i do tend to consume.  ate out with a friend today so that was my first run at avoiding certain food items while dining out.  i don't really crave anything just feel like my body isn't used to be satisfied without the carb load....so it will be a challenge.  hopefully i am up for it.  avoiding diabetes is a good incentive to the goal though. watched my Mom deal with it.  felt like she had too many other stress factors to really be able to focus on caring for herself.  i think things are easier these days as well since it feels like there are just more options out there for healthier eating.

 i do plan to add back in cheat meals. i don't think I'll ever do well with trying to pretend that zucchini spaghetti is as good as regular spaghetti or that cauliflower potatoes really are as good as potato potatoes. so i will just say that down the road i plan to enjoy an occasional meal that i would call a comfort meal.  I'd rather embark on looking for new recipes and adding to my meal choices rather than feeling like I'm depriving myself.

 that seems it should be enough on diet though. i do not want to become one of those people constantly talking about what i eat and diets...

 SG joined me in a walk as well.  we just did a loop in Campbell Airstrip.  it's continued to be much warmer than usual up here in Alaska. 

 starting on the big camera pictures from the trip to Sitka. i do love the rain forests up here.

 these are beaches around down town Sitka.

 this week i worked all my shifts in ICU. seems a lot of death this week.  helping families cope with loss. 

 youngish patients as well so it does always remind us all of our own immortality.  each day is a gift. 

 i watch with disgust the events of this administration.  the lack of kindness and empathy.  the continued separation of children from their families.  how is this going to make things better....this cruel tactic is admittedly used by them to discourage people from coming here illegally.  breaking up families who are just trying to give their kids a better life. families that have lived peacefully here for years.

 it's difficult to square the fact that this cruelty is coming from the side that likes to proclaim they are the party of Christianity.  the party of high morals and ethics...then they leave children with out parents, wondering why they have been ripped from their parents lives. do those that support these acts look away or are their hearts so hardened that they could really care less what happens to these lives that are so cruelly disrupted.

hard to imagine Christians caring more about guns rights that human rights, but that is where we are.

 the right propaganda machine seems in full steam ahead mode.  protecting guns over lives.  making every excuse.  we have no money to provide healthcare or education for our citizens but calling to make us a nation where men with guns surround every school and mall...never mind that these events are very unpredictable and the expense involved in providing armed guards to every school, mall, club, sporting event, music event....is astronomical. 

 lets also remember that for people who claim they want protections from big government it seems odd to want to have armed guards all over the place.  how does that protect freedom?   do we really want to become a police state?  do we all really want to walk around seeing armed guards everywhere we go.  it's really just not practical or sensible. 

 as i have said here for years now...the far right is radicalizing.  it's gone unchecked because most don't want to admit the problem even exists. they want to pretend that these white supremacists are not the issue they are...a faux news host this week referred to the issue as a hoax.  really?  sadly, many who watch the propaganda programming on faux will buy into that...fake news. anything that doesn't align with their agenda or makes them feel mildly guilty gets put in the fake news box.  it's more comfortable that way.  you don't have to feel responsible for the truth...you can just pretend it's all lies.

 the iitoo speaks up for those in the extreme right.  he will read a teleprompter message that was written out for him but then within minutes he'll be trashing any of his assumed enemies, trashing any and all who cross our Southern Border and generally amping up his racist speech. the right makes excuses, the right pretends that none of this is racism and that they are not racist...but at some point it's time for the right to prove they are not in the racism camp by standing up against it and demanding more civility and more compassion and kindness.

 the right can't continue to force their religions morals on the rest of the nation while turning away from the teachings of Christ they claim to be fighting for. Christ had a simple message, Love thy neighbor, treat others as you would wish to be treated...that did not come with instructions that this was to stop at the borders of our nation.  suffer the children to come unto me...not drag them from their parents and destroy intact and functioning family units. 

 the iitoo has always utilized illegals in his companies and in construction...seems pretty two faced to me.  days after many were killed in El Paso simply for being brown and in a border town, raids were held in Mississippi that tore families up. 

 the iitoo visited Dayton and El Paso despite many in those towns asking him not to come...the man still owes over $500,000 to El Paso from a rally he held there.  saw a photo today of him standing by Melania, who was holding a newly orphaned baby, while the iitoo gave a thumbs up...the baby's parents were both gunned down...hardly a thumbs up moment.  he has no tact. 

 he is now promising some gun reform after these shootings, but he has promised this before and as the anger over the latest mass shooting fades as people get back to their lives, those promises go unfulfilled.  the NRA remains more powerful than they should be.  several bills, which have bipartisan support, have been passed in the house.  sadly Moscow Mitch has refused to bring any bills up for discussion or votes. 

 this administration has also rolled back laws on gun rights when ever possible. so we are further behind on any gun related laws than previously.  with each shooting i think the grumble gets louder though. 

 Sitka has several harbors it seems and a few high schools. this one below seems pretty small.

 still quite a few flowers around.

 up here we have been dry and I've seen very few mushrooms compared to the usual.  missing my shroom season.

 always looking for boats with the town name when I'm in a town of boats.

 plenty of boats in Sitka.

 this is a remake of the old boats the natives in the area utilized.

 always love the art of Southeast

 the old Russian church sticks out downtown

 we did go inside.i guess this place burned down at some point and was rebuilt

 inside are some of the many artifacts of the time period. these are crowns worn by couples during wedding ceremonies i guess.

 candles...pretty, though considering the history of the church burning.....

 this church does not really appear to be used for regular services at this point.  not sure if that is every planned in the future.

 lots of gold inlay.

 the old church bells

 cracks and Russian writing on them

 a guy found a loaded AR-15 in one of our local parks...just laying on the ground. so much for responsible gun ownership. it wasn't listed as stolen. 

 red flag laws aren't a terrible idea but the truth is most who know these people report nothing despite seeing some warning signs. maybe just our tendency to want to think the best in others.  no matter what bizarre behavior a loved one exhibits, most would never believe their loved one was capable of these mass killings. i think a family member had brought the El Paso guy to the attention of the police because of concern for him owning an assault rifle...if people own guns legally, that isn't always going to be enough to actually remove the weapons....and if they remove them, they can get them back.  freedom of speech, even hate speech, is not enough to remove weapons.

 a view of downtown with the Russian Church

 local art and flowers, which seem to grow well in all that rain.

 more sights of down town. 

 we hit the farmers market...

 which is where my old truck was parked. bummed i didn't notice it until i got home and looked at the photo's. it's the white Dodge Dakota in the right lower corner of photo below. bought it in '94 i believe so it's still out there and running.  looks pretty good.

 well, i really need to crash. it's almost 3 am. 

grateful for: A.  each day i get to survive on this planet.  we don't always know how long our ride will be here...enjoy it, cherish it B.  days with friends.  C. feeling satisfied