another drive awaits me....

getting ready to head to Homer again for a few days.

always trying to pack as much into our short summers as i can.  i do not like leaving this place ever, but especially in the summers. you are away for a few days and you miss so much drama.  this place is total drama all summer.  constantly changing. 

my 6 days of work are behind me once again.  i think all but one shift were in the ICU.  i get texts every day looking for staff.  it was busy but not insane

the covid has increased...mostly non-vaccinated.  they are deniers until their dying day. nothing will change those poor folks.  they clearly do not enjoy all the torture that comes with life as a patient in the ICU but i can't help but think they could have saved themselves all of this had they just gotten the vaccine. i'm afraid i have much less empathy for these folks. at this point they have made their bed i guess.  sad that they followed bad advice and crazy conspiracy theories to their own painful and miserable end. their body, their choice....though it is ironic that they still would refuse women the choice.  

our world has always been a place where women are kept in their place by any means possible. 

my two days off were spent heading north.  joined a few friends out at Byers Lake.  a cabin opened up and my friend booked it.  thanks for the invite and for the great escape. we had decent weather.  a little rain the second day but still beautiful and a lovely escape. the big mountain, Denali, even showed itself a few times.  the dogs had a great time too. 

the first day was hot and my friends got onto floaties, one was the pink flamingo that usually chills with the Skelly's in the summer. nabbed right from the deck to join us. 

these are from wanderings in June still. it's almost August.  time does fly.

my new vanity plates arrived in time for our adventure north.  love them...it is kind of surprising that WALRUS was not taken, but happy for me. 

much of my time this week was spent prepping the stair rails by sanding and staining.  Friday night was crunch time. the carpet folks were coming early Saturday morning

i have always been a person who paints outside the lines.  no perfectionist genes here.  perhaps that is why i was such a terrible fit for a religion constantly pushing you to be perfect.  i have no such lofty goals and never will be.  God made me a mess and i suspect God likes me as i was created...a hot mess. perfection is way over rated.

being mediocre at many things is my sweet spot.  excelling at nothing other than being mediocre.  

so these are Valdez, Matanuska. i should try for another run to Valdez...the salmon are running and it's always so much fun watching the sea lions feed on them. 

the weeks go quickly. 

the carpet is mostly in.  they will have to return to do the outer edges.  apparently when the pulled the old carpet off they found that lots of the anchor bits of wood were missing.  clearly the last folks that changed the carpet did not let this concern them.  

seems pretty crazy to me that these workers can't manage to do anything outside their small scope of  skills.  the days of the handyman seem to be a thing of the past with very few of these talented workers left.  

it was suggested i  hire a carpenter...or do it myself.  seems ridiculous to hire someone as skilled as a carpenter for a small task like this, especially when their skills wouldn't be used for something that would be seen.  these are just to tack the carpet to.  so yesterday i headed to the hardware store and bought the wood to make this happen. 

i watched a bit of Olympics while i sawed the tiny pieces and swore hammering them in. the wood i bought was cracking.  cheap i guess.  it's there so hopefully, they will return and finish it up next week.  

how long would it have taken to find a carpenter and then wait for them to be available for this small thing...and at what cost.  this same company is the one that is not capable of moving appliances for the flooring.  not impressed with their lack of skills but the carpet seems to be turning out for the moment. it's like if i was working ICU and my patient coded and i was all, oh i'm sorry, i don't do CPR, you will have to hire someone who specializes in that...we'll wait. 

the talks with the company over the nurses union contract are getting more heated. seems silly to not be giving the nurses more of what they are asking for considering that the supply of nurses is getting smaller and the demand is increasing. 

been attempting to take pictures from under the flowers. some work better than others. i saw that someone had done it and it looked cool. 

always looking for new ways to see the world and all this beauty.  

otherwise i have not done any great hikes and was pretty lazy these last few days as i worked on the stairs. lots of tennis ball time in the yard. 

we have also hit the dog park a lot. 

when i went to Byers, Covi Cat was out catting around so he got to stay free while i was away. that is the first time.  i have a little trek coming up in a few weeks and the dogs will stay home so i'll have to leave the dog door open.  he will be free for a few days.  hopefully, all is okay.  makes me nervous but in truth he has freedom while i am at work every night.  

i don't see him wandering out front in the neighborhood ever. i think he mostly enjoys my yard and my connected neighbors yard.  she says she sees him out there quite a lot, stretched on her deck.  she tries to say hello but he scurries back over the fence. i hope he sticks to the two yards.  i am quite fond of that silly orange cat and would feel awful if anything bad happened to him. 

he was sitting in front of the tv the other day as the Olympic opening ceremonies were happening.  he kept batting at the flags folks were waving

a strange Olympics with the covid stuff but it's still happening. no spectators.  i feel bad for Tokyo as they spent a lot of money to put on the Olympics and clearly lose a lot of income by not having those stadiums filled. 

with so many fools listening to freaks on the internet over science we are in for the long haul on this Covid stuff.  so frustrating. 

as i said, my empathy is waning for those who refuse the vaccines for conspiracy crack crap, but that is the world we live in.  the internet seemed a great way for information to be readily available but it turned out to be an easy place for misinformation to be made available. many would rather believe the nuts that post on YouTube. 

it is pretty amazing and sad how easily humans can be manipulated to believe all sorts of mallarky.  there have always been snake oil salesmen as it were but now it's just on a level we have never seen before and never imagined. 

tons of flowers on the sides of the roads...so pretty. 

i'm seeing more and more mushrooms and the fireweed is really popping out.  hoping to see some of it on the drive down  

i just wanted to toss in a quick blog.  then i gotta eat, shower and pack the car.  

the dogs will be thrilled to get back to the beach.  i keep meaning to do day treks to Seward but haven't gotten over there yet. 

it's all so pretty, you can't go wrong no matter what direction you head.  good to change it up though.  

at the camp ground.  we'll be at the driftwood the next two nights though. 

love watching storms in the distance.  South Dakota was amazing for that when i lived there.  so flat you could watch the storms for miles.  crazy storms there. 

forget me nots.  always a favorite flower.  so delicate

the office is much more presentable as are the stairs...nice to have all the steps covered again.  will be good for Ivy to have the carpet.  

i'll have to finish some more touch ups on the stain and i ordered some flower stencils. may do some sort of design on the rails, muted like the other ones i've done. i like the look...even if others don't.  i have to add some art in to what i do. 

i had better get myself moving.  at least i take off so often i am generally half packed and getting out is pretty quick once i get moving. stop at the store for some snacks and away i go.  the car is already gassed up. 

so pretty....!!

what delights will we see on this drive. i love getting out there and exploring.  

peace out for today. more later.  :-)

thankful for A.  the health to be able to explore B.  enough wealth to be able to explore C. friends and critters who are willing to explore with me.