Sunny's first trip to Homer Sunday!

 

bit of a chill in the air right now.  booked a dog room for Sunday and Monday nights. hopefully, our Sunny Boy enjoys Homer as much as we do.  will have to do some extra training to prevent barking. new place, new situation.  we are slated for room 12.  not ocean side but will be larger and further from other rooms. 

i guess it's Easter Sunday. things  i pay less and less attention to these days. not really all that pleased with the God of Christians these days. how can a loving and just God just sit by while children are made to watch their parents get shot, watch their Moms get raped and then get raped themselves. 

people post things about this loved one doing well post op because of prayer or this loved one benefiting from prayer...while all i can think of is all the most sincere and pain filled prayers going up from Ukraine that are seeming to be ignored. how are the cries of thousands ignored while other, even at times trivial prayers get top priority.  lost your car keys say a little prayer..

God must be busy elsewhere or not all that interested in our lives. 

multiple renditions of the rising from the dead of Christ.  the bible was written many years post Jesus visit. people can't tell fact from fiction of things that are happening right now...how could any of them be expected to remember in fine detail what they heard from what they heard. literal translation...that seems a push.  the bible's God was brutal at times.  

the books i was raised to believe are even more difficult to fathom. again so many renditions and so many facts that just never add up.  it's really a matter of a house of cards.  that is how i saw it so many years ago.  if the premise of a thing is malarkey and so fallible the entire house of cards crumbles.  the stories i heard of Joseph Smith were rather altered from reality as well.  he was more of a con than a prophet it seems...and a rapid polygamous to boot.  why is it that so many who create/lead religions use that power to gain finances and women. 

not really clear how the bunny became a symbol of the resurrection? it feels like as time passes this becomes more like Christmas.  a bunny themed gift grab. 

i'm guessing that isn't the Easter tribute you expected.  i guess if you know me, that may be exactly the Easter tribute you would expect. 

so i'd much rather be in Homer than in a church. 

as i do believe. i truly hope that if there is an almighty God he is not wasting his time with me at this moment but is instead focused on helping those poor souls in Ukraine fight off Putins killing machine. 

always felt egotistical to believe that there was an almighty, all powerful God that cared whether i had a glass of wine with dinner or even if i had consensual sex with someone. with the tragedies that exist on this planet my small infractions seem pretty insignificant. 

for whatever the big picture is i feel we are here to learn and grow and you just can't do that in a box. you can't hold tight to the iron rod and experience the life that is out there. fear keeps people holding the rod. i sense at the pearly gates they will be asked why they clung to the iron rod instead of making a leap of faith and risking the happiness that comes with the unknown out there. 

changes in my life have been stressful and terrifying at times, but the reward has been so great for being willing to make those leaps into the unknown. the experiences, the people, the ideas.  it's been beyond life altering to listen to people from all sorts of walks of life.  to experience new places as well as new people.  to enjoy the beauty of this earth.  

having worked in medicine i think another question many will be asked is why did they prolong the suffering of their loved ones when it was clear they were only doing so because they couldn't bear to part with them.  

i felt that with Tusker.  it broke me to make that decision but you do have to chose your own suffering and pain over your loved ones pain and misery. if Christians heaven is such an amazing place, and those who have had near death experiences seem to agree it is, why hold back anyone you love if it means they will suffer.

the return of Jesus seems to have been lessons in forgoing crazy religious rules and instead focusing on some basic advice. love one another.  treat others as you would wish to be treated and do not judge. we were not meant to be theologians. we were meant to embrace the new message. Jesus is depicted often as a white male by many conservative Christians.  he seems to have been more of a wanderer. living on minimal means, giving what he had to others. he was accepting of others, even the sinners out there. 

we are all sinners, we are all fallible. nature would do better without us.  it has it's own checks and balances.  we, through sheer number throw off the balances. the earth creates ways for us to he held accountable 

a virus comes to mind.  wars as well. decrease the population. 

putin is enjoying watching the world squirm as he drops the possibility of dropping nukes. i think he may have more nukes than us. how well have they been maintained.  one does have to question that.  where to fire them to? i have no idea the workings of a mad man.  he seems to be starting to risk combat from multiple forces. i'm not sure he is keen on getting the US involved in a war. he's pissed off Finland and Japan for sure. could he manage a battle on multiple fronts. 

he can do a crap ton of damage, death and destruction with even poorly maintained equipment.  

the human and animal costs have been large on both sides. the brutality appears to be more one sided however. 

the best us peons can do is enjoy our lives. you can't get lost in the what if's.  there are just so many things that i can not control.

my three nights were all spent in the ER.  i actually got to come home early by a few hours the first two nights. no such luck last night. it was fine.  i turned in the paper to go from .9 to .75, which just drops one shift every other week. others do say it's been a game changer for them.  i can always try to pick up that shift, especially in the winter months. you make the leaps in life for your own sanity. you can always return to the old plan or just make a totally new plan.  

better get some rest today so i can pack a bit tomorrow.  

i was able the other night to take down the old railing down railing out front on the deck. it's seemed more of a hazard half way up. so what next..we shall see. pondering whether to redo the upstairs bathroom flooring vs the big room so i can change out doors or just get an estimate on the downstairs. the downstairs will be more expensive. 

the snow is mostly melting in the front yard so i have done some starter raking and sweeping out there.  the back yard is mostly ice and mud.  it's melting super fast though.  would like to get someone out again to get the spring clean up done. i'm scared of my weed whacker. 

i also need to get the Element in for that tire issue. i did manage to get bills paid tonight and the dogs walked today. i tend to do a little puppy grooming every day and often times i pull out the clippers and make some more changes on his coat. 

legs and head long, body and face shorter.  we shall see.

i did pull up the last wee pad as the little guy hasn't needed it for many weeks at this point. still do at least one round of training plus all the stuff you do with a new dog just out of necessity. we did a walk in the neighborhood and around the bog the other day. no moose spotted. 

i put out a few of my Ukraine rocks for peace and hope to make more.  may take my paint pens to Homer to paint rocks.  will be a great opportunity to collect more rocks for painting.  will take a few bags for the various beaches.  

Homer for me is very much about the drive to and from.  

we ran into another standard poodle this day.  this one was about 8-9 months i think.  super cute. i haven't clipped Sunny's face that short yet.  will be a learning process.

i do like to see his eyes. 

covid is still not exploding again here. good news there. i hit Cost co today and i braved no mask.  figure i'll wait and see about the next booster. it doesn't last all that long it seems so i'd rather wait and take it as the numbers begin to rise when it would do the most good. this new one BA-2 is another omicron version.  that was a weaker deal.  far fewer hospitalized and even less requiring intubation. 

so hoping we are moving to endemic over pandemic.  Shanghai is a madness.  total lock downs for weeks and weeks and weeks. people unable to leave their homes.  their gates locked, doors taped.  i heard a rumor if you test positive you are taken elsewhere and if you have a pet it is taken away and killed. seems if you have vaccinated the general population, which i'd guess there you aren't given the freedom to choose. it seems overkill on a vaccinated population to have such severe, draconian lock downs and all i can think of is the many whiners her who bitch when they are asked to wear a mask. 

expansion kills dictators.  sadly it may take some time before this asshole is taken down . he has a lot of fire power so no idea what the human suffering will be before it's all over. we are giving a great deal of support but the sad reality is we give a few billion in equipment and putin gets over 30 billion for oil and gas which goes to his military. not cutting the tap is just ensuring the death and destruction continues. if that tap cut off, perhaps that would be the shot heard round the world.  we can't be  held hostage to putins threats of nukes.  will he be killed if he goes to make that move? we really have no idea what state the people around him are.  i hope the russians love their children too..STing. 

tax day.  mine are done and my refund arrived.  i moved it to savings. hopefully that will work for tile either in the bathroom of the main room.  

time to start doing more spring clean up and purging of crap that has collected over the past seasons.  the free pile may have to make it's appearance in the front yard. 

wasn't sure how my gut would do at work.  every so often post gall bladder surgery....my gut rebels at certain food intake.  it can be a bit unpredictable.  thankfully, it is not a common occurrence. then comes the is that a fart or a shart or worse? the little game that is not fun to play at work.  it all settled in eventually, but then i was, of course, famished.  of course, the food i'd  brought to work was the same as what may have been the culprit so i didn't want to eat more of that. 

overall good nights in the ER. good crews. 

as i was checking in last night a co-worker surprised me by asking if i'd paint her a rock with mountains.  will have to meander Pinterest for some ideas for it.  

this face is so sweet. he's still a great snuggler.  haven't weighed him, but i am very curious where we are.  he's got no mass but he's got these crazy long legs.

the cat chasing continues. mostly Covid Cat.  Miss Breezy Chatterbug seems to handle it better.  she stands her ground and acts very confident. 

my boy Covid is a bit more hesitant.  

i'm for sure drifting at this point. 

guess i should get off this computer and head to bed.  lots of rambling on here today.

can't think of any new personal news. trucking along. 

did call my sister as it's her Birthday.  Birthdays i will try to call, otherwise i have dropped way back to making any family calls. i think mostly i fear hearing that they are even ambiguous of this all.  or that they support and believe putins propaganda.  

it's like that whole, "he's just not that into you" but it's my family.  expectations are painful.  it felt like time to let them go.  i will attend the reunion but i do plan to make myself available rather than do anything to push myself. i have thought of calling as in the past i would attempt to call one or more of them each week as these are rarely if ever returned...at some point you just have to accept the limitations of relationships.  that the limits are put there by others and all you are doing is beating your head against the wall. 

thankful for A. these sweet mugs.  B. the prospect of an escape to Homer.  packing day tomorrow.  C.  fun and excellent co-workers.