i've been shot....

 okay...so it was really just a tetanus/pertussis shot but it really did hurt!! haven't ever gotten the pertussis and working in pediatrics puts me at risk for exposure.  with my reactive airway issues, it probably is best to try to avoid the worst of it.  above is from my little trek out gasline/powerline/tank trail the other day.

 haven't gotten a tetanus shot since before nursing school started and i've been a nurse since.....hmm....'93!!  the last one hurt so bad i could barely move my arm!!  i've been nervous for a repeat.  worked with animals in my 20's and probably got a few more tetanus shots than the average, maybe my body just reacted.  this could just hurt more tomorrow,but i hope not.

 sunny again today...not a cloud out there.  boo hoo!!  looks like it will stay clear all weekend.  really not complaining.  everyone in anchorage seems ready for slightly warmer weather and a fresh coat of snow.

 the valley, meaning palmer/wasilla, have had some winds and a big fire.  sounds like it got pretty bad out there.  they do get much more wind than us.

 blossom prepares to cross the bridge someone put across this creek. rio had it a bit tougher.  doubt she could handle this.  i think blossom just crossed the water.  big ice patch after this on a slant so i worked around it.  i had on the new ice bugs on, but still decided not to risk it.  blossom was sliding across it and she has those claws.  i have no desire to slip on ice, knock myself out on said ice and freeze to death!

 strange hole in one of the other patches of ice i crossed on the powerline pass.

 the usual frost...am so hoping i can soon take pictures of trees laden with snow!

 ice patches.

 was online looking at potential cabin rentals for summer and fall.  have to wait and then hope i beat out other people.  lots of cool pubic use cabins around alaska,  but they are popular.  winter is the time to plan for summers.

 this is the trail.  work was pleasant the last two nights.  got floated down to the adult icu from the peds icu both nights.  the first night i was monitor tech.  it's a desk job,  but it isn't a cakewalk. there are 3 banks of monitors with heart rhythms that you are monitoring, plus you have the regular computer, dealing with patients getting admitted and transferring, family members calling and visiting, nurses needs...there are 4 keyboards and 4 different mice (is mice the plural of mouse in computer lingo?).  i wish they were colour coded as i was always going to the wrong mouse or wrong keyboard.

 it's while you are at the monitor that you are reminded that good alarm etiquette is always a kind thing.  so many nurses just leave things alarming in their rooms and it's so annoying.  the dinging and clanging is nearly constant and you are having to temporarily silence over and over.  one rang constantly, i finally asked the nurse to attempt to change leads.  i told her it looked like the patient may have a pacer, she said no, he didn't.  it looked like he did and that may have been what was confusing the computer.  awhile later it stopped alarming so much and pacer spikes began to appear!! one for the monitor tech...he was paced.  later his blood pressure was chiming off, i called again, soon he coded, coded again and then that was it.  it is odd to be a nurse stuck at a desk and not run to or react to a code really.  nothing i could really do there at that desk.

 was excited for the few clouds the other day.  always welcome!!  below are the latest icebugs.  not sure if you can see but they have metal spikes on the bottom.  i've wanted to get a pair with spikes so i could use them kicksledding.  will have to go out for a spin this week off.  not as warm as my other bugs but i think it will work great.

 my second night in the adult world i got 2 patients who were vented and sedated.  that is an icu nurse's dream assignment.  the nurse who had patients on either side of me didn't have as pleasant a night.  both patients were confused and pulling at stuff.  a chest tube came out, a rectal tube came out and that was apparently pretty impressive.  who knew anyone could poop that much!  they really just don't cover this stuff on those television shows where the doctors and nurses seem to have tons of time to sit around hooking up.

 of course, one co-worker in peds apparently was upset that my floats down to the adult unit count as floats and may prevent me from floating to the neonate icu.  you float in rotation.  i often float more than others.  mostly i believe that you should do what is best for the patient population in the hospital as a whole.  i work 12 hours no matter where i do it.  it is annoying when people get nasty or stuff that really is none of their business...just do your own job!!

 these were views out my bedroom the other night of the sunset happening.

 clearly this isn't a lovely sunset.  took the dogs to the bog between shifts yesterday.  at first i thought this thing above was the bits left over from a dogs squeaky toy. that is a mallard ducks head.  not sure why i was so surprised to see it out there.  nature is usually pretty good at disposing of everything soon after it dies, this head looks pretty well preserved. probably gone by now.  food is scarce in the winter.

 these are in the bog.

 try to entertain the cats.  pogi (the orange cat) is often accused of being overweight so i try to play with him for exercise.  my goal is to get him to get his two front paws off the ground at least 10x/day while i wave a toy over him.  he was pretty excited this day and even got all 4 paws up off the ground several times.  since he was feeling frisky, as they say, i got out this made for cats toy.  they really have come a long way in cat toys.  he seemed to enjoy it immensely!!

 today at the dog park there seemed to be a plethora of gloves that had been lost.  lost items are generally slung up onto signs or branches to make them easier to spot.  hate to think of all these folks going around without gloves in this chilly weather. we've been hanging probably 15 below zero to 15 above zero.

 the ice has closed in quite a bit since i last came out here. i still put blossom on her leash around the area that is open to prevent any mishaps.

 got there in time for sunset.

 i really should get the christmas cards out tonight and start that process. write the letter, address the envelopes, get started getting packages ready to mail out.  not sure which one of my siblings i'm supposed to have for christmas this year.  will have to investigate.

 the rest are back at powerline pass.

 took a few with the macro.  enjoying the frost.

 got a few christmas cards in the mail already. need to get the place decorated for the holidays, it always looks so pretty.

 still debating the real vs fake tree...may have to stop by a store and see what they have.  real trees will never last here through the holiday. if i buy one this early it will have zero needles by christmas.

 a few at the creek on the powerline trail.

 the matsu borough up here had a ferry built but there aren't docks built yet for it so instead they are now thinking of giving it away in order to cut costs.  why would you authorize money to build an expensive boat like this without having a place to land it on either side of the inlet.  apparently just maintaining the ferry in it's current location is sucking out nearly $90,000 a month. hope a few folks got fired over this debaucle.  government waste at it's greatest.  embarrassing.

 had to get some ibuprofen...arm is hurting worse...this is how it went before.  it just got more and more sore.  i made sure and got it in my non-dominant arm.

 off to at least set up the christmas card factory.

enjoy your day, seek out those who are positive and make you strive to be a better person.  see the tiny beauties that are gifted to us in our every day.