4 nights down.....

 we had a lovely sunset today.  i zipped up to basher trailhead and booked it to catch the colours.  some days are just amazing!!  after that i came home and took a nap.  swimming hopes dashed again.  dang it!!

 before i started back to work i took the dogs on a walk out campbell airstrip.  we did the loop up the airstrip itself and then back on the main trails. the creek at the other end had overflowed and refroze.  the skies that day were beautiful as well.  not all over the city and by the time sunset came they seemed to have turned more grey.  i wanted to lay down for a bit before my first shift back and get some rest.

 work was busy, different.  my work is always an adventure.  transfer one out get crumping one in. she turned around fast so she got transferred out the next night.  line not where it's supposed to be, start an iv in a foot cause there wasn't any place else to go. code a patient, take chunk out of my hand getting to epi in little box outside room with emergency drugs, and one very sad case that will stay with me no doubt...all in a week.

 we did have a few minutes to get some laughs in here and there.  great to have co-workers i both units that are helpful in a crisis and helpful in keeping us all light and laughing.  it truly is good medicine.  there was some discussion last night about adults and ones that are supersized.  there is no politically correct way to say it really.  sometimes we take care of very large humans.  to me large is over 450-550 pounds, but the largest i've taken care of was over 800 pounds.  you have to feel badly for people who are this huge..being that size has to impact ever aspect of ones lives.  also i suspect the obesity is the end result of childhood trauma's in some cases.  every aspect of care has to be adapted as well. our bodies just weren't meant to carry this much adipose.

 we are a "bariatric center of excellence" is what i'm told and we had to take bariatric training.  we now have numbers posted on all the chairs in the hospital that state the weight capacity of said chair.  of course, i'm not sure how this is conveyed to the general public or what my personal responsibility is with this.  am i to mention to people sitting in chairs inappropriate to their girth that they may want to move to a more acceptable chair for their weight.  will we install a scale as you walk through the emergency room doors with a notice about the chairs and a reminder to check the weight you currently are and be sure to select the proper chair.  i mean all the chairs in the cafeteria say max weight is 250 pounds...i've seen people that weigh more than that on those chairs.  i'm not sure if we've updated out ct scanner to account for our bariatric center status.  previously i think the weight cut off was around 450# and there was a width restriction of 45 inches?  can't recall.  of course, i did joke that next time i set myself up on one of those online dating accounts i could just state on there that i fit in both an mri and ct machine.  they always ask body type.  i am terrible and a co-worker that recently retired had told me several years back that if she died first she'd save me a place by the fire.  i do have to watch my mouth for inappropriate comments.  things just shoot out of me.

 on a lost glove kick.  this one was at campbell airstrip.

 this is a bog shot from the other day as well.  i actually skipped the walk 2 days. that is unheard of for me. i usually miss one day of walking every other week somewhere in my 4 day stretch.  trying to start thinking about when i may need vacation days this summer. not sure what unit i'll be working in at this time, but i will need to decide soon or risk having my summer vacations get messed up.

 we've had so little snow this patch looked like summer already...

 another random glove.  this one is in front on my mailbox area, frozen into the ice now

 monday walkers today included myself, karen, lena and speedy.   i wasn't alone...yeah!!

 so summer plans include a few cabin trips. got holgate cabin for a fun kayaking trip with a few friends, wanting to get a few more cabins for this summer. i've never been to lost lake so have talked to bob and tanya about trying for that one together.  i also want to get byers in august.  my brother and his family are again talking of coming up. would be fun to get byers lake cabin while they are here.  that worked out well with my niece last summer.  i also want to get a short trek to nome in for the annual trip.  just want to be low key on that one, hopefully over solstice.  the full day of light further north will be very cool to witness.  just want to rent a car and drive around.  there are some roads to explore out that way.

 we checked out our tree in the woods.  most of the stuff is still there, some stuff, like the popcorn, obviously more popular with the critters.  we turned to cross the open area with the lake/ponds.  rio joined and she was really dragging today. have to remember she is large so is going to age quicker.  she's a sweetie.  so i think it was good we cut across and shortened it.  will have to leave her home more for monday walks. didn't matter last two as i was alone anyway.  walk slow.  meander more.

 blossom enjoyed a day of tennis ball chasing.  did a few skids across the ice in stumphenge.

 my finger bled pretty good.  since i was working on the coding patient i didn't really notice.  i figured my hand was just sweating from being in the glove for so long.  i dose of epi and some compressions fixed her for the moment, then came line placement and a new chest tube.  when i eventually took off my glove, it was full of blood, my own.  yikes...poor me.  of course, nobody looked at my finger really....they were all doting on the doctor who had a glove rip on him and was looking for any signs of a wound that could result in cross contamination...that does sound worse.  mine was my own blood.  still, my dang blood splattered everywhere when i pulled it off and now i had more work to do.

 hand washing was a bit tender...my thanks to tiffany for hooking me up with some super glue to seal up my wound and keep it from stinging so badly. amazing how annoying a tiny wound like that can be....and what a wimp a nurse can be who has a tiny wound.

 stumphenge for a romp on the ice.

 coffee today was just karen and i...we were happy though as we got to sit in the big cushy seats.  can be hard to chat on the trail so nice to catch up.

 want to make more cat toys for pogi.  he totally loves the one i made for him...could be a marketable cat toy...a chuck it for cats perhaps.  pogi easily gets his exercise in with it.  not sure how to find the paper that i need for it. make it colourful and pretty and that puppy could sell.

back to the sunset.  it is getting slightly later.  then this random  picture of the ice in stumphenge.

 so these are all at basher. i actually left both dogs in the car in the interest of time, grabbed my pack and took off for the lookout.  a close walk,but didn't want to waste the light.

 didn't stay out too long as i didn't want to leave the dogs in the car for too long.

 the light was too pretty to miss out on though.  that is always a good and easy spot to get to.

 people have been very nice at work.  nice to know if i change jobs i would be missed. also nice to know that there are options for me if i want them.  my friend did make the observation that if i leave providence i will have a tougher time coming back if i wanted to.  they are trying to only hire nurses with 4 year degrees.  i may have to actually suck it up and get that crap done. probably some online course from where ever. a few other girls at work in the adult ward need to finish theirs as well so i may try to suck it up and do it with them...at least we can all commiserate with each other.  prov should pay a nice chunk of the money from what i understand.  there are bridge programs that take less than 2 years...it just bites to even think about going back to school.  it is what it is.  you have to keep yourself marketable.

 in this computer age, companies only look at which boxes are checked and don't necessarily see what kind of experiences you have.

 hadn't planned on leaving the hospital at this point.  if i go it will be within providence.

 love the skies here, but then i loved the skies in south dakota and in ketchikan and the beaches of california...

 our city looked  pretty as the sun set.  downtown anchorage with sleeping lady behind her.

 no denali sightings today.

the weather forecasters keep saying it's going to snow and then it doesn't.  eventually, it will, but this is the least amount of snow i've ever seen by this point.  especially after having record breaking snowfall last winter it's just so odd.
well, i guess i shall hit the sack.  fun to start thinking about the summers activities...will get booking on it all.  night...