WARIS had a good week...

 the IRS has granted us out 501(3)(c)!!!  my to do list has grown and my excuse list has shrunk!

 Thank you to the IRS...!  one is not often happy to receive notes in the mail from the IRS but i was downright giddy.  these are swans and hikes from this past week.

 Monday walks will officially begin tomorrow...it may be just Lena and I but it will be grand no matter.  we've done these pick up walks for several years now.  can't even recall how many.  it's a good thing.  i started them because i know my social skills are always in need of improvement and it seemed a great way to build a stronger support system, build some new friendships and give us all a great excuse to get out no matter the weather.

 these devil club leaves were huge.....look at my hand in there...i look tiny!

 the roots and Potters to McHugh are tough on Rio but she managed.  today we puttered around at home too long and got out late walking.  often i debate too long..take a shower to wake up or just go and hit the pool and shower. it's a ridiculous argument i have in my head that generally ends with me finally getting in shower after hours of wasted time and then being too late to hit the pool.  the cooling temperatures are my sign to get off my lazy arse and get a reintroduced to my gym.  habits take several weeks to put into place and i know in the past every time i've really gotten an exercise program started i did well with it.

 trying to just put on my headphones and even just dance and move around to the music at night.  my neighbors may think i'm nuts but they may think that anyway.  the older the get the less concerned you get with how you are seen.  getting older gives you a good excuse to go a bit nuts...they just look at your queerly and wonder if you don't have early onset of dementia.  i do hope my brain holds out as long as possible...it may be my best feature.  everything else sags a bit but the skull keeps your brain set in place.  thank you skull.

 will plan on getting myself motivated these days off to get this to do list worked on. must be ready to leap and accept what may come. life is a series of leaps...you won't know until you just get brave and close your eyes.  the ground is usually there though at times the landing may be a wee bit rough....just try not to hit your head.  the rest of you is easier to repair.

 beautiful colors out turnigan.

 we do have fresh snow which is rapidly making it's way down to the city.  it's sticking though.

 we hit the bog this stretch of work as well, haven't noted any moose there for a bit.  the moose are no doubt chilling in the areas where mating may happen..the singles bars of the Anchorage moose population...powerline pass and Kincaid.

 families of swans are moving south and the geese are seen gathering and making their preparations as well.  soon it will be mostly crows, ravens, baldies and magpies. the bog is growing quiet.

 these were with the zoom on the mid size canon.  not bad....

 was trying to collect these ice discs from the dogs water bowls outside and the old tires.  thought i could make a lovely winter art installation.  will have to begin anew though.  we ran into increased temperatures which are hell on ice art.

 work was a bit nuts.  the PFD's have come out.  i really should look and make sure mine loaded into my account.  stores are nuts with people spending their PFD bucks.  of course, i haven't worked the PFD holiday in the ER before and had no idea that the local drug dealers were doing as swift a business as the costcos and best buys.  who knew?  so lots of people getting ditched at the ER not breathing  by their dear drug addict friends   that is a true test of friendship i guess..if i stop breathing  after taking Heroin will you drop my lifeless body at the ER doors?  so sad to think of what that money could do for people and instead it's wasted on the local drug dealers.

 my nights were a bit split up...the first night i did manage an entire night in one unit, the other two nights i did some moving around.  it does gain you points from those around you who would be freaking out if you told them that at 1 am they would be giving up their assignment on one unit and heading to the ER...or like the next night.  i was in the ER and at 6 am i took an adult icu patient from the ER up to the adult unit and was a nurse there for an hour and a half.  ended up with holds in the ER the second half of the first night.  a bit of cardiac issues, which in that back hall and being alone can be a wee bit unnerving.  one patient had an unusually low heart rate considering he had a pacer/aicd in place.  my other patient seemed to have a low heart rate for most of the night as she had a mostly non-perfusing beat every other time...at least until i got her up to the bathroom...then a rapid afib.

 my hold night never seemed to happen the second night. after i'd shipped all my patients up to various units i took report on a new one...i ended up in a bit of a strange row with the nurse giving me report...i just felt from the report that having me alone in this area with this patient could prove a bit risky and so not a good idea for the patient...i had her for like 20 minutes,called the charge and we moved her back to the busier side of the unit...thankfully we did as that was the patient i ended up with in the icu.

 what can i say...i do a good assessment of a situation and there are a fair number of times that i am right. sadly, i'm not always listened too and my wise suggestions regarding staffing went mostly unheeded.  this is why i didn't take over the patients care until 6 am...so many other scenarios.  i do not wish to have the power so i just waited. did what i was told.

 so a few sad cases that always remind you of how precious each day is. to be able to get out and see the amazing gifts of this earth is a treasure that should never be taken for granted.

 drama in peds...staffing events is all i shall say about that.  everyone was a buzzing...what happened? i'm sure we will never know the complete story but some watered down and politically correct version.  the spin was out of control that night though...and we were all loving it.  nothing like a good hospital drama moment with staff...a few people, for completely different reasons will not be returning to that place...

 another beheading.  really not understanding this ISIS plan...was thinking this will be a long long war if they plan on taking their enemy out one at a time with such barbaric drama.  are they just trying to piss us off so much we bore of it and drop some of our larger bombs that we no doubt keep somewhere and yet pretend we don't? bait us into a ground war?  no way to guess what a large group of uneducated religious nuts have in mind. my heart goes out to the families of these poor people who have dedicated themselves to good causes or were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

 in a way though, you almost find yourself thinking..oh another beheading.  i know that is sick and wrong, but it really only makes me feel badly for the families of those killed and think those who are doing this killing are not worthy of the air to breath.  the world would certainly be a better place with out these cretins.  the only good thing about ISIS is that it is seeming to finally make those who are true believers in Islam finally start to speak out and come together despite their different views and sects.  i think the west has really wanted them to say these people are idiots.  we are in the dammed if we do, dammed if we don't position.  i'm not fond of training or arming anyone in that region...it really hasn't seemed to go well for anyone.

 always love watching these swans in flight.

 walked gasline-powerline-tank today.  usually in summers i get a bit anxious on those back dog trails as the brush is high and i fear a bear or wolf attack.  the trucks have been blasting out the brush i guess though and now the trail seems nearly as wide as the main powerline trail.  a bit sad at the little creeks destruction. the water is just running down making it's own path again.  not sure if they will plan for the water to be diverted or just move on once they've done what ever they are doing.

 wasn't too nervous about the bears today. have walked on my own.  very brave after how i was feeling last year about this time.  today i ran into some folks that remembered me from some time last winter out on those trails. they remembered my story of having a grizzly try to get into my car while i was sleeping in it.  i was super nervous those first few weeks after and avoided walking alone...i'm pretty much back to baseline.

 clutter seems to be taking over everything.  need a fall clean out.  it has gotten colder this week for sure.  today i was realizing i may need to add back the hat and gloves in the hike pack.  winterize it.

 bought some new snow pants last week. those are great for walking.  these are the color of carharts.  always a bit too large in the waist.  that is how it works.  those who make clothes assume that if you have hips you must have a gut to match it...or if you have a thin waist the rest of you must be rail thin and don't account for hips.

 need to pick up more stamps and get these other notes in the mail.  i ran out.  costco...hope it's not too crazy. may go look for a comfy chair for downstairs too.  that may be my dividend indulgence. sorry drug dealers of Alaska...i won't be wasting my money on Heroin and Crack.

 coming in for a landing.

 it's like sitting at the airport,watching take offs and landings. i'm sure those who design airplanes have in the past at least spent many an hour watching birds take off and land.  we are envious of their ability to fly with such ease.

 i know i'm always jealous when i am hiking up switchbacks or something and a baldie simply glides along and reaches the peak in short order.

 my bones are filled with heavy marrow and not air and under arm blubber is no match for the grace and function of wings.

 this guys landing looked a wee bit more sloppy, perhaps he's in training or just a wild and crazy swan. maybe an updraft caught him at the last minute.

 chatted with my brother Tom this afternoon. always pleasant.  amazing how great we get along now since we battled it out as kids.  he has turned out to be a great guy though....very happy to have him as my big brother.

 the lisa murkowski ads are so annoying...i mean all these political ads are annoying but hers are super annoying.  she has for sure made herself look even less attractive as a candidate in her next run. my phone rings and it's mostly political polls and such....i just don't answer it.  i have to look as it's the number i've given out for WARIS.

 they look so cool in flight too

 lots of fluttering around out there on Potters the other day.  so cool to watch..

 only 10% of the population of Alaska don't sign up for the PFD.  perhaps that makes up for the 10% other people that get the fund that probably shouldn't.  they do catch people who are cheating and collecting illegally...man do they prosecute the hell out of them.  it's a bad idea. they make sure it gets reported in the news sources as well. i think you can end up owing them back all the money you ever got from  the PFD.

 the people of Alaska are pretty happy this time of year.  money gets spent...deals abound...everyone wants you PFD bucks.

 they changed out all the soap dispensers again at the hospitals.  the new stuff just looks and feels like the hand sanitizer stuff.  i'm totally not impressed and it's drying as well.  not to mention you can't really tell if it is soap.  they almost need to put signs out...this is the soap.  i saw family members walking away having a discussion as the girl with them had used it like hand sanitizer.  you could hear them debating whether it was soap or sanitizer.  the guys said it must be soap as they couldn't find anything else that would be soap by the sinks.  i really don't feel like you get a proper wash with it though and by the end of the shift your hands are dry...it will really bite this winter as your hands get super dry anyway.

 i'm sure money was saved.  feel like taking my own soap in so that i can really feel more clean.  there are no other options...they've been removed.  can't wait for the next d-diff outbreak to occur...let alone when ebola shows up. i kept joking in picu that i was going to go use the bathroom and sorta wash my hands after.

 showing off his full wing spread...well almost

 these were from the walk.  the light in the leaves was super pretty.

 watched an interview session with Bill Gates as i got ready for work the other day.  he and his wife are amazing in my book.  they are to be commended for giving back to a world thinking only of the good they could accomplish.  they don't bother with political campaign funding...they go to the people and make a huge difference.  the Nigerian government was able to utilize a system set up by the foundation to combat polio to stop the spread of ebola as well.  they focus on education and health of the worlds people.  very interesting to listen to this question and answer session with him.

 a swan family prepares to head south.

off to crash....lots to do tomorrow.  thankful for...A. my adaptability  B.  dairy....i'd probably drop those 10-15 pounds if i stopped eating dairy, but what fun would that be? C.  the IRS for this gift of a non-profit status...may the gods help me to rise to the challenge of running it.