a few from a beautiful flight this summer!!

 lots of glacier watching from the skies that day! pretty amazing to see them from up there on a mostly clear day.  love flights like this.  not too bouncy either which was even better!

 another week of work down.  ER, CCU then PICU.  nothing too horrible.  was there a few minutes overtime as i was holding/feeding a baby...not a bad thing to do at work.  can't wait to write that down on the Krono's sheet that asks you why you were late leaving work that day.

 headed to Cheney Lake before i started work.  in the end there is so much ice out there, not much of a walk week.  i pulled in and was chatting with my brother on the phone.  there was an older lady in front of the car at one point attempting to pick up her dogs poop.  suddenly she just disappeared down this hill, face first.  took her a bit to get back up.  her friend was there and came over.  i did take a break from the call and check on her.  she had some cuts and scrapes but overall looked ok.  poor girl.  that night in the ER it seems that falling and crashing were the themes of the day.

 had some crazy and loud old folks that night and i kept taking them up to those poor nurses on 5th floor...the one old gal i think i cheered a bit to myself once i had handed her off.  saw her nurse later and she was wanting me to take the old gal back...i told her no take backs.  haha.

 these are around Juneau.

 my MRI report finally showed up Friday so i'll call Monday and it looks like i will be scheduling a surgery. i will try and meet the guy first again just to get an idea of what i may be looking at so i can tell work.  walking on level ground this week wasn't bad, but anytime i stepped up or down i was reminded that an issue exists. hopefully the after care is manageable for a single girl and doesn't keep me out of work too long. in chatting with nurse it depends on what they do.

 apparently, i have a tear of the anterior horn of the lateral meniscus with a probable fragment in the lateral intercondylar notch.  i think that means that some little bit is causing a great deal of annoyance and if that is the case and they can just snip that bit off, i shall heal fairly quickly. if they need to do more repair and suturing it could be more like 3  weeks.  i have a large joint effusion and synovitis which i'm sure is causing that full feeling and adding to the discomfort.

 Mendenhall Glacier.

 i shall keep you posted on the plans.  fingers crossed.

 will hope to get this one scheduled out first before i take care of my vein issue.  my deductible is paid up for the year so i'd really like to get this stuff in before the year flips over.

 there is finally some snow in the forecast.  remaining hopeful.  just cause it's in the forecast doesn't mean it will come.  i really need to start my morning doing a dog poop run out in the yard.

 Willow is dog mushing territory.  i guess there is some guy that moved there a few years  back and has made it his mission to harass the teams.  why do people move places and then want to totally change them.  don't move to Alaska if you don't want to be bothered with wildlife, don't like cold or don't like dogs.  don't move to Willow or other known mushing communities if you don't want to hear dogs barking and deal with dog teams.  they have been passing laws to protect the community and keep it dog/musher friendly.

 was looking for a good email to send a note the the governor-elect and let him know we are out here and want our walrus and round island watched over.  He is starting to get started on planning and i need the walrus to be part of that plan.

 the glaciers look so cool from way up there.

 didn't take too many pictures these past few days.  today i slept until nearly sunset.  i had set the time on the alarm, but not the alarm itself.  i do this on a regular basis.  probably some subliminal thing that really just means i want more sleep.  yesterdays sleep was interrupted by Blossom several times so that, when all was said and done, it was a late sleep.  hopefully i can get a nice hike in tomorrow.  get a few painful but decent hikes in before my activity is restricted.

 Delta is going to be flying to Sitka and Ketchikan....that should help lower costs a bit through those regions.  i still like those Alaksa Air pilots. there are some tough airports down there and they know how to work them.

 A mine in Alaska is facing criminal charges for violating the federal clear water act.  these corporations seem to always be trying to get around the protections that have been put in place.  they don't seem to realize that if they were trustworthy the need for the protections may not have been placed there to begin with but they aren't trust worthy. they will try and get away with whatever they can, especially in remote Alaska.  we will be left with the damage they cause for decades to come and they will leave and take our resources and money with them.  the situation was noted by a biologist doing a salmon count back in 2011.  the company is based out of Australia and was apparently mining platinum.

can't believe that Thanksgiving is next week.  if i had planned better i could have sent a large box to Texas and taken care of a large chunk of my families Christmas gifts...oh well.  tonight i'll work on the grand list of what i have to do.  thinking of doing a raffle for the leftover calendars to benefit WARIS.  probably be about 5 calendars.  next year we can perhaps make mugs and calendars to sell on our website.  my friend in NY is working on our page.

 some guy went a bit nuts the other day.  he was wielding a knife and at some point was doing so totally naked.  we have been unseasonably warm this year....but not that warm.  he was threatening people and i think a stand off occurred for a bit.  he was eventually caught.  people go nuts this time of year, more so when we don't have the snow cover.  the darkness + cold = cabin fever.  

 a few folks were banned on Kodiak island when the accidentally stoked their steam bath fire with fuel oil instead of water. place blew up.  they are lucky to be alive.

 check out this glacier...these things are massive!

 some amazing designs.

 ginormous!!  that is all that one can say about that.  happy i had the window seat for this flight.

 some crazy 26 year old girl is marrying Charles Manson...who is 80 years old.  her parents must be so proud.  what possesses these people to do this?  not sure how they perform a wedding for inmates on death row. one report did say that people on death row are not allowed conjugal visits...of course, i feel that people in prison in general should not be allowed conjugal visits.  sex is not a human right in my opinion and unless your hands are tied 24 hours/day/7 days a week you always have that option so that should be enough for anybody serving time.

 so at least she shouldn't be able to bear children for the aging cult leader/killer.

 sea stars are dying off by the millions on the west coast.  they are now thinking it's a virus that turns the beautiful stars into goo. from what i can tell it hasn't impacted our stars in Alaska.  hopefully they will be spared.

 this may be Columbia glacier,not sure...below.  i have heard that it is nearly split into 2 glacier faces now due to retreat.

 just some pretty cool Glacier sightings i thought.

 some days you just get lucky out there. i'm always hoping this is the view that my relatives and friends see on their visits up here.

 from my paper readings Murkowski is taking a hit with the moderates who helped get her in office.  it's not just me that has  seen her actions as annoying.  doubt it will prevent her from returning to the office in the next election but one never knows.  Alaskan's don't generally appreciate  feeling like they've been given the bait and switch routine.  her ad that came out against Begich will be remembered.  from what i've read this is generally seen as unacceptable...i also found her act of raising a chair over her head in victory as quite distasteful and disrespectful.

 the underwear thief of Kodiak has been captured.  everyone can unlock their panty drawers again.  such a relief!! some 18 year old....what an idiot!

 Rio is snoring again behind me.  i'm sure i will soon follow her.  ready for a nap for the night!

 thought these were cool. looking right over the terminus.

 no idea which glacier this is.

 i believe these are of Harriman Fjord. i've paddle that Fjord.  farthest to right you can see 3 different glaciers, Barry, Cascade and Cox coming into the bay.  in the middle there is Surprise and at the left end you can see Harriman Glacier. such an amazing clear day that was.  we had a wonderful paddle out there!!

 Home. Anchorage.

thankful for: A.  long hair and the ability to change the style multiple times in one shift! B.  hope C.  that not all news is bad.  good night.