this ornament made me think of my friend who passed earlier this year so i bought it for my tree.  it's a rhino.  she would really get agitated about the plight of the rhino's...with good reason.  they are poached for their horn and soon may only exist in zoo's...and then maybe nowhere after that.  it's so sad to watch these animals be senselessly slaughtered.  when i was debating starting the WARIS group i thought of her and knew she would support me.

 had a tough time getting to sleep last night and eventually i took a snip of the nyquil.  this meant that i slept in this morning.
above is from one morning the other day.  the sun at noon just gets up over those rooftops.  it never gets very high on the horizon this time of year.  sunrise isn't til nearly 10 am at this point.  sunset is near 3 pm.  it will keep getting less until solstice on December 21st.  i love that day.

 a few from shopping the other day.  above is from a local gift shop and below is my adventure into cabella's.

 Blossom on our walk the other day. took more of her today but those will have to wait until the next installment.

 headed back down towards point worzonof again today but this time i walked the coastal trails for a bit.

 the sunset wasn't nearly as spectacular as the ones the past few nights have been.  there is talk of snow but no snow yet. hoping i can make another back yard poop clean up in the morning before it gets covered in snow.

 did a little ME shopping today.  stopped at REI on the way home.  the animals requested me get some stuff for me from them....really...really, they did!!  they are so sweet to me!!  gotta love those dogs and cats, they spoil me and they always know exactly what i want!!

 hit the Sears mall for some popcorn for the neighbors.  just will need to deliver them tomorrow as i head out.  thinking i will work on some cookies tonight and tomorrow night.  add those to goodie bags for the monday walk crew.  not sure if i'll make the actual walk because of pre-op stuff but for sure i'll make coffee at Kaladi's.

 the lovely snowman from yesterdays post was standing proud as i drove past but by the time i walked up past him....he'd been tackled and was sadly laying on the ground.  dang people!!

 who would tackle a perfectly happy snowman!!

 then off to costco for a few supplies.  i had thought i'd get some pizza there but the lines for food were long...thankfully the check out lines weren't long at all.  the dogs bought me another gift there and so i think i'll pretty set for the season.

 i was cracking up as i walked past this native family, they had their tiny old grandma in the cart.  she was sitting inside the cart...so adorable.  wish i could have snuck a photo of her but it would have been rude.  believe me...it was cute!!

 a bit of cleaning today.  vacuuming.  not that i'm a neat freak but thought i should start with some level of clean before i'm laid up.  doubt i'll feel like vacuuming or changing the cat litter next week.

 i have for sure been up and down my stairs way more times than i should have so i decided to sit down and write the blog entry.

 guess the peds icu was overflowing yesterday.  that place is generally not all that busy but when it gets crazy...it's nuts.

 marijuana will soon be legal here in Alaska.  you could always have a wee bit for personal use but no selling or growing more than for your personal stash.  anyway, in preparation people have been getting charged with trying to jump the gun on the laws.   i guess some communities will try and make themselves marijuana free like many have done with alcohol in making themselves dry or damp communities.

 Bethel now has a fully functional community pool. that is quite a big deal for a smaller community.  hoping that will mean that more kids get taught to swim...always a good life skill.

 sam cotten is the acting fish and game commissioner...there was a little blip in the paper looking for applicants for the job.  i think it has to be posted. i suspect this guy will end up with the job eventually, but we shall see.  anyone want the job and love walrus and round island??

 a big budget thriller movie is supposed to be filmed up here next year.."Hunter Killer" not sure it's one i'll want to watch.  sometimes the names change as in that whale movie that was filmed up here with a different name.  actually, it does sound good...it doesn't sound like a chop em up bloody flick.  it's based on a novel, "Firing Point" by George Wallace and Don Keith.  nuclear submarine, Russians, no idea who will be in the flick. always fun though.   love seeing real Alaska in movies and sometimes they use locals as extra's.

 Angelina Jolie has chicken pox and the NHL players are getting mumps.  thought these were diseases of the past.

 my friends came over as they do each year and we decked  out the tree!! always fun!!

 then Maddie curled up with the dogs.

 so sweet

 the stockings are hung by the chimney with care...

 the place looks all festive.

 it looks pretty in this section of the house.  still lots of cleaning and baking to do. the baking will make the place feel even more festive.

 Christmas tree always just makes the place a happy place.

 these are from today...see, not as dramatic of a sunset.

 Blossom joined me, Rio stayed home.

 Blossom was happy to be out there.  even got some tennis ball chasing time in.  Rio stayed home and is snoring as i write.

 seems like every night i cruise around and see what lights are out there.

 as it turns out all of these were right in my neighborhood. such festive neighbors i have. probably all the kids that are here...

 another picture of my new rhino ornament.

thankful for
a.  a nummy steak sent to me by my brother and his wife.  they have me so they sent me steaks.  nice.  b.  a clean cat litter box.
c.  Christmas lights...so pretty...my Christmas tree.