Happy Halloween....more from Barrow

 My Halloween day began in the wee hours.  Rio got the colitis again and with her unstable walking that meant a few trips up and down and outside....finally i just fell asleep with her on the couch.  Blossom also woke me a few times.  guard dog duty stuff i think. she takes her job very seriously.

 Blossom on guard.  actually in this she is watching for trick or treaters...she gets to meet them all at the door.  i put a baby gate in so that the dogs and children only meet if the kids want to say hello...not too many kids this year.  just under 20 i think.  my sister in California beat me.  we were texting as we were greeting kids.  i had full crunch bars that i was handing out . great to see their eyes light up.

 when i was a little kid i don't recall them making small candies...just the full bars.  people would hand out suckers and stuff so you didn't always get big bars but now it's really unlikely.  things were changing.  there were several scares of glass or blades being put in candy that was handed out.  hospitals started to offer xray services to check out candy...my mom must have gotten nervous...at some point i seem to recall her just giving us cash and sending us to buy our own candy one year rather than risk us getting hurt eating candy with blades in it.  later...all this trunk or treat stuff started to happen.

 VM surprised us and stripped down to do the whole arctic plunge thing...none of us opted to join her.  i was walking down the beach a bit. i actually made the guide a bit nervous.  polar bears can move fast.  we were half jokingly told that we should put our thumbs up and if you could see the polar bear around your thumb you were too close.

 at least this time of year a polar bear would stand out a bit.  they can be there anytime of year i guess.  it's their territory.

 just took Rio outside again.  it's gonna be a long night. have a vet appointment for both dogs on Monday.  will have to miss coffee to get them there. i think it's more rio's back legs.  chatted with my CA vet friend CR.  always very helpful.  her heart sounds good so far with checks.  she suggested video so i will try to get some of that tomorrow when it's lighter out.

 the plus side to taking Rio out at these late hours is that the Aurora are currently out and pretty bright i must say.  if i wouldn't come home to bloody diarrhea all over the floor i may run out some place darker and watch them more...the yard is not bad though for now...took Blossom for a walk earlier and that return home was a bit unpleasant.  above is our tour van...it was a bouncy ride.  he deflated his tires to take us out there  and then those salmon were loose and sliding all over the place.

 this big trash bin was out there...a bit of a polar bear lunch to keep the bears out of town.  no bears sighted but the crap in that bin was beyond disgusting.  i'm sure a dream meal for polar bears and any other critters that would dig old dead body parts. ick!  MW was very brave to look inside closely.

 we only really saw this one snowy owl.  we walked in closer but pictures were tough as it was misty and the lens kept getting all globbed up.

 cool to see at least the one though

 Libs out at the photo site... a must be shot for Barrow.

 whale hunting boats.

 all of us...i'm gonna go check on the lights and the dog.  :-)  i'm back...they have gotten less bright.  Rio is on the couch for the moment.  i may be joining her down stairs just to make life easier...not more comfortable but easier.

 Blossom and i did the gasline-powerline-tank trail today.  good to get a bum workout in with a few hills at least.  that is the area that a large grizz was spotted several weeks back and i heard there was a moose kill cached so that explains the grizzly's presence.  i had my spray and made noise.  didn't see any tracks or scat in the snow, no new signs posted of sightings so it was fine.  life with bears.

 after cleaning and airing out the house i got to cooking.  nothing like baking pumpkin bread and homemade turkey noodle soup to make the air in the house smell better.  had my fans going and opened the back door (never mind that it was 20-30 F outside).  Thankfully Rio had gone in an easy to clean area...thank you Rio!!

 the snow looked pretty out there.  i was thinking of making a colorful snowman out there but the temps had dipped down and the snow was now more fluffy and not good for snowman building.  oh well.

 hadn't gotten all my minimum 10,000 steps in for the day so while i waited for trick or treaters i alternated texting friends with jump roping and running in place with small weights.

 new windows on old buildings.

 this was taken under the flipped over boat.  they bring these inside and put seal skins on them and then they make them seaworthy that way.

 ADN had a little contest.."my Alaska life in six words".  there were some pretty fun entries.  i think my favorite was "not fit to live anywhere else" i often feel like this.  "dead motor, Big waves. I survived" could have been me in Bristol Bay but the motor held and we lived.  so "motor held, Big waves, I survived" for me i guess on that one

 "snow, ice, aurora. Alaska winter grand" that is mine...not submitted though.  or perhaps, "needed a change, came to Alaska".  "got hired, moved to Ketchikan, Stayed"  these are fun.

 while many out there are not attending churches and are skeptical if a God exists...they seem pretty convinced that there are ghosts out there.  can't say i've ever experienced any ghost sightings.  hospital personnel do occasionally call for clergy to come bless a room or even clear a room.  lots of folks die in hospitals so it's not unreasonable to assume that some of those spirits may linger.

 i do believe there is an entity inside of us all which one would refer to as the soul or spirit of someone. i have at times looked into the dull eyes of someone and even spoke to the other nurses about the patient, "not being in there".  later you look again and that life force has returned.  i always tell folks to speak as if their family member is aware and able to hear them.  what would you want to hear as you are dying?

 part of our job as nurses  often is to help families and friends as their loved one from dies.  i've been there for many deaths.  it's sad how poorly prepared people are for this part of life.  nobody wants to speak of death and dying so it makes it so much for difficult for people when their loved ones do pass.  my most sincere letters of gratitude from families have often come from those who have lost loved ones.  you really can make a huge impact on people.  mostly people leave and as they say, they will always remember your kindness but rarely will you actually hear from them.

 the best deaths i've seen have been those where the family/friends gather and they recount stories and you hear laughter and all other emotions as well.  it just seems that it's very helpful.  i recall one gentleman in his 90's i came in that night and we started to talk.  i'd taken care of his wife as she had passed and he told me he was ready to be with her but his dang heart just wouldn't stop beating.  we talked about what he wanted for his end of life cares.  ended up talking to his sons and including them.  they all came and stayed with him...he passed quietly the next day.

 my friends who joined me in Barrow in front of our hotel there.

 dog ready to hit the trails.

 our last day we cruised around and hit the beach for a bit...the ice made for some fun photo ops.

 that is me below.  libs above and below me

 we were all just having fun out there.  we were also hoping our flights would be able to get out.  you never know.  a friend at work just had their plane divert from Barrow to Prudhoe Bay after the bathroom flooded.  looked like a mess.

 Val

 MW...powerlifting ice chunks!!

 a bit of a stormy day out there.

 i do have bills to pay online tonight and then i'll see how sleep goes.  Rio is currently sleeping on the couch.  i've got two cats on the dog bed behind me and Blossom is on the stairs.

 art in the sand...always a good thing to do.

 polar bear hide stretched out and in someones front yard.  that place was wild.

 the dogs probably eat better than mine.  dead stuff all the time.  dog food is spendy so i'm sure they eat lots of fish and other meat scraps. some folks probably barge in loads of their favorite dog food if they have house pets.

 decorations at a house...

grateful for: A.  whatever time i have with my furs.  they are great critters...i want them to live long and healthy lives.  B.  the fun of Halloween.  it's a relaxed holiday to just dress up, eat candy and have fun.  C.  being able to step out back and watch aurora's....what a lovely gift