so sometimes i lie...

 i mean we all do sometimes.  there is only so much my patients really need to know about me.  most of the time i could care less who knows what about me...i mean look at this blog, is there anything sacred.  no.  however, there are some scary characters that come into work sometimes and i'd just rather allow them to gather the wrong facts about me.  above is tonights sunset.  so these are shots from a walk out at Prospect Heights and from todays short walk out at Oceanview Bluff Park.

 the creepy guy was asking questions about my personal life.  he doesn't need to know that Blossom and Rio are not children, but are dogs.  "yes, i have two children" "both girls"....you get the idea.  then deflection is your best tactic.  change the subject.  ask them about them.  people love to talk about themselves.  most of the time it can be really interesting...of course having the creeper you are paid to be nice to go on about how much he just loves children...makes him creepier.  i know i shouldn't judge. i mean the guy may really just love kids and not in any bad way....but my creep factor was already buzzing.

 Blossom looks so cute covered in snow

 had to stop by the vets today.  the vet had wanted me to try out this harness thing to put on Rio and see if it could help her get around better.  more support.  i have it and i will have to sit down when my brain is less blitzed and try and get the measurements right.  hopefully it will fit her.

 i sat down and made some phone calls...it wasn't very successful though.  mostly a waste of time really.  have wanted to get short term disability coverage....you just never know.  i called and they asked if i had had knee surgery in the past year.  if you have gone through the effort to keep yourself healthy that is a big ding.  i must wait a year before i can try to get this coverage.  it was pretty spendy too.  annoying.  the whole insurance industry is a scam it seems.  they collect so much money from us all and are overly selective and stingy with the money once they have it.

 loved the light this day.

 then i tried to contact the pet insurance. i already have the pet insurance privately that is offered through my work.  probably could get a better deal going through work.  just wanted to find out how easy it would be to work that out.  they hadn't heard of my particular hospital and i wasn't sure exactly which other name it would be under. that guy was at least nice and hopefully he will look into it and get back to me as stated.

 woke fairly early but i suspect i'll be crashing pretty soon.  sleepy...

 one night in the ICU, one PCU and one in the ER.  not a bad stretch.

 strange conversation in the PCU in the wee hours.  there is a relatively new nurse there who signed up for a 2 year contract.  she is not really digging her stay in AK i think.  this is not an easy place for some people.  it seems that either you love it or you want to leave it.  some love it but just can't take it for more than a vacation.  those who seem to be happy and successful here i find are independent and quirky.  this is especially true in the bush of AK.

 she's been Californicated.  that is where she wants to be.  she doesn't like our city water and feels it's toxic.  i haven't gotten sick and i think it's pretty decent water myself.  most of it comes from Eklutna from what i read.  she won't drink any of it and instead is buying little bottles of water and that is her drinking water.  she says it's cheaper to buy the smaller bottles.

 of course, she isn't recycling these...she claimed we had no place to recycle.  does this chick own a computer or pad of any sort. it's a pretty easy search to discover that yes, you can recycle your plastic bottles here.

 i told her that she should just get her water from the pipe and explained where that was and that many swear by that water and it is really good.  free flowing all year round.  then she said she had no bottle to put it in and doubted she was going to complete her contract so she didn't want to waste any money.  i remembered i had a few old big water bottles from road trips in the car...so i brought them in and encouraged her to stop buying these little bottles and instead use these larger bottles to fill up at the pipe

 i think i annoyed her a bit at first but she seemed to chill...hopefully she heads to the pipe.

 was supposed to pick up Rios harness Tuesday but Rio decided she wanted to walk and i had nothing bribe worthy to give her. so we walked in the bog.  it wasn't a fast paced walk but she did okay.  she even got to get a good whiff of some moose.  a mama and baby were in the bog that day.

 winter and alcohol are a bad combination.  it kills people.  it appears that a 28 year old who had been drinking was found dead on a trail near Glennallen.  the temperatures in Anchorage today were pretty low.  the ice is going to get a good start.  will be time for some kicksledding soon.  the temp was -2F as i drove home from work this morning and it had come up to 10F as i was returning from watching the sunset.

 the ice bubbles are forming.

 i'm always a fan of bubbles.

 not sure if the bear deaths happened on the explore webcams but that seems like a good possibility. one was an adult male and the other death was a young spring cub.  they don't believe they are related but sad for those who are so in love with the web cams.  these cams do force people to see the reality of life in the wild.  there was at least one dead walrus on the beach when i was watching.  probably a long way to travel and a weak animal may not survive. there are also orca's out there.  it was difficult to watch the walrus corpse being sloshed about by the water.

 i often feel that many don't accept death at all so perhaps these web cams teach all of us a good lesson.  we can't control nature.  cute bear cubs perish.  our moose are often born as twins and more often than not only one of those survives.  nature can be pretty brutal.  i think there was also a cam this summer with baby osprey's? an eagle i think came in and ate the babies...right on the cam.  people had really grown attached to those little babies.  it is sad,  actually saw something come across fb feed that said they did find a cause of death for the cub. natural causes, some sort of virus i think.

 this area was still pretty open.  i guess there was a way to find your way past this and out to the beach. it's shallow, but i still wasn't keen on getting my feet wet in such cold temperatures, not a good idea.  it is a favorite winter place to come for me.

 already several avalanches this season out hatchers pass.  don't think any of them were very large as there isn't all that much snow up there..but just a good reminder to be aware.  it's that time of year...for sure don't be out there drinking!!

 a co-workers mom works for a bit oil company.  says they are always looking to donate money to stuff and her mom likes walrus!!  wouldn't mind convincing big oil to do something good in the arctic.  will keep you posted.

 still have calendars that i need to find homes for...Christmas is coming...if you have any Walrus loving friends out there!!  :-)

 this is always a great sledding hill  when the snow fills in.  hopefully, we get some good snow and can make some sledding plans this winter!!  we've had some fun sledding outings!!

 not near enough yet

 popped over to Potters to check on the ice there.  didn't see any skate marks yet. i let others be the brave ones.

 was driving around kind of looking for a different spot to see sunset and kind of thinking the sunset wasn't going to be all that impressive...it's winter though so most sunsets are impressive.  we are at about 4:40 for sunsets now. the sky suddenly was looking pinker than pink.  so i headed back over to Oceanview Bluff Park and watched what was left.  loved the bright yellows that came through.

 passed another park in that area Johns Park i think it was, but not sure if it has any views or is just trails to walk. i will check it out...always willing to discover new places to roam in town here.

 Veterans Day was the other day.  i posted a pic of my Dad in his Navy uniform.  he never fought in any wars but he did his time.  i have a large family and on these days i often feel sad that none of us have served, i have to go back to my Father to find anyone who served.  i have over 20 nieces and nephews and none of them have served...will any of their kids serve?  i wouldn't want to see my relatives over in the thick of war mind you...just you sometimes have that guilt of knowing that you are sitting back and allowing other families to put their kids lives at risk while you just enjoy the freedoms that come from their losses.

 Veterans Day and Memorial Day are always good reminders of what others sacrifice so that you may live in peace.  Many thanks to those who sign up and take those risks and sacrifice for the greater good.  war is horrible and i always wish that we could figure out how to all get along on this planet and not have to resort to wars and terror.  it doesn't seem likely though.

 there were multiple attacks in and around Paris today.  between 100-200 people have died.  the attacks occurred at several locations nearly simultaneously.  news is still coming out.  have no idea how we will ever be able to root out all the terrorists scattered around the globe.  it's always tough, you have migrants and refugees trying to get out of the middle east at alarming rates and i can't blame them for that.  it does also mean that some of those people will really end up being terrorists in the nations that take them in.  not much is known yet...but chances are the attackers were radical muslims...perhaps that is a racist assumption...i don't see myself as racist.  i see myself as a realist.  the vast majority of these terror attacks are done by muslim radicals.  we are getting more and more radicalized Christians in this country so those odds may change over time.  certainly enough angry people...i mean crazy angry.  irrationally angry.  hate is just never a good emotion to allow yourself to wallow in.  you need to find a way out of hate or it will swallow you whole and you will be forever lost for any chance of other emotions such as love, hope or kindness.

 ReDoubt...our closest active volcano.  looks beautiful over there in the pink.

 i am always hopeful that kindness, hope and love will eventually win over the hearts of the haters, but hate is extremely powerful emotion and is not easily lost once it takes a hold of people.

 often i wonder how death varies between the haters and those who find a way to live a more positive and hopeful existence.  i often think i can tell when someone has lived a hate filled life by the pain in their death.  the terror of what the hate may mean for their future existence in the great beyond...the haters end up alone i guess.  people eventually find a way to avoid haters unless they are martyrs or perhaps angels who never give up on anyone.  i don't think i'm a martyr or an angel.  i'm just me.

 love these crazy pinks!!

 still no word on the haters who killed the walrus a bit back.  wrote to fish and game contacts but they hadn't heard anything that wasn't on the news.  supposedly they knew who did it, but nothing since then.  i really hope they get these jerks.  poor walrus.  still breaks my heart to think of it.

 several pictures from Paris on the internet. i liked this one that blended the peace sign.  thinking of those in France now, mourning, scared, still in a state of emergency.

grateful for: A.  those who serve in our nation and in those of our allies who protect us all and protect the world from tyrants and terrorists as best as they can.  it's not easy and i'm sure at times it must be terrifying. my thanks for their being brave, for their hope and resilience in the face of evil.  so many return from horrible war situations forever changed.  may they be blessed, may i find it in my heart to be kind and understanding and patient especially with those who  seem to have been lost after their experiences in wars.  who struggle with drugs, alcohol, homelessness and mental illness.  B. thankful for pink skies and ice...winter sunsets are amazing.  C.  the safety i have at this moment as i see Paris reeling from this latest attack.  in the old scriptures God would appear and occasionally just take people out...i wouldn't mind if God would step in and kick some radical butt.  good night...