"Anybody trying to find Jesus?"...

 the rest of the message on NextDoor....haha.  "after the wind storm I found a baby Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger, on the corner of Robin and James".  when i saw this message i just started cracking up. it's hilarious.  people are so clever!  there are still many items lost and found on the message boards after our wind last week.

 for those of you who thought i would have something snarky to say about religion based on the lead in....shame on you, haha..or gotcha i guess. i don't hate religions just those who use them for their own benefit, who sham people out of their savings or scare them into living a life that doesn't bring them happiness but instead coats them in guilt. hate when people do things in the name of God that no just and decent God would ever agree too. also can't stand how often religion and politics are muddled.  money, power, control...all get corrupted by these.

 drove around a wee bit, shopped a few places for fun at this point...the puppies still would like to find me a great gift so i really need to shop around so i can give them ideas on how best to spend their allowances.  hehe.  Mama does need some new IceBugs!!  she also needs a new kitchen remodel...hmm.  the puppies for sure do not make enough on their security details at home to pay for that!!

 there were some lovely and festive decorations scattered around the hospital in all the various units.

 i was scattered around a bit as well.  i worked PICU, RCU and then PCU.  worked with this one sweet girl but we had each other in tears a bit...she just lost her dog and her Grandma in the past few weeks so we were talking about dogs and losses.  then Val came up in the conversation.  she was saying how often in her first year as a nurse she had the dark cloud over her and her patients seemed to always be on the verge of crashing so she became well acquainted with Val.  so more tears flowed remembering how great Val was with those young nurses....no surprise...in a job that often eats it's young, Val was always supportive and positive with those young nurses. 

 i asked her if she'd gone to the memorial and if so which one.  she had gone to the one that i spoke at so i said, so you know, i spoke right?  then she really started to tear up because she hadn't connected that yet. she said she had really loved my talk and especially the poem.  so sweet.  love my co-workers overall...there are the rare nurses that are difficult but overall...great folks!  i have been very blessed to have been able to work with such amazing people

 above is in Peds.  every unit has stockings up for all. 

 i wandered around on my breaks trying to get entries for the WARIS drawing for my annual calendars.  you can enter on line at our website if you are interested.  Walrus Advocates of Round Island Sanctuary...just look it up, our web page should show up.  anyway.  for a minimum $20 donation you get entered and a sticker.  a few just wanted to buy the calendar outright so i may have to do another small order to accommodate those folks.

 these are from Byers Lake.  today was just the dog park...so lazy. 

 i think as i get older i just either need more sleep or take more sleep.  in past winters i have woken at noon, walked and then came home and napped before work again...now i tend to sleep straight to 2:30.  whatever i need really.  it just gets dark early so that cuts into the dog walk.  i did buy some little lights for their collars so i can at least see them as they run through the woods now.

 did comment today on a post..the old Happy Holidays Vs Merry Christmas thing.  I'm amazed that people really find themselves offended by this.  you must have a life with few real troubles if you can waste your energy on this.  of course, then i heard that old Andy Williams version of the song Happy Holidays.  so i have been singing that all day.  people have said Happy Holidays for decades...it is not a smear on Christianity. 

 there I'm listening to it right now.  i laughed because on the post the photo was this person with Santa Claus.  maybe if the accompanying photo was at a manger scene.

 Christianity isn't going anywhere in the United States...well, I'd argue that there is an element that is headed for a more severe form of Christianity...I'd say a radicalized form of Christianity...

 Christmas originally began as a way to usurp the Pagan festivities.  i got no issues with the inclusive "happy holidays" over "Merry Christmas" at shops.  as long as the cashier is being nice.  i would also not be offended if as i left a store someone said, "happy Hanukkah" to me.  our society is way to sensitive and quick to offense. 

 speaking of offensive..apparently an edict came down from DC that henceforth documents produced by the CDC will not include newly banned words. radical Christians doing no doubt...what the the offensive words?  fetus, transgender, diversity, vulnerable, entitlement, science based and evidence based.  nobody should be okay with our government censuring words or books or music...or news for that matter.  we should not want a state run news...free press, freedom of speech.  these are vital to our way of life.

 this war on words, press and science is horrible for our nation.

 i saw that France was recruiting our scientists to come over there and continue to work towards positive changes in the world.  that is scary.  amazing how quickly damage is being done in our nation. brain drain from our nation is not great...of course, our education system is under attack.  the brains we have we are not cultivating to the fullest at great detriment to our nation.  this has been going on for years.  we can't expect to maintain our status year after year on a global sense if we don't cultivate our young minds.

 we also can't maintain our status on a global sense if we drive away the science and tech minded.   this also includes immigration policies that bring in great minds. 

 we will not have enough MD's and nurses to care for our aging population.  a good percentage of our MD's come from Visa/education programs where after they are educated they promise to work in our rural communities. 

 we don't just need well educated immigrants we need those immigrants that enter with few skills...many work several jobs to give their families a chance of a better life.  so many feel they steal jobs from Americans, but in truth they really are a modern form of indentured servants.  they are willing to work for less at jobs others do not wish to do.  they often have stronger work ethics than the average American worker.  hunger does that to people. it would benefit our nation to foster these folks and build them up...incentives.

 driving past Beans cafe tonight, that is a place they feed the homeless.  there are encampments all around there.  tents set up.  pretty sad to think of how large the homeless population is in our nation.  i really don't know what the answers are. we have a crisis of drug addiction and mental health...that seems to be the bulk of the homeless population.  we have failed as a society in these groups.  we have also failed the children...

 the program to bring funds for ill kids, CHIP....it needs to be continued.  this tax bill they are pushing through is a mess.  pushes up the deficit.... a lot.  fear they will screw folks like me out of our social security. i don't even bother looking into retirement. i have little hope that either party will not screw me and all of us out of every dime they can.  i have worked decades and put money in...i have little hope to get any of it back. that is not an entitlement.  of course, i tend to feel that we are all entitled to some basic healthcare and a decent education.  i don't see this as something the government owes me and others, i see it as myself being willing to see tax dollars go to these things for the betterment of society, to make our nation stronger, healthier, more able to compete in the world.

 last week over 40 inches of snow fell on the mountains around Valdez.  that was overnight.  an avalanche closed Thompson pass.  the only road in/out of Valdez.

 in the meantime, we have little snow left and a lot of ice.  cleats are in order.  the forecast keeps calling for snow and then when you check back it has changed. 

 snow really just brightens up the place. when we are at our darkest days it's nice to have the snow to brighten it all up.  it was pretty fun to watch all the dogs with lights running around the dog park this afternoon.  really should get a light video one of these days. 

 Ivy makes herself comfortable on the table at Byers Lake.

 great views of the great mountain, Denali

 another beautiful sunset.  I'm off work until Thursday i think..I'll have to double check that.  i have Christmas off this year, work New Years.

 some pics LM took of me with Ivy Rose...nice to have real pics on occasion.

 selfies with the puppies can be a bit difficult

 sunset on the window of the cabin

 we had a nice fire going and ate s'mores. 

 so the local paper is back to being called the Anchorage Daily News.  i am happy with that change, i always thought the Alaska dispatch news was silly title.  my paper stopped for a bit but seems to have returned. i think the costs have gone up..we will see what they do.

 Anchorage seems to have had a lot of murders this year.  we matched our high murder rate from 2016...seems most murders stem from drugs, alcohol and love...at least that has been my opinion for years.  avoid those things and you should be good.

 movies i want to see, "lady bird", "wonder", "LBJ" and what was that Meryl Streep one about the newspaper?  that one looked good too.

 about caught up on my paper reading.  requires reading glasses anymore.  always a bummer.  i now believe i have several reading glasses, but it seems like when you want to read you have to hunt them down.  i have always seen myself as an organized mess...right now i just feel like a mess.

 i really need to start now with the Spring cleaning process.  haha.

 gotta start thinking cabins now...summer will approach fast.  best to be ready with some fun stuff to do

 me with the boy

 libs enjoys the views

 as did the puppies. nothing like being totally off the grid.  peaceful

 a fire is always peaceful as well.  i better crash for the night. 

thankful for: A.  strong tech that kept that old man from harming any of us as we just tried to change his attends...spitting, hitting and kicking....aging is not for the young  B. that i got my scenarios all done on my ACLS...hope we don't have to do all that quarterly...still trying to figure out what the new deal is  C.  puppies with lights...so cute and fun to watch!

Chinook Blues....

 woke to pretty serious blowing winds.  cancelled Monday walk.  did enjoy the sunrise over the mountains from my lazy state in bed.  not a bad view i think.

 i believe i promptly fell asleep after this.

 you can see the shine of ice which is my road.  when i did get out on the roads they really were not all that bad.  the side roads are always worse though.  my blizzacks seem to be taking care of me so far.

 eventually, i roused from bed and took the pups to the dog park.  it's just too easy for me to go there.

 the rest of the pics are from various hikes and such in September. liked the little bits of red...this was at the dog park as well.

 excited for my massage again tomorrow.  after work my muscles up and down the arm where the pups took me for a ride by my shoulder are still a bit worked up.  range of motion much improved as is pain...but there are still certain angles and such that are tweaked. I'm sure there were some strained muscles/ligaments.

 with all this ice around town i have not been overly enthusiastic to work the leashes outside.  we have done leash training individually in several shops which seems to go pretty well.  Ivy Rose does amazingly. Tusker...well, he still needs some work.  he just is always focused on everything but me...whereas Ivy Rose is all about me.  tonight i was all over Cabella's with Ivy and i could do whatever without much concern for her...Tusker tried to leap on the first few mannequins that we saw. took a bit longer to get him to settle in to walking around the store.

 for as crazy as Ivy can be at times, she is the mellowest dog in her class, which was just a short class and is over now.  her calmness has been very helpful to other dogs in class which act out. she would not be like this had i not done all the training with her.  it is amazing how much of a difference you make in your dog with training.  Blossom was the first dog i had done actual classes with.  i can't tell you what a source of pride and accomplishment to have well behaved dogs. i know we are still learning but every time i put these two in a hold up/stay while people bike/walk/ski past us...i have a little swelling of pride.  dogs are a joy to have when they are behaved.

 we aren't at Blossoms level yet...but that took time as well. you also just have to get them the exercise they need to blow off extra energy. most of the issues people have with dogs are because they fail to exercise them. training is a big drain on the pups. 

 I'm guessing from all I've read it's the same with kids.  drain the energy makes life much more pleasant...and I'm sure well behaved kids is also a source of pride.  as in all in life.  you can't expect perfection all the time and I've always been happy with the steps that show improvement.  Ivy went a few days this week without jumping at all and her jumping does seem to have decreased a great deal.

 i can tell there are times she really, really wants to jump and then i can see her opt to not do it...i give her abundant praise when that happens.

 some of these are from a drive to Seward...it was so beautiful out that day. 

 i also took the time to get out in the yard and pick up dog poop. was able to collect some...the more i can keep up the better the real spring will be.

 Tusker is dreaming away behind me.

 as i was perusing the yahoo headlines they had one little article from a Utah paper about bishops interviews.  reminded me of one strange interview at a student ward in Utah when i went to Utah State University.  in order to go to the temple for baptisms for the dead you have to have some interviews.  I'd had them a few times before...but this one in Utah made me very uncomfortable.  i believe the guy went way off script.  I've never been a Bishop obviously but he was asking very specific questions about my sexuality...i was a virgin and very innocent really.  these were questions involving less than usual sexual practices...i will leave it at that..but pretty much the stuff that comes to your mind...yes, the guy asked about it.  i was very uncomfortable and embarrassed to even hear these kind of questions. 

 anyway...lovely memory and that was the last time i volunteered for that task.

 the wind was really howling this morning.  it woke me up actually. 

 i peeked out and saw the door open on the little free library. so i had to cleat up and head out there to batten down the hatches and save the trash can. 

 after trash pick up trashcans went flying all over the place.  i cleated up again to collect my trashcan.  had to giggle tonight as on my nextdoor feeds there were folks looking for lost trashcans all over the east side of Anchorage...and someone had lost the turtle topper to their turtle shaped sand box. 

 saw a blip of an interview of a poor man from Alabama.  he was holding a sign...a picture of his daughter i think too.  it was so sad, his daughter had committed suicide as a young woman.  she was gay.  it sounded like he had said some unkind things to her that he clearly regrets and now he wanted to put in his two cents about Roy Moore. 

 reminded me of a patient i had once.  he had not come to this realization yet but he seemed to not understand why his daughter would not contact him.  in all ways he spoke of how proud he was of her, but then said she had brought home her female partner and he told me that he was a Christian and he let her know that her being gay was an abomination and was a perversion.  of course, i said nothing to him as i was his nurse...i was not in a position to express my opinion. i just thought it was sad.  that he could say the things he said to his daughter. 

 i still feel being Christian really means being accepting and kind to all.  i fail all the time, i pray as i drive to work that i will be patient and not judge patients from various walks of life....it can be tough though when you are dealing with drug addicts and psych patients and alcoholics...they can really wear you down.  it does always seem clear to me that God wanted us all to not judge as individuals. yes, as a society we need to set up laws that protect us from those that steal and murder, and rape...any number of things. 

 as individuals we should allow people to live their lives...if those lives are not harming others, so be it.  if you believe that God will judge these folks harshly that live lives different than you believe they should...well, you must just let it go and leave that in the hands of God.  if this is your daughter or your son or your friend or family...you give love and acceptance. it's not complicated.  the laws of the land should strive for fairness and kindness.

 every so often i see clips from this one local judge.  can't recall where he is, but he is super nice.  he looks at each case and the circumstances surrounding the case in front of him and rules with kindness and understanding.  it's really amazing.

 colors were just so amazing this day i drove.

 then there were these beautiful swans...i did post the swan pics already

 it always feels like I'm wasting the summer away, not getting out and doing anything, but then i look back the the pictures and i realize that i did get out and do things...even if there were some lazy days between.

 i nearly always walk so that gets me out.  always something to see out there.  well maybe not all that much today...but still it was a beautiful sunrise. 

 God gifted us with this beautiful earth so we could fill and refill our souls each and every day. 

 i am ready for some fresh snow though.  i haven't been sledding yet....that is always fun!!

 hey handsome. 

 the rest are from a few nights out at Byers Lake public use cabin. 

 of course, views of the big mountain.

 LM is talking about hitting Wonder Lake. i haven't been out there yet...so I'm game.  it would be a no dog trek though.

 that is usually why i don't get to some stuff.  the no dog thing

 i tend to enjoy hanging out with the canine family members. 

 views from the pit

 libs cooking breakfast i think.

 sunset

 nice setting and relaxing as always...it's almost time to start planning summers adventures. 

 cabins, Iceland perhaps...just gotta do it i guess.  friends want to go to Kaktovik in the fall and see polar bears.  those are both kind of expensive treks...

thankful for:  A.  adventures, new and old  B. freedom to come and go, sleep in  C.  snow...