sunrise, sunset....

 above is sunset out at Potters Marsh and below is sunrise from my bedroom window.  love these days of winter where the two are so close together and they last forever.  the color in the clouds was so awesome today!!

 didn't get to sleep until late.  ended up getting sucked into watching the old classic, "Breakfast at Tiffany's".  i'd never actually seen it before and since it's a classic i decided i'd take a look.  other than mickey rooney's totally racist role as a china man i enjoyed it.  that was terrible...but i do have to remember the time the thing was made.  haha.

 these are still from this morning.

 so i was a bit slow getting my day rolling.  just felt so great snuggled under those covers.  not much accomplished today except dishes and laundry but then some days i don't even get that done so not bad at all.

 headed out to Oceanview Bluff Park off of Reef in South Anchorage to walk Blossom.  thankfully, i wore my cleats.  it was glass ice.  i walked very slowly and avoided falling down out there.  didn't go out as far as i may have liked to have but it was fine.  Blossom had a good time.  the "trail" wasn't looking any better.  we really could use a wee bit of snow.

 after our walk there we headed to Potters Marsh.  lots of people were out there ice skating so i joined in for a bit.  had my cleats on and the kicksled is in the car so i'm ready to go whenever.  it's a good skating season at this time...enjoy it how it comes to you

 lots of Blossom pictures...she's pretty cute though and adds nicely to the scenery.

 supposed to be decent Northern lights tonight.  it's looking to be clouding a bit here.  i'll check in a few times, but i see myself turning in early tonight and watching a movie again.

 did enjoy the pretty day though out there.

 Parnell has conceded the race to Walker.  we shall see if this helps us out at WARIS or makes no difference...will he make any changes in fish and game?  not sure....he will be hearing from me though.

 liked the light coming off of the ice.

 the wind started to blow while i was out there...it can get super cold when that happens. we were fine, but i didn't want to stay too long. happy we left and hit Potters for the sunset and kicksledding.

 made for a nice albeit short day.

 there were a few patchy bits where the ice was thin out at the coastal area.  heard some cracking just once out on potters...again i stayed where everyone was already skating.  people were all over out there though.  love that people up here just go with the flow...no snow...so go ice skating!

 not sure where i'll go tomorrow.  see what the weather looks like and how quickly i get out of those warm covers.

 saw that that very tall basketball player from China is getting involved in trying to stop the poaching of elephants in Africa.  very cool of him and i really hope he is able to speak some sense that gets heard.  the elephants will soon no longer live wild due to this horrible killing for only ivory.

 there is talk of legalizing the sale of rhino horns .the thinking is that they could harvest a kilogram of each rhino's horn without harm to the rhino and sell it.  979 rhino's have been poached this year, 2013 saw over 1000.  these are not animals that breed often or have litters...they take several years to mature enough to breed.  these loses just can't be sustained. the rhino horns sell at a much higher price than gold even.  china being the largest buyer and with more chinese becoming wealthy demand is rising.  it always seems to come back to China and other countries in Asia...killing animals.  clearly education is needed to change the thinking about wildlife in these countries if we are ever to save these species.

 the rhino's that do live need to be guarded and watched over.  some days it's hard not to just be disgusted by the humans of this earth.  they really suck.

 the ice was glass...loved Blossoms reflection.

 Rio stayed home today...not way i'd take her out on that ice.  she would be sore tonight if not injured.

 not sure what Blossom thought of her reflection...she really didn't seem to notice much...where is the tennis ball.  that is her number one priority

 we enjoyed the views as we headed back up the sledding hill...as you see there is no snow to sled on right now . boo hoo.

 not sure why ADN even publishes an aurora forecast...not sure i've ever seen it say anything but "quiet"...the aurora are expected to be vibrant in cloudless areas and areas with little light pollution....but the paper still says "quiet".

 the red lights reflected are not good photography wise, but i thought it made the sun look like a spaceship landing....so kinda cool.

 a last look back at the refuge from ocean bluff.

 then on to Potters. the ice was a bit more bumpy than last time i was out.  i suspect that is due to some melt that must have occurred during our little warm spell last week.

 still quite skatable.

 just always so pretty out there.  took me years to finally head out there and enjoy it...always looked cool when i drove by and saw people out there.

 it's a good time to explore a bit as the roads are clear. the temperatures are for sure lower tonight though.

 Blossom on the ice

 sunset reflects back from the icy surface.

 skate marks

 then i hopped over and just enjoyed the sunset

 fluffy pink clouds.

 these were especially stunning.

 had put a roast in the crock pot.  made some home made potatoes and gravy...i'm full and sleepy now.  gravy does that.

 must have counted at least 20 folks out there skating as i was driving away.

 a few with the bigger camera.

 ice bubbles...can't not stop and take a few shots of those.

 this one was especially cool...like one of those theatrical masks!!

 always a stunner....sunset on the water/ice.  no big chunks yet.

 dropping, dropping, dropping...

 what movie to watch...that is the questions.  something old, something new, something quirky or something blue?  hmm...

good night.  grateful for....1.  not falling and breaking anything or giving myself a head injury while out on all that ice.  2.  Blossom not injuring her self out there and looking so cute on the ice  3.  all those nice people you meet just being out and about who chat with you.  if it weren't for them, i could go days without actually speaking to another human.

Happy Halloween!!

 didn't get too much of  a walk in today.  had good intentions as i headed down to reef road and ocean bluff park.  pretty icy, but then Blossom broke through at this one spot that can be tough to get around...so not frozen enough yet for me.  i'll wait

 while i was that way i cruised over to Potters to see how it was.  people have for sure been ice skating out there already...the swans have abandoned the place in their run for the south.

 3 busy nights of work done.  adult icu/peds icu and then back to adult icu.  all busy nights.  somewhat emotional.  you don't always realize what a toll it takes on you emotionally.  especially with those kids.  prayers out to a super nice family.  i could feel myself tearing up right along with them all shift.  sometimes our lives change in the blink of an eye...24 hours that will be remembered always.  tried to take care of their sick kid and help to support them emotionally as best as i could.  i do hope the best for them and their little guy and hope that my little prayers sent off will find a place of peace and comfort.

 had a patient dropped off on another night...happy i got a doc in to look at the skin issues...when i stopped by to drop off the pca key i accidently took home, the news didn't sound good for him and his family but at least they know what is going on and can make decisions from there.  some weeks you just feel more like you have really been able to make a difference in the lives you become a part of.

 nursing is about so much more than wiping butts, though i do my fair share of that as well. if you are open and available you really can impact how their care goes.  you are the eyes and the ears...and the nose sometimes.  you also can be so much more to folks emotionally if you let yourself be.  when i trained as a nurse i don't think i had a clue the impact i could make for people in hundreds of tiny and forgettable ways.  as someone was quoted as saying.  they won't necessarily remember you are the details of what happened, but people will always remember the kindness.  told a friend of the family that sometimes the best gift you can give people is peace of mind.  when they trust you they the stress they feel is lessened. that is an awesome gift. the night in peds was draining and stressful emotionally, i was so hoping for a chill night on the third night.  that so did not happen for me.  i'm off for a few days now though.

 handed out candy to the kids who came trick or treating.  Blossom answered the door to smiles and happy kids.  one family was all ninja's, even the dog...so cute. the dad was so involved and excited...it always warms my heart to see how much more involved so many of these dads are.  Rio answered the door once and then just opted for the couch.

 watched a double feature..."bless this child" and "the sixth sense".  i tend to like these sort of religious/occult sort of movies over chop them up blood spurting scary movies.  the basics of good vs evil.

 will need to load my kicksled up.  could have wandered a bit out there today and hunted for bubbles.  ice is always fun.  wanted to get home anyway and be there for the trick or treat kids.  so nice to have non-politicians stop by the house.

 got a few things done on my to do list but i really need to tackle that this stretch off.  facebook had some Oakley ad stuff on it.  the ward i grew up in is the same one the founder of that company joined.  i remember it all starting as motorcycle hand grips...oakley grips.  Jim Jannard.  i was a kid so it's not like we were friends.  did drop him a note on facebook just to say it's been fun to watch his company grow and watch his success.  always amazing how some people just come up with ideas and make them happen.  suspect i will never get a response but hell....maybe i will.  maybe he likes walrus.  :-)  one can hope. no i didn't ask for money or anything like that. fixing our walrus problem on round island would never be that simple.

 the pups in their handing candy out outfits for the night.

 it was a good day to be totally chill. i'll catch up on the news and such another night.  i opened a bottle of wine and i'm slowly sipping a bit of malbec this evening.  will crash soon.  not enough sleep today.

 seemed a good day to put a fire in the fireplace.  it's for sure getting colder and colder out there.

 work is good, life is good, halloween is fun.

 i'm so behind on my calendars and stuff. eek loaded a few more pictures today onto shutterfly.  more to load and then i can put my calendar and christmas card together.  it's actually gone much faster than it usually does.

 waited around for the heater guy yesterday but they didn't make it here in their window so i re-scheduled.  had work to get to.  was hoping for an on call, but knew that wouldn't happen that last night.

 so fun to see all the kids costumes on facebook...my niece Shannon's kids had super cute costumes...her little guy was a walrus!!  who knew you could find a walrus costume out there.  :-) beaming!   suspect there will be more friends and families kids pics posted tomorrow for me to enjoy.  for as much as people bash facebook it really has been great for keeping up with my family! love that a few of my nieces keep blogs as well so i can keep up that way...

 clearly i got a bit obsessed with the cat tails.  i think they are cool though

 the world up here is brown and white right now.

 or just black and white...they both looked cool

well, it's almost 2 am so i shall crash for the night.  thankful for.  1..pumpkin bread and soups...so fall and so nummy!!  2.  cute kids in fun costumes!!  3.  that the kid i cared for was traveling safe last i heard.  always be grateful for your health.  it can change in an instant, never take this life we live for granted.  God be with that little guy and his family.  also be with the other families i cared for who in one case were removing the care and letting nature take its course...and another who will be faced with those same decisions.