election day tomorrow...

what will happen? not sure. will wait and see, do not trust polls or any of the positive media speculations. i fear trusting them.  i do hope for a very clear message, then we shall see how it all falls out.  for sure comfort in the fact that he isn't currently in office. cuts some of the shenanigans that happened last time. 

i went and voted early. took just over an hour i think. no drama. cool stickers. chatted with the one lady next to me but really nobody else. we'd laughed because it was chilly waiting outside and this older lady came up with a walker.  she was offered a few times to go inside early by the election worker but she very loudly said she was a real Alaskan and the cold didn't bother her at all. a few minutes later she and her walker were led inside...i looked at the lady next to me in line and said something about i guessed she wasn't as real Alaskan as she had said.  the lady said something about her mother always telling her if you can't say anything nice don't say anything at all...to which i responded, my mom said that too and then would turn around and gossip about all the other ladies in church.  at this point we both laughed and we were line buddies. 

feels good to have the vote done.  now i just wait. 

fall turned to ice which then turned to snow. the shoveling has begun. it's been weeks since i wrote, sorry. i haven't been busy, just lazy. i have done my walks and actually have gotten stuff done. 

still organizing and filling the shed.  just cleaned up Halloween decorations.  got nearly 30 trick or treaters despite the snow storm. tough Alaskan kids and their parents. i didn't put up the candy slide. instead i put spider web/spiders around the entrance of the front door.  i did have some bags filled with non edible halloween treats. they were a hit.  will have to repeat that. not everyone wants candy and many are also happy with both.  with fewer trick or treaters it's fun to spoil the ones that do show up. 

i enjoyed my last stretch off watching the Los Angeles Dodgers win the World Series. just happened i was off and so i was able to enjoy several games. a few just the last few innings but they won!! New York had several errors that turned around the last game.  crazy game really. i spent many a game in years past at Dodger Stadium watching games. mostly with my brothers. lots of fun memories

wore my Dodger caps with pride last week. 

got the cats to the  vet.  both were due for vaccines. both have lost 2 pounds.  i'd noticed it with Miss Breezy. pretty dramatic.  thought for sure they would do labs. she is nearly 12 these days. 

she has been oddly much more active around the house. going all over the house freely, up and down the stairs. good to see. 

the crv is scheduled for its tire changeover next stretch off. also scheduled for a consult with the surgeon to put my uterus back where it belongs. i absolutely hate making appointments. i had to schedule a class for work.  my license is due this month so i'll have to complete a bit more CE since it's easier. so tasky stretches off but also productive

i also got the cards and calendars made at shutterfly. i do feel like i've been getting stuff done lately. 

random "wild" rabbit. 

the to do list is always there but it's so great to check off a few boxes. 

my last work week was on call one night and then the next night, which was day light savings 13 hour night, i was a sitter. the patient slept nearly the entire night. finished a book. played games, watched tiktok/reels.  so the dreaded 13 hours passed by relatively smoothly. i always work that shift.  after all these years you would think i'd plan ahead. 

i also applied for a per diem job at the urgent care.  not holding my breath but it would be perfect i think. worked on my resume.  they have free templates but then you have to  pay to get the writing removed from the template. half debating forwarding the template off with that on there. lol. anyway. i kept myself busy at work. my next shifts are election night and the night after.  yikes!

that could be nuts or not. the orange idiot has made it very clear that he will contest it all again.  he never accepts a loss. his cult has been prepped to do battle.  will they? when cults fall it's usually ugly and his cult is large. they will believe zero facts. it's crazy.  the guy literally was miming performing fellatio on a mike stand the other night. i so wanted to send that clip to all my trump loving relatives with "this guy?".  i actually thought it had to be some AI thing...what politician/person would ever do something like this in front of a crowd of people.  i mean if you were a comedian i guess. 

the orange idiot had a very racist rally in Madison Square Gardens a few weeks ago.  he had a comedian there who said some extremely offensive stuff. his act was vetted by trumps team.  they took out calling Kamala the C word but not the other offensive stuff. all the speakers said offensive things. he had a cast of the usual nut jobs. 

had a conversation with someone and abortions came up.  this person is left leaning but it was just eye opening for me.  many just do not really know what an abortion is. we have avoided the term so often that the right had made it a dirty word meaning that you are killing a living fetus because you just don't want to be a parent.  abortion is a general term for a lot of things. like miscarriage. a miscarriage is another term for a spontaneous abortion.  we do not say that though. i think if you told maga women who were having a spontaneous abortion that they were having a spontaneous abortion they would flip the hell out.  also a D&C (dilation and curettage) is an abortion.  many have had these and don't realize it was an abortion they actually had. we do not use that word as often as is technically the case, we use other terminology. 

spontaneous abortions are classified further.  threatened, inevitable, complete, incomplete, recurrent and septic. certain cases require medical intervention to rid the body of retained tissues, including but not always the fetal tissue. 

it covers all pregnancy loss prior to fetal viability. around 20 weeks. i think after that still birth terminology may come into play. i do not work OB/GYN. i do work ER. 

from what i understand many churches will not baptize or offer burials for fetal tissue or fetuses/still births. the bible states life begins at first breath. the bible also seems to be fine with stories that kill off children/pregnant women so clearly their God was not as into fetuses as they are. the flood tale is a huge example. how many thousands and children, pregnant women would have drowned in a global flood?

gotta hit the shower soon, then walk the dogs. a day of peace. tomorrow, well we shall see

I've been driving the Element since the snow fell. later this week i'll get the tires changed over but for now, when the snow falls, it's great to have the old car that really could be hit and it's fine. i keep the winter tires on all year since i rarely drive it. 

fall colors before the winter hit

much of the last mushrooms are covered in snow now. the bear bread can still be found. 

i do love the peace that comes with the darkness and the snow.  i'm feeling ready for bed by the time the sun sets now and i have to remind myself how early it is still

have been watching,"this is us" series. i'd tried it awhile back but i think it was too complicated for my very distracted brain. 

bed rotting is a winter activity. 

don't think i'll have any Monday walkers today. covid sort of killed it off in general. it happens. 

these bear breads. you can tell the growth before the tree fell as opposed to after. gravity is real

just a few photo's of the cute baby walrus that was rescued up north and taken care of at the SeaLife Center. i was super bummed that i never got to see it. in the past they have given the public a chance to get a peek. not this time.  new director maybe the reason. not sure. made me upset though. they snuck the little thing out of state without telling anyone anything about it. not cool in my mind.  she came from here and now if we want to see her we have to fly to Florida. 

the birds have mostly left. i do hear there are a few cranes still out there, a few swans. not sure why some birds delay. perhaps they just love it here and dread the long flights. i'm not big on the travel myself so i can certainly understand that. 

those birds have some long flights.  exhausting. 

made pumpkin bread and seeds.  delicious. always sad to say goodbye to Halloween.  really liked the pirate theme.  will do that again.  when do i put up Christmas...not quite there yet.  

i also bought outside camera's so i'll have to get those put up at some point. 

she is super cute. 

good bye mushrooms...hello snow. 

this one below looked like a little troll cursing someone out. 

lichens above

a few drives before the roads get icy and more risky. i'm a fair weather driver for the most part.  also the darkness slows down the road trips. no point making long drives just to sit in the dark for most of the day. 

i cabin up and enjoy a different peace. 

i best get the rest of the day started. the calendars arrive today.  i always think, oh this one isn't that good this year, but in the end i like the calendars.  i pared down a bit.  there are less and less cards being sent out and the Christmas stuff just decreases as you get older. 

laughed as i got an invite for a great niece??? not sure what she is...she got married on a saturday and i got an invite in the mail on the friday, the day before the wedding.  at some point you just have to decide that you aren't going to send gifts.  my family is large and it's not practical. but it is funny to get an invite the day before a wedding a thousand miles away. nothing says, we don't want you there, but please send a gift more. lol. 

i haven't attended many weddings in my family, i live far away and in truth with Mormon weddings i wouldn't be allowed to attend the actual wedding so that would have meant flying out to watch people go into a building i'm not allowed into. 

alright off to start the rest of the day

thankful for A. Halloween and all the fun B.  the Dodgers and all the great memories C. that we still have the right to vote even as other rights have been taken away. fingers crossed. 
 

rough morning....

 coughing/headache/sinuses....drag!! got quite a bit accomplished yesterday before i passed out.  took cough medicine last night....i think it dropped me into a coma..haha.  but at least i stopped coughing for a bit. the coughing is exhausting and i was and remain a bit short of breath.  the dogs must be walked though.  so in a bit i shall hit the trails and hope for the best.

 would really like this headache to go away though.  can't stand headaches...between the knots across my shoulders and the sinuses....my head doesn't stand a chance...sorry to whine.  this too shall pass. many have it much worse.

 got the deck re-stained.  just have some touch up to do today. of course, it is threatening rain so not a great day to paint. the pups were not happy to be cut off from the back yard yesterday afternoon.  we just hit the dog park at U-Lake. they really don't care as long as we get out somewhere.

 i also got the doors up and painted on the old cabinets in the garage.  now to load all these extra storage spaces with stuff and continue on the path of getting re-organized.

 i also got some of the yard raked up and the cat run put back in place. that meant doing repairs on the netting. 

 the neighbors cat was on my car torturing my pups the other day.  one day...they will get that cat.  not. the rest are from the drive out to Portage the other day.

 it did feel good getting some stuff done yesterday.  tomorrow i need to make some calls on the to do list as well.  have a paddle coming up soon.  really soon. 

 got to the bills this am so that is always good.

 last night as my cough medicine kicked in a watched a double header of old movies...i was wiped out from the day i think.  i watched a few favorites, "Once" and "Beaches".  both excellent and chill.

 i have got some knots....my massage therapist is probably post delivery of baby though and she moved to another place. 

 the dogs had fun swimming out by the big ice...in truth they were no doubt unaware of the big ice, but just enjoyed swimming.  i keep hoping to make some road trips but the weather and this cold have thrown me off for a bit again.  drat!

 not sure where to walk today.  short and sweet? probably. 

 at least a few evangelicals are stirring...at least a few in the congregation  of shooter in Poway.  after claiming that mainstream Muslims should be held to account for the more radical elements, one pastor wondered out loud if they too should be held accountable for the hate that has come from their own pews.

 it's still a small minority.  it's something i have said for years now, but what do i know?  when you mix hate and politics into your religion you put your congregants at risk for radicalizing.  the stage is already set i fear.  tough to turn back those wheels once you've rev'd the gears and put the wheels on the runway.

 not sure how long it will take for us to bottle back up the hate that has been released.  it's not just us though.  it seems that the hate is building world wide.  is it just the set up of yet another purge of human lives.  our earth can only handle so many humans living on it before something takes out a large segment of the populace.  natural disaster, disease or violent bloodshed.  at some point something hits the breaking point.  something takes lives. 6 million Jews...that number is nearly impossible to fathom.  17 million total killed. 

 between 1941(maybe more like 1933 the beginning of killings) and 1945....that really is not that long ago.  not only were Jews killed, Soviets, Poles, the Roma, the "incurably sick", political and religious dissenters, communists, Jehovah's witnesses and gays. 

 there are many examples of genocide even over the past few hundred years...how often has this happened over the years humans have existed on this earth.  we are brutal.  as a kid i remember reading about the Vietnam War and torture and then went to the library to read specifically about torture.  i was shocked at how horrible humans can be to each other.  things have not really changed.

 the Khmer Rouge in 1975 took nearly 2 million Cambodians, 1915-1923 over 1 million Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks killed.  1990 in Rwanda over 800,000 killed in 100 days.  humans are very effective killers. 1991 in Bosnia over 100,000 killed.

 there are some records of genocides that go back but details are difficult to nail down.  history through the ages is written to benefit the winner of any conflict.  history is forgotten and repeats itself, that is what they say.  those who forget history are forced to repeat it.  it is always forgotten.  i think of how recent the extermination of the Jews was...the 1940's, i was born in the 1960's but to me that just seems like ancient history...it is easy to see how that to those born now may seem like more fantasy than reality.  even 9-11 seems distant because those going to college now were not born yet or were just babies. 

 i stopped by the Wildlife Conservation Center.  the bears were out playing.  they have new baby caribou...so cute

 a few plane incidences this weekend.  a Russian jet landed in fire...some died, another plane slipped off the runway in Florida. i don't believe any died in that incident.  overall those planes take off over and over with out any issues at all.

 i know that in my head as i watch them take off over the city recently...they are doing repairs on the runway.  i know it's not realistic to fear these jets, they really do have an incredible track record...that is even in nations where safety checks are not done with great regularity or required. 

 felt dizzy, blood sugar feels low.  coughing uses a lot of calories...at least I'm convinced of that....eating some cheese. 

 the baby caribou were sleeping when i first arrived, by the time i circled around they were up and moving.  so cute.

 they are dark those first weeks of life. 

 always amazing how quickly wild animals are up and ready to move.

 NK fired of more missiles. no biggie...the GOP has it all under control.  haha.

 the current administration states repeatedly that they are the most transparent and yet...they refuse any oversight.  interesting.  always think about how they would be reacting if the tables were turned...and it would be that if this was a Dem in office doing what the iitoo does, they would be flipping completely out. 

 reflections of a baby caribou.

 dinner time

 the headache isn't improved much, but these dogs are starting to put me on notice...they want to be walked. 

 can't believe it's after 2 pm already.  i had done lots by 2 yesterday....amazing how different a day can be.

 have just been taking inhalers.  have a bit of a cough med hangover i suspect.  i try to avoid taking anything if i can. 

 i had just gotten tired from coughing last night. 

 a few of the whale.  the meat/blubber has been harvested and the head will be sent to a lab in San Diego i hear.  they are doing studies on hearing in whales down there.

 there the whale is, before being harvested...resting in peace for the last time.  as the crew headed over with ropes to tie off the whale i headed out.  i was good with this being how i remembered the whale. 

 low tide in the arm

 the green leaves are popping  out all over the community.  have a good day. 

thankful for: A. good cough medicine so i can get a break  B. patient puppies  C. lazy Sunday mornings.