the vote is in....

 

hard to wade through the zillions of candidates for Mayor but then not really...easy to whittle down the trumpian nut jobs.  they at least are not discreet in their insanity.

happy that finally Democrats and Republicans are finally on the same team...at least the small percentage of Republicans who have seen the light as to how nuts Trump and company are. sadly, it is a very small percentage and many have already abandoned the party to become independents.

was raised in a GOP home and voted the first time i voted for GOP candidates...my vision for the world has evolved a great deal since those days and i left the party years ago. better to be non-affiliated for me. 

always love the black and whites.

as you can see we remain in a white wonderland here.  a bit chilly and breezy out there today.  

i'm feeling like i have a bit more freedom.  Ivy has free range in the house during the days and nights as well when i am at home. haven't been brave enough to leave her while i work.  having the pen worked well today as i put both dogs in there when the guy came from Moore Heating.

heater working fine, but the water heater is finally sprung a small leak so that will be replaced tomorrow. i knew it was probably on it's last leg.  have been on watch for a few years now. the thing lasted several years beyond expectation so i am happy with that. i'll have to clear room in the garage for the change.  hate spending money on such non-glamorous items but i do love having hot running water so i shall manage. 

will have to clear a path to the water shut off in case they need that.  there is a water shut off on the water heater or above it but i guess that isn't always enough.

northern lights shots taken with my iphone out my back door. 

still spend time in the bog.  i am putting her in the car for the second walk many days which i think she loves.  she is not a fan of the no pull harness, but it makes her more of a tugger than a puller. 

my knee still has it's moments so i'm not keen on being dragged.

got lucky and got one on call shift this week.  otherwise i worked the first night in the cardiac icu and then the last night i worked ER but ended up getting out of there at 5 am, which was really nice as well. 

gonna meet LS for a stretch here in a bit.  so i figured i'd bang out a little blog

feeling much better today.  good days and bad days for all of us.  i just am against pretending the bad days don't happy.  i think that makes other people more depressed, thinking they are the only ones having the bad days because there are so many out there who pretend their lives are perfect every day.  nobody's life is so i think it's probably better if we all just admit to good and bad days.  emotional moments of emotional wreckage.  

we all have times when we feel lonely and unloved or unlovable. better to just admit it together than suffer in silence.  give each other time and space to just be who we are and support each other through the bad, when we are having the good. 

this looks like Ivy screaming let me off the leash.  she so wants to run.  

not sure how much longer our lakes and ponds will be frozen.  we pretty much do the whole bog loop now, taking a trek through the pond bit.  more off leash friendly for Tusker. 

the ice sculptures are slowly melting.  the magpies are working on building nests.

i do some dog hair brushing out in the yard since i figure the wildlife will be thrilled to have the hair for their various nest.  great nesting material for babies or all sorts.  birds, squirrels or shrews.  

that is spring...eventually it means a bunch of babies being born.

we are at week 10 now. just a few more weeks to go.  thinking of renting a place at Lowell Point maybe in celebration.  get these dogs on a beach after all these weeks.

i am the worst at remembering details. always have been. names...terrible.  totally called a co-worker by a completely wrong name the other night.  so embarrassing.  

everyone does seem ready for our snow to melt.  with all this snow we will have snow with us for a long time.

reports of a helicoptor crash. the papers said the richest man in Chech died in the crash. sounds like he was here doing heliskiing.  no amount of money can save you in an accident.  life is an equalizer at some level. i've never been in a helicopter and have no desire to be in one.  the only way will probably be getting carried to a hospital...they will need drugs if i am coherent.  

i have been in many small planes, which scares many. i'm not without concern on those or any flying object but i'd still prefer a small plane to a helicopter. a small plane crashed the other day as well.  that is Alaska. 

this is the beach in Anchorage.

her sweet face!

will turn in my voter ballot today.  the to do list is ever present.  now i need to get on those taxes. 

that is coming up fast.  i need to send in the one for the tiny non-profit.  should check in...it's almost time for the crew to head out to round island...will there be camera's out there, guests?

i was pretty lazy yesterday.  we did get to the trails and to the store but i headed to bed pretty early.

no great lights since this night . you can actually see some purples in there, which is amazing for Anchorage with all our light. 

zipping through so i can get ready to walk.  what other errands for today?  hmm.  

it was chilly this night so it was nice to go in and out of the house to warm up. 

the lights often will wax and wane through the hours. 

cloudy this week.  

Ivy explores a snow cave

even the Covid Cat gets out there from time to time.  i think he likes to do his cat business under the deck.  not a bad thing really. 

that tail has remained totally fluffy

some times the clouds break and we get some blue skies and mountain views.  the sun is setting later though so not much for sunset shots of late.  too lazy to get out there and find it. 

so just a quick catch up.  life is better today.  worse other days.  trying to have a new plan for family.  accept what they give and expect much less.  step back and let them decide when they want to talk rather than trying to establish any kind of regular calls. clearly more than they want really.  

thankful for any and all who do want to have a continued relationship.  for some that means we just keep it totally surface as so many topics are off limits...that is the time we live in. 

thankful for A.  increased Ivy freedoms and thus increase human freedoms  B. continued healing for my girl and me.  C. on call nights where i don't get called in.  

where is the outrage?

 but first...i will catch up on the week.  haven't posted in a bit.  lots of treks to the dog park..that is the way it is between shifts often.  also joined LS for a bit longer walk out at Campbell Airstrip. i have not spotted any bears, but i have heard they are out there.  time to carry spray and air horn again. was going to write a bit last Sunday when i was off, but then i remembered i had that triage class early on Monday...Monday night i was just plain beat and headed to bed.

 my new walrus headband by Happy AK...if you like happy and fun headbands.  it's the new thing.  not sure i look amazing, but i do like the headband.  :-)  yes, the walrus earrings do look a bit like a tooth.  even had a patient the other day comment on it.  so yes, i can be odd and sensitive at times.

 on good walrus news.  we have a speaker.  was having a tough time connecting with F&G...as i figured they were busy getting gear out to the Island in preparation for the season.  no explore cams out there this year, which is a bummer.  hoping they can come up with some good options to make it happen next summer again. there will be a new ranger out there with M so training will keep them busy out there.  catching up on stuff that probably gets set aside due to the extra work the cameras bring them.  i was getting anxious that i would be the star speaker.  spoke to both E and P today.  so we will all take a bit of time.  she sounds great and I'm excited to meet her.  she thanked me for making the non-profit, which is always great to hear.  labor of love as it is.

 lots of puppy time and snuggle time.  i worked ER all week.  that place is the unit that wears out the body the most.  i tend to be more wiped out after working shifts there.  we had clouds and snow these past few days so it make it super easy to be totally lazy.  today we hit the dog park and then met my friend KR at the Alaska K-9 aquatic pool for an hour swim and bath's. they look and smell great.

 last weeks shifts were mixed between ER and PCU. 

 love clouds so we have had some beautiful days in between the snow.  yes, we are coated in the white stuff again, but the sun came out this afternoon and the thaw is happening again quickly...though more snow seems to be forecast.

 these are all iphone pictures..hopefully, not repeats.

 have run into this little corgi puppy out there a few times now...so cute. 

 Tusker is not as tolerant with my selfie attempts.  Ivy is more game.  the other dogs were showing signs of being tired at the pool today around the half hour mark...not Ivy though. a little but she loves to make grand leaps into the pool. 

 so the outrage?  well, the Mueller report is out. redacted, but not as much as feared. i have a copy on my ipad now and will make my way through it.  I'm amazed that so many on the right can still get themselves riled up about Clinton having sex in the oval office or Hillary's emails...and yet, they seem to totally just shrug their shoulders about the goings on of today.  so excited to believe Barr at his word since he seemed to tell them what they wanted to hear...from what I'm hearing and reading, his words were a bit off from the actual truth.  why?  why would he give such a rave review knowing that the truth would come out eventually.  well, first impressions, getting the jump on it.  many just wanted to hear what they wanted to hear and have shown they are totally willing to now turn and look away again. it was a political move.  actually, pretty depressing.  i keep having higher hopes for members of the GOP but at every turn those in DC have continued to put party politics first.

 "the Russian government interfered in the 2016 presidential election in sweeping and systematic fashion".  this is alarming. this is on page one.  it happened.  Money has actually been set aside to fight this from happening in the future elections, but so far i believe it has been prevented from being put to use for this.  why?  hatred for hillary was so deep that many actually were fine with Rus being involved and getting the iitoo elected.  fine with it...where is the outrage...for sure?  "that information prompted the FBI on July 31, 2016, to open an investigation into whether individuals associated with the Trump Campaign were coordinating with the Russian Government in its interference activities".

 many love to blame Obama for all of this.  there was a great deal that wasn't known...they were just starting to investigate all of this.  i can see how it would seem wise to not raise a lot of alarm until more was known. the FBI had been contacted by a foreign government about a May 2016 encounter with Papadopoulos.  the investigations led to the may, 2017 formation of the special counsel..that and the firing of James Comey. they were authorized to investigate "the Russian Governments efforts to interfere in the 2016 Presidential election, including any links or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the Trump campaign."

 the Russians were proven to have interfered.  "the investigation also identified numerous links between the Russian Government and the Trump campaign." it goes on to say that the Rus knew they could benefit from the Trump campaign and that the trump campaign knew it could benefit from the Russian campaign of interference.  the investigation was not able to "establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government".  this is a telling statement... "the statement that the investigation did not establish particular facts does not mean there was no evidence of those facts"...it just means that they couldn't put enough together to establish a crime.

 that is a very different thing than saying no evidence of anything.  i mean if it was a nothing burger as Hannity likes to say...as do his most righteous followers, there would have just been a much shorter report saying, we found nothing...but the truth is they didn't find nothing...they just could not find enough.  whatsup, folks lying, pleading the fifth...evidence being in Russia with no way to get to it.  there was a lot going against them.  a much more complicated investigation than a guy having oral sex while on the job....as inappropriate as that was.

 Tuskers head just looks so huge in this one.  below he is preventing Ivy from getting the tennis ball.  a common thing

 there are some 14 cases i believe that were referred to other law entities from this original as the Mueller investigation was a limited one.  other leads were sent sent to appropriate law enforcement entities.

 i will read this..probably skimming some parts that get too wordy i suppose, but i feel like especially with how cagey Barr, the iitoo and the GOP have behaved i need to read it. it does get back to if you have nothing to hide why are you working overtime to hide shit.  anyone, either party should have some rational level of transparency.  i find many on the right have no curiosity regarding much about this administration and POTUS...is it simply because they like the agenda and at this point are willing to look the other way and just about everything to get their way?  perhaps they really would just prefer our nation did not have an opposing view since in their minds there is only one correct view.

 the above shot gives you a better view of how big that ice berg is out there..the building looks pretty small. 

 there is a smathering of GOP out there, many in positions of leadership or influence who have continued this beat of Trump being a gift from God himself.  this is a frightening pattern of thinking.  i mean for those who seem to truly believe that Trump was sent by God to save America...and there are many out there who believe this...it is the case that they would prefer if the other side not have a voice at all since they believe that their views are of God.  radicalization of any religion should be watched closely...this is what happened with Islam i believe.  a radicalized segment developed.  the more moderate wing of the religion were basically oblivious at the onset...they have similar values and goals and so it's easy to pair up...by the time the more mainstream religion realizes that the radicalized group has gained more control than expected....well it often is too late.  the more moderate thinking will be deemed not radical enough. 

 much of the contact information i am reading about has been covered by mainstream media.  not sure that it's been covered by the right media very much.  when i pop over or when it's on  in patients rooms...i find that outlets like Fox and AON tend to just brush over these contacts, claim they are fake news and move on to other attacks of the other side. AON tends to have more actual news interspersed, but there are some programs that are less right leaning than others.

 the earliest contacts between Rus and the Trump organization were in 2015...letters of intent to build a trump tower Moscow, this was pursued into June of 2016.

 so there is a lot of evidence but not enough evidence to charge.  that is far from total exoneration I'd say.  so far only at page 10...a slow read but still a page turner. 

 came out of work to fresh snow.  the weeks before we had fairly low numbers of patients...those days are done.

 got up briefly between shifts and when i returned Tusker had made his way into my spot.  he did not move.  i think i was so tired i just lay sideways on the bed and fell asleep again.

 a few from the dog pool today.  at first my friend was fishing tennis balls out with the net they use for dog poop...eww!! none of our dogs pooped in the pool or in the area surrounding it.  haha.

 the pups are out at this time.  wiped out!! right when we got home Ivy was not quite done. the tennis ball was dropped many times and then she wrestled with the cat while i tried to nap.

 the first part of work last night they really didn't have much for me to do.  i floated but nobody really needed much help.  used the time to do more of that online education stuff that is forever part of being a nurse.

 just a few snow shots.  love fresh coat of snow...makes everything look so pretty.

 pups in the yard this morning.  enjoying tennis ball time o course.  they really don't seem to spend too much time outside when i am at work...

 paws, over mud over snow.  the floor is in the rough season.

 i had gotten out the deck chairs already, which is no biggie really.  they can get wet and tolerate a wee bit of snow. 

 this was the other day obviously...things change quickly here.

 texting with my good friend Speedy...she finished the Boston Marathon in 3:33!!  Congrats Speedy. the Monday walk crew were cheering you on and are very proud of you!! i tracked her during my triage class. it was three hours long and she had started her run before i got to class...made the time for the class pass more quickly following her progress in Boston. 

 another Anchorage runner also finished in Boston.  he got the worlds fastest time for a double amputee.  he lost both feet to an unfortunate frost bite incident in 2011.  he was at UAA as a runner, a friend had committed suicide.  he was depressed, took medications and headed off into a very snowy night.  people searched for him for 3 days.  he woke up i guess on his own and made his way to a hotel nearby who called for help.  it was too late for his feet though.  it was one of those events that make you realize how unforgiving nature is.  he was quite literally less than a mile between two of the major hospitals in Anchorage.

 he was in the woods around this park, University Lake.  congrats to him as well for healing, becoming stronger and his success in Boston. 

 Notre Dame suffered major damage in a fire last week.  over 700 million has apparently been raised to do repairs...of course, no matter how much you spend it's never the same...how can you mimic the ways and means of how things were created generations ago. 

 also seems sad that there is this much money out there and still people starve, don't have basics.  sort of makes you think about how the world works.  the role money plays.  it's out there, the money to do so much good and positive.  it's good that folks are donating, i don't blast them. it just makes you think what all that extra money that is out there could do for humanity. 

 with our early spring and thaw, we have had a few deaths from folks trusting the ice, which should not be trusted.  there have also been some avalanches of late or falls.  loss of life is part of the adventure of it all.  still sad to see people leave so early this adventure called life.  a 25 year old who was an ER tech a few years back perished in a fall or slide last week as well. 

 my friend scoops out tennis balls with the non-poop scooping net.  haha.

 Tusker of course had to retrieve 2 balls each time he entered the pool.  Ginger not interested in tennis balls tossed with the chuck it..Ivy rose needed the balls thrown with the chuck it to chase them.  we all have our quirks...humans and dogs.

 there is the trio!! 

 both knees are sore today...arthritis, weather changing?  no idea.

 liked the dog water bowl this morning. freeze, thaw...

 also working on a headache...good sleep will fix that I'm sure.

 the Nenana ice classic is done.  it's the earliest the tripod has ever fallen on the Tanana River. 

 murmurs of impeachment...not sure what will happen there.  the GOP won't go for it, but at the same time, it does appear that the roadmap was created by Mueller from several reports I've read.  would any of them have the guts to take that path. in truth the best thing would be for him to be voted out by an overwhelming majority...will that happen though?  would he even leave at this point or as he was prepping before the last election would he convince his base that the results were a fraud. 

 Tusker and i are both tired of it all.  couldn't he just die peacefully in his sleep one of these nights and prevent it all.  of course, some days i joke to myself that if it gets too intense he may just take off to Russia and seek asylum, wouldn't that be ironic. 

 we are over due for a death in office...the guy is not young. it's been over 50 years.  odds are getting more and more stacked for a death...natural is best. i would not want us to have to go to war over this idiot. 

 i think it's the 20 year anniversary of Columbine mass shooting.  sadly, not much has changed. basically nothing has been done to prevent another and another and another....so they do keep happening.  on that happy note i shall grab some snacks and head to a real sleep now

grateful for:  A.  friends and fun.  B.  dog pool days...tired happy dogs.  C. snow, always fun and always welcome!