Kinda Keto

 these are all from Sitka, day one mostly.  i walked into town to meet LM and her niece.  the trail takes you through old growth. 

 i have gotten my a1c results and they show elevated normal so that has made me realize that the gravy train of carbs and sugars must come to an end.  I've begun detoxing from sugar/carbs of 55 years.  i had a good run.  hopefully, i can bring the A1C down and lose some weight and generally just feel healthier and be healthier. 

 i know myself enough to know that i won't be 100% but it does seem like at first i should do the best i can to avoid flours and sugars.  i have felt a twinge of hunger pretty much constantly since i started a few days back.

 for a label avoider it's been pretty eye opening how many carbs i do tend to consume.  ate out with a friend today so that was my first run at avoiding certain food items while dining out.  i don't really crave anything just feel like my body isn't used to be satisfied without the carb load....so it will be a challenge.  hopefully i am up for it.  avoiding diabetes is a good incentive to the goal though. watched my Mom deal with it.  felt like she had too many other stress factors to really be able to focus on caring for herself.  i think things are easier these days as well since it feels like there are just more options out there for healthier eating.

 i do plan to add back in cheat meals. i don't think I'll ever do well with trying to pretend that zucchini spaghetti is as good as regular spaghetti or that cauliflower potatoes really are as good as potato potatoes. so i will just say that down the road i plan to enjoy an occasional meal that i would call a comfort meal.  I'd rather embark on looking for new recipes and adding to my meal choices rather than feeling like I'm depriving myself.

 that seems it should be enough on diet though. i do not want to become one of those people constantly talking about what i eat and diets...

 SG joined me in a walk as well.  we just did a loop in Campbell Airstrip.  it's continued to be much warmer than usual up here in Alaska. 

 starting on the big camera pictures from the trip to Sitka. i do love the rain forests up here.

 these are beaches around down town Sitka.

 this week i worked all my shifts in ICU. seems a lot of death this week.  helping families cope with loss. 

 youngish patients as well so it does always remind us all of our own immortality.  each day is a gift. 

 i watch with disgust the events of this administration.  the lack of kindness and empathy.  the continued separation of children from their families.  how is this going to make things better....this cruel tactic is admittedly used by them to discourage people from coming here illegally.  breaking up families who are just trying to give their kids a better life. families that have lived peacefully here for years.

 it's difficult to square the fact that this cruelty is coming from the side that likes to proclaim they are the party of Christianity.  the party of high morals and ethics...then they leave children with out parents, wondering why they have been ripped from their parents lives. do those that support these acts look away or are their hearts so hardened that they could really care less what happens to these lives that are so cruelly disrupted.

hard to imagine Christians caring more about guns rights that human rights, but that is where we are.

 the right propaganda machine seems in full steam ahead mode.  protecting guns over lives.  making every excuse.  we have no money to provide healthcare or education for our citizens but calling to make us a nation where men with guns surround every school and mall...never mind that these events are very unpredictable and the expense involved in providing armed guards to every school, mall, club, sporting event, music event....is astronomical. 

 lets also remember that for people who claim they want protections from big government it seems odd to want to have armed guards all over the place.  how does that protect freedom?   do we really want to become a police state?  do we all really want to walk around seeing armed guards everywhere we go.  it's really just not practical or sensible. 

 as i have said here for years now...the far right is radicalizing.  it's gone unchecked because most don't want to admit the problem even exists. they want to pretend that these white supremacists are not the issue they are...a faux news host this week referred to the issue as a hoax.  really?  sadly, many who watch the propaganda programming on faux will buy into that...fake news. anything that doesn't align with their agenda or makes them feel mildly guilty gets put in the fake news box.  it's more comfortable that way.  you don't have to feel responsible for the truth...you can just pretend it's all lies.

 the iitoo speaks up for those in the extreme right.  he will read a teleprompter message that was written out for him but then within minutes he'll be trashing any of his assumed enemies, trashing any and all who cross our Southern Border and generally amping up his racist speech. the right makes excuses, the right pretends that none of this is racism and that they are not racist...but at some point it's time for the right to prove they are not in the racism camp by standing up against it and demanding more civility and more compassion and kindness.

 the right can't continue to force their religions morals on the rest of the nation while turning away from the teachings of Christ they claim to be fighting for. Christ had a simple message, Love thy neighbor, treat others as you would wish to be treated...that did not come with instructions that this was to stop at the borders of our nation.  suffer the children to come unto me...not drag them from their parents and destroy intact and functioning family units. 

 the iitoo has always utilized illegals in his companies and in construction...seems pretty two faced to me.  days after many were killed in El Paso simply for being brown and in a border town, raids were held in Mississippi that tore families up. 

 the iitoo visited Dayton and El Paso despite many in those towns asking him not to come...the man still owes over $500,000 to El Paso from a rally he held there.  saw a photo today of him standing by Melania, who was holding a newly orphaned baby, while the iitoo gave a thumbs up...the baby's parents were both gunned down...hardly a thumbs up moment.  he has no tact. 

 he is now promising some gun reform after these shootings, but he has promised this before and as the anger over the latest mass shooting fades as people get back to their lives, those promises go unfulfilled.  the NRA remains more powerful than they should be.  several bills, which have bipartisan support, have been passed in the house.  sadly Moscow Mitch has refused to bring any bills up for discussion or votes. 

 this administration has also rolled back laws on gun rights when ever possible. so we are further behind on any gun related laws than previously.  with each shooting i think the grumble gets louder though. 

 Sitka has several harbors it seems and a few high schools. this one below seems pretty small.

 still quite a few flowers around.

 up here we have been dry and I've seen very few mushrooms compared to the usual.  missing my shroom season.

 always looking for boats with the town name when I'm in a town of boats.

 plenty of boats in Sitka.

 this is a remake of the old boats the natives in the area utilized.

 always love the art of Southeast

 the old Russian church sticks out downtown

 we did go inside.i guess this place burned down at some point and was rebuilt

 inside are some of the many artifacts of the time period. these are crowns worn by couples during wedding ceremonies i guess.

 candles...pretty, though considering the history of the church burning.....

 this church does not really appear to be used for regular services at this point.  not sure if that is every planned in the future.

 lots of gold inlay.

 the old church bells

 cracks and Russian writing on them

 a guy found a loaded AR-15 in one of our local parks...just laying on the ground. so much for responsible gun ownership. it wasn't listed as stolen. 

 red flag laws aren't a terrible idea but the truth is most who know these people report nothing despite seeing some warning signs. maybe just our tendency to want to think the best in others.  no matter what bizarre behavior a loved one exhibits, most would never believe their loved one was capable of these mass killings. i think a family member had brought the El Paso guy to the attention of the police because of concern for him owning an assault rifle...if people own guns legally, that isn't always going to be enough to actually remove the weapons....and if they remove them, they can get them back.  freedom of speech, even hate speech, is not enough to remove weapons.

 a view of downtown with the Russian Church

 local art and flowers, which seem to grow well in all that rain.

 more sights of down town. 

 we hit the farmers market...

 which is where my old truck was parked. bummed i didn't notice it until i got home and looked at the photo's. it's the white Dodge Dakota in the right lower corner of photo below. bought it in '94 i believe so it's still out there and running.  looks pretty good.

 well, i really need to crash. it's almost 3 am. 

grateful for: A.  each day i get to survive on this planet.  we don't always know how long our ride will be here...enjoy it, cherish it B.  days with friends.  C. feeling satisfied

more from Sitka...

 i should be walking the dogs, but here i am.  writing. if i write quick i can still get in a little stretch with them. 

 I'm between shifts. maybe i just have a lot on my mind....if any of it has any value, that is doubtful

 survived the first night back.  was given a triple in the ICU of IMCU patients.  place is packed so we shall see what tonight brings. i figure either another triple in ICU or holds in the ER. at least i had nice patients, tasky as we say, but nice.

 art inside the hot springs.

 created a list yesterday and completed all on that list...always feels good to get stuff done.  my MD had given me a to do list. i have scheduled all but one appointment.  got more labs done, deposited money in the bank and even made it to Cuddy to sign a petition to recall our governor.  you gotta start somewhere and if you do nothing then you only have yourself to blame.

 in our nation people don't bother.  lives are lost in other nations for the right to have a voice, lives have been lost in this nation as well for that right, and yet...many just can't be bothered.  if all of those potential voters actually voted we would have a very different situation at this time. many of those who don't bother to involve themselves are no doubt rational people.  i always feel that in many cases only the most extreme of our population are rallied to vote.  at this time the extreme right has won the right to screw up our nation because those in the middle sat home. there are those in the extreme left as well...the truth of how we should function is in the middle of the extremes but that is not to be.

 the last black GOP representative announced his retirement.  they have had many retirements it seems of late.  they want out of this.  if they do speak ill of the golden cow they will be accused of having become a member of the deep state...because that isn't ridiculous.  a real patriot would stay and attempt to do something about this situation but then, as i said, there is no speaking out against the golden cow in the GOP without being accused of going to the dark side.  you are with the golden cow or you are the enemy.  speaking out is just not allowed at this point in the GOP...that really should say it all.

 many on the right do not want to be accused of being racist and many are not racist..but at some point if you defend the indefensible for too long you do send yourself down a path of no return.  the GOP is losing voters of color, while making it more comfortable for white nationalists. 

 i keep thinking they must be getting tired of making all these excuses for their golden cow.  he really is a reprehensible human.  i learned while dating that if you find yourself making excuse after excuse for bad behavior, for behavior that you are worthy of not tolerating...well it may be time to walk away. we deserve better, our nation deserves better.  we are better...as they say, when you know better, you do better. they aren't tired of making excuses for this old orange man though...

 Sitka as seen from above...flying out.  we did not get much sun or any views of the local volcano, Mt Edgecomb. 

 a few German tourists and a guide passed away last week in the Valdez lake in front of the Valdez glacier. I've done a tour there.  those are large ice bergs in floating around.  maybe they got too close to one and it calved off or flipped over.  once you hit that cold water you do not have long to find a way out of it. that is most likely what happened, they were all found floating in the water, dead. 

 our crew at the hot springs.

 loads of stairs to step up on our hike up Gavan. 

 i believe i heard the ferry strike is over.  just a sign of how bad things can be in Southeast without the ferries.  met a woman at the Sitka airport who was flying because they had been trapped there by the ferry.  her spouse works for the university system and he would stay there with the car to finish his work...of course, despite being tenured at the university he is looking at losing his job, which means this young family is having to consider leaving the state...this is what is happening

 ferries in Southeast and across the state do not just take cars and humans, they are a vital mode of transport of goods and services.

 the iitoo continues to select the worst people for jobs in his administration. i know many applaud putting a person who raises insulin prices in charge of the drug companies and someone who hates that the federal government is in charge of public lands in charge of managing those lands...or putting oil hawks in charge of deciding to bypass regulations to drill...

 what seems to always be lost is the fact that all those regulations would never have been put in place if corporations had not acted only out of greed all these years...they brought regulations on themselves and if those regulations go away these greedy corporations will just return to their old ways of destroying for profit. 

 you enjoy that clear air or clean water...thank those regulations.  you want food that has less harmful pesticides in it, well thank those regulations. 

 nk is firing off more missiles, the iitoo has done nothing but make that situation worse.  more children are being separated at the border from their parents, that situation is appalling.

 the fireweed is pretty much done here but still thriving in Southeast.

 another shot of Sitka as we left.

 love the old trees. the root systems are not deep at all. everything is covered in moss and lichen. 

 view from the upper springs

 heart in the woods

 most of the totems we saw were scattered around a park down town.  we did see a guy walking with a totem pole down the main street.  trump was at the base of it.  we didn't get a close enough  look to see if the pole was pro or con.

 leaving Juneau i believe.

 looks like Juneau had great weather. 

 three football players at a pre-season camp were pulled from a pool in Fairbanks.  not sure what happened there. i believe they all survived, but there are some stories of some of the kids being poor swimmers but still being made to tread water in the deep end. 

 the enclosure at the bear sanctuary.

 it's been dry up here and it really has been dry down in Southeast as well, but still much wetter than here. nice to see lush greens

 start of trail to Gavan.

 more hot springs art

 on the boat, headed to the hot springs

 tide pooling after our day of bears and birds

 we didn't see many stars but it was also not a very low tide.  we did find a few tide pools to play in.  i taught them to crack open muscles to feed the little creatures in the pool.  i remember doing this as a kid many a day.  it will live on...

 there was even a tiny eel in the one pool.  fun watching it duke it out with the little crabs.

 that is Juneau below and you can see Mendenhall Glacier in the clouds

 in the upper spring...luke warm not hot

 more fun totems. 

 Juneau...you can see cruise ships in port on the right

 all these sky shots are from Juneau...it was clearer there.

 there are totem poles all over southeast AK. 

 haven't ever rented a car in Juneau to explore.  this is a much larger community.  i think closer to 30,000.  of course, if they ever actually move the capital north as they always threaten to, this town would shrink rapidly i suspect.

 another view from the upper spring

 an old man at the top of the pole...i read this is a mocking pole.  the guy must have been a cheat or in some way harmed the community. 

 do love the colors they tend to chose. 

 coming into Juneau.  loved the bright green

 as we walked up Gavan we got into the clouds...it created a mist, then some light would come through the mist.  it was so beautiful.

 i better get off this computer....these dogs have been very patient. 

 gotta at least toss the toy for them outside and maybe get out the hose

 ways to wear out dogs between shifts.

thankful for:  A.  tolerant puppies  B.  every night i survive work without doing any harm  C. fun escapes with friends in AK.