was the economy really as good as they kept saying it was???

 they have said for years how solid the economy has been under trump...except the economy broke down after only a few weeks really.  why is that?  i mean if the economy was really as solid as they said it was it should have been able to withstand a bit of a storm. 

 was it really just proof that the economy was actually just great for those who are/were in a certain economic situation. the economy was not great for everyone...i mean all those that were barely getting by were literally just a paycheck away from disaster.  if the economy is only good for a certain segment of the population is it really a good economy. hasn't this been what has been the line from the so called "fake news".  that the economy isn't good for everyone.  that many are living a paycheck away from disaster.  that many are holding mortgages that far exceed their earning power.

 our economy worked for those in a certain socioeconomic status.  most of the economy was being held together week by week for those living paycheck by paycheck. 

 so the Covi Kitty has had a rather productive week.  he got his neuter done...good thing because he also discovered the way to get through the dog door.

 the later came as i just finished up getting the outdoor kitty run all set up.  literally, as i headed inside to open the cat run he came out the dog door!! brat! i had seen him watching the dogs come and go. 

 mostly i think he just wanted to be with us.  i'm not keen on him being an outdoor cat but i can be okay if he just gets some outside yard time with us.  the first night i kept the outdoor dog run closed and he got himself trapped there in a bit of a rain...he didn't like it. 

 i think he does like being with us so when we are outside i think that is when it interests him. 

 i will attempt to train him to not use the door with the occasional surprise spray of water and i also think i need to make sure his indoor time is way more fun with lots of toys and interaction. 

 he digs his human and fur friends.  that being said, i'm not sure where he is at this very moment. 

 here he is on his first escape out the dog door.

 i had to do a lot of repairs on the cat run, new screening. i also finished painting that section of the fence.

 he came through the neuter fine.  i was a bit stressed that day.  anxiety is improved though.  our numbers of covid cases in AK have been stable and even declining.  they are opening the place up with a plan.  i laughed as there was a group in AK that decided to do their own protests..honking from their cars.  while i applaud the responsible social distancing, our state leaders had already announced a re-open plan so it seemed a moot point

 he was tired and lazy for a few days so i opted to be tired and lazy with him. 

 i did work last night in the ICU.  regular non-covid patients. the r/o's at least in the more critical care areas have all ruled out as of last night. so that was the first night i felt fairly normal working.

 i transferred one patient out and had a spare bed the rest of the night.  we had open beds and were good on staff.  tonight i am on call again.  not sure how long that will last.  the hospital was a bit more full than it has been of late.  they are talking of starting up with some of the elective surgeries. 

 here is a sleepy covid cat.

 the knee...it feels much better, though i do think i will need to think about getting it checked out as it does feel a bit unstable anytime i don't have the knee support on it.  i wear that all the time unless i am sleeping or showering.  so...either it just needs a much longer time with the support or there is something more wrong with it. i am happy that i can get around.  got sore last night.  more because the chairs in that unit are high so my leg ends up with more dangle time.

 i also finished up the front walk project and hosed it down.

 that was halfway covered with lawn before i started so it really does look nice i think.  the touch part is keeping it looking good.

 today i also took the time to bring out the deck chairs.

 introduced Covi Kitty to it.  not sure he loves it. still does seem a bit anxious outside, which i am happy with. 

 he does keep me laughing. above he is chasing Ivy's tail, below he's after a moth.

 another sleepy cat shot.

 i think he was happy to be home though.

 more work on the cat run.  at least Miss Breezy was thrilled to have this option. 

 never sure how long it will last.  the screen invariably gets broached by a canine...usually Ivy Rose.

 more sleeping cat

 i think Breezy missed her new feline sibling as she was fairly attentive when he returned.

 they play together and she was even caught giving him a bath.

 hoping she loses some weight and gains some confidence. 

 day of neuter nap time

 jumping was limited that first day.  animals do recover quite quickly from these things though.

 happy if he is going to attempt escapes he is at least neutered. 

 i prefer him inside anyway just to save the birds, save him from using others yards as a litter box and save him from attacks by dogs and others, cars and other cats. 

 it can be a rough world out there.

 isn't this sweet!

 i ended up stacking logs/rocks up to level the thing, i know i was supposed to dig out the area but i got a bit lazy in the end.  eventually grasses will grow around it and close it up more.

 not that it really matters at this point.  keeping it short and sweet since i am on call.  better go look for that cat.  he had better not escape and break my heart!!  i have fallen quite attached to the little guy.

thankful for A.  a normal feeling night at work  B.  a safe surgery for Covi Kitty and C. all the furs in my life...it would be a sad and lonely place without them.

another beautiful day...

 loved this one of Tusker above.  such a handsome pup.

 yesterday i got a wee bit older.  Birthdays are land mines, like holidays.  you feel emotional when you don't need to..when the truth is it's really just another day.  i just did a loop in Kincaid.  not only was it my Birthday it was Memorial Day.  seems even odder to celebrate a Birthday on a day that is meant to also remember our fallen.  in the end, probably best to just hand it over to those who have lost their lives in service to our nation.  men, women and animals. 

 my friends daughter, MO came by to paint a flower mural on the back fence.  will need another painting session or two to finish it up no doubt, but i like to art things up, make them unique...I've done quite a bit of deck and fence painting....also started on the shed as well. 

 today i took the dogs to South fork trail in Eagle River.  we took a bit of Blossom as well.  she always enjoyed that trail.  the anti-cairners will be pissed and may even ruthlessly knock over my little memorial.  i guess that is what they do...although, i do laugh as one who hates the cairns that others make for unknown reasons admitted she also makes cairns at times...but those are to mark her trail...so clearly that is valuable.  always amazing to me.

 i have gotten some pots filled with flowers.  that is big up here and the garden person i had out last year was all, just plant pots, don't bother with trying to work on all these flower beds.  I've taken that advice to heart.  this is much easier.  we have short summers, I'd rather be out on the trails.  this time of year, May has become a time i really power out the yard stuff, the outdoor projects, then the rest of the summer i can play outside and do light maintenance until the fall comes and it all starts over again. 

 it was really beautiful out there.  we only went to just past the bridge, so that works out to about 5 miles.  doing much more than that, i do like to have someone with me i guess.  talking helps the miles pass more quickly. easier to focus on your aches when you are alone.

 the pups had a great time.  not much for crowds now that the holiday weekend is done.

 the artist!

 Ivy is still a fan of the new chair.  I'm really quite surprised that Tusker has not discovered the chair yet.  he's out on the deck right now.  i just checked on him as he was barking a wee bit. 

 I've done a bit more of the stencils but haven't gotten immersed into the shed painting or the railing for up front. still want to put at least a coat of stain on the wood that i can get to on the front of the house, that will just be plain stain though. that wood is looking rough and my neighbor replaced all hers.  i thanked her and joked that now mine looks like crap...haha. 

 had to put my artist in a cage of sorts, protect her from curious puppies.  i need to go pick up that temporary fencing stuff.  I'll feel better if it's up.  hopefully, the pups will not try to break through it. i suspect the fence guy will come while I'm in Homer kayaking.  hopefully all goes well, no escaped pups. 

 such a difference in color in the walks.  in the city we are all green, as you go up in the mountains though, there are still snow patches and the plants are just starting to bud up.

 this is a "fiddlehead".  it's what ferns do as they are growing.  i guess these fiddleheads are tasty if you fry them in butter.  i have never tried it...i think i always imagine loads of little bugs residing in there.  not a fan of eating bugs.  I'd do it in a pinch but i avoid it on a day to day basis.

 need to clean and pack and prep for the kayak trek...done so many I'm generally pretty quick but that first summer trip always takes some extra time.

 stopped by Lowe's. my deck table had flipped during a wind storm.  the glass had shattered like car glass does.  it was a mess. i had put the glassless table out front but nobody snagged it despite the free sign.  so i opted to repurpose it.  found some remnant bits of pressed board, got it cut to size and then found stick on linoleum.  it didn't really work out perfectly but it should work for a garden table.  I've decided after the fence is in I'll try to put pavers down in the space next to the shed...i can put the table there and use it for garden stuff, or art stuff i guess if i want to do that outside.

 i also finally put a hook on the shed door and hammered in some loose nails in the shed and fence.  so handy!

 there was a bit of a breeze so doing the stencils was not as easy as it should be.

 really this is all being done to avoid planning the big project inside..tomorrow i really need to start getting down to that. 

 people evolve, but not all of them.  some never seem to.  I'm always amazed at how some folks just never really change from who they were and what they believed.

 a moose crosses the trail ahead of me.  good timing.

 the rest are from today's walk.

 a certain actress, last name Bar, made a racist comment on her twitter feed...really what is it about twitter.  can people not control themselves in 140 characters or less.  she couldn't and now the repercussions are falling like rain. 

 i was never a fan.  i think I've seen a handful of the old shows, never saw the new ones.  her voice was always annoying to me.  then her little National Anthem stunt where she grabbed her crotch.  just gross.  when did this woman become popular with radical conservative types? baffling.  but then i have never understood the appeal of the current iitoo.  he's always been boorish. i really just don't get it.  they are angry at guys kneeling quietly during anthem but they look away at what she did during her National Anthem moment.

 so a lot of folks lose their jobs today because she can't control herself in 140 characters.

 feel a bit badly for them, but then again, it's not like this is new behavior.  it's not like she changed.  it's her. 

 racism is alive in our nation.  people are more emboldened to be arseholes because our current iitoo is an arse to folks.  he is racist.  they hate the whole political correct thing until it is about racism.  racism does hurt us all.  financially as well.  we'd be better off if we lifted up rather than tear down. we'd be better off if we dropped the stereotyping and spoke to the people themselves. we are all a lot more alike than we are different really.

 my Mom had some tendencies towards racism.  we all do really.  you hope each generation we improve, but in our nation we simply fought about it and then stuffed it under the rug like it never happened. the feelings didn't go away they just got wadded up, eventually, those feelings have begun to explode, all it took was someone to give them a place to explore in peace....

 of course, this is how things do go, which is why so many of us keep trying to sound the alarm.  after reading books about the Holocaust and about the killings in Rwanda.  the thing that struck me is that we are surrounding by people who would love to do terrible things but fear of getting in trouble prevents it.  all they need is for someone in power to give them the okay to be terrible people.  it's set up so well for that.  play the victim, blame the others, destroy the others.

 history does repeat itself.  the scenario is different, the faces are different but the hate, the fear, the deaths are not really so different.

 I'm sure my Mom believed her feelings towards others was not like the generation before her and that may have been true.  we all need to improve on how we treat those we share our nation with, our world.  stereotypes are there and they can be tough to battle back on.  facts help though. 

 wish people would speak to each other before just calling the police.  the police are trained to respond to Emergencies.  perhaps we need to have another non 9-1-1 line for minor disputes/concerns.  leave the police to handle the bigger emergencies..you know stuff that isn't 2 black guys sitting in a coffee house or 3 black people leaving a house with luggage (they had rented the house and were waiting for their ride back to the airport), or a woman who'd been studying hard that was napping in a public place.

 we need to treat immigrants and refugees well.  most or many of them have suffered great tragedies in their lives.  many are actually highly educated.  have met many tech, who was a trained nurse or even Dr in their former nation.  i recall when i was doing my testing to pass my boards seeing several fellow test takers looking stressed studying with a translation book right by their study books.  their family depended on them passing this test and supporting them. 

 the misnomer is that only the worst cross over our borders.  more often than not that just isn't the case.  in many ways those who are the worst off have no means to even attempt to escape. 

 the photos do not capture the beauty of the sky out there today.

 the dogs are looking beat. 

 i am looking forward to a good rest.

 not sure what the weather is doing tomorrow but i could use a rain day which will force me inside to do packing/cleaning and prepping for remodel later. 

 there were these few flowers already out. 

 soon flowers will be popping up everywhere.

 omg, apparently, iitoo is trying to save face and get the NKor meeting to happen.  when i heard that i laughed to myself thinking he's going to come back and tweet, "nobody knew how complicated things were in NK" then of course, he'll say only he can fix it.  really he just wants to build the first Trump tower NK complete with a gold club.  that is his real plan...a tower in every non-shithole nation.

 there are these steps and then the trail starts to get more muddy. 

 will have to make the trek back further later this summer when there is green on the trees. 

 so a relaxing weekend was had by all. some friends were having a bbq so i got an invite and they had prezzies and a cake for me. thanks!

 singleton life can come with a bit of a lowering of expectations surrounding holidays.  i do tend to find it's best to just treat those days like the Monday, Tuesday or Whatever day that they are.

 in general i think it's good to try to limit your expectations in life...then you will just be pleasantly surprised when things go great. a movie i saw years ago, "leaving Normal"  these women end up on a road trip to AK.  one is talking to someone she met up here and he asks "why does your friend hate it here" and she says, "i guess it wasn't what she expected", then he asks "why do you love it?" she just says, "i don't know, maybe because i didn't expect anything".  it's this reminder to try and keep expectations at a minimal...i find they tend to lead to disappointment if you keep them too high.

 i do expect the pups to be adorable and they are!

thankful for: A. the gift of another year lived.  B.  the sacrifices made by countrymen and women who did not get to have that next Birthday.  C.  hope