Iditarod time...

i still have to look at a few from the Ceremonial start in Anchorage. the big camera. it was -7 with a wind chill down town.  i wandered around until they started to run and then i headed closer to home to a turn that tends to make for some great crashes. 

there wasn't a big group headed out the next day and my back has been a bit sore these past weeks so this was the first year i've skipped the restart in Willow. only 38 teams so the drive i think kept some folks from wanting to go. Dallas is back in this year.  will he get another win...he's hard to beat. 

i get the Iditarod insider on their web site so that gives me access to videos.  last night i watched the restart in Willow. not too exciting.  one dog seemed to get loose as the team took off.  never heard anything about that so they must have got it caught and back in line.  another time a guy, who was helping hold the team, got pulled under the dogs as they were getting excited to take off. as the dogs took off he got pulled out the other side by other crew.  no mention of that.  the announcer seemed to be doing this for the first time.  she had difficulty pronouncing some of the names.  i mean names of veterans, she was just reading.  she'd even start with "this says...". oh well.  hopefully, a new generation of crew are getting installed.  the race has changed over the years...like most stuff, kinder, gentler. less wild like it once was. more safe for dogs and humans overall. always a risk though

the moose are always a risk. near where i was it looked like a moose held up the teams for the ceremonial start.  i suspect it was the same moose that i encountered later that day at the dog park. that is where i have my spot. right by the park. i went home grabbed the dogs  and headed back.  Sunny took off...there was a moose. that moose was annoyed and Sunny got charged a few times. i yelled and ran the other direction which got Sunny to come back. he was leashed the rest of the walk

every so often i question...should i let them run free or should i leash them. dogs have short lives and i really do not want them to have an even shorter life. it makes me nervous any close encounters like this, in the summer there are also bears out there. i lean towards more off leash fun for them than not.  more in winter than summer. the bears...they can kill me to. those dogs run much faster than me. i suspect humans have these sort of issues with human kids.  how much freedom? when do you protect, when do you let them learn?  i would be heartbroken if anything happened, but i think their lives would be less joyful if i let fear of what may happen limit their activities at all times. 

Dallas had another run in with a moose rather quickly on the trail to Nome.  i guess an angry moose was giving the teams grief out there. one musher slugged the moose in the nose.  makes me think the moose was close but passing. Dallas much have had a more dangerous encounter. one of his dogs ended up having to be shipped to the ER in Anchorage.  Dallas shot the moose.  the rules are that you dress the moose out i guess. anyone that comes behind helps. the moose blocked the trail anyway.  

the dog has been discharged from the hospital, the moose...just discharged. 

i won't have nearly the number of photo's of dogs like most years.  i have a lot of dog photo's.  it is fun and hopefully, next year we have a bigger crew for the restart run.  this week i start doing 2 shifts/week so that may help my general aches. slowing down on the heavy lifting.  

will ponder some other job to make up a bit of the money loss perhaps, or i could pick up random shifts.  we shall see. i'm not that excited to pick up more shifts overnight. 

it may be nice to do some totally different work.  no clue yet. just getting more and more ready to wean myself off of the hospital work. 

enjoying reading more. getting my steps/walks in.  yesterday felt more lazy.  thank you LS for stopping by to help me get the outside dog kennel back up after the wind had blown it over and snow had covered it up.  i did get the dogs out for a leash walk...which is good training. 

not sure what i'll do with my extra free day tomorrow.  probably be terrified that they will call and say i didn't start the two day week and i better come in to work. i'll probably look at the schedule again tomorrow morning to make sure. 

i did manage to get some days in Homer scheduled for April, May and July.  so that will be good. the web site has been strange. sometimes just saying no rooms available, when i called them, there were rooms available.  also room 12, sl cheaper before the season starts wasn't listed. anyway, the call got me sorted out and she said they would check the computer site. make sure there aren't glitches. so we have 3 escapes for low tides at the Driftwood. 

watched a series about these "schools" for difficult teenagers.  many of them are by the same guy but he rebrands them and restarts them when the cruel and abusive stuff gets places shut down.  the girl who did this series was at one that's been shut down. they just walked away from the place and so this girl and others who had been forced into this place have gone in there and removed records and video. crazy it was all just left behind. 

anyway. there is a bit of a Mormon connection in that the family/guy who seems to own a large number of these programs is or was Mormon? there are 100's of these programs/schools in Utah. these guys donate a lot to Republicans mostly. there has been a lot of abuse of all sorts.  one guy was breaking down about his treatment.  he started a riot, ended up in prison and said prison was a cake walk compared to the cruelty of this "school".  their education was not accredited and so those who ended up graduating had a worthless diploma. Utah is like the point of origin for much of it.  the programs cost little to operate as they often feed very little, use the kids for labor, have poor or no training programs for employees. it's a cash cow.  now they are even doing programs focused on adopted kids/foster kids so they can get government money. 

it's almost like the parents are duped. sounds almost like the parents are the cult members, believing all the hype of a fix.  giving over power/control of their kids. not being allowed to really have much contact/visits.  the kids are just the victims. often the kids get taken from their homes by staff that literally kidnap the kids.  strip searches, violence, abuse, which is mental, emotional, sexual and physical. 

lot of post program suicides, drug overdoses. so whatever "fix" they say they give is generally temporary. these kids later will be hesitant to get help since the help turned out to be a hell. anyway, i think it was called Program, con, cult...something like that.  interesting. 

today was beautiful.  i ended up going out to N. Biv and doing the big loop. then i just took a drive down Turnigan Arm. turned around after Girdwood.  just a pretty day.  lots of reflections.

as the weather warms and the roads improve...it's a great time to wander a bit further from home.  we all get a bit of the cabin fever.  some fly out, hit some warm places when it's cold here.  this is one of my favorite times. still snow and frozen lakes, more light...lots of fun things to do. 

spring seems to come rushing towards us once the fur rondy is done and the dogs take off to Nome

mostly, right now, it still looks like this. 

i like the white stuff so i'm okay with that.  it warmed into the 30's today.  

Portage Lake is still frozen from reports...tempting to head out there tomorrow. who knows.  depends on what i feel like doing tomorrow. what the weather looks like.  i tend to go where it looks best. 

these guys could care less.  i also want to avoid too moosey areas after Sunny's last run in.  that really does stress me out though.  brat. 

later i dropped an empty bottle near him and he about flew out of his skin...so that terrifies him but charging a moose and having said moose charge back...fun! 

luckily he does move fairly quickly...but so do the moose. these are from the Ceremonial start.  the dog park is about 100 feet behind those viewers.  this corner is action filled. 

lots of spills and near misses. also you can watch the experienced teams take this curve with ease and skill. 

i took lots of video's. fun to catch them flying. 

this one above is from todays drive. the pictures get all mashed once i put them on the computer. 

this team is stopped because there's been a spill. 

above is again from today's drive.  look at that reflection! wow!

this is Ivy attempting to retrieve a tennis ball.  down there deep is a small creek. the ball was not recovered, but she did give it a valiant effort. she always does

this shot below was supposed to load first.  can't always tell what will happen when i load shots. 

grateful for: A. all the fun Alaskan experiences like watching these teams every year. B. friends to hang out with. C. dogs, dogs and more dogs. 
 

Fur Rondy time...

 

last stretch with 3 shifts in a row, hopefully anyway. i suppose it could happen again. i'm officially .6 part time so 2 shifts/week required. will be great.  i'm just slowly backing out of the current job.  hoping this makes things much better. if not...then it will just push me closer to straight up retiring. it is nice to have the option really. 

had my evaluation this last week.  i'm average...at least that is how the upper management would see me according to my files. i'm sure they prefer all their employees to be average..then it makes it easier for them to ditch us anytime they want. 

when i first became a nurse i bought in to all the fluff about us being professionals.  we are blue collar workers.  we clock in and out and our time all must be accounted for. i have loved working 12 hour shifts for years.  in that whole life/work balance thing, i have been way ahead. overall it's been a good career.  able to take care of myself. met great people and every 12 hours you do seem to manage to make some ones life a little better. happy i wasn't some corporate drone, lost in the money loop.  more money just leads to more trouble in many cases. not that any of us wouldn't always love more money...it's just that it's not all it's cracked up to be.  

simplicity is probably a more manageable, fulfilling life. it works for me.  my work can be frustrating, especially if i think of the big picture..and post covid i have thought more of how little we are respected by administration.  that is frustrating to me. we should have gotten more recognition and appreciation for what we did for our community and for our hospital. that will never happen though. 

you can only dwell on those things for so long until you just know you have to let it go. 

it's what we do for each other and what we do for our patients that counts.  it's part of why i have stayed on nights.  cuts the bull and at night you are just a crew of people taking care of sick and injured as a team.  days...it's just too many reminders of how little you are valued by admin.  luckily, i have a pretty nice middle management team...the other reason i have stayed.  i'm really not that difficult to please in many ways. i work to live not live to work...

i'm sure on the outside, my life is pretty basic, but that has been a very great life. 

suspect covid pushed us all farther faster toward burn out. many of the younger nurses are already in burn out mode. with aging i find it's easy to imagine yourself having all sorts of medical issues. i can imagine myself into a frenzy.  overall, i'm doing pretty well for the age i am compared to many and probably not as well compared to others. 

got my echocardiogram. just mild leaking in a few valves. of course, this sort of caused me some stress and anxiety.  you want there to be nothing wrong with you but that isn't how aging works. we are all classic cars at a certain point. in need of special care and constant attention. 

last week i worked ER-Renal Care-ER.  i got to escape an hour or two early for both of those ER nights. got to walk a dog one night.  made me want to work with dogs and cats again...maybe i'll look for a vet tech/front office gig at a clinic. even just for a bit for a break from what i do. 

this week was PCU-ICU.  i was cranky last night in ICU just because they gave me the triple but it always feels like they just downgrade too fast sometimes. in the end it wasn't a bad night. i got over whining. 

the fur rondy is in full swing.  i worked through the dog sprint races but have hit a few of my favorite events.  the snow sculptures were up so i headed down town Sunday.  there are some good ones. my most favorite this year depicted the salmon life cycle.  very detailed, impressive. 

today i headed over to the Dimond Mall where natives gather with their arts and crafts for sale.  always just some amazing stuff.  ended up buying a few pairs of earrings and a painted piece of baleen. it was a little pricey but i was able to barter her down a bit so that helped. i have a few things to hang up on the walls so perhaps i'll do a bit of that tomorrow. today was bills and litter and stuff

changed out the back seat dog cover. the other one had gotten worn out over these past few years.  it was time. there was a hole in it and worried Ivy would fall through the hole. 

this pretty puppy below had her 8th Birthday last week. i am aware that dogs are not aware of their Birthdays but i still like to make it special. it's still a little tough each year knowing Tusker isn't here to celebrate with us.  i got her some toys treats and then we had a great walk followed by pool time.  was able to get Ivy Rose pool time on her special day.  we attempted to convince Sunny Boy to swim but he wasn't interested. he had a great time running around the pool and wading in to steal Ivy's tennis ball as soon as she came out of the water.  both dogs were exhausted that evening. 

otherwise just the usual walks and activities that happen in my life. there are a few books on my reading list so perhaps i can get some chill reading time in.  

this weekend is Iditarod.  the winter seems to speed up as these events happen and the light lengthens. 

still need to book some time in Homer. looks like a good low tide coming up in April. always need escapes to look forward to. we also have Tonsina cabin lined up for late April

other than the internal drama my brain puts me through life has been pretty calm.  

i mean there is the usual drama of politics and all that but there really isn't much i can do. people are going to have to make their own choices and live with the consequences. i'm disturbed by it all and by the support that this idiot still garnishes.  these fools just keep sending him money. as they say a fool and their money...

we should be lined up for our event at REI. always scary planning public events. 

i made some little flyers and put some up at the hospital in a few units. i also took one down to REI for them to put up.  need to look on their web page and see what they put in there...maybe send them a few photos to add in to their listings for our lecture. with covid, the crew at REI and Fish and Game have both changed up. so that makes it a bit more stressful. 

these are of our night at Orca Island.  a little spendy but worth it i think.  still not a place i will head to over and over. so happy i had a willing guest so i could go check it out.  so fun and so beautiful.

below is not Orca Island as it rained the full 24 hours we were there. 

we shall see what this summer brings. hopefully, lots of our door time. i will need to repair the little free library.  it's not surviving the winter.  the main box is okay but it's falling off the post. 

the Skelly's are falling apart as well. may put them out with free signs at some point and replace them.  got them into St Patricks Day attire tonight. 

this bridge out at Orca Island is so picturesque. if i was out there more i would just take photo after photo with different light/tides. i imagine sunset/sunrise shots as well. 

as the light returns i feel more like getting out further from my home base.  

we will have a late spring again this next year as we have so much snow to melt.  it is always surprising how fast this place changes up. i should start more intense spring cleaning projects.  i also really should get some projects going at the house. 

these memories from this summer trip will for sure last a life time. 

me and the sisters. Homer. these must be the wonderful photos that were taken by SH.  she is an amazing photographer.  i suspect like me, she is often more comfortable behind the camera than in front of the camera. it was such a perfect group, all 6 of us. reminds me of the Chilkoot hike...just the perfect group to be traveling with.  so much positive energy and support. 

and back to Orca Island. we saw a humpback while we were out there, no orca's. 

the yurts were very comfortable. 

mushrooms!!

below is a nice shot of those kayak holders that you slide the kayak into. not as stable as i assumed and i looked like an old lady trying to get myself out of the boat.  pretty embarrassing actually. haha. 

a stop to enjoy the lupine 

sunset at Bishops Beach

more from the Matanuska Glacier tour.  another treat 

lost my internet for a bit last night. thankfully,  this draft, though incomplete remains.  so it's just like when you are on the phone talking away but the connection was lost and you are speaking to nobody. 

not sure of my plans yet today.  it's 3 degrees out there and the tide is going out so perhaps a little beach walk will happen. 

the other day there was a tiktok, a girl dressed head to toe in Maga crap.  she was talking about swifties not knowing they were in a cult.  i suspect that she was being ironic and wasn't a maga rat at all. i was laughing though. i'd much rather join a happy, loving, hugging, singing, dancing, bracelet sharing cult than the cult of hatred, division, guns, rights removal and an orange turd leader. sign me up. 

Swift finished in Australia and now heads to Singapore next.  that place is already decked out and prepped for their Swift invasion.  special added trains just to get to and from the show.  selfie ops through out. not sure how she ever tops what she has done this past year, career wise. she is sure taking advantage of this moment she is having. i don't think she will go quietly into the night after this though.  some stars remain relevant their entire lives...folks like Dolly and Betty White. for some their talent isn't really appreciated for decades. i always say artists are unique and unlike most of us, they aren't quite as replaceable as we are. 

i am now the oldest, aside from some Dr's, when i work.  most nurses have left the bedside entirely by this age or have moved to days.  no idea how old M in ICu is or EP in ER..older than me and still kicking butt as nurses.  many of the younger ones are ready to book after a year or two. no idea how these places are going to keep staff once the old guard leaves. right now it feels like constant turn over.  was talking with my younger co-workers the other night. it often comes up...they want to know what things are different from when i started...i also mentioned how one day they will be thinking about all the things that have changed since they entered nursing. it is another thing many of us like in medicine.  

of course, all this immigration bashing, can only be bad for this profession.  when i look around, i know these hospitals would fail completely without staff at all levels that have come from elsewhere. stats say that the vast number of advanced degrees being earned in our nations universities are from other countries.  those people are bringing to much to our nation and this negativity and hatred will drive the brain power out of this nation and take it to others. it's not just brain power though.  workers at all levels are needed. the drug addicts and alcoholics i see on a regular basis...i gotta say, they are not first or second generation immigrants. just saying. with out immigration in all forms...our nation fails. 

better get the day going.  shower, walk, hang photos...

thankful for A. shorter work weeks. B. dogs, they are just so amazing. C. the artistic gifts all around us.