Forces Beyond Our Control Are At Work Here

The weather has been wild to say the least. Thursday was in the 50's with rain which led to melting - that would've been A-OK if it was spring. It is not spring. I had to drive to work that night and the fog was unreal - I got to work by following the center line of the road, in some parts it was so bad I couldn't even see that. I was so afraid of losing the road and accidently getting lost. If I had, I would've had to stay there til morning since I don't know the area well enough to find my way back and one wrong turn and you could end up in Canada.  Friday was the high 30's which furthered the melting into flooding AND it started snowing- freezing raining. David turned around and brought Jackson home since the roads were nasty and flooded and he figured there wasn't any school. He figured wrong so Jackson got another free day courtesy of Dad. We then got snow-snow and it was off to work again last night, but the roads were all cleared by then. I've got to say they're pretty good about road maintenance around here. This morning I had a new problem because the temps had dropped back down into the teens and due to all the melting  snow and ice MY ENTIRE CAR WAS FROZEN SHUT. I couldn't even get it unlocked! I did manage to get the back window open and with a bit of tugging got the door open too. So I threw in my backpack and went over the seats - I was off today and was NOT spending it in the parking lot of Wayne Memorial. I put the heat on high and by the time I got home the driver's side was unlocked. David continues on the bedroom upstairs, he's put in two big windows and I'm not sure why since he is married to a Vampire - big windows and I don't get along in the daytime. Between that and  the french doors, not to mention the already-there floor to ceiling window we'll be going broke buying black-out shades. I also got David to cut the back of my hair today, I cut the parts I could reach but not the parts I can't see since that would probably not be a good idea. My hair is so flat and thin I hate to spend time and money on something that takes two minutes at home. So I once again got my hair done in Chez-Kitchen - cheap and convinent and always open. Jackson's busy tending the fire today with Vincent supervising. That aspect if VERY important to the cat!

Bermuda, Bahamas, Come On Pretty Momma....

David insists on cranking the woodstove at all times lately (possibly related to the last heating bill.....) so the downstairs family room has a tropical atmosphere, you almost expect to see palm trees waving by the workshop. I worked on the PCU unit last night (Progressive Care Unit) - it was very OK. You have to give out your own meds but you only have 6 patients so it's a good trade off. One of the nurses I work with had pictures of her Florida vacation and I thought it was a group shot with Mickey Mouse - but it was just her and her TEN kids, holy toledo Batman! AND she's due in July - since I had trouble dealing with two children almost 7 years apart you just know it boggles my mind. And she works full time! I'm thinking of starting a knitting club here in the hideout, I posted on the hideout website and got a few responses so I'm going to be looking into that next week when things are a bit more settled. This morning was a bit of a rush from work, I'm playing catch-up with job requirements and finally got all my "pre-employment" done. Got my physical in the ER, the doctor down there's very nice but I got a little surprise when she told me she heard a click which is a mitral valve prolapse. That's one of the valves in your heart doesn't shut right, but it's a fairly common and benign condition. I did look it up on the internet and came across a holistic "doctor" website that claimed people with MVP are "wired differently" and are prone to over-reaction to any stress - wow. I have no idea who he might be talking about, I myself NEVER over react. He also claimed they're also more prone to diarherra which I have to say might not be a good thing if you're going to be over reacting to stuff. All my time might now have to be taken up shrieking and pooping. It might be wise not to surprise me. The weather has turned warmer so everything's melting into a sloppy mess right now. I wouldn't mind but I know the temp will drop and we'll have car/ice sculptures again. I finally bought ice skates so maybe I'll get to use them. And school was cancelled again today. Oh well, Aloha from Lake Ariel!

They cancelled school again today, the weather was right and it's STILL snowing. It's supposed to turn to rain tonight so I hope the roads dont get too bad as I'm working the 11 to 7 am. Last night was my first on the nightshift and I was relieved to find it was stocked with it's usual cast of characters (including me!) all of whom have personality quirks. It was fun but on the other hand my preceptor and I only had one patient that was fairly stable so it wasn't hard. I finally got a picture of Vincent carrying his toy ball, we found him doing this last week and did a double take when he walked by. If the ball lands somewhere he doesn't like he picks it up and carries it to a better spot, it's very odd to see a cat walking around with a ball in his mouth though.  I found some old pictures of the loft area and posted them so you could see the difference of the past few months. David has been going great guns and has been installing the window overlooking the hourse pasture. He's got all the major stuff done and I figure we have the rest of the winter to finish it. The snow continues to fall, they had predicted 2 -4 inches but I'm thinking it might end up being more.

And I thought we were in the "sun belt"......

We finally got some snow - 5 inches followed by freezing rain - there's nothing more exciting than driving to work without the benefit of brakes. I especially loved it when the tail-gater attempted to pass me and fishtailed right away which convinced them to stay away. Work has been going well (so far). Small town hospitals can have the best toys since they get  alot more government grants and community funding. They have a calendar of on going in house classes and will accomodate your schedule to them.  I had a patient die on me this week and that lead to Fun And Games in the morgue. We brought the body down but hadn't put the bed up and got the body stuck hanging off the bed. The door opened a crack and it was a guy in a flannel shirt and baseball cap. Turned out he was from the funeral home coming for another body and was happy to help. We found an outlet to raise the bed so we trudled over (everyone hanging on)and there was a sound at the door. You know how it is - you go in the morgue EVERYONE goes in the morgue. But not this time - someone on the other side had locked the deadbolt and the other nurse was pulling at the door so it was REALLY locked. Good thing the supervisor waited before walking away - she thought someone had left it open. So then she came in followed by the director of the funeral home who was wondering what was taking so long......we had quite a crowd going. We got everyone squared away and managed to get  back to the floor before end of shift. The hospital is very small town and when the other nurses read the paper they know all the suspects and victims and can pretty much tell you if they've always been trouble. Jackson's been home most of the week, they cancelled school on Wednesday and Thursday and then 2 our delay on Friday so he considers this a Sucessful Week In School. Animals are all fine of course, David's been using the woodstove alot and we've noticed that Vincent doesn't move a muscle until the last ember has died out. That 2nd picture is exactly how he stays for hour, Outside no longer exists for him. I think he's  sucessfully Made The World Go Away!

Cats, cats and more cats!

Mr. Lee has recently started waking us up around 4 am - ish again. We try to ignore her but having a small cat marching up and down your body while meowing is pretty hard. Since I've got to be up early anyhow this week it's not a big deal I suppose. Orientation was the usual - not as bad as others but by 9 am I was wiggling in my seat and clock watching. Today is 8 hours of IV talk and then back on the floor for the rest of the week. The weather is going to change today, we are under a winter storm watch which Jackson has been encouraging - he gloats everytime we watch the weather and feels it's a done deal. They delay school for every little bit of snow we've had so far so he's busy plotting and planning his free time. The people that bought the house next door were out for a couple days last week but we didn't see them, just saw the car in the driveway and lights on. I think they have small children so hopefully they will be just weekenders! I'm a bit more tolerant of small children as long as they're quiet and stay away from me. David continues to work on his loft project, I'll take pictures in a couple days - the sheetrock is up and the doors are in. We are having a bit of an arguement since that area has large windows and a slider and I cannot sleep during the day if the room is going to be lit up like JFK.

A Boy And His Cat

The Gestapo called on Saturday morning, they had stopped some strange polish guy at the gate. I told them to go ahead and frisk him, but they were NOT amused - the whole thing was stupid. They see Ray all the time but rules are rules. David told Ray he was lucky they didn't do a cavity search or set the dogs on him. Despite the excitemtn at the gate we had a VERY nice weekend as the temps were in the high 40's to 50's. We went to the indoor flea market, Ray found it very interesting. He also got a good deal on picture frames at AC Moores, they were having a 40% off sale on  them. He does a lot of watercolors so he's always looking for frames. When we go to Dickson City David heads off to Home Depot and we head off to the arts and crafts store. David's been busy building on the loft, it's coming along very fast - he's trying to get as much done before I go on nights which hopefully should be soon. I had my first day of orientation on the floor yesterday - my preceptor was overwhelmed so I just started doing stuff the best I could. I did an admission, called a doctor for verification, transcribed orders and put orders in the computer with no guidance. The preceptor started getting testy with me because she couldn't find the labs in the chart I'd put together - that would be because she had them in her folder, sheesh!! I'll be glad to go back on nights, this day stuff is for the birds. I've got to go to hospital orientation today, IV stuff tomorrow, back on the floor on Thursday. They're calling for bad weather on Wednesday but up in the 50's on Sunday - this weather is crazy

Happy New Year!

I don't know about you, but I'm glad that's over! I've lived in 3 states, had 4 jobs, acquired a cat, was threatened with a lawsuit, gained some weight and lost some money, all in the space of a year. I get tired just looking at that little list. The only thing I have control over is my weight so I guess  a diet would be in order. The cat is out of control 24/7 so there's no point in even talking about that! Vincent had a wonderful holiday involving the tree, he whapped all the ornaments off of it. We imagined he was a hockey player in a former life as we laid in bed listening to our decorations exploding against the walls (HE SHOOTS AND SCORES!). David decided to take it down yesterday after we walked by  and the entire tree was shaking like an earthquake. Mr. Lee even has a new activity - Bothering Vincent which is a sucessful venture in her book. She's been busy playing on the new loft area, it's an endless source of facsination for her. Jackson desparately needs to get back to school, he beat Fable yesterday by playing it for 6 to 8 hours straight a day and is starting to look like Smeagol. David sent off the last of things Adam forgot - he's doing fine by the way and I think he feels much better about life in general after his trip home. Ray's coming out today, the weather here has been in the 40's and 50's so David invited him out. It's a much easier ride for him than when we lived on LI and with the weather so nice he can come visit later in the year. It'll be fun to celebrate the New Year with him and HOPEFULLY, we can stay in one place!! Happy New Year!