Awesome shot

When the lightning flashes, this is NOT what you want to see.

THIS IS A PICTURE THAT SOMEONE TOOK WHO WORKS ON AN OIL RIG. HE WAS GOING TO TAKE A PICTURE OF THE LIGHTNING AND WAS UNAWARE OF THE TORNADO UNTIL THE LIGHTNING ILLUMINATED IT.

This is a one-in-a-million photo...............


At least this is what it said in the email I got.

The last two nights at work have been brutal. The admits have been pouring in. Not just heart admits, it seems since we went self staffing we have become the official overflow floor. I have been taking care of patients having their appendix out, bowel resections, cancer, GI bleeds, you name it. Now to me a patient is a patient. They all need my care. But, we were so full last night we wouldn't have had room for a heart patient. And they can't just go to any old floor. They come to us or they go to ICU.

I have a underlying feeling these days I had better just be glad to have my job. The health care industry is going to go through some major changes and it isn't going to ever be the same. It needed changes, don't get me wrong. But that is not the changes that it is undergoing. I actually suspect we will be seeing less patients as more and more patients are not going to be treated as aggressively for some problems. And more and more people are not going to be able to afford the cost.

Hospitals and doctors offices are starting to ask for the deductible to be paid up front. Before the treatment. I was asked when I walked in for my last surgery if I wanted to. Now it was a choice. Soon it will be a part of the admission. No money, no treatment. It is that way in some countries already. Are you all ready for a rainy day.

Anyway. We ran our behinds off last night. I had preps to do, confused patients, very very ill patients and still all that charting. This would be a great job if we didn't have to do all that darn charting. I wish some days I could just say.... trust me, I did everything I was suppose to, LOL. And if I didn't have to write it all down I could do even more then I was suppose to.

Patients and families will walk by the desk and to them we all look like we are just sitting on our butts having a good ole time. Actually we are typing madly away trying to document every thing in the 100 places it needs to be documented to prove we are capable of doing our job and did everything that the patient needed. And it takes forever. Way slower then when we wrote it out. It takes so much time away from the patients themselves. Why can't we just dictate into a recorder and have it all recorded that way.

The smelly stuff is working great. I still have all my flowers. The deer came to the edge of the woods and stopped in their tracks. I could see them smelling the air. Looking around, nervous. What was that smell, what strange creature. Then they turned around. I will miss them but my shrubs and flowers will finally be able to grow in peace. The rabbits have been leaving them alone and I saw a butterfly on a blossom so thankfully they still find it attractive.

Well, time to close. We are making quesadilla's tonight for our mother's day pot luck. Yummy. I have chicken I have cooked all day that needs to be shredded and tomatoes to cut, onions to chop. We probably won't get time to eat LOL ...but if we do it is there.

Happy mothers day to you all out there.

Nancy Pelosi - Busted

I uh, I did not, huh, we didn't, huh, didn't know, huh, where never told...... about water boarding. Busted.

How many meetings have you ever been in where you didn't have to sign in? How many that you didn't know the agenda of the meeting? Did she seriously think no one would talk? Back your away out of this one Nancy and gee, is your nose growing?

How to lock your car door without getting ribbed off.

How to Lock Your Car and Why ,

I locked my car --- as I walked away I heard my car door unlock I went back and locked my car again three times. I looked around and there were two guys sitting in a car in the fire lane next to the store. When I looked straight at them they did not unlock my car again
.......
How to lock your car safely -
While traveling, my son stopped at a roadside park. He came out to his car less than 4-5 minutes later and found someone had gotten into his car, and stolen his cell phone, laptop computer, GPS navigator briefcase.....you name it...
He called the police and since there were no signs of his car being broken into - the police told him that there is a device that robbers are using now to clone your security code when you lock your doors on your car using your key-chain locking device..
They sit a distance away and watch for their next victim. They know you are going inside of the store, restaurant, or bathroom and have a few minutes to steal and run.

The police officer said to manually lock your car door-by hitting the l lock button inside the car, that way if there is someone siting in a parking lot watching for their next victim it will not be you.
When you hit the lock button on your car upon exiting...it does not send the security code, but if you walk away and use the door lock on your key chain - it sends the code through the airwaves where it can be stolen. Something totally new to us...and real.

Be aware of this and please pass this note on...look how many times we all lock our doors with our remote...just to be sure we remembered to lock them.....and bingo someone has our code...and whatever was in the car...can be stolen.

Snopes Approved.Please share with everyone you know... Good information!!!

My planters, Finally finished

The wicker basket I have been working on for the last 3 days is finally finished. Here it is with most of the old paint off. I still had a few hours of work to do picking the paint out.




But when I got it finished and the flowers in it, it was worth the effort. Should last a few more years. And it is very pretty.



Then remember the bent twig love seat I won last year?


I decided to create a special place for it. I am not sure I like the fencing but next year I will probably replace it with wrought iron fencing. I think I will wait until it goes on sale at the end of the summer. There is creeping charlie growing through the bricks which gives it a pleasing look even though the bricks are pretty uneven.



The two wrought iron planters I picked up for a buck at a auction. They were painted yellow, red, and blue. I repainted them the green and they look pretty darn nice. Can't beat the price as I have seen them go for a lot more. Now the spot looks better. In the back I am going to put some trellises with morning glories.



I have all my hanging baskets finished and they look nice. Sprayed with the stinky stuff the only thing they are attracting right now are flies.


And in my whiskey barrels I have my Coleus again. They make a great planter and are full of color. Hopefully the stinky stuff will keep the rabbits out this year.



Isn't the color on this african daisy great?


You can see the hail damage the flowers took but the new ones look fine. When they fill out it should look good again.


Back to work tonight. I slept well and am anxious to see how the last week went with the staffing. See if the new people are as thrilled. Take care all.

All my gray hairs are from Zoey

She managed to slip her leash again. It got snagged on something, and remembering the kind attentions of the golden haired dog down the block off she went. Calling her does absolutely no good. It happens so seldom that she just can't resist a little romp around the neighborhood at her own direction.

Chasing after does no good so I settled myself for a nerve wracking wait until she either hauled her tired butt home, or got herself hit by a car. Since she walked by letting her nose lead her instead of her cataract covered eyes she is apt to just walk right out in front of a car. Try as we might over the years to get her to stop at each corner and look she has a nose of her own and never would learn that. The scent is just to powerful. She also never learned come.

It pretty much ruined supper. Cussing her and trying to act ticked instead of worried sick we ate our meal in silence. Both of us frequently looking out the window. Listening as every car spend by at twice the normal speed limit for a cry of pain.

After dinner I went out to work on the planter. Sitting on the lawn chair I see her making her tired way through the woods and home. Head down, tail between her legs, as submissive looking as she could make herself. Please don't be mad her, her eyes plead, I just can't help myself. Relief floods through my body as I drop to my knees and hug her muddy self. Oh you silly old dog. You scared some years off of me. I couldn't help but notice it takes more out of her these days, these small infrequent escapes she makes. She walks like a old dog into the house for some fresh water.

The next day she is stiff and sore. Trying to jump up on the bed she is not able to and Rick lifts her 80 pounds up. My new gray hairs, her stiff old body. I am grateful she is back and she is grateful for the help up to the soft bed. And I thought teenagers were difficult.

Today she is back to her old self. Still has some trouble getting up in the high bed, but she can make it. But I am already planning on getting some steps. For I got a glimpse of the older dog in the shadows. And I think the day she doesn't make good her escape may bring tears....

Protecting the flowers

I have spent a fair amount so far putting my flowers in this year. They look lovely, well a little beaten up because of the hail, but they will look lovely. I don't want to feed them to the deer. So I got some liquid fence. It is suppose to keep deer, rabbit and anything else that eats plants away. Well I have to tell you. Nothing will go by those plants. That stuff stinks. Zoey was in the house and started barking her head off. It smells similar to a skunk or some other musk type animal. I don't think the deer will eat them, but I don't think the butterfly's, bee's or anything else will go close either. I had to shut my windows from the front of the house. Phew. What a smell. But..... it is better today. Oh, and don't get it on you. It is hard to get off and at the doc's I kept getting whiffs of it from probably my shoes.

My appointment went as expected. I wonder how different it would be if this wasn't a work comp injury. You do get treated differently. The underlying current is your just faking. Doesn't matter that I haven't missed any work. Doesn't matter that I am the most honest person I know. Doesn't matter that it Did indeed happen at work. Doesn't matter if the MRI and Xray's prove it. They will drag their heels forever treating you. I wish it hadn't happened but I really truly wish if it had to happen it wouldn't have happened at work. I will never know for sure, but people I have talked to that have had this injury have been treated alot more aggressively then if you did it WC. It has been over 5 months.

He did let me start lifting more. 5 whole pounds. I worry how long they will let me go like this at work. It's not like I want surgery. But if the tear ribs completely it is a big surgery. It takes forever to recover from. Would fixing it now save me months of recovery and my job?

They will do everything possible to keep you from having surgery. They have to pay you if you have surgery. So instead they will opt to inject steroids that over time can destroy your cartiledge rather then do a repair. Would the treatment be the same if I had hurt myself at home. I have a feeling it would be.

This is simular to how our insurance is going to be. If your a certain age and without supplemental insurance your not going to get treated for certain conditions. They are already setting it up in some offices by adding the computer programs needed. Yes it makes sense to have supplimental insurance when your on medicare, but many won't be able to afford it. It is pricey. So many won't get treated. As our President said, seniors will have to learn to live with their conditions. Bad knees, bad hips, bad kidneys, or bad hearts. Just too expensive to treat you anymore. Once people have served their usefullness they will be discarded. Put on the icefloat so to speak. For the good of the people.

The thing is as a nurse I see many things I think are ridiculous. We do dialysis on many patients who have so many things wrong with them and their body is trying to do the natural thing, shut down. Heart surgeries on patients in their late 80's that maybe medical treatment makes more sense. We buy people a few months at a huge cost of money. The end result will be the same. And, I am certain there will be many things I will refuse to have done to me. There comes a time to us all when we have to call it good and enter the next phase. Shorter for some then for others but always it is there at the end.

But new knee's or new hips. By all means, its painful and life disrupting. Fix it by all means. Quality of life should be as good as we can get it. Pain free is everyones right. So far.

Gee, you didn't think this was going to turn into a rave did you. I did't either. Just rambling once again before I go out and tackle that wicker planter. I still haven't finished it. 3 cans of spray paint and it still needs more and then I have to seal it. It had better look great by the time I am done. Then I have to get more flowers. Rick will be so thrilled.

Well, guess this is all for now.

Monday already

A large clap of thunder rudely awakened me from a nice dream this morning followed closely by the unmistakable sound of hail hitting the roof. Oh no, my newly planted flowers.

Looking out the window I watched sadly as the nickle sized hail beat my Jade tree and new flowers to shreds. Gee, and they were so pretty. I just planted the African Daisy's a few days ago and they were so pretty. But, the new buds look good and they should survive. Not sure about the old Jade tree though.

I have been busy the last 2 days picking off the old paint from my old wicker planter. It is due for a new paint job. It takes forever to get the old paint off, but it is so flaky you can't really leave it on and spray over it. So pick pick pick. I am hoping it dries up and the sun comes up so I can paint it today. And my plant holders.

Isn't it great to be outdoors and digging in the dirt after such a long winter. Flowers all over and birds of all species at the feeders. I bought my son and his girlfriend a new feeder for their new home. It looks pretty good and they have done a great job fixing it up.

I did't get my ride in the other day. Rick wasn't ready so I started on the planter and then before we knew it it was late and we had dinner plans with my son's. Maybe a short one today if the sun comes out and stays.

I see my shoulder doc today. My shoulder is feeling pretty good today. It still catches and I still get some pretty awful pain shooting down my arm at times but the majority of the time it is just a dull ache. I can live with that. I am not sure what will happen when I start using it, if it will get better or rip the rest of the way but I think it is time to find out.

OK, some things that worry me. Does it worry you how our government using strong arm tactics just took over the auto industry? They now own 30%. They want to take over our banks. The latest is they want to take over student loans also. You can guess who will get approval for loans and what the qualifications will be.

Isn't this the type of strong arm behavior that has landed a certain group long jail terms. Is our government making them offers they can't refuse? Yes! One bank was told that if they didn't go along with it the White house press core would be set loose on them and run them to the ground. We have seen that happen before.

Look what they are doing to successful business, making them the enemy. The evil company men making money hand over hand while the poor worker barely can afford a 50 inch plasma screen. No matter that these companies have employed half the town and if they close the jobs will be gone. They are evil and they must share the wealth. Makes my BIL happy. Yup, share that wealth with me even though I haven't held a real job in 15 years.

People better start waking up. This is getting just ridiculous. While they keep inflated crisis's in the news, AKA, swine flu or some other smoke screen they are still busy behind the screen taking over private business. Taking control of your bank. Which means they will be taking control of your money. And they have been so historically good and making your savings grow, not....... only in their pockets.

The latest bit of madness I heard out of Washington. You know who homeland security now thinks of as the BIGGEST THREAT TO THE COUNTRY? Our returning vets. YOU KNOW, THE YOUNG MEN AND WOMAN WHO HAVE PUT THEIR LIVES ON THE LINE FOR US!
Why you may ask. Why are they as dangerous as the evil people who went to the tea parties protested over taxation? Because they are not happy with our new Commander in Chief they fear. And we have trained them to use guns. So they are a Threat. Well..... this just ticks me off.





Ok, That about covers it. Time to go shopping. I have to put my bentwood love seat I won out and they said I should spray it with something if I planned to keep it outside. So need to find something to protect it. Later all.

First Bike ride of the year

It will be a short one as we are not sure we have the air for it yet since that cough is lingering forever but..... today is the day. I hope my legs are up to it. I have my sunscreen ready and that stupid hat ready and I am ready.



I have been wearing a hat while out in the sun. Yesterday I planted alot of my flowers. I have fine hair. My head sweats alot when it is hot. It does a number on my hair. On TV women would take their hats off and not a hair out of place. They looked marvelous darling. I take my hat off, I have a flat damp ring around my head and my hair is bunched up on top my head looking like I decided a mohawk was the look I was going for. I will either have to leave it on at all times for carry curling irons and hair spray with me.



Its not like I am overly concerned with my looks. I rarely wear makeup, I have been known to forget to comb my hair, that's why I love short hair, but still...... I do hate to draw attention to myself. How can you be an observer of human nature if they are busy observing you?



I have been reading my Steven Hawking books. What a marvelous read. I always loved black holes and worm holes and all the possibilities that go with it. Your head just goes into this fantasy land. I remember watching the Terminator and it ticked me off. Obviously they were never going to be able to kill Sarah Connor because if it had worked it wouldn't be something they wouldn't even think about in the furture. The need wouldn't have exsisted. Such a glaring flaw in the entire movie drove me nuts.



Terrible eating last night. Well actually great eating.... we went to a new Mexican restaurant with the kids. The food was superb and the margareta to die for. Yummy. I don't even know how to count up those calories, but I am sure they far exceeded my daily limit. But it was fun and only the rocks live forever. You can have an occasional night like that if you jump right back on track which is what I am doing.

Well, I had better get ready. I have to get my camera packed just in case and feed Chester who seems to have left behind in the move. That's OK. He is a sweetie and I missed him last time he left. Talk to you all later.

Donna has been doing tags again, isn't it cute. I can't get the animation to work though no matter how I save it. So many things aren't working right since I put it on ebook. Sigh.