Update

There isn't actually a lot to report here. I have been feeling somewhat busy, though I think that is just because I have been tired lately. Sleeping is never a problem for me.
Richard is making chili right now. He has been making food and freezing it for lunches for the last couple weeks. He has also bought a lot of gladware.
My leg/back is quite a bit better from physio, though I still find that it is annoyingly weak. Noticeable with stairs and stuff. I still don't know if WCB will cover it or not. I didn't fill out forms very promptly, which does not help. I think I should find out this week or next. It's just for the physio really, which I can claim on my extended medical if WCB doesn't cough up. Though WCB would cover more I think.
Our trip to GP was good, though it is a long ways away. The drive was beautiful, the whole way is quite scenic. Sandi and Jim came to visit. the Long's house looks quite nice. We went past our old houses, went to the Wapiti River Park-picked rocks there, and went to Saskatoon Lake too. Mom and I went to visit Rose and Ed Pardell. Ed is still working...82 years old I think. It was good to see Laura, Wilf and Henry and Jim and Sandi too.
I just read a good book about a serial killer, 'Heartsick'.
Joshua, Bill's (Richard's brother) son is home from his heart surgery. His aorta was narrowed, so they had to operate as his blood pressure was super high-I think 200/120 at times. It's a big surgery, similar to Dad's. I'm guessing that they resectioned the aorta. Anyway, he is recovering well.
I'm looking forward to seeing Theresa, Geoff, and Will next week. I'll be off work the whole time they are here, I believe. I hope weather is nice, I'd like to take them on the Greenway walk, the Rutland area. We haven't turned on the heat yet, but it is getting cooler out. Richard will resist it as he is reading a book on greener living. he thinks we should hang out our laundry all winter. Which we probably should, but I think the clothes would take about a week to dry.
I will be preceptoring a nurse from the UK for some shifts. She sounded nice on the phone. I am feeling somewhat frustrated with work, not the work itself but some attitudes there. Sigh, when will psychiatric nursing enter the 21st century? Anyway, I discussed things with the educator and manager (who are both excellent), so hope that things will change. I'm sitting on the nursing practice committee-and I did some research on substance use by in-patients as it is an issue. It is early days yet, but I am hopeful that perhaps it might develop into a hospital-wide arm reduction approach. I am probably being too optimistic about things as it is such a huge bureaucracy.
I'm also representing our residents association with the supportive housing place that just opened downtown-for people with mental health and addictions to get people off the street. I'm also on the board of Lifestyle Equity. So perhaps I am justified in feeling busy.
Or else I am lazy. Because when I have more things going on outside of home, I do proportionately less work in home. As evidenced by the sorry state of our yard.

Cooler now thanks

Today and yesterday are more comfortable, it has been 35-37 for the past week. Yesterday we had a thunderstorm, so the day was muggy and sticky, and the rain didn't really cool anything off, remained at 30, but today is better.
I arrived back from Folk Fest on Monday, worked Tuesday night, then went to Montana on Wednesday after sleeping for 4 hours. Montana is quite pretty, I was visiting Kris & Joe & 4 children, Rhonda & Don, and Lavina-Joe's mom at a cottage (really large house) right by Kalispell. It's on a pretty lake, which I tubed on behind the boat, roared around on the boat, then drifted on a tube, reading-which is more my thing as we could guess. Western Montana looks like BC, mountains, valleys, trees-but with gun stores and red, white, and blue bunting on porches. Idaho had all these Ron James for President signs. Who is this guy?

I enjoyed seeing them all again, hard to believe that I've known Kris and Rhonda for over 25 years. They all were doign well, Rhonda got accepted into the nurse anaesthetist program in Pittsburgh and she is excited about it. Kris' kids are growing like weeds. Sidney, the oldest is 12 and i think is my height. I was somewhat horrified to see that there was no recycling at all. It wasn't until the last night that i finally set aside the bottles and cans used that night to take back to Canada. I mourn the rest.

Yesterday I was Ms Irritability all day. Poor Richard. Maybe have been around too many people? I kept snapping at him when discussing what to do when Nathan (nephew from ontario) arrives. I think we will go white water rafting in Golden which will give us easy access to Radium hotsprings and rockies. we'll camp unless weather is miserable. Richard managed to get some days off, so it will be fun to travel around a bit.
Jim and Sandy will be here in September for a visit, and I am looking forward to meeting his agent.
Mom and I are planning on going to GP to visit Laura, Wilf, and Henry, as I would like to see their new pad. At this point it seems that the 3rd week of September will be when we go.

Good news, I recieved my handbag, but it won't let me hyperlink to it. But if you want to see it, look up Kairos handbags...I got the Grab n Go, colour firebrick red, willow design.
Isn't it nice?

Sunny

And staying that way for all my days off.
I went back to work for 2, and am off again for 6. Thank you shift work, there is a big advantage to doing 12 hour days.
I talked to Mom last night and she got back safe and sound. And that trip went well despite obviously being a sad occasion. No mention of photos according to her.
Fred and Christine will be here Wed. and we're looking forward to seeing them.
I felt very pleased with myself for talking with a co-worker, who I suspected was being condescending and/or passive aggressive. I approached him and talked with him about it. He said that no, no that wasn't what he was thinking, and was quite happy to work with me. So at least if that was his not-so-good intention, he will not use those words again. Despite the fact that my stomach tightens and I stutter when doing it, I much prefer to use my words rather than going home and brooding about it. Although I also require much discussion with others about the whole event anyway.
I spent most of my 2 days on the adolescent psych unit, which is uber nice. And since when I'm up there I am doing 1:1 nursing, a pretty easy day, though with great potential to get boring. I didn't feel that way too much this time though. plus they keep telling me they like me up there, which makes for some good ego reassurance.
It seems that while we were gone, floating about the water, that weeds have taken over the yard. How can so many grow when I pulled so many of their brethren out, only a little while ago? I have a mental list of what I need to do on my days off and it seems to keep growing. Go to the dump and get rid of cans of weeds in their compost so that they don't sprout in our yard. Clean out garage, kind of. Who am i kidding-that won't get done. Clean house, grocery shopping, weed, clean siding and windows. Get someone in for window quotes. Do rest of my mental health course. Go to library and meet with librarian--Sarah and I are going to do a presentation to library staff on mental health issues.
This perhaps does not seem like too much to do in 6 days off, but it feels somehow that in the middle of summer, that all i should be doing is laying on the hammock thinking and eating Summer Brings.
Oh, I bought the Nigella cookbook. Made pork chops. they were as good as they sounded.

Adrift

My conference in Vancouver went well -- I had a very effective meeting for a human resources summit I'm helping plan, a good session on new librarians that I moderated, and I go to stay here.

I also bought some swanky clothes and ate some good sushi.

I feel a little adrift right now; all my big work stuff is basically done, and I'm just waiting on the job decision. I feel okay but think I have a bit of stress because I'm having some trouble sleeping. I feel a bit low energy, and like I actually just want to drift. Maybe I need to go on the houseboat a month early?