letdown of the year

that would be the long-anticipated lentil festival. but i do have to say that i didn't get to go at a good time of day, like to see the parade or the nighttime entertainment. that would have at least been an interesting spectator sport. but i had to stop by in the middle of the afternoon because of work, and there were just some booths and a children's area. i didn't even get to see the guy in the big lentil suit. NOOOOOO!

so now the lentils are harvested and everyone has celebrated, and all the students just came back to town. now there is actually a little traffic. not bad, just enough to remind you that there is a population here.

i'm trying to make it through this last stretch of overnights (2 more nights after i make it through this one), and then i'll finally have a little free time. can't wait for this weekend. going to see the yakima valley wine country with sarah, and i'll get to see mary! hooray! it will be a much needed mini-retreat. and i will have several phone calls to make as i have a lot of catching up to do with pretty much everyone i know. i've had to neglect everyone for the past few weeks because i'm either here or sleeping. so if you think i've forgotten you or stopped caring, i haven't! we're just sleeping and working at opposite times.

more nighttime livin

ah, nothing like another stent of overnights to disconnect me from the rest of the world. it's early saturday morning, and i'm halfway through my two weeks. it has been either so busy that i don't get to rest all night or so slow that i don't get a case and barely any phone calls. i guess the combination has helped me get at least some sleep. last night wasn't busy as far as emergency cases, but those already in the icu kept us busy enough. it's good so see some of the patients looking so much improved from what they were a few days ago and almost ready to go home. then there are a few that may not end up going home.

usually we see a fair amount of trauma cases because dogs are hit by cars, but we've had a couple lately where the dog was in a car accident with the owner. last week we had a case where the owner was traveling here with the dog for possible back surgery and got in a pretty severe accident on the way. The owner got taken to the hospital himself and luckily there was an animal rescue to bring the dog the rest of the way here. Both owner and dog ended up ok in the long run. A few days ago there was another case of someone falling asleep at the wheel, getting into a wreck, and causing the dog to be thrown from the back of the truck. That owner also was taken to the hospital, but this time the dog didn't get medical attention for a few days. Now he's in the icu with a couple of disc herniations and no pain sensation in his back legs. he may not do so well, it's just a waiting game to see if the spinal cord can recover from the trauma.

so here's what one of the overnight students has religiously checked all week. bonneville lock and dam fish camera it updates every 30 seconds and he gets really excited if he sees a steelhead. i have no idea what a steelhead is.

so the lentil festival is this weekend, but i missed the friday night festivities! blast! i do plan on heading towards the fun for a few hours this afternoon though. i caught a few hours of sleep tonight so hopefully won't get too behind.

happy birthday ashly

hooray! it's your birthday! actually, it may not your birthday anymore in central time by the time i get done with this. i guess i wasn't on the ball on that one. sorry i couldn't wish you stupendous day in person, but hope you had a good day. here are some pictures displaying your loveliness in honor of you and this wonderful day. it should be a holiday or something.


good times with ashly 

ashly, flying high 

ashly, the professional