what a feeling

 Congratulations, we made it to March, even with an extra February day.

It seemed like a good day for cheesy puns?

I had today off of work and got a few things checked off the to-do list. I typically have Fridays off, but this was the last one for a while. Coworker Star is leaving on a longish vacation, visiting family around the world, and I'll be covering her Fridays for the next few weeks. 

Around here, our March came in like a lamb, so should we be bracing for how it will end? We had sunny skies and temperatures in the 60's. I ran some errands and took my puttster car for a wash.

Ain't she pretty? Now for sure, we'll have a blizzard

She's 24 years old. Not too shabby for an old lady, I guess. 

She does spend most of her time sitting around in the garage, however.

And just between you and me, she is pretty  crap for driving in snow...

Speaking of old ladies, this week, I decided I should "not skip leg day" at the gym. I don't usually do much lower body strengthening, figuring bicycling and running had me covered. WELL, through my recent physical therapy Journey, the weaknesses have been revealed. 

And now I'm SO sore, youse guys. 

call o' nature

We went away for a few days of relaxation on the beach... but not really.

We went away for a few days of play in the mountains. I'm not really one for sitting on a lounge chair on a cruise ship or beach while sipping an umbrella drink and taking a pic of my sandaled feet. So this'll do.

We visited lovely Steamboat Springs, CO - yet another touristy resort town up yonder. A ski town fer shur, but plenty to do year-round, so the whole fam headed there for a little end-of-summer getaway.

None of us had been there before except for Magnum who'd gone there to ski once or twice in the pre-me days.

We stayed in an Airbnb or Vrbo (Magnum booked it...) condo with plenty of room for all of us and nice views off the pond.

Our condo also allowed us to bring Chaco's dog, Ella. Our dogs stayed behind at the kennel, so don't tell them about Ella.

On our first full day, we rented bicycles and rode the length of the trail that runs through town, top to bottom and then some. Along the way, we stopped at the enjoyable Yampa River Botanic Park. It sits right along the bike path and was nicely laid out and maintained. 

My trip recorder skills are so bad, I didn't get one photo, but oh well. We have the internet.

On the bike ride, I noticed quite a few rather run down, mobile home type residences on the outskirts of town surrounding the posh big expensive homes of Steamboat. Thing with these resort towns - somebody needs to do the cookin' and cleanin' for the ritzy residents.

We walked around the small downtown area, Chaco in search of a hoodie. He preferred one that did not say "Steamboat Springs" anywhere on it. Not a chance.

With biking checked off our list, we headed out the next day for some hiking. We found a nearby trail that would take us to Fish Creek Falls, a moderate hike that took us from about 7400 ft to 9000 ft to the upper falls - around 4.5 miles out and back.

The aspens had not yet begun to change. It should be really pretty in a couple of weeks when we're not there.

We rounded things out with a good deal of eating and lounging and people watching and gaming. The trip provided me a much needed nature fix, yet left me thirsty for more. Greedy, I know.

artificial friends and blood

Last week, we were on a red flag day for high fire danger... and we now know how that ended up.  Today, this is the current scene out  my home office window

Thank you for the thoughtful comments regarding my brother's loss of his home.  The burn area is similarly covered in snow, so it will be a while before any sifting/ cleanup will happen.  The fire  investigation has led to a "religious sect" that owns the property where the fire started.  Geez.

Hagrid and his wife are intelligent and resourceful people.  They'll get through this.  It won't happen overnight, but, baby steps.  

So now it feels like winter, and while the snow hampers things, nobody is complaining.  

I hear people refer to books as "great for a winter day" or "a fun summer read".  Do the seasons determine reading tastes?  I don't think they do mine.  What's a "beach read"?

I just finished Klara and the Sun.  It's set in some unidentified future where "AFs" (Artificial Friends) exist - mainly purchased as companions for adolescents. 


The story is told from the point of view of Klara - an AF to a teen girl named Josie who has some sort of illness.  

I thought the premise sounded interesting as Klara's artificial intelligence makes her very observant as she absorbs the world of Josie's relationships and culture.  

“At the same time, what was becoming clear to me was the extent to which humans, in their 

wish to escape loneliness, made maneuvers that were very complex and hard to fathom”

The author is Kazuo Ishiguro who is Japanese but grew up in England.  I've read other books by Japanese authors and this book feels much like those despite him being "English".  

It got a bit tedious and mundane at times, but the overall story was good and kind of creepy.  The ending felt dark and haunting, but appropriate for this story.  

Another book I'm currently revisiting is Bad Blood by John Carryrou which details the story of Elizabeth Holmes - found guilty this week of 4 counts of fraud - the founder and CEO of Theranos.

I read the book in early 2019 when I was rather riveted by this story.  Omigosh, the money, the LIES, the manipulation, the whistleblowers, the threats...  I just couldn't fathom what the hell she was thinking.  

Was/is she delusional?  A pathological liar?  A sociopath?  A scammer?  Really really clueless?  All of the above?

With her trial just wrapping up after many months, I've been listening to the "The Dropout" podcast.  

“The way Theranos is operating is like trying to build a bus while you’re 

driving the bus. Someone is going to get killed.”

In my past professional life, I was involved in new product development and product launches.  None of that work was for Silicon Valley startups, but still!  The way Elizabeth Holmes kept going on about what a life-changing product her blood analyzers were and where they were operating, thus getting billions of dollars in funding while the machines were repeatedly FAILING AT EVERYTHING just baffles me.  Did she think no one would notice??  

For those not following the story/ case, I won't bore with details.  And for those who are following, you already know.  Suffice to say, the story isn't over just because the jury reached the verdicts.

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Linking up this week with Mama Kat for the prompt:
5. Book review time! What winter read has you snuggled in and turning pages?

the Silver(thorne) lining

I've got some blog catching up to do here.  I could also do some housecleaning and/or yardwork, but surely this is more pressing.

We took a couple of fun days in the mountains last week, managing to get the brood together all at the same time.  Went up Tuesday night to an Airbnb condo in Silverthorne, CO and returned Friday morning, so we had two full days to play.  

In summary, we hiked, biked, fished, gamed, and ate.  I count it all as a success.  We had access to a pool, but sort of forgot about swimming.  Dang.

The biking bit involved riding up and down Vail Pass, which I'd heard of doing, but this was my maiden voyage.  

It was a beautiful day of beautiful scenery and no threat of rain/hail/lightning.  10/10 would recommend.  

We weren't planning to go all the way to the summit, just enjoy riding along the path for however long.

We made it a mile or so passed the halfway point when Chaco's knees started creaking - it's uphill the whole way from Frisco to the summit.  Wolfgang, Meego, and I went on a couple miles further while Magnum and Chaco headed back to check out the marina. 

Everyone but myself had rental bikes, and we wanted to make sure to get back to the shop in time not to pay for an additional day.

But first, some victory pics...

In looking at the map after the fact, we turned around about 2 or 3 miles from the summit.

The way back was a total rush.  We had no idea we were climbing so steeply until turning around.  I sped down the path and watched as Wolfgang and Meego became little blue and red dots respectively.

A few heart palpitations and eaten bugs later, we were all back to downtown Frisco.

Thursday, we hung out in Frisco and hiked around Dillon Reservoir where Chaco tried his luck at some fishing.  

Yeah, no luck there...

Ella the pooch was with us.  She never sat down.  Her favorite part of fishing is when it's time to leave.

We also got in a bit of culture by visiting some historic displays downtown, engaged tourists that we were.

All in all, a positive wrap up for the summer, COVID variants and all.  

caught between the moon and New York city

My first knowledge of Arthur's Rock was sad.  A local news story told of a despondent man who laid in wait and stabbed his ex-girlfriend multiple times before jumping to his death off of Arthur's Rock.  Heartbreaking, yeah?  The woman - an elementary school teacher - had a long recovery, but thankfully survived.

The story left many questions, one of which for me was, "what/where is Arthur's rock?" as many locals  seemed to know the place quite well.

I learned it was a prominent feature in nearby Lory State Park and very popular hike.  Morbid story aside, I wanted to do the hike.  

When I started my new job in June, I knew the schedule would allow some time to get out to some local hikes I've yet to explore, Arthur's Rock being tops on  my list.  But I'd kinda forgotten about it until one of my previous coworkers from the Old Folks Home hit me up for some hiking and suggestions.  

We went this morning, and it was a beaut!  Another coworker buddy joined us for some good time nature fun.

A little break before scaling the "summit"

Summit selfie instead of looking down

It was a rather hazy overcast morning, and we were loving it after many days of full-on sun and high temperatures.  The haze hindered the views a bit, but they were still pretty glorious.  The total hike - out and back - is under 4 miles, so not too taxing or time consuming.  I learned why it is so popular!

It was nice catching up with these two also.  Continuing on the morbid theme, I asked them which residents had passed away since I'd left.  No big surprises, but a couple of small ones.  I miss my coworkers, but I don't miss watching people decline and die.  And of course, we're still mourning Malcolm.

But not to end on that note, it was a nice morning well spent.  I later learned that Arthur of Arthur's Rock is Arthur Howard, the man who sold the land to the state of Colorado.  

We'd speculated it was that aardvark cartoon kid, but were wrong... not surprisingly. 

Thanks, Arthur

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Linking up with Mama Kat this week for the prompt:

1. Write about something you want(ed) to do before summer ends

make the cold nights feel like summer days

Back in late February, I got a LinkedIn notification about  a job opening.  It sounded like something I might like to do, and I felt qualified, so I went ahead and completed an application.  Other than the automated acknowledgement that they'd received my materials, etc., I never heard anything from them.

...until a couple of weeks ago.  Seemingly "out of the blue", I got a phone call.  The hiring manager was  personable, explained the nature of the job a bit more, asked if I was still interested and if so, would I come in for an interview?

Yeah... sure... okay... despite the fact that I'd just taken on a promotion at the old folks job.  

Long story short, I've given my notice at the old folks home and start the new gig on Tuesday.  I'll be working in the testing center at the local community college - coordinating activities for various standardized tests and academic exams.  My inner test nerd is happy, and it fits well with my tutoring experience.

Although the job was posted over three months ago, they'd halted hiring until the campus had their COVID policies more solidified, which apparently has happened.  So, I'm thankful and looking forward.

In the meantime, it's been a bit of a bumpy ride lately at the nursing facility.  Short staffing (remember me fretting about this as it loomed on the horizon??) has made for grumpy conditions, and it's difficult to get applicants right now.  Our chef has seemed rather cold to me this week, but he has the right.  He was away on a much needed vacation last week.  Upon his return, he was met with

• a cook who quit and didn't complete his 2-weeks notice because the new job offered him a fat bonus to start right away.
• I put in my notice.
• various dietary aides are quitting or wanting long vacations since school just got out.

and last, but certainly not least:

• Malcolm died.

I've enjoyed my time there, but really, it feels a bit like getting in the lifeboat of a sinking ship.  I don't know what upper management is doing to increase staffing as there's a lot of competition for workers right now.  Plus, I've said it here before:  I've learned that geriatrics isn't really my bag.  

A coworker friend who will likely take my position asked why I decided to take the new offer.

"Better pay, better schedule, more along the lines of my interests... Other than that, I dunno 😉"

Self care.  It's a good thing.  Speaking of which, I was enjoying a lovely morning bike ride earlier this week and came upon some dear deer just hanging out.

Such rides sure beat the slush fest from a couple weeks ago.

Thanks to everyone for the kind thoughts and words regarding Malcolm.  There was a well-attended celebration of life at his neighborhood cul de sac last weekend, but it still seems unreal at times.  

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Linking up this week with MamaKat for the prompt:

5. Summer is coming! What are you most looking forward to?

rearranging...

 ...the deck chairs on the Titanic?

There's much grumbling mumbling going on at the care facility where I work.  I've mentioned that our CEO made the COVID vaccine mandatory for all staff by April 1.  We all figured it would have eventually been made a requirement for employment, but April 1st felt a bit abrupt.  Then there was a stressful mad dash to get it done in time.  For some, that is.

Others have decided to say, "Fine!", and turn tail.  We're losing a LOT of nurses, and other departments are losing people as well.  My crew is losing five that I know of.  

From people I've talked to, they probably would've been fine to get the vaccine later on down the line, but it was the principle of being told, "do it now or else!".  Not gonna lie, it rubbed me the wrong way too after we'd been told we'd have plenty of time to ask questions and learn more.

So now, those of us that gave in and got vaccinated lickety split are understandably worried about short staffing.  When I last checked the company website, there were still a crap ton of job openings.  April 1 is less than two weeks away.

Morale has slipped, I can feel it.  I feel it in myself as well.  I mentioned here also that my well-liked boss recently gave notice and is moving to a new role with another senior care company.  Good for her!  Many others are seeking alternatives, it's gonna be a downward spiral.

So I dunno, I'm not feeling a lot of loyalty right now.  Honestly, this was just meant to be a semi-retirement job for me - something with a good purpose to keep me busy and bring in a bit of fun money.  

I've decided I'll stick it out for at least another couple of months since  

1.  I want to see what happens after April 1st and management's response
2.  I'm curious to see who my boss's replacement will be.  And somewhat ironically,
3.  I happen to be the Employee of the Month for March.  Seems bad form to put in notice in the middle of my "reign", with plaque etching still warm *snicker* 

Ever dealt with short-staffing/ low workplace morale/ inflexible upper management?

what's your favorite?

I have a problem with those sites that require security questions then give a list to choose from.  For instance, they suggest "What's your favorite food?" as a security question??

Honestly,  my favorite food today might not be my favorite food tomorrow or next week or the next time I try to login to the site, y'know what I'm saying?  Similarly:  favorite song, favorite  movie, favorite celebrity... Enough with the "favorites", already!  Mine change.

So I usually end up with my childhood nickname or my high school mascot - things that plenty of people already know about me - as my security question.  Ah well, Security Schmecurity.

But here's a post of some of my RECENT favorite things

The earth's tilt.  Anyone else noticed the days getting longer?  Despite the fact that most of us were f-f-f-f-freezing last week, spring is on the way.  I've noticed I have more light during my early morning rides into work.  I no longer arrive with the stars still out, but rather with the sun just starting to peek above the horizon.  Still freezing, but lighter toward the East.

We're not quite to the point of this commute photo I took last spring, but we're getting there!

Arizona.  No, not the state.  I still have yet to visit that sunny mecca, but I've recently discovered the music group, Arizona - who by the way is based out of New Jersey?  Sample tune [here].

Local pathways.  Along the lines of brighter days, I have renewed appreciation for the local multi-use paths and their upkeep.  With the recent snows, it's nice to know that the pathways are there and will actually be plowed/ brushed right away.  I just have to figure out how to get out of my neighborhood.

Not my photo.  I  Googled

Speaking of Google... it's certainly nothing new, but let's pause for a bit of gratitude.  It came in handy at work again a couple of days ago.  Most of us are pretty well-versed in dietary restrictions and special textures commonly required by residents in our facility.  A new admit came in with something not so common, and I wanted to make sure we didn't naively give him something he shouldn't have.  

I looked to the hefty 3-inch reference binder, chock full of dietary information.  Knowing it would take me a while just to find the particular page of this guy's condition, I said, "screw it, let's google".  Long story short, I learned stuff, and we didn't send Jim to the hospital.  Took less than a minute.

This hood thing.  Lastly, I recently purchased this hood thing for myself.  It seems silly, actually.  It's like a hoodie without the sweatshirt part.  But it's SO comfy and warm!  

Just putting it on, in the house, for the excuse of taking a  photo makes me happy...

...for now.

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Linking up this week with Mama Kat for the prompt:
5. List your five most recent favorite things.

all the things!

For this week's prompts from Mama Kat, I had trouble deciding on which one.  So screw it, do 'em all!

1. Share a favorite recipe you’ve been loving lately.

At work, during our morning breaks, the cooks will make us "anything we want" (within reason).  I ordered up this breakfast sammich early on, and now it's my fave.  The kitchen calls it the "Abby Special"

It's really not much of a "recipe".  It's just eggs (scrambled or over easy, surprise me) with melted cheddar, spinach, and tomato on a toasted English muffin.  

Simple.  Satisfying.

2. Write about what helps you stay motivated during these unprecedented times?

I do miss going to PEO meetings and events and have trouble staying motivated to attend the zoom meetings.  I recognize that's something I should work on rather than just waiting until we can meet in-person again.  

I'm glad I signed up for those monthly Tortoise and Hare races.  They are a nice respite from fact that there are no big races and provide some fun competition and motivation to stay race ready.  Really, I did not necessarily want to run in the crap conditions last Sunday, but was glad I did it in the end because I want those 5 points, dammit!

I also stay motivated by doing fun DIY projects around the house that I otherwise wouldn't make time for *anyone detect the dripping sarcasm there?*

3. Write a blog post about something that made you smile this week.

4. Write a blog post inspired by the word: enough

I've been thinking about how I have more than enough clothes these days.  I don't get out much except to go to work at the care facility, and our work clothes are issued to us.  Tuting is all online, and everything is super casual with that these days.  

Half my closet is clothes I haven't worn in nearly a year.  Anyone else? What are YOU wearing?

5. Write about the last argument you witnessed (could be a silly one)…did you take a side?

This isn't that recent, but once when we were on a family road trip, we stopped at a McDonald's for lunch.  There were two young female employees working the counter, and it was apparent that they didn't like each other.  We observed a short exchange as they put our order together:

McD worker #1: Stop touching my boob.

McD worker #2: Stop putting your boob where my hand is.

No violence ensued, but you could cut the air with a knife.  It stands as my favorite witnessed argument.  I did not pick a side because either one of those girls coulda kicked my ass.

6. Share a memory about something you did as a child that made a family member angry.

I was always an adorable child who never caused any anger.  I'm sticking with that story.

put a band-aid on it

I was procrastinating on being productive while over at Pinterest this morning and came across this "mental health challenge".

Firstly, I think the title is misleading.  Is it encouraging us to challenge our mental health?  I don't think so.  I started looking at some of these challenges and realized they all sound fun.  How many can I do in ONE day??

It's a day off from work for me today after a weird week, COVID taking center stage.  

I mentioned one of my coworkers just returned from a bout of COVID.  I wouldn't have known but for the fact that she herself told me she'd had it.  At first I thought it was strange that no one told us that a person in our department was positive, but then, we're all required to test weekly anyway.

I asked a couple of other coworkers if they knew "Elle" had just returned from the land of COVID.  They, too, were a bit shocked to learn of it, and I realized I probably violated HIPAA.  But hey, it's all among friends, right?  Our boss has been out all week too, saying she was exposed and self-quarantining.  She's working from home, and I honestly wonder if she also tested positive.  

Additionally this week, we received information packets regarding signing up for next year's employee benefits, and we had a resident test positive - resulting in heavy precautionary procedures - and subsequently test negative. I picked my benefits info up from the office and was also given a pocket-sized dispenser of hand sanitizer and a small case of band-aids - gifts from HR.

I returned with my packet and freebies, to which another coworker snarked, "Oh hey, thanks for working the COVID hall!  Here are four band-aids!"  

HA!  Ya think we'd at least get a t-shirt.

Anyways, I'm going to challenge my mental health and do some 1, 3, 8, 9, 10, 12, 17, 19, 23 and maybe some 13, and 18.  

What are you doing for fun on this Friday the 13th of 2020?

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Linking up this week with Mama Kat for the prompt:

3. Write a blog post inspired by the word: fun.

sun's out, buns out!

I went for a lovely bike ride this morning which took me through a ritzy lakefront neighborhood that Magnum and I discovered a while back.  

Lake access is limited to residents of the neighborhood only.  Bike riding riff raff that I am, I snapped a quick pic of the sunrise before continuing on through.  I checked out some real estate prices in the area out of curiosity, already knowing we are not in the target market.  Yeah, they have M's instead of K's after the sale prices.  

I noticed some decent condos nearby for the 62+ crowd.  I thought I'd check those out for future reference and found them to be pretty cozy and decently priced.  What's the catch?  HOA fees:  like 2K/month!!  

What does a $2,000 per month HOA fee get you?  

But speaking of sun and sky, I saw this notion in my instagram feed:

And then of course, the comments...

Yeah, there's one in every crowd.  At least one.

Do you have an HOA?  Likes?  Dislikes?

so left but she's right though

Well, I ordered that bike.  That bike I mentioned thinking about getting on my last post?  My last post that was nearly a week ago?  Dang, time flies when I neglect the blog. 

I'm sure the masses that read here were kept in suspense, unable to think of anything other than if I would get that bike or not.  So there ya go, yes, I did order it. 

It's a mountain bike.  I've been true mountain biking twice in my life.  We rented awesome bikes and hit the woods.  It was great fun, and we vowed to do it more.  So yeah, we've been a grand total of two times.

Sure, we meant to go more, and thought about it a couple of weeks ago, but alas.  The rental shop was fresh out.  Then there's the time limitations - the "must pick up by" and "must return by", and I said, "wouldn't life be nice if I just had my own sitting in the garage, ready to go?"

I went to my fave local bike shop to try some out, but nah.  None were quite right, and if I was going to commit, I wanted all my specs.  With help from the young salesman, I found the bike.  I could have it by... OCTOBER?!

I slept on it over the weekend, went back on Monday to order it, resigned to waiting three months.  The girl who helped me out pulled it up on the computer and said, "Uh, well, looks like it will be about a week, week and a half.  That okay?"  Apparently more of MY bike had become available?

So I was pleasantly surprised and said,

I plopped over the down payment, and now I wait.  I'm counting this as a win.

I'm still a total noob when it comes to mountain biking, and have been watching a few inspiring tutorial videos.  In the meantime, Meego's been checking out some local trails, and I asked him to find some good recommendations for noobs.






He came home a couple of nights ago and shared the aftermath of a crash.

He ended up going over the handlebars and somehow ripping a hole in the center of his t-shirt, leaving a hot pink abrasion underneath.


Okay, now I know one place NOT to go.

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Linking up this week with Mama Kat for the prompt:
5. Write about the last thing you won.

I'm busy, leave a message

First of all, a Penny-Poo update.  She's still the cutest thing in our home (don't tell the cat).  I think she's growing, or maybe I'm just getting used to having such a small pooch.  Here she is doing her best Sears catalog pose a la ...

       

SOURCE

Who wore it better?

In getting her used to the outdoors, we take her on short "hikes", which means baby jaunts on the path by our house.  She's pretty leery of strangers, and high tails it when she hears another dog doing something as sinister as... barking.  But she's young, she'll get there.  

She's got plenty of energy, though.  I see much hiking in her future.

In thinking about it, today was a lovely day, feeling like early spring, and I found myself with no appointments.  I decided I deserved a break and took a little solo hike.  Good decision.

I came across a few others who had the same idea, but the trail was mostly quiet.  At various points on my route, I spotted these huge dog prints...

... but never came across the dog they came from.  Slightly larger-than-average woman's foot included for reference.

And I wasn't feeling all that secluded.  I was on a trail near the Air Force Academy, and cadets were literally dropping in.  See 'em?

I also tried to get a shot of a glider and tow plane, shortly after release:

All in all, a nice couple hours of solitude and recharging.

Who can relate?