Well here we go this is my first week ever participating in Camera Critters.....here is my entry...

As this is my first Camera Critter I thought I would show something that is very new to me.....when I was at the wild life refuge I saw these peculiar birds....they are Black Australian Geese.and this Eagle with a prosthetic beak......amazing isn't it....

So if you would like to join in on the fun....check out MistyDawn for all of the instruction....

Happy Critter hunting....

I got this from Misty's place...and it seems appropriate for the theme.....

You Were a Fox

A good observer, you often watch others while remaining unseen. Cunning and courageous, you also have a gentle side.

What Animal Were You In a Past Life?

Saturday Scavenger Photo Hunt

It's Saturday so it must be the Saturday Photo Hunt. After scavenging through old photo for this this weeks theme I accidentally deleted the whole post....Geesh! So here is my second attempt....

This weeks theme is "Water"......I love water and fear it at the same. It quenches our thirst, it cleanses us both body and soul, it bathes us with natural wonder. Water has the ability to provide fun and fear at the same time. It is one of natures natural elements that needs to be respected......

Water provides a home for one of natures mightiest of creatures....the Beluga Whale

The fresh mountain water can be enticing to the young at heart.....

It provides hours of enjoyment for the curious mind......

It provides a home and nourishment for all of it's creatures.....

For the adventurous it provides a gateway to explore the world around us

It provides beauty

And a path to follow......

Finally it provides an environment for the mighty eagle to soar.......

Happy Hunting all.......

If you would like to join in on the fun....check out tnchick

Saturday Scavenger Photo Hunt

Well it's the photo hunt and this weeks theme is "Emotions", when I first thought of this I thought what photos would I have that would express emotions.....but I did some hunting...and this is what I came up with....

This is my girlfriends daughter don't ask me why she thought she should go in Berts kennel but she did....I wonder what emotion she was thinking.."Uh oh....I'm in the dog house!!!

Or my poor hubby the day after his shoulder surgery....I wonder what emotion was going through his head......"Honey I do feel so good..."

Or my eldest daughter when she graduated from high school....what emotion was she thinking...."I did it....whew!"

Or how "Proud" youngest son feels when wearing his Cadet uniform for the Remembrance Day parade.

Or how "happy" grandpa aka Father-in-law felt after this catch of the day!

Or how ecstatic I felt about having my feet firmly planted on the ground after my first sky diving attempt.

Or how thrilled my girls and I were to see my sister after she had just started her treatments for breast cancer.....

Polar Bear Swim, New Years Day....the wave just about to crash upon us...."what are we doing in here!"

Yes at first I thought this would be hard...but as I started looking through my photos there were so many that showed so much emotion it got hard to choose....

If you would like to play along please go over totnchickfor all of the instructions.

Have a great weekend!

A most pleasant surprise........

On Monday I was the recipient of a most pleasant surprise. I think I have mentioned in previous posts that my brother and his wife are in Wales for a year. His wife is a teacher and has gone there on a teaching exchange. My brother has created a blog in order to document their adventures in Wales and their travels throughout Europe.

I was up early on Monday morning reading blogs when I came to my brothers blog. He was writing about a conversation he had with his father in law and how he felt it would probably be his last conversation with him. You see his father in law is terminally ill. So his wife, my sister in law decided to make the trip home to be with her dad. It turns out her father lives on the Island and not far from me. When I found this out I immediately sent my brother a message and told him that if his wife was in my area to call me. There is a nine hour time difference so I wasn't expecting to hear anything that day. I guess when I was in the shower the phone had rung and was flashing saying there was a message. I asked my hubby if he had heard the phone...and of course he hadn't. I listened to the message and lo and behold who should it be but my sister in law! I couldn't believe it. Of course I immediately called her back and we made arrangements for her to come over for a visit.

She arrived a couple of hours later and I rushed to the door to greet her with open arms...it was so wonderful to see her. The last time we saw each other was at my sisters wedding last July! We hugged some more and tears were bountiful. My dear sweet sister in law's father passed away this pass Sunday. She hadn't told me of this in our telephone conversation, but I think maybe that was a good thing. Our time unfortunately was limited but the time we did have together was wonderful. So much to catch up on. Although, I have read my brothers blog religiously she was able to regale me with some family shenanigans and had some interesting tid bits to add to stories told by my brother. Of course I inquired as to how their young son was enjoying his travels and being taught in a different system. She told me he adjusted well and how he has picked up an English accent...now that will be fun to hear him speak when he comes home. Oh I do look forward to their return.

When she returns to Wales she will have another five weeks of teaching. After that they have a final trip planned to meet up with two of my sisters and their spouses. The six of them will travel to Dubrovnik which is the birth place of our father. More adventures and fun.

Back to the visit with my sister in law....it was short but so enjoyable. The clock was ticking. Again, the tears flowed when it was time to say our goodbyes...but before she left I had hubby take a picture of us.....

Here's to you Deb, I hope you had a safe trip back to Wales and I will see you in August!!

Heads or Tails Tuesday

Well it's Tuesday, which means it's Heads or Tails day....I haven't played this in awhile. Today's it's "Heads" and the theme is FLOWER........


Now here is a Flower wreath I made for my door.......
And here are some flowers at my front door.......

And here is a Flower basket we gave mother in law for Mother's Day......

Pansies in my garden.....

And the theme wouldn't be complete without a Flower Child.....

If you would like to join in the fun click here Hope you all have a fantastic Day!!!!

I've got a question...........

Have you ever been in a situation where you have been verbally assaulted in your line of work? I'm talking about a situation where a person threatens to cause you harm? What did you do? Did you report it? and to whom? What would you expect to happen to the person who threatened you?

Have you ever been physically assaulted while performing your course of work? How did you handle it? Were there any repercussions for the actions you took? What action did your employer take? Did anything happen to the person who caused you harm? Was laying charges an option for you? Did the matter get resolved to your satisfaction? What course of action would you have liked to have seen happen?

I ask these questions because in my line of work this happens all to often. Most recently on Friday. This past Friday we had a patient on the unit who was verbally abusive and combative. The patient presented as being paranoid, delusional, and sleep deprived. A bad combination and the potential for a violent outburst was present. I can't tell you much more about this person due to confidentiality, but this person was also of the age where dementia could be considered.

We were in the middle of report and the person starts to call out, my colleague who was responsible for this patient goes in to asses the situation. She ensures that the patient and the environment are safe and tries to reassure the patient that everything is all right and orientates the patient to their surroundings. We finish report and we all start our morning duties with assessing our patients. I'm in the next room, I hear my colleague call..."I need some help in here" I go running into the room. The patient is yelling and swearing and swinging out. The patient has all sorts of lines attached and we fear that they will pull them out. We need to restrain the patient both chemically and physically. I go to get the restraints. I ask someone at the desk to call security. I'm in the process of putting on the restraints when the patient started to swing at me. I got their wrist restrain so now the patient decides to use their legs and feet and makes a kick right for my head ....good thing I duct...if that had connected I would have been out cold. We are still waiting for security ....we page them overhead....few minutes pass and still no security......a few members from the Code White team arrive...by this point myself and two other nurses both much smaller in stature than myself, have manage to restrain the patient chemically and physically.

During this situation, I was verbally abused and threatened, swung at, pinched, punched and almost kicked in the head. Was I upset? You bet....do I have recourse? Not at all. It's considered part of my job. I appreciate the patients condition and once they were settled they became more cooperative with care. But should I have to endure that and just accept that? The College of Nurses has no position on this and my unions position is that it is my employers responsibility to ensure I have a safe working environment. Well I am not sure how any employer can prevent anything like this from happening. They are however responsible for ensuring that their is assistance readily available....I don't think this happened in this case.

My situation is not unusual. Many health care practitioners care for aggressive patients. Some have the option to just walk away. Not so for nurses. It is the nurses who are left behind to mind the patient.

I read on a blog the other day where a nurse who was visibly pregnant got kicked in the stomach by the patient. Although she admits the patient was drunk and stoned she felt the patient did it intentionally, and needless to say she was irate about the situation.

I don't think I know of a nurse that in their career has not been spat at, verbally abused, swung at, kicked, pinched or punched. It seems to be the norm and accepted as part of our duties.

We were very lucky on Friday that none of us got hurt. But should that be the case....luck?

When things like this happen, I wonder why, why do we as nurses have to accept this? If I was a police officer or any kind of law enforcement officer I would have grounds to take what ever action was necessary to subdue this person and lay charges. Not so when you work in the health care profession, it is considered part of the job. I don't remember signing up for that in nursing school. Self defence 101 was not in the curriculum.

Don't get me wrong I love my job there are many rewarding features to nursing. I just don't like the physical or verbal abuse I must endure. I put my self at risk every day when I go to work. I am potentially being exposed to respiratory diseases such as TB, or gastrointestinal bugs and MRSA, or blood and body fluid exposure, Hepatitis or HIV and AIDS and/or needle stick injuries. Everyday when I go to work I put my life into the hands of the health care system, the system in which I am to help protect and save the ill and those down and out, but who is there for me?

A mixed bag.....

As the morning breaks and the sun is peaking through the clouds my hubby is up and preparing to travel with his parents to Tacoma to view a boat.

Mother in law really wants to purchase a cruising boat. She wants to be able to spend those lazy days of summer lounging in a chair on the fly bridge of the boat. With her wide brimmed hat and sipping on an ice tea, listening the hum of the engine as the boat glides through the calmer waters of the Georgia Strait. Dropping anchor in some isolated cove and making her way to the shore to explore the beach and to discover what treasures it holds. Yes that is what she is hoping lays ahead for her this summer.

It has been an experience observing my in laws and hubby explore all the possibilities for a boat. There are so many variables to consider. Father in law and hubby would of course like a boat in which they can fish on, mother in law wants a boat where she can just lay back and enjoy and not be bobbing about. It's been a challenge trying to meet the needs of all. But today I think they have narrowed it down to two boats. One is in Tacoma and the other in Seattle. So hubby and the in laws were up and on the road early to make their way to Victoria where they will catch the ferry to Anacortes in Washington.

I have never been on this ferry, but I have been told that it is a wonderful trip. It is only an hour and half ride but it is supposed to be very picturesque. You can often see whales on this voyage along with Doll porpoises as they ride the wake of the ferry. It looks like it should be a nice crossing.

It will be a long day for them. After they view the boat in Tacoma they will make their way back to Seattle to view the other boat tomorrow. After that they will make their way home. I hope they are successful in this boat hunting trip. They have been looking at boats for a few months now, but I guess when you are making that kind of investment you want to make sure it's really what you want.

So this leaves me with a day to myself. I would like to think that I too could just lay back read my book and enjoy. I don't think that will be the case. Living on 5 acres there is always something to be done. The grass it growing so quickly and requires cutting the hedges and edging I did last week looks like it should be done again, I need to do some weeding ah yes the joys of it all.

I am hoping that I might be able to get to the nursing home where I volunteer and pay a visit to some of the residents and if the weather permits take one of the residents out for a walk.

I should go for a run but my body is a tad sore today. Yesterday I did the longest run I have ever done and that was 16km. I am pretty proud of myself. I am wanting to make it up to 20km. I have no intentions of preparing to run a marathon or anything, it's just a personal goal, to see how far I can run before my body crumbles. It's very interesting the talking you do with yourself to help get you through the last few kilometers. I tell myself, just make it to the bridge..I get to the bridge and then I pat myself on the back and say...ok now make it to that mailbox....and so on....it's negotiating with myself. I really didn't know if I was going to be able to complete the run yesterday, my pelvis and hips started killing me about the 11 or 12th kilometer, but being the stubborn person I am I just kept bargaining with myself realizing that I might not be able to make it and then encouraging myself to go on. I am glad I completed the run.

Kamloops Part two........

We made our way home from Kamloops via the Coquihalla Highway,the scenery is very different from the Fraser Canyon route. The canyon route as I said is slower pace and follows the Fraser River. The Coquihalla route was designed primarily as a trucking route and for those who want a faster route into the interior portion of the province. With all that being said this route takes you through some very mountainous terrain, in the winter months the the snowbanks are as high as 20 feet, sometimes you feel like you are travelling through snow tunnels.

Our trip home takes us through the community of Merritt that is where they hold Mountainfest with performs like Brooks and Dunn, Sugar Land, you name it most popular country music artist have been to Merritt. That's really the towns claim to fame...each July for 1 week the towns population grows from 4,000 to over 100, 000 it's really a sight to behold. Being that it is a very arid place the camp site become one big dust bowl and with temperatures at times soaring into the high 30's you just want to spend your time in the river that run through the camp grounds.

After Merritt you make the long climb to the summit and toll booth. Here the long winter is still evident with the snow still on the ground and the small lakes still covered with ice. It is very picturesque.

The mountain ranges just past the toll booth

We start to make the decent you don't realize the elevation until your ears start to pop and I guess the runaway lanes for the semi trucks is an indicator that you are descending from a steep grade. We make our way back to Hope where again the mountain views are spectacular and the vegetation is lush and green.Not the greatest shot, we were travelling at 120km/hr and I took this through the windshield.

And here is the man of the hour, my hero he drove many hours that day. Once we left the wonderful tranquility of the mountain ranges, we were quickly brought back to reality. Just before we got to Chilliwack there was a terrible accident involving a motorcyclist. Traffic in both was being diverted, needless to say the traffic was very backed up. We made our way through that and when we heard on the radio that there was a slow down further ahead on the highway, we thought about taking an alternate route but that would have added considerable time to our trip. We opted to forge onward for those of you who are familiar with the No. 1 highway the traffic started to back up again around 190th street....that is a very long ways from the Port Mann Bridge. By the time we got to the cause of the slow down the vehicles were over to the side and the occupants were exchanging information. The slow down was just a whole lot of looky loos.....we were hoping to make the 3:00pm ferry home but with all the delays that was just not in the cards. We did however make it for the 5:00 with lots of time to spare.

We arrived back on the big rock and breathed a sigh of relief, it's nice to go away but it's so nice to come home.

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend!!!

Our trip to Kamloops.....

My weekend in Kamloops was great. Seeing my girlfriend after four years was just wonderful, it was as though time had stood still. We just picked up where we left off. Her daughter and toddler son drove from Kelowna for the visit as well.

Our day had begun with an early get up as we wanted to catch the first ferry, for which we made. We picked up youngest daughter and made a couple of stops before heading out. We were on the Trans Canada Hwy by 1030 in the morning. I still can't believe all the traffic. Gosh I lived in Vancouver for over 40 years and yes I knew it was big and busy, but when you haven't been there for awhile you forget, but it quickly comes back and I realize why I love the Island life.

We decided to take the leisurely Canyon Route rather than the faster pace route of the Coquihalla Highway. The canyon route follows the mighty Fraser which then turns into the North Thomson.

Our first stop was Bridal Falls which is about 20 mins from Hope. I have passed these falls thousands of times but never have stopped. This trip we decided to stop and I am so glad we did.

A view of the falls from the Highway

It was a 15 min. walk up to the falls, you can have picnics here the picture just don't do it justice

Youngest daughter and I weren't really dressed for the walk....it's very lush and green you can see the moss hanging from the trees.

After the falls we got back into the truck and headed towards Hope and the Fraser Canyon.

I find the sights along the breath taking....nature at it's finest. In the photo above we have the mountains in the background the the Mighty Fraser in the fore ground just spectacular. One of the things I like about the drive up to Kamloops is the dramatic change in vegetation. With in a few hours you go from the lush green of the coast to the arid dry sage brush countryside of Kamloops which is situated in the Thomson/Okanagan district. Within the Okanagan you have Canada's only desert which is Oysoyoos. Travelling the Fraser Canyon route we travel through one of BC's hot spots named Lytton temperature can sore into the 40's Celsius during the hot summer months. During this time of year the rivers are raging a white water rapid fanatics dream, the run off from the mountains rise the river water levels and the water runs extremely fast and it is icy cold. Not a journey for lighthearted. Whenever I make this route I often think of the early travelers and the adventures they must have endured, such as Sir Fraser (whom the Fraser River is named after). We made a stop where they had displays of how Sir Fraser with the Indian guides manoeuvres these rivers, without any bridges to cross, they scaled the side of the mountains by walking along tree branches which had been suspend with rope and tied to a tree above.....I truly don't know how they could have done that.

The two above photos gives you a look at the changing vegetation and the quickness in which the river is flowing. You can see the railway tracks above, can you imagine being involved in building the route through the mountains, many lost their lives building these train routes through the canyon. It was a long day, but a very enjoyable one. We stopped when we wanted and enjoyed the sights and smells that surrounded us. Another roadside waterfall, it is these waterfalls that feeds the vegetation throughout the hot summer months. This is photo is looking north east towards Kamloops

My next post I will share more of our trip, we decided to take the Coquihalla home and our travels through the mountains.