Wilderness Advanced First Aid....check!

Alec eating lunch, single-handedly.

Alec just returned from a four-day Wilderness Advanced First Aid class, offered by Rutabagaand attended by 20 paddling instructors, guides and other people who work in outdoor recreation, particularly with kids.
This is follow-up course to the basic two-day Wilderness First Aid course many of us take to meet the requirement for maintaining certification as an American Canoe Association instructor. It can also be used as a recertification for Wilderness First Responders, of whom there were eight in this course, or as the first step toward becoming a Wilderness First Responder (the next being the four-day Bridge course).
Like other training and certification programs we've undergone, each of these first aid courses raises participants' level of skill and scope of practice (or remit). Wilderness First Aid teaches basic skills for diagnosing and treating maladies we might encounter; Wilderness Advanced First Aid provides more depth and breadth for people with a higher level of responsibility for groups of people on longer trips into more remote areas.

Wilderness Medical Associates lead instructor Sawyer Alberi places a tornaquet on assistant instructor John Browning.

The course teachespatient assessment, a system that guides the process of diagnosing and making decisions about treating people who are ill or injured. It also teaches CPR, interventions (treatments), and procedures for stabilizing and evacuating patients. There are some classroom lectures and discussions, but the emphasis is onlearning through experience by means of carefully designed scenarios.

Mary, stabilized and ready fora helicopter evacuation after a mountaineering incident.

Trainings like these cost money and take time, but they're well worth it. The knowledge we gain helps us prevent some incidents and handle others if they arise. We hope to do more of the former and less of the latter.

What To Do, What To Do?

I tasted my first kumquat last month at the B&B in St. Mary's, GA.  It's going to be an acquired taste for me, although it wasn't an unpleasant experience. 
The hostess/owner had picked them off a tree in her backyard.  I asked her how you eat them not knowing whether to peel or not.  The skin looks like an orange peel.
She said you just pop them in your mouth and start chewing.  I tentatively did so and found them not unpleasant.  It's just strange to eat a citrus rind.
Yesterday at Laurel's house, she had a bowl full of them.  She had gotten them at a local grocery store, so I went and bought three packs.
Now, the question is...what am I going to make with them?  I was thinking maybe marmalade?  I love orange marmalade and don't see why you can't make marmalade from kumquats.  
Laurel and I are meeting in about an hour to pick strawberries.  I wonder if you can mix kumquats and strawberries?  Any ideas out there?
P.S.  The bottle behind the bowl is one I got when we were staying in England for a week.  It's called 'Washing Up Liquid' and is used for washing dishes.  I keep it on my laundry room sink and use it for any clothes that need handwashing.  I love how the British call things by different names!

Happy Birthday One-Year Old!

Hi! I had a most pawesome first barkday and I so wanna woof about it! It all started with a great romp in the muck - woo hoo!

We had to put on HATS that we were not so WILD about, but because of the yumzers ice cream and cool huge doggeh cookie, it was okay!!! Here's a li'l slideshow of my pawesome day!

We wants to say huge thank yous to Sierra Rose's Mom for sending over some of her super photos that I used in the slideshow. I had a most wonderful day and wanna wish my awesome siblings, Ronan, Thistle, Jamie, Levi and Chelsea a Happy First Barkday!

The Purging Continues...

This is my husband's office. I only took photos of MY side of the room. His is just as bad. So last Friday night he declares, "I'm going to Bass Pro tomorrow to buy a gun safe, and when I get back, I want all your stuff out of my office."
When I come up against anything unpleasant I don't want to do, I remember these words from Psalm 55: "Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest. Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness."
I could really use some 'wilderness' time right now what with the babies being born, lessons that need planning, rooms getting painted, grandchildren being kept, etc.
So...that gave me about three hours (see paragragh 1). Fortunately, both daughter-in-laws could help, so we attacked it and did a fine job of tossing out, keeping, and Goodwilling. The rest of this stuff are things I no longer want but are valuable; things I don't want to thrift.
I've already called two of my younger friends over and let them have a scrounge around. I need to call a few more. I said younger friends, because when you're my age you're usually looking to get rid of what you've accumulated over the last quarter century or more.
After the aforementioned gun cabinet was safely in place, I boxed up all the things I'm keeping to regift and quietly slid them back into the office.He's not happy about it, but it's only for a short while.
Kitchen redo is in progess. Pics coming soon.

Electric Sky

Well, I am still without my camera (going on two weeks now), but it is in transit and should be here in 3 more days. I have also been busy preparing for my upcoming photo exhibition at the Johnson Heritage Post in Grand Marais, MN. Those two factors mean that I essentially have not had any new photos to post from the last two weeks. So, here is one from 2006 that I would like to share. This was a lightning storm that hit in the middle of the night and woke me up from a deep sleep. I actually shot this photo from my open bedroom window. The storm and the lightning were VERY close, so I didn't want to risk going outside. As it turns out, the best lightning was happening directly over my driveway which was perfectly visible from my upper-level bedroom window. I opened the window, popped the screen out and set up my tripod. For the next half-hour I had a blast capturing photos of the lightning. This is not the "best" shot of the night, but it is a favorite. I will have a print of the "best" shot on display at my upcoming show. Be sure to check it out, the show runs from August 17th to September 8th!

Happy Anniversary!

Twenty years ago today we moved into our little blue cottage. It was, and still is, my dream house. There's very little I would change if given the chance.
When we first moved to Georgia thirty years ago, we found a typically southern two-story with white columns out front and two wings on either side. It really wasn't ME, but I wasn't sure at the time what ME was. The colors inside were all wrong. The woman who built the house was a redhead, so she chose earth tones in brown, orange, and gold. I changed the wallpaper in a few rooms but didn't want to rip out the tile floor in the kitchen and dining room. Too expensive.
So I lived with it and started looking for an old house with some acreage. I was homeschooling four children at the time. Actually three; Dylan was two but definitely a force to be reckoned with. He's the reason I gave up homeschooling for a time, but that's another story for another day!
So after we finished schooling, I would pile all my little children into my Ford F-150 pickup and drive through the country looking for abandoned houses. We were able to go into quite a few where I would take pictures of ceilings, mouldings, staircases, etc. I was collecting ideas.
There were plenty of old, abandoned houses around. Some were for sale, but they didn't come with any land. Most would have to be moved. My husband wasn't on board with that. We didn't have any land to put one on anyway.
In fact, my husband didn't want to live in an old house. He had grown up in one and knew the kind of upkeep required and didn't want to fool with it. Sigh...
I eventually found a piece of land that had a mature pecan grove on it, some woods, and an open field. Only thing lacking was a pond. I figured three out of four wasn't bad. Husband was brought out to look at it and actually liked it! We bought the forty acres, but it didn't come with a mule. It did come with an outhouse, pig sty, and barn. Unfortunately we had to tear down all three due to termite damage. I really wanted to keep that outhouse!
I started looking at house plans. Since I couldn't have a REAL old house, I wanted my new house to look old. I also started collecting antique bathroom and light fixtures. A man who tore down old houses gave me some beadboard for the walls. I paid $200 for the upstairs flooring being torn out of an old house in the middle of town. It was heart pine and enough to do most of the upstairs.
There are dozens of stories that could be told, but you'll have to wait for the book. This is getting too long, but a few more things need to be told.
I couldn't find exactly the house plan I wanted and was getting frantic when the strangest thing happened. I had been to Tennessee to visit my parents and had stopped in Macon to see a friend. We had a good visit and before leaving I made a trip to the powder room. There in a basket on the floor was a Country Living magazine with the perfect house on the front. I yelled, "That's it!" It was their House of the Year for 198? I can't remember the exact year. I asked if I could have the magazine, she said yes, and as soon as I got home I ordered the house plans.
I spent many nights sitting up into the wee hours of the morning drawing out the rooms on graph paper and changing the plans until they were perfect for our family. We started building in January of 1990 and moved in on July 9.
Happy 20th anniverary little blue cottage! I love you!

Oscar

The cat who's trying to adopt us.
I should say, the wild tomcat who's trying to adopt us.
The wary cat who won't let us near him, but who will handle all the food we might happen to leave lying around.
The wily cat who really needs to go to the vet but can't (so far) be caught.
Fresh from a recent Odd Couple viewing, Hubby named him Oscar.