yard work

Well, the yard work fun continued today after a postcall nap. I planted these little plants by the mailbox - you're supposed to be able to walk on them eventually. I'm guessing I should avoid the temptation to step on them only 1 hour after planting them. I also decided to see if I could get the little blue flowers to grow in by the little tree by the stairs to my front door. That only makes sense to the few who have been here. So I pulled out the half dead alysium. Then I planted more alysium in the spots that were dead. yep, pulled out the mostly dead alysium that was previously there. Then I noticed that the type I bought looks different from the one that's already planted. Oh well, they're both white. I also pulled out the moss and other weeds in the rest of the front yard. Then I spread more moss killer and grass seeds stuff and watered the grass a bit. I still have to rake up all the dead leaves and branches that fell on the ground from the fall of 2005. Hey, I've been busy saving lives so back off. Still have to clean out the gutters...they were kind of gross so I left them alone. I'm not quite sure how to get to the ones on the front of the house...perhaps I'll let those leaves decay naturally rather than risk falling off the roof. Then clean off the decks. I think I need to refinish them or at least hire someone to do it. I want to put little grippies on the stairs since they get slippery when wet. And i still have to start the herb garden and other seeds I bought a few months ago. Maybe I'll do that after dinner since they will be started in this cute little greenhouse tray I bought.

And yes, I'm actually going to work too. Last night was busy. First I was 1st assist on an emergency C-section for a baby that was having non-reassuring heart tones on the external monitor. That took a while because the woman kept bleeding. Usually the senior resident does all the OB but he was driving from the SE clinic and they wanted to start right away so I got to do it. I don't mind C-sections since they're usually fast. Then I admitted a patient to the ICU while my senior resident delivered a baby. It took a long time to do it so I need to be faster. But the attending said I did a great job. She actually called back after she had left to tell me that. That was nice of her. Then just as I was getting comfy, we got another admission. The service was completely empty when we started off the night. This second admission closed our service but the attending forgot to tell the ER so just as I was getting settled and comfy again, we had a 3rd unassigned admission (their regular doctors either can't work or choose not to work in the hospital or they don't have a regular doctor). And since she had already accepted the patient, the ER made sure that we wouldn't be up for at least 6 unassigned admissions later. A lot of good that did for me. Anyway, it was an easy admission so it wasn't too bad. Then I presented the case of the postpartum cardiomyopathy (heart failure after delivering a baby). Then I watched tv for an hour in the call room while I hoped my headache would get better (it started after the 3rd admission from lack of sleep). I also ate some breakfast hoping that would help. It didn't. I had already taken excedrin when I woke up from the last 45 minute nap before morning report. So then I rounded with the surgeon and started feeling nauseated, like a hangover or somthing. It continued during surgery clinic. I swear I wanted to barf so bad. It eventually went away as I was walking to my car to go home. Tomorrow we start at 10 am. Yippee! I think I'll get up at 8 and practice some spanish. I still need to work on my stepping stones too. Oh and my presentation on pneumonia needs to be fixed. blah.

Time for dinner.

hard work

Well, since it has finally stopped raining long enough for the ground to harden, I mowed the lawn today. This was after a 3 hour surgery today. At first I thought it would be an easy day. Sure I had to get up early to go to morning report at 7 am but then I studied until noon when I thought I had an ethics consult team meeting. They sent an email at 11 am saying it was cancelled only I didn't get that message. Oh well, I studied more until 2 pm when I was told my surgeon's clinic would start. Turns out she was on ER call and did an emergency appendectomy without me. Oh well...The laparoscopic cases are kind of boring since all I do is hold the trocars and since my depth perception is sucky with laparoscopy, I'm not too bummed I missed it. Anyway, we saw 2 patients in clinic then got a call from the ER about an elderly woman who had a bowel perforation during a barium enema. When we opened her up, there was milky white barium everywhere. It had coated the bowel. In addition to having to find the hole in the bowel, it took forever just to get the adhesions taken down and then try to clean off the entire abdominal cavity of the barium. That stuff was everywhere.

So anyway, I came home and since the sun was still out (it was 7:30 pm but really 6:30 pm because of daylight saving time), I mowed the lawn. The grass was super high so it took forever to get it cut well. Then I sprayed this moss killer and turf booster thing that my mom bought. Since I still have to pull weeds in 2 parts of my yard, I may have to redo the lawn stuff but I'm tired. The rhodedendrons are blooming so that's pretty as well as the alyssium. I bought some plants to plant next to my mailbox. And I think one of the bigger bushes is truely dead, a victim of last september, so I'll try to dig that up this weekend and plant a new bush that does well with drought so I can opt not to water.

I also bought this really cool slipper-shaped stepping stone making kit...it takes a week to make 2 stones (2 moulds in the kit). I'm tempted to buy a second kit just so I can speed up the process of making stepping stones from the front area to the back deck. Apparently you can't even use them until they're completely cured for 28 days! Geez! I also bought a slipper shaped thermometer but I don't think it's correct because it always says it's 80 degrees in my home when it's clearly not that warm at all. Maybe I'll return it.

Oh and then I also installed a new thermostat that allows me to control the temperature at different times every day of the week. For example, i can program my furnace to heat my home to 80 degrees from 4 pm to 5 pm if I so choose. It's nicer looking than the old control and it has a digital readout. It blends into the wall better too.

Yep, I've been busy!