School and Puppy Surgeries

So, Hannah & Maggie were spayed yesterday; came through with flying colors. Most of the evening they were still groggy and sleepy - about Midnight, that wore off and they were ready to play!!!!!!!!! ARGH! So about every 1.5 hrs we were up trying to keep them from scratching the door, or wrestling with each other. We finally put them in bed with us, usually that helps but then we kept waking up to keep them from jumping off the bed. The next 7-10 days will be hell - they can't play, jump, run, wrestle or climb stairs during that time.

I feel like I've been on a 3-day drunk!!

At five and a half months old - that isn't sinking in. They are like "wooo-hhooooo, let's PARTY!!" Bryan had to go in for job skills testing after I got home from school today and he looked a bit frazzled, being the good "Mom" I am, I promptly got out the benadryl, halved one and stuffed it down their cute little throats. They are now sleeping peacefully at my feet. I don't know why vets don't prescibed a sedative along with the pain killers if they want them to be sedentary during recovery. Especially for puppies. Good Lord! When she said they had to be 'quiet' for 7 days I looked at her like she grew 2 more heads. She just laughed and said everyone looked at her that way... I'm thinking, "well then, that should tell you to give us TRANQUILIZERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!"


Anyway... school... It's going OK. The boring, mechanic parts right now - a math refresher (that I desperately needed), microbiology; next week we finish math & MB and start two new classes - Study Skills and Computer Technology... which I tried to get pre-empted from but couldn't... HELLLOOOO, both of my degrees were done at night so I think I know how to study and I've worked with a computer for how many years now?!?!? Oh well, I'd like to say it will be an easy "A" but I don't want to jinx anything. We also will be starting Anatomy in the next week or so.

The schedules are all hokey but I guess that gets them all squeezed in. So between now and August 14 (end of this semester) I will be taking computer technology, study skills, anatomy/physiology, respiratory science (basically chemistry & physics), pulmonary anatomy/physiology, cardiac anatomy/physiology and patient assessment. Whew!

Then after a week break we start up again. In January (my third semester) I will start clinical rotations and will only have classes 3 days a week and clinicals for 2 days (12-hour shifts).

In order to start your clinicals you have to prove you are up to date on all of your immunizations. I have had two titers (blood tests) done for MMR (Mumps, Measles, Rubella) and Varicella (Chickenpox), updated my tetnus/diptheria (Man, I forget just how bad those hurt) and started my Hepatitis B vaccines - its a three shot series and then at the end we have to have a titer showing we are indeed immune. I haven't been stuck this many times in... well, probably forever!!! Oh, and I have to get a TB (tuberculosis) test every 6 months. This one looks clear!! HAHA

Also for clinicals you have to do a background and drug test... my background check came back A-OK and we won't do the drug test until just before clinicals - but I'm not worried about it either. I remember when I was having to do a screening for my JLL application and people were like "its OK, its only one time... then its OK" and I'm like - I don't do drugs anyway, so really, I'm not worried about it. But they acted like I should be all concerned... struck me as funny.

April 9 Jerome, AZ and Tuzigoot National Monument

Before heading to Sedona, we took a quick trip up the mountain to Jerome and Tuzigoot National Monument. Both are located just outside of Cottonwood.

Jerome (http://www.azjerome.com/) is located on Cleopatra Hill between Flagstaff & Prescott. Jerome was a copper mining town, founded in 1876 it grew from tents & shanties to a large, active mining community. Surviving four large fires, the "City of Jerome" was incorporated in 1889. The copper mine closed in 1953 and in 1967 the town was designated as a National Historic District. Today the town in home to about 450 people and is a thriving tourist & artist community.

Most of the buildings you see today were built after the fires of 1894 and 1899; many have been restored and many more are planned for renovation.

View from Jerome, AZ

Street scene in Jerome

Sullivan Apartments, Jerome, AZ

Hotel Connor, Jerome, AZ

Grand Hotel, Jerome, AZ

Tuzigoot National Monument is located between Cottonwood & Jerome. About 1000 AD a tribe of southern tribe Sinagua (sin-AH-wah) Indians built their homes on a ridge in the Verde Valley. They left suddenly in the early 1400's for still unknown reasons. Tuzigoot grew slowly over 4oo years - the ruins you see now at Tuzigoot were probably built in the late 1300s during the final expansion of Tuzigoot. During its heyday, Tuzigoot probalby had about 225 people living there. Few adults lived beyond the age of 40 and when they passed, they were buried in the hillsides with few personal possessions.

Most of the rooms sheltered single families and used for sleeping & eating; a few rooms were used for food storage and prep, but most cooking was done on outside firepits.

Tuzigoot is a fantastic place to visit. While most of it is reconstructed, it is still spectacular to view the ruins, imagine how the people of that time lived and the views from the ridge are spectacular.

April 23-27 Mom & Dad's Visit

Mom & Dad arrived Thursday afternoon, just in time for Mom to accompany me to the doctor's office to start my round of required immunizations for the respiratory therapy program I've entered. I have to prove I have had immunizations for MMR (mumps, measles, rubella), Varicella (chicken pox), update my tetanus & diphtheria shot and start the three rounds of Hepatitis B vaccines. I guess I had an MMR booster in 1998 but decided to just go ahead and get a titer to prove that I was immune; same thing with the chicken pox - other than photos from Mom, I can't prove I actually had them so I had to have a titer (blood draw/test) to prove I am immune. The HepB shot is administered in 3 shots - now, one in a month and the other is either in 3 mos or 6 mos I missed that part. And the Td is every 7 years, although I guess some hospitals are requiring it every year now... Oh yeah, and I have to be tested for TB every 6 mos... OK, more than you wanted to know, back to Mom & Dad's visit.

They left their 5th wheel at home and just stayed with us at the house. On Friday, after my classes, we went to the 26th annual "Gathering of Nations" Powwow. One of the largest powwows in the country with over 500 tribes represented from across the US & Cananda. This year, the newspaper reported that there were over 3000 dancers participating in the Grand Entries. There were also over 800 vendors set up as well.

We all really enjoyed it (OK, Bryan not so much) but I think we would have liked it better if we had known more about the dances - like what did the represent (if anything), some of the rules, like when the music (drums/chants) stop so must the dancers, etc. But really, it was a moving experience to see that many dancers in their costumes. Most were very elaborate, some were just down right gaudy and doubtful to me that they dressed in those particular colors (blaze orange, flourescent yellow, green and pink) "way back when". I was reading on city-data.com that some people went for the "spirituallness" of the event - I can't say that I was moved spiritually - too many people, too big of a venue - but it was a spectacular site to witness. Again, I would like to know about the culture behind it all...

Bryan thought that each tribe should have had a booth or something, telling a bit of history about themselves, etc.

I sat with Mom in the handicapped section and we met the most interesting (& talkative man). He was a Mescalero Apache - but not registered! (his words and emphasis). He was a hoot but we did miss alot listening to him instead of the dance announcers. Below are some photos from the event. I didn't use flash so some are a bit blurry and I don't know what all the dances/dancers are so the descriptions are vague. And remember to click on the photo to enlarge!!

Here's some of the more 'colorful' costume's.
I think they were called the "men's fancy dress"

Women's Bell Dress dance
All the dresses had hundreds of bells sewn on them

Women's Bell Dress Dance

Dancing men - in more traditional colored costumes

Drums being set up for the Grand Entry on Friday night

Celebrating the four directions
Bald Eagle came out prior to the Grand Entry

Headdress of someone sitting in front of me

Start of the Grand Entry

Arena floor filling up

My last photo before my battery died
The floor is still filling up; there were so many still
coming into the arena that several had to leave
& go back into the stands to make room!

Mom was pretty sick (exhaustion coupled with a huge Indian fry bread and cotton candy on Friday) on Saturday so I studied and did housework while she slept. Bryan & Dad built a slick dolly-cart for my Jeep's hardtop.

Then on Sunday we took Dad to breakfast at Weck's for his 67th birthday - very tasty and lots & lots of food. Dad tried but just couldn't finish his. None of us could. Then Bryan & Dad headed back to finish the cart and start a platform that will fit inside the back of the Jeep to raise the pups up so they can see out (& hopefully help keep Hannah from getting carsick) and Mom & I went shopping then came home and hemmed my uniform pants while I studied.

Dad's Birthday Cinnamon Roll from Wecks

Maggie lounging on the patio

Jake (parent's dog) & Hannah

Bad, bad puppies!!! This is what I woke up
to this morning!!!

Dad, me & Mom before they headed home.

April 9 - Sedona, Arizona

After visiting Tuzigoot National Monument and the historic mining town of Jerome we headed north to Sedona. After 40 minutes of circling in & out of parking lots/garages, we finally found a spot and had a quiet lunch at The Orchard (so-so food) before heading over the the Chamber of Commerce to get maps of Jeep trails. We loved the area around Sedona, but Sedona itself... well the touristy part... was just that, touristy, not our thing really.

Anyway, the weather was good enough to put the top down on the Jeep so we had a great time driving around looking at the scenery.

The touristy part of Sedona

Chimney Rock near Sedona

Maggie & Hannah

Our Jeep near Sedona

View from the Sedona airport view point

April 8 - Phoenix and Montezuma's Castle & Well

Today we left early and headed to Phoenix. No particular destination in mind, we just wanted to see the area as we've never been... and in case we have to move there for jobs. :-)

WOW, what a difference 100 miles and 2ooo feet in elevation make!!! It just got drier and drier as we entered Phoenix. A few miles outside of Phoenix we started seeing the Saguro cactus. We were the typical tourist ooohhhing and aaaahhhhing at everyone we saw. We'd never seen then 'in person' before. Very cool!!

Phoenix was certainly not what either of us expected. It's actually a very beautiful city (or conglomeration of cities), of course we stayed pretty much on the loop (101), just venturing off into Scottsdale to gas up and walk Hannah & Maggie. The landscaping was terrific along the roads which really helped the overall look - ABQ would look nice with as much landscaping too. Not to mention Phoenix just seems "newer". Anyway, we really liked what we saw in the clear, balmy 76 degree day we visited - who knows what we'd think when its 120 degrees!!!

On the road (I-17) to Phoenix, AZ

Downtown Phoenix (way in the back)

Condo or townhome in Phoenix

Hannah in Phoenix

Raymona with the fighting duo
at a hiking park in Phoenix

Looking across housetops in Phoenix

After we left Phoenix we drove north back to the Verde Valley and stopped at Monetezuma's Castle and Montezuma's Well.

Bryan with a sleeping Hannah

Montezuma's Castle was named under the false belief that the ruins were built by Aztec refugees. A farming community of about 200 people flourished in here for about 300 years. The castle held about 35 families. It is believed that the people fled the Flagstaff area around 1100 AD to this area. Montezuma's Castle and the neighboring Castle A was occupied between 1200 AD and 1450 AD. The people located here are known as the Sinagua (pronounced sin-AH-waa). There are several Sinagua pueblos located within and near the Verde Valley. They farmed the land by using irrigation ditches, diverting water from nearby streams and using catchments to collect what precious rainfall they could. They also harvested what they could from native plants such as the Arizona Sycamore, yucca and hackberry.

No one really knows why the Sinagua left this area or where they went, but Hopi Indian legends suggest the Sinagua may have joined them.

Montezuma's Castle

Castle A
Beaver Creek at the base
of Montezuma's Castle

Arizona Sycamores

A few miles north of the Castle is Montezuma's Well. This 'well' was once a limestone cavern that has collaped becoming a sink hole containing a pool of water 55 ft deep and 368 ft across. Subterranean springs of warm water replenish the well with over a million & a half gallons of water a day - never varying, since (apparently) prehistoric times. The water is a temperate 75 degrees year 'round. The water flows out through a side cave, called a swallet, in the limestone wall. The water travels underground for 150 ft before emerging just a few feet above Beaver Creek. It takes seven minutes for the water to flow through the swallet and washes out 600 lbs of dissolved lime every day.

Montezuma's Well

Cliff dwelling in the walls above the Well

Prehistoric farms channeled this water into a mile long irrigation ditch to water their crops.

The outlet of the water from the Well

The irrigation canal