Heritage Iris

Yesterday I transplanted the iris. As I dug holes and set them in place, it reminded me of Mom. Even at 95 years old, she was ordering bulbs and planting flowers. It is a quiet affirmation of life. Will I be here next spring to see these bloom? These particular iris were given to Mom by my grandmother Stewart from her garden before I was born. Mom moved them every time the family moved, and as they multiplied, she would dig them up, separate the new growth and replant them. I remember, as a little girl, helping her set them in place beneath the kitchen window. When she moved to Assisted Living after my father died, she called my sister and I to ask if we wanted some of the "big blue" iris for D's city garden and my garden on the farm. This is the third time I have transplanted them.

In the midst of world tension, political discourse, and economic uncertainty, planting a garden is an act of faith. I believe that life is good and I want to watch things grow. I look forward to sharing bulbs with my children when they have a home with a garden.

September

I love the fall. I can see the fulfillment of all the farmer's hard work. The wheat is now safely in the elevator. The corn is drying down, and will be harvested in early October. The rush of student athletic physicals and preschool shot is behind me. We have a new family practice physician starting today. I will be able to get more done during the day instead of nights and weekends on the computer. There is a collective sigh of relief as the work load is redistributed and the next generation of physicians join the team.

Whooping cough arrived in the area last week. If it has been more than ten years since you had a tetanus booster, it is time to go get a Tdap vaccine, which protects against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis(whooping cough). If you have friends with young babies, encourage the parents and grandparents to get immunized too. The only way to protect the youngest and most vulnerable until they are fully immunized is to surround them with a community of people who can't carry the germ home to them.

Tucker is sound asleep at my feet. I would take a picture but he hates the camera. You will have to take my word for it. He doesn't worry about anything. Yeah, Tucker!

golf country style

Labor Day weekend is a traditional time for golf and barbeque with extended family. It was breezy and cool, with a brief rain shower.
 Last night we had part of a 25# watermelon the farmer grew. It is a great time of year to eat fresh. Onions, zucchini, tomatoes, and basil straight from the garden. Life is good.

August happenings

The corn in the field is taller than the farmer by about 4 feet.  One of our favorite things is to walk through the field and get lost in the maze of stalks. Even on a sunny day, it is shady in the rows. Harvest will probably be in early October. The projected temperature today is 102 degrees, which may push the crop to finish sooner. Hopefully, it will be a good year. The prices are higher because many states had drought conditions, so that there is less corn to harvest nationwide.

This is a baby blanket made for the new pediatrician who had her baby on the 20th. I finished it the day before. Cutting it a little close! I haven't quilted much this summer. Too much work and too little play. Speaking of work, time to get ready. More to come, I promise.

Good Morning

The benefit of living on the prairie is the beautiful colors of morning. It promises to be a good day. The equipment is up and running, so the farmer can seed. I get to stay home. I am thinking of sewing part of the day, to rest my brain from the struggles with the electronic health record. It is amazing how much of a ripple effect each change makes. Its not just what is written, but also how information passes from lab to location to physician to patient and gets documented in the record. If the ball is dropped or delayed, bad things can happen. It is a "workflow" issue. It is hard to anticipate the glitches. There are several people involved in the line of communication. How did we do this before the EHR? In a quirky way, it reminds me of CSI where the chain of evidence cannot be compromised if it is to be used in court. Help!

This has been a slow , rough spring so far. The farmer had issue after issue with farm equipment. Last week, we took a trip to Regina, Canada, to get parts for the drill (planter for wheat). When we drove back home through the Badlands, I took the picture of buffalo from our car window. You know you are in North Dakota when the livestock look like a John Wayne western with cowboys and Indians.
This tree is in our backyard. It is a sign that spring is coming. The weather last month was unusually warm. Now it is damp and cool. Last night was Prom, so of course it rained. I have transplanted about two thirds of Mom's iris. I hope they do well and continue to multiply. I especially love the ones she used to call "Grandmother' s Big Blue" ones. They came from her mother-in-law, Blanche.

We are cheering on the Twins. Tucker thinks he should get to go outside but it is windy and cold.

I think of each of you often.

Mouse Tale

Today was a Quilt Shop day. The weather is beautiful here for March, and we did some spring cleaning. After the boss left for the day, I took out the trash and accidentally let a mouse in through the back door. It is way easier to let a mouse in than to get the mouse out again. I called the boss to confess. I still had two and a half hours to work alone in the shop. I decided to work in the front half of the shop, hoping it would stay in the back. When I went to the kitchen to empty my coffee cup in the sink, I saw it dash from under the shelving to hide behind the fridge.

What do you suppose the mouse is thinking? Does a mouse like looking at quilts? Will it end up in the cupboard making a nest in the batting? Will it dive in the trash looking for crumbs? What if we never find it? What if it has babies? I bet the Chinese restaurant has mice living under the sink and eating rice when no one is looking.

I spent a lot of time straightening fabric and moving bolts around. The farmer called to ask "Are you coming home?" It turns out the ladies had changed the clock in the back of the store to daylight savings time, but no one changed the clock in the front of the store. Oh bother! It was not my best day. I suppose the mouse is muttering the same thing to herself right about now. Good night, mouse.

Snow Train

The down side of living south of the railroad tracks is the wait for the train to pass. It is uncanny how often the train and I want the right of way at the same time. There is a second crossing to the east, but it is the long way around.

The snow is history now, with temperatures in the high 60's and low 70's yesterday. The farmer pruned the grape vines, and is working on his equipment to get ready for spring planting. It is too soon to start, but any warm day is a good opportunity to begin.

I have just two more weeks at the quilt shop. I haven't quilted much since Christmas. More time goes to the clinic. We are losing one physician who was filling in while waiting to begin in New Mexico. She was great. Our locums will finish at the end of this week. We will be down to the core group until the new residents finish and join us in July, August, and November. Hope to keep our heads above water by working behind the scenes to make things easier. I wonder if chocolate chip cookies for the staff would help. It can't hurt.

Hide and Seek

How many pheasants in this picture? They blend in so well with the background, it is hard to tell. We got a skiff of snow, and lots of wind today. We have had unusually mild weather up until now. It will be a short winter.

The biggest news this week is that I decided to give up my quilt shop job and spend the extra day at the hospital. The board agreed to fund a part-time physician recruiter. I will spend one day a week trying to follow up current contacts and find new ones.

I am still doing the electronic health record. I spend about 20 minutes a day preloading the information for the new e-refill requests. When the physicians go through the list, it is a quick process. I've gone back to doing data entry of charts into the computer. No one else is doing it any more, and the nurses just don't have the time if they want to keep the doctor on schedule.

The process of change had put strain on good-natured people. I can see the long term benefit of the ability to study the population and do more preventative care. I've always thought we are the perfect site for study of rural health.

We are in the process of applying to be a training site for second and third year Family Practice residents. Hopefully we will be ready for a resident in 2013. We have two residents and one fourth year student here right now. What a great addition to the group. It is fun to come to work.

I thought I might regret my decision to give up the quilt shop. but I feel good about it. The owners are unsure whether to keep it going, and the indecision and lack of new fabric is apparent. It is losing value through neglect. I just don't have the desire to stand in the gap. It is not my responsibility. Time to move on.

Number of birds (3)

Goodbye yellow shed

Last week we said goodbye to the yellow shed. It was so unstable, Lance had a huge hole dug next to one wall, and then pushed it in with the tractor. Why do I get so much enjoyment out of fire and destruction? Without the trees and the shed, the view out the south window stretches as far as the eye can see.

I am improving on the electronic record. I have become the cheerleader, trying to lift up and encourage where possible. I can hear the nurses stress over it as they talk to one another. The doctors vary from determined to frustrated. It is hard for administration to see why it is so hard.

I am waiting to hear if the board approved a part time position for me as physician recruiter for the group. I would be good at it, but money is scarce. Physicians are also scarce. We'll see. The other new project is establishing a rural residency training program for 2nd and 3rd year residents. They would do the first year in Bismarck and some specialty electives elsewhere. It is a lot of paperwork. (Think 7th grade science project) We are on a short timeline. It would make it easier to recruit new doctors. Updates as it unfolds.

No sewing in a while. I may give up the quilt shop day to use the time at the hospital. I haven't decided yet. The quilt shop is selling off inventory and not replacing it, so I think its days are numbered anyway. Sad. Nothing ever stays the same. I don't enjoy change.