January 4 thru January 11, 2016

Current:
About 2 weeks ago I had some testing done to measure the carotid intima-media thickness via ultrasound. It is one of the ways to detect atherosclerotic disease. The good news is my arteries are like those of a 50-year old woman! The bad news is that they found a 1.71 mm heterogeneous plaque in my right interior carotid artery. (Which makes me wonder what my arteries would look like if they matched my age!) My treatment plan includes a fasting blood draw to check my lipid and Vitamin D3 levels. I also have to increase the antioxidants, such as berries and turmeric, in my diet so that my body can work on reducing the likelihood of it becoming worse. And also read The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo to help with my purging as I pack. In case you're wondering, I go to a naturopath thus the treatment plan addresses external areas of my life that could impact the internal parts of my body.

I have had other times where my statistics did not match my age. The most memorable disconnect was when I was in college. According to the height and weight charts, I was 12 years old!

Happy Birthday to Marian, Mike, and Sandy!

Previous:
01/04/2016 My Last Working Day!
This was my last working day. I knew what I needed to get done today but wasn't able to complete everything I had planned to do because I had not counted on all the paperwork and other bureaucratic stuff that needed to be done so I could leave!

01/07/2016 Aloha Party!
Since I left on the very first working day of the new year and many of the ENVS team took time off in the last week of the old year, there was no time to do a good bye party before my last working day. So we planned for me to come back for a party. Thanks to the ENVS team for a great potluck and party! (I don't know who took these photos; I think there were at least 2 people taking photos.)

Work photo collage

l to r: Misty, Kirk, Bob, Stephanie, Howard, ? behind Howard, Randy, Steve, Donna, Ben, Diane, Crilly, Mark, Laura, Chris

l to r: Steve, Donna, Ben, Diane, Crilly, Mark, Laura, Chris, Roxanne, Jennifer, Ken, Owen, and Dorothy

l to r: Owen, Dorothy, Steve, Kerry, Lynn, Laura, Tom, Jairul's hand

l to r: Tom, Jairul, me, Doug, Clarissa

l to r: ?, Doug, Beth, Janice, Mark, Monica, Clarissa, David, ?

l to r: Dale, Patrick, Irene, Dorothy, Randy, Lorna, Stacey's arm

l to r: Stacey, Bev, Monica, Bobbye, Melody, Ken, Tom, me, Alison

l to r: Ben, Steve, Bo, Tom, ? behind Tom, Darrell, Howard, Mike, Julie, Donna, Beth, Doug

The ENVS party organizers, l to r: Chris, Misty, Terri, Crilly, Irene

01/08/2016 My Last Official Day

On the books, this was my last day as a county employee. However, I had turned my key card, gas card, and other things in either on Monday or Thursday so there was nothing for me to do today. Except sleep in.

Mom still has trouble remembering I am now retired. When I call during the day she is always concerned that I am spending too much time talking to her and will be fired for it.

01/11/2016 Marshland Recording
In 2009 I asked a question about the recordings for permanent protection of the ENVS critical areas mitigation sites and was told only a couple were done. In 2012 I began working with Carol to get them recorded. This is the one that we started with since it was the largest, most complex site. In December it was close to being done and I was hoping it would get recorded before I retired, but it wasn't. It is now! Yay!

Marshland deed restrictions (photo by Clarissa)