Spring Cleaning, Shamrocks and Drug Keys

So spring finally happened. It came much later than I would have liked. Not that I wasn't enjoying winter, it's just that I finally got really tired of being cold all the time. I mean, how could one not enjoy this?!

The famous Rescue Squad snowmen in the making.

Almost done, just needed a few more finishing touches.

Finally done. See?! Poor snowman got impaled by a dead tree branch and had to be rushed to a trauma center by the snow medics for emergency surgery. They've done everything right to include exposing the injury, using full spinal precautions and placing the patient on O2. The patient was too cool for all this and insisted upon wearing his sunglasses during the trip. :-)

I've been so busy with precepting out as a medic in Loudoun that I really haven't had much time to work on my garden. But the hard work and time paid off--On March 17, I was finally released by the EMS council and I was finally issued a pair of shiny new drug keys! I was working the day they were issued, and I was incredibly excited and so worried that I wouldn't get them right away. The medic who was supposed to get them to me was flying out at 6 am the next morning and work was super busy--and I had a rescue squad shift the next day. If I wasn't able to catch up with him that evening, I'd have to wait until the end of the week to get them. I shouldn't have been so worried. I managed to meet him at the ED while I picked up yet another patient going to Fairfax Hospital and  I was finally officially a released Loudoun County medic!

My new keys...and well used PTS ambulance. ::huge smile::

Since I've been so busy and it's been so cold, I haven't done much with the garden yet. We've had some interesting things going on--namely the pipes in the apartment complex froze and broke at the beginning of January. Since we live on the ground floor, all the water naturally drained into our place. We were living out of a hotel room for about 3 months and almost all my plants died. Spring cleaning was fun--moving back in and trying to get the remainder of the flood damage cleaned up.

So I acquired a new plant to start the garden back up again.

It's a little shamrock plant--Oxalis to be more precise. It has beautiful white flowers and so far has been rather tolerant of not getting watered as regularly as it should. Something about me being very busy with paramedic class homework and rotations. Speaking of which...I'd better get busy.