view from the lookout where I go on some of my a.m. bike rides (February 13, 2007)Hi everyone,
I've had a GREAT and "full-on" week learning more about (& getting refreshed on) the many different aspects of 1st Aid in a wilderness setting and from the perspective of leading groups out on hikes and other outdoor activities. They packed heaps into our training ...
"evacuating" Kate on the OBA stretcher as Marty our instructor looks on (February 9, 2007)Friday, February 16, 2007
through a great mix of short theory sessions inside and scenarios of possible incidents for us to practice our 1st aid approach and skills on each other outside, plus a few small group and paired practice times to figure out splinting and rolling patients over.
Mikie & Ben with the traction splint we constructed (February 11, 2007)
"I'm a butterfly!" exclaims Ned (the other Ben), as Pecky lets him out of the hypothermia wrap that our instructor Tom (from Queensland) taught us how to make (February 11, 2007)Some of the scenarios were fairly basic in the beginning and as things moved along, a number of scenarios even included fake blood and more complex challenges to work through for prioritizing which things to check out with our patients as well as dealing with 2 patients among 3 rescuers ... etc.
Our most challenging one was the offsite night time scenario we did on Monday night ... I ended up "going down" with a broken tibia (shin bone) and my team (THE "PINKIES") had to deal with providing me with the first aid I needed and then keep monitoring me after Mikie was not returning from his need to go relieve himself nearby in the trees ... Phillip & Mohammed (Tipu) found him "unconscious" about 10 metres up the hill away from me while Claire Peck "Pecky" tended to checking on my vital signs and keeping me comfortable. The instructors patched about 6 of us up with quite real looking leg fractures, including a small twig in the mix that was supposed to be the protruding bone! I had a gel formed fracture, that included the cuts around the "bone" sticking out.
Zohara & I (2 of the night scenario patients) with our "full on" injuries!! (February 12, 2007)It was great how our team worked so well together ... Pecky, Tipu, Phillip, Mikie, & I, ... amid the "pain" I was in because of my broken leg :) I even manage to work myself up into some tears on a few occasions, our team tended to my needs and did a very excellent job at keeping me calm, reminding me to breathe & keep drinking water to prevent dehydration from my "blood loss". Fortunately, the scenario was over in time for me to deal with my very full bladder, phew!
All in all, it was a great wilderness 1st Aid learning opportunity as well as one in teamwork and good communication ... our motto for the evening held on strong ... "Pinkies IN, Trouble OUT!"
A couple evenings ago, on the 14th, we enjoyed pizzas from Beechie's pizza oven ... something his family sells as a business ... the pizzas were quite tasty & the fun, music, and dancing went on early into the morning ... although I called it a night around midnight & then proceeded to get sucked into cyberspace until about 2 a.m. mucking about with my e-mail after a visit with Belinda, one of the other OB staffers.
me & the pizza I made with spinach, cashews, sundried tomahtoes, and cheese (February 14, 2007)My RDO (day off) yesterday went by quite quickly, but I did manage to bike into Tugeranong (the suburb in the SW of Canberra) for my swim ... so I cycled for 45 minutes to get there, swam for 45 minutes, and then cycled back the 45 minutes or less, since it's a nice gradual down hill slope for the last couple of kilometres.
Today, we started a 4 day block out at the High Ropes Course & Climbing Wall ... the group I am in is on the High Ropes today & tomorrow ... then we switch over to the Climbing Wall for the 18th-19th.
It was quite a full day that was quite hot but then we had all kinds of grey storm clouds come close with their distant thunder ... but they didn't bring any significant amount of rain and the lightning that flashed off in the distance (& had us staying off the equipment until it settled down) didn't persist, so we were able to continue with the high ropes cutting away rescue techniques.
I am pretty tuckered and plan to get to bed early tonight and tomorrow I will be making up some peanut butter & jam sandwiches for my morning & afternoon snacks ... my energy got pretty sapped in the late morning and later in the afternoon and the 2 apples & orange I had just didn't tie me over well enough. But we have homework tonight, our group of 7 on the high ropes have to prepare to do a high ropes course "briefing" for our instructors tomorrow morning, we each of us needs to do part of the briefing ... we'll figure out who is doing what & we also need to prepare more of the climbing harnesses for the rescues we'll keep practicing tomorrow.
I'll add pictures hopefully tomorrow night and my stories from the fun we had on Valentine's Day with seeking out the little gifts that our Secret Cupids shared with the person whose name they drew from the jar.
Be well, be warm, & be safe,
Teresa
p.s. I now have a few of my missing buttons reattached/replaced and a few others reinforced courtesy of Margot and her wizardry with Krisette's borrowed sewing maching, Krisette is one of the Learning & Development instructors who I have enjoyed discussing facilitation as well as the deep ecology, work that reconnects, and ecological literacy things I have been quite keen on for the past few years
p.p.s. I shared part of my brekie breakfast) time this morning down by the dining hall with a couple of roos grazing under one of the eucalyptus trees, it was lovely to be so close & have them okay with continuing with their grass munching ... didnt' have my camera with me then so I enjoyed watching them as I finished my toast
p.p.p.s. just back from our organizing meeting & will be getting to bed after I have some tea ... just wanted to let you know about the very big resident wombat "Frank" or Frank(ie)" that I finally got to see more clearly ... Tanya (my roomie) & I have heard it rustling around in the bushes outside the window of our room on a few occasions ... I hope to be able to share one of the pic's that Kate got of Frank(ie) since my camera was in download mode when the photo op. occurred ...
Frank(ie) the resident OBA wombat that earlier tonight ... they are a very large marsupial that look like a really large beaver with no tail or marmot ... Frank(ie) lives around the area near our apartment and he/she was grazing on the grass near the clothes line while we had our little group meeting ... they look like cuddly little brown bears, but apparently they can give a pretty good bite & they have pretty sharp claws ... Chris was intent on trying to get close & cuddle it but he didn't wanted to scare Frank(ie) "off his/her "tea"... meaning, scare him away from his/her supper ... I'll try to share one of Kate's pictures of the wombat tomorrow night ... my camera was in download mode at the time ... time for me to get some sleep ...
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Ok Teresa as promised here is the recipe for peroghies includes, dough, filling and instructions. Good luck in your efforts to make some in your spare time.
PEROGHI RECIPE
DOUGH
5 cups flour
2 cups water
½ cup oil
1 TBLSP salt
Combine water, oil and salt – add about half of the flour and beat well. Continue to add flour til your mixer cannot handle it. Pour out on flour covered surface and knead the rest of the flour in. Dough should not be too dry. Place in a greased covered bowl and let stand in cool place for about an hour. TWO BATCHES OF THIS DOUGH HANDLES THE FILLING BELOW. YOU CAN ADJUST ACCORDINGLY. IF USING TWO BATCHES MAKE UP SEPERATELY.
FILLING
15 pounds potatoes
4 pounds FETA cheese (broken into small pieces)
4 pounds cottage cheese
1 pound butter
Dried Onion flakes (I use a lot like about a cup full) depends on your taste
Peel potatoes, cut in small pieces (cooks faster) and place in large pot. Cover with cold water, add 1 tblsp salt and 1 tblsp white vinegar. Bring to a boil and let cook til potatoes are soft.
Drain potatoes add onion flakes and butter. Cover and wait til butter has melted. With electric mixer mash the potatoes and salt and pepper to taste. (Reminder FETA cheese is quite salty so factor that in to how much you add to the potatoes).
Beat in the feta and cottage cheeses till the mixture is well blended. Set aside to cool. DO NOT USE WARM FILLING AS IT IS TOO HARD TO WORK WITH.
MAKING
Peroghi dough should not be handled too much as this ends up with tough end product. I cut off a small (fist sized) piece of dough (leave the rest covered in the fridge) and roll out. Dough should be rolled fairly thin. Using a small juice glass or other type round utensil cut this rolled piece of dough in circles. Keep a small bowl of flour handy and dip the cutting glass into it so the dough does not stick.
Take a circle of dough and gently stretch it out. Place a spoonful of filling in the circle and fold it into a half circle and pinch the edges together. Keep a small dish of flour handy to dust your hands with and keeps your fingers from sticking to the dough when pinching edges closed.
Place completed peroghi on cloth covered surface. For me this chunk of dough usually makes 20 – 30 peroghies. Keep them covered with another cloth as you are making them so they do not dry out.
COOKING
Using a large pot filled at least half full of water, add a tablespoon of oil and some salt. Bring the water to a boil. Once water has reached boiling turn down hit to keep the water at a gentle bubble. Gently drop peroghies into the boiling water. CAUTION DO NOT COOK MORE THAN 8 – 10 AT A TIME.. AND DO NOT BOIL RAPIDLY AS THIS CAUSES THEM TO SPLIT OPEN. Stir GENTLY with a wooden spoon. Peroghies will rise to the top when almost cooked. Continue to cook for a couple of minutes. Remove with slotted spoon and place on greased piece of aluminum foil to cool. Continue cooking in small batches til this bunch is completely cooked. I place them in the freezer on cookie sheets til frozen then bag them in freezer bags for future use and freeze.
Continue this process of making and cooking in small batches til all the dough and filling is used up. This is a lot of work but well worth it.
If you want to eat a few while you are making them I usually keep a pan with some melted butter and sautéed onions handy. Throw a few in for sampling as you make them. To serve frozen peroghies I gently sauté them in butter with the lid covered using medium low heat so as not to burn them. Cook on both sides til golden brown. Serve with dollops of sour cream or onions sautéed in butter and enjoy.
Hey and hola.
Just read your first aid and wombat stories. That's quite the deal! I've sent you an email earlier so I won't repeat all that stuff. Did you deal with the bill that you mentioned the other day? Things are HRB are going pretty well. It will get busier soon though and that will be a bit tricky since I'm still pretty slow. But most folks don't mind since then their return is done correctly. Keep on enjoying your time there. Miss you at band and in general.
me, Laurelie
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