Easy Sudoku for 1/December/2007

all..
As a horticultarist [tho out of practice] I feel I should add my 2 bob's worth... Certainly doesn't look like goldenrod and the inflorescence is a bit hard to determine from the photo but it most resembles a callistemon [bottlebrush] of which there are many different forms in the Australian bush. Some melaleuca's also have this shaped inflorescence and the leaves and habit is more in keeping with that. It could also be a member of the banksia / grevillea family [plant habit, leaf shape, type of inflorescence]. Do not think it is a wattle/acacia. Not much help - am I - really need a close up. Can't go back to check the picture now without redoing the puzzle but I thought I saw what looked like banksia's in the background

oh gosh - I fear you have outdone me annie:
helllllloooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!! there , that's better! and I think you are mistaken - a little, I phlanger every now and then....

No, billy, it is a carrot. I toasted it, but then it was not good to eat, so I put a hole in it and then I put a string through the hole so it could be wearable art. I tried to put in on my goldfish Todd, but it made him tip over, so now I am wearing it. I do not know if my carrot has any carats. How can I tell?

I am not a clepto annie, she (proprietor/vendor) was about to put it in a paper bag - the mince pie that is, I felt 'green' at that moment and told her "no - I'll just eat it, as is - save a tree and all that ", she acquiesced and i stuffed it whole into my mouth and stumbed/mumbled over my "thank you".

how big was this bag? (and the pie, too?) A wee bit of a tart or a proper family-sized dessert?

Can anyone please tell us what the ingredients are of a mince pie? What has been minced, and do we want to know?

Mince pies were originally "minced meat" pies, and they contained very old meat that had been marinated in lots of sprices (cinnamon, cloves, ginger, etc.) Nowadays, they are made of spiced fruit, but I have no idea what kind of fruit and I don't think I want to know. I prefer pumpkin pie this time of year.

sprices = spices

The act of typing with one's fingers on the wrong keys: "wrongkey-donkey"

Glinda - sorry for the delay - the cool or cosy man just dropped in - had to make him a cuppa, cool or cosy, environmentally friendly , la la la la or something - forget the words... where was I? oh yes, carats...a carat is 0.2 grams , so depending on whether yours is a baby carrot pe(n)dant or a normal garden variety carrot - you will need to weigh it and convert to carats...did you lop off the head?

annie - the bag (paper) was approx 8x6 inches, the tart was a wee one, but still impeded my speech...
Jane - you forgot the brandy - lashings of it too...

sweeny todd ( are you related to glinda's gold fish?) - Food Standards Australia may have their eye on you - be careful...

stumbed = stumbled - I have an affliction as already mentioned...

Oh, my bags are packed, I'm ready to go.......

I'd add the music notes but I don't know how to do them! Help please somebody??!!!
Is there a page or site that tells you how to do all the things with the ALT key??

Lucky Chris, going to Elton John. I sooo wanted to go!! We drove over Commonwealth Bridge through the crowds of people arriving for the concert, parking and crossing the road. Did feel sorry that it rained so much on the night.

It's raining again now, although nowhere near as heavily as last night.

....All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go...

...'Cause I'm leaving on a jet plane
I don't know when I'll be back again....

Have fun CP and travel safe - give the gang the hugest huggle from me, and keep your eye on Col...xxx

Jeb - your video is Perry Como & I didn't hear him singing those words.

Bean - Are some Banksia Proteas?

Sweeny Todd - the answer is NO. I'm with Jane - pass the pumpkin pie. My mother made Mince Meat Pie - never did like it. Pass the Pumpkin, Tipsy Apple or just more Cranberry Bread,

The testosterone toting teenager has gone down the coast for a venturer camp. I was not a happy mummy last night, as he went down in a van driven by an older scouting member (19 maybe 20). It was raining very heavily and the road to the coast can be treacherous in the dry, let alone in the dark and wet. I tried to persuade them to stay at our place in nice dry beds, and go down early this morning, but they declined the offer. I managed to settle and sleep after midnight, when I knew they must be safe, because no-one had knocked on our door to tell us otherwise. Mothers - do we ever stop worrying??

Huggles will be plentiful, Billy. And yes, I know to keep a watch on Col!!!

Billy, I do not understand. Did I lop off whose head? My carrot's? Carrots do not have heads, but they have grassy tops. I kept part of the grassy top on my pedant, as it makes it look fashionable. It is a big carrot, the kind to make juice from. Only I do not make juice, so I tried to toast it. I may have mentioned that it did not work well, so I turned the carrot into a pedant.

I am not a fish, nor am I related to one.

hi eve - Banskia's are part of the Proteacea family along with Waratah's, Hakea's and many others. They are very sensitive to phosphorus and have evolved to survive in some of our more barren areas. A lot are native or have origins in Sth Africa.
Embothrium coccineum: Common name Chilean Fire Bush, is also a member of this vast family and is native to Chile. Do we have any sudokuaholics down Chile way?
Ciao

Glinda - yes, the carrot's head, and I was referring to the grassy top, and I agree, it would add a touch of classiness/artiness to your pedant, however, given that it is a big carrot, it may make you stoop if you wear it on an 'every day' basis, I can recommend a good chiropracter if it becomes necessary.

Oh CP, I feel for you, there's nothing worse than entrusting your precious child's life to someone else, except maybe when they start driving themselves. Oh, the sleepness nights! I'm over that with my thirty-something kids now BUT my oldest grandchild is now 9 and I measure his age by - "It will only be 7 years until he can learn to drive!" How will I survive?

chiropracter=chiropractor= humblest apologies= phlanger

Hi, Val! I hope you are having/have had a wonderful and may your coming year be filled with many blessings!

ok, my word... "zxcvbyuiopify"

Vals' birthday?? Is it?? Happy Birthday Val - hope you have a wonderful day, full of nice useful presents like a torch. x

I have to go clean the house now - it has been waiting in anticipation for this day as it has been sadly neglected for a little while, light globes will even be replaced...as will the little loo flushy thingos that hang off the rim and I may even beat the rug...can you buy rug beaters these days??

good word annie - how do you pronounce it?

toodles xxx

I'm getting mighty tired of all this talk of carrots and carats.

Jeb, I also enjoy Tom Lehrer's Christmas Carol...

Christmas time is here, by golly,
Disapproval would be folly.
Deck the halls with hunks of holly,
Fill the cup and don't say when.

Kill the turkeys, ducks and chickens,
Mix the punch, drag out the Dickens.
Even though the prospect sickens,
Brother, here we go again.

On Christmas Day you can't get sore,
Your fellow man you must adore.
There's time to rob him all the more
The other three hundred and sixty-four.

Relations, sparing no expense, 'll
Send some useless old utensil,
Or a matching pen and pencil.
("Just the thing I need, how nice!")

It doesn't matter how sincere it is,
Nor how heart felt the spirit,
Sentiment will not endear it,
What's important is the price.

Hark, the Herald Tribune sings,
Advertising wondrous things.
God rest ye merry merchants,
May ye make the Yuletide pay.
Angels we have heard on high,
Tell us to go out and buy!

So, let the raucous sleigh bells jingle,
Hail our dear old friend Kris Kringle,
Driving his reindeer across the sky.
Don't stand underneath when they fly by.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ - don't know how to get the 'proper peaks' - sorry for the mispronounciation but...go and have a nanna nap - works wonders.

where have you been? I've been looking for you!

walk this way...

2.38 best time ever

HOLIDAY EATING IMPERATIVES

1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls!!!

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly! It's rare. You can't find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnog-alcoholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat step #3.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.

8. Same for pies. Apple, Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards.

10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Re-read tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner. Remember this motto to live by:
"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming, "WOO HOO what a ride!"

Have a great Christmas season!

Goldenrod is not a tree, it is a wildflower, but, as others have noted, this is an Australian tree. There have been other pictures of this type of tree, if this is not a repeat.

Eve - I love that motto! There is wisdom in that advice :-)