Sudokuaholics Anonymous 10

Dear friends, my email account has been hacked, please do not open any mail from me.

I have no idea what I've read or what I wanted to comment on.. in fact I feel like a little bit of a kip...

Hmm..judging by the time stamp on my last post I have had a little bit of a kip!! Woke up to the phone and the smell of my lunch bubbling in the oven.. lasagne..

Catch you all later.. have a good day

Bugger, Broni. You didn't need that!

Off to bed. Ciao.

Greetings and Salutations, Everyone!

I have done a quick glance at posts, but am having difficulty remembering. I know I want to wish June and Ken a wonderful, relaxing cruise!

Seems like Bean had a good (but exhausting) conference. I hope you find some energy for the week ahead!

Broni, how awful to be hacked! Thank you for letting us know. How awful about the solar panels/installation.

Heidi, what a great crop of hay this year!

MizT, I'm glad to hear that you are feeling better. Your diagnosis sounds quite likely! I hope the tension poles go together well!

Good to see you stopping in, Nola!

Suzy, enjoy your new netbook type of computer! (Sorry, I can't remember exactly.)

Theresa, you and your D are making great progress on the throw! Good for you! Your grandies are so sweet working on and selling bracelets and decorated rocks!

My brain is a sieve, so I don't remember anything else, so I'll tell you a bit about what is happening here:

Because of the decent weather, I took the time to go to the outdoor pool today (air temperatures up to 66). Tomorrow will be slightly warmer, but we need to be out of the house by 7 to take the train into Chicago to help with D's dog. D has an extra duty tomorrow which will keep her out of the apartment from about 7:30 until 5:30 or so - much too long for a puppy to be in a crate. Puppy will be spayed on Thursday of next week, so will be puppy-sitting again next Friday. Only had time to do part of my cello practicing today, and no time Friday or Saturday or tomorrow. Dentist and acupuncture appointments on Tuesday. Hmm. I wonder how my lesson will be on Wednesday.

, positive thoughts, {{{{{HUGS}}}}}, healing vibes and prayers for everyone!

greetings friends, can't sleep again, so I read all the posts i missed. Can remember only a bit, but June, have a great cruise. Heidi, that is a LOT to pay for fertilizer!
the farm where I lived, the farm hand would hook up this contraption made of chains and old auto tires and drag it over the fields. That broke up and distributed the fertilizer dropped by the cattle, and made the grass grow. I did not know that the cows would not eat anywhere close to a cow pattie, so they had to move it around, break it up, usually just fore a good rain so it would sink in, or the cows would have less and less area to graze.

Teresa, you go girl, good job on the afgan progress. Julie, hope you enjoyed the outdoor pool. Bean, you sound like me, falling asleep and only knowing it when you look at the clock hehehe. ?That or you have missing time, where is the mothership??

I received my package Saturday, the tension poles with arms for holding hanging baskets. I need baskets, mine got broken in move, and I wanted 6 alike. this is the wrong time of year to buy hanging baskets, really pots, so I went online. I found just what I wanted at Lowe's.com, put in an order to pick up at store, a neat feature, 20 minute guarantee, but guess what? although computer said they were in stock and ready for pick up, I got a phone call, luckily just fore I left to get them, store did not have them, they would cancel order. Lady gave me NO confirmation number they were cancled, Order was for over $50, and I was concerned. close to end of month, and if I found them elsewhere, I could not order with that $50 outstanding.

Number on screen said, need help?? call 000-000-0000, so I did. Sweetest lady ever, she confirmed for me the order had been canceled. I told her I really wanted those pots, did they have them in a warehouse and could they be shipped to me or anything? She said, if you do not mind holding, I will check for you. I think she phoned every store within 25 miles of my location, had someone walk the store looking for them, till 30 minutes latershe found me some at Hoover store. Was that doable? Sure was, not but 15 miles away via freeway, an easy drive, I could do that. OH, BTW, instead of being $6 plus each for the self watering pots, they were on clearance for $1.69. I told her I would take any number they had up to six. ordered the dirt also.

this lady was sooo helpful. and so very plesant. Really above and beyond. I told her so, asked her name and told her I would find some way to let her boss know how helpful and pleasant she had been. she thanked me and said if I did not mind waiting yet again hehehe, she could connect me with a supervisor. I waited, and supervisor said she would make note, give to her immediate supervisor,and this would go in her permanent record. YEAH ME!! I did what I wanted, let someone know how nice she was.

Going to pick them up, I decided to park down by garden shop and look for house plants. Just cause. I happened to p

Going to pick them up, I decided to park down by garden shop and look for house plants. Just cause. I happened to park beside a rack of the saddest, most neglected plants you ever saw, sitting all alone in the parking lot. Young man was sorting them out and I commented on them. 'just need some TLC' he said and they were 75% off. Did I say I was a sucker for a sale? And I had $25 back from finding the pots on sale, so I just looked a bit.

Two houseplants, 'angel plants' , exotics from other parts of the world, One is a fern and one is what looks like a wrinkled coleus leaf plant, two pint sized pots of yellow pansies to go in my container outside, and a 6 pack of snap dragons jumped into my cart. The young man asked if I needed a electric cart, I told him yes, had planned to drive up to entrance and get one, but could not drive off with my plants. He walked up and brought me a cart!! I paid for my plants, all of $4, and the house plants normal price had been $6 each, so another bargain for Tricia! they had all six pots plus potting soil at service desk for me. I drove the cart back to my auto, drove auto to exit door, and my pots purchase was loaded for me. I do believe I will shop Lowes.com again!! .

The self watering pots mean I can leave plants for the weekend or longer without having someone come in to water for me. those things work so well, best idea ever and worth the extra for them when you can find them. NOT beautiful colors, gray, but shucks, ya gonna look at the flowers, not at the pots hehehe.

Everyone here at EP seems to know about my plant poles, cause package was delivered here and one person asked what I had. Three of the residents were out sunning beside where I was parked, had never heard of self watering pots, so I had to show and tell about those.

Pain meds have done it again, instead of making me sleepy, they have me wound up!! Bet you could not tell hehehe. I hate when that happens, but I do have you to talk to when it does. Nothing I have to do in AM anyway, so once this wears off, I can sleep in! I did this morning, slept from 3 till 9 am. Stupid hip woke me after an hour in bed last night. Hip pain got me up after an hour in bed tonight. I will be glad when PT starts and hope we can get some relief from hip pain.

I am off to find what else I can get into tonight, Hugs to each of you, with extras to go all around.

It was great to read about your Lowes experience MizT, thank you for sharing :)
Good for you letting the girl's supervisor know how helpful she had been, and good for her. It's like Mo said when she was here, the word service is often missing in the service industry!
Sorry about the sleep problem, your loss but our gain.

Lowes in Qld is mainly only cheap men's clothing.

Here too Broni.

Evening all,
Haven't been able to get on here for ages. Problems with my internet I think, or maybe this computer and the internet...

Broni, I'm starting to get insulted. I haven't got any hacked emails from anyone! Perhaps it is my antivirus though, and not me missing from everyone's mailing lists.

Julie, I don't know if I'd classify 66 as decent enough weather to go into a pool, heated or not! I hope it is warmer tomorrow! And I hope you get time for cello practice before Wednesday...

MizT, amazing story about your pots. I would have been happy with $6 each! You got a real bargain! I hope your bargain plants thrive with some TLC. Plants have to be very hardy to make it at my place!

Service is much better in countries where people are paid on commission or tips... I miss that!

Same Broni, though I think they have shut down in Melbourne, the one I used to know of closed many years ago.

Morning all.

Lowe's and Home Depot are competitors here, but Rona is also making a run for it.

I brought Shadow home yet again this morning, and I didst say to myself, 'This is the last time.' But then Shadow's mom invited me in and I got to see how she and Shadow interact ... they obviously love each other. The lady showed me the hole in the screen where Shadow gets out. Shadow is 14 years old and afraid of loud noises. So when she sneaks out she runs and then she is afraid to go home because of the busy street that she crossed in the first place. The woman has been quite ill and had gone home to Newfoundland for 2 weeks at the beginning of October to do family type stuff. Her hubby was unable to find Shadow while she was gone. The woman is a really bad diabetic and is currently on antibiotics for foot ulcers. And I thought I had it rough. So maybe I was wrong, they do love Shadow, and I will bring her home again when necessary. I gave the lady my phone number so if Shadow goes missing she can call me.

Another neighbour has lost his little Yorkie named Coco. He has 2 and the other one's name is Chanel. So every time I go out now I keep looking for and calling Coco. The man lives alone with the 2 Yorkies and he is heartbroken. I saw him walk by earlier with only Chanel ... how sad.

After I sew the ends in on the squares that are done, there's only 12 squares left to go!!!

Coco Chanel, how sweet :') Hope you find Coco soon

Our first pair of cats, sisters, were called Cheeze and Krakkaz, because one was absolutely crackers and there is only one thing that goes with that :)

I feel so sorry for Shadow's mom. She's really going through a rough patch. I'm so glad that she and Shadow do love one another. A different story than we supposed.

The Lowe's to the south of us is full of wonderful employees like MizT met. It's one of my favorite places to shop. The Lowe's to the north of us (equal distances) is an awful place, because the manager is a jerk. He reprimands the employees for going out of their way to help customers, so they'll only grunt yes or no answers to you, and that's it. I've had a few arguments with him, which left a bad taste in my mouth. One time I was doing a favor for IH's church. They needed to replace their outdoor light fixtures and were trying to decide on a style. I mentioned that I was going to Lowe's and offered to take pictures (Polaroid) of their better ones. I started snapping and was accosted by the manager, who started screaming at me. I tried to explain that I wasn't a spy, they post pictures of their products in their catalogs anyways, and this was for a church. He screamed at me for a full 20 minutes, while I slipped the pictures I'd taken into my shirt front and dared him to go after them. What a jerk. Another time, I was looking for a product called Plasti-dip. I asked one of their employees where it was, and the employee didn't know so called the manager. The manager denied that they had it, and that they'd ever carried it, while I argued that I'd bought it there before but couldn't remember the exact spot. He even looked it up on their computer and didn't find it. I ended up looking through the store, found it, and shoved it in the manager's face to prove to him that he didn't know his job. I try to avoid going to that Lowe's because of him, but it's a bigger store than the other one, and has stuff the good store doesn't have.

Well, must get off my overweight keister and get busy moving hay. It won't move itself. I now have 33 more rolls of alfalfa to get inside before it rains.

Here in the USA, Lowe's is a do it yourself kind of store. Plumbing, electrical, lumber, roofing, kitchen cabinets, carpet and tile, outdoor furniture, BBQ grills, stuff like that. It does not have clothing.

Just had the volunteer who will help with stuff come and he put down strips for holding my oriental rug in place. It crawled everywhere and I had tripped over it, never fallen, but some near misses. I had bought the carpet tape, and it seems to be working, yeah!

Sister came over. she is having asthma problems, not breathing good. We had a haze this last Friday, from a dust storm somewhere, and that dust had her lungs all irritated. Doc shot her with steroids, she ws breathing better by the time she got here. I made her lunch, she returned the towels she had washed for me. I think I got the better deal :)

I am out of here to go work on the Haiti Project. Hugs to each of you, with extras.

Busy doing all the last minute jobs. Paced away the sewing machines (they were in the unlocked sunroom) and those sort of things. Watered the front garden last night. Some rain overnight so I might let the back fend for itself.
And yes, I still have the cat. The neighbours will feed her and she will live in the sunroom.
Generally when travelling I only take two pair of shoes but I seem to have put out 5 pairs this time. Will have to put everything in the case soon. We will leave here just after mid day.
My computer will be collected between 9-10am so I do not expect to be back on here till we get back.

Tricia, you sound so happy in your new abode.Just take care that you do not overdo things. We would like to have you pain free.
Theresa, you have done so well with the bed cover. Many hours of dedicated work.
Suzy, hope all goes well for Dana in her new abode. Also with your rug for Alie. If you are looking for good inexpensive wool, google Bendigo woollen Mills. You can order on line and they dispatch immediately.
Nola, loving thoughts for you and Judy. Make the most of every moment you have together. That goes for all of us actually.
Hugs to everyone. Must keep going.

Hi all. Not a happy camper today. Car overheated just as I got to school today. Was able to leave early but had to call a tow truck. Got the car to the mechanic to find out that my water pump locked up and that caused the engine to throw a belt. Bill so far is $368. Will know more tomorrow after water pump and belt is replaced and they can make sure that there is no other damage. I really can not afford this right now. Hubby lost his job and was out of work for 3 weeks. He is working again but making less money. He is in training for 2 months and then gets a raise. I need to make it 2 months.

P.S. Don't say anything on the other site. I can say stuff here I don't want to say on FB.

Tami, I am so sorry to hear about hubby
Here
This is for hubby, hope he finds something very soon

Tami! Big hugs!! Sending vibes that the bill won't go any higher!

I know what you mean about the 2 sites, I say stuff here all the time that I would never say over there, even in the sudoku section. Which I continually tell myself is illogical, but...

Morning all,
Just realised I hadn't posted yet this morning.

Theresa, I'm glad we were wrong about Shadow's home! Though I'm not glad that his 'mum' is ill, I'm glad he is loved.

I hope the gentleman finds Coco! I hate it when pets go missing. There are 2 small dogs (not chihuahua small, and not fluffy, don't know the breed) who are constantly running the streets here. Cars fly past on the road we intersect with and they were out that far today. I wish the owners would find how they are getting out and fix it! I also wish I could catch them, they are too fast and too clever to let themselves be caught by strangers...

Gail, Cheez and Krakkaz

MizT, yay for your sister feeling better, AND for washing your towels for you! I'm thinking the place you live should have shopping cart type things available for residents to use to get their washing to and from the laundromat! I had 4 years of carting laundry up and down stairs when I first moved to the States. Luckily I was young and hardly felt it at all. Now I think I'd find it very tough. I hope you have fun with the Haiti project!!

Heidi, I smiled at your overweight keister comment. Although mine is still overweight, it is 8kg less overweight than it used to be. 10 to go and then I will stop trying, even though I will then still be 10kg more than I was in my 20s... there have to be some benefits to getting older!

June, I can't wait for you to get back so we can hear all about it! But... I hope it goes slowly for you.

Good morning all - just read through 4 pages - why do you all talk so much while I'm away?? Now I can't remember much at all.
June - I've probably missed you but I hope you and Ken enjoy the cruise.
Tami - I hope that's the limit of damage to the car and that hubby's job works out well - training and lower wages aren't fun.
Oh dear, my mind is blank - there were other things I wanted to say but phfftt!, they're gone.
I've got so much to do today and getting nowhere.

Trip to Melbourne and especially the gathering were great. It was lovely to meet Mo and Gath and his family and to catch up with Gail and the others. And, yes, after the meal I felt like I could never eat again. We plied Mo with champagne in the hope of getting her up to the observation deck of the Eureka Building, to no avail, she wouldn't be in it. So, some of us walked off our big lunch and went to the Melbourne Aquarium, which was interesting and much enjoyed by Mo. I will post some pics soon.
Sorry, Beanie, that once again while I was in Melbourne we didn't get the chance to meet up. By Monday morning I had shin splints (too much walking on Sunday) - bl00dy painful - so couldn't have walked too far afield anyway.

I just posted 2 pictures from the Melbourne gathering but it when I go to edit them to add a description, it goes back to the home page. I'll try to do that again later.
One pic is of the whole group of us at the restaurant (my hubby and Gail's hubby aren't in the pics, they were taking them!) The second pic is of Mo at the Aquarium.

Anecdote: My young friend who moved away in the hopes that her ex wouldn't be able to find her has enrolled her son in preschool. He has gone from loving going while living here, to screaming and crying there. One time he did that and the caregiver (I use that word loosely) grabbed his arm and dragged him away (not his hand, his arm). He came home another time and said he had been smacked. She wanted my advice - should she take him out of the school. She had talked to them and they said there were no problems. I told her to not only take him out but to tell the boss why she was taking him out. I also suggested he may have some behaviour problems related to all the stuff that has gone on and it would be a good thing to talk to the new school about the 'stuff' and suggest that if he misbehaves they should tell her and they can work on it together. Far better than telling her everything is fine and then smacking him when she isn't there!!

Hey Cyn!
It sounds like you had a wonderful trip! Apart from the tourist bus not showing up and the shin splints that is...

Still can't put a description on those pics. I'm sure I'm doing it the right way.
Suzy, I was just reading up about the shin splints and it seems I should be taking it easy with my feet up. Easier said than done when you've got washing, cleaning and other swearing to do. I've done 3 loads today, been shopping, playing with the dog to make up for our absence - and now I read that I should have my feet up.
Oh, and good advice to your young friend!

Alie has a new computer/laptop! She has been saving hard and almost had enough - based on the clearance prices on everything getting ready for Windows 8... We've 'loaned' her the difference.

Cyn, go rest your feet! Ffuts will still be there tomorrow!

I know it's not time to turn the page, but wanted to share this in memory of Russell Means, the charismatic Oglala Sioux who helped revive the warrior image of the American Indian in the 1970s with guerrilla-tactic protests that called attention to the nation’s history of injustices against its indigenous peoples. He died on Monday, Oct. 22, at his ranch in Porcupine, S.D., on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. He was 72.

‎'To serve each other, to respect each other, to trust each other, to honor each other, to love each other, to cooperate with each other, to care for each other, to forgive one another, to focus on peoples' good, to laugh with one another, to learn from one another; to pray for each other - these are all acts of Love.' ~ Fools Crow, a Lakota

No time to read again today. We left the house just before 7 a.m. and were back home around 10 p.m. (D and SIL decided they should take us to dinner as a thank-you for puppy-sitting before we came home.

Sending lots of positive thoughts, healing vibes, prayers, and {{{{{HUGS}}}}} for everyone!

Good morning all from a foggy, though warm UK.
It must be the season for new computers/laptops. Emily needed a new one, her old one has been dying for the last year, so she was given the option of us buying her one for her xmas/birthday or buying it herself. Guess which option she went for!
She is now the owner of a new laptop.
Suzy, why is your netbook slower than your laptop? Richard's new netbook (well not so new he has had it a couple of months now) is very fast.
We got a message from Richard's step daughter in Australia saying that they were thinking of moving back over here to live. I wouldn't be for a while as they would have to save up. I don't know where they would expect to live when they came over and what they would do for money or jobs. They have 2 children.

On a very sombre note, I have just had a message from Susan (Richard's cousin) saying that her daughter Megan has been told she has about 2 months left. I HATE cancer.

Oh Brenda - how very sad for Megan, Susan and all of their family and friends. I hate cancer too. I think we all do!

I hate cancer too!
Love and Hugs to you all.

I join those who hate cancer! Big hugs Brenda...

Vent: Any wonder we have huge electricity bills! I just turned off 9 lights in empty rooms!

Cyn, I forgot to mention that to Gath when I saw him on Saturday, I have been having the same problem editing the descriptions, takes me to the easy page! I was trying first with multiple photos and when that didn't work I tried it individually, still no luck! :(

Suzy, same thing happens here plus tv's left on in rooms too. Oh and d#2 putting one thing in the tumble drier... the list goes on.