Sudokuaholics Anonymous 9A

Sorry Heidi, that sounded very rude. I'm sure they taste great - I'm just not certain about coloured potatoes.

Tami, It sounds like you had a great night. Photos for Grandmas are always a winner. A few Christmases ago we gave my mum a frame with a photo of each of her 4 grandchildren in their year 12 formal outfits. It has pride of place in the lounge room.

But Tami, grandparents love to dote on, and spoil grandkids. They don't treat their kids the same because they're trying to maintain discipline. Kids would walk all over parents who treat their kids like little deities.

It didn't sound rude, Vicki. A lot of people are put off by unusual food colors. A few years back I bought some catsup that was green, and some that was purple. I loved it, it tasted really good, but IH wouldn't go near it. I had to buy the traditional red stuff for him.

Greetings sudokuland friends, Hope that everyone is doing well and is warm or cool enough.

TAMI, Of course grandma's hang photos of all the grandies, well most grandmother's do! My Mom had a long hall and the wall on one side was photos of her children and grandies, almost floor to ceiling. I do not think I have a grandmother gene, something not there. I think never having mine close enough to get to know them might be part of it. Bonding needs proximity.

Vici, I understand about your dislike for foods that do not taste as they look. Lemon cola is not right, neither is lemon in beer.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOBBI.

Today was bone doctor. I will be having surgery on this hand, I am tired of it hurting and not being able to do things I need to do, never-you-mind not doing the things I want to do. I am not sure when surgery will be, lots of paper work first. They will phone me when they get all the ducks in a row and then we can schedule a time. I asked doc how many of these he had done, he says they are rare, only sees one or 2 a year. I have arthritis where one would get it in hands, but they do not usually see as much wear and tear as I have from it, said that amount of wearing is more associated with weight bearing joints. I do have to be different.

OH, Broni, I did find one of those spinner knobs for steering wheel I can order here, much less than shipping alone would be from OZ , but I thank you very much for the offer to mail one to me. Hubby is still saying they might be illegal here, I need to find out.

Al did say he thought he knew where he could get a voice to type program for my puter. I could post more that way before and after the surgery, if I can find a program that understands southern drawl hehehe.

OK, too much typing for tonight, it has been a long day, and much wear and tear on old bones.

Still St. Patrick's Day here, so Happy St. Patrick's Day, Everyone!

Hi, June, MizTricia, Heidi, Suzanne, Suzy, Victoria, Broni, Tami

June, I hope the men liked the green scones! They sound more appetizing than green beer! Did you save out one for yourself?

Liked your cake from scratch story, MizTricia! We occasionally had a box cake. As the oldest daughter I took over that chore fairly early. Once when we had chocolate cake, I added a bit of peppermint oil to the frosting and colored it green. I seem to remember our parents being unhappy, but the 6 of us kids didn't mind.

Heidi, your colored twice-baked potatoes for Easter sound like a fun tradition! Wouldn't bother me a bit, and they sound yummy!

Suzy, have fun again this weekend when just you and hubby celebrate your anniversary! So, did you need to deliver a forgotten item to anyone this morning?

Bobbi, I hope you had a fun birthday! Tami, the meal and presents sound perfect. I hope you both give Bernie some hugs for us. I hope he's getting stronger! Does he have physical therapy exercises?

Victoria, what a great idea to give your Mum photos of the grandkids in year 12 outfits! (We just have 3 grandies - all under 5, so I can't imagine getting them all through year 12 yet.)

Heidi, I remember the green and purple catsup! We tried it as well, and found the flavor to vary a bit from the red, but enjoyably so.

MizT, so sorry to hear that you will need the surgery! Are there any specialists in your area - or even someone to get a second opinion? So many people in our area will go to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota or the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio if they can't find a specialist relatively nearby. (BTW, I've heard of a voice to type kind of program called Dragon something, I think.) I hope the surgery will provide the relief you need! I suspect you are off to bed by now, so sleep well!

Afternoon all!
Looking back, there were a couple of photos of us around the house, but dozens of the grandies. I don't think Mum has put them up at her new place though.

I did have to deliver the cross country permission slip to the school, but that wasn't the first text I received this morning - it was about the 10th. Some kids were being kinda cruel at school and one of my younguns was texting me to distract themselves. It was actually kind of fun, and nice that she chose me.

Off to play chauffeur again.... TaeKwonDo and TAFE this afternoon...

Hi all

My family seems to live by the saying, It never rains but it pours...
I have just returned from visiting a sister who is in hospital, the other side of town. She dislocated her ankle and broke it in three places on Sunday night in a boating incident!. Never one to do things by halves!
She has to stay in until they are able to operate, but that wont be till at least Monday, as the swelling is too bad.
Can't remember if I had said anything about this hurdle, all the days seem to blend into one another with one drama after the other!
This is the sister who had to have the emergency op last year to have her gall bladder removed. She says when the pain gets really bad, she has flashbacks of Mum, and realises now just how much pain hurts!!!

Ouch Gail! Yet another hurdle... speaking of memories your latest hurdle sent me down flashback lane and I've just deleted a whole lot of irrelevant stuff. If I saw your sister though I would say to her - ask for the pain killers, and do it before the pain gets really bad. If you wait it takes too long for them to work and you get too short a time before the pain comes back again. If you wait a really long time the nurses have to get special permission from a doc to give you any and then you REALLY find out what pain is all about. I've done it again! Oh well, if I just leave it there it will be out of my system. Sending all sorts of thoughts and wishes to your sister, hugs to you, and vibes for very successful surgery on Monday.

Our latest hurdle - Ally has decided not to eat meat. At first it was only meat that made too much methane, but now she is going for the cruelty thing too. That would be fine, admirable even, if she didn't also refuse to eat all of the things that you eat when you don't eat meat so that you have a balanced diet!! These things are sent to try us...

Gail... Please send your sister my deepest sympathy.... and some help... . I know how she feels... literally.

Suzy... Please tell Ally that animals raised for meat can not be treated with cruelty. I raise meat animals. I frequently am present when my animals are "processed". They are put down quickly and painlessly. They have to be. If they are scared or seriously upset, they have a burst of adrenaline. The adrenaline actually discolors the meat... it turns it a very dark color, so dark that it is condemned by the inspectors, and can only be used for dog food. These animals are referred to in the trade as dark cutters. Also, the animals have to be treated humanely while being raised. Upset or scared animals don't gain weight anywhere as fast as calm animals do. The profit margin that the farmers get between the cost of raising the calves, and what we get per pound is only pennies per pound. One half a pound gain per day makes the difference between profit and loss. So, treating meat animals cruelly quickly puts a farmer out of business. So even if the farmer is ignorant enough to not care about the animal's feelings, they have to pay attention to the bottom line.
The only time I ever see people allowing animals to suffer is when they're hunting. Deer hunters frequently wound a deer and follow the blood trail for a long distance. Sometimes the animal can die miles from where it was shot. This is why most venison is an extremely dark color. I have seen the meat from deer that were killed instantly, and it is a light pinkish red like fresh beef. ( IH may be incompetent in most things, but he is a remarkable marksman. He's won a lot of trophies for marksmanship. I've watched him hunt and seen him drop the deer right where they stood, so they never knew a thing.)

Thank you Heidi, I will talk to her about that. It will help. I don't really mind her choosing not to eat meat as she was not nagging us about our choices etc, but I do mind her not getting a balanced diet.

I also was thinking I knew what Gail's sister meant, though at a much smaller scale than you. I waited 10 days for my surgery and they tortured me with contortionist xrays every day. Even with that they were surprised by what they found when they operated, which made me wonder why I had been tortured in the first place! I have pain every day, and it's almost 25 years now, but mostly the kind of pain I can pretend isn't there. Lately it has been worse, but I haven't given up hope that it will settle back down to usual levels soon. I rarely take pain killers, and last week was the first time I had resorted to searching out muscle relaxants in about 18 years. You see what I mean about a much smaller scale than yours? I consider myself very lucky. Many people at the scene of the accident and later during surgery were amazed I was alive so the problems I have now seem relatively minor. I even think that if I went to a specialist dentist and had my splint adjusted - about 15 years since I've worn it - I might get the relief I need/want. Unfortunately my dentist doesn't seem to 'get it' so I will have to search for a specialist. Might be hard in this small town....

Thanks ladies.
The slight irony is, my sister is a nurse, no longer on wards, but still in the profession in a phone counseling capacity. As I said to her, all doctors and nurses should have to have an enforced hospital stay, in all it's glory. She responded staying that if she had, it would have made her a much better nurse. She feels she would have been a lot more compassionate to those who said they were in pain, and felt more empathy for those who were distressed by things out of their control.

friends

Also, Suzy, you might explain to her that the video footage "out there" showing animals being abused at the processing plants is staged, usually by PETA. To get the general public outraged, and get massive donations for themselves, they send their own people into the plants, as employees, and they commit those acts of cruelty on film. Sometimes they pay slow-witted employees to join in, not knowing what's going on. I know this for a fact because PETA did this to a friend of ours who owned a hog operation in North Carolina. A PETA employee infiltrated, and tortured an injured sow... on film... and caused our friend to be shut down permanently, even though PETA claimed credit for doing it.

everyone....
or, to simplify:

Morning all!
That sucks for your friend Heidi - even though they knew it was a set up he still lost his business? Inadequate supervision I suppose. It's like the worker who bypasses the safety switches and then the company is charged when he/she is injured... I didn't see this story but hubby told me about it - a man in Australia, refusing to wear safety gear, not doing his job properly or safely, was fired. He took it to court, the courts found that due to his attitude and low level of intelligence he was not employable by anyone else and so couldn't be fired! Can you believe that???? We wanted to know if the courts would be the ones notifying his family and paying all fines and penalties when the guy was killed or seriously injured... I never did find out what happened about that one.

Gail, Ebob wants to be a doctor with plans to get there via the RN/Paramedic route. I told her I approved as I felt she would see things as a nurse and paramedic that would make her a much more empathetic doctor. From what your sister says I also need to injure her somehow so she can spend time as a patient....

Didn't she have a broken arm last year? I know, that doesn't qualify as an inpatient.

Suzy... the facility was a large sow and pig operation. Something like 30,000 sows. It's really hard to get enough reliable workers there, and impossible to supervise all of them 24/7. The USDA shut him down for animal abuse after PETA sent them the tape anonymously. It wasn't until after he was shut down that they claimed credit for it, and made the tape public. That's how PETA works. They are a terrorist organization. And now we have HSUS (Humane Society of the United States) to worry about. They are now run by PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) and have become as bad. Both groups have the goal of outlawing ALL animal ownership. That includes livestock, pets, zoos and service animals!!!

Ally was our broken arm girl. Ebob has had rotator cuff and ankle problems, but nothing requiring even an emergency room visit since she was about 6. I hope it stays that way personally, even if it would be better for her future empathy levels to get hurt!

I can understand fighting to ensure animals are well treated, but I think some of these people need to get a pet or two and see what it is really like for them. I wonder how many of them wear wool, and I'd bet they're not all vegans. Some of them probably even wear makeup and forget to read the ingredients...

Good morning All,
Gail, sorry to hear about your sister. Hope she is soon better.
Suzy, we went through the vegetanian stage with D1. Lasted 6 months or more. I was able to get her to eat a bit of chicken occassionally though. More a nuisance than anything else!
just caught a large 'triantular' spider in the ketchen. I put it outside so I hope it stays there. (I put a large plastic container over it, slide a peice of paper under the container and then put it in the garden).

Good Morning All.
Hope you are well and happy.
I knew there had to be more to that story when an Aussie Wine Company donated money to HSUS and all the farmers blacklisted the wine company.

Morning June, what about the spider's mate??
Dag, healing vibes for your sister.
Hi Zusy and Heidi.
Nice to see MizT popping in more, anymore news about the operation?

Was that Murphy Family Ventures in Garland, NC?

Good morning everyone!
Some interesting stories to read through. Middle daughter, aged 7 or 8, was vegetarian for approx. 1 hour, until I served dinner of lamb chops (her favourite) - she sat there for a while looking sad, then said "What the heck, it looks SO good!" and cleared her plate in record time!
Suzy, hope your dentist comes up with something that will help you - not good to be living with pain.
Gail, all the best to your sister, hope she makes a full recovery.
MizTricia, hope they fix your hand quickly and well!
Hey it's raining here, just a little bit. Probably enough to make the roads slippery, but not enough to make people slow down ... Well, at least it can't hurt the garden! I just went out to look at my garden and found some veggies I'd missed - zucchinis of unusual size and shape - had to get a bag to carry them all, and I think we're all well and truly sick of them by now!
Well, that's the news of the day here - hope you all have a good one! :)

Fox News is not exactly a bastion of bleeding-heart, liberal reporting....

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,317947,00.html

Good Early Evening Everyone!

Why, Sparks, we haven't seen you here in quite some time! How are you?

Trying to be cordial to all - but it looks like I better go change my avatar. BRB!

How about the bluebird of happiness/northern hemisphere spring? It seems a bit too early to start in with Easter avatars, though I might have enough to last through a couple of weeks.

How many avatars do you have, Julie?

Hi, Suzy, Gail, Heidi, June, Broni, and Judy!

Suzy, sorry one of your younguns was being the brunt of rude behavior! Are they allowed to have phones in school? Just before retiring, I was at a middle school (6th through 8th grades) and students were required to keep their phones in their lockers.

Gail, thinking of your sister and sending positive vibes for less pain and quick healing after her surgery! Wow, her ankle is broken in 3 places - must have been some accident! Suzy is right - it's best to try to stay ahead of the pain, even if it means taking some painkillers before you think you really need them.

Suzy, good luck dealing with Ally and vegetarianism! One of hours kept having stomach troubles in high school - finally narrowed it down to physically becoming ill from eating meat - or even a vegetarian meal prepared in a poorly cleaned utensil, as we found out at a Thai restaurant. She now will eat tofu, beans, legumes, etc., but it took some time. Ally will survive, but it's sure hard on the parents! ROFL about your comment that you may need to injure Ebob so she can experience the pain prior to reaching her goals of paramedic-nurse-doctor! It probably isn't necessary.

June, PETA won't get after you if you treat a large spider so cordially!

Broni, how are you feeling these days?

Judy, there must be some zucchini recipe you haven't tried this year for your final crop.

Heidi, I think I have well over 100 avatars. I had hoped that Gath would come up with a way to organize them. I sometimes have tried to submit a group based on a certain theme. They don't even show up together. I just scroll up and down trying to find them. I would like to add more, but it gets uncontrollable. I can't imagine how you do it with all of your smilies!

BTW, is it safe? Has the stirrer left the building?

I really would prefer to NOT eliminate avatars, only to need to resubmit them the next time I need them.

I have some ffuts to do. I hope to be back later.

Julie... it can be a real challenge locating smilies. Sometimes I have to go through the selection several times to find the one I want. I have the same problem when I submit them... they seem to show up randomly. It would even be easier if they were even in the order I submitted them, but they're not.

Does that mean Gath's "fix" to help supporting members sort smilies has not been as much as we had all hoped?

All we can do is put tags on the smilies on our "Update Details" page. It has no effect on reorganizing their order, or letting us store some away. In other words, it's useless.