Sudokuaholics Anonymous 9A

CynB, happy birthday to Colin tomorrow ... enjoy your lunch with family and friends.

Well, now that I've caught up on the reading, I have a bit more not so nice news for my daughter and her family. My daughter's doctor has told her to stop working for at least six weeks, by which time the results from the MRI will be in. It is starting to get her down a bit.

Then yesterday they got the results from my youngest grandie's EEG. She has some abnormal activity in one of the frontal lobes of the brain, which means seizure activity or epilepsy. My oldest grandie has epilepsy. So now the youngest one will be going to see the same specialist as her sister. Two kids with epilepsy in the same family!

This coming week I will try and spend a bit more time with my daughter and the kids. Well, gotta run and do some krow ... TTFN.

Happy Birthday Colin!!! The celebrations sound like a lot of fun!

Theresa, I'm so sorry about your grandie. The odds against that must be astronomical!!!!!! Sending hugs, thoughts, wishes and whatever else I can conjur up for your daughter and her family...

Something you shouldn't listen to if you are feeling a little teary... madby3 has posted a link on that other page to a 12 year old girl (Not one of hers, but I don't know the relationship) singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow...

Theresa, thinking of you.Sorry to hear about your youngest grandie's problem.
Have a great time CynB and say Happy Birthday to Colin from me.
I went last Thursday night for the photo shoot for this play I am doing in November.
What a sight I will be.
I hope to be getting some copies of the pics this week.
I found a pair of purple tights with a black web design and spiders all over them.
I had a pair of my short black stiletto heeled black boots.
I also bought a pair of long sleeved purple lace gloves and cut off the fingertips so you could see my purple nail polish.
I had on a black skirt that has tulle all around the bottom, very full. Over the top of that was another black skirt with the ends all ragged.
On the top a black camisole and a chiffony black ruffled sleeve top over that.
Black jewellery around my neck.
And the make up. Well......................
words cannot really describe it.
I will let the picture tell the story when I can post one.
I also have a black long haired wig.
I am going to the actual venue to learn my lines with Greta this Tuesday at 3pm.
This is the web address if you like to look at where it is being held.
Click on the events tab and if you scroll right down you will get to our play in November.
It gives you a short idea of what it is about.
http://www.oldbutterfactory.com/
Back to my gardening now but need a coffee soon I think.

Hi everyone. :)
Theresa, what terrible news about your grandie, and your daughter's health problems too. Hugs to you all.
Happy Birthday Colin. :)
We went to see my parents yesterday - very tiring. Today we have to get things ready for our "hard rubbish" collection, AND the ants are back in our kitchen! It's all happening here ... ;)

Viv, I have to say that sounds like fun. The costume sounds intriguing and I hope to see a picture on your page in the near future.

Sorry about the ants, Judy. The first few years we lived in our house we had ants. We managed to get this product (I think it was called Ant Bait but I'm not sure), where you just put a few drops in areas like doors and windows. The ants carry it back to their nest and share it and it kills them all. We found it worked.

Theresa.... Epilepsy is controllable with medication. There are a lot worse things to have. I know this is bad enough, but keep thinking... It is manageable.

Just popping in without reading . . . Hello, Everyone! I hope you're all having a great day!

You're right, Heidi. Plus my oldest grandie's specialist is still hoping she will outgrow it by age 12 because her last EEG showed less activity on one side than there had been before.

The weather here has been warm and tomorrow is supposed to be even warmer (31 or 32 C). There was a nice breeze today, but tomorrow promises to be very humid (yuck).

Let's see if I can remember some of what I read.

Theresa, it's amazing the wait you must experience for an MRI in your area! I'm so glad the doctor was able to put a bit of a rush on your daughter's.

Amazingly, Three's father drove Ally to school! Maybe there's a bit of good there. Best wishes to Three in his new accommodations! I hope all goes well, but a big transition for Suzy and family!

June, congrats on the Merit Pin from the Bowls Club! A well-deserved honor! Sending positive vibes and prayers for your friend. Enjoy the trip to Melbourne, and I hope Laura enjoys her first airplane ride! Enjoy your lunch with Bev from Canada!

Heidi, SO sorry about the accident with the hay hauler! I think you chose the right place after that - in bed with the blankets pulled up over your head. Thank goodness no one was injured! I hope the next day was a better day!

MizT, I'm SO glad you were able to find your laundry - in the laundry! I've done it myself, so don't feel bad. Sometimes the most logical places for things are the hardest to figure out! Congrats on the good grades on your report card from therapy! Keep up the good work! So glad the orthopedist recognized the need and value of continued appointments!

Rolanda, have a wonderful dinner with vdV on Monday! I hope things are going well with your Mum!

Viv, I hope the photo shoot for the play went well!

Always good to see you here, Brenda!

Gail, you and your sisters had a good way to celebrate your Mum's birthday!

Heidi, congrats on the door being hung on the sunroom! Enjoy the party with friends on Sunday!

Heidi, I'm so sorry that things did not go well with towing Robert's car. I hope he is better!

MizT, good for you for following up with the dermatologist and thankfully only a very small spot found. Wishing the best for you!

Judy, I'm so glad you stopped by! Sounds like you timed the veggie planting perfectly!

Cyn, I hope the meet-up with Susan was wonderful! Enjoy the return of your car!

Heidi, I'm so glad you were able to get the repairs done for your hay hauler! Talk about pressure to get it done in one day! It's a shame it took an accident and repairs to find out there was a weight limit and a "correct" way to load it! Shouldn't that be information a sales person would share when you buy a piece of equipment?

It's good to see a post from Gail! Still thinking about the birthday party for your Mum! What a great idea!

Suzy, it unfathomable that Three's former boss is trying to pass the blame to his employee's. I'm SO glad that you and your family are in Three's life to support and encourage him!

Theresa, what WONDERFUL news from the radiologist! And what a good human person he/she was to share it with you and not make you go home and wonder until your doctor contacts you!

Nola, great news on your assignments! I hope all will be looking up for you soon!

Heidi, I'm so glad Robert listened to his father and went to the hospital! Wishing him well!

Thank you to all for the warm welcomes back! It's so hard to be away and not be able to keep up with everyone!

MizT, I'm sorry your tomatoes are not doing well! If you replant, is the season long enough to get a good crop? Remember to increase reps and/or weight-bearing gradually! I'm still learning. I had several days of LOTS of up and down stairs with helping D and was talking with acupuncturist about greatly increasing the amount of trips on stairs at home. She gave me a funny look and asked me to think about what I had just said. Just because a little is good does NOT mean that a lot is better.

Suzy, I hope the confrontation with "scum bag" went well! Surely Three and his coworkers will be cleared of any wrong-doing!

Broni, I hope you are nearly finished with D, D, and D and that the weight will be lifted. They have brought all this on themselves!

Tami, you are always so busy! Enjoy the gathering with friends! How are your Mom and Dad doing?

Cyn, I'm so sorry to hear that the car's paint will need to be redone! What an aggravation!

Rolanda, I hope temperatures warm up a bit! Thinking of you! Please give vdV a hug from all of us!

Suzy, I'm glad Three felt comfortable enough to come back for a visit. You have obviously made him feel comfortable and welcome, which is something his own family doesn't seem to be able to do.

Heidi, I hope you hear from Robert and that "repairs" can be made soon! It's not the best way to spend a holiday, but neither is excruciating pain! Will he remain in the hospital until the surgery is scheduled? (Our experience has been that all but the most severe cases are dismissed over a holiday weekend.) Please let Robert know that we are sending positive vibes his way!

MizT, I'm so glad your hand is feeling better! Also that your sleep improved!

Viv, I hope your temperatures warmed up as well! Will rehearsals for the play impact your Avon business? (I hope not!)

Tami, the cake sounds yummy! I hope it is a big hit!

June, the get-together with Bev sounds great. Sometimes it's nice NOT to have a big group - it can be loud and overwhelming and difficult to hear each other.

Cyn, please wish Col a very from us! Will there be a birthday cake at lunch or when you get home?

For those who asked about our service project, hubby and I are both members of a wood-turning club. Every year our club participates in a "Freedom Pens" project. The pens are hand-made and then are sent to servicemen and women serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, etc. We turn pieces of wood (approximately 6 inches long by about 1 inch square on a lathe into shaped cylinders and use kits for the hardware to make pens. (The barrel of the pen is the wood we have turned.) In the past I have made one pen from start to finish, as I couldn't stand very long at the lathe prior to my knee replacements. Hubby has made more than 30. Our club is sponsoring a 3-day symposium with world-

Here's the rest of that post.

Our club is sponsoring a 3-day symposium with world-renowned wood turners doing demonstrations in mid-August. One evening after demonstrations, there will be an opportunity for those attending to participate in making pens. Hubby and I volunteered to make 50 pens for this project. So far we have cut the wood, drilled and glued the metal "liner" in the center of the pieces and cut them to length. Then we will need to turn and shape the wood, sand, polish and put all of the pieces and hardware together.

Theresa, I'm sending prayers and positive vibes for your daughter and your grandies! I hope that if your grandies need medication, that it will be helpful in controlling their epilepsy. At least there is now a diagnosis - and it could have been so much worse! I hope your weather doesn't get too hot and humid!

Viv, I love the description of your costume for the play and am looking forward to pics!

Judy, I hope the ant get under control quickly! (We saw some at our D's house while we were there. So far this year we haven't seen any in our house, but we have had some other creepy crawlies.

In case I forget, Happy Independence Day tomorrow to my fellow U.S. citizens. Please be safe!

What kinds of wood do you use, Julie? Ones with interesting grains?

Woo Hoo! I think I am finally caught up on reading posts!

Theresa, yes, you are right about the hand, having to deal with it every day makes it seem slow, cause about 22 times a day I start to do something, have to stop and do it differently, or stop once I tried it the "normal" way and got an unexpected ouch. I do know I have made progress, hey, I am using both hands to type much of the time now. I can get my own hair into a pony tail, Lots of things I can do now I could not do when the cast came off. I just have to keep reminding myself of that, and look forward to the day with no pain meds. Love what they do for the pain, but some of the other things (itchy nose is one) are not so fun.

Happy Birthday to Collin, hope you all enjoyed the family dinner.

TAMI, chocolate kahlua cake, what is not to love? Let us know how the group liked it. I imagine you got raves on that one. Sounds like a neat website, I will also have to look into that one.

Suzy, after your discussion about Independence Day, I am sure your girls will know more about it than many here. Ask 10 people and 8 would likely say it is all about BBQ and fireworks and going to the lake or beach.

Sheesh, sorry that Robert has to wait till after the 4th to schedule his surgery. Hope his meds are keeping him comfortable. Thanks for letting us all know and yes, if he knows about our group and that we "know" him, tell him I am wishing a speedy recovery.

OK, that catches me up on page 265, time to turn the page, but first to post this so I do not loose it. Hugs to all and extras, take as many as you want.

Hi, Heidi! When we're making our own pens we try for interesting wood grains or pretty wood - cedar, maple (birds' eye or curly), walnut, Koa (a Hawaiian wood), others like purple heart, pink ivory, mahogany, teak, zebra wood. Most of the wood we'll be using for the project has been donated, so no exotics. So far we've had about 4 or 5 pieces that "blew up" or split while we were preparing/cutting/drilling and will need to be replaced with wood we have on hand. Hubby has made some "boxes" - lidded cylinders and bowls for gifts, we have some small pieces left over that may be big enough. We also have some box elder with red figuring in it for bowls, but don't want to cut that up. We also look for wood that has "burls" or growths that may be caused by insects or disease - usually makes for some interesting grain patterns. (Hubby has also made some pens from acrylic and Corian, and a club member makes his own acrylic blanks that are white with red and blue swirled in that he sometimes uses for the Freedom Pens.

MizT, when I read all that you can do, you have really come a long way with your recovery! You should be proud of yourself!

Broni, I have been meaning to tell you, on my trips to therapy, I think of you at least twice. I pass two signs for businesses named D&D! One is D&D lawn care and one is D and D Services, not sure what they do, but first time I saw these I had to laugh out loud.

Julie, thanks so much for telling us about the wooden pens project. I once saw a woodworking show that showed making those, so I know just what you are talking about and the pens were beautiful! They could vary so depending on the kind of wood, or just from the grain placement in same kind of wood. Do you stain them or finish with some wood preservative in your "polish" step? Could you take a photo and share, would love to see the ones you do. A wonderful project and something our service men and women can keep forever. Thank you for doing this for them.

OK, time to get to bed, hope to see you tomorrow.

Well, duh, if I am going to use this, best do it today and tomorrow. Hope everyone has a safe and fun holiday tomorrow.

It's now past midnight here, so...

Happy Independence Day!

MizT, the polishing step can include staining and some other appropriate finish, such as varnish or Deft, followed by a quick polish to bring up the shine - depending on the wood used. I'll try to have hubby take a couple of pictures along the way, or at least a few of the finished products.

It's nearly 12:30 a.m., so I should be heading to bed. Good Night, Everyone!

Hope to see you all tomorrow!

Evening all!
There was so much to read tonight - I loved it! Of course now I've had a brain f@rt and can't remember what I wanted to say about most of it. I'll come back later to comment after Three has been returned to the house etc. xx

Good morning.

Happy July 4th to my American friends. Hope your day is just what you want it to be.

Haven't caught up reading but have been thinking about you all. Been a busy few days but will tell you about it next time I visit, early to bed tonight.
The kids have not long left, they often come for Sunday night dinner. Tonight we had roast chicken followed by choc pudding, expertly made by Hannah. She and I are getting the hang of using the new toaster oven, temporary replacement for the oven that went kaput.

Here is a link for the cake mix doctor.

http://www.cakemixdoctor.com/cakemixblog/index.php

She encourages you to experiment on your own.
I followed her recipe but used a bundt pan instead of layer cake. I didn't want to frost a cake. After I flipped the cake out of the pan I used a basting brush and basted the cake with more kahlua. When I was ready to go I just sprinkled some confectioners sugar on top to make it pretty. It was really good.

Heidi, sorry to hear that Robert has to wait for his surgery. Wishing him a speedy recovery.
Theresa, thoughts to your granddaughters. I will be wishing her the best but as others have said, at least there is medication to treat epilepsy and hopefully she and her sister will outgrow it.
Tricia, you have made a lot of progress with your hand, don't forget that. I know it is hard not being able to do all you want but you don't want to have surgery again.
Julie, those pens sound great. I would also like to see pictures of them.
Viv, please post a picture. It sounds like the play will be a lot of fun.
Hi to everyone else I missed. Hope everyone has a great day.
Suzy, wish your kids a happy 4th of July for me.

I'm leaving for my party in an hour. There'll be good friends, plenty of great food, and killer volleyball. With this group, volleyball is a contact sport. Somebody gets injured every year. I still hold the record for the worst injury with a broken leg ('99). I'm proud to say I still play with these friends.

Heidi, have fun playing volleyball. I would say "be careful" but I know that you would never listen.

Should not be here. Packing to do. We are on a 2.30pm flight to Melbourne. We will be home Friday afternoon. I am not sure if I will get a chance to post while we are away.

Morning all!
Julie, I love the sound of your pens! I am looking forward to the pictures. I am not surprised that it will require another 50 hours at all!! A worthwhile 50 hours, but still a lot. I didn’t know your hubby is into wood turning.

Who was it that mentioned how they got rid of ants? We have something that sounds the same here - Ant Rid. It is fantastic stuff and seems to work for about a year. Of course you have to put up with a few days of the gooey stuff lying around, but it is worth it to me.

MizT, it has to be hard to be patient with your hand, even when you can see the improvement. I hope it continues to improve and before you know it, it’s pain free and flexible! I think those business names are hilarious considering what they mean to us…

June, have a fantastic time! I will miss you!

Tami, thank you for the link! That cake sounds delish and I will be heading over there. I often can’t be bothered to start a cake from scratch…

Heidi, a friend of mine had her gall bladder out last year and they wouldn’t even consider doing it for days because it was inflamed. In the end they had to do it anyway because she couldn’t keep any food down and the pain didn’t improve. Your volleyball games sound like fun. So if we don’t hear from you for a few days does that mean you’ve broken something again? That’s not a prize I think you should win!

Gail, I can’t imagine how you are coping without an oven. You mentioned it in you ‘three’ but I don’t know anything else about it. I hope you find time to come back and let us know soon…

Morning everyone. Still Brrr temps here in the early AM!!!
Love the Sound of those Pens Julie.
Happy 4th of July.
Theresa: Thoughts to you, Daughter, Granddaughter ♥
Need to get my act together early today, we have VIP (Flyboy) coming for dinner!

I'm home, and nothing is broken. I only played 2 games of volleyball because of the heat, and my team won both games. I really had a good time, and don't think I'll be able to eat for a couple of days.

Good morning! The sun is shining at the moment, but it's still very cold!
Suzy, we had the ant problem last year too - we tried a couple of different things, but the ants just ignored most of them. The one they seem to like best is gooey stuff you just pour onto a piece of foil - mmm tasty! I'm pretty sure there are less already ... of course now I'll have to empty the pantry completely and clean the whole thing out ... not looking forward to that!

Heidi, glad you come home in one piece!
Happy 4th of July to all our American friends! :)