Sudokuaholics Anonymous 9A

Gil still feels sick. He's still having a hard time with food, tho' he's quite a bit better than he was. To add insult to injury, he had to go on a 2 day trip.... he just left.

Well I did manage to get all the cards for next year, but I do not think they are as nice as I sent out this year. Not sure how much people actually look at the outside of the card anyway. Still raining which is nice.

June, I look at the outside of cards but it is the inside that is more special. I like seeing what my friends have written or if there is a picture enclosed.

Heidi, this is the first christmas where I have actually gained weight. Sigh. I think it's old age...

Judy, the trip to see your parents sounds difficult but also wonderful. How great to see your kids being .... word here! .... wonderful? I love Adam's accordian story! I would love to see the photos!!

Nola, I giggled over your father's suit. I think it comes in cycles - it's very trendy to buy your clothes from an op shop now - he would be horrified!

June, hubby decided to take Ebob to work this morning so he could do some shopping too. Ally went along with them. I have had an empty house up until about 2 seconds ago... Mum came home with a friend.

Warning: Family anecdote, inspired by Nola's suit post.

My great grandmother checked herself into a retirement home when she was 72 because 'she wasn't going to be a burden on her children'. She refused to buy clothes anywhere but from an Op Shop because she wasn't going to live long enough to wear them out. She had her first operation at 94, which is when she went into full care, and lived until 99.5. That's 27 years in second hand clothes...

Suzy, that is a cute story. My grandmother moved to Florida 6 months after we did. Her neighbors kept telling her about all the cute things should could make her granddaughter, me. I was about 5. She went out and bought a sewing machine and taught herself how to use it. She was about 60 when she did this. Not only did she make me dresses, she made herself dresses also.

I stepped outside..... Brrrrrrr ....... and was surprised to find a dusting of white covering everything. I am NOT psychologically prepared for winter!!!

Hi again.
Suzy...your G/Grandmother would have saved a fortune then.Obviously she didn't think she would be around that long.You can get some really nice stuff that has hardly been worn.
Dad only had 3 pairs of shoes too.Good shoes for special occasions and Dr appointments,one pair of what he called "good thongs" for going shopping and old thongs for around the house.My Mum would often say to him "You can't wear those clothes out",and then he would dress a bit better but still mostly wore thongs.He was a great Dad and we still laugh about his character.

Kicked Ally off the computer so I could have a turn...

I like the sound of your Dad Nola. Mine was a bit of a show horse. No way would he have worn anything second hand! Kind of funny since he was a house painter by trade (as well as crane driver, dogman etc etc) and everything he owned eventually ended up covered in paint. He lived in thongs though, just not the rubber kind.

Tami, my mother used to make clothes for my younguns and she made my wedding dress. When I first got carpel tunnel syndrome I bought myself a cheap sewing machine to substitute for knitting and crocheting and that was when I realised what I had asked Mum to do when I asked her to make my wedding dress. I handed her several metres of china silk and 2 patterns - I want the top of the one and the bottom of that one...

Nola, forgot something I was going to tell you... My girls love hand-me-down clothes. I can take them shopping and have them pick out some things they like, then a bag of hand-me-downs will come over. Guess which ones they wear and which ones end up going to an Op Shop almost unworn???

Amazing isn't it.I always had hand me downs and when I got a new dress it was so precious.
The new jeans with holes,frayed or faded don't do anything for me.

Boy,have we had some rain.I emptied a bucket of water yesterday and it was full again this afternoon.The humidity is so high.The gutters couldn't cope and were overflowing.Just beautiful.

We have had over 50mm here too. I would love a couple of days of sunshine so the grass grows a bit. The old lady lawnmower is much healthier when she has grass rather than hay and feed. The special stuff for worn out old ladies helps keep her weight up but it isn't the same. Actually, I really hope it is clear on NYE! Ally and the girls are singing and it will be to an empty arena if it's raining... if they can even do it.

I was wondering how Broni is going on the boat in all this rain.
Catch you all tomorrow.

Pretty quiet here. I am off to bed. Nite All.

Nola - Broni is probably OK - we've had some rain but not torrential - and I think she'll be in the bay somewhere not out to sea. That said - we went to Cleveland Point yesterday and it was choppy in the bay.

Suzy/Nola - my Mum sewed, knitted crocheted clothes and other things for us right up to when she went into care. It's only in recent years that we understood how much she did. The only one of her children/grandies who even bothered to learn to do these crafts was Karin.
Mum made all of our clothes when we were children, knitted everything we or our children needed, and in more recent years crocheted wonderful exquisite rugs for each and every one of us. Mine is a Black Watch (family) tartan - a lot of intricate work went into it. I treasure it!

CynB I did a quick second look, your Mom knitted
RUGS? Then I remember, you aqussies talk funny, something like an afghan? A cover, blanket or throw for when you feel chill?

I made all my girls clothes when they were small, untill they reached the blue jean and knit polo shirt phase, I would say pre tean. I remember I spent the month of August in my basement sewing area, working away to get school clothes ready for them. they had to have summer clothes to start back, and 2 months later, needed winter clothes. I made most of my clothes back then also. Polyester 3 piece pant suits, Oh My. I had a store where I could buy polyester double knit for $1 a yard! Wide and I could get one of the stylish almost mini dresses , well about 4 inches above the knee, for myself from one yard. Needed a 35 cent zipper and a 10 cent spool of thread. Needless to say I had a LOT of those little dresses. Had one pattern with sleeveless, short sleeve and 3/4 length sleeve. It also had about 4 or 5 necklines. I made it so many times, I could cut it, sew it up and put it on to wear by 10:00 in the morning, never trying it on till I was ready to go out the door!! BTY, that pattern cost $1. I cannot believe the cost of patterns now, unbelievable! Enjoyed the bits about sewing.

suzy, my daughter did much the same thing to me, showed me a photo from a magazine of a dress she wanted for prom. I had to buy 2 patterns and take bits and pieces from each. full skirt with a hundred mile long ruffle around and up a slit in the dress. Heavy satin with black lace, all to ruffle in together. A gathering string would NOT work. I sewed in a tunnel very narrow, and hubby made me a HUGE foot long "needle" and I attached fishing line. Used that as a gathering string. It took hubby and I both to gather up that fabric for ruffle, but it was an outstanding dress! I wonder if she still has a photo of it somewhere??

Christmas Day was good, rain stopped on Christmas eve and we had no trouble with roads , so got to BIL's house for dinner. Nice drive up. Cold but I went for a walk anyway, along the road and able to see the lake between houses. I love any body of water bigger than a mud puddle, so that was very nice.

Santa was vvery nice to me, I must have been a very good girl this year! One of the most useful things I got was a digital timer that counts down from 9 hours 59 minutes, 59 seconds or anything less than that. You enter in numbers from a key pad. Useful to remind me of that 2 hour after eating blood sugar check. Previously I only had a timer that went to 99 minutes!

Sorry Tricia, you're right, that's what I meant - afghans, throw rugs, small blankets etc. Didn't know that word had other connotations. Did you think she knitted toupees? Hehehe!

Rugs = carpets.

I had a grandfather in the leather and outerwear business. Back in WW2 he had the government contracts to make jackets. He was the one who made the famous Aviators jackets that are still sought after. So we always got new clothes and coats. Last week, for the first time EVER, I bought a USED coat! Of course, IH hit the roof when he saw it. He THOUGHT I had just purchased a new mink coat. He calmed down a bit when I explained that it was both used and faux (fake). It looks real.

Gotta go now. I need to go to the Post Office to send some money to the guy with the canaries. For some strange reason, he wants to be paid for them.

My grandmother taught me to sew and knit. She was very talented. She could look at a garment, either sewn or knitted and then go home and recreate it using brown paper to cut the patterns. She earned a living as a dress maker, mainly doing wedding dresses. My dolls had lots of lovely clothes made from scraps of material.

Suzy, I never did appreciate what my grandmother made for me. She also knitted and crocheted everything. (not much use in Florida) I was with her the day she bought the machine. She always said that one day it would be mine. I took it from her when I was almost 15 and about to take a sewing class in high school. She died about 5 months later and only saw the first tote bag I made. I actually got good at sewing but lost interest. I still have her machine, wonder if it works?? The machine is about 40 years old and was a Sears Kenmore. Made out of metal, not plastic.

Grandmother story.
My grandmother died when I was about 15.5 yrs old. I helped my mom clean out her apartment and all her drawers. We found a blue baby sweater that had been knitted but no zipper put in. We never did figure out who the sweater was made for as no one in the family was having a baby. My mom took the guess that she made the sweater when it was discovered that she had cancer on the hope that my mom would keep it. When I became pregnant with Mitchell, we found someone that could put a zipper in it for me. Both Mitchell and Dylan wore the sweater. My brother and I were her only grandkids and my boys would have been her only great-grandkids. I still have the sweater.

How wonderful, Tami. Maybe she "knew" that you would have sons!

I don't know. I do know that she is smiling down at us, seeing her great-grandsons wearing her sweater. In Jewish tradition, you name your child after someone who has passed on, not after the living. Mitchell's middle name is after my grandpa Sam, and Dylan's Hebrew name is after my grandmother. I always said if I had a girl I was naming her after my grandmother. I knew Dylan was my last child so I used her name. His Hebrew name is Benjamin David. Mitchell's Hebrew name is Emanuel Schmuel.

I still do a bit of sewing. I have made quite a few wedding dresses using bits and pieces of different patterns. I still have my Grandmothers 1910 treadle singer sewing machine although I now use my computerised Elna.
I gave up sewing when the thumbs started to ache.
Pleased you enjoyed your Christmas Tricia.
I also had my MIL knit some baby clothes about 10 years ago so my Grandies would have some of her knitting when they were born. And guess what, she is still with us and still doing a bit of knitting but mostly crocheting these days.

June, the handmade stuff is always the best. I still have a blanket that was crocheted for my older brother when he was born. My mom saved it. I wrapped both my boys in it when I took them home from the hospital. The blanket is 50 years old. It was made by one of my dad's great aunt-in-law.

Good Morning, Sudoku Friends! I apologize for being AWOL again. We had several busy days with MIL, then getting ready for trip to D#1, travel, presents, and lots of grandies time! Others are out shopping, but hubby and I are at "home" - so first time at a computer in over a week, I think. WAY too many pages to get caught up.

Happy Belated Birthday, eaa! Sure hope it was a wongerful day for you!

Belated Merry Christmas and/or Happy Hannukah greetings to All!

Good morning everyone.
I sure am enjoying all the Grandmother and Grandfather memories...thanks for sharing all those endearing stories.
Cold and rainy here, but no snow and none predicted although it should be storming all week (BUMMER!!!). But I am happy for the rain and hopefully there is a huge snow-pack being created just a few miles up the hill from us.

Off to write my "thank you" notes.
Nothing much planned for today but a commitment to NO SUGAR - God I've been in a downward addictive spiral...time to put a stop to it!
I'm going to vacuum seal and freeze a lot of the chocolate gifts and candies.
Keep me in your prayers everyone. It will take me a few days of "Jonesing" before it will become easier to abstain.

Hey Julie! Sounds like you are staying very busy.
to Rena, in case you stop in. Sure do miss you and hope you have a very special birthday tomorrow!

Only about 6 more pages to read (as of now). Just in case I don't get back to the pooter for a while, I better wish everyone the very best of New Years full of good health, happiness, and maybe even some wealth!

Good morning/evening everyone.

I also loved all the Grandparent stories.I take my hat off to those who can sew from 2 different patterns,sooo clever.

I called in to see Judy after work yesterday,and after she showed me the scar,I made her promise to go up to the hospital to get it checked.She had an appointment on Thursday but I said it won't wait that long.She is now back in hospital on an IV drip of antibiotics for an infection.She must have a high tolerance to pain as it looked terrible.
I'm off now,catcha later. It is still raining!!

OMG... Poor Judy! I'm glad she has a friend like you, Nola. By insisting that she go to the hospital right away, you probably saved her life.

Nola, I am also glad that you checked on that scar. The infections can be worse than the surgery.