Sudokuaholics Anonymous 9A

If I counted correctly, this should turn the page.

Fingerprints will show!!

I liked black until I married hubby who had black furniture, it was so much work I swore I'd never have anything black again!

A whole box of snack bars has vanished! Grew legs and walked away apparently because nobody here took it!

Good morning all - I seemed to have lost my way and didn't get here yesterday (visitors! but welcome ones!)
Theresa - hope your computer lasts the distance, we'd miss you.
Gail - you and my hubby have something in common, despite your senses of humour, he notices numbers like that. We'll be driving along and he'll say 'Look at that, in another 5kms, this car will have done 53535 kms' - as Rolanda would say 'rollin the eyes, shakin the head'!

Now, there was more I wanted to say but I don't remember!
Suzy/Broni - Col's brother went through a similar property situation with an ex-partner. He owned acreage land from when he was young. Later he had a child with a woman he lived with for several years. They broke up, he eventually sold the land for a nice tidy profit and was forced legally to give one third to the daughter, which he didn't mind and wanted to put in trust for her. No, it was given directly to the mother so would have been spent on drink, drugs etc (which was the reason he left her). So not fair! If that wasn't enough, he remarried, he and his new wife bought a house and then an investment home. Eventually they sold both to buy a better and bigger home. Again he was forced to turn over a percentage of his share in the investment property (not the family home). The daughter is reaching 18 now and it's a certainty that there'll be nothing put away for her.
There's a whole lot more to that story but I won't elaborate.

Cyn, I would expect him to have to pay child support, but since when do children own our properties???

CynB.... He had a lousy lawyer!

No court involved, Heidi - just commanded by the Child Support Agency!!

I've got an appointment for Ally this morning. Short notice so I've just had what we call a 60 second de-stink - face, feet, pits and bits. And of course it has started raining...

Suzy - he pays child support! At one stage he was working 16hrs per day - 6 days a week, was paying so much in child support that he and his wife, new daughter and 2 step-children were still struggling. He gave up his job and went on the dole for a few months (so no child support) but it wasn't in his nature not to work so he's still on the grindstone - working away from home for weeks, just to earn enough money for them and the CS. Ridiculous situation, probably repeated regularly all over Australia. Meanwhile, the mother gets her drugs, the girl is dragged up, they move constantly, hasn't seen his daughter in 7 years (can't find them and once the courts do, she moves).
We are convinced that Col's Mum held on to life for so long in the hope of a happy solution and seeing her beloved grandchild again (they were really close). There's even more to tell but it's too awful and too sad and I feel so bad for him.

Even with the Child Support Agency, he needs to use a lawyer. They exceeded their powers. Everything needs to be reviewed by a good lawyer, Cyn. This is ridiculously wrong.

Cyn, I am sorry to hear what your brother in law went through. It is sad that his daughter does not get the chance to see him.

Don't worry Heidi - he did have the best family lawyer firm in Qld plus $43,000 in fees - still can't get past the all-powerful CSA. He had to pay up or face jail.
Tami - I said earlier that she was nearly 18, I meant nearly 16 - at 16 she can choose to contact and see her father (normally it is 12, but due to the rest of the story, it was made 16 in her case). But what damage has been done, or lies have been told in the intervening years? Will she contact him? She knows she has a sister (5yo) and that her step-sister now has a son (1yo). We hope that her memories are strong enough to try to make contact. Her Grandma would really rest in peace then!

Cyn I hope she tries to make contact. She may want to find out answers for herself. If her mom lied to her, she is probably still lying and kids can usually tell.

Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home. I am bushed from sitting around talking all day.

I have done some reading, but not all.

Suzy, I can get in touch with you via snail mail if anything goes wrong with my computer. Since I don't use the computer for my work any more, it's kind of hard to justify buying another one right now. But I sure did miss it for the few days I didn't have one. And of course I missed all you guys!

It's almost 9:30 and I'm ready for bed. It has been snowing all day and I think the snow is now here to stay. It is -6C right now, but with the wind chill it seems colder. Time to snuggle under the comforter!!! Good night.

I wish I could share my quiet time with you, Theresa. I'm frequently, happily, alone here. Like tonight. Soooooo relaxing.

Theresa - just in case you do lose your internet connection in one way or another - it helps if someone here has your telephone number. Obviously one of the Americans - or is that an international call from US to Canada??
One savage winter - was it the last one or the one before, Heidi was snowed in with no power. Fortunately MizT had her number and was able to make contact so we knew she would be back when she could. I have several of the Aussies mobile numbers as they do mine.
It's a good idea for us all to have someone who can contact us another way.

Afternoon all,
The verdict on Ally so far - tonsils inflamed from overuse, no infection. Blood test ordered and if it is clear then possibly ENT to see if vocal chords are inflamed too. In the mean time throat lozenges...

Theresa, I don't know how I'd cope without access to my friends on here...

That was the winter before last, CynB. We were without power for 12 days, most of which was in single digit temps (fahrenheit), with no water, lights, heat or cooking ability even. And we were lucky. Some neighbors were without power for 3 weeks! Our phone lines were out for the first 4 days as well, but I had given MizT IH's cell number in case. I thought that after we lost Ruby, that it was a good idea for somebody to have emergency contact information.

I'm off to bed now. I'm going to try to do a little outdoor work tomorrow, but I promise that I'll quit the instant my back feels any stress.

TONSILS!!?? Ally did NOT catch it from Cole!

Hi all!
I hope you all had a great weekend. It's done nothing except rain and I think I'm growing mould. I think I need to get used to it because the forecasts say it will stay this way for December.
I'm nearly ready to head home and of course it's about to rain (again). It was a bit of a dull weekend. Hubby worked early mornings (starting at 4am) so he had a sleep when he got home and then went back to bed early. We did get out for a coffee and a bit of a drive late yesterday and that was the excitement for the weekend.
Oh well, I am going to have lunch with some of my "old" school friends next Saturday. That will give me something to look forward to.

Twice today I was driving through rain so heavy I could barely see 2 car lengths ahead of me, and one of our local bridges was at least 6" underwater, but BOM says we only got 10mm of rain!

Heidi, love my time at home alone...but beware that is when the house or garden may never look the same again.
Vicki, even turned on my column heater last night to dry out the bedroom before the mould got hold.....Ah! Queensland don't ya just luv it.

Just about finished writing on the 90 cards but still have to write and print my yearly letter. Heidi I am not organised because I always procrastinate and leave things till the last moment. I have also pulled things out of the linen cupboard and they are spread all over the floor waiting to be sorted and put back. Knowing me they will get shoved back without being properly done. (time!!)

To my down under friends, hope you dry out before you all get mouldy. I know you need the rain, but not all at once.
Had a busy yesterday. Parents and brother came over for Chanukah. Had a nice dinner and the kids got their gifts. Had to go shopping so Mitchell could spend his. Brother asked what the kids wanted. He bought Dylan a new handheld video game system. Mitchell wanted a bike but bro did not want to pick it out for him so got him a gift card. Went last night and got his new bike and he is thrilled. He had to ride around the street last night.

[[[HUGS]]] to you all. I am off to bed.

June, good morning. You clean closets the same way I do. I just shove everything back in. Every once in a while, I will clean it correctly and get rid of the junk.

It is getting chilly here. Today's high is supposed to be around 66 (19c). Tomorrow the low is supposed to be around 40 (4c). That is below the norm for South Florida this time of year.

They say it's going to rain for the next week - lovely!!
I have Chloe and Emily overnight and all day tomorrow. School is not over until the end of the week but learning is finished - Andrew is sick and it was Hayley's Christmas Concert tonight. So we picked up Emily, met Chloe and their mother at the concert, left the concert as soon as Hayley's part was done (Was that bad of us?), took them to McDonalds for a junk food dinner (even naughtier of us, but we almost NEVER do that)! Col and Chloe are in bed, and Em's playing her PSP. Peace until morning!

No, peace is lost PSP went flat and now she wants TV - at 9.30pm, no way!!

Cyn, hope the PSP is found soon. I know what kids are like when they can't find their favorite plaything.

Tami, peace is lost, PSP has gone flat, battery wise

The importance of good punctuation.

I woke up to a fairly heavy snowfall!! What is going on!!????? The weather forecast was for cold but SUNNY!!!! We're not supposed to get above freezing for a few more days. Previous snowfalls have melted during the day, but this won't.

The snow has stopped! At least for now.

I give up. It's snowing hard now. Back to bed.

Cyn, I know how you feel. I will have Laura tonight and tomorrow as my friend has chemo today. I might get Laura to stamp the addresses on the back of my envelopes. The cat just informed me in no uncertain terms that she wanted something different than what was in her dish!

Everyone seems to be getting either snow or rain. I think we have some showers predicted today. I just hate the humidity after the rain. off to lawn bowls today.