Sudokuaholics Anonymous 9A

Morning all - been missing for a few days again but Sunday and yesterday hubby and I got a whole lot of little loose ends tied up and that feels better.
Theresa - you have probably been disconnected by now. You will be missed here.
MizT and Al - more big hugs. This to-ing and fro-ing for treatment must be so exhausting.

Oh, darn, that's not inspiring and I don't have anything inspiring to say except - if you're also on FB take a look at a link I shared there about Dr Catherine Hamlin of the Hamlin Fistula Hospital in Ethiopia. That is one inspiring woman and my idea of a true Christian.
Has anybody read the book 'The Hospital by the River' about how she and her husband set up the hospital?

So much for my day to myself tomorrow. IH is on his way home.

http://ip-67-205-89-177.static.privatedns.com/public/home/news/pid/7329

This is a link to the Facebook story about Dr Catherine Hamlin. Hope it works.

'A mother is a family’s richest possession- Dr Catherine Hamlin
Not top of the page but inspiring anywhere!

I found my calf tube feeder, and the calf has a warm, full belly now. He still won't suck on a bottle, so I'll keep doing this until he decides to cooperate. I do not like doing this alone. I have to kneel down, straddling the calf to restrain it after wrestling it to the ground. Then I need to pry open his mouth, keeping his chin elevated and neck straight, and insert the probe down the left side of his throat into his stomach while holding the bag full of warm milk high. Then I release the clip on the tube that stops milk flow, so the milk flows by gravity into the calf's stomach. It requires the use of both legs, both arms and legs, my teeth and my chin. It goes so much easier with 2 people.

Heidi, you have the strength of 10. I hope the calf decides to cooperate soon.

Harley is sleeping with his head under the coffee table and snuggling his stuffed duck. We bought him a new toy yesterday. I took a picture and will post soon. I am going to sleep also.

Nite, Nite.

Tami.... It's just that I have to do what needs to be done. Once I get this calf drinking happily from a bottle, I have a buyer for him. I really don't like to deal with bottle calves.

Nite Nite TTT.
Prayers for MizT & Al.
Heidi: Can't Robert help with feeding?? That sounds VERY strenuous for you!
Hi Cyn!!! Hope all's well with you.
Sent George an e-mail (after I talked to TTT earlier) Hope to hear from him soon.
Found out my mom has Celiac's disease. Not quite sure what it is, will do research. Know she is on a special diet. Something to do with starchy foods & how the body absorbs them. Signing off for now, TTFN everyone!

Robert doesn't live here, and only helps out part time. And I've never had to tube feed a calf for more than 3 days. I can handle it, tho' it is one of my least favorite jobs.

Gekko and Good Evening! Already 11:20 p.m. here and starting my reading on page 589.

Hi, Heidi, Broni, Vicki, Gail, Suzy, Brenda and June!

I would like all of you to know how much I enjoy your senses of humor and imagination!

Heidi, for you to say that your 2 new heifers look exactly alike is quite amazing, as I'm sure you would see any differences far better than I would. I hope they both produce wonderful calves! Since I'm assuming they were not bred to the same bull, it will be interesting to see if their calves will look alike.

Vicki, you're so right about needing a good long weekend when you work outside the home (and also sometimes when you work inside the home, for that matter)! It's awful when the weekend slips by and you wonder where the time went. I hope you and Kevin have a wonderful weekend coming up! Sounds like you both deserve it! Great idea to "schedule" your day together, so that an honest response when asked to do something is, "Oh, I'm so sorry, I'm already booked and have no time available."

Suzy, it looks like you're going to have to put up a sign, "Sorry, we're fully booked" or "No Vacancy." How does this friend of Dana's get to your house? (Didn't you say it's a long walk?)

June, I'm glad you had a nice dinner with your sister! (Wish one of my sisters lived nearby.) Did Ken have a good trip to Singapore? So sorry to hear about your friend! I hope she/he has found peace and relief from their struggle!

On to page 590: Hi, Tami, June, Suzy, Gail, Theresa, Heidi, Broni, Suzanne and MizTricia!

Tami, thank you for getting Theresa's number to try to help us all keep in touch with each other!

June, thank you for the inspiration AND the {{{{HUGS}}}}!

Suzy, Gail, Tami and June, I'm going to join the cynic club! Bowel AND stomach cancer - at 18? What are the odds? June, good advice to offer him a bit of sympathy in case it's warranted, but letting him know that he may need to reconsider his "story."

Suzy, I hope you're taking care of yourself and will soon be feeling 100%!

June, now I want to get to see the eagle cam at daylight tomorrow. I haven't had a chance to visit in 4 days, which is frustrating me.

Theresa, I enjoyed the apt description of male sensitivity! You're going out with some good ones! We'll miss you, but I like the way hubby is arranging it with just a 6-month (or less?) suspension of service and an easy way to get started again! You and your hubby have certainly done as much as humanly possible to help out your D and SonIL and grandies!

Suzy, I hope the change in internet providers works out well for you!

Heidi, congrats on the new calf, but I'm so sorry one of the bull calves was rejected by its mother! More work for you!

Suzy, how awful that there is not a conflict for Alie with the carols and dance school recital! Doesn't sound possible to do both.

Heidi, sounds like a big job blocking the gap under the fence, but so glad you and Robert will do it right!

Broni, it's great that Possum is back safely and that his mother is holding her own for now! Will be thinking of you both in the coming days!

Oh, dear, Theresa! Next week is March Break for your grandies and you won't have internet. Sounds like time to plan something fun for each day (or half day). Dress-ups, puppet making and puppet show, trip to the library, writing and illustrating a book, making cookies, cleaning with the Swiffer, etc.

Suzy, I agree, there's something fishy about the bike Robert bought!

Suzanne, what a shame that your photos didn't turn out! We look forward to seeing whatever photos you can post!

Tami and Suzy, I think I may be able to call Canada on my cell phone, but haven't had the time to check for sure.

MizT, hurray, only 2 more long days to go this time! That would sure make a LOT of driving for you to take him, go home, go back to pick him up and drive back home again! So glad that Al's brother will go with him tomorrow! Crossing fingers that Al will be able to do all 12 days left in a row! I hope you will be able to get some of your achies fixed!

Gail, I'm so glad Scott didn't need to spend a long time fixing what needed to be fixed! Hope it will stay fixed for a good long time! I hope his night-time sessions are going well and not disrupting your - or his- sleep too much!

And here we are on page 591: Hi, CynB, Heidi, Tami and Suzanne!

Cyn, so glad you and your hubby were able to get quite a lot done over the last 2 days! Good for both of you! Doesn't look like I'll get to facebook today, but will try to see your link tomorrow. Also, have not read the book, but sounds intriguing!

Heidi, I'm sorry IH is on his way home when you had expected to have the day tomorrow to get a lot done! Maybe he's coming home to help with feeding the calf! (Sure sounds tricky for one person alone to do!)

Good Night, Tami and Suzanne!

Suzanne, so sorry your Mom was diagnosed with celiac disease. On the other hand, having a correct diagnosis will help her trying to deal with it and finding out what she can safely eat! All the best to her!

Heidi, good luck with the tube feeding, until the calf will drink from a bottle!

Good Night, Heidi, and Good Night, Sudokuland! Sending lots of {{{{{HUGS}}}}}, positive thoughts, prayers and Tomorrow starts my "uber" busy time! I'll get here when I can! I'll be thinking of all of you daily!

Suzanne, Celiac Disease is a gluten intolerance. It means she can not digest gluten correctly. There is gluten in a lot of products that you would not even think of. I have noticed a lot of products are now being labeled "gluten free"

Gekko all,
Suzanne, celiac disease is not as bad as it used to be as it is now so common that there are many gluten free foods on the market. If in doubt, fresh fruit and veg.

The 18 year old's story has been confirmed by his best friend - I guess he could be snowing him too..

Gail, lucky your hubby is the practical type, and you got a day to get ffuts done... yeah, right!
I mentioned the conflict with the dance school today - and although they don't start to think about that stuff until much later in the year, they have already made a note in their files.. lets hope it all works out.

MizT, thinking of you as always, and sending hugs...

We won our bowls today. Ken will be on a plane in 1/2 hour on his way home. Here in the morning.
Did not sleep well last night although I did have a nap this afternoon. Another 45 minutes before the eagle wakes up so i might go off to bed. The other day the female seemed to pull a dead animal out of the side of the nest and fly off with it. Seams she was keeping it for her supper. Not sure what it was but it did have a long furry tail!
Good luck with feeding the calf, Heidi. We used to get the calves to suck our fingers, then lead their heads into a bucket of milk and train them to drink out of the bucket. They then went to market before they were much older as we did not have the time and we were raising dairy cattle!

Coffee's ready, help yourself.

Time to go torture the little kiddies.

Thanks Julie, not disrupting my sleep any!!! He is still about 50/50, takes hours to fall asleep then sleeps the last three hours quite deeply. He is going to do it in the afternoon tomorrow instead of right now (past midnight here) so that he can have a few nights catch up sleep.

Good Maen everyone!
Heidi: Wasn't sure about Robert, thanks for clarifying about that & the calf too.
I looked up Celiac's disease after I posted, there is a LOT of info on the web...some helpful, some not. Mom says she actually feels better knowing what's wrong.
TTT: thanks for the coffee, as always!! Have fun torturing the little kiddies! LOL!!!
Hello to Gail, June, Suzy, CynB & Julie.
Have a loverly day/night all. TTFN

Another heifer calf born last night. That gives us 20 live calves so far.
I have to go out in a few and tube the little dogie (orphan calf). I hope I can get my boot on. I'm now certain that I have a hairline fracture in that foot, and the calf aggravated it last night during the wrestling match by stepping on it and grinding down. He's an ornery little cuss.

June... the calf will not suck on my fingers. Much less on a bottle. It would be so much easier if he would. Once I finally get him either drinking from a bottle or out of a bucket, he's leaving. I already have a buyer for him.

Greetings friends. I slept much better last night, makes the morning start a great deal better if you sleep. I spent my first hour up getting a feeding and meds ready for hubby, making his "formula" for the remainder of the day, and washing up the numerous cups and jars and glasses we use daily to get feedings done. He needs a small cup (recycled yogurt cups) holding his meds dissolved in water several times a day, and one with warm water to rinse with each medicine or feeding, really add up during the day. This morning I washed almost a dozen, just glad I had something that works nicely for him. they are plastic, he can squeeze them gently to make for more controlled pouring. Meds, juice and water pour, are gravity fed into syringe minus the plunger. Formula and feedings are thicker, need some help making their way through tube.

I am having a rant here, but I HATE the smell of his Iron tablets. YUCK! They have to be crushed, then put into very warm water cause they have a coating to keep them from dissolving in your mouth, the taste would be yuck. It has to dissolve fore it goes in. I cannot find anything that helps dissolve the coating better than thoroughly washed finger pressing the pieces against the side of a small bowl! It is most important not to let that coating get into tube, it would clog the opening into stomach and no more feeding tube! Or a lot of work getting it UNclogged. So I usually have a finger that smells of iron. then there is the cup it was given in, the glass bowl it was disolv ved in, the syringe it was given with, and the pill cutter it was cut with, plus the pill crusher, all having that odor. OF course I manage to either dust the counter with the disolved pills or splash them with a tiny bit of the disolved mess, always a smell to the kitchen. This morning, I was washing my dish pan fore filling it to wash up the above, and yep, the plastic pan smelled of iron. So do my sponges and my dish cloths, it gets everywhere! Iron is part of the characteristic smell of blood, and just one smell I have trouble smelling.

OK, rant over, return you to your regular posts.

Heidi, can't you lasso that calf and tie it so it cannot step on you? Your poor foot! I know you have so much to do with the calving, may your remaining cows give birth easily, and each accept their calf, and get this calving over quickly so you can tend to that foot!

Oh, one more bit about that iron pill, instructions were, one tablet twice a day. Did not take me long to decide NO WAY, give him 2 at a time, not going through all that twice a day! They said yesterday his iron was still low, he had to see the doctor's assistant before they could even do chemo. He was told they would give IV iron, but he said he did not see any being dripped. I hope he can ASK today, gee, if it were me and I had not seen it hung, I would be asking that nurse who came to discontinue that IV. Wouldn't you? Why can't men ask questions??

I have the calf in a small 5'x5' pen, but I need to straddle him to restrain him. And his feet never stop struggling. He seriously objects to me trying to save his life. He constantly swings his head and body around during the process, too, and I'm fighting the whole time to keep his head and neck straight so I don't damage his esophagus. That's more important than keeping his feet still. This is NOT normal behavior for an orphan calf. Normally as soon as they get hungry, they eagerly grab the nipple on the bottle and drink their milk as fast as possible, or start drinking it out of a bucket like June mentioned. He does understand about nursing, because I watched him try to nurse on his mother. The instant he touched her teat, though, she started kicking the daylights out of him. And she's an experienced cow that's raised 8 calves already! She won't raise any more here, tho'. I have a zero tolerance policy for this.

I'm already tired of this calf. Again no suckling reflex, so I had to tube him again. This time he added throwing himself backwards to his repertoire. I'm SO glad that I weigh more than he does so I can overpower him. When I left him, he had a full tummy and was shaking with rage. Each time, I try him with the bottle first and try to get him to nurse, but he has to do it the hard way.

Heidi, how often will you tube feed him a day? Any idea why the cow rejected him? I have read most mothers reject their young only if something is wrong, like more pups or cubs than she can feed, if the rejected young is deformed in some way, things like that? this guy sounds pretty healthy, if he can jump and twist an push you around.

We are about to get more rain, even have flash flood warnings today. This rain was supposed to be TOMORROW, weather forecasters have missed the mark 3 days in a row here.

I think I will take a nap while Al and his brother are gone today.

He only needs to be fed every 12 hours. I don't know why mother rejected him. It does appear that she never bonded with him at birth. She is infatuated with one of the older calves, and that calf's mother isn't thrilled about it.

The plumber is here working on replacing a faucet and pipes that froze and broke a few weeks ago. He had done a temporary patch job when it first happened, and is now working on fixing it right.

Morning all,
MizT, my baby brother was very sick when he was teeny tiny and I'm pretty sure he had liquid iron medicine. I wonder if that would help you? That was a loooong time ago (he's 41 now) so I'm probably wrong about what it was. Wish I wasn't as anything that makes life easier for you would be wonderful!

June, congrats on your bowls win. Ken wasn't away long this time - a good thing I think. Are you doing weekend trips to take Laura riding?

Cyn, she certainly is an inspiring woman. How she remains positive with no reduction in the number of fistula, i.e. no improvement in the quality of care birthing mothers receive, over 50 years is beyond me.

Can you believe Pauline Hanson is running again? She must not be able to get a job.

Suzy, would you employ her? Especially, knowing her background, you'd have to be a bit wary.

Lord save us from Pauline Hanson!

Good Morning all!
Tami, I hope the child torture was successful.
MizT and Al I couldn't do what you have to do MizT. I hope Al knows how lucky he is!!
Heidi, good luck with the foot - damn cows treading on it. Turn them all into hamburgers, that would teach them.

Ditto Gail!

April 1st is a big day in our household.
#2 son aka the Apprentice will then be known as #2 son aka the Tradie. Tadaaaaaa. A qualified carpenter. W00t!

7am here so it's time to shut down the computer and head to the shower. I'm out of here in about 30 minutes time.
I'll be baaaack.

Torture went well today. I feel like I am being set up for something. All kids behaved. Friday is the last day and then we are all off for a week. Spring Break is a definite positive. Unfortunately big state test is 2 weeks after spring break, yuk!

Hubby home and having a sleep. Forgot to take sleeping pills with him so did not get much sleep on the plane (We keep sleeping pills for when we are travelling)
Cooler day today so guess I can do some quiet jobs around the place.

I do not think Laura is going in the Moss Vale show this year and the next one is the Camden show 8/9 April. Sharon has something on this Saturday so I will have Laura. Not seeing her as much now she has started school.

Now to look up something inspiring!