Sudokuaholics Anonymous 8

Hi everybody.
..I've been busy having repairs done to my scooter, my car, my computer printer and my body...(just doctor and dental treatments), as well as giving my house some T.L.C. so have not spent much time at the computer...but have read everything...now I'll go as far as Crafts allows...lets see...
Prayer for your friend CynB...it is difficult to lose our children...may she continue to be surrounded by friends like you.
Heidi, so sorry about your sheep and your bug...feel better soon.
Bean, MizT and anyone else feeling poorly, speedy healing is my wish for all of you.
Broni...relaxing time on the boat.
June wonderful luck on your bowls, and your good fortune with the pictures and hubby's raffle win...enjoy!
Tami, glad you got your hair together and had fun...busy days are ahead so hopefully you will be able to fit in a little rest before being faced with your new class..hope its a good school year.
Brenda, Glad you and Richard had an enjoyable celebration for your tenth...keep on celebrating...congratulations!
Good to see Julie and Rena posting...Glad you are both doing well, but Rena, do be careful of that smoke...it too can be damaging over time.
Suzy, Gail Stella, You folks are always busy with something or other...so rest easy when you can...
Nola, You are right about creeps being out there...hope all goes well with the baby and any worries that you may both have.
I'll look forward to seeing pictures later...haven't worked any jigsaws for awhile, nor played games...I must find time to fit it in soon too.
The brain drain has now been completed, and I've gone as far as I can...so I will say have a great day/night and be kind to yourselves and each other...until we meet again...Peace.

Oh boy....I got a topp too...Wonderful!

GREAT NEWS!!!!! I have some baby finches, and the parents are caring for them!

Mamacita... I am awestruck by your fantastic memory!

Good morning lovely SA people.
Thanks for your caring thoughts and wishes for Kath.
Heidi - baby finches - soooo good, soooo excited for you.
Congrats of the TOPP Mamacita - nice to see you around again - hope all repairs to body, car, scooter, computer all satisfactory.
More to say - forgot for the moment - back when I can remember.

I gave in and lit up a cigarette this morning - did not enjoy it, tasted like I was licking an ashtray, only smoked half of it. Touch and go now whether I can still kick the habit. Feel annoyed with myself. At least it signifies that I am at last on the mend - flu-wise.

You can do it, CynB. I quit 10 years ago. I quit cold turkey from 2 packs a day. You just have to use some will power. The first few weeks are the hardest.

Cynthia: Thoughts and Prayers for your Friend Kathy and her family.

Heidi.. sad about your sheep Yay for your Finches

June.. Congrats on Ken's win!! my best friend lives in Terrigal.
Zusy.. Congrats on the Mug of Chocolates.

BTW Good Morning everyone

Good Evening, All!

What a wonderful TOPP from Mamacita! It was an excellent review and, as always, kind and loving thoughts for everyone! It sounds like you and everything around you has been put back together!

Hello, Everyone! Just popping in before I head to bed.

Heidi, congrats on the baby finches! I don't have any baby avatars to help with the celebration. Guess I better add that to my To-Do List.

Hi, Rolanda! Haven't seen you for a while. Hope all is well! How is your Mum?

And now, it's time for me to go. Must be up at 6:15 tomorrow & leave for physical therapy by about 7:05. What a way to start the day! Hope everyone has a great day/night!

Cyn, I quit cold turkey after a nasty upper respiratory infection back 8 or 9 years ago. If you have been 3 days without a cig ( except for your one little slip) you are over the physical addiction, the worse part. Now it is just the psychological addiction. I smoked menthol and found a menthol cough drop was my crutch, and something to do with my hands. Lollie on a stick, we call them lollie pops, gave my hands something to do and then I fiddled with the paper stick when the candy was gone! You can do this , we are all cheering you on, sweetie. if we can help, short of going out for ciggies for you, let us know.

Now I am off to bed, did not read all the posts, but that one caught my eye. See ya on thef lip side.

I used the Tootsie Roll Pops. Those are lollipops with a chewy chocolaty center. I got addicted to sugar, but that's a little healthier than smoking. Actually, the reason I quit was the expense. I woke up one morning and realized that I was paying more for cigarettes than for dog food. I has 24 collies at the time. I thought that burning up that much money was really stupid, so I never had another cigarette.

Did I tell you how much I like that peacock avatar, Julie?

Off to feed dogs now.

And now I hie me off to beddie-bye. all.

Congrats on the baby finches Heidi.
A friend of mine quit smoking a few years ago for the same reason you did Heidi, within a year of quitting he had saved enough to buy a lovely new caravan.
Cyn I hope that you can kick the habit, put the money you would have spent on ciggies away in a bank account and watch quickly it grows.
Marmacita you have been having everything overhauled recently, hopefully everything will work perfectly for a long time to come.
Crafts has set in. Hope everyone is fit and well or getting better if they have been out of sorts.

Talked to the girls last night, They are now at Radium. The drive from Revelstoke to Radium was very smokey from the fires, so they did not linger anywhere to see views. They are staying in Radium for a couple of nights before going into Banff for a few days. They seem to be enjoying themselves very much though did appear to be tired.

Hearing about the smoke is bringing back the experience Brenda. Just smoke for weeks, day and night.

How are things going out there. You never hear anything about the rebuilding work which has to go on after that sort of disaster

There is an ongoing royal commission to find out the true causes and to try to implement new procedures so it never happens again.
As to the rebuilding, the Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction and Recovery Authority was formed to oversee it, funded by the government and the money that was raised by generous donation.

http://www.wewillrebuild.vic.gov.au/latest-news/255-bushfire-update-released-by-christi ne-nixon.html

An amazing story of mateship in times of crisis

http://www.blazeaid.com/

Thanks for those links Gail. As I said once the immediate news on the fires died down we don't get to hear how things are going. I know it will take a long time for rebuilding to be completed.
Do you know if there has been much or any regrowth in the destroyed Bush? I had heard that sometimes re growth starts quite quickly.

Gail... one of the places where a person could donate to the Victorian Bushfire Recovery, etc., was eBay here in the US. I did a lot of buying to donate to the recovery.

everybody. I'm off to work on loading up the sheep now. I'm feeling a little better, though I'm still a bit queasy, and my tongue is still swollen. My hand that I injured is looking a little better. It's down to only double it's normal size now, instead of triple. But the color looks weird. The fingertips still look caucasian, but the rest of the hand is a lovely shade of brown, mingled with a few streaks of blue, purple and red. But at least I can use it now.

Well, off to krow I go........

Good Maen SA8ers! Thank you for letting me vent a few days ago! We DID have a good time in Washington (other than the house stuff!! Oh well, just have to be patient!) Had a busy weekend! Darrell had drill this weekend with the National Guard and Sunday was his retirement after 22 years of service between the Army, Army National Guard, and Air National Guard. It was a LOVELY ceremony. I went with him & took photos (and one of the guys there took some with both of us in them) I was acknowledged as a military spouse! I was totally surprised (not to mention proud and sometimes overcome with emotion).
Heidi: Sorry to hear about the coy-dog/sheep situation. Glad to hear about the finches though!! Woo Hoo to you for that!
Hello to Brenda, Gail, Bean, Rolanda, CynB, TTT,
MizT, Julie and everyone else. Had more to say about the comments, but CRAFTS strikes AGAIN! Still hot as here, nearly 3 weeks of 100+ temperatures!! Send me some cool weather (I'll even take RAIN!!!) TTFN everyone, have a great day/night!

I took my ciggie allowance and spent it every week on quilting!quilting kept me busy and not thinking of smoking.

Heidi, happy you have baby finches. Hope they are doing well.

Suzanne, hope your temps moderate some, but please do not send them to Alabama!

Heidi, how did you hurt your hand? That sounds bad, hope it is better soon.

Brenda, glad your girls are safe and enjoying their trip.

Gail, thanks for th e links, I also had wondered how the rebuilding and regrowth was coming. Too often a story dies and you never hear about it again.

off to do more futts, I had gotten so behind on everything, Having energy again , I am getting more done, but seeing more that needs doing too.

Still no appointment for the MRO for my back, doc office just faxed request to the hospital diagnostic center. Thier excuse was no phones on Monday, OK, but what about all day Friday? I was at doc Thursday, this could be a long time to wait if someone was in constant pain, you know?

Good morning everyone.

WOW Heidi...at last you have some baby birds.I wonder what colour they will be.How exciting.
What have you done to your hand...sounds like a very nasty injury.
MizT..hope you are able to get in soon for your back.Being in pain is definitely not good.
Suzanne...welcome back Military Spouse.It WOULD be a proud ceremony.How is Darrell?

As to my hand... I was wrestling with a sheep and it smashed my hand between it and a metal gate. I suspect that I have a fracture to one of the bones in the back of the hand. It's still very swollen right there, VERY painful, and very colorful.

The baby finches will all be the wild color red heads. That's what both parents are. They're doing great, too.

I just finished delivering 59 very big, very stubborn sheep. It was a major rodeo getting each one into the trailer. Robert and I are both exhausted, and smell strongly of sheep. But at least the coy-dog and his pack can no longer get them. They were killing nearly one a day. They now are being guarded by several great Pyrenees guard dogs.

I just had a look at the Pyrenees dog on google as I hadn't heard of them.Beautiful, big and lots of fur.Your sheep should be safe now.
Suppose nothing can be done if you have a broken bone in your hand Heidi as you have to keep looking after your farm.

G'Day all! I have not caught up yet. My mouse has not been working and it's a pain in the neck to navigate via the touch pad. Hope all is well with everyone. Trying to turn in our old van to get a cheap car for the kids. We've been waiting for 6 months for the program and it finally came through while we were at Smuggs. It was supposed to last until November, but all the money was used up in 4 days!! Hopefully, they'll pass the second cash for clunkers bill and the republicans don't hold it up! We really need the car!

Cyn, hang in there with the cigs! You're strong! Do it for yourself and your grandkids!
Heidi, sorry about the sheep. Hard to believe that nothing could have prevented the killings. Congrats on the finches!
June, congrats on the bowls!
Brenda, glad the girls are having a good time and no trouble getting around the fires.
Mama, glad everything got repaired. Hopefully, it makes it much easier for you.
Happy Birthday and Anniversary for any I missed!
Will try to check back later, hubby just walked in the door.
Have a great day!!

You have a good one too Stella.I'm going to get some stuff done.Bye all

Morning all!
Empty house!!!
Mamacita, lots of things needing repairing at your house - sounds like mine!
Heidi, yay, baby finches! I must have missed the news about your injured hand. That sounds very very painful!!! As I read on I see that I'm not the only one and you have answered. Something you won't miss when the sheep are gone I'm sure. A silver lining.
Hi Rolanda!
Hi Julie! Physical therapy that early in the morning is cruel and unusual punishment, not therapy!
Brenda, glad to hear the girls are well. It would have been stressful driving through the smoke though.
Wow Gail. Blaze Aid sounds amazing! I wish I could volunteer! On the other hand, if they saw what I did to our fence yesterday they would probably suggest I make the tea and coffee....
Suzanne, how lovely that you were acknowledged. It sounds like a wonderful ceremony.
MizT, grrr to the doctors for taking so long to fax the request over. I hope you get in quickly.
Stella, a young girl I know was complaining about having to use a regular mouse because something went wrong with her touch pad... I didn't say anything that would give away how old that made me feel.

I have to go and do ffuts. Ally is having a sleep over birthday party this weekend and I have to do that unmentionable thing in preparation for it. Grrr. Why do kids have to have birthdays?

Ally was 'interviewed' for the newspaper yesterday. They wanted to promote the Lions Club and the group she sings with and thought that writing about the new girl would be a good way to do it. Both girls have been in the local paper numerous times, but this was the first 'interview'. I also got a copy of the article from the last time Ally was in the paper - I missed it when it first came out. I asked her if she knew why the picture was so special. Because the mayors in it? she asks. NO, definitely not, I say, it's because of that guy you're standing next to. I struggled to come up with an explanation and then said - it's like getting your photo taken with House! John Howard is like House isn't he???