Sudokuaholics Anonymous 8

Thanks for the sympathy Heidi! Hello Mamacita!

Today I have to make chocolate eclairs to take to a friend's 60th birthday party. Should be interesting, as I haven't made them for at least ten years - they're fairly decadent, possibly even deadly! Also very fiddly to make, with choux pastry, creme patissiere, whipped cream and rich chocolate icing (mmm!) - wonder if I can remember how to do all the bits and pieces? The thing is to make them very small - just a couple of bites (though I have seen some greedy chaps demolish them in one bite!)
I guess I should just go and get cooking - but I'm SCARED! :0

I'm back, though much later than I expected. Luckily, it has been a productive afternoon/evening here.

Suzy, how do you make wraps? They seem to be the "in" thing in a number of fast food restaurants, but I haven't tried them (either eating or making). I hope you and your young ladies are all doing well!

Heidi, I didn't know the new Gouldian finch you picked up today had rare coloring. With whom will you breed him - or do you already have a female with similar coloring?

Tami, I can understand your meeting-itis, can't-sit-still-itis! In day-long meeting, I used to position myself on an aisle and near the back, if possible, so that I could stretch & move my legs & get up and walk across the back. No one ever complained to me.

Judy, you've had a busy few days with gardening, desk-moving, mattress-moving, delivery of a new chest-of-drawers. How awful that you can't access your hotmail account! That happened to a friend. She eventually just opened a new account, but Heidi is right. It's going to take some time & effort to notify everyone.

Mamacita, we always look forward to your visits! Don't worry if you miss a comment or friend's name. We're all in the same position. I have confessed to scrolling up & down the page to review posts in the hopes of not missing something to comment on. The important thing is that you were able to visit & share your well-phrased thoughts! Thank you!

Judy, I hope your chocolate eclairs are coming along nicely! They sound yummy! I wish I had a "drooly" avatar! I bet they'll be the hit of the party!

I would like to ask a favor, if a may. All of you wonderful people have been so good about including special requests in your prayers. Could you please add another person?

A good friend's husband has cancer of the esophagus. He has begun radiation and chemotherapy and is scheduled for surgery on Sept. 11. They have only been married a year. She had been married 5 or 6 years, then divorced and a single mother for about 30 years. She re-connected with Larry about 1 1/2 - 2 years ago. (They had taught in the same school after she was divorced. He was married then, but widowed about 3 or 4 years ago.) His name is Larry K. Please include Larry and Jane in your prayers, as you have done for so many others. Thank you!

Julie, yes, you are right, it is no coincidence that Bean and I were tired. Yes, we had been working hard at it in her garde4n again!
The 'Tail' reference was from lunch. Bean rings in an order and drives around there while I run in and collect the order. When I got in there...no order for Gail??? Could it be this one for Tail? Sure enough... So that was what the reference was referring to Heidi, not the galah bit.

Julie, Larry and Jane are added to the list of people kept in my thoughts.
I wish them all the best.
Sending healing vibes as I type.

Tis good you arrived before me Tail...saves a whole lot of explaining from me...

We are back on dialup until the 28th... could be worse...
I think it is all the Blogging and research I am doing into Vici's trip...I try to do as much as I can at off peak times because we always seem to use up our 4GB allowance for peak times quicker than our 4GB offpeak...

Biggest problem is going to be for me with all my Lexulous games... they take for ever to load! oh...and loading smilies... even tho I won't be using them they make this page so slow to load and so I am back to doing a Suzy...having dozens of tabs op[en!!

Gail..... or rather Tail... that is funny!
Judy... please save some for me.

I've got my new bird home. He's breathtaking. His color is called Pastel Blue. His head and belly are a salmony-ish gold, his body is a dusty sky blue and he has a bright purple chest. The pastel color is found only in males. I will probably breed him to my salmon headed blue female. Or one of her offspring. She has 3 babies in the nest now.

Julie... consider it done...

Gail do you think NOW would be a good time to take a trip over to Judy's to give her a hand....
Lachie and I have just returned from a trip to the laundromat and we tried to buy éclairs while we were down there... they were old sold out! Obviously that shop doesn't make enough each day... they had sold out when he took you there a few weeks ago!!

Decided that I should take advantage of the gale force winds and wash a doona and get it on the line... and yep... you guessed it... the wind has died down a lot!! Melbournites should be applauding me!!

I'm gonna have to feed the dogs soon. I'm just waiting for this storm to pass.

OK, Bean, I give up. What is a "doona"?????

Heidi - photo PLEASE

Back again just for a moment. Gail/Tail, thank you for the explanation of your new name. That's really funny! Don't you just love it when they can't get your name right? I hope the order was filled correctly!

Bean, we've been having slow loading & processing time - even from the Macintosh, which is usually pretty speedy. If we have more windows open, it seems to be even more sluggish.

Heidi, your new finch sounds absolutely stunning. Will there be pictures?

Bean, you don't need to go to a shop to get eclairs. Just go to Judy's. She has all of our mouths watering. Sorry those gale (Gail?) force winds died down. Does that make them tail winds?

I think it may be time to change avatars.

I think this is the last of my approved peacock stained glass windows. I think I may have a few to submit. It's very hard to check through so many and be sure I'm not submitting duplicates.

It's almost 12:30 here, so I must head off to bed. I need to make sure hubby is up about 5:30 to leave about 6:30 to pick up his Mom by 7:30 to get her to an 8:00 appointment. When she moved into assisted living, we brought her out to a beautiful facility about 6 blocks from where we lived then. She was not interested. So now, it takes about an hour to get to her, then take her to her appointments, take her back to the assisted living building, then 1 more hour to get home. At least she likes where she's staying.

Judy, I hope the eclairs turned out beautifully! Enjoy the rest of your day/afternoon/evening/night, Everyone!

Heidi, I hope the storm subsided so you could feed the dogs! Good Night

Bean, I bet she's got heaps of bowls that need licking, oops, I meant cleaning!
It would have been nice if she brought some to the SA meeting!

Julie, that wind dig was low...

A doona is a feather quilt, or duvet. Most of us use them here instead of blankets.

They're eating now.

I use them instead of blankets, too. I've just never heard the term before.

It's rapidly approaching 3 am, so I might as well try to sleep. I've had a bad evening of coughing, and my chest hurts, so I KNOW I'll have to sleep sitting up again. I do not like this.

Well it is on the line....
For once I am hoping that it doesn't rain!
Julie I thought that was a brilliant retort... do not agree with Gail that it was a bit low...LOL...

Have forgotten everything else I wanted to say... I am going in to see Chicago tonight so I had best shake a leg, shower etcetera....

Catch you all later

So you found the tickets then???

Sounds like Vici is coming down with a similar bug.... has a VERY SORE THROAT so I'm sending healing vibes her way as well...

Get well everybody that is ailing...

Heidi and Vici, get well soon.

Julie, your friends are in our thoughts and prayers.Let it be a good positive outcome. There is one of the 'T' drugs that can be used and it is light sensitive (administered through a black tube). This one affects the finger and toe nails but they have recently discovered if the person wears 'black' (and it must be black) nail polish it saves the nails from disintegrating.
I am aware everyone get a different cocktail of drugs but just thought that was worth knowing.

Gail and Heidi, I describe a doona to Americans as a comforter with a removable cover..

There isn't much time to comment on any of the other wonderful posts I've read. Mamacita's post was once again a joy to read. Thoughts, wishes and everything else to Julie's friend. Hope the sore throats and coughs get better quickly. Um... MAAADD... Bean, we have 5 GB allowance and have only used it up once. You must be a naughty girl on the internet! And I hope this means we don't have to wait until you change back to finish our lex games! Aaahhh... Um... I thought of everyone as I read the posts and now don't have time to reread to remember what I wanted to say... Thought of you all!!!! Off in a couple of minutes to take Ally to rehearsal..

Back again - just for a minute. The eclairs hit a major snag - couldn't find my pastry bag! (This is what happens when you rearrange your kitchen) and the supermarket didn't have one, so Rob rushed out to hunt one down. Made dinner while he was away, then we wasted a whole lot of time eating (and watching Top Gear - I'm not a car person, but that show is hilarious!) Now the eclairs are in the oven - will they survive? Will I burn them? Will they spontaneously self-destruct? Stay tuned for the answers to these exciting questions....
Rob is watching a zombie movie ... meh! I saw Shaun of the Dead, I don't think anyone can top that!

On tenterhooks here, can't wait for the next eclair installment!

Aaah! Took the eclairs out to swap the trays around - and watched the wretched things sink before my eyes! (The eclairs, not the trays)
Will I have to make another batch?!! Rob has given up on the zombie movie - not funny, not good in any way ... He's found some cricket to watch.
Ok put the eclairs back in the oven - and they've risen again! Talk about temperamental! Hot air rises? I seem to remember something about that.
Where is everyone tonight?
Well the eclairs are out and look ok. Just found a different recipe that says RAISE heat after 10 minutes. The recipe I use says lower heat - oh-oh!(I think next time I'll go with the raising temp one) Oh well! Next step is the custard (creme patissiere if you want it au froggy) How can I mess that up... oh, let me count the ways!

Oh, hi Gail! How are you tonight?
Stay tuned for the next exciting episode of how not to cook! ;)

Love the eclair story Judy. Gave me something else to have a giggle about. For a piping bag you can get a strong plastic bag, fold from the corner into a triangle and snip the corner off.(Hope that makes sense)
I just got an Email from Ken and things are getting held up in Vietnam and he is filling in time. He decided to go to the Cu Chi Tunnels (The underground tunnels used during the war). It was somewhere I did not want to go to when we have been there before. Ken is not a big person but he went down the tunnel and it took three people to pull him out!!! I cannot stop laughing!!

Judy, I'm exhausted reading about it! The proof is in the pudding.
I am going out to sis Wendy's tomorrow for a belated birthday and housewarming celebration. It will be great, two siblings coming from interstate.
I said I'd bring something but I will cheat and make some mini quiches, much simpler.

Well I am home and catching up on all the goss'...
Judy you obviously need more practice with the éclairs... Gail and I will be your guinea pigs... I am more than happy just to have ordinary whipped cream in mine ... in fact I prefer them that way...

Chicago was fantastic.
I am just about to play a couple of games while I unwind and then hit the hay...

Judy... I'll happily eat any of your éclairs that don't look right. I've never been one to care about appearance.

everybody. STILL no MizTricia to cheer us up in the morning. And I had a rotten night. I could not stop coughing up junk until 6 am. I just hope Vici isn't getting this. Sore throat was my first symptom.

Good healing wishes go to everyone on the sick list.
I will not be around much as I go on holiday tomorrow for 10 days, not sure what the internet connection will be like so if I look in anywhere it will probably be on my phone.
Rolanda I hope your mother's birthday party goes well (I'm sure it will) and that your mother has a happy day.

Have fun, Brenda! Where are you going? You probably told us, but my memory has more holes than a cheese grater.

Don't worry too much about your memory Heidi as I don't think I have mentioned that I was going away.
We are heading for the south coast of England to a small place called Normans Bay, if you know anything of British history this is where William the Conqueror's army landed in 1066. We are going for a relaxing week before a hectic bank holiday weekend with friends.