Sudokuaholics Anonymous 7

I have taken down curtains to wash so guess I should do that and clean some windows! After a sleep in I had better get going.

Hi Suzy! Ok, concerning the tree:
1. the tree was wet
2. we had to lift it staight up and hold it for a few minutes
3. we are all weaklings?

OoooH! Missed it by that much! ;)

Morning June and Viv
June, every christmas morning we hear the fire brigade going around, but they don't come down our street - not enough houses and not enough time I guess.

Viv, I still haven't written my Aussie cards! Will have to get organised soon or it will be too late again...

Morning Judy - I still think it must be a huge tree!

Hi Viv, nice day here too but breezy. For years I used to make my cards with a photo on the front relating to something we had done during the year(like visiting North Pole in Alaska, on the Great Wall of China, our first grandchild etc). I gave it away about three years ago as it was a lot of work and expense. Now I buy all my cards at half price after Christmas. I posted mine yesterday.

Hi Judy. I have done some Aussie cards Suzy.
Namely all the Sudoku girls.
I have about 2 dozen local ones here in town so that is okay, I will be out and about all week so I should write them up so I can get them out.

I wish I still had the story of some friends in Canada who went and selected on to be cut down. Selected one which was a bit bigger than the realised and had trouble getting it onto their vehicle, fell off on the way home, got stuck in the front door, and fell over in the night with all the decorations.The story was a scream!

Suzy - NOT ANY MORE...!! (We cut the lower branches off) Also in the end three people managed it - one on each side and one to guide the trunk into the container. Please note: I was not one of the three involved - I was replaced by a daughter. This is Nature's way of letting me know that I'm redundant, Past It, obsolete, and a weakling. Nature is unkind. It's a Cruel World!

Good Morning lovely SA7 people, dropping in without reading. Busy day today - off to a Christmas lunch. It's sweltering here today. I'm staying in the air-con as best I can. Enjoy your day - back later if I can.

Hello, All! I'm just peeking in but time to fix dinner (5:30 p.m.), then ffuts, so back LATER, I think! Have a good day/night, Everyone!

June - even reading about the story made me chuckle.There are so many possible disasters waiting to happen, so I went to Google and looked up "Christmas Tree disaster". Didn't find your story, but oh yes, there were many others, some of them also hilarious. Good to start the day with a laugh. Especially if it's at someone else's expense! ;)

That was a person story Judy and they Emailed me the tale in a personal Email. If you want a really good laugh Google 'Christmas with Louise". It did the rounds about 4 years ago and one of the funniest stories about. You would enjoy it Suzy after visiting a certain shop earlier this year.

G'day all! After posting yesterday that we had an ice storm and the schools were closed, I went outside to check the damage. As I live in a forest, it was pretty scary outside. I had branches down in my driveway and yard, so I couldn't go anywhere even if I wanted to. But while I was outside, the noise of all of the cracking, breaking, thumping trees was nonstop. We lost our power on and off all day, but never more than 10 minutes at a time. (that's why I shut down the computers) But there are a lot of people in neighboring towns who still don't have power after a day and a half. Every branch and needle is covered with ice and powdered with snow. The sight today was truly magnificent! I couldn't believe how many trees came down!

We had a similar experience with a Christmas tree we cut down a few years ago. The neighbors talked about it again at the holiday party this year. It was bigger than we thought. It completely covered the car. I'm surprised we weren't pulled over for lack of driving visibility. We had to call the neighbors over because we couldn't get it off the car when we got home. We had to smush it through the front door because it wouldn't fit. The neighbors and hubby had to bring it part of the way up the stairs to the second floor and then over the railing because we couldn't get it past the bend. While I was guiding it into the corner it slipped out of their hands and tilted toward me and pinned me in the corner. I thought I was going to get crushed. We had to call for more neighbors to help. The tree was about 14 feet tall and very wide. It took up half of the living room. We had to secure it from the railing on the second floor. After that tree, we always bring a measuring tape when we look for a real tree!!

Hi everyone, Hope everyone is having a great day/night. Just got back from dinner for S1's birthday. Had a great time and now I am just relaxing.

Stella - I am so happy to hear you didn't have any more serious consequences of that ice storm. We've been watching news about it and it was devastating for many.
Off to Bingo Babes tonight. Our storm has held off so it looks like we'll all travel to and from in safety.
Wishing everyone a good day/night...catch you all on the flip side!

Vici, have fun at Bingo Babes! (not sure what that is, but it sounds like fun!)

Thanks Becky for the summary, don't have time to read everything.

Went shopping today (actually went last night but the power went out when we were in the first store!) so have to sort through everything.

Have a great day/night everyone!

Hi Tami!
June: thank you for the "Christmas with Louise" story - absolutely hilarious!

Stella, it is hard for us to imagine a storm like that. So pleased you are OK. Loved the story of your large tree.

Good Morning everyone..

Heating up to a hot 35C today here in Perth..

I did read in this morning's paper, that they are predicting 31C on Christmas Day here in Perth.. fingers cross it wont get hotter than that !!

All this talk of C cards, deocations, tree and pressies, wrapping.. Guess I should make a start on it sooner rather than later..

mind you have started on the pressies.. I think I am half way there.. must go and check the stash and work out who I still have to buy for..

deocations.. mmmm new word.. lets try decorations !!

the 'Enthusiasm for the Season' hasnt hit me yet I guess..
all I can think of is the countdown to 2 days after C when Hubby and I go on holidays for 3 weeks !!

Lucky you, Rolanda! Where are you off to?

Hello Judy
We will be going down to Albany ( 400ks south) in the Caravan, we go down there every year for holidays..
this is the FIRST TIME that we have ever gone away on HOLIDAYS FOR 3 WEEKS.. usually it is 2 weeks, last year it stretched to 2 1/2 weeks.

Lovely, Rolanda! We had a holiday in WA some years ago, and spent a few days in Albany. We visited the wind farm (Rob works for a "renewable energy" company), saw some fantastic views, plus lots of interesting plants, though it wasn't really the wildflower season.
That was a great holiday with something for everyone - we went diving with dolphins, explored amazing caves, and had an all-round good time. :)

Becky, salmon was yummy!
I put the steaks on buttered foil, drizzled with a little balsamic dressing, laid them with strips of (bought) oven-roasted capsicum and a few capers. Then I drizzled them with a little melted butter and sprinkled over some dried breadcrumbs. Folded up the foil into packets, baked in the oven for about 15-20 mins. I then took them out of the oven, opened up the tops of the parcels and put them under the griller for 5 mins to brown off the crumbs.
Very yummy even if I do say so myself!

Our local fire service (volunteer) drive around on Christmas Eve to all the streets in the town, with the siren giving the occasional WHOOP, handing out icy poles to all the kids. I have tried to give them some donation dollars or a six-pack, but they wont accept it, it's something they want to do.
Great PR hey!

Gail - your I'm sure your salmon recipe is being printed out all over the world by now! Sounds delicious! :)

Gail - I'm sure your salmon recipe is being printed out all over the world by now! Sounds delicious! :)

Oops! Ok, don't try to correct something after pushing the submit button ... Sorry!

Christmas with Louise is hysterical June!!!

Judy, at least you weren't one of the USELESS three trying to manage the tree.
I'd be glad not to be included in with that mob!

Gail the salmon sounds nice. I use lime and sweet chilli sauce with some other bits and pieces but no breadcrumbs.
I am glad you liked "Christmas with Louise'. It gave me one of the best laughs I have ever had.

Gail - they never let me near anything like that! I think they're scared I'll kill myself - and then they'd have to work out where I keep everything! ;)

Christmas tree stories.
Mine is about a friend back in Sth Aus. She is an organizer par excellence. One year, she was hosting the Christmas Day lunch at her place for both her family and the inlaws, so there was going to be a cast of thousands. All in a day's work for this woman.
She went out to select a tree. It had to be a big one, she wanted to make a statement with it, plus, she wanted it to touch the top of their cathedral ceiling, at least four metres high! She selected her tree, chopped it down and proceeded to put this monster on the top of her car...a tiny Honda Civic!!! It trailed off the back and they had to tie branches out of the way, simply so she could see the road!
When she got it home, she realised it was bigger than she imagined, and had to lop the top off! It became our tree, still at 8ft, the largest one we have ever had!
Theirs was jammed into the highest part of the room, tied in place and decorated. It looked magnificent, as you can imagine.

That story "Christmas with Louise" nearly made me split a gut laughing.

Just taking a break (again). Typical me. lots of stuff to sort etc but I thought I would paint around the windows in the pooter room (which got half done to get the cupoards in) and the kitchen window which has been waiting about 4 years to be done.

Have spent a lot of today doing the preparation, taking down curtain fittings ,filling holes, sanding etc and have more mess than when I started!