Sudokuaholics Anonymous 7

Hey everyone! The turkey's almost done, the presents are all unwrapped, my sister should be here any minute, we've got two hours to eat dinner before daughter No. 2 has to leave - can we do it?!! My sister's just arrived! Merry Christmas! Bye!

It sure sounds like everyone else is having a great Christmas. I hope Santa brought you all what you wanted.

My Christmas Eve keeps getting better and better. IH just told me that 2 major sheep flocks in the state have just been shut down due to Scrappie, the disease in sheep that causes Mad Cow Disease. Both flocks are being destroyed (one has/had over 400 ewes). Now for the kicker. IH has been using my sheep trailer to haul around sheep from those 2 flocks. And hasn't disinfected it like he was told to. I just finished screaming at him. Everybody.

Hi again everyone, dropping in between cleaning up the wrapping and getting the girls to set the Xmas table - they do a great job!

Such fun reading what everyone is up to!!

Oh Heidi.... nothing I can say....

Heidi...I am speechless...

OK.... a correction. I haven't finished yelling at him yet. Not only do I lecture him on biosecurity, he goes to meetings on biosecurity, I post signs around the farm explicitly describing all biosecurity practices to be used, and I specifically told him to disinfect the trailer if he hauls animals that have not spent every minute of their lives on this farm. He says that he didn't know that he was supposed to do that. I told him he had better do it asap. "I cleaned it with soap", he said. I may kill him.

I need to get myself a nice hot cup of tea and calm down.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Al and I baked this afternoon, A Christmas Eve tradition we started just a few years ago. We now hove peanutbutter cookies and chocolate chip cookies and a pineapple cake, and I made cornbread to make dressing for tomorrow. We had to open the windows and back door, with the oven on and the temp we had here today.

Storms rolled through, but no tornadoes for us, yeah. We got a lot of needed rain, it had been getting a bit dry here. NOT as much rain as HEIDI got, it did not last long, but while it rained it POURED.

Now off to bed with visions of sugarplums and cookies and cakes dancing in my head. Santa needs time to come! Will see you all tomorrow, and wishing the best for all of you!

Wonderful tradition MizT.

We have just finished turkey and stuff - feeling very full!!! Grazing only for the rest of the day....

Haven't even touched the desserts yet!

Nothing beats the smell of home baking MizT.
Sleep well, and if you've been a good girl, who know who will be visiting!

MizT.... can you make a small change to that tradition next year? Do all that, but at my house?


and

Just a quick pop-in to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and/or a Happy Chanukah. Hope everyone has a great day.

Well what were we all stressing about???? Cooked way to much food have leftovers for the next month but it was not me...hehe! It is my friends that will be eating leftovers forever.
As for the topsiders....told you so!!!

Evening all.

No stress here. No visitors! Apparently my brother running into his nieces here last year was way too stressful, and he was apparently rude to one of them who told her father (my other brother). So both of them decided 'they weren't going to go through that again'. We were invited to one of their houses, but as I had already invited them, and thought that it was ridiculous that a grown man would go out of his way to avoid a couple of teenagers, I didn't go.

Well Zusy hope you had an enjoyable stress free day then.
Heidi, dopey has already done the damage and hopefully is cleaning up the mess. What will be, will be....nothing more you can do about it, so let it go. Have a great day anyway.

Bean, there is a nice plate of cyber Poffertjes on my photo page, help yourself

Well, all that planning, shopping, cooking, eating and now the girls have gone, my sister's gone, son's watching his new DVD and hubby's reading his new book. All that's left is a huge pile of dishes and an almost equally huge pile of food! Christmas was lovely, very little stress and everyone was nice to everyone else. They all liked their presents, they all liked the food, everyone smiled a lot, talked a lot, ate too much! Son variously played carols on piano, ukelele and piano accordian, told outrageous stories (don't even ask about Good King Wenceslas!) and kept everyone in hysterics (the good kind!) All in all - a great Christmas! :)

Heidi, I'm so sorry you're having such a rotten day - I really hope there is no harm done to your livestock, and that your Christmas turns out to be a happy (stress-free!) one. :)

Wow, no-one's been here for hours - still enjoying their Christmas cheer, or getting ready for the big day... I'm absolutely exhausted now, so will trot off to bed in a few minutes. For those with Christmas still to come - have a wonderful day! For those getting ready to call it a night - enjoy the Boxing Day sales tomorrow! :)

Have had a wonderful day...pretty stress free for me as well...even managed a nap after overfilling on turkey and lots of veges..YUM...Pete managed extremely well..he probably understands how come meals can end up delayed...
Pete LOVED his Get Smart shoe phone...who cares how much such a gimmick cost..they boys are enjoying the movie now.
I even managed a nap before we ate the pudding...which got the thumbs up...
Now this tired little vegemite needs to say goodnight...

I'm repeating myself...I obviously do need to go to bed...I apparently didn't nap long enough!! LOL..
Just want to say to all the topsiders.
I hope that all that have been unwell are well enough to enjoy the day.
Look forward to hearing all about your day on the flip side..

IT IS CHRISTMAS here on the topside, and waiting for Santa to get up and about this morning. I think his cookie baking tired him considerably hehehe. I loaded the last of the cookie making dishes into the dishwasher, Did I say he made the last cookies by himself? OK, they were slice and bake peanut butter, but I was tired and ready to quit and next thing I notice, he is in there slicing and placing and setting oven. OH, he iced the cake too, just cause he wanted a piece of cake.

OH, that is the problem this morning, he ate too much sweets, blood sugar went up up up and then crashed, maybe he will wake up before noon. He watches what he eats all year, he gets Christmas off, and I think he really over did on sweets last night, just like kid!

MERRY CHRISTMAS to the topsiders, and Happy Boxing Day to the DUGS

Merry Christmas topsiders!...and Happy Boxing Day to our friends down-under!
I'm like you, MzT - waiting for "Santa" to wake up...feel like a little kid - hehehe

Merry Christmas to the Topsiders.. enjoy the day.

Had a great day here, good company, good food, wonderful perfect weather here .. ate too much, received lovely gifts.

Bedtime for Moi... am a tired ittle girl !!

HEIDI, would love to come bake cookies at your house, sounds like a lot of fun! Bit late now to make it this year, I think it is about an all day trip and Christmas would be over. Maybe next year hehehe

I remember traveling on Christmas Day once, left in the afternoon, flying to Connecticut to daughter's house to spend some of the holidays with them. They saved Christmas dinner for the late evening meal, and it was yummy, even if I had had Christmas lunch with Al's family hehe.

The flight up was the most beautiful I have ever taken. One, airports were not crowded, it being Christmas afternoon. There had just been a huge snowstorm up the east coast, couple days before, and I flew over snow from Tennessee on north. All the outdoor decorations were alight, on the snow, and even in dusk and dark, it was magnificent. Over horse country in Tennessee and Kentucky, people had decorated fence lines with lights, and Christmas trees and ribbons and bows, and it was like looking at a fairyland! No one thinks of what their decorations would look like from an airplane, but the houses and porches and outside trees and lights on fences were very dramatic as we flew over them. Lovely Christmas memories.

Tricia - your tradition of baking together sounds lovely.
We were suppose to get snow last night, but it has only rained - boohoo - raining our snow away!
But we need lots of the wet stuff this year and it is snowing just above us in elevation - creating a good snow pack for some skiing that I'll be doing soon!

Good Morning Vici!

Good Night Rolanda!

So glad most everyone had pretty stress free holidays. Ours will be as we have no family to contend with! Ali and Lis are coming up on Friday and staying for the weekend...they love to veg with us!
Beanie - a shoe phone - how hysterical!!!

VICI, when are you going skiing? Never tried skis on snow, I am allergic to the COLD. But years ago, I was pretty good on WATER skis!

Merry Christmas Tricia!
Rolanda - may visions of sugar plums dance in your head while you sleep!

I downhill ski some, but mostly I like cross country skiing now...less hazardous!
A friend of mine from Colorado is visiting on Monday and Tuesday - we use to cross country together and will do that when she's here - or at least go snow shoeing.
I loved water skiing too, Tricia - so fun to do on a hot summer day!

M E R R Y
CHRISTMAS
to all my topside friends. I hope all the Dug's had a great day and are having a good friday to rest.

Everybody!
The collies love their presents.... all sorts of smoked beef parts.... plus all got new name tags for their collars (which are only worn off farm).
IH has disappeared (not permanently, I'm not that fortunate) so no presents have been opened... at nearly 11 am!!! But sitting next to the tree is a LEAF RAKE with a bow on it - for me!!!! NOT my idea of a Christmas present!!

I already have a rake identical to it, as well. How lame can he get!

I agree, Vici....... The shoe phone is fantastic! Lachie's idea of the shoe box is genius!

Merry Christmas again to all up north.We had a wonderful day with plenty to eat,hot weather and 3 grandsons who had a ball opening presents and swimming in the pool.Had a toast to you all.
Heidi...awful news that IH may have brought a desease in to your farm.Fingers crossed he hasn't.

It has me scared to death, Nola. I don't want all 100+ sheep of mine destroyed.

Speaking of the devil, he just showed up.... quarter after noon.

Heidi...I feel so sorry for you having such a time this christmas.I hope you get a lovely present besides the grass rake.
Is the desease very contageous?
Maybe you can have a nice Christmas lunch now IH is home!!

HEIDI, now just where did IH need to go on Christmas morning? Mine had just escaped to his office, for a smoke and to " check his e-mail" which can mean check mail or it can mean work jigsaw puzzles or play games hehehe. but we made a huge breakfast together ( I think he was hungry and standing about in hopes that would get breakfast on the table sooner). We had ham (low fat kind) and egg substitute and grits and whole wheat biscuits, with home made plum jam. I forgot to find/buy fig preserves, my usual holiday treat (did I say I LOVE FIGS?) While I had the oven on, I mixed up and baked the dresing also, house smells yummy. We had sliced smoked turkey left in the freezer, so that will serve.

You see, we planned on being at his brother's house for Christmas dinner, till we had car trouble. Al keeps working at it, but it is doing strange things and he does not trust it, it is a 2 hour drive. Sitting on the side of the road on Christmas is not either of our idea of an ideal way to spend the day. So at last minute, we hunted up the makings of our own Christmas Dinner! We will have turkey and gravy, dressing, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole,squash with onions, and blackeyed peas.