Sudokuaholics Anonymous 11

If the only prayer you said in your whole life was 'thank you', that would suffice.....Meister Eckhart.

Julie, you left that hanging, so I had to find something for the new page.
I took the clothes back and got a refund. It has been a clod miserable day. I did some washing but only put half on the line. The other on racks in the sun room. Not much else today.
MizT, unfortunately we now see more of our friends leave us. Sorry it was outside her unit, but better there than inside where she may not have been found for some time.

I will be umpiring at bowls tomorrow. Just hope that it is not too cold. I think it will be some time before I can play again.

Hi all.
Tricia, sorry to hear about the neighbors passing. I agree with Heidi that it least she went quickly. That is how I would prefer to go.

Mamacita, hope your pain gets better also. Going through a lot of that with my dad. He smoked for 65 years. He fell a few months ago and fractured a rib. My mom is a saint for putting up with him

Had a good first day. Teachers are very friendly at the new school. Boys are coming with me the next few days to help. It helps to have 'slave labor' to bring with me. There is no teacher assigned next door, yet. It is still TBA.

RIP Robin Williams. It came across the news a few minutes ago that Robin Williams has been found dead at home at the age of 63. It is said that he was suffering severe depression.

Hi, Everyone!

Great TOPP, June! Thank you! I hope you'll be able to return to bowls sooner than you anticipate!

MizT, I was sorry to hear of your neighbor's passing. It's a blessing to go quickly.

Wow, Tami, the first day of school (just for teachers - or students, too?) So glad the boys can be of help. Also glad that for now, there is no one assigned to the adjacent 'triangle' classroom.

I'm in shock at the death of Robin Williams! I'm also surprised at the number of people (friends and acquaintances included) admitting to depression since it was pointed out that he had severe depression. It seems to point out that depression and mental illness of all kinds has been swept under the carpet for too long. It's time that we as a society face the facts and find ways to offer help to those who can benefit. RIP, Robin Williams! You brought so much happiness to so many! Your amazing talent will be missed.

Good Tuesday Morning... It's almost 3 A.M and I'm still awake, but hopefully not for long. My legs are not too bad right now. I spoke with my doctor and she was happy to call in my meds and wanted me to make an appointment with a different Dermatologist since I didn't care much for the other one. She's even going to fax her a copy of my biopsy report so that I need not go back to the other dermatologist...love having helpful, understanding doctors.
June...love the Topp...It's one far too many fail to say and it's really so easy.
Robin Williams' death has really saddened me. Such talent. It does seem though many, Stand Up Comics especially, often use their comedic talent to cover their darker lives...not always depression,but inner scars from growing up in a difficult way...unloved, bullied, obese,gay, etc. Life is so hard for so many...My students come to mind when things like this happen...I saw far too many kids being scared for life when I was teaching.My heart goes out to Mr. Williams'family, two young kids and his wife...this type of suspected suicide leaves a difficult adjustment for them...but hopefully he will be remembered more for the joy he gave others....he certainly brought much joy and laughter to many...May he R.I.P and Rise in Glory, and keep all in laughter on the other side.

It's interesting that some of the most brilliant comedians suffered from clinical depression, like Robin Williams and Danny Kaye. Comedy may have been their way of fighting it. It's not a fun condition. I have it, myself.

I leave for the epidural in 3 hours!

Rest in Peace, Robin. You deserve peace.

Good luck for as lasting shot this time Heidi...Get as much rest as possible to help it last. I am on my way to the dentist in 3 hours...finish the deep cleaning part and on to the next evaluation of replacing lost teeth...Ohhh...my poor pocketbook will be even poorer when this is over...but it needs to be done so that I can once enjoy eating w/o problems. More later...Peace all. BTW...I'm dealing with 3hrs sleep and may not get to sleep for some time yet..sigh...meds of course...Lol.

Heidi, hope for a a bad shot. If I remember correctly the bad shots lasted longer.

Mama, glad you have an understanding doctor. Some of them have no bedside manner and just make things worse.

Someone moved into the other classroom. It is her first full year teaching so I am sure she will be knocking on my door a lot. The wall should be closed in a day or two but there is usually a door in there somewhere.

MAJOR VENT. read at your own risk

Yesterday I got my injection of the one anti-inflammatory drug I have risked taking. OH, what pain relief, but D#2 had to come take me, I must give 24 hour notice to get transport in my power chair. I think I mentioned she had appointment for cable install, and could not come till afternoon. I made arrangements to get injection then. Of course the cable guy did not come at 10:30 as promised, he phoned her 3 hours later, while she was here, to get her to open the gate to the complex. Somehow it is now MY fault she is still without cable, but it was her decision to come take me. 'Mom is more important than cable,' good to know, but now try to lay a guilt trip on me cause you do not have cable and internet and must reschedule? I think I will find another way to get to doc for an unscheduled appointment in the future. The pain relief was wonderful, having to deal with her was not.


she drove up to pick me up and sat in auto as I tried unsuccessfully to 1. get my walker out that non automatic heavy door 2. get my walker with the seat into back seat of her car. (next best thing to have if I do not have my power chair). I really needed her to take care of that, and told her so. such a load of crap from her, 'How does this work, I do not know how to fold it up, this is too heavy, I did not know you would have to take that, where can I put that basket, it is not going to fit, can you put it into the truck?' NO I cannot, I need you to take care of this. She could not fit it into her trunk, I had to leave it PLUS my power chair in the lobby, and she left it to me to get that walker back through that heavy door. I took my cane. She could not remember I have to have the seat belt buckled for me, because of the lack of strength in my left hand, arm, after that thumb joint replacement about 5 years ago. Makes another big deal about having to do that. It is hard enough for me to ask anyone to help, and to get that 'look' when I ask. . . well it is easier to just do it myself, and I do think she plays this. But this I cannot do, if I am in the passenger seat, driver must buckle my seat belt for me, right HEIDI? Al did it, my sister does it, Joy does it, Heidi did it, a couple of friends who were my escort to procedures did this. After me asking one time, it became automatic. D#2 cannot do this simple thing. She was more concerned that she left her 'to go' cup of iced coffee at home, (BTW, the go cup is one of MINE she went home with last week) 'where is the closest McDonalds, I really needed another cup of coffee.' Then she was making negative remarks about the traffic at the drop off, it seems negativity just rolls off her. Yes, there is traffic, there are people doing stupid things, there were last time she took me to doc, there will be next time she takes me, deal with it, please.

When she came back to pick me up (only 3 minuets from apartment where she parked and drank her coffee) she had the remains

You do not know how lucky you are hehehe I forgot to copy the entire post to clip board before posting, and it was very long. I lost all comments about today. I did have this closing comment on clipboard, so here it is.


This is only a partial list of my 2 days with her today, but I am tired of it, I know you must be too. I do think I know why her uncle packed her up and sent her to Birmingham. So her father can die in PEACE. There is none when she is around!

Oh Trica...so sad that your day was made so difficult with a less than helpful child...Where in the world did she pick up all of this negativity??? I do hope that she will find a way to overcome this attitude that will make her life so much harder. Well the school of hard knocks will either change her for the better or she will become even more mired in self pity because life will not be good...but hey...at least you know her and can still hold your head above the bad stuff as long as you come here and vent...at least you are now rid of two pains...that's a real good thing...LOL. May peace reenter your space for a long while.
My dental treatment went well and I've managed to get a couple of loads of laundry done...life is good since the meds are hiding the pain and hopefully easing the nodules away for now. Appointments to visit both my family doctor and the dermatologist back to back in about 3 weeks..hope there's no re-occurrence before then. Trica, your observation of the pain was spot on...walking was so difficult b/c my feet and ankles were badly swollen and inflamed and didn't take well to the weight of my body...so once the meds kicked in to relieve the inflammation and pain, walking was not a problem that way. Tami...you were right too, it is great to have understanding doctors, and for the most part I've had some great ones. I know having a first year teacher next to you will be difficult, but oh what a blessing you'll be when you are able to roll open the folding separator and quiet a bunch of kids taking noisy advantage of the new teacher ...boy do I remember those days...not too fondly either. I'm sure she will be indebted to you...I know I was. You just have to show her some ways to establish order on her own so that she doesn't wear you out though. Good luck. Peace out all...going to try and get in bed at a decent hour tonight and catch some z's...hope it happens. Be good to others and better to yourselves.

Good LORD, Tricia! It would have been simpler to deive yourself and go without the seat belt! But if you're having a shot, you're not allowed to drive yourself, I know.

Next time you need transportation to an appointment, and I'm not having an epidural myself, call me and I'LL drive down there to take you. Your walker is easily light enough for me to lift, and not difficult to maneuver into places. And it'll be a good excuse to have another visit with you. I MEAN it. Your sanity might not survive another day like that!

The epidural wasn't the worst I've been through, but the doctor decided to increase the amount of numbing stuff, so I'll wait and see how good it was. I plan on taking it easy for awhile, even though I plan on going to the State Fair on Thursday (first day) and buy myself some more birds. I want to get some diamond doves and maybe some poultry. You can buy some during the first 4 days of the fair in the livestock pavilion. My critters are my way of dealing with my clinical depression. I get a LOT of joy out of them, and the responsibility keeps me rooted to the planet.

I may be getting another geriatric collie... a 10 year old male. He has not been abused, and I don't know why his owners turned him in to rescue. I'll know more in a few days.

Mama, thank you for your wisdom, and your words to me. I will re-read them often. I think her negativity comes from the terribly dysfunctional family she has lived with in California for the last 10 years, the extended family I divorced when I divorced her father. I really need a few days without her to recover, she has sucked away all my energy. Perhaps I should go to bed and at least rest, but that will be difficult.

One of the things in the part of the post I lost, she brought me a gift, HER brand of coffee, it would be better for me, it is instant, I would not have to brew a pot of coffee, it is the best coffee I have tasted, and I am sl glad they have it here in Birmingham. That is what I drank in California. Aren't you going to have any? On and on and on, so I told her to just fix me a cup. In a bit, I began to sweat, my heart was racing, thoughts coming to fast, could not stop talking. What the heck was going on??? then the light bulb came on, and I asked, Is that de caf coffee?? Well, no! Recently I have changed, she said, and the caffeine makes me relax.

I have NO CAFFEINE in my diet, have not for years, I am very sensitive to it, and she has heard me say that many times. When the caffeine high wore off, I crashed, just like someone on drugs, and I shook and I sobbed. Her reaction? Well, since you cannot drink this, I will just take it home with me!

HEIDI, thank you for your kind offer, I have decided I will NOT ask her again. I have friends here who would take me, be my escort if I just asked them. I thought this was something she could do for me. I was wrong.

Laura's birthday today. She is now nine. She will go to her other grandmother's for dinner tonight so we will not see her. Laura got her presents from us last Sunday.
Tricia, I was imagining how your daughter would retell about taking you to the medical appointment. It is not easy dealing with someone with no empathy when you expect their support.

Even IH isn't THAT insensitive!!! Well, he is, but not that consistently. And he would have shown a little concern if I had a reaction like that. Maybe you need to lock your door for a few days and pretend you aren't home, to recover a little before seeing Tanya again. Have you tried having an honest and open heart-to-heart talk with her about her extremely self centered attitude to you? Or does she over-react and make a scene? You may want to set some firm ground rules with her. Let her know if she visits you, she has to make an effort to be considerate of you, or she has to leave. You're gonna crack up if you don't. You know; your home, your rules.

Well, back to bed in a few.

Tricia please read this as it is meant by me. Just something to laugh about. My imagining your daughter or a young impatient person would report on the day.' I had to take Mum to a medical appointment and it made me miss getting my cable installed. Now I have to wait for them to came back' 'Mum has all these contraptions to help her get about. How does she think they will fit in my car' 'Mum is so hopeless she cannot even do up her own seat belt' (I could hear my Belinda saying that) ' I went to all the trouble of buying her a special brand of coffee I know she likes, but how was I to remember it has to be decaf. Anyway I like that brand and I got to keep it myself'

Anyway Trish, I am pleased the treatment has eased the pain. A day to put behind you.
Heidi, please rest till you go to the fair and then take it as easy as possible. I do hope the extra medication has a good result.
I have been to a meeting this morning. I have offered to do some sewing for Laura's teacher so must go and make some patterns.
Tomorrow we are going to Newcastle (about 2 hours North) for Ken to Umpire a knockout baseball game for the boys at Belinda's school. The teams each have about a 3 hour drive to play this game. They are meeting half way between the two schools. Belinda is the schools baseball and softball coach.

Just dropping in to say Hello. Had a long day today, and will have even longer days through the weekend. One good thing about tomorrow (well, now it's today) is that I will get to meet Jane Clifton del Pino and Plum for lunch in Chicago. So now, I need to get to bed.

Sending lots of understanding, positive thoughts, healing vibes, prayers, {{{{{HUGS & JUGS}}}}}, and through the internet for all of you!

June, you pegged it, except you left out the 'California girl talk,' with the Likes and You knows, and the hair toss hehehe. I got a big laugh, best part of my day today, maybe even the week

heidi, sent you an email, in reply to your suggestions. some things I just cannot say on this public forum.

Julie, hope you enjoy meeting the sudoku friends! We expect photos, please.

sleepy time tea is making eyes droopy, about time! It is 3:30 am, and I have not been to sleep.

Hugs again and lots more if needed.

Good afternoon all.

Heidi, take it easy, please, and do have fun at the State Fair.

MizT, I can't believe how your daughter is acting. It is very hurtful for you when family doesn't help the way they should. Hopefully you can keep some distance between you for a while. {{HUGS}}

Julie, hope your day is enjoyable, meeting the girls!

June, Laura is just slightly younger than my youngest grandie. She turned 9 in January.

It hasn't been a great day so far. Firstly, we are under a rainfall warning here. It's supposed to rain until at least Saturday.

I got a text from a neighbor around 6:30 this morning that a black cat had been hit by a car outside our house. There is a black cat living in our yard somewhere and she has had a baby or babies within the last week. When I went out to check, a raccoon had gotten into the garbage. The garbage was at the road because today is garbage day (yay) and the contents were strewn on the road.

I fed the feral cats and mommy came to eat, so small blessings, it wasn't her that was hit. The cat that was hit was Shadow, the same cat I used to bring back to her owners the year before last because she was old and couldn't see very well. WHAT THE HECK WAS SHE DOING OUTSIDE???? Yes, I was shouting. I went to the owner's house and let them know. I asked them if the little black mommy was also theirs .... no (of course not) ... and I asked them if all their cats were accounted for. Yes, they're all here. (What about the mother cat I have in the house that had the kittens, she was theirs? I guess they've forgotten about her already). I never mentioned anything further. He came along shortly after and picked up the poor dead kitty.

Our neighbor had kindly taken the dead kitty from the road and put it on our grass.

Early next week three of the kittens should be in their new homes. They turned 7 weeks yesterday. They are all such little dickens. They are still living in our bathroom, and let me tell you, going to the bathroom can be a real challenge. What sweeties.

I am still waiting for the animal welfare group to let me know about the other kittens. They are a no-kill group, so at least the kittens will have a chance. I don't know if I mentioned, but there is a three month waiting list and the cost is $200.

Mama cat (AKA SuzyQ) is doing a lot better. She's not losing her balance any more, but she still has the head tilt The vet said that might never go away. I have started letting her out of the bedroom for short stints to get acclimated to the house and other cats. Not working out too well yet. The others are all curious, but she is very defensive. Hopefully time will take care of that. She has another four days on her medication.

I hope you're having fun with Jane and Plum, Julie. I haven't met Plum yet, but Jane is a real sweetheart, and lots of fun.

Poor Shadow. I know that you cared about her more than her owners did.

Did I miss something, Theresa? I frequently do. What was wrong with Mama cat? Did she have a stroke? A head tilt and balance problems are usually an indication of that with animals.

Heidi, SuzyQ had a severe inner and outer ear infection. the kittens were not quite four weeks old. We took SuzyQ to the animal hospital, complete with kittens, and they kept her overnight. They weaned the kittens while there because they could not drink from mommy with the three heavy meds she was on (she is still on one for another four and a half days). It came to over $700, so we are not giving her up now, she's ours! The vet figures she's about two years old and she's already had several litters. That stops as soon as I can save a bit more money. She is such an affectionate kitty, at least with humans.

Hi all. Just a quick hello. I have a really busy week. Hopefully I will be able to catch up over the weekend.

Greetings, Everyone!

We were able to meet Jane, her friend Brenda, and Plum for lunch in Chicago. We talked up a storm! What wonderful people our Sudoku group has drawn together! They all planned to take a boat tour - either architectural tour along the Chicago River or one leaving from Navy Pier that goes into the lake and the river. We had to get back home to take our cat to the vet.

The next few days are going to be extremely busy, so can't promise that I'll be able to drop by. If I can, I will. Therefore, I'm sending a much larger supply of prayers, positive thoughts, {{{{{{{HUGS}}}}}}}, healing vibes, and for all of you!

I'm SO glad that you were able to meet Jane and Plum, Julie. Isn't it amazing what a great group of axe murderers can be found on this internet site?

I'm off in an hour to the State Fair. I hope that this isn't the first year (in the last 20+ that I've gone) that there aren't any Diamond Doves for sale. I've got my heart set on getting some, but with shipping, they're prohibitively expensive on the internet. Getting them at the Fair saves a $120 shippinbg fee, besides having a lower individual bird cost. Plus, I can get them in my possession as soon as I buy them, instead of having to wait for the weather to cooperate so they can be safely shipped.

shippinbg????? Where did THAT come from?

Good Thursday from here to you where ever you may be. Hope only the brightest of sunshine is out for you.
Heidi, wishing for you to find those beautiful birdies available today and you get to enjoy them for a long,long time.Julie, so glad you were able to find time to have lunch with Jane, Plum and Brenda. I know you had a great time laughing and enjoying the meet up. Jane is a great lady and I enjoyed being in her company.I agree that all of those that I've had the pleasure of meeting have certainly added a richness to my life and I have the Sudoku site to thank for that. Looking forward to meeting more of you in the near future.Theresa, I was sorry to learn about the poor cat's death...it must hurt to live and see the neglect of these people with the animals in their care...One wonders why they bother when they don't really seem to do it right.You had mentioned the high cost of the animal welfare for the kittens, but not the long waiting period...I do hope you won't have to spend that kind of money to give them a chance in life, but I'm so glad to know there are folks like you who are willing to go out of your way to help.
June, sdorry you don't get to enjoy playing bowls right now, but at least you get to socialize and be part of the fun. I do hope that the numbness fades away and the shoulder and neck problems decrease so that come next season you will be able to be in the thick of things once more.Tricia, Hoping you have had an opportunity to regroup and are able to move about with less trouble for now after a restful refreshing sleep or two. Your mind must be relieved to know that you no longer will allow you to put yourself at risk, nor to feel that you are the cause for any misunderstandings between your daughter and you. Its good to be independent, and yet know that there are folks, like Heidi, who are willing to help in emergencies and will not be upset by your needs. This type attitude usually is found in strong folks like you who return the favor by doing for others...and we here have certainly seen that from you. Peace out girl...life is good in spite of or maybe because we get to laugh at things like this once we are away from the situation. June sure was able to give us a second view from her experiences too...its all good. Okay..I'm going to run and see what else I want to deal with for now...looking forward to learning what others are up to on my return. Be good to yourselves.

We had a nice day out yesterday. Ken umpired Belinda's baseball game and her school won.
Ken and I had lunch on a pier over the water before driving back home.

This IS the first year I've been to the Fair and there were no Diamond Doves for sale. Very disappointing. But I was given the phone number of someone who raises them, and might have some for sale. So it wasn't a completely wasted trip.

In case anybody wonders, a Diamond Dove is a tiny little dove, about the size of a canary (smaller than a Budgie). They're grey colored, with white spots on the wings, like diamonds, and orange circles around the red eyes.