Sudokuaholics Anonymous 11

Hmmm, Just in time...

Two 'twentys', side by side, only 340 ft on the road each, Heidi. After spending time on the first one, I decided I needed more 'elbow room', so bought the adjoining piece. Much better. I can take my morning stretch without shaking hands with the neighbor(s)- if there were any. Walking the 'line', the hound & I cover about a mile and a half, on our daily walk.

I'll see if I can get a picture or two put up. It certainly was 'fun' punching a straight line, for the fence, a half mile, through the brush and meeting the survey pin on the far end. Especially with visibility limited to a few feet for the most part. There were a few off line excursions in the process. The end result was worth the effort, to me, at least...

We only have about one and a half acres. 20m, 66 ft, across and about 300m, 330y, long. Someone else's horse keeps the grass down in the paddock, the bush/tea trees past that take care of themselves. I'm kinda sorta hoping that a naughty preteen starts another fire back there before next fire season. That saved us once before. It was scary though. The rural fire service took so long to get here that it had gone from a few leaves to the backs of 4 properties like ours and had started to inch up the paddock. The peace of mind once it was out was great though.

Dana is over the moon happy this morning. Her doctor managed to get Tahli in for a formal assessment. This is almost a year faster than predicted. I'm hoping that she doesn't just end up on another waiting list. They only do the assessments once a month at this place. It's really just a formality at this point, but the piece of paper is necessary to get her access to all of the help available.

Hi, Everyone!

It's good to see you again, June. I'm glad the cough/flu have improved, but sorry you haven't been able to find a medication that works for the diabetes without draining you of energy. On the plus side, your careful eating has led to weight loss! (It's always good to look for the rainbow.)

DOrA, your property sounds like it could be a challenge to keep trimmed. What spray are you likely to use to keep down the weeds along the fence line?

Heidi, thanks for your thoughts on Nyqvist. I know next to nothing about horses. so your insights are helpful to watch the races somewhat intelligently.

I'll need to read the rest tomorrow, so sending prayers, healing energy, {{{{{HUGS}}}}}, positive thought, and for now.

DorA, we call those string line thingys whipper snippers. Must have been a brand name at some point.

MizT, hope your blahs improve.

June, hopefully the doc can sort out your meds. Hubby has done so well with his diet and pill that he only has to test his blood sugar a couple of times a week now. I'm hoping the doc can get you there too.

It's really windy here today so I'm washing sheets. They'll dry in about 10 minutes. If I can get them on the line, it might be a 2 person job.

Wind gusts up to 65kph, 40mph, think I'll wait and get hubby to help me get the sheets on the line.

Just peeking in to say hello!

Suzy, good news that Tahli will be scheduled for an assessment! Please keep us up-to-date! We care! Wow, those are some stiff winds. Good idea to wait for your hubby to help you get them on the line! Otherwise, we'd be reading a story about the new Mary Poppins who flew in with a sheet, rather than an umbrella.

{{{{{HUGS}}}}}, prayers, positive thoughts, , and healing energy being sent to Everyone!

Tahli will be officially assessed in June! Yay. And Alie has a job interview! Good news day.

Suzy, today has been a good news day for you. Congrats to Allie on getting job interview, and keeping fingers crossed for her. I know what you mean about that piece of paper being needed for T. My youngest grandson is autistic. You could almost stand and hold the sheets long enough for them to dry hehehe

My nephew, who just loves studying about weather, posted some video of storm chasers in Colorado and Oklahoma, both have had long lived tornadoes on the ground in the last 2 days. Some very scary stuff. It helps watching the vid to remember chasers have long lens cameras, they are NOT as close as they appear. Much closer than I would want to be to them. One of the chasers was stopped by downed power lines across the road, the tornado had crossed the road in front of them just seconds before.

Suzy is the one with a long skinny property! The house I grew up in was 75 feet across, room for a house and a driveway along side, and the remainder of the houses on that street were on property only 50 feet across. Setback line on sides was only 3 feet, so when both houses built beside same line, you could almost touch both houses at once hehehe.

Today the transplanted Hydrangea looked very droopy again. It had perked up under cool and cloudy skies, but full sun and higher temps did not help it today. I watered it good, hope it survives. Some of the pansies did not like the heat either, and the hot wind. Perked up some yesterday after a good watering.

Nothing else going on, so hugs to each of you, with extras.

Yesterday I sold 4 of the cockatiel babies. That makes room for the 4 more still in the nest box.

We've been having thunderstorms on and off all day today. So it's been a good day to sleep in, since my chronic fatigue is acting up.

Good news, Suzy.

Sorry to hear about the diabetes diagnosis, June. That's nothing to take lightly.

((((( HUGS ))))) to all.

Heidi, we were forecast rain for today, never happened. We could use some. I shall have to water plants out by the alley, hardest spot to get hose to reach, bummer.

I did a fair job of holding down my recliner this afternoon, slept a couple of hours. Hope such a late nap will not keep me awake tonight.

Did I tell you about the new ring I received as Mother's Day Gift? Wide, really wide, silver band with tiny raised elephants all around the center, on a black background. I love it and a perfect fit.

Congrats on selling the cockatiel babies. Are these the first birds you have sold?

Actually, yes they are. The people initially came to buy 2 of them, then decided to buy 2 more for their father who loves birds. I asked a lot less than the pet shops ask, so they were thrilled with the deal. And I think those birds got good homes.

Hi, Everyone!

Suzy, such great news for your family today! Good luck to Alie for her job interview! I hope the assessment for Tahli in June helps to assure she will receive the needed help and interventions!

MizT, the garden certainly keeps you busy. I hope you get some needed rain, and hope the hydrangea and pansies perk up! Your ring sounds wonderful! Someone certainly knows how much you enjoy watching the elephants!

Heidi, I'm glad the cockatiels will be going to good homes! So reassuring! Hopefully you'll feel better if you can get some good sleep for several days!

June, good luck with adjusting to the requirements of living with diabetes!

Sending lots of prayers, {{{{{HUGS}}}}}, positive thoughts, , and healing energy!

My lawn mower is still ln the repair shop, and with all the rain we've had, the lawn is out of control. In some areas it's knee high, and in other areas it's waist high!

Gil just witnessed a terrifying scene. He headed out on a back road, a couple of miles from here, to get gas, and he came upon a confrontation between 3 squad cars of State Police, all with drawn guns, screaming at someone in a car that was upside down on the road. There'd obviously been a car chase. They were yelling at the person in the car to come out with hands up. The police motioned for Gil to take cover out of the line of fire. He dove behind his truck and immediately he heard a gunshot and someone moaning! Then the police had him get back in the truck and leave the scene. This was walking distance from our farm!!!!!

Bad thunderstorm right now. It's supposed to continue for another 4 1/2 hours.

Definition of stress: watching your grand kids playing in a playland and discovering that the 2 kids in there with them have brittle bone disease...

Heidi, I think Gil exceeded my stress level today.

Hello, Everyone!

Heidi, Gil came across a very stressful and scary situation. Fortunately for him, he didn't see what actually took place. Unfortunately for him, he came across the situation. How awful that it was so close to your farm! I wonder if the full story will come out.

Suzy, hopefully all the kids had a good time and no one was hurt!

May I please ask for some prayers for a dear friend (like a sister) who is my cello teacher? About 5 or 6 years ago she had breast cancer, mastectomy, chemo, radiation. This was before I started cello lessons with her. She had been told that some of the medications she was being given to keep it at bay could cause leukemia. Late last fall, it was diagnosed. She has been dealing with chemo, etc. and still teacher her students since then. Initially the doctor said she was strong and could have as much as a couple more years. She had chemo Saturday and developed blood blisters in her mouth in a few hours. She went to the ER, where they decided to admit her. She needed platelets (was at 2 with normal at 300) and also needed a red blood transfusion (was at 4). She told me at my lesson today (at her house, instead of the school) that next week would be the last lesson & she had notified the head of the school that she would not be able to teach next year and gave me a suggestion for a teacher. The doctor doesn't think she'll make it through the summer. She's hoping to get through the first week of July, the week-long camp which she started 30 years ago (with help from hubby and me). I have known her for almost 32 years, when our D started cello lessons with her. I can't post this on Facebook, as we have a number of mutual friends who don't know yet. Hubby and I are the first persons she told after her immediate family. Please pray for her. Thanks!

Sending peace, love, {{{{{HUGS}}}}}, positive thoughts, prayers, healing energy, and !

Gil told me that within minutes of him leaving the scene, 11 more State Police cars arrived on the scene, followed closely by an ambulance. This guy must have REALLY been wanted. From the level of pursuit, he may have been a bank robber or other such criminal. I'm about to do an online search for information.

Searched everywhere I could think of. I couldn't find any information.

I'm sending your friend & cello teacher my best wishes and mojo that she either a miracle happens and she recovers or has a gentle passing, Julie. ((((( HUGS )))))

Julie, thinking of you and your friend. Big hugs and lots of love.

Boy, this site sure has been down a lot lately!!!

Prayers and loving thoughts for your friend Julie. Also for you as it will be hard for you to see your friend so ill. I know that you will have the strength to give her your love and support.

Hi, Everyone! (Yes, this post is much earlier than usual. Since I was able to get the page open, I thought I better post while I could.)

I wasn't able to get here last night! I'm so glad it's back!

Heidi, have you done any more searching for information on the scene Gil stumbled on the other day? Did he notice if the police cars were all state, or some county, or local? Sometimes that can give a hint. Although, with that many cars, it must have been a combination! Do you have any local newspapers you can check? Any friends on a police force or involved with a call center?

Thanks to everyone for the prayers and good wishes for my cello teacher/friend! Next week was actually scheduled to be the last lesson of the school year. She usually teaches at various music camps around the country during the summer, which won't be happening this summer (She makes suggestions of other teachers to study with during the summer.) She's hoping the end-of-year recital next week will be 'normal,' so isn't planning to let most students and parents know the current diagnosis until next week, probably. We haven't even told our children, as they're friends with her daughters and many other former students and musicians, so we don't want any news to slip out.

Sending lots of positive thoughts, , healing energy, {{{{{HUGS}}}}}, and prayers for everyone!

Julie, secrets like that are hard to keep. More hugs.

So, so time between my last eye exam and this one, I have developed monocular vision. I now read with my left eye and distances through my right eye. Usually caused by an accident he said. No accidents. Sigh.

I keep scanning all the local news sites. Nothing. The story will be out in the weekly paper Tuesday night, I've been told. And all 14 squad cars were State Police. No County Sherriff or local police. Which was a good thing since they're a bunch of incompetent Barney Fifes. The State Police are professionals.

Suzy, my sister's ophthalmologist talked her into a different contact for each eye. One eye is corrected for distance, and the other is corrected for closer/reading. So, essentially, she's trying to do what you have accomplished.

Heidi, our curiosity has been raised. We can't wait to find out what happened!

And now, off to bed. Good Night, Everyone!

Tomorrow we are off on a bus trip to Parkes (inland NSW) with our Probus Group. (Local retirees). We will be back Friday night.

Greetings friends, I have read and caught up, but no time to comment on each post. I did think about each of you who posted.

Heidi, hope you find what happened so close to your farm.

June, enjoy your trip tomorrow.

Julie, thoughts and prayers for your friend and teacher, and for her family and students. Many will miss her I am sure.

Today was Do Dah Day. An animal and owners parade, with lots to do at the two closest parks to us. Music has just ended at the park almost next door. All we had to do was sit outside to hear, even if we were not interested hehehe. I came inside early, one of them was to loud even a city block away from the stage. LOVELY day today, perfect weather, blue skies, gentle breeze cool temps low humidity, I hope they raised a lot of money for the animal shelter. One of our residents was instrumental in starting Do Dah Day, and was in one of the lead cars in the parade. One way they raise money is the crowning of a pet king and queen, and a human king and queen. Votes are $1 each.

Hugs, friends, time for meds again and a rest in my recliner. been a rough week, off one of my meds to see if it was the cause of terrible itching. Itching is better, not gone, pain levels have increased. I see doc Monday, hope they have a solution for me.

Hi, Everyone!

June, have fun with your Probus Group bus trip!

Hi, MizT! So glad you were able to check in today! The Do Dah Day sounds like fun! Hooray for the resident who was instrumental in starting it! I'm so glad the weather cooperated! We have frost warnings here in northern Illinois for tonight and tomorrow morning! This is crazy; it's the middle of May!

Sending warm positive thoughts, {{{{{HUGS}}}}}, healing energy, prayers, and for all!

The ''lawn'' finally dried up enough to mow it. It's nearly waist high and VERY slow going. I'm about 2/3 done now, and the mower is broken again. This time the belt came off.

Nope. The belt snapped. I have to go get a new one in the morning.

Greetings!

So sorry the belt broke and you won't be able to finish mowing until it's replaced. Hopefully the lawn will stay dry enough that you can mow when it's finished.

Headed to bed; it's been a long day. Sending prayers, , positive thoughts, {{{{{HUGS}}}}}, and healing energy for all!

OK - Wakey, Wakey

The witty Mahatma Gandhi
When Gandhi was studying law at University College, London, a Caucasian professor, whose last name was Peters, disliked him intensely and always displayed prejudice and animosity towards him.
Also, because Gandhi never lowered his head when addressing him, as he expected.... there were always 'arguments' and confrontations.

One day, Mr. Peters was having lunch at the dining room of the University, and Gandhi came along with his tray and sat next to the professor.

The professor said, 'Mr. Gandhi, you do not understand. A pig and a bird do not sit together to eat.'

Gandhi looked at him as a parent would a rude child and calmly replied, 'You do not worry professor. I'll fly away,' and he went and sat at another table.

Mr. Peters, reddened with rage, decided to take revenge on the next test paper but Gandhi responded brilliantly to all questions. Mr. Peters, unhappy and frustrated, asked him the following question.

'Mr Gandhi, if you were walking down the street and found a package and within was a bag of wisdom and another bag with a lot of money, which one would you take?'

Without hesitating, Gandhi responded, 'The one with the money, of course.'

Mr. Peters , smiling sarcastically said, 'I, in your place, would have taken wisdom, don't you think?'

Gandhi shrugged indifferently and responded, 'Each one takes what he doesn't have.'

Mr. Peters, by this time was beside himself and so great was his anger that he wrote on Gandhi's exam sheet the word 'idiot' and gave it to Gandhi.

Gandhi took the exam sheet and sat down at his desk trying very hard to remain calm while he contemplated his next move.

A few minutes later, Gandhi got up, went to the professor and said to him in a dignified but sarcastically polite tone, 'Mr. Peters, you signed the sheet, but you did not give me the grade.'

Wit always wins over anger

And Remember,

Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night!

The funeral

Time is like a river. You cannot touch the water twice, because the flow that has passed will never pass again. Enjoy every moment of life. As a
bagpiper, I play many gigs. Recently I was asked by a funeral director to play at a graveside service for a homeless man. He had no family or friends, so the service was to be at a pauper's cemetery in the Nova Scotia back country.

As I was not familiar with the backwoods, I got lost and, being a typical man, I didn't stop for directions. I finally arrived an hour late and saw the funeral guy had evidently gone and the hearse was nowhere in sight. There were only
the diggers and burial crew left and they were eating lunch. I felt badly and apologized to the men for being late.

I went to the side of the grave and looked down and the vault lid was already in place. I didn't know what else to do, so I started to play. The workers put down their lunches and began to gather around. I played out my heart and soul for this man with no family and friends. I played like I've never played before for this homeless man. And as I played 'Amazing Grace', the workers began to weep. They wept, I wept, we all wept together. When I finished, I packed up my bagpipes and started for my car. Though my head was hung low, my heart was full. As I opened
the door to my car, I heard one of the workers say, 'I never seen nothing like that before and I've been putting in septic tanks for twenty years.'

Apparently I'm still lost.... it's a guy thing.

I got a new belt this morning ($80!!!) and my neighbor installed it. The lawn is FINALLY mown!