Sudokuaholics Anonymous 11

Today I bent the truth to be kind, and I have no regret, for I am far surer of what is kind than I am of what is true. ~Robert Brault~

Little white lies are allowed,the trouble is remembering them!!

Hope you are feeling better MizT - sorry you are having such a horrible time with your knee.
Love your story Suzy - the good old Aussie BBQ - you can't beat it.
I just love the possums - we have a part of our roof which is flat (upstairs) with a door leading onto it - perfect for feeding them at night. They come across our roof and into a very large gumtree (in front of a full size window and glass ceiling) and sit there and look into the lounge, this is every night and back again about 4.30am. We have both types only we have lost a few of the ringtails to the german shepherd next door. Our lovely old simple Truman doesn't care about other animals - he is just friends with everyone.
Off to the beach for the night - weather is going to be mid 20's tomorrow and probably the last time D and I will be able to go. Van has to be brought back by end of April but I think maybe a bit earlier - we were broken into and new lounge, drone, battery charger and a few other things stolen. No doubt they will be sold at a garage sale shortly.Hubby and no. 3 son off to China next week for work so I can't have any more time off. Cheers to all.

Hi, Everyone!

Suzy, 'Dodgems' is a good term for the animals who seem to be drawn to the road or like crossing the road! Apparently, in some countries, overpasses are built and planted in the hopes that animals will be drawn to them, rather than randomly crossing where they can be hit. Because we live near a forest preserve, we occasionally see deer, fox, coyotes, and raccoons in and around yards and streets. I just read an email that a deer was hit a week or so ago, and police determined when they arrived that it couldn't be saved, so it was shot and killed. I'm glad I didn't hear the shots and wasn't around when it happened.

What a fantastic TOPP, DOrA. Sometimes 'bending the truth' is much kinder and preferable to truth. Midge, you're right about remembering them. Hopefully those little white lies are rather minor and unlikely to come up again or need to be remembered or defended.

Midge, it sound like fun, being able to feed and watch the possums. Some people here don't like possums, but they're basically clean and not a nuisance. They don't carry ticks, while so many other animals do. I'm glad your Truman enjoys other animals!

Midge, I'm glad you and D will get to have another night at the beach! Amazingly, your cooling temperatures are very similar to our temperatures, which SHOULD BE getting warmer this time of year. Alas, there's possibility for snow again tonight, but probably not more than a couple of inches (about 5 cm).

Comparison of possum and opossum follows: (Feel free to skip.)

The opossum (pronounced ə-pos-em) is a North American marsupial with a white face and grayish-white body.

The opossum (scientific name: Didelphidae) was given its name by the English colonist John Smith of the Jamestown colony. For this reason, the opossum is still commonly referred to as the Virginia North American Opossum. Its first recorded use was in 1610 as “Apossouns.” The Virginia opossum generally has a white face with a grayish-white body, with black ears and feet. Their fur is coarse. The opossum has sharp teeth like a cat, but the primary distinguishing feature of an opossum is its bare, rat-like tail.

The possum (pronounced pos-em) is an Australian marsupial with four primary color variations: silver-gray, brown, black, and gold. The possum (scientific name: Phalangeridae) was given its name because of its resemblance to the opossum of the Americas. Sir Joseph Banks, who accompanied the great English explorer Captain James Cook, likened the furry creature he saw in Australia to “an animal of the Opossum tribe.”

It’s true that both the opossum and possum are marsupials, but the similarities stop there for the most part.

The Australian possum, also called the common brushtail possum, looks a lot more like a large Chinchilla than an opossum to me.

First, its coloration is much different. They range from a chinchilla gray to a fox silver-gray and gold, and even black.

The ears of a possum are larger than that of the Virginia opossum, and their fur is softer and much more bushy. The key differentiator, however, is the Australian possum has a bushy tail covered in fur (hence the name).

Both animals are marsupials, and their snouts, feet, and eyes are similar. They both have similar diets, essentially being opportunistic omnivores. Opossums and possums both eat, to varying degrees, meat and other animal matter such as insects, birds’ eggs, and small vertebrates, leaves, flowers, shoots, fruits, and seeds.

Hi, MizT. I hope your knee is less painful, and hope you'll soon be able to see an orthopedic specialist!

I want to borrow a dash cam so I can show you the drive I take to get Alie to work. From semi rural, where I live, to town, to wineries and farms, then to the windy, bumpy road down. I go to riversdale most, but the trip down to Bundanon is best. Beauty wise I mean. 9km of mostly dirt roads twisting and turning feels like 20 km when you’re driving it. Riversdale has only 3 and parts of it are paved. The first part is the same, just left to riversdale or right to Bundanon.

Alie told me she went to Bundanon with her school at least 3 times. They got to see Arthur Boyd’s work etc. I still haven’t got to do that! One Sunday I’ll have to go down there and check it out.

I outdid myself. I slept for ~36 hours this time. I'm finally feeling somewhat awake.

Are you really really hungry? I would be. Weird that that’s where my brain went.

Hi, Everyone!

Suzy, the drive sounds interesting and with lots to look at. If you're not in a hurry or very tired or bad weather, it could well be an enjoyable ride.

WOW, Heidi! 36 hours! That must be a record for you. I wouldn't ever last that long - would need to be up for potty breaks! Suzy, I thought of hungry, too, but for me, it's the night-time trips to the little girls' room that come to mind first. I hope you're not just feeling more awake, but also better!

The alarm is set for an early rise, so I'm off to bed. Good Night, Everyone! Sending healing energy, positive thoughts, prayers, {{{{{HUGS}}}}}, and

There were potty breaks and drink breaks in a semi-asleep mode.

We’re always in a hurry on the way to work. Alie refuses to leave, and by that I mean she plans getting ready, until the very last minute. One car driving under the limit, or road work slow down and we’re running late. The last part of the trip I’m usually treating the speed limit as optional to get her there on time. As there is not a lot of traffic on that bit, there is never a speed trap or other police to worry about. Even before we get to the dirt bit the road is winding, with 45kph (28mph) signs on many of the turns. The limit is 60 (37mph). I’m usually doing 80 and 60 on the bends. Picking her up is better. I leave with plenty of time and it doesn’t matter if I’m a little late picking her up. I get to drive sensibly and enjoy the view.

Suzy - I too have trouble with people being late - I absolutely hate it. I have all the clocks and car clocks 10 minutes ahead - nobody is sure which is right.
Heidi - that is an incredible amount of time to sleep. How do you cope with the animals?
Thanks Julie - I learnt about my little friends from your post. We also have the beautiful little ringtail possums - looking forward to seeing them with their babies on their backs. The brushtail ones have sat outside our window and hissed at us for being in their space- just makes me laugh. They also love eating roses and chillies.
We have a country race (Wangaratta) on 13th and city race (Caulfield) on the 14th - all happening at once. Will probably watch them on tv this time - going to the beach for the night has exhausted me - no energy and my legs are awful.
How is the new kitchen going CynB? Any more news of how Col is adapting?
MizT -hoping your knee is not giving you too much grief and something can be done for the pain.
Must get back to the computer for work - cheers to all.

The animals always have free choice food and water in front of them, so they make their own mealtimes while I sleep.

That's a good idea - wish I could do that with my Truman - unfortunately cannot - he is a gutsy brown labrador with restricted mental capacity!! Hope the drs can find something to help this excessive sleeping - it must drive you nuts!

Midge, that wouldn’t work here, Times are taken off phones.

I always had a bucket full of dried food out for our big dogs. We fed them at night, but the dried food was always there. Gizmo has dried food always in his dish. A scoop lasts about a week. He gets fed immediately after the chickens. I have an alarm set so I don’t forget to feed them before it gets dark. When it goes off he jumps up and down and gets all excited. I’ve trained him to follow me up the yard because if he gets ahead of me he chases the chooks. If he catches them he throws them in the air. It’s disturbing.

checking in without commenting on the posts I have read. Knee is better now, after keeping it elevated and still most of the time for 3 or 4 days. Of course it is better, now that I have a doc appointment!

Weather is so strange, winter temps over night, early spring temps most days, a few winter days mixed in, just to keep things interesting. My flowers are still blooming. Did not get cold enough here to affect even the tender Impatiens, I am happy to say.

Time for second cup of coffee and get dressed for the day. cleaning lady domes today, and I have appointment to have toes done. Then I must water outside plants. that is my day today.

I did something yesterday I rarely do, I said NO to a resident asking if I could change a dressing, she just had a skin cancer removed. Yesterday, I just needed to take care of me, but I still felt bad doing it.

Hugs to each of you, with extras.

I'm glad you sid NO, MizT. You need to put your health needs first. Also, you are a trained professional, and you are being taken advantage of by doing it for free.

MizT, I’ve seen it compared to putting on your own face mask first in an aeroplane. Look after yourself so you remain able to look after others. Another day you might be able to say yes, if you look after yourself first. You shouldn’t feel bad.

Suzy - my Truman found the big container of dried dog food had the lid awry. He sleeps in the laundry at night where the dried food is)and in the morning, he had gorged himself so much that he had vomited 7 times. He just kept going back for more - so we cannot leave anything that halfway resembles food around him. He will even eat the birdseed if he can get near it. How is Gizmo's leg going?

Midge, oh wow. That’s extreme! I don’t know why my big dogs were more sensible. Gizmo is doing great. He runs around on three legs, but will put the broken one down. He even uses it to jump when he is excited. He’s on his third cast now, hopefully his last since they are so expensive. We take him back for another check tomorrow.

I saw this on Twitter and thought of your dog midge. I hate to give traffic to the daily mail but I couldn’t find it on YouTube under the dodo.

https://youtu.be/lTaKQCI0yqg

Love it Suzy - Truman used to spin like that too - because he is a bit simple he was in the pound for many months and spinning was supposed to be from being locked up for so long. He can't do it very well now because of arthritis. They said he was 4 when we got him but that would make him 14 so I think they were wrong. I think he is about 12. He is also blind in one eye and deaf, as well as being mentally challenged - he is delightful.

Sometimes mentally challenged in a dog is more fun. The deaf bit is hard because you can’t call them.

I saw a lyrebird while driving Alie to work today!

Anecdote: I worked for a while with a math teacher who is brilliant. She is now head teacher math at a different high school. Her husband is British. She was originally from Singapore. She wears a hijab. Today she was the only person boarding a plane who was scanned for bombs.

No sign of Julie for a few days. I hope she’s just busy. The odds are good.

It looks like Spring is finally here to stay. It's been in the 70's for the past couple of days. Good sleeping weather.

It seems I haven't been here for days. Well, I have, but I haven't posted. It's Sunday morning and I got up early at 6am to watch the 6.10am start to the Commonwealth Games Marathon only to find that it's not being shown on the regular network channel that I can access through Foxtel. It will be on one of the network's more obscure channels which are a nuisance to go to. I'll just have to hope the news shows it.

Midge, the new kitchen is being installed in the first week of May. So excited.
And Colin went to the Opthalmologist on Wednesday. He pleaded to be able to go back to work because he's so bored. He can but not driving, just clerical work for a few hours per day on a few days per week basis at his own discretion. When he feels ready he can also start driving his car, starting with just around the block, then around the local area and only further afield when he feels ready.
In 6 weeks time he goes back and they remove the stitches in his eye, and when that has settled they will start the process of searching for a corneal donor and do the transplant. Then they have to insert a new lens but they have to decide where to attach it as his eye was so damaged. He should regain some sight and some depth perception. This could take a year or two. Long process with no guarantees. But it's good news and moving forward is good!

our spring has turned nasty once again. Alabama is still under a tornado watch, flash flood watch, and areas of heavy rain. Not a lot of thunder and lightning at my place, but this storm is only about 1200 miles long, from the Canadian border north to the gulf south, and this line of storms is moving from west to east. LOTS of stuff falling, lucky it is only rain here. . North USA having white out blizzards, and people still driving even though they have been asked to stay of the roads.

Knee is less painful, and has changed where it hurts. I was able to do a bit of weeding today, but the high wind sent me inside after an hour and half. Even with a cap, my hair was being whipped across my face, and under my glasses. I do not care for hair in my eyes.

Cyn, great news from Collin's eye appointment. I know he will be happier getting back to work for a few hours a day. Will you have to drive him to and from work? Is it a long drive? I hope installation of your new kitchen goes smoothly.

Our bus is back from dealership, they had a full week to make needed repairs, so that meant no doctors appointments, no trips to grocery. Yesterday it was announced it will have to go back again in the near future for another week, bummer. But it will be running Monday to take me to orthopedic doc.

I have read about 7 books in a bit over a week. Keeps me in recliner with my leg up, think that may be why it is less painful.

Heidi, perhaps you were a bit premature in declaring spring was in Kentucky to tay. Forecast says Sunday night low will be hovering just above freezing. Rather cool forecast for us, too, but maybe about 5 degrees warmer.

Midge, enjoy your trip to the beach.

Suzy, is the lyrebird the one who decorates it's nest with anything it considers attractive, trying to impress the female? The one I saw on a nature show seemed fond of anything blue, from plastic spoons, plastic bottle tops to scraps of blue paper.

Sitting is again uncomfortable, so I am out of here, back to recliner and my book. Hugs to each of you, with extras.

Cyn, good news! Though I’m sure Col is frustrated with the long time frame. Are you having to be very patient with him?

MizT, you did well lasting an hour and a half in the wind! It’s windy here today and I was desperate to get out of in ten minutes.

It’s the bower bird that collects blue things. Male lyrebirds have a fancy tail and present for females.

They are also brilliant mimics.

There is a major fire on the southern outskirts of Sydney. It was at emergency watch level most of yesterday with residents told to shelter in place because it was too late to leave. Scary stuff! Our awesome fire services threw everything at it and not a single house was lost. They also protected the munitions storage at the army base. It was downgraded to watch and act for a while, then the wind came up. Back to emergency watch. The residents must be terrified!

I am SO glad that Col has hope to regain some vision in that eye, Cyn. It was such a nasty accident.

We had a few days without rain or clouds, and warm weather. The mud was starting to dry up. Now we're back to rain again. Poor cows. I saw one walking through mud belly deep. It looked like the rest of the pasture, but she just sank down into it and had to struggle out.

Morning all!
Commonwealth Games are over for another 4 years. It was wonderful except for awful opening and closing ceremonies. The Games showcased the wonderful athletes from all countries along with the beauty of the Gold Coast. It was so hot and humid yesterday it was hard to watch the ending of the marathons when athletes, particularly a Scottish man who had been leading the field, collapse and not be able to finish their dream.

MizT - no, I won't be driving Col to work. They are organising for his boss to collect him in the morning (8am or so) and for my son who is his supervisor and works an early shift to drop him home when he finishes at 2pm. Col has to be competent with driving his car to take it to work as he has to drive on the M1, the main highway south of Brisbane.
Suzy, we are having to be patient with one another. We are both OCD but in different areas. He is and has been in reasonably good humour throughout. He's had the attitude of 'well, I can't change this so I'll just accept it and deal with it!' Proud of him for that.

I have never seen a lyrebird!

Cyn, back when I was a youngun we were driven up to cambewarra lookout a few times. There’s a cafe there, but we took our own picnic. There was usually a lyrebird or two around.

Getting used to both of you being home would be difficult without the health problems. I hope Col’s boss doesn’t try to work him too hard.

The wind is up again. I hope it hasn’t reached Sydney yet so the firefighters have a chance to knock the fire down a little more.

Just a quick Hello to Everyone! I hope to be able to come back & read tomorrow! {{{{{HUGS}}}}}, , healing energy, prayers, and positive thoughts!