Sudokuaholics Anonymous 11

The mind is like a parachute. It doesn't work if it isn't open.

Frank Zappa

Love the TOPP Heidi.

As for my schedule at school. I am at a 6-12 school so we run as a high school. This year we are on block scheduling. 90 blocks alternating. A day is 1-4 and B day is 5-8. The kids have 7 classes and a study hall. We are only required to teach 6 class periods. Since I have a study hall, they pay me for 7, which is good money. I do homework help in study hall and recently started vocabulary with them to get them ready for SAT and ACT testing in a few years.

Greetings friends. I have only read the last page, just could not get to the 2 or 3 pages I missed.

Heidi, I am glad you passed all the pre op tests. Do let us know when you know your surgery date. With a good blender, you should be able to puree any foods that are allowed. I used ours to make Al liquid meals, beyond puree, consistency . Love my 50 something year old Osterizer blender.

Cyn, wishing Col the best of luck with his transplant. OH, I just remember, night before last, I has the strangest dream. Hubby and I drove to OZ, with a friend of his, to buy something that came on a trailer, and it was Col they bought it from! You and I went for a long walk, you were showing me the flowers in bloom. On our way driving back, There was Roma tap dancing on a low stage in the center of a round about. All of us were MUCH younger in my dream. Wish it were possible to drive to Oz in the few minuets it took in my dream , I would be on my way.

Friday afternoon, it seemed all the problems with broken water pipes were corrected, but sometime in the wee hours this morning, more water leaks. there was water again in our covered bridge connecting the 2 buildings, and cellulose ceiling tiles under the bridge falling into driveway, and water dripping everywhere outside. The plumbing co that had been here all day Friday were back again, and so were representatives from the insurance co that covers our buildings.

Julie, the AC was off only in building 1, and I live in building 2. We have individual through the wall A C units in our building, those worked.

OH, TV, phones and internet were out again this morning, wonder if the water played a part in that? Mine came back once I re-booted the 2 boxes.

Still hurting, I get one area of pain resolved to find there is another issue that was hiding just under that other pain, bummer. Have an appointment back with pain clinic on the 18th. Not much use to contact them before, it would take them all this week to get back to me, and nothing would be accomplished before appointment anyway.

OH HEIDI, there are new words for scrabble. I even saw a 2 letter word for C. I cannot find a list of all the new words online yet, but different articles will list different lists of 10 or so new words. there is a new dictionary. Might have to buy for our group.

Hugs to each of you, with extras. My recliner is calling me.

I'm in the process of trying to adopt a new dog. Since she isn't a collie, I'm having to go thru' all the adoption procedures. Minnie is a 1 1/2 year old Belgian Malinois (Sheepdog) She has been badly abused and needs someone with patience and love. I've filled out my application and hope they follow through. I'll see if I can post a picture of her.

Picture posted. And I was wrong about her age. She's 11 months old. How can anybody abuse an innocent animal like her???

Darn! I had nearly finished my comment, but went to see Heidi's picture of Minnie. Of course, I lost the post.

What a great TOPP, Heidi! I apologize for neglecting to warn of the impending page turn. I just blanked out last night and forgot to check numbers. It's a good thing you're more alert than I am, Heidi!

Tami, I always knew you were a good teacher. The fact that you use your time in study hall to provide homework help and vocabulary enrichment is proof. I hope those students take every opportunity to benefit from your help! How do you like having 90-minute blocks for classes and alternating days? I hope the students don't get groggy during the afternoon blocks.

MIzT, I like your dream! Next time, I'd like to come along for the ride!

MizT, how frustrating that there are more water leaks and accompanying internet, TV, and phone outages. I hope they get all the repairs made quickly and there are no more!

MizT, you're probably right that you wouldn't be able to get an appointment at the pain clinic any earlier. Unfortunately, that means you'll have another week and a half of dealing with the current issues.

Heidi, Minnie is gorgeous! I hope the rescue group she's with pays close attention to your adoption application and realize they could probably not find a better placement. You can certainly provide the patience and love she needs! Crossing fingers for you - and her!

I need to check email, then get to bed. I've been up much too long today, as we had an early start. Sending healing energy, prayers, {{{{{HUGS}}}}}, positive thoughts, and for everyone!

Belgian Malinois have the instincts of herding dogs, like collies. They're very intelligent, yet sensitive dogs. They have less genetic health problems than most other breeds. The military is now focusing heavily on Malinois for most jobs they need dogs for instead of German Shepherds. They also make great family dogs, tho they aren't as good with children as collies. But no other dog is as protective of children as a collie. I've loved their look for a long time. My favorite breed all my life has been Collies. My second favorite breed has always been Belgian Malinois. I was looking through the listings for collies in shelters on the internet, checking to see if there was a collie that needed to be pulled before being euthanized, and I spotted the listing for Minnie. My heart melted when I read her story and realized that I could offer her a happy home and lots of love.

MizT- I love your dream. I would have enjoyed walking and chatting with you. Roma would have been delighted to have been able to tap dance! And we were much younger - bonus!
Gorgeous dog, Heidi! Hope you get her.
Julie, I hope you find a nice piece of music to play. Wish I had a suggestion for you.

Col went to see the private opthalmologist on Monday. It was so reassuring to be able to talk over everything with him. The Doctors at the public hospital where the op will take place are always so busy. He explained all our questions fully and clearly and assured us that Col's surgeon is good. There is a 75% success rate and if not successful, they probably won't try again. Fingers crossed, we won't know until the healing starts - or not.
Getting close now, 5 days to go.

Oh, and it looks like Col may have to have his gall bladder removed. He's had this nagging pain after eating for a while now and mentioned it to the GP when we were there yesterday. The Doc examined him and he has to go for a scan on Thursday to have that checked.
Honestly that man will be the death of me! He's such a worry.
I had to laugh, the GP said to him, 'If it gets really bad before Monday (transplant day), go to the same hospital and they'll be able to do both operations!

Heidi, did you know I had a malinious for about 4 years? I got her as a pup, and had to leave her with her Mom's owner when we moved to a neighborhood with free roving dogs. she would have gone ballistic when any of them came into her territory. Her name was Reva. She was a great personal protection dog, they are very pack oriented, really need a big family and some work to do. Minnie is such a soft sweet name for her. All the malinous I have known have had names with more hard constants, sounds that travel when they are in training. Her Mom was one of the few of breeding age and ability that came into USA at that time. Belgian breeders did not want others breeding them, afraid outside breeders would not keep up the high standards of the breed. she had 2 litters, 12 in each. I helped her feed them, giving supplemental bottles to the smaller ones that could not fight for their place at the 'table'. It would have been hard on her to produce milk for all 12, also. Some of her litter mates went into training for police work, drug and explosive detection, police search and attack dogs. It was so interesting watching them train.

How will you handle the extra work needed with Minnie, with your surgery coming up? I agree, she is a beautiful dog, not yet full grown it seems, could carry a few more pounds you think?

OK< past my bedtime, more later. Hugs to each of you.

Cyn, I loved that dream also. I woke a couple of times, but went right back to the dream even before I was asleep. LOTS more to it then I could tell, traveling about the country pulling that trailer.

Heidi, thanks so much for sharing more information about Minnie. You and she sound like a perfect fit for each other. Sending LOTS of positive thoughts!

Cyn, thanks so much for the update on Col's visit to the private ophthalmologist. I'm glad he took the time to sit with you and answer questions and concerns. I'm also glad that he assured that the surgeon is a good one. Sending positive thoughts for Col, you, and the surgeon!

Oh, Cyn, now Col needs gall bladder surgery? Hopefully it can be done easily and recovery will be quick and uneventful. I had my gall bladder removed laparoscopically a number of years ago. It was outpatient, and we had to leave pretty quickly after some time in recovery, as hubby was due for dialysis. I don't remember there being any issues with recovery. I hope there won't be any for Col!

MizT, how interesting that you had a Malinois. It was interesting reading about your experiences with her! I agree with you that Minnie is a beautiful dog.

It's time to head to bed. Sending LOTS of positive thoughts, healing energy, , {{{{{HUGS}}}}}, and prayers for each of you!

Cyn, I'm glad everything is on track for Col's transplant. I hope it all goes well.

There is some good info on the net about the pros and cons of gallbladder removal. I took one look at that and decided I wanted to avoid it if possible. There is also info about what foods to eat to try to reduce gallstones. I eat a radish every day, and pineapple seems to help too. I use a heat pack if the pain starts up, and that helps also. I did try one of the liver detox diets, but it didn't work particularly well for me. I hope Col finds a solution he is happy with.

Hurricane Micheal has made landfall, they say as a CAT 4, but just 2 MPH shy of being a Cat 5. Michael was 155 mph, a CAT 5 starts at 157 mph winds.

Latest radar shows rain bands from it just south of my home. We most likely will get a bit of rain. On a list of hurricanes making landfall, Micheal is third lowest pressure recorded. It will do a LOT of damage to a beautiful area of Florida coast.

MizTricia, glad to see that you should be safe, from the wind, at least.

Darn; I did it again! Lost another post. Let's see what I can reproduce in the few minutes I have left.

Saltie, I'm glad you are able to work with your decision to avoid gall bladder surgery by avoiding certain foods and eating foods that might be helpful to reduce gallstones!

MizT, here's hoping the projections for Michael's impact in your area are correct. May the high winds and excessive rain stay away. Hoping it doesn't do as much damage in Florida and neighboring areas as predicted.

Sending TONS of positive thoughts to everyone here and in affected areas, as well as healing energy, prayers, {{{{{HUGS}}}}}, and

We're getting rain from Michael here as well, but we're on the very edge of the storm. And it's not supposed to get any closer unless it tales a sharp turn to the northwest.

Hello and goodnight from me.🙈😴😴😴😴😴

Hello Viv, nice to see you here!
Julie & Saltie, thank for sharing your experiences with Gall Bladder. When I had mine out in 1988, it was full-on surgery. I was off work for weeks and still have a long unsightly scar and can't wear a bikini. Haha! Scrap the end of that sentence. I haven't been able to wear a bikini since the 60's!

We have decided to join Jane (from Florida now, but originally from St Simons Is) and her new husband on a Cruise from Sydney up and around NZ, stopping in 5 ports. It's on the Radiance of the Sea in late March, early April 2019. So exciting, and the best bit is that Colin was the one motivating me to 'just do it'. Let me tell you, I didn't need much persuasion. We need something positive to look forward to, whether or not the transplant is a success. Following is the link to the cruise. We're still hoping more sudoku people will join us.
https://www.cruiseaway.com.au/cruise/13-day-sail-from-sydney-808894#/selectedSail=808896

Heidi, I'm hoping Michael doesn't turn. Some rain is OK, our I hope you won'r be inundated!

Hello and Good Night back to you, Viv!

Cyn, how exciting for you and Col to be able to join Jane and Bailey for the cruise! It sounds wonderful! And what a great idea to have that to look forward to as Col's recovery progresses!

It's time for me to head to bed - another early morning tomorrow. Feel free to share these {{{{{HUGS}}}}}, , prayers, healing energy, and positive thoughts!

DorA, we are far enough inland we only got a tiny bit of light rain from the hurricane. Could have used a bit more water, and am sure many who got flooding would have been happy to share

Julie, I am afraid Michael did more damage than predicted, and some of it in places totally unexpected. At one time Thursday, I think, there were more people without power in Virginia than there were in Florida, where he made landfall! I have read that he was the third or fourth strongest hurricane to make landfall anywhere in the USA. It depends whether you measure by wind speed or the lowest pressure. A friend told me she heard on news he was the second strongest, after Camille. it is the second strongest NAMED hurricane, by pressure recorded. The strongest was the 1935 Labor Day Key West hurricane, at a pressure reading of 892 . It killed over 400 people. Second is Camille, 1969, then Michael.

Heidi, yes, both of us were on the very outer edge of Michael. I am glad it did not come closer to either of us. If you needed rain as much as we did, hope you got more than our tiny bit.

HI Viv, Bye Viv glad you could drop in.

CynB, you can always blame the scar for your inability to wear a bikini if you want to. We will not share your later comment. I am thrilled you and Col are going on the cruise. A great vacation, especially for one who cannot fly. Hope you have a wonderful trip, and yes, something FUN to look forward to, after so many not fun things you had to mark on your calendar.

Time to make coffee, I am sipping a warmed over not so great cup at the moment. I need a good cup of coffee. Hugs to each of you, with extras.

OH, I forgot to say. I have my windows opened, first time since early spring! Temp is currently in the mid 50's, headed for low 70's today. Fal is in the air.

We had a Fall Crafts Day yesterday down in commons. Jan brought in lots of lovely fall 'fixings' for making door wreaths, decorated pumpkins, so many more. I had a cute door decoration, a scare crow in a shallow basket, but over the years in storage, many of the decorations had fallen off and been lost. I took him down and gave him a make over. then I helped a couple of our residents make their wreath. Miss Edith is very frail, difficult for her to get around. I brought things to her, then she showed me where she wanted to put things, and I glued them on for her. Carol just needed ideas, she said she did not know how to do crafts, so I got her things together and gave her an idea, and she was fine. Our activities director is there to help, but she cannot be everywhere at one time. It was a fun hour in my day.

We got over an inch of rain from Michael. It came down hard and fast with high winds. Right now it's quite cool. It was 39˚ F when I woke up this morning... quite a drop from yesterday's 80˚ F. I do enjoy fall weather. Not too hot, not too cold.

Greetings, Everyone!

MizT, I wish you had received as much rain as you needed. I'm glad you have a somewhat cooler temperature and can open your windows for the fresh air!

Heidi, our temperature today was similar to yours. I don't think we even got up to 50 degrees. We were out running errands, and the cool fresh air felt good Our windows have been shut for too long due to heat and humidity. I hope it can remain cool enough for a while and we can get some fresh air into the house.

It's later than I thought, which explains my tendency to fall asleep at the computer, so I'll say Good Night. But first, here are some {{{{{HUGS}}}}}, healing energy, , prayers, and positive thoughts for everyone!

It must be a busy weekend for everyone. Take care and be healthy! Tomorrow (Sunday here) will be busy, as we'll go to a concert followed by dinner with family.

Will be thinking of CynB and Col and their exciting start to the week. Ask the surgeon to initial by the correct eye before going into surgery. (That's what hubby's ophthalmologist did before cataract surgery.) {{{HUGS}}} and lots of positive thoughts!

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

I'm glad to hear that Michael didn't cause too much trouble for our sudoku friends. The stuff they have shown on the news here looks horrendous.

Oz has had its own flurry of severe storms down the east coast over the last few days, with lots of hail, a tornado, plenty of property damage and destroyed crops. I hope the silence of our more southerly eastcoasters is not due to damage from the weather.

We missed the worst of it here in Rockhampton, with our main event yesterday - four hours of thunder, lightning and rain, just over an inch (28 ml), but no wind at all. Bright and sunny today.

My surgeon signed the appropriate hip before the hip replacement surgery - on both occasions.

Risqué (Risky), but I’ll take a chance…

OLD GUYS AND RYE BREAD:
Two old guys, one 80 and one 87, were sitting on a park bench one morning.
The 87-year-old had just finished his morning jog and wasn't even short of breath.
The 80-year-old was amazed at the guy's stamina and asked him what he did to have so much energy.

The 87-year-old said, 'Well, I eat rye bread every day. It keeps your energy level high and you'll have great stamina with the ladies.'

So, on the way home the 80-year-old stopped at the bakery. As he was looking around, the saleslady asked if he needed any help.

He said, 'Do you have any rye bread?'

She said, 'Yes, there's a whole shelf of it. Would you like some?'

He said, 'I want five loaves.'

She said, 'My goodness, five loaves! By the time you get to the 3rd loaf, it'll be hard.'

The old man says to himself, I can't believe everybody knows about this shot but me.

Saltie, I'm glad to hear that you didn't feel the brunt of the storm's wind and didn't get too much rain!

DOrA, good one about the rye bread! I had not heard that one before.

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

Saltie - we have survived the weather. We have family in Hervey Bay, they were issued with a tornado watch on the weekend but it didn't eventuate.
I did have to drive to the hospital this morning, 24kms, in driving rain, in the dark. It was horrendous and only getting light as we arrived early at 5.15am for a 5.45 surgery admittance (yes, we left early to allow for delays of which there were none, typical!) It has rained solidly for days

Col had his corneal transplant this morning. He was out of there by 11am, and we were home after a bite of lunch by 1pm. He is in quite severe pain now which is making it difficult to even open his good eye. They don't prescribe painkillers, only paracetemol which is useless. He is in bed sleeping, which is the best thing for him. Back to see the surgeon in the morning. Won't know for a while whether the graft has taken. I felt for him tonight, he is such a stoic person but was reduced to tears his pain was so bad. We were told to expect this and he has no fever with it. More later, when I know more.

To top it all off, my daughter went to Darwin for a few days with her friend who was graduating from a Uni course at Darwin Uni. Their return flight yesterday was cancelled due to engine troubles. The airline, Virgin, put them up overnight to fly them home today. This afternoon they flew them to Sydney, And tonight, finally she is on her way home, due to land in half an hour. Phew!
Her daughter Madeline 17, came with me this morning to support me while I waited. It was lovely!

I'm surprised that they don't have that eye bandaged shut right now to prevent strain to the eye while it heals. But then, I know next to nothing about eye surgery, CynB. Congratulate Col for me about getting this all-important step done. It Will feel better eventually. He has my respect for having the courage to go through this process. He could have chickened out and decided to live with the status quo, instead of this struggle for improvement.

Hi all. Glad that all is going well in Sudokuland, or at least as well as can be expected.

Heidi, as always you have the right heart for Minnie. I know she is going to thrive under your care.

Oops. Sorry. I misread your description. where you said that it hurts to open his GOOD eye. I missed the word 'good'.

Rant coming, skip if you want to

I am having a hard time dealing with my mom. Dementia started to set in before the death of my father. At least while he was alive, he could keep her from calling me 100 times a day. She has no short term memory but denies there is a problem. She is under a doctors care. This weekend I took her car to get fixed. She knocked off the side view mirror. My brother and I are trying to not return the car to her but she is being a defiant pain-in-the-rear. She thinks she has the reflexes and mental capacity she had 30 years ago. Not true. I love her doctor. His assistant is awesome and helps me to no end. Rose, the assistant, is calling my mom and changing her appointment to a sooner day that I can get to. She is telling my mom that the doctor is going out of town so they are rearranging some appointments. They will have the form ready to send to the state to have her license revoked. I hate having to do this but it seems like the only way. I am trying to keep this off TOS. It is on the private page and I have gotten some great advice.

Cyn, I hope you are starting to see a let-up in the rain down there. From what I've been seeing on the news and from what you've told us, you need a break from it.

I am sorry to hear that Col is suffering so much post-op pain. I hope that plenty of sleep and rest will settle it quickly.

Tami, I am sorry to hear about your troubles with your mom. You are right, getting her license revoked will be the best way to stop her driving. I still see some dreadful arguments ahead, though, when she forgets that she doesn't have a license any more. It still won't be easy for you, and all I can offer is my thoughts, prayers and best wishes. I wonder if a dementia counsellor might be able to offer some useful suggestions?

Oh well I thought I posted but don’t know where it went.😳😳