Sudokuaholics Anonymous 11

Be tender with the young,
compassionate with the aged,
and tolerant of the weak...
Because someday in your life
you will be all of these.
~George Washington Carver~

Midge, I hope your surgery on Thursday solves the problems of the clots!

Suzy and Midge, I'm glad for you both that March has ended and we're now experiencing April, hopefully a better month for both of you!

Heidi, that is a remarkably quick and major weight loss! I'm sorry the basketball tournament is airing so many pizza commercials! Just keep telling yourself you really don't need it!

Great TOPP, Heidi! Thanks for sharing it!

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

Be kind to your children, they are the ones who pick your nursing home.

Great quote, Midge! At least having children kind of ensures there will be someone to make a decision.

It's something I thought about this weekend when we visited hubby's aunt & uncle (both 92). She had just been in the hospital for 5 days, and they didn't want to send her home, but to a nursing home. They are determined to stay in their home as long as possible. They didn't have children and have no living siblings. One niece lives about 4 hours (by car) away, one lives across the country (about 7 or 8 hours away via airplane) & hubby is about 1/2 way between the two. They are trying to rely almost entirely on each other. It's scary.

Thinking of MIzT and hoping the pain clinic will be of help soon. Also thinking of Heidi and hoping her recovery is going well!

My thoughts are with all of our fellow Sudokuaholics. Sending much healing energy, positive thoughts, prayers, , and {{{{{HUGS}}}}}!

Just got a 'kick in the guts'. A letter from the county treasurer letting me know that a tax foreclosure sale is being planned. For my next door neighbor, AND one of my best friends... I knew he and his lady friend had parted ways and that he was struggling with his business, but this...........................

Heidi, congrats on the great weight loss! I hope the nausea is better. Midge, everything crossed, hoping Thursday's surgery and recovery go well.

Short update. Pain clinic phoned Monday with appointment with their neurologist for Tuesday. I love this lady doc, very kind, thorough, and they are now trying to rule out a thing called a pseudo tumor, that would feed on the steroids used in back injections. she does not think so, but a 'gotta check it out' kind of thing. I will be sent for MRI of cervical spine, A CT scan of brain (been done before during a post procedure headache and all was clear)possibly a spinal tap, referral to ophthalmologist. The good news is she does not think anything serious will show up, the bad news, she cannot do anything to make headaches go away. The only med she could try has been tried before without success, and I could not take it with pain meds, although I did take both at same time before. She thinks headaches are caused by my lying face down on table due to arthritis in neck, same thing I had decided. Being up in Power chair from 3 till 6 for appointment sure made headache and leg pain worse , I came home and slept about 5 hours, now I cannot get back to sleep since I woke at midnight (now 3 am), bummer.

Thanks for all the well wishes, do appreciate them. Hugs to each of you, with extras, till later.

MizT, I hope the neurologist can help you!

DorA, that really sucks. It’s times like these I wish I was independently wealthy...

So far, everything is healing well. No signs of infection and absolutely no pain. I have my first post-op visit with the surgeon tomorrow afternoon, and I expect all to go well. He should be taking out all my external staples, too. All 23 of them.

Greetings to All!

I'm so sorry, DOrA, for the horrible news about the foreclosure sale. So many people are struggling, but it really hits home when a neighbor and good friend come upon such difficult times! This is one of those times when we all wish we would win the lottery to help a deserving person.

Midge, thinking of you and crossing fingers and toes that the surgery goes well and your recovery will be swift!

Heidi, your weight loss is impressive. I hope you continue to do as well, and hope you're feeling comfortable!

MizT, I'm glad the neurologist is kind and thorough. She sounds like a good one to have on your team! I'm glad she doesn't think there is any serious problem - just checking out possibilities.

If I understand what you're saying that the headaches may be caused by needing to lie face down on the table, I wonder if they might have access to the kind of table our chiropractor has. There's kind of a separate piece that extends beyond the rectangle of the regular table. The separate piece has an oval cut-out so that your eyes, nose, chin can fit into the opening. That effectively lowers your head so that there isn't any need for your head to be lifted above and held up by your neck and your neck can be aligned with your spine. I do hope they can find something that can relieve some or most of your headache pain!

Suzy, I hope all's well. How are the dogs doing? Is Alie feeling better now that she's home? When will she find out about the job?

Thinking of everyone and sending lots of , healing energy, {{{{{HUGS}}}}}, positive thoughts, and prayers. Take care, Everyone!

The appointment went well. I'm healing well and they took out all the surface staples. One bled a wee bit, but that's all. Starting Monday I can go onto a pureed diet.

Wonderful news, Heidi! After my knee replacement surgery about 9 years ago, the pureed meals I received were 'shaped' in the form of whatever they were (pureed carrots shaped like several baby carrots, pureed green beans shaped like a few green beans, etc.). Hubby and I laughed at that. They didn't taste any better or different - just gave you a visual of what I was eating. You're making great progress! Keep up the good work!

Midge, I hope all went well with your surgery. I've been sending positive thoughts and thinking of you.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Feel free to share the healing energy, {{{{{HUGS}}}}}, prayers, , and positive thoughts!

Julie, I find your ''pureed meals'' comment strange. I had my first hip replacement 7 + years ago. I didn't have any dietary restriction, then or a year ago when I got my second hip replacement.

Good to hear Heidi is making progress in the right direction.

Sounds like MizT has found a good doctor. Nice to hear. Hoping for continued improvement...

Just had a scare. I was taking a nap, and Debbie was doing some housework when a lady drove up the driveway, honking her horn frantically, and SCREAMING! Debbie rushed out, and the lady screamed that one of my Gypsy Vanners was impaled on a metal post and was dying in agony!!! Debbie ran back in and got me, and I called the Vet Clinic on my way out. This woman was having hysteria! She didn't think the Vet could get here in time to save Pandoras life, though he's only 4 miles away. We went closer to take a look, and Pandora hopped off the post, unharmed, and trotted away, kicking up her heals. I think she had only been scratching an itch on her belly. Mike's trip out has been cancelled.

Hello lovely people! I'm baaaack.
Glad to hear all is going well after the op, Heidi. But sorry about your fur-baby Heidi. Also glad that Pandora wasn't in mortal danger after all.
DorA, sorry about your friend's financial troubles. These things are happening much more often than they should and there's no lenience or understanding from the powers that be.
Julie, you sound as busy as ever. Your husband's Aunt and Uncle would be so much better off going into care, but elderly people want to jealously guard their independence. I always say that I'll be glad to go into care when it becomes necessary, not sure that Colin would.
MizT, I think I read on FB that a reason for your discomfort was found but no solution. I hope I've got that wrong.

In general I would say we enjoyed the cruise. Towards the end, the remnants of a cyclone that had ravaged northern Qld crossed into the Pacific heading south. It caused our ship to be diverted, we didn't get to Dunedin nor the three Sounds at the western base of NZ. Instead we went up to Wellington and through the Cook Straits, between the 2 NZ islands into the Tasman Sea, It was a rough crossing with 5-10 metre (15-30 foot) swells for 2 and 1/2 of the 3 days. Top that off with Colin getting quarantined with Influenza A & B, along with half of the passengers. We were glad to get home, but know that it is what it is. These things happen.
Col is still not well.

That said, we had already decided, before the bad weather and the flu, that we're not 'Cruise' people. They are a breed of their own. I think these days travel is more easily accessible than it was once and some people strive to go to as many destinations as are possible - but only be able to talk about how they got there, not what they saw or accomplished there. Does that make sense?

New Zealand, however, is so well worth the trip. Fly/drive is the way we are going back there.
Every single place we visited was great - Bay of Islands including Waitangi and Kerikeri, Auckland with it's wonderful Skytower, beautiful Tauranga (we did not get to nearby Rotorua with it's hot springs, nor did we get to Lake Taupo, a massive volcanic crater - next time for sure), Akaroa, the spectacularly pretty Port for Christchurch. Much sadness on show there, the wall of floral tributes to the victims of that terrible massacre, but also the devastation from the massive earthquake of 10 years ago. Still very much on show. Some places are still not completely restored, some are condemned and some are left as memorials. Then we were turned back to Wellington, Capital of NZ, seat of the parliament in the aptly named round building called the Beehive. It is known as the windy city. Despite what was just around the corner for us, Wellington put on a beautiful day for us to travel up their mountain backdrop in a historical cable car and to walk downhill through their lovely botanic gardens including a wonderful rose garden. Serendipity!
We hope to do the fly/drive in 2020/2021.
If you get the chance to watch or stream a show called 'Coast NZ', do it!

Hi, Everyone!

DOrA, I didn't explain the reasons for my pureed food when I had my knees replaced. I had a reaction to the pain meds, causing at least partial bowel shut-down/obstruction. An ambulance ride took me to ER and a variety of tubes, etc. were introduced. Once things were working again, I went from a liquid diet to pureed before I was allowed solid food again.

Wow, what a scare, Heidi! I'm so glad Pandora is fine, though the woman must have had an awful few minutes! What a relief you must have felt when you saw Pandora jump up and trot away!

Welcome home, CynB! You and Col certainly had quite an experience on the cruise! It must be a relief to be home. Fortunately the beginning of the cruise was more enjoyable. It's too bad the remnants of the cyclone chose the path it did and interrupted your planned itinerary! I hope Col has a quick recovery! I'm glad you weren't put off visiting New Zealand in the future. The fly-drive approach sounds to be much more enjoyable!

MizT, I hope you are finding some relief from the pain and getting some rest and relaxation. It sounds like the doctor is thorough and doesn't want to leave any stones unturned in determining the cause of your pain.

Midge, I hope all is going well and you have a pain-free and quick recovery!

Thinking of everyone and sending healing energy, , positive thoughts, prayers, and {{{{{HUGS}}}}}}

I have friends that go on a cruise at least every other year and love it. I'm not sure it's for me, though. I'm not really the ''tourist type'', I think. I semi-enjoy road trips, and often think it might be nice to visit 'X'. But somehow it just never happens, and I don't really feel bad that I missed going there...

DorA, that sounds like us!
Don't go on a cruise, you won't enjoy it. There are people everywhere you turn, a lot of queue-jumping, complaining, over-eating, loud-mouths. Ughhh! We quite like road trips but only every few years. We can do that at our own pace. But we don't see ourselves ever being grey nomads, the people who retire, hook up a caravan and drive all over Australia. Good for them. I like the comforts of home.

I'll join the conversation about cruises and road trips, if I may..

We have been on one cruise - a 'cruise tour' to Alaska, 6 or 7 days cruise of the inside passage with opportunity to see glaciers combined with 3 or 4 days of land tour & opportunity to see Denali National Park & the tallest peak in North America. We chose to do a few of the land excursions in various ports that the ship stopped in. I think we may have experienced a bit less of the aggravating parts of a cruise that way. One of my brothers has gone on a river cruise in Europe with his wife and enjoyed it. One advantage to that is being on a much smaller ship. One advantage we see to a cruise is that luggage doesn't need to be dragged in and out of a hotel every day or two, as you might on a road trip.

Road trips for us have generally not been for sight-seeing, but more to visit relatives & maybe throw in a day here or there along the way to see some point of interest. The focus for us has been getting somewhere, so there's pressure to cover a lot of miles. That leads to a lot of windshield time and exhaustion from the driving. It just seems much more relaxing and less stressful for us to stay at home & maybe spend a day in Chicago sight-seeing. (Yes, we are very boring people.)

Thinking positive thoughts for Midge, Heidi, and MizT.

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

You're right in many ways, Julie! I could handle a shorter cruise, with much less sea time, smaller ship, fewer people. And yes, one bonus was that we were able to unpack, despite the limited space in the cabin, we found enough hanging space, shelves and drawers.
But, oh, the humanity! Human nature is ugly in confined spaces.
That Alaskan Cruise sounds great!
My dearest friend went back to live in the UK and remarried over there. She and I have a dream of doing a Mediterranean Cruise together, with our husbands of course. She does them every year living so close. But the one I want to do, starts in Venice, goes to Dubrovnik, Kotor (Montenegro), Corfu and Athens. With her along for the ride we would laugh all the way and I wouldn't notice all the things that annoyed me this time!!

Never been on a cruise, and never want to go on one. I don't like the idea of being confined with a large number of strangers. I've also heard horror stories about the diseases being spread on those cruise ships.

CynB, that Mediterranean cruise sounds interesting. We went on a bus tour sponsored by the college we graduated from and got to see Dubrovnik and a little bit of Kotor, Montenegro. We saw a fair number of Gypsies there, and our tour guide was very rude to them. His explanation was that they couldn't be trusted and would take advantage of us if we offered them anything or even seemed to pay attention to them.

Cyn, is Col feeling better?

Heidi, you're right that a number of cruises have had to deal with noroviruses and other problems. There was a small outbreak on the cruise we were on. Affected passengers were quarantined to their rooms and hand sanitation stations quickly appeared anywhere food was prepared or served. We were fortunate, as diseases spread VERY rapidly on a ship. I guess that's another reason to opt for a smaller ship with fewer passengers.

Heidi, I hope your recovery is going well!

Midge, I hope you are recovering well after your surgery!

MizT, hoping your pain is improving and the doctor can find something that will help!

Thinking of everyone and sending good wishes, as I'm out to call it a night. {{{{{HUGS}}}}}, , positive thoughts, healing energy, and prayers for everyone!

Put out the Hummingbird feeder for the first time, this year, today. In less than a half hour I had the first visitor...

My brother starts his home bound travel, from China, this evening. He has been there for 3 months, along with his wife, visiting her family and sightseeing.

Hummingbirds already??? Lucky you!

Feeling better every day.

WOW, DOrA, a hummingbird visitor already! Our temperature got up to about 70 today, but back to 40 tomorrow, so I'm not expecting to see hummingbirds yet.

Wishing safe travels for your brother and his wife on their return from China, DOrA!

Keeping everyone in my thoughts and sending healing energy, {{{{{HUGS}}}}}, positive thoughts, prayers, and

Heidi - that's exactly what we didn't like about the cruise - too many people in your face all the time. It's why we had always hesitated. Glad you're feeling better every day.
Julie, Col is slowly improving. The Doc has given him all week off work and if he's still no good he has to return.
About the Gypsies in Kotor, I think they are a problem all over Europe. I remember encountering them in Italy, London and Ireland. We got sucked in once and then just ignored them, persistant though they can be.

Suzy, if you read this, my son and Chloe are down in your area this week on a 'cruise' with his car club - so if you see a lot of Ford Performance Vehicles (FPV's) he'll be among them in a white one with very dark blue trim. They were in Bateman's Bay, now in Kiama, off to Bega and Canberra by Saturday before heading home.
I was a bit annoyed with him when he put some of his inheritance money from his grandparents into this car - it's an expensive hobby, but he and his girls have got so much out of the social events and friendly people in this club.

Cyn, they’re already north of me! I think I saw an ad for a show but it was too far from me. I probably wouldn’t have gone anyway. It takes a lot to get me out the door these days. I’ve always had a cruise on my bucket list, but it’s officially off now. I’ve had to leave without finishing my shopping because the people in the shop overwhelm me, and not just when the shops are crazy. Alie and I were waiting for a kebab the other day and I had to leave before it was ready. It sounds like a cruise would be my hell on earth.

CynB, I wasn't aware that Gypsies are a problem all over Europe; but then, we've only had the one tour. It was a lot of time in a bus with 35-45 strangers, often needing to be ready to hit the road by 6 or 6:30 each morning. I think every form of group transportation has its own drawbacks.

Suzy, it's too bad that shopping and traveling can be an uncomfortable experience for you. Unfortunately, the more people there are in a confined space, the more likely it is that there will be rude or boorish people who can make the experience unpleasant.

Suzy, I hope Alie was able to bring your kebab to you and you could eat it in the car or at least away from the throngs of people.

Our meeting ran late tonight, and I'm about to head to bed. I hope everyone has a good morning, afternoon, day, and/or evening! Sending healing energy, positive thoughts, , prayers, and {{{{{HUGS}}}}}! Good Night!

Julie, the gypsies in London were at the Tube stations, especially Picadilly and at the tourist attractions like Covent Garden - they try to give you a flower and then want payment for it. In Ireland, you would see their camps on the roadside. We never got harassed by them but we were warned about them. In continental Europe, like you, we were on a coach tour and from memory encountered them in Milan and at Piazza Novona (hope I've got the name right) in Rome, where they were very persistent and annoying while we ate dinner in the piazza. Our tour guide would get up and swat them away like flies. They'd creep back within minutes.

Darn it. I had to leave the computer for several minutes, during which time I noticed lights flickering. When I got back here, the computer was still on, but internet connection had been lost. Even though I had copied my post, expecting to com back and finish it, when I tried to paste it into the Comment box, nothing pasted, so it was lost due to that extremely minor power glitch.

Essentially, I had commented that hubby and I have apparently led a quite sheltered life. With only one trip to Europe, we were not aware Gypsies were such a wide-spread problem. (Sorry, but I don't know the PC term for the people, though I believe I may have read or heard the term 'Roma.')

I have consulted the internet and read a response from a person who says he is a Romani. Here is an excerpt:

'I am coming out of hiding because I am reading so much hooey in this thread that I thought you should hear from a Gypsy... himself.

We are not a lifestyle, we are not even a culture, though we have one. We are a GENETIC ETHNICITY. 'Gypsyness' is not determined by lifestyle or desire. It is carried on our DNA. You cannot become one. You are born one or you are not.
Our language is called Romanes, Romani, Romany, or Romani Chib and is not standardized due to dialects and that it has only been written down. Unfortunately, I do not remember much of what my father taught me as a youth and I only have recently started relearning any of it.

'Gypsy' is an umbrella term that covers Romani, Sinti, Black Dutch, Irish Travellers, and many more.

It is an incorrect term, originating from the belief that Romani (the largest ethnic group under the umbrella term 'Gypsy') were from Egypt. We are orignally from the Punjab region of India, originally, migrating all over the world.'

That may be more than most of us knew previously. I guess, as with any nationality, only certain people are seen frequently, and stereotypes are built upon those who are most frequently seen.

And now, I see I am past my bed-time, so I'm sending the daily group of positive thoughts, healing energy, , prayers, and {{{{{HUGS}}}}}. Good Night, Everyone.

A friend of mine has spent quite some time with the Gypsies in Great Britain. (Dennis is the American who first discovered the Gypsy Vanner horses, named the breed with the help and advice of the most respected Romani horse breeders, started recording their first written pedigrees, and imported the first 14 to the USA.) He has nothing but respect for them... and he shows it. In return, the Romani treat him with extreme kindness and respect. People generally behave how you expect them to. If you treat them like they're something low down, they will behave as such. You treat them like equals and they will live up to that, too. You will find good and bad people in every culture. Nobody deserves to be punished for the behaviour of others.

Yes, of course, most of the romanies/gypsies lead quiet unobtrusive lives. I think they have gotten a bad reputation, like many groups/ethnicities, by the behaviour of a small number of them. Like I said, in Ireland, we saw them camped at the side of roads, moving about, minding their own business. It was the locals, like shopkeepers and B&B proprietors who warned us against them. The ones in London and in Italy were small groups out to fleece the tourists. I'm sure they were plenty of different people out to fleece us!
Has anyone ever seen the film 'The Man who cried' with Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci - set in WW2 in Paris with Depp as a Gypsy and Ricci as a ballerina who had fallen for him. Their lives were torn apart when the Nazis entered Paris. He got her on a ship to the US but had to stay behind to try to get his people to safety. Sad, because the viewer knew he wouldn't be able to save them. Lovely, sad film.

I have a cold. Alie got it from her bf and shared it with me. It’s nasty. She said she was pretty much over it after sleeping a full day. I don’t sleep during the day so last night decided to take my meds early hoping to sleep for a long time and feel better today. I ended up awake for a couple of hours in the middle of the night. When you feel bad, that really sucks. I think I ended up with 6 hours of broken sleep. Needless to say today was bad. I feel a little better tonight, and although I’m going to bed early, I won’t take my meds until later. Alie is at a wedding somewhere near Wollongong. Hopefully I’ll be asleep before she gets home.

Heidi, thank you for sharing information about your friend Dennis and his experiences with Romani people in Great Britain. And now, we know more about Gypsy Vanner horses and how they were brought to the US. You are SO right, 'People generally behave how you expect them to. If you treat them like they're something low down, they will behave as such. You treat them like equals and they will live up to that, too. You will find good and bad people in every culture. Nobody deserves to be punished for the behaviour of others.' That would make a great TOPP!

Cyn, I have not seen the film you mentioned. Your description makes me think that it might be worth trying to find a copy of it to watch.

Suzy, I'm so sorry Alie shared her cold with you. I'm glad she's feeling better and apparently recovered quickly. I wish the same for you, though it sounds like you have already had a difficult night. Hoping tonight will be better!

Midge, I hope your recovery is going well!

MizT, hoping you've had some lessening of the pain and are feeling more energy to enjoy Scrabble and Canasta.

Thinking of everyone and sending {{{{{HUGS}}}}}, , healing energy, prayers, and positive thoughts.

Heads UP, Everyone! I think this will be the last post ono this page. We're about to TURN the PAGE. Get ready!