Sudokuaholics Anonymous 11

There once was a little boy who had a bad
temper. His Father gave him a bag of nails
and told him that every time he lost his
temper, he must hammer a nail into the
back of the fence. The first day the boy had
driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the
next few weeks, as he learned to control his
anger, the number of nails hammered
daily gradually dwindled down. He
discovered it was easier to hold his temper
than to drive those nails into the fence.
Finally the day came when the boy didn't
lose his temper at all.

He told his father
about it and the father suggested that the
boy now pull out one nail for each day that
he was able to hold his temper. The days
passed and the young boy was finally
able to tell his father that all the nails
were gone.

The father took his son by the
hand and led him to the fence. He said,
'You have done well, my son, but look at
the holes in the fence. The fence will never
be the same. When you say things in
anger, they leave a scar just like this one.
You can put a knife in a man and draw it
out. It won't matter how many times you
say I'm sorry, the wound is still there. 'A
verbal wound is as bad as a physical one.

Friends are very rare jewels, indeed. They
make you smile and encourage you to
succeed. They lend an ear, they share words
of praise and they always want to open
their hearts to us.'

Good one DorA! Good lesson for us all.
Midge, sorry to hear about your misdiagnosis and now the need for an operation before Christmas. Best Wishes that all goes well and that you are home for Christmas.
Julie, I didn't know 'The Wexford Carol', so I youTubed it. Very peaceful. You'll do it, keep calm!
Heidi, hope you enjoyed your day out with your friends.
Col just had his 10th Chemo - only 2 to go. Phew!

Greetings, Fellow Sudokuaholics!

Midge, it seems your GP is a keeper. Not so much for the specialist. I hope the surgeon is on a par with your GP!

DOrA, it's a good thing you were keeping track of the numbers! I had no idea we were so close to turning the page. And you did it so well! What a great TOPP. There's definitely a lesson to be learned there! Thank you!

CynB. hooray for Col having completed his 10th chemotherapy session! I hope it went well and there aren't so many side effects! I imagine it's a relief to realize there are only two more to go!

Thanks for the confidence in my playing. I'm glad you pointed out the calmness of The Wexford Carol. I will try to keep that in mind while playing it. It will be a duet with my cello teacher, so hopefully not too scary!

Heidi, I hope you and your friends enjoyed the concert!

Wishing a wonderful weekend to everyone here, and sending positive thoughts, healing energy, {{{{{HUGS}}}}}, , and prayers for all! May you all have a wonderful weekend!

Had a great time yesterday. The concert may have left something to be desired, but the companionship was perfectly delightful.
Got a christmas tree today... just a small 5 foot Douglas fir. I'll bring it inside later today and maybe decorate it tomorrow.

December 7th in the U.S.

Lest We Forget...

I have Douglas fir growing, all around.

I'll enjoy mine as they are. (Besides, there isn't really any room for one in my caravan.)

Julie, When you are an old fart, with little else to do . . . . . .

I just helped Mike the Vet with his bulls. Unbeknownst to him, I've been feeding them a little sweet feed every day and they've gotten very friendly and gentle around me. He decided to load them up today, since the weather is delightful, and take them to another friend's farm who will be using them to produce a fall calf crop. I helped him get the bulls into a horse stall, he went and got his trailer, backed it up to the barn door and I loaded them in the trailer easy as you please. Mike was amazed at how slick it went.

Heidi, So a little sweetness goes a long way, eh? - ''sneaky bugger'', you...

Cattle in particular respond to kindness a lot more than people suppose.

Hi, Everyone! Just popping in to say Hello!

Heidi, I'm so glad you enjoyed the time spent with your friends while at the concert!

DOrA, how fortunate you are to be able to enjoy an abundance of living Douglas firs!

Heidi, somehow I'm not surprised that you were able to friend the bulls belonging to Mike, the vet. Kindness works wonders with both2-legged and 4-legged animals!

It's time to hit the hay after a long day working an 'Empty Bowls' event (fund-raiser for local food pantries). Sending lots of {{{{{HUGS}}}}}, healing energy, prayers, positive thoughts, and

I apologize in advance for any typos, etc. My glasses are filty and my eyes are tired.Hi, Everyone! Just popping in to say Hello!

Heidi, I'm so glad you enjoyed the time spent with your friends while at the concert!

DOrA, how fortunate you are to be able to enjoy an abundance of living Douglas firs!

Heidi, somehow I'm not surprised that you were able to friend the bulls belonging to Mike, the vet. Kindness works wonders with both2-legged and 4-legged animals!

It's time to hit the hay after a long day working an 'Empty Bowls' event (fund-raiser for local food pantries). Sending lots of {{{{{HUGS}}}}}, healing energy, prayers, positive thoughts, and

I apologize in advance for any typos, etc. My glasses are filty and my eyes are tired.

Just got home from a Lions Christmas party. There are such good people there, but it really worries me that there were no young people. And by young people, I mean people who are under retirement age. I was one of only 2 people there under 75. What are service clubs going to do without new, younger members? And young people don't seen interested in joining service organizations designed to help others.

Heidi, you're right about service clubs (and many types of clubs) and the lack of younger members! I know people are extremely busy, regardless of age. Joining a service club requires an extended commitment. Sometimes that can be a deterrent. Often in young families with children, both parents work full-time jobs to support the family and pay for child care. Everyone in the family is exhausted when they get home, and then it's time to fix a meal, do homework if children are school age, and do whatever is necessary to be ready for the next day.

Luckily, are woodturners club had recently been able to add a few younger members (mid-30's to late-40's, I'd guess). Some are beginning to get involved with committees or volunteering for out-each programs with high school age students. I think it really takes a conscious effort to recruit new members. I don't know if that applies to service clubs, but maybe making an effort to explain what the goals of the club are would bring in more members. I think people need to know that they are needed and their efforts are appreciated.

Thinking of all of our Sudoku friends and sending positive thoughts, , healing energy, {{{{{HUGS}}}}}, and prayers to Everyone!

Just got home. I go back to Pain Management on Feb 4th. By then I will need another epidural. It's been 7 months since I've had one! The weight loss is really changing my life!!!
Tomorrow is the Cattlemen's Christmas party. I can't eat the food because of all the pepper added, but I will have a dessert. I'll probably have a slice of lemon merengue pie. I'm going because I want to try to win a free poinsettia.

It's 10 pm, and 60˚F / 15.5˚C outside. Overnight a cold front is moving in and it'll be 32˚F / 0˚C when I get up in the morning. They're calling for snow tomorrow.

I did a good deed that I'm proud of. As I told everyone here, I went to a concert on Friday with friends. The son of one of those friends is in medical school... so of course his debt for student loans is piling up and deep. He has a wonderful girlfriend. They really are perfect for each other. They're getting engaged but he cannot afford an engagement or wedding ring. So I just gave them mine. As I told his mother.... I'm not using them and never will again, so they might as well go to someone who'll want them. The engagement ring is white gold with a grey star sapphire on it with 3 diamonds on each side of it. The wedding band is simple white gold. They just got them today and loved them. I'm so pleased that they're happy.

good on you Heidi - so nice to pass them on. My mum did the same with her first engagement ring (her fiancee was a pilot killed by 'friendly' aircraft in WW2). My brother had it remade for his to be wife.
7 months is a long time - you must be so pleased.
I agree with you Julie, so many commitments these days and I really think the younger ones don't know just what most community clubs do and how they help the less fortunate. We have Little Lions here and they are desperate for new members.
Tomorrow I go for my hospital pre-admission check to see if I am healthy enough to have a cancer removed - the irony of it!

Back from the Cattlemaen's party. There was a mix-up with the caterers and they forgot the deserts, so no lemon merengue pie. But I DID win a pointsettia. So no waste of time there.

In on Dec. 20 for minimum one week. Busy time for work too. Now I have to find a nice vegetarian dish that I can make ahead and freeze for my family to take to my niece's for lunch. Any ideas?
Bad luck about the lemon meringue Heidi but good to get the poinsettia - is it a red one?

They had red ones, pink ones and white ones. While I prefer the red ones, there was a white one which was nicer than the others, so I chose that one.

I'm glad you don't have a long wait, Midge. You only have 8 1/2 days to go. The sooner they operate, the sooner you heal. Does this mean you might be home for Christmas after all?

Oops... I missed the ''minimum of one week'' in there. That's a long stay these days. Sorry.

, Everyone! Or maybe it should be , as it's just past midnight.

Heidi, that is such fantastic news! Wow! Seven months since your last epidural! You are truly changing your life!

Heidi, that is so caring and considerate of you to give your engagement and wedding rings to your friend's son and his soon-to-be fiancee! I'm so glad they love them! What a wonderful gift!

Midge, I hope your pre-admission check goes well tomorrow! I hope all of your 'numbers' fit the requirements, and everything can proceed as planned!

Oh, Heidi, I'm sorry you the caterers forgot the desserts and you didn't get a pice of lemon meringue pie! It really sounded good and refreshing! Congratulations on winning a poinsettia, though!

Thinking of everyone and sending healing energy, positive thoughts, {{{{{HUGS}}}}}, prayers, and ! I hope the day/afternoon/eveining/night goes well for everyone!

Morning all!
Midge - good that you got a quick appointment but disappointing that you have to be in on Christmas Day. Best thing about that is that someone else has to do the cooking, cleaning and worrying!
Heidi - glad you got the poinsettia. I bought one a few years ago and it has thrived and it blossomed for Christmas every year. This year it is dying, despite being watered and looked after. The constant dry heat has ruined even our hardy rose garden. And the grass crackles under our feet. Australia is mostly a desert bowl and so quickly. We had massive flooding from cyclone Trevor early this year. It is unbelievable.

And to top it off, our aircon stopped working last night after being so reliable for so long. That's strike three now. We've already replaced the fridge and the dryer in recent months. Fingers crossed that this will be a quick fix.

Hi, Everyone!

Midge, I'm hoping the 'minimum one week' proves to be an overstatement of the length of your hospital stay. Here's hoping all will go smoothly and you'll be out and feeling better by the beginning of the New Year.

I'm trying to think of a vegetarian dish. I recently read about vegetarian lasagna. Do you have an Instant Pot? A friend was talking about hers today and couldn't say enough good things. She also said to try a google search on 'IP Recipes' or IP followed by the name of a food you'd like to prepare, and you'll find plenty of ideas. Since I don't have an Instant Pot, I haven't tried doing a search.

CynB, I'm sorry to hear that your poinsettia isn't doing well this year. I think you were lucky to keep it going for several years. I'm not aware of anyone (other than professionals who can monitor the water, temperature and light needs) who have had that much success with a poinsettia. You must have a green thumb!

I certainly wish there were some way of moderating temperatures and precipitation! It's getting scarier with the climate change problems.

CynB, I hope your air con can be resuscitated with a quick and inexpensive fix! It would seem that having to replace your fridge and dryer recently should give you a pass on an expensive replacement of the air con!

Heidi, I think deciding on a white poinsettia that looked healthy was a good choice. I hope it remains healthy throughout the holidays!

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

Back from my 9 month bariatric re-check. While the rate of weight loss has slowed down, what's left has had a big change from fat to muscle. The doctor was VERY pleased. He also liked that I had set myself a goal/ reward for partial loss. I told him that as soon as I get down to 200 lbs / 90.7 kg, I'm going to start riding again. I still want to lose a lot more, but I think it's easier when you take it in smaller steps. I still have 5 lbs /2.27 kg to go to reach that first goal. Once I start riding, I should be able to burn off more fat.

Finally got the lights on my Christmas tree and a wreath on the front door. It's starting to look really nice. Next come the blown glass icicles and the animal ornaments on the tree.

I also put wheels on my 2 worst gates today. These are gates I've had to lift and drag. They're SO much easier to open and shut now. Bit by bit, the farm is getting fixed up.

Hooray for a great 9-month bariatric re-check, Heidi! You're doing extremely well. It's great that you're so close to your shorter-term goal. I think you have the right attitude and the perseverance to reach your longer-term goal, as well! Good for you!

Congratulations on making progress on your Christmas decorating, Heidi! You're well ahead of us!

We haven't even brought our Christmas tree up from the basement yet. To be honest, I'm not sure hubby will be able to handle bringing it up. We might need to bring it up one piece at a time. Maybe we'll be able to find a bit of time next week AFTER the cello recital. But we still have doctor and physical therapy appointments and orchestra & cello lessons next week. We spend so much time on the road commuting to appointments, lessons, etc.

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

Morning all. Christmas avatar for me.
Heidi, I'm pleased that your bariatric check went well and I'm impressed with you goals. Having goals makes it easier to achieve and you are only 5lbs from that first goal. Congratulations for that. And for getting the farm fixed!

Julie, surprisingly after a few thunderstorms this week the poinsettia is looking better, and believe me we don't have green thumbs. The pointsettia mainly gets water from what is left in the dog's water bowl when Col refills it.
Also, I'm happy to say that our friend who is an aircon specialist, had ours up and running after a good clean out. He says the only thing wrong with it is it's age (15yo) and it will become more sluggish as time goes by.

Just a thought...........

Looking at the night sky - What if they aren't stars, but holes poked into the top of a container, so we can breathe?

That would explain a lot, DOrA.

I had a strange thing happen a little while ago. I heard some noise in my living room (a no-dog zone) so went in to check it out. There was an adult male Starling caught in a glue trap designed for mice! I have no idea how it got in the house. Unfortunately, it lost a lot of feathers in the process of freeing it from the glue, so I have it in a spare bird cage in my bird room unril the feathers grow back in. They really are pretty birds, with the white stars sprinkled all over the purplish background color. I need to think of a name for him now. Any suggestions?

Greetings to All!

I'm getting here late (well, VERY early morning).

CynB, it's great to hear that your poinsettia is doing better after getting a bit more to drink! Also glad that your zircon had improved with the expert help of your friend! I guess a good clean-out can do wonders. However, being told that it is old at 15 is discouraging for you, I'm sure! (It's also discouraging to me, as ours is 17 years old, I think. I hope it remembers how well we take care of it!

What an interesting thought, DOrA! I guess we really don't know for sure!

Heidi, that's really puzzling that a starling got into you house. Might it have come in with/behind one of the dogs? If it had to happen, at least it was in your house and you have an extra bird cage! You're right that they are pretty birds. I hope his feathers will grow back quickly.

It's way past bedtime here. Sending healing energy, positive thoughts, prayers, , and {{{{{HUGS}}}}} for Everyone!

It should take about 3 weeks for the feathers to fully grow back. Just think how long it takes chicks to get all their feathers. Same thing. He seems pretty happy in his cage. It's a big cage: 5 foot x 3 foot x 1 1/2 foot.... and he has plenty of food and water. And lots of other birds in the room to keep him getting lonely. He may end up spending the winter inside, since by the time his feathers grow back he won't be acclimated to the cold any more. It would be cruel to toss him from a heated house directly out into the depths of winter.

Name for the starling - Lucky ?
That you found him in time -
That you're taking good care of him -
That he has feed, water and shelter!

It is 2 years today since we lost June.
She was such a mainstay on these pages and the Sudoku world in general.
I miss her, we miss her.
Rest in Peace June

We're expecting 35C temps today, hotter as you go west into the interior. Some places are expected to reach 50C or near during a week of high temps over Australia. We are lucky that ours will be for only one day, cool change due tonight.

I hope June is resting in peace and comfort. She deserves only the best.

Hi, Fellow Sudokuaholics!

CynB, your suggestion of Lucky for the starling's name certainly describes his situation! Of all the homes and residents in Heidi's area, could there possibly be another like her who could help free him from the trap and provide such good accomodations for possibly months?

Cyn, thank you for helping us to remember June. I think of her and the place she held in our group often. She is certainly missed by us, and by many others, I'm sure. Rest in Peace, dear June!

Cyn, I'm glad you aren't expecting the very high temperatures to last for long in your area. I'm certainly glad your zircon is working!

Thinking of everyone and sending , {{{{{HUGS}}}}}, healing energy, positive thoughts, and prayers. I hope everyone's week is off to a good start!