Sudokuaholics Anonymous 11

'You will never know the true value of a moment until it becomes a memory' (Unknown)

Colin went to see his Opthalmologist on Wednesday. He has to have a special operation to remove more debris that keeps growing in his eye. They have tried several times to get rid of it with lasers. This time it will be surgery. If it cant be cleared permanently, that will be the end of the line. So after that surgery we wait for a few months to be sure it is successful, then he might get this lens and some sight.
This is a blow.

Cyn Love the TOP. I just a few minutes ago had one of those memories pop up..

How tough for Colin, that the eye situation keeps dragging on. Wishing him the best.

I've been having issues with either my computer or the site. When I try to post a comment, the page disappears and a page encouraging me to update a program takes its place. So far, it's letting me type. Now we'll see if it will let me post.

Love and {{{HUGS}}} to All!

Oh Cyn.... that's not a good thing for poor Col, Do they know why that stuff is growing in that eye? And what it is? And months to wait after the surgery before you know if he can get sight back with more surgery!!! What an ordeal.

Midge... are you and your brother competing to see who can have more serious health issues? I hope you both start competing, instead, as to who can get healthy fastest.

DOrA... I've been slowly replacing my perimeter fences. (It's expensive) Back when we moved here, I insisted that we put up a woven wire fence, which is a physical barrier. IH refused and instead put up a high tensile fence with insufficient fence posts, so it's always kind of loose. And if the power goes out, or there's a short somewhere along the ~2 miles of fence, the fence is fairly useless. Right now there's a good electrical charge going through the fence, but this one older calf (~400 lbs) doesn't care and goes through it, getting the sh*t shocked out of him every time. None of the other cattle will go near the fence after touching it once. So far I've replaced about 1/4 of the fence with woven wire or cattle panels.

Big Job, Heidi! I had existing fence on 3 sides when I got this place. 4 strand barb wire on light duty 'T-posts'. As I don't run any livestock it's a non issue. The property was / is wooded and looking through the trees limits line of sight, in places, to just a few feet. The remaining side 1/2 mile in length, was fully wooded. It was a lot of fun clearing a swath in a straight line, but I was finally able, with the help of surveyed 'line markers' every 100 yards or so, to get it punched through. That fence is 5 strand barb wire on heavy duty 7 ft T-posts, spaced about 12 ft. Every 6th post is a 7 ft, 4-5'' wood post.
I know many don't like barb wire, but I've seen no sign of any animal injuries. I've seen deer and coyotes go between the strands while on a full run. And of course some deer clear the 5 ft top strand with no problem. On occasion, there is a tuft of hair on a bottom strand, probably from one of the resident black bears.
Some years I have a tree come down and compress or break a strand. This year, I've been fortunate. Just a couple of small trees that did no damage.
Last year, the one neighbor who does run cattle had one 'escape' to my side. It was, unbeknownst, to me, enjoying some of the greenery. I was out walking the hound when we 'spooked' it. All I saw was something Big and black crashing off through the brush. After 20 or 30 feet it stopped and looked at us. Scared the c_ _ p out of me. It found its way home, at least it was never seen again...

Julie, your posting problems might be due to animated ads on the page. See the topic 'Problems caused by animated ads...' in the forum pages for more detail. Cheers.

Here is the link to the page saltie was referring to...

http://sudoku.com.au/QXU10-7-1990-0-Problems-caused-by-animated-ad.aspx

Woke up to an inch of snow on the ground this morning. Tomorrow it's supposed to hit 62˚F / 16.7˚C. Crazy weather.

Great day!!! I rode today! Pandora. The first time I've been in the saddle for over 7 years. I'm out of shape, but if I try to ride at least every other day I should get in shape fairly quickly.

Yesterday was warm and sunny. Today the rain is coming down in buckets. Tomorrow is supposed to be warm and sunny. I wonder what else will happen?

My farrier Anita came by today to trim the horse's feet. When she pulled in, I noticed that her trailer had a completely flat tire. It seems she's been driving on it for a couple hours, and the tire was completely destroyed. She didn't have a spare. So it's parked here and a new tire for it is on the way. It makes doing her job harder because her truck can't hold all the tools she needs, so she's been coming back to pick up stuff as she needs it. Her ex-husband (they're on good terms) is going after the tire. It's an odd size and is very hard to find.

Tom (Anita's ex) ended up putting 2 new tires on the trailer. The whole process of locating the tires, then changing them, took 5 hours.

Thunderstorms are supposed to start in an hour and last all night. The rain isn't due to end until ~9 am tomorrow.

Looks like Julie is still having computer problems.

Pandora is a real pill to mount. As soon as I put my first foot in the stirrup and try to swing up into the saddle she started whirling and bucking, until my second foot was in it's stirrup. Then she stopped and settled down. The first time I tried to mount her today she threw me. After that we practiced for a while with me mounting and dismounting, then I rode for an hour. I know I'm going to be sore tonight and tomorrow. I'm going to have to really work with her to get her to stand still while being mounted.

Maybe Pandora is trying to tell you she prefers to be hitched and driven.

I left a cup of coffee get cold, so I microwaved it. By the time I remembered to fetch it, it was cold, again.. I hate it when that happens..........

Why is it that the day and evening go by and my 'cold' is only minimally invasive, yet when I go to bed and try to sleep, I cough, sneeze and my nose runs 'like a faucet'?

Just shot another raccoon. It was out in broad daylight, right next to the fence to my yard and the dogs were going nuts. This raccoon looked like it had distemper, and was crippled. Most of it's tail was missing and a back leg was mutilated and nearly useless. Because of injury and disease, it was really skinny, which it shouldn't have been with the mild winter we had.

DOrA.... Pandora acts up when she's driven, too, unlike Whimsey. She's just willful and needs an attitude adjustment. I'll get her to behave, but it will take time.

Ah, nothing like a 'spirited filly'.

Just got back from my 1 year check-up with the Bariatric surgeon (20 days before 1 year, but he's moving his clinic to Frankfort, KY next week, so they moved my appointment up to cut my travel time in half). Everyone was thrilled with my progress. While my weight loss has slowed down (but not stopped), the percentage of fat to muscle has changed dramatically. I've lost a LOT more fat, but gained muscle, which weighs more than fat. And even though I had to use a cane today because of my sore back and right knee from yesterday, I've made major progress. I don't go back to see him for another 6 months.

Congrats Heidi - you have done an awesome thing for yourself. Take it easy with Pandora, it would be awful for you if you could no longer ride her because of your back. My skin cancer and donor site have almost healed after 2 1/2 months. I had my first shower today after all that time - it was wonderful. Basin washing drives me nuts.
Any news CynB about Col's eye operation - has it been booked yet?
Our summer has disappeared quickly - now into autumn temps - feel cold already. Only 19 degrees today and low 20's next week.
Where is everybody? This site is so quiet now.
My no. 1 son is now in Bangkok (from Seoul) with the remnants of covid 19 - due home next week and will be tested if it is still in his system. No 2 son flew to Bali yesterday - I even offered him double the cost of his flights but he was not giving up on his holiday. Be interesting to see if he gets back into Australia by the time he is due home.
No 2 and 3 sons and l made heaps of passata sauce a couple of nights back. Thought my daughter would be the one to be interested in bottling fruit etc but not so - the boys are. It is very satisfying when you can use your own (you also know there is no rubbish in it as fillers). Time to do peaches now. I have a Vacola outfit my grandmother bought around 1917 - still going strong.
Cheers to everyone and have a wonderful weekend

I'm trying not to post too much and make it look like my personal forum. But I'm so excited about my improving health. Last night I really ached a LOT, but I'm feeling much better now. I can't sleep because I want to get back in the saddle again. I'm up to riding tomorrow.... even tho' it'll be chilly. On Saturday or Sunday I'm picking up the poultry. One peacock , one guinea fowl and three Bourbon Red turkeys. . These are from the people I got my new buggy from. The day I pick them up depends on when they can catch the peacock.

Wonderful news, Heidi. (except for the Pandora episode, yesterday) It's nice that your doctor made the effort to see you before he moved his practice. Not too many would.

He'll only be an hour and a half away, and I will continue seeing him. But the new practice won't be set up for at least a month, so he's trying to see as many patients as possible before everything goes in limbo during the move. The hospital has not been able to find another bariatric surgeon to replace him, so either people go to another hospital and surgeon (who won't be as good as this one) or drive further.

Didn't ride yesterday after all. The back and knee were still too sore. Unless I go pick up the poultry, I'll ride this afternoon. It's supposed to be beautiful weather.

Had a nice, but tiring ride yesterday. I may ride again today, since it appears that they still haven't been able to catch the peacock.

I can't believe that I haven't posted here for nearly 2 weeks! I don't know why. I come to the Sudoku page and do the Easy and the Hard puzzles and if I'm busy I leave coming to SA until later. I haven't been that busy, I must be losing the plot.
Heidi, good news that you're doing so well one year after the surgery and are feeling healthier. You have good reason to be proud.

I have had some good news. I'm to be a great-grandmother. Emily is having a baby, due e=in early November. If it were any of my other grandchildren I would be shocked and worried that they had ruined their lives. Emily had her life ruined at 7 years old when her mother dumped her. This is all she ever wanted, to be a mother and a better one than her own mother. Yes, she is only 18 but she left school more than a year ago and had no real direction. This year she began a course in Early Childhood Care which she will finish and it may help in the future.
It won't be easy. The father is a boy she went to school with that she's only been seeing since New Year and I have no idea what he or his family thinks of this. It doesn't matter because her father, her sisters, Col and I - all of our family love her and will be there for her.
(Her mother told her to get rid of it!)

More delays on Col's eye operation. When we went to the retinal surgeon, he says there's so much damage inside the eye he's not sure it can be cleared. Col has to go back at the end of the month for more testing.
Basically, it means that unless they can clear inside the eye, the lens cannot be inserted.
Game over. Permanently blind in the right eye.
He has been trying to come to terms with this.

Midge, hope both your sons get back safely. I hadn't realised that the one that was in Seoul did indeed get the virus.
You should be selling the passata. It's among the products that have been in the panic-buy list because it comes from Italy.

Heidi your farm sounds wonderfully full of animals - would love to see it.
CynB - Congratulations to your grand-daughter - lovely she will have her baby to care for. I am sure with the support from you all she will realise how much joy a baby should bring - not what her mother did.
Not good news about Col's eye - hope the next appt is better for him.
No 1 son came back early and is in isolation in our van until his test results come back tomorrow to see if he is clear now. Mad scramble to get him a car to drive on Sunday so he could get to the hospital for testing and then to the van. I literally threw him the keys - couldn't get close and he made sure he was downwind from us. Hubby and I also went to the van early to stock up on supplies for him - so much for a quiet weekend. Probably have to do the same again at the end of next week when no. 2 son due back from Bali.

Drove out to pick up the poultry (2 hours each way), only to discover that she hadn't caught them yet, and they were roosting high up in a barn. I was able to catch the 2 male turkeys, but the turkey hen, the guinea and the peacock were unreachable. I told her that I will come back to pick up the rest once she's caught them all and penned them up. I am tired now and am going to bed.

Just trying to finally get a post to go through. {{{HUGS}}} to Everyone!

What a week! Too busy to have even attempted to read or post. Hubby had minor surgery on nis leg with several coverings. We were to remove Coban & the rest in 5 days, then change dressing daily for a week before returning to surgeon. In the interim he became very weak & 'melted' to the floor when he tried to get up on the fifth day. Between the two of us, we could't get him off the floor & had to call paramedics for trip to ER. He had an unrelated infection & was hospitalized. He MAY be able to come home today. By Saturday night I was dragging & nurse at hospital took my temperature. I had a fever & she said to go to immediate care, but the only one open that late was 15 or 20 miles away, so decision to wait until Sunday morning when a closer one opened. I have the flu, so haven't seen hubby since Sat. night. Hoping we'll get back to normal soon!

CynB, I'm sorry to hear about the setbacks in Col's healthcare. I hope things will look up when he has his next appointment! Sending positive thoughts his way! I hope all goes well for Emily! I'm so glad she has the support of family, at least those that matter!

Midge, I hope it turns out that Son #1 is completely clear of the virus and that Son #2 will be home soon without having had it!

Heidi, it's great that you have been able to ride, even though Pandora has not been cooperative. Great news from your bariatric surgeon! Congratulations on all you've accomplished! I wish all of the 'birds' had been ready for you to pick up after making the trip!

I'm going to post before I lose everything. Sorry I haven't responded to everyone!

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

Oh no, Julie.... You and your husband are going through a nightmare. Have you spoken to him on the phone since you can't see him?
((((( HUGS ))))) to both of you.

Oh Julie, that's awful! It must be a worry for you not feeling well and not being able to visit him in the hospital. I hope he's out soon and that you are both feeling better very soon.
Midge, you were lucky that you had to van to use as a quarantine facility. We would have nothing like that! Hope Son #1 is clear and that Son #2 comes back healthy.

Am lucky CynB, have had the same camping site for over 40 years. Timing works out well as we have to bring it home at the end of April. My van is nothing to aspire to though, 15' and 20 years old but in pretty good nick.

Hope you have your hubby home now Julie and you are feeling a lot better.