Sudokuaholics Anonymous 11

Carry a heart that never hates,
a smile that never fades,
And a touch that never hurts.

Col had his portacath removed yesterday. That's an end to the cancer saga. All that's left is the occasional checkup. Apart from being happy that he's cancer free (which is a biggie, I know) I am so happy that our hospital visits are done - It seems over the past two and a half years, we have had so many days of getting up at 4.30 am to be at a hospital early for one procedure or another. We are 30kms (19 miles) away from the closest hospital and we have dealt with 4 different ones between the eye and the cancer. We'd have to remind one another which hospital we were heading for on any particular day.

At least the hospital yesterday let me wait in their big foyer area, where they have many 1, 2 and 3 seater couches. I took a book and alternated between reading it and playing games on my phone. I also went to the coffee shop for coffee and danish. I was there from 6.30am to 11am.

I am SO happy for you both, CynB.

Still under the weather, but at least the pain and swelling in the ear is down.

Heidi, I'm glad to hear you were able to get some rest - and that it helped your ear and the swelling is down somewhat. I think you're wise to make an appointment with the ENT, even if it is no longer so much of an emergency. I hope you can keep allowing yourself a day of bed rest as needed!

DOrA, your lifestyle fortunately helps to reduce exposure to others. It would seem highly unlikely that you could catch COVID-19 with such limited exposure.

We don't get outside of the house much, other than to a dentist appointment early in the week and a doctor appointment today. Hubby will probably need to cancel his PT appointment this week. I'll need to do a grocery run before the end of the week. Once every couple of weeks we might order a pizza or burrito bowl for pick-up. Somehow we still seem to be rather busy, in spite of few commitments.

CynB, it's so great that there are so few COVID cases and people seem to be conscientious about mask wearing or social distancing in your area. People here are usually pretty good, except for the occasional maskless shopper or someone who doesn't seem to think it's necessary to cover their nose with their mask.

Thinking of everyone, whether they post, only read, or only drop by occasionally! Sending healing energy, positive thoughts, , {{{{{HUGS}}}}}, and prayers for all! Take care, Everyone, and stay safe!

Great TOPP, DOrA!

What wonderful news for Col AND for you, CynB! It's wonderful you no longer have the specter hovering over you, and you can both breathe a sigh of relief! Also, how wonderful that you won't have any more of the 4:30 a.m. alarms ringing, or wondering which hospital to point the car to on any given day! Did you both do a 'HAPPY DANCE?' We're all happy for you both!

And now, I'm off. Take care and stay healthy, Everyone!

Julie, we didn't even get to the stage of wearing masks here in Queensland. (It isn't mandatory). I always carry one with me but have never felt compromised enough to need it. Even now I'm careful where I go, most shops and supermarkets only let a designated number of people into their store and you have to wait for one to come out to be allowed in. Click and collect, online ordering and takeaways have become the new normal. Cafes and restaurants are now open but only to the designated number of people that fit into their available space. That is nice, to sit and have a coffee and cake after shopping. Col and I did that for the first time yesterday. While he picked up his watch which had been at the repairers for 5 months (reason - Covid - pfffttt), and had a hair cut, I slipped into my favorite craft shop which was near empty and enjoyed myself.

Ah, the simple pleasures, eh, CynB?

Wow, CynB! We haven't been mask-free since March, even to pick up a fast-food order in the drive-up lane, and we've only done that 3 or 4 times. Haven't been to a sit-down restaurant in even longer. Because hubby is immune-compromised, he hasn't been in a store of any kind since the end of February. Sometimes he'll drive me to a store and wait in the car so he can get out of the house. And I read today that Chicago is expected to be a new hot spot. I don't know how far the line will extend out from the city, but hope we won't be included.

DOrA, it seems that you also life a simple life and probably don't have as many worries about exposure. I understand it's at least partially by choice, but certainly a welcome result of choice.

I hope Heidi is just having a day of rest and relaxation, and hoping her ears are improving. Take care, Heidi!

I miss hearing from some of our other friends. Hoping Midge and salty and others are doing well!

I'm dragging today. Have now (at least for a while) become designated driver to get hubby to any appointments, including PT. Thinking of everyone and sending healing energy, prayers, positive thoughts, {{{{{HUGS}}}}}, and ! Good Night and stay well!

The ear is doing a bit better today. The swelling is gone.

I'm taking ny beloved Sandy in to the vet in 3 hours. Her front shoulder is really painful. I'm praying that it's just arthritis, but I'm terrified it's bone cancer. I lost her sister Daisy to cancer a few years ago. I can't imagine not having Sandy around. She's an extreme Alpha who has to be in charge of everything. She's 10 years old now, so I know I don't have a whole lot of years left with her, but I'm hoping to ease into it gradually as she ages.

Good news, about the ear, Heidi. Hoping for the best for Sandy...

Oh Julie, it seems never ending over there. I hope your area doesn't become a hot spot and that things will get better for you soon. Col is no longer classed as immune compromised but I keep the sign at the front door just to make anyone think before coming in. But really, aside from family, we haven't had anyone visit at all. On the whole our state has done very well and closed borders help, but the number of people caught trying to get in by hiding in the back of cars, trying to walk in by jumping fences and just the other day, hiring a boat in NSW and attempting to to get in that way. They were caught and fined.

Heidi, I hope something can be done for Sandy or that whatever is wrong with her is not as bad as you are thinking.
Glad your ear is doing better.

We don't know yet what's causing the pain. Her neck and shoulder are both tense and painful. Mike the Vet gave her a laser treatment on both of them, and we've started her on painkillers and anti-inflammatories. We'll see how she responds and go from there.

Heidi, it's good to see the improved news about your ear! I hope your fears about Sandy are unwarranted! I'm glad you were able to get her to the vet quickly and hope the laser treatment, painkillers, and anti-inflammatories provide some relief for her! Sending positive thoughts for her and you!

CynB, I hope all those who are trying to enter your state are stopped/caught/fined as needed! Are they trouble makers or just trying to see friends or relatives, or ??

Hubby's back seems a bit better today (second day of PT heat & electric stim.) He often naps after lunch, but that was when he had to go to PT, then we rushed home for my cello lesson via Zoom, then rushed to a nearby hospital to pick up recent MRI and EMG reports. We were able to get a virtual appointment with a new doctor for Wednesday - unheard of to get an appointment in under 2 months, but someone had just called and cancelled. Maybe that's some kind of sign?

Thinking of everyone and sending warm and positive thoughts, healing energy, prayers, , and {{{{{HUGS}}}}}. Take care, Everyone, and enjoy your weekend!

Julie, that's a lucky break to get that appointment. Glad your hubby's back is feeling a little better, hope that continues.
Heidi, fingers crossed for Sandy.
Sunday morning here. Lovely fine day after a few rainy and stormy ones. We even lost power yesterday for 3 hours or so. That's always when we notice how much we rely on electricity. Lost the wifi, could access internet via 4G on my phone but didn't want to flatten my phone battery when I can't charge it. Desperate for a cup of tea. I had a nice piece of beef that I was going to slow cook with vegies - that didn't happen! Could have done it on the BBQ but it was low on gas.
Sigh!!

CynB, what a day! I'm glad you were only without power for 3 hours or so! Electricity is such a large part of our lives, and it's easy to forget that until a power failure. Are your oven and stove top electric powered, natural gas, or bottled gas/butane? Having a BBQ that is gas powered is such a convenience, until your supply runs low or runs out.

I honestly don't remember the last time we had a power failure that lasted multiple hours, so I guess we have been extremely lucky! We were very lucky with a derecho, a rare storm that crossed multiple states early in the week didn't hit our area as hard as others. One sister has been without power since Monday afternoon, unless it was fixed today. A brother and sister-in-law had a neighbor's large tree fall on their recently repaired and re-sided garage. It was a little-known kind of storm with straight-line winds between 60 and 115 miles per hour that stretched over 250 miles or more. The Weather Channel reported, ' It arrived in one long-lasting swoop and carried a mixture of heavy downpour and fierce winds that topped an intense 112 miles per hour, leaving more than 1 million homes and businesses without power.'

Heidi, I hope Sandy is feeling better! I also hope your ear is continuing to feel better!

Thinking of everyone & sending healing energy, , powerful thoughts, prayers, and {{{{{HUGS}}}}}! Take care, Everyone!

Got the lawn mowed today, and got more fence line weeding done. The place is slowly looking better after years of neglect when I was too sick to weed.

Julie, I heard about that weird weather phenomenon that you had the other day. Glad it didn't hit you. Hope your sister has power by now. What annoys me about losing power here where we live is that the entire suburb has underground power so when the storm hit it must have got the powerlines that feed into the estate.
My oven and stovetop are electric powered.

Heidi, it's great that you have been able to do many of the chores that needed to be left undone before! How nice that you can feel proud of the way it looks! Just don't over-do. 'Slow and steady wins the race.' You can enjoy it more if you can stay healthy and relatively low-pain.

CynB, our neighborhood also has underground power. As with you, the problem is when the power leading in is compromised for whatever reason. When you need to rely on electricity for both your oven and stovetop, there isn't much you can do.

Luckily, recently we have been relatively lucky as far as power loss is concerned. Where we lived before we had many power outages. Often we would lose power, but the houses on the other side of the street were fine. It was quite aggravating.

I hope everyone is well and staying healthy! Thinking of everyone and sending healing energy, {{{{{HUGS}}}}}, positive thoughts, prayers, and !

I slept most of the day away today. Got VERY little done.
I'm very much pacing myself on the fence line weeding. I limit myself to about 30 feet a day, and that can be hours of work. Some days I do nothing on the fence line. I've done maybe a quarter or less of the fence around the lawn. I have finished 95% of the weeding around the house. This'll keep me busy for the rest of the summer, I guess.

Last evening we, the hound and I, had canine, overnight visitors. I saw two strange dogs passing through. I went out and they both came right up to me without any encouragement. Figuring that they were someone's lost dogs, They had no ID tags. I tied up the larger of the two. They were fed and watered, of course. The one I tied up didn't raise any fuss about being tied up. I was pleasantly surprised. I took the smaller of the two for a Basset or Beagle, but wasn't sure about the larger one. Being it was a warm, dry night I wasn't worried about them spending the night outside. They were just as friendly / mellow this morning as last evening.

It wasn't until I found the owners 'missing dog' post that I found out the larger dogs breed. After Heidi's experience with a Belgian Malinois dog, some time back, I would have expected different behavior. But he was super friendly. They both were. I guess it is a matter of how they are raised / trained.

I had put out some 'feelers' but no one could help me find the owner. I, in desperation, decided to check 'online'. I 'Googled' Lost Dog, in my county. I found the owners' posting and contact info within 10 minutes. She told me that though they went missing, yesterday, she didn't post them lost until this morning, hoping they would return on their own. The owners were happy and came to pick them up within 15 minutes of me calling. Happy ending.

Shortcut to their picture on my page: https://sudoku.com.au/PhotosBig.aspx?PID=16280&UID=30407&Go=V27-6-1990

I think the hound was happy to see them go. He didn't appear to enjoy sharing me with them, though it was a 'social occasion' for him........................

The male Malinois I had, Smokey, was extremely friendly with every human he met. He was just a livestock killer, which is unusual for the breed. I'm glad your two visitors got home safe and sound.
We're in the middle of a thunderstorm right now. I'm going off line.

Good for you finding the owners of the dogs, DorA! They would have been relieved.

Is it my imagination or has the location for the FORUM link been moved sideways to make way for a new link called BOOKS which is sudoku books for sale on Amazon? Not happy, Gath. Pure crass commercialism!

Hi, Everyone!

Heidi, I'm glad you know yourself well enough to know when to take a day to rejuvenate! You have done so much this year, and it obviously will wait for you to have the time and strength to keep going. You have obviously accomplished more this summer than in some recent years. I'm glad you're able to appreciate all the work you have done!

DOrA, I'm glad you were able to 'capture' your canine visitors and keep them safe overnight until you could find their owners. Thanks for sharing a photo of the two. They certainly looked mellow and happy. I'm sure their owners were relieved that the dogs had been found and cared for. I can imagine that 'the Hound' wouldn't have been thrilled to have to share your company, but at least he apparently was able to deal with the situation.

CynB, I apparently don't pay much attention to the page when it comes up. Is the change you mention recent, or have I been completely oblivious? Does it have anything to do with the cost of keeping this page and associated ones available, do you suppose? I have no idea what it takes to sponsor a website.

Thinking of everyone and sending healing energy, positive thoughts, prayers, {{{{{HUGS}}}}}, and to Everyone! Take care and stay safe and healthy!

I agree with Julie on this one, Cyn. Now that many of us have found ad blockers the site would earn very little by way of ad revenue. I would be very happy to find links to reliable and relevant marketers on the site if it helps to cover costs. We already have links to travel sites (which I have myself used on occasion), and as we age I suspect quite a few of us might use links to health and wellbeing sites. Perhaps members could be asked what type of additional sites they might appreciate.

Nice to see you post again, Saltie! How are you?
Some of those 'Sites we like' are actually owned or run by Gath himself. I know he runs 'I want that Flight', I suspect he runs 'I know the Pilot'. None of that worries me, I was just miffed that the 'Books' link, which is basically an advertisement, was put where the 'Forum' link for members always was.

Hi, Saltie! So glad to see you dropping by! I hope you're well and avoiding any crazy viruses! I have only occasionally paid attention to the other sites listed. I hope the other sites you have used were helpful and not overpriced!

CynB, it would certainly have been nice if the listing for Forum had stayed in its usual and familiar spot! No wonder you were concerned about the change! As I look at the other listings there, they all seem to be related to either Sudokuaholics or the original sudoku.com.au site. it does sort of seem like the Forum spot was usurped. It's not as if the listings are alphabetical. I wonder what was the determining factor for the order. I also just took a good look at the 'Sites We Like' list, which I haven't done in ages. It does seem like at least some of them are Gath's. Does anyone know when Gath started sudoku.com.au? I know I've been coming here for many years. It was VERY active when I first started - sometimes ten or more pages of comments in a day both there (Sudoku) and here (Sudokuaholics). I know some of the early regulars still frequent the Sudoku site, but I don't get there very often.

I hope Everyone is well! Sending warm & positive thoughts, healing energy, {{{{{HUGS}}}}}, , and prayers for Everyone! Stay well and stay safe!

Julie, I joined the Sudoku people in 2007 and was a latecomer. I thought it started in about 2004 but the Archives only go back to 19th May 2005. On that day people were mostly recording their times, there was not much chat.
I love this site, it has been a lifeline for me when I have needed someone to talk to. I count many of you as my personal friends, even the ones I may never meet. But, I have worked out that I have met more than 50 sudoku people.
Not bad considering there could have been axe-murderers among us.

Sometimes I think we come here so we don't become axe-murderers!
I first came here late 2006 or early 2007, though I didn't become a member until much later. For me it has been a refuge from some of the very low points in my life, a means of escaping reality for a while, even if I'm just chilling out doing the puzzles. I don't post much these days because my hands don't behave very well - they shake so much I can barely enter passwords correctly. But I can still click to read comments and play the puzzles!

Saltie - sorry about your shaking hands (Parkinsons?). I have trouble with mine too but mine is Arthritis and this time of year in the cold they are worse. I have trouble doing all the fiddly bits in the crafty things I like to do. The price of getting old, I suppose. And better than the alternative.
Yep, I found Sudoku around the same time as you when I was dealing with a family rift that meant I barely slept at night. I found the sudoku site for the puzzles and stayed for the people who are now my friends.

Hi, Everyone!

CynB, your comment sent me back to the Archives. I checked on the first date listed for May and also May 31 of 2005. I don't remember when I started coming to the site. I was a lurker for a long time before I got brave enough to post. One day when I have more time, I may spend a bit of time 'investigating.'

saltie, you may be right that the camaraderie here helps prevent us developing into axe murderers. It's too bad that shaking hands prevent you from posting as often as you might like. Remember, it doesn't need to be a long post. Just a quick Hello let's us know you've been here and are OK. (I was wondering if the shaking is called essential tremor, which a friend has, or is the result of anti-rejection medications (which my husband experiences). Stay well and enjoy the puzzles and your visits!

CynB, I'm sure I also started just for the puzzles, but as people became more comfortable with 'chatting' and sharing some bits of personal information, I found I spent a lot of time reading. I think I have only personally met 2 Sudoku members, but certainly feel a friendship with many more! If I weren't on facebook, I would have lost touch with many of them.

I hope Heidi is well and getting some rest, as it becomes possible. Thinking of Everyone and sending healing energy, prayers, positive thoughts, {{{{{HUGS}}}}}, and . Good Night, and Stay Well!

Julie, I saw a photo on the FB Sudoku Group page recently where you and your hubby, who took the photo, met up with Jane and Plum. That's the only photo I have ever seen of you.
I just did some checking, you joined Sudoku on May 1st 2007, and I was 6 months behind you, I joined on October 25th 2007. Those dates are according to our own pages where lovely members used to go to and welcome newcomers and leave cyber gifts. How could anyone resist friendship like that?

Not feeling good, and staying on bed every possible minute. Fever, body aches, sinus pain and lots of discharge from the ear. And Sandy isn't responding to the meds Mike the Vet prescribed. I'll call the Vet clinic in the morning so we can maybe try something different.

Greetings to Everyone!

Wow, CynB, you are definitely a great investigator to have found out when I joined Sudoku. I really had no idea. It's interesting that we joined so close to each other. It seems likely that saltie beat both of us visiting the site, as she was thinking it was late 2006 or early 2007, though she said she didn't become a member until later.

Just sitting here remembering our personal pages and the cyber gifts we left for each other. I tried to remember to check each day to see if there were new members to welcome. Times have certainly changed, as have our lives and family commitments, I guess.

Heidi, I'm sorry to hear that you're not feeling well. I hope things will improve in the coming days! Is there any chance you might be able to at least see the ENT? I'm also sorry to hear that the meds prescribed for Sandy are not helping. Hopefully Make the Vet has another medication available that may help her!

I hope Everyone is healthy and doing well. I know it gets harder for people to pop in and comment every day or two, so I'm thinking of Everyone and sending healing energy, {{{{{HUGS}}}}}, , positive thoughts and prayers! Take care, Everyone! We hope to see you soon!

Tomorrow morning Sandy goes in for x-rays under full sedation. We're checking for bone cancer. I have a very bad feeling about this.

Good Evening, Fellow Sudokuaholics!

It has been a long day with an early start. Tomorrow will seem even longer with an even earlier start. Today started with my annual mammogram. Tomorrow starts with hubby having an appointment with a physiatrist who is affiliated with the neurologist's practice. I had an idea what a physiatrist is, but looked it up to be sure. 'A physiatrist practices in the field of physiatry - also called physical medicine and rehabilitation - which is a branch of medicine that specializes in diagnosis, treatment, and management of disease primarily using 'physical' means, such as physical therapy and medications. So I guess hubby's neurologist is looking for more answers, as he recommended getting a second opinion from another neurologist, a second opinion from a neurosurgeon, and seeing the physiatrist.

Heidi, I hope you are feeling better, and I hope Sandy's x-rays tomorrow don't confirm your feeling about what she is dealing with. I'll be thinking some very powerful and positive thoughts for her and you tomorrow!

I'm about to head to bed. Thinking of Everyone and sending healing energy, positive thoughts, prayers, {{{{{HUGS}}}}}, and for each of you! Take care and stay well!

Sandy is at the Vet Clinic for the day. My fingers are crossed that I'm wrong, and it's not cancer. I SO want it to be something treatable.

BOPP

I was right, unfortunately. Sandy has bone cancer, and is also in the earliest stage of lung cancer. I will not put her through chemo. We're going to concentrate on keeping her as comfortable as possible as long as possible. I'll let her decide and tell me when it's time.