Sudokuaholics Anonymous 11

Heidi, I'm so sorry to hear of Sandy's diagnosis. Now, though, at least you know. Your plan seems good...

Didn't see that coming.

Never look down on anyone unless
you are helping them up.
~ author unknown ~

Heidi, sorry that the diagnosis on Sandy wasn't good. As DorA said, your plan looks good.
Julie, your husband is really having lots of trouble isn't he? Those Doctor visits seem interminable don't they? I hope they get to the bottom of it all soon and put him on the road to recovery or at least make him pain free.
It's so taxing on you both, the worry, the chasing around, the medical procedures etc. You'll both be in my thoughts as you continue to deal with this.

We are finding that coming out of our experience of Col's health problems that we feel flat and exhausted. We are doing 2 things in the hope of improving our outlook on life. We are taking a break at the end of September into October. Haven't had a holiday since our Cruise in March 2019. Granddaughter Hayley will come here to look after the dog and the house while we get away. We can't leave Queensland because the borders are closed so we will do the 'Queensland Art Silo Trail', driving into rural and western Queensland visiting some of the fantastic painted silos, also looking for street art, Art galleries, and local museums and whatever else we can find. We'll come back via the Sunshine Coast for a few days to see our best friends who live up there and we haven't seen them since January because of Covid. We both love a road trip! Can't wait.
We are also going to do some counselling, we have both been given free access via his Workcover claim.. I think Col has some serious PTSD, He's just waiting for the next whammy to hit. From being a happy, funny cheerful man, he's got quite introverted and grumpy. He's lost interest in everything. I have got him back in the garden again, it was a mess after two and a half years of neglect. The worst, and I don't know how this relates to his ailments, is that he forgets basic things and can't make a decision if his life depended on it. He can't even decide which TV show to watch.

I'm glad I just wrote that out. It clarifies in my head what I want to talk to the counsellor about. And of course, the way he is feeling is affecting the way I am feeling.

Just popping in with no time to read or write. {{{{{HUGS}}}}} to all!

CynB. The art silo trail sounds interesting. I've always enjoyed looking at the older farm buildings when driving country back roads. As children we used to spot 'girl barns' and 'boy barns'. 'Girl Barns' were the ones in good repair with a nice coat of paint. They were usually white or red with white trim.

After all Col has been through, I'd be surprised if he didn't have PTSD to some extent. It has been a ''hard row to hoe'', for the both of you.

Your 'escape plan' sounds good. Have fun........

The meds that Sandy is on seem to be helping already. She felt up to jumping up onto my bed and spending the night there last night. She's been hurting too much to jump up there lately. It's a very high bed. She's getting a total of 10 pills a day, and, of course, I wrap them in bacon. She likes that.

Anything tastes good wrapped in bacon. Nice little treat for Sandy.

Thanks DorA. It has been hard, but we're not alone. I always try to remember that there are so many people worse off.

I am still horrified by the shooting on Sunday of Jacob Blake. Jacon is black. Two women were having a fight next to his car, which contained his 3 young children. Jacob tried to calm them down and defuse the situation. He was unarmed and showing no aggression. He walked over to the door of his car and opened it to check on the choldren and 2 white policemen shot him in the back 7 times!!! He's still alive and fighting for his life, but he will be permanently paralized if he lives. His children are hysterical with fear. This was an unarmed man doing nothing threatening. Even if he had been, there is no justification whatsoever for shooting him IN THE BACK 7 TIMES! And if those cops are so racist as to be in fear of a person simply because of his skin color, they have no business serving as police officers, whose job it is to protect and serve. They have not been arrested or charged with a crime yet. When will this injustice end?????

Hi all... Col must feel like a dog off the leash now but wondering when the next big hit is coming. A break away will be good for both of you but it will take time - after you have looked down the barrel your perspective on life changes.
So sorry about Sandy - always hard when their time is coming but good the meds are helping her. I bet she is feeling very spoilt on your bed and constant treats.
Agree with you Heidi - it is so hard to comprehend what in the hell goes on in the police mindset. The problems the US is facing with racism and BLM riots is mindful of the 60's.
Sick of being in lockdown - hopefully only another few weeks before some of the restrictions can be lifted. One hospital has been closed with 600 staff in lock-down but not surprised - has always had the reputation of not being run properly.
Been watching two huntsman spiders in our bathroom for the past few days - playing cat and mouse with each other. - think I need to get out for a while. Have been doing a lot of cooking lately and freezing in portions so will do a delivery run tomorrow. We are also working from home now but not much doing- we are connected to the building industry and most projects have shut down - some permanently and our commercial markets don't want to buy Chinese glass. Even though our one and only Australian manufacturer of glass actually imports about 80% from China. Fickle industry.
Brother home but looks like another toe to come off - has osteomyelitis in joint now. Wish I could visit him but he lives about 2 hours away and we have a 5km limit we are allowed to travel in. unless we are doing senior care. His area is not in full lockdown so we are not able to go there.
Julie - sympathize with your hubby - anti-rejection meds can have some horrible side-effects - unfortunately they are very necessary.
Take care everyone and best wishes

Biting my tongue...

Thinking of those who may be impacted by Hurricane Laura. Stay safe.....

Midge, I'm heartened to see Victorian COVID casualties lowering each day and certainly hope that restrictions will ease for you all soon, but not so soon that more outbreaks will happen. I hope you get to see your brother soon. (My baby, and only, brother turned 70 on Wednesday. How did that happen?)
We have been lucky so far that our clusters are manageable and the first thing that happens here is that restrictions are put on aged care homes. I'm so glad that my parents have long gone. They spent their last years in care homes, I would have hated not being able to visit them. I still keep at home most of the time except going to our local IGA for essentials. Although yesterday I ventured to Officeworks to buy a new printer and laptop. I tried to sort it out online so I could do click and collect, but I ended up wanting to see what I was buying. I wore a mask (not mandatory here) and the shop itself was not very busy.

Yes, thinking of those affected by the hurricane. As if COVID is not enough. It would be good if the weather settled down.
Our weather people are expecting a La Nina, first in years, this coming summer, which means plenty of rain. It probably also means plenty of flooding. Last big one was 2011. So we have the dilemma of which is better - a crazy hot summer or major flooding. Not that we have a choice!

Col got woken up at 3.10am by a truck driver with a breakdown. The annoying ring of his work phone woke me too and I've been up ever since. It's dawn now and I'm yawning. I have the luxury of being able to go back to bed, which is what I'm going to do now. Poor Col went to work early. He usually starts at 5am anyway, but he left here at about 3.45am. Ciao!

Oops, another late night and an early alarm tomorrow. Just letting you know all's well, and I'll try to get here earlier tomorrow. {{{{{HUGS}}}}} to all!

Laura has just arrived here. I'm expecting a really rainy night. Fortunately, her winds are down to a max of 40 mph.

Hunker down, Heidi. Stay safe........

Laura ended up being a bit of a disappointment. The radar showed a huge storm front with tornados and lightning. We got no wind and only light rain. We could have used more rain.

Spoke too soon about being bored - Thurs night had huge winds (nowhere near as big as Laura ) but caused a lot of damage in it's path through the hills with large gums down, power and internet outage for days for some. Our glass roof and wall was not looking very good at one stage. We have spent 2 days clearing up and burning large branches and now need a tree lopper to get the rest that have half broken off and are hanging and resting on the balcony and chimney. Son no 2 repaired the roof tiles that were broken - we were very lucky to have had a pile of 'spares' as our house was built in 1973 and these tiles have not been produced since. After this experience I cannot imagine how scary hurricanes and tornadoes would be. What comes with the next spin of the dice?

New laptop, had to sign in - took a few goes to get it right. First I put commas between Redlands and Qld and Aus. Second try I dropped the commas and put in the full word 'Australia'. Had to check on a post I'd made. At least I knew my password. Third time lucky.
Midge, sorry about the windy weather and the damage. Victoria isn't having much luck these days. At least the Covid numbers are going down. We've got a small cluster going up here but so far under control. But hot spots are getting closer. One of the two shopping centres that I use, is now one of the hot spots visited by the infected.
We're not forced to wear masks yet but it's obvious to wear one while out and about. I have some disposables but my friend was making and selling cloth ones so I ordered some from her. But the logistics of just meeting up to collect and pay for them - we are meeting at a coffee shop this afternoon but practicing social distancing. Easier to do with strangers than with friends or family who we usually hug as a greeting.
Have a good day everyone!

Heidi, after re-reading, I'm wondering if your bacon bill will equal or surpass the meds bill...

Darn! Another late night. Thinking of everyone & sending {{{{{:HUGS}}}}}

I have found a cheap source of bacon at $2,95 a pound. Irregular pieces. Otherwise the bacon bill would be very high.

Really feeling cruddy. Ear is bad, and the fever comes and goes.

Wow, it's more than 24 hours since anyone has been here.
Hopefully Heidi's ear hasn't got worse and she's just resting up.
No news from me which is good. No news is good news!

Darn! I had a good long post last night. I wonder where it went?

One of the ''Great Mysteries of Life'', Julie...

Still feverish with body aches and heavy pus discharge from the ear. I feel like crap.

Just a quick Hello! Sending many {{{{{HUGS}}}}}, positive thoughts, prayers, , and much healing energy for all! Off to bed now. Good Night!

Tried running some important errands today (wore a mask, of course), got very lightheaded and dizzy and gave up after the 2 most important errands. I couldn't even focus my eyes to drive.

Feeling a bit better today. I don't feel as feverish, and the ear isn't as bad.

Good to hear you are feeling, at least, a little better today, Heidi.

The Kentucky Derby is being run today in just under 2 1/2 hours. The favorite is Tiz The Law, who dominated the Belmont Stakes and the Travers Stakes. The second favorite is Honor A. P., a grandson of the late A. P. Indy. He has both Seattle Slew and Secretariat in his pedigree, and runs like his grandsire A. P. Indy. He's also got fascinating markings. He has so much white on him that he qualifies as a minimal pinto. Another horse I'm cheering on is the 48-1 longshot Necker Island. He's owned by Greg Harbut, an African American. His father entered a horse that he bred and owned in the '62 Kentucky Derby, but because of his color, he was not allowed to have his name in the program. His grandfather was Man O War's groom. Protesters are demanding that he boycott the Derby, but I think him running a horse is extremely important for demonstrating black equality. It should never be about the color of your skin. It should be about what you can do. Greg Harbut knows good horses.

Oops... I missed a generation there. It was Greg Harbut's great =grandfather who was Man-O-War's groom, and his grandfather who had a horse in the '62 Derby. I just learned that his grandfather was not even allowed in the stands to watch his horse run because they were for whites only. Greg Harbut is demonstrating that there HAS been some change for the good. I really hope his stunning chestnut does end up in the money.

It was a good race.. Tiz The Law was beaten by Authentic, with Mr Big news 3rd and Honor A. P. 4th. Greg Harbut's horse came in 9th. But the winning time was 2:00:61, one of the five fastest Derbies. Honor A. P. was badly bumped and knocked around at the start, and that took a lot out of him. I'm impressed that he finished 4th after that start.

Don’t waste any opportunity to learn; listening is an invaluable skill.

Find a way to appreciate every person.

OK, I'm exhausted and must have mis-counted. Sorry, it wasn't even a BOPP. Good Night and Good Day to all!

It's OK, Julie. You made the effort and I like the thought.

I like it, Julie.

BOPP