Sudokuaholics Anonymous 11

I have never hated a man enough
to give his diamonds back.
- Zsa Zsa Gabor

Funny, DOrA. I just read that quote yesterday. I've gotten into solving cryptoquotes at night before going to sleep.

Feel cruddy today. Its the ear infection. The ear is oozing a lot of bloody pus. I'm not going to do any big jobs around the farn, just the basics of feeding and watering everyone. Otherwise, I'll just take it easy and read.

A big storm came through last night. A couple of my dogs were shaking from the high winds, thunder and lightning. It's been confirmed that a tornado touched down in my county. I'm still trying to find out details. I haven't heard about any injuries.

DorA, I've never given diamonds or any other jewelry back either. Once gifted to me, they are mine, all mine! That said, I have nothing of any great value either!
Heidi, I'm always so sorry to hear that your ear has flared up again. And it worries me that the doctors can do nothing about it. Hope it eases up very soon.

On Monday, after a lifetime of suffering anxiety and panic attacks on and off, that have got worse since Col's accident and cancer and since I have had to face that I am over 70 and that comes with it's own many challenges, I finally spoke to the Doctor about it and he put me on a very mild anti-depressant. After only 1 week I am amazed at how much better I feel. I forgot what normal felt like. I was perpetually sick to the stomach, had trouble sleeping and I had got to the point where I just didn't like to leave the house. I seem to have more energy and am getting things done that I have put off. For the first time, in a long tome, I can say that I feel good!

That is WONDERFUL, CynB. I'm so glad you finally got help after all the stress you've been under.

The tornado touched down in the opposite side of the county from me. A bunch of homes were badly damaged, but nobody was hurt.

I'm glad the tornadoes touched down elsewhere, Heidi. But I feel for those affected by them. Mother nature can be hard these days. I saw about tornadoes in the US on our news but I thought it was in Georgia. Wherever it was, the devastation was awful.
It's been bad watching how people have had their homes destroyed by recent floods here. I even saw one area where they also had to deal with last year's fires. Bad double whammy!!

There were tornadoes all over the southeast, CynB. There were even tornado touchdowns and LOTS of destruction in Birmingham, Alabama, where MizTricia lives. I don't believe the damage was in her neighborhood, though. Birmingham is a big, sprawling city.
We had another round of major storms go through last night. From the high winds, and the little bits of hail I heard, there probably were more tornadoes, this time closer to me. I'm just going out now to assess the damage, if any.
I had a frustrating day yesterday. Robert wanted to take all of the accumulated scrap metal to the metal recycler, so we gathered it up annd puled it high on my trailer. I had already checked on line to make sure that the one closest to me was open on Saturday. Their website said they were open until 4:30. The other metal recycling places were all closed . So after the work of laboriously loading the trailer here and tying down the load for safety, we drove over to the American Legion Hall, where they had a big pile of scrap metal they had offered to Robert. We piled that on as well as we could, then drove to the recycling place, arriving there at 2 pm. They were closed. Their sign even said they were open until 4:30, but the gates were chained shut. So I turned around and drove back home with that big load. I found a good spot to park the trailer and unhitched it. Tomorrow I'll hitch it up again, pick up Robert, and we'll take it to his favorite metal recycler, a half hour's drive each way. Slightly higher price from them, but with wear and tear on my truck, gas, and my time, I see no advantage. But I dislike wasting my time going somewhere that claims to be open and isn't.

My horrible ex has the farm next door. he appears to have leased most of the land to someone with a motley assortment of cattle. One big, ugly bull has torn a hole in the fence between us and gotten in with Mike's and my cattle. I need to go sort him out.... not easy because he has a temper.... and then fix the fence. I'm not sure if I'll hold the bull inside the secure pen in the barn until the owner realizes it's gone and comes looking for it (so I can make him pay for repairs), or just run him back where he's supposed to be. I was tempted to take him to the stockyard and sell him. I can get about $1,200.00 for him. Maybe more. But that's not the honest thing to do.

I got the stray bull caught.... I used my bull whip, and he stopped trying to charge me. He's now locked in a pen in the barn until Mike and I decide how to handle this. Mike's bull had gotten out through the hole that this stray bull had made, so I got him back on my property and have the herd locked out of the pasture with the busted fence. Mike will be here about 6 PM, and we'll repair the fence and decide how to handle the stray bull. Molly helped me a little getting the stray bull caught. She's a purebred Catahoula, a breed specifically bred to round up wild cattle and hogs. The bull had thought to turn and charge me when I wanted to get him into the barn, so Molly lit into him, nipping his back legs until he turned and ran where I wanted him to go. Dawn decided that he was a bit too much for her, and got out of the way.

I was just notified that my 2 Marans pullets have been shipped. Oh, excitement! They won't start laying their chocolate colored eggs for another 4 months, but I get to look forward to that in the future. They'll start laying about the same time the Saphhire Olive Eggers start laying. A month ago I bought 6 of those chicks... all pullets... to add to the flock. The pullets are a blue gray color witha crest of feathers on the tops of their heads. They lay a dark olive green egg. I know I don't need the eggs.... I'm already donating 10 - 12 dozen eggs a week to the food pantry for needy families... but they're so much fun. The bantams will lay eggs that are really too small for donating to the pantry. I may eat a few, and let them hatch out the rest to run loose and eat bugs.

We got the fence repaired... stronger than it had been... and we decided to send that ugly bull back where he came from. Mike thought he was a miserable excuse for a bull, too. I'm hoping he didn't breed my heifer that he was in with. That'll be a poor quality calf if it takes after that bull. He's a mixed breed bull... black with some white on the face, no muscling to speak of, narrow chested, skinny butt, and a rotten disposition. But all of the cattle next door are mediocre specimens. There's not one I would want on my property. Mike is of the same opinion. (If that bull bred my heifer, the calf will be born around Christmas.)

You never have a dull moment Heidi - should send the ex a bill for repairs.
Sorry you are in lockdown again Cynthia but at least it isn't for too long.
Hope Julie is on the mend.

Off to deliver eggs to the food pantry, then pick up Robert, hook up the trailer full of scrap metal, take it to the recycling center, then back home to unhook the trailer, then back to the food pantry to pick up boxes of food for him and his wheelchair-bound neighbor. Then back out to sort out Mike's bull, who has proven to be unable to breed cows. Mike will be sending him to the stockyard in the morning. I was up early this morning helping Mike AI a heifer of his.

Yes, we are in a 3-day lockdown until late Thursday. Hopefully that's all. We'll see what happens today.
Our numbers seem small, but in a state that went for 2 months without a case we have had a couple that have been in unvaccinated frontline workers in hospitals that have unknowingly infected others. This is to allow contact tracing, to allow people who may have been in the same areas to be tested, and hopefully they will get it under control. We have been taking in returning expats through Papua New Guinea, where the UK strain is rampant. These people come here into quarantine. It can't be helped but it is annoying, especially as it will almost surely affect everyone's plans for Easter.
One bright note was that we went into the city for Col to see his eye doctor and the motorway was almost empty, We're only allowed to leave our homes to work, to exercise, to seek medical treatment and to buy necessary supplies. And masks are necessary.

I am exhausted.... and I did little. Sitting in line at the food pantry for an hour and a half was stressful. That was after taking the metal to the scrap yard (Robert got $65.oo for the metal, and needed every penny) we went back home, sorted out my heifer and put her in with the herd, put the bull in the pen in the barn with fresh hay and water, then left for the food pantry. They were completely disorganized (I think they had a shortage of volunteers) and didn't start the distribution for over an hour after the announced starting time. I'm back home and want to take a nap, but I have to feed and water my birds, then keep a close eye on the tracking on the 2 Marans pullets. They haven't arrived in Louisville yet. They should arrive in Elizabethtown less than 2 hours after arriving in Louisville. I'll pick them up in Elizabethtown. There is no way I'd ever be able to find the Post Office in Louisville, nor want to risk driving there at night. My truck is so old that the door locks don't even work. And going there would only save the birds less than an hour of transit time. Picking them up in Elizabethtown will save them 8 hours transit time.
Mike is due here in a couple of minutes for the bull, so I'm off to the barn.

I wish the US was as organized as Australia... and that so many people followed the guidelines to make everyone safer. Here we have the majority of Republican leaders still denying that there's a serious problem and undoing the restrictions requested by the President and the Health Community. Covid is still running virtually unchecked here, except for the vaccinations. And every Republican is sending a different crazy message that the others. One example is MY corrupt Senator: Mitch McConnell. He announced yesterday, for the first time, that all Rebublican MEN should be vaccinated. Forget about the women. The Rebublican Governor of Florida invited all Spring Break kids and young adults to come to Miami to party. No masks, no social distancing, no restrictions of any kind. He wanted their money to boost the economy. They gathered en masse for an enormous super-spreader event, despite the objections of Miami's Mayor. Insane. Those young people will go home and infect their families and friends across the country. I wonder how many thousands will die from this?

Our postal service has slowed down. It's 1 AM, and the 2 pullets haven't arrived in Louisville yet. I'm annoyed. I'll have to get up at 6:30 to check tracking again and start calling Post Offices.

I wasn't able to pick up the two little pullets until 6:30 AM. They're here and appear very healthy. They're a lottle smaller than I expected.... they look more like 3 weeks old than 4 weeks old, but since I still have a leat lamp out in the pen in the barn for them, they should be OK. I hope. We're supposed to have a freeze tonight, after a week of highs around 70˚ F /21˚C and lows at night of 50˚F / 10˚C. The temperature has been dropping all morning. When I left at 6:30 this morning to pick up the pullets, it was 59˚F. It's down to 45˚F at 11:45 AM.

lottle = little, leat = heat

The only consolation for you is that your corrupt senator has just lost half of his votes. What on earth is he thinking of? It is like denying the awful annihilation during WW11 didn't really happen.
Hope all your little pullets are o.k. in your cold weather. It is so interesting the different coloured eggs you will be getting.
Does Col need more procedures CynB? You both must be getting very sick of all the appts and different ideas. Glad you are feeling better CynB - coping is hard enough without depression and anxiety attacks. Nobody should have to cope with them.
We had a large fire near us - 5 acres and buildings bought by the Chinese for $30m a couple of years ago and it was going to be developed. Unfortunately for them, the buildings were classified as heritage and couldn't be demolished. Put on the market for $27m and no-takers. Fire started in 3 different areas - suspicious??
Hope Julie is on the mend.
Happy easter and take care.

That fire sounds way too suspicious, Midge. And way to convenient for the owners. I don't care what nationality they are, you destroy heritage buildings by arson for personal greed, and you should be made an example of. They should have known before they bought the property that the buildings were heritage, and if they couldn't cope with it, they shouldn't have bought it. That sort of information has to be disclosed before purchase, and is written on the deed. If they bought it with the idea of committing arson in a few years, the crime is premeditated and the punishment should be doubled, at least. Historical buildings and landnarks cannot be brought back. It's so sad for the younger people there who can no longer learn from them.

The new little pullets made it through the cold last night just fine. They're out of the draft in the barn, with finely chopped straw and hay bedding (specifically sold as poultry bedding... it even has Sweet PDZ mixed in, which neutralizes ammonia from their droppings) and a heat lamp. And there are 16 little birds in there that can huddle together under the heat lamp for extra warmth. It got cold enough last night to form ice on all the water tanks .... except for the poultry. Even the adult chickens and turkey got a heat lamp inside last night. I'll use it again tonight, since they're calling for a hard freeze tonight, After that, it's supposed to warm up a LOT.

We've had those suspicious fires happen here too. A beautiful old heritage listed hotel, one of the oldest in Brisbane, was sold to developers who couldn't demolish it because of it's listing, was set on fire - not much damage the first time, so they tried again later and really damaged it. It cannot be saved. But I think investigations are still going on.
Yes, they now want to do another procedure on his eye, injecting something directly into it once a month for 3 months with only a 50% success rate. It is now up to Workcover whether this gets done or whether they stop treatment and finalise the claim. It's a dilemma - do you keep going in the hope that something will eventually work, or just stop? The old adage comes to mind, 'you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear'.

Good Friday morning here.
The Lockdown was lifted early at midday yesterday to allow people to get moving to their holiday destinations.
The empty Motorway from our trip into the city on Tuesday has now been replaced by a stream of traffic heading to the beaches north and south of Brisbane.
Good for them. We are staying home and seeing the family on Sunday.

If you haven't seen this, you should...

Dubai World Record Eagle Flight

https://www.youtube.com/embed/6g95E4VSfj0?autoplay=1&autohide=1&showinfo=0&iv_load_policy= 3&rel=0

You will have to remove the space 'policy= 3&re'

I had seen that a while ago DorA. But to others who have not, it's well worth a look. Seeing a bird's eye view of Dubai is fascinating.

Just changed my avatar to an Easter one.
Happy Easter to all.

To everybody in Sudokuland!

The final freeze of the Winter is over, and it's starting to warm up again. My newest little pullets/chicks made it through and are doing great. I'm off to the feed store for more chicken feeds in about an hour (chick starter, 6 grain scratch, layer crumbles and freeze dried grubs) I feed my birds well, and they're producing huge eggs for me. Once I'm back, I'll be mowing the lawn for the first time this season. The chickens will get some lawm clippings as well. They LOVE 'em!

My horse trailer is out on loan again. I even had the right 7 prong adapter that fit their truck, so they can use the lights and electric brakes. I'm delighted that I can help out friends like this. There's no point in having equipment and not using it.

I got everything I needed at the feed store and I'm proud that I resisted the temptation of buying more bantam chicks. They had a bunch for sale.

Greetings to all Fellow Sudokuaholics! I am SO glad to be back among you! March really threw me for a loop! I'm really hoping that a new pattern hasn't developed for the month of March. There was certainly a series of unfortunate events last March and again this year!

My left hip had been very painful for several months, so I made an appointment to see an orthopedist. He diagnosed bone-on-bone arthritis and also bursitis and wrote a prescription for physical therapy. On our way to an appointment with a physical therapist the next morning we were in an automobile accident. Our car 4-month old car wouldn't restart in the intersection, and we were instructed to stay in the car until a tow truck arrived, so I was unaware of the pain in my right foot. By the time we found a taxi to take us home, it was apparent that I needed to go to the hospital, where they diagnosed a broken fifth metatarsal. Two days later we had our appointment for our second Covid vaccine (55 miles away from home) and had to get another taxi to get to our appointment (at a cost of $350). Then I had a large break-out of cellulitis on my left leg, followed by a much smaller one on my right leg aggravated by the 'cam boot' I had to wear on my right foot. The cellulitis didn't clear up with the first antibiotic, or the second one, so I was sent to a Wound Care appointment at the hospital. They took one look and sent me to the Emergency Department and was admitted to the hospital. In 10 days the cellulitis was almost completely cleared up, but the infectious disease doctor wanted me to continue the IV antibiotic. The only way I could do that was to go to the rehab facility. I fought against that at first, but finally gave in, because I was told an oral antibiotic was far less effective and the cellulitis was like to re-erupt. Fourteen days later, I have finally be released from the rehab facility. I apologize to everyone for being unable to alleve any concerns for my well-being. It's an experience I hope never to deal with again.

Back

Julie!

Julie's back!!!!!

As happy as I an to see you, my friend, I bet you're happier to be home!

And just in time for Easter!

I hope everyone had or has a wonderful Easter/Happy Passover or at least wonderful weather for a spring/autumn day!

Thanks so much for the warm welcome! It's great to be back! Now I need to get caught up on reading comments!

I wasn't able to mow the lawn yesterday. The battery on my mower was dead, and when I tried to jump start it with my jumper box, I discovered that I had forgotten to recharge the jumper box after the last tiime I used it, So I charged up the jumper box past night and jump started the mower this afternoon. The lawn looks a LOT better freshly mowed, now. Mike complemented me on the job.

(I have a 54in / 137 cm Zero-turn Bad Boy. Red color. It even has a fuel gauge like a car. I'm crazy about it.)

Welcome back Julie, glad to hear you are home and feeling better.
It was a worry to us all when we realised you hadn't been on SA or FB in over 10 days.
Fortunately we have sleuths among us who found you and what was happening.
Big hugs

After re-reading Julie's narrative of her 'March issues' I can unequivocally say she has had her share and then some.... It has to get better!

Agreed.

I took Robert to the hospital today for a knee x-ray. He spent the weekend in a LOT of pain. I think it's a sprain, but he needs to know that, too. After I got home, I took out my chain saw and did some serious pruning on my Winesap Apple tree. It was long overdue. The tree looks a LOT nicer now with the lower branches removed and the inner branches thinned out. I'll be able to harvest the apples a lot easier now. And mowing around the tree will be a lot easier. The Arkansas Black Apple tree only needsd a little thinning.
Tomorrow morning I have an appointment at Pain Management. In the afternoon I take Robert to the food pantry again. I would like more time at home to play around with the horses. I want to go driving.