Sudokuaholics Anonymous 11

''The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.''

~ William Arthur Ward

No microwave today. The earliest they can get it here now is Friday between 11 am and 2 pm. The poor installer has had the day from he11. If he tried to get here tonight it wouldn't be until midnight. I told him to go home and get some sleep instead. No matter how badly I want my microwave, his day has been worse.

Just a quick Hello and Good Night. I'm beat! {{{{{HUGS}}}}} to all!

The chickens are in ecstacy roght now. They've got the run of the farm and I just finished washing out all of their waterers and refilling them with cold, clean water. They're covering the barn lot like a herd of dinosaurs, humting and devouring insects. Fun to watch. They're going to have free run tomorrow as well. I haven't decided about Saturday, yet. I'm going to a wedding in Louisville, and I'm not sure I want them loose and unprotected during the day.

Tomorrow (Friday) the chickens will have to be locked in their run (not exactly torture... the outside run is 30 foot by 50 foot, and has a few shrubs for shade) because I have to give the dogs run of the barn yard again while waiting for the microwave to be delivered. It really miss being able to zap a cup of hot water for bariatric soup, tea or coffee, toss in a quick meal or make some microwave popcorn.

Today is a housework day. I prefer doing outside work, but this is occationally necessary.

My last epidural has just worn off, and I have 19 days to go until the next one. I have a good supply of pain meds, and will most likely be on full dosage until then. I am especially unhappy about this because tomorrow I HAVE to go to the feed store for alpaca food and dog food. That means heavy lifting tomorrow, an awful night after that, and a wedding to attend over an hour's drive north the next day. I suspect that on Sunday I will be screaming at anybody who tries to talk to me. Fortunately, I don't have to drive anybody to a single doctor's appointment until after the epidural.

That's a long time to wait for relief of your back pain, Heidi.
Is there no-one who can help you with the heavy lifting? You seem to be always helping others but other than the vet, no-one seems to be there to help you. (Not my business, I know!)

I am car-less today.
My son and his girls are finally moving house today, they have been packing and preparing for a week. He swapped his big powerful Ford FPV for Colin's Ute for today and the weekend while they move. But Col's not comfortable driving it in case something happens. So it is sitting here and Col took my car to work. I would not be happy driving the FPV either, but I might give my son a scare and tell him I'm taking it for a spin.
He'll be horrified!!

The people I help have worse health issues than I do, and can't help me with anything heavy. Robert would try if I asked him, but he would be in serious pain afterwards. He still has a lot of nerve issues from that massive stroke he had.

I HAVE A MICROWAVE!!!!! I just made some popcorn.

So far, I've heated up water to make my bariatric jello with fresh sliced strawberries and I've heated up an egg roll. How have I lived without a microwave for the last few weeks????

OK.... I've unloaded 200 lbs of alpaca feed, 100 lbs of chicken feed and 160 lbs of dog food, All are stored in rodent and moisture proof bins. I'm done with all my chores until dusk, when I lock chickens up in their pen for safety.

Yayy, I'm glad you have your new microwave, Heidi!
We never know how much we rely on things until they don't work any more.
We have cellular blinds on our 2 front windows. They help to insulate the house in hot or cold weather. One of the best investments we ever made. This week, the cord that operates the one in our living room has broken and the house is so dark inside. I'm so used to putting the blind right up in the mornings and then letting it down slowly at times during the day.
Have to get it fixed asap.

My body aches. My head is congested. My ear is oozing large amounts of bloody pus. I feel like cr@p. I am not overly enthusiastic about going to the wedding today but I really want to see my friends. These are people who care about me. But since I care about them, too, I'll wear a mask today.... in case what I have is contagious. Masks aren't only for Covid-19.
I decided to give the chickens free run today, and risk them being loose unsupervised. They know wnough to stay out of the yard with the dogs, fortunately.

That was the nicest wedding I've ever been to. It was outdoors n a beautiful setting in perfect weather, but with the meal served indoors in a charming barn used for events like this. Before the wedding started, the organizer made an announcement asking everyone to refrain from taking pictures with their phones so they didn't disrupt the ceremony. The professional photographer could provide photos to any that wanted them. I liked that. The mother of the groom had me sit with her family since she considered me part of their family. I was honored. Then the groom walked up to me and thanked me for my gift. I had asked his mother what they really wanted and she sent me to their registry. It turned out that the item I chose was the one thing they wanted the most. The bride and groom had chosen a color scheme, and gave the bridesmaids a basic format for their dresses: full length and simple, but airy, and they each got to chose a style that was most flattering to them. It looked wonderful. They said the standard wedding vows and added their own vows as well. They both talked about how they were long time best friends first, and you could tell that every word of the wedding vows was heartfelt and honest.
There were a lot of small children there, and it was wonderful watching all of the adults interacting with love and kindness to the children during the reception. The pack of kids would run from one adult to another and get hugged and loved in and told how special they were. They were included in everything. There was so much love in the air. I've never seen anything like it. Especially sweet was the father/daughter dance with one father dancing with 2 little girls under 6 years old, and another young father with his 4 month old daughter in his arms out on the dance floor, gently swaying with her. I hope he tells her about his first dance with her on HER wedding day. I don't think I'll ever forget today.

That sounds like a lovely wedding, Heidi! It's not often we see kids at weddings (here anyway). Great that the weather was good to them as well.

Col has his third and probably last eye injection today. Since the other two haven't worked, he doesn't hold out much hope for this one. Could be the end of the road. The doctors have nothing else to offer.

Good luck for Col today Our neighbour in Jindalee was blind in one eye from trying to save a dog in lime - ended up driving trucks so I hope Col can have his spirit too if this last injection is unsuccessful.
Sounds like a lovely wedding Heidi - a lot nicer than the one before. How great to be involved with your 'extended' family. Hope you are feeling a lot better.
Met my daughter yesterday and saw her 'new' abode (since February) but because of covid, couldn't go and even with the 25km restriction, she was just out of it. Her beautiful Leo (pure white rescue cat) ran up to me - so glad he remembered me. Luna the feral black one, was nowhere to be seen as usual. I thought rubbing catnip on my legs may help her come out of her shell but i couldn't find any. Next time. We had lunch and a long talk and i gave her a rug I knitted for her (Rosie the Riveter) - it took nearly 9 months - she was rapt. Rosie on one side and 'you can do it' on the other.
How are you Julie?
Physio suggested I up my steroids so have been on a higher dose for the past 3 days - back and legs still complaining. Cardiologist on Thursday - not looking forward to that one. But 70th on Sat and thanks to the restrictions, nothing doing. Maybe go to the races when no. 3 comes back for a visit from Darwin. Aquarium out - they are now charging $300 per person for a 3 course meal in the dome glass cafe - what a ripoff. Will take myself in on my own - probably enjoy it more anyway.
No 2 son 50kms out to sea tuna fishing - not much luck so far. They tried 2 weeks ago when the tune were around but new restrictions came in and the boat ramps were closed. so 8 hour drive for nought.
Met no. 1 son for his birthday (2 weeks late) last week - we were allowed to share a dining room with 47 other people, but he was not allowed to visit us in our home as the travel area was 10km then - our govt are like Keystone Cops!!!!!

Nice gentle rain today. It was starting to dry out enough that I had to start watering my petunias and strawberries, so it's a welcome event. Plus, it minimizes the outdoor shores I can do today. I was thinking of removing all the left-over hay tolls in the barn, counting them, them restacking them so the oldest are in front. I'm guesstimating that there are something like 35 rolls left, and they're perfectly good since they were stored indoors. We managed the pastures so well last winter that the cows had good grazing all through the winter (It blew Mike's mind that we were able to do that.... no other farms he knew of had as much grazing as we did.) so we went through very little hay. Most was used for weaned calves kept in confinement, and horses. We're only going to have to buy 25 to 30 more rolls this summer in case we have a bad winter. I can do this restacking job once this rain chance has passed in a few days.

Yesterday I started cleaning out the chicken barn. The dirty bedding and poop had gotten pretty deep. I have a large dump cart that can hold 1,500 pounds (680 kilograms) and I filled it twice, and dumped everything on the compost pile. All I cleaned was the inside pens, not the feed storage area. I cleaned that part this morning, and found a huge nest of baby mice. I gave them to the hens. They acted like it was Christmas! I think this was their first batch of baby mice, and the little dinosaurs decided that they're delicious. I think from now on, mice will not be safe anywhere near the chickens.

I don't have to drive anybody to any appointments for a while. Nothing until my epidural on July 7th, then an eye appointment for Robert on July 9th. That's the one when they tell him if he can go to the optometrist for glasses so he can drive. He's REALLY hoping that they tell him that the eyes have stabilized enough for glasses. He really wants to be independent again.

Now I hear thunder in the distance, and getting closer fast. The rain is coming down a LOT harder. It's raining cats and dogs.

shores = chores, tolls = rolls.

Col's eye injection went better than last time when it hurt and he felt it pop as the needle went in. He was quite nervous yesterday but told them of his experience last time so they made sure the local anaesthetic was working and that he had a good 10 minute wait after before he saw the doctor.
Now he waits. Goes back in a month and they put a yellow dye into his eye and take pictures. They compare these with the before ones taken months ago. This will tell if there has been any progress.
Midge, he will never be able to drive a semi trailer again. He doesn't want to and he's too old anyway. And, thankfully, they want to keep him in the position he's in now - he's made a good niche for himself there. He wasn't always a truck driver, that was just a job he took on after we sold our business - any job is better than no job. He has always worked in logistics management - like I did.

I'm so glad Col's injection went better this time. I hope he has better results, too. Miracles CAN happen. Just ask Robert.

CynB never meant for him to drive truck again - just used that as an example of what Mac was able to achieve. He was the loveliest man I have ever met - and was a garbo. I still visit his wife who now lives on Bribie when I came to Qld. Unfortunately still not for a while.
Son no. 2 on way home from tuna fishing - very disappointing. They will go again next month. Lockdown closed the boat ramps when the tuna were running.
Many homes in our area still without power and inaccessible with large fallen gums. Our State govt were so slow in getting the military in to assist with cleanup. Tired of the lot of them. No electricity, no water (contaminated) - in this cold it has been terrible for some elderly residents.
DorA - hope you and the hound are keeping well.
Hope your back holds out o.k. with all the work you are planning Heidi before your epidural.

Hi, Everyone!

It's late, and the alarm will go off at 5:30, so I'm off to bed.

Hoping to be back tomorrow!

Why such an early alarm, Julie?

The ground is still too moist to drive the lawn mower on it.... we got over 4 inches of rain that one day.... so I've been out with my chain saw and lops cleaning out a fence so I can move it. The alpacas are in a feeding frenzy eating the branches I've cut out. Most are mulberry, which they adore. I'm taking a break before firing up my tractor to lift out the fence panels and move them to a more convenient area. This was the area where I fed grain to the cows, but I decided to move it to a more centralized spot. It will make catching cows to work them much easier.

I. Am. Exhausted. It's the good type of exhausted from knowing you've done a major job, and done it well. It was a lot harder to do than I'd expected. The feeder panel latches connecting them together were really wedged tight. I had to use the tractor to lift each side of the heavy panels while I worked on freeing the latches with a 2.5 lb sledge hammer. Once I freed up each panel, I'd use the tractor to carry them to the new location, then set them up and reconnect. I also had to move the feed bunks.There were 10 of the 10 foot long panels and 1 12 foot corral panel, which will get used for another project. A couple of the panels were engulfed by wild rose bushes aith LOTS of thorns. Those had to be cut out and cut up and put on the burn pile. All that's left is to pull up 11 heavy wooden fence posts, but I'm not going to do that until I've got something to fill in the post holes with so cattle won't step in the holes and break their legs. They'll be easy and fun to pull up. I just wrap a logging chain around each one, attach the other end of the chain to the tractor's front end loader and pull up. It's as easy as pulling a toothpick from a bowl of pudding.

That's an expression I have never heard 'easy as pulling a toothpick from a bowl of pudding'. I must remember that.
You amaze me with what you can accomplish, Heidi. Just reading how you moved the fence panels made me tired. I'm such a city girl/office job type. I have to admit I've never worked that physically hard in my life.

That expression is my own invention. Somebody has to come up with new stuff.

Hi, All!

No time to read or respond. Just sending {{{{{HUGS}}}}}

I just stopped at the Vet Clinic to pick up more medicine for Sandy’s cancer control. When I pulled into the parking lot, a lady was unloading 2 big fuzzball puppies from her SUV, and had more than a handful with one. She couldn’t carry both, and neither would walk on leash. I offered to carry the other one for her. I immediately commented how unusual it was to see Leonbergers, and her jaw hit the ground. She said that I was the first person she’d ever encountered outside a dog show who knew what a Leonberger was and could recognize one (and she’d encountered AKC judges who didn’t recognize the breed!) I explained that I was a long-time dog person, and I used to show a lot, as well as judge all-breed Match shows. Her ears really perked up at that. It seems that her Leonberger club is starting the process of going for AKC recognition, and needs to get some Match Shows under it’s belt. We discussed judging priorities (the betterment of the breed; inside and out, as well as judging the correct end of the lead. She now has all my contact information. I would LOVE to judge a Leonberger Match Show! No dates as yet. I know Mike the Vet will give me a good reference, as well.

That sounds wonderful Heidi - give you an outside interest away from the farm and running around after others - something for you.
Went for an iron infusion yesterday, couldn't find a vein even with ultrasound so back next week for imaging first. Busy week coming up - 2nd Astra, Cardiologist, Infusion - but at least it i time away from work - getting so tired of it.
How is Col now CynB? Stay away from the Mexicans!!
Julie - are you going o.k.?

When Mike stopped by this evening he had a good laugh over how shocked the lady was that I recognized Leonbergers. That was the first thing she mentioned to him when she took the pups back to get their shots and exams.

I got all the fence posts out. That part was easy. But it's bloody hot out, and I kept having to climb up and down off the tractor to put the chain on the post, get back on the tractor, lift the post out of the ground, drive to where I was unloading the posts, get off the tractor, undo the chain, get back on the tractor, drive to the next post, get off the tractor, attach the chain, etc, etc., etc. Besides opening and shutting gates. I was using the pallet lifter attachment on the tractor because it has a ring to attach the chain to. Once I moved the final post, I took the pallet lifter off the tractor and attached the bucket. Then I got a full load from my compost pile to use to fill in the holes. I'm taking a meal and a/c break for an hour before grabbing the shovel to start filling in holes. I showed the job to Mike last night, because I wanted him to see a tree stump I left. It's hidden in some tall grass, and I didn't want him to hit it with his tractor or bush hog and cause serious damage to his equipment. He appreciated that. We'll figure out later how to remove the stump (4 inch / 10 cm diameter). We have it marked with a white step-in post right now to prevent accidents.

Oh, yeah. One post attacked me. When I look the chain off it, it hit the ground and bounced back up at me. Hit me in the face. A metal eye bolt on it smacked me hard less than half an inch from my eye. It left a nasty cherry sized lump and I'm already developing a humdinger of a black eye.

Hi, Everyone! We have been extremely busy the last few days, but I'm trying to get caught up here. Unfortunately, the keyboard and my fingers are not agreeing. I'll try to find all of the typos before submitting comment.

Heidi, how awful that your epidural ran out before the calendar did! I'm glad you have access to pain medication in the meantime! What a relief that you now have a microwave to make meal preparation easier and quicker as you wait for your next epidural.

CynB, I hope the move went well for your son and his girls! Have you been able to get the cord for your cellular blinds repaired?

Heidi, your description of the wedding is so heartwarming. The young couple should be on the receiving end of much wonderful karma for the amazing celebration they provided for everyone!

CynB, I hope Col's eye injection went well and provided some improvement

Midge, I'm glad you were able to see your daughter, her new place and her cat Leo. Perhaps next time you can try out your idea of rubbing some catnip on your legs in the hopes of seeing Luna. The rug you made for your daughter sounds wonderful! You obviously made good use of your time during COVID restrictions! Seems like it may be a while before you see your sons next, which is a shame. At least you were able to celebrate S#1 birthday, even if a bit late. Hoping next time S#2 goes out tuna fishing is productive!

Midge, it's too bad dinner at the Aquarium is so cost-prohibitive! No doubt, they have many needs for funds, especially if COVID has drastically reduced the number of paying visitors. On the other hand, that high cost will prevent many people from being able to enjoy such a special evening!

Heidi, you did very well conserving on usage of hay rolls last winter. I hope you'll be able to buy what you need for the coming winter at a good price!

The hens must be very happy with all the cleaning you did and the gift of baby mice, plus their free-range time. You're going to have plenty of eggs to share at the food pantry.

CynB, I'm glad Col's injection went better this time. I hope when he goes back for the dye and pictures, there will be some evidence of improvement!

Midge, that's terrible that so many people are still without power and their homes inaccessible because of all the trees that came down. The lack of electricity and safe water can be life-threatening for older residents, especially if they have no one to help or check in on them.

Our very early morning was because of an 8:00 appointment with the ophthalmologist. Hubby used to be punctual about getting places earlier than necessary. Now he doesn't seem to care about being 15 or 20 minutes late. Many doctors in our area won't see you, but will charge you for the appointment if you're more than 20 minutes late. He still doesn't seem to realize that it takes longer for me to get to the car, get into the car, and for him to get the wheelchair into the car. He's no longer a young and strong man.

Heidi,

Heidi, it's amazing how many different kinds of jobs you are capable of, but they're certainly necessary on a farm. Good for you for moving the fence!

How exciting for both you and the owner of the Leonbergers to meet each other! Must be fate! I hope you will get the opportunity to judge the Match Show! What fun for you, the dogs, and their owners!

Midge, you certainly have a busywork coming up! I hope all goes well, and I'm glad you'll be able to have some time away from work!

I realized that part of the reason I have been so busy is because I am back to practicing the cello and working on learning new music and trying to figure out fingerings that work. I think my foot is healing, although the incision hasn't completely healed. We are now required to change the dressing at home. My next appointment is in mid-July, and the doctor won't do an X-ray until then. At least the pain is much less, sometimes not even noticeable.

DOrA, are you still dropping by to read? We hope all is well with you and the hound. Take care of yourself and say Hi occasionally. Are you on Facebook?

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

Col and I are off to get tested for Covid today. He has a cold and if he goes to work tomorrow without test results he will be sent home to get it done. And I have my second Covid shot on Tuesday. They ask if you have been near anyone with flu-like symptoms. I could lie, but I'd rather say 'yes but we have both had the tests' and show the results.
Julie, the saga of the blinds went on for a while, the company we got them from was no help. They don't make their own blinds any more, they are made in Asia and we were out of warranty. They gave us the number of a company who might be able to fix them. They were lovely people but could not fix them because of the way they were made. They were too awkward and difficult to fix. But they gave us a clue for a temporary fix of cutting out the frayed piece and joining the cord again with heat. It is working but for how long I don't know.

This is the sort of reason technology scares me. Stuff becomes obsolete quickly, then you have to replace it rather than repair it. Costly.

Off to the feed store again......