Sudokuaholics Anonymous 11

ACCEPT what is
LET GO of what was
HAVE FAITH in what can be

Wise words, CynB

Things got a little interesting for the cows. We're working cattle next Saturday, and turning a bull in with the cows, and A.I.ing the heifers. Mike sold his Black Angus bull to some neighbors last week, but the bull decided he didn't like them, so he jumped their fence, trotted down the road, and jumped the fence to get in with our cows. So he'll get just over a week to breed anything in heat. Oh, well.

Oops, introducing ''traveling man'' genes into the pool...

This bull sired calves here the past 2 years, so it'll just be more of the same genes.

I had an routine visit at pain Management today. The back has been hurting quite a bit lately, so I have an epidural scheduled for June 12th. I was shocked when they told me it's been a whole year since the last one! The back is definitely improving.

Today I started weaning Angel and Benny, the young alpacas. Angel is 8 monthe ols and Benny is 6 1/2 months old. They're NOT happy being sererated from the herd, but Hunter is thrilled to be back in with his harem.

I got all the mowing done again! The grass grows so fast.

38 hours until we work the cattle herd. Vaccinations for everybody. Fly tags, pour on insecticide, deworming as well. The 3 bull calves will be castrated and the 3 cows that were A.I.'d 2 months ago will be preg checked. Then we'll also start sychronizing the 5 yearling heifers to A.I. them next week to a Gelbveih bull. The rest of the cows will be turned in with a Hereford bull this time.

OK... the cattle are all caught, they've been fed grain and they have hay and water for the night. In the morning, all I have to do is open or shut a few gates and run the herd into the holding pen behind the barn, then into the barn. Mike will be here at 10 am.

OK... The cattle have been worked and the traveling bull is gone back where he belongs.
Of the 3 cows we A.I.'d, only one is pregnant, but it is the best of the 3.
Everything went smooth as silk, and nobody was injured..... but we found a strange heifer in with the herd. And she was a bit crazy. If her owner doesn't claim her, I have a free yearling heifer.

Greetings, Everyone! It has been a long time since I was able to visit here. I'm sending a very big THANK YOU to Heidi, who called a few days ago and updated me a bit on SA. I've only had time to read this page, so I'll do a very quick review of the past month.
Around the middle of April I had two trips to the ER about a week apart. The first was because of swelling, warmth, and redness of my legs from ankles and up about halfway to my knees, causing concerns about possible cellulitis. They did ultrasounds of both legs, wrote a prescription and sent me home.
The following week I was talking to an adviser on the phone. She asked me 3 times in a row if I was alright. The first 2 times I just randomly answered I was okay without really thinking about it. When she asked again, I thought about it before answering, then answered truthfully that I actually wasn't reeling well. She told me to get off the phone with her, call my primary care doctor, and do whatever they told me to do. Her sense of urgency convinced me to follow her instructions. I was told to call the paramedics, who told me they were on the way to take me to the hospital ER.

If I have time, I'll write more later tonight or tomorrow.

Take care and sleep well, everyone!

Good to see you back Julie, hope you are on the improve. Sounds like you have had an awful time and it is so nice to be back in home territory.
You have been very busy again Heidi with your cattle, alpacas and mowing.
Son no. 2's gf from Thailand is still with us, will be here a total of 3 months before she heads home in early July - if it was me I wouldn't stay as the weather in Melbourne is pretty cold (though not as cold as the US). We had an earth tremor last night (3.7 scale) that shook the house and woke everyone up except for hubby - he is so deaf that no amount of banging would wake him. We have all had rotten chest colds and been tested for covid yet again. I think because we virtually spent 2 years indoors, we haven't been exposed to the many usual viruses.
Hope everyone is keeping well, cheers for now.
CynB - see you went to the Banksy exhibition - how wonderful.

Happy Memorial Day here in the USA.

I was walking one of the pastures yesterday, and much to my shock I discovered that an old well I didn't know about had been uncovered in the center of the pasture! That well has to be well over 200 years old! It's lined with stones and is about 3 feet across (~ a meter) and 10 feet deep (the rest is filled with debris). It's a massive danger to livestock. So today I'm going to use the tractor to move old mulch and hay and fill that hole. I plan on taking a photo first, though.I've walked that area and driven across it many times and never seen any indication of a hole, much less something like this!

OK.... I just delivered a gallon bag of fresh🍓 strawberries🍓from my garden to some friends having a family picnic. Then I stopped and visited with some other old friends for a while. Then drove home, fired up the tractor 🚜 and filled in that old well shaft. I left a 2 foot (almost a half meter) mound of soil on top to allow for settling.
Now I'm relaxing inside with some chicken paprika, one of my favorite dishes.

Good Evening, Everybody! Thanks to CynB, Midge, Heidi, and all who wished me well. It's good to be back, but I find it hard to have enough time to read and respond. After the crazy month I had, I am trying to lead a much more healthy lifestyle, including getting more sleep. On occasion I have had time to catch an afternoon nap, but it's not happening frequently enough. I still am struggling to catch up on mail and bill-paying, but find it quite slow and 'mind-numbing.'

Midge, how nice to have most of your family in residence! I hope you are staying well and send healing wishes to your brother too. I hope your son's girl friend from Thailand is able to find ways to keep entertained and active to help from feeling homesick. (I apologize if I've misconstrued all that is going on. Your life seems to be quite hectic.

CynB, it seems so amazing that your grandees have grown up and are now leading an adult lifestyle. It's nice to read about them and know they're doing well!

The years have certainly flown by since SudokuAholics made the scene. We have all devoted a lot of time to our internet friends here! I'm not sure what year this started, but I know my younger grandee, and maybe even the second youngest hadn't been born yet.

YUMMMY! A gallon of fresh strawberries sounds wonderful! Just over a year ago I started ordering groceries through Instacart, an online grocery shopping service. Getting fresh produce, especially fruit, is challenging. We don't get the same shopper from week to week, as they seem to be randomly assigned as orders come in. I try to be somewhat specific about what I prefer, such as mostly green bananas, as they ripen so quickly and I like them a bit green. Some shoppers follow my requests fairly well, but others don't seem to take the time to even read my requests.

Oh my! It's after midnight and I need to get up early. I'll try to be back tomorrow and add more information about my medical escapades. Good Night, Everyone! Take care!

I've got a nice, quiet few days here. I think I'll use them to clean my fish pond. It's a good thing to do on a hot day.

Didn't get to work on the pond. We've had intermittent thunderstorms, and I won't play with water durring that danger. The weather forecast said nothing about any storms today.

I justunloaded 500 lbs of feed and sorted out the 5 heifers with CIDR's in them. CIDR's are used to regulate heat cycles. You insert them into the cow and leave them for a week. When you remove them, the cow comes in heat and can be bred. We're pulling the CIDR's tonight, then A.I.ing them to a Gelbveih bull in 2 days. If my Red Angus heifer or my Gelbveih heifer has a bull calf, I'll probably keep it for my next herd bull.

To be specific,
A CIDR is an intravaginal device constructed of a progesterone-impregnated medical silicone elastomere molded into a T-shape. It is labeled for estrus synchronization in beef and dairy cattle. Cows are administered GnRH, and concomitantly a CIDR is inserted and maintained for 7 days.

OK.... CIDR's pulled. We'll do the A.I.'s at 2 PM on Sunday.

Good Evening, Everyone! I hooe everyone is well!

Heidi, thanks for sharing the info about CIDR's. I think that's a new topic that hasn't been discussed previously.

I'm not getting as much done as I had hoped and expected. Today I wrote a few checks. wrote a birthday card for the middle one in Massachusetts, made a few phone calls to arrange appointments, then had my care giver drive us to the post office, the accountant who was able to get the taxes done, them to the lab to pick up a couple of tests my primary care doctor wants done. When I got to the lab, I was told that there were orders on file for a few blood tests. Since I was already there, I figured it made sense to do the blood tests. When we got home we found a food order had been delivered. By the time that was sorted, it was time for my caregiver to leave, and I was pretty worn out.

I'll try to drop by again in a few days.

So good to hear from you again, Julie. We missed you. Sorry you have had some health issues. I'm glad you have a carer to help you. Getting older really sucks, doesn't it?
Heidi - the process of AI is much more complicated than I ever imagined, if indeed I have ever thought about it. Hope all goes well on Sunday.
Midge, yes, that Banksy exhibition is well worth seeing when it gets to Melbourne.
I have been okay except for my knees. I had a bad week dealing with a painful right knee (arthritis) but it has improved as long as I'm careful. I'm using a walking stick a lot more these days especially when I'm out on my own. Falling is a scary thought for me, I could never get myself back up because of my size and my knees.

I spent a couple of hours today cleaning the fish pond. I had to stop because my back was killing me. I'll do some more tomorrow, after we work the heifers.

We got the 5 heifers A.I.ed. Scorchingly hot day... 90˚F and no breeze. I had to take a nap afterwards.

DorA - finally uploaded Rosie the Riveter to my gallery - sorry about it being so large.
Now working on a swooping Magpie throw for my eldest son - his favourite football team.
Take it easy in the heat if you can Heidi - you will get exhausted.
Hope you are on the mend Julie - good to see you back.
Cheers for now.

A busy couple of days. Robert had his wallet stolen, with driver's license, Social Security card, bank debit card, insurance card, and food stamps card. That was Sunday night. Yesterday and today he had doctor's appointments, so I've been driving him to them and in between helping him deal with canceling the debit card (the thief was spending Robert's money as fast as he could) and getting the bank to give him the stolen money back, getting a new license, and helping him get the insurance information he needed for his appointments. I'm exhausted. I think Thunder is tired, too.

What a horrible experience for Robert. You are a good friend Heidi to take all of that on.
We have large thunderstorms crossing over Victoria now but think we are on the fringe of it - just lots of rain.
Having cataract off my left eye in a couple of weeks - thanks to steroids. Having a bit of difficulty with night driving unless the roads are very well lit. Right eye is not so bad.
Wish we had some of your strawberries Heidi - A$6 for 250g here.
Hope you are feeling better Julie. Great you have a caregiver. It would make your family feel much easier.
My sister has just gone into hospital (81yrs) and her daughter is arranging some home care for her now - her partner is resistant which will lead to a few problems down the track. She told me off for not having flu shot when I caught a virus and now she has the same.
CynB - I have a collapsible stick in my car for the days I feel a bit unsteady - they are very handy.

thanks, Midge, for the pics. I was able to re-size to view. <control><scroll> works.

Hi, Fellow SudokuAholics!

Thank you for some lovely warm 'Welcome Backs!' I am truly trying to get here on a regular basis, but you may have noticed that it's not a nightly visit. Between being a bit of sleep-deprived due to sleeping in hospital beds and trying to get back 'in the swing' and get caught up, I can't seem to find time to get to the computer until quite late. Neuropathy and carpal tunnel syndrome are also not friends.

CynB, please be careful when walking about. As you said, I think many of us are at that crossroads when we are strongly admonished not to fall!

Midge. I truly can't imagine how you are able to accomplish as much as you do!

Heidi, I'm glad you got the heifers AIed and finished cleaning the fish pond, in spite of the heat. I'm so sorry Robert had his wallet stolen! That's a horrible experience and truly inconvenient! I hope the bank helped to get the stolen money back to him!

Midge, I hope your cataract surgery goes well in a few weeks! I hope your sister's stay in the hospital goes well. Finding home care can be challenging. I was fortunate to have a very energetic and happy young lady to substitute today, and we got many errands done. It was her first day with the company ( but certainly not her first day as a care giver!

Hello, DOrA! I hope all's well with you!

I'm exhausted and having trouble staying awake, so I'm off for the evening. Good night and Take Care, Everyone! Sending Love and Hugs!

Yes, the bank gave Robert all his money back. He reported the theft quickly, and I got him to the bank to do all the paperwork very shortly thereafter. Even they realized that the spending pattern was totally wrong.

My back is killing me. I have an epidural scheduled in 40 hours.

I had my epidural, finally. They changed the appointment time twice in the past few days. I went an hour early today because they wanted me to get an EKC first, to make sure that I'm not having problems with long term Methadone use. I've been on it for 23 years.
The epidural was a real hum-dinger, so it should last a long time.

Glad you got to have your epidural Heidi and I'm glad it was a humdinger. I hope it lasts!
I have had some good news and some bad news.
The bad news is that my brother (73 in August) has been diagnosed with Alzheimers, still in the early stages. His symptoms are similar to what I am experiencing - forgetting words, losing the thread of conversations and some confusion. I was surprised as I had never noticed a problem with him, I do notice that our sister, older than us both has some signs of it for sure. Both our parents had it so we knew this was probably our lot in life. At least in the intervening years there has been advances in slowing the process down. I now have to make an appointment to see my GP for referral to a geriatrician. Not looking forward to it but the sooner I find out, the sooner something can be done. Apparently my family think I have it Col tells me!!

My good news is that after many years of wondering and not being able to get the relevant information, I have finally found the resting place (grave) of my younger brother, who died in 1951, several hours after he was born. In those days, my mother was told to move on and get over it. She never did and grieved alone until late in her life she told me about him. He was premature and was taken from her and told he would not live. She didn't even get to see him. She was then told that he had died and the hospital would 'dispose of the body'. How awful! I have had the horrible idea that they took him out the back and dumped him in an incinerator. I have been searching for years, I did find a record of his death but nothing else. Last week I asked on a Local History site if anyone knew what was done with premature and stillborn babies in those days. A woman who is part of an association that looks after one of the cemeteries that no longer operates (no more room) contacted me and said that she was researching what happened to those babies. These days people are able to hold their baby and have a service for them. I sent her the details. She got back to me the same day with his location. He apparently lived for 11 hours and the law states that a doctor must provide a death certificate. He was then put in a coffin with 2 other premmie or stillborn babies and buried in the cemetery in an unmarked grave. She gave me the exact location and Col and I went there on Sunday and placed flowers on the spot. I feel so much calmer, now I know where he is, and i feel happy that he wasn't alone and the old cemetery is in a beautiful position overlooking the Brisbane River - lovely trees and well tended gardens and lawn. I do wonder what he would have been like had he lived.

I am SO glad that you found your brother's resting spot. I bet you do feel some kind of closure. I have no idea what was done with my stillborn son. It still bothers me a lot. He was my only child.

Off to Louisville to pick up Robert and take him to his neurologist for a post stroke follow-up. He's doing great.

Sorry to read that Heidi. Maybe you can enquire through hospital or maternity records in the area you were living in then. There will have to be some record . Hope the news about Robert is good.
Good news and bad news entwined CynB - if you have early dementia at least you can have the best treatment there is. If not, you can join me with going into a room and having no idea why youam there - too many things on your mind. I can at least chew gum and walk at the same time!!!
How sad for your mum. I have promised my father to visit his 2 sons but haven't done so (dad passed in '86) so feeling very slack. Just seems enough to visit their plot.
Still have the Thai girlfriend here though we barely see her. They are out and about a fair bit. Mainly back at mealtime.
Sister still in hospital - turned out she has RSV virus and it has hit her pretty hard. She is 81 and had the flu earlier this year which she never really got over. Going into rehab next week she thinks.

Oh Heidi, I do hope you can find what happened to your son. I tried all the official avenues to no avail. Are there any community run historical societies in or around the vicinity of where he was born? These things are so difficult to track down and they shouldn't be. Any woman who has lost a child deserves the right to know.

I had a complete nervous breakdown over it and don't even remember the name or location of the hospital.

Heidi you have built a wonderful life for yourself and your animals despite all of your hardships. Good on you, you should be proud of yourself.

Thank you, Midge, ❤️