Sudokuaholics Anonymous 11

Once again, I haven.t read but wish you all health and happiness.
I signed the contract to sell Judys unit today.
Sad memories as the 12 months that she has been gone approaches.
Stay safe everyone!

Nola, the time goes so quickly. And Christmas always revives all the memories.
I have just come back from the Christmas carols. One house from us is a large sporting oval. The local churches combine to have carols and then fireworks. We do not have a walkway into the park and it is 8-10 minute walk. Lovely warm night, a 3/4 moon above and Venus high in the western sky.
2 hours of carols and 10 minutes of fireworks.

You have done well Cyn. I still have a few presents to buy. They can wait till next weeks. Big day at bowls on Tuesday as it is our Christmas party and I am in charge of entertainment. That is all organised. This year I am Santa. I have also made 4 puddings for the lunch but have not yet made one for us.(I do have all the fruit etc)

Suzy, sorry that you have such a bad cold on your birthday. I do hope that you have a chance to get better over the weekend.
Heidi, worry about you and hubby both having things removed. I do hope everything comes out clear.
Hugs to you all.

I leave in 15 minutes. I'm also picking up a Christmas tree when I'm in town.

Heidi, do let us know when you are home after the cyst is removed. I hope that goes well and a fast easy recovery for you.

Suzy, that sounds like a nasty cold! Take care of you. Not a fun way to spend your birthday. Gentle hugs to you.

Julie, I am glad you made it to the homeowners association meeting, since there was important business discussed. Not a great time to hold election of officers, here in the holiday season.

Going to post this fore turning the page as I do not want to loose it. See you on the other side.

Nola, I hope the sale of Judy's unit goes smoothly. All these firsts are hard. Hugs to you sweetie.

June, it sounds like you enjoyed the carols. We do not do fireworks for Christmas, save those for welcoming in the New Year.

Heidi, thinking of you. Did you go alone to have that cyst removed? Hope you find the perfect tree. Have fun decorating it.

I have a few things to get done, first a shower and shampoo, then to get out to Walmart for a phone card. I cannot believe I forgot to get one when there earlier this week.

Sister has just invited me to come stay overnight, since tomorrow is forecast rain for the drive up. I am thinking about it. Depends how quickly I can get everything finished here, and there are a couple of things I wanted to do downstairs today. Someone is coming to do some Christmas craft with us, I enjoy doing those. Usually help some of the residents who need help. Last craft time, I decorated a wreath for our blind resident. She told me just what she wanted, and I just executed it for her :). There is a sing along before lunch today, I am sure it will be mostly Christmas songs, want to do that also. Rain not scheduled till after 10 pm, so I might go after rush hour traffic this evening. We will see.

Hugs to each of you, with extras, till later.

Holiday time is fast approaching and so far it's pretty hard to tell that at my house. I finally am starting to feel human again. My strength is coming back and the pain is now not too troublesome....yay!
Trip to doctor in a couple of hours, grand daughter is cleaning the house and expect to get outside lights up today...so maybe Santa will find his way here after all.
Suzy, so sorry that your cold is making life unpleasant for you, especially now....but this too shall pass and my hope is that the celebrations will be much sweeter due to the hardships this has caused for now. Enjoy it when it comes.
Heidi, I do hope your pain and Gil's needs are found to be less bothersome too.Sad how these things come when we seek to do so much. Sending out an extra load of good wishes for you both.
Cyn, June...you both are so inspiring in getting things done...my wishes for you both are filled with sponges that I can reclaim to see if I can learn from you too how to get things done while staying involved .Have a wonderful holiday.
Nola, First are the hardest as you know, but glad that the things surrounding the business end seem to be coming together for you. Let the memories focus on the good times and you will be okay.
Tricia, Rolanda,Tami , Broni, Julie and the rest of you who don't let any grass grow under your feet...keep on moving and grooving along. Yes, Tricia..I know your moving must be a little slower...but not too much...love hearing the stories too. Now that I've Typed the above, I've forgotten what else I wanted to say so it must be time to say so long for now. Peace.

I forgot to wish everybody a happy

I'm back and doing fine. It wasn't anything serious, just annoying. The Doc got it all and closed it with a few sutures. I go back in 10 days to get the sutures removed.

I also picked up a Christmas tree, a 7 ft tall Frasier Fir. I'll trim the base and bring it inside in about an hour. I also picked up some much needed hardware to do some farm repairs, and got the last of the Christmas presents for IH.... a new parka and winter gloves. If I don't get 'em, I'll have to listen to him complain about how cold he is all winter. He won't buy them for himself. He's too cheap. He'd rather whine and complain until I give in.

AAAARRRRGGGGHHHHHhhhhhhhh
My back is itching like crazy, and with the sutures in, I can't scratch it!!!

I understand the agony Heidi. Can you put something cold on it, maybe that might help!
I now have two traditional Christmas puddings boiling away. In basins not cloths!
I actually got out my old threepences and sixpences (old silver coins) and put them in one of the puddings.
The last time I did that was about 25 years ago and Ken's mother complained that I asked that the coins be changed for the modern currency so I could keep the coins to use each year. She thought everyone should be able to keep them. I believe in a peaceful life so while she was to have some of my pudding (which she loved) there were no coins.
Our present coinage becomes toxic if cooked in the pudding so , if used, are put in at serving time.
I am having a sit down before cleaning the kitchen!

Hi all,
I'm a lot better but still a bit fuzzy so I apologise in advance if I forget to say something I wanted to say.

Judy, I suspect the puzzles are your brain's way of saying - this pace is the pace you are supposed to be working at, take it easy. Our brains are really smart you know - even if it doesn't always feel like it. I love shortbread! Hubby bought me a tray of it yesterday to help cheer me up. I actually got a piece of it before it was all eaten too!! Only one of about eight, but hey, it's the thought that counts.

The photos taken of the gardens just after the fire are very moving. The positions of some of them are like they are real people.

Heidi, only 4 days until relief and I hope that day really really sucks. I hope you're not able to drive yourself home and have to go straight to bed. And then I hope no animal needs anything heavy doing for at least 48 hours!!

MizT, I'm so glad you got the manager when you went back with your glasses. Someone else may have tried to hide the error.

Nola, with you in spirit during your 'firsts'... big hugs...

Julie, are you glad you went to the meeting? Were there things that might have been decided differently if you weren't there? I have not encountered home owner's meetings here in Oz, but that could just be because of where I live. The council can make decisions about what I do at my house, but other home owners can't.

June, as Alie is not in any Carols this year I might miss out, or I might take Dana and the kids.... Your mother in law was being very unreasonable considering that meant you would have no coins for future years. Your solution worked well, though you waited a long time to be able to follow the tradition again.

Mamacita, I was glad to read that your granddaughter was cleaning your house. There has to be some benefits to growing older! And her littlies are probably making most of the mess anyway. It can take a couple of hours to undo Tahli staying for one night!

Midge, did you dispose of the boxes. A home care nurse took mum's stuff.

Broni, I hope there have been no more hassles and things are starting to sort themselves out.

jugs everyone

I nearly forgot to say it here - Happy Birthday Mitchell!!

Hi, Everyone!

Nola, your message at the TOPP wishing us all health and happiness is a good one! Also good news that you signed a contract for the sale of Judy's unit! I don't know if real estate there is as depressed as it is here - slow sales and not at prices the sellers would hope for. We'll be sending positive and happy thoughts your way as you face this holiday season.

June, the caroling and fireworks sound wonderful. Hope it helped set the mood for the upcoming bowls party. I get the feeling there would be no entertainment if you didn't provide it. You still have plenty of time after the party to finish your shopping. And you have managed to make the Christmas puddings with coins baked in!

MizT, it's wonderful that you have so many activities and so much entertainment provided. Hopefully you were able to partake in everything today before leaving for your sister's.

Mama, it's so good to hear that you are feeling better! I hope the doctor appointment went well today and you returned to a clean home ready for decorating!

Suzy, hope your cold is much better! How awful to be so sick on your birthday! Is Alie glad that she isn't doing carols this year? This must be the first year in quite a few that she wasn't involved. It's probably a good thing, as the last month or two have been so busy and involved for you!

Heidi, I'm glad the cyst removal went well and you were able to find a Christmas tree! I'm also so glad you will soon have your epidural! I just hope IH will pitch in and help out for a few days as you recover! At least his stinginess helps give you an idea what he might like to receive as a Christmas gift. And you know he'll appreciate what you got for him!

The reason our homeowner association holds elections in early December is because that is when the builder turned the association over to the homeowners. The builder ran it until there was a high enough percentage of homes sold. Even though that was years ago, we are stuck with election of officers and board members every December. A very important discussion had to do with ponds on the property. There are 5 or 6 ponds and flooding issues after a heavy rain. A study was done, and it was discovered that a high percentage of the water coming into the area comes under the main road from a forest preserve on the other side. Some sediment and debris comes with it and also from a neighboring property. The ponds were deeded to the homeowners association as 'common property,' so we are responsible for maintaining them. The study found problems with sediment and cattails (an invasive species) that contribute to the flooding problems. So there was quite a bit of discussion about native vs. invasive species, sediment, drains, etc. Improvements could be quite costly - at the expense of the homeowners. So sorry to include such boring information.

And now, it's time to get some sleep. Sending {{{{{HUGS}}}}}, prayers, positive thoughts, healing vibes and [h

Happy Birthday, Mitchell!

Not boring at all Julie. Invasive indices species of plants and animals are often discussed in oz so it's interesting to hear about it in other areas. Very clever of the builder to deed the expensive ponds to all of you. If he realized that is.

Julie, when Alie was first asked to do carols she said yes, but she told me that when I told her that should cancel at least the early ones she felt such a huge feeling of relief she was almost glad she was sick.

She had been found carols since she was 10.

Stupid phone. Doing carols...

Evening.
Melting here
It was 40.4C today
Tomorrow expecting 41C

Happy 17th Birthday to Mitchell

Mitchell. I can't believe that you're 17 already!

Julie.... The cattails are also part of the solution. All plants drink water, and they help absorb excess water after heavy rains. Your association might want to invest in a few weeping willows for around the ponds. They are the thirstiest trees around and are wonderful for drying up ground. The area in front of my horse barn was always a mud hole... never dried up, even in a drought... so I planted 1 weeping willow in the center of my muddy traffic circle. It dried up the whole area and I was able to pave the driveway and grow grass on the rest.

The back isn't itching quite as much, but I still want to scratch it.

It's raining outside, and the ceiling inside is no longer leaking!!! The work that was done this week fixed the problem!! Now I can think about getting that part of the ceiling replaced.

All I have to do today, besides feeding and watering critters, is to decorate the Christmas tree. That'll help get me in the Christmas spirit.

I decided to take a nap first.

I just woke up again, and it's now dark outside. Where did the day go???? My body must have REALLY needed the sleep. The worrying part is that I could fall right asleep again if I laid down.

Well so much for keeping the new chooks separated from the old chooks. We woke up this morning to find the new chooks out of their enclosure and one had even made it's way inside an enclosed area with the old ones - no idea how! They're all out in the yard now and not pecking each other to death so it's all good.

Apparently, they had their own ideas.

Tomorrow afternoon is a Lions Club Christmas party. Should be fun. Plenty of good food.

Greetings to all! I think I could have used a nap, as I'm drifting off here. Sending the usual positive thoughts, prayers healing vibes and {{{{{HUGS}}}}}!

Gekko my friends,
All is good here, just winding down after a very stressful month and a half. Only the minimal chores have been achieved but better than nothing! Besides if anyone wants to visit my house and not me they have to make an appointment hehe!
Been very warm, humid and wet. Today was a day for Bella and I as we have had visitors in and out for the last two days. The heat and humidity have knocked us both around, Bella has been snoozing most of the day and I even had a nanny nap this afternoon.
Anyway just letting you know that we are OK.
Love and Jugs.

Gekko and Jugs to you, too, Broni.

Today will be the last truly cold day for awhile. Then we're warming up into the upper 50'sfor at least a week... with no rain. That might give the mud time to dry up.

Unless the forecasters lied again.

Hi all.
Broni...good advice. I must get my will updated and get an enduring power of Attorney. Hope you can put aside all the drama and relax a bit.
You have done your best and that is all anyone can do.
Suzy..somewhere, I missed that you had new chooks.
Hope the cold is improving.
Julie and Brenda..nice to see you post.
MizT & Heidi...pain management must be a constant battle for you. Sympathy plus, as you seem to still get on with chores and a social life.
Rolanda..40deg temps must be almost unbearable. How is the new garden coping?
June..thinking of you also at xmas time. Gosh,I haven't seen coins in a xmas pudding for about 50 yrs. How special for your guests.
Cyn....I became a non member also, even though a Chq was sent. It was a long time before being rectified. All good again now.

Greg has had a bit of welcome work for the last week. The 1st in almost 12mths since, the lab was destroyed in the floods.
Renae, is bringing the girls to work this evening, to give a little concert for the residents. Nothing fancy, just a few xmas carols, but it is such a treat for many, who rarely see children. The girls just love being the centre of attention too.

I am home again. Had a delightful time with family at my sister's house. Edna and I exchanged yard sale finds. I had bought her bird figurines, she bought me a red bud vase for my bookcase. This gift exchange was not planned at all, so doubly nice. I stayed overnight, to keep me from having to leave the party early or risk not having a parking place. Had a lovely spot waiting for me when I came in about noon today.

Young Master Vincent, age 5 weeks, was the hit of the party. He was passed from hand to hand, poor baby will be sore being handled so much. He never cried, just a tiny squeak when he was ready to eat again hehehe. He has gained over 2 pounds in his 5 weeks, he was a little thing, being a bit premi, but he is catching up now.

Oh there was so much food! I brought home the remains of the turkey, intact with all the dark meat. I will be freezing and making soup later. My girls always looked forward to the turkey soup as much as the turkey and dressing.

Today is a cold and windy day, not nice outside at all. I had to make a second trip down to bring in the fruit I had bought. Nephew's son was selling citrus fruit for their high school band, picked Wednesday, transported Thursday from Indian River Florida, and delivered Friday afternoon. Can't get much fresher than that unless you have your own tree. My car smelled so good coming home today. I bought grapefruit and naval oranges.

I think it is time for a nap now. I can let that first batch of turkey cool before putting it into freezer. I cook the bones, skin to render broth for the soup.

Hugs to each of you, with extras, till later.

Back from the Lions Christmas party. I got a super warm throw with a lion on it in the gift exchange. We have a $10 limit. I gave a cute table fountain with LED candles. The food was filling. I brought back some turkey, veggies and peach pie for Gil. There's always more than enough food.

Tricia, so pleased that you had a good time with your family. The turkey and fruit you brought home made it even better. Lots to do today but my shoulders are a bit stiff! I was up the ladder trying to wash the ceiling of our sun room. It is all cream metal (colourbond) and had collected a lot of mildew like dirt. Unfortunately the peak is about 12 ft. high and I am finding I am not as steady when I get onto the top rung of the step ladder. We also have our concert at the bowling club tomorrow as well as I have my sister and hubby coming to dinner.

IH is too easy to cook for. He has no idea what he's eating. I graciously brought him a heaping plate of food from the party, and left it for him. When he walked in the door, he promptly reheated it and ate it all. A little while ago I asked him how he liked the turkey. ''Turkey? I thought it was pork!'' he replied. It was actually very juicy and tasty turkey.