Sudokuaholics Anonymous 10

I know this is a TOPP, but I don't care.

It looks like we'll have a calf born sometime tonight. A cow/calf pair and a very preggers cow have been off by themselves today. The 2 cows are buddies. Very close buddies. The one getting ready to calve doesn't want to join the rest of the herd yet, and her buddy is getting very frustrated, and very loud, trying to persuade her friend to rejoin the herd so she can eat some of the fresh hay I put out this evening. The sooner she calves, the sooner both cows can eat. It's unusual for cows to bond this closely.

BEAN, another huge gentle hug for you here. Take care of you, dear.

((((((BEAN))))))

, Lovely People!

MizT, I hope there will be no late fees assessed on bills that you tried in good faith to pay on time! Your soup sounds delicious!

Heidi, I hope the goats don't make more work for you! Why am I not surprised that IH didn't spot the new heifer calf?

June, I'm glad the visit to Belinda went well! So sorry to hear about you getting caught in the rain shower on the way into the hospital to visit your MIL. Good news that the bleeding seems to have stopped, but continuing worries due to the fluctuating blood pressure and not taking the blood thinners.Sending positive thoughts her way. I hope replacing the motherboard of your computer solves the problems! I also hope you had an enjoyable day at Bowls!

Tami, it's always good to see you when you're able to visit! Good news about Dylan's baseball team - and the nice parents you'll be cheering with as the season progresses! Thinking of your friend David and his family, and sending prayers for a full recovery. It takes hard work and determination to do the necessary work. It sounds like he has the support of family and friends that will help him do well.

Suzy, none of us here would ever suggest that you're a fraud! In fact, you are one of the wonderful role models we have here on SA! Keep up the work you're doing on your exercises! Your advice for Tami's friend is excellent!

Mama, I hope the procedure goes well on Wednesday. Be sure to ask whatever questions need to be asked to get help with the pain you are experiencing! I hope you can return home knowing that psin need not be a constant in your life!

CynB, you paint quite a picture of you scurrying to you neighbor's house in order to retrieve his laptop,

Judy, I hope your foot will feel much better! Hopefully the pills will provide the relief you need!

MizT, I hope your new Afriican Violet and Jade Plant get acclimated very quickly and provide a lot of pleasure to you. I'm glad you were able to get to the doctor's office without dealing with rain!

Heidi, I'm glad you got out to do a calf check on time to find the little bull calf and get him back on his feet. Hopefully he will stay away from the hay rings the next time he decides to become frisky.

Rolanda, sounds like you had a pleasant long weekend away with friends!

MizT, I have had a couple of sleep studies and have used a CPAP machine for about 10 years. Over the years I have tried several different masks. For the past year or so, I have used a full face mask which covers from above eyebrows to below my lower lip. There are still at least a couple of 'leakage episodes' per night, as the mask doesn't perfectly fit the contours of my face. Prior to the sleep studies and diagnosis of sleep apnea, I had awakened a couple of times actually gasping for air, so I was pretty sure the diagnosis was correct. I would suspect you would have an adjustment period, but it's not awful to sleep with it.

Mama, what kind of pillow do you use with

Here's the rest:

Mama, what kind of pillow do you use with your CPAP machine?

Bean, I think we all know you well enough to be assured that you would NOT knowingly do anything that would hurt a friend. However, we are all human, including you, young lady. You have had a LOT on your plate to keep track of. That could easily cause you to miss a commitment. Hopefully, a quiet private talk with the person involved will do much to repair the friendship! I hope singing tonight went a long way to brighten your spirit!

Sending {{{{{{ H U G S }}}}}}, positive thoughts, healing vibes and prayers for ALL of you tonight!

Bean, big HUGS. Sharon had me sorting clothes VHS tapes, books and things before she went so I know what you are going through.
My team lost our game by 3 points but the other team won by 7 points. You get a point for a team win and 3 points for a side win(the total score for both teams) so we got 4 out of a possible 5 points.
I was pleased with my game. Something I want to watch on TV. So off for now.

Sure I posted before and did not swear.
Love and hugs to you all.

I was right. That cow had a nice heifer calf last night. I need to go out and do a cow check right now, as well as take out the tractor and clean off the hay feeding pad again. It's gonna be messy 'cause it's raining again. I really feel sorry for all the calves with the mud we're having.

Hey All, Some things are going well for me at least...spoke to the nurses at the hospital where I'll be having the procedure done and they took down all of my information and are going to speak to the doctor prior to the procedure, and told me to be very specfic with the information when I talk to them. They reassured me that something can and will be done to try to help. I also went to my audiologist to again complain about my hearing aids and she did a magic act that has me now hearing equally well with both aids , and being able to functionally hear fairly well with one if and when I may have occasion to only have one to work with.
It's so good to have things work out well without having to resort to jumping through hoops to make someone hear and respond to one's needs when something needs to be corrected.
Julie, The pillow I have is one made by a CPAP user. It's quilted and contoured rather than a rectangle pillow, thus allowing the hose from the machine to move freely and not pull on the mask. I also use two 4x4 foam rubber pads under the straps at the back of my head to help to keep the mask from slipping. I use the nasal type mask since I'm claustrophobic and most of the other mask were too large or covered too much of my face. All of this adds to my sleeping well at night. I found the pillow online and the addy listed on the pillow is 'PAPILLOW.com'....Is was costly, but worth the price in being able to sleep comfortably
at night.There were cheaper pillows shown, but this one also has a cover and both are machine washable. Hope the information and a look-see will help you in deciding if you want to try it or not.
Well I'm off to do the puzzles now, and will return to read later post.
Stay safe everyone. I care. (((((hugs and ♥)))))
and SA good health vibes to all.

Just got back in from doing a cow check. The weather has deteriorated drastically. It's now blizzard conditions out there, but the ground isn't frozen. The mud around the shed and feeding areas reaches the tops of my boots. I don't think any cows will give birth tonight. They seem to have a little bit of control over when they give birth, and avoid really bad weather. In 20 years, we've only had one cow give birth in similar conditions, and the calf didn't make it. That's one calving in about 700.

for sharing the good news, Mama. It sounds like you've found some good nurses and doctors who actually care about helping their patients. I hope things continue to go this well for you, and your procedure is a piece of cake. You deserve it.

My computer at home died! I'm on a free period at school so here I am...

Mamacita, that sounded like a good outcome from your day! I hope that continues when you go to the next step.

MizT, I hope you can find somewhere local to have your epidural. I think chronic pain is torture.

Heidi, so glad the calf made it!!

Tami, any more news on David. It's early days but sometimes amazing improvements are made in the first few days.

Julie, with my computer problems I've missed your post about how well the extended weekend of cello activities went. I'll have to go back when I've posted..

So many people on the CPAP machines! My grandfather had sleep apnea (spell check won't give me the right spelling for that :(), but I don't remember him using a machine. It did stop him from getting much needed heart surgery though. My brother was using the machine and ended up having surgery on his nasal passages. The pain afterwards was apparently the worst pain he's ever had and it lasted 10 days, getting worse before it got better. Apparently he has now experienced pain worse than child birth. At least that's how the docs described it. It worked though and he is all clear now.

Anecdote: When buying my coffee this morning I met a man. He was one of those men who you can tell has lived hard - lots of booze, smokes and treating himself badly. He says to me 'the world has changed too much, too many things are different, I was born in 1960 and the world has changed too much) I looked at him and actually asked him to clarify the 1960 bit. Really? You're 52? If you were over 100 I could understand your complaint but 52??

Really? Only 52? He's 5-6 years younger than I am.

Hello everyone, hope you're feeling good today. :)
Rob has more time off, feeling horrible still. I've been cleaning out cupboards still, finding SO many things I haven't seen for years - it's quite amazing! I have a confession ... I'm addicted to fabric, and to patterns and quilts and cross-stitch ... well, I really LOVE starting them, but then I get lost along the way, or I lose a vital piece of the pattern, etc. Is it too late for a New Year's resolution - finish something! :D

Anecdote: I had a senior class today and got fed up and said 'have you guys heard of respect? yeah, then try that and stop being @ssh0les.' Would never say it to a junior class...

Anecdote: Three kids talking. They mention a guy's name. One of the boys says, he's the one who knocked up 'Jane'. The other boy says did that chick get an abortion or what? The girl told them off for even talking about it...

I thought girls were supposed to be the gossips!

Hi, Everyone!

June, we knew you'd do well at bowls, and you said you were pleased with your game! It sounds like a close game!

Heidi, I never knew cows could become close buddies. But then, I guess I never really thought about it. I hope both cows had a chance to enjoy fresh hay before the weather turned bad! I also find it interesting that the cows seem to have some control over when the birth will take place and can apparently avoid extreme weather conditions.

Mama, I'm so glad some things are working well, after all you've been through! Your life will be so much easier if the pain can be alleviated and if you can hear conversations going on around you! Thank you for the information about the CPAP pillow! I did a quick glance and will spend more time looking at the site more closely tomorrow.

Suzy, oh no! Not a dead computer! What will you do on the days you're not teaching? I'm in shock that someone who is just 52 is complaining about how much the world has changed.

Judy, good for you! You are really accomplishing a lot. Find a kit/project that really 'speaks' to you and choose that one to be the one you finish first, not one you 'should' finish.

Suzy, you are certainly getting exposed to to a wide range of personalities while you're teaching! I imagine you appreciate your girls more as you work with other people's teenagers.

Sending heart-felt positive thoughts, healing vibes, prayers, and {{{HUGS}}}} for each of you!

Quiet day at home. Visited MIL tonight then went to a pizza resaurant for dinner.
I will not get my computer back till Friday. A bit of a nuisance with organising the gathering for Sunday with Nola.
MIL will be home either tomorrow or Friday. She certainly makes a good recovery.
Bowls again tomorrow. I am starting to feel a bit more confident about playing in this top competition.
Suzy, so pleased that you are getting some teaching work. By the way I hope you are still coming on Sunday. Will you need to park the car or will you be doing any travel by train? I will give you directions of how to get to the club.

Hi all! I'm still alive but getting very bored with all this wet weather. I never thought I'd say it but I want to do some washing. I want to wash the sheets and I hate putting them in the drier so I'm waiting foe some sun. I think it's been nearly six weeks since we had a day that hasn't rained.
Mama, I was sorry to hear about your niece. That must be so hard for your family but I'm glad her organs were donated. I am on the organ donor register (but I don't want them to touch my eyes - I'm a bit funny about them) .
July, happy belated birthday. It sounds like you had a good day.
Cyn and Broni - if you decide to do something one Friday, let me knw as I usually have that day off as well. This week is a gym visit with my personal torturer and next week is the hairdresser. As you can see, I fill up my days off with all the things I can't do during the weekends as they always seem to be taken.
#1 son's lady is returning from Japan on the 22nd. He is very happy and planning to propose in the near future (I've seen the ring). First thing is for them to find a place of their own! I think it's about time they started a life on their own. All I'll have to do then is move #2 out and it will just be the 2 of us (plus the dog). I'm not holding my breath about #2 though as he knows he's on a good thing at home.

It's getting late and my iPad battery is low so I'll love and leave you all. Until next time..........

Busy day at work again, I am tired and my pillow is calling me. Read and thought about you all.
Love and hugs.

Busy can be good, Broni. I'm glad you're working at a job you like.

I woke up to everything outside being white and icy. The weather forecast said nothing about that. Oh, well. I need to go out in it and do a cow check. Hopefully, no calves were born last night.

We had a beautiful spring day on Monday, sunny, warm, I drove with windows down in the auto! Yesterday cloudy but still warm, till a storm front came through. boy the temp dropped fast! Today it is very windy and cold, wind chill factor making it a day to stay inside. That is March in Alabama for you.

Today I should go pass out birthday cards. Only 3 this week, and would ya believe two of them live next door to each other? Easy delivery, eh? The birthday party for March is on Saturday, I have it marked on my calendar, do not want to miss that.

I need to go to the pool, just not up to that today still, maybe this afternoon, not for a class but just to soak in front of the jets, then go hang for a while in the deep water.

We have a residents rummage sale Friday this week, need to see what is on offer. Our resident artist has asked for 2 large tables, she does jewlery as well as paintings and this rolled paper artwork that is unique and I am sure time consuming. I do hope she has some interesting things on offer.

Tomorrow the podiatrist comes here, sets up in the beauty shop, which is unused except
Thursday and Friday. I need toenails cut and a callous trimmed. So nice not to have to get out to go to her office.

Did a clean out of my fridge this morning.I found what was giving an unpleasant odor, oh my, how did that chicken and dressing get lost for so long??? Spoiled chicken is so yuck.

I did read, and other than Heidi's ice and snow, did not retain much.

BRONI, being busy is good, I hate days at work where you had to hunt something to do, the day seemed soooo long.

Later, hugs to each of you, with extras, take what you need and pass them around.

I spent nearly 2 hours cleaning off the hay feeding pad. It's hard to believe how fast a herd of cows can turn a gravel pad into a foot deep swamp of manure. I had to scrape off all that manure.... the pad is 200 ft by 90 ft. That's a lot of sh*t! I dump it all in one giant mound, and remove it in the summer when the ground is dry and hard, so I don't tear up the pastures.

Maxine called me, quite upset. The house 2 doors down from hers just burned to the ground. There was a serious danger of it spreading because they were having high winds, and it was blowing from the fire towards them. Fortunately, the fire department was able to keep it from spreading, though the house was lost. Nobody was hurt, but the owners are devastated. They got nothing out of the house but people and pets, and the neighbors got the pets out.

IH just called. He's spending a second night at the plant, and won't be home until late tomorrow night!!! I'm getting a nice, restful vacation.

Enjoy the peace Heidi but shovelling s$%#t is not my idea of fun!! Have been reading about everyone and glad all are doing o.k. So sorry about your neice Mama - she must have been a very special person. So good to know she has helped so many others with her passing. Weather here is beautiful - 33 deg. and will be the same + for the next week. Just wish it could be like Camelot and rain at night - the gardens are very dry and brittle. My family gave me a wonderful surprise on Tuesday - 2 tickets on the ferry to go to Tasmania - I have always wanted to go through the Heads in Prot Philip Bay during daylight. Hubby and I will have 6 days there - unfortunately he is still in his moon boot so I will have to do all the driving but hey - I am actually going!! Have been staying in our caravan nearly each week for a couple of nights so handling dialysis away from home is getting easier. Have to get back to work now so I can pay some bills - Take care and best wishes to all.

Hi, Everyone! No time to read and comment; just wanted to let you know I'm thinking of you. I see Midge posted right above where I'm typing. So nice to see you. Tickets on the ferry to Tasmania sound wonderful. Do you know when you'll be going?

Sending positive thoughts, healing vibes, prayers, and {{{{{{HUGS}}}}}} for all of you!

Midge, I am sure you will have a wonderful time in Tasmania.
I have my computer back. New heart but the brain is the same with all of the same infomation.
Lost big time at bowls today. Because of all the rain the greens have been very slow but the one today has had a couple of days sunshine and it was very fast. Hard for all of us to adjust, especially me as I have the smallest bowls and they just keep rolling on.

Don't mind working hard but 3 days off, just what the doctor ordered!
June, glad you got your 'puter back.
Heidi, I agree with Midge shoveling ship is not my kinda fun, Basset poop runs are bad enough! Enjoy your vacation.
Julie, miss you and want to know what is happening in your life.
Forgot what else I read but know I was sharing with you.

Love and Hugs my friends.

Hi all. Internet very poor here. Just lost a post telling you what we were up to,then lost connection. It is just too hard. All good here,although I am starting to get homesick and miss Sonny (dog).
Beautiful dry warm weather,also unusual.
Will tell you what we have done when we get home.
Fri off to a flower exhibition in Hobart and fly to Sydney Saturday. So looking forward to seeing a few of you then.
Hope you are all well and happy. Big hugs if you are having a rough time.
Love from Greg & I

Evening all,
June, I still plan to be there, but hubby will have to drive me so I'll be a plus one. If you can let me know the address and if it has parking we can GPS our way there...

Computer back tomorrow, yay! Okay, you got it back today - even better. Sorry about the bowls game.

I once read that cows given names and treated more like pets gave more, and better, milk. I wonder if beef cows get bigger or breeders have bigger babies?

Vicki, I've been lucky with the wet weather. Twice I've actually put clothes out in the morning even though rain was forecast and it looked like it would come and been able to bring it in in the afternoon, dry. We've had sunny days for 4 or 5 days now and the ground is starting to dry out again. How exciting that there is a wedding coming up!!

Midge, before this set of rain the grass and gardens here were dry. The grass crackled when you walked on it. Don didn't mow for 2 months and the grass hadn't grown. Remember that catastrophic fire warning day? If a fire had started near us, nothing was going to stop it. Now we've had what seems like more than a month of rain. The grass is up around our ankles because it is raining every weekend and hubby can't mow.

It was hilarious watching Tahli today. At first the grass didn't feel solid to her and she would go to take a step and not put her foot down, by tonight she was wandering all over the yard.

Dana and Tahli spent the day here because Dana's washing machine is broken and she had a huge backlog to catch up on. The machine hasn't stopped all day and it didn't get finished. She has fallen in love with my machine though and wants to buy one the same.

MizT, I saw some rolled paper craft at a market recently and it was incredible! I would have loved to have been able to buy some of it!!

Broni, you are so busy you need a break. Down here I think....

Heidi, you can have your cleaning.. Not going to volunteer to help with that one!

Midge, what a wonderful gift! One day I will go to Tasmania, in the meantime I'll have to make do with travel logs from my friends in here..

Nola, looking forward to Sunday! Though I may need a piggy back in. Two days work, followed by a day of Dana and Tahli (always exhausting) and I'm working tomorrow...

Evening all,
Nola, glad you're enjoying Tassie - and Midge, I too am sure you'll enjoy it with the added bonus of sailing through the heads of Port Philip Bay.
Suzy - glad you'll get to Sydney to meet Nola.
Vicki - yes, we should do something about the 3 of us getting together again, we haven't seen one another since Rolanda was here in June. I'm only available every second Friday but maybe we'll try to sort something out soon.
June, glad you've got your computer back and working. Sorry about the loss at bowls.
Looks like the cold has hit our US friends, stay warm Tricia, Heidi and Julie.
Love and hugs to all!

Just passing through.

Primarily I wanted to post a link for Heidi.. a real feelgood story..

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2288910/Worlds-oldest-horse-trots-final-furlong-I rish-draught-Shayne-51-sleep-Essex-sanctuary-reaching-120-human-years.html

Just about finished todays job list.. just need to make my lunch for tomorrow and then I'm off to bed.. early start tomorrow again and even earlier and longer days on the weekend.
In other words you probably won't be seeing much of me before Monday so I will wish you all the best and will look forward to hearing all about the 'Nola Meet'..

RIP Stompin Tom ... a truly great Canadian icon.

Busy morning here. I went down for the podiatrist this morning. I did not know there was going to be a test, I would have studied for it. New patient questionnaire, some of the questions had me scratching my head hehehe. He trimmed my toenails, said the callous was OK for a bit. I signed up for the coupons sent out to elderly for fresh fruits and veg at the farmers market. We will get those first of may, in time for the summer veg and fruits. I had ordered my lunch for today so a second trip down to pick that up. today is a better day, cannot remember how long it has been since I made 2 trips downstairs in a day! Maybe the trip to the pool yesterday? The fact that the storm front has passed us? the cinnamon and honey I am taking daily? Whatever it is, I will take a better day. The lunch was very god, beef tips and noodles, peas with pearl onions, garden salad, and some carrot cake I saved for tonight. I had a plum instead.

My next door neighbor is moving to the other building, to get a balcony. she said I should come over and help her grow flowers on her balcony. It is almost time to start planting things out here, by the last week of the month I should say. So I can go play in the dirt with Caudelle, and see what we can grow. Not sure if she is on the front or back of the building, how much sun the balcony will get.

Nola, sorry you lost a long post about your trip, will be looking forward to hearing all about it once you get home again. Happy travels, and a good meet up in Sydney.

Teresa, just who is Stomping Tom? You cannot mention something that sounds that colorful and then leave us in the dark.

BEAN, good to hear from you even if just passing through, You do sound busy. As long as it makes you happy . . .

Midge, congrats on getting the tickets for the ferry to Tassie. I do hope you enjoy the trip.

Suzy, I do imagine that Heidi was using the tractor to clean the manure from the pad. That's why she has such a nice tractor, big jobs like that. Still, it would be a smelly job. Wish I was near, could compost some of the manure, make good rich soil for growing flowers. You should have seen the flowers I grew in soil I composted when I lived on the farm. I had Asiatic lilies as tall as I am with 30-35 blooms to a stalk. the usual is about 3 feet high with 6 to 8 blooms, in a good year. They liked where I planted them hehehe. Your talking about T and the grass reminded me of my youngest at her first birthday party. she was not walking, there was always someone to carry her, why should she hehehe. We put her on a quilt in the back yard with her cake. she started to crawl away, but did not like the grass on her knees. so she crabbed along, on hands and feet, her bottom high in the air, it was sooo funny.

JUNE, sorry you lost at bowls, but I hope you enjoyed the games anyway. No fair the greens changi9ng on you so quickly, it would be difficult to compensate I am sure.

I feel a nap coming on, I think I will actually ta

MizT, Stomping Tom is a musician, but also a great patriot of my wonderful country. CG posted a video on Easy of one of his most beloved songs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8zeB7b1uFY

On a pain scale of 1-10, where 10 is blacking out from the pain, I'm at an 8+. I'm heading to bed. I spent the day unloading feed bags, catching horses, grooming horses, holding horses for the farrier, then tagging a new calf. Even with maximum strength methadone, I'm shot. I told IH that when he shows up, I'm just popping a pizza in the oven, not cooking a full meal.

MizT.... next time I come down there to visit you, I'll bring you some home grown compost.

Hi all. Thank you all so much for the prayers for David. He is showing a little improvement but baby steps are a start.

Heidi, hope the back is feeling better soon.

Tricia, I am proud of you for figuring out how to pay bills electronically. I still have to help my mom with email, she forgets what she is doing.

Suzy, 52 may not be old but think about it. The last 50 years have brought major changes. Computers went from the size of a room to something you can hold in one hand. TV is in color, 3D and high-definition. You can take a phone with you, in your pocket, and you don't have to dial. You just have to push buttons. Fifty years ago we would not have been able to be friends. Now I can call you via computer and have a nice video chat.

Mama, glad that the nurses were willing to listen. Hope they can fix it for you and take some of the pain away.

Back 52 years ago, children could run loose around the neighborhood, even after dark, and be safe. They could walk to and from school, by themselves, and be safe.