Sudokuaholics Anonymous 6

Or lurking to stop me.

JUNE good strategy there, changing avatars hehe. I have to look twice sometimes when avatars change.

RUBY, power shopping? You sound like my sister with the one week before Christmas. Every year she says she will get an early start, and every year she winds up hiring her daughter to do her shopping and addressing Christmas cards for her! Wants all the cards hand signed and hand addressed, with personal notes. Good thing her daughter writes just like she does hehe.

JUNE, I was TYPING! So are you still here?

Hi, June. Lovely camellia.

Don't like my power shopping, MizT.?

I liked Bean's comment about having all she needs and what she wants is too expensive for a gift.

I introduced my mother to power shopping a few years before she passed away. She, being the genetic reason for my procrastination, took to it straight off.

June, is that a Pink Perfection camellia? I rather like the camellias that keep their stamen covered. I feel the same with roses. It's a modesty thing. I forced some amaryllis once at school and ended up giving them to the science teacher to use for instruction because their sex parts were really out there. That's dumb, isn't it?

I've got to go do something about the TVs here. The one in the bedroom died last night. I just lay there in complete darkness and listened to my ears ring. Well, they don't really ring. It sounds more like crickets. Nonetheless, I need some noise around here to drown them out. See you later.

Another CP. I have got to quit that.

Ruby... That call back scared me, too. But the Doctor had already gotten the diagnosis, she just wanted to confirm it with another test. I like thorough. Especially when my health is at stake.

RUBY, I have nothing against your power shopping, if it works for you, that is great. Just would not work for me. I am a list maker and must have a plan months ahead of time. I live with a procrastinator, have seen what he manages to give for gifts on occasion cause he has procrastinated beyond the last minute. I have seen what he took to his parents house as his contribution to dinner, too. This before I married him, oh why oh why did I think he would improve under my tutorage?? ( is that a word? if not I nominate it for word status, it says what I want to say )

Not being prepared ahead of time once caused me great stress. Oh I could have managed what I needed to do for my very young family, but my MIL went into hospital for emergency surgery, and I spent a week of nights staying with her, and sleeping days. One week gone from my schedule. THEN when she came home and regained her sense of time and place, She realized she had done NOTHING for Christmas and would not be able to set foot out of the house to do anything. This before online shopping. I had to decorate HER house, and shop for her gifts and play Santa to her young child, and wrap all her gifts, shop for her Christmas Dinner, and cook it, plus my own modest list of things to finish. I decided then, I would be totally finished by the weekend after Thanksgiving from then on and did that for 25 years. Friday after Thanksgiving was put up tree and wrap all the gifts and I was done!

I still put up my tree Thanksgiving weekend. Takes me more than one day now, same with wrapping gifts, I do those over several days now. Keeps me from getting achey if I do it over more time.

I love wrapping gifts and making bows, buy wired ribbon by huge spools, and set up a warping station in my sewing room. Some of my bows have silk flowers attached, some have beads, or artificial fruit. I LOVE wrapping gifts now that I have everything needed to do the job. Double sticky tape, a hot glue gun, tape dispenser on a bracelet so I do not loose it, it pops out a precut piece of tape, neat. I have an apron with pockets for tags, BIG tags I print on the puter, and a place for scissors and pens that write in gold and red and green. Hubby made me a rack for rolls of paper and rolls of ribbon. I HAVE FUN!

I started collecting all the things to make wrapping easier for me when I started having arthritis and thought I would have to give up wrapping. One year we bought bags for all the gifts. It was easy but it was just not the same.

Morning all!
I've spent a long time looking for a map to the train station and reading the posts and now I have to work out how long I can hang around before I have to wake the travelling kiddies...

Let me think, train leaves around 9.30. Map says 45 minutes to get there, but I think it's more like 1h15m... Leave at 8? No, leave at 7.30 so we can have a cup of something before they leave....

Vici, so glad the surgery went well, and so sorry you now have to go through man-recovery...

The C word!! Already talking about the C word!!! I am usually fairly organised with immediate family stuff, it's the other people I can't get done. Food? That's the day before, unless I buy a turkey.

BTW Californians.... I used to collect Lucky tokens and get free or cheap turkeys, or pay about $14 for a gigantic one. The first year back in Oz I paid $80 for a small one. It was a shock. Lately I've been able to get them for around $40, but still half the size of the CA turkeys. There are actually benefits to that - more moist an flavourful, but I miss the leftovers!

MizT, I have a friend with arthritis. She just had her 49th birthday. Based on her complete list of symptoms/tests etc, her doctor has recommended she become vegan. Doc believes that will relieve her symptoms. Friend has said she will go almost vegetarian (wants her fish) for 3 months to see if it makes a difference, and decide on the future from there..

More on the C word: Up until 2 years ago it was hubby and my tradition to wrap the girl's presents on Xmas eve after they went to bed. We still do some odds and ends, but now they stay up so much later it was getting to be a bit much for this body! So now I wrap them while they are at school. Unfortunately that means they are not wrapped as well as hubby is the masterful wrapper in this house!!

Gail, I think the exhaustion is worth it! I would love to go to the Royal Easter Show in Sydney. I have people who will put us up but hubby doesn't like doing that so for us to go it's hotels or nothing... Still trying to train him out of that!

It's almost time for me to go and still no one around! Sigh...

Hi Suzy and anyone who's lurking.

My shopping is done already. Now I don't want to hear any raspberries out there.

Vici, glad to hear the Mark came thru the surgery ok.

Heidi, get as much rest as your body wants. Always a believer that if it tells you to sleep, then sleep.

June, how long will Lauren be in the hospital? Will be keeping you in my thoughts.

Guess I'm back to babbling to myself. This seems to becoming a habit. Hope to catch up with you guys later.

Becky, a while ago we had a discussion about how you would 'write' a raspberry... I can't remember what won, but I wish I did!

SA6,
Vicki glad Mike is over the surgery.
Happy kid free time Zusy.
Ian phoned me last night, and will be on his way to Thorneside today. I was great to hear his voice, and sorry topsiders he does not have an accent! LOL!

plllaaaatttt! Becky!

Excellent Broni!

pllllaaatttt! Becky!

Best I could come up with on short notice Zusy.

We decided to wake the kids at 7, aiming to get underway by 7.45. So I have 8 minutes left before the rush starts...

Working today?

Yes working shorter hours today Zusy, then party time tomorrow with Ian whooo hoooo! Weather looks like it will be good as long the wind hold off. Off to throw myself under the shower and a quick tidy up.

hello dear friends! i just finished reading. i started this morning and read in between cleaning, playing blocks, lunch with friends and meeting a potential stucco guy. i'm off now to pick up kids, take to tennis, piano, a dr. appt. and drop off a friend, whew! be back soon.

Thank you all for the warm wishes for Mikey - I actually have to fight him to do stuff for him...I think it's male martyrdome! I came home from grocery shopping and he was trying to fold laundry I left in the dryer with his left (non-dominant) hand! He is in good spirits, tho...hasn't had to take a pain pill, yet.

June - love your camilia. I had 4 big bushes behind the garage, but that is where we were putting the addition on the house...so I have attempted to transplant them. They are struggling and the tree guys dropped branches and pretty much made toast out of 2 of them. One of my maples (small tree) in it's full red glory right now. Makes me smile! God's fireworks!

Suzy - have a great 'kid free' time!
Broni - do say "hi" to Ian from all of us who couldn't make the trip (SA topsiders). Hope he takes some pictures to post!
Hi Ruby, MzT, Heidi, Becky and Mariana! Everyone seems to be just missing each other.

OK - gonna go hang with Mike, then barbeque him a steak with baked potatoe and salad. Bought him some ice cream, too. Haven't bought it in awhile. They changed the packaging to be 1.5 quarts, rather than a 1/2 gallon and have it priced the same! B*stards!

One last note...the new paint I got is called 'Silk Tafeta', but I was really tempted to get the one called 'Cheeky' - just for the DUGs!

maEn, all. I have now added insult to injury. Besides the Mono, I now have a severe head cold. I just can't win. It started this morning with a sore throat, and now has stuffed the head really well.
Now I NEED to go out and feed everyone, then I think I'll go back to bed. The biggest problem with being this sick is feeling like you're gonna die, and being afraid that you won't.