Difficulty score 19. Very easy for a medium.

Until today, we had a run of 8 Easy puzzles in a row going. Wednesday was much easier than usual, the rest were probably slightly harder than the average easy.

Done

yeah, pretty easy, but I had to start over once because I broke Hurshey's #1 rule.

go

what's that rule hokie?

done, no greens

grats

thanks! agree with you drwho, today's medium was easier than the last two easies for me.

me too, this medium is so far easier than some of the easies this week.

Hi sepe. See you are busy. Now you got me addicted too.

done (yesterday.... fell asleep :)

today: go

go

done

I am a closet sudoku player, and finally finished one on the first try!

Yay Inge!

done

go

done... no greens

should have been able to do that without greens, but I got lazy

Go.

No greens. Easier than an "easy." The only peculiar move was a unique rectangle, probably not needed. Some real obvious pairs probably gave it the "medium" rating.

I did all crosshatch and intersections. It fell together pretty smoothly.

no greens and smoothly...either I'm getting better or that was easier than last night's

go

done no greens

done ... no greens... but i don't know what greens are !? can somebody clue me on those greens ?

c u all later

greens = click on help and read up on "subscript numbers"

woohoo, sudoku party on a saturday night!

hi hursh

hi artlady

i did some art today, sort of

Oh? What did you create?

a cat-sized decorative screen

Ah, of course!

Does the cat (or cats) appreciate your artistry?

it's to try to direct them a certain way as they exit the litterbox, so that by the time they get out of the path, the little pellets have all come off their feet. i don't know if they appreciate it but i'm hoping it will mean less pellets all over the house.

lol. That's very creative!

my husband recommends astroturf for that kind of problem

there is a catnip infused scratching mat at the exit to slow them up a bit too

How many do you have?

well krys, various types of mats are possible, but i find that it's more a matter of time. they leap right over small mats and large ones are unsightly.

i have 3 cats.

my cat is not as athletic as yours are, I guess :)

The pellets would add up, then.

what i did was, i took four wooden paintings of flowers and hinged them together.

also, as they exit, they have to stand on a plastic thing with one drawer that i punched a bunch of holes in, that way i can collect them in the drawer and dump them back in.

Accordion screening, then.

yes indeedy, artlady.

and recycling!

well the pellets are forever, not like litter, so saving them saves me money.

they're washable. it's catgenie, the first and only truly self-cleaning cat waste disposal system.

I've never had cats. Grew up with dogs. No pellets, just muddy paw prints everywhere when they come in!

i love my catgenie.

We just got a kitten who thinks she's a dog...

hmm, yes, i don't have muddy paw prints, as the cats are indoor-only. until now. i bought a cat stroller today.

but, that will still mean no muddy paw prints.

Cat stroller? What's that like?

it's like a baby stroller except you can zip it shut so they don't hop out.

and the sides have a lot of mesh so they can see stuff.

That's new to me!

well i tried a harness when they were younger and that was soooo not happening. *cat plops down* "if you think i am going anywhere in this undignified condition, you're crazy."

let me know how it works :)

it's really to encourage me to exercise. i would like a dog but i don't think i should get one right now for a lot of reasons. so, to have company as i take a walk or jog...

There's an image!

My grandparents had a dog that would just flop on the ground if you put a leash on her.

She was also terrified of men with hats.

They rescued her from the dump.

a dog that thought it was a cat! the opposite of bgmadden's problem.

there would be a lot of men with hats at the dump.

Theory is, a man with a hat tied a rope to her and left her there. She turned out to be a great dog, but terrified of hats and leashes!

Especially in the country in Wisconsin.

she eats the dog's food, steals his bone. and tries to go out with him...

see, i do not at all approve of people who spend lots of money on their pets FOR THE PETS. but the things i spend money on for my pets are really to improve my life. pet clothing is a silly silly thing.

I have been having the same dilemma with baby gear - is it really for the baby or is it for me?

My mother has knitted snowsuits for her dog....

you're having a baby?

yup

Of course, t hat's because she lives in northern Wisconsin and the snow is murder to get out of her hair.

in a month or so

when?

theoretically

i mean the month is theoretical

Yes, they do have their own timetables! ;-)

my sister is having a baby in two months.

the baby is definite

Congrats and good luck!

thanks!

aunt hurshy

Auntie hurshy!

lol, ditto Krys.

:)

you will have to tell me how it goes so i can prepare her

will do, but everyone has been telling me every situation is unique

do you know if she's planning a hospital birth, home birth, natural vs. meds, etc?

Yes. My son was a week late and my daughter 3 weeks early.

she's doing a birthing center, sort of in between i guess

i have been instructing my little one that her lease is up at 38 weeks, but my husband points out that I am quite stubborn and if the apple doesn't fall far from the tree...

i think there are not really meds there.

Hurshy, if your sis hasn't read Ina May's Guide to Childbirth yet I highly recommend it

birth centers are required to keep meds etc on hand but typically they encourage women not to use them if at all possible

i have no idea what she's read

she might do a water birth, i forget.

what kind are you doing?

neat! my hospital has labor tubs, which I am psyched about

i will be in a hospital but it's a hospital that is really supportive of natural childbirth and uses midwives instead of docs, so I am hoping to have a meds-free calm etc type experience. am reading up on hypnobirthing

i have heard about that

i knew a midwife in CT

she said you weren't even supposed to use the term "labor" if you were going to do hypnobirthing, you had to have this whole state of mind like it was not a hard or painful thing

my husband anticipated having to wave a pocketwatch in front of my face or something

"surges" or "rushes" instead of "contractions" for instance..

yeah that would SO not work on me

it's basically a lot of relaxation techniques - breathing, massage, guided visualizations etc

and the idea that there is a culture of fear and pain built up around childbirth, which makes a laboring woman more tense and causes her more pain

Mmmhmmm. It's work.

we'll see if it's all crock when I get into it :)

right, exactly krys.

But you forget it all when the baby's born!

ok, i'm going to head out - enjoy your weekend, everyone!

i think if you're one of those people who can really be positive and calm and stuff it might work. i mean the midwife i knew said she'd SEEN it work

artlady - that's what all the great hormones are for, eh?

bye krys, best wishes!

yeah, there's lots of case studies about it being effective, but I'm more left-brained than most and the idea is to get out of your left-brain..

see you!

I've never heard of it. Unfortunately, around here a lot have epidurals during delivery. I was a natural person.

'Night, Krys

see my thinking is that there is probably a reason that there is this idea floating around that childbirth is painful, the reason being that it IS painful.

Putting my two cents worth in, I did both ways...

my grandmother says she was under general anesthesia for childbirth. now that i could go for.

It was painful for me. My daughter was born in 2 hours, tho. Fast!

Well, I'm almost caught up on my puzzles (after a week at school I only found some Babbling time, not Sudoku). Time to call it a night. The Bears won! (If there are any football fans out therel) :-)

It's no walk in the park, but I preferred natural...

oh, did football start already?

i knew there were exhibition games going...

Da Bears good night artlady\

I have to say...as someone who could not deliver vaginally, much less naturally; and as someone who also could not nurse....

...I have to wonder whether all this stuff around natural childbirth isn't entirely overrated. Mom and kid survive...mom loves kid...healthy life ensues...that's what matters, right?

well i guess MOST of the time that is true, but that statistically there are higher risks with other-than-natural, so for a few people it turns out really crappy.

I agree that;s all that matters is everyone is happy and healthy...they overdosed me on the epidural.

now in my case it was, mom and kid survive, mom loves kid, but kid is unable to bond with mom or feel love for her, and dad thinks he'd be better off dead (for no particular reason), unhealthy life ensues.

Risks for whom? Not a challenge, a true question.

risks for the baby, was my understanding.

but seeing as i do not plan to have children, i am certainly not an expert.

I had a dreadful time bonding with my son, in spite of making a valiant effort to nurse. Turns out it was severe post-partum.

oh my mom bonded with ME, it just wasn't a two way street.

i'm sorry you had that problem though. :(

Thanks Hursh. I think the lack of education around ppd is depressing in and of itself. I tell my friends "No matter what the voices tell you..."

...Don't boil the baby!!

i can sympathize on account of having regular depression.

i should call my friend who had a baby not long ago, i heard she has PPD

ppd is very hard jakawie I had it with my second one...and now struggle with it all the time....

Yup, me too. It's still baffling to me how long it took my husband and me to figure it out.

First you think it's hormones or something and it just gets worse..

and you know what else sucks? it sucks that people are so used to the stupid non-discussion argumentative soundbites that you have to specify if you're asking an actual question because you want an answer.

My experience of ppd was waaay different from "ordinary" depression. Thoughts like "i could throw him out the window and make it look like an accident."

well, i mean, it's not THAT different, jakawie - you're just having those thoughts about the baby instead of about yourself.

I just wanted to drive my truck at 80 mph into a wall with out the kids....

I realized it was time to go to the doctor then

i mean i've tried to use the internet to find out the least painful way to commit suicide... seems like they've managed to outlaw those sites though, or something. porn, hate speech, that's all ok, but not suicide.

Oy bgmadden. I hear you. My husband figured it out for me.

Death by chocolate.

that's really good that you have a sensitive and observant husband.

I am sooo fortunate.

Anyway, my youngest is 8 now and life is great with it's ups and downs now that I recognize it.

Better living through chemistry...I'm all for it.

go

me too. i'm definitely better on meds. though still not actually all the way to "happy".

Hbby just walked in and wants to go to sleep. Nite all....

...uh, well-controlled chemistry, that is. 'Night bgmadden.

Me neither Hurshy. But that's just part of my peculiar complex I think.

so why do you go on? i mean when i think that i may live not happy the whole rest of my life... it is SO discouraging.

done

that's very impressive jawilke

ty

Well...my depression doesn't always manifest as misery or persistent thoughts of suicide. Mine is more about persistent thoughts of other people dying.

just had to chime in there so no one would get me confused w/ jakawie

Yes, our names are close. I saw that.

yes, i used to have a lot of trouble about other people's suffering. i'm doing better about that, but, that's kind of bad, i wish it were the other way round.

i used to have HORRIBLE nightmares, but i have not had one in a really long time now.

now i only have occasional, regular nightmares. not the wake up crying and sweating ones.

I recognize some of my strengths and take joy in sharing them. That often keeps me going.

I've also had to learn NOT to indulge some of my "paranoid fantasies."

that is good. i can do that some, but i guess i need more people in my life to give to.

yes, me too - but the anti-anxiety med i think helps a lot with that.

I was on buspar for the longest time and then went off when I got pregnant. Now I'm in pretty dire need and it's on order...

what kind is buspar, i have not heard of it

anti-anxiety. Not a benzodiazpene (sp?) Milder.

Benzodiazepine.

i have clonazepam. i started it to help me sleep but then it really seemed to help a lot with anxiety in general.

and then i have seratraline (zoloft) for an anti-d.

Yep. I know it well.

i find the clonazepam just perfect. it does just what it is supposed to do and i've never had to increase the dosage.

Perhaps I'll try it. Might help me with flight anxiety. Buspar doesn't do that.

but the zoloft, it does help some, but it started wearing off, and i went to 100 instead of 50, and it's still a little lacking. however, better than lexapro, which practically gave me a panic attack and made me throw up.

but everyone reacts differently to each medication, of course.

yeah i was totally fine the last time i flew, to my sister's wedding in july.

So true. I found that Zoloft increased my anxiety. So now my daily dose includes bupropion (Wellbutrin).

it's so much harder to know, with depression, though. with anxiety, it was like, i know i am not supposed to be constantly terrified that someone is about to break into the house and attack me.

I was INCREDULOUS when I learned that other people didn't live with those fears. I thought it was simply a part of being human! LOL.

with depression, what i have left of it is a generally mild but pervasive sadness, which maybe i just need to make more changes in my life to help with.

oh TOTALLY, me too!!!! i first wanted to go to therapy for depression, had no idea i had an anxiety disorder, for the very same reason.

but after i found out that other people didn't have it, that was another item on my therapy list - and i finally started to go bc i just couldn't take the nightmares anymore.

Change is hard but necessary. Required, in fact, so that we can evolve.

I did some of my best theapeutic work in Jungian dream analysis. Really deep, really challenging. Totally freeing.

Ooohh...lightening storm. So pretty. Probably should take my systems off line. 'Night hursh.

i'm going to bed too. night!

Peaceful dreams!