Newbies Nest

[Pavati]

Re: Newbies Nest

Hi, All:

A HUGE congratulations to you, Narilly! I'm so sorry that I missed the big day yesterday. For sure your support in the early days was instrumental to my sobriety. You are such a real, positive, amazing sober person, and I am so excited to celebrate this milestone with you! I remember when we all first quit Byrdie (or NS?) said when we get to year 10 a couple of months one way or the other won't matter - it feels like that now. I hope your dim sum was great and that you had a NARILLY day. WHOOT! Go Loamers!

Sunrise - what a great evening. I am prone to inertia, so I am a bit afraid of that as I get older. Great to have a partner who will get you out and doing things. Maybe you should confide in your husband so he stops offering you drinks? Did you have a neck injury or was it just age? Hope that heals soon.

Byrdie - your humor is so wonderful. I'm sorry your brother didn't get that cake - sounds lovely.

I agree, NS, with Being Mortal. Funny, Ava, I am my dad's executor as he says I'll "know when to pull the plug." I'm not sure I appreciate that designation, and it remains to be seen...

Not much going on here. I had a day off yesterday and went on a 13 mile solo hike. It was so refreshing and wonderful to be alone in nature for that long. It was a beautiful, and NOW I've had my forest bath...

Happy SOBER Saturday,
Pav

[available]

Re: Newbies Nest

Morning nesters

Nar, im glad you gave yourself a pat on the back, not many make it to five years. I am grateful each day for my sobriety.

Byrd, i hope your day went well with your brother.

Hope you are doing ok Slo and wracking up those days.

Lav, how did the fair go? I hope you had a lovely day.

I went to visit mum yesterday with my son and carl, picked up my other son and we had a lovely day, nice and relaxing. Carl was annoying my sons dog that is an american staffy pitbull so Tyson bit him. we ended up driving back to melbourne to the vets as nothing open in the country. Carl is fine, on pain relief and antibiotics but a scary experience as it could have been so much worse. Grateful for that but 2019 is really trying me.

How did the roof go Wags?

Well a nice quiet day for me, going to appreciate the quiet carl and try and finish his dog coat. Might invest in permanent pain relief for him to keep him quiet ha ha. A lovely autumn day so will go for a walk later. Pav, that is a huge hike, id be dead!

Take care xx

[Lavande]

Re: Newbies Nest

Good evening Nesters,

I had a pretty good day I have to say
The turnout at the craft fair was much smaller than I expected but I did fairly well in sales anyway. Turns out the same town was having an Easter parade & egg hunt today, so.....
Next one I'm going to is in July so I have lots of time to prepare.

Ava, sorry about the doggie scuffle. I hope Carl is OK.
I have my son's golden retriever here this week. My dog is completely ignoring her which is just as well, haha. Glad you got to see your mom :hug:

Byrdie, a melted cake, geez, sorry.
I hope your lunch meetup went well.

Pav, I would love to spend a day in the woods but I'm kinda scared these days since I've developed all these allergies. Glad you had a great hike!

Sunrise, you sound great & that makes me happy!
The crafting is just something I'm doing since I closed up my little embroidery business. 15 years of that was enough. Prior to that I was in nursing for nearly 29 years & that was way more than enough, Lol. We have to stay busy as we get older & I like to make people happy

Hi there Narilly, G & everyone stopping in today.
Wishing us all a safe night in the nest.

Lav

[wagmor]

Re: Newbies Nest

Ava - sorry to hear about the dog bite - things like that often happen so fast (at least to our human eyes) and can be traumatic for all. I hope you and Carl are both ok, and that Tyson is as well. Our new roof is done and looks great. It even feels better in the house, but I'm sure that's psychological in most if not all ways. This whole thing started because we need new rain gutters and the gutter crew spotted the roof damage when they were up looking things over, so now we're back to that square and getting new gutters installed later this coming week. THAT will make a huge difference, as our old ones are falling and really too small for the job they're asked to do here in the Pacific NW and at our house specifically cuz we're under several large Doug Fir trees that are lovely for summer shade but drop more needles and sap than should be legal.

Lav - glad to hear the craft fair sales went well despite the small turnout. What types of crafting do you do? I'm sure you've mentioned it over the years but I'm not recalling...

New Sunrise - your dinner out sounds lovely, and I agree about maybe letting hubs know a bit more clearly that you truly are not drinking now? Sounds like you handled it fine regardless. I hope your neck issues are able to resolve and let you return to activities you cannot currently do.

Byrd - I'm sure the cake still tastes/d fantastic. Did you at least get a pic or two?


Hellos and waves to everyone stopping by today. Have great AF days/eves!

[narilly]

Re: Newbies Nest

Happy UN HUNG Sunday everyone!!
My puppy gets me up so freakin early everyday, 6:45 is sleeping in these days but you know what? It is awesome because I get up and I Feel GOOD!
I used to be drunk at 6:45 still or just getting over drinking from last night. I remember having a puffy face, bleary eyes (they actually hurt), purple lips from drinking wine and wine breath, regrets from what I said or did...just thinking about it makes me SO grateful.
It is 8am here now and I already fed the dogs, had my coffee, watered the plants- I LOVE being sober
Who knew so much happened before noon! lol

Pav, you were instrumental in me getting sober, you know it Glad you had your nature fix yesterday, I know how much you love that. That is a huge hike though, Ava I think we could do it...maybe. not

NSunrise, hope your neck gets better, ya I agree with Wags, maybe talk to hubs so he understands how important it is to you to stay sober. Sometimes people need to be reminded.

Wags, I agree that Byrdie's cake sounded delish. I am with you on the Fir trees, they do drop a ton of needles. Our neighbour two doors down has a bunch in his yard and the needles fill our gutters and end up in our house all the time.

Lav, I would have bought something from you yesterday. I love craft shows. I bet your stuff Raawks, right G!

Ava, that really sucks about the dog bite. Puppys man, they are crazy! I am sure your son felt terrible about it. Enjoy your day with Carl, he is lucky to have such a nice momma.

So I had a bunch of ice cream last night. I figured I wasn't drinking and that I would cut myself some slack and enjoy the ice cream. We have an amazing local place here that makes their own ice cream and it is SO freaking good. Words cannot explain how good it is. I had the Valhrona Chocolate and Brownie Chocolate last night but they have other flavours like Rasberry Cardamon, blueberry lemon, OMG I am drooling just typing this out. I will stop now.

Have a great sober Sunday everyone. Don't Drink Today!

Life- I miss you, hope you are ok :hug:

[New Sunrise]

Re: Newbies Nest

Good Morning All!

Byrd, that cake sounds wonderful! Hubby and I really love NC. We both moved down, at different times, because our parents retired there and then became ill and needed support. I live there 30 years and loved that we could go to the west into the mountains and east to the beach. We rented a condo every summer in Garden City, our vacation. Not this year! We live in a vacation spot already which is good. Health care costs are ridiculous here in FL and eating our money. We figure that between the move and the doc bills we should be where we were some time next year.

Pav, funny thing about my neck, it is both age related and due to an injury. At first my doc in NC thought it was just plain old arthritis and treated me as such. The pain kept getting worse and I bounced from one doc and therapist from the next. No relief at all. Finally my I saw a doc in NC that did a really expensive MRI with flection and extension of the neck and that doc said he would not touch me. Now when the doc saw me he was 2 hours late for the appt and it was clearly obvious that he was exhausted from a more complicated surgery he had done in the morning. He said that I would need plates and screw put in my neck which would take all the movement that I had worked hard to keep. All of the damage was pretty much on the left side. We were starting our move then. When we got down here I went through a series of docs and a couple of ER visits because the pain just was excruciating. Thankfully, a very kind nurse came to me on the sly and gave me the name of good surgeon here. I guess nurses are not supposed to do that. I visited him with a CD of the MRI and he found that at one time I fractured my neck in several places C-1 and C-2 and they were so old and hard to see that he figured I did them as a kid or at least a teenager! For the life of me I can't think of anytime I injured my neck. My brother and I were very close in age and very completive and my mother would yell at us more then once that someone would wind up breaking their neck. I guess she was right. The rest of the neck kind of took more stress to make up for the fractures and so I was left with terrible arthritis settling in. The doc did cervical radiofrequency ablation from C-2 to C-7, basically burnt the nerve bundles so the signal will not go to the brain. It has been a life changer. For the past 5 years I have pretty much been a lump of human flesh, but now I can move! My muscles have degenerated after 5 years of inaction and now they are not too happy with me.

Avail- I am so sorry about Carl and I do hope he heals fast and will be able to socialize with other canine friends again. I know that had to be tough on you

Lav- that is such a nice thought to make people happy with your crafts. Maybe if I take that attitude I will find something that I can do. I paint,sew, knit, crochet, and embroider also. Surely I can find something.

Wags- I know that is a relief to get your roof done. One less thing and now on to gutters.

Everyone, at some point I will talk to hubby but I am not ready. There is a time for everything and right now I just don't feel strong enough to come clean. I sure he had to have had his suspicions on what I was doing, you think you are hiding it but in reality you are not. I will talk to him but when I feel strong enough, right now I just want to stay sober and concentrate on that. Saying no and that I need to loose weight is working for me now. He only drinks once in a while and rarely at home. When we went to dinner the other night he did not even think of ordering that drink for himself, I look back and see that I really drank more when we went out.

Happy Sunday All! Another Sober Sunday for me!

[Pavati]

Re: Newbies Nest

Good Morning--

Lav, that's a cool side business, and something creative and relaxing to do. When my dad quit smoking when I was young he took up embroidery - I had some beautiful things on my jeans and shirts. He also macramed (?) - it was the 70s... We had lots of hanging plants at that time...

Sunrise - wow. Glad you finally got to that doctor! Now that surgery is over, you should listen to the podcast Dr. Death. An amazing true story about the worst neurosurgeon who ever was...

Aw, poor Carl. Glad he has you to take care of him. What kind of dog is he? Does he bark a lot? Good thing he's cute...

Nar, I am so happy to be un-hung as well. I was SO afraid of what I would be missing that I never really contemplated what I would be gaining. And the gains keep coming.

Not much to add. We had a productive day yesterday, getting some small but nagging things done around the house. With all the rain we had, the wildflowers are going crazy around here, so I'm going to try to get out again while they last.

Happy SOBER Sunday,
Pav

[Lavande]

Re: Newbies Nest

Greetings Nesters,

Well we have a flood watch issues here, big overnight storms are moving this way. There's a tornado watch for the adjoining county too, oh my.
Hope the chicken house stays put

I'm not exactly a crafty person, haha but I have found a way to put my embroidery machines back to work since closing my little business last year. Right now I am focusing on doing pillows, specifically "Reading Pillows' for kids & adults too. They have a pocket attached on the front that has some designs & words of encouragement embroidered. You can stick a favorite book in the pocket, a Kindle or tablet, whatever you like. There's lots of licensed fabrics out there that kids like - think 'Paw Patrol' & John Deere Tractors, etc. I've also been doing some larger throw pillows with different designs. They do seem to make people smile. It's all machine work - I do nothing by hand, haha!!

Pav, I macramed back in the 70's too & I swear I hurt my hands & fingers, Lol but I still have some of those plant hangers & wall hangings!

New Sunrise, wow, that was some spectacular surgery. I'm glad you finally found the right person to do it for you. Not all surgeons are fabulous (says the retired RN). Keep on healing & get back to feeling your best
As far as the crafty stuff - do whatever makes you the happiest! If you enjoy making it I'll just bet someone would be happy to have it for themselves.
We are all in the process of re-inventing ourselves & I keep a lot to myself where my family is concerned. I remember being not too happy with comments from certain family members when I first quit so I just stopped letting them talk AT me. It was none of their business as far as I was concerned. We all have to figure out what is best for each of us I think.

Narilly, I am jealous of your ice cream eating. If I could I would too!! Glad you enjoyed yourself, Lol.

Wags, glad you are happy with your new roof. We did that with our previous home & it made such a difference. Such a big job, oh my!!!
We built this house 16 years ago so I hope the original roof can hang on a bit longer

Hello to the rets of the crew & wishing everyone a safe night in the nest!

Lav

[New Sunrise]

Re: Newbies Nest

Good Morning All,

Lav, I am so grateful for the nurse who gave me the surgeon's name. ALWAYS listen to a nurse! They know what is really going on. I was very fortunate that she took the chance to give me his name. When I went to the doc last week (? gee, that sounds like a long time when getting sober) I still had three more weeks of healing time, 2 now. I really am better every week.

With that said, I had such a rotten day yesterday! I hurt, all over, and my mind went straight to "let's drink". I didn't but it was tough. I guess I did too much on Saturday, yard work with hubby and then lots of time in the pool. I found exercises that I could do in the pool that mimic the ones that I do with the bands. With it all, my body screamed at me yesterday, theses muscles just don't want to get with the program!

I also started thinking of hubby leaving tomorrow and the fact that I have to go to the grocery store. We found that his credit card # got stolen, some where and we are waiting for a new one. It happens, especially since he travels. He has 2, one we share and another for international travel. I do not travel internationally. I use the card for everything to get the points. He was not keen on the idea and said just used the debit. I need to figure out something there, I don't want to go into the war zone when he leaves.

I do feel better today. I had a good nap yesterday, cooked a nice Sunday dinner and a good night's sleep. I have another day with hubby and his laundry to finish. It looks like a pretty day weather wise, just not as warm. I will take it easier on the muscles, but not too easy, they have to get with the program!

[Byrdlady]

Re: Newbies Nest

Hey all,
We had a very nice lunch with my new half brother, the time just flew by. He is such a sweetie. He called yesterday to let me know they got home ok. A sign that you have become part of a family! Ha!
Yesterday was pretty warm here without A/C! We had all the windows open until the torrential rains hit, and we had to close up. It was a hot night of sleeping. The guy is coming this morning to replace.
Life happens, doesn't it, whether we are drunk or sober. Learning coping skills was and IS a big part of my sobriety. Letting go of the F It's was hard, now I have F It moments in different ways. I get up and walk around and remove myself of the thought circle I get tangled up in. That helps a lot. I know that drinking is NOT an option. It's absolutely the worst thing I can do, and I don't need that. I can't tell you how thankful I am that I found the tools to help me quit. Staying sober it my #1 priority....still.
Happy Monday, all! Byrdie

[Pavati]

Re: Newbies Nest

Hi, All:

Spitting truth again, Byrdie. Learning how to cope without first drowning out everything - what a concept. Staying sober is #1 for me, too. That's one of the reasons I post here every day (well most days) - my sober accountability.

Sunrise - isn't funny how the mind is trained to crave a poison, even when it is feeling bad? Glad you rode through that craving and came out the other side. Hope your muscles are nicer to you today. Also, did someone mention the Bubble Hour podcast to you? I found it VERY helpful my first year especially.

I usually don't have sleep issues, but heading into a mountain of work that has to be done NOW today, so I think I was anxious and restless and had trouble staying asleep. That's not going to make that mountain of work go away...

Hope all is well with everyone. Happy SOBER Monday.

Pav

[wagmor]

Re: Newbies Nest

Byrdie - glad you're getting your AC fixed today. No more melted cakes or melted Byrds!

Sunrise - I hope you don't feel that people were pressuring you to tell your husband. We've all been through those early days when we had to figure out what to tell whom. It'll probably be time to tell him sometime, but only you know what's truly best. I started off using health as my reason to quit and it's still a huge part of my story (and true - I feel better when I don't drink!). But I have never fully come clean re how much of a problem I have except with folks here in the nest. For now your only job is not to drink, and it sounds like you got through a challenge yesterday. Good job, and now onward!

Pav - your 13-mile hike sounds wonderful. One of my favorite activities. I forget, are you in or near mountains?


Gotta run for now - Monday again - hellos and waves to everyone!

[narilly]

Re: Newbies Nest

Good morning everyone.
Floods And tornadoes Lav? What the heck. That is some crazy weather you have there. Keep those chickens safe.

Byrdie, I am so happy that things are going well for you and your brother. It is so nice when you can have a good relationship with a sibling like that. I hope your work week doesn’t totally suck.

N Sunrise, way to go and get through those cravings. Just let them float on by. I used to catch myself obsessing about drinking but then I learned to let the thoughts go.

Shitty that you had a bad sleep Pav, you will make up for it tonight though.

Wags, melted Byrdie, haha that was funny. Have a good one friend.

Ava, hope all is well with Carl. Thank goodness he has a sober momma to take care of him.

GMan, Life, hello xo

Have a good one everyone!

[New Sunrise]

Re: Newbies Nest

Ok, feeling guilty here. I thought I would post before it gets out of control

Hubby has to go to NJ and will be gone into next week, we will both spend Easter apart. Kicker is, his company has offered to send me up with him so that we are not apart on a holiday. I said no .

First, I am not a fan of NJ ( sorry for the folks who are from there), it will be cool and rainy for last part of the week. I will spend too much time in the hotel by myself, with not a lot to do. He will most likely spend long hours there. I still have 2 more weeks to heal from the surgery and after I felt yesterday, I don't want to be in a hotel feeling bad. I have the Easter Egg hunt on Sat. a doc appt on the following Tues and surprise birthday party for one of the ladies in our group. I don't know her that well, but still.

Second, the automatic thought of not being able to drink came up. I don't plan on drinking and so the guilt of all the trips he has taken and I looked forward to drinking came up. I feel so guilty about that!

I just want to get a good strong footing with myself. I am enjoying the weather, the exercising outside, the comfort of my home. He will be by himself for a holiday and a feel like such a heal.

I am not really comfortable with myself right now!

I am bummed.:cuss:

[Slo]

Re: Newbies Nest

I don’t think you need to feel guilty about that, New Sunrise! You have a perfect & authentic excuse: you are recovering from a delicate neck surgery, so want to stay in the comfort of your own home to finish healing, and attend your doctor appointment; instead of risking jarring your neck while traveling. It’s the truth!
I doubt that your husband will care that much since it sounds like he will be quite busy with work, and probably wouldn’t want you sitting around bored in a hotel room. And besides, if you join him then your daughter will be alone for Easter.
I wouldn’t worry about it -you need to look after yourself in the best way possible during this time of convalescence.