Newbies Nest

[Lavande]

Re: Newbies Nest

Happy Friday evening Nesters,

The snow & cold are still here, not much melting happening.
My younger grandson is here for the weekend with plans to eat us out of house & home as usual, haha!
Can’t believe Christmas is next Friday, wow!!

Narilly, your party plan sounds like a UN meeting, Lol. It would be fun though if we could ever do that

LC, the baby rosters attempts to crow are pretty comical. We ended up with one rooster from our last chick delivery. I raised him until he started crowing then sent him to our Amish friend’s farm where he can crow all he wants, haha! I hope you can get back to work in the early new year, keeping fingers crossed for you.

Kensho, sounds like it’s time to lock your door for a few hours. Maintaining your sanity during this time is vital. I wish you luck.

Hi Pav, Pauly, Byrdie, Wags & everyone.
Wishing for a safe & cozy night in the nest for all!

Lav

[KENSHO]

Re: Newbies Nest

LAV - I got my GF sourdough starter! Tips please when you can!

One child is in the basement, and the other at a neighbor's house - it's relatively quiet and I can hear myself think!

Happy Friday/Sat everyone. Sober is where it's at!

[Byrdlady]

Re: Newbies Nest

Kensho, my heart goes out to you. I wish I could assist. There are so many in your situation and I’m sitting here with time on my hands. Once I get that vaccine, maybe I will feel like I can help others better. Right now, Covid is absolutely out of control. It’s scary out. We are thinking of you.
Narilly, I’m loving the party idea! Count me in, any day is a good day for cake! All the regional goodies sound awesome.
Lav, your poor frozen chickens! You are the best chicken tender I know. Good luck with your grandson this weekend!
Hard to believe Christmas is a week from today! This has been the longest year and the shortest at the same time.
Stay strong, everyone!
It’s only Friday, not a ticket to BoozeVille! :rara: Byrdie

[wagmor]

Re: Newbies Nest

Kensho - that sounds really hard, and unfortunately is what a LOT of families (esp working moms it seems) are trying to navigate right now. Glad you're getting a little semi-quiet time. I like the "office hours" suggestion too if that sounds at all possible.

Nar - that party will be ab fab for sure!


I'm so glad it's the weekend and that I don't drink. No need to rush around trying to restock on booze or worry about hangovers or anything like that. I saw an article today about how people are drinking more than they used to before the various quarantines and lock-downs. I feel grateful to be getting through another challenging time without turning to al. Each of these victories makes us stronger.

Hellos and waves everyone. Catch you all tomorrow!

[Pavati]

Re: Newbies Nest

Good morning!

Nar, I'm in for the party! I'll bring my son's chicken pot pie. The best thing I've eaten all quarantine!

Kensho, and everyone home with kids - I can't imagine. I have read that most of that dual role is falling to the women, whether or not they have the same or even more demanding jobs as the men. When my kids were around a lot I found alone time at night after a strictly enforced early bed time. I'm not sure their ages, but can you put a timer on your door for an hour with a do not disturb sign? Maybe they can learn to help each other or call the school for help themselves? Good luck.

I've done most of my shopping online even though I want to support local. Will try to hit a few local stores this week. The best part of the holiday is getting together with family and friends, so I will certainly miss that. The weird up side is that I don't like ALL of the parties and gatherings that are in this month when, in my book, we're supposed to be hibernating. It will be good to have some actual down time. I'll take it...

I agree with you, Wags. We've made it through a pandemic sober. OR, if you're just joining, you made it day one in a pandemic sober.

Happy SOBER Saturday.

Pav

[Lavande]

Re: Newbies Nest

Greetings Nesters,

Woke up to 11 degrees this morning, geez it’s cold!!
Chickens are coping as well as possible, bless their little hearts.
Six days until Christmas means I am another year older today, yay me, haha! Not griping about getting older when another American dies every 33 seconds, such a horrendous stat
I am also grateful I am not drinking my way thru the pandemic, i can’t even imagine.

Ken, the best tip I can give you is to just follow the directions that came with your starter. That’s all I did & it turned out great. My starter will be a year old soon & it’s still as healthy as anything.
I keep mine in the fridge & feed it once/week. When my jar starts getting full I use some of the discard to bake something. Your starter becomes one of your family after a while, haha.
Good luck with your child/work situation, i’m sure you’re doing your best!

Byrdie, my grandson is a continual eater & he keeps himself occupied with his laptop. He’s matured quite a bit this year, thank goodness.
Keep yourself safe, too soon to think about venturing out just yet.

Wags, I have no idea how I would have handled a pandemic when my kids were growing up. All this virtual schooling wasn’t a thing yet back then, we both worked shift work......I just don’t know what we could have done. Stay home & stay safe this weekend, that’s what I’m doing.

Pav, we all should be proud of what we’re doing right now! A booze free pandemic is almost unheard of LOL

Hello to the rest of the group & wishing a safe night in the nest for all!

Lav

[NoraC]

Re: Newbies Nest

Hello Nesters.

Kensho - Wow! I hope you can find some time alone. Even if you have locks on the door, you need to teach them to leave you alone when the door is closed. I know, easier said than done.

Eek. Thanks for reminding me that Christmas is a week away. I need to finish wrapping.

I hope everyone has a great weekend.

[wagmor]

Re: Newbies Nest

It's almost Winter Solstice!!! Then for all of us in the northern hemisphere, the days will start getting longer again and I cannot wait. Sorry Ava and G and anyone else in the southern hemi. I don't wish for your days to start getting shorter -- maybe we can hit the spring equinox and then just hover there so that everyone gets somewhat of a balance. The gray and gloom are hitting me harder than usual this year.

And yikes that there's only a week until xmas. Less than that now actually. What are folks doing this year? Which holidays do you celebrate, and how will this year be same/different? For us, we celebrate a fairly secular xmas with emphasis on enjoying the lights and being kind, and not so much on buying stuff. My brother usually comes to visit from out of state, but this year he'll be staying put for his and our safety. My wife will make a delicious fish chowder and a pie, and my dad will come upstairs and join us for a few meals and maybe a movie or a football game. He's pretty introverted so that's about as social as he'll want to be. For New Year's Day (my fave holiday I think) my wife and I will try to get out for a really long hike or similar -- something to set a positive, active and nature-oriented tone for the year 2021.

How about all of you? What will your next several weeks include?

Happy weekends everyone!

[ThirdTimesACharm]

Re: Newbies Nest

Morning everyone. Long time no see. Just wanted to pop my head around the virtual MWO door and say hi. 4 years 2 months sober and doing well here. I rarely ever think about alcohol anymore.

It's amazing how much emotional growth that you can do while sober, and conversely how stunted you become emotionally while drinking. I've learned to cope with life's daily struggles, the little things and the big things. I've learned to identify the things that bring me true joy and do them regularly. Looking back, I was a constant drain on people. Now I am the rational, reasonable, reliable one in the room. I feel I can genuinely help people. So much so that I just signed up for a volunteer community recovery coach program that starts in January. I'm excited about it.

About the only vestigial remnant of the booze in my life is a monthly (or so) nightmare that I relapse. I have literally woken up sweating and crying that I got drunk and slipped into daily drinking again and ruined my life. Really strange because I do not think about alcohol at all during awake hours and have no desire for it. Maybe the subconscious fear will fade over time. I'm curious if anyone else has had such dreams while sober? (fear of relapse)

I sincerely hope and pray you are all doing well. Merry Christmas to all (or whatever religious or secular holiday you happen to celebrate this time of year.)

[Byrdlady]

Re: Newbies Nest

Hope you had a great birthday, Lav! Yes, we are lucky to still be having them! Did you get some cake? I made a punkin cake yesterday and it made a bigger batch than I thought. I had it coming out my ears.

Wags, the last year of my addiction, things escalated exponentially. Like when you get to the end of a roll of toilet paper, the last part of it went downhill faster than the pace I’d been keeping. I think there was a sense of panic. I knew I was going to have to quit, so I drank as much as possible while I could. Other than panic, I’m not sure how to describe it. I know fear had something to do with it. Hiding and sneaking became an art form. So if this pandemic has caused people to drink more, I imagine we are going to be dealing with the fallout of all that in the coming years.

Thirds, I guess the 3rd time WAS the charm! I’m so happy for you! Yes, we have all had dreams where we blew our quits. They are great reminders of where we don’t want to go. Makes us appreciate what we have even more. I also dream about my teeth falling out, I used to be a hygienist, apparently, this is ‘a thing’.

So good to see everyone, it’s been a lazy Sunday here. Hugs to all, Byrdie

[Pavati]

Re: Newbies Nest

Hi,. All:

Wags, I love that NY Day intention - positive, active, and nature-oriented. I'm in!

TTAC - great to see you doing well. Yes, I've had those dreams, too.

My dream last night was that the Russians had secretly mapped our escape routes (not sure why we had escape routes) and were sending in kids to beg at doors and get us to open our doors. I was running around telling people not to listen to crying children. What a scene!

I can't wait for these short, dark days to start getting longer. Whoot!

Happy SOBER Sunday,
Pav

[Lavande]

Re: Newbies Nest

Good evening Nesters,

My weekend guest has gone home. He was confused this afternoon when his laptop suddenly lost internet access. It must have had something to do with Pop sitting in the next room & quietly blocking his access, haha! These kids are glued to computers the way we were glued to TVs back in the day only worse I think.
I will be hosting my son & his family again Christmas eve, same as thanksgiving. Don’t know yet when we will see my daughter & granddaughter though. We at least have to get gifts to them. No plans for us beyond that.

ThirdTime, good to see you & Congrats on your AF time, wonderful. I have always considered those dreams little gifts from the Universe, gentle but effective reminders

No birthday cake for me Byrdie but I did indulge in a few Christmas cookies, haha!

Hello to all & wishing everyone a safe night in the nest!

Lav

[wagmor]

Re: Newbies Nest

Happy Birthday Lav!!! Cookies, cake, any treat or no treat -- it's your day and you get to decide how to embrace it. You don't look a day older Hope you had a wonderful day though and that your g'son didn't totally eat you out of house and home.

[Pavati]

Re: Newbies Nest

Good morning,

I somehow missed that it was your birthday. Hope you had a good one, Lav! I'm with you - getting older beats the alternative.

Not much new. Happy Monday.

Pav

[KENSHO]

Re: Newbies Nest

Happy Solstice Everyone! As I understand it, with Jupiter also lining up with Saturn, it is a great day to think on the things we want to come, the way we want the world to be and where we want to put our focus. It is said that these events create tremendous lasting power for anything we start or set the intention for today.

Wags, how is it going living with your dad? I haven’t seen you talk about him much recently - maybe I missed it. Your Christmas sounds nice and quiet - a hike sounds really great. We are trying to figure out if we can gather outside with my parents for presents, or if we will zoom. Weather sounds like it may be nice enough to see their faces! We did Hanukkah already - so we always feel ready to just enjoy the light and family time, mostly. And crab.. we always eat crab!

ThirdTime, happy 4 years - 2 months! I’m with you on the growth that happens when alcohol is removed - it’s kind of amazing. Those dreams…. Yikes!

Happy B-day LAV! I’m happy you had another too! I’ll let you know how the starter goes - I am really in the dark about how much of it to use when baking, etc. It will be fun. Funny you mention technology and kids… we just asked my 15 yr old son to write up a plan today about how he will better monitor his time on his phone. It is a serious addiction - and keeps them on their butts too.

Hi Byrdie. I always wondered how many people on the beach or in warm climates get a Christmas tree this time of year?

I’m hoping the worst is behind me in terms of chaos… in a two week period, my phone broke, my bookkeeper died of Covid, our Christmas Tree fell over in the night, and I had two irrational clients - all while trying to help my kids extra time to raise their grades. Now they are on break, and things feel lighter.

I hope everyone can find some quiet over the next two weeks.