Journey thru June - week 4

[Stargazerlily]

Journey thru June - week 4

Sooty, wow Cornwall. I have always wanted to visit there as my favorite author is Rosamonde Pilcher and some of the stories take place in Cornwall. Please tell me what there is to do there, and some impressions. Thanks.

Sped, you are so lucky to be able to travel. I just want time off to enjoy summer. This is my favorite time of year. End of June. Yesterday was beautiful in the Midwest after the big storms we had. I could see getting lonely though. Chicago is going to be spectacular weatherwise. Plus, lots to do with the Taste of Chicago and fourth of July coming up.

LBH, it is so great to hear from you more often. It is so healthy to be excercising and planning a trip. Anticipating something is almost better than the actual doing of it. I love having a vacation to look forward to.

Chill, sounds like your location is perfect, by the ocean, warm weather. But I guess my question is what made Portugal a place to settle? Being from the states, I don't know to much about Portugal except for Fatima and an old James Michener book called The Drifters that took place fora time in that area. It sounds beautiful.

Have a great day, AF.

[Chillgirl]

Journey thru June - week 4

Redstar - Portugal is only 2.5 hrs flight from UK so it was a regular haunt for us for many years, then when my husband sold his business we decided to sample a new life here...

Sooty - Cornwall sounds great, I havent been since I was a child and my memories were of delicious cream teas!

LBH - I love your phrase "absurdly happy" and I have this vision of you hobbling into the class with a silly huge smile on your face

Sped - I hope you are ok. its not good to spend too much time alone if you are feeling down. Cornfields at sunrise sounds majestic... Im loving the collage this thread is creating of all our corners of the world.

Lav - I hope you have "unstickified" the house :H

Rustop - Where you live sounds lovely, I have been to Dublin but never explored beyond and I know Ireland is very beatiful.

As I approach my 6 months AF next week I cant believe how my life has change and how good I feel. I have followed a spiritual path for the last few years and I knew the AL was the one thing holding me back from fully experiencing many aspects of it. Now I seem to have a new realization every day and I feel I have been given such a wonderful gift.

Happy AF Friday to all you wonderful people! :l

[Rusty]

Journey thru June - week 4

Hi Chill,

Great news on the 6 months AF! That is so wonderful!

A great big hello to all my June friends, Lav, Sped, Spuddle, Raven, Star, Rustop, LBH, Guitarista and anyone else I may have missed.

Another 12-hour work day today which starts at 5:30 a.m. Can't wait for the weekend!

Have a wonderful AF day, everyone!

[rustop61]

Journey thru June - week 4

Good morning everyone

:goodjob: Chill on 6 months, what an achievement. It's people like you who inspire me to keep going. I want what you have and know I can only achieve it if I kick Al out of my life completely.

Not as sunny here this morning. Running late so must go and take the doggies for their walk. Have a great AF day everyone.

Rustop

[dill]

Journey thru June - week 4

Hello Junestars!
Yesterday was a beautiful June day with temps in the low 80's and low humidity. I spent a good deal of time outside gardening and walking. We went back on to the fishery on Wednesday and bought 5 more koi because we think one of our original 2 got eaten by a heron and the one left was lonely and kept hidden. Since we bought the 5 more, we have seen all six swimming about! They are stunning. Gardening update: we ate our first fresh picked tomato yesterday and canned 12 pints of green beans. MMMM!
Red, you seem to be a very well read person! You inspire me to get busy and read more.
Chill, you are so inspiring too in the way you embrace your AF life and share it here with us.
Rusy, I am sorry you have such a long day!!! I hope you get to enjoy your evening. I have yet to sit outside late in the evening and watch for lightning bugs. I see them out my windo when I am getting ready for bed. Tonight, I'll try to sit on the porch awhile after dark. That is such a special thing about summer.
Sooty, you are so lucky to have a choir group. Will you be giving a performance?
Rustop, what kind of dogs do you have?
LBH, do you care to share your vacation plans? I'd love to hear about them. I am very happy that you were able to get to your exercise class and rejoin the land of the living!
Lav, thanks for sharing the thoughts from your online class. I was having a bit of a struggle getting along with Mr. Dill of late as we are both home 24/7 on this summer break. I took the advice to heart and put it into practice immediately! Too bad Mr. L didn't join you in taking the course.
Sped, Spud, Guitarista, Raven, and all to come, happy AF Friday!

[Lavande]

Journey thru June - week 4

Good morning June friends,

Bright & sunny now - day 6 of the heatwave!!
Yesterday's storm knocked out the power for 8 hours (I'm spoiled with the generator)! Trees & wires down all the way from here to Philly!

Not sure yet how I'm going to fill my day but I always find something to do. Not much work this week but that's OK. I can always go out & pick more raspberries.
Our group sounds good, progressing nicely

Wishing everyone a fantastic AF Friday!
Lav

[rustop61]

Journey thru June - week 4

Dill

We have a Jack Russell and a Golden Retriever. She is a lady and he is a complete psycho. Anti-social, bossy and full of himself and has a host of medical problems!! However, we have him over 9 years and the girls love him.

Your garden sounds amazing. We picked our first strawberries last week and I have been having salads with my own lettuce, spring onion and soon we will have tomatoes. Do you have a special canning machine? Have not heard of anyone here canning their own.

Rusty - Take care of yourself, those long days are a killer and I know thats when I often feel I should treat (not) myself with Al.

Sooty, Chill, Star, LBH, Lav, and everyone else big hello.

Rustop

[sooty]

Journey thru June - week 4

Hi everyone, I'm a bit busy today getting ready for my holiday tomorrow woo hoo!

I won't have the internet while I'm away though and I'm determined not to drink - I have books to read and an audio book to listen to and Mr S has lots of walks planned and I will not have a hangover when I do them.

I'll miss you all though and you will be in my thoughts - as you so often are. Its a good feeling cos I sort of feel that I take you all with me in my day to day activities and its very comforting.

I'll pop on again tonight just to see who's been around today.

Have a good friday gang
love Sooty

[Chillgirl]

Journey thru June - week 4

Sooty Have a wonderful time! We will miss you too, either Lav can do the driving or we will switch to autopilot...

I forgot earlier that I wanted to share todays affirmation:-
"To Let Go is not to regret the past, but to live and grow for the future"

[Rusty]

Journey thru June - week 4

Hi Everybody,

I'm taking a break from work and thought I would check in.
Lav-what did you end up doing today?
Chill-I love your affirmation-very true.
Star-do you live in the Chicago area? I used to go to Ravinia for years.
Sped-Hope you're having fun on your trip. I miss seeing your posts.
Dill-sounds like you're enjoying the summer activities-the garden, pond, etc.
Rustop-I love Goldens and Jack Russells....so loving, energetic and excitable!
Sooty-enjoy your holiday-where are you going?
LBH-brave woman you are going to class with your bad ankle.
Hello to Spud, Raven and all to come.

I've changed my mind and I have decided to go on my beach vacation with my family next month. Some of you may remember I had nixed the trip because of the embarrassment over my weight and the fact that I would be surrounded by my hard-drinking cousins. When I told my sister(a non-drinker) I wasn't going to go, she was SOOO disappointed! I didn't want to let her down. When I was drinking, I let her down a few times. I would make plans with her and then cancel them because I was either drunk, hungover or just plain filled with self-loathing, so I ran away from my commitments. Now that I'm AF, we are closer than ever and love spending time with each other like we used to before my drinking got out of control. Keeping promises to myself and others is an important part of my recovery. It is how I will continue to grow in the future and accept responsibility for the decisions I've made.

Thanks for listening.

[sooty]

Journey thru June - week 4

Hi everyone, I'm going to have an early night as want to get off early tomorrow.
I'll be back next Saturday so in the meantime keep the bus on a straight path Lav
I hope we all have a successful week.
Take care lovely people
love Sooty

[Rusty]

Journey thru June - week 4

Have fun on your holiday, Sooty! I will be anxious to hear all about your adventures!

Rusty

[ladybirdheart]

Journey thru June - week 4

Sweet Sooty, I shall think of you in lovely Cornwall enjoying your holiday. Thank you so very much for the PMs and I shall follow you and your ankle daily into health; let?s neither of us tip over while you are gone. I really miss my life when I can?t participate in it. Rustop, I envision you and your Jack and Golden in your emerald hills. I too have an odd couple, a ten year old special needs shelter dog (shepherd, collie, chow, wolfie sort?think furry barrel with huge teeth) and a barely four pound four year old Yorkie. I also have a huge orange cat the little dog can walk under. Rusty, bravo on your upcoming weekend after the big push and also on your beach trip, I love the beach and will go even when I am so old and ugly I shall have to cover myself in wafts of chiffon to avoid frightening children. You are unmistakably loved by your family and you can still be level and clear when some of them drink too much. Enjoy Chicago, Shell, let a big vat of art wash over you. Lav, I hope you are enjoying your day of unstructured time, one of my favorite things, I think of you often throughout my own day. Chill, six months, you are the beacon, the gem, da bomb, and you wear sobriety with more grace than anybody I know. Dill, I am glad you got more koi, they do like friends. The four tiny fish (probably siblings) that the raccoon spared last Thanksgiving are now around five inches long having no competition or problems from my old bullfrogs, Spencer and Amelia, as the raccoon ate them also. I have noticed a bit of adolescent fishy romance and hope for a new generation one day. Star, I was so pleased to read you have a vacation coming soon; I have understood from my own history how hard and stressful and long the days have been and how weekends at such times are just filled with housekeeping and cooking and catching up on all the things that one can?t otherwise do. It will be great to be with you when you can just ?be?. Like you, I also learned to love anticipation, the night before one?s birthday, Christmas Eve, the first bloom, a ticket. I try and build it in. With this in mind, Dill, my early December vacation (chosen as a surprise with Lord Bird Heart/Inspector Gadget in mind) is a Panama Canal crossing. He will like all those locks and levers and pulleys and lifts and gears, and I will like the proximity of a river boat and horse. Anticipation. Sorry this is so long. Love, Ladybird.

[Rusty]

Journey thru June - week 4

Hi Ladybird....

You certainly have the gift of speech! I love reading your posts. Thank you for support regarding my beach vacation. How are you doing? Do you have any idea when you'll be whipping around like a whirling dervish like before? A Panama Canal vacation??? Wow, that sounds fascinating. My brother and LordBH would get along well because he loves pulleys, gears, gadgets, etc....good for them! What a great idea.

I am done with my day now and I am just collecting my thoughts before beginning my relaxing evening of exercise and a leisurely swim in the pool. I find water so soothing, don't you?

I like animals, too. I inherited my best friend's dog when she died of breast cancer. We originally thought he was a purebred Maltese but he isn't....he's a mixture of Maltese and Bichon, so he looks like a fluffy white polar bear cub. We had always had Black Labs when I was growing up and I never thought I would fall in love with a lap dog but I have...he's my little buddy. I used to say that lap dogs were just an hors d'oeuvre for a REAL dog....like a lab. Not anymore! And Yorkies...a friend of mine carries her in a baby doll car carrier :H They are so sweet!

Well, I'm off to the gym to work off the day's sins of Chinese food!

Have a wonderful evening one and all,

Rusty

[ladybirdheart]

Journey thru June - week 4

Hi yourself, Rusty. Your little white dog sounds so inviting and sweet. I too never had a small dog until my Yorkie who is truly microscopic. This Yorkshire is serious, all four feet on the floor (unless embracing life as a lap blanket), laser beam eyes, no purse for her. I hope you had a fine workout in the water, your weekend awaits. Love, Ladybird.