Dazzling and Diligent December - Week 3

[Kaslo]

Dazzling and Diligent December - Week 3

Hi Everyone, I have been reading here, I am new to this thread and I admire how well you all seem to know each other. I made it this far, its my second Christmas, started up again in Jan of last year, only to quit I hope for the last time ever in February so its been X months. Im not good at math, lol! i posted earlier, and I have so much enjoyed the discussion. For those of you who dont know me, I am past 29, way past it, a Canadian (but my mother was from Lieth) and I live in the snowy Kootenay region of British Columbia on the Columbia River. I am relatively happily married with two adult children and two very young grandkids. I work at home, and I hope to retire soon.

I just had to post because like Lav sez, anyone who lives on $4000 a year in North America is very likely relying on previous investments in property and infrastructure, or is living rough /sqatting or relying on subsidized public housing. I dont mean this as a value judgement, but it is a bit disengenious to say you only need 4K a year to survive in a temporal climate.

I do not think a person could live above the 49th parallel latitude for that without some kind of system in place before hand. For example, we have quite a few American draft dodgers living here, from the Vietnam era and more recently (and fewer) from the Gulf war era, and they lived rough here, as do several of our 3rd gen and older hippies. I did this myself when I was much younger, for a few years but in summers only and I had a place I was allowed to camp on. Even with barter systems being common here, and crown land to sqat on and build shelters to live rough, I would say its more like about 10 to 15 thousand a year in cash needs for things.

Pap please say more about this as it intrigues me. I have actually started to build a rough camp for myself to stay in part of the year, again, just to see if I can do it, as I did this when I was much younger, lived in the bush that is.

Now you all will think I am totally nuts.

Kas

[Dewdrop]

Dazzling and Diligent December - Week 3

Rustop I am very sorry to hear about losing your dog, it?s difficult when a part of your family goes :l Lav I love the picture of the grandkids you are a very lucky lady and your family are very fortunate to have you in their lives (especially YB). You really are rocking it with Curves so you enjoy those choc chip cookies. Chill I see the west coast has been hit with more rain and high winds, I hadn?t realised there was such an east/west weather divide. My Dad reckons it something to do with the mountains separating the two coasts?? All I can say is it?s been a beautiful day here today with lots of people out walking ? the beach was busy! Don?t be too hard on yourself this is often a difficult time of year for many people, you are on the dark side of the moon at the moment but you will come around to the sunlight much stronger and better able to cope with whatever life throws at you. You have come an amazing way when you look back over the past few years :l

Rusty it sounds like you had a lovely family Christmas and I am pleased you made amends with your friend, life is too short for bad feelings and animosity and often these unresolved issues hang about and bother us unnecessarily. I?m with ya sister on the second Christmas AF ? life just gets better and we have lots to look forward to in 2012. Papmom what a busy whirlwind of a Christmas you have had and you are so kind to the oldies at the NH, I bet they look forward to your shifts. It?s wonderful that you have your family around you to share this time of year with. I?m with you on the money and Universe thing ? what comes around goes around and you did really well with your Christmas budget :goodjob:

Sped you have done so well getting through this time of year AF especially with all the stresses of having the family around. I don?t agree with segregating the helpers/staff from the people who attend the shelter at mealtimes but can maybe understand the health and safety side possibly? I would feel very uncomfortable if I were in your shoes. Enjoyed the info on the guy who teaches how to live frugally and I plan on being very careful next year with my living costs and spending. It seems to have resonated with a few of us reading the interesting posts ? I love these discussions. Cyn loved the tale of the felted mittens, I am terrible for putting a knitting project down and forgetting about it then coming back to it and having to take it back to the start as I can?t remember where I left it off. I use knitting as a stress buster, something about that mindless clicking away and then when I?m feeling calm I stop and put it aside, I need to concentrate and finish what I started. The duck a l?orange sounds delicious can you share the recipe?

Well I?ve managed to catch up with most of you which is a first in ages; I?m having an early night as I?m feeling a bit headachy and flu-y. Hi to Cassia, Oney, Zen (sorry about your cat), Bear, Sooty, Mr G, LBH, Star and Kaslo good to have you on the thread.

Dewdrop :h

[sdlovespackers]

Dazzling and Diligent December - Week 3

Hi All!!

I feel like it's been forever since I've checked in...probably has....I've gotten on as much as possible to read (I now see I'm behind two days...yikes!!!) I will have to go back and read...I'm heading out to go see my dad for our Christmas in about 10 minutes and won't be able to get on the computer (will be gone for 2 days).

I've spent the last week working (we had school until FRIDAY AT 3:00!!!!) and then was pretty much expected to be at my mom's house after that to entertain my sister's kids and have dinner....not much "me time" to be had!! Like I said I did try to read daily but didn't not post...I really mainly checked in for moral, positive support....as most of you know my family are all pretty heavy drinkers and that is what I was surrounded with day after day...plus they just see me as someone I am not...I really feel judged and looked down upon when I'm around (most) of them...need-less-to-say...by Thursday I was in to see my counselor for some more personal moral support!! :H Gotta love the holidays!! Now on to se my dad...GAWD...I might as well call her back and make another appointment for when I return!!:H
I'm so happy to hear you all had a Merry Christmas...I've been thinking of you all often!!! I'll check back in soon...where is Blondie???
SD:l
PS--and yes....and have remained AF!!!!!!

[Dewdrop]

Dazzling and Diligent December - Week 3

Hi SD and so happy you managed to navigate your way through the family festivities and stay AF that?s quite an achievement. Enjoy your time at your Dad?s and relax as it will soon be all over and we can get back to normality, breathe deeply. I am also wondering where Blondie is and hope she can check in soon and let us know she?s okay.

I am feeling very yucky as the evening rolls on, stuffy head, sneezing and sore throat :yuk: so I'm tucked up in bed with a hot drink and very happy to be here.

Dewdrop :h

[Chillgirl]

Dazzling and Diligent December - Week 3

SD - Its wonderful to see you and to hear you are AF! A BIG well done :goodjob: i know it must have been tough with your drinking family.
I hope you are really proud of yourself. :l
Im beginning to realise why I enjoyed being away from family for so long. There is always such expectations from them and I feel stifled. I got so much support from close friends around me compared to that from family and for example today I mentioned to my Mum on the phone that I was feeling down, her response was "well thats not a very good attitude". Not helpful.......

Dewdrop - I always thought you lived on the North side of Glasgow, I didn't realise you were on the East coast. Thank you for your kind words, I know you are right and its just my turn on the dark side of the moon. Without darkness we would never know how good it felt to step into the sunlight.

Lav - I hope you found your mojo, I'm sorry if i made you dwell on the lack of joy in your life. Thank God for those beautiful GK!

Papmom - Sometimes that "painkiller" can look attractive for a quick fix but I know the aftermath would be a bigger downer than I could imagine.

Sped - I do my gratitude list every day and yes it does help. I also like to pretend I've just woken up in my life with no memories of my past or how I got to where I am. Its amazing how when faced with only today as a starting point its impossible to feel sorry for yourself.

Where are you Blondie? I hope you are ok and that you check in soon.

I have had a lovely surprise which has really brightened my day! Starty has booked a flight and is coming to see me for the weekend 7/8th January! We are so on the same wavelength and it will be the best tonic in the world right now.

I have also had an invite from a friend who lives in the wilderness in the North of Portugal. Its his parents farm and is very remote, 20km to the nearest tiny shop and literally with only sheep and hills for company. He says I can stay for a few weeks and help out in return for my lodgings. If things really get to much for me I might just pack up my stuff, quit my job and head there. Thats what I would do if I wasn't afraid of the consequences......

[papmom3]

Dazzling and Diligent December - Week 3

Well Chill, you only live once right? I think it might be a great thing to do if you could manage a leave of absence instead of outright quitting, unless of course that remote village is a precurser to a permenant remove to Portugal!! Do you think you will like the mountains? I know you loved being on the coast there. Hooray for Startie coming to visit!! Definitely will be a great tonic for you!!

I too hope blondie is OK. I am going to PM and email her. Come out come out whereever you are!!

Way to go SD! Hang in there with all the family drama (you too Chill!). Much better dealt with AF don't you think?

Just back from quilting. The rain and wind have arrived. did I tell you guys my SIL liked the table runner? At least she put on a good act :H. My sis really liked it tho so I think there is one in her future. Maybe for Easter as she really likes to decorate for the seasons. On my current project I have pinned the layers together and will be machine quilting next week. Then probably sewing the binding on the week after and then it can go in the mail to my friend. Love love love this hobby!

[ladybirdheart]

Dazzling and Diligent December - Week 3

Interesting trying to catch up on the thread. You hang strong, Chilly, remember how much fun you had only a week or so ago at your meeting of like minds. Really sorry about your dog, Rustop. I still am still mourning the loss of our dog Teddy to a such a degree as to give Lord Bird Heart for Christmas a ?Little Bear Brown? Glassybaby candleholder a year and a half after our doggie?s death. On another note, the ?frugal? fellow Sped mentioned is for real, he has lived this way for decades, in town we call him the ?naked guy? as he wears a loin cloth contraption most of the time. His skin is tanned to a deep brown leather. He has a lifestyle that is beyond extreme (he uses his urine for all sorts of things including drinking it in some sort of tonic), nobody needs/wants to be like him, but he has ideas to offer. He obviously has no car (he is crazed against driving) let alone any ordinary things like Christmas presents. And he is not ?subsidized?, disabled, or living on investments. He is a maniac survivor. And it does get cold- 10F in the last two years ?9 so far this one. I laughed when I saw people sort of opining about him on this thread (I thought I saw an interesting person named Kaslo, now I can't find him/her there...am I dreaming?), but it actually makes me a little crazy seeing people weigh in on such a harmless and goofy old fellow. It is all simplicity, peace, and light. Ladybird.

[Lavande]

Dazzling and Diligent December - Week 3

Dewdrop, sure hope you feel better real soon!

SD, hang in there with the family dramas. Let the drinkers drink - it's what they do! You have better stuff to do, right?

Found my mojo chill - was just dealing with a case of laziness this afternoon. Had to watch the grandsons tonight while my DIL went to her karate class so I straightened up
Nice that Starty is coming for a visit!

papmom, glad you enjoy the quilting so much. Your friends & family can look forward to lovely gifts in the future.
If you ever want to - I will embroider blocks for you that you can incorporate into your quilts! We could be a team!!

LBH, honestly-
when I read your description of the 'naked guy' all I could think of was schizophrenia. I think almost every town has a weirdo or two like that. Unfortunately they usually come to a tragic end. I'm thinking of one who drowned in a creek 'blessing the water' during a hurricane & another who was hit by a car crossing a busy street at night. I graduated from high school with one of them

Well I actually have plans for a family outing tomorrow, should be fun. We're taking the kids to see the Christmas train display at the Brandywine River museum

Peace to everyone tonight!
Lav

[Chillgirl]

Dazzling and Diligent December - Week 3

Good Morning Divine Ones
Just realized with the festivities we completely forgot to start week 4, now it's humpback day already and there hardly seems any point. So I guess we will just have a loooooong week 3 instead :H

Dewdrop - take care of yourself, it's a good time of year to stay cosy and drink lots of healing hot drinks.

LBH - "loincloth" Man sounds interesting and I love that life produces such diverse characters. However my vision of frugal living he would only laugh at.

Papmom - Im much more of a country gal than a beach babe, I was lucky to have both in Portugal but living by the sea here in Scotland has completely put me off the coast. Its so cold and exposed and I long to be inland. The extreme remoteness of my friends farm sounds like heaven to me! I even dreamed of it last night. It very difficult to get to and I would only go if I was seriously going back there. It throws something new into the mix and would be a perfect stop off if I was to consider driving.

It's back to work today and we have severe weather going on out there. I'd much rather be staying at home. Wishing you all a wonderful AF Wednesday........

[cyntree]

Dazzling and Diligent December - Week 3

Hello all - no time yet to read everything, but I can empathize with all the emotions flowing -- dogs are crazy to get outside, HB is already in 'planning' mode (7:30 a.m.) and I need to eat breakfast. Will check back in later when there is some peace around here.

Hang in there everyone --

[Lavande]

Dazzling and Diligent December - Week 3

Wishing everyone a wonderful AF Humpday!
Off on my family adventure day, will be back later.

Lav

[BlondeAFAmbition]

Dazzling and Diligent December - Week 3

I'm Here! I'm Here! I'm Here!

First off: Merry Belated Christmas to you all! The past 2 weeks have been insanely busy at work and with throwing Christmas here at our place. To be honest, I am relieved that it is all over with! It seems like ever since the day I threw that birthday party for my mom, it has just been non-stop. I know, it's no excuse for not getting on here but I just got swept up in it all and a bit overwhelmed. You were all in my thoughts and I see by looking back over the last 2 week posts that I was mentioned a few times and I am really touched. Thank you for thinking of me . And for those who PM'd and sent Christmas cards, thank you so much! In reading back the posts over Christmas Day, it sounds like you all had a wonderful time and I'm happy to hear about that. We hosted Christmas dinner at our place and I made a big seafood boil. I'll try to post pics of that because it really came out nice. Work was so busy, especially the few days before Christmas that there were times you could not get down the aisles of the store because there were so many customers. We exceeded last year's sales by a landslide, but still have the same amount of staff, so we are all pretty exhausted. Today is the first day that I have a day off after the Christmas rushed and I'm feeling a bit more relaxed!

Ok, I guess I'll come clean and fess up. Did I remain AF for all of the Christmas festivities...ummm...no. BUT, did I remain better in control of it? Definitely. I know, I know, most of you out there are sighing. But, I am viewing that as progress. I did have 2 glasses of wine on Christmas day, but knew I had to stop or there wouldn't be any dinner if I kept going. So I switched over to water and was proud that dinner came out so nice. There was lots of drinking by all the other guests so it took some strong willpower to not go overboard, but I didn't want to wake up to a mess and a hangover to boot. There have been a few other times over the past few weeks that I did have wine at gatherings, but I was able to stop myself from having the whole bottle like I would have in the past. I was able to say to myself, don't have that extra glass, switch to water instead or have a cup of tea. Again, I am looking at that as a positive because last year, I would have finished the whole bottle. I hope you are all not too disappointed in me but I wanted to let you know my situation and I admire all of you that celebrated your first sober Christmas. I must also say a big congrats to Lav for her 1,000 days sober! Love that santa hat by the way and also, beautiful pic of the grandbabies!

Right now I am feeling very good about things in my life, including being more in control. I am striving for drinking less and being healthy and I know I just need to take it day by day. I love to be a part of this thread and felt like something was missing out of my left the couple of weeks I wasn't checking in daily. Happy New Year to everyone, I am looking forward to 2012 and getting some peace and quiet in January!

Love and peace to all,

Blondie

[BlondeAFAmbition]

Dazzling and Diligent December - Week 3

PS, and speaking of January, I love "January Jewels"

[papmom3]

Dazzling and Diligent December - Week 3

Hey all-just popping on until i have to leave for boot camp and agility in 40 min.

Been a busy day so far-early PT appt then scooted upstairs to pick out new frames for my every day glasses, my computer glasses and new sunglasses. Have about 1500 left on my flex account so have to use that up by march. Did about 1100 worth of damage so it's a good start!! I am part of a medical network now that is pretty one stop shopping (not sure if dental is included) and I'm loving it! Parking is free and everyone is so nice. I'm all about convenience these days!
Mickey had to go back to the new vet to get his bordatella shot (for daycare otherwise I don't give this one), a sterile urine culture as the sample I gave them showed some blood and crystals and an xray to rule out stones in his bladder (yea! no stones!!). They also had to run the CBC as the lab lost it. Grrrr. He did great and even saw his new human daycare buddy who was signing up one of his own dogs. They too used the vet I did 2 towns away.
Then it was off to the supermarket to do some more damage.
I've spent the last 2 hours trying in vain to get the VPN connection to download and work so I can work from home which I desperately need to do. I'm pretty sure there are about 100 files waiting for me to review :upset:!! I did email tech support but guaranteed he's not working this week (like I shouldn't be!!)

So to catch up with everyone:

LBH-If I gave the impression I was judging your fellow frugal townsperson I apologize. I was not in the least passing judgement. I was merely trying to illustrate how living that type of lifestyle is not at all easy for the majority of us and requires huge sacrifices we probably aren't willing to make (or can't). I actually envy anyone who can live off the land, the grid, not depend on the oil companies and pretty much be self sufficient. I think there is a small part of me that wants to do just that but it will have to be in another life. So please accept my apologies if I came off sounding judgemental.

Blonde-welcome back!! I can only imagine how busy you have been these past few weeks! As far as the drinking in moderation-I can only speak for myself. I can't. Plain and simple. I can NEVER EVAH stop at 1 or 2. It would be so painful and frustrating and I don't think I have that kind of willpower. For me it's just easier and better to be totally AF. And I can't help with support and advice on moderation. Not because I don't want to but because I just don't know how to do it and have no experience. I definitely don't want to see you leave this thread-I've so enjoyed being part of your journey to find out who you are with AL pretty much being removed from your life. And besides-we're practically neighbors!! I'm sure others will weigh in with their opinions but this was mine.

OK, time is running out so I'll be back later.

[Dewdrop]

Dazzling and Diligent December - Week 3

Well I had an awful sleepless night, coughing with stuffed nose and couldn?t breathe, then the diahorrea started and then hot sweats followed by freezing cold shivers, stomach cramps etc. I had lots planned for today but just stayed in bed or lay on the couch as I felt awful and I?m not much better tonight. Hope it passes quickly :upset:

Dewdrop :h