Just Joy - June Week 2

[Chillgirl]

Just Joy - June Week 2

Hi Guys

Papmom - So sorry to hear about your friends accident, how awful, I hope the dear missing dogs are found soon :l

Things have been a bit hectic around here and my usual routine has been disrupted, all in a good way though.

I leave again for a trip back to Scotland on Thursday, visit my Parents then head to the retreat centre for a weekend of further reiki training, it should be amazing up there at this time of year, in the middle of no where beside a beautiful Loch, it will make such a wonderful change from this grimey city and traffic, just what I need.

Sending you all much joy!

p.s. Dill - I just clicked on your photos, wow! the pond is idylic!

[Lavande]

Just Joy - June Week 2

Rusty - in a neighboring state!!!!!!
I'll bet it's raining in NJ today too.

About the friends......
I have ONE remaing friend from high school & dont hear much from her anymore.
My old coworkers from the hospital are better friends anyway. I'm sorry you have shitty people in your life too. Guess that's the burden of being human.......I don't know.

[dill]

Just Joy - June Week 2

Rustop, you sound so energetic with your weeding and your walking. You put me to shame! But my back is getting better each day. I hope to catch up with you then.
Lav, I know what you mean about feeling ?solo?. I don?t share much with anyone in my 3D world, especially about my drinking issues. Also, I find I keep my expectations of others low so I am not often disappointed.
LBH, I envy you your exercise group. Unfortunately I have never been comfortable in the water and I think it?s a shame because it is the perfect exercise, IMO.
Jolie, this postmenopausal lady will be enjoying a 52 degree night tonight, according to the weatherman. Now that will be something to enjoy AF!
Papmom, How awful! I do hope the dogs are found soon.
Rusty, good to see you! You mentioned a "client", does that mean you managed to stay in your employment? I have not even read the thread for several weeks so may have missed something.
Hi Chill, yes, we love the pond. I don't think it was very visible in the photo but there is a concrete table and benches in the shade of the tree by the dock. It's a wonderful place to sit and listen to the sounds of nature.

It was so foggy here this morning when I awoke, it was as if we were living in a cloud. Very peaceful. I started my day outside doing some weeding in our annual flower bed. I am constantly having to remind myself to stop and admire the flowers as I have a tendency to go out to the flower bed and see mostly just the weeds. I immediately start pulling them and miss the big picture entirely!! I wonder in how many areas of my life I do the very same thing...focus on the problems and irritations instead of taking in the the big picture and all the blessings and wonders there are in my life.

[Lavande]

Just Joy - June Week 2

So glad I brought my iPad with me today

Chill, we cross posted earlier. Enjoy your weekend away st the retreat, sounds nice. I sure could use omething like that but I don't see it happening anytime soon. You never know though.....

Dill, imkeepgoing back to the reading we were doing three years ago......stay in the moment, observe, don't judge.....everything is OK just as it is
When I was a kid my Moms cousin had a farm with a big pond like that. Fishing, swimming, ice skating.....it was da bomb

I made the mistake of leaving thevInsanitybTwins out in the rain too long. Goldens really stink when they're wet :H :H

Excuse the iPad typos...

[Kaslo]

Just Joy - June Week 2

I just had to post to you Juners, this is such an interesting and uplifting thread. I read it all, and although some of you I dont know very well at all, I feel a common bond, which I think of as appreciation for a life saved. For simple pleasures. The American folk musician James Taylor once wrote a song wherein there is a line that goes " ...The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time." He had his own struggles with substance abuse, and recovered, I often think of this song now.

Anyway, I loved reading all of the thoughts, and really very beautiful writing on solitude, friendships, strangers, happy elderly parents, so thank you for the lift on this fine June day.

[Rusty]

Just Joy - June Week 2

Ok, I'm back. Taking a break. Ahhh....the joy of going to work in palazzo pants and sandles, not steel-toed shoes, hard hat and safety glasses.

Dill-you asked me about my job. Well, um, how can I say this. I had to take a recertification exam to continue to be deemed qualified and competent in the automotive industry. I had to pass 10 parts of the exam. I flunked one section, and did not pass it after 3 retakes. Sooo....I still have a career with 2 contracting firms, but just not in the automotive industry, which was the majority of my work. While you were away, I went through a period of horrific anger, sadness and shame that I was not smart enough to pass, not deemed competent, and how would my income be affected, etc., and I drank on it....two days in a row. Not to excess, but I did. Water under the bridge. The happy ending to this story is that I have had new clients literally fall in my lap, I haven't had to travel as much, nor do I have to put in the hours, and I am soooo soooo sooooo much happier! No more 3rd shift work, weekend work, etc. BTW, I can't open your pictures of your pond.:upset: You once again have had a positive effect on my life as I daily search for quotes that have particular meaning. I find myself looking under the Quotes For Today thread that Chill started and finding some real gems there.

Chill-enjoy Scotland!

Kaslo-nice to see you! Yes, this is an amazing thread. I love James Taylor. As I am 51, I grew up on his ALBUMS (not CDs), and my brother, who is 8 years older, played the guitar, and still does. We had every one of JT's albums.

It's funny how so many people from other threads read our thead, but don't pop in to say hello. The reason I know this is, when I voice a strong opinion on something (like the word "alcoholic") or something else, I see the responses on other threads, usually refuting my opinion. But that's ok, it makes me chuckle that someone would spend the time to read my posts. Thank you to all who do it.

Ah, here he comes. Back later.

[papmom3]

Just Joy - June Week 2

Chill-can you do some distance Reiki to help Toby find her way back to Elicia? What do you need? I have an updated photo and poster:

[dill]

Just Joy - June Week 2

Kaslo, thanks for stopping in, very nice to hear from you always!

Rusty, thanks for catching me up and I am thrilled that doors opened up for you that are better than before! I brushed up on Photobucket so here are the pictures:

[papmom3]

Just Joy - June Week 2

Tobie has been found safe and sound!! They are on their way to the vets!! Whoo hoo!!

[Chillgirl]

Just Joy - June Week 2

Great news Papmom, what an incredible looking dog.

Kaslo - Wonderful song! http://youtu.be/-TlAD-b7yew[/video]]SECRET OF LIFE James Taylor - YouTube

Lav - why dont you find a nice weekend retreat and spoil yourself, go on, you deserve it.

Rusty - You sound so at peace with how everything has turned out, one of the quotes I copied from Stars site was "accept external conditions that are outwith your control" one I need to work on.

Dill - Loved your analogy with flowers and weeds as the positive and negative we focus on. Today I havent allowed myself to get into my usual negative chat and boy do I feel better

[papmom3]

Just Joy - June Week 2

[rustop59]

Just Joy - June Week 2

Hi everyone

Dill -wow what beauty. It is indeed more like a lake than a pond.

Papmom - so happy Tobie has been found safe and well.

Lav - I know what you mean about the stink of wet goldie. I have given up on having a clean house.

Rusty - :H:H:H, did anyone ever tell you that you had a naughty streak.

Chill - enjoy Scotland, it sounds wonderful.

Big hello to Star, Jolie, Janice, SD, LBH and anyone else I missed.

Late check in from me. Spent the day getting things organised. One daughter is going to the Canaries on Saturday and I was trying to organise transport from the airport as they booked flights etc. themselves so they are not with a tour operator. My other daughter got sorted with accommodation on campus for next year so that is a relief. She could live at home but a. It is better for her to be more independent and b. It will be a calmer house for my other daughter who is doing her final exam next year with her out of the way.

Rustop

[ladybirdheart]

Just Joy - June Week 2

Happy late morning from here. So glad the doggies were reunited with their owner, Pappy; once I found a pug (a PUG, a fawn one, think short stocky fellow with a serious Buddah face) in the middle of nowhere, walking down the shoulder of a highway in the western desert of New Mexico. He was very determined, looked well cared for and as if he knew where he was going. There is nothing over there. I was on my way to a distant workplace so I dropped the little guy at a livestock vet in Gallup (it is just as its name implies) who found that the owner had lost him at a motel in Arizona and somebody else must have taken him and either lost him or dropped him off somewhere many miles away. He wasn?t talking. I am glad you are back Rusty (our Rustop is right, you can be naughty, wonderfully wicked) and Chill (enjoy your retreat), and that you are here Kaslo, we are indeed lives saved or finding a way to be so. Lav, I have come to feel OK (most of the time) being/feeling on my own; I was so isolated as a child I think I had this fantasy that other people had all of these connections and I would find such friends or family, people who just would like to go through time with me, who would choose my company for nothing more that what it is, seek my thoughts. I managed to learn some social skills and did fine within the structure of college and work but at the end of the day I have never known how to have people around very well, it?s always an ordeal and not without anxiety, I am an entertaining and thoughtful host or a clever and helpful guest, but I am not destined it seems to just be a buddy. Like you Dill, I don?t really have expectations or look for much else, there are all sorts of people just like us, looking out from our own little spots at each other in the grocery store or on the internet, being kind, and moving along our way. Hello everybody. Love and enjoy with me an AF Tuesday, Ladybird.

[rustop59]

Just Joy - June Week 2

Good morning everyone

Busy here as usual. I feell I am running a travel agency, somebody is going somewhere all over the summer!!! Daughter off to UK again this week-end and is going to Sweden for a week-end in July. Other daughter off to Canaries this week-end and going to London in July. Hubby and I are going to Helsinki for 3 nights in July and then he goes onto Russia fishing so I am trying to co-ordinate everything, pet sitting, lifts to work etc.

Regarding friends, I have moved so much that many of mine are scattered. Facebook is great for having more contact with them. When we do meet up its great but its the people you are in contact with every day play more of a role in your life. I thought this friend was one of the best and feel let down seeing this other side of her. Oh well, forwarned is forearmed they say. In truth I am more honest with you ladies on this site than I am with any of them. Lot to be said for virtual friendships.

Better go feed Miss Layla, happy hump day one and all.

Rustop

[Stargazerlily]

Just Joy - June Week 2

Good morning to all...

LBH, Lav, Dill, about the friendship thing...I think that we do have to be selective with the people we want to associate with. Having maybe five close friends IN A LIFETIME is what my mother told me would be a good thing. I have about three right now. And I am in my fifties. I like alot of people, interact daily with many, but like to have time to myself and just hang with my husband and pursue reading, gardening, cleaning, and just being. Some people have to have constant circuses and go go go. There is nothing wrong with that either, just not for me. Sometime I wonder if some of us don't have many friends as we pursued alcohol and isolated ourselves. Just a thought.

Rusty, too bad people in your life talked crap about you...that hurts. It was so nice to hear that you like what you are doing right now and have more time to live. Good.

Chill, so good to hear from you, and I am jealous, another retreat? Cool. I am so looking forward to my time in July. I ordered more books, have been reading and trying to spend time meditating and aligning energy. Enjoy your time with your parents and back in Scotland. Is the weather there any better?

It is so lovely here in the Midwest, last night dipped into the 40s and what great sleeping weather. Dill, so good to have you here on a regular basis, how are you feeling? Your pond is so peaceful and lovely. I bet in the summer it is green and leafy.

Kaslo, good to hear from you, feel free to contribute any time.

Pap, loved the rescue of the doggie story. You are so generous of your time and efforts. It IS hard to go back to work after time off, really hard. Hope your week is quick and easy.

Rustop, your daughters are so lucky, traveling and studying. What a great way to spend your time. Hope you get to do something fun this summer.

To all, have a great day.