af day Saturday 23 Feb

[treetops]

Morning (and MAE) AB Fabs!
Saturday morning here - we are heading into the end of summer as Kuya said. I won't post any in-house Kiwi gossip until she returns. Bet I do, can't help myself - its such a hotbed here - am surprised Hello! or one of your endless trashy Brit tabloids does not devote a special issue to us. Would make good material for curing insomnia!!!!!! Kuya and I are the most exciting tantalising news here - 'Hot Middle Age Chicks Kick the Booze Bucket!!!!' or 'Gen BB Beware - Coming to a Town near You!!!! (BB being Booze Busters).

HBO is doing the mini series complete with Bunnies and Cats - some of the other stars include:
The Mickster- formerly a star of Bad Girls - Brit prison TV show - who became a Gen BBer through joke addiction
Longwood Lavande - sage grannie, former star of Dynasty
PPQP -one of our Canadian sirens. There's an unsolved mystery about her name. Why?
CanToo - another Canadian siren. our daredevil Gen BBer who abseils and treks through the Rockies in the quest to get ageing Canucks off their arses
The Determinator - name says it all! He runs with knives.
Cat - from Marin County. or was that Melrose Place? Does she have a new beau in the wings?
Blondie - still negotiating her visa from Australia. issues with Ms Harry about copyright laws concerning her name.
Patrice - Malaysia's answer to Bette Davis in 'Now Voyager'. Unlike her predecessor our Lady does her time in the Tropics Booze Free.
And special regulars - roles still under raps - with SunFlower, A Lass from Scotland and Teezah and others
All others welcome to join the Gen BB Mini-Series !!!!

Filmed on stunning location in bunny infested hills and mountains. Special intimate conversations around Kuya's pool and goodness knows what goes on at the top of TT's trees.
Tea and Coffee to be supplied by our Scottish collaborators.
Full of angst, indecipherable jokes, really bad dancing, but with a serious message for us all.

[Mick]

af day Saturday 23 Feb

eh...one thing you forgot..bearing in mind there is a lot of Jockanese influence in this shebang..do the words dosh, loot ,spondoolicks,fees,mean anything perchance ??? :H:H:H

[treetops]

af day Saturday 23 Feb

Daft old TT started this thread in the morning here - oblivious to the venom that has been released on some other threads. I posted my silly start just to lighten things up a bit - plus I usually wake up in a pretty good mood.
I don't usually read a lot of the threads except those in the Long Term Abstinence section but tonight I did.

So I am extending a big big hug to my sister living on the tiny island to the north of me. Good on ya mate!!!!

[Mick]

af day Saturday 23 Feb

Mornin all,
and how are you all today? hands up any one else who has got these crappy colds? my head feels like its got the brigade of Guards marching up and down inside it..and my other half is got it pretty bad too. Suppposed to be out tomorrow but we shall see.

Tea and coffee on the go now.

Just weighed meself this morning..12 7 when I came back off hols..now 12.3..that 2 day diet defo works..trouble is today is another fast day, but truthfully really dont feel too much like eating, so there is a silver lining in that cloud!!

morning Patrice..how are you?well is it brake testing day today for you? can I suggst that you let someone know thats what you are doing?..and best o luck

Morning Kuya..how is your day today?I have just replied to your pm

Mornin PPQP..hows the cold today? hope it doesnt stop you going down to see your dad..The Canadian thread? yep found it..whats with all the individual nationality threads? its like having personalised number plates :H:H Sorry about the postponement..you will get there!!!

Mornin Lav ..and how are you today?? more to the point how are the chickens too?any more thoughts on "retiring them".
Believe it or not , the nick I used to be in now keep chickens too! oh well they can all be cooped up together!!
Heres a big coffee for you ..Lady Longworthy..jeez sounds like something out of Downton Abbey!!!

Mornin Teezah..how are you today? toddler sittin today or just doing your own thing? whatever it is have a good one

Cat/BB.. mornin to you..how you feeling today?like I said previously to you .I dont know too much about lotions and potions but getting a garden is definitely a therapeutic benefit..you will really enjoy it..What are you thinking about veg ,fruit , flowers or just a mix? You will enjoy it..as for needing a man..stick to wabbits!!!any time you are passing you can pop in and hug mine..just watched them this morning...They have both got hot water bottles...yes I know!! but watched them both drag the bottles that had gone cold and throw them down the stairway in the hutch!!

Morning Sl..penny has dropped..after reading it all now I understand..its got to be in big not joindy up letters for me!! kerch innngg!
So all we need to do now is to get you to the point where you can say to al ..actually no I dont want or need you ..see ya.Think the main point is to accept the one drink wonder isnt going to happen..and once you do that things become a lot more easier to focus on.

Mornig SF..how are you?read your post..and yes one of the main things is that as long is alcohol is publicised in the media etc as socially acceptable,then people will have the thought process ..well it must be ok..but as you say once you take the glossy facade out out of the public spotlight ..then people will start to think...oops this might not be too clever an idea.We live in an al based society..even down to tv programmes so called reality tv , police, emergency services etc responding to incidents where alcohol is a major player, and until that focus changes then there will always be problems.In my last job,I was involved at times with incidents thathad been fuelled with drugs, or/and hooch (ilicitly brewed alcohol) and I can honestly say one of my most frightening experiences involved the use of alcohol..it does away with all rhyme and reason.

Blondie...yeehah just had some wonderful visionary piccies of you standing on your..head ok nuff said lets move on!!! how are you today? Still pottering in the garden?Need to see some pics.....of the garden!! be interesting to see what you grow over there

hiya TT and how are you today? read your story ..thanks for putting it up.You seem really positive in your approach.Isnt it funny how things have changed..Your daughter wants a retro? old typewriter..mine is after a Roberts Rambler radio..not one of the new dab ones but one of the original ones.Saw one ..priced at ?110..those sot of prices give legitimacy in keeping a garage full of crap for the future!!!

Right time is moving on so I better get this posted...started this about 1 1/4 hours ago!!
Might not be here in the morning to start..depends how I am feeling whether I go out early or not, and possibly the same on Monday, but pretty sure TT will keep you all in line

take care ..have a great weekend

[Lavande]

af day Saturday 23 Feb

Good morning Abbers!

Grateful to just be seeing rain drops outside my window. I just heard that 60% of the country had had snow this week, yuck. I'm mentally ready for Spring

Thanks for the startup TT!
We would make a pretty intersting mini series I think but could we actually get anyone to watch it on TV? :H

blonide, thanks for the animal healing link ~ interesting!
I'm afraid my girls are just going to have to deal with their terror on their own :H
There's not a chance in hell of my dragging the flock around the world for therapy :H

Mick, I sure hope you are feeling better soon!
If you really want to do some retro shopping you should take a look thru YB's garage. He had a chronic habit of dragging home crap other people had put out for trash & it's still sitting here Of course he left it all sitting here when he took off.

OK, I have lots of stuff to do today to get ready for the birthday party tomorrow!
Wishing everyone a winderful AF Saturday!

Lav

[Mick]

af day Saturday 23 Feb

Lav....winderful is that a spelling mistake or are you learning Jockanese

[Lavande]

af day Saturday 23 Feb

:H Mick -
I think that's a function of stiff granny fingers in the mornings.

[porqoui]

af day Saturday 23 Feb

MAE ALL...

TT....thanks for kicking us off. Don't know how I missread your post last night re: daft. That's what I get for jumping into the future.

Mick...the head does not feel like it's about to explode this morning so that's a good sign. Looks like I'll be able to make it to Dad's after all.

Lav...good luck with the party tomorrow. You'll be ace.

Time for a second cuppa and search for another cold pill.

Have a great AF Saturday all and all to come...PPQP

[Catbuddy]

af day Saturday 23 Feb

MAE, abbers.

It's a lovely Saturday morning here in the mountains. I'm on a second ski trip with my son. My shoulder hasn't healed from the first ski trip, so it's easy runs for me today. I was going to say "bunny runs" but honestly.....

TT, thanks for the humor. There is a beau in the wings. At this point, I will just say that over 20 years after leaving Texas, I'm finally dating a cowboy, complete with huge belt buckle, country swing dancing, guns and tobacco. Ironic. On the plus side, great mind, old-fashion gentleman, adventurous, handsome, snuggler.

Mick and PPQ, the garden is a concept in progress. I already have lots of trees, shrubs and flowers. I would like more flowers for cutting/house use, and vegetables. I've planted four growing seasons in this yard before, and the sun pattern is the issue - where there is watered soil, there is shade. So, I need to either adjust what I'm growing, or put in some watering additions and boxes. The watering system was botched a few years ago by my current gardener, so hence the struggle. But, I will definitely plant something!! Green beans do really well here, and maybe some snow peas. Tomatoes for certain.

Also Mick, I keep smiling at the thought of bunnies with hot water bottles. That is fantastic! Those are some loved bunnies.

Shout out to Lav, SF, SL, Cantoo, Patrice, Teezah, everyone on our thread.

Cat

[Mick]

af day Saturday 23 Feb

Cat ..well done you zwink: ( nearest I could get to a cowboy!!!!)

[scottish lass]

af day Saturday 23 Feb

Hi all - MAE....grateful for a Saturday afternoon AF, and happy to be so.....
Mick, I am glad you understand, and I really so want to be at that point...
Cat - a cowboy hmmm....good luck to you, hope it all works out, you deserve happiness...
Lav, yep we got snow here in the Bay Area of N Ca - not a frequent occurence, Cat you will have good snow this weekend - really wanted to get the girls to the snow this year, but not sure I can make that work...
well, back to my chores - one girl at a roller skating BD party with a bunch of mean 6th grade girls - OMG, they are evil - hopefully no drama to handle this evening. 8th grader has a huge pile of homework, so I will just keep trucking with the chores and try to banish the thoughts of a lovely glass of wine this evening and dream instead of the delight of waking up happy on a Sunday morning - and it will be another 7 days AF....

[TheSunFlower]

af day Saturday 23 Feb

Yes, I think once we see alcohol for what it is....makes a huge difference. Such a lie it really is. It is hard to get past that, at least for me anyways. Society certainly doesn't make it any easier. In AA....I hated thinking I was diseased and so different from rest of society....I hated them calling people who drank so called "normally"....being called "normies". I just no longer view putting a toxic substance in your body as normal....on any level.

Woke up today....and my youngest and husband were and still are sick. My oldest son and I...went out for a fun day. He kept telling me how great it was....and we laughed all day long.

He cracked me up at dinner.....he was equating the family to characters on TV. I won the award of "Phil Dunfry" on Modern Family....because I am the fun and goofy parent. My husband is Claire

SL....I am thinking of you....because I stood in your shoes for many years. And I am not out of the woods. However, I do believe in a paradigm shift in thinking. It took me so freaking long to get there.....and I know my brain is still dangerous territory. You have had sober periods....which I did as well. I always wanted to get back to those days....why I went back out and had to test things....when I already knew the answer....is beyond me.

I hope to never go back there again.

[Turnagain]

af day Saturday 23 Feb

TheSunFlower;1468054 wrote: Yes, I think once we see alcohol for what it is....makes a huge difference. Such a lie it really is.

Amen, sista SunFlower! My heart is just so full after reading this from you. I know how hard you have struggled to get here. I'm proud and overjoyed for you!

I had a very calm epiphany shortly after I started this final quit. It was actually a huge relief when I finally realized that drinking was in no way 'Normal.' The stuff is toxic. And, um....as we all know....highly addictive. As our lovely KUYA reminds people...Drinking is common....not normal. Being fully in control...keeping toxins out of our bodies....being fully present and alert....THAT is normal.

I love being normal. It's so......thrillingly normal!

[patrice]

af day Saturday 23 Feb

Hi all,

Been pretty busy but Al free!! Hope you all have great MAE. Brakes still not right Mick.. Grrrrrrrrr. Back to Mechanic on Monday!

Patrice
x

[TheSunFlower]

af day Saturday 23 Feb

TT...thank you. And yes, I have struggled to get to that point. 10 freaking years! I have known for 10 years that I needed to quit.

I had experienced all the why's of quitting drinking. Even quit numerous times....with lengths of sobriety. The main change was not......"I can't drink and poor me". It re-enforced the thought process. Don't kid yourself the brain is very powerful.

I have had several friends who quit.....but, it was after a horrifying life changing event. I've had horrifying....but, not life changing. When things went too far.....I seemed to pick myself up....be sober for awhile....or cut back.

The biggest lie that I lived..was that if I was a true alcoholic...it would lead to worse. Meaning I would drink more or harder AL. Except I gave up wine (with that brief period of madness)...I never went back to wine.....and have not drunk hard liquor in over 15 years. So I am just fine.

I guess I got into a terrible problem with...it would get "worse'. I almost pushed myself there. Except, I drank less and less harder types. Everything I was told.....I would push onto harder liquors....and I never did. So my lite beer problem....was not a problem...so untrue!