af Sat 1 Feb

[treetops]

Morning absters ? thought I would get the Sat business going. I just wanted to beat the Jock to starting off the month (we are so competitive!:H)
Rabbits rabbits rabbits (for the first of the month).inkele: (can't find the rabbit so this will do)

I have a hectic day ?taking the girl and her pal to archery, then stationery shopping for school (and SL I don't associate that with buying wine!). Meanwhile G. and I are doing a massive clean/de-moulding of my bedroom ? so all my clothes and the stuff we keep in storage there had to come out. He?s going to paint over the gib once its clean and dry. Lots and lots of very high cupboards to deal with. I shall probably get high from all the fumes.

Narilly ? well done on 30 days!! Isn?t that amazing? You are well over your 30 now so onwards you go.:banana:

Good to see you back here Pauly ? watching ?House?is bound to give you weird dreams. I watched a great DVD last night.

Mick ? you have to be firm about things like a car ? and as you say, no she can?t drive it without insurance. Even the one trip ? is just not worth it. Good luck there. My girl turns 16 this year and wants to learn to drive ? she needs to have her licence eventually ? so fun and games and pocket-diving coming up here!

I think a cry is important sometimes ? we need emotional release ? but of course crying ain?t for everyone. Its also bloody exhausting.

SL ? how?s things today? Less sad I hope? You are doing a great job and being a wonderful Mum and holding so much together.:h

Hope you trip was fun Lav ? and at least it got you out of the house. Are you cooking anything interesting this weekend? I think I will be too immersed in bleach and dirt to think about cooking.

PPQP-hope you enjoyed your day off on Thursday (??? ? I am so far ahead). I had bloods done this week ? all looking good except the cholestorel. Solution ? find new parents ? :Hbut a bit late for that. The buggers also gave me high risk to heart problems.

How you doing Sam? Kuya? SF (haven?t heard from you in a wee while)? Det? All others ? guests, lurkers and those who want to pitch in.

Better go and make the coffee now but you all have a swell Saturday.

[narilly]

af Sat 1 Feb

Morning everyone!
Another sober Saturday. Getting my hair done at 10am. I never used to make any plans before noon on the weekends because there was a high chance of me bring hung over. It's so nice to be able to do things on Sat and Sun morning.

Have a great day,

[TheSunFlower]

af Sat 1 Feb

It is just turning into Saturday here Been trying to read back and seems to be a few bumps in the road with some. For me sometimes it felt like "The Little Train that Could".....was a long haul to get me over that hump and securely on the other side of sanity.

Last two weeks have been crazy. I need to be more careful of what I ask the universe for....it freaking delivers. You know that Ghandi saying...."Be the change"...well, I think I was complaining too much. I am now part of "Being the Change" for a few things that I thought could be done better in the world It is all good. I'm not here to take from the universe, but to give to it. Sobriety is such a gift to not only yourself....it touches more than you realize.

I ran into a book called..."Living Buddha, Living Christ" written by a monk. If anyone is in a library....check out page 105-110. It really makes you see the big picture of what you are creating just by being sober. My favorite part was about..."why would I honor a beverage that has caused so much harm in the world". Showing addicts love and compassion vs anger....because addicts are in so much pain. I really loved how it opened my eyes to the interconnectedness I create by not drinking.

I think back to the days when all I could see where all the people that were drinking, that it blinded me to see that in reality more were not drinking. However, I do remember observing the non-drinkers when I was tossing 'em back. I never know if there is a fellow alkie sitting somewhere watching me not drink and how that affects them. I know that if they were observing me drink....it would be a negative. It would appear that I was having the time of my life and they were missing out. Which certainly is not reality.

I don't see al as something that some can have and others can't. Al just is what it is. When you break it down to its simpliest form...it is poison to the body. One or ten. It is still poisonous to the body. All that shit about one glass a day being good for your health was just shit. People need to be taught healthy ways to relax. Our culture certainly does not cultivate that....I digress...it is one of my "Being the Change" projects that I am working with people to learn to relax. Honest to God.....it is amazing to me the number of people who have no idea how to relax without espcaping in some manner. Oh shit-I was one of them I am glad to be teaching something I know.....know it all too well from experiments gone wrong.

That is my novel for the week....I have several commitments over the weekend and into next week. I'll be lurking.

[Mick]

af Sat 1 Feb

mae all ...how are we today? white rabbits and all that...1st of Feb....away on hols next month ...remember thinking 8 months and I will be ofski!!made my Friday night curry last night ....instead of rice I used cauliflower ....it was great...

So how are we all today? ok I hope.right lets make a start ..gotta lot to do today...including more of the car saga!btw wont be here tomorrow ...off early doors.

Tea and coffee on the go ....

Morning Lav ...and how are you today?did you enjoy your day out yesterday?so whats the weekend got in store for you?was going to say lazy day..but that doesnt happen much does it?ok so lets have a brew before the madness begins!

tt..high..:H hows the painting going?ok ...is this a makeover or a declutter too?best of luck...yep looks like you will need to get that money tree nurtured also!!have a great weekend.

hiya Narilly...how are you then?getting your hair done at 10....if it was me,Id be out the chair by five past!!:Hglad you are settling into af life.

Morning sf...how are you? another interesting post. Isnt it strange the cards we are dealt ...once I was one of the gibbering masses and a fullly paid up member of pain in the arse .com when I had been drinking,then as I moved along the af path it became look at those wasters..bunch of tossers and ne er do wells.....and now its a recognition that its not the person,but the disease that they cant shake off..if anyone had ever told me that being an alkie was a disease ..I would have laughed at them..interesting your comment about Buddhism....Ihad/have a friend who is a buddhist monk ..and yet his background was very high flying accountancy in the arab emirates..a more polite pleasant and honest man you could not meet.

Mornin ppqp ..how did things go at the dietitian go?did she say eat lotso f ice cream sweets and jam?oh well just a thought!!Yep Amy has come out of her sulk....think the penny dropped..not exactly a brill idea winding the old man up!!:Hany plans have a great weekend ..and this brew!

hiya Pauly..how are you today?ok I hope .....anything doing over the weekend?

Hiya SL.......Of course you are going to beat this!!good idea for you and Narilly to buddy up for Feb...as for the store ..by 1st of March you will be able to walk in there and not bat an eyelid!!

hiya Det...breakfast in bed? jeez I tought that was a place name like somewhere on sea!! think the last time ..instead of bacon I have developed a keen relationship with bacon grill..very finely sliced and fried ..trouble is once its open ..then its good bye time!!

hi yah ..you ok? up to anything this weekend or just "one of those weekends"?

Kuya .....my best lines never worked anyway when I was younger so there aint a lot of chance of it happening now!!:H..besides I never worked in radio or telly or top of the pops..I hasten to add allegedly to that!!hows you ? any plans for the weekend?

right thats me offski......off to get the bits and pieces done its sunny here ..so tempting to get into the garden ..but knowing me I would overdo it...have great day and weekend..

I hopped on a bus today.

After five minutes, the driver told me to sit down.

How many sexists does it take to change a lightbulb?

Just one as long as it's a bloke.

I'll never forget my first love. She took me outside and showed me her garden.

She then showed me the hole at the bottom of her garden. Full of water.

"Throw in a coin and make a wish." She said.

So I did.

I remember her well.

I was standing at the bus stop when a guy blew cigarette smoke in my face.

"Fecking unbelievable," I said to myself.
>"What's up?" he asked.

I said, "I can see the bus in the distance, and it's five minutes early.

This bloke came up to me in the street today and said, "Do you want to buy this radio for a fiver?"

I said, "Is this a wind-up?"

He said, "No, mains or battery."

I'm proud of my Uncle John. Today, he finally stopped smoking - after puffing on a potentially life threatening 140 cigarettes a day!
Rest in peace Uncle John

Fuel prices are that dear nowadays, I've started going to oil slicks to wring birds out.

Just seen an advert for Tesco, advertising food for Chinese New Year.

Year of the Horse... Stick with what you know, eh Tesco?

Italy have no chance of America cooperating with them over the extradition of Amanda Knox.

They have no oil.

I would probably eat more of my wife's cooking,

if it didn't look like someone else had eaten it before me.

A decision by the court in my town to send a group of young offenders on a white water rafting trip to 'broaden their horizons' has come in for a lot of criticism, but I'm all for it.

Those things flip over quite frequently.

My wife suggested I have a continental breakfast instead of a fry-up every morning.

So I left her and moved to France.

I saw a blind man picking up his dog's shit today.

I said, "Fair play to you, most blind people wouldn't pick up their dog's poo."

"Dog poo?" he replied. "Then where's my fecking phone?"

My Glaswegian uncle was an alcoholic who died very young.

I always knew three bottles of liquor a day would be too much for a toddler.

An argument with my wife is a lot like the accelerator pedal on a smart car.

I can put my foot down, but I don't really expect much to happen.

Raffaele Sollecito has been ordered to surrender his passport so he can't leave the country.

I imagine Amanda Knox has already burned hers, for similar reasons.

[Lavande]

af Sat 1 Feb

Good morning Abbers

Yes, I actually see sunshine today - yay!!! It's chilly at the moment but heading up to near 50 degrees today - yay!!!
Of course there will be mud to deal with but that's OK

TT, sounds like you have lots of projects going on - god to stay busy!
I still need to go have my blood work done but I'm putting it off. It's disappointing to see the chronically elevated cholesterol level despite the healthy eating, exercise & all that. Genetics rule - that's all there is to it :H
I actually do not have a lot of cooking plans this weekend - not yet anyway.

Mick, Levi was no where to be found on last evenings trip to Lancaster Country! Actually, there were very few Amish out on the roads for a change. Maybe they all had other plans? :H
Can't make up my mind about that Amanda Know girl......

Hi there SF, I've been wondering where you were. Glad to hear you are busy living the good life!

I can't believe it but I am probably going to this outdoor show with YB tomorrow. He wants to go, I really have no interest in all this stuff but what the hell - it's a day out, right? Det, I have a feeling you would love this:

Great American Outdoor Show

Well, I have a million things to do today so I'll get going!
I hope everyone has a fabulous AF Saturday!

Lav

[scottish lass]

af Sat 1 Feb

It was lovely to get up today knowing I did not drink yesterday - did not sleep well, but many thoughts - I keeping thinking of you Lav and you just decided enough - and there is a little hope in me that thinks I may have got there - trying to nurture that little hope as I did not like the last two days.
Here is to a great February.....starting it in the right frame of mind...

[treetops]

af Sat 1 Feb

Morning SL- its Sunday already here.
Unlike Lav - I didnt just decide to stop - I had months of stop/starts, counseling, blood tests, threats of the Grim Reaper being delivered to me, tried AA, tried various supplements, hypnosis tapes, but then I did just wore myself out and committed myself to doing it for good - I realised I could make a million rationalizations, I would always be having a crap day at some stage, stress will always be my constant partner in crime :H:H I could always try another herbal supplement to stop cravings etc - no, I realised I had to just quit. Finito.

And I hope that stays the way for the rest of my life.

You have an advantage here too lassie - your Scottish heritage. Remember Rob Roy Macgregor and the tale of the spider in the cave - never give up, keep trying!!! My Mum always told me that. Thats why the Scots invented so many useless :H (and useful things) and were sent to all these far flung colonies!

[scottish lass]

af Sat 1 Feb

Hmmm TT - what say you about the Scots??
(ps the link to the documentary gave me much to ponder last night too)

Wha's Like Us - Damn Few And They're A' Deid

The average Englishman, in the home he calls his castle, slips into his national costume, a shabby raincoat, patented by chemist Charles Macintosh from Glasgow, Scotland. En route to his office he strides along the English lane, surfaced by John Macadam of Ayr, Scotland.
He drives an English car fitted with tyres invented by John Boyd Dunlop of Dreghorn, Scotland, arrives at the station and boards a train, the forerunner of which was a steam engine, invented by James Watt of Greenock, Scotland. He then pours himself a cup of coffee from a thermos flask, the latter invented by Dewar, a Scotsman from Kincardine-on-Forth.

At the office he receives the mail bearing adhesive stamps invented by James Chalmers of Dundee, Scotland.

During the day he uses the telephone invented by Alexander Graham Bell, born in Edinburgh, Scotland.

At home in the evening his daughter pedals her bicycle invented by Kirkpatrick Macmillan, blacksmith of Dumfries, Scotland.

He watches the news on his television, an invention of John Logie Baird of Helensburgh, Scotland, and hears an item about the U.S. Navy, founded by John Paul Jones of Kirkbean, Scotland.

He has by now been reminded too much of Scotland and in desperation he picks up the Bible only to find that the first man mentioned in the good book is a Scot, King James VI, who authorised its translation.

Nowhere can an Englishman turn to escape the ingenuity of the Scots.

He could take to drink, but the Scots make the best in the world.

He could take a rifle and end it all but the breech-loading rifle was invented by Captain Patrick of Pitfours, Scotland.

If he escapes death, he might then find himself on an operating table injected with penicillin, which was discovered by Alexander Fleming of Darvel, Scotland, and given an anaesthetic, which was discovered by Sir James Young Simpson of Bathgate, Scotland.

Out of the anaesthetic, he would find no comfort in learning he was as safe as the Bank of England founded by William Paterson of Dumfries, Scotland.

Perhaps his only remaining hope would be to get a transfusion of guid Scottish blood which would entitle him to ask "Wha?s Like Us".

[porqoui]

af Sat 1 Feb

MAE ALL...

Just popping in to say hi. Super visit with my Dad this morning. No going outdoors today although it's sunny it's very cold -17.

Mick...the dietitian visit was very productive. Just trying to get my eating habits in line with my nutritional needs. She has access to my blood results so can tell me what I'm deficient in. Mind you it would have helped if I'd done the blood work before the visit. :H I'll be seeing her again at the end of the month. Enjoy your day tomorrow.

Narilly...how'd the do turn out? It actually isn't too bad outside as long as you stay out of the wind.

TT...stationary shopping, I thought it was a new way of placing your order without having to move :H

SF...totally agree with your novel. Looking forward to next weeks'. :H

Lav...hope you're enjoying your day and I bet you don't get out of cooking. I want to come to the outdoor show too.

SL...you're sounding great today. Yup, definitely got the right attitude. :goodjob:

Off to figure out how to cook my salmon fillets for supper tonight. Have a great AF Saturday all and all to come....PPQP

[Lavande]

af Sat 1 Feb

HA HA - I've gotten a reprieve....not going to the Outdoor Show tomorrow after all :H :H
YB changed his mind, doesn't want to go now. Pretty typical him changing his mind every 24 hours about something :H

SL, my father's family originated in England but I'm fairly sure there was some Scotts blood as well
It took me a good month after joining MWO to finally stop fighting AL & just give it the hell up!!!!
I was exhausted from fighting with it for too many years. Don't know if you remember Doggy girl & greeneyes but they are the ones who convinced me - it just easier to give up, stop fighting

Hi there PQ!!!

[scottish lass]

af Sat 1 Feb

Hi Lav, I do remember DG...I think I may be exhausted too - that is a good way to describe it. The ex came to get my girls, stayed away so he couldn't push my buttons - they just left so checking in for my morale support, and I am on track! Yeah!! Feel ok about it too.
Just read that again - feel better than OK about it - No more fighting! Thanks Lav, and PPQ!! Attitude adjustment! Would be so cool if this was it!

[Lavande]

af Sat 1 Feb

Good for you SL - just keep doing that
Setting those boundaries is a big deal & enforcing them even bigger! Don't let him push anymore buttons. That is controlling behavior & not to be tolerated - stay cool

[Mick]

af Sat 1 Feb

morning all ...just on the way out..of the door that is!!!! tt....useless is down to individualism...everything has a use..the fact that one person cannot find a use for it doesn't make it useless.....it may even suggest that the person is useless :H:H:H:H do have a nice day catch yawl later