2 July

[Mick]

Mae all how are we doing today then hope everyone is well. I had to start this thread again on my phone, I don't know why but to start a new thread as soon as I try it on my laptop it sends me all these stupid adverts. And yet once the thread has started, there is no issue posting. Raining today, but it is supposed to disappear later on, and the sunny weather appears again. Dental visit tomorrow night crazy appointment time 6:00 p.m. oh well at least the job is getting fixed.

Hiya lav how are you today then? hope all is well. Yes if the dog was main she would be in the bad books as well! Definitely grounded. Still got the bees in the garden however activity around the underground nest seems to be getting less and less. My bee stings are still giving me grief really really itchy I've tried everything from calamine lotion onwards who stop strengthening enough they seem to itch more at night. We have just worked out our next holiday after the Yorkshire Show, we start off at Beadnell Bay where we saw the puffins last year, and then making our way up to Edinburgh comma staying up an Edinburgh and around that area for four or five days then either going north or south for a few days comma before coming back down to a site at Hadrian's Wall. Looking forward to it. We were going to France at the end of August, but it is still dependent on the political scenario over there full stop my own feelings are it will not be resolved by then. Take care have a great day are you already for the Fourth of July party question mark you know that public holiday that the Brits gave you haha

Hiya ppqp how are you doing today then? Hope all is well. So you aren't in the rodeo this year? As I say I've only been the ones but really enjoyed it. Hope you are having a good weekend

Hiya teegee how are you doing today then? Hope all is well with you. Is this a chill out weekend? When we go up to Edinburgh we aren't that far from Dunbar Castle it is on the edge of the river forth. It is a lovely coast. Hope you have a great day

Right folks time to go..I'm checking the rest of my trains this afternoon..Big shout to everyone

Remember..sane safe and sober

[Pie]

Re: 2 July

Morning all,

To commemorate Micks upcoming Independence Day anniversary, I?m hosting a weeklong Bring Your Own Ice Cream celebration. If you?d like to join in, please let us know which flavor you?ll be bringing to share. My own offering is Southern Blackberry Cobbler from Texas? own Blue Bell creamery.
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[Slo]

Re: 2 July

Sunday greetings,

Sounds like No Sugar has quite a busy long holiday weekend going on, with lots of family, and hosting an All-American picnic.
Not so for Lav, but, with people’s work schedules, I can see how your kids both need to use the long weekend as an opportunity to get their houses fixed up.
And, you sure don’t want to be inviting over a DIL like that!

Good point, TG: let us remember in the forefront of our minds that the thing they are all so excited about imbibing is a neurotoxin!! And a highly addictive one at that: very dangerous -a game of Russian Roulette!

Mick: “Life is like a toilet roll: the nearer the end, the quicker it goes!” Well said!
I loved the joke about the toaster sign as well.

I’m not doing too much this weekend, but today I am planning to finally go out and see my niece & nephews. Their dad is in the pokey for his DUI, and so the three teenagers are left home alone. I’ll bring them some berries, and take them out for lunch.

What a relief that the three kittens have intended homes, Lav; and two of them are off your hands.
My cat used to go hunting outdoors, Lav. It was so sick to watch him kill & eat a bunny. And the dog before this last one (only ex-HB’s dog now) would kill birds! Yuck. But, Springer Spaniels are “bird dogs”…

I don’t eat ice cream anymore, Pie; since I’m mostly off of dairy. I’ll contribute some raspberry sorbet!

PQ, that’s a fun memory of being in the parade with your young family, and being pulled by your horses.
You have to work on Friday & Monday this weekend, but at least they are low-stress days there.

Wishing a good AF day to all!

[Mick]

Re: 2 July

Just been up sorting trains..here are some pictures of my layout for those that haven't seen it

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[Lavande]

Re: 2 July

Good evening friends,

It?s been disgustingly hot & humid, yuck. We are waiting on severe thunderstorms to roll in anytime now.
The remaining kitten & mama seem fine. My daughter just informed me she let the two others go to their new homes already but they seemed fine.

Cyn, glad to hear yo finally got some rain out there. It?s so worrisome when everything gets so dry. You?re doing exactly what we?re doing this holiday ~ nothing, haha! I don?t want to be on the roads with the drunks. Hoping that B12 & folate kick in real soon for you. It?s hard to keep the energy level up as we get older but we can do our best. Have a restful weekend.

Mick, I think my dog is finally getting the message, at least I hope so. She knows there?s no more free roaming outside & snacking on everything she finds, haha. Good luck with your next dental appointment. It must be getting tiresome. Your upcoming travel plans sound awesome! I hope you get to see everything you want to see. My daughter & her family avoided Paris for most of their recent trip because of all the turmoil. They went north & enjoyed time in Lille & also a couple of days in Belgium. My daughter & I traveled to Paris & visited Belgium ourselves back in 2000. Think about a different route The new kids here will love your train set up, it?s awesome!

Pie, that looks SO go good but since I have to go with dairy free here?s my offering:
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Slo, I?m happy to stay home this weekend & off the roads, don?t need all that craziness!
My DIL will not be getting any invitations any time soon haha. Don?t need to be around her chronic negativity. I sincerely hope she?s nicer with her therapy clients. Enjoy seeing your niece & nephew, sad situation there. We had a springer spaniel a long time ago & she was insane! Used to sit on top of the picnic table in the backyard & catch robins mid-air, ugh!

PQ, hope your weekend has been good!

Sam, hope you had a great time at your gigs!

Hello to Wags, Kensho & anyone else dropping in tonight.

Better go secure the chickens before this storm gets here
Have a nice night all!

Lav

[treegirl]

Re: 2 July

Mae all -

Just walked in from a birthday party for my cousin (the one with the schizo-disorder, but so sweet). Her dad and siblings/nieces and nephews threw a really nice party for her, and invited me! I haven't had much to do with that part of the family since high school... so many decades later, I had the chance to be part of a special celebration. But of course the menu was filled with all the things I don't usually eat... beef, buns (gluten), macaroni salad (gluten and dairy and god-knows-what-all), potato salad (ditto), "family recipe Buster Bar" layered ice cream dessert, and a nice fresh strawberry tart. OMG. I am definitely back in the midwest.... and I ate it all, just so I wouldn't have to explain why I wasn't eating it. I drove home, ran upstairs and had a handful of Digestive Enzymes. Feeling stuffed... but otherwise okay. Sheesh!

And these are all professional people! Teachers, a surgeon, upper-level management folks, digital imaging specialist... but I guess for a celebration, we all become 8 years old again.

Pi - I just read that somebody has voted that the country's best ice cream is here in my city... so I'll have to check it out. Hopefully they make a coconut milk version of something. It's called Cornflower Ice Cream... I'll send you a link and you can pick your favorite...

Mick, I posted something of FB that still has me grinning... I've watched it already several times and it just makes me have a huge smile... that Scots accent is just so damned wonderful. I was trying to just send it to you, but instead ended up posting it... I know lots of people will be grinning...

Lav, I'm glad to hear that you have all the animals wrangled, and straightened out. I just hope they remember their "marching orders"

PPQ, hoping you are being "heard" and are getting some time to yourself.
SLO - what a good auntie you are to look in on the kids. I hate AL... the havoc it wreaks on lives. Yes, a highly-addictive neuro-toxin, no doubt about it... not safe for ANYONE. I keep hearing about a great (apparently lengthy) audio blog by "Huberman Labs". Supposed to be very hard-hitting about the substance. His stance is that no amount of AL is safe for anyone. It's on my list. I am so grateful to be living free from the clutches of that horrible master... but I keep listening to things and having conversations with colleagues that still think there is some way to be a "normal" drinker. Hopefully that myth will be put to rest some day.
Wags and Kensho here's hoping that your days are going well...
Cheers,
TG

Lav - I'm maybe feeling a little bump in energy... I'll let you know. Like you, hot and humid here, so who knows when our energy will return?

[treegirl]

Re: 2 July

Mick! Wow, wow, wow the train and landscape and all are amazing!!! And I see Hogwarts and the car in the background - love it. (Which reminds me that I haven't read or watched the Harry Potter stories... maybe that will be my summer reading...) Great job, Congrats!!

[wagmor]

Re: 2 July

Mick - thank you so much for sharing pics of your train setup, that's amazing! Sorry to hear your beestings are still giving you so much trouble. I hope you get some relief soon.

Lav - I do not envy you the heat and humidity (esp the humidity). Hopefully those t-storms will clear some of that out for you. Sounds like a good result for the kittens!

TG - that sounds like quite a load of food! Very common for these summer holidays in many parts of the US, and I totally get how hard it can be to explain about not eating certain things. Kinda like explaining why we don't drink! I'm going to check out that audio blog you mentioned - thanks for sharing the info.

Slo - hope you had/have a good visit with your niece and nephews, and an otherwise peaceful summer week.

Pi - I'll think a bit on the ice cream flavor and share tomorrow. I'm in the process of trying to figure out if dairy is contributing to my pain, so I might have to be on the non-dairy crew as well. Love celebrating a sober-versary for sure!


Good weekend here. As planned, my lighter work schedule has been giving me a bit more free time to enjoy the nice weather. Funny enough, I got THREE word-of-mouth referrals (current or former students sending new people my way). One was a referral from a guy I worked with 6 years ago! It's such a huge compliment when students tell their friends or family members they should talk with me. I wasn't really planning on adding any additional students until Aug, but I'm going to at least chat with each of these three people and possibly work with one or more of them.

Hellos and waves to everyone I missed - hope you all are well.

Happy Dry July everyone!!!

[Pie]

Re: 2 July

Surprise rainstorms Sunday evening had us positively giddy, following 3 weeks of excessively hot & dry weather. Trees were making slurping noises, while wildlife danced in the forests, or so it seemed in my imagination.

TG, I visited your lovely website. Reading your account of losing husband to Covid had me both angry and weeping. My hat is off to you for finding your way through and back from such a devastating loss.

Wags, what is it that you teach?

Wishing smooth sailing to you, Mick at this evening?s dental visit!

On the issue of alcohol, ?alcoholics?, and ?normal? drinkers, alcohol is a toxic, highly addictive substance. Those of us who begin regularly using alcohol to self-medicate, i.e. to escape stress and other uncomfortable feelings, become addicted.

Kensho, I no longer wonder if I can ever again enjoy a glass of wine with dinner. For me, the answer is no. I cannot undo the brain pathways formed/impacted when I was drinking to self medicate. It comes down to brain chemistry.
Given what I?ve learned, and come to understand about alcohol?s effects, my feelings have changed. And the changed feelings lead me to no longer desire alcohol.
Where there is no desire, there are no cravings. No need for willpower.

Here?s to Freedom!

[Mick]

Re: 2 July

mae all ,how are things today then? hope all is good .pouring down with rain here today,supposed to be sunny ...not what the weather forecast says for the week!!at the dentist tonight ....6pm ...jeez traffic job that one .did a fair bit on my trains yesterday,still got a bit to do.Decided the kitchen cupboards needed a repaint last night ,so started that ,,done one side of it ...same colour just freshening it up.

hiya wags how are you doing then?well done on the referrals .you sound really chirpy mate good for you .Yes ,the railway has a bit of work involved ..all the buildings (except the castle atm )light up there are figures in all the windows etc .Ive put reed switches in all the coaches and lights so that I can turn them on and off .hope you have a good day .

hiya teegee the 8 year old!!!!how are you feeling after yesterdays all day soireee? hope all is good with you .Ive never lost my accent ..its just diluted a bit ...but when I meet up with my own it soon all comes back... nae probs ..Ken whit ah mean an at? Yes go for the Harry Potter books as a read .....

hiya Lav ,how are you doing? hope all is well with you ...chucking it down here.Glad the kittens have settled down in their new homes....and yep hopefully the dog has got the message...dont eat wabbits!!Ive been to Paris twice in my life and it didnt impress me either time .As for Belgium Ive never really been ther except when I used to drive to the ports when I was stationed in Germany going home on the ferry on leave .It looks nice though ,tbh I have particular bad memories of all that so not sure how it would work ..Not to worry .In the past dog wise ,Ive had a black lab ,a golden lab ,a yorkshire terrier and an old English sheepdog ...the yorkshire terrier was tiny but thought he was ten men!!the sheepdog needed brushing through around 14 times a day !!!Rabbits are a breeze.

hiya ppqp how are you then? did you have a good weekend?

hiya Slo nice to see you hope you are ok ..

well folks ...hope you all have a good 4th of July holiday ..we gave you it ,so enjoy it .. now as for the ice cream ....cookie dough for me ...or raspberry sorbet ...

and here we go folks ....just to improve your knowledge of Jockanese.

18 Braw Scottish Words & Their Meanings | VisitScotland

[porqoui]

Re: 2 July

MAE ALL...

Appears my post from yesterday is nowhere to be seen. Oh well. I'm bringing maple walnut for my ice cream choice. Weather took a turn, it's cold, wet, windy and down right miserable. You'd think winter was on it's way.

Short post as I've got to get dinner going and oldest son showed up so have to figure out what I have enough of. Will post in more detail tomorrow.....:smile:PPQP

[Slo]

Re: 2 July

Hello from a beautiful Summer day here in Wisconsin! My family -without me, but with ex-HB’s new gf -are having great weather for an idyllic up north vacation together. It’s sure not chucking down here. I have the sprinkler going.

My old neighbor (ex-HB’s neighbor) invited me out for lunch today. She has off from work at her company for July 3rd & 4th, and her daughter is with her ex-HB for the holiday; so she was free. It was such a nice time catching up!
My new neighbor across the street invited me out for lunch on Thursday, to get to know each other better. That was nice too! Although she asked if I found a church yet -so I hope the goal wasn’t to recruit me to her church. I pointedly said, “No, and I’m not looking for one.” There’s a lot of Christians in this neighborhood. And a lot of flag-wavers too.

I didn’t go out to my brother’s yesterday, as the kids said they going boating. It turns out, according to social media, that they were boating with my little sister and her family. And the day before that they were boating at their grandparent’s house. Today my twin sister arrived there to stay with them for a week. But, first she had to dry out and stop the shakes and get showered after being on a two-week bender. Gah! It’s the blind leading the blind over there!

More later.

[Lavande]

Re: 2 July

Good evening all,

We’re having a big old storm right now, internet keeps going out so I’ll be quick for a change haha!
If the electric goes we at least have the generator.

Slo, sorry you missed a chance to spend time with the teens. Hopefully they were well entertained & safe. I really wish. Your sister would see the light for her sake.

PQ, It’s been in the 90’s here so I’ll take your wintery weather off your hands.

Hello to Mick, Cyn (sorry about the midwest food - I couldn’t eat all that either).
Hello to Wags, Pie & everyone.

Have a nice night all!
Lav

[STEADFAST]

Re: 2 July

Hi Everyone,

Just to let you know I'm still here, just hanging out on the sidelines

love & best wishes to all,
Steady

[wagmor]

Re: 2 July

MAE everyone. Hope your weeks are all starting off well.

Pi - I am totally with you on seeing alcohol as poison, which changed my mindset and made cravings go away. As I was struggling to cement my quit, I remember thinking, if someone told me that drinking bleach would give me an amazing buzz, would I drink it? OF COURSE NOT! Then why on earth would I drink alcohol which is also so toxic to my health and well-being? To answer your question, I have taught a wide variety of topics and skills over the course of my career, but for the past 7 years I've been tutoring students who are preparing to take the entrance/admissions tests to get into grad school programs like Med School, Law School, or MBA/Business School. I focus almost exclusively on the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT). It's mostly a test of critical thinking and logical reasoning and for most students it is not only difficult but also demoralizing. I really like helping students "beat" the test rather than letting it beat them, and for some weird reason I find the test to be fun. So I get paid to do something I enjoy and am good at, that I personally think is fun, that my students almost universally do NOT think is fun but is important to them because it stands between them and their goals. I often end up being much more than a tutor, as I also coach and motivate and console and encourage and listen and empathize a LOT. I feel incredibly grateful to have work that I love and to be successfully self-employed so that I can also decide who I do/don't work with, and for the most part I work when and how much I choose to. I tend to attract a lot of students who want to focus on environmental law or immigration law or civil rights/equity/social justice. And since several years worth of my students have now finished law school and passed the bar, they're out doing work that will change individual lives or entire communities (or bigger!) for the better. That feels especially good these days when so many rights are being taken away from many of us. Whew - long answer! You can probably tell I love and am passionate about what I do

Mick - thanks for telling more about your trains. It's clear that you've put a lot of time into even the tiniest of details. Good job getting those cupboards painted (or at least partway) during your rainy day. I hope the dentist appt was easy peasy, including the traffic it sounds like you had to travel in.

Slo - I'm so sorry to hear you missed out on the time with your niece & nephews, but hooray for catching up with your old neighbor and having such a nice visit together, and then getting a chance to know your new neighbor too!

Hellos and waves to Lav, Steady, PQ, TG and everyone else I missed!