Grace2

Good morning again Overs and I hope you're all well.

Thank you very much F.B.L and it's good to 'see' you too.
I would have loved seeing the turkey and her young. I saw a mother duck and four ducklings crossing over the road by me over the week end, I hope they kept safe. I love seeing things like that. We have a lot of geese round here too, they are very territorial.

Thank you Drake, I hope the weather has picked up for your pool party.

Thanks for the welcome home Rusty, it's so good to see you still here. xx

Hi Suze, my little Parakeet is just 5 months old and I've had him since April. His name is Bertie and he comes and sits on my finger now and eats out of my hand. He is great company and is just starting to say his name. He's so easy to look after and doesn't cost much to keep.

Blue fairy, I loved reading about your cat, sounds like she's has an idyllic life living with you.

Hello Dharma, good to meet you, I hope your B.B.Q went well.

Hi Soberwolf, hope you got a restful nights sleep.

I'm sorry to read that you've not been too well Mags, I hope you're feeling much better today.. Look after yourself and take it easy.

Hi Stargazer.

I've not got a very exciting day today, did the school run this morning with my live in g.son, dropped my mum off in town, just having a coffee while I'm posting here and then I've got a pile of ironing that keeps waving at me. So tempted to just wave back at it!

To all of you that celebrate it I wish you a good Independence day. Enjoy.

Stay safe and sober

Gxxx

JUST FOR TODAY, I will refrain from improving anybody but myself.

venuscat

Gosh it's good to have you back with us Gracie love. ♥

FBL

Mags, hope you're feeling better today.

Looks like a perfect day here weather-wise.

Have a Magnificent Monday and a Happy 4th to my fellow American overs!

Soberwolf

Hi Grace x

Hey Fbl

Rusty Zipper

happy independence day overs

stargazer016

Happy July 4th to my American friends!

Sunny now but calling for much rain tonight. Will likely put a damper on firework festivities. My second Independence Day not being dependent on alcohol!

Have a great day everyone!

IvanMike

Itchy - Right on. There is more than one way to skin a cat, although I suspect that they are all more similar than different once you peek under the hood. I'm not surprised that most of the people in the group you attended disappeared. The 3 to 5% success rate seems to be the same across the board no matter what method you use. I don't think has anything to do with the methods, just us. It's been my experience that most people like us just aren't willing to put in the effort or persevere over the long haul.

Soberwolf

Happy independence day Rusty Itchy Stargazer Ivanmike Mesa Least Gilmer and anyone I've missed out by accident x

MesaMan

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Hiya Folks!

I'm always reading here, but sometimes just hang & lurk...

A sincere Happy 4th to all. My 3rd Sober one. It's nice to be able remember them now, eh? And, yah, not blow off any Digits while celebrating. Or, take a 'Header', which I did several of way back when Hammered.

From the Open Carry [Gun] State of Wyoming - Where Men Are Men & Sheep Are Scared - we still have a Guano-load of massive Fireworks purchased just over the State Line. Some of the largest 'Mortars' are the size you'd set off at a Town Display. Alas, we continue to be unable to set them off. Too dry. O'Well. It's not like Fireworks 'go bad'. One Standard Procedure around here is to set off Fireworks Displays from small Barges in Lakes.

From our Mesa-top perch here last Night, I could hear/see some Town Fireworks Displays way off in the distance. MesaDog was happily digging in new Dirt around the Tinted, Stamped Concrete Patio added recently. Some Homemade Ice Cream later today from an ancient Electric Churn I snagged at a Thrift Store.

And, on a Right-Handed Fender Stratocaster played upside-down...

- 'Star Spangled Banner' ~ Jimi Hendrix ~ Woodstock -

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tootsl1

Happy ' How's That For Gratitude!' Day my unruly American offspring!!

Seriously hope you all have a wonderful Independence Day

Hey Grace, good to see you treading the boards, Bertie sounds adorable!

Take care Overs x

Saskia

Hi Overs!

Mags, sorry to hear you haven't been well

Grace, great to see you back! I've gone through some spells of isolating but it's good to be back in the swing of things.

Happy 4th to our US contingent

And now, warning, start of rant

So I went to my sister's yesterday and stayed overnight. We have never gotten along really well - she is always right and I'm always wrong. The last time I stayed overnight over 2 years ago, I was trying not to drink and she and BIL kept pushing. So I got drunk. Not their fault but they sure didn't help -- and I had told them that I was an alcoholic. My sis and I had a big fight afterwards and didn't speak for about a year.

This time I was prepared. She kept asking and I went into repeat mode. Then BIL wanted to know why I wasn't drinking. So they finally quit asking. Meanwhile, most of the guests were ex-Navy (including a retired rear admiral) and a number of them were feeling little pain. They started talking politics and all were very right-wing and i'm fairly far over to the left. So I had to bite my tongue. Totally not fun and frustrating.

The one good thing was that I wasn't even tempted!

End of rant!

Soberwolf

Saskia you are 1 awesome lady you know that xxx

Ray Donavan season 4 starts tonight on sky atlantic

You guys have got to watch Catastrophe on Amazon RT scored it 100% about an American guy and a girl from London with an Irish background - trust me you'll all love it if you like a little comedy

I've been busy sporadically today as my neice is now staying for the summer and I've been helping her won't be back till later but we have a chicken maccoroni pastabake bubbling in the oven for dinner

Spk later beautiful people

FBL

Hiya, Wolfy!

Sassy, sorry to hear about the get-together. That's awful that they were pushing you to drink. Glad you got thru it okay.

I've been invited back to the radio show that I was a guest on last September. They want me on this coming Friday night, so I've decided to make a weekend of it. Should be a blast! Mom wants to go visit Dad's grave site and to visit with some of the living relatives. It's a lot of driving (nearly 1,000 miles altogether), but no one else seems to want to take her, so I figured I would. Besides, it'll be a nice change of scene.

Enjoy the rest of your day!

Saskia

Thanks, Wolfie and FBL! I can easily take being offered a drink and refusing. What I find unpleasant is people who keep right on pushing.

FBL, nice that you will be there to take your mom :-)

tootsl1

Sass some people are just so dense! That or so bloody miserable in their own skin that they just need to share it around. I'm sorry it all landed onto you, you are so not deserving. I think perhaps time has come to consider whether you would be friends if you weren't related. If not, then why should genetics force you to spend time with someone who is toxic to you. A big squeezy hug from me to make you feel better (((sassiequeen)))

FBL that's awesome, I listened to your last show with great pleasure, please PM me the link!

Hugs all x

Saskia

Toots, I think you are right. For my parents' sake I have tried to keep a civil if distant relationship to the one sister. I have really had it this time. The sad thing is that she doesn't have a clue. Luckily they don't spend much time in this state. I get the definite sense that she isn't too happy - her SO has kept his home like a shrine to his late wife so it can't be easy for my sister. However, she has always been overbearing and nasty at times too. I definitely won't go to their annual over-the-top July 4th party again (once was too much) and beyond that will continue to limit visits and avoid as much as possible. Thanks much for the support and warm & fuzzy

Soberwolf

Neice is home in bed she loved the chicken bacon macaroni 3 cheese pasta bake we made with sweetcorn onion mushrooms

Up a lil late but going bed now goodnight Overs

Itchy

Blue I'm sorry your cat is getting to that point we with furkids know is inevitable, yet never accept easily.

Venus,
There is a cat for you wondering why they are alone and lonely in a cage somewhere, hoping to be rescued and get another human of their own. https://www.bing.com/search?q=Black+...ia&FORM=HDRSC1
Why not visit and see. Whether a puppy like Maggie thrown away in a ditch when she could barely walk, barely weaned, or a one year old rescue like Skylar who was a rescue by the family that "gave him up" to us because their new apartment did not allow pets, all our furkids needed us, desperately. Once we gave them "home," they just decide to love us forever in gratitude. Humans didn't domesticate our furkid's ancestors out of kindness. They needed furkids too, as part of survival. They kept less savory animals at bay and told us they were there. The bonds developed from mutual respect and friendship.

A new buddy won't shorten our grief for another furkid we lost, but they do keep us busy not being alone.


Grace!
Sorry you had a rough patch and glad you are feeling better and made your way back to us. We buried my MIL last August and are helping our remaining FIL who is dealing with Alzheimer's. We also had our furkid Skylar go suddenly a couple of months ago and linger paralyzed for only one night and part of the day before and we sent him on with our vet when there was no hope. We have Maggie May still and she is a healthy 7. Your Budgie song will warm the hearts of all.

FBL,
Very weird on turkeys. No sooner do you mention seeing wild turkeys I was driving to the store and see a gaggle of gees with young and a wild tom turkey ahead of them so I guess someone is raising one or some on our road. It was an adult, and they all look skinny until they puff out.
I sure hope you don't get as warm as here. Heck we don't get as warm as here lately here!
:wman:

Hey Drake Partly cloudy here and cooled down to 91! Heat index 101F. (Humidity 67%)

Mags,
Sorry you've felt bad, and glad you are getting there.

Mike,
Yep I agree! " We have met the enemy and he is us. " Walt Kelly in Pogo.
I took what I needed and left the rest. What we each need is different. But the one thing we all need to not do in recovery is to keep doing something over and over expecting different results. The folks that do conditional recovery, where as long as life is smooth they are OK, but relapse when the going gets tough don't even realize when they are putting conditions on their sobriety, that aren't recovered just dry drunks with no coping skills. AA is great for learning coping and communications skills. Even before I quit, I knew I had only one chance in me, I took it, and will never go through the drinking part or the stopping part ever again.
I knew this:
"Alcohol provides us an avenue to run away from all of our problems . . . except the results of using alcohol. <sigh>"
Itchy
Mike, that is the key. I wanted to quit forever before I even checked into detox. I cannot for the life of me understand the folks that said that forever is too much at first. (Escape clause? Conditions?)
All I have to do to get to the other side is:
1. Not drink.
2. Repeat as needed.

Wolf,
We will enjoy celebrating our freedoms!


Mesa! May the fourth be with you too.. We have enough fireworks going off around us here in the country that we avoid the crowds for the big fireworks and concerts free downtown on the Red Riverfront. They shoot ours from a barge in the middle of the river. Nice Golden! My son had two and he just had to put the oldest down last year. I always liked Hendrix's rendition with the war sound effects from his gitfiddle.

Toots! and RZ!

Sassy!
WooHoo! I'm with you! I'm left on the right things, and right on what's left. All that's left is to figure out what is right! Sass, you know the trouble with family are the troubles with family!

Good gig FBL! Mom loves you for a reason huh? I enjoyed the last shows as well as IPs shows too! Talent will out.

We will be watching out our front porch and on TV. They are using a company that is doing larger fireworks so high we should be able to see them here from 12 miles away. Skylar is safe now, and Maggie is not afraid of fireworks but is terrified of my workshop. I even miss the anticipation of his cowering from the fireworks. The stage shows are being broadcast here too on our KTBS TV.

Happy Fourth! (Happy Monday for our friends over the pond )

IvanMike

Gotta love Pogo....

LSC1

Hi All

I celebrated my belly button birthday at the end of the month and I am looking forward to my sobriety birthday next month .... so I asked myself what has changed this year ...

I am a LOT more comfortable with my sobriety .. I can say "I don't drink" with a smile and not feel any anxiety about it ... The last weekend I was around drinkers (parents of a sporting team my kids play for) ..we shared accommodation etc and I was not stressed or resentful about their drinking and my inability to join in ... I had a laugh when they shared drinking stories ... needless to say I did not volunteer any of my own stories ...

I am more confident in expressing how I feel and my opinions ... I thank the book "Co-dependency No More" for that ... I recognise co-dependent behaviours in others and have sometimes called people on it ..and then listened to their life story ..amazing how drugs and alcohol affect SOOO many people...

I try to listen better to my children and SHOW them emotion .. I hid emotions for SOOO many years

I still live my hubby ... he is drinking less which is good ...and REALLY making an effort to address SOME of the aspects of the relationship I told him I was unhappy about ...but jury is out if the switch will turn back on as far as emotional attachment to him

WE HAVE MUSIC IN THE CAR AGAIN!!!!!!!!!! (long story)

NO real plans to change anything (in the near future) .. it is winter school holidays here .... brrrrrrrrrr

Considering re-financing and doing a few things that would improve quality of life ... purchase of a rural property as a weekender (maybe) and a second car and a few other things

I am still playing hockey and enjoying it

Take care all