Charon

Morning.

My daughter scored the first two goals!!! I was so happy for her. It was a good and tight game. Very exciting. Her team won, but who cares? She got to have some fun, got some great exercise, and did it with good friends. Nice!!!

Today Mrs & I are driving up to a camp owned by the diocese. She's taking a group of women up this weekend . She does this every year. They sleep & eat in the dining hall/kitchen. There are rooms in the basement, so it's very convienent. They hike, snowshoe, crosscountry ski and do activities and crafts.

She & I go beforehand to check to make sure everything is ship shape, make sure there is wood for the fireplace, and check the thickness of the ice to make sure it's extremely safe to walk & ski on.

She leaves wednesday, a day before the others arive to get everything ready. Normally this would be when I was planning to drink. Last night I showed her that I was still taking antabuse and told her that I didn't want her to worry. I'll take it while she watches each evening. I don't need someone to check. My last experience is way too fresh in my mind to repeat it. I just want to set her mind at ease.

After we take care of the stuff at camp we might snowshoe, go to some of the outlet stores on the way back, or both. Depending on how much time we need to kill. We'll go to a diner up there and stop at my F2F on the way back. She'll sit in the room downstairs and read while I go to the meeting. It's nearly an hours drive to the meeting and heading home we drive right by so it doesn't make sense to go all the way home and have me drive back up for the meeting. I'm glad that she is willing to do that.

Well, enough for now. I have to attach 2 seven foot boards to her roof racks and get a matress wrapped in a tarp and strapped down to transport up there. We're donating it because some of the beds up there are in pertty bad shape.

Lucinda2

Popped in to see how you are going on Charon. It all sounds very positive. I remember you seeming quite anxious when your wife went away some months back. You seem very calm now.

All ok here. Pleasant weekend in the UK. Brisk, but dry and sunny.

Charon

Morning.

Yes I am very calm with her going away. Taking antabuse and actually, even if I wasn't I would not drink. I have plans for while she's away.

She leaves wednesday and I'm going to treat myself to a 5 Guys hamburger and fries. I have a F2f meeting thursday as well as an appointment with my therapist. Saturday the F2F group is going bowling. I'll have meatloaf and chili in the fridge to re-heat, so no cooking needed. Wednesday, friday, and sunday are gym days and the others are MagnaTrainer days. I'll be happily busy.

One thing I'm going to be doing in addition to the above is working out a design for my knife box. I have a number of very good kitchen knives. I have a box I made to keep them in but I have to keep the blades in a protective cover because they just fit laying down. I want to make a box where each has it's own slot so I can just grab the one I need without digging through them to find it.

I think I'm going to make one out of scrap pine once I get something designed, just to make sure it will work as I want. The piece (27" by 4" by 1") of Macasser ebony cost $78 about 20 years ago. I don't want to waste it.

Glad your weather is nice and plesant. It's sunny here but wicked cold. At least no wind right now. Snow, sleet, and freezing rain is supposed to be coming friday night through sunday. It is cozy inside and if I go out to work in the woodshop I light a fire and it gets warm enough to work in a T-shirt.

Hope you have a wonderful rest of the week.

Charon

Morning.

Did my exercises twice yesterday because I missed the gym on sunday and my exercises monday because of completely full days. It really tired me out after all the activity monday. I'm going to the gym today so I'm back on schedule.

Mrs will leave sometime today and I'm completely confident I'll be safe. Beside being on antabuse I have no desire to suffer any more. Something I saw in a Smart thread struck a note. They said they would "play the tape forward" and see what a happy ending it will be, since they didn't pick up a drink.

I thought that was a wonderfully positive way to look at it. Similar to maintaining sobriety (positive) rather than abstaining (negative).

Lucinda2

Thanks for the useful post, Charon. That is a different spin on 'play the tape forward' and I like it. Generally, when I play the tape forward I imagine how rubbish I will feel the next day if I drink. You are right, to play it forward and imagine how great we will feel if we don't drink is a much more positive way of looking at it! Thanks for that.

I have been overdoing it with exercise in the UK. I was determined to get back to normal routines after a physically rough December and went back into my exercise routines full swing. I now have sciatica again. That will teach me!

I am having an MRI tomorrow so hopefully will get more idea of what is going on. As you said before, while sciatica is generally down to something going on in the spine it can also be down to that sneaky piriformis muscle in the butt like when you sat on your wallet.

Wishing Mrs Charon a safe journey.

venuscat

Having that plan in place is wonderful dear Charon. As it happens, I am going to have four days to myself as well....making a plan shortly. s xx

All the best for your MRI dear Lucinda. s xx

Charon

Morning.

Lucinda - ouch. Wishing you a quick recovery.

Venus, my plan is working well. Antabuse on board and lot's to do, lots of good food to eat.

Oh, and I went crazy this morning. I've wanted to swim with whale sharks forever. I was trying to put together a trip on my own and was getting overwhelmed. I decided to pay the price and go with a group that does a special trip each year for photographers (but everyone is welcome). They go out on the water early, stay late and all things are taken care of. All I have to do is book my flights. Once I get there everything is taken care of. Transfers to the hotel, accomodations, five days of swimming with whale sharks. Maybe even mantas too. And I don't have to plan a thing except getting there and back. I decided I deserve it. Also, I think it will be fun to be with a group who are serious about the experience.

venuscat

Wow Charon....what a dream experience this is going to be. s ❤️

Lucinda2

Thanks, Charon and Venuscat.

I was a little anxious about the MRI machine but it was actually lovely in there. Very relaxing and all the noises reminded me of early Pink Floyd. I was sorry when I had to get out!

How exciting about the trip Charon. So good to have things to look forward too. Swimming with whale sharks and manta's sounds awesome. Nice that everything is made easy too, just rock up and do it. Perfect Good call.

Charon

Morning.

Glad the MRI wasn't a problem. I never had a problem with them and I know what you mean about Pink Floyd (my favorite along with Jackson Browne - totally different).

I booked my flight and paid my deposit. I am so very excited and happy. And so glad I'm no longer drinking so I can fully experience and appreciate this trip.

Mrs called yesterday evening late. It was good to hear her voice and more important, that she could hear mine and tell I was not drinking.

I saw something in another thread that I really like. Someone said that they play the tape to the end of them not drinking and how good that ends. I decided that playing both tapes is a wonderful idea. First, the tape of what would happen if I drank - disaster & misery. Second, the tape of what will happen because I am not going to drink - feeling well and happy. Leaves things on a positive note.

venuscat

I agree....I like that idea a lot Charon. s

Dee74

I was allowed piped music so I literally had Floyd in my MRI

D

venuscat

^^^ Nice.

Charon

Morning.

Nice Dee. I had to supply the instruments mentally. The MRI did percussion. lol

Today I'm going bowling with a group. I never was a bowler so I expect a low score. No matter, it's for the comraderie.

I cooked chili last night - lots of chili, jalapenio, and chipotle powders with Tobasco added at the end. Yum. I'm going to freeze what's left of the meatloaf. It will come in handy when I need a fast and easy meal. Mrs comes home tomorrow evening. It will be good to see her and get some hugs - although the quiet time has been nice.

venuscat

Yum. xx

Lucinda2

Dee, if I could have piped music Floyd would have been my choice too. What great taste we all have in this thread!

Charon, I am not very familiar with Jackson Browne, will check out more. Crosby Stills Nash popped up on a Spotify playlist earlier and I found myself thinking of you. Their music is sort of calming and reminded me of you somehow, wonder if you like them?

Hope you enjoyed the bowling tonight. That chilli sounds good. Nice how you are looking forward to seeing your wife. I am always the same when the husband goes away. I like the downtime and especially having the remote control to myself but am also pleased to see him when he comes home.

I got myself in a complete angry tizz today. We were due for dinner at our close friend's house and received notice this morning that it had been changed to a Burn's night. As Burn's night is traditionally associated with lashings of red wine, beer and whisky I got anxious about it and was horribly angry with the husband all day. I had bad cravings for red wine and wasn't sure if I was setting myself up to drink again. I distracted myself by printing out an order of events for Burns nights, the address to The Haggis etc which also provided a bit of structure to the evening for me.

In the end, I worried and was cranky for nothing. It was a lovely evening, once I was there I didn't crave alcohol at all and our friends barely drank anything either. We enjoyed the food, enacted Burn's night and sung Auld Lang Syne with gusto. I have been white-knuckling this month and to have a wonderful night in which alcohol was a complete non-issue was fantastically good.

It is interesting to note how the knock-on effect of my not drinking is my friends drink less and they seem to enjoy that. To start with they didn't like the change and clearly they missed us drinking together but they seemed to have adapted over time.

I did say that I was going to remove myself to January 2020 thread after I drank NYE but I seem to be still here. While I post in January sometimes and it is a lovely group, very supportive and enthusiastic I do find it a little hard to keep up with everyone. I find it calming here in July.

venuscat

Cool. I agree....I think it is Charon. He is some kind of calming zen influence....I love it here. s xx ❤️

Lucinda2

I think it is Charon too! xx

Charon

Morning. Let's all chant "Oooommmmm" - I think you are just seeing things in yourself, maybe sparked by something I said.

Yes, I like CS&N. Good stuff. I used to think that Paul Simon was the best musical poet but Jackson Browne has him beat a mile in my book. Three albums I especially like are "Saturate Before Using" , "For Everyman", and "Late for the Sky". Good stuff.

Bowling was a lot of clean fun and I didn't embarrass myself. We all had good laughs as no one was especially good and we all cheered when someone had a strike or spare. Mine were mostly accidental.

Glad the Burn's night worked out well. I can be around people who are drinking as long as they aren't getting sloshed.

Please don't leave. I do not agree that a lapse sets you back to day one. That is nonsense. Imagine not drinking for 365 days and then lapsing for one. What happened to that sober year. You still have it! So does your health! Starting over is nonsense.

Lucinda2

Aww thanks, Charon. It is nice to hear you say 'please don't leave'. Made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Thank you.

I will check out the Jackson Browne albums. I do like music. Paul Simon always reminds me of being a youngster in bedsit land, happy days.

Glad you enjoyed bowling. I am guessing your wife will be back around now. Lovely, yes let's all say Oooommmmm.