I was an insane fan....bought tickets and went to Countdown over and over....I was supposedly in my youth group which happened to be around the corner....ha ha....oh my gosh....the memories....we went backstage. Harvey kissed me on the cheek because I didn't have an autograph book like all of the other girls........just so awesome..... :)

Oh my gosh....I had no idea Harvey James died in 2011..... wow. :(

DLB...Interesting. My first stretch of sustained sobriety (2 1/2 months in 2018) was characterized by a rather quick evolution from the terrible first week of withdrawal to feeling very good after 4 or 5 weeks. I had no idea what to expect at the time. Last year, my best stretch was 6 weeks and I was white-knuckling it the whole time, largely do to some strange symptoms from a pinched nerve or something in my neck complicated by muscle spasms that were exacerbated by the removal of alcohol from my daily routine. This time, I anticipated something similar would occur and it has to a degree. These past few years have humbled me greatly, so I am taking a very measured approach so far. Just trying to take each day and make it a good as possible.

Cityboy...Your description is all too familiar...so many plans and rules. My last 5 years had devolved into similar routines. I think it gave me the false sense of some kind of control. My MO was drinking beer from noon into the mid evening while working in the shop/yard etc as well. I suspect I will have a spike in cravings once the weather warms up a bit (still a month or two away here in MI).

Willow, I know what you mean by the quiet house. I remember it most when our first pup passed many years ago. Since then, we have sometimes waited a bit and sometimes went out and rescued another doggie rather quickly. Our oldest boy has a failing heart so I am dreading the eventuality of his passing in the not too distant future. Always tough.

Anyway, hope everyone has a great day and strong finish to the weekend.

I like the picture of the Manatee. Biggest animal I have common across was a grandaddy of a Snapping Turtle several years. Was puttering along in a couple of feet of water and looked down to see the edge of a giant shell. Glanced on the other side of the kayak to see the other side. He had to be 30+ inches diameter. Startled the c#!p out of me.:c029:

Willow, you can do it. You have a new little one who only know the sober Willow. No turning back now :)

Cityboy. Exactly. To me, SR seems an anonymous forum on which we honestly reflect and, if we are lucky, uncover why we are driven to do what we do.
I am guessing many of us have made similar or worse decisions than what you described. I know I have. The clearer my head gets, the more vivid my past actions become. It is great you are honest and that helps us all.

Wolfie. Re establishing routines, plans and rules is also a challenge for me. Weekends were morning, noon and night for me. This is part of the reason weekends are such a challenge now. - To think, I would rationalise that my weekend morning drinking was "medicinal", to fix my hangover. I am sure others did the same.

Focusing on the future. Today has started well. Great to read posts from my fellow Januarians.

Have a safe, healthy and sober day all

dlb.

That's cool. We see a lot of turtles but not those big snapping turtles.

Mr. W, I love the manatees! We were in Florida the week before my husband was let let go and we were snorkeling and kayaking right up to them in the Florida Bay. We saw lots of wildlife on that trip,.

Good morning class
wolfie, you, we, are learning from failures. That is a great sign!
Bacchus, reestablishing routines is paramount I think. Just had a talk with my wife about that this morning.
City, I am in the truck heading out on my maiden kayak voyage. Nervous and excited at the same time.
Sober, hope today is a great one for you and your husband.

Have a great sober day all!

We met some of our old friends for dinner last night. They are drinkers and I have always been one to do my fair share. The place we went always has a nice selection of craft beers also, some locally produced. I really was not tempted at all and it made no difference that they were drinking the whole time.

The list of hurdles and triggers is being diminished.

Another one today. Will check back in later.

I want to look up the snapping turtle now. :) :hug: s

:fright:

fk, enjoy your adventure today!

Cityboy, way to go!

dlb, I agree with what you said about SR. I’m finding that the few very close friends I have are also non-judgemental with regard to my past behaviors. I definitely can’t say that about everyone in my “real” life.

We don’t have any snapping turtles or manatees here (cool pic, Cityboy)! We have predators of the furry four legged or winged type. ... and we have moose. :)

A few of our creatures...

Elk in downtown Estes Park
https://i.postimg.cc/ZvLQNMBj/519-D5...1-E5-C36-A.jpg

Wild turkey in east side of Rocky Mountain National Park
https://i.postimg.cc/QFRrhvpW/AFE21-...4-F14-DB38.jpg

Moose on west side of RMNP. They mostly hang out on the west side of the park because of the marshland. My friend and I went on a really long hike one day, and came across several moose, including a cow with her babies. We knew what to do to prevent her from charging, but it was still scary.
https://i.postimg.cc/KKXCdB2P/B1-AB2...2-F35152-F.jpg

... and we have a lot of rattlesnakes (below 8000 ft.) I came across this one on a bike ride.
https://i.postimg.cc/N5SnHmL3/76-B27...-BF8306-BE.jpg

oooooooo :) and OH that's a big snake!!! :) xx

He/she was a big one... when I came up on it, it was stretched out across the bike path. Might’ve been 6’ long. That’s the only rattlesnake I’ve seen here. We get bull snakes and terrestrial garter snakes in our yard all.summer.long. I don’t mind snakes, but the giant wolf spiders we have send me running!

Ahhhh, I have seen photos of those spiders....I think they might be similar to our huntsmen in Australia. :fright: :)

Oh gosh, we have both of those spiders in Aus....

I am good with them....always take them outside.
But I really really really don't miss them. :)

I’ve seen memes of those huntsman spiders!! No, thank you! :dee They’re much larger than our giant wolf spiders. I know that neither are dangerous, but ...... no. :scared: I have major arachnophobia, so a few years ago I went to a place that lets you hold tarantulas, and I held one. I’m still terrified. :lmao

Yeah, I couldn't do that.
https://i.imgur.com/lWBX8gK.gif

Great photos of all the animals everyone!
We have lots of snakes and spiders in north QLD, big and small. Some really big :scared: I just try to stay away from them but I don’t like it when they get in the house. There are several professional snake catchers who come and remove the snakes, but not the spiders....

Isn't it amazing the songs that come into your (well my lol) head... :) :hug: s

Willow, I missed what you said about childhood issues. I had some that were self inflicted, and some that were not. Probably gave me a little jump start on my drinking addiction. I hope you can get satisfactory closure on any outstanding issues that still haunt you.

Mrwolfe, sorry about your old boy having health issues. Our two dogs are getting older and it shows. I think that I never fully got over the loss of my cur a few years ago.

Great pictures daisybelle7. We stayed in Estes park one night and went into RMNP the day before going back to Denver when we were on our trip there 3? years ago. It's very beautiful. We didn't see any of those snakes (western Diamondback?). A hiking trail we walked on even had a sign to watch out for them.

Hope fishkiller had a good kayaking trip.

No checkin from jr today?

Sober, you reminded me of a story of a few years ago when we rented a house at Homossassa. We would take the boat up to the spring and swim in the river. Everyone was back in the boat except my friend's wife and toddler when a huge manatee surfaced between her and the boat. Terrifying for a split second and then really cool.

Dontlookback, I feel like I'm on the verge of being able to focus on future but not quite there yet.

Probably my most trying day so far today. Very tough job physically, and very stressfull, and when we finished my buddy that was working with me pulled two cold beers out of his cooler. So I had to break it to him.