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My Garden My Peace

Old 05-20-2016, 12:36 AM
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My Garden My Peace

I know there are 12 months in the year and May is always my favourite with respect to seeing the garden come alive , new pots ,tubs,baskets filled with beautiful flowers ,the smell of freshly mowed lawns , the browsing round garden centres looking for something different to plant out ... I love it all .
There is no good day ,week,or month to drink then sober up and by far my last drunk then withdrawal was my lifetime worst ( last drink 11th May , only 9 days but feeling much much better) . It was never intentional to do this in May but I believe focusing on my gardening hobby let me heal quicker . If I wake and cant sleep I drift into ideas about my next task however small , I submerge my mind in the garden , the smells ,the textures ,colours . I guess you could call this meditation of sorts but it works for me and brings me peace .
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Old 05-20-2016, 03:08 AM
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Good stuff Jeff
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Old 05-20-2016, 06:31 AM
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I don't think this is Jeff....or our both of our Thomas' Jeffs? Confused!
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Old 05-20-2016, 06:36 AM
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That is great Thomas and its good to hear from you. Day 9 is awesome. Thinking about where you were just a few short days ago....what a difference a week makes huh? I'm right there with you.

I have renewed my interest in gardening. My hub died almost 5 years ago and I literally have no been able to do any real gardening because it reminds me of him and all the things we wanted to do together. This year that changed. Now I'm not a great gardener but I've been planting perennials, really pruning things, and planting herbs and tomatoes. I love it. I check out everyone's yards now and admire all the blooming trees and beautiful flowers. My daughter just laughs at me because as we drive around I'm keep exclaiming 'ooo look at that' 'what do you think that is?' etc. And yes, its very meditative. So is vacuuming....ha! For me anyway.

So glad you're doing well.
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Old 05-20-2016, 07:50 AM
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Originally Posted by Frickaflip233 View Post
I don't think this is Jeff....or our both of our Thomas' Jeffs? Confused!
I'm Jeff (Thomas11). I'll refer to Thomas59 as Thomas59. Hope that clears it up.
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Old 05-20-2016, 07:51 AM
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Thomas59, anything to keep your mind occupied I believe is a positive step. It is that time of year isn't it? I was a landscaper and I kind of miss it right now. Things are just starting to "happen".
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Old 05-20-2016, 10:13 AM
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Sorry for your loss Frick and thank you for your kind words .
I actually enjoy mowing the lawn ( cutting the grass we say in Scotland ,same thing ) I always seem to come up with an idea of some sort . My goodness I don't forget where I was 9 days ago and want to stay mindful that the summer will come and go so I have plans to get to SMART meetings , just trying to work out times and locations around my shifts .
I remember soon after joining here about 7 months ago I said a lot about plans but I made a potentially fatal mistake by leaving here and forgetting how bad I was , thought I was able to take a couple of drinks and so I did once or twice but as you all know the fire has been ignited and smoulders only for so long until its an inferno ,those couple of beers turned into a bottle of vodka every day for 6 days , I still feel the embarrassment and still get paranoid about that 6 days , who saw me etc but it's fading . I cant ever ever do this again and thinking about a previous post from I think FreeOwl "I don't WANT to ever do it again .
I'll be 60 in September so I want to be well then and beyond .
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Old 05-20-2016, 10:32 AM
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Your description of gardening in May perfectly describes how I feel about it, but much more eloquently. I'll bet that you spend a lot of time putting together baskets and pots for the color and texture. It is meditative and therapeutic for me too. Keep going at it.

Just be wary of something that I ran into. The desire of sitting back with a glass of wine when finished, to admire my handiwork. An iced tea or water is much better.
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Old 05-20-2016, 11:09 AM
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Smile

Originally Posted by thomas11 View Post
I'm Jeff (Thomas11). I'll refer to Thomas59 as Thomas59. Hope that clears it up.
Will the real Jeff please stand up?
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Old 05-20-2016, 11:12 AM
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That's great Thomas..you have done good work. I always have to remember, one day at a time....not projecting too much into the future. Keep my expectations in check and really grounded in making this moment the best I can. I'm only 17 days sober so we're both early days. We can do this. We can't forget.
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Old 05-20-2016, 11:16 AM
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Originally Posted by Ruby2 View Post
Your description of gardening in May perfectly describes how I feel about it, but much more eloquently. I'll bet that you spend a lot of time putting together baskets and pots for the color and texture. It is meditative and therapeutic for me too. Keep going at it.

Just be wary of something that I ran into. The desire of sitting back with a glass of wine when finished, to admire my handiwork. An iced tea or water is much better.
Ruby 2 you said this exactly how it was for me today , I need to be very honest with myself and everyone else . I potted up a total of 27 tubs ,baskets , containers of all shapes and sizes . My icing on the cake is a stone circle which I laid then a lovely black tub and a palm called
Trachycarpus fortunei, it looks amazing .
Heres my point as Ruby2 pointed out " I was looking out the window all proud and chuffed and the thought of a drink came across my mind .
Can I ask you guys who have been a while sober or anyone really why this happens , is it habit ? I mean there's no way I wanted to drink but the thought came automatically and it baffled and scared me .

Thanks
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Old 05-20-2016, 11:36 AM
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Originally Posted by Thomas59 View Post
Can I ask you guys who have been a while sober or anyone really why this happens , is it habit ? I mean there's no way I wanted to drink but the thought came automatically and it baffled and scared me .

Thanks
It sometimes comes automatically for me too, after gardening or potting up plants. It's just one of those pesky little habits. We can change up the routine, though, by drinking something else that's also rewarding... for me, it's seltzer on ice or a hot cup of tea.

I've been sober for over three years now. It's working.
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Old 05-20-2016, 11:47 AM
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Big glass of Ribena blackcurrant with a shovel of ice . The thought came and went but kinda shook me . Fine now though . Congrats on 3 years whoa .

FrickaFlip great you've got 17 days .
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Old 05-21-2016, 06:25 AM
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Re: other beverages to enjoy the garden:

Create an infused water using herbs from your garden.

Favorite combos: lemon or lime and mint, lemon and basil, berry and rosemary.
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Old 05-21-2016, 06:34 AM
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Hi Thomas,

Gardening sounds like a great way to spend your day! I wish I had more of a green thumb, however, I think when I walk into Home Depot the plants actually fear that I am going to choose them and that will be the beginning of the end! My husband has been doing some spring planting, and I think it is wise for me to leave it up to him! I would like to start a little herb garden, that I can manage.

Bella, the infused waters sound delicious, I love when I go places and they have them, I need to start attempting some concoctions, I have only been doing lenon water, but with summer on its way those sound good!

Thomas, hope you have a great Saturday!!!
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Old 05-21-2016, 07:01 AM
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Originally Posted by Thomas59 View Post
Heres my point as Ruby2 pointed out " I was looking out the window all proud and chuffed and the thought of a drink came across my mind . Can I ask you guys who have been a while sober or anyone really why this happens , is it habit ? I mean there's no way I wanted to drink but the thought came automatically and it baffled and scared me . Thanks
I know for myself I would create scenarios where the activity I was doing was interconnected with my desire to drink. I'm not a gardener, but I fancy myself a decent cook. Of course that gave me the excuse of "pairing" wines with my elaborate creations - all a ruse for me and my booze. Unlinking the bottle from cooking was one of the more difficult behaviors I had to change. What I've ultimately discovered is that meal preparation is much more satisfying because I focus my energy and talent on that instead of getting sloppy, blackout drunk.
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Old 05-21-2016, 10:11 AM
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Originally Posted by Beallara View Post
Re: other beverages to enjoy the garden:

Create an infused water using herbs from your garden.

Favorite combos: lemon or lime and mint, lemon and basil, berry and rosemary.
Beallara I will try that even though I don't grow my own herbs I can buy from good supermarket ,sounds very healthy . I have one of those Nutri Ninja juice machines too so I do concoct some nice drinks with that , carrot cucumber fresh ginger a shake of cinnamon a squeeze of lime is great , an excellent cleanser too . Thanks
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Old 05-21-2016, 10:20 AM
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Hi On the road , I relate to the cooking association . I'm a fairly decent cook too and very seldom did I do a meal without drinking ( week ends or holidays that is , i'd never drink on a school night . ) I stopped smoking nearly 5 years now and the early weeks / months were terrible due to associations with certain activities , in time we unlink those associations if we are but willing to work hard at it .
Thanks
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Old 05-21-2016, 12:04 PM
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We just planted our vegetables last night. My wife lived in Los Angeles before coming here (MN), they don't have too many opportunities to grow vegetables. So a couple years ago I grew some tomatoes and she got hooked. Now we have all kinds of crap. haha.
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Old 05-21-2016, 04:03 PM
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Originally Posted by Beallara View Post
Re: other beverages to enjoy the garden:

Create an infused water using herbs from your garden.

Favorite combos: lemon or lime and mint, lemon and basil, berry and rosemary.
Would blueberries and rosemary work? I grow them both.

How about pineapple sage? What would you pair with it, and also, with lemon balm?
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