Hi all,

I'm in. :) Looking forwards to being sober for Christmas. It's Christmas Eve here now, so the weekend has started. I've got some food prep to do for tomorrow, but most of today will be spent at the beach - we're hoping to exhaust the children, so that they actually get to sleep at a reasonable-ish hour tonight!

Weasel - wise words, thank you.
Delilah - I hope the knee recovers well and isn't too sore.

Awesome Sonic

I was going to buy my brother one today B was it a silentnight one ?

It's just the standard argos one. £20 and works an absolute treat. Heats my reasonably large living room up quite nicely!

I saw the silentnight one in Wilkinson's for £15 I think it was a single bed one though not an actual room heater

Room heater for £20 is a good price

Going to take a brief nap before going out caroling. I look forward to it every year.

Good evening,

Delilah I hope your knee heals quickly and is not too sore over xmas

BBB glad you have heat. I hope your main heaters are fixed asap

I have avoided a tradition that was the Xmas Eve, Eve curry. It is just too boozy for me to risk it. Maybe next year

By the non stop sound of emergency vehicles I guess people are "enjoying" themselves too much

Awesome job Sao

Were watching Miranda season 2 she is hilarious

Off to bed I'm exhausted

Yippee!!!! I must be doing something right at work as this letter was waiting for me at my parents when I arrived. My contract has been extended for a year! Normally they hand out 3 month contracts at a time.

I was feeling bothered about being back here for Christmas but this is the best present ever!!

Also my doctor surprised me with a Christmas card today. When I opened it a cheque for €100 fell out. I know that is small change to him but it means a lot to me and I appreciate the gesture.

Happy Christmas guys!
http://i64.tinypic.com/1fk4ci.jpg

As usual tiny pic has my photo upside down

Coldfusion mentioned a bit earlier that everyone seems to be doing well. For that, I'm so glad. I'm not doing so well, myself - as in, I'm at home and safe, but I picked up yesterday (23rd Dec here) and again since late morning today - Christmas Eve, my birthday, feeling all the heat and (this year) very high humidity building, and it's been such a mad year - for me, for so many.

I did at least get Bessie out to the dog park earlier, and coped (just) with the madness of the local village shopping area. And I mean, a village. God knows what it's like now, about midday, elsewhere.....

I also managed to have a good rare yak by phone with my eldest and only surviving sister - her birthday's the 23rd, mine's today, and then there's bloody Christmas Day. She's now in Adelaide for the festive period, facing the hottest Christmas there since 1945; spending it with her daughter (my niece) and her two bubs (my great-niece and great-nephew). The twins (my daughters) are spending it over in Perth with their half-sister and her two bubs. It's all good. But oh, this heatwave............

I have my evap cooling (swamp coolers, I believe you Yanks call it), but of course it can only viably work on fan / vent only once the humidity's over about 40%. I'm still grateful for it, as it creates a breeze effect, more powerfully than a single standing fan. (I have COPD emphysema too, so the heatwave health alerts put out by the various State governments in the news apply to me).

I so don't want to ***** anyone's bubble of going well AT ALL. Nor do I want to trigger others who are struggling. But I do just need to say that this is how it is for me today. 'Rigorous honesty' as it's called in AA.

PS I have a stack of good food (bought myself some frozen cooked tiger prawns, some rough cut proper ham, some baby chat potatoes etc etc for a nice solo Christmas salad lunch tomorrow). I have running water, so will drinking heaps of that too (duh). I'm not depressed, but of course, a little normally-sad about the dead and dying in my own life and those I know. I'm safe at home, and won't be going out again in the car at all - madness out there, and (rightfully) big police operations at this time.
The cicadas are providing a lovely soundtrack from the surrounding bush and gardens - one that only Aussies in a hot Christmas know.

I'm still here, in other words. Just not as sober as I'd hoped to be. The bottom line is: I'd rather be popping in with you guys here on SR - even if it means, today, being brutally honest - than isolating and descending into utter guilt shame and remorse. And physical deteroriation, which is very much the case as I get older.

I shall 'keepa going' as Cow often says. (I hope she's alright?)

Happy birthday Vic - I hope you can make your house drink free, keep it that way, and get through the rest of the period sober.

We never appreciate how strong we are until we give ourselves the chance to shine :)

Keep the evap cooler topped up - maybe even throw a little ice in the top ? :)

D

Thanks dear Dee - fortunately, my evap cooler is a full-house one (with ceiling vents and the unit on the roof). I was only saying to my Big Sis this morning by phone that I remember the portable one I had several years ago in Gippsland - nightmare, it was. The portables kinda work, but only in a very small area and as you say, have to keep topping it up. Yes, I used to do the ice bits in it too.

Alas, Melbourne and surrounds has been having increasingly higher humidity for more days of summer than when these units were installed. And I'm an old Sydney girl, so I used to be able to cope. But when one gets older, gee, you notice the effects of heat / humidity and any other extremes, especially when other chronic health conditions start to really impinge.

I'm still grateful for having the full-house cooling, even if it's not as cold as reverse-cycle.
And I'm bloody grateful for SR, as you know. :-) Regardless of the weather.

I probably wont be able to keep up with the thread, but im in for Christmas weekend!

Hello Again Weekenders,

Bemyself, sorry you are struggling right now. Maybe a change of scenery would help, can you get out for a walk for a bit? Today also sounds like a great day to start again. You can give yourself the gift of sobriety for your birthday and Christmas.

Thanks for all of the well wishes for my knee recovery, today was so much better than yesterday. I was able to go home, and have been able to maneuver the stairs in my house, and get around ok. I am glad the doctor only let me do one knee at a time, I will definitely do the other in a few months.

Hope everyone is doing well. Merry Christmas Eve to those of you whose calendars show the 24th!!

(((BeMyself)))

I'm glad you're doing well, Delilah.

Tetra, that is nothing short of fantastic! Congratulations!

Bemyself, thanks for your post, Happy Birthday!!!it is so interesting to hear about the climate differences, and of course your thoughts about the holidays, definitely a time to think of those not here. Part of the holiday "magic" I guess.

Tetra - great news on the employment front and nice doc you have!

So it's Friday night and the drama has already begun. I asked my wife this morning if she informed the in-laws that we won't be serving alcohol. (I asked her to do this with the invites she likes to send out). She said "nope, I'll tell my sister today.". Which she did by text first thing in the morning.

Her sister later replies blaming the situation on my sister and my sisters husband (who never drink when they are out and rarely so at home) and basically saying she has a right to a few drinks before eating. My wife was a bit annoyed at the response.

I texted back explaining it was my decision to which her response seemed to indicate they were cool with it. Guess we'll find out tomorrow. I told them they are welcome to BYOB.

Happy Birthday, Bemyself! I think we all do the best we can with what we have. But when alcohol is involved, that can get kind of twisted..

Great news on the job, Tetra!

I'm glad to hear you're doing well, Delilah. It's awesome that you are doing stairs already!

STDragon, I hope you are able to have a stress-free get-together with your family.

I went to a committee meeting before the regular AA meeting tonight. When we're talking about meetings, putting principals before personalities can be a matter of life and death!

Hoping you feel better be (your) self...
Birthday wishes to you and your sis.
like mr D say's try keep the house drink free. Solves nothing....
Stay cool.