Right side of the Street, Weekenders 05 - 08 June 2020
 

:welcome to the Weekenders





I remember the first time I flew on an airplane. My first thoughts, as the air hostesses and pamphlet described what to do in an emergency.



I was flabbergasted (shocked and surprised) to find you saw to yourself first. The oxygen mask went on you, first and foremost.



No buts or why’s.



Thinking soberly about it, yes that’s what I should do. How can I look after my family without any oxygen myself? :dunno:



At the start of my (serious this time, never going back) sobriety, I didn’t focus on me fully. I wanted to help everyone else, as is my want, before I took care of me first.



Fortunately I found SR and the wealth of knowledge I gained from reading and asking.



I’ve mentioned this before, but the one thing that stuck in my throat and my mind was

“Keep your side of the street clean”.



I had a bit of a ‘metaphorical stomp my feet’ moment and it took me a long time to understand the full meaning of those words.



It was a few years before I had the ‘aah’ moment. I’d hidden behind booze for so long, I was still learning who I was!



If this is your first weekend sober, or many, come join us for support and chat...as we know the weekends can be a struggle sometimes. (We’re here all week too!) :)



https://i.postimg.cc/HLK7wYD0/D82-A3...58-A0-D334.jpg

Thanks Mags :)

D

Thank you for the new thread, Mags!

Shotgun?!

Absolutely shotgun Midnight! Congratulations. :)

Thanks for this new chapter Mags!

This thread is like my oxygen mask before attacking the coming weekend! ;)

I'm in for one more sober weekend, #183 to be exact.

:thanks

Hello my lovely fellow weekenders :wavey:

ive had quite a busy week and have just caught up on Mags last weekenders ! What a beautiful poem poem Mags ( I didn’t know you loved poetry too )

& had to laugh at Saou giving us the definition of Crapulent & crapulous from the dictionary , thanks Saou
:lmao:
xxxxx

Morning weekenders. Looking like a wet weekend here.

Thanks for the thread Mags :wavey:
I remember when I first 'heard' you say about keeping one's own side of the street clean. I've probably heard the saying before but never given it much thought. It has kept coming up in my thoughts since though. Definitely something to keep in mind and think over, so thanks again happyface:

haha. Bringing this over from the last thread:

Of course there are no borg gifs with surgical masks. And yeah, weirdly my eye is better. I might have gotten soap in it, or I might have been dehydrated. I'm super glad I panicked over something over which I had no control, though!

Well, your dad's hospital visit is done and dusted. I hope it all comes out okay.

https://media3.giphy.com/media/6ozwFj8FgXGAo/200.gif

Hugh : "Resistance is not futile!"

I know! Is that gif wrong? I thought Hugh was the rebel...but maybe he did say that, too.

thanks Mags. :tyou

Early in the show he said "resistance if futile". Later in the show he said "resistance is not futile". Very fitting with the theme of having an 'aah' moment and Keep Your Side of the Street Clean. How big of a nerd does that make me to have had an epiphany from an episode of Star Trek?

In!
Excellent OP Mags, bad stuff happens doesn't it and sometimes the only way to know it was not caused by drinking is to not drink. A lot less bad stuff happens when you don't drink that's for sure. That's how I look at the clean street metaphor, like a scientific experiment that you don't want to be contaminated thus spoiling the result.

Congratulations on Shotgun MidnightBlue!

Good to see you Snoozy

Star Trek trivia (which I only found out recently) DeForest Kelly ("Bones") was offered the part of Mr Spock in the pilot movie and turned it down.

Thanks, Mags.

Good to see you, MidnightBlue.

Kaily, praying for good news for your Dad. I’m a fan of artichokes - I steam them then pour a melted butter garlicky sauce over top, then sprinkle with Parmesan. There is an ‘art’ to eating them - pull leaves from stalk and the use your teeth to squeeze content of from bottom of leaf into your mouth. Deeeelish.

Artichoke hearts are great in crockpot recipes. They add a unique flavor.

It’s raining here, Kaily; hope that you get some soon.

Glad your eye is better, Bim. I have a friend who once had a paper cut on her eyeball. Still makes me shiver to think about it. She wore a patch for quite some time.

Can’t believe that we are beginning another Weekend, Weekenders. Seems that even COVID Time flies.

Yes!

There were always both sides of the street in Star Trek. It was such a well-written show. NG is my favorite. I love the deep meaning of that series.

We were definitely lambs to the slaughter when under the influence, not even trying to resist. Lemmings. Borg.

.
Woke up and checked the Calendar to ensure it's Thursday. Yep.

I'm out of the Scene when I'm in Quarantine

Burma Shave

I had the serious Jones yesterday for some sort of Asian Food. So, we drove down to a known-good Thai Food Truck in another Town. Everyone cooking was masked up, and I just sat in the shade on a Brick Wall while waiting for Take Away. A LONG wait cuz these Folks are uber-busy. A stop later at the Market nearby was flat-out depressing. MAYBE 50% of Customers had Masks on. Mostly Geezers out mid-Day. But, quite like my Zen discipline on staying Sober, I just do what I gotta do to stay safe on my side of the Street while not getting caught up in what non-Scientific lunacy is around me. Thanks for this Sober Sanity reminder, Mags.

A real 'plus' of Sobriety is disciplined focus. Indeed, I look increasingly at only my side of the Street while not sweating extraneous malarky anymore. From an old Psych Mag Article:

'If happiness and compassion are your sole goals, lower your expectations.' - BAM!

COVID-19 means no more Pilates Classes for MesaMate pre-Vaccinations. So, she's settled on buying an uber-pricey Pilates 'Reformer' Pro Machine. My role is to ensure it fits into the Gym part of our Outbuilding here [it barely will], and confirm that I can assemble it. I can. Also, I've gotta negotiate with the Trucking Company to ensure Reformer delivery to our Rural Doorstep happens. Keeps me outta Jail. Not paying periodically for a couple of Years of private Pilates Classes will pay for this Reformer, so it's all a wash/investment eventually. YouTube Videos will have to back-fill any Training gaps. Not that there are many at this point. She's got another local Pal/Pilates Instructor she does Zoom stuff with, and they get together IRL at safe distance. The World has forever changed, and my job is to understand and roll with it.

All the Daytime heat makes for some interesting afternoon Storm build-up as seen below...

'Love Reign O'er Me' ~ The Who ~ Live Aid 1985


https://i.postimg.cc/bJj2v0Lc/Sunset-31052020.jpg

I'm in!:arms:

This will be my 3rd weekend sober and I've a nice craft project lined up to help be through it!

Thanks Mags!
Ain't that the truth, Saou!

Thanks MesaMan, this is such a truism for me. Stoicism can reap contentment.

ha ha you must have been watching the same programme as me earlier this week happyface:

This is the first time I've felt equipped to be sober. I think it is because I'm finally able to shed some of the guilt I've always had about taking care of my needs. My needs were always last, really not dealt with at all, and I'd closet drink after a long day of putting myself last and hating the life I was creating.

It feels great to go to bed sober.

Here's to a successful weekend!

Good morning Weekenders

Good to see you Mamatembo, congratulations on your third weekend. :yup:

Hiya harriet, how’s your crocheting coming along? :)

MesaMan, that’s a great picture. I think there’ll be a new norm for all of us from now on, I’m sure. I’m glad MesaMate can have her Pilates class social distancing.

In a way I quite like us all keeping our distance (definitely not the cause of it all, of course) I’ve been keeping away from people for a few years now because of my immunity system, allergic reactions and asthma. Stopping people coming into my ‘bubble’ is a good side of all of this. (On a purely selfish reason)

Saou, I like your view on the right side of the road. :yup:

Bim I found the cyborgs scary on Dr. Who.

It’s wet and rainy in this part of the UK. Looks like it’s here for the day.

Take care and please be safe. xx

I'm not really a Sci-Fi kinda girl. Give me a real life documentary, hospital programme or dare I say reality TV any day.

Thanks for the well wishes for my Dad, no news yet.

Good going Mamatembo. :)

Funny I am so used to social distancing in queues now that I have found myself subconsciously doing it in my car as well, leaving at least cars length between us at traffic lights etc, sometimes to the annoyance of others ha ha ... Things soon become habit.

Good to see you Zombie79, Mamatembo. Congratulations on your respective 3rd weeks.

Great photo MesaMan, it must good to wake up to that view every morning.

So as if there wasn't enough bad news around I wake up to the fact that 20,000 tons of diesel oil has been released into a river in the Russian Arctic. We really are a stupid species.

Here's some of the projects I've got going on at the moment, the yellow/blue/green patchwork is for some chair covers for the kitchen I'm working on. Thanks for asking happyface:
https://i.postimg.cc/bwTkX8JJ/WIN-20...-50-49-Pro.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/Hs075Hb2/WIN-20...-54-41-Pro.jpgphotoupload

Thanks, Mags!

Greetings, weekenders!

I'm in.
I went fishing at the reservoir yesterday, for the first time in 2020, @4:30 AM.

Light W winds, check.
No rain in sight, check.
Great weather, check.
Full-moon the night before- should've stood home.
Delirious from the sun, check.
Came home showered, ate, fell asleep 4 hours, and didn't know what day it was upon waking.

The action was slow.
We caught 4 smallmouth bass on ultra-light spinning tackle, always fun.
Fat 1.5 lbs. One large toothy pickerel, some bluegills. No lunkers.

Oh yeah, for those who have an interest in fishing, I tried a new line named Sufix 832 Advanced Superline.
I'll never use monofilament again.
10lb test is 4lb diameter mono equivalent
20lb test is 6lb mono equivalent. Casts like a rocket, no stretch. Withstands abrasion from rocks and fish teeth.
Must be tied to swivel, hook, lure, or whatever terminal tackle used, with a Palomar knot, an easy knot to tie.

That's a lovely idyllic photo, makes me feel quite at peace just looking at it lunar happyface:

Another piece of trivia incase it hasn't already been mentioned - this month's full moon is called a strawberry moon - due to it being strawberry picking season :shine8pl:

Quote: "I remember the first time I flew on an airplane."
I remember the first time I flew on an aeroplane too. I was 16 and it was a school trip to France. I'll always remember the take off. The feeling of the seat pressed against my back as it went faster and faster along the run way. Then it took off, it was just WOW, I got goose bumps. I loved it, and after that I got goose bumps just watching planes take off at the airport, it was quite exciting and amazing to see how those huge machines could fly. Of course now that I'm old I don't get goosebumps anymore, but I still like to see planes in the sky. happyface:

I am working on keeping my side of the street cleaned. I have plenty of time on my hands. Newly Retired, about 6 weeks, NEWLY SOBER, 9 days. I have to live long enough to spend some of my pensions, right? 63 years old and haven't been sober for a while...a few days here & there but nothing to speak of. I am so tired of the dependency on alcohol. I had to plan everything around, when & what I was going to drink. NOT NO MORE! I am done, over it.....So, this is weekend 2. I am so thankful for SR. Thank you for your support.