I'M IN! Thank for the thought-provoking OP, Mags! I feel like my roots are getting stronger, but without proper care, they could whither and die. I try to remain in "recovery" mode, lest I forget to take care of my sobriety. I don't live my life thinking about recovery all day every day anymore, but I try to take some time each day to be grateful for where I am today, compared to where I was. Even when life is stressful and worrisome, it's still SO much better than it was when things were at the worst with my drinking.

I'm glad you checked in, Kaily. You are not a drain. This is the place to come for support when things are rough. Keep posting pictures of your lovely doggies! And post when things seem bleak, we are here to listen, and we care.

Cityboy said:
I remember a weekender having a bad experience at the dealership recently (MLD?).
Yes, that was me. They failed to properly replace the drain plug on my convertible when I took it for an oil change and 15,000 mile inspection. The oil all leaked out on my garage floor (and probably some while I was driving it) the next day. They did get it rectified by coming to tow it from my house back to the dealership, fixing it, and then delivering it back to my house. They refunded my money, too, but I had to ASK for that. The service manager told me they fired the "technician" who did the work, because of that, and because it became evident the guy sold them a bill of goods when they hired him, and he really didn't know what he was doing. I could have done a better job myself. I've done plenty of my own oil changes and other maintenance on my cars over the years. Anyway, the car is fine, all tucked away for the winter now. I won't drive it in the snow, ever. Strictly a summertime car.

Marty, I had a bad experience with a dealership a long time ago. They didn't do a good job on my car and, in fact, messed up a couple things. I called the place and spoke to the repair shop and the guy told me I'd have to pay to have the things fixed right. :dee

So I called the place again and asked to speak to the highest paid person there - the owner. I told him my problem and he said to bring the car in and they'd make it right - for no charge. I never went to that dealership again. Once bitten, twice shy.

I don't have a car anymore so don't have those worries now.

Kaily, don't feel like you're a drain - you're not. :hug: We're here to support each other and I hope you trust us enough to share your thoughts and fears. :hug:

Enjoy your London weekend trip Reid. The Christmas lights will be nice to see!

Kaily, I think it’s a foregone conclusion that you’re not a drain on us, you’re supportive and caring. (And I like the pics of Alfie and Daisy and scenery on your walks too ;) x

Just back from mum-in-laws. She has Alzheimer’s. Still knows us but her short term memory is no good at all. Her only saving grace is she has always had a daily diary for any appointments, shopping trips etc, and she must check it 100 or more times a day. I really feel for her.
It wears me out mentally but I feel bad for admitting it. I’m using baby steps to stop my mind running away with me about what next?

I found that recovery stands us well in all parts of our life. I like my sober tools, they are very versatile.

FriYay tomorrow, where’s the week gone. :)

Yes, Mags, our sober tools can help us out in so many other areas of our lives too. I agree. I hope your wrist is doing better. Sending love. :hug:

.
As with other Life Forms, I think our Sobriety Roots need some time to become firmly established. It's a fine phase when our Sober Roots have penetrated firm Ground, and we can just get on with our Sober Lives. A couple of Years in for me, I guess. So, Mags, thanks for the fine Metaphor for us to relate to.

Navarro Redwoods State Park in California a few Weeks ago is seen below. You can see where the Road runs. It's right below the diagonal swath of Blue Sky at the upper left. Man, there were not many places to pull over with a RV Trailer, so we snapped a bunch of Pix where we could. These are not the massive Old Growth Redwoods elsewhere, but are smaller re-growth Trees. It smelled as wonderful as it looks.

In Post #18 above, AL48 alludes to the extended time that huge, old Trees have been alive. A Pal had to have some large Pine trees cut down around his Mountain Cabin when the dastardly Pine Beetles swept through and killed some of them. He took a cut Tree Slab, and sat down with a Magnifying Glass. He counted the Tree Rings, and put lil Teardrop Markers at multiple points. Thus, events like the Civil War, or Colorado becoming a State, could be associated with various Tree Rings. Really kewl! Other Tree bits were milled into Interior Paneling, and useful Wood Products with a lot of character.


https://i.postimg.cc/BnRf1wsz/Redwoods-Navarro.jpg

Thanks for the kind words. Just had lots of stuff getting on top of me and no one to share it with. I will save it for another day.

Aly I am so sorry to read about your poor Mum. What a horrible time she is having. Sending good wishes.

Marty, it is a difficult transition when our children start to act independently (and do what they like no matter what we say). I hope it all works out well for her. It would be much better if they just stayed little and cute forever. ;)

Mags your MIL is lucky to have you and family to support her.

I had to take Alfie on a bus in rush hour today. We were going to a vet quite far away where the parking is horrendous so I couldn't risk going by car. The bus took over an hour and was packed. Alfie was extremely stressed. Then we had to repeat the journey home again. He has to go back on Tuesday for sedation and xrays. More buses ..

Amazing pic of the pine trees MesaMan. Really interesting about the tree slab your pal cut and dated points in history by the tree’s rings.

Kaily, thanks re my mil. The bus journey with Alfie must’ve been stressful especially it being so busy. I hope all goes well on Tuesday with his X-rays. (And bus ride) :hug:

Such a good point. The lone tree has no protection from the lightning-strike, is more likely to be bent out of shape by the prevailing wind or any old passing buffalo having a scratch...

I am frustrated!! :dee I'm trying to upload a pic of my license to verify my identity and keep getting the message "connection lost". :dee I've tried it numerous times and still get the same message. :mad:

Kaily, a long bus trip must be very stressful for you and your doggie. :( I hope the trip on Tuesday is uneventful.

I'll get on the phone to the Mayor, have him tidy London up a bit. Have a grrrreat weekend Reid.

Phew, I am busy and I haven't been used to busy recently.

least, I know where you're coming from, the customer interface on these things are invariably second rate.

Glad those forest fires didn't take out the General Sherman. They are not going away though.

The nights start early now but this was got a fair amount of airplay during the summer (on 6 music at least)

https://youtu.be/ul6j69EFjhU

Least, can you send it in an email to yourself from your phone? Forget that…I just re-read properly what you said. :D

Thanks Mags. I'm IN for a sober weekend. This will be my fifth consecutive sober weekend. I'm looking forward to the weekend too as i've got a number of things lined up. Some pleasant (I plan to go for a nice walk along the river front on Saturday morning) and some less so (I'm doing some Christmas shopping on Sunday!).

I’m in for a sober weekend, thanks Mags for a great tree analogy.
I’m still working at strengthening my root system to withstand the inevitable storms that will come along.

Mags, I had an email from survey junkie about submitting my verification so I replied to that email and sent attachments of the ID verifications. Hope that will work.

Ah, fingers crossed it should Least. We’re not having weird energy waves again are we from Mercury. :dunno:

Thanks for another OP Mags !
I dont post much nowadays but it's always a pleasure to read your OP's :)

I got up at 05h00 and watched some world TV.
It's not very encouraging, what shocked me the most was the situation between belarus and poland...
I think i will stick to watching cartoons with mini Vman !

Oh not not mischievous Mercury again.

I have an appointment with a dermatologist today. I have this thing on my nose that needs removing. It has been slowly growing from before Covid and I never got to show the GP. When he did see it a few weeks ago he said it needs to go. Apparently it will be burn't off and then I might get a blister. I'm weirdly looking forward to it.
I wish he would burn off a few of my wrinkles too. :rolleyes:

Hi Vinny :wave:

Kaily, all the best with the dermatologist today. :)

Morning Weekenders,

Good luck Kaily.

Fingers crossed least.

London may be getting an Formula 1 race in a few years time which would be exciting although not very environmentally friendly but I guess it would mean one less race elsewhere.

Good Morning Weekenders

I wonder if mischievous Mercury might explain why my digital camera started playing up last night. I bought it back in 2009 and it's worked perfectly well without any problems until last night. I had all sorts of problems. The charger started playing up so I gave the connection terminals a good clean then fully charged the battery. Then the camera was switching on then straight back off and without the lens retracting. I did a reset of the camera and (fingers crossed) it's working without a problem. I'm going to take it with me this morning and take a few pictures to make sure it is working OK. It's a Sony Cybershot camera which cost me about £300 in 2009. It's a discontinued model and is probably too old to have serviced but to buy one of the same quality would now cost about £400+ and I can't really afford that.

Sao, where would a F1 track be built in London? Or is there one there already?