06/24/2020 Wednesday

The new pool we ordered for the dogs arrived : https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BGRWLYX/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b _asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1. Atlas totally outgrew the old one, not to mention sharing it with Sadie, who was spoiled swimming in the above ground pool in our former home. I love that it has a drain and collapses and folds up ! Work on the decking progresses, but it is so damned hot. Peps, totally agree about the plywood, but DC has it in his head that it is totally necessary for stability and he put the $$$ composite decking on his credit card?so have to choose my battles. If we were middle aged and here for 20+ more years, I might have fought harder . Simply not worth it.

Peps, YOUR floors look glorious !! I'm confident they'll get the bathrooms up to snuff too. Thought once a testicle descended, it remained in place. Atlas was slow to drop, but remained down. I?m surprised you didn't move into the Goat during your displacement. Shirl, so glad you are negative AND can go to the farm and see your grandchildren !! Liz, eager to hear about the date ! BB, sorry about the uncertainty and master bath issues. Two little ones amid all of this is a real balancing act. You?ve got this !! DD, nothing like a wake up call to initiate shedding unnecessary crap and negativity! You did the right thing !! Your hair looks fabulous !! Ceci, good for you continuing your cleaning and organizing. I?m sure you?ll come up with a design for your flower beds. It IS hard, because you are usually not there in the summer. I could LIVE in your back yard !! Diane, hope the Covid uptick in CA isn't impacting you. David, eager to hear the next chapter of Adalyn and the woodworker !

Hi Diane O! Nice to see you doing the post today! Sorry it is hot - it does suck ones energy for manual projects. I didn't work on the bathroom floor yesterday as it was just too hot and humid after I finished baking. BTW, I wondered about the plywood too. When we had a wood deck it was important that there be airspace between and below the decking for drainage to avoid rot. Maybe not so with composite decking?

Weight 122.6, WW Bluepoints 9. Still holding on to Sunday pizza weight. That will teach me! Though this morning my body seems to be in clearing mode.

Shirl, so great that you are negative AND that you can still go to DSS on Tuesdays! My DD had the test 8 days ago to clear her for going into the office and she STILL doesn't have the results. Seems like they won't count for clearance if/when they come back now...

The coffee guy was nice. We met in a beautiful cape cod village, sat outside and talked. He is nice, kind, and spiritual. Also, a recent widower (his wife died 2 days after my DH). But he has two grown daughters at home (late 30's and early 40's). Sounds like it is permanent which makes me pause... But it wasn't awkward and made me feel more confident about meeting and talking to guys like that. I have another coffee meeting today with a guy who lives in my town. Who knows? If nothing else this is good practice.

Much frustration last night when it was too hot to sleep and the AC wouldn't turn on. This morning I figured out that when the new furnace was installed they never turned the main switch outside on for the AC, though they told DS that it should work fine. Grrrr... In the midst of my steaming (literally) over the AC, DD arrived unexpectedly for a few days. Nice surprise! But I didn't fall asleep until sometime after 3 am though I was up by 7 am.

I am hoping to get the bathroom floor stripping done today (before it gets too hot). My fabric for the screen porch furniture is finally arriving today so that will be my next project.

Have a safe and healthy day!

Diane, I saw the pictures of the pool, your dogs have a good life! Speaking of RVs, I can't remember what happened when you were trying to get yours permanently fixed. Is the progress on the deck indicative of DH s recovery from his hip replacement surgery?

Liz I think now is the perfect time to meet up with people you might like to get to know, since you can meet outside. Being able to be outside during Covid just makes everything easier.

I'm glad I got my hair done, and it was fun to talk with my niece. She is married to my brother's only child, the only nephew on that side of my family. The two of them are lovely together, and such good parents. New baby arriving in September. Something to look forward to.

Looks to be a beautiful day. I feel mostly calm. I'll check back in this afternoon to update.

We are having dinner on a patio with my husband's sister tonight (unless the doctor tells me I need to self isolate). Still haven't dropped all the water weight from this weekend, so will have to be judicious.

Miffed! I certainly was feeling miffed when I stepped on the scale this morning. 271.9!!!!!! How the hell am I up 2 pounds? I'm assuming it is water weight from the heat, working out and being on a different schedule with all the goings on around here. Yet, it doesn't seem to matter how I 'logic' my way around the number on the scale, it still seems unjust!

The Power of the Scale. That's going to be the title of my memoir. Either that or something charmingly self deprecating....

Diane Mc., what a good doggy mom you are to provide water games for your fur kids!

Liz, nice that the coffee date went well.

DD - bet it feels great to have your cut and color for the summer. I wonder how many women have been holed up just waiting for a professional hair cut and color before venturing out in public again?

Diane S. You be careful at the Gallery. Covid is on the rise here again. That said, BB, you be damned careful. Johns Hopkins reported OK cases were up 246% since Memorial Day. I don't know how that translates in to actual numbers, but that statistic is sure worrisome. Please be careful.

Shirl, glad you're negative on one hand. Sort of disappointed that you don't have a super mild case and are building antibodies. Speaking of antibodies, I heard from a friend in Oregon that the Red Cross is testing for antibodies if one donates blood. Guess who just might be going to the blood bank later this week?

Paula, if you read our post****here!

David, have you started building the little house yet, or is it still in the planning stages?

I am loving the new floors, but I'm not all at the same time. I have been a hardwood freak for a lifetime. I love wood floors. Now, I know my new floors are the right choice for my doggy life, but the hardwood snob in me is finding it a bit hard to accept that I traded the original red oak floors for vinyl. I know.... Get over it!

My friend in outpatient rehab had a good day yesterday and on Monday. That makes me happy. She's got two days behind her. I hope she starts racking up the days. Seeing my cousin go in and out of sobriety is really sad. I've often wondered why he starts drinking after being sober for sometimes over a year. The disease has a strong hold on him. I hope my friend is able to stay on track. She has a first grade daughter who needs her to get it together. Glad I am able to be a support for her during this time.

Today the guys are thinking they will finish the two small bedrooms, the kitchen and dining area. Tomorrow they will tackle the master and master bath. Then Friday should be baseboards and clean up! Whoo hooo!

Well, I should get a move on the day. BFF called. His car is dead so I need to go give him a jump.

"I've often wondered why he starts drinking after being sober for sometimes over a year."

How many hundreds of times have I wondered the same about myself when I fall back into disordered eating! I understand current brain research says the brain activity and chemistry of alcohol and drug addicts is different from compulsive eaters, but the behaviors and the incredulity of why one would seemingly choose to give in to the behavior after doing so well for so long is certainly exactly the same.

Point well taken. However, being an ex smoker and a self-considered recovering alcoholic for many years, I can honestly say the pull with food is very different. I find food has a more insidious allure and call. I can?t see myself ever regulating booze or cigarettes, whereas with foods I can when I?m not in a binge cycle. I can aver that there is no way I could have a single ****tail or cigarette for weeks or months on end with only an occasional bender. I?m sure my first drink would lead to a drunk. If I had a single cigarette, I?m betting I?d be back to a pack a day within a week. Because of that I find food a bit trickier. Booze and smokes - I simply abstain. Food triggers can vary season to season. Sometimes it's chocolate. Sometimes the trigger is a cookie or an innocent handful of chips. Sometimes it's even breads or pastas or pastries. I just never know!

Maybe because we can live without alcohol and cigarettes but food isn't something we can abstain from except for types or categories that cause us the most trouble? And those become our slippery slopes. So you regulate with food because you need to to stay alive, but can't imagine doing so with other vices because they're not needed to sustain you?

Alcoholism is such a tough disease. Being the adult child of an alcoholic makes me super sensitive to any sense of it. I was angry at my mother for more than 30 years for not caring enough about her children to quit. I am more forgiving now and thankful that she did finally stop for her last 10 years so I finally got to know her. But SO MANY family members and friends have struggled with it, with many having multiple relapses even after it appeared that they had "hit bottom". At the end of last year when I realized I was having 2-3 glasses of wine most nights I made myself cut way down. I still have that amount perhaps once a week with twice a week being the maximum and only when there are a lot of occasions strung together. I often bring my own crystal light in a huge Yeti cup to other people's gatherings so that I have something I like to sip.

This resonates very deeply with me. My sister died at 35 from complications due to being an alcoholic. Most of my family I would consider are along that vein. I too fell into a glass of wine once home from work while cooking followed by several more.An easy routine to fall into. Before I knew it, I was drinking every night and with my reduced capacity after sleeve, I would feel the effects very fast and it wasnt pretty. After much soul searching I made a decision to stop - completely as I didnt trust myself to just have one - as with many addictions - one opens the gate and all best intentions bolt with it. So a year ago this month I gave up drinking and I must say I feel a lot better for it.

I worried that I would feel like I was missing out or resent those who continued to drink around me but I havent. I dont miss the after effects drinking wine left me with and I am a better person for it. Its made me a stronger and I believe a better person for being able to break the history our family has with drinking. I watch my mum start "happy hour" at 5pm every night and worry but she is an adult making her own choices. My aunt is a huge drinker - as is my uncle - they shocked mum and I the other day with the admission they are spending more on alcohol than bills over lockdown. Very concerning indeed

I buy San Pellegrino Cans of Soft Drink and one of those is my treat when I go out or feel like a special treat

So proud of you!!