My First Sober New Year in about 3 Decades....

Holy Cow! This is beyond awesome!

I thought I would share my New Year in pictures.....

Here is our finished gazebo with campfire. We managed to stay outside until about 10pm New Year's Eve, until our fronts were hot and out backsides were freezing....

Here is a little project that I finished yesterday - my Vision Board for 2016. I have never really attempted one seriously before, but it was fun, and I got to use glue and felt pens and scissors, and still feel grownup :)

Here is the Nanaimo River - we walked along the river today, completely hangover free, enjoying the glorious sunshine, a welcome break from the shitty rain.


It was a fitting start to a Sober New Year,

I hope yours was just as good,

love WBxx

Home and Sober for Christmas

Our low-key Charlie Brown Christmas turned into quite the party! Our relaxed celebrations around a campfire attracted more members of the family, friends and neighbours.

The gazebo was packed, people wandered in and out the house, we had a huge pot of Seafood Chowder on the go all day long, and people turned up with armfuls of food.

But very little booze!

My sister-in law surprised me with a basketful of " British goodies" - a DVD of "Last of the Summer Wine", a British newspaper, jars of marmalade......and tea.

Let's have a "spot of tea" she said in a terrible fake British accent....

So that's exactly what we all did. I had pots of tea and coffee, and hot chocolate all day long.

And everyone seemed really happy.

Zero Booze. Optimum Happiness. And a little touch of home.

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas too!

WB xx

My Satanic Sacrificial Ring....

Yay! Finally a New Hobby!

Just kidding, I haven't suddenly acquired an interest in Devil Worship. At ALL (seriously, it was a joke, if my blog has just appeared in some FBI social media monitoring thingy, I really am joking, just read on....please)

Actually, I am referring to my new Gazebo, which is currently a work in progress. (Sideways Rain has stopped construction - for an explanation of "Rain Categories" that we experience in the Pacific North West (PN Dub) see lovely Suburban Betty's Blog Here) 

You may recall that this summer, we sat around a pretend camp fire, because of the drought, and there was lots of drunken drama, which didn't involve me at all.

So, I casually mentioned to my husband that it would be cool to sit around a camp fire in the dark, but wasn't it a shame about the weather, blah blah and before I knew it, he was busy sketching out plans for a gazebo with a "chimney" so we could sit out around a camp fire in all weathers...

Because my husband seems to know everyone on the Island, and 'trades' his custom smoked fish with them, the actual construction cost is minimal. Which is nice.

A thought occurred to me as I looked at my Satanic Ring ( so named because it's 6ft to the middle from each post, posts are 6ft apart, and the beams will be 6ft also...so 666...).....

When I picture myself sitting around the camp fire, under my Gazebo which will have sparkly lights all over it, maybe in the snow,  I see myself holding a steaming mug of Hot Chocolate.....I no longer picture myself with a wine glass in my hand....

I think I may have turned a corner.

Here is a picture of my Gazebo footings if there are any G Men still concerned. We certainly won't be sacrificing the Virgin Connie Swales.......just the facts boys....just the facts....

Shine on Harvest Moon...

I've been busy in the last week. And the work is paying off. My husband has sold one of his oil retrieval machines and I am getting sign ups for my online business - yay! For the first time in some while the cash coming in is exceeding the cash going out!

Shows what can happen when you focus, right?

I saw on my facebook feed the other day. a post that read...

"Spend twenty minutes in Nature everyday. And if you're busy, spend an hour"

So when I got a text this evening to go out and have supper with friends at the campsite, overlooking the ocean, I didn't hesitate.

It was just the three of us (my husband is still away), and we got pretty excited waiting for the Super Moon to appear, followed by the eclipse.

We weren't disappointed.

The moon rose, in all it's fiery glory, and then gradually, a shadow started to fall over it. I can still see it now, as I type.

There is something quite magnificent and powerful, watching the majesty of the Universe.

It puts everything in perspective.

I felt grateful. To be with friends around a campfire, enjoying the breathtaking beauty of the ocean, and witnessing a shift in the galaxy.

I felt grateful to be alive, to be healthy, to have purpose, and to be sober.

Have a great week everyone,

WB xx.

Day 84 -The Pretend Camp Fire.

We are having an exceptionally dry summer. (Dry, as in lack of rain. Also "dry" for me too).

The fire risk has meant a camp fire ban.

Camp fires are part of the Canadian psyche, I have observed - at least in this part of Canada.
They are the Canadian equivalent of the cosy British pub hearth.

They are at the centre of social gatherings, even if you are not camping.

We have a fire pit in our garden. It hasn't been lit at all this year. Yet, most evenings, we sit outside around the non existent fire.

It's been really pleasant. I putter around in my greenhouse,  pull out weeds from my vegetable garden and then sparingly water, hoping to keep everything alive for another month. Then I too, sit around the pretend fire and drink AF beer.

We have my husband's friend staying with us BF#2 ( see Sins of the Fathers) and the visit was going quite well until yesterday evening, when BF#1 turned up with his spouse (they live next door).

We were all sitting round the empty fire pit. I was drinking my AF beer (no one notices or cares, which is nice), my husband was having a cider, and BF#2 was also drinking cider, and was quite sober (so far, no sign of strewn empty vodka bottles, phew).

BF#1 was completely hammered. His language was getting offensive. ( I live with a fisherman/logger so I am not a prude, but there are some words that I can't tolerate, and my husband moderates his language depending on the company).

BF#1 's nickname is "F**king Whatnot" as this is the phrase that he concludes most sentences with. (Usually when he is drunk, I don't really hear what he is saying because I am too occupied with counting how many times he says this phrase).

When he started to refer to my husband as "the f**king Indian" , I could feel my temper heating up.

BF#1's spouse concluded the evening however.

BF#1, in his drunken state, started calling her by his ex-wife's name.

It was then that I was relieved that there was no camp fire. Otherwise BF#1 would have been roasting slowly over it.

BF#2 said....."Poor F**king Whatnot. He's not a happy camper"

 .......as we watched our neighbours stumble down the hill, sounds of marital discord floating up on the summer evening breeze.