Arboretum Day

Happy Arboretum Day!!! Yay!!! The day is finally here! For those who aren't me or Chérie, her and I planned a day where she went to the arboretum near her in California and I went to a botanical gardens in Florida near me. While at each, we did a FaceTime video call to share in each other's experiences. A virtual walk through the park, if you will. I've not done anything quite like that before. I've video chatted several times. But going somewhere, each of us in a different location, to do a shared experienced, this was new and exciting! I would definitely love to do more such experiences.

I went to the Nature Coast Botanical Gardens for my half of the experience. It's a nice little place; with an emphasis on little. That meant I was able to walk through the entire garden a few times to her one loop around the arboretum...hehehe But that's okay. If we do this particular thing again, I may go to the Sunken Gardens in St. Pete. It's a bit larger and has a lot more to show. For this being a first time experience, I'm still quite happy with my choice of gardens. Just as I was leaving the gardens, I became a panda...LOL

Despite my inability to cook for myself this week, I've had a great week. I have eaten some really good food at the places I went to. But the cost really adds up. I plan to go to the grocery tomorrow to get food for this coming week. I hope I can pull myself together and actually make the food work this week...hehehe I'm going to go simple all week to get back into the swing of things. I haven't a clue why last weekend derailed me in the kitchen...LOL There isn't anything bothering me. The best way I can describe what is happening is that I go to cook and something critical to the dish just doesn't turn out.

My writing has been a bit off this week as well. Yes, I've been writing. But some of what I have written doesn't get published. I've been making notes outside of my journal so I don't lose what I've written. Just today, I sat down to write out the story about my grocery store blessing last week. As I was writing, I couldn't quite bring the story home. So, I've moved it over to my notes file for me to revise and finish another day. I never like to force anything. Some of my best writing has been done after I've written something, toss out the writing, and then re-imagine it all...hehehe For that story, I'll likely re-read what I've already written and then start over.

I haven't been drinking alcohol lately. I've mentioned in the past that I had been thinking about giving it up. I have fasted alcohol a time or two while praying for something specific. And I've had dry months when I would give it up to do a detox. I'm not a drunk or alcoholic. I certainly know how much I can drink and when to stop. And I don't need to drink to have fun. I have been known to call alcohol liquid courage because it does calm my nerves a bit and allows me to be myself easier when I'm anxious in public. But I can honestly say I do not need it and I've gotten to the point where I don't even like having it in my system. My current feelings on the matter resemble what it was like when I decided to give up meat for a bit. I feel my body telling me that it's time to give it up.

Something I have started to do is drink non-alcoholic beer and wine. I also order mocktails when I go out to eat. I love the taste of the drinks. I just don't like the toxicity of the alcohol in my body. These alcohol alternatives have been helping with the transition away from alcohol. I tend to be one who needs to gradually transition to such changes. Going cold turkey on things doesn't really work for me. Forgoing the alcohol itself has been easy. I don't crave it whatsoever. But I really love the taste of the drinks. That's what was so hard for me. That's what I miss when I fast or do a detox.

The funny thing about all this to me is that I haven't been a drinker most of my life. I had the occasional wine cooler or glass of wine. It wasn't until I met my third wife when I started to truly be a drinker...hehehe No, it wasn't because I needed it to deal with her...LOL It just happened that she introduced me to many of the things I came to enjoy drinking. That began in 2017. Here I am 7 years later and I think I might be done with it.

I accidentally ordered something with meat in it for dinner tonight. Part of it is lasagna and it has a bit of meat in it. I'm hoping that won't flare up my gout...hehehe I'm told it is beef. I traced my last bout with gout to some beef I had. Red meat is the primary cause for my flare ups. I sometimes miss beef. I don't really miss chicken or pork...hehehe

So, I walked into a bar...LOL No, I'm not setting up a joke. And no, it really isn't about a bar...LOL One of the things I've been thinking about this week while I've been eating out is how I hate taking up an entire table when I go out to eat. So more often than not, I look for restaurants that have bar seating. That way, I'm only taking up a single seat and a table I would normally need to occupy would be free for a couple or even a family.

Having sat at so many bars at restaurants this week, I've realized I'm definitely not addicted to alcohol. I'm quite literally sitting where they directly serve hard beverages when I go out to eat alone...hehehe Not once this week was I tempted to order a beer, wine, or cocktail. A few of them had zero alcohol beers I could enjoy. And one of them was able to serve me a mocktail mojito. The others had flavored teas I was able to have without going with water. I don't like drinking water at those places. Sometimes it tastes funny.

Sometimes there is an added bonus to sitting at the bar...hehehe If a restaurant is busy, I often get to walk right past all of the families and couples waiting for tables to free up...LOL Tonight, for example, there were a dozen or more groups waiting when I arrived. The bar, however, was empty...hehehe I walked right in, sat right down, and had immediate service. It's like receiving a reward for being the nobleman by not taking up a table...LOL j/k

The gal working the bar tonight was pretty spunky! Do people besides me still use that word?! LOL I always appreciate it when the bartenders are fun. Being alone most of the time, it is really nice to have someone to chat with. The gal working the bar at lunch today was also great to chat with. The guy last night wasn't very chatty with me. But he was super busy. Then again, the gal tonight was super busy but still made time to chat a bit. The gal at lunch yesterday was busy but chatty with me too. At the end of my time there yesterday at lunch, she asked me if I was okay...hehehe And the gal at lunch today did the same. They both know me well enough to know that I've been a little different this week. Funny thing is, it's a good different. I'm much happier this week than they've seen me in the past. But then again, I think their question was more about how I wasn't ordering alcohol...LOL

Again, when I say bar, I'm talking restaurant bars. I don't think I've ever actually gone to a bar bar. And I've never been to a strip club. I've been to a couple of those places where the girls dress in tight clothes that accent their bodies. But those few times were when my spouse was with me and I didn't actually pick the place...hehehe The original Hooters is close to me. I've never been to one of those. I keep getting advertisements with coupons. I still won't go. I'm not interested in the bar, strip club, or skimpy clothed waitress scenes. I've previously mentioned that I don't even like to deal with that at the beach. I was raised by my parents to respect the drink (what alcohol can do to a person) and respect women.

I've actually been made fun of for the fact I've only ever been with my wives. Just last year, a girl even ridiculed me for it. I said that I respect women and have no desire for the one night stand or the dating for sex scene. Sleeping around was never interesting to me. When I mentioned that I was a virgin until the day after my wedding with my first wife, I was chastised. She actually told me that I was too respectful...as if that were a thing..LOL I stood my ground, though. My moral compass isn't driven by what the world thinks I should do. It will always be driven by God.

I'm hoping to work on my routine a bit this week. The changes I've already made this year have been great. Now, I'd like to make the schedule a little more focused. Something I've slacked a bit on is exercise. I need to be more purposeful with that. I need to set specific times of the day to get a workout in. I'd also like to set specific times for creative work. I think having a set schedule will help. I'll leave room for flexibility. But for the most part, having a scheduled routine should be beneficial for me.

Today's journal seems random, unstructured, and a bit of a ramble. Is that okay? That's rhetorical. Of course it's okay. These are things I needed to write when I wrote them. Some of it was written and then deleted. There isn't anything wrong with that. I'm writing for myself. I enjoy writing even when I have nothing important to say. I think I said something earlier this week that I should try to be like this more often.

So, I've been practicing my "So, I was thinking..." pose...hehehe I think I'm nailing it...LOL What do you think!?! Not rhetorical. I'd really love to know what you think of this pose...hehehe