DenaliBlues

Wookiee

Shoo

NOPE

Ootheca (We have 3 praying mantis oothecas on our rosebushes… can’t wait for the baby mantids to hatch, as we have many pesky aphids, as well!)

NOPE

NOPE

Flu

3. Look them up in a book on shell identification.

Across town

N O P E

NOPE!

NOPE

Great job @Brioski!! Way to defend your quit despite adversity. Congratulations on hitting the two month mark. Here’s to many more months to come. It gets easier soon!

^^^^ YES YES YES, YODA! The junk they put in cigarettes and vaping juice is designed to keep us hooked. Although this paper has some limits (it’s not a controlled study, it’s a discussion of fragmentary tobacco company documents), lots of what it says rings true to my experience. I had a very strong preference for two “light” cigarette brands that contained high doses of pyrazines. I experienced those brands as intensifying the rewards of smoking. Nicotine alone in the form of NRT did, actually, help me quit. Zero doubt in my mind about that. But neither is there any doubt that it felt “incomplete” as a substitute. I was hooked on nicotine plus something else - some pyrazine cocktail, perhaps - that took much longer than 3 days to clear my system. The indications that pyrazine additives activate 5HT in the central nervous system would help to explain some of my longer term withdrawal struggles, too. The chemical cocktail I was hooked on had hijacked my brain’s serotonin and dopamine systems… all my “feel-good” chemicals were held hostage, and my digestion was altered also. I’m glad to he able to read and reflect on this article, because understanding more about how I was hooked can help me better understand what support I need to recover from this addiction that causes so much suffering for so many. In the meantime… ^^^ Right there with you, Gus! Fury over being controlled is a big factor that fuels my quit. I refuse to be owned any longer. GOOD RIDDANCE TO BAD RUBBISH!

NOPE

7. Decoupage

I love this, @Paul723. Thanks for the bump.

round the bend

NOPE

… a home remedy for itchy elbows? I ask because…

4. Cut out letters for an anonymous ransom note

NOPE

Many congrats on two years of sweet freedom, @Dianne!