I’ve ‘accidentally’ joined this club for the first time, though I have no intention of going through with it 
I haven’t had any alcohol since NYE, but expect to crack some wine Friday, so I’ll have a dry ‘week’ in Dryuary! I, like some others in the thread, have alcohol typically only 3 days a week. Some, like Alfert, have it daily ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
Last night was my first real test/temptation. My wife made chicken cacciatore for dinner, and as I was pulling the cork on a 2012 Stella di Campalto Brunello Riserva for her, I realized that I hadn’t tried the wine before either.
So the rationalization started - what does it matter if I only have one glass? How much could it hurt?
I did resist this impulse last night, but I have the feeling January is going to suck big time 
To remind that I Need No More Wine.
My consumption has dwindled to roughly one bottle per month.
Interesting. That was why I did this the first time, back in 2009. To prove that I could. If your consumption is 1 bottle a month, wow that makes DryJanuary pretty easy!!! I’m good for 20 bottles a month!
Same here. Lots of alcoholism in my family and I hit it pretty hard during the holidays. I’m somewhat reassured that I can stop for the month. Plus, I find my consumption in the following months drops way down.
This is a good point that somewhat applies to me as well. When I’m finished with dry January, my thought process is that I’m only going to drink on Thursday-Saturday nights for the foreseeable future and primarily on the weekend nights and see how far I can take that idea.
When my alcohol consumption drops, it has an outsized effect on weight loss and maintenance for me. Additionally, the $ saved is nice as well.
A post to support all the Dry Januarians here. I’m more a lowered consumption Januarian myself, that started a few weeks ago after some hearty pre-holiday feasting. Oddly the commotion of the holidays provided some distractions from normal behaviors. Settling in to January I’m focusing on stretching and deep breathing, preparing for a surfing retreat later in the month. In my 50s now I can’t just launch into the ocean anymore without some good preparation. Feeling on an upswing. Just need to get through some mild covid first, annoying but keeping me on the down low and that’s a good challenge. Cheers all!
Last year was my first Dryuary, and I did it for the same reason. My wife does not drink for health reasons, and it had gotten easier for me to polish off a bottle in one evening. I kind of looked forward to Dryuary this year.
Save $?
I’m still spending like a drunken sailor, minus the drunk part.
Y’all got me motivated for my first Dryuary…so far, so good. Love the music videos! Love the shared experiences…thus far, no problemo…but the weekend may get long. Anyhow, just wanted to share the positive ethos effect, thanks!
Yep, Identical. The back half of October through the end of December is a mess of constant dinners and wine and lots of drinks. And so much food and so many bad food choices. Then Jan-Feb is ultra healthy, great weight loss, get back down to the yearly lows, try to hold things stable from March- mid May, then an uptick in the Summer months with BBQ and rose wine and some more bad food choices, then Sept-Oct slowdown and a little diet and healthier eating and less drinks, and then Oct-Dec all over again.
Very similar here, except for the family history. I get ultra clean and lean starting in January, down to my low weight of the year - as low as I should go - by April, and maintain through the summer. Then kicking off the fall there’s usually a Europe trip. Then an Asia trip (not lately, sadly). Then the holidays. And the weight creeps up for both us between Sept and Dec.
Part of the thing for us is that a glass of wine is of no interest. A glass just reminds us we’re not drinking the rest of it.
Yeah, I get that. I’m just not very good with the dimmer switch. 1 leads to 2 leads to 3 leads to some bourbon leads to hitting the freezer for some ice cream. I’m much better with the on/off switch.
“dimmer switch”- good analogy! Being a geek: I’m digital but wish I was analog.
Hi! Appreciate the feedback. Not gonna lie, the weekend does get long. At least Healdsburg has hiking weather. I’m getting rain and snow, with a low of 12 degrees.
Well said. I am in the same camp, Peter. On NYE, we had company well after the ball dropped in Times Square. I asked my wife to bring me a big glass of icewater, because I was really wanting a bourbon nightcap.
Proxies were advertised in a GlasVin email. Anyone try?
https://www.acidleague.com/products/acid-league-proxies
So I’m not the only one who does this? I get to the end of the evening after a few/several/many glasses of wine and thinks, “Yeah, I also need a glass of bourbon to top it all off.”
I’ve been fluctuating back and forth between January and February over the past 5 years. 10 minutes in to the Vikings debacle on Sunday cemented it. Started Monday.
Four down, twenty-seven to go.
I did pretty great food wise, fasting for about 21 hours (8pm-5pm). That really stretched my limit, and I was getting hangry. Instead of reaching for every potato chip in sight, I had a handful of cashews and a few fruit snacks. Dinner was homemade Chinese dumplings and pot stickers. I substituted iceberg lettuce for the won ton wrappers, turning it into a type of Thai larb.
I’ve had no desire to drink wine. Two of my neighbors are picking up the slack, as they are visiting family in the Willamette Valley. They texted me some photos, and I swear I could smell the barrels.
Tonight’s musical selection continues to explore the theme of harmony, in a way, and is also a nod to Dryuary post #50 from JA Miller. JA is from Healdsburg, CA. I couldn’t find a lot of musical info about that area, but did discover that Jack Sonni lived there for a few years. Who’s Jack Sonni, you ask? For a brief time he was the “other” guitarist in Dire Straits. He appears on the Brothers in Arms album and was a member of the touring band.
Most folks know the worldwide hit “Money for Nothing,” which powered the album to an incredible 30 million units sold, but my favorite has always been the title track, “Brothers In Arms,” a melancholy story told from the point of view of a British soldier dying on the battlefield, surrounded his fellow comrades. Mark Knopfler wrote it during the time of the Falklands War, and has mentioned the anti-war theme in a few interviews. In the final verse, the dying Brit realizes the foolishness of making war on his Argentine brothers in arms.
“Now the sun’s gone to hell and
The moon’s riding high
Let me bid you farewell
Every man has to die
But it’s written in the starlight
And every line in your palm
We’re fools to make war
On our brothers in arms”
Peace, love, and understanding. And harmony.
Runner Up:
“Jack Straw” - Bruce Hornsby. Jerry Garcia and Mickey Hart are from nearby Sebastopol, and I’m a sucker for a good cover song, so that was an easy choice. (Be sure to check out the amazing piano solo around the 1:35 mark.)
Honorable Mention
John Lennon - Happy XMAS (War Is Over)