What you drinking tonight?

I’m saving my unopened bottle of Glenmorangie until Tuesday. Those that know, know why.

 

Celebrated a few of those over the border when my dad was alive. He never lost his Yorkshire accent despite living in Scotland for many years

 

NOTHING.

Haven't had a drop since New Years Day.

This is the longest I've gone without a drink of alcoholic beverage since I was sixteen. I'm pushing 70.

Things had gotten out of hand since I retired in April of 2019. I've always liked my drink, but since retirement I have really turned into quite the sot. I disciplined myself to wait for that first beer till 3:00 pm and only have a couple. I would have the 3:00 pm beer, then one with dinner at about 5:00 pm. Of course, I might have another two, or so, if I was grilling, which I do three or four nights a week. Then, there's the weekend exception. I can start a bit earlier, say, 1:00 pm, because, well, because it's the weekend. Then there's the "job well done beer" when I finish a chore that went well. Also, the "finished the lawn mowing beer." Oh, I forgot there's the "Holiday Exception" too. It needn't be a nationally recognized holiday to trigger the Holiday Exception, which allows one to start at noon. Like, Argyle Sock Day, or Goldfish Appreciation Day would qualify for the Holiday Exception. That's just the beer. I was limiting myself to three bourbon old fashioneds on Friday and Saturday nights, in addition to the beers. The problem was that if one is putting a half slice of orange in each drink, you end up with an odd half slice to go into the baggie to be put in the fridge with the rest of the orange. It just wasn't right. To rectify this situation I moved up to four old fashioneds on the weekend nights to even out the number of orange slices used. But isn't Sunday night technically a weekend night? Sure it is! OK - old fashioneds on Sunday night too. Then there was the occasional mid-week nip. A couple Cuban screws or tequila sunrises, maybe two or three weeknights.
This was all getting very expensive and my liver was threatening to leave me. I had a talk with my middle daughter, Faith. She's a recovering alcoholic. Ten years sober. She is heavily involved in the AA thing and does counseling. I was surprised to hear her tell me I wasn't an alcoholic. She classified me as a "heavy drinker." Apparently there is a difference and there are certain things about alcoholism that didn't fit my alcoholic beverage consumption profile. According to her, I don't seem to possess the gene that triggers alcoholism.
I will see how long this tea-totaling lasts. I feel no overwhelming desire to have a drink and, truthfully, I'm actually sleeping better and not waking up in that mild fog I had gotten used to. I'm not saying I've sworn off the booze, I just want to limit it to true "special occasions" and perhaps when dining out.
We'll see.

 

Good for you, Fork Lock. It's very easy to get in to a few harmless habits that slide gently down the bottle until, before you know it, you're nose-to-nose with the worm at the bottom.

I've had my own experience with bone fide alcoholics and you certanly don't sound like one to me. I wouldn't call myself a heavy drnker - I limit what I buy for home - but I got in to the habit of wandering down to my local four or five times a week for a couple of pints with the chaps. Add to that the poor food choices that often follow and suddenly I was carrying more weight and less fitness than I cared for.

My other half announced after Christmas that she was doing 'dry January' so I said I'd join her in support, though in truth I was happy to have the excuse to change my routine. So far, so good. There was only one night when I fancied a glass of red but I didn't have any so temptation soon went off to bed and left me to my coffee. So instead of an hour in the pub, these days it's on with the running gear and out to get the heart pumping. Some way to go for a proper return to fitness and acceptable poundage but I'm quite enjoying the change of direction.

 

"So instead of an hour in the pub, these days it's on with the running gear and out to get the heart pumping." Octoberon

Well, let's not go nuts here!

Yeah, I forgot about the tappy up the street - wings and beer once or twice a month!

However, I am in decent shape - right at the upper limit of the BMI for my height and weight, if you put any stock in that sort of thing (6'2" 190 lbs.) I lost 30 lbs. when COVID hit the fan. I was 220 lbs. when the lockdown started. Like everyone else, we went out and bought all the comfort foods. Within two weeks I had gained seven pounds. I remember wondering "When this is all over will the people from "My 500 Lb. Life" seek me out, or do I contact them?" I literally cut my caloric intake in half and the weight just fell off. I've maintained 195 for over a year now.

 

@Fork Lock , what do you eat that allows you to comfortably consume half as many calories?

I'm struggling to shift some weight...

According to my BMI I'm getting on for about 3" too short!

But seriously, I'd be interested in how you're doing it...

I know what my downfall is (alcohol, crisps...bread)...and it isn't rocket science; but others' experience is always useful.

But, to bring it back to the thread topic, as it's Friday...
gin and orange juice...

 

Definitely not going nuts. I never said how far I was running.

I'm not horrendously overweight but could stamd to lose 15lbs or so. I'm about the same as you but a few inches shorter. A little exercise and cutting down significantly on the bad foods/takeouts will do the trick.

 

It takes just a little will power - and believe me, I have very little!
I used to have a big breakfast every day- two eggs, two toast, slab of some kind of breakfast meat or a half dozen sausages, sometimes potatoes, coffee and OJ. Now, just one egg, one toast, a small piece of meat or a couple sausages, black coffee, no juice, three times a week (M,W,F). Oat meal or cold cereal the other four days. Instead of lunch (a sandwich or leftovers) I'll have a hand full of pistachios, peanuts, a tablespoon of peanut butter or the like. Dinner used to be two helpings of everything. Now it's one helping and leave the table. Also, if I start to feel full, I leave it! No more cleaning my plate (which I was brought up to do). If I feel the need to snack at night, I'll have a little popcorn or a cookie or two - NO MORE!!
Worked for me.

 

Whilst I am moderating, I’ll have a couple of glasses of Malbec and some mixed fava beans and dry roast peanuts on the weekend nights.

 

Ooooh, please report back on the Mac12 and (or) the Bunnahabhain 12, @Yorkshireman.

 

Your birthday on Tuesday, perhaps? I checked your profile page to see if my suspicion was correct but you've left it a mystery, @Glenn2926. Or shall I call you Glen-morangie?

 

A popular traditional night in these islands. Burns night, Haggis, Neeps and tatties. With a nice dram.

 

@Glenn2926

I've actually had Haggis (and liked it!) but I'll need a translation for "Burns night", "Neeps" and "tatties". I do know "dram", however. I have learned a little bit about English here on the forum.

 

Robert Burns was a very famous Scottish poet. Died 1796. His birthday 25th January is celebrated every year with a traditional Scottish meal of Haggis, neeps (turnip) and tatties (potato) with a dram of your favourite whisky.

 

Learning ordinary English might not help much, Sandi. Burns wrote most of his poems in the broad lowland Scots spoken by the ordinary folk of his class (successively ploughman, small tenant farmer and exciseman). Some of the words he used have since fallen out of use, but most of his work still speaks very clearly to us today. He was fond of the ladies, fond of good company, loved his native land, mocked religious hypocrites, and was, for the period, dangerously progressive in his politics.

One of my favourites is A Man's a Man for a' That:

Is there, for honest poverty,
That hings his head, an' a' that?
The coward slave, we pass him by,
We dare be poor for a' that!
For a' that, an' a' that,
Our toils obscure, an' a' that;
The rank is but the guinea's stamp;
The man's the gowd for a' that,

What tho' on hamely fare we dine,
Wear hoddin-gray, an' a' that;
Gie fools their silks, and knaves their wine,
A man's a man for a' that.
For a' that, an' a' that,
Their tinsel show an' a' that;
The honest man, tho' e'er sae poor,
Is king o' men for a' that.

Ye see yon birkie, ca'd a lord
Wha struts, an' stares, an' a' that;
Tho' hundreds worship at his word,
He's but a coof for a' that:
For a' that, an' a' that,
His riband, star, an' a' that,
The man o' independent mind,
He looks and laughs at a' that.

A prince can mak a belted knight,
A marquis, duke, an' a' that;
But an honest man's aboon his might,
Guid faith he mauna fa' that!
For a' that, an' a' that,
Their dignities, an' a' that,
The pith o' sense, an' pride o' worth,
Are higher rank than a' that.

Then let us pray that come it may,
As come it will for a' that,
That sense and worth, o'er a' the earth,
May bear the gree, an' a' that.
For a' that, an' a' that,
It's coming yet, for a' that,
That man to man, the warld o'er,
Shall brothers be for a' that.

 

@Dave49
Thanks for typing this Burns poem up. I've read it once and am pretty sure I understand the gist. But I'll read it through and through several times more and suspect I will understand it better and also what you mean about his work still speaking to us today.

 

One of the tricks I was taught to reading Burns is to read it out loud… it starts to become clearer (I find). Just don’t let a Scott hear you as as they’ll think you’re taking the piss, you can’t help sliding into the accent.
Try it, let’s us know?

 

Will do. Thanks!

 

Well they’re both bloody gorgeous and I realise that is the most unscientific appraisal of whisky you will ever read. The Mac12 is definitely more of a spicy malt and the Bunnahabhain (I don’t even know how to pronounce that) is a bit smoother. I tend to take my whisky with water, about 70/30, sometimes 60/40 depending on what I’m drinking but I really should experiment a bit more because we went on a distillery tour, well several actually, a few years ago and tried the same whisky with water and then over ice and there was a definite difference in taste. Might just have to try that tonight.