Fosgate

Declared Cancer-free! Went through some bumps at the end of Chemo. Scans showed 3 dark spots on my liver and one on my lung. I know I have scar tissue in my lung from childhood and had a biopsy about 10 years back to look at that spot of walled-off TB (my mother had it when she was young). Anyway, got stuck with a long azz needle twice in the liver to try and get a biopsy. Couldn't see with the CT so they had to try with ultrasound as best they could. Came back negative and looking at the CT Scans from the cancer center before and after with the VA's poor image quality CT scan in between they thought and I agreed that the test would be negative. Took a bunch of vials of blood and sent them off to the Mayo Clinic to have them run some DNA tests looking for traces which came back negative. Just had a full panel of blood work and aside from low iron absorption that I have been on meds for 3 years now, I'm doing pretty good. Still have side effects like nerve damage in my fingertips and toes and a sensitivity to cold. Not a huge deal as long as I don't close my eyes too long when showering since I tend to lose balance and I can't feel my feet very well. Putting weight back on which was concerning how much I lost, malnutrition was becoming a concern at 6'7 shrinking to 6'5 in height and down to 175lbs. I had not been that light since maybe 8th grade and much shorter. Now back up to 215 most recently with a target to get up to about 255. Thank you to all those who reached out with well wishes and support over the last year. My god there were some times treatment was taking its toll and you ladies and gents hit at the perfect time to uplift my spirits. For this, I thank you all.

Had a couple nice Brews while I was brewing the last couple days. Love Left Hand Brewery Milk Stout in the Nitro can, Also had their imperial stout. Another was a Sticky Icky. I brewed 2, 5 gallon batches of a Lemon Grass Kolsch that I designed, lost one batch due to a leaky fermenter, Also did a Red Ale and an Oatmeal Stout. Yesterday I did a Russian Imperial Stout and going to do another batch of that tomorrow. I'll set those aside for a good year maybe up to 19 months since I'm predicting a 12%abv on them and need the aging to bring balance with the alcohol content.

Lunch today for a quick boil while I was smoking ribs, brisket and corned beef for guests tonight. I threw the brisket on at midnight last night and the ribs at lunch time. Went through half a dozen cigars and a 12 pack of beer in the process. I'm exhausted...headed for bed.

I'm really into pizza and would love to have one for a bit higher temp as my oven goes up to 500, but I can't justify the room it would take on my deck since I already have a Traeger Timberline 1300. Plus I'm hesitant about the size of the outdoor ovens vs the size of pizza I cook. I use the max size steel plate I can fit in my indoor oven currently with the largest peel to do a big NY style pizza, NY Grandma Style, South Shore Style, Roman, Detroit, Milwaukee Thin Crust, Chicago Deep Dish etc. With each of them I have found ways to compensate for not having an oven that will approach the 550-650 temp range.

Tried a Drew Estate undercrown shade in a robusto. Realy liking this smooth smoker. Probably should have paired it with an ale or imperial stout. Still good with a 9am Bloody Mary Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Softshell Maryland crab in a massaman style curry and vegetables over rice.

Century Tuna Fish- All flavors, Calamansi, Adobo, Spicy Ligo Sardines in Tomato and chili Ligo California Squid in Ink Of course shrimp paste Variety of dried fish in a vacuum sealed bag Vigo Mussels Ocean Prince Smoked Oysters with Red Chili Ekone Oyster Co. Smoked Oysters (and Mussels) Geisha Smoked Oysters

I like this olive oil tasters opinion when she discusses the Greek olive oil as best value and her time living on Crete. I may have to grab a bottle of that and the top luxury oil once the 2023 harvest is available. I do like their site for data on what they are selling. Harvest Date, Expiration Date, Origin of the olives disclosed all super important, but the bonus is their notes on taste, pairings, makeup of nutrients and so on is an added bonus.

I think Mario Van Peebles said it best;

So I've heard from many different sources. First time I heard about it was watching a documentary, then a couple publications and then this review popped up on my Youtube feed that I watched. Guess I'll have to wait until someone imports it here in the states. W

Just ordered a 2L of his olive oil with a 4oz reduced Balsamic. Looking forward to trying it out. Seems the sort of Olive Oil I'm looking for. Cant find it anywhere else. Probably a small local distribution. Those from my experience are the best. Thanks for the referral. Got him bookmarked on FB for any future orders.

Trying to eat a lot better and I consume a lot of Olive oil and I am approaching the end of my artisan bottles. Not a fan of the cheap commercial oil with weak flavor, unknown harvest dates printed if printed at all or running close to the 2 year from production date. Seems the good stuff doesn't leave their region in Italy or AU. Seems I cant find anything in the USA or anyplace that will ship without placing a bulk order. I would like to find a bottle or Joseph Cold press our of AU but seems they are sold out for the season and can't find anyplace that will ship to me anyway. Same goes for terra d'otranto out of Italy and even a value tin of Cadel Monte. My thought was get a nice bottle to go straight on a food product after it's cooked, or with bread etc for those really good meals. Then another good oil that could be good for either as a table olive oil and also for cooking with good flavor in a tin approx up to 3L. I'm not a fan of "infused" oils that are built off a cheap tasteless oil for an overpriced retail. Looking for some nice flavors (spice, fruit, grassy, etc) typical of a great artisan olive oil. Anyone got any suggestions.

I go in every two weeks and get to sit on a steroid drip for 3hrs and then they hook up a pump to the injection port that I have implanted near my collar bone. The pump contains the actual chemo meds that slowly get pumped in my for 48 hours. I disconnect it myself from there. So I normally go in on Monday morning, get myself stabbed for my blood work, consult and then the treatment. Usually out of there by 1-3pm then on Wednesday the pump runs dry anywhere from 10am-3pm depending on when they hooked up the pump. Wednesday, Thursday usually suck. Peak of cold sensitivity, teeth hurt, nausea, Dizzy spells, can't taste much, fatigue sets in. Some Wednesdays I just want to yank the pump line early. Your body knows its being poisoned and with the symptoms peaking I just want it out. I'll usually sleep all but a couple hours for a day or two after I disconnect the pump. I typically just wake up to force myself to eat something and go back to bed. I'm typically trying to find something to keep myself occupied. Couple weeks ago I drove a truckload of household goods for a friend moving to Texas. I drove `19hrs over two days and then crashed but not as hard as normal and I was feeling much better over the weekend. Still have to be cautious with the dizzy spells. Fell right over more than once since treatment started. Typically comes one when I stand up. Totally freaks the wife out. I just tell her I'm begging for attention or I'll say "what did you punch me for?" joking. (I'm 6'7 and she's a whopping 5ft)

Seems like yesterday. Met him once when I was a kid between 10-12 (I’m 50 now) with my father and uncle. Super nice guy and I remember him just kind of stopping everyone for a minute or two and talked to me on my level, totally respectful. He noticed everyone had a drink in their hand but me and it was hot out. He flagged a vendor over had them give me a pineapple drink “non alcoholic”. We hung out in the area for awhile longer which the vendor brought me two more and Jimmy came over when we were leaving and thanked us for coming like the gracious host he was and wished me luck in the upcoming school year. I never forgot that moment, been a fan since. R.I.P. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

No quitters Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk