Both of Us .org

Life without alcohol, salt, and refined starches and sugars is going surprisingly well. I miss drinking beer and the taste of salt, but organic produce is also very tasty and may well keep me living and breathing much longer than a typical American diet. I continue to consume a modified Gerson Therapy diet. Although I only average four glasses of juice a day, I feel like my body is responding to the greater amount of nutrition and reduced load of dietary toxins.

My body has been feeling very well, my appetite continues to grow and I love eating again. I have been eating more, both at home and at work, trying to add a few pounds if possible to my thinned frame. Drinking juices and organic peppermint or chamomile tea is part of my daily routine, along with my coffee treatments.

My body feels good, my spirits are high, and I am lucky to have friends and family who want to visit. I welcome visitors; I would almost say that I live for visitors. Come over, have some tea, play a game.

On Wednesday I have an appointment with Dr. A., my Oncologist. I hope he will be able to interpret the results of the biopsies that were done on the lumps removed from my body almost three weeks ago. I need him to help me understand what it means that of the fourteen lumps that were removed, only one was a melanoma tumor while the other thirteen were diseased lymph nodes containing cancer cells, some showing signs of necrosis (cell death) in some of the cancer cells.

I don't really understand this, I thought that all the lumps were going to be tumors. I am interested in what he will have to say about this.

Also meeting with Dr. A., I will get a good idea about when I should schedule the next round of MRI, and PT scans. I am still months away from being possibly eligible to enroll in experimental studies (due to the cancer they found and treated in my brain). If the my brain stabilizes and no new tumors are found for the next three months, then I could become a candidate for experimental trials.

JSP and I watched the film Venus last night. It was very poignant; basically about a man (Peter O'Toole) enjoying his final days and preparing to die. Despite my tears, I enjoyed the film and recommend it to those who enjoy international film.

Labels: beer, juicing, Melanoma

In advance of JayBee surgery tomorrow to remove sub-dermal tumors, last night we took an inventory of his tumors. After a complete scan of his body, I noted at least 18 lumps in various locations in his body. Most were pea sized or smaller, but there are at least four that are marble sized. The larger lesions have caused him discomfort. One tumor on his back thigh he compared to sitting on a stone.

The process was sobering for me. I strive to be optimistic that we are doing the right things and that he will successfully fight these "weeds" into remission. Confronted with numbers, size and locations, I am reminded of the reality at hand.

Finished cataloging the tumors, we settled into our cozy nest, thankful we were sheltered from the bitter winter night. Looking into each others eyes we realized how lucky we are together and how thankful we are to have the strength and support of the other. We are hopeful to spend many many years together looking into each others eyes and feeling love.

I turned off the light, cuddled in close, and felt overwhelmed with emotion. A myriad of thoughts whirled in my head, and I softly cried myself to sleep.

Today is a bright but cold winter day. I am working and feeling well. I am a lucky man. Despite the number of tumors in my partner's body there are positive signs. At least one tumor originally present on JayBee's upper lip, appears to be gone. This one was very present in JayBee's mind. He said it stared back at him whenever he looked in the mirror. He theorizes that because he was more focused on it, his body fought it more successfully. The mind is a powerful force.

The weekend is a memory now, but I am thankful that friends and loved ones chose to spend time with us. Friday night, friends Michael, Adam, Jesse and Conrad arrived to play a entertaining game of Settlers of Catan with both of us. Saturday JayBee attended a soccer organizational meeting and later played Dungeons & Dragons with friends. Yesterday was a family day and we enjoyed the company of JayBee's parents, three sisters, a brother-in-law and two nephews. I made some juice for everyone. JayBee shared some home brewed beer and everyone enjoyed chatting near the fire in the fireplace.

Spring is creeping into our house. Last weekend I planted several tulip and crocus bulbs in several planters in the house. I noticed yesterday that a few sprouts poke through the soil. My hope is that sometime in a month or so, a variety of blooms will be greeting us each morning, inspiring more spring fever in both of us.

Labels: beer, cold weather, friendship, juicing, Melanoma, winter

Tonight my friend Cosmic Monkey came over to play. We considered doing art projects together, but first we'd have to locate my oil paints. After searching the first floor, second floor, basement and garage, we gave up looking for the illusive oil colors and settled for playing some old school games on an antiquated Nintendo 64 that I was given by a friend many months ago. These games held our attention for perhaps an hour, then we moved on to the evening's main attraction, bottling beer.

I have had fifteen gallons of beer sitting in my home that I have been putting off bottling since I stopped drinking beer due to my new chronic health condition. It seemed unfair somehow that I would not allow myself to taste any of this fantastic beer hand crafted with loving detail. Since I learned beer brewing through Cosmic Monkey, it seemed poetic that he was here to help me bottle the beer I would never drink.

On this cold night in Northeast Minneapolis while bottling beer, we spoke candidly about fear, death, and loss. I brought up the Buddhist idea of impermanence which gives me comfort. He spoke of childhood in a Christian tradition, and remembered the exact moment in his childhood when he realized that his parents would eventually die. Winter does this I think, it reminds us of our mortality as we take refuge from the cold outside, nestled in our homes, brewing beer. Outside the garden is covered deep in snow, but I know that it will be green and luscious as we tend it in the spring.

Ten gallons of hand crafted bottled beer are now neatly stacked in the basement, minus a share given to Cosmic Monkey. Five gallons of my Sweet Stout and five gallons of my Phat Tyre Amber Ale will sleep soundly for the next two weeks, coming of age in their bottles. Five gallons of my Belgian Triple Ale still stare at me from a carboy wondering when it too will have the privilege of finding its way into beautiful green flip top bottles. This Belgian beer will be extra strong, strong enough perhaps to "put hair on your chest" as my father might say.

Who will drink my beer?

Labels: beer, cold weather, friendship, garden, Northeast Minneapolis

Brewing and bottling your own beer is enjoyable and rewarding. For the past year, I have been an amateur brewer. I have had great success making my own beer and sharing it with friends. The process is surprisingly simple and the ingredients and equipment necessary to brew beer is inexpensive and easy to obtain. So far I have purchased all of my equipment and supplies through a small local brewing supply store, Northern Brewer in St. Paul, MN. They have a good selection of starter kits, and they also sell via their website. It is hard to screw up beer made from their ready to make kits which always contain instructions as well as necessary malt sugars and yeast. Some kits also contain specialty grains, herbs, and other things to add to your brew such as honey.

People are often surprised at the high quality and great flavors of beer that you can produce yourself. At this point I have tried around twelve different kit offerings. I have also branched out and am brewing mead (honey wine) in addition to beer.

Question I frequently get from friends are:

Q: How much beer do you get and how much does it cost to make it?

A: Beer is generally made at home in five gallon batches. The reusable equipment will cost about an initial $100, and the ingredients for each five gallon batch will cost between $20 and $45 dollars depending on the ingredients if you buy them in a kit or a bit less if you buy the ingredients separately.

Q: How long does it take?

A: Four weeks ago I brewed ten gallons of beer, this weekend I bottled it, and two weeks from now, this beer will be ready to consume. That means this batch took 6 weeks. Other more complex or higher alcohol level beers can take longer, up to six months.

Q: How much work is it?

A: The biggest investment in crafting your own beer is in time. The brewing process takes about 3 hours from start to finish including clean up for a single five gallon batch. Racking beer, which is transferring it from one carboy to another, might take half-an-hour to an hour depending on how many batches you are racking. The bottling process will also take an hour to two hours depending on your methods. I am fortunate to have a dishwasher that can wash and sanitize my bottles, I know some people that do it all by hand.

Grolsh pop top bottles are by far the easiest bottles to use. You don't have to worry about traditional bottle capping because they have a capping mechanism that works great.

Growlers are another easy alternative for bottling. Growlers are jugs specially designed to carry beer. Growlers are available from many brew pubs that will sell you their beer to take with you and consume at home. Local brew pubs that sell growlers include Town Hall Brewery in Minneapolis, Great Waters Brewery in St. Paul, and Barley John's Brew Pub in New Brighton.

Homebrewing is an interesting, economical, and pleasurable option for anyone who enjoys beer and is considering trying something new.

Labels: beer

We just returned from an evening at one of our favorite brew pubs, Town Hall Brewery. On Tuesdays from 7 to 9 PM they have a promotion where they give away a two liter bottle, known as a growler, full of freshly brewed beer, if you get a winning coaster. Alas, neither Jay Bee nor I got a winning coaster. Instead we enjoyed some food and some of their tasty tap beer. I had a beer called "Banana Bread" followed by a "Retreating Darkness" and Jay Bee had a cask (freshly drawn) "India Pale Ale" and a "Retreating Darkness."

Now we are home in our warm house. It is chilly here in Minneapolis. The forecast calls for below normal temperatures the next few weeks, just as I was looking forward to spring arriving. I hope the ground hog will not see her shadow later this week and will instead foretell a rapid arrival of spring.

Labels: beer