LIFE IS GOOD!!!!

[joeswine]

Lucille I and will light a candle for all our fellow wine makers ,i believe we ,ve all at one point or another had someone we known or cared about fight the fight,we are with you here in south jersey always////////////////////////////////////////////////

 

[jobe05]

Let's hear others stories....
I am sure there are some really interesting 'chapters' in all our lives here on this forum that has brought us together.

LIFE IS A TRIP...ENJOY THE JOURNEY!!!

For some of us.......... Our story reads like yours...... Different places, different times, different roads... but ultimately, we end up in the same place......... this is our place ........... today.

Even though our stories seem similar, I would be captivated to read 200 or so more pages of what I read so far.

 

[joeswine]

good to hear from you jobe,,,,,been a while







http://www.sweetim.com/s.asp?im=gen&ref=12

 

[jobe05]

Doing what I can to keep up with the board, the new business and of course get few gallons of wine made in between. I just bottled the gallon of Hazelnut liquor that I made the same time NW made hers last year..................

 

[Wade E]

Alright Jobe, you know that you cant post that and not tell us how it TASTED!!!!

 

[jobe05]

Actually it was awesome! The brown color from the Hazelnut flavoring dropped out which is why I just let it sit there for so long. Last week when Becca and I were down there we tried it and although almost a clear color, it was a fantastic drink. I put most of it in small 187ML bottles and the (6) in 375 ML bottles. I would highly recommend these liquor kits, as long as you age it.

 

[Wade E]

Sounds great and if you recommend them then I will keep them in mind!

 

[joeswine]

hazelnut is one of my favorite liquor's,made mine by first toasting a pound of the said nuts,then letthem cool and put them into my coffee bean grinder till they became a powderadded that to my ever clear and let it set for a couple of months,when i was ready i and my wife went down and with the help of simple syrup and the extracted brew constructed an awesome product,then let it sit for the next year and began to consume slowly,,,,,,,very rich and creamy....jobe if yours was good then i know it was great................some were down the line we had a whole discuss on the subject..............................

 

[NorthernWinos]

Another treatment today....The half dose day...that still takes hours to administer....

I did my 'home-work' yesterday and loaded up on water....my veins were huge last night and I marked a nice one with a Magic-Marker for my nurse to use this morning...she said 'Yes' she could feel a vein there...she said she'd do a "Hail Mary' and dove in with the needle...blood just pulsed out....She said "That vein was a big as Dallas" ...and that I should mark that one just for her to use....So the infusion went well...seems if we do it in the muscle I don't get as much tingling....So all went well.

I GOT HAIR!!!
My hair is starting to grow back on my head...¼" fuzz....Haven't shaved my legs or under arms since June...."NO"...I am not reverted back to cro-magnon days...Hair is just gone in those parts as well as my arms, which makes tape removal less painful on the arms.....Without hair to groom and shave I have extra time in the mornings....

I did stop at the little room at the treatment center that has a wall of free wigs to choose from. I looked at the offerings and remembered my years of being a beautician...."deju vu"..... In the old days..I wore wigs and hair pieces so I could sell them and style them...Loved working with hair pieces....they were easy, didn't talk back and the clients thought you were an artist....made good money with fake hair in the old days.....So I quickly grabbed a little fluffy, fake wig.....Put it on when we got home and Jim loved it...he said "you look younger...really younger"....That's a good thing. I might wear it more than I thought...It's hot tho, so with winter coming won't need a wool '******'.

I have to go to Canada soon and renew my passport...Well I thought I'd just wear a shmutta [scarf] or hat like I do now in public...Well NO...that won't work...You can only wear fabric on your head for Canadian Passport if it is for religious reasons....Then I told Jim I'll just go bald...he said they'd think I was a 'skin-head'...So now I'll look 'normal' in the photo...Now we just need to gather my papers, take a day and cruise up to the border and get my paper work done....no excuses now....Road trip!!!!

I go n next week for a CT Scan...so will know if this treatment is working. My CEA blood work was higher than ever before...Normal is 0-3...I have never been over 3....last week it was 15....They said it could be a false reading due to the Chemo....so they will draw another test soon....hopefully it's a a false reading. If not there is many more drugs they can use for the next treatment....The Dr. 'Wizard' can dig through is bag of tricks and pull another rabbit out of his hat.

CEA is a blood test for Colon Cancer....as PSA is a blood test for Prostate Cancer.

September is Protate Cancer Awareness Month.
http://www.fightprostatecancer.org/index.html

My only sibling died of Prostate Cancer last year. It's not just for old guys to test...some of the young men at the treatment center are in there for that reason...So....test!!!

They had a bucket full of little blue Awareness [ribbon] Pins at the treatment center....Get your Awareness Pins to show your support for Cancer victims and research....different colors represent different Cancers....Not all pins are pink. Seems Breast Cancer gets the most press and funding....other cancers are whispered.....Let's SHOUT for the lesser Cancers that need more research.

So...I have 'renewed strength' tonight...Thanks to Steroids/Cortisone....I'll be busy for the next few days....

* Edit.....Life is Good!!!!


Edited by: Northern Winos

 

[grapeman]

Those treatments must be so hard to bear, but the end results are what you are going for, so keep up a good fight and good spirits.


They had on TV last night a story about our DMV providing an enhabced driver's license. You bring in birth certificate, proof of residency, etc and they issue the enhanced driver's license which will be accepted for border crossings into Canada withou needing a passport. It would be nice if all states would adopt this kind of license.

 

[hannabarn]

WOW! You are so brave! And you try to tell me that I am an inspiration! I can't even find the words to properly express the admiration I have for you!!

 

[Wade E]

So I hear Jim has some hot new younger woman!

 

[NorthernWinos]

Those treatments must be so hard to bear, but the end results are what you are going for, so keep up a good fight and good spirits.


They had on TV last night a story about our DMV providing an enhabced driver's license. You bring in birth certificate, proof of residency, etc and they issue the enhanced driver's license which will be accepted for border crossings into Canada without needing a passport. It would be nice if all states would adopt this kind of license.

I have a 'green card' that can get me across to Canada without any problem....Jim just got a new U.S.A. Passport and for a few dollars more got a Passport Card...it gives you access to Canada by land without carrying your passport.

But...have friends with a house on Isla Maharis Mx...you know...the Island of Women...semi and nude women...They have an extra bedroom and really are on our butts to come down ...me to pick shells and Jim to enjoy the scenery. Other firends bought a banana plantation [farm] on an island in a lake in Nicaragra....
Someday hope to have travel in our plans...Not in th near future tho....




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Edited by: Northern Winos

 

[NorthernWinos]

Good News!!!!

Got the results of the CT Scan and the results were 'mixed'....but good.

The pelvic lymph node tumors have shrunk...

There had been activity on the inferior vena cava and aorta next to the spine...This is stable.

There are a few irregular soft tissue masses scattered around the abdomen, these have decreased in size.

A few new nodules scattered around that are points of interest....they will be watched.

The best news......Next week after I get the second half of this treatment...I go on a 'DRUG VACATION'.....

...not what it could sound like...It means I don't take any treatments for 2 months...then do another CT Scan and then probably another round of treatments....or what ever has to be done. At this point with one of the drugs I am taking I can not have any surgery or invasive proceures done...so maybe that is part of the 'vacation', then they can do biopsies...etc.

So Oct and Nov will be a good time not to be running to the clinic and feeling ill....Harvest and deer hunting are important events for Jim and he becomes pretty intense with the pressure....So this will be good 'vacation' for both of us.

It was nice to see the regular patients and see how they are progressing, everyone seemed to be doing good and in good spirits.

Some kind soul donated some Chemo blankets to the patients...nice, soft and snuggly....will be nice to curl up with during the long winter nights ahead. Other people bring in bagels, scones and other sweet treats....very thoughtful people are still in this world of uncertainlty.

Now I am feeling the usual 'drug rush'...kind of spinning almost out of bounds...llike I have drank a pot of coffee and a dozen donuts...which I haven't.......This does wear off....and in a few days will crash. In the meantime will be taking care of some fresh picked grapes and thinking about the future.

Life is good!!!!

 

[grapeman]

Glad to hear the subdued good news. If there are good points to the progress- progress is good. The rest will come with time. Hope you get to feeing better. Good luck with the harvest and harvesting the food for the freezer AKA- Venison!

 

[Waldo]

Glad to hear the good news NW !!! Our bow huning season starts here in the moning..I no longer hunt personally as in these parts, land I hunted on for years is now all leased up and people want you to pay $600.00 or more a year to belong to their hunting club to hunt the land you previously used too and want to fight you for being on it if you don;t belong to their club. Got where it was just not worth the hassle to me.

 

[joeswine]

thats the wayNW keep onfighting the good fight were all with you in spirit,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and heart..........................

 

[swillologist]

That's great NW. Keep it up. You're going to beat this thing.

 

[Joanie]

Way to go NW and Dr. Wizard!! Keep it up!

 

[PeterZ]

I used to cook up a treat for each round of SWMBO's chemo. Her first chemo nurse mentioned she liked chocolate cookies, so for the next round of chemo I made a big batch of chocolate cookies from a cookbook I have called "Death by Chocolate." Then it was baklava, then more cookies.