Potato Wine Feb 2019

I saw this on a you tube video while searching for how to extract sugar from the starch in potatoes. That process was too involved and time consuming so I decided to try wine instead.  According to the video it's supposed to have an earthy taste reminiscent of scotch whiskey.  I decided to make 2 gallons.

• Bag of potatoes
• 4 lbs brown sugar
• One banana
• Golden raisins

I boiled the chopped potatoes in a large pot for about 40 minutes until very soft. We had them for dinner that night 😀. I pulled the potatoes out with a slotted spoon. There were a few small leavings in the water.  I put the brown sugar in the same water which was good since it melted the sugar quickly. I cut the banana into pieces about an inch long and peeled after cutting. I put the pieces in my gallon jugs along with the peels and poured the sugar water in. I put a healthy unmeasured amount of raisins in. After the water cooled enough I put the proofed yeast in. By the next day it was bubbling like crazy. 

A note on the amount of sugar. I figured that since the starch water didn't have much free sugar I needed to account for all of the free sugar with the brown sugar.  A gallon is eight pounds so two pounds is 25%. That should make the final product around 17-20%. It's not a science yet to me.  I just like stronger wine.

Feb 9 - After two weeks it is still bubbling pretty well but I don't like the looks of the bananas so I decided to take it off of the fruit.  After doing so I found that the banana actually wasn't so bad so a lesson learned for next time. I put it into my new two gallon jug. I need a new airlock that fits better. I had a taste and it has a slightly fruity taste thanks to the raisins and banana. It's fairly strong and does have an earthy flavor. I'm thinking this will be tasty when it's done.

April 17 - Bottled this today .It stopped bubbling a month ago but I let it sit to settle. It's very tasty even now while it's raw.  The color in the glass is similar to whiskey. Can't wait to see how it  ages. I put some in 4 standard bottles and the rest in grolsh style bottles.  Should be good with winter root stews.

September 21 2019 - Had a bottle of this this weekend.  I really like it.  Great flavor.  Kind of a dark flavor.  Lyric said it tastes masculine, I agree and I like it.  I'm going to expand on this and add more banana next time to improve the sweetness.  Fun, good times.

Cherry Cranberry Jan 2019

This is one of the first wines I dreamed up two years ago and it was delicious. So I took the original and tripled it to make three gallons.

• 2 bags of cherries
• 3 cans of cherry pie filling
• 9 cups of sugar
• 4 cups cranberries

I cooked the frozen cherries lightly to get the juice out while mashing them with a potato masher. I took the juice off a few times to try to get more juice out. Then I put some water in the pan with the cranberries. I cooked and mashed them lightly too.  I poured that juice in. Then I cooked the sugar to melt it. This isn't necessary because the yeast will eat it without it being dissolved but I wanted to be able to check the gravity.

I topped it off with the yeast and the water and checked the sugar. It's at 23%. Same as the first time. I also put the cranberries in to float around. Now to wait to see if the yeast starts. I used 116 yeast which is what I've typically used.

Early Feb - took this off of the fruit. Gravity was almost zero. Tastes very nice. Still bubbling and settling. Should be a delicious winter wine this Christmas.

March - Stopped bubbling.  Just been too busy to bottle it.  Hopefully in the next week or so.  Posting this so that I can remember the "bottled" date.

May 26 2019 - Bottled on Sunday.  Absolutely beautiful and so tasty even though its only a couple months old.  Can't wait to have it next year.  I only got 9 bottles out of the batch plus a half bottle of dreggy stuff, still very tasty.  I enjoyed it in the back yard with Mary B and a nice Davidoff cigar to relax and celebrate a good day of working together before firing up the grill for brats at the in-law's.

December 27 2019  Had a bottle while watching  It's a Wonderful Life with the family .So so very good.  I kept thinking I smelled hints of  cinnamon .  Mary B smelled it too .Made me wonder if this might be a neat thing to try next time.

Bottled May 26 2019

Apple Cider Experiment Oct 2018 - Not so Good

I was talking with the owner of Blue Mountain Wine Supplies who mentioned that you can purchase unpasteurized apple cider. So I decided that I would give it a try. I bought 5 gallons of cider from Cronise market and did a little research.  The natural yeasts that hang around orchards are supposed to give cider a more natural flavor but they are unfortunately weak. Using just the natural yeasts you run the risk of other bad guys getting in.  So I split the batch and am making half au-natural and the other half using special cider yeast.

I started on Oct 12.  It was chilly so I wanted to warm things up a little. I put the natural batch in the jug and simply covered it up.  The enhanced batch I used the recommended amount of yeast nutrient, 1 tbsp per gallon.  I put the cider in a warm bath until the temp got to 65. I proofed the yeast in 90 degree water. It didn't get as bubbly as the wine yeast so I hope that it is ok.  I covered the natural batch with plastic to be sure no more yeasts get in. The enhanced batch I did the usual, stirring it vigorously and covering with a cloth. I'll stir it occasionally once it gets going. I'm not sure if I'll stir the natural batch for fear of introducing bad stuff. As always, time will tell. I do love this stuff though ☺

10/16/2018 - I was surprised to see that after only two days both the natural and enhanced were bubbling like crazy.  After a day or so of the bubbling the enhanced version seems to have slowed.  the natural version slowed too but maybe not as much.

10/22/2018 - Both batches are bubbling slowly.  The natural batch looks "dirty". There is a lot of sediment sticking to the side of the jug.  The color looks similar to how it started.  The yeast version color is very pa;e and the bubbling seems slower than the other version.  I have plastic on top of both and I'm not opening it or tasting anything.  Should be an interesting experiment.  Can't wait to taste.

12/26/2018 - So this has been sitting under my table all of this time while I decided what to do with it.  Both batches are very pale.  They both taste a little like vinegar but I read that it's only vinegar if it smells like vinegar.  I did an experiment today and mixed about 50/50 hard and regular cider.  The result was very tasty.  I thought it was weak but after a glass I could feel it so that's actually a plus; it doesn't taste too hard but has a little punch to it.  I will mix some to find the best taste and then I'll bottle a batch in plastic in case the yeast re-activates.  I'll probably drink it all this winter though.  this might be fun to try again next year.

Decided it wasn't worth drinking.  Bland, low alcohol, no taste, possibly even became vinegar.  I may try again next year with a smaller batch and mixing with cider and drinking while still bubbly.

Afib/ Running Log

Starting in November 2017 (possibly earlier) I started having heart palpitations after some really hard runs.  I started running with the Life Runners which are all a little younger and a lot faster than me.  I think this caused me to over train and focus too much on speed.  This caused me to start my runs too fast and be focused on pushing.  All of this added up to me getting more palpitations.

Docs said based on stress test June 2018 that my heart is in great shape.  I think my issue is being caused by too much focus on speed which then started a behavior feedback loop.  Getting excited about speed caused a-fib.  A-fib made me anxious.  Anxiety caused more a-fib.

I'm starting a new program to re-train my heart to beat regularly and break me of my speed behavior.  I'll focus on running slow and steady.  In the stress test I got up to 155 BPM and had no event so it's not the effort that is causing the issue.

10/29/2018 Update: Looking back at the opening of this blog I see the wishful thinking.  After research and doctor appointments I know that afib happens and there is no real cause.  There is no cure, only treatment.

I'll try to track my runs in this diary.

2018

• June
•   -  June 5.  Very good.  Ran 2 miles at lunch at work started with fast walk for 4 minutes (too long I think).  Kept my HR around 125.  70º and sunny, nice breeze.  Normal food.  No a-fib.  https://mysports.tomtom.com/app/activity/259232392/
• - June 9.  Ran with Mary B at Antietam in the morning.  A very nice and easy run with no issues.
• June 12.  Ran 30 minutes at lunch.  Very slow 13 min pace but kept HR mostly at 130 with a few exceptions.  When I noticed it creeping up I was able to control it easily.  It's so hard not to push when you know you can go much harder.  But, I'll pay this price for the time being to see how it goes.    70º and light humidity.  Very nice out.  Was a couple times when I thought it might try to jump but I could have imagine it.  Hills are the worst.  I've trained myself to dig into them.  30 minutes later HR almost back to normal resting 52 BPM.  https://mysports.tomtom.com/service/webapi/v2/activity/perm_2autF7kzZRDxHbqn3x5QyXLrxVtRudqeNxHFaggxRFs_PlcLWJCRPHVblHH2AEwa3ZNzCvymPjG7Zh_X7ze3Kg?format=html
• AFIB June 12 - So after the run which was great I went home and the weather was nice so I washed the trailer.  Good hydration, no apparent reason but I had an event.  It seemed lighter than others but did last into the night.  Didn't sleep well and the event was still happening when I got up for work.  Probably stopped around 10 AM.  Only thing I can attribute it to was excitement of hurrying to get the trailer done.  This seems like a common theme.
• June 16 - Played music the night before.  Got up early for a run with Mary B.  Ran 2.5 miles with no event.  It's very nice to be running with her again.
• AFIB June 18 - After work CTG had a bike ride on the Western MD Rail Trail.  Nice easy ride.  12 miles.  HR never got to 120.  Stayed hydrated.  At the end of the ride there was a bear on the trail.  Me and Jonathan approached to scare it off the trail so the kids could pass.  I guess it was the adrenaline of the moment but after the bear was gone I had an event.  No too strong, about the same as the previous one but it lasted all night and into the next day which seems to be the usual.  No sleep and feeling pretty crappy the next day.  I'm thinking I see a pattern of adrenaline or excitement.
• June 20 - ran at work and felt great.  My watch battery died so I had to go by feel.  I kept a steady breathing pattern of 4 in, 2 out throughout the run.  I think it was about 2.5 miles.  I never felt that an event was close to happening.  After an hour my HR is at 60.  Seems normal.  Mid 80s and mid humidity.  Clouds so the sun wasn't too blazing hot.  Hoping all the magnesium is helping.
• June - July Vacation - Ran every day on the beach without incident.  Kept HR below 140.  Towards the end of the vacation I let it creep to 142 without incident.  There were pretty hot mornings when I ran.
• AFIB July 10 - Ran at work.  93º and medium humidity but it felt good outside and I felt strong.  After 10 minutes afib started so I walked back.  HR was in the right zone and I never felt like I was pushing.  However looking at my tracker I started out at 9.45 pace and steady slowed to 11 throught throughout the run.  Hoping the magnesium will lessen the severity and I'll get a better handle on how to prevent these.  A thought about the running on the beach, I was always running on empty.  I wonder if that has anything to do with it.  This is a bummer though.  2.5 hours later the afib stopped and I'm back to normal.  My next test will be to continue once the afib starts.  I want to know if it was less sever because of walking immediately or if it's the magnesium.  I might try increasing the magnesium.
• AFIB July 12 - Another afib day.  Ran at work.  87º medium humidity.  Very pleasant out.  I tried to learn from the prior run and keep the pace down.  I started at about an 11 pace and slowed to around 12..  HR never got above 135.  7-9 minutes in I started feeling some flippy feels so I slowed a little.  I went into afib around 10 minutes into the run, just like yesterday.  I ran the same route which did include uphill for the first mile.  I'm sure that has something to do with it.  As an experiment I decided to continue running at a slow pace.  HR returned for a short period to 135 but then bounced around again.  I want to see if the afib stops after 2 1/2 hours like it did yesterday.  All a grand experiment but simply this sucks.  I shouldn't have to do this with as healthy as I feel.  Cardio appointment on Monday hopefully to discuss options.
• AFIB July 14 - Not a good week.  Ran twice, 2 events.  Today I was cleaning Linda's gutters.  It was hot and I was going up and down the ladder but I felt great.  I was actually excited to think I could do normal stuff.  After cleaning I was carrying the ladder back to the shed and the afib hit.  I stopped and took a drink break hoping it would be minor.  It lasted through the night and into the morning.  Melatonin may have helped sleep a little, I'll try a second dose in the future though because from about 3.30 until 5 I couldn't sleep.  Prior to that I tossed and turned all night.  Sunday I was wiped out.  I see the doctor on Monday to discuss next steps.
• AFIB July 21 - After resting for a full week I felt good and went for an Antietam run with Mary B.  Slow, 16 minute pace, beautiful weather, HR never above 125.  At the end of the run there is a steep hill.  I ran this before with her without afib.  This time I had it and it lasted all day and into the night.  12+ hours.  Got an appointment with Dr. Shorovsky with UMD Medical Center in Westminister for August 1.
• July 28 - No events through the week.  Saturday while using the push mower afib started around 11.30.  I was being careful to not push myself.  Weather was warm and a little humid but really nothing extraordinary.  Symptoms were mild but steady.  Went to church Sat night, had dinner, watched a movie.  Didn't sleep well.  Sunday morning at 7 I was still in afib.  This was one of the longest that I remember.  It stopped around 8.30.  No issues through the rest of the day.  Concerned that this is getting easier to trigger and lasting longer, eventually leading to persistent afib.  Cardiologist appointment on Wednesday.  REALLY hoping he has good answers.
• August 1 - Saw Dr. Shorovsky in Westminister.  He was factual and explained all of the percentages of success and failure for ablation.  Afib is a disease that is not curable.  It is controllable. Meds don't work for long.  Afib should not affect your life.  So if you have afib and it doesn't cause you a problem there's no reason to treat it.  In my case it causes an issue; I've changed my lifestyle dramatically to accommodate afib.  I don't want this. I want to be able to run and be as active or more active than before.  In this case ablation is a good option especially for me; young, healthy, and active.  He described that they perform the standard pulmonary vein isolation to start.  If additional work is needed they look to other areas.  He feels that starting in other areas does more harm than good.  I discussed complications and asked how many his team has had in their experience.  He said there have been no deaths and that the complications follow the percentages from the various studies.  He is one of four doctors that perform the procedure.  The procedure is an outpatient procedure done in Baltimore.  You spend the night and are admitted if needed.  Most are not necessary.  First 3 days after you should not exert so that you don't affect the entrance site.  After that you can perform whatever activities you want including running.  If the procedure is going to not work they want to know as early as possible.  I think I will take a conservative approach and will walk for the first month before I add some jogging.  Prior to the procedure I will need cardio mapping and MRI to determine vein placement.  I will be on blood thinners through the recovery time and a small time prior.  During recovery there could be cardiac events while the heart heals.  These happen 30% of the time and usually resolve after the healing period.  He believes they will be able to schedule me in September.
• AFIB August 3 - After work feeling great, helped Mary B do the shopping for the parish picnic.  Afterwards we sat to watch a movie.  No stress, no activity, boom: afib.  Started around 9 pm and lasted through the night.  It wasn't as strong as other events but lasted a full 12 hours.  Not much sleep because of it.
• AFIB August 10 - Friday night hanging out with MB.  Felt odd all day.  Was probably anxiety over worrying if I was going to have an event.  Went to be late feeling a little flippy.  Elevated HR but not afib.  Woke up in the night in afib.  Like the previous week it was not very strong.  I don't know if I'm concerned with the strength.  Am I getting used to it, is it becoming normal?  Or is it just not strong because I haven't been running.  I really miss running and can't wait to do it again.  Saturday morning still in afib went for a 3 mile walk with MB.  Feels better to be moving than sitting.  Leaves me feeling pretty wiped out after an event.
• AFIB August 18 - Afib for no reason about mid-day.  Same old story.  At least it seems to be getting milder.  I'll be happy when it's gone.
• AFIB August 25 - Afib for no reason.  Seems like the weekly thing.  Not too strong though, I guess that's a blessing.
• September 1 - All week I felt a little flippy.  Saturday I had afib for a few minutes but then it stoped.  Monday (holiday) same thing, a little flippy through the day but then it never started.  I wonder if I'm just getting used to it or could it be changing.  I plan on getting on the treadmill to see if I can do some running without it starting.  I ran hard on my stress test without it starting.  If it doesn't work I guess no running at all.  I don't want to lose strength though.
• October 22 - I haven't been recording anything because it's been fairly stable.  I found that I can't run at all or it gets triggered, even on the treadmill.  It changed a bit where it wouldn't last as long and wouldn't be as violent but was happening more regularly.  This had me worried that it changed to the point where the ablation will not be useful.  I have no way of knowing other than to say that living while trying to not set it off is a bummer.  My weight is a little up but I'll be able to correct that.  I've been doing push ups to at least feel like I'm doing something good for myself.  We went camping this past weekend and I had a full-blown afib attack on Saturday.  I think it started in the night and lasted until around 4 in the afternoon.  It was rough.  Probably one of the top 5 events I've had.  I'm actually glad I had it.  I reminded me of how this thing sucks!  Thursday I get the ablation and I hope to be posting positive news after that time.
• October 29 - I had the ablation on the 25th as scheduled.  The UMMS heart center folks are awesome.  I didn't have a single bad thing to say about them.  They were all knowledgeable and friendly.... and I hope to never see them again.  Mary B stayed with me through the whole process; she's a trooper and it was hard for me to see her so scared.  Dr. Applebaum talked with me the next day and explained that all 4 veins were active.  They are supposed to be active in normal folks.  They used cryo ablation to isolate the veins and then tested some more.  They found some areas that were tricky so they were zapped with RF ablation.  The recovery from anesthesia was a little rough, about the same as a bad drunk really.  They gave me a single stitch in my right groin which was removed the following day.  Catheter removal sucked a lot.  I was discharged at 2.00 on Friday and had a relaxing day at home.  It felt great to have a shower the next morning.  No complications from the procedure.  I feel a skipped beat or small flutter every now and then.  I went for a 1 mile walk on Sunday the 28th and felt great.  I expected to.  I took the full weekend to relax even though I missed being with the family; they had a hair day on Sunday.
• October 29 continued - first day back to work.  In general I feel fine.  It may be wishful thinking but I feel like my heart is more relaxed, less excited.  I have the occasional missed beat from time to time but nothing like I felt prior to the procedure.  It's very possible that prior to the procedure I was simply in a high-anxiety state and was feeling those affects.  I did my usual morning walk and felt fine.  I took the stairs in the morning but used the elevator for the rest of the day.  I want to rest as much as possible this whole week.  Next week I'll go back to push-ups and using the stairs multiple times a day.  I set up my 1 month followup with Dr Dean for Nov 26.  That's my target date to start running again.  I will take it easy; I'm sure my body will make me.  I've really had a lot of time off from running and getting back into it may be hard.  Writing this around 3.00.  Was pretty tired by the middle of the day.  I'm sure that will improve.  Not sleeping well.  I think it's because of the elevated heart rate during healing.  My usual resting rate is 50.  My resting rate is now 75 ish.  Sitting at the computer doing nothing and I'm around 80.  It's high but I don't really feel it.  I just feel like my body is working even though I'm not moving.  Hard to explain, sort of altered states.  Here's to getting better and better.
• November 2.  Last day of the work week and I'm feeling very good.  The effects of the whole ordeal started to wear off on Wednesday.  I've had to be careful to not overdo it.  Still taking the elevator.  At home it's been hard to go to bed early because I'm feeling good but by the end of the day I am pretty wiped out.  Sleeping has gotten a little better but I'm still sleeping lightly.  Spent some "time" with Mary B yesterday and my heart felt very good.  I'm excited at the idea that I may be able to run afib free after the healing is done.  I have a nasty bruise on my arm that seems to be from someone sticking my wrist multiple times during the procedure.  My wrist and forearm are sore and it wakes me up at night.  It was a little better last night which is hopeful.
• November 13.  There were a couple of days last week, toward the end of the week where my heart was doing weird things.  It felt a little like afib in that I felt very confined and agitated.  I could feel a missed beat in my carotid and during that missed beat I felt a very defined thud in my chest.  I never felt like my BP was bad but I didn't check it.  I seriously don't want to become neurotic about my numbers.  By the end of the three day weekend I felt very normal again.  Saturday was cold and I was outside during a lot of the day cleaning the workshop and putting away winter stuff.  I felt normal again.  I think that's the best way to put it.  I feel like my old self.  I am getting tired by the end of busy days but I feel like that's to be expected with being only 2 weeks from the procedure.I went hunting on Monday as a test of the ticker.  The first hill to get to the park is 100 feet of elevation.  Before the procedure my heart was thumping pretty hard up this hill.  I took it slow and steady but I didn't get winded and my heart felt great.  It was encouraging because it felt a lot like running.  My heart was working but not overly stressed.  My breathing was like running.  I was encouraged enough that I spent 4 hours and covered a lot of the park including a final hike up about 350-400 feet of elevation.  Again I took it very slow and steady but felt good.  I hiked other hills as well.  I also spent some great quality time with Mary B after hunting and then covered the trailer.  I was pretty wiped out by the end of the day.  I slept through the night for the first time since the procedure.  That was wonderful.  I started my push ups in the morning again, 25.  I stopped at 30 when I left off but I didn't want to push it.  No weird heart rate.  Feeling good and encouraged.  Praying a lot for a full recovery and successful ablation.
• November 20.  The past week has been crap.  After Monday's wonderful hunting, Tuesday I went to work with a weird ache in my stomach.  After a couple of days of feeling pretty bad I called Dr. Shorofsky to ask if I should be concerned with EAF (Esophageal Atrial Fistula).  He said the symptoms were trouble swallowing, fever and chills, blood in vomit or stools.  None of those symptoms apply.  by Friday I realized that I was stuffy and dizzy feeling.  I took a decongestant that I had at work and felt much better.  I rested on Saturday but did stuff around the house.  I had my first gig since the ablation at the Woods.  It went well but I think I had afib through the second set.  Very anxious, very weird heart beat.  I could blame it on a lot of things.  They keep it a million degrees in there.  I may have been dehydrated.  I got no sleep on Saturday night, got up early for church.  After church I got some decongestant meds.  They helped.  I had a lunch gig at Hoffman's.  I felt good after that but tired.  Monday at work I felt a little better.  Today a little better still.  My stomach is really bugging me but I recall feeling like this when I was on nexuim.  I'll stay on the PPI through the course even though I think it is causing the stomach issues.  I think the sinus is aggravating the stomach issue as well.  I hope to run for the first time this weekend after Thanksgiving.  I'm looking forward to that since that's always helpful with anxiety which I'm having a lot of because of the concerns over EAF.  Without the ablation all of these symptoms would simply be a little sudzy feeling.  Looking forward to getting back to normal again.  Praying a lot.  None of this is good for Mary B.  She's been amazing though, as always.
• November 26.  This was a great weekend in many ways.  I went hunting on Friday afternoon and got a fox squirrel.  Prepared it on Saturday morning.  Very good eating.  I stopped my PPI meds and my stomach is feeling much better.  I ran sound for the church dance and danced with Mary B a lot and felt good the whole time.  Sunday morning I went for my first run since the ablation.  It felt very good.  I was tired and walked a little but that was more because I didn't want to push through anything.   I went t total of 3 miles at a 13.49 overall pace.  I felt great after.  I felt very normal.  I went to the winery with Mary B in the afternoon and had some white wine.  I had a lunchmeat sandwich in the late afternoon.  I felt a little flippy into the evening.  I don't like it but I can live with it for now.  I don't like how anxious it makes me feel.  I slept pretty well but woke up a half hour before the alarm feeling odd.  Maybe sinus, not sure.  Through the morning there have been moments of flippy but not bad.  I see the cardiologist for the first follow up this afternoon.
• November 27.  cardiologist was happy with my EKG.  Said it sounds like I'm moving along the expected path.  BP was 120 over 70 which is good.  Resting HR was 65 which I think is weird because when I count it it's 72-76 but whatever.  He says that my HR will go down once I get back into exercise.  I agree but found it odd that he acted like an increased HR was not expected after ablation.  I ran on the treadmill today at lunch.  20 mins at a 12 pace on the random setting.  HR was steady around 140-144.  It felt great and I'm very hopeful that it all continues.  I felt like I remembered feeling before all this started.  Very excited and thankful..
• December 27 - I haven't written for a long time because I'm feeling great.  I've been running a bunch and although slow, it feels great to be back into it again.  I feel like my old self after runs.  As soon as I stop I can feel everything slowing down like it's supposed to.  I guess in the time preceding the afib I was feeling different but like a frog in a pot of water I didn't know it.  I feel different overall now and it feels good.  I still have the occasional odd beat but I may have that forever, who knows.  I won't go back to pushing myself on runs until the spring.  For now I'm happy to be able to finish 3 miles at an 11.30 pace with an average heart rate of 150.  Mostly it's my legs that are tired.  I may try a longer slower run as I get closer to the 3 month milestone, we'll see.  So thankful to be feeling better again.
• January 10 2019 - Happy New Year!  I've been running three times a week for a total of around 7 miles per week.  For one thing it's hard to get miles in with the colder weather but it's probably a good thing since I'm trying to take it easy and ease back into running.  There have been a few weird heart days.  For instance a week ago I ran 4.25 miles at a nice slow pace.  I watched my HR and kept it at or below 140 the whole time.  Since I hadn't gone that far in a long time I was pretty tired but felt great.  No heart issues.  However, later that evening at church and later I felt like I was having many skipped beats.  This most likely caused major anxiety which exacerbated things.  I felt fine by the next morning and haven't had anything since.  I'm still plugging away with the running and my times are improving but I'm not pushing it.  I'll be happy when I get to the point where I'm no longer worrying that my heart will do something weird and I can simply run freely again.  That may take a long time like it did with my stomach issues but I believe it will happen.  I'm 2 weeks away from my 3 month blanking period.  I feel that it has been a success.  I'm feeling very good overall.  I'l also be happy to get a few more miles and speed under my belt and lose this 10 lbs that I gained while not running and over the holidays....  It will happen.
• May 21 2019 - Just keeping up to date.  I've been steady running and feeling great.  No issues.  I do still have an occasional dropped beat.  I notice it more in the evening.  It doesn't seem related to anything in particular.  I'm still getting 7-9 miles a week and my pace is pretty much back to where it was originally.  I feel a little more tired in general but I really think that's due to stress and maybe age.  The stress is from still not really being back to normal in the head.  You always have that little feeling that something might happen.  This is a brain feature that got our race to where we are now so I won't knock it.  I just need to build up enough positive running memories that the balance shifts.  I'm stating to explore how fast I can run a mile.  I ran a nine minute mile last week... I even walked a little in it and still hit 9.  Feeling very good.
• 
  

Pumpkin Spice April 2018

The pumpkin continues to be a hit so I'm making another batch. I used the same recipe as previous batches but am applying some lessons.

I didn't boil the pumpkin puree this time. It seemed to have no effect on prior batches.

I didn't liquify the sugar. Earlier in my wines i was doing this thinking it was necessary. It turns out that you can just put the sugar in and let it go. This is especially true because we use evaporated cane juice in our house.

In the prior batches i was concerned with the pulp staying in for too long. I separated it out in the last batch and tasted it after and it tasted fine. So, to simplify this time I'm simply leaving it in. I think it will make it more pumpkinee.

I've been stirring it every couple days. It bubbles slowly but is still going.

6/4/2018 - Racked mix to 2 gallon jugs.  Squeezed out pulp.  Squeezing is worth it but need a better method.  Mary B made pumpkin bread from the pulp.  It was great and really neat that it tasted like the wine.  A very cool pairing.  Still needs a lot of settling time.  Putting it in the basement to be cooler.

6/16/2018 - Put it in the basement to continue clearing.

12/26/2018 - Finally bottled this.  So tasty.  I enjoyed a pipe and a bottle of the dregs after bottling.

Jalepeno Mead - April 2018

Last fall I made a gallon of jalepeno mead for Christmas and New Year.  It was sooooo good.  So I tripled the recipe to make a big batch.  We drank this while it was still fizzy and after it clarified.  Both were awesome.  The recipe couldn't be simpler.

10 pounds of honey
2-3 jalepeno
water

That's it.  I used local honey.  It turns out very sweet and the pepper adds a neat after flavor and zing that makes you want more.  It takes a very long time to finish and clarify.  The first batch made me think I did something wrong because it took so long.

After 1 full day of getting started I stirred it to make sure everything was still mixed.  Mistake.  It bubbled up like a soda bottle and I wasted about a cup or so.  Sad.  Still have plenty left.  No more stirring :-)

5/19/2018 - I put the airlock on a week ago and it's bubbling. I remember from my first batch that it takes a very long time to finish. It bubbles slowly and only wh e it starts to settle is it almost done.  Based on the way it looks now it will be a long time coming.

8/20/2018 - Bottled this past weekend.  Oh my it is soooo tasty.  I poured off some dregs for tasting after I bottled it.  Delicious.  I bought some grolsch style clear bottles and it looks so nice.  I got 12 small bottles and 3 750ml bottles from the batch.  Gave a bottle to the in-laws as a gift.

Turbo Peach November 2017

I haven't been able to taste the peach wine that I made in August yet but I bet it will be tasty based on my little taste when I was bottling it.  This got me to thinking that I needed to do something fun with the leftover peaches in my freezer.  Need to make room for Thanksgiving stuff.

I decided to make high-octane peach wine from them.  I figure that since they were frozen they might yield more juice and flavor.  The trick with high-octane is that you need to feed the yeast regularly so they keep producing the alcohol.

I took the frozen peaches and put them in the 3 gallon stock pot.  I warmed them a little to thaw them and then let them sit overnight.  I also added some pectin at this point to try to get more juice out of them.  The next day I mashed them up and got the juice out of them.  This was kind of tough because I think being frozen caused them to get slimy instead of juicy.  Still I actually got more juice than I wanted so I may end up with less alcohol content than I had intended since there is not much space in the jug.

I checked the plain juice and it was at a little over 5% sugar which is a good start.  I used my other peach batch as a starting point of sorts.

Ingredients:

• Peaches
• 2 bags of Morning Thunder tea (to add tannin)
• 2 tsp pectin in jug (after the overnight)
• 2 tsp acid blend.  A little dangerous because I don't know the initial acid starting point but the raw peach tasted pretty tame and I'm trying to boost the flavor
• Yeast
• Yeast nutrient
• Total sugar added: 18 cups

The picture below shows the initial jug.  I'll keep the pulp in it for longer than usual to try to increase the flavor.  The plan is to check the sugar daily and as it approaches 0% I'll add some sugar syrup until it stops fermenting or the jug is full, whichever happens first.

11/24/2017 - The batch is fermenting like crazy just like the last batch.  Maybe there's something about peaches.  I checked it on Saturday morning and it was almost at zero so I added 4 cups of melted sugar.  I read that this is called chaptalizing.  I checked on Sunday and again it was almost 0 so I added another 4 cups and a tablespoon of yeast nutrient.  Each 4 cups brought me back to about 5%.  So at this point it should be 10-15% alcohol.  I also read that you do not have to melt the sugar.  Good to know as I am running out of space.  I took a taste and it tastes good.  I'll play with the acid blend once it starts to finish using the taste method.

11/27/2017 - This morning it was still fermenting like crazy.  I didn't want it to starve through the day so I added a cup of sugar raw, not melted.

11/27/2017 - This evening I started thinking about how much more the wined could take and I was running out of jug space so I got a 5 gallon jug out of the garage and swapped them.  It smelled wonderful.  I added 4 more cups of sugar and had a taste.  It tastes good but the flavor seemed a little weak.  I found another 2 quarts of frozen peaches and melted them in the microwave.  Mashed them up and put them in.

11/28/2017 - After work the fermenting has slowed but is still present.  I added 2 cups of sugar and 3 tsp of yeast nutrient.  Prior to adding the sugar I checked the gravity and it was at about 6% so the sugar was a just in case.  I may try getting a stronger yeast to give it one more kick... or maybe not.  I haven't decided.

11/30/2017 - Last night when I got home I could see that the mix was still flurrying.  I think this happens because when the sugar content is high the pulp floats to the top.  As the sugar goes down it all sinks and the CO2 lifts it up.  Anyway, it was still churning this morning.  I checked the gravity and it was about 4%.  I don't want to shock it so I added 1 cup of sugar and will watch it daily.  I took a taste and the alcohol is higher.  The added peach and sugar are making it pretty tasty too.

12/1/2017 - Last night it was still bubbling pretty well.  This morning it was a little quieter.  I checked the gravity at about 3% and added one cup of sugar.  I think it's getting close to the end of what the yeast can handle.  It tastes very good.  I'm glad I added the extra peach.  With this cup of sugar I have 18 cups of sugar in there.  Since 4 brought it to 5% 18 should bring it to almost 22%.  I doubt there is that much alcohol in there but it gives an idea of how much sugar the yeast can handle.  I think I'll take it off of the fruit this weekend.

12/13/2017 - I took it off of the fruit and put the airlock on.  It's been bubbling about every 15 seconds ever since.  It tasted very good.  I think the extra peach was a good idea.  I'll play around with the acid blend after the fermentation stops.

1/24/2018 - Still bubbling about once every 2 minutes.  Must be close to done.  the color has really deepened.

2/28/2018 - Bottled the wine.  Super strong and not super tasty.  Added a bunch of acid blend to improve the taste a little.  It reminds me of when I made the maple wine that seemed so harsh.  It has a slight bourbon taste.  Makes me wonder if it will mellow and become tasty later.  Might be good in a sangria in the summer.

7/4/2018 - We made some sangria with it at Myrtle beach.  It wasn't bad.  Usable.  Very strong.  A great experiment.  I might find other uses for it.  It's not bad for sipping though.  Might be good on ice.

September 2019 - Over the past year I've opened a couple of these bottles for sipping.  It's strong and sharp, a little rough, less rough than whiskey.  The more I drink it the more I like it.  A little goes a long way, great for sipping.  the peach flavor seems to come out more and more.  Oddly, Mary B really likes it with orange juice.  I have to experiment to see if it's the flavor, the sweetness, or the acid that improves it.  I'll make another batch of this in the summer.

Initial Batch