Happy New Year

Happy new year everyone

With a stressful Christmas and a lot going on with me mentally, I will not be sending these anymore updates. 

If you want an update, please feel free to call, text or email me. 

Chele had IT Therapy this week on Wednesday and she still has not fully recovered from it. She had a 2 hour IV antibiotic infusion because the infection still lingers. Her memory is fading fast. I asked her what her name was and she said "your wife". No fever or pain, just exhaustion and she is just out of it a lot.

Have a great 2024.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all this humble note reaches. Michelle and I wish you the very merriest of Christmases. We hope your holiday season has been joyous. 

Michelle had another busy week. We received a call from the oncologist stating they wanted to deliver IV antibiotics to combat the infection in the Ommaya Reservoir. If this does not go away, we will have it removed. We could have it replaced but we will choose not to do this. This 2-time IV antibiotic treatment was 2 hours long each sitting. Michelle stayed entertained by movies on her laptop. 

Because of the infection, there was no IT treatment this week. Day 2 of the antibiotics we had a virtual meeting with the neurologist. I remember how the doctor does not like her patients being late, so I switched our appointment to virtual to ensure prompt attendance. She discussed removal of the Ommaya Reservoir, the infection, future treatments and hospice. We will have more MRIs done of the brain and lumbar in February and meet again before making any decisions regarding hospice. 

Random Fact of the Week Scientists calculated that for Father Christmas to deliver all gifts to people around the world, on Christmas Eve, he would have to visit 822 homes a second, traveling at 650 miles a second! That would be some speedy work. Traditionally, children leave cookies and milk for Santa, and a carrot for the reindeer.

Did you know? Michelle has always the kind who loves Christmas. It’s been a time for her to give and relax. This Christmas will be no exception. 

Throwback Love Story Courting Part III Christmas 2000, Chele and I were 6 months into a dating experience like I had never seen. Imagine landing a smart, self sufficient confident woman. I still lived over 50 miles from Austin, which was quite a commute to come see Chele. She got a phone call one day stating her dad wasn’t doing well. She packed Stephan up and went to Colorado. While she was there, she saw her dad in the hospital before he died. She told him that she met a someone in Austin. He told her “Don’t mess this one up”. Knowing Chele for the past 25 years, I highly doubt she was the one who messed anything up in past relationships, so I am sure he was having this talk through her, to me. 

Long phone conversations talking about everything and going through hard times can bring 2 people close. We saw it back in 2000 and we are seeing it now. Chele Left Colorado early to come back to Texas to spend Christmas with the Lucks. Her dishwasher had broken, so I bought her a new one and installed it for her as a surprise. I remember hearing rumors that my mom was saying “it must be serious, he bought her a dishwasher, who does that after 6 months of dating”. I guess I never thought of it from that perspective before.

Deep Thoughts With big life decisions, heartbreaks, tragedies, and even just bad days when nothing seems to go right, it's easy to get down on your outlook on life, add cancer. It's hard to stay positive. This week my focus has been to keep the negative thoughts at bay. Why is negativity so easy to harbor? Sometimes you need to remind yourselves how special you are. You are special and thank you! Yes, I'm talking to you.

Rudolph Daytime “Wipeout” (TBD) “Great British Bake Off” (Netflix), “Chopped” (YouTube TV), “Whose Line Is It Anyway” Broncos and Vikings Football, “The Voice”, “Law and Order: Criminal Intent”

Santa Primetime “Poker Face” (Peacock) (★★★) A mystery-of-the-week series following Charlie Cale, who has an extraordinary ability to determine when someone is lying. She hits the road in her Plymouth Barracuda and with every stop encounters a new cast of characters and strange crimes she can't help but solve. Guest stars are plentiful throughout, from Ellen Barkin and Adrien Brody to Luis Guzmán and Chloë Sevigny. An inverted detective series, also known as a "howcatchem" and popularized by "Columbo," the crime and perpetrator are shown at the beginning of each episode and follows Charlie as she tries to solve others mystery.

“Virgin River” (Netflix) (★★★★) Seeking a fresh start, a nurse practitioner moves from Los Angeles to a remote Northern California town and is surprised by what, and who, she finds.

"Lawmen: Bass Reeves" (Paramount +) (★★★), “Opry Country Christmas”

“Christmas Tree Diner”

The Menu

Tinsel

THC Gummies

Dark Chocolate

Pears

Ornaments

Chicken with Mushroom (★★★)

Chicken Penne in a White Cheddar Sauce (★★★★)

Sweet and Sour Chicken (★★★)

Chicken Spaghetti

Grilled Chicken Thighs

Cheesy Chicken and Pasta

BBQ Pork Sliders (★★)

Lights

Broiled Asparagus

Green Beans

Carrots

Broccoli

Angel Tree Topper

Crème Bismarck

Sour Patch Kids

Mint Ice Cream

Vanilla Ice Cream

Love you,

Brian

www.MerryChristmasToAll.com

Keeping her Nose to the Grindstone

Michelle continues to keep her nose to the grindstone. Her infection has gotten better but it has not subsided yet. IT treatment went well this week. She had some nausea and vomiting the day after treatment, but I was able to control this with steroids.

I’ve had a lot of people ask me what a PET scan was this week. A positron emission tomography (PET) scan is a type of imaging test. It uses a radioactive substance to look for disease in the body. In general, PET scans may be used to evaluate organs and/or tissues for the presence of disease or other conditions. PET may also be used to evaluate the function of organs, such as the heart or brain. The most common use of PET is in the detection of cancer and the evaluation of cancer treatment.

The PET scan results came back, and they were a lot better than I expected them to be. The oncologist was excited to report that all the tumors in the lungs, liver and lymph nodes had reduced in size, some more than others. Michelle is scheduled for chemotherapy again starting right after Christmas. IT therapy will continue weekly.

Next week we will meet with the neurologist to discuss the tumor changes to the brain and spine. Hopefully we will see molting results here too.

Highlight of the week Chele helped me crochet this week. It was only a cord. I needed to make a name for a stocking. I was being a little chicken to get it started but loved it once I did. It was cute watching her try to help me with the cord. I can tell it is frustrating for her to think she used to be able to do this mindlessly and now she can’t even do it. Watching her try and having her teach me was priceless.

Random Fact of the Week From the 1830s until the 1910s, Grindstone City Michigan produced the premier grinding wheels in the United States. In 1888, the Cleveland Stone Co. purchased the property owned by Worthington and Sons and became the sole owner of all quarry properties. They continued to operate the store and quarries, but the salt works were discontinued, as a means operating costs made it no longer profitable.

For a significant part of the late 1800s, grindstone quarries dotted the shores of Lake Huron from Port Austin to Harbor Beach. The most notable competitor to Grindstone City was in nearby Lake Township. Here the Babbitt Sandstone Company found the stone was harder and had color. Thus, they switched to making gravestones. The Wallace quarry near Bay Port was the other. These stones were used to sharpen tools and knives, and axes. Farm tools such as plows needed sharpening, as did scythes that cut wheat or rye.

Did you know? Michelle hasn’t always had a green thumb. When we met, she had a hard time keeping plants alive. As time went on and we moved to a place with more space, she spent more time and had more patience. Now she loves it. She keeps houseplants alive and always has a garden full of fresh produce in the spring.

Throwback Love Story Courting Part II In 1999, I lived 56 miles from work and usually drove my motorcycle to save gas money. Apparently wearing chaps isn’t a common sight in Austin, but it is a needed apparel when the weather is cold and rainy. I didn’t care that people were staring at me when I came in after a long ride. I even caught Chele smirking a time or two, function over fashion was my motto at the time.

I shared the largest cubicle with a good friend and colleague of mine, Christine. She too was strong willed and very smart. I definitely knew how to surround myself with smart ones to make myself look successful. Christine and I got into a pickle of a problem and needed some serious high caliber help. We went to upper management, and they suggested we summon the help of Spence. “Spence?” I screamed. “Not Spence. She has a crush on me”. Christine gave me a devilish smile and said, “nah, it’ll be fine”. I knew better, but there was no other choice, we needed the help.

It was late in the day and Chele had already gone home. We used instant messaging (IM) to contact her for help. Christine was asking the questions on my computer on IM then verbally telling me what to type into the computer screen on the other side of the cube. After a few hours we finally were able to get our environment stable and everything working that needed to be working. Just as Christine was about to close out the chat, Michelle types in IMs “you owe me”. Christine lets out a chuckle and says, “Hey Brian, Michelle says you owe her”. I scoffed and said, “Yea right, I guess sex is out of the question.” Well, I was kidding of course but Christine didn’t think so, she started to type this into IMs. Seeing this, I freak out. I jumped up and grabbed her hands and stopped her immediately.  I tried to explain AGAIN to Christine that she should know Spence has a crush on me and that I did not want anything to do with entertaining that crush. I begged her to stop and to not encourage this futile behavior. Christine backspaces out of the rude comment and promises not to type it. I waited for Christine to change screens before I stepped away to the other computer. Just as I walked away, I heard her typing again. Dag gum it, I thought. I should have locked my computer. She is typing as if she is me and Chele has no idea that Christine is the one using my IMs, Chele thinks I am typing the response. I once again race back to my computer but not before she sends the response of “I guess special favors are out of the question?” OMG Christine, seriously, what the heck were you thinking? No sooner did I get these words out did a new bubble show up and the words popped up saying “Dinner and a movie?” “See what you did now?” I said, “Now I must go on a date with her.” “You could cancel”, Christine said. That would be rude, was my reply. It was a movie followed by dinner at a karaoke bar. We had a good time. We don’t remember the name of the movie and neither of us sang. There was only going to be one date, right? Oh, and the chaps, apparently the leather looked good, it matched the bad boy look a lot of women are attracted to. Who'd thunk it. Function over fashion became fashion.

Deep Thoughts Love language came to my mind this week. When catastrophic events occur, they jolt us into a sobering awakened state and awaken our true connection to the language of love.  A state of being focused on what is important, what really matters. This week my focus has been to show Michelle my love in every way possible. Michelle hasn’t put makeup on for years yet somehow, she wakes up with makeup on. I tell her this every morning to let her know how beautiful she looks.

Sharpening Daytime “MasterChef” (Tubi), “Wipeout” (TBD) “Great British Bake Off” (Netflix), “Chopped” (YouTube TV), Football

Hard work Primetime "Lawmen: Bass Reeves" (Paramount +) (★★★) From executive producers Taylor Sheridan and David Oyelowo, the untold story of the first Black U.S. Marshal, Bass Reeves.

“Ghosted” (Apple TV) (★★★) Cole falls head over heels for enigmatic Sadie, but then makes the shocking discovery that she's a secret agent. Before they can decide on a second date, Cole and Sadie are swept away on an international adventure to save the world.

“The Grinch” (Freeform) In this live-action adaptation of the beloved children's tale by Dr. Seuss, the reclusive green Grinch (Jim Carrey) decides to ruin Christmas for the cheery citizens of Whoville. Reluctantly joined by his hapless dog, Max, the Grinch comes down from his mountaintop home and sneaks into town to swipe everything holiday-related from the WHO’s. However, the bitter grump finds a hitch in his plans when he encounters the endearing Cindy Lou Who eating eggs.

“Sandstone Saloon”

The Menu

Grit

THC Gummies

Peach ring candies

Pears

Grind

Baked Salmon (★★★)

shrimp (★★★★)

Fried Tilapia

Onion Chicken (★★★★)

Garlic Chicken Voila

Pork Roast (★)

Sirloin Steak (★)

Stone

Cauliflower Rice

Sweet Corn

Broiled Asparagus

Ranch Style Beans

Pebbles

Crème Bismarck

Sour Patch Kids

Mint Cookies

Love you,

Brian

www.ScrapedNoseFmGrindstoneOuch.edu

Short on Bandwidth

Chele was short on bandwidth this week, mentally and physically. She started the week with a spinal tap to test her fluid for infection. Chele was confused as to why she did not have a normal appointment and they only extracted fluid and no chemo was put in. Saline was put in to replace the spinal fluids that were removed.

Mid-week Chele was supposed to have IT treatment. At the last minute this was canceled. We were told something grew on the culture after a retest earlier in the morning. They did not feel safe continuing with IT treatment for the week. The antibiotics were changed to stronger more effective antibiotics, hoping to combat the infection. There was confusion again for Michelle because this was not a normal appointment.

The week ended with a PET scan. Yes, insurance finally approved the PET scan after 2 rejections. The results will come mid-week next week and will be followed by a hopeful IT treatment. We see improvement with IT, or maybe it’s less digression so we would like to continue with these treatments. Hopefully the infection goes away.

Random Fact of the Week Though often used interchangeably and closely related, in fact bandwidth and speed are not the same thing. Speed tells you about the rate at which data can be transmitted, whilst bandwidth indicates how much data your connection can transmit at that rate. Why do we refer to our internet speeds as "bandwidth" with units of measurement like "10 Mbps"? Bandwidth is, as the name implies, the width of the frequency band, typically measured in Hertz. So, if you had a signal with a spectrum from 2MHz to 10MHz, your bandwidth would be 8MHz.

Did you know? Michelle would bottle feed baby calves after her dad took the mama cow away to fatten up for the market. She loved doing it and at the time did not understand why the calves needed bottle feeding. Her dad spared her of this.

Throwback Love Story Courting Part I I met Michelle at MCI. MCI was a phone company many years ago that was later bought by Verizon Business. I started working for MCI after I left the Army in October 1998. She was the smart yet shy redhead that would frequently visit the command center located right next to my cubicle. I eventually picked up on the fact that she had a crush on me, but she had way too many "flaws" for me. She was too smart for starters. She was older than I was. Her chest was quite large and for some reason, this really intimidated me. The months went on and my job changed but Chele’s didn’t. My cubicle changed and it was right across from hers. Knowing she had a crush on me, I thought I would combat this by irritating her, maybe I could change the crush. I learned she hated the smell of burnt popcorn. I would buy microwave popcorn and burn it on purpose (I like a slight char on it anyway). I would wait to open the bag until I got back to my desk to ensure all the fumes engulfed both of our cubicles. Being a single parent of 2 young boys, I watched a lot of Johnny Bravo and quickly became his #1 fan. I had Johnny Bravo nick-nacks littered on my desk. I had one that talked, it said “Hey, foxy mama, you smell kinda pretty. Wanna smell me? Hoohah!” and “Enough about you, let's talk about me”. It drove her nuts, but it didn’t drive her away. Some days it even made her smile.

One day I needed some computer coding done in my test environment. Michelle worked strictly in the MCI production environment and did not mess with testing, that was left to those with lower seniority and let me be honest, she was on a different level. I went to Chele and asked for assistance with the coding. She quietly asked me where my popcorn was now and if there was a way Johnny Bravo could ask her? “Whoa mama” I said in my best Johnny Bravo voice. She made me sit in her cubicle and wait for what seemed like an hour, while she "finished up" some things. (It was probably 5 minutes realistically) Humbled, I waited and was grateful when she finally was able to assist me. She grabbed a handwritten note from the back of her desk, typed in the needed code from the handwritten note and put the paper back where it was. She looked at me and said it was done. I thanked her and scuffled out of her cube. I patiently waited for her to leave her desk for a restroom break, I let loose a quiet shriek of anxiety as I made my way to her cubicle. Finding the handwritten note, I grabbed it and headed straight to the copy machine. I made a copy, replaced the note and went back to my desk. I later wrote a script using her notes. (without her knowing of course) When I showed her, she was furious. She warned me to never use this in production. I could not believe that she still had a crush on me. How did I know? More on this next week.

Deep Thoughts I read that we have limitless bandwidth made up of energy. Our bandwidth is decreased by thoughts and feelings of anger, frustration, anxiety and fear. How we choose to control these energies or frequencies defines us. Not by just one day but a full body of work. Our deep thoughts (LoL) and energies affect everyone and everything around us, whether we are aware of it or not.

Computing Daytime “MasterChef” (Tubi), “Wipeout” (TBD) “Great British Bake Off” (Netflix), “Chopped” (YouTube TV), Football

Signal Primetime “Gen V - From the World of The Boys” (Prime). (★★★) The lives of hormonal, competitive Superheroes as they put their physical, sexual, and moral boundaries to the test. We both loved it. She and I liked the Boys on Prime, so this was an easy sell.

“Hulk” (Disney +) Eric Bana ("Black Hawk Down") stars as scientist Bruce Banner, whose inner demons transform him in the aftermath of a catastrophic experiment; Jennifer Connelly is Betty Ross, whose scientific genius unwittingly helps unleash the Hulk; Nick Nolte plays Banner's brilliant father, who passes on a tragic legacy to his son; and Sam Elliott portrays the commander of a top-secret military research center.

“Slow Horses” (Apple TV) Following a dysfunctional team of MI5 agents and their obnoxious boss, the notorious Jackson Lamb is back as they navigate the espionage world's smoke and mirrors to defend England from sinister forces.

“Analog Alley”

The Menu

Bits

THC Gummies

Peach ring candies

Pears

Frequency

Panko Crusted Shrimp

Shoyu Ramen with Chicken

Baked Cod

BBQ Sous Vide Chicken

Pork Chops 

Tortilla Crusted Tilapia

Brats

Radio

Green Beans

Corn

Asparagus

Mashed Potatoes

Transfer

Mehgan's Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

Love you,

Brian

www.ThinkPositiveBoostURBandwidth.org

One Tough Cookie

Michelle has been one tough cookie this week. She did not walk a lot this week, so I am thankful for the blood thinner, Eliquis. We’ve gotten into a routine now so getting into and out of bed, up and down from the couch and on and off the commode are simpler. She uses her upper body strength and I guide her legs and feet to where they need to be.

Insurance declined the PET scan, so it was rescheduled again. We will try next week.

There was an infection detected in her spinal fluid collected from IT therapy this week. She was put on horse pill antibiotics twice daily for 10 days. They will recheck the spinal fluid to make sure another IT treatment is safe. She has not seen the rain of side effects caused from the previous treatments. The infection could be from the spinal fluid, or the equipment used may have been contaminated somehow. We should know more by IT treatment time next week. She continues to stay positive and smile. She is one tough cookie. 

Highlight of the week Peppermint flavored milkshake are back at Chick-fil-A. Chele and I both love the hand-spun old-fashioned way they make this festive milkshake. We stopped after IT treatment this week. Chele's favorite are the chips of peppermint bark mixed in the shake and of course the whipped cream and cherry on top.

Random Fact of the Week The record for the most cookies baked in one hour is held by Hassett’s Bakery of Cork Island. They baked 4,695 cookies in one hour. My mom came close one year when I visited. She made 469.5 cookies in her kitchen for Loaves and Fishes. The record for the biggest cookie is held by Immaculate Baking Company of Flat Rock, NC. In 2003, they baked the record-setting cookie, which measured 102 feet wide and weighed over 40,000 pounds. The record for the tallest tower of cookies was cast by the Girl Scouts of Nassau County. In 2010, they constructed a tower of cookies at the Roosevelt Field Mall in Garden City, NY. The tower measured 6 feet and ⅛-inch tall using 22,800 cookies to build the tower.  

Did you know? Michelle made a Knick knack for each of her kids every year for Christmas. Each year here at the Luck house was a challenge for her to come up with new ideas, but she always came through. Sometimes she would start as early as July on her ideas.

Throwback Love Story I was working in Dallas in summer of 2012. I would commute on Monday morning and drive back to Austin on Thursday evenings. Chele and I were on a fitness kick, going to the gym 4 times a week. I went to the gym after work one night. I left my car, and I was headed into the gym when I was greeted by a black lab puppy. He was an abandoned dog; I could tell by the fleas and ticks littered on his body. Knowing that there was no way to keep a dog in my hotel I left him outside while I went in and had a 45-minute workout. When I was done, I came out and the puppy was still hanging out around the gym. It was after 7pm, I called Michelle to get her thoughts on the situation, she said “no” (I think she answered the phone saying no). I told her about the condition of the fleas and ticks. I told her I thought it was best if I just kept him over night then brought him to a shelter the next day, it just wasn’t safe for him to be out all alone. She agreed. I snuck him into the hotel that night and treated his fleas and tick problem, I gave him a bath and got him all nice and fresh. I had to work the next day, so I put a “Do not Disturb” sign up and left. I got a call from hotel management later in the day complaining about “my dog” in the room. I had called a few dog shelters that were full and even called the dog pound. Nobody wanted to take the dog, now that I had him all nice and cleaned up. I checked out of my hotel room and got a more pet friendly hotel and let Chele know the news. She was not happy. I suggested we find a good home for him, and the search was on. 

That weekend I introduced “Harley” to Michelle. We had not named him yet, but I knew he was going to stay with us. I told Michelle that while I was gone for the week, maybe she could find a loving home for him to stay at. Some time throughout that weekend, while I was playing with him, I looked at her and I said, “He makes me so happy”. Her face was priceless, you could see the air being let out of the balloon. She quietly and softly said, “how and I supposed to get rid of him now?”

The bond they had was unbreakable. A dog is man’s best friend. Michelle loved that dog more than me on most days. He got ornery as the years went on, it was probably his cancer that did it to him, but he never stopped loving her, and she never stopped loving him. She actually had professional photos done with him. 

Deep Thoughts There’s always some truth behind “just kidding”, knowledge behind every “I don’t know”, emotions behind “I don’t care” and pain behind “it’s okay”.

Oatmeal Raisin Daytime “Great British Bake Off” (Netflix), “Million Pound Menu” (Netflix), “Chopped” (YouTube TV), Football 

Cookie Monster Primetime “Lessons in Chemistry” (Apple TV) (★★★★) One of the episodes made Chele cry. I had to pause the TV to comfort her. – In the 1950s, your reality was different. Elizabeth Zott's dream of being a scientist is challenged by a society that says women belong in the domestic sphere; she accepts a job on a TV cooking show and sets out to teach a nation of housewives way more than recipes.

“The Righteous Gemstones” (MAX). (★) I liked it, Chele was “not a fan”.

 “Doctor Strange” (Disney+), “Iron Man” (Disney +), “The Weather?”

“Cookie Classics”

The Menu

Chips

THC Gummies

Peach ring candies

Pears

The Dough

Pork Chops (★★★★)

Sous Vide Chicken Breast (★★★)  

Protein Shake

Chalupas (★)

Cajun Chicken Carbonara

Sausage Ravioli

Grilled Salmon

Fixins

Asparagus

Mashed Potatoes 

Rice

Carrots

Love you,

Brian

www.ThrowDirt-LoseGround.org