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Starkweather Beer Company

 When I moved back to Madison to attend law school in 1987, we moved to a crappy little apartment near the banks of Starkweather Creek on the unfashionable east side.  Today, the east side is booming, and one of the newer brewpubs is called Starkweather Beer Company. It was Saint Pat's Day.  While Guinness is a decent light-bodied stout, I opted for Starkweather's dry Irish Stout, named "Jamestown Jackdaw." Coming in at 5.9 ABV, it had a malty chewable backbone.  It's a new favorite stout for me.  Julia had Late Winter Haze, a New England IPA that didn't have as much fruitiness as she likes in a hazy.  It was still well-executed. We walked down the street to the Harmony Bar, where Julia enjoyed a complete corn beef and cabbage dinner.  I opted for the Reuben sandwich.  Mine was washed down with an Edmund Fitzgerald porter from Great Lakes Brewing.  Julia enjoyed her Chaos Pattern IPA from 3 Sheeps Brewing.  Both are great beers. Justin update:   After a long h

Sick

Yeah, I got sick around Easter.  In different times, it would be no big deal. I don't get sick very often, but it happens. Fever, chills, aches and pains, headache, sore throat, upset stomach and runny nose.  Blech.

Unfortunately, many of these symptoms are associated with the conrona virus.  I was mildly concerned, but I never thought that I had corona virus.  This felt too much like other bugs that I've caught.  If testing was widely available, I could run down to the doctor's office and find out.  However, there's still a shortage of tests.  Public health guidelines are to stay home and self-isolate unless your situation is really bad (difficulty breathing).

The good news is that I haven't had any breathing issues, and my fever went away after a couple of days.  I stayed on Tylenol for most of the week, so I wasn't positive if the fever went away on its own or if it was the Tylenol.  Now I need 3 days of no fever (without Tylenol) , seven days since onset of symptoms, and a decline in symptoms.  If the fever doesn't return, I should be good to go on Sunday.

To protect Justin and the rest of the family, I moved up to the Scamp.  My little electric heater has kept it mostly comfortable during some cold temperatures.  Callie the crazy dog has been good company and has kept her eye on me day and night to make sure that I stay isolated.


During my staycation, I read "Call of the Wild," binged on downloaded episodes of Bosch and the Wire, and slept a lot.  Those tv shows are really good, but "Call of the Wild" is timeless.  It's available for free at the internet archive. It's especially recommended for anyone with a dog like Callie.

I returned to my long walks on country roads on Wednesday.  I rarely see anybody.  This is a stream in the marsh near my house. When I first looked at it, I saw two decent-sized trout. My friend Jon (now deceased) told me there were trout in this stream, but I never saw proof until this week.




I'll probably start splitting wood again this weekend.  On a hill like we have, leaning trees sometimes pull up by their roots and fall.  That happened this week to an oak.




The domino effect changed five other trees.  The tangle is probably too dangerous to mess with at this point, but gravity will eventually bring them all down to create more potential firewood.  My chainsaw can be very patient.  There are less dangerous downed trees in my woods to process.




Nature has many lessons for us. When a tree falls in the forest, it doesn’t really matter if anyone hears it.  But there is often collateral damage.

Comments

greg said…
I don't care what you come down with, not feeling your best right now is damn scary!

I woke up with an unhappy eye the other day, probably scratched it or had an eyelash turn inside out or something, but, despite having memorized the symptoms forwards and backwards, my first thought was Oh Crap! I've got it!

It sure is nice to have "guest housing" available on the property. My nephew is down to his last few days of camper-out-by-the-barn quarantine due to proximity to someone that tested positive. He'll probably go back to work next week. Of the few people still working in Michigan several of my family members are considered "critical workers", including one that works at a pickle factory.

I gota say, nice time to be retired. . .
MFH said…
Dang! Bein' sick ain't never no fun.

I agree, even as a cat-man, *Call of the Wild* is a great dog story.

Fingers crossed the sans Tylenol test comes out positive....or should it be negative? Either way: Get Well Soon!
John said…
I've never really taken the flu seriously and was one of the ones who didn't routinely get flu shots. But this is different. I take it pretty seriously and hope they come up with a good, safe vaccine.

Glad things are turning out for your nephew. It's strange what government considers critical. Here in Wisconsin, it's liquor stores that make me shake my head. It's not like you can't buy liquor in the grocery stores.
John said…
I've been holding at 98 degrees for the last couple of days. Today, it's sunny at mid 50's. outside. And there's a good wind to blow the stink off of me, as my uncle used to say on the farm.
MFH said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
MFH said…
How're you doing today? 4/18/20 6:06 p.m. (Albuquerque time)

(Prev comment deleted due to typo)
John said…
Still doing good. No temperature. Took my long walk this morning and played Frisbee with Callie this afternoon. Might even have a celebratory beer tomorrow night.
MFH said…
Hmmm, my German capricorn-ness maketh me think thou art a tad over-zealous. Beer (and gin, whiskey....what have you) are great for mitigating symptoms, though. ; - )

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