Started on 1/1/24.  Back to an old friend. 1/14/24 I finished the book.  14 days.

Billy, Kaz and Big Mike are sent to the Vatican.  There was a murder of a priest.  Billy has to rescue Diana, find the killer and stay alive.  He does a great job of all three of those.  This was a really good book.  There were a lot of names and priests and a lot of talk about Vatican City.  I can’t wait to start the next book.

Giving this a 8/10.

Started this on 12/21/23.  I think I should be able to finish this before the end of the year.  I’ve only been reading one night and I’m already about 15% into the book.  Is she having De Ja Vu or is she a time traveler?

I finished on 12/31/23.  10 Days.  Not to shabby but the book was really (and I mean REALLY) good.  Jen watches as her son commits a crime.  Her and Kelly (her husband) are heartbroken.  Jen wakes up the next morning…..in the past.  How far back will she go?  What needs changed in order to save Todd (her son) from committing this crime?  Well it’s a long ways.  Book is very well written.  Had me guessing until the very end.  Ending is great.

Original creation day is 10/16/23.  This is a split from John Handy Traditional

11/5/23 (Day 1 of split)
1 gallon yield

This is the split mead.  I used Lahua honey for a traditional mead and separated a gallon off of it.  I added 2lb frozen black berries and 1 oz American Oak and .5oz whiskey oak chips.  I’m planning on letting the berries go clear.

11/10/23 (Day 6 of split)
I tasted this beast today.  Needs more time on the oak and the berries.  Giving it another couple weeks before racking and back sweetening.  The blackberries really shine nicely though.  It’s gonna be a great one.  Just like Jelly Roll Morton!

12/1/23 (Day 27 of split)
Racked off blackberries and stabilized.
1 crushed campden tablet added as well as 1/2 tsp Potassium Metabisulphite & 1/2 tsp Potassium Sorbate (for stabilization)
Now we just let it clear for a couple of weeks to bottle it.  It’s not close to a full gallon

12/4/23 (Day 30 of split)
This is gonna need cold crashed.  I’d like to bottle this on Friday.  Still floaties and a lot of sediment.

12/22/23 (Day 47 of split)
Back sweetened with Eurthrotyl till I liked it.  It’s still not very sweet and blackberries don’t come through much.  This one will just be kind of OK.
Bottled and labeled.

10/26/23 (Day 1)
3lbs Menards Honey
3 lbs Sam’s club Honey
2 Navel Oranges
2 Cinnamon Sticks
3/4 tsp Ginger
3/4 tsp Clove
2 tsp bread yeas
2 Gallons Spring water

I mixed all the ingredients.  In the original JAOM recipe it says mix and let sit.  No gravity, no swirling, nothing…That’s what I did, but I’ll estimate the gravity to 1.070.  If it goes dry (which it might) it would be around 9.2% ABV.

11/30/29 (36 Days)

I’m entering this for Roland, but it wasn’t created on Roland’s week.  I just needed to wait to get to a good artist to name this.  I’m going to take a gravity reading and taste tomorrow 12/1/23.

12/8/23 (44 Days)
This has been cold crashing outside for about 24 hours.  It’s only about 44 degrees outside.  That should be cold enough.

12/22/23 (58 Days)
Racked into pitcher, back sweetened with 1/2 cup honey and bottled.  There was 2 gallons so there was 2 pitchers full.  Tasted great!  Hope it was stable though.  F.G. = .992 (actually 10.3% ABV)

I started this book on 12/7/23.  Pretty sure this was an Amazon First Read.  It’s an FBI procedural.  This isn’t my first Labuskes book.

Raisa, an FBI linguist looks for patterns in the way people write to catch serial killers.
So I finished on 12/21/23.  14 days.  Not to shabby.  This book wasn’t bad.  There seemed to be a lot of characters.  A family murdered in a small town.  Three girls (sisters) survived.  Then 25 years later another family is murdered along with several other people.  The FBI is there looking into who did it.  Turns out Alex (the son who was accused of the family murder 25 years ago and he committed suicide then) wasn’t the one who did it.

Most chapters were short.  Raisa’s chapters were almost to long and I found myself stopping mid chapter some nights.

Overall I’ll give this book a 7 out of 10.

I’m starting this book on 11/21/23.  I’m also reading Art Pepper’s book during this time so hopefully this is a good story.

This is an Amazon first read book.  Didn’t like it.  I read it fast but the story was kind of bland.

A murder, a news anchor who was a sports star herself.  Best friends husband gets murdered.  He’s a sports super star.  It’s a who done it and there’s just to much going on.  I’m giving this book a 6.  Finished on 12/6/23.  9 Days.

I started this book Saturday 11/25/23.  Robert is a pastor of a church in Denver.  He is also a Jazz fan.  He is writing how you can live a jazz filled christian life.  The way that Jesus “grooved”, “improvised” and led the band as a great band leader.  I can’t put this book down.  Finished 11/27/23.  Yep 3 days.

MRM ~ John Handy Traditional

10/16/23
2 Gallon recipe:
6 lbs Lehua Honey
1/2 tsp Fermaid O
2 Tsp Bentonite
Mangrove Jacks yeast
2 Gallons Crystal Gyser water from dollar tree

Mixed all ingredients.  O.G. = 1.102
My plan is to split this batch and do 1 gallon traditional and 1 gallon blackberry.  Blackberries will go into secondary for several weeks while the traditional will bulk age the same time before bottling.

**Self notes.  It’s got no acid or tannins.  Those will have to be added in secondary.  This is NOT the actual week we were studying John Handy, it’s just the week I documented it.  I actually didn’t name this until I documented. It was the Lehua honey that should shine on this one so I will also be back sweetening with Lehua.

11/5/23 (21 days)
Primary fermentation is complete.  S.G. = .994.  That’s right, it went completely dry.  I racked 1 gallon into glass carboy and put a mix of oak chips.  1oz American oak and .5oz whiskey barrel oak.  Will let that set on the oak for a week before tasting. 14.3% ABV
11/10/23 (26 days)
I tasted with the oak.  Still needs more time.  It’s good even as dry as it is.  A little back sweetening and clearing and this will be ready to go.  Not going to do anything else with this today.  Next week maybe rack off oak and use clearing agent.It needs some tannin too.  I’ll add that next week.

***I’m going to start another post for the blackberry.

11/20/23 (36 days)
1/2 tsp potassium metabisulphite
1/4 tsp potassium sorbate
1 campden tablet
It’s clear.  I haven’t tasted it yet but tomorrow may be bottling day.

11/21/23 (37days)
1/4 tsp tannin
1/4 tsp acid blend
.5 lb honey for back sweetening
F.G. = 0.018

Bottled and labeled

I just finished with Missing Parts, Lucinda Berry.  Starting this book on 11/9/23.  This is an Amazon First Read free book.  11/19/23 and I finished the book.  10 days.  This book was amazing.  I literally couldn’t put it down.

It starts with a very gruesome few chapters about 2 young people who are caged and in the dark.  They manage an escape.  Then the fun begins- with trying to find out who did it to them.  I’m giving this book a 9/10.  Lot’s of feelings and some sex.  Chapters were short (ish) but very easy to read.  There were some characters that I kind of forgot who there were at times but the story was really good.

I started this book a couple of months ago.  It was never my intention to read it quickly.  I wanted to enjoy this one.  I finish it on 11/11/23 though.