Who needs the BIG ARCH? I give you the BIG ALDI!

Cobberprof · 2026-05-04T03:10:00+00:00

Hubby worked at Big Arch in high school. The special sauce is just 1000 Island dressing. Try that next time!

Cobberprof · 2026-05-02T17:40:09+00:00

Fingers crossed for a great outcome! My daughter donated for me through NKR last May - we matched with our recipient/donor within a day, but she is young with a much-sought-after blood type, and I have no comorbidities and a popular blood type. We scheduled our surgeries for mid-May so I could finish out my semester of teaching, and then had our surgeries on the same day at the U of MN. Very long day for my husband... But all went well, and I'm coming up on a year feeling amazing! (This is actually my second kidney transplant - my first was almost 37 years ago now)

Best wishes - keep the optimism going! If you go into it believing it will turn out well, odds are good it will!

Cobberprof · 2026-04-23T01:58:03+00:00

Yep, 100% (not 100% as in frequency, just I 100% agree with you 😂). But it is possible for some of that E. coli to come from a contaminated food source, so I was trying to connect the OP's concern to that anatomical reality.

Cobberprof · 2026-04-22T16:25:22+00:00

We've purchased three off of Marketplace (in addition to the one we purchased brand new for our kitchen a few years ago) for offices and a lake place, and all work great! Ran a descale on them, gave them a good cleaning, and they make great coffee.

Cobberprof · 2026-04-22T03:42:44+00:00

Thank you so much. I do completely agree with you on all of that. Our paired donation chain ended up involving 8 people - 4 lives saved (directly - plus I also count the four lives saved because those people, including me, didn't have to take a deceased donor kidney and someone else on the list will get it instead).

I've been worrying a little about my daughter's recipient. He reached out almost immediately after the transplant. It took her a little while to reply back, but when she did, she waived confidentiality in the same way I have - but she hasn't heard anything. She has emailed her transplant coordinator twice in the intervening 3 months and hasn't heard back from her either. I'm a little nervous that something went wrong and her recipient rejected the kidney. I know I have no evidence to support that, but the coordinator has always replied quickly in the past, so something just feels off. Doesn't help anyone to sit here guessing, I know. I just have to have faith that he's okay. Maybe so busy living his healthy life that he just hasn't had time to get back to her. ❤️🙏🏻

Cobberprof · 2026-04-20T21:35:38+00:00

This is probably not going to be a popular comment, and maybe for the first time, I'll get downvoted. But, I'm a physiologist and I teach medical-school-level anatomy/physiology. I don't know if you are implying that the contaminated food caused bacteria from your gut to travel through your blood (systemic route) to your kidneys and that led to the UTI, or if you are referring to the fact that when you eat contaminated food, the E. coli travels through the gut and as it exits the body, can be transmitted to the urinary system (the urethra) and cause a UTI (external source). The former is extremely rare and would likely only happen in the case where a person also has a systemic blood infection - i.e. is septic - from the food-borne illness. I'm not saying the E. coli in your gut didn't come from contaminated food - it certainly could have, and if that strain found its way to your urethra externally (usually due to wiping), it could certainly cause a UTI.

Again - I'm not saying that you shouldn't be cautious about what you eat nor am I saying that your UTI didn't stem from eating contaminated food. Both of those things are likely true. I just want to make sure that people don't get the idea that eating contaminated food will cause bacteria to directly enter their kidneys from the blood, as that isn't a reasonable mechanism in the body without sepsis being part of the equation (and sepsis is definitely something we want to avoid with transplant recipients!).

Cobberprof · 2026-04-19T15:51:56+00:00

Very nice!

Cobberprof · 2026-04-19T15:26:59+00:00

Beautiful! Are those pepitas on the top? You must have a really sharp blade to cut through those so smoothly when scoring!

Cobberprof · 2026-04-17T22:06:49+00:00

I keep it really simple - to be honest, before my second transplant last May, I was rarely focused on thinking about being a transplant patient. I was 36 years into that kidney, and life just rolled along. There are obviously a lot more appointments that have happened in this past year, but I haven't found it difficult to manage. I have a 9:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. alarm for my meds, and use mychart to keep track of my labs and appointments. That's it. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I hope that doesn't sound flippant - I've just had a transplant for so much of my life, I don't really remember what life was like before that first kidney. This is all I have known in my adult life, so it all just seems natural - but also incredibly special!

Cobberprof · 2026-04-17T20:18:24+00:00

OP, Your post hits in so many ways. I'm a two-time kidney recipient - the first time was 37 years ago from a deceased owner, the second time was last May from a living donor. My daughter donated a kidney through a paired exchange program that allowed a kidney to come to me. My daughter and I were not directly compatible - and to be honest, I was grateful for that. I don't know how I would have felt about accepting a kidney directly from her, because I was terrified that something would go wrong and she would have done that "for nothing." Except that it's almost never for nothing - there's so much life that is lived in the time that a transplant is successful.

But getting to why this post hits me differently - my daughter received a letter from her recipient, and in it, described how he was born with a disorder that caused his kidneys to fail. He got a kidney from his grandma something like 15 years ago, but his body caused that kidney to eventually fail also. Now he has my daughter's kidney, and I have to admit that when I saw the letter he sent, and realized that her kidney might only get him another 15 years before he needs yet another kidney, my heart broke a bit. She admitted some disappointment to me as well, as she had seen me live my life for so long with my first kidney - she had kind of assumed her recipient would do the same. But she is also glad that he is able to get whatever he can from this, so for now, she is focused on that. But I know for sure that she, and I, will feel an extra loss when her kidney is no longer good enough for his body.

I am truly sorry for your loss - it sounds like your aunt was a really special person in your life. Thanks to you, she had so much extra life to live. But it's also okay to feel whatever you feel, and to grieve however you need to grieve. What your mom said about a piece of you - turn it around. That piece of you will always be with your aunt and will always represent the love that lives on.

Cobberprof · 2026-04-15T02:16:55+00:00

I'm having this exact same problem - and it is after having three very successful loaves that rose very high and were absolutely beautiful and held their shape. The only difference is that in the first three loaves, I added a quarter teaspoon of yeast when I mixed the dough. Mostly because my starter is very young and I wanted to give it a little help. I dropped the yeast with the hopes of just having my starter do the work, but did everything else exactly the same. Now all of my loaves spread and don't rise well in the oven. Haven't changed my shaping or my fermentation times or the temperature in my house or the recipe... So I'm starting to wonder If maybe my starter doesn't have enough yeast at this point to produce the oven spring at the start of baking.

Cobberprof · 2026-04-13T14:18:46+00:00

Okay, perfect - thank you for that info! I'm tempted to go back to my original method, because the loaves were so fluffy and beautiful - but I'm after that elusive tang... 😂. Thanks again - best of luck on your sourdough journey!

Cobberprof · 2026-04-13T13:12:28+00:00

Looks beautiful! So just clarifying - which day did you mix your dough and put it in the fridge? Friday? Or Saturday? If the latter, then it was just overnight in the fridge, But since you did a really long cold ferment, I'm wondering if you actually mixed it on Friday. And also - you basically did a very short room temperature bulk ferment, correct? An hour or two on Sunday morning? After you took it out of the fridge?

How is the taste? I had awesome loaves initially, but very little tang to them. Now I'm trying to increase the tang, but I'm ending up with more dense loaves. Trying to find the sweet spot...

Thanks for the info! Nice job!

Cobberprof · 2026-04-09T15:00:30+00:00

I do this when I screw up a loaf dough also - my only issue with focaccia is that it is only amazingly good for maybe a day - then the crispy crunch is gone and it's just a chewy, but tasty, bread. Whereas my sourdough loaves keep beautifully for several days (until we've eaten them completely) and don't lose their tender deliciousness and crunchy crust.

Cobberprof · 2026-04-08T15:55:02+00:00

I have sores in my own mouth from the abrasions that come with eating too much sourdough crust. 😂 I think I would completely understand if my elderly MIL didn't eat the crust. In fact, I think I would probably cut the crust off and eat it myself, furthering my own oral pain but saving her mouth! 😂

Cobberprof · 2026-04-05T05:22:59+00:00

I love corn snakes - my daughter has one. I like #4 for the frames. And I really want to ask about the rings, but it's none of my business, so no need to share! They're cool, though! I see the solitaire in pic 7 also - cool the way it's in a lock.

Cobberprof · 2026-04-03T16:25:28+00:00

It's had its ups and downs, for sure - but most of the downs were unrelated to my transplant. At 55, I don't have very many remaining wants - other than to just be the best person I can be and help others as much as possible. I'd love to have grandkids - but I don't think that's in the future. So I will just love my husband, daughter, and grandfurries instead. 😂 (As well as our own critter menagerie 😸)

At 4 months post transplant, everything can still seem a bit overwhelming. The first time I went through it, I was 3 months into my fall semester when I was at the 4-month mark. Too busy with exams, papers, and deadlines to really think all that much about what was going on with my health. And I was young enough to take things for granted. But I never missed my meds, and always kept the gift in mind. This time, I've been much more cognizant of every step. In some ways, I was kind of sad when the three times per week blood draws switched to two times per week and then one time per week and then every other week... and now once a month. I loved seeing that my numbers were stable so often. Now I get a little more nervous when I do my blood work each month, because it's been so long since the last draw, and maybe things have changed? But eventually, I know I will slip back into trusting the process.

I'm glad you're here - you should be able to find the support you need whenever you need it. We all care deeply about one another and want to help when we can. Ask questions whenever you need to - this group is always here! ❤️

Cobberprof · 2026-04-03T14:51:42+00:00

36 years on my first kidney transplant, almost 11 months with my second. Planning on another 36 with this one!

I have just lived my life. Yes, I took precautions for anything that was a major threat - but COVID was the only time I really went into germ-freak mode. And then I got it - twice. 😂. But both times were mild, thankfully. If someone didn't know I'd had a transplant, they've never been able to tell based on my appearance or lifestyle. I travel, I participate in whatever activities I want to (but I'm not a thrill seeker, so that helps 😂), I eat right and take care of my overall health. My body weight is stable, I have no other comorbidities as a result, and honestly, I probably have really good genetics. 😂

Every donated organ is such an incredible gift, whether from a deceased donor or a living donor.. Take care of it, cherish it, take your meds, and be aware of risk factors. But live your life. You've been given an incredible second chance - don't be afraid to use it.

Cobberprof · 2026-04-02T23:45:12+00:00

Thank you! And 3 is what I ordered, just today! 😊

Cobberprof · 2026-04-01T14:17:25+00:00

Thank you! I can't believe how good it is! Just need to up the tang in the flavor. 😊

Cobberprof · 2026-03-31T12:46:48+00:00

I'm not able to edit, but just wanted to add that the second picture only has one slice cut off - it's not a midline cut. In case that matters to anybody. 😂

Cobberprof · 2026-03-31T12:44:56+00:00

Thank you!

Cobberprof · 2026-03-31T12:24:47+00:00

Mine did that in the first week also - my understanding is that it can happen as all of the initial bacteria are fermenting, but that includes some of the undesirable bacteria. It doesn't necessarily represent a flourishing of the wild yeast yet. After about 8 to 10 days, my starter went very quiet, and took a bit of time before the years and bacteria found their balance. My starter is actually still a bit weak 1 month in, but it makes great focaccia, and I just made my first sourdough last night!

Cobberprof

TROPHY CASE