Brewing mead

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So another alcoholic beverage session coming up. This time we will be brewing mead.

Nothing fancy here. Things that you will need:

• Bucket (or fermenter), 1 is enough 2 could be good if you want to move it to the other vessel after the first fast fermentation is over.
• Water lock
• Thermometer
• Hydrometer
• Something to boil water in
• Various ladles
• Honey. 3-5 kg
• Yeast
• Kitchen scales
• Fermentation stop

I get my honey from my wife's coworker who owns a bee-farm. Mostly honey that is too old to be sold but good enough to brew on. So locally made and free, can't get much better.

Start with boiling some water. Just a little so that you can disinfect the bucket and ladles that you are going to use, don't forget the lid, thermometer and water lock.

Put water on boil. The formula that I've used before is 10 liters of water for 3 kg of honey. This time I think that I will try with a little less water but its still a lot of water. So start boiling.

Weigh and put all the honey in the fermentation bucket. Fill up with boiling water, this will kill any wild yeast and bacteria that is in the honey that can destroy your batch. Stir around to help it dissolve.

After it is dissolved, fill up the hydrometer and check the temperature. Let the test glass cool to 20 Celsius to make a correct reading. When you have the correct temperature, use the hydrometer to do a reading and write down the number as you will need that number when you bottle to calculate the alcohol percentage of the liquid.
If you can't wait for the temperature to reach the calibrated value, you can use a calculator to compensate (for example here)
My reading was 1.100 Specific Gravity at 23 Celsius. i.e. 1.101 SG after compensating for temperature.

At this point you will need to cool the bucket, I usually put on the lid with a water lock and place it outside for a couple of hours. You could I guess use a cooler from beer brewing but I think that is a little overkill for this. Usually it has cooled over night and I can set the yeast.

This time I will use wine yeast that needs to be pre-hydrated 15 minutes before usage. Just warm some water to 40 Celsius and stir in a glass. After 15 minutes, put the mix in the fermentation bucket and close the lid. Check that the water lock is sealed and put it somewhere where it can stay for a week or two.

Update some weeks later
Turns out it didn't start fermenting that fast, I probably kept it too cool the first 2 days. Moved the bucket to the living room instead and now it is bubbling. Will probably let it be for some while before testing it the first time.


One year later..
I kind of forgot about that mead keg in the cellar. Some other things on my mind this year.
Turns out that it actually tastes quite nice after 12 months in the fermentation keg. Will keep it for a while more as I do not have anything to tap it to.

Put in the fermentation stop. Clean up some bottles and tap the mead. Ready to drink once cooled

Until next time: Planning an epic bike ride with Strava and Google Earth!

Bile duct cancer, prognosis

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Only eight weeks to go on my chemotherapy!

Last week I had a chat with my doctor regarding the risk of cancer popping up again after the treatment is completed. The doctor told us that he did not have the numbers readily available but would look into scientific articles and talk with colleagues and would come back.

And today he called back with his findings...

No exact numbers, evidently not a question asked when it comes to bile duct cancer..
What he was able to find was that the chances for this being a one time thing outweighs the risk of it returning. So that's positive, right? Better then 50-50 at least.
The fact that the tumor was found early and that it hadn't spread to any lymph nodes speak in my favor. Had it spread to the lymph nodes, the numbers would have been a lot darker.

I actually don't know what to do with this information. I guess it is human to want to know, but then being unable to do anything with the piece of knowledge.
But I guess this is as good as a prognosis can get... And there is always a risk of backfire, should keep that in mind as well.. Not worry about it but know that it is a possibility.

So I'll be focusing on one day at a time and do the things I want. Life is short and you never know what will happen.

Why I am writing this? Not to feel sorry for myself, but as a way to handle the situation and hopefully someone else out there in a similar situation can find this helpful as well. The human body is strong and hopefully I'll come out of this stronger as well. Plan for the worst and hope for the best! If you find this post interesting, please leave a comment or share on social media, not required but appreciated!

Chemo therapy, fourth cycle of eight

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Another cycle nears its end and when this one is done I will be halfway through my chemotherapy.


This cycle has had its ups and downs just like the ones before just in its own way this time.
Started out with getting really tired the first 4 days, couldn't go to work on Monday and Tuesday, but after that the it got a little better and I was able to do my 50% the rest of that week.

One thing that I've noticed is that if I push myself to train, even for 10 minutes with slow tempo, I don't have to go to bed in the afternoons. It just feels counter productive to put on the running shoes or change into cycling gear when my body screams for the bed. But it has been worth it each time, tired in another way afterwards and more awake. Tired in body, awake in head instead of just tired.
So, no big training sessions while in a chemo-cycle but at least I do something.

• A more detailed look at my training plan for next summers planned adventure and in general how I setup my training while doing chemo
• Strength training tips while undergoing cancer treatment at oncolink

Other than the training and the positive effects from that I haven't had as many anxiety attacks this cycle. Had a big one though and actually ended up crying for twenty minutes with no control of it. The 'normal' anxiety attacks I usually get just pass by and brings up tears but seldom last for more then a minute or two. This one made me cry for real, for the first time since I got the cancer news in January. I guess its part of the process, things starting to hit home. Not trying to focus on these things, just note down in my treatment diary that I had an anxiety attack and move on to other things like coding, training or just read a book.

Another big thing I guess is that I've started reading other peoples stories on twitter. I don't think that I can cope reading a longer post at the moment, but scrolling down twitter tags has made me able to process things in a different light. From when I got the news in January I've said that I don't want to know more then what the doctors tell me, I haven't googled my disease and I've kind of blocked out most of the outside world on this subject and just focused on getting better. But now, 10 months later, I think that I'm ready to read up a little more. Not going to google my cancer form, but read up on how other people are coping with their journey.

I don't know how it is in the rest of the world, but here in Sweden, October has become the pink month. This means that the Swedish Cancer Society runs its breast cancer campaign and this includes a lot of companies doing cancer related advertisements. Hard to miss, and this year the campaign has really hit home and made me really emotional. Haven't really care during previous years but now, having a lot to thank cancer research for, I really wish everyone could donate money to cancer research instead of buying a cup of coffee. Or if you live in Sweden, just buy the ribbon!

So, almost halfway through the treatment. 

Why I am writing this? Not to feel sorry for myself, but as a way to handle the situation and hopefully someone else out there in a similar situation can find this helpful as well. The human body is strong and hopefully I'll come out of this stronger as well. Plan for the worst and hope for the best! If you find this post interesting, please leave a comment or share on social media, not required but appreciated!

Installing a Hot Tub Pw-Spa Classic

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In July we decided to buy a hot tub with a wood stove. After quite a lot of research we decided to buy a PW-SPA Classic that has a diameter of 180 cm.

2 weeks after we ordered it, the whole thing arrived together with a new greenhouse. First step was to remove our old greenhouse and assemble the new one on a new location in the backyard as we would be placing the hot tub where the old one used to be.

For starters, the ground was leveled and we used concrete slabs to build a level support for the tub.
As the tub is 180 cm in diameter and weighs in at around 200 kg, we had to ask a friend that owns a HUDDIG to move it for us.

And as both my wife and I are not used to doing things half-way only we also decided to build a decking around the hot tub.

Building the decking, photos to tell the story

Building the steps up to the deck

Close fit to the hot tub

Close fit to the hot tub

Connecting the stove to the hot tub

Adding some railings

Side that can be opened for maintenance access

PW-SPA stove chimney with home made DIY spark protection mesh

Chimney

The included chimney was around 2 meters long with rain protection and 3 large holes. I ended up adding some metal mesh for spark protection. (I saw that they sold a separate chimney top with spark protection for 80€, instead I just used material that I already had at home.)

Adding water

Heating time

When the tub is empty, it takes about 1 hour to fill up with enough water to start the stove (regular garden hose). About 1.5 - 2 hours to fill it up to full.. A little depending on how many people will be using it. If its just 2 persons, then you need more water.
The heating takes around 2-3 hours. So a total time of 3 hours to from empty to hot water in the tub. These are summer-time numbers, I'll update with winter-time numbers when we get some snow and below zero temperatures!

The lid

Not really happy about the lid. At first the dealer had misplaced the original lid so they ordered a new from Finland. 6 weeks later when it arrived it had hundreds of scratch marks on it. We complained to the dealer and after countless of mails back and forth they agreed to pay back 100€.... At least it's something. After looking closely at the tub I found similar marks on it as well, nothing that I would have noticed but it seems that the PW-SPA has some quality issues with its plastic components.

The drain

When emptying the tub, be sure to have a good surface that the water can hit as it comes with quite some force from the drain. I ended up placing some concrete slabs strategically to prevent the water from creating a hole in the ground. Also, remember to empty the stove by opening it as well. Not good to have old water standing still in there either, could build up bacteria. So empty both the tub and the stove.

Conclusions

We wanted a hot tub with external wooden stove. And we got it. Nothing wrong with the stove, but the dealers customer service was a real pain....
Really happy with the decking as well, a good decision. I think that just having the tub standing there by itself would have been strange.

Disclaimer
I bought this product myself and this is my opinion on them. I am in no way affiliated with the manufacturer of this product.

Chemo therapy, third cycle of eight

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So the weeks go by and I started the third cycle of chemo therapy on Friday evening last week.

So, what has happened? 

After the first cycle, I was supposed to have one week of rest and then start the second cycle. The day before the cycle started the hospital took some blood samples and they called and said that my white blood cell had not recovered. So a second rest week was ordered.
I talked with the doctor and he told me that this was quite common for the first cycle dosage to be a bit too high and that they would correct it for the second cycle.

The Anxiety

At this point I also booked a time with my counselor for call therapy, during the first phase with all the surgery etc, I always had the picture in my head that I was sick because of the big wound on my chest. I knew that I had cancer, but the mind is strange and connects the dots to whatever is closest. In my case I was focusing on healing the wound and when that was done I would be able to do stuff again. Turns out I was unable to do things the way I want, and the chemo therapy doesn't help either. I got assigned a counselor already after the first surgery, so I already had a contact and talking really helps. Of course, I can talk with my family and friends but it is easier to talk about the darker things with someone impartial.
Going through this process, when the chest wound has healed but I am not healed has put some issues in my mind. Even if I don't want to know the chances of full recovery, I have not been able to shake the feeling that even if I beat this cancer this time it could come back. So good to talk with a counselor. I really do recommend it if you are in a similar situation.
My anxiety is acting up whenever I am tired and alone. Seldom if my wife is home. Often when watching TV, it could be anything really. I could be driving the car and suddenly my mind starts thinking about my situation in a new way and I get a micro anxiety attack, it can last from 2 seconds to a minute... And as suddenly as it starts it is over and I am back to normal. I've never had issues with anxiety before so this is quite new to me. Step 1, accept it as a part of the situation that I am currently in.

Rest weeks

After the second rest week they took some more blood samples and came to the same conclusion. Wait another week.
The good thing with 3 rest weeks was that my body started to come back a little. I was able to go for some 1-2 hour rides on my bike. Still, whenever a small hill comes up I really struggle to find a lower gear but I can do it! And that really helps! And moving really helps!
This also got me to start forming a plan for a bike trip for next summer, something that I've had on my bucket list for some years now, cycle to Italy through the Stelvio pass.
I got an OK from my wife (not an enthusiastic OK, but an OK) if I could find someone to ride with me. Turns out that I got 1-2 coworkers that are willing to go for the ride! So now I have something to look forward to and train for. But more on that on my adventure blog!

Second cycle

After the three rest weeks I started my second cycle. It was with a lower dosage, 2000 mg capecitabin instead of 2650 mg twice per day. Evidently this lower dosage should not impact the treatment, neither should the extra rest weeks.
Back on a cycle, I got anxiety attacks again. For each day that went, I got more tired and the anxiety attacks seem to be related to that in some way. I am more sensitive.
I also noticed that I got more and more tired. The second week on the second cycle I noticed that I slept 3 hours after work on Monday. And then on Tuesday I worked 2 hours instead of the 4 due to nausea, and on Wednesday I stayed at home to rest. Back at work on Thursday for 2 hours and then Friday, last day in the cycle for 4 hours.
Also I had some numbing of hands on the second week of the cycle.

Second rest week

On the rest week again and I did not have to rest that much during the time, think I slept 1 hour on Tuesday. Blood samples were OK again, even though my red blood cells were still on 110.. Same as before the second cycle. Evidently the chemo therapy holds down these as well and I should not expect to get back to my normal blood value of 150 until after the last chemo cycle. But yes, I was able to start the third cycle directly after one week of rest.

Third cycle

Me and my nurse decided to try something new this cycle to get a better grip on my nausea that usually comes 30 minutes to some hours after I take the pills. This cycle I am to take a pill called Pimpera before I eat something 30 minutes before the chemo pills. Hopefully this will have better effect then the previous cycles where I've been instructed to take the Pimpera in case I get nausea, usually that is too late.
So, third day and so far so good. No nausea yet. But the cycle is pretty long so I guess things can change along the road.


Until next time, keep safe and carry on with life!

Why I am writing this? Not to feel sorry for myself, but as a way to handle the situation and hopefully someone else out there in a similar situation can find this helpful as well. The human body is strong and hopefully I'll come out of this stronger as well. Plan for the worst and hope for the best!

Chemo first cycle

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First chemo cycle of eight completed.

Part of a series:
Another reminder of mortality
Day 4 - Tumor in my liver
First week - tumor in my liver
Second week - tumor in my liver
Third week with liver cancer
Liver cancer, surgery
6 weeks post-op, news time
Cancer update
Liver cancer, Post-op 2
June Update 2018

July update, 2018
Chemo day 1 and 2

Chemo first cycle

I honestly thought that it would be worse, biggest issues have been with tiredness and nausea. I got a prescription for medicine to help with the nausea but it made me all drowsy... Had to go sleep for an hour and then the rest of the day was in a haze.. so I'll need to ask my doctor if there is any other medicine that could work better.

I've tried to train daily, cycling swimming and weight lifting but some days were just too hot (hottest and dryest summer that I can remember). During the medication cycle training was really hard, i.e. my body was busy with other thing. But now during the pause week, I feel that I am faster on the bike and able to cycle longer distances. So the chemo meds makes things harder...

Today I left blood samples, tomorrow I'll go to the hospital to meet my nurse and receive the medicine for the next 2 week cycle. I will also discuss my sick leave, I really would like to start working again, but I am also a bit scared that I will not be able to complete a full day during a chemo cycle...
Time will tell what will happen, most important now is to get through all the cycles and beat this cancer...

Why I am writing this? Not to feel sorry for myself, but as a way to handle the situation and hopefully someone else out there in a similar situation can find this helpful as well. The human body is strong and hopefully I'll come out of this stronger as well. Plan for the worst and hope for the best!

Chemo day 1 and 2

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So today I started chemo.

Part of a series:
Another reminder of mortality
Day 4 - Tumor in my liver
First week - tumor in my liver
Second week - tumor in my liver
Third week with liver cancer
Liver cancer, surgery
6 weeks post-op, news time
Cancer update
Liver cancer, Post-op 2
June Update 2018

July update, 2018
Chemo day 1 and 2

Chemo first cycle

The plan is to eat 6 pills morning and 6 in the evening for 14 days and then resting for 7. For 8 cycles. So 3 weeks times 8 cycles, should be done some time in January 2019...

Medicine: Capecitabine Accord and Orion

Expected side effects: dry hands and feet, nausea and possibly a fked up stomach.
Possible but not expected side effects: extreme pain caused by my body not being able to break down the active component in the medicine.
Worst case: heart attack
So, the next 72 hours should weed out the extreme pain and heart attack... Wish me luck!

Side effects so far: dry lips....

Training: should do it, should help with the side effects as well.... My plan is to take a short cycle ride this evening, first one since the second surgery.. 8 weeks ago?

Day 2

So far so good, took a bike ride yesterday evening when it started to cool a little, we are having the hottest summer in forever here in Sweden. Short ride, just to get out on the road again. 

Felt really good, but my pulse was through the roof, red-zoning even though it was a 'relaxed' evening ride. But I guess that has to do with the fact that my blood values are still very low.. I had 150 in January before the first surgery, now I had 107.. Still better then directly after the surgery (94 one week after) but not even close to where I would like to be. But I guess it will get there with time.

So far no real side effects, so maybe I'm not in the worst case group : )

Why I am writing this? Not to feel sorry for myself, but as a way to handle the situation and hopefully someone else out there in a similar situation can find this helpful as well. The human body is strong and hopefully I'll come out of this stronger as well. Plan for the worst and hope for the best!

Breaking out of SureFlap Microchip Pet Door Connect

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It took almost 6 months, but our male cat Tiger figure it out..... He knows how to open the SureFlap Microchip Pet Door Connect even when it's locked, one-way or both-ways does not matter... and he gets out and lets his sisters out too...

Evidently he gets hold of the lower right corner with his claws, and somehow manages to push the door outwards over the locks on the outside... And then the door does not swing all the way back every time to the locked position, hence letting out our 2 other cats Prime and Pixel.

Now we have to figure out how to keep him in again.... Our simple solution is to block the door over night. But that kind of takes away the unlock feature from the app as we have to manually unblock it in the morning.

July update, 2018

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Part of a series:
Another reminder of mortality
Day 4 - Tumor in my liver
First week - tumor in my liver
Second week - tumor in my liver
Third week with liver cancer
Liver cancer, surgery
6 weeks post-op, news time
Cancer update
Liver cancer, Post-op 2
June Update 2018

July update, 2018
Chemo day 1 and 2

Chemo first cycle

Investing: Bank & Candy maker.. Both got a building block this month.

Cancer update: Second surgery turned out to be good. So no tumor left, the doctors will discuss if they'll put in chemo during next week. If so, then it will start ASAP, otherwise its done. So more information during the next week. But so far, knowing that they removed the tumors gives hope : )

The actual surgery wound in my chest has started to heal itself with record speed during the last 10 days meaning there is hope that it will be all healed during this month... I'll be home from work for another month and then try to start working again. Still no energy, evidently my blood value is still pretty low (101).
So far a good start for the month.


Why I am writing this? Not to feel sorry for myself, but as a way to handle the situation and hopefully someone else out there in a similar situation can find this helpful as well. The human body is strong and hopefully I'll come out of this stronger as well. Plan for the worst and hope for the best!

June Update 2018

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Part of a series:
Another reminder of mortality
Day 4 - Tumor in my liver
First week - tumor in my liver
Second week - tumor in my liver
Third week with liver cancer
Liver cancer, surgery
6 weeks post-op, news time
Cancer update
Liver cancer, Post-op 2
June Update 2018

July update, 2018
Chemo day 1 and 2

Chemo first cycle

So another update. Noticed that I didn't post any 'My Current Plan' post for May, and I don't really have anything breaking for June.
Looking back I invested that the may building brick in the bank... And I did the same for June.

More important stuff then investing (that still needs to go on, but not the top priority in my head) is the cancer progress.

So, today it is 2 weeks and 1 day since I went into surgery for the second time this year. Hopefully they got the last part of the tumor this time... They were not 100% sure last time, hence the second surgery. I will not receive any news regarding that until the analysis is done in a couple of weeks.
In the meanwhile the cut is healing, a little worse complications on the actual cut compared to last time. Have 3 holes that do not want to heal, so been to the hospital once per day for a week. But the progress seems good as we will jump over tomorrow and see how it heals in 2 days without cleaning.

The second surgery was a bigger mental hit then the first one. One of the things that really got to me was that I was able to get physically fit again just in time for the surgery. That was the plan all the time, to train hard and be on top performance so that the rehabilitation time would be shorter. But still, it gets to me. 16 days ago I was able to cycle and climb hills and now I just sit here and watch TV again.. I must not use my abdominal muscles for another 6 weeks to prevent complications.
Another mental thing is that I cry... I did that last time also, but it seems like the fact that I do have cancer is starting to get to me. But pretty much anything can trigger the tears, just from watching TV, listening to the radio or reading a book or magazine. I will have to learn to accept that I am affected I guess. Cancer is a big deal and I don't think that the reality really has hit me yet. But each day is a struggle to not let the feelings get the upper hand. I do not want to become a wreck. Focus on the small things, each little walk outdoors, every line coded on my game. Try to keep the mind occupied and body at rest. : )

Why I am writing this? Not to feel sorry for myself, but as a way to handle the situation and hopefully someone else out there in a similar situation can find this helpful as well. The human body is strong and hopefully I'll come out of this stronger as well. Plan for the worst and hope for the best!

Liver cancer, Post-op 2

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Part of a series:
Another reminder of mortality
Day 4 - Tumor in my liver
First week - tumor in my liver
Second week - tumor in my liver
Third week with liver cancer
Liver cancer, surgery
6 weeks post-op, news time
Cancer update
Liver cancer, Post-op 2
June Update 2018

July update, 2018
Chemo day 1 and 2

Chemo first cycle

Short update:
This time the surgery went well. Up on my feet the day after, no fever to speak of and fast recovery. I lost 4 liters of blood on the table, resupplied with 2 units of blood and some plasma.
Today, third day after they will remove the last few tubes and then I'll stay over the weekend for monitoring.
If the first time would have been like this, I wouldn't have been so nervous.
Hopefully this will keep up and that they got it all this time!

Cancer update,

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Part of a series:
Another reminder of mortality
Day 4 - Tumor in my liver
First week - tumor in my liver
Second week - tumor in my liver
Third week with liver cancer
Liver cancer, surgery
6 weeks post-op, news time
Cancer update
Liver cancer, Post-op 2
June Update 2018

July update, 2018
Chemo day 1 and 2

Chemo first cycle

Time flies. With all the red days in May it is now finally time for my second surgery tomorrow morning.
2 days ago we went to the hospital to do the pre-operation procedure and meet the anesthetist and doctors. Bit smaller operation this time, still removing 1/4 of the liver but this time it is a side-slice.
Physically back to normal, training load this week was 5 hours on the bike. Not as strong as in December, but the time in the saddle was back. Hopefully leading to a faster recovery from this surgery.

Been working 50% for 5 weeks, sleeping an hour in the afternoon as my mind is processing continuously. Can't stop thinking about doing this all again. Takes quite a toll on the mind. Tried to focus on other things, like cycling, the house and gaming. Played through Far Cry 5 as you guys who follow my YouTube channel probably have noticed. Also learned a new programming language called F# as you following my coding blog have seen.

So, travel to Gothenburg this evening and to the hospital in the early morning.
No Olympic games on the TV this time, but luckily Giro d'Italia.

Until next time: just do what makes you happy!

My current plan, April 2018

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Bank went down 20%..
So, just in time for reinvestment it is on a nice sale... Good...
A no brainer decision. Just stick to the plan and buy...
Dividends this year were quite large so a lot of extra investment power this month..

In other news, I am waiting for news on the new surgery.. Did another CT scan last week and this week I am back to work at 50%.
Not much else going on so I'll keep this short.

Until next time: Challenge yourself to do something new

Disclaimer. I am in no way an expert on capital management or investing. On this blog I only wish to share my findings, ideas and comments on current events and fields that interest me. I hope that my thoughts can entertain you. I expect that everyone reading take their time and do their own research before acting on anything read on this blog. Investing is not for everyone. E&OE.

6 weeks post-op, news time

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Yesterday we went to visit the hospital in Gothenburg to get the results from the surgery and the plan forward for after-treatment.

Part of a series:
Another reminder of mortality
Day 4 - Tumor in my liver
First week - tumor in my liver
Second week - tumor in my liver
Third week with liver cancer
Liver cancer, surgery
6 weeks post-op, news time
Cancer update
Liver cancer, Post-op 2
June Update 2018

July update, 2018
Chemo day 1 and 2

Chemo first cycle

Actually we ended up travelling already on Monday and shopping a bit in Gothenburg and eating a very nice dinner at HAK Restaurant at Scandic Europe.
So, yesterday. News time from the doctors about the cellular analysis of the bit that they carved out 6 weeks ago. We had prepared some questions about the 2 options that we were given beforehand (i.e. chemo or liver-transplant) but it ended up being the 3rd option that the doctors went by instead.

So, the tumor had started to spread. The tumor had been 2 cm long, and the extra margin of 2 cm on each side of it that the surgeon had taken might not be enough. He said that it is hard to say if they got it all or if there is still some part of it that made it outside the margin area (even though they burned all the cuts, there is a risk). So, probably end up with a new surgery in 6 weeks time. Not 100% decided yet, but the surgeon was on that line and so am I honestly, I don't want to 'lets chance that it is all gone'....

So basically they removed the V & VIII parts last time, but there is a risk that the tumor was spreading towards VI & VII ... so the plan is to remove them as well, leaving me with half a liver...

Eventually I would gain 80-85% liver capacity as the part that is left will grow in size to compensate.

Next step, another CT-scan of the liver, followed by another conference with the specialists where they decide the way forward. Followed by another pre-operation procedure, i.e. whole day meeting surgeons and anesthetist some day before the surgery.

So, what to expect... Being tired up to 3 months after the surgery.. Can't complete my own goal of riding TreBerg 180K cycle event... Have to reset my goal to be in best physical shape as possible in 6 weeks in preparation for the eventual operation. I.e. back on the training bike and walks etc. Pushing a little at a time.

Still not 100% back from the last operation, physically I think I am getting back, I can ride my bike on the trainer (lowest gears and really slow at the moment, but I am riding the bike) and able to take longer and faster walks. But the mind-f*ck of these backlashes is starting to take its toll. So home for another 2 weeks and then back to work 50% until the surgery, I don't think that I'd be able to focus at work for 8 hours straight at the moment. Gotten some tear attacks (i.e. when I get really sad for 10 seconds and tears in my eyes and then back to normal, from nothing special) again yesterday and today, first ones in 2 weeks so it shows that there was a blow on my unconscious part even though I actively try to focus on getting well.

Hospital will get me someone to talk to, other then my family. Might do some good. Never actually liked the idea but after this not going the way we thought it would and things are starting to get into my mind I think that it probably is a good thing.


Why I am writing this? Not to feel sorry for myself, but as a way to handle the situation and hopefully someone else out there in a similar situation can find this helpful as well. The human body is strong and hopefully I'll come out of this stronger as well. Plan for the worst and hope for the best!

My current plan, Mars 2018

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Greetings from a snowy Sweden, during the previous week we have had at -15C!

I don't know about my decision last month. I did not do my research as I always do, I did not read all the reports for the 10 last years and I think I did the wrong move. Oh well, I guess I will live with the decision and time will tell if it was a good one or a bad one. Speculation, not investment... I guess I was stressed about everything else that was going on at the same time...
In hindsight I should just have bought the index instead of diversifying into another company. But oh well. In the long run I guess this will turn out good, just not going to put more money on it.

So a new rule:

If you are unsure, buy the index. 

Pretty much the best practice I tell others to do. But ... ah, a new month with new opportunities.

Last few weeks (since February 5th) I've really not been paying attention to anything as I went through a large liver surgery where they removed a cancer tumor. Just tried to take it easy and get more energy and heal up. So today I did some catching up on the companies.

This month I will again put the building block into the bank, the candy maker is still a little high in price from the extra dividend payout I guess. No real news from any of the companies since the reports in January.

Until next time: Challenge yourself to do something new

Disclaimer. I am in no way an expert on capital management or investing. On this blog I only wish to share my findings, ideas and comments on current events and fields that interest me. I hope that my thoughts can entertain you. I expect that everyone reading take their time and do their own research before acting on anything read on this blog. Investing is not for everyone. E&OE.

Liver cancer, surgery

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3 weeks ago on Monday morning 0705 I went under the knife to get the tumor removed together with 1/4 of my liver (parts V & VIII in the picture above).

Part of a series:
Another reminder of mortality
Day 4 - Tumor in my liver
First week - tumor in my liver
Second week - tumor in my liver
Third week with liver cancer
Liver cancer, surgery
6 weeks post-op, news time
Cancer update
Liver cancer, Post-op 2
June Update 2018

July update, 2018
Chemo day 1 and 2

Chemo first cycle

I received spinal anesthesia and went to sleep within minutes. At 1930 I was in post-op after a surrealistic bed-ride from the operations department and talked with my wife in the phone.
Really nice people at post-op. I was really dry in my mouth for the first 14 hours or so and tried to drink water but it did not help. During the night I woke up every 10 minutes with a dry mouth and begging for a swapped with cold water.
Next day I was to start moving, at first sitting at the bedside, but felt lightheaded and almost passed out. In the afternoon I needed to change bed so I was able to sit on the bedside, raise up and walk to a chair 2 meters away, wait  for the new bed and then walk to the new  bed before passing out. After the incident I received 2 units of blood and the dryness disappeared. Evidently I had lost 3 liters during the surgery!
I was moved to the liver ward in the evening. Feeling better. Able to walk on the spot with the help of 2 nurses. Progress!

Slept 3-4 hours at a time through the night. I hear my pulse in the right ear. Tired  and sweaty. Received medications and they did tests every x hours, have no clue how often.

Next day, able to walk to the chair. And breathe through the lung-expander worked well. Doctor said she was worried that I was still in bed most of the time. My parents visited in the afternoon. I got a CT scan to make sure that my pulmonary embolism wasn't back. It was not and surgery area looked fine as well. Sister visited in the evening, received 2 units of blood during the night.

Seated a lot during night but able to sleep.
Next day I was told to walk 160m every other hour that I am awake. So mission, lung-expander and walks, that is what I do. Parents visited again in the afternoon. Nice to have company. They redid the bandages on my stomach. Looked good.

A night from hell. Did not sleep well. Sweated all the time and nightmares, surrealistic. Not knowing if I was awake or dreaming. Thought it was the fever. Mentioned it to the nurses.

Friday, slow starter. All sweaty from eating a sandwich. Not supposed to drink more then 2 liters today. Another mission, no problems!  Had to sleep before noon.
Even more sweaty, unimaginably sweaty during lunch.
After lunch walked some loops, read magazine and watched Olympics start ceremony and after that I felt OK-ish again. Easy to sweat though. Sister gave me a Chromecast, did not work with the hospitals open network. Talked and walked the loops many times.

Surgery wounds after 8 days when I was sent home

During the weekend I received even more blood, total of 6 units all in all. And on Tuesday I was sent home as all the tests were moving in the right direction and I was not in any pain. Still, had a low fever but nothing to be alarmed over according the the doctors if it did not start to raise. Nothing unusual after a large liver surgery.

Home for some days, really uncomfortable. No place that was good to sit in, stairs in the house were really hard to climb and even the bed was too 'flat'. As I am not allowed to use my abdomen I have to use a special technique to get into and out of bed. Low fever continues. Also start to cry for no reason, I guess all energy reserves are used up by now. I.e. I watched hockey on the TV and all of a sudden I was crying.

Thursday, fever starts to peak in the afternoon... And in the evening I call the hospital. But no need for alarm, as long as you do not get fever chills it should be OK, but call your contact nurse in the morning.

In the morning I went to the local health center to change the bandages and the were nice to take a CRP test that I could tell my contact nurse. Evidently the CRP is usually elevated after a surgery and they were not able to tell if it was good or bad. But my contact nurse was able to, and she told me that the value had doubled since they sent me home. So pack the go-bag again and head for the hospital.

During the Friday evening I crashed, fever of 39C and CRP of 185 before the antibiotics kicked in. Another CT scan to see what was going on. Evidently there was some liquid where my gallbladder used to be (I was unaware that they had removed it as well, they had told me but it jut did not register I guess).

So, new plan. Tuesday morning they will puncture and analyse the liquid. Fun! Now I start to get nervous for the first time.

Watched a lot of Olympics at the hospital, the antibiotics kicked in fast and from Saturday lunch I was walking and talking again and able to spend more time in the TV room then in bed. 

On Tuesday morning when they did the ultrasound (as a guide for the needle) the doctor just stated that she was 99% sure that the liquid was just blood. Second doctor was called in and she said the same thing. So no needle through the liver to puncture it.

During the day I received no further information, when the night nurses arrived they told me that the had called off the whole procedure and would probably send me home in the morning.

They did, but with 2 different antibiotic this time.

Surgical wounds after 16 days, when I was sent home the second time.

And this time it was nice to get home, no fever, able to sit better, easier to get out of bed. Pretty much everything work so much better.

On Friday I was able to go to a comedy show with my wife, we bought tickets in May last year... So really nice to actually be able to go and see Johan Glans even though i was holding back my laughter as evidently it hurts to laugh. It also hurts to sneeze and cough. But oh well, I guess that will get better over time as well.

In 2 weeks I will get the verdict of the analysis of the tumor and the game plan forward. Until then I will just be at home and take walks outside and try to slowly push my body forward. 

Why I am writing this? Not to feel sorry for myself, but as a way to handle the situation and hopefully someone else out there in a similar situation can find this helpful as well. The human body is strong and hopefully I'll come out of this stronger as well. Plan for the worst and hope for the best!

Third week with liver cancer

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The test results show that I am not an alcoholic.
Well that is good to know!
Day by day summary of the third week after I got to know that I have a cancer in my liver.

Part of a series:
Another reminder of mortality
Day 4 - Tumor in my liver
First week - tumor in my liver
Second week - tumor in my liver
Third week with liver cancer
Liver cancer, surgery
6 weeks post-op, news time
Cancer update
Liver cancer, Post-op 2
June Update 2018

July update, 2018
Chemo day 1 and 2

Saturday
Ordinary Saturday. Grocery shopping with wife... Installed new pet door that I also wrote an first impressions article about.
No training: Rest day

Sunday:
Another day at home. Nothing out of the ordinary.
Traning: 1 hour 30 minutes incrementing resistance on the trainer

Monday
Work work. Starting to feel like I want to know the actual date for the surgery now to be able to plan. Living with 'things will happen in the near future' for the third week is starting to become a bit hard on the psyche.
Training: 42 minutes threshold on trainer

Tuesday
Got the call, next Monday morning at 0600 I will enter the hospital in Gothenburg and go into surgery! Hotel from Sunday to Monday and a taxi in the morning is booked.
Training: 5K fast paced walk

Wednesday
Sneezed some times and got really tired so decided to go home at lunch to rest instead of getting sick now. Hopefully this is just a scare as I do not know if they will do the surgery on Monday if I got the cold. Have no idea.
Slept the afternoon and took it easy during the evening, totally beat.. Think my body is telling me to stop.
Training: No training


Tuesday
Home. Went for a walk. Nothing much else, just taking it easy and reading book on F#. Not that worried about the Monday surgery, more worried that I will catch something and it gets re-booked to a later date.
Training: 4K medium paced walk

Friday
The countdown has started. No more Xarelto until after the surgery. Instead I'll take Fragmin shots for 3 evenings.
So... 3 days to go... Trying to not think about it. Stayed home today as well. Don't want to risk catching anything at work as pretty much every other person is coughing...

Training: 4K walk and some strength training




Why I am writing this? Not to feel sorry for myself, but as a way to handle the situation and hopefully someone else out there in a similar situation can find this helpful as well. The human body is strong and hopefully I'll come out of this stronger as well. Plan for the worst and hope for the best!

My current plan, February 2018

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So evidently I did not have a My current plan post for January, but I think I got it covered in all the other posts I made last month.

So, plan for February. Survive and get rid of the cancer in my liver.

Investment news are in. My favorite candy maker released their annual report.. They did not raise their ordinary dividend this year, it will be the same as last year but they double it with the same amount in extra dividend. So yay for us as we have bought even more shares during the year. The share also went up 8% on the report but that is not so important for me as I am not selling in the near future... Just means that I probably will not buy more of the shares before the dividend has been removed from the price.
The bank that I invest in raised their dividend with the expected 0.25 SEK. Still a strong report. No big surprises.

So the question is where should I put this months investment?
Candy maker is out as the market is after the extra dividends, I am not going to pay the extra 8 per cent for the 5 per cent dividend.
Bank is still a nice option. It did not gain the extra weight after the annual report, but knowing the market it will still drop the amount after the payout.
Other options? Going through my short list and nothing that is interesting... So I've read some reports from various companies and done some research, one of the clothing companies that were on my short list and the one that I've kept track of most did a blunder this year. They allowed in some uncertainty in their dividends program with the option to receive shares instead of dividends. This is an alarm if anything....
In the end: Will it be the bank or something new? Not the best month to buy into stuff as the market is wild after the overall pretty good report season but one thing popped out. Two companies with really RED numbers. One, I already dismissed above as they also made a dividend change that reeks of bankruptcy, but the other.. Well... Evidently one of the large owners did a big buy in directly after the report and knowing how his investments usually go, long term and real changes, I will do the same. So welcome to the third business in my portfolio: the telecom services provider.
(I am not counting the bonus shares received from my employer as I did not make an active choice and will not buy more on my own as long as I work there.). For the first investment I am throwing in some extra cash from our savings account to get it off the ground.
From now on each month I will have 3 choices for my money maker:

• Candy maker
• Bank
• Telcom services provider

And as always I am not namedropping the companies as I think that you, the reader, should do your own research and not follow my lead. Read up on reports, find your own plan (I recommend index funds if you want minimum hassle) and follow it.

Until next time: Challenge yourself to do something new

Disclaimer. I am in no way an expert on capital management or investing. On this blog I only wish to share my findings, ideas and comments on current events and fields that interest me. I hope that my thoughts can entertain you. I expect that everyone reading take their time and do their own research before acting on anything read on this blog. Investing is not for everyone. E&OE.

First impressions: SureFlap Microchip Pet Door Connect + Hub

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So, bought a new pet door as a gift for my wife on her birthday so that she can monitor and set a curfew even when she's not at home.
So, we have 3 cats and a microchip door today. The only thing that worries us is the extra traffic on Tuesday evenings and Saturday mornings + that we do not let them spend the night outdoors because of bad stuff happening (lots of other cats fighting in the neighborhood and we are tired of vet-bills.

So, time for an upgrade.
Turns out I bought the XL door this time. A good thing as our male cat Tiger is a little too big for the current door and kind of dislikes the feeling of it. He still uses it but prefers the actual door. So lets hope that this one will work better.

Installation

What I used

• Screwdriver
• Jigsaw
• Bradawl
• Drill
• Knife
• Spirit-level

At first I had to remove the old SureFlap cat door by removing the plastic details covering the screws and unscrewing and pushing the door in. 

Next step was to fit the new door by taking the tunnel and pushing it towards the point on the door where I wanted it. I think the recommended distance from the floor is 15 cm (check the manual if you are unsure) so that the cats don't have to duck too much. Put a spirit-level on the tunnel and let a friend draw the line all the way around.

If you do not have a hole in the door already, take a large drill and drill a hole in all the edges.

I already had an old hole so I just started with the jigsaw.  It should be quite a tight fit as otherwise you will get extra wind that can pass around the tunnel.

Test the fit as you go by pushing the tunnel out from inside your house.

When you are happy put on the outer part and use the bradawl to mark the screw holes. Remove the tunnel and outer part again.
Use a small drill to drill through the door at those 4 places. The holes can be a bit larger then the screw diameter as you will need some leeway to put all 4 screws through the outer plastic and into the screw holes on the inner part.

For connecting the door to the hub, just follow the instructions in the app. I don't feel the need to duplicate them here as the app is good enough. One thing to note is that the hub does not have wifi, that is a downer in 2018... Like, why not? Luckily I had an extender with cable socket lying around that I was able to plug it into as the router is not even close to the door.

The App

The app was quite easy to setup even though I managed to mix up our cats and had to show them to the door an extra time and rename the already entered cats.

I the main page you can see a summary of all of your pets and devices and their status. I.e. who is in the house and who is out and if the door is locked in some way. Also nice to see the battery level here.

. In the app you can upload photos of your pets to show as profile pictures. 

Each pet get their own timeline that you can follow their activity through the door. There is also notification each time the door is activated. I.e. 'real-time' tracking of your pets.

The first night we got the 'An animal looked through the door'. I.e. someone was trying to enter, not one of ours as everyone was inside at the time.

With the old door I used to show the cats that it is unlocked in the morning, but I guess I will no as it gets recorded as 'An animal has left the house'. 

Each pet get their own statistics as well, so you can see what time of the day they are active etc.

Also showing number of entries through the door. I guess our Prime will win this as she runs in and out all the time.

Even more statistics, showing activity per weekday.

The door control page allows you to lock the door to keep pets in or out ...

... or both

The curfew mode has some limits in my opinion. I would like to set a different curfew depending of day of week. I.e. Tuesdays should lock the door at 1600 and Saturdays should open it at 1200 instead of the normal 0700-1800 open hours. We have a lot of traffic during Tuesday evenings and Saturday mornings as the local recycling center is at the end of our road and we want to keep our cats indoor mitigate risk. But that does not work.

So we will lock and unlock the door manually until this feature is added.

Conclusion

Overall feeling is that this was a good buy. We won't have to stress home on Tuesdays or lock the cats inside when we leave for work in the morning, they can be outside and we just lock the door with the app in the afternoon. 

Would buy again

Update 20180718

Tiger knows how to break out of the door even if it is locked.

Disclaimer
I bought this product myself and this is my opinion on them. I am in no way affiliated with the manufacturer of this product.