Where the hell have you been? Are you alive? Are you okay? What happened? You disappeared! Thank you for all the phone calls, texts, messages on social media, and emails. I didn’t realize anyone would even notice my little hiatus, let alone be concerned.

We decided to take advantage of the Black Friday sales and upgrade the fridge, which lead to redecorating the kitchen. New paint everywhere, and I do mean everywhere, the walls, the cupboards, the countertop. Yes, I painted the counter with a lovely product called Spread Stone. The nasty giraffe print carpet was replaced with some REALLY discounted Pergo we found Lowes. Between the sales and the lucky finds at Restore, I now have some of those fancy slide out organizers in the cabinets. And we even installed one of those big over the island range hoods. That was probably the most difficult, awkward, and heavy part of our remodel, but so much better than the silly bathroom fan that was there. Yes, the previous owners had a bathroom ventilation fan over the stove. But the most exciting part of this little venture? I have a dishwasher!

December was also deer hunting, which leads to processing whatever The Breadwinner brings home. He hunts, I help process the meat, and we end up with a full freezer.

So that’s where I’ve been for the last few months. Not that I’m finished, I’m still reorganizing everything, clearing out things we don’t use, and digging out the other rooms. Because, well, if you’ve ever done a remodeling project you know other chores slip.

It didn’t help that I started a new medication for my psoriasis.

In the middle of all this, I was approved to start taking Cosentyx. I made it though the loading dose, two injections a week—as in one right after the other—for five weeks. Yeah, that was fun. Not! I was pretty miserable by the halfway point, and super-duper happy when the doctor said I could stop. The piddly results were not worth the side effects, the worst being the joint aches. I don’t have psoriatic arthritis, but can’t understand how someone who did would find any relief with this stuff.

I’m slowly getting back to normal—whatever that is—and it’s a good thing, since the North Iowa Book Bash is just around the corner!