We are finally moved back into the heart of the house--the kitchen, den, and office. You'll excuse the tiny bit of life debris in the after picture--I have yet to wash breakfast dishes today. But, after months of using a temporary kitchen, I wanted to share some tips for those of you considering a kitchen remodel.

And to take a moment to say how happy I am to have kitchen sinks, a dishwasher, and a real range. And an office. And no one else in the house.

I think we lost the last bit of the kitchen some time in late September or early October. What that meant for me as the head cook was that I had to set up a "dry kitchen" in the dining room and set up a kitchen sink substitute in the bathtub in our master bath.

Dry Kitchen:

The dining room table got covered with a protective layer of tablecloth (one we bought on clearance) and other protective things to ensure the table didn't take damage from splatters, heat, etc. I have two huge baking sheets and a pizza stone that were great for providing a pretty heat and spill-impervious surface. 

My tools:

• The bottom element in our range went out months before the renovations started. So, I already had my little toy countertop oven and was used to using it for all of my baking needs. I set that up in the dining room. 
• A butane burner. This is like a camp stove (or if you have ever had Hot Pot, think of the table-top burners they use for those. Thankfully, Walmart carries fuel for these, so I always had two or three cans of butane ready for cooking.
• An all-in-one device (Instant Pot knock off in my case). This was the real workhorse. You can sear, slow cook, and pressure cook in it, as well as make hard-boiled eggs. 
• An electric griddle: Great for cooking breakfasts and at around $20 saved me a lot of butane. Bonus--you cook right on it, so there's no device + pot to wash.
• A waffle iron: You can waffle a lot of things. I recommend the book Will it Waffle? Before I bought the griddle, I made an omelet or two in ours. But I also love it for things like zucchini fritters, chicken fritters, actual waffles, falafel.  If you're buying new, get one with the plates that pop out for cleaning.
• Countertop oven (see above). 

For my sink, I took my wire dish drainer and a plastic tote and set them in the bathtub. I kept another plastic tote in the dining room to catch dirty dishes and I would haul them to the tub for washing.

After two weeks or so of having real sinks and a dishwasher, my back and shoulders are almost back to normal.

The new kitchen details:

• Vintage blue pendant lights from Bevelo.
• Range is an AGA 36" Legacy dual fuel. Purchased on Facebook Marketplace.
• Countertops are from Midway. Island is Quartzite and kitchen countertop is granite.
• Saltillo tile is from Rustico Tile. 
• Cabinets are from Home Cabinet Shop. 

I love the writer storyline on Fresh off the Boat, and I think we can all relate to Jessica's freak out and desire to leave projects unfinished. The start of something new and shiny is so fun! But, why not set yourself up for success in 2020? Check out these resources! While all of them are great for solo activities, they can also be used in writing groups to help guide workshops.

It's that time of year again--time to consider what I've gotten done in 2019 and to plan on what's next. 

Around September, I tend to start thinking about doing yoga. It's like some magic switch I think will make my getting another year older in November less painful, somehow. Of course, a few years ago, I was doing yoga most days and went to that writing retreat where I slept on a fold out bed after riding a Greyhound bus (and before riding it again) and sat on the floor a good bit, as there weren't seats for everyone, and I was one of the younger participants. After a couple of days of that, I then slept in the old bed in my old room. I got back to Kansas City and put my back out putting my pants on a few days later.

Yoga didn't save me.  Just goes to show you can't control everything.

I've been busy, but I also had some things I was finished with that I couldn't actually talk about. Read further for a June/July roundup.

I've vacillated in the past: Stay in Kindle Unlimited? Or go wide (meaning my books are available in eBook formats and from retailers other than Amazon). A year ago, I made the decision that I would be exclusive with Amazon and KU. I pulled my books in the Olivia Chronicles out from every other seller, and I planned to publish Elegant Freefall exclusively with Amazon. 

Starting March 16, you will find Elegant Freefall at all major retailers of eBooks, as well as being available for libraries to loan through OverDrive when they purchase a library copy. The Olivia Chronicles books will be available April 20.

​So, why am I going wide again? Lots of reasons. And none of them really have anything to do with  money.

Lately, it seems every week brings a new story--or two--about plagiarists, literary frauds, or just simple pretenders. And, while I look forward to watching Can You Ever Forgive Me? this weekend (yay, RedBox), I am incredibly conflicted about the whole thing, especially now that such scams are probably easier than ever to perpetrate.

This week, Cindy Hyde Smith was elected to office in Mississippi, even though she made statements about attending public hangings and voter suppression. In response, I'm seeing a lot of folks on the internet call for a Mississippi boycott. Here are my thoughts on that issue. Let's take a pause and consider what that would really mean and what we can see from the election results. For instance, what if the rest of the world decided to boycott the United States after the last presidential election? Would that be fair to those of us who voted differently?