This was my January 2024

This is my first monthly review in 2024, and I am already running late. It seems I have been falling behind with everything and I am still playing catch-up. Too much has been going on. On January 7th, my doctor declared me ‘healthy’ again. After weeks of battling a cold that had lingered for weeks, I could finally stop the antibiotics and I restarted my low-dose chemo drug.

This was the first time since I began taking the medication that I had to stop it and while the pause didn’t bother me a bit, restarting my weekly dose of Methotrexate rocked the boat quite a bit. I feel like I have been through the wringer and this week is the first time in a month that I feel ‘normal’ again.

I expected the worst when I had to stop my weekly dose of FRUITLOOPS (that’s what I call the chemo drug because it sounds fun) and when nothing bad happened, it surprised me. As a matter of fact, I am now thinking about quitting taking this medication in April – after my next appointment with my Rheumatologist. (I think she might want to know about my plans).

The four weeks without it were not too bad, so why take something if I don’t need it anymore. Or perhaps it will teach me to not question the usefulness of all these meds? We shall see. 🙂

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Reading! I didn’t have much time but read one book, and I couldn’t have made a better choice. Finally, I read “Lessons in Chemistry” by Bonnie Garmus – it had been resting on my nightstand for some time – and I, the woman who hardly leaves 5-star reviews, wish she could give 6 stars. What a treat! If it’s not on your ‘reading list’ yet, you might want to put it on it. May all women have an Elizabeth Zott in their lives!

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TV and music! We binge-watched two European TV series because on Netflix we can watch them all in English (not just subtitles) which is wonderful. “Dear Child” a German mini-series, and “The Marked Heart” a Spanish series, both were worth watching. Afterward, we went to Croatia and watched “Faraway” a light, cheerful comedy-romance movie about a Turkish woman, who lives with her family in Germany and inherits a house in Croatia. It was perfect to unwind. A charming little movie showing the beauty of a country we don’t know much about.

Eating! Back to my vegan lifestyle. I had fallen off the wagon over Christmas. Actually, that’s not true. I didn’t fall off the wagon. I jumped full-heartedly and with great enjoyment of the wagon and ran behind it for a while, then I let go -wagon-wise, so to speak (write.)

Sadly protein, especially chicken, eggs, dairy, and red meat, hurts people with Rheumatoid Arthritis, so I am back to plant-based living. I am an animal lover, so this is easy on me. If there wouldn’t be bacon and ribeyes.

Crafts. I sewed a Japanese Origami bag and I think it didn’t turn out too bad. I thought it could be a good idea for hand-made presents.

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I still have so much cotton fabric left from sewing facemasks during the Corona lockdown, it’s time to make it disappear. The idea for the bag came from here https://www.alandacraft.com/2018/04/21/origami-bag-tutorial-easy-to-make-market-tote-bag/

Work is good. I have to turn people away which is a good problem to have and my upholstery classes are already booked into May, which is great. No spectacular projects in January, but life can not always be full of breathtaking pieces. Sometimes the average is just as good.

Grandpa’s old chair got a new look and while it might not seem like it was a big deal, it was quite a mess underneath. The customers were thrilled and he, a hobby photographer took the stunning picture on an all-white background. So finally a finished piece that doesn’t show the mess in my workroom, a dog, or my favorite purple wall.

I found a new blog with healthy recipes and love it. Detoxinista…the name was too tempting to not try.

Dogs! Somehow a piece of meat disappeared from the kitchen counter and a serious investigation showed the thief was either one of the dogs or a meat-loving fairy who might live close by. We narrowed it down to one of the dogs because Vader is the only one who is tall enough to reach the counter with ease, also the suspect looked very guilty but didn’t show any remorse.

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We had to get him neutered and at first, he acted like the donut collar was a form of dog abuse and he gave me THE LOOK.

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But then he found out that he could sleep anywhere now because the collar acted the same way a travel pillow does. He just plopped everywhere for a short nap. In the middle of the driveway, in my workroom, it was comical.

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January was eventful and it seems February might be the same.