Reblogged from Barb Taub:

What’s your January superpower?

A cautionary tale (with whisky, astonishing quantities of used tissues, and a really disgusting Issue…)

I just wanted to check in with all of you and let you know why I dropped off the face of the earth. As I’ve mentioned before, last year two years ago we bought a fixer-upper cottage on an island off the coast of Scotland. I agreed to the purchase on one condition: that we renovate the unheated conservatory/sunporch on the front of the house. I pictured my entire family, gathered together around the fire as we all enjoyed our first (okay, our second) holiday in our beautiful traditional island cottage. [NOTE: those who have already done house renovations, especially in rural Scotland, can just stop that sniggering right now. It’s so not attractive…] But right from the beginning there was a gap—think Grand Canyon—between my dream and my reality. I can’t say I wasn’t warned. Since moving to Glasgow, we’d heard plenty of tales of “small” repair or decorating jobs that went on for years. (!) Our new Island neighbors would suck in their cheeks and look away when I confidently predicted how long the initial work would take.

Read the full saga at Barb Taub’s website