COFFEE CHAT: LOVING MY ROUTINES…

 

• Good morning!  Let’s gather around with our caffeinated beverages to chat about our weeks, our books, and our perspectives.  Join our host at Bookishly Boisterous to see what others are sharing

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• This morning was one for hair washing, laundry, and ordinary routines.  Another day that reminds me that I am so grateful for a great new apartment, complete with a washer and dryer.

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• Tomorrow I have an appointment with my daughter for hair styling!  Finally!  An early birthday present.
• I am still reading The Last Night in London, by Karen White…and I’m almost finished.  Loving it!
• I have ordered another Nicci French book, one that will add to my collection of the Frieda Klein novels:  Tuesday’s Gone.
• I already have Blue Monday.
• I once had the whole series, but you know what happened…I was moved to that “prison” for two years.  LOL.  Now I will try to add to the series, one book at a time.
• For those following this journey, I am also bringing the Coca Cola series back, too!

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Here is the shelf where I will be adding the Nicci French books:

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What does your week look like? I got my flu shot on Monday!

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COFFEE CHAT: SAVORING BOOKS & DECOR…

• Good morning!  Let’s gather around with our caffeinated beverages to chat about our weeks, our books, and our perspectives.  Join our host at Bookishly Boisterous to see what others are sharing

• What a week!  I’ve been reading some good books, and finished The Stranger Behind You, by Carole Goodman and Peril, by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa.
• Then I started reading Always the Last to Know, by Kristan Higgins. I have had this one on my Kindle since June 2020!  So far, I’m loving it.
• Before I sat down to read, though, I made some potato salad for lunch…and changed up the dining room to add a Coca Cola tablecloth to my drop-leaf table parked against the wall; this addition touches on the theme of the little vintage Coca Cola dining set.

• Now…am I done with the decor?  Well, time will tell.
• On Monday, I had lunch at Mimi’s with an old friend and former colleague who lives and works in Northern California.  She has taken off from the job for a month to visit friends in the state, and will head on over to Colorado to catch up with family there.

• I was scheduled to get my flu shot yesterday, but then Kaiser called to cancel and rescheduled me for Monday.  Sigh.
• Below is a photo of the last time I made potato salad…and the drop leaf table was then in the middle of the room…prior to the recent additions.

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What does your week look like so far? Enjoy…and take care.

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COFFEE CHAT: GOOD THINGS…

 

Good morning!  Let’s gather around with our caffeinated beverages to chat about our weeks, our books, and our perspectives.  Join our host at Bookishly Boisterous to see what others are sharing.

• Another week is coming to an end, and deliveries are happening regularly.  Soon I will have almost everything I need to make this place a home!  Even tools and cleaning products.  Although Amazon tends to send a huge number of items with each order, thus filling up my shelves.  I guess I forgot to read the fine print about how many are included!
• Yesterday, my Coca Cola chairs finally arrived, and now I feel completely cozy.  I am loving these items, although, as you may note, there are only two chairs (which I knew when I ordered, of course).  In my condo, years ago, I had four.  But against the wall, note another table with drop leaves that can be brought into service when I throw parties, lol.

Here is my previous Coca Cola dining room, back in 2019:

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• My reading is moving along, too, and now I am engrossed in The Other Side of the Door, by Nicci French.  What an amazing book!
• Yesterday I got the great new Bob Woodward/Costa book, Peril, and watched the authors interviewed on Stephen Colbert.  It should be an amazing (and frightening) read.
• With all these things happening indoors, you might wonder when, or if, I am going out.  Well, not so much lately.  I did plan a lunch yesterday, but then had to stay home all day to receive the shipment.  We’ve changed the lunch to Monday.  So that will work.  I don’t need a lot of outings, just some.

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What does your interior/exterior world look like?

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COFFEE CHAT: HUMP DAY THOUGHTS…

It is time for another Coffee Chat. And yes, I usually do those on Thursday or Friday, but yesterday was a great day, and I would like to celebrate it.

After staying close to home for days on end, I finally had some outings. First, my granddaughter came over and put my vacuum cleaner together…and then we vacuumed the floors! The bedroom has carpeting and I only have one area rug in the living room. It didn’t take long!

Then we went to Mimi’s for brunch! I love that place, and after enjoying mimosas and a quiche, we hightailed it to the phone store.

My iPhone is old! I bought it in 2015, so an upgrade was in order. Everything is different in the phone store! Just like the differences when I ordered Internet and TV services, everything is done online, even though we are in the actual store. Someone will come to my apartment on Friday to set everything up. Easy peasy, with no long lines!

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Then Fiona and I came back to my apartment and just hung out, visiting.  I have been missing these get-togethers.  She is so busy, though, so the time together was a treasure.

She is doing her massage therapy again in a place close to my favorite restaurants. 

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Today I started reading a book I bought in 2020:  Surfside Sisters, by Nancy Thayer.

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I hope to immerse myself in my books for the rest of the week, happy that I’ve had time with Fiona, enjoyed an outing, and have a working vacuum cleaner!

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How is your week shaping up?

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COFFEE CHAT: ANOTHER WEEK…

 

Good morning!  Let’s gather around with our caffeinated beverages to chat about our weeks, our books, and our perspectives.  Join our host at Bookishly Boisterous to see what others are sharing.

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• I slept about 12 hours last night!  How did that happen?  But when I woke up, I felt fully charged.
• I posted about my Backlog book for today, and again, I wondered how I had overlooked this one.
• So far this week, I have read and reviewed three books, and one was a NetGalley review book.  But then I sort of went off the rails and DNFed a couple of books.  I finally started another backlog book…and so far, it seems to be catching on with me:  Everything We Keep, by Kerry Lonsdale.
• I checked an email I received after changing my address on DMV…and was directed to sign up for Ballot Tracking.  According to the site, my ballot will be arriving soon.  Good thing I got that done before the recall election!
• Now I am looking around for replacements of furniture I “lost” in the move two years ago.  I am obsessed with replacing the Coca Cola dining set…I saw a section in one of the local stores that might have this one.  I don’t want to order online, so I will check this out.

 

• I am still trying to work out reliable transportation.  That may take a while.
• Meanwhile, I am reading a lot, watching shows, and just started Nine Perfect Strangers on Hulu.

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How is your week progressing?

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COFFEE CHAT: WHAT’S NEXT?

 

Good morning!  Let’s gather around with our caffeinated beverages to chat about our weeks, our books, and our perspectives.  Join our host at Bookishly Boisterous to see what others are sharing.

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• A week of ongoing changes, most of which have been delightful.
• My books have been good, although I have set some aside, relegating them to the DNF pile.
• Currently, I am reading a new book, The Guilt Trip, by Sandie Jones.
• This morning, I am pondering what comes next.  I have happily moved into my new apartment and arranged my belongings and added new furnishings…and now what?  Am I satisfied?
• Since it has been quite a long time (more than two years) since I had my independence and enjoyed what comes next, I do have to wonder if the Pandemic that took over our lives for more than a year has destroyed our chance to actually pick up where we left off?
• On Monday, I went to lunch at Marie Callender’s with a friend, eagerly hoping to enjoy what we remembered about that place…and were so disappointed.  Unfortunately, the food and the ambience were subpar.  Sadly.
• When I woke up this morning, I noticed that my iPhone had not fully charged during the night!  Now what?  I almost went to the phone store the other day, thinking I might need a new phone…but I bypassed it in favor of something else.  But I might need to rethink that.
• It is harder to take care of things these days.  No transportation except for the goodness of friends and family…since Lyft is no longer reliable.  Now what?  My standby granddaughter Fiona…but she is also busy and does not have regular transportation either!

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What issues are you dealing with these days?

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COFFEE CHAT: MY HOME…

Welcome to my Friday Coffee Chat, in which I share my week, especially the parts that reveal my homey changes…and my books read.

Above, see how my space is coming along.  My new loveseat arrived on Thursday, and I’m loving it.  Curling up to read here works for me.

Last week, my washer and dryer came, and what a relief that was, as my laundry had piled up before and during the move.

 

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I have already read and reviewed three books this week, and I’m on the fourth one now.  This is my seventh blog post!  I think being “at home” finally has spurred me on.

I am well into that fourth book, which has been on my Kindle for a while.  But the book has been made into a miniseries that will appear on Hulu in a week or so:  Nine Perfect Strangers, by Liane Moriarty.  And now I am wondering why I hadn’t yet read it!

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Now I will leave you with another view of my living space:

 

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How has your week been unfolding?

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COFFEE CHAT: SETTLING IN…

 

Good morning!  Let’s gather around with our caffeinated beverages to chat about our weeks, our books, and our perspectives.  Join our host at Bookishly Boisterous to see what others are sharing.

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I have not written a Coffee Chat post in a while, but now that I’ve moved and mostly settled into my new apartment, I am ready.  Grab some caffeine and take a peek.

Yesterday I got my new washer and dryer, bringing my settling in to a nice conclusion.  Previously I shelved books and hung pictures (or Fiona did!).

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Other parts of the apartment include favorite pieces and photos from the past:

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Now I plan to do more shopping, as I would love to have a comfy sofa. But all in good time.

Oh, and I must report that I love my new kitchen! Lots of cabinets, etc.

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I have ordered some things from Amazon, like new cookware and odds and ends for the kitchen.

I have been reading this week, too; Such a Quiet Place, by Megan Miranda, is turning out to be interesting.

How has your week unfolded?

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COFFEE CHAT: CATCHING UP…

 

Good morning!  Let’s gather around with our caffeinated beverages to chat about our weeks, our books, and our perspectives.  Join our host at Bookishly Boisterous to see what others are sharing.

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It has been many weeks since I last wrote a Coffee Chat post.  I guess I can blame it on a number of things, but no matter what the reasons, I am eager to return to the chat today.

• Ever since the lockdown ended, I have been busy trying to make up for all the lost outings and encounters, and I can’t seem to stop going!
• Every week there has been either a get-together with a friend or family member, or even just a doctor’s appointment.
• Last week I had lunch with a friend at Olive Garden; we hadn’t been there since March of 2020!

• And yesterday I went to The Spaghetti Factory with my granddaughter and her boyfriend.  I brought leftovers home for today’s lunch!
• I am so glad to be able to eat out more…especially since the food in this place has really gone downhill!  Now they have changed the dinner menu to sandwiches and soup…which would be okay if those items were tasty.  They are not!
• After two years of dissatisfaction with this place, I am taking steps to make changes.  Yesterday I reactivated an application I had made at a senior apartment nearby (not assisted living!), one I had planned to move to three years ago.  Now I just have to wait for one to become available.  It might take a while, but that’s okay.  I am filled with hope and plans.
• Last week, I read and loved three books…and I hope to finish an older book from my backlog today:  Sycamore, by Bryn Chancellor.
• Earlier in the week, I finished another older book:  My Lies, Your Lies, by Susan Lewis.

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So that is my life lately.  What has yours been like?

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COFFEE CHAT: ROUTINES ARE MORE NORMAL…

Good morning!  Let’s gather around with our caffeinated beverages to chat about our weeks, our books, and our perspectives.  Join our host at Bookishly Boisterous to see what others are sharing.

• Another week is flying by, and I’m enjoying some of my routines, like dining at tables with other people…and outings, too.  Even a doctor’s appointment is the good kind of normal, since routine visits with the doctor were not allowed last year.
• I finished When the Stars Go Dark, by Paula McLain, and enjoyed it.
• I had my hair trimmed on Tuesday, and while I liked being able to go upstairs here to have it done, I’m looking forward to going to my daughter’s salon and getting the little purple tinge on the side.

• I also miss mani-pedis, and I think I’ll be able to get one soon!
• I took a Lyft ride to my doctor’s appointment yesterday, but that was not a good experience.  It took 45 minutes to get a driver!  Luckily, I had started calling early, so I made it to the appointment on time.  The driver said that they have fewer drivers these days, but they are working on improving things.
• Today I am reading Every Last Fear, by Alex Finlay, and I’m loving it.

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How are things in your corner of the world?  Stay safe!

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