COFFEE CHAT: READING, BLOGGING, ETC.

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 day of coffee and chatting!  I missed last week, because it has just been like that lately.  I have been reading, though, and even finding old and neglected books on my shelves to share.  Like Mrs., by Catilin Macy, which was on my shelves for two years!

Yesterday, I finished reading Something She’s Not Telling Us, by Darcey Bell, and it definitely distracted me from all the disease and disinformation that are plaguing us.

• Today I posted my Books from the Backlog event at Carole’s Random Life of Books.  I found another neglected book from 2018!
• Meanwhile, I’m reading another newer book:  Redhead by the Side of the Road, by Anne Tyler.
• Yesterday I finished watching Little Fires Everywhere...and I wanted it to keep going!  But it’s done, unless they bring another season.  But that will take forever.  Nothing will be in production for a while!
• Today would be the time to watch another episode of The Good Fight, but they have taken a break until the end of the month, when they plan to finish producing the season.
• I find myself scrolling through titles on Hulu and Netflix and Amazon Prime.  Thankful for those sites!
• Even soap operas are running out of episodes that are in the can!  Soon classic episodes will appear.
• Meanwhile, meals are delivered, and I just got my breakfast:

• I am missing outings and shopping, but I definitely don’t want those things to open up until this is over…if it ever is!

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How are you handling your “sheltering in place,”  if you are still immersed in it?  Introverts like us do have an advantage, don’t we?

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COFFEE CHAT: DISTRACTIONS…

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.

I overslept today!  Waking up at 6:30 felt good, though, and I had just enough time to wash up for breakfast.  Afterwards, I took a nice shower and watched the Season Four’s first episode of The Good Fight.  Loved it!  I always enjoy that show.

• Yesterday, another episode came for Little Fires Everywhere, and we took a step back in the story to see what brought our characters to where their lives are today.
• We have had rainy days this week, so I’ve been curled up with books and movies.  This week I’ve read and reviewed The Watergate Girl, by Jill Wine-Banks; and Cross Her Heart, by Melinda Leigh.
• Now I am reading The Sea Glass Cottage, by RaeAnne Thayne.  I also hope to start my hardcover version of The Girl in White Gloves, by Kerri Maher.  I love finishing those hardcovers and paperbacks so I can add them to my shelf.  Whenever I add another book, I rearrange the shelves a little.

• Yesterday I got another book in the mail, a hardcover version of a reread that I “lost” in my move:  The Jane Austen Book Club, by Karen Joy Fowler.

• I also added the movie to my Amazon Prime Video queue.
• Loading up my shelves, adding to my streaming queues, and blogging a lot…these are all activities that help distract me from the world in which we now live.  Here’s hoping that the social distancing will do its part in taking us beyond the nasty virus.

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How are things in your corner of the world?  Staying healthy and safe, I hope.  Reading, blogging, having movie nights while “sheltering in place”?  Hang in there!

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COFFEE CHAT: A DAY AT A TIME…

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.

We are in Week Three of our Lockdown, but I really want to stop counting the days and weeks.  Instead I want to take it all a day at a time, planning the books and movies I will read and view each day.  And realizing that now I can go outside in the courtyard at scheduled times.  I loved the feel of the spring air when I went out this week!

• In this photo, below, you can almost see my apartment window on the left, behind the gazebo.  By the end of the month, roses will bloom.  My window view of those roses led to my pick of that specific apartment.  Plus it seemed larger than most studio units.

• In this photo, we can enjoy the bright red of the spring flowers…

• I have only finished reading and reviewing one book so far this week; I had wasted most of Sunday reading a book that I finally had to cast aside, frustrated, since I liked the beginning…and then it turned boring.  Sigh.
• But The Operator, by Gretchen Berg, is a book I ordered in hardcover, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  As I finish reading/reviewing, I tuck those books away on my bookshelves. (See The Operator below, next to the decorative “jack”). I love admiring them all lined up, since I moved in here with only about ten books from my previous collection of hundreds.
• I now have 54 books on this bookshelf…the one below only has 53, since The Operator had not yet been shelved…LOL
  

• Here are my TBR books in the print format:  on a shelf in the entry way just for them, left, and on the nightstand, right…

• As much as I love having some books in hardcover/paperback, just so I can admire them after I’ve read them…I’ve discovered that I read my e-books much faster.  Perhaps holding those hardcovers isn’t that easy these days!
• Last night I started reading Follow Me, by Kathleen Barber, and so far so good.
• Yesterday I received a new large bag of coffee grounds from Amazon.  Yay!  Love the smell and taste of new coffee.

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Now I am ready for breakfast!  I have developed a system for making sure that I get the food I order.  I take a picture of the menu form I fill out, and check what I receive against the photo.  Accountability!  It’s working.

How is your week shaping up?

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COFFEE CHAT: WEEK TWO IN LOCKDOWN…

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 has passed, and while I am still enjoying the time for reading, movie watching, etc., I am frustrated by the inability to get my hands on things I need.  Supplies as simple as my Lactaid milk or tea bags.  The staff said they would send someone out to shop, but that was three days ago.  Meanwhile, my daughter brought over a few things.  We can’t see each other, of course; no visitors allowed here!

• Amazon availability of items is not good right now.  Some things can be had in a few weeks.  I haven’t been able to get bottled water, or even the water purifying pitchers that are sold everywhere…until there is a supply shortage.
• I am sure that my feeling of panic is connected to the poor management of everything, from the government to the facility where I live.  The meals they bring to the apartment are cold and not at all appetizing, with poor selections.  When I think of how much money I pay them every month, I feel angry.  It was bad enough before…and now it has gone to worse than bad.
• I am trying to lose myself in my books, and finished And They Called It Camelot, by Stephanie Marie Thornton, which I loved!
• I just finished a new episode of Little Fires Everywhere.  Apparently Hulu brings a new episode every Wednesday. 
• A couple of nights ago, I watched a Margaret Atwood documentary on Hulu, which I really enjoyed.

• I am loving the opportunity to continue rearranging my apartment.  Here is what I have done this week: A view of the desk/computer station on the left, and bookshelves on the right.

• Another view of the shelves and the TV…

• Changes in the entry way…

• My obsessive/compulsive tendencies are out in full force, lol.
• What to read next?  I am leaning toward Heaven Adjacent, by Catherine Ryan Hyde…
• And now I am whining…does that make me an “entitled bitch”?  Or just a frustrated one?

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How are the rest of you handling the pandemic/isolation?  Any special ways of dealing with things?  Hang in there, is what everyone keeps telling me.  That works.  Or maybe it doesn’t.

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COFFEE CHAT: OUR “NEW 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.

I feel as though a lifetime has passed since my last Coffee Chat, since every day since has brought so many changes in my life…in all of our lives.  We have gone from a “no visitors” policy here in the residence to total lockdown!  Yes, we can’t leave our apartments at all. 

• Doctor’s appointments are allowed, but only emergency ones.  My annual physical has been cancelled, and so has my dental hygiene appointment. 
• The lockdown to our apartments started yesterday, after lunch in the dining room.  We said goodbye to the friends we won’t see for who knows how long. 
• Fortunately, we bookish people can find numerous things to do in our alone time.  Stacks of books to read, and, of course, there is blogging.
• Old habits die hard, though, and I’d become so accustomed to coming and going:  calling Lyft, heading to a restaurant, or just enjoying being out and about.  It’s hard to believe that I could do all of that as recently as a week ago.
• The news is so depressing that I search for it online and scroll through when “enough is enough.”
• On the positive side, I can sleep later, and I am still in my PJs this morning.  I will change later, but now I am enjoying how I used to do mornings in my former home…ten months ago?  Coffee at the computer, slowly planning out the day.
• Breakfast (and all our meals) will be brought to our apartments.  We choose what we want from the menu given the day before.  However, judging from last night’s dinner, we are in for a very sub par performance.  I guess they need to adjust, too, but why would they forget the coffee and two items I requested?
• Luckily, I have my own food in the fridge, but the last time I shopped, shelves were emptying out rapidly.  Even Amazon cannot help with all necessities. 
• Lest I turn this into a pity party, I did finish reading a book yesterday that kept me totally engrossed:  The Other Mrs., by Mary Kubica.
• The night before, I watched a movie on Prime that I enjoyed:  Bombshell, with Nicole Kidman and Charlize Theron, among others.

• I hope to watch Little Fires Everywhere on Hulu. Maybe today!

• I am reading Eight Perfect Murders, which I’m loving.  Thanks to all the downloads I haven’t yet read, along with the print volumes that came from Amazon over the past few months, there will be no shortage of reading material!
• And then there is my recent apartment rearrangement.  I am enjoying it, and was it prescient of me to do it before the lockdown? My new desk setup in a corner is by a window that faces lovely gardens which should bloom soon.  (On the right side of the photo you can glimpse the window.  Later I will snap some photos of the outdoors).

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So our “new normal,” unpleasant and anxiety-producing though it may be, does present opportunities.  For reflection, for reading everything we own, and for learning ways to cope.  How are the rest of you?

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COFFEE CHAT: STAY SAFE!

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.

 

How is it possible that another week is almost over?  What a great week it has been so far, with books, blogging, etc.; then there was Super Tuesday.  I sent in my ballot a couple of weeks ago, a process that I like. 

• My reading has been slow so far, but I finally finished reading and reviewing When You See Me, by Lisa Gardner.  A captivating read.

• Next I plan to start reading my NetGalley ARC:  The Red Lotus, by Chris Bohjalian.  The book will be released on 3/17/20.
• This week I finished binge-watching Season I of What/If.  I also enjoyed watching some episodes of Season 5 of Better Call Saul on AMC.  I think I’ll have to watch it again once it drops to Netflix.  I find myself falling asleep with late night shows these days.  I really need my DVR again!
• I am feeling some anxiety about the coronavirus…and hope that something can be done about it soon!  I have a sneaking feeling that we are not up to the task as a nation due to some of the cuts to certain agencies in the past two years.
• I am eagerly anticipating this new version of Little Women…and have pre-ordered it for my Amazon Prime Queue.

 

• I do enjoy movies, of course, and have watched most of the versions of this film.

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What was your week like?  Come on by and share.

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COFFEE CHAT: FEBRUARY IS WINDING DOWN…

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.

 

As we begin our final week in February, we are reminded once again about the speeding passage of time.  As I think back on the week, I ask myself how I have only finished one book so far?  It took most of the week to finish Dead to Her, by Sarah Pinborough. But then I tick off the other things I did this week, like participating in activities in the residential dining room and going out to lunch on Wednesday. Plus, on Tuesday we had a Fat Tuesday party with the Mardi Gras theme.  The activities director here goes all out with the decor and the food..in the morning, she made green and yellow pancakes.

• I enjoyed going to Olive Garden yesterday where I ate some favorite dishes…and had a delicious Margarita…

• This afternoon I started reading The Housekeeper, by Natalie Barelli.
• Yesterday was a beautiful Spring day, and I couldn’t seem to get enough of it!
• On the 26th, I noted that I have been here for nine months.  The time seemed to go slowly in the beginning as I waited for my surgery.  Now I feel like I am finally moving on.
• My Mug Collection is growing.  I got another one this week:

• I have a new one headed my way:

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What did your week look like?  Enjoy the weekend…

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COFFEE CHAT: FEBRUARY THOUGHTS & MEMORIES…

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 slogging along with tedious tasks.  I’m reading two books that are good, but for whatever reason, they are taking a long time to finish!  I did read and review one book so far:  Losing You, by Nicci French.  Very good!

• Yesterday was my appointment with the tax accountant…and I don’t owe additional money!  That’s always good news.
• Today is my granddaughter Aubrey’s 23rd birthday!  The other granddaughter, Fiona, has her 23rd birthday on the 21st!  Here they are at age seven, in a February in 2004.

• Here are some more recent photos of them: (Aubrey, a year ago…not so recent!  And Fiona here in town)…

• As I scrolled through my photo files, I realized that these girls have been almost too busy to take photos!  Aubrey has been spending the year in New Zealand, and Fiona is working long hours as a massage therapist.
• A few days ago, my daughter and son-in-law enjoyed a cruise to Mexico…

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So…that was my week so far.  What did yours look like?

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COFFEE CHAT: COLLECTIONS, BOOKS, & MY INTERIORS…

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 of reading and blogging, and a sad but not unexpected end to the so-called Impeachment Trial.  But we shall move on, still hopeful about the future and what might come in the next few months.

• This week I read and reviewed The Country Guesthouse, by Robyn Carr, another visit to Sullivan’s Crossing.  I am currently reading Deep State, by Chris Hauty, and hope to finish it today.
• Books continue to arrive in packages from Amazon, like Blind Spot, by Sue Miller, and The Wives, by Tarryn Fisher.
• More mugs have been added to my collection, and I am placing them in various spots, trying to find the perfect places for each of them.  Here are a couple of them on my desk.

• Then I posed the newest RBG with my “fanciful” one:

• Earlier in the week, I wrote about “finding the light” when I realized I needed to turn on the desk lamp to see the keyboard better…LOL.  Well, I also realized that I needed to reposition the desk chair so I could type better. Previously, my chair was placed at an angle to the desk (left).  Why?  Who knows?  But now it is much better (right).

• It apparently takes a few months for me to sort out my surroundings.  LOL.

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That was my week.  What did yours look like?

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COFFEE CHAT: GOOD THINGS IN UNEXPECTED PLACES…

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 great week of reading, blogging, and messing around with my apartment.  I made some changes with my bookshelves, adding a little one across from the main one, where I plan the books to flow after I fill up the primary shelf.  Right now it contains the unread nonfiction/fiction books.  It is tucked away beneath the entry table.

• A cute mug came in my mailbox this week, and I have filled it with extra pens.

• Then I stood back to spotlight the whole desk area with its new look.

• I finished reading and reviewing America’s Reluctant Prince, and now I am immersed in The Vanishing.
• In my mailbox came the new Nicci French book, Losing You.  I can’t wait to dive into it.
• More mugs are headed my way…I should soon have a really nice collection of them.  Now…where to put them?
• An interesting thing has been happening in the dining room.  At our big table we have added more compatible residents…we sometimes “close down” the dining room in the evenings.  Yes, we enjoy some wine, some conversation, and laughter.  Good things.  Who knew?

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Looking forward to more good things.  What did your week look like?

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