Friday, May 3, 2019

Coffee Talk

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Let's catch up over coffee! Sometimes it's nice to talk about things other than running. How do you take your coffee? I'm still using the GLG collagen and half and half in mine. Pull up a chair and tell me what's new in your world.


If we were having coffee, I'd tell you that I can't believe my son's first year at the University of Wisconsin is over. We've all adjusted to having him away and now he's coming home. I won't lie--I've missed him. He won't be home much, though. He and his girlfriend are planning a 2 week trip out west. They're going to visit the Grand Canyon and a few other National Parks. This is all on him and I have to admit that I'm proud of him for saving his money and planning the trip. Of course, he did ask me to send him money so he could do his laundry this week...


If we were having coffee, I'd tell you about the home improvement project my oldest and I tackled last weekend. During the week, after having the windows open during the day, I had a coughing attack when I went to bed. I told my husband that I was concerned about the carpet in my bedroom and he responded by telling me to pull it out. Ok, then! While he went to work, my oldest and I ripped the carpet out of both our bedrooms. No surprise, my floor was covered with mold. The hardwood was in good shape and I bleached the mold away. We need to get the floors refinished, but let me tell you how much better I've been sleeping knowing that the air in my bedroom is clean!

Those black spots on the floor are MOLD! Ewwww
If we were having coffee, I'd tell you that after that big project, I was worried about a flare-up of my RA. I've had a rough couple of months and finally! I'm starting to feel better. I sure didn't want to awaken the sleeping giant with all that work and much to my surprise, I felt fine the next day. I'm cautiously optimistic that maybe this flare is coming to an end. Is it the new medication? The supplements? Whatever it is, I'm feeling like myself again and I AM GRATEFUL.

NOPE! :)
If we were having coffee, I'd probably whine a bit about our weather. While the rest of the country is warming up, we're still having winter-like conditions. Last week we got 8 inches of snow. This week, we've gotten about 5 inches of rain. It's been in the 40s. The wind is out of the northeast, which means it's blowing across Lake Michigan before it makes its way to my house. Welcome to spring in Chicago. You know what's going to happen--we're going to go right to summer. At this point, I'd welcome it. I did see some 70s for next week but I'll believe it when I see it.


If we were having coffee, I'd ask you if you had read any good books this month. Right now I'm reading The Last Romantics. This book has gotten a lot of hype and 5 star reviews from some of my most reliable book bloggers, but I'm just not feeling it. On the other hand, You Think It, I'll Say It, a collection of short stories by one of my favorite authors, Curtis Sittenfeld, was just great. My only complaint is that I wanted more stories! Another great read was A Ladder to the Sky by John Boyle. The main character was a sociopath and all I can say is if you think you've heard it all, read this one. Plus, the writing is incredible. Next up is May's Running Book Club book, The Rise of the Ultrarunners by Adaranhand Finn, coming out this month.



We're catching up over coffee! /via @oldrunningmom @deborahbrooks14 @got2run4me #runchat #running

What would you tell me over coffee? What's new in your world? Home renovation stories? Has spring arrived by you or are you stuck in winter like us? Have you read any of the books I mentioned? Do you have any book recommendations for me?

I'm linking up with Deborah and Coco for the Ultimate Coffee Date and with Fridays with Fairytales and Fitness.






41 comments :

  1. I read the Last Romantics back in March, and I too thought it was just OK. I gave it 3 stars. If I am not enjoying a book by about page 68-70ish I put it down. I feel like that is a fair try.

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    1. I finished it, hoping it would get better. I don't know what I missed but I thought it was all over the place.

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  2. I love that you and your son are doing a project together and it sounds like your relationship has gotten a lot better. Your younger son sounds a lot like mine :) Thanks for linking up over coffee

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    1. Things have definitely gotten better! I was so happy--I hugged him after (he doesn't like that!) and he hugged me back.

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  3. Your son has his priorities straight. Spend money on vacations rather than laundry? You taught him well. I would do the same thing! :)

    Congrats on completing a big project like the floor and feeling fine afterward. Your floors are gonna look amazing when you are finished.

    Thanks for the book recommendations. I am always disappointed when I read a book that has been over-hyped. I never read Curtis Sittenfeld. Now I have to give him a try.

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    1. Ha, it's the truth. Our house needs work, our furniture is old, my car is old BUT we have all the fun. We go on trips, adventures--that's really what it's all about.

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  4. I fear Maddie is going to find a laundry service at school next year and send her stuff out and bill us of course. I gasped when I saw the M word. Yikes! Glad you caught it. We have no more carpet in this house and I like it that way! Don't even get me started on the weather. That snow day was Maddie's prom day. Good times.

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    1. We still have to take the carpet out of Matthew's room. The stairs and landing will be recarpeted. But I am so glad to have it gone.

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  5. Oh no! Sorry to hear about the mold in your bedroom, but the good thing is that you found it and you were able to clean it. So great that you are now able to sleep better knowing the air is nice and clean :)

    I haven't finished a book in a while - yikes! I'm notorious for starting books and never finishing them. I'm going to make it a goal to finish a book this month.

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  6. We brought 3 bags of Kona coffee home with us on Sunday so I'm good to go for a little while. Les has an engineering degree so home projects are his department (I'm usually just on cleanup.) It was 44 here on Wednesday morning, but the days have been warm and sunny. It actually feels like Spring which is kinda nice.

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    1. Oh yum! I'd love some Kona coffee! Guess I need to go to Hawaii.

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  7. I JUST picked up "A Ladder to the Sky" at the library an hour ago. Looking forward to that this weekend!

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    1. You have to let me know what you think about Maurice!

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    2. OMG. Love to hate Maurice. What a brilliantly disturbing book!!

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    3. Isn't he a piece of work? Such a great book!

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  8. Go Badgers! I laugh as I am heading to my parents house later and bringing my laundry with me, I don't think that will change until I get my own place and don't have to pay for laundry LOL

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  9. Mold. Yikes?! Glad you got that out. I love having hard wood floors!

    This weather is the worst! Although I did my long run today (going away this weekend) and I really enjoyed the high 40s/low 50s for my 18.

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    1. I actually like having carpet under my feet but I'm not going back to that after the whole mold thing. It was so disgusting.

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  10. mold... omg blech! good thing you guys got to it before it got worse! Ron and Pascal (my stepson) actually cleaned the only carpet we have left in the apartment last year when I went to Vegas. They were going to build the huge Ikea wardrobe and so everything had to be cleared out and cleaned. They said it was a fun job (emphasis not on fun). I don't even want to know. I clean, dust, vacuum but I also have cats and you can do all that until the cows come home, the next day it's a wreck again.

    Chicago weather is really something. I remember mostly really cold winters and too hot and sticky summers. But you gotta love it, it's a great place to be :) Our sunshine turned into grey again this past week. we've had pockets of sun but also rain. Ah well. It is the Netherlands of course.

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    1. I'm pretty sure that the weather we're having is setting the tone for a cool, damp summer. Unless something miraculous happens.

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  11. I'm sorry your weather has been all over the place! We are definitely in Spring/summer mode hear. But wouldnt you know I finally sign up for a race ( last minute), and it is suppose to rain all day on race day...uggh!

    I love a good home improvement project. I bet you do feel so much better with that carpet ripped out. Lucky for you that you had those nice hardwood floors.

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    1. Sorry to hear that it's going to rain on your race, but if it's warm, maybe it will feel good? :P

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  12. Yikes on that mold. Glad you quickly found the cough source and it was (relatively) easy to remediate.
    Been there,d one that with saving but needing for the little things. If you want a fun gift for your son, the NPS Passport book is about $10 and he/GF can collect stamps when they visit. Which reminds me, I need to find mine

    Coffee - black or sometimes with sugar free chemicals. Erm, I mean creamer. But it's dairy free so is it really creamer?

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    1. Thank you for the good idea on the NPS Passport books! Ordering now!

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    2. You're welcome. Besides the physical scavenger hunt element, it lasts whereas their app doesn't (or didn't when I tried) sync to cloud so new phone, lost stamps.

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  13. That's great that you and your son took on that project together - and thank goodness you caught the mold when you did!

    I'm so done with this damn weather - it just keeps raining here and I'm starting to contemplate building an ark!

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    1. Isn't it the worst spring ever? Next week looks like more of the same.

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  14. We'll be tearing up carpet soon, as well. Sweet little Max has had his way one too many times on the landing/balcony (I'm guessing he figured out it wasn't "living space," so he probably thought it was free territory). We can't decide to put down a wood floor (with a runner) there instead or re-carpet. Either way, it will be barricaded from his little feet ;-) The spring blooms/winter temps have been a drag...I say bring on summer.

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    1. Our stairs/landing do not have hardwood underneath the carpet--we're going to re-carpet that.

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  15. I'm glad you were able to take care of the mold issue!

    My book reading has taken a hit...I haven't read as many books in April, hopefully I can do better in June! I'm always too cheap to buy books so I always head to the library first. The ultrarunning book sounds interesting!

    And fingers crossed that your flare is gone!

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  16. Glad you were able to get that mold out - ew! And how great that your son helped you. LOL on your other son asking for laundry money. I think they figure we won't say no to that! Ladder To The Sky sounds like a book I'd enjoy. Will definitely check it out.

    (P.S. I tried to comment on my phone on Friday but obv it didn't go through - sorry!)

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    1. Thanks for coming back to leave a comment! Let me know if you read Ladder to the Sky.

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  17. Our handyman got a job and we have a list of jobs now and no handyman but are rubbish and finding one. That's my home renovation thought for the day. And hooray for getting rid of mould, always a good move!

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    1. Now to get the floors refinished. I'm married to a carpenter but he's not one to do stuff around the house. LOL

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  18. I wish I had wood floors under my bedroom carpet! I'm glad you were able to catch the mold problem and had your son's help in fixing it.
    I have read a few of the books that you recommended and appreciate that you do the "dirty work" for me.

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    1. Not dirty at all! I love to read. And if the book is bad, it's a DNF, no shame in that.

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  19. Wendy, I adored Curtis' new book. I read it and listened to it too on audio! Many of her books can be downloaded on Overdrive from the library. Your book selections are always spot on!!

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