Mamie's 2017 Madness (Page 7)

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snail's pace

Books Read in February:
12. A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles, (5 stars), library hardback, historical fiction - recommended by Mark, and Lynda hypnotized me
13. The Looking-Glass War by John LeCarré, (4 stars), 2017 acquired audiobook, espionage (George Smiley series, book 4)
14. Thin Air by Robert B. Parker, (3.5 stars), library hardback, crime fiction (Spenser series, book 22), read this with Roberta
15. Raven Black by Ann Cleeves (4.25 stars), ebook, crime fiction, off my shelves (Shetland, book 1)
16. The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov (3.5 stars), 2017 acquired ebook, crime fiction/scifi (Robot series, book 1)
17. A Local Habitation by Seanan McGuire (3 stars), ebook, urban fantasy/mystery, off my shelves (October Daye series, book 2) - series recommended by Roni
18. City of Secrets by Stewart O'Nan (3.5 stars), ebook, historical fiction, off my shelves
19. The Hanging Tree by Ben Aaronovitch (4.5 stars), 2017 acquired audiobook, urban fantasy/police procedural (Rivers of London series, book 5)
20. Ghachar Ghochar by Vivek Shanbhag (4.5 stars), 2017 acquired paperback, contemporary fiction

Books Read in January:
1. Rivers of London: Volume 1: Body Work by Ben Aaronovitch, art by Lee Sullivan (3.75 stars), GN - police procedural, off my shelves, (Rivers of London series, GN set in between books 4 and 5)
2. The Spy Who Came in From the Cold by John LeCarré (5 stars), paperback/audio combo, espionage, off my shelves (George Smiley series, book 3)
3. The Chisellers by Brendan O'Carroll (4 stars), library paperback, historical fiction/humor - series recommended by Nancy (Agnes Brown trilogy, book 2)
4. The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner (5 stars), ebook, off my shelves - series recommended by Jenn (Queen's Thief series, book 1)
5. The Paper Menagerie by Ken Liu (4.5 stars), ebook, short story collection, off my shelves - recommended by Mark
6. Talking to the Dead by Harry Bingham (3.75 stars), ebook, off my shelves, police procedural - series recommended by Julia and Joe and Mary (Fiona Griffith series, book 1)
7. Nutshell by Ian McEwan (5 stars), 2017 acquired audiobook, literary fiction - Katie's Dirty Dozen
8. Summer Knight by Jim Butcher (4 stars), audiobook, urban fantasy, off my shelves - Roberta said to keep going (Harry Dresden series, book 4)
9. The End of the Affair by Graham Greene (4 stars), audiobook, literary fiction, off my shelves
10. Get Shorty by Elmore Leonard (4.25 stars), ebook, crime fiction, off my shelves
11. Going After Cacciato by Tim O'Brien (4 stars), library paperback, literary fiction/Vietnam

My name is Mamie. 49. Mother of four. Happily married. I am an Indiana transplant currently residing in Georgia. I like to wax poetic about the pecan trees and complain about the heat. I miss winter. I believe in the power of kindness and shared laughter. I heartily embrace wine, snark, and shenanigans; I like to think of them as my posse.

This is my sixth year in the 75ers group. I will read almost anything (Um…NOT self-help), but I tend to lean towards crime fiction, space opera, and historical fiction. I have a soft spot for quirky characters and magical realism.
This group has greatly increased my reading of truth - I love memoirs, travel writing and narrative non-fiction. I am greatly looking forward to another reading year spent amidst the chaos of the 75.

I am planning on walking the cat this year. That is, I am just going to go where my reading takes me. I am not committing to any challenges except for Ellen’s Reread Challenge, which is a perfect match for me because every year I reread multiple books. I love to reread - it’s like getting together with old friends. I like the comfort of knowing where I am going and the surprise of discovering new truths in a familiar landscape.

So some thoughts I have:

It would be nice to read some of the hundreds of books I have sitting on my shelves - especially the authors that I have multiple standalone books by, such as Elmore Leonard, Philip K. Dick, and George Orwell

I want to keep going on some of the series I focused on this past year as well as some that I have neglected for a while: Harry Bosch, Harry Hole, Inspector Montalbano, Bruno Courrèges, Barsetshire, the Vorkosigan Saga, The Others, Sebastian St. Cyr, ...

I would like to eventually read all of the books mentioned in The English Patient, starting with The Histories by Herodotus

Usually I list my print and ebook purchases, but I thought it might be fun to follow my audiobook purchases instead this year. My husband always gets me the 24 credit Audible membership for Christmas, so…

1. Nutshell by Ian McEwan, narrated by Rory Kinnear, Katie's Dirty Dozen 2016 COMPLETED
2. The Looking-Glass War by John LeCarré, narrated by Michael Jayston COMPLETED
3. Brat Farrar by Josephine Tey, narrated by Carole Boyd - $2.95 Daily Deal
4. The Hanging Tree by Ben Aaronovitch, narrated by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith COMPLETED
5. Till We Have Faces by C. S. Lewis, narrated by Nadia May - a favorite of both Birdy and me - $2.95 Daily Deal
6. Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman, narrated by Neil Gaiman - because I couldn't NOT have it
7. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, narrated by Neil Gaiman - just $6.99, and I am wanting to get to this one soon

Katie’s Dirty Dozen - That’s right, folks, KAK’s reserved spot is back for a third year, let’s see what she gets me with this time

1.

From 2016:
1. Kamchatka by Marcelo Figueras
2. Destiny of the Republic by Candace Millard
3. The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henríquez - seconded by Charlotte and Susan
4. In the Walled City by Stewart O'Nan COMPLETED 8/12/16 3.8 stars
5. My Reading Life by Pat Conroy - she recommended the audio, and don't speed it up
6. Nobody's Fool by Richard Russo COMPLETED 7/21/16 5 stars
7. Ruby by Cynthia Bond - seconded by Charlotte
8. Not My Father's Son by Alan Cumming - she recommends the audio read by Cummings himself
9. Songs for the Missing by Stewart O'Nan
10. Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye - Roberta also loved this, Katie says the audio is great, purchased 5/15/16
11. The Jaguar's Children by John Vaillant
12. Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi COMPLETED 10/2/16 5 stars
13. Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat - she pointed out that this was only $1.99 on Kindle and that it was one of her very favorites, purchased 7/13/16
14. Tribal: College Football and the Secret Heart of America by Diane Roberts
15. Manhood for Amateurs by Michael Chabon
16. Nutshell by Ian McEwan COMPLETED 1/2017 5 stars
17. Black River by S. M. Hulse

AND, from 2015:
1. The Mermaids Singing by Lisa Carey ($1.99 on Kindle), purchase on 2/18/15 COMPLETED 8/19/16 5 stars
2. Bright's Passage by Josh Ritter (2.99 on Kindle), purchased on 2/23/15
3. The Tilted World by Tom Franklin and Beth Ann Fennelly ($3.79 on Kindle), purchased on 3/31/15 COMPLETED 11/7/15 4.2 stars
4. Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant by Anne Tyler ($12.77 trade paperback), purchased on 4/1/15, COMPLETED read for Mark's AAC in January 2016, 4.25 stars
5. Paradise Alley by Kevin Baker ($.99 on Kindle), purchased on 4/9/15 - second book in a series, first book Dreamland was recommended by Katie and purchased last year
6. Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing - used an Audible credit COMPLETED 6/16/15 4.9 stars
7. Academy Street by Mary Costello ($9.99 on Kindle), purchased on 6/12/15 COMPLETED 7/2/16 5 stars
8. Just Like Heaven by Julia Quinn ($5.99 on Kindle), purchased on 8/28/15
9. Sweetland by Michael Crummey ($.99 on Kindle), purchased 9/5/15 COMPLETED 11/19/15 4.5 stars
10. If You Only Knew by Kristan Higgins ($7.99 on Kindle), purchased on 10/26/15

Every year, LT is an embarrassment of riches for me. I like to keep track of who recommends what and any other pertinent info that lands a book on WL.

1. Winter by Christopher Nicholson - read Suz's review on her thread, it was one of her top reads from last year
2. News of the World by Paulette Jiles - because Mark said so!
3. The Return: Fathers, Sons, and Between by Hisham Matar - memoir -read Rhonda's review on her thread
4. Those Who Hunt the Night by Barbara Hambly - read Roni's blurb on her thread about this series
5. Knots and Crosses by Ian Rankin - series recommended by Deborah - read her review of the third book on her thread
6. The Western Lit Survival Kit by Sandra Newman - Joe says this is delightful
7. The Inquisitor's Tale, Or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog by Adam Gidwitz - read Anne's review on her thread
8. A World of Love by Elizabeth Bowen - read Meg's review on her thread
9. Under Another Sky by Charlotte Higgins - read Susan's review on her thread, and she said that she heard about it on Jennifer's (inge87) thread
10. He Wants by Alison Moore - read Nancy's review on her thread
11. A Robot in the Garden by Deborah Install - read Caro's review on her thread
12. Full Dark House by Christopher Fowler - read Robin's review of the 13th book in this series
13. A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro - read Faith's review on her thread
14. Moonglow by Michael Chabon - Charlotte talking about reading this on her thread has made me add it to the list, and I was really trying not to...
15. The Assault by Henry Mulisch - read Anita's review on her thread
16. India: A Portrait by Patrick French - read Erik's review on his thread - he says a good look at modern day India
17. The Watcher by Ross Armstrong - read Charlotte's review on her thread
18. The Girl of Ink & Stars by Kiran Millwood Hargrave - read Jenny's review on her thread
19. I Will Have Vengeance by Mario De Giovanni - read Ellen's review on her thread
20. The Ferryman Institute by Colin Gigi - because Jim said so
21. Madwoman in the Attic by Sandra M. Gilbert - read Gail's review of it on her thread
22. Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah - read Heather's review on her thread - she says the audio is superb
23. Savage Beauty: The Life of Edna St. Vincent Millay by Nancy Milford - read Cee's review on her thread
24. The Riviera Set by Mary S. Lovell - read Susan's excellent review, which has not yet been posted to the book's page
25. In the Kingdom of Ice by Hampton Sides - read Jim's review on his thread

This should do it - next one's yours!

Happy new thread, Mamie!

Happy New Thread, Mom!!!!

Dammit Susan!!!!! I was trying to be first!

Happy Thursday and Happy New Thread!!

>10 thearlybirdy: But Birdy, I tried it first :-)) (I am almost never first. Usually I'm about 50th, after wondering on the bus why there are no new messages on Mamie's thread, and then realising there was a new one started overnight).

Oh, okay, I guess you can have it just this once.

>8 susanj67: You are first, Susan, and I wish you could have heard the groaning in the background as you beat Birdy to the slot. Well done!

>9 thearlybirdy: Thank you, Birdy!

>10 thearlybirdy: Ha! Better luck next time, Birdy!

>10 thearlybirdy: You gotta work hard to earn the name of "The Early Bird" ya know!!

>11 Berly: Thanks, Kim!

>12 susanj67: It was excellent timing, Susan.

>13 thearlybirdy: Such grace and poise, Birdy. Really, you'd never know you were moaning just a moment ago.

>15 Berly: Oh, she does, just not on the threads. That's why we call her Birdy - because she is always up with the sun and always chipper and ready to go. If she's not, then she is sick.

She'll have to work to develop her mad skills at getting the drop on being first to post on a new thread.

>15 Berly: Them's fighting words!

I love your topper very, very much.

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread, Mamie!

>18 thearlybirdy: Well said!! But I don't want to fight. ; ) Here's my peace offering...

Lovely topper Mamie. If it was a possum would you have to keep making new threads!?

Happy new one!

Happy New Thread, Mamie!

>1 Crazymamie: - Love it!

You're making me want to re-read The Western Lit Survival Kit. I wonder what she'd say about David Foster Wallace. Maybe she'll do a sequel some day.

Happy new thread, Mamie. Have a wonderful day!

Happy New Thread! I love the topper as always.

>21 Berly: Well alright, how can I refuse a peace offering of books?

>26 thearlybirdy: Phew!!

Hi again, Crazy. : )

Happy new thread, Mamie, your topper is SO true!

>18 thearlybirdy: I like the image but no fighting, Birdy. Especially with Kim - she has a black belt in TKD, so she could probably tie you up with it.

>19 katiekrug: Thank you, Katie. As soon as I saw it, I knew it was destined for my thread.

>20 scaifea: Thank you, Amber!

>21 Berly: Oh, books! A lovely peace offering, although you could totally take Birdy.

>22 PaulCranswick: Thank you, Paul. And yes.

>23 jnwelch: Thanks, Joe! Glad you love the topper! You are getting a book bullet from the one you gave me? Too funny!

>24 Familyhistorian: Thank you, Meg! Hoping your day is also full of wonder!

>25 streamsong: Thanks, Janet!

>26 thearlybirdy: *grin*

>27 Berly: LOL. Hello, Kim.

>28 FAMeulstee: Thanks, Anita! I'm so happy the topper is a hit - and yes, SO true.

Happy new thread! That cat was definitely creepy...

Morning, Mamie. Sweet Thursday! Happy New Thread. Glad you started a new one too, like you, possum creep me out. Shudders...

>1 Crazymamie: Ha! Love the topper. Made me bark out a laugh.

>32 drneutron: Thanks you, Jim. I know, right?!

>33 msf59: Morning, Mark! Sweet Thursday! And thank you. Oh, good, I'm not the only one creeped out by possum.

>34 Morphidae: Hooray for that, Morphy! That makes me smile BIG.

>36 Crazymamie: Even MrMorphy chuckled when I showed it to him.

*happy dance*

Good morning, Mamie and happy new thread. I agree that the topper is pretty awesome.

I started a new book this week. I believe it will get me over the hump of new year's slump.

Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings.

Chuckling over your topper...boy can I relate. Happy new one, Mamie.

I am going to frame your topper, make a t-shirt out of it, and a sign I can hold up when I'm reading. It's going to be everywhere.

I go for a nap, come back, the possum has gone and I'm 41 messages behind? I assume I dozed for at least 3 days!

I'm with Jenny. How is it that you just started a new thread today and it's already 42 posts long?!?!? Madness. It's just madness.

I am glad your knee is better, assume the nausea has gone away, and that Thursday will turn out to be sweet for you.

Oh, and I love your topper. Love.

>39 brodiew2: Afternoon, Brodie! Hooray for the topper love. And also for getting over a slump. I have read that one many, many years ago - David Eddings is a favorite author of Craig's. His favorite series is the Belgariad, which is what you are reading, but he has read all of his stuff. Sparhawk is my favorite (from the Elenium series), but I think they should have left Queen Ehlana incased in the crystal. Heh.

>40 RebaRelishesReading: Happy to provide a chuckle, Reba. And thank you.

>41 nittnut: So do you like the topper, Jenn? LOL! I know just what you mean - I would like it to be flashing above me whenever I am reading.

>42 lunacat: Haha, Jenn. See what happens when you let a possum loose?

>43 EBT1002: Well...I am blaming Birdy, who was having issues up there, Ellen. Madness you say?! You have come to the right place!

Yep. The nausea is gone, the knee is doing better today. *crosses fingers* And so far Thursday has been sweet.

So happy you love the topper!

>44 Crazymamie: re >39 brodiew2: 's spoiler - *snorts in laughter* I can see your point. Ce'Nedra isn't much better.

Oh, good, Morphy. It's not just me!

See, I was right. Get out of bed, guzzle that coffee, chase around the house: All Better.

Love the topper. Happy new thread.

>45 Morphidae: I'm glad to hear you are familiar with Eddings and The Belgariad, Mamie. You and Morphy are making me feel better and bout the choice.

>45 Morphidae: >46 Crazymamie: *nods and smiles*

Happy new one, Mamie.

LOVE your new topper! I sooo stole that to use! :)

Gosh! The posts are just flying by for you, Mamie! Looks like you've got some solid reading already with February. And with that topper, looks like sweetness, light, peace and quiet are reigning at the Pecan Paradiso!

Happy new thread, Mamie!

>47 weird_O: Thanks, Bill. Now why did I ever doubt you?

>48 BLBera: Thanks, Beth! Somehow I knew the topper would resound with this group.

>49 brodiew2: It's a classic , Brodie - those are good on audio, too.

>50 Ameise1: Thank you, Barbara!

>51 ChelleBearss: Hooray, Chelle! I am honored you liked it enough to steal it!!

>52 ChelleBearss: The very rare double post, I am guessing.

>53 michigantrumpet: Everyone loves a new thread, Marianne. Not sure that sweetness, light, peace and quiet are reigning here, but it is a worthy aim. More like sass, murkiness, and a touch of chaos currently, but luckily the wine cellar has been restocked. And we have a plan for dinner.

>54 DeltaQueen50: Thank you, Judy!

Sweetness, light, peace, and quiet? LOL.

I know, Ellen. But it's a lovely dream.

In regards to creepy possum- You remember a few years ago, when I was confronted with one on someone's front porch, eating out of a garbage back, they had left there? Scary thing wouldn't budge either, just showed those hideous teeth.

>45 Morphidae: Oh. I like Ce'Nedra. She's spunky. *sniff*

It's Friday!! I am awake. What's wrong with this picture? IT IS 4:30 IN THE MORNING that's what's wrong!!! And so the Prednisone insomnia begins...sigh. I hope my brain makes it through the day. Maybe I can just borrow your plan for the day.... : )

>56 Crazymamie: "More like sass, murkiness, and a touch of chaos currently, but luckily the wine cellar has been restocked. And we have a plan for dinner."

>59 msf59: Mark, I do remember that, and it was the first thing I thought of when I saw that possum post. Yikes!

>60 scaifea: It's good to know she has you, Amber. *blinks*

>61 Berly: Hooray for Friday, Kim! I was also awake at 4:30 in the morning, but I just read in bed. Sorry about the insomnia - I deal with that a lot because I used to work nightshift and it messed up my internal clock. SO I feel for you. And I'm sorry that you have to resort to Prednisone - hope it does its job quickly. You are welcome to borrow my plan for the day - laundry, a bit of cleaning, and then a lazy afternoon because I did all the errands yesterday. BBQ ribs and smashes taters with bacon and cheese for dinner.

>56 Crazymamie: Ha, yes it was! I think my computer at work is too slow for LT sometimes

So, this will make you laugh. This week the coffee has been tasting off to me, but I thought it was just me because I haven't been feeling well, and I even had to skip drinking any coffee on my Day of Nausea. Yesterday, as I was drinking my first morning cup, I was wondering if Craig had made loser coffee again thinking I would not notice that it was decaf. This Morning, I was pouring myself a cup, and I really looked at it, and I thought, "This is not coffee. This is some sort of beige liquid impersonating coffee." So, I am wondering what's up because we have one of those pre-programmed coffee pots that grinds the beans and then makes the coffee all in one go. I check the filter and there are hardly any coffee grounds in there. That's when I notice that the program is set for six cups instead of ten. And then I am remembering that Craig made an extra pot of coffee on Sunday because he was a total pig with the stuff, and I had only gotten one cup. But instead of making a whole pot, he just made a six cup pot. *blinks* That's right, folks, I have been drinking coffee made with water for ten cups but coffee beans for six cups all week. Complete and utter proof of my sickness this week that I am just noticing this fact on Friday.

LOL. Well, no wonder!! You are going to have to keep an eye on Craig.

Ha, that is quite funny! At least he didn't swap out your normal stuff for decaf, that would have been bad for his health! :)

>63 ChelleBearss: I actually love when that happens - you don't see it as much these days, so it seems lucky somehow. Ha!

>65 Berly: I know, right?! Craig drinks his coffee with a lot of other stuff in it, so he did not even notice. Wait till I tell him tonight!

>66 ChelleBearss: He did switch out the regular stuff for decaf a few years ago, but I let him live with a stern warning to never try that again.

You have such anarchy around you this week Mamie! Coffee not made to full strength, cupcakes baked when you can't eat them.........thank goodness Craig learnt his lesson previously and didn't try the decaf trick, you might not have left any of them alive.

>68 Crazymamie: that was kind of you to let him off with a warning!
Nate has been nagging me about my caffeine intake due to baby no-name but he got a stern talking to as I stay under my allowed amount and I still need some coffee/tea to function or he will have one tired and cranky wife on his hands!

I know, Jenny. And right - the coffee pot is mine. I have full custody, and I allow Craig to make coffee with it and to drink a cup of the magic brew, but let's not confuse graciousness with gifting. Or even sharing, really. It's MINE. This is because when I married Craig, he was a tea drinker - he did not drink coffee. And really he still doesn't - he adds a splash of coffee to a mug of creamer and sweetener. Except on the weekends when he occasionally goes hog wild and has more than one cup. After the Loser Coffee Fiasco, we have agreed that decaf shall never taint the pot again.

>70 ChelleBearss: I try to be generous, Chelle. *sniff* And exactly right - if Nate wants to carry the baby, then he can decide how much caffeine to drink. Good for you!

Happy Friday, Mamie!

>64 Crazymamie: Hilarious! When I make coffee at work, nevermind the brand, I have to make it with 2 packets to get the full flavor. One packet is weak sauce and nothing more than coffee flavored water. :-)

Mamie,



It may not be new, but it is none the less relevant.

Mamie, I'm glad you sorted out the beige liquid impersonating coffee. The machine at work in the kitchen nearest me has a decaf option (represented by a broken bean - how appropriate) but a little sign says "If you require decaf, please go to the other kitchen." Every time I see it, I think you would approve :-) I'm still trying to work out what the "2x" button does, but with no success so far. It either means double-strength or twice as much (for example, hot milk, which only comes out about 1/4 cup at a time), but it's anyone's guess really.

Thought I would try to catch up with you and now I am in trouble... 2 more books to add to my WL. A Gentleman in Moscow and The Long Ships.

Coffee: I read someplace that coffee counts as liquid intake. I get dehydrated at night as I sleep, so I fully rehydrate every morning with unadulterated, caffeinated black coffee. No sugar, no cream. That is my concession to a healthy lifestyle and I intend to stick with it.

>73 brodiew2: Happy Friday, Brodie! Ha! Good one! A classic.

>74 susanj67: I love that the decaf is represented by a broken bean, Susan!! Too funny! And yes - I approve and endorse the sign. I think you should try the 2X button just to see what happens.

>75 -Cee-: Hello, Cee! Those are good ones to add to the WL. I have not read The Long Ships, but the cover is beautiful and Lucy and Jenny and others assure me it is very good. Lucy gave it the full five stars. And A Gentleman in Moscow should not be missed - so good, and you will love it.

I love that coffee counts as liquid intake. I like some milk or creamer in my first cup in the morning, but I also love it black. NO sugar.

What is this coffee of which you speak?

I haven't been able to stand the taste or smell of coffee since I was a pre-teen. And believe me, I was desperate for something hot to drink a time or two and just couldn't do it no matter how much cream and sugar I put in it. MrMorphy on the other hand goes through a pot a day. He makes it a dessert, however, with International Delight creamer (must be ID, no other brand, also must be French Vanilla or recently White Chocolate Raspberry) and sugar.

>64 Crazymamie: Oy vey! what husbands won't do to make you think you're going crazy! I wish I could be a fly on the wall when Craig gets home.
Have a lovely Friday afternoon/evening just the same!!

>78 Morphidae: Oh, dear! I absolutely adore coffee in all of it's many forms. Except decaf, which is an abomination. Craig has a ritual very similar to MrMorphy's it sounds like. But he is less picky about the creamer - he prefers hazelnut or French vanilla, but he will use whatever we have on hand.

>79 Carmenere: Yep. Exactly right, Kim, although I feel I must confess that Craig is an absolute sweetheart. I can't wait to discuss his latest "coffee incident" with him.

>64 Crazymamie: I Totally agree with you re: decaf.

Happy Friday.

>64 Crazymamie: You have me intrigued by a machine that grinds AND brews all in one go. How have I missed this?

I must know - what brand/make/model? Picture?

>81 BLBera: Yep. If it's decaf, it's not coffee. Happy Friday to you, Beth!

>92 ursula: It's a Capresso, and they no longer make the exact one that we have, but their current one is here: Coffee TEAM PRO Plus. I think they have several types depending on how much you want to spend. It makes excellent coffee, and I love that you can set the grind and the boldness of the coffee.



We have the thermal carafe, which I love because you can just take the coffee with you to the screened-in porch or where ever you are going to consume the delightful beverage.

>83 Crazymamie: Cool. A stupid question, but how easily can you switch out the canister on the top for the beans? We do switch between caffeinated and *ahem* decaf depending on the time of day.

Also how hard is it to wash out the grindy bits? Are they removable? Can they go in the dishwasher?

Oh, dear. I'm going to pretend you didn't mention the part about decaf. On our model, the bean part is not removable, so you have to tip it and dump it, which is kind of a pain - we ussally just use up what's in there before changing what we are brewing. BUT the newer model has: "Fully removable 7-ounce bean container is easy to unlock and lift, to change out beans or access burr for cleaning" I don't have one, so I don't know how easy it actually is, but it looks like it would be very easy and convenient, which is why I am considering getting the newer model which has some nice updates.

A very nice feature. I had to decaffeinate for health reasons about 25 years ago. It was one of the most brutal things I ever did - the headaches were utterly debilitating. I will allow myself one cup of caffeinated in the morning, and the hubby has troubles sleeping, so we do a complete switch over at about 3:00.

Believe me, if I could do the caffeinated full strength, I would. It just tastes so much better. Just don't EVER want to go through the weaning off process again. (I find that water processed decaf beans are the best. Just in case the worst should happen and you want to know.)

We have a bean to cup coffee maker than has two different bean sections, you just flick a lever over. Of course you need to remember which side you've put decaf in, but as we never have decaf it doesn't matter to us. I enjoy being able to choose my strength a lot, as I have it weaker than TheBF does.

It also has a ground coffee server thing, so you can put ground decaf in and it will take from that rather than the beans.

Coffee!?!! At our house, we don't make coffee. We make espresso. And really, it does not grow hair on your chest. The only drawback for me personally is that I have to brew it because my pardner says, "Oh, you know I can't do that. I can't get it open; I can't steam the milk." (See, I like cappuccino, no sweetener, while Judi likes the espresso straight up.) Generally, three cups a day; two in the morning, one mid-afternoon.

>87 lunacat: Jenny - that sounds exactly like what we need! What brand/make/model? I need details!

>89 michigantrumpet: We have a Melitta Caffeo Bistro. It is SO easy to use (apart from an argument I had with it earlier this week, but that was my fault for interrupting its cleaning cycle!) and produces great coffee. I'm not sure if Melitta is a brand available in the US though - it's a German brand so it's got their reliability and build quality.

I would recommend it to anyone, although it is loud first thing in the morning while it grinds the beans!

Thanks Jenny!

Regarding coffee, I miss two things: Italy, and our espresso maker from Denver which is in a storage unit.

I have never liked brewed coffee - the taste is just gross to me. So I either drink lattes (vanilla, if the people making it are suspect) or espresso with sugar. Not that I've had that since returning to the US because the only real coffee shop in town is full of suspect baristas.

Happy Friday, Mamie! Somehow my day got away from me. Not feeling great either. I hope it is something very temporary.

Hope you had a great day.

Happy weekend!

So my only thought about this whole substituting decaf/resetting the pot thing: have you seen the movie Gaslight? :D

So, I've been dropping in daily but not speaking up. We are a Keurig family--that way my husband makes ME a cup of coffee in the morning.

You must be feeling better with all of this coffee talk, Mamie. I assume it means you have your taste buds back.

>78 Morphidae: I'm with you Morphy. I don't get the coffee love either.

Coffee/decaf? I used to have a coffee with a half shot in it when I was pregnant, as I figured the chemical caffeine stripper was worse off for t=me than the small amount of caffeine. Now I drink herbal tea or caro (caffeine free hickory and rye based drink) if I need a cuppa and don't want to stay up late. Like now. When I should be in bed, and shouldn't have had that last coffee!!!

When I was pregnant the first change I noticed was that coffee tasted horrible. In fact, it was the thing that alerted me to the fact that I'd might be pregnant, something that had not crossed my mind until that moment. But I'd had an earlier pregnancy which had miscarried at an early stage and the same thing had happened then. I had to force myself to drink a cup of coffee a day for two weeks to wean myself off caffeine slowly and avoid the dreadful headaches.

Happy Saturday, Mamie! I'm at Pret right now, drinking a latte. That's my coffee contribution ;-). I don't make it at home, unless I stir some instant coffee into a mug of hot milk (latte! sort of). Mostly I just wait till I get to the office, and the true coffee fans say our machines are pretty good.

My coffee maker is an Indonesian Princess. Ok well it is my wonderful maid, Erni, finest arabica purveyor on this side of the globe and a member of our family for some 16 years.

Have a great weekend, Mamie.

Currently drinking a fancy Rwandan ground coffee which was on sale and will be mourned when I go over to the regular packet. Jealous of the fancy machines, although mine would need to be self cleaning as the grounds drive me nuts just getting them out of the French press.

Happy Saturday, Mamie!

No fancy coffee for me, although we did do a drive-through Starbucks here this afternoon. Unfortunately, we finished the Costa Rican coffee my sister and BIL had brought back.

I don't drink coffee (love the smell) but I'm hooked on diet cola. At the end of last year I gave up caffeine for 125 hours in a sponsored event for the one25 Project (a local charity). It was hell. I really should have tapered off before the start but I never got round to it. The headache was so bad I was virtually incapacitated. I was so tempted to cheat! I swore I wouldn't get as hooked again but I'm nearly as bad now.

Love the coffee story.

>83 Crazymamie: That might have to be our next coffee maker.

LOVE the coffee story! (And the suggestion about what to do with decaf that accompanied it!). It's a challenge sometimes to make good coffee before you've had any coffee!

Checking in to see how you are doing with Dunnett.

Hey Mamie, my coffee is made, now I just have to make it through until Tuesday!

Morning Mamie! Miss you, my friend. Hope you had a relaxing and comfortable weekend. Fingers crossed.

Do we hate holiday Mondays as much as regular Mondays?

I took the day off, so I am not full of my usual Monday morning hate and peevishness :)

Good morning, Mamie! I hope all is well with you.

>110 katiekrug: LOL

Crazy--Happy Holiday Monday!

Good morning, Mamie! I hope all is well and that you have the proper caffienation on this Monday morning.

>112 Berly: Berly, I hope my Friday pun wasn't too disappointing. This Friday will be better.

Howdy Mamie :0)

Mamie? Hellloooo?

Sorry to have been absent from my own thread, but our internet has been very wonky lately. Seems like every time I get on here, it works for about five minutes and then slows way down and then quits. All those storms that came through Albany left us untouched, but did a lot of damage throughout the rest of the city, so power and internet are still being restored in places. Anyway, I am going to try to catch up here while it is working to my exacting standards, which means well and quickly. Otherwise, it makes me want to pull all my hair out and bang my head on the desk. Heh.


On the reading front, I finished up A Local Habitation, which is the second book in the October Daye series by Seanan McGuire. This series was recommended to me by Roni and is urban fantasy. Roni and others did warn me that this was a very weak entry in the series but that I needed to read it anyway, so I did. They were right, and I hope that the main character's detecting skills improve, or this series might be a wash for me. Toby seems to just fly by the seat of her pants most of the time, and she misses things that are obvious to the reader. The library has the rest of these available for digital loan, so I am in the queue for the next one.

Morning Mamie! :0) sending good mojo to your internet service !

Catching up with the thread:

>86 michigantrumpet: Well that's different, Marianne, if you had to go decaf for health reasons - my sympathies. I can only imagine how painful that was, and I am hoping I never have to find out on a personal level. I usually only drink coffee in the morning, and then I will have two to three cups most of the time. Every great once in a while I will have some after dinner. Thanks for the tip about the water processed beans - I will file that away in case I ever need it.

>87 lunacat: That sounds totally awesome, Jenny! The grinders are loud, but the taste is so worth the extra noise. Our model also lets you use ground beans if you want to, which is nice if you are wanting something different than what is in the bean container and you are not wanting to go through the hassle of switching it out. Also if well meaning relatives give you ground coffee as a gift. Heh.

>88 weird_O: Abby and I also love espresso, Bill, and we have a separate machine for that. I love me a latte!

>89 michigantrumpet: It does sound like the perfect fit for you, Marianne!

>90 lunacat: That looks very cool - does it just make it by the cup?

>91 michigantrumpet: *grin*

>92 ursula: Oh, you poor, poor thing, Ursula! The espresso maker is in storage. "This is not to be borne!"



I like brewed coffee, but I adore a latte - no sugar or syrups, please. And your comments about suspect baristas made me laugh.

Missed you around these few days. I had the internet blues last night too but that's because I went over credit limit and the bas"*&ds shut us off without any reference to us. Hope the glitches are gone and the Pecan Paradisio is back traversing the ether.

>93 msf59: Thank you, Mark! I always love me a Friday. I hope you are feeling much better by now.

>94 nittnut: Thank you, Jenn!

>95 drneutron: Haha, Jim! Yes, I have!

>96 ronincats: We have a Keurig, too, Roni, which I hardly ever use except to just run it without the pod to get hot water for various things. But Abby loves it, and it comes in handy for company because you can offer a wider variety of beverages. And hooray for the husband making YOU a cup of coffee.

>97 Familyhistorian: Yes, ma'am, Meg. My knee is still not great, but it is better than it was, so I will not complain.

>98 LovingLit: I could drink a latte and go straight to bed, Megan - it doesn't keep me up, but Craig is very sensitive to caffeine, so he only ever drinks it in the morning.

>99 SandDune: That's the thing about pregnancy - it always throws something off! But oh, Rhian, to loose the coffee! YIKES! I can remember when I was pregnant with Rae, I could not stand the smell of lemon, and I could suddenly smell it from great distances. With Abby, it was Chinese food, which was horrible because I LOVE Chinese takeout. The sacrifices we make for our children.

>100 susanj67: Hello, Susan! I am jealous of the Pret! Um...instant coffee in a mug is definitely NOT a latte. At the most it is a sad excuse for a cafe au lait. The last time I had coffee from a machine, it was truly horrible, but that has been very long ago.

>101 PaulCranswick: Paul, you are very spoiled. And very lucky. What are you going to do about the coffee when you move?

>102 charl08: That is the worst part about making one's own Coffee, Charlotte. You have to clean up after it is done. *sigh* I am sorry that you are almost out of your "fancy Rwandan ground coffee". I somehow always manage to fall in love with things that are "limited editions" and then there must be pouting and a bit of mourning when it is gone.

>103 jnwelch: Thank you, Joe! It was a very productive weekend for us - we got a lot of cleaning and organizing done, and the house is feeling happier for it, I think. Too bad about the Costa Rican coffee coming to an end - that sounds most yum.

>104 eclecticdodo: When I was younger, Jo, that is what I drank tons on - Diet Coke. I loved the stuff. Now I hardly ever drink it unless we are in a restaurant, and then I want a wedge of lime in it. I would totally have cheated in that marathon, so you are a better woman than I.

>105 BLBera: I am loving all of the coffee talk, Beth. Glad you loved the story.

>106 EBT1002: It's full of fabulous, Ellen. We love it.

>107 sibylline: Ha! That is so true, Lucy!

I am not very far in the Dunnett yet because I got side-tracked, but the library let me turn it in and then check it right back out yesterday, so I am good to go. I like what I have read so far, but I am only 100 or so pages in. Looking forward to getting back to it.

>108 charl08: Hoping you survived Pre-Tuesday, Charlotte. I'll come check on you in a moment.

>123 Crazymamie: Hani wants to find a way to take her with us! Would love to do so if we are able but let's see.

>109 msf59: Hello, Mark! I have not been on much since our internet has been giving us fits with working in spurts. SO frustrating. Thanks for missing me.

>110 katiekrug: Um...yes, Katie, we do. Because I do not work at a bank or a government building, so it doesn't change the flow of the day or its mojo at all for me except that I cannot go to the bank or the post office and I also don't get any mail. The US doesn't know how to do holidays properly.

Good thinking to take the day off.

>111 brodiew2: Morning, Brodie. All is well now that it is Tuesday, except that Bella seems to have developed an eye infection, so I have to take her to the vet this afternoon.

>112 Berly: Hello, Kim! And thank you - another Monday survived.

>113 brodiew2: Hello, Brodie! I did properly caffeinate for the day yesterday, which is really the best thing you can do. Well, along with not looking it directly in the eye.

Looking forward to seeing what you have selected for Friday!

>114 Carmenere: Howdy, Lynda!

>115 scaifea: I'm here, Amber! Thanks for checking on me!

>117 Carmenere: Morning, Lynda! And thank you for that internet mojo. It has not quit on me yet this morning, so your mojo must be working.

>120 PaulCranswick: Thanks for that, Paul. I have missed being around. I would just get on and visit a few threads, and then poof, the internet would go. Crap to the shutting down of your internet with no warning - I need my technology! It was crazy over the weekend, but I am thinking they were trying to fix things then when less businesses were open. It was driving the girls nuts because they would be trying to stream something, and then suddenly it would kick them out.

>125 PaulCranswick: That would be wonderful if you could take her with you! Crossing my fingers for all of you.

Holler if I missed you!

Sorry to see your internet is acting stupid. That would drive me batty as I require internet to exist. I am one of "those people" :)

Oh, whew! There you are!

I thought of you fondly last night as I made myself a cup of coffee - I don't drink it very often, but sometimes I just crave a cup, and I tried a new kind (Wide Awake Donut Shop Blend). Pretty good, really.

>130 ChelleBearss: Thank you, Chelle. Me, too, with being one of "those people".

>131 scaifea: Ha! Thanks for missing me, Amber! I have not heard of that brand, glad it hit the spot for you. And hooray for coffee making you think of me - I honored.

We were talking about this over on Katie's thread, but I thought I would also mention it here - the first book in the Fiona Griffith's series is free on Kindle currently, and the rest of the book are priced at just $.99. You can pick up all five books for just $3.96. The first book is really good, and Joe says the rest of the series holds up.

>132 Crazymamie: Lots of little things throughout my day make me think of various 75ers (ex: yesterday I stupidly trudged out to the mailbox in the rain, only to realize once I got there that it was a silly thing to do, and then remembered that Mark, of course, had the day off). This group is such a part of my life - I love you guys!

Good morning, Mamie! Happy Tuesday!

>133 Crazymamie: Yes, Harry Bingham's Fiona Griffiths series holds up big time, Mamie.

I joined his (or her?) fan club for free, and I got an email today from the author that he's offering all of them for 99 cents each through 2/24. If I didn't already have them, I'd jump on it.

I'm reading an interesting sci-fi-er right now, Six Wakes, involving clones in space and a puzzing murder mystery. Pretty darn good so far.

How is Mayhem doing?

Sorry you've been having internet issues but perhaps they're resolved now?

>134 scaifea: Me, too, with the 75 love. Netflix always makes me think of Susan.

>135 brodiew2: Happy Tuesday, Brodie!

>136 jnwelch: I am excited to get back to it, Joe - next month for sure. That pricing is such a great deal - I already have all of them, too.

Oh! Your current read sounds like it might be one for my list - I'll stay tuned for your final thoughts.

>137 Morphidae: Mayhem is doing so awesome - he is good to go, now, and not a bit pouty about all the fuss. Thanks for asking, Morphy.

>138 RebaRelishesReading: I am not sure about that, Reba, but I am hopeful.

>139 Crazymamie: Mamie, oh dear! I must mention it rather a lot :-)

Sorry to hear about your internet issues - I hope they fix everything and normality can resume.

No, Susan, because you comments about what you are watching are always highly entertaining. I'm not sure we will ever qualify as normal, but getting the internet to stop being wonky would be very good.

Hope your internet starts working properly soon. Mine seems to have decided the front room is too far for a reasonable connection (the router is near the back). I wouldn't mind if it was a large house, but it really isn't! I watched a doc about a village in Wales still struggling to get any signal at all a while back: I thought they'd figured all that stuff out, but apparently not... (I'm not planning a move to Wales).

Thanks, Charlotte! It's great so far today - hasn't gone down at all. Rae had trouble in her room with the internet when we first moved in - her bedroom is upstairs and furthest away from the set-up. We ended up getting some kind of booster that fixed the problem - I forget what it's called, but it was a very easy fix.

>99 SandDune: When I was pregnant the first change I noticed was that coffee tasted horrible. In fact, it was the thing that alerted me to the fact that I'd might be pregnant
Funny! For my sister, it was that she went from hating coffee to all of a sudden loving the smell of it. It was what alerted her to her pregnancy!!

>122 Crazymamie: It is so odd, isn't it! Something in our bodies goes haywire in pregnancy. It is fascinating. Any food smells in my (our- as my lovely other would have me say!!!) bedroom when I was pregnant, sent me into a fit of rage and horror!!! I can laugh now, but my lovely other still always shits our door when we are cooking. What a guy :) (he probably has PTSD from dealing with my pregnancy moods!!!)

>116 Crazymamie: argh! Nooooo! Not wonky internet!!! ;)

Edited for spelling. And then again for wrong post pointer....that should be it for now :)

>144 LovingLit: He shits your door? Intriguing. And revolting. I wouldn't think that would assist with dodgy smells though ;)

>145 lunacat: - *SNORK!*

>144 LovingLit: Megan: When I was pregnant, I couldn't stand the smell of *any* food cooking in the house, so we lived on take-out. Tomm even had our favorite spots on speed-dial in his phone!

Sorry to hear about your internet woes, Mamie. A couple of years ago we had no internet, no tv and no phone for a three day long weekend. I also had no cell phone because my son couldn't handle it and used my cell phone as a hotspot.

>142 charl08: Remote spots still run into internet problems, Charlotte. The most frustrating thing about visiting Islay when I was there in 2015 was the barely there wifi and the intermittent cell network.

>145 lunacat: *SNORK* indeed. Shuts. Shuts our door!!! Clearly my editing wasn't done ;)

>133 Crazymamie: Bought it!! Can't wait to read 'bout Fiona. Thanks Crazy and Katie. Happy birthday to me...happy birthday to me!!

Hope your internet continues to behave. : )

Morning, Mamie!

Ugh. Pregnancy food issues. I couldn't eat anything I smelled cooking. I couldn't really eat anything anyway, but particularly not if I smelled it cooking. The smell of popcorn would make me sick too, so no movies the entire pregnancy. My youngest is 10, and I am just now able to eat popcorn again, but not very much. The smell still can trigger me sometimes.

Hi Mamie. I mentioned it on Katie's thread, but give yourself whatever % credit for my impulse purchase of the whole Talking to the Dead series.

Morning Mamie! Happy Wednesday! It is going to be 68 here today. Is this February or April?

Hope the week is going well.

Argh. Just went to a book group meeting that has been moved to Friday. When I'm not in. And found out after I'd kicked out some students from the room. Just call me Miss Popularity. Did I get Monday again by accident?

Good morning, Mamie!

For once, our weather is going to be like yours today. Low 70s for us, in February. Wow!

Morning! Rainy here today and overcast, which is fine by me as it begs for staying in and reading. Yesterday I had to take Bella to the vet because her eyes were red and she couldn't open them all the way - I thought it was going to be an eye infection, but it turns out to be allergies. Again. This little dog has so many troubles with allergies - it makes me sad. Her ears are also goopy again, so now she is on prednisone, eye meds, and ear meds. I feel like we are running a clinic for doggies. Anyway, hoping the meds kick in quickly as the poor thing is truly miserable.

On the reading front, I am hoping to finish up City of Secrets today. I am liking it, but not as much as some of the other O'Nan's I have read. I would like to feel more connected to the main character. More pulled into the story. The Hanging Tree, on the pother hand, has Rivers of London back on track with the main storyline, which I am loving. I just cannot recommend these books on audio highly enough - a real treat as the narrator is fabulous. I'm also closing in on finishing All Quiet on the Western Front, which is a reread for me - I read this in high school and just loved it, so as part of Ellen's Reread Challenge, I am revisiting it on audio. It is still powerful and still thought provoking. If you haven't read this one, you should.

I felt the same way about City of Secrets.

>144 LovingLit: Oh, how your post made me laugh, Megan! What a typo!! I am happy to report that while I was sick as a dog with Rae, my first born, during my other pregnancies, I was merely put off by certain smells, so as long as I avoided those...

Internet has been behaving itself yesterday and so far today, so I am hopeful it is back to its normal self.

>145 lunacat: Ha! Seems above and beyond the call of duty, doesn't it, Jenny?!

>146 katiekrug: I concur, Katie.

>147 scaifea: Oh, I wish I had thought of that, Amber.

>148 Familyhistorian: I remember when we first moved in here we were without those things for several days, and it was horrible. I did have my cell phone, though. Makes you realize just how much you depend on those things working and being available. I would make an awful pioneer woman. *shakes head* I tell my kids how when I went to college you took your typewriter, and you called home from a pay phone with the use of a calling card. There was no internet. There were no cell phones. Dark times indeed.

>149 LovingLit: Oh. You meant SHUTS the door. *blinks*

>150 Berly: Hooray, Kim! You won't be sorry. Was it your birthday? Hoping it was full of happy!

So far, so good with the internet.

>151 scaifea: Morning, Amber!

>152 nittnut: The lemon thing stayed for awhile with me, Jenn. I could not eat lemon for years after, but luckily, the Chinese food was just for the duration of the pregnancy. Thank goodness.

Hooray for Fiona! Glad you snagged them!

>153 msf59: Morning, Mark! Happy Wednesday! It was 80 here on Monday, which is just ridiculous. High 70s today. very weird February all the way around. So far so good with the week. Hoping yours is being kind to you.

>154 charl08: Oh, dear, Charlotte! Hoping the rest of the day behaves itself.

>155 jnwelch: Morning, Joe! Your weather is very close to ours - we're going to 76F today.

>157 katiekrug: I feel disconnected from the story, Katie. Usually O'Nan does such a good job of pulling you into the head of the main character, so that you feel even the ordinary moments impact you, but not this time. *pouts*

Good morning, Mamie! I hope all is well with you.

Afternoon, Brodie! All is well.

I think part of my problem was that I knew very little about the Mandate and the history of the founding of Israel, and I think he assumes more knowledge on the part of the reader. I looked up my review from last summer, and I used the word opaque to sum it up. I gave it 3.5 stars which is still good, but definitely not one of my favorites.

Have you read West of Sunset? That's another of his that isn't really calling my name, based on the plot description...

I was wondering about that, too, Katie. I also don't know very much about those things, either, and I haven't been looking things up while reading because I am reading it in the wee small hours of the morning when I can't sleep. Opaque is a good word, I am thinking.

I have read West of Sunset, and I liked it a lot, but then I am very familiar with Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald, and kind of fascinated by their story.

I will give it a go at some point but right now I have lots of his older stuff left to discover :)

>159 Crazymamie: You took a typewriter to college? We took pens and there were no calling cards for the phone either. You had to hunt for change. Things have changed a lot!

>165 katiekrug: I hear ya.

>166 Familyhistorian: Well, I didn't. I don't type. But my roommate did. My point was that there were no laptop computers. To use a computer, you went to the Computer Lab, and your work was printer out on a laser printer, which you had to queue for. And yes - things have changed tremendously since then.

>159 Crazymamie: God yeah. I mean, my roommate had a word processor, but it was essentially a typewriter. :) You also didn't know what was going on in the world unless you or one of your hallmates got a newspaper delivered. I don't think we had to use calling cards because we had long distance service on our phone in our room. And yes, it was long distance to call my parents 60 miles away. They were in another area code!

A phone in your room! We had one payphone at each end of the hall on each floor of our dorm. And you needed the newspaper or the news on tv to know what was happening - 24 hour news wasn't happening yet unless you had cable (something I never had until I was an adult living on my own). Also the Cold War and the Soviet Union...

>167 Crazymamie: Our work was hand written. I don't think we had access to a computer lab. We lived in a dorm and were locked in at night because we were under the legal age. The pay phone was at the end of the hall. The bathrooms were shared by all the girls on the same floor. The residence for first year students was built in 1910 so not the most modern of environments!

Yep, we had a phone, but no tv. I did know a couple of guys who had computers in their rooms. They mostly used them to play Tetris while we stood around and watched, haha.

My hall had co-ed bathrooms, although there were some that were single-sex halls, or co-ed but with single-sex bathrooms.

>170 Familyhistorian: Locked in?! Wow. We had a dorm "mother" who lived on the ground floor. We also had shared bathrooms at the end of each hallway. The showers were less than stellar. Heh.

>171 ursula: There was a tv in the dorm common room. Definitely no co-ed bathrooms - I would remember that.

Tetris! Oh, how I loved that game! But I had to quit playing it because I dreamed it, too. LOL!

>172 Crazymamie: Yeah, locked in because we were minors and they had to make sure nothing happened to us. We used to climb out of the windows but problem was that you couldn't get back in until the following day. It changed a bit when they dropped the age of majority to 19 in Nova Scotia. Then we were adults LOL.

Morning Mamie! Sweet Thursday! I am enjoying a day off. It doesn't look like I will read anything this A.M. but I hope to get plenty in this afternoon.

Sorry, City of Secrets isn't tooting your horn. I finished In the Walled City and liked it quite a bit. Nice, to see he can do short fiction as well.

Have a great day, my friend.

Sweet Thursday, Mamie!

Sweet Thursday, Mamie. Enjoy your day.

Ha, you babies! I punched data cards with my masters thesis data and took them down to the computer building with the main frame, where the techs put them into the queue and you could pick up the print-outs at some later time (depending on the volume coming in at the time). And those were definitely not laser printers. Or even ink jet.

Oh you kids and your hard lives in college. Yuk yuk yuk.

Cable for TV was just being installed when I was in college. Some engineering guys were working part-time stringing cable for a fledgling business called Service Electric, which was founded by John Walson Sr., the originator of cable tv. I don't recall anyone who actually had cable, but it was coming.

You could pick out the engineers because they had slide rules hooked to their belts. I took a logic course from a philosophy professor who I discovered some years later had become the head of the computer science department, which of course didn't exist when I was a student.

>177 ronincats: Me too Roni. Punch cards in grad school were as close to a computer as I got. I remember one of the other TA's was really into computers and kept telling us all that before long we would all have one in our kitchen. I couldn't imagine for the life of me what I would do with a computer at home. (yesterday I finished putting all of my "clipped" recipes into a cookbook app). I did earn some nice money typing theses for grad students when I was an undergrad though. I rented an electric typewriter to work on.

I also had a part-time job when I was an undergrad typing title policies for West Coast Title Company. We weren't allowed to have any errors or corrections in them. Guaranteed you would make a mistake in the last lines of some really involved legal description and have to start it all over. I so often think how much easier that would be now.. You could cut and paste OR at least easily make the correction before printing out the document.

I was thankful that when I entered college in 1991, I was still about to watch my soap, otherwise know as NYPD Blue. There were like minded people on my floor and the weekly community viewings were good times.

>180 brodiew2: I'm a bit older than you, Brodie. Our community TV viewing in college was Dynasty!

Friends and Dawson's Creek :)

ETA: But we had TVs in our dorm rooms. Also phones. And internet. Now I wonder what college is like with everyone having a cell phone...

>173 Familyhistorian: What happened in case of fire?

>174 msf59: Hello, Mark! Sweet Thursday! I didn't get much reading in this morning, either - the first two chapters of I Will Have Vengeance. I had errands to run, and Birdy and I had hair appointments. Hoping to squeeze some in this afternoon.

City of Secrets was descent, just not great - I never felt connected to the characters, so it fell a bit flat for me.

Hoping your day is also full of greatness.

>175 jnwelch: Sweet Thursday, Joe!

>176 Ameise1: Thank you, Barbara! Hoping you are feeling much better very soon and that the cough goes away quickly. No one should have so do a cough and a broken rib. YIKES!

>177 ronincats: *grin* It really is amazing if you stop and think about how much has changed just in our life times, Roni. I used to work for a private company that did all the testing and documentation on drugs that other companies were trying to get through the FDA protocol, and there was a HUGE glassed in computer room that tracked all of the data.

>178 weird_O: Ha! I don't think anyone was complaining, Bill - just sharing how much things have changed. I didn't even know that cable existed until I was an adult - we never had anything fancy like that. The tv got three channels, and you had to adjust the rabbit ears to make them come in. I can still remember when my aunt got a new tv and gave us her old one - it was huge compared to our tiny black and white one that sat on a little cart with wheels. But the best thing of all was that it was a color tv!!! My sister Nora and I got to use it first (it was a Saturday morning), and we watched Justice League in color for the very first time. So awesome.

I had to take a computer course in college - just am intro kind of thing, but I remember having to figure out all that code to tell the computer what to do. It was pretty much Greek to me.

>179 RebaRelishesReading: I love that story, Reba! Speaking of recipe apps, we really love the Paprika Recipe Manager app. And oh, what a pain that must have been with the typing.

>180 brodiew2: We used to watch The Cosby Show as a group in the common room of our college dorm.

>181 rosalita: I remember Dynasty!

>182 katiekrug: We could map our ages by the shows we watched in college - so funny!

Book #18: City of Secrets by Stewart O'Nan (3.5 stars), ebook, historical fiction, off my shelves

This was my least favorite O'Nan so far, and as I previously stated, I think it was because I did not feel at all connected to the characters. The writing was excellent and the plotting was good, but it just never delivered for me. He picked such an interesting and emotional moment in time in which to set the book, but never fully developed the characters. The writing here has been described as noir, but I didn't get that vibe from it at all. Not enough tension or darkness. I would love to see O'Nan delve back into this and flesh it out more completely - fill in more of the details and give the main character, at least, more of a backstory that the reader gets to invest in - as a survivor of the German concentration camps, Brand should be able to make us feel something of his loss or his anger or his angst, but instead he comes across as two dimensional. And I would love to know more about Eva.

>182 katiekrug: Here at UI, students are not given the option anymore of having a landline in their dorm room (source: the two freshmen on my staff who live in the dorms). They think there might be a phone jack, and you could maybe bring a phone from home and plug it in, but they don't know and it wasn't covered at orientation so the jacks are probably just artifacts that aren't actually connected anymore.

>187 rosalita: Oh, that made me laugh, Julia!

>187 rosalita: - Makes sense. It's amazing how fast things change, isn't it? We don't have a landline at home, and I know lots of people don't. I wonder if that's now more "normal" than having one?

>187 rosalita: "artifacts" *dies*

We still have a land line, although I am not sure why. Mostly it gets solicitation calls or my parents. LOL. Happy Friday!

>191 Berly: Yup - generally its the number I give out when I don't actually want to receive a call from the other party! We just let everything go to answerphone now, if it is important then they'll carry on trying or have our mobile numbers anyway.

We don't have a landline, either, and haven't since we moved to Wisconsin.

Nerd Alert: I have no idea what the gals in my dorm watched together, because I was always in the library at night, studying... Yeesh. Talk about wasted yoot, eh?

>190 ursula: I know, right? I had a good time telling them horror stories about having to pay for long distance calls (what?!). Whenever I start to forget just how old I am, I go talk to my freshies and bam! I'm back to my old decrepit self. :-)

I haven't had a landline since I got my first mobile phone in 1999, but that's an easier decision to make as a single. I don't miss it at all.

Here in Switzerland only the young folks don't have landlines. All the others still have them.
Happy Friday, Mamie.

>189 katiekrug: We don't have a landline, either, Katie.

>190 ursula: Yeppers.

>191 Berly: We had one at our Indiana house, Kim, but when we moved here, it seemed like it would be paying for the same thing twice, since we had cell phones.

>192 lunacat: That's exactly how we would use it, which is why we opted no to go to the trouble to hook one up.

>193 scaifea: You made me laugh, Amber.

>194 rosalita: That's how I feel when I talk to my kids about my teenage years, Julia. And good memory - I have no idea what year I got my first cell phone.

>195 Ameise1: We would probably still have ours if we hadn't moved because it was already there and hooked up. When we moved here, we were going through all the things that needed to get done with establishing a new household, and it seemed like an easy thing to cross off the list. I have not missed it one bit.

Happy Friday, Barbara!

Happy Friday, Mamie!! We have a landline only because my husband, Bill is soooooo old school! He doesn't even own a cell phone, :P.

Have a wonderful day!

>198 Carmenere: Happy Friday, Lynda! No cell phone?! Amazing. Yesterday when Birdy and I got our hair cuts, we were the only women in the salon who were not doing something on our smartphones.

Hoping your day is also full of wonder!

Happy Friday, Mamie!

I have a landline because otherwise I don't know how I would get my broadband. But a lot of young people here don't bother any more (and yet still have the broadband. Clearly I am missing something).

I was 21 before NZ got its third TV channel :-)

Happy Friday, Susan! Our internet is provided by the cable company.

I feel like that song Memories should be playing in the background of my thread. Heh.

Happy Friday, Mamie. Have a nice weekend.

Happy Friday, Mamie!

>200 susanj67: I was wondering the same thing. Still paying line rental either way, no?

This conversation is reminding me of one yesterday. Apparently taking a reference down on paper ages you these days - the yps just whip out their phones and take a picture ...

I still have a landline. I had it put in when I moved because my son doesn't have a cell and he needed a phone number on his resume. Now that he has a job he is going to get a cell. I don't know if I will keep the landline. Only thing is I never hear my cell ring and don't remember the password for my voice mail.

We don't have a landline here, and we haven't had one since we left Denver in 2013. But at that time we had to have one because Morgan was also one of those people without a cell phone! I remember when we first started dating and I had to call the house line, and he might not be there so I'd have to leave a message on the answering machine. Which could be listened to by both him and his roommate, of course. Horrors. Or worse horrors, when his roommate would actually answer the phone. I'd thought all of that stuff had been left safely in the past.

Morning Mamie! Happy Friday, my friend.

Really enjoying One Man's Owl.

LANDLINES FOREVER!!

Good afternoon, Mamie!

Cells and a landline, here. My wife likes to have the land line for message and 'home base' phone number.

It's Friday. You know what that means...

Stopping by to say hello!

Morning, Mamie! At 2:44 am, it looks like I'm the first to wish you happy Saturday!

Oh the memories! Other than in the common area of my freshman dorm, we didn't have a TV in any of our university apartments. I lived with a bunch of nerdy study types. I didn't even know what was on TV during those years until one night I went out with a group and part of the date was watching The Simpsons. So, that was a big deal.
We had a phone in our apartment, and to call home we either had a calling card or, when it ran out, the collect call that was refused by Mom and Dad, who then called back. The landline was typically monopolized by a roommate who had a boyfriend at another school *eyeroll*.
My freshman year was all typewriters in the typing lab and the torture of starting over every time an error was made. My senior year I had a word processor, which was a miracle compared to the typewriter.

We don't have a landline now either.

Happy Saturday, Mamie!

We've kept a landline, and use it a lot. We particularly like it when son #1 calls, and we can talk to him from two phones. We like it better than using the cell speakerphone. For me it's easier when I have to do a work phone call, too.

We have a land line, mostly because mrsdrneutron's cell phone is Verizon and the coverage is spotty at our house. If I ever get off my butt and get them to provide a repeater for the house, we'll probably drop it. My work phone is ATT, and it works fine here, so I suppose we could switch her over too.

We have a land line. Hubby almost never has his cell on. We also need a line for visitors to call so we can let them into the building. Could be one of the cells but that might be difficult logistically when the person with that cell isn't home and the other one is. Also, we can hear the land line ring every where in the condo while I would have to carry my cell to hear it and I don't always have pockets or other convenient place to carry it when at home. Nevertheless, we may end up dropping it some day, especially if we move from Cox bundle to separate WiFi and Cable/dish.

We too have a landline Mamie but I cannot share you the number because I can't remember the bloody thing without checking it on my cellphone! I used to store literally hundreds of numbers in my brain but now that the phone does that service for me, I have failed to remember all the newer ones. Tells a worrying tale about the future memories of our children with brains made lazy by the gadgetry and brilliance of modern science.

Have a lovely weekend at the Pecan Paradisio.

Happy Sunday Crazy!!

Happy Sunday, Mamie. Any special plans for today?

>202 BLBera: Hello, Beth! Friday was busy but good. And the weekend has been lovey. Hoping yours has, too.

>203 jnwelch: Thanks, Joe!

>204 charl08: So true, Charlotte. I still have a small notebook that I carry in my purse for jotting things down - I'm old school.

>205 Familyhistorian: I don't even have my voice mail set up, Meg. You either get me or you don't - no messages.

>206 ursula: I remember those days, Ursula! When I was young, we had a party line, so sometimes you had to wait to use your own phone.

>207 msf59: Hello, Mark! Glad your current reads are hitting the spot. I can't complain, either.

>208 weird_O: Ha! Why does that post not surprise me, Bill? LOL.

>209 brodiew2: Hello, Brodie. *groan* Periodic Chart humor? Oh, dear!

>210 Whisper1: Hello, Linda! Lovely image.

>211 Carmenere: And what were you doing up so early, Lynda?

>212 nittnut: Oh, the refused collect call with the call back - that used to be the thing, and I had forgotten about it.

I just always had someone type my papers for me, Jenn - much less stressful.

>213 jnwelch: Hey there, Joe! To be honest, I hardly ever use the phone. Mostly I use it to make appointments or to order takeout.

>214 drneutron: I like not having a landline, Jim. Since we all have cell phones, and the kids are grown, it seems pointless for us and also saves us some money.

>215 RebaRelishesReading: That makes perfect sense, Reba.

>216 PaulCranswick: That is the hazard of cell phones, Paul. The kids don't know anyone's number by heart, so if they should be without their phone for some reason and need to get a hold of one of us, they would be at a loss. Of course, I only know Dan's number and that only because we switched phones a ways back and so he has my old number. I do know Craig's number, though.

Thanks for those weekend wishes!

>217 Berly: Happy Sunday, Kim!

>218 Ameise1: Happy Sunday, Barbara! No big plans for today - it's only going to 67F, so I am hoping to snag some reading time on the deck. And perhaps a nap. Potato soup and panini sandwiches for dinner.

I know my hubby's and the kids cell phone numbers, and the land lines for the grandparents. And that's about it. Everyone else is speed dial. Have fun reading out on the deck.

I started book one of the Fiona Griffith's series!

Good work with the phone numbers, Kim. And hooray for Fiona! I am wanting to dig into the second one, so I might start that one today.

Just checking in here. We have a landline "for emergencies" and keep the sound off. The idea was, when we were off the grid, that we could call out for help in an emergency. Seemed worthwhile. Our cell phones only work well with the booster that requires juice!

Had to stop and think, Albany? Albany, Georgia??? As I drove home from Philly yesterday there were huge thunderstorms brewing around Albany NY! I manage to stay ahead of those but I got zapped at the end of the drive with pounding rain and wind as the temps dropped from 60 to 35 in a very short time - like half an hour or maybe less, I was working too hard at staying on the road, in the dark, to keep checking! Snow on the ground here this morning, just a dusting really.

Morning, Mamie! Happy Sunday! I have a lazy day planned. Me & the books! sounds grueling, eh?

Have a great day yourself.

>225 sibylline: That makes perfect sense, Lucy.

Yep. Albany, Georgia. That sounds like a scary drive - glad you made it home safe and sound. I hate driving in storms.

>226 msf59: Morning, Mark! Happy Sunday to you! Me, too, with the lazy. Hoping you day is also full of great.

Book #19: The Hanging Tree by Ben Aaronovitch (4.5 stars), 2017 acquired audiobook, urban fantasy/police procedural (Rivers of London series, book 5)

These books are such great fun, and I adore them on audio. The narrator (Kobna Holdbrook-Smith is full of fabulous. Packed with humor and action, these books are fast paced and clever. This one gets us back on track with the main storyline, so it did not disappoint. Highly recommended if you like a bit of mayhem and magic in your police procedurals.

Morning, Mamie!

Book #20: Ghachar Ghochar by Vivek Shanbhag (4.5 stars), 2017 acquired paperback, contemporary fiction

"...but the sword of insult seldom cuts on the surface. No, it lacerates from within and leaves wounds that reopen with remembrance."

This was our February Pecan Paradisio Book Club pick, and it was a good one. This is an Indian author who has written seven other novels, but this is the first one to have been translated into English. Set in India, it follows a small family as they rise from poverty to riches and find that money changes everything, including who they are as individuals. You can read this in a single setting, and it packs a punch that way. Weighing in at just 118 pages, this is a gem of a tightly packed story that delivers. And already, I am wanting to read it again now that I know where it is going.

Happy Sunday, Mamie!

Oh, Ghachar Ghochar sounds good. That's a new one to me.

I've fallen off the Rivers of London series. I like the idea of doing them on audio.

Morning, Joe! Happy Sunday! It was just published in English this year, Joe. It was a spontaneous purchase on our last bookstore trip, and then we ended up choosing it for our February read. Birdy liked it, too - we are still waiting on Rae and Abby to read it. You would like it - just saying...

The Rivers of London series is really wonderful on audio - the narrator takes it to another level, so you should definitely check them out that way. I would like to go back and listen to them all on audio one after the other, as I listened to each of them as they were released, so it's been awhile since I read the first one.

>230 Crazymamie: Sounds good (I am oddly attracted to any book that is reviewed as short these days!) Will have a look to see if it is available here yet.

Hoping you can get it, Charlotte - Birdy and I both thought it felt a bit like a Hitchcock movie. Great tension.

*Back to add guess what arrived yesterday? Smoke Over Malibu!!

Ahem.

>229 katiekrug:, >235 katiekrug: Oh, dear! SO sorry that I missed you, Katie! Good morning, my dear friend!

No biggie :) It's not like I had anything of substance to say, but you seem to like to know when you missed someone!

Happy Sunday, Mamie!

>234 Crazymamie: April. I shall be patient
(Snort. Patient as I can be, anyhow).

Hope you like Smoke Over Malibu. I've ordered his first one from the library, also comic I think.

>237 katiekrug: I do, indeed.

>238 scaifea: Happy Sunday, Amber!

>239 charl08: Bummer. At least April is not so very far away. I am no good with the patience, either. I am loving Smoke Over Malibu so far - I could not resist just jumping in!

Happy Sunday to you!

>230 Crazymamie: I guess that is book #20, Mamie, not #2 ;-)

>241 msf59: I love that, Mark!

>242 Whisper1: Happy Sunday, dear Linda! Thank you for that.

>243 FAMeulstee: Ha! You are so right, Anita - thanks!

Monday's just a few minutes away, Mamie. I know you will want to hop Hop HOP into the new week!

Yikes these ladies ^ are a little disconcerting.

Good luck with M Day Mamie. I am avoiding eye contact and going in...

Morning, Mamie!

Grrr, Ghachar Ghochar isn't available in the UK yet. I have duly added it to my wishlist though :).

>245 weird_O: Oh, that made me laugh, Bill! But um...no.

>246 charl08: I'm with you, Charlotte. I like to start Pre-Tuesday more like this:



Wishing you the best of luck with today - just do what you can with it.

>247 scaifea: Morning, Amber!

>248 lunacat: Charlotte says April, Jenny, so not too far away. I love that you added it to your list. *grin*

>250 Crazymamie: I shouldn't complain, it will probably take me all year to get to it!
_________



I hope your Mmphphfday has plenty of flowers along its path ;)

Well, when you do, it's a lovely little gem. I like that quote! And I love those wishes - thank you, Jenny.

Good Monday to you, Mamie

Morning, Lynda! enjoying my first coffee of the day right now.

Good morning!

Morning, Jenn!

Hi Mamie! Pre-Tuesday is half-way over here, so I can say that nothing much happens until at least lunchtime.

Morning, Mamie!

Whoa, I may need a nap after watching Bill's >245 weird_O:. That's an awful lot of activity first thing in the morning. That >249 Crazymamie: kitty is much more my speed.

>257 susanj67: Good to know, Susan. So far so good here, but then it is only 9:10 am.

>258 jnwelch: Morning, Joe! Agreed about the activity level of Bill's post. Now the napping I could totally do.

Happy new week, Mamie! See how I artfully avoided That Day?

I had a little too much wine while watching The Oscars last night, and am contemplating using my lunch break for a nap :)

Good morning, Mamie! I'm starting the day with Lapsang Souchang, my beverage of choice on a rainy day. Love that smoky flavor. Glad you enjoyed The Hanging Tree too.

>260 katiekrug: Thank you, Katie! So thoughtful!

That sounds like an excellent use of a lunch break.

>261 ronincats: Morning, Roni! I do not even know what that is - some kind of tea?

The Hanging Tree was very good. Except I am ready for the next installment RIGHT NOW.

We have a landline for several reasons: broadband, bundled deal, I'm home all the time and haven't needed a phone, but most importantly - we've had the same number for a long time and like it!

Hi Mamie, we here on the Pacific Coast are usually out counting flowers at this time of the year so we can brag to our Canadian counterparts about our balmy weather. So how come I am looking out the window and seeing snow pelting down! Arg!! This could only happen on a M-day.

>262 Crazymamie: Lapsang Souchong is a black tea from the Fujian province of China, famous for its smoky aroma and flavor. To create this, the finished tea is given some extra drying over smoking pine fire, imparting a sweet, clean smoky flavor to the tea.

>263 Morphidae: I totally get that, Morphy.

>264 DeltaQueen50: Hello, Judy! I would love to look out my window and see snow pelting down. *sigh* Instead it is a balmy 74F here and going to 77F. Hoping you get your dream weather very soon.

>265 ronincats: Thanks for that, Roni. I very rarely drink tea - and how do you prepare your tea? Do you add milk or sugar? I would love to understand tea better.

I don't--heresy to our Brits, I know. I like it straight and this is loose leaf tea brewed in a little basket that sits in the cup with boiling water poured over it.

Hey Mamie. Monday improved immeasurably after work listening to a group of kids have a lot of fun in the library and almost get a super shy English language learner to start a conversation. And A Gentleman in Moscow finally turned up!

Howdy Mamie! I have The Hanging Tree on audio and I am looking forward to listening! I need to get the GN first though.

I managed to catch up before your next thread! I think City of Secrets will be going back to the library unread. February is such a short month, and as usual I was overly ambitious in my planning.

Hi, Mamie! Late day check in. I hope your Monday went smoothly, my friend.

Mamie - it is almost Tuesday! Admittedly, with my not working most Mondays now, Tuesday is my Monday so I am not nearly excited for tomorrow as most people are ;)

And oooh, how did I miss that you're wanting to listen to Till We Have Faces? I read it a few years ago and loved it. Ack, all these books to read and rereading old favorites is starting to sound really good...

Have a great day (er, night)!

Morning, All! Just back from the vet - Barnum and Bella are getting their teeth cleaned today. Then we take Bailey back with us at 4:30 and he and Barnum will get their yearly check-ups. So my wallet will be much lighter by the end of the day.

On the reading front, I am getting deeper into The Game of Kings by Dorothy Dunnett. I have to say that I am really loving this one. A huge thanks to Lucy who recommended this series. I had it out from the library in paperback, but I was wanting to read it in the wee small hours of the morning when my body refuses to acknowledge that it should be sleeping, so I picked it up on Kindle. And I am SO glad that I did because now I can just use the Kindle to translate the foreign languages and to look at all the mythology, literary, and historical references. Very cool, and I love these Kindle features, but they need to add Latin to their list of languages - a huge oversight to not have included it.

>267 ronincats: Thanks for getting back to me, Roni.

>268 charl08: Hello, Charlotte. Good to know that Monday improved for you, and in a lovely sort of way. I can't wait to hear what you think of A Gentleman in Moscow.

>269 luvamystery65: Howdy, Roberta! The GN story is not vital, but it is referenced, so reading it first would be good.

Morning, Mamie!

Good to hear you're loving The Game of Kings. You're right about adding Latin - I'm surprised Kindle doesn't already have it.

>273 Crazymamie: I can totally relate to the picture above. I hate when I wake up before my alarm ,but it is just close enough that I can't seem to go back to sleep. Guess what happened today?! Good luck at the vets and Happy Tuesday!

>270 cbl_tn: You did indeed, Carrie! Good call with City of Secrets - you can always get it back out later if you hear it calling to you.

>271 msf59: Hello, Mark! I can't complain - it was better than I thought it would be, and now it is over.

>272 bell7: Hello, Mary! I don't even go to work, but Monday just has this vibe about it that I don't like.

Birdy and I read Till We Have Faces together a few years ago, and we both really loved it, so when I saw it as an Audible Daily Deal, I snagged it thinking we could revisit it on audio for Ellen's Reread Challenge. I LOVE rereading old favorites.

And now it is Tuesday, so I am hoping that yours goes smoothly and is kind to you.

>275 jnwelch: Morning, Joe! Have you read it? Excellent historical fiction. And yes - no Latin is a sadness. I might have to drop them a line and suggest it.

>276 Berly: Morning, Kim! Sorry about the early waking - every moment is VITAL. I was awake for most of the night, and then finally fell asleep just as I was needing to get up to take the dogs to the vet. *sigh* I thank you for those good wishes!