Weekend Coffee Share 2/18/17

If we were having coffee, we’d be lounging in the sunshine with our drinks of choice.  I’d be in a light flannel and we’d be watching the crusty piles of snow turn slowly to puddles.  We’re in a remarkably warm stretch of weather–unusual for Minnesota this time of year.

Good weather like this reminds me of a scene in the film Lars and the Real Girl.  After going bowling, Lars and Margo linger outside chatting about the weather like good Midwesterners.  Lars comments that it’s been warm lately and spring is on the way.  Margo replies, “It’s just a thaw.  Spring doesn’t come until Easter.”

So, while the sunshine and warmth is amazing, I’m not getting my hopes up.  It’s just a thaw.  We’ll probably have a new foot of snow by next week.

Due to President’s Day on Monday, my weekend is longer than usual.  Aside from shopping with my mom, I don’t have anything exciting going on.  I’m really looking forward to time at home, catching up on household tasks, watching movies, making a dent in my pile of library checkouts, and tackling my taxes.

I’ve been busy the past few weeks.  Recently, I reconnected with my core group of high school friends.  There are 4-5 of us that, after college, are living with our parents and we decided to hang out.  Sitting in a basement with people I haven’t seen in several years playing Mario Kart Wii was a blast to the past, but not an unpleasant one.

Last weekend, I had a chance to see a production of King Lear at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis.  I always jump at the chance to see Shakespeare and managed to score discounted tickets to one of the preview performances.  I even convinced my parents to come along!  It was a fantastic show and made me feel oddly hopeful.  Yes, Shakespearean tragedy is horribly sad and everyone dies, but it made me feel better about America’s political climate.  Yes, things feel dark, but at least people aren’t killing themselves and each other.

I work on Saturdays and, this morning, we had an author give a talk at my library!  I’ve been looking forward to the event for the past month and pushed hard to get people to come.  The author, Brian Freeman, writes suspense-thrillers that take place in Duluth, Minnesota.  He talked primarily about setting–how icons of the city inspire him, how he crafts a scene, how he researches locations, where he’s “committed” murders, and ended the talk with a list of the most creepy locations that show up in his books.  He was very engaging–a natural storyteller.  I’m always fascinated and terrified by what goes into making a novel happen and loved hearing what he had to say.  It was a great way to end my work week!

 

Well, that’s all I’ve got.  How has your week been?  What would you share over coffee?

This post is part of the Weekend Coffee Share link up, now hosted by Nerd in the Brain.