Episode 3: Conversations over Milk & Cookies - Kathryn Treat

Welcome to Episode 3 of Conversations over Milk & Cookies hosted by Kindle Ninja.

What is this madness, you ask? 

It's my way of supporting authors and writers from the Rave Reviews Book Club. For the entire month of April, I will be featuring the fine women and men that make up the Board of RRBC. 

We interact with them everyday, directly through tweets, or indirectly through re-tweets, but we don't really know much about them. Their personalities really don't shine through in tweets and re-tweets.
In Episode 1, We saw the silly side of RRBC Secretary MARLENA HAND (@mlh42812). 

In Episode 2, RRBC Spotlight and Incentives Coordinator TERI GARRINGER (@TeriGarringer) bares her funny side in 26 Questions.

For Episode 3, RRBC Membership Director KATHRYN TREAT (@KathrynCTreat) lets her hair down and plays the game of 24 Questions.

You can drop by her website here





Let's get to know Kathryn in more than 140 characters, shall we?

* * * 
+No ninjas were hurt in making this episode.


KINDLE NINJA (KN):  Welcome to Conversations over Milk and Cookies. How do you like your cookies? Chewy? Crunchy? Crumbly? Something else? 
Chewy.

What’s the hardest part of being the Rave Reviews Book Club Membership Director? 
I don’t believe there is a “hardest” part although I have to balance my energy levels to avoid becoming too overwhelmed and becoming mentally and physically fatigued.  I enjoy what I am doing. It is amazing the amount of support I have received from the wonderful members that I have had the privilege of interacting with.  I get to work with such a wonderful bunch on the board.  They are truly amazing people.  I love that I am among the first to get to welcome new members to the club.

 I’ve read about your battle with toxic mold in your book "Allergic to Life". If you could get back at mold, what allergy (or disease) would you give it?
You would think this would be an easy question but it is not.  I have always said that I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy; however, I would like them to walk in my shoes for a few months or maybe a year.  I guess I would just put mold in my shoes.  Maybe I would make it live in a room filled with antifungal medications to see what it is like to fight for its life.


Have you ever Googled yourself? 
Yes I have.  About a year after I started my blog and just before “Allergic to Life” was published, I Googled my name.  My reason was to see how affective my blog was and if it would show up in a Google search.  I wanted to know if I was reaching others.

Do you have a name for your PC / laptop?  
No.  I have never named inanimate objects.  Although my computer has been my lifeline.  It has been my connection to the world.

I like your glass table / workspace. Can I have it? 
Absolutely NOT!  I love having my glass table top.  I was determined when I bought this that I would buy something that I could easily clean if, heaven forbid, I got exposed to mold again.  I wanted something I wouldn’t have to throw away and something that didn’t contain glues and formaldehyde.  I have seen a beautiful glass table that one of our board members uses and I might trade my desk for that one.

KINDLE NINJA: Sniff. Maybe that other board member would give me the glass table.

If your life were a song, what would the title be?  
I have three songs that described me for so long. 
  • As Tears Go By – Marianne Faithful – describes how it feels to sit and watch others go about their lives while watching through a window
  • Alone in My Room – Beach Boys —describes the safety of being inside behind the glass windows
  • If I Only Had a Brain – Wizard of Oz – describes my loss of memory and my inability at times to recall a word in midsentence or to even remember midsentence what I am talking about.

And who would you sing it with? 
I would sing it with Liz.  Liz is one of my dear friends, a fellow mold survivor, and suffers from environmental illness like I do.

Can you hum a tune for me? 
I am totally unable to hum a tune.  I am sure I am tone deaf.  You probably would not want to be in the room with me when Liz and I are singing our songs.


What would you rather be doing now? (instead of answering these questions). 
I am enjoying answering these questions right now.  I love reading biographies and interviews by others.  If I weren’t doing this I would love spending the day outdoors with my grandchildren or behind my sewing machine creating something beautiful.

I’d assume I’m the person you’d want to drink Milk with (since you agreed to this interview), but who’s the person you’d want to have coffee with? 
I have never liked coffee even before becoming ill and developing all these allergies and sensitivities.  Coffee contains mold.  I am, however, addicted to green tea.  I would love to have had the opportunity to sit and have a cup of tea with Audrey Hepburn.  I read her biography years ago and thought she was such a fascinating person.


How do you like your coffee? 
I don’t drink coffee.  I like my green tea plain.

KINDLE NINJA: Remind me to fire my researcher.

How do you feel about doughnuts without holes?  
Are we talking about cake doughnuts or raised doughnuts? Raised doughnuts contain yeast which is not an option for someone with mold allergies.  A doughnut just is not a doughnut without a hole in the middle.


What’s the best way to decompress? 
Weather permitting, the best way to decompress is a nice long walk.

If you had superpowers, what would it be? 
My superpowers would be to be able to heal with the touch of my hand.


What’s the book you wished you’d written? 
Pride and Prejudice is one of my all-time favorite books.  I would have to pick it.

If you could date  a celebrity, who would it be? 
My favorite actor has always been Jimmy Stewart.  I would have loved to have the opportunity to date him. If I had to choose someone from today it would be Brad Pitt, not because of his looks or movie star status but because of his conviction to causes.


And where will you go? 
I would love to go to a fancy restaurant, eat anything on the menu without worrying if I am allergic to it, and go to a movie or play without worrying if I am going to become ill from my environment.

What’s the book that positively shaped you?
I don’t know if any book has positively shaped me but two books come to mind that helped me when I was in the worst of this illness.  The first book is “Tuesday’s with Morrie”.  I fell in love with Morrie and his ability to come up with such profound thoughts and sayings despite his extreme illness.  The second book is “The Last Lecture”.  Despite his battle with pancreatic cancer, Randy Pausch delivered one of the most powerful lectures.  These two men showed me what it is like to deal with such extreme adversity with dignity and grace. I that I have been able to do the same.


On a scale of 1 to 10, how excited are you about life right now? 
Despite my difficulties, I would say my excitement about life is a 9 or 10.  I have recently published my book and made some amazing new friends over the last year.  My health, while not optimal, is better than it was and I have three of the most amazing grandchildren that lift my spirit whenever they are around me. If you had asked me this question six or seven years ago, my answer would have been more of a .5 on a scale of 1 to 10.


Coke or Pepsi? 
I was a Dr. Pepper drinker!

Nicholas Sparks or Dan Brown? 
Nicholas Sparks.  I love his books

J.K. Rowling or Stephenie Meyer?
I have never read books by either of these well known authors.  I have watched theTwighlight movies.  If I had to choose based on that, I would pick Stephenie Meyer.


 Lastly:  Ninjas or Mold-Killers? 
Do I have to choose?  I think I would combine them and have Ninja Mold-Killers.  Wouldn’t that make a great book?

KINDLE NINJA: Only if you  make me the main character!


Thanks for your time. Hope you enjoyed the Q&A.


Popular posts from this blog

Episode 24 Conversations over Milk & Cookies - Effrosyni Moschoudi

FOLLOW ME: When Twitter Kills

Episode 23 Conversations over Milk & Cookies - Stevie Turner

Kindle Ninja Review: RAVE REVIEWS BOOK CLUB Edition #8

Two Reviewers, One Book: The Winged Turban