Spring of Bette (Davis): Another Man’s Poison

On April 27, 2026 By Lisa R. HowelerIn classic movie impressions, Movie ImpresssionsLeave a comment

Another Man’s Poison was my second Bette Davis movie, and I watched it on a whim sometime back in January. All About Eve was my first Bette Davis movie, in case you are curious.

This movie is dark from the start. We have Bette Davis as Janet Frobisher, and she’s already committed a crime that she would like to keep quiet.

A celebrated mystery writer, Janet married a criminal who was also abusive. We never get to see her husband because at the start of the movie, he’s already dead and she’s killed him. Not a spoiler. It’s the movie set up and will set up the direction of the rest of the movie.

She’s already called Larry, the fiancé of her secretary, who she, incidentally, is having an affair with, and asked him to come to her house that weekend. She’s walked to a phone box very far from her house to make the call and her nose neighbor, Dr. Henderson, the local vet, comments to her about how odd it is she is in town when she owns a mansion with phones in every room.

Janet essentially tells him to get lost and goes back home.

She has plans to dump her husband’s body in the pond on their property, but a man, George Bates (played by her real-life husband Gary Merrill), breaks into her house looking for her husband, saying he’s a robber and a murderer he and her husband were supposed to meet there after the robbery to escape together.

After a bunch of back and forth, Janet confesses she killed her husband but before she can kick Bates out the door, Dr. Henderson (Emlyn Williams) shows up and not wanting him to know she killed her husband, who Henderson has never met, she agrees to let Bates pretend he is her husband.

What results is another hour or so of panic, blackmail, and manipulation that will make your head spin. And then ending…well I can’t talk about it but oof! All I’ll say is karma is a word I do not write out or usually use so I’ll just say — a jerk!

While researching this film I was surprised to find out that it was co-produced by one of my favorite actors — Douglas Fairbanks Jr. I watched a ton of his movies last winter, which you can find here (scroll down the page).

Bette jumped at the opportunity to film this British thriller in the UK because there was a part for her new husband, free passage on the Queen Elizabeth cruise liner, and she could bring her children. It was essentially a free honeymoon.

There was a problem with the script but, according to TCM, Bette ignored this because she could choose her director (American Irving Rapper who directed one of her biggest hits, Now, Voyager in 1942). She liked him because “she could dominate him” the TCM article says.

“I’ve always wanted to play in a suspense picture as they’re made in England, with that quiet effectiveness which the British singularly seem to possess,” Bette told the British reporter.

Trouble always seemed to follow Bette and this time was no different. As soon as she arrived in England she threw a lavish party for the British press who rewarded her with tabloid articles about her mink coats, her excess and her husband, “Mr. Davis.”

This movie was not really well-received, with critics rolling their eyes at what they called “the absurdities of the script.”

They were impressed with how Bette pulled off the role even with the issues, though.

“No one has ever accused Bette Davis of failing to rise to a good script; what this film shows is how far she can go to meet a bad one,” critic Frank Hauser wrote in New Statesman and Nation.

The movie wasn’t a success at the time for the couple but visiting England was.

Actor Emlyn Williams bringing the schoolteacher who had been the inspiration for Miss Moffat in The Corn Is Green onto the set of Another Man’s Poison, and introducing her to Davis was an absolute thrill for Davis who starred in The Corn is Green in 1945.

The marriage went the way of the movie, I should add, ending only a year later, which was probably good because it was said to be a rocky and abusive one.

Have you seen this one?

Up next for my Spring of Bette feature is: Dark Victory.

My watch list for this feature:

It’s Love I’m After (April 15)

The Working Man (April 21)

Another Man’s Poison (April 27)

Dark Victory (April 30)

Jezebel (May 1)

Dangerous (May 7)

The Letter (May 12)

Of Human Bondage (May 21)

Now, Voyager (May 28)

Additional sources/resources:

https://www.tcm.com/articles/27959/another-mans-poison

If you want to find clips and thoughts about vintage movies and TV, you can visit me on Instagram on my Nostalgically Thinking Account (https://www.instagram.com/nostalgically_thinking/) or on my YouTube account Nostalgically and Bookishly Thinking here: https://www.youtube.com/@nostaglicandbookish

Sunday Bookends: Slow reading this week

On April 26, 2026April 28, 2026 By Lisa R. HowelerIn Sunday Bookends, Sunday Salon7 Comments

It’s time for our Sunday morning chat. On Sundays, I ramble about what’s been going on, what the rest of the family and I have been reading and watching, and what I’ve been writing. Some weeks I share what I am listening to.

I’m starting this post curled up under a blanket with a warm rice pack, while The Philadelphia Story is on the TV. I’ve watched it before, but it’s been years, so I thought a rewatch was in order. I’ve forgotten some of the details, but I know I enjoyed it. (Update: that was a little crazy of a movie, and I don’t know about the morals of some of the characters, but the acting was really good — especially Katharine Hepburn and Jimmy Stewart. Overall it is a really good movie, but The Husband says it isn’t the best of any of the actors. I told him to stop ruining my good mood and to go away. Kidding. I didn’t tell him that. I understood his point of view and I told him that his POV was valid but he was wrong….again, I’m kidding. I didn’t say that either.)

It’s 42 degrees and raining outside. Our cat with the eye infection still seems to have one so it looks like it is back to the vet this upcoming week. He also seems to have gotten his tail stuck in something because he cries when we touch it and it’s hanging weird. Poor thing. His life started tough and it just seems to keep going. At least he has somewhere warm to go and people to feed, pet, and cuddle him now, which he didn’t have when he was abandoned in October.

He also has fellow cats who slap him for no reason but that’s the price he has to pay for a warm, or cool, place to rest.

What I/We’ve Been Reading

In Progress

I am slow reading Stillmeadow Daybrook by Gladys Taber. Since each chapter is a month, I plan to read a chapter a month.

I finished April and might start May a little early. I am also slowly reading Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis.

I’m halfway through The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Arnim and will finish it this week.

I started Nancy’s Mysterious Letter by Carolyn Keene (a Nancy Drew Mystery) this week. Those are always quick reads.

Up Soon

I hope to read a Murder She Wrote book, Aloha Betrayal by Donald Bain, next and then Thrush Green by Miss Read. Or I might switch those two because Thrush Green has been calling my name.

What The Family is Reading

The Boy is listening to Storm of Iron by Graham McNeil.

Little Miss and I are still reading Heidi.

The Husband is reading Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead.

What I/We’ve Been Watching

I already mentioned I watched The Philadelphia Story yesterday. I watched Two’s Company earlier in the week. It’s a British sitcom, and it is on Amazon Prime if you are interested. There are also full episodes up on YouTube.

Last week I watched Lilies of the Field and Alias Jesse James (a crazy Bob Hope movie).

What I’ve Been Writing

Some Housekeeping

Erin (Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs) and I host a monthly bookish link party called A Good Book and A Cup of Tea. This link-up is for book and reading posts or anything related to books and reading (even movies based on books!). Each link party will be open for a month. You can find that link up for this month here.

Each week, I host the Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot with some great hosts. It goes live Thursday night, but you can share any kind of blog posts (family-friendly) there until Tuesday of each week. You can check my recent posts on the sidebar to the right for the most recent link party.

Now It’s Your Turn

What have you been doing, watching, reading, listening to, or writing?

This post is linked up with The Sunday Post at Kimba at Caffeinated Reviewer, Deb at with Deb at Readerbuzz, and Book Date: It’s Monday! What are you reading hosted by Kathyrn at The Book Date and Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Reading Reality.

Hello! Welcome to my blog. I am a blogger, homeschool mom, and I write cozy mysteries.

You can find my Gladwynn Grant Mystery series HERE.

You can also find me on Instagram and YouTube.

Weekend Traffic Jam April 24

On April 23, 2026April 23, 2026 By Lisa R. HowelerIn Weekend Traffic Jam10 Comments

Welcome to the Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot, where we offer a place for bloggers to link up and get a fresh set of eyes on their posts. We also feature one blog a week, letting our readers know about the blog and providing a link so readers can learn more about it. Please feel free to post new blog posts or old ones you want to bring attention to again.

Look for the post to go live about 9:30 PM EST on Thursdays.

It was nice to have slightly warmer weather this week. Not too warm but not super cold either.

I hope the weather has been nice where you are and I hope ours continues to be nice. I need some time on the porch to read a book. It looks like that won’t happen Saturday, though, where it is set to rain all day!

Now, let’s introduce our current hosts for the Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot:

Marsha from Marsha in the Middle started blogging in 2021 as an exercise in increasing her neuroplasticity. Oh, who are we kidding? Marsha started blogging because she loves clothes, and she loves to talk or, in this case, write!

Melynda from Scratch Made Food! & DIY Homemade Household – The name says it all, we homestead in East Texas, with three generations sharing this land. I cook and bake from scratch, between gardening and running after the chickens, and knitting!

Lisa from Boondock Ramblings shares about the fiction she writes and reads, her faith, homeschooling, photography and more.

Cat from Cat’s Wire is a bookworm, movie fan, crazy cat lady, armed with beads, cabs, wire and a very jumpy brain which loves to go down rabbit holes!

Rena from Fine, Whatever writes about style, midlife, and the “fine whatever” moments that make life both meaningful and fun. Since 2015, she’s been celebrating creativity, confidence, and finding joy in the everyday.

We would love to have additional Co-Hosts to share in the creativity and fun! If you think this would be a good fit for you and you like having fun (come on, who doesn’t!) while still being creative, drop one of us an email and someone will get back with you!

WTJR will be highlighting a different blogger each week this year! We invite you to stop by their blog, take a look around and say hello!

This week we are spotlighting: Jaipur Gardening

Thank you so much for joining us for our link-up!

And now some posts that were highlights for me this past week:

Amy is styling a denim jacket

Shelbee is choosing spring clothes even though Spring is taking its time

A beautiful tour of Ireland from Thrifting Wonderland this week

Joanne is talking about teaching kids while driving

This beehive cupcakes look amazing

Val’s Salad looks amazing

Important things to know about the link-up:

This link party is for blog posts only. All other links will be deleted.

Please link only blog posts you created yourself.

Please link directly to the URL of your post and not the main address of your blog.

Please do not add links to videos, sales ads, or social media links such as YouTube videos or Shorts, Instagram or Facebook Reels, TikTok videos, or any other “social media” based content.

But do visit other blogs and give the gift of a comment.

Notice: By linking with Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot, you assert that content and photos are your own property. And you give us permission to share said content if your post or blog is showcased.

We welcome unlimited, family friendly content! This can include opinion pieces, recipes, travel recaps, fashion ideas, crafts, thrifting, lifestyle, book reviews or discussions, photography, art, and so much more! Thank you for joining us!

Hello! Welcome to my blog. I am a blogger, homeschool mom, and I write cozy mysteries.

You can find my Gladwynn Grant Mystery series HERE.

You can also find me on Instagram and YouTube.

Classic Movie Impressions: Shadow of the Thin Man (1941)

On April 22, 2026April 21, 2026 By Lisa R. HowelerIn classic movie impressions, Movie Impresssions2 Comments

I have been watching and writing about The Thin Man movies, and up this time is Shadow of the Thin Man, which is the fourth movie in a six-movie series.

You can find my impressions/reviews/recaps/whatever you want to call it here.

If you have read my other posts or are familiar with these movies, then you know that the main characters are Nick and Nora Charles.

Nick is a private investigator, but is mainly helping to manage all of Nora’s money since she is an heiress.

Nora, however, would like Nick to do a little more and keep himself busy instead of drinking alcohol and gambling.

Myrna Loy made a comment in her autobiography that movies four through six weren’t as good as the first three because the original writers, Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, had decided they didn’t want to be a part of the franchise any longer. I respectfully disagree with her, at least for Shadow of the Thin Man. The mystery is convoluted, as always, (and I am really not sure about the guilty party making sense) but I felt the banter between Nick and Nora was as well-written as the previous movies. This one was a lot better than Another Thin Man, which was confusing and all over the place to me, and written by the married writers.

Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett tried to tank the series after the second movie by adding a baby because they really didn’t want to write a third. They clearly failed at sinking the series. By this movie, Goodrich and Hackett had literally had it.

“They press you awfully hard there…” Goodrich said. “When they started talking about another Thin Man, we started throwing up and crying into our typewriters. We had the nervous breakdown together, [so] we said, ‘let’s get out of here [and] we quit.’”

Novelist Dashiell Hammett, the original creator of the characters, also bowed out of the movies and refused to be part of it.

In this edition, we are introduced to Nick Jr., who is now around 5-years-old. He adds even more chaos and comedy to the mix, especially with his interactions with Nick Sr.

In one scene, he tells his dad he needs to drink more milk instead of alcohol at dinner. This makes Nick Sr. choke down half a glass of milk with some hilarious expressions, before the doorbell rings and he is let off the hook.

It is in this movie that I have to admit I do feel like Nick’s drinking is less funny and more sad. I get that Nick drinking too much is a running joke throughout the movie series, but he’s a dad now and showing his kid that he drinks no matter the mood he is in. There is always an excuse to drink with Nick Charles Sr.

But let’s not get too logical or realistic here. This is a comedy-mystery and we are meant to have some fun watching it, which I did.

In the beginning of the film, we see Nick and Nick Jr. at the park and they are supposed to be reading a child’s book, but Nick Sr. is trying to read the horses who are going to be at the races later in the day. He’s added gambling to his irresponsible repertoire I guess.

Soon Nick is on his way to the track, but not before he’s pulled over for speeding, which is quickly forgiven when the officer recognizes Nick name. Not only does the office not give Nick a ticket, but he’s given a police escort to the track. Things seem to be out of hand, though, when tons of police cars surround the car and escort Nick and Nora into the track. The couple is confused when officers gather around the car and start fawning over him and telling him how impressed they were with the last case he solved.

It turns out that they aren’t actually there for Nick, though. There’s been a murder at the track. Nick doesn’t care, though, and seems determined not to get involved.

He doesn’t want to get involved even when Major Jason I. Sculley, the special deputy for the state legislature, and investigative reporter Paul Clarke visit and ask for his help in the case.

Of course, he eventually does get involved and the mystery picks up. I enjoyed the little interludes in this one, more than the mystery. There are some hilarious scenes with Nora and Nick at a wrestling match where Nora is where a hat that men keep commenting on because they think it is silly.

Then there is the relatable scene where Nick is on a merry-go-round with Nick Jr., trying to grab a ring but getting motion sick and dizzy in the process.

Another Thin Man (1939) was filmed shortly after Powell’s finance Jean Harlow died suddenly. This movie also brought heartache for cast members, especially Powell who lost his ex-wife Carole Lombard in a plane crash in and then his first wife and mother of his only son, Eileen Wilson also died. Myrna Loy went through a divorce and then a quick marriage, which was a strike at her character’s “good girl image.”

But then the real blow to the entire cast and country was when Pearl Harbor was attacked two weeks after the movie released.

In 1943 the franchise also lost its director, W.S. Vandyke, after he passed away.

Loy recalled feeling the void, both of a director and friend, saying that “[Van Dyke] seems to be neglected now. He was one of Hollywood’s best, most versatile directors.

Donna Reed appeared in this film in only her second major screen role.

The firth movie in the series, The Thin Man Goes Home, didn’t come out until 1944, partially due to the war and VanDyke’s death.

Did you make it this far in the series?

You can catch my other movie recaps here:

The Thin Man

After The Thin Man

Another Thin Man

Sources or Additional Resources:

https://www.tcm.com/articles/81421/shadow-of-the-thin-man

Spring of Bette Davis: The Working Man (1933)

On April 21, 2026 By Lisa R. HowelerIn classic movie impressions, Movie Impresssions3 Comments

I’m watching Bette Davis movies this spring, but have chosen some of the less popular ones for something different.

This next movie, A Working Man, came on after It’s Love I’m After and intrigued me in the first several minutes so I decided to stick with it. I ended up enjoying it more than I thought I would. It was a cute movie and a very early one for Bette. So early, she still had platinum blonde hair and was 25-years old.

I have a temporarily lost remote to thank for finding this one.

This pre-Hayes Code 1933 movie is about John Reeves (George Arliss), the president of the Reeves Shoe Company, who is determined to beat his competitor, Hartland Shoes.

He’s so determined to beat the competition that he ignores a request by a friend to go fishing in Maine.

His nephew Benjamin Burnett is ready for Reeves to retire so he can take over the business already.

When Tom Hartland, CEO of the Hartland Shoe Company, dies, John Reeves is saddened, even though he was his main competitor.

Benjamin begins to hint that John is senile and to teach him a lesson, John heads off for that fishing in Maine, leaving him to run the business for a while and see what it is like.

Ironically, though, a yacht stops running near John’s fishing pier and two young people swim up to ask for booze while they wait. John, who has always been a hard worker, is disgusted by their laziness. One of those young people is Bette Davis as Jenny Hartland.

The other is her brother Tommy Hartland played by Theodore Newton.

As they begin to chat, John learns they are the spoiled children of the recently deceased Tom Hartland. John decides to call himself John Walton and befriends them so he can spy on their company but as the spying begins, John starts to like the two kids and decides he wants to help them better themselves. He also discovers that the shoe making plant for their late father’s business is being mismanaged.

This launches him into a journey to save the business he’s been trying to destroy for years while also trying to keep his own business going and his identity hidden.

Bette is so young in this one, as I mentioned above.

The screenplay for the movie was based on a story The Adopted Father by Edgar Franklin and written by Charles Kenyon and Maude T. Howell.

Arliss was a well-known silent movie star before going into talking films and reprised his role in this movie from his 1924 silent movie Twenty Dollars a Week, which was based on the same story. Hollywood does like to rehash an old story because the 1936 20th Century Fox film Everybody’s Old Man was based on the same source.

The movie was Arliss and Bette’s second time appearing together in a movie. They were in The Man Who Played God the year before.

But their relationship goes deeper than just being in a previous movie together, according to TCM.com.

“[The Working Man] was the second and last film Davis made with Arliss, whom she always considered one of her mentors and the person who was responsible for saving her nascent film career,” an article on the site states. “She first met Arliss in the late 1920s, when he was a guest lecturer at the drama school she attended in New York. He counseled her not to adopt the exaggerated “cultured” English diction that many actors were then using. Instead, he suggested that she speak standard American English, but make an effort to get rid of her New England accent. Davis followed his advice. In late 1930, Davis was signed to a contract by Universal and went to Hollywood, but she was cast in pallid secondary roles and made little impression. Nine months later, Universal dropped her. According to Davis, she and her mother were packing up to return to New York, when she received a phone call summoning her to a meeting with Arliss, then one of Warners’ top stars. After meeting with Arliss, she was cast in The Man Who Played God, and signed to a Warner Bros. contract.”

We talk about the oversaturation of the entertainment market these days, but back then, movies were made fast and furious. Bette made, or at least released, seven movies in 1933.

The Working Man was her 15^th movie, and she only started working in movies two years before. The New York Times gave Bette a good review saying, “Bette Davis, whose diction is music to the ears, does good work in the role of Jenny.” Bette had good memories of working with Arliss.

“Whatever was happening on his set, at four p.m. sharp, everything stopped for a half hour while we had tea,” she said. “I think he had it in his contract. Mr. Arliss helped pour, and everyone, to the lowliest grip, participated. I especially enjoyed knowing instinctively that Mr. Jack L. Warner was sitting in his office having a fit during this expensive homage to a civilized way of life.”

Even after Arliss went back to England in 1935, Bette continued to look at him as her mentor.

Margarita Landazuri wrote in her article on TCM that when Bette was in a contract dispute with Warner, Arliss told her to give in and not to try to sue Jack Warner again. She’d already lost her first attempt.

“Bette, you must go home and do anything they ask for one year,” he told her. “You must accept the fact that you have lost. It’s difficult to handle defeat, but you can take it.” Realizing that her career would be over if she continued to fight, Davis followed his advice. She swallowed her pride and returned to Warner Bros., where she soon became the studio’s top female star. “He certainly was my first professional father,” Davis said of Arliss, and the sentiment was reciprocated. In her home, she kept a framed photograph of Arliss. The inscription read, “with adopted fatherly affection.”

Up next in my Spring of Bette Davis, I’ll be writing about Another Man’s Poison.

My watch list for this feature:

It’s Love I’m After (April 15)

The Working Man (April 21)

Another Man’s Poison (April 23)

Dark Victory (April 30)

Jezebel (May 1)

Dangerous (May 7)

The Letter (May 12)

Of Human Bondage (May 21)

Now, Voyager (May 28)

Sources and resources:

https://www.tcm.com/articles/409105/the-working-man-1933-the-working-man

Sunday Bookends: The aggravating repair man who didn’t want to repair things and a variety of books being read

On April 19, 2026April 18, 2026 By Lisa R. HowelerIn Sunday Bookends, Sunday Salon18 Comments

A repairman came to our house this week to fix our dishwasher – or so I thought. Instead, he came and argued with me about the dishwasher being broken, acted like I was lying, and told me to wash my dishes again in it, as if that would somehow solve the problem. I told him the dishwasher pod was in the bottom of the dishwasher at the end of the cycle andit was clear it was not washing our dishes so he said, “Maybe you were opening it at the end of the cycle or something….”

I said, “Right. That’s how it works. I was opening it at the end to see if the dishes had washed and they were still dirty.”

When I showed him a video of what sound it was making when it was washing the dishes (or rather not washing them) he said, “Yeah, I guess that sounds like the motor” like he had to admit I was right, and started to pack up his limited equipment. I asked if that meant the motor could be replaced and he said, “Yeah. I guess I’ll get you a new one.” I had to follow him to the door to ask if he had a timetable for when he’d have the motor and without looking at me, he said, “Probably a week.”

He made it clear he did not want to be here, I guess because the dishwasher was under warranty and he wouldn’t get a large fee. It was one of the most bizarre experiences I’ve ever had with a repairman. I’ve never had one argue with me about what is happening to my own appliance and want so desperately to prove me wrong.

Making the story a bit shorter, we told the place that sold us the dishwasher we appreciated how they handled business but that the person who repairs things for their warranties (he is not from their company but works with Whirlpool) was really not very nice. We then called our regular repairman and will have to pay him, since he doesn’t know anything about the warranty, but I think it’s worth it to have someone more polite do the work.

What I/We’ve Been Reading

Just Finished

I finished Heidi by Johanna Spyri and Damsel in Distress by P.G. Wodehouse last week.

I enjoyed them both.

I wrote about Heidi, which I read with Erin from Still Life, With Cracker Crumb, here.

I also finished A Caribbean Mystery by Agatha Christie for the 2026 Reading Christie Challenge. It is a Miss Marple mystery, and it was so good.

In Progress

I am slowly reading Stillmeadow Daybrook by Gladys Taber. Since each chapter is a month, I plan to read a chapter a month. I am also slowly reading Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis.

I just started The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim a couple of days ago.

Up Soon

I hope to read a Murder She Wrote book, Aloha Betrayal by Donald Bain, next and then Thrush Green by Miss Read. I would love to slip a Nancy Drew (Nancy’s Mysterious Letter) in soon as well. Probably in May.

What The Family is Reading

Little Miss and I are still reading Heidi.

The Husband is reading Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead.

The Boy is listening to a Warhammer book of some sort. He and I also started an audiobook of Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain the other day on the way back from Little Miss’s art class and he said he plans to listen to more of it.

What I/We’ve Been Watching

This past week I watched a 1929 movie called Bulldog Drummond with Ronald Colman and it wasn’t very good, but I like Ronald Colman, so he was fun to watch.

I also watched Shall We Dance and Swing Time with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, which I had seen before, but wanted to watch again. I liked Swing Time a lot better, except for the blackface scene. I just don’t know what the obsession was with doing that in movies back then! It’s so irritating and ruins the whole movie for me.

My husband and I started to watch Detour last night, a 1945 crime-noir movie that is only about an hour long, was filmed in about 14 days for about $100,000, and raked in $1 million. He got tired and wanted to head to bed so he’s making me wait to finish it tonight. I use the words “making me” lightly. I could go ahead and watch it but I like watching movies he likes with him because he loves to share trivia about the movie and actors, etc.

What I’ve Been Writing

Last week on the blog I shared:

Some Housekeeping

Now It’s Your Turn

What have you been doing, watching, reading, listening to, or writing?

This post is linked up with The Sunday Post at Kimba at Caffeinated Reviewer, Deb at with Deb at Readerbuzz, and Book Date: It’s Monday! What are you reading hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. Sunday Bookends with Boondock Ramblings and Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Reading Reality.

Hello! Welcome to my blog. I am a blogger, homeschool mom, and I write cozy mysteries.

You can find my Gladwynn Grant Mystery series HERE.

You can also find me on Instagram and YouTube.

Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot April 17

On April 16, 2026April 18, 2026 By Lisa R. HowelerIn Weekend Traffic Jam9 Comments

Look for the post to go live about 9:30 PM EST on Thursdays.

This week we’ve had warm weather and I have not been enjoying it! It’s been too warm for spring, but I have enjoyed the sunlight and the leaves coming out on the trees! If this warm weather is any indication of what our summer will be, I am not interested! Ha! But I will make do.

I hope you are all enjoying the weather where you are and aren’t getting any of the extreme weather.

Let’s introduce our current hosts for the Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot:

Lisa from Boondock Ramblings shares about the fiction she writes and reads, her faith, homeschooling, photography and more.

Cat from Cat’s Wire is a bookworm, movie fan, crazy cat lady, armed with beads, cabs, wire and a very jumpy brain which loves to go down rabbit holes!

WTJR will be highlighting a different blogger each week this year! We invite you to stop by their blog, take a look around and say hello!

This week we are spotlighting: From Bay to the Beach

A little about Susan:

If you love interior design and California coastal style, you’re in the right place! I’m a native Californian, and I am privileged to call two of the most beautiful places in California my home – the San Francisco Bay Area and coastal San Diego County. So whether you love wine country or the coast, or everything in between, you’ll find something to love here – From the Bay to the Beach.

Thank you so much for joining us for our link-up!

And now some posts that were highlights for me this past week:

Gail is springing into spring with style

Love this driftwood starburst

Shelbee’s showing off her beautiful Easter outfit

Lovely denim jackets Chez Mireille

Important things to know about the link-up:

This link party is for blog posts only. All other links will be deleted.

Please link only blog posts you created yourself.

Please link directly to the URL of your post and not the main address of your blog.

Please do not add links to videos, sales ads, or social media links such as YouTube videos or Shorts, Instagram or Facebook Reels, TikTok videos, or any other “social media” based content.

But do visit other blogs and give the gift of a comment.

Notice: By linking with Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot, you assert that content and photos are your own property. And you give us permission to share said content if your post or blog is showcased.

Hello! Welcome to my blog. I am a blogger, homeschool mom, and I write cozy mysteries.

You can find my Gladwynn Grant Mystery series HERE.

You can also find me on Instagram and YouTube

Book recommendation: Heidi By Johanna Spyri

On April 16, 2026April 16, 2026 By Lisa R. HowelerIn everyday musings10 Comments

Erin from Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs and I read Heidi by Johanna Spyri this month and today we are answering some discussion questions about the book. This was the first time reading the book for both of us.

For those who have never read this classic book, this is a book about a young, orphaned girl who is sent to live with her grandfather on a Swiss mountain in his tiny hut. He’s been living in the hut, all alone, for years due to various reasons. Everyone in the little town at the bottom of the mountain thinks he is a horrible, cranky person and are horrified when Heidi’s aunt takes her to live with him.

It turns out that Uncle Alp, as her grandfather is called, is not what he seems, and in a good way.

As the story unfolds, Heidi will get to know him and their neighbors, which includes the goat herder Peter and his mother and grandmother, better.

Heidi lived with her aunt and her other grandmother previously and was rarely allowed to go out and play. Now she can go and play and roam the mountains and she loves it.

Just when she gets comfortable, though, her aunt returns and a new, scarier, adventure unfolds.

This is a sweet, touching book written much earlier than I thought it had been written. It was written in 1880 and was translated into English from its original German. In addition to calling it sweet and touching I would also call it heartwarming. Is it a bit unrealistic at times? Absolutely and to me that is totally fine. This is a children’s book after all. They are allowed to be that way and often needed by both children and adults.

Erin and I read The Puffin in Bloom Collection version, with a translation from Eileen Hall, which was first published in 1956 and published for this edition in 2014.

One thing Erin and I were surprised about Heidi was that she is not the blond, blue-eyed child illustrated on many of the covers of the books or in some movie versions. She actually had short, dark hair.

This 2016 movie version probably shows the characters the most accurately from the book. I think I might watch this at the end of the month:

At the end of this post, I’ll share some quotes I enjoyed from the book.

Quick, first five words that pop into your head about Heidi.

Delightful. Fun. Sweet. Emotional. Inspiring.

2. Would you slam two big mugs of goat milk back-to-back, and why is the answer no? What about one mug?

That would be a no because I tried goat milk before and I did not like it. Maybe it needed to be colder or something because it tasted like a barn smells. I don’t know how else to describe that.

3. Was Uncle Alp making goat cheese, like chevre?

I imagine he was making goat cheese as they ate a lot of it, but I don’t know what kind.

4. Write a beautiful description of a natural place you’ve been to, a sunset, a plant or animal you’ve seen.

A large rock jutted out from the tree and brush-covered hillside to overlook sprawling, green farmland, a twisting river with sunlight sparkling off of it, and trees clustered together in bright oranges, reds, and yellows. A bald eagle flew by at eye-level and clouds looked as if they could be reached out and touched. It was no surprise that locals said this place once served as a prayer rock for the Native American tribes that first settled the land here.

5. Heidi, like Anne of Green Gables, loves her home and has favorite aspects, like the fir trees, the wind, the fire sunset on the mountain. Is there anything in nature you cherish about your home, the way that she does?

I used to love the large tree outside our house but it was cut down last year. Now I admire the other trees in my backyard and in our area I love to look at the hillsides covered with pine trees and maple trees.

6. In the same vein, what are some small things you are grateful for?

I am grateful for cozy evenings where I can watch an old movie while cuddled under a blanket.

7. Which character, besides Heidi, is your favorite and why?

I love Grandmama. She knows how to get things done, while also being kind and caring for others.

8. What character did you like the least and why?

Mrs. Rottenmeir. Her name says it all. She was just rotten! She was mean to Heidi and Clara and just a very bitter woman. I couldn’t understand why the Mr. Seseman kept her in his employment.

9. There is a part in the book where Heidi longs for home? Has there ever been a time in your life where you have longed for home?

Absolutely. When I had my children and wanted to get out of the hospital but especially in 2021 when I was in the hospital with Covid for 5 days and could not wait to get home with my family.

10. Do you think you would like to live in a small hut in the Swiss mountains, miles away from a town?

I might like doing this during warmer weather but not so much during the winter and only if I had WiFi.

Here are a few quotes from the book that I enjoyed:

“Listen to me,” she said. “If we’re in trouble and can’t tell any ordinary person, why, there is always God, whom we can tell, and if we ask Him to help us, He always will.”

“God certainly knows of some happiness for us which He is going to bring out of the trouble, only we must have patience and not run away. And then all at once something happens and we see clearly ourselves that God has had some good thought in His mind all along; but because we cannot see things beforehand, and only know how dreadfully miserable we are, we think it is always going to be so.”

“It was so lovely, Heidi stood with tears pouring down her cheeks, and thanked God for letting her come home to it again. She could find no words to express her feelings, but lingered until the light began to fade and then ran on.”

“No,” he replied. “You see, today I am happy, as I had never thought to be again. Much happier than I deserve. It’s good to feel at peace with God and man. It was a good day when God sent you to me.”

Outside the moon was struggling with the dark, fast-driving clouds, which at one moment left it clear and shining, and the next swept over it, and all again was dark. Just now the moonlight was falling through the round window straight on to Heidi’s bed. She lay under the heavy coverlid, her cheeks rosy with sleep, her head peacefully resting on her little round arm, and with a happy expression on her baby face as if dreaming of something pleasant. The old man stood looking down on the sleeping child until the moon again disappeared behind the clouds and he could see no more, then he went back to bed.

“The happiest of all things is when an old friend comes and greets us as in former times; the heart is comforted with the assurance that some day everything that we have loved will be given back to us.—”

Have you read Heidi? What did you think of it?

You can see Erin’s post about the book here

Classic Movie Impressions: It’s Love I’m After (Spring of Bette)

On April 15, 2026April 21, 2026 By Lisa R. HowelerIn everyday musings9 Comments

An arrogant, self-absorbed, womanizing stage actor and the actress who keeps putting up with him are the main characters in It’s Love I’m After, a 1937 romantic comedy starring Bette Davis, Leslie Howard, and Olivia De Havilland.

I stumbled on this one by accident while looking for Bette Davis movies to add to my Spring of Bette Davis feature and ended up absolutely loving it.

I didn’t even know it was a comedy when I started it, but when the pair started insulting each other in loud whispers during a scene from Romeo and Juliet, I knew this movie was going to be very entertaining.

And it was very entertaining, very funny, and a very nice surprise.

Leslie Howard plays the part of Basil Underwood, a famous stage actor who women fall all over.

Bette plays his co-star and on-again-off-again girlfriend, Joyce Arden, who joins Leslie’s drama with her own drama. In the beginning, we see the two sniping at each other right after their performance, going back to the hotel and continuing their arguing through the door separating their rooms.

It is at the hotel where we meet Basil’s valet Digges played by Eric Blore. Their interaction reminded me so much of Jeeves and Bertie Wooster in the Jeeves books by P.G. Wodehouse. I absolutely loved their bantering, bickering, and joking.

They have this whole routine where Digges either gives or takes away points from Basil based on his behavior, and Basil’s behavior is often not good because he is frequently running off with married women or breaking hearts, all while in a relationship with Joyce.

Joyce and Basil have decided they are going to get married early on in the movie, but there is one problem. After their performance at the beginning of the movie, a young woman named Marcia West (De Havilland) comes to visit Basil and tells him she is in love with him. This is very exciting for him because, you know, he loves women and the attention of women. Marcia leaves without telling him her name, and Basil is left with a well-stroked ego.

Once he and Joyce have decided to marry, and Joyce has closed herself in her room to get ready to leave for the wedding at a justice of the peace, Marcia’s fiancé, Henry Grant Jr. (Patrick Knowles) shows up and tells Basil he’s angry at him because Marica is in love with him.

There is this whole hilarious scene where Basil says the situation reminds him of a play he was once in and he and Digges act it out for Henry, who is bewildered and annoyed.

The play they act out is about a woman who is in love with a man, but the man wants to shake the woman, so he acts like a cad to get rid of her.

Henry is delighted and says that is what he wants Basil to do — come to Marcia’s family’s house that weekend and be an absolute jerk so she will be fall out of love with him.

What follows is an absolutely hilarious second act that had me in stitches. Olivia was absolutely perfect as a celebrity-obsessed woman, and Leslie was perfect as the arrogant, self-absorbed star.

The cast was just so perfect together.

There is one line that isn’t really a spoiler, so I just have to share it — at one point Olivia says that she was obsessed with Clark Gable for a month and Leslie says, “Who’s Clark Gable?”

I felt like such a nerd when I said, to myself because my daughter was not listening, “Do you know why that’s so funny? It’s so funny because Leslie, Olivia, and Clark were all in Gone with the Wind together and in that movie Olivia’s character was in love with Leslie’s character and Clark was in a relationship with Vivien Leigh.” Then I snorted a laugh.

Gone With the Wind was released two years after this movie. I thought it would have been funny if It’s Love I’m After had been made after Gone with The Wind.

Leslie Howard wanted the movie made to give himself a break after appearing in mostly heavy dramatic roles like The Petrified Forest (1936) and Romeo and Juliet (1936), according to TCM. The screenplay was based on the story Gentlemen After Midnight by Maurice Hanlin.

Producer Hal Willis wasn’t sure about Leslie’s ability to pull of comedy, but did accept the suggestion for the film. Casey Robinson wrote the screenplay, and Archie Mayo directed.

Leslie originally wanted a comedic actress from the stage, like Gertrude Lawrence or Ina Claire to play opposite him but after a few failed attempts, the picture began production without a leading lady.

Finally, Wallis decided that Bette Davis could use a change of pace after intensely dramatic roles in Marked Woman, Kid Galahad and That Certain Woman (all 1937).

Bette wasn’t so sure, though. She’d turned out a lot of films in a short time and actually wanted a break. This would be her third film with Leslie, and she liked working with him but didn’t like that he was going to receive top billing above her. The two had had a strained relationship during the filming of Of Human Bondage when Leslie was cold and dismissive and said to resent the fact an American had been cast in a very British story. He’d also run hot and cold during the filming of The Petrified Forest, sometimes ignoring her, and also, she said, coming on to her “rather crudely.”

In It’s Love I’m After he turned his attention to Olivia, reportedly driving her nuts with his persistence in trying to woo her.

If it sounds like his character wasn’t too far off from the real Leslie, then you’d be right. He was known to be a womanizer, despite being married, and had many affairs.

Bette finally agreed to accept the role, but did ask for a cinematographer she liked to be hired to help her look good on screen.

Audiences proved that the producer had no reason to be worried about Leslie not doing well in a comedy, with over $1 million being brought in during its initial release.

Leslie followed this movie up by directing himself in George Bernard Shaw’s classic movie, Pygmalion (1938)

Up next for Spring of Bette, I will be writing about another one of her less-familiar movies, A Working Man, where she was in full blonde mode.

Here is the complete list of movies I will be watching during this feature:

It’s Love I’m After (April 15^th)

The Working Man (April 17^th)

Another Man’s Poison (April 23^th)

Dark Victory (April 30^rd)

Jezebel (May 1)

Dangerous (May 7)

The Letter (May 12)

Of Human Bondage (May 21)

Now, Voyager (May 28)