Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot

On November 12, 2026November 13, 2026 By Lisa R. HowelerIn Weekend Traffic Jam4 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.

We are getting our first snow of the season tonight. Hopefully it won’t leave us too much of that cold, white stuff or if it does, hopefully the roads are at least safe.

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: God’s Growing Garden

A little about Angie:

My name is Angie Ouellette-Tower and the purpose of this blog is to help fellow “backyard farmers” in their varying degrees of experience.
I am a Christian and I believe that we need to be good stewards with what God provides. I do NOT profess to know everything but I do have 40 years of experience gardening, cooking, baking & canning. Most of this knowledge I learned from my parents: my father grew almost every vegetable & fruit available in the mid-west region and my mother used this garden produce for baking, cooking, freezing or canning. Many of the recipes that I share on this blog are my mom’s & other recipes are my own creations. Nothing compares to the taste of fresh grown produce and made-from-scratch meals. My husband & I try to grow everything as organic as possible (there have been some extreme cases in the past when we’ve had to use a chemical).
Doing everything from scratch not only tastes better but it will save you money also

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

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

I enjoyed Chez Mireille Fashion Travel Mom’s tour of Key West

This was a fun tour of a theater in Ontario

what a beautiful vignette from Thrifting Wonderland

Melynda’s brussel sprouts with apples and pecans sounds and looks so good!

I enjoyed reading about the books Cat read in October

Reading about how Trina chose to wear to Bible study was a lot of fun

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 and Facebook.

Autumn of Jack: My Fellow Americans

On November 11, 2026November 9, 2026 By Lisa R. HowelerIn everyday musings2 Comments

I’ve been making my way through Jack Lemmon movies this fall and I am behind due to a family crisis I’ve been dealing with.

Today I am writing about My Fellow Americans (1996) with Jack and James Garner portraying former presidents who get caught up in a scheme by the current administration who is trying to hide some weird business deal that happened when the current president was a vice president.

The movie also stars Dan Ackroyd and Lauren Bacall.

One thing I can say about this movie is it is not one of Lemmon’s Oscar Award winning performances.

It was a ridiculous, at times raunchy, jaunt of craziness that was a fun escape but not something I’d probably watch again.

I watched this movie with my Gen Z son and had to say things like, “Well, that’s the kind of stuff people said in the 90s…before everyone was so sensitive.” Or, “Yes, people used to wear their hair like that.” Or, “Yes, that song was very popular back then. It hasn’t aged well.”

He laughed at my comments and said he wasn’t worried about those things. He and I found the movie to be a fun, but sort of stupid, romp.

So Jack Lemmon portrays President Russel Kramer and James Garner portrays President Matt Douglas.

Kramer is a Republican and Douglas is a womanizing Democrat.

In the beginning of the movie we see them running against each other and defeating each other. Then we see William Haney, Kramer’s former vice president defeat Douglas.

Haney’s vice president, Ted Matthews, is considered an idiot and embarrassment to the administration (which I am sure is a reference to Dan Quyale).

We flash forward to three years and Kramer and Douglas are navigating their lives as ex-presidents. Kramer is writing another book about himself and Douglas is in the middle of a divorce. At the same time, the Democratic Party learns about Olympia, which is a code name for bribes that a defense contractor paid Hanley when he was vice president.

Douglas is asked to investigate and is told that if he does, the Democrats will support him for another run for president. Douglas agrees to help.

Haney and his chief of staff, though, are hard at work to frame Kramer for the scandal.

The two former presidents eventually will end up on the run across the country when someone tries to kill them to get them out of the way. Viewers spend the majority of the movie trying to figure out who is trying to get rid of them and watching their crazy antics as they try to get back to Washington and stop whatever nefarious things are happening.

Filmmakers originally wrote the James Garner role for Lemmon’s longtime movie partner, Walter Matthau. Matthau had to back out for health reasons, though.

Garner was glad to be the second choice for the role, saying he and Lemmon had wanted to work together for years.

While this is a “political” movie it was kept more apolitical with no real life presidents mentioned and supposedly none of the characters based on any real life administrations. Ha. I call garbage on that since the vice president character in this movie was clearly based on Dan Quayle as I mentioned above.

In his memoir, Garner said he enjoyed working with Lemmon but felt director Peter Segal thought he was a genius but didn’t really know what he was doing.

I thought it was interesting that a lot of this movie was filmed in Ashville, North Carolia.

This movie didn’t get a ton of great reviews when it came out and it still doesn’t but if you are looking for a fun escape (if you don’t mind some crude jokes) then it might be a good movie to try.

Up next I’ll be writing about The Odd Couple.

I’m going to cut this feature a little short since I missed almost an entire month so my revised movie list for this feature is:

Phffft (September 18)

It Should Happen To You (September 24)

The Fortune Cookie (Oct 2)

The Apartment (Oct. 8)

My Fellow Americans (Nov. 11)

The Odd Couple (Nov. 13)

Irma Dey Deuce (November 20)

Save the Tiger (November 27)

Top Ten Book Characters I wish were real people

On November 10, 2026November 10, 2026 By Lisa R. HowelerIn books and reading, top-ten-tuesday13 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. It was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

Today’s prompt is: Book Characters I Wish Were Real People (And feel free to tell us why! Would you date them, be friends with them, etc.?) (Submitted by Lydia Schoch)

I am choosing book characters I wish were real because I would want to be friends with them or just watch them at work

(Note: I pulled some characters from a post I wrote on a similar top ten last year, but also added a few new ones.)

Penny Parker from the Penny Parker Mysteries by Mildred Wirt Benson

Penny Parker is the main character in Mildred’s Penny Parker Mystery series. If you don’t know who Mildred is, she is the original Carolyn Keene, the pseudonym for the author of the Nancy Drew series.

Mildred, in collaboration with Edward Stratemyer who thought up the idea of Nancy Drew, helped develop Nancy into who she became and wrote the first 28 books in the series. She wrote the Penny Parker series after she stopped writing Nancy Drew (which was written by several authors under the same name) and once said that Penny was more Nancy Drew than Nancy Drew and I know what she means. Writing Penny let Mildred write a more bold and sassy teenage amateur slueth with a bit more grit and danger. She didn’t have to follow the strict rules that Harriet Adams (the daughter of Edward Stratemyer) had for Nancy’s character.

I think Penny would be fun to travel with and solve mysteries, though I’m so old now that I’d probably spend most of the time telling her to be more careful and not get herself into so many dangerous situations.

Paddington Bear from the Paddington Bear books by Michael Bond.

Paddington Bear is a cute, little bear, who travels from Peru to London and ends up living with the Brown family in London and has all kind of silly adventures.

Why do I wish he was real?

Um..because he’s cute and darling and I want to take care of him.

Beth March from Little Women by Lousia Mae Alcott

Beth is one of the four March sisters written about in the book.

I think Beth would be so sweet to know in real life. She noticed all the little, sweet details in life and I think she would help me slow down and notice those things as well.

Miss Marple from the Miss Marple series by Agatha Christie

I would love to see Miss Marple in action when she solves a case. That mind just working on solving things while she’s knitting away. The little smile when she knows the solution and that she’s about to outwit everyone.

Lucy Pevensie from The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

Lucy is one of the four siblings who travels into the wardrobe and finds the magical world of Narnia. She was the first to go into the wardrobe and to meet the fawn Mr. Tumnis.

I’d like to meet the older Lucy to learn from her how to be brave in the toughest situations because she was sometimes timid in the books but later became stronger and braver.

Cynthia Kavanagh from The Mitford Series by Jan Karon

Cynthia is the wife of Father Timothy Kavanagh, an Episcopal priest in Mitford, N.C. He meets Cynthia either in the end of the first book or the beginning of the second, A Light in the Window. Their love story is so sweet and pure. It’s a beautiful example of what love late in life can and should be. Father Tim has never been in a relationship and Cynthia was in a cold, loveless marriage before. Their relationship starts slow and awkardly.

Cynthia is an illustrator who also writes childrens books about her cat, Violet, a fluffy, white monster who Father Tim and his dog Barnabas aren’t so sure about. I would love to be friends with Cynthia. We’d sit in her little yellow house and sip tea and talk books and cats and how neither of us are really very good cooks or bakers but like to try anyhow.

Elizabeth “Bess” Marvin in the Nancy Drew books.

I absolutely love Bess from the Nancy Drew books. I love how she is described as pleasantly plump and isn’t shy about eating whatever she wants and flirting with boys – not even caring that back when these books were written fat girls were supposed to be not who boys would be interested in and were shamed into eating lettuce and a tomato for dinner.

I could absolutely see myself hanging out with Bess. She’d be more outgoing and crazy and I’d be quiet and laughing at her crazy antics. We’d talk about what foods we like and how no matter what we do we can’t get ourselves super skinny but there are times we still feel healthy and happy.

Valancy Stirling in The Blue Castle by LM Montgomery

I would absolutely hang out with Valancy from The Blue Castle. If I met her before she received the bad news about her health, I would have been trying to pull her out of her dumps and encourage her to ignore her family’s rude comments about her.

After she received the bad news I would have joined her for tea at her Blue Castle and I would have walked with her in the forest, picking flowers, listening to the wind rustling the leaves and to her read excerpts from John Foster’s books.

Aunt Minnehaha Cheever from Gone Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright

Aunt Minnehaha visited Gone Away Lake, really called Tarrigo Lake, with her family, including her brother Pindar, when she was a child. The site was a summer getaway for the wealthy but when a dam was created upstream it caused the lake to dry up and all the wealthy vacationers to leave, many of them leaving their homes behind. When Aunt Minnehaha hits hard times and can’t afford her home in the city she moves back to Tarrigo to live. Eventually, children named Julian and Portia discover the homes and become friends with Minnehaha and her brother, who has also moved there.

Minnehaha has had some sadness in her life but she is full of optimism and likes to look at tough situations in a new and exciting way. If she and I were friends we would look through all the old dresses she has and all the old china and she’d make me some of her amazing tea and then she’d tell me that what I am facing now is nothing compared to what they had to face when they were young, living among some very rich and arrogant neighbors.

Flo and Lady Hardcastle from The Lady Hardcastle Mysteries by T.E. Kinsey

I know…I popped in two into this one but they come as a pair, I’d say.
I would love to be friends with Flo and Lady Hardcastle from The Lady Hardcastle Mysteries. Flo is Lady Hardcastle’s maid but really she is her best friend. Both of them have been spies and investigators and solved mysteries during the early 1900s. Flo has no fear when it comes to tracking down criminals and solving mysteries. She fights the bad guys, cleans up, and then heads home with Lady Hardcastle and serves her tea.

Lady Hardcastle, like Flo, has no fear and is like a dog with a bone when it comes to solving a case. I love how both women break barriers, ignoring all “rules” of society in England in the early 1900s.

I could see us enjoying tea (I know! I like tea! What can I say?) and talking about cases we’ve solved together and laughing about how we’ve shown the men in our small town that women can do more than cook and clean and keep house.

How about you? What literary characters would you love to be friends with?

If you are new to my blog, I just wanted to share with you that I co-host a monthly bookish link party called A Good Book and A Cup of Tea (no, you don’t have to drink tea to participate) with Erin (Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs) and Cat (Cat’s Wire). You can find a link to it at the top of the page. The link party is for all book-related posts from reviews and recommendations to …well, anything related to books at all. Including Top Ten Tuesday, if you want to link your top ten there too!

On Thursdays, I am part of the Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot blog link party. You can find the latest one in the sidebar to the right under recent posts.

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.

Sunday Bookends: difficult times, changes and books to make it through

On November 8, 2026November 8, 2026 By Lisa R. HowelerIn Sunday Bookends, Sunday Salon16 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.

What’s Been Occurring

There is a lot of hard stuff going on in our family. My dad has been either in a hospital or nursing home rehab for over a month now. Our last hospital visit brought some diagnosis, but no treatment, which is extremely frustrating.

It will mean more phone calls this week trying to get prescription meds we were promised to help him with some esophagus issues and referrals to departments that will address some other serious issues.

All of this while he is in a rehab facility for fractures on his spine. And the facility is not a very good place so I have to figure out how to get him out of there while he asks not to be moved because of the pain.

My mind is still blown that they sent him out of the hospital with three fractures on his spine and told him they will deal with the underlying issues for those fractures some other time.

American healthcare is a cesspool.

In the midst of the situation with my dad, I am working with caregivers to help provide around the clock care for my elderly mom who Dad was the main caretaker for. My son and I fill in the gaps between caregivers.

Another situation unraveled against my will in the middle of all of this and the only good thing about that situation is that it opened my eyes to a lot of things I put up with over the years that I never should have and won’t anymore.

I’m terrified of some future changes coming to my life, but I don’t know how to move anywhere but forward at this point.

In happier news, my son turned 20 yesterday. Today we are going to make him a couple of apple pies and watch a movie with his grandmother.

What I/We’ve Been Reading

Recently Finished

Nothing this week.

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 for the rest of 2026 and into 2027. It has been a great escape from all the heaviness in my life right now.

I’m also reading Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis.

I am reading the same book I was reading last week: The Two Mrs. Abbotts by D.E. Stevenson.

I plan to listen to And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie because a lady I follow on Bookstagram suggested I “reread” the book for this months Christie Reading Challenge by listening to Dan Stevens read the book. I am going to try that since And Then There Were None is this month’s suggested read. I hope to also read Secret Adversary which I believe is a Tommy and Tuppence novel.

I also started a Mildred Wirt Benson book, Guilt of the Brass Thieves, which is a Penny Parker Mystery. This is a middle grade book but I am enjoying it. I actually think I like the Penny Parker books more than Nancy Drew, or at least the revised Nancy Drews. If you don’t know, Mildren wrote the first 28 Nancy Drew books but they were later rewritten by Harriet Stratemyer Adams, the daughter of Edward Stratemyer, who created the series.

Little Miss and I are still pushing through Rascal by Stirling North. We got interrupted a lot in October but can hopefully finish it this month in time for a unit on Egypt.

What I/We’ve Been Watching

Last week I watched a Sherlock Holmes movie, Murder, She Wrote, and a lot of booktube channels.

What I’ve Been Writing

Last week on the blog I shared:

What I/We’ve Been Listening To

As I mentioned above, I am listening to And Then There Were None on Audible.

I hope you had a good week or have one coming up.

Some Housekeeping

Erin (Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs), Cat (Cat’s Wire) 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.

If you would like to be the first to get news about my books or just have access to special posts for supporters, you can do so here for $2.99 a month https://lisahoweler.com/support-my-writing/

Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot November 6

On November 5, 2026November 5, 2026 By Lisa R. HowelerIn Weekend Traffic Jam5 Comments

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

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: Paula from Grace Filled Moments

A little about Paula:

Hey everyone, I’m just your ordinary Christian woman trying to navigate the beautiful chaos of everyday life. Just traversing through the wilderness of the everyday mess— and finding beauty from ashes.+

I’m a retired social worker by trade (BSW, if you’re wondering!). I live in Western Pennsylvania with my furry best friend, Little Girl, a spoiled rotten beagle who brings endless amusement to my days. My two daughters are all grown up and on their own.

Life for me comes with a side of invisible chronic illness. Fibromyalgia, chronic pain, “complicated” migraines that seem to take on a life of their own, trigeminal neuralgia (don’t even get me started!), and anxiety for good measure.

But that’s just part of my story! And it’s a story I share because I know others are facing similar challenges. Those “you too?!” moments? Yeah, we’ve all been there. I love encouraging others battling invisible illnesses – to let them know they’re not alone in this messy journey.

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

I had a very long and rough day and a somewhat crazy week so I didn’t get a chance to pick out posts to highlight today.

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 and Facebook.

Top Ten Tuesday: One word reviews for the last ten books I read

On November 3, 2026November 2, 2026 By Lisa R. HowelerIn books and reading, top-ten-tuesday20 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

Today’s prompt is One-Word Reviews for the Last Ten Books I Read (This is a throwback to 2022.)

This is going to be hard for me because I am not a succinct person.

I’m going to go from the last book I read and go backwards to the tenth last one I read:

|| The Pink Motel by Carol Ryrie Brink (children’s book) ||

Cute.

|| Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie ||

Suspenseful.

|| The Plot That Thickened by P.G. Wodehouse ||

Zany.

|| Just Shy of Harmony by Philip Gulley ||

Repetitive.

|| The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain ||

Tomfoolery *wink* Pun intended

|| Endless Night by Agatha Christie ||

Nail-biting.

|| The Crime/Murder at Black Dudley by Margery Allingham ||

Intriquing.

|| Murder, She Wrote: A Maine Mutiny by Donald Bain ||

Dramatic.

|| Murder, She Wrote: A Slaying in Savannah by Donald Bain ||

Melodramatic.

|| The Mystery of the Brassbound Trunk by Carolyn Keene ||

Ridiculous

On Thursdays, I am part of the Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot blog link party. You can find the latest one in the sidebar to the right under recent posts.

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.

If you would like to be the first to get news about my books or just have access to special posts for supporters, you can do so here for $2.99 a month : https://lisahoweler.com/support-my-writing/

A Good Book & A Cup of Tea Monthly Bookish Blog Party Link Up November

On November 1, 2026October 28, 2026 By Lisa R. HowelerIn everyday musings7 Comments

Welcome to the A Good Book & A Cup of Tea (A Monthly Bookish Link Party)!! 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.

My co-hosts for this event are Erin from Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs and Cat from Cat’s Wire.

You can link up with any of us!

Some guidelines.

1. For Bloggers, you can link unlimited posts related to books and reading. They can be older posts or newer posts. These can be posts about what you’re reading, book reviews, books you’ve added to your shelf, reading habits, what you’ve been reading, about trips to the bookstore, etc. You get the drift.

2. Link to a specific blog post (URL of a specific post, not just your website). Feel free to link up any older posts that may need some love and attention, too.

3. Please visit at least two other bloggers on this list and comment on their posts. Have fun! Interact! Get some book recommendations.

4. Readers can click the blue button below to visit blog posts.

5. If you add a link you are giving me permission to share and link back to your post(s).

Sunday Bookends: Trying to stay above water

On November 1, 2026November 1, 2026 By Lisa R. HowelerIn Sunday Bookends, Sunday Salon23 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.

What’s Been Occurring

Things have been so crazy in my family for the last month that none of you would believe all that has happened if I told you. I am not going to share everything that happened to protect the privacy of my family but I will say that I became the main caregiver for my elderly parents very fast and suddenly and that the health of my dad began to decline super fast.

My son and I were taking care of two people who were not mobile, or barely mobile, at one point, night and day. At the same time I was working hard to hire private caregivers for my parents, another family member was in the hospital, my health was declining, and several other horrible things were happening.

Stressful things are still happening but I wanted to write a Sunday Bookends post this week to do something that feels “normal” if that makes sense.

My life has been anything normal for over a month and I am beyond beat down emotionally, mentally, physically and even spiritually.

What I/We’ve Been Reading

Recently Finished

I haven’t been able to focus on reading hardly at all but did finish my Agatha Christie read for the month — Sleeping Murder — just under the wire yesterday.

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 for the rest of 2026 and into 2027. I’m also reading Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis.

I’ve now started The Two Mrs. Abbotts by D.E. Stephenson as part of an online book club that is reading all four of the books in the Miss Buncle series.

Up Soon

I will also be reading The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie as my November read for the Christie Reading Challenge.

I’m not sure what else I’ll choose for November to read but I have a feeling it will be very light.

New arrivals to my bookshelf

I have obtained a ton of new mysteries but don’t feel like listing them all now so I’ll try that next week.

What I/We’ve Been Watching

Over the last couple of weeks I’ve watched a couple of movies but not a ton. I watched Laura and a couple of the Miss Marple movies with Margaret Rutherford — Murder Most Foul and Murder At the Gallop.

Mom and I also watched Murder, She Wrote, Psych, and Rosemary and Thyme.

Mom and Dad don’t watch a lot of TV so watching shows with her has been a treat for her and a way to keep her mind off things since Dad is in the hospital for the second time in less than a month.

Some Housekeeping

Now It’s Your Turn

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

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 Oct. 30

On October 29, 2026 By Lisa R. HowelerIn Weekend Traffic Jam8 Comments

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

Now, 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: Beth Willis Miller

A little about Beth:

Beth Willis Miller, M.Ed., is the author of Memorable Moments in the Holy Land, The Romans Road To Salvation; 26 Devotions Focusing on Christ in the Nativity Alphabet; Twenty Encouraging Devotions with Inspiring Bible Journaling Artwork; Name Above All Names Devotional: Focusing on 26 Alphabetical Names of Christ, with Illustrator Krista Hamrick, and 31-Day Prayer Journey Leading to Easter. She is married with two adult children, and two grandsons.

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

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

Amelia wrote the cutest poem and made the cutest bunnies for autumn

Cat shared about the 1939 movie Goodbye, Mr. Chips

Here is a cute one about squirrels

Amy shared two different colored jeans for fall

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.