Sunday Bookends: Going down south, in a book that is; the new kitten is crazy; and my garden was a failure but my dad’s wasn’t

/ Lisa R. Howeler

Sunday Bookends is my week in review, so to speak. It’s where I share what I’ve been up to, what I’ve been reading, what I’ve been watching, what I’ve been listening to and what I’ve been writing. Feel free to share a link or comment about your week in review in the comments.

What I’m Reading

I’m savoring A Long Time Comin’ By Robin W. Pearson. The story takes place in North Carolina, which I am familiar with since my mom is originally from there. I’ve been reading from it all week but I have had to pause and have a good cry during part of it, not because it is depressing, but because much of it is touching.

I have mentioned this book before but I thought I’d share the description again:

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To hear Beatrice Agnew tell it, she entered the world with her mouth tightly shut. Just because she finds out she’s dying doesn’t mean she can’t keep it that way. If any of her children have questions about their daddy and the choices she made after he abandoned them, they’d best take it up with Jesus. There’s no room in Granny B’s house for regrets or hand-holding. Or so she thinks.

Her granddaughter, Evelyn Lester, shows up on Beatrice’s doorstep anyway, burdened with her own secret baggage. Determined to help her Granny B mend fences with her far-flung brood, Evelyn turns her grandmother’s heart and home inside out. Evelyn’s meddling uncovers a tucked-away box of old letters, forcing the two women to wrestle with their past and present pain as they confront the truth Beatrice has worked a lifetime to hide.

So far I can absolutely relate to Evelyn and somewhat to Granny B. Granny B can be a difficult character to like, in some ways, but I do like her and I am enjoying slowly learning about her, savoring a chapter or two a day. I’m also learning about her seven children, the husband who left the family, and the frayed ties that hold them all together.

Robin’s next book is due in February 2021 and it’s already on the hot new releases for Amazon. I guess that tells you a little about how much people like her first book.

Up next on my list to read:

Above the Fold by Rachel Scott McDaniel and for a complete opposite of Rachel’s book, I’m going to try a Longmire book, The Dark Horse by Craig Johnson, since I’ve watched a few episodes of the show.



What I’m Watching

I’m still watching Father Brown and I’ve also been watching reruns of Benson (the old show with Robert Guillaume), which actually holds up pretty well (other than the keep call black people “the blacks.”). Benson is available on the Roku app on the . . . well, Roku.

What’s Been Happening:

The new kitten is fitting in fairly well, though our resident adult cat still hates her. Pixel, our adult cat, is spending a lot of time outside still, but did let me start petting her again. For the first few days she wanted nothing to do with me, glaring at me from under the table most days. She still glares some, but it’s better and her tail flares less now when she sees the kitten, but she still hisses and growls at her if the kitten dares to get within a few feet of her. We did finally choose Scout for the kittens name and I guess Little Miss has accepted that the kitten will not be called Mittens.

Scout climbs on my chest anytime she wants comfort or sleep which can be very inconvenient at times, like when I need to make dinner or type or well, do anything at all. It was cute at first and it’s sweet she sees me as her comfort but the other night I had to switch her to my husband so I could finish dinner.

This past week was also stock up on stock photography week. I took a bunch of new stock photos to submit to my stock agencies, including Lightstock, a Christian-based stock agency. During that upload I had to ask a question on their chat and Scout ran across the keyboard which led to a humorous exchange with the gentleman I was chatting with, mainly me apologizing for all the extra letters on the keyboard.

You will see some of the photos for stock in my photos of the week. The photos of my son doing school work were set up that way; we haven’t started school yet. We probably won’t start until after Labor Day.

I visited my Dad’s garden this week to grab some kale (he has tons and now I have tons waiting to be cooked) and not only took some photos of the garden, but the sun pouring through the clouds overlooking the property and some of the purple cone flowers at the front of the house.

I don’t know if I will be taking too many photos this upcoming week, at least the first half of it, because it is supposed to be very hot and I hate the heat, or my body does at least. Temps are supposed to decrease later in the week so maybe I will venture out then.

What I’m Listening To

Zach Williams and Toby Mac have been on my playlist lately. For Zach I have been listening to his Chain Breaker album and for Toby I’m listening to his Lost Demos album, which is what it sounds like – demos that he wrote but then never actually made the albums. The songs are very good and of course hold some memories for Toby since a couple were written about his son, who died last year.

Photos from the week:

24 thoughts on “Sunday Bookends: Going down south, in a book that is; the new kitten is crazy; and my garden was a failure but my dad’s wasn’t”

  1. Cats are so funny!! Scout is just too cute. It almost makes me want a kitten. If only I didn’t have 2 crazy cats already. Lol
    I love your photos!
    I was planning to start school next week but now I don’t know. I’m so unmotivated and I already feel behind this year.

    Liked by 1 person

    • I am absolutely unmotivated. I don’t even have all of the kids curriculum together. I have most of it, but not all of it. We will get there, though. This summer hasn’t really been a summer at all so I’m trying to give my son as much freetime as I can before we start

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  2. Well, Scout it is! A good name. Your photos are wonderful; I love them. So educate me on Lightstock because I think I might like to use a couple of your photos on my Bible study group page.

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  3. Laughing so hard about you having to switch Scout to your husband. What a darling little kitten!!! Looks like my neighbor’s cat, Marshmallow. (They have little kids in charge of naming their animals.) The pictures of your little girl with Scout are the sweetest.

    Liked by 1 person

  5. Wonderful photography! Your kitten sounds like my cat, she only wants me in inconvenient times… also she mostly wants me (when we have 5 kids that would love to cuddle her all day)… of course she’d want the one who likes her the least, she’s a cat 😂
    Finally I’ve had time to read this week! I always love a good suggestion! By the way, did you ever send the PDF of your book? Or did I miss it? No rush. But I am looking forward to reading your work 😊

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  6. I love the picture of your dog trying to get your daughter to play with him and his stick! What precious memories these will be for your family! I’m hoping you are seeing a little relief? I am continuing to pray for you.

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  7. Wow, is is Sunday again already? I have the uncomfortable feeling the weeks have been getting shorter the longer I’ve been stuck at home.

    Scout is so cute! My cat would probably react the same as your older cat if we got a kitten, but seeing yours just makes me want to get one.

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    • It doesn’t seem like it’s Sunday already — but apparently it is. Some weeks with all this seem insanely long but recently they seem really short – maybe because summer is almost over for us out here in the northeast — I think you all have summer all the time out where you are 🙂

      She is cute but man – sometimes she is crazy!!

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      • Yeah, summer is February through December here. I’m not sure why the weeks seem so short. Maybe my kids did actually turn me into a zombie and turn me back into mom only once in a while. I could really use a beautiful Fall day right now since we have a heat wave coming. Hmm, maybe it’s just the heat melting my brain.

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        • We’ve had a hot summer and today and tomorrow are supposed to be awful. I need fall myself. I think it will be really pretty at our new house with all these trees around – of course, if the summer is too hot and goes into fall we will just get ugly brown colors

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