It was so cold this past week that our animals had no interest in going outside, which is unusual for the cats who like to go out even if it is snowing or raining.
I’m very glad they stayed inside because I worry about them when they are outside. Yes, we have outside cats. We live in a rural area and allow them to wander during the day and they come in whenever they want or they come in at night because I do not want them out at night with the various critters we have out here. I’ve had people on social media be very rude to me in the past and tell me I’m a horrible pet owner for letting my pets outside so I just thought I’d add a little context. I’m not flinging my animals out the back door into the wilderness.
They absolutely thrive when they can go outside and they stay close to our house and then return, often with a dead mouse to present to us. I sometimes forget that those who don’t live in a more rural area don’t let their pets outside for safety reasons so they misunderstand and think I’m pushing the cats out into danger.
That all being said, they have not wanted to go outside because of the cold lately, so it has been nice to have them want to cuddle and to watch them sleep curled up on the coffee table or sprawled out in front of the lit woodstove.
The oldest cat, Pixel, has been making me a little nervous lately. I don’t know if she feels well, and I’ve found a couple of bumps on her head. She’s been a lot more desperate to sit on me and be petted. Ever since I read that cats purr when they are happy or in pain, I’ve wondered/worried why my cats are purring and hope they aren’t in pain. Hopefully she’s okay. She’s pulled this on me before and bounced right back, so we will see.
I am reading three books at the moment. Christy by Catherine Marshall (with some heavy stuff amidst the inspirational, so I need breaks), Bourdain: The Definitive Oral Biography by Laurie Woolever (with some heavy stuff amidst the inspirational, so I need a break), and A Body in the Library by Agatha Christie (because a nice old fashioned murder always breaks up the heavy stuff. Hee. Hee.).
Little Miss and I are starting The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare for school this week. At night we are listening to a collection of Henry Huggins books by Beverly Cleary and read by Neil Patrick Harris and William Roberts.
The Husband just finished The Quiet American by Graham Greene.
The Boy is getting ready to read Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.
I finished the first season of Only Murders in the Building last night and really liked it. I’m looking forward to the other seasons.
My brother said he got bored with the show after season two, but he gets bored easily so I’m going to keep going. (*wink*)
As evidenced by the fact I am only just watching Only Murders in the Building, I often watch popular shows years after they ended. That’s why I have also started Castle, with Captain Mal — oh, I mean Nathan Fillion.
If you don’t understand that niche joke, I can’t help you — well, I can, but I’m going to make you search it up on your own instead.
Actually, The Husband started it for me last week (he’s watched it before) and now I’m continuing to watch it on my own.
I’m also watching Tudor Monastery Farm and this has me wondering a lot about this show and its spinoffs (Victorian Farm, Edwardian Farm, Wartime Farm) and how they work. Do these historians really do all these things they record, and do they really stay at these old buildings and houses? Or do they just film a little bit for educational purposes and move on. I guess I will have to step into the rabbit hole and figure this out this week.
I also watched Morning Glory with Katharine Hepburn and Douglas Fairbanks Jr., a couple episodes of Monarch of the Glen, and an episode of No Reservations (with Anthony Bourdain) last week.
I’ve started a Substack for cozy mystery, vintage movies, and book enthusiasts, as well as readers of my books.
For $3 a month you can join in and geek out with me about vintage Nancy Drew, classic movies, classic books, Gladwynn Grant and so much more.
You will be added to my book club Discord, A Good Book, and A Cup of Tea, and receive sneak peeks, exclusive discounts, access to various products, and whatever else comes to mind as I grow my space.
You can join here: https://lisarhoweler.substack.com/7ce3211e
What I shared on the blog last week:
- Saturday Afternoon Chat returns: small illness, school update, and very, very cold temperatures
- Classic Movie Impressions/Winter of Fairbanks: Morning Glory (1933)
- Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot with new features! Come Link Up With Us!
- Voices from the past: Letters written during the Civil War by my family members. Part 1
- Sunday Chat: Octagenarian birthdays, starting my 2025 reads, and podcasts I recommend
|| How To Start Morning Creative Writing for More Productive Days by Filling the Jars ||
|| His Encouragement 300 by Christian Fiction Girl ||
|| Wordless Wednesday by Southern Patches ||
Now it is your turn! I’d love to hear what you are doing, what you are reading, what you are watching, listening to, etc. Let me know in the comments.
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This post is linked up with The Sunday Post at Kimba at Caffeinated Reviewer, Stacking the Shelves with Reading Reality, The Sunday Salon with Deb at Readerbuzz, and Book Date: It’s Monday! What are you reading hosted by Kathyrn at The Book Date.
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We had to keep our cats inside when we lived in the city and now we are afraid to let them out. I understand what you mean, people get so mean about what pet owners should or should not do. There is a cat here at our new house we live at that kept showing up at our door wanting in. We started feeding him outside and we let him into the garage to sleep in a bet we set up because it gets cold at night and we have critters here too. We found out that the woman that lived here before we bought it, it was her cat she took care of, she just left him. He is really friendly. Now we say we bought a house that came with it’s own sweet cat.
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Captain Mal is particularly adorable in <i>Castle</i> (though his pants have gotten looser over the years, one notes…), and I hope you continue enjoying the show! I also got into it a bit late — I think I started watching season 1 when the final season was airing. Didn’t harm it a bit!
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Pixel is a great name for a cat! I hope she’s OK. Some good books on that list, too. I’m up to 4 on Only Murders but we started it months ago and now I have to start it at the beginning again!
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Most of last week was cold and slushy. I was at home. My husband traveled back and forth to work fine.
I’m currently reading several books, and some of the books are slow reads for read-a-alongs and challenges. I’m reading Roots by Alex Haley, The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Paradise Lost by John Milton, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Practicing the Way by John Mark Comer. I have a few other books in a stack from the library, but I’ve not started them.
All our cats are fine. They hibernated most of last week.
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We love Only Murders but we haven’t yet watched the latest series. Must get on with that!
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We live in the burbs and our cat is an indoor cat, but when we living on the lake our older cat who has since passed, use to love to go outside and roam our acreage. It is different in the country.
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I grew up in a large neighborhood just a mile out of town. Our cats were always outside. In fact, I don’t think we ever had a litter box. Now, when we got married and had a family cat, he lived inside because we lived in town on a very busy street. When we moved to the country, he contracted feline leukemia, and we lost him. This was back when feline leukemia was just becoming a thing. Now, I have a dog, and he will be the last pet. I will miss that feeling, but I won’t miss the not understanding if they’re ill and then that last final goodbye.
I’ve been reading Tea for Two, a collection of short stories by Amor Towles. It’s been a long, long time since I’ve read anything like this. I rather like being able to skip the stories that don’t grab my attention.
We’re watching something with Kiera Knightley, but I can’t remember the name. It’s full of suspense, twists and turns, and I can’t wait to see how it turns out. I just hope it doesn’t have a second season because I don’t want a cliffhanger!
https://marshainthemiddle.com/
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You are not the only one who loves watching old shows, Lisa. I find them far more relatable than the ewer shows, half of which I either don’t begin to understand or don’t find at all funny. 🤷♀️
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Jeffrey would love to go outdoors! He doesn’t seem to care about the weather. But he’s declawed and trained to go to the front porch. Sometimes he slips past us when we’re bringing in groceries so I just finish up and grab him from the porch when I’m done. There is a black cat named Clint that wonders around the neighborhood. Nobody thinks much of it. We know who he is and who is owners are. I hope Pixel is okay!
We love Castle and have watched all the episodes several times.
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I grew up in the middle of suburbia and we always had indoor/outdoor cats. I don’t think we lost any of them to cars, but a few did run away and we never saw them again. It was nice letting them out in the summer because the litter box didn’t need to be cleaned as often, but they always liked to scratch on the doors to be let back in. I hope Pixel will be okay!
My husband and I love Only Murders, but it has gotten a little formulaic so we kind of guessed who did it a little too early in the last season. But it’s such a fun show we don’t really care.
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When I grew up we had a few cats hit by cars but so far we’ve been lucky where we live now. We would not have been so lucky if we had allowed our cats out where we used to live. It was on a very busy street.
I figure the show will get formulaic eventually. I just like harassing my brother some.
I believe you live closer to San Francisco than LA right? You’ve been on my mind this week but for some reason I’m thinking you are further north.
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That’s so sweet of you to have been thinking of us! I am actually in LA, just north of the big Palisades Fire. But we’ve been in no danger from it and haven’t even had much smoke. It is hard to believe that so many structures have been lost, though, so many lives upended. I just can’t imagine what it’ll look like the next time I drive along the coast.
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Exactly. It was perfectly fine for my cat, Marilyn, to go adventuring outside all day in Arkansas where there was nothing that could hurt hurt, including cars, really, since we rarely saw one, but here in L.A.? No way. She doesn’t know what traffic is and every time I’ve had her out on the leash she heads right for the cars that are parked on the busy street, so, no ma’m. She can only go out on a leash. Sorry.
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It almost froze last week; I don’t know how people put up with all this cold weather. My daughter-in-law lost ten chickens in the very cold weather they had last week in East Texas.
I don’t remember reading Sign of the Beaver, though I definitely have seen it around. I hope to read a Graham Greene book this year, The End of the Affair.
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I often pick older shows to watch too and seem to come a bit late to the party. It was years after Downton Abby stopped before I binge watched the whole thing and loved it so much. I also watched Castle not that long ago and really enjoyed it a lot. I just “discovered” Army Wives on Hulu and am enjoying that one so far though I’m only on season 2.
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Oh I bailed on Army Wives. Just way too emotional for me. Long story why. It was a good show, though.
I bailed on Downton Abby because I was pissed they killed off Matthew…or how they did it. lol. I hold grudges but may go back and finally finish it.
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Brrr it’s been a cold week here also, even tho we dodged most of the heavy snow! I’ve just started reading a new LMM series called “The Complete Pat of Silver Bush Series.” It’s pretty fun, with some quirky characters showing up already!
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