Sunday Bookends: Unexpected caregiving, autumn leaves, and new Agatha books

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn Sunday Bookends, Sunday Salon

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

I  usually try to be upbeat on my blog, but the past few weeks, especially the last week, have not been easy at all and I’m emotionally and physically beat down.

My dad has been in the hospital for a week and with him being my mom’s main caretaker, my son and I have had to take over those duties, especially at night.

Mom is fine mentally (thank God) but physically she can not transport herself to the bathroom so we push her in a wheelchair. That includes twice a night in the middle of the night and while we have a pretty good system, it is very tiring.

It has thrown off everything for our entire family and add to that trying to line up caregivers (after the last one bailed/lied etc.) in a very rural area where there are very few options has been exhausting. Added to all of it is that my brother has also been in the hospital with major pain and health issues, I have a chronic pain condition and my left knee is flared up, and our car just died. So I am not doing well  some days, but I am still trying to find some normalcy by writing and reading blog posts when I find time.

My son and I have been switching off nights to hang out with my mom, which is the fun part. The less fun part is getting up at night and just not being in our own beds and environment and also having my mom cry and tell us she’s sorry we have to do all this.

One thing that being away from your home does is make you really appreciate the little things about being at home — the slower wake up, feeling like you don’t have to be on all the time, the pets, the quiet mornings where you can just think, and late night reading.

Hopefully we can all get back to that soon but it doesn’t look like it will be that way again for the rest of the year.

What’s nice about staying with my mom is waking up to this view:

What I/We’ve Been Reading

Recently Finished

I had a hard time finding time to read or concentrating when I did find time but I did finally take some time for me to finish And The Plot Thickened by P.G. Wodehouse.

That one was a very fun escape. I have no idea if this book exists anywhere but on used sites, since it was given to me by my friend Erin and she picked it up at a used book sale. I looked to see if the book was on Kindle so I could read it when I shut my bedroom lights off, but I couldn’t find it anywhere.

I’m glad I had an old library edition then!

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 am now reading The Pink Motel by Carol Ryrie Brink (a middle grade book) and Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie.

Up Soon

I’ll be reading The Two Mrs. Abott’s by D.E. Stevenson soon. Also coming up is Storm in the Village by Miss Read and Cloud of Witness by Dorothy Sayers

What The Family is Reading

Little Miss and I are reading Rascal for school.

New arrivals to my bookshelf

This past week I added Murder with Mirrors, Five Little Pigs, and The Seven Dials Mystery by Agatha Christie, The Best of Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton and The New Bedside, Bathtub and Armchair Companion to Agatha Christie.

What I/We’ve Been Watching

With Dad in the hospital I stayed with my mom and we watched some old shows like Bob Newhart and Two’s Company (which she announced was stupid), Psych, and Murder, She Wrote.

During one of my breaks at home I watched How To Kill Your Wife with Jack Lemmon, One Body Too Many, and Straight Talk with Dolly Parton and James Woods.

What I’ve Been Writing

Last week on the blog I shared:

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.

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23 thoughts on “Sunday Bookends: Unexpected caregiving, autumn leaves, and new Agatha books”

  1. I am putting you on my prayer list, your whole family….you are going through some hard times right now and I’m so sorry to read this. I know what a great family you all are and when one is not well, is bad enough but you are dealing with many at one time. And your sweet little cat, I know how much you loved that cat because I remember over the years how you would worry when it didn’t come back at night early enough after being outside for too long. I still get sad about my little Alley cat I used to write on my blog about all the time. It’s a lot for you right now. Stay strong, in those moments when you may feel it is too much always remember that Jesus will be there to carry you through those moments. May angels always surround you all with love and peace during this time…and never forget, You all are loved, Jesus loves you and always has, He is always by your side.

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  2. Liz Dexter's avatar Liz Dexter

    That’s hard stuff to be going through, I’m sorry. I hope things have settled a bit since you wrote this (I’m behind with blog reading as usual). Lovely to see some PG Wodehouse in there, always an easy win – I just read The Mating Season. I’m not sure they are all in print / on Kindle now although I expect there’s one of those big collections around if you can find it.

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  4. I’ve been thinking about you, your parents and your family a lot recently, Lisa! I remember the stage of life you are in now – trying to be there for aging parents and all the emotions that go with that while balancing the needs of your own family while still staying healthy yourself. It is not easy, physically, mentally or emotionally! I pray that your dad recovers quickly and your brother, too, and that you also get some relief and rest in the midst of it all. I’m sure you are a BIG help to your parents! Hang in there!

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  5. Rachel @Waves of Fiction's avatar Rachel @Waves of Fiction

    I’m so sorry you’re dealing with so much! It’s got to be tough for everyone involved. It is so hard to get reliable help, but I hope you get some luck your way and someone good turns up! You do have absolutely beautiful views! It must be regenerative to look out at that beauty if you get a few moments to take it all in.

    Sleeping Murder is one of my all-time favorite Agatha Christie mysteries! I’ve read almost every one several times. I’m trying to do a re-read of them all through audiobook. I did quite a few last year but haven’t had a chance to yet this year.

    Hope you have a less stressful week!

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  12. Deb Nance at Readerbuzz's avatar Deb Nance at Readerbuzz

    I’m sorry your dad is in the hospital. It can be exhausting when your solid hours of sleep are interrupted. What a view you have at your mom’s house! Sending good thoughts and prayers to you and your family.

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  13. Joanne's avatar Joanne

    Oh my goodness, I am so sorry to hear about your parents’ and brother’s health issues and how hard caring for your mother has been on you and your son (and your health).

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  16. Gail Is This Mutton's avatar Gail Is This Mutton

    Sorry to hear about your parents’ health challenges and the stress you’re under. Hopefully some of your book arrivals, the PG Wodehouses in particular, will give some light relief. Visiting from the Caffeinated Reviewer.

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