Author: Lisa R. Howeler

Welcome to my blog! I am a wife and mom from Pennsylvania who also happens to write. I have been writing for 25 years, fourteen of those for smalltown newspapers in rural Pennsylvania and upstate New York. I'm a homeschool mom, a cozy mystery writer, a photographer, a wife, and a mom of two. I blog a little bit about a lot of things here on the blog. You can also find me on Instagram.

What I love about December and Saying goodbye to November

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn everyday musings17 Comments

I truly do not know how November went by so fast.

I know that many of us say that about every month but November really did fly by for me.

We had some activities, but for the most part it was a relaxing month.

We celebrated two birthdays, an anniversary and, of course, Thanksgiving.

We took a field trip at the beginning of the month to a reptile zoo, which Little Miss was thrilled about.

The Boy and I enjoyed it too, but she was just in heaven. I’m sure we will visit there again in the spring or summer.

We did schoolwork and while there were some of it we didn’t enjoy, we are learning a lot of new things from a variety of sources this school year, so that has offered us some more chances for fun than other years.

I am moving a little away from a strict curriculum for some subjects and focusing on reading books on the topics or doing more hands-on activities instead of paperwork.

That seems to be a lot more relaxing for both the kids and for me.

The Boy still has to do some paperwork, but Little Miss is doing a mix of paperwork with reading various non-fiction and fiction books and exploring more of the things she is interested in.

I plan for us to do some lessons on cooking in December and January for both Little Miss and The Boy.

Even with our oven broken, there are many other ways to cook and that would be something to teach the kids in case they ever move into a place that doesn’t have an oven.

My goal this year for homeschooling is to focus on life skills and things that they will need to know how to do in life in addition to academics.

I still feel like I am not doing enough with actual curriculum, but teaching with less strict curriculum and more freedom in how we learn seems to be benefiting the children’s desire to learn and their overall feeling about school in general.

We still continue to use the curriculum, of course. We are just not as strict on using it every day. Some days we allow reading, art, music, and exploring to be our educational guide instead.

In a couple more days we will be moving into December and I love December more than I used to.

I once dreaded December because I knew cold weather came with it. It officially kicks off a winter that usually lasts a couple of months here in Pennsylvania and sometimes even more.

But now I know that December is when we can make excuses to watch cozy movies, read books full of Christmas happiness, and tell people who want to know if I want to go out in the cold for some sort of cold activity that I have family commitments for the holidays when I really don’t and just want to stay in and drink cocoa and watch movies instead of attending whatever function they want me to.

I’m joking about that last part, of course. I don’t really lie to people. I’m middle-aged. I just tell them like it is: “I don’t want to go out in the cold because I’m old now and I don’t have to do things that I don’t want to. So there.”

Our house is already decorated for Christmas. The Husband (my silly “pet name” for my husband here on the blog only) decorates every year the day after Thanksgiving. I would probably wait until December to decorate otherwise, but it’s nice to start the happy movies and books early.

We only decorate inside because our neighbors go all out for Christmas. Everyone in town (of like 600) loves seeing their lights, but the people driving on the highway down the hill from our street also love it because you can see them from there. They aren’t at the level of one of my husband’s co-workers who has a huge display every year. It’s one of those displays where people almost have accidents looking at it and it’s on a busy street too.

I’ll have some more photographs of their display later on this month, I’m sure, but here are a couple photos I took last year for now:

The weekend after this upcoming weekend there is a holiday event and book sale at the local library which I am looking forward to. I have a couple classics I hope to find there. There is also a light display at the local fairgrounds either that weekend or the next that we plan to visit.

So, while December was once not as fun of a month for me (until we got to Christmas), I now like several things about it, including:

  • Colder weather that allows us to snuggle up under covers with a cup of cocoa or tea.
  • Christmas movies and books
  • My neighbor’s decorations
  • Christmas celebration and family time
  • Christmas events (like book sales!)
  • Snow on our naked trees to make them look less depressing with no leaves
  • Fun things to cook or bake

What are you looking forward to in December? Let me know in the comments.

Comfy, Cozy Christmas Posts and invite for you to join in

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn Comfy, Cozy Christmas, everyday musings8 Comments

Christmas creates such a warm, cozy, and relaxing feeling in me and I look forward to carving out time well before it every year just to immerse myself in those feelings.

Last year I watched movies, read books, and participated in a few Christmas-related activities in our community and made an effort to truly soak in the season. I withdrew from social media, choosing to read a book or watch a Christmas-themed YouTube video, show, or movie during that time. It was one of the most peaceful stretches of time because I made a concentrated effort to focus on joy.

It was a restorative month that came right before a period of a month of stress when my mom went into the hospital to have her gallbladder removed.

I am striving for that restorative month again and hopefully this time I won’t be met with stress on the other side.

As part of this month of comfy and coziness, I will be blogging about movies I watch, books I read, or Christmas activities I participate in. I plan to blog some about Christmas memories as well.

Erin from Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs is the one who came up with the idea to join up and blog about our Christmas-themed experiences this year. She then suggested we open a page on each of our blogs where everyone who wants to participate by writing their own Christmas-related post can link up and we can meet new bloggers and continue the cozy feelings. I loved both ideas and am so excited to participate! It will be a much-needed distraction from life!

We also both decided that the event would be open to people who celebrate other holidays this time of year, not only Christmas. Erin and I are fans of alliteration, however, so we stuck with the name Comfy, Cozy Christmas for the feature.

We do ask that only posts about the holiday season be added to the link.

You can find the link to the page for this fun feature at the top of the page or HERE.
That page is where you can add your links.

I hope to see some of your Christmas posts listed there!

Sunday Bookends: Winter temps have set in, The Spectacular, getting ready for Christmas movies

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn Sunday Bookends17 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.

This week I’m joining up with Kimba at Caffeinated Reviewer and Kathyrn at The Book Date.


What I/we’ve been Reading

This week I am continuing to read chapters before bed of Little Women. It’s such a cozy read.

I’m also reading The Spectacular by Fiona Davis. It is a mystery.

A description in case you are curious:

From the New York Times Bestselling Author of The Magnolia Palace: A thrilling story about love, sacrifice, and the pursuit of dreams, set amidst the glamour and glitz of Radio City Music Hall in its mid-century heyday.

New York City, 1956: Nineteen-year-old Marion Brooks knows she should be happy. Her high school sweetheart is about to propose and sweep her off to the life everyone has always expected they’d have together: a quiet house in the suburbs, Marion staying home to raise their future children. But instead, Marion finds herself feeling trapped. So when she comes across an opportunity to audition for the famous Radio City Rockettes—the glamorous precision-dancing troupe—she jumps at the chance to exchange her predictable future for the dazzling life of a performer. 

Meanwhile, the city is reeling from a string of bombings orchestrated by a person the press has nicknamed the “Big Apple Bomber,” who has been terrorizing the citizens of New York for sixteen years by planting bombs in popular, crowded spaces. With the public in an uproar over the lack of any real leads after a yearslong manhunt, the police turn in desperation to Peter Griggs, a young doctor at a local mental hospital who espouses a radical new technique: psychological profiling. 

As both Marion and Peter find themselves unexpectedly pulled in to the police search for the bomber, Marion realizes that as much as she’s been training herself to blend in—performing in perfect unison with all the other identical Rockettes—if she hopes to catch the bomber, she’ll need to stand out and take a terrifying risk. In doing so, she may be forced to sacrifice everything she’s worked for, as well as the people she loves the most.

The Boy and I will be starting A Tale of Two Cities this week and I really hope I can make it through the old language because sometimes I am confused by it. Just being honest. I enjoy classic literature but sometimes the metaphors and allegory, etc. totally throw me off and I have to re-read a sentence more than once. I wouldn’t consider myself stupid (some might) but I don’t read classics all the time so it doesn’t come as easily for me as some. 

The Husband finished an ARC of the next Joe Picket book and recently started another Fiona Davis book.

Little Miss and I will probably finish The Black Stallion this week and I’m not yet sure what we will read next. We are reading a book about a Native American girl for school but I can’t find it and forgot the name of it.

What’s Been Occurring

Cold temperatures are becoming the norm now as we move into winter, which means lighting or keeping the fire going in the woodstove is also becoming the norm. It also means that hot cocoa and hot tea are the norm.

I am very lucky that I have a husband who makes amazing tea for me with just the right amount of honey and a daughter who makes me the most amazing hot cocoa with just the right amount of maple syrup.

Those have been my treats to warm me up this week.

Last week was a relaxed week with the Thanksgiving holiday.

Monday we will be back doing schoolwork and back to Kid’s Club at the church and gymnastics for Little Miss. The Boy has an extra day off trade school, but goes back on Tuesday.

Photos from Last Week

Here are a few photos from our Thanksgiving.

What We watched/are Watching

I started watching Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman last week. It’s been fun to go back because I don’t remember most of the episodes or what happened, even though I watched them during junior high and high school.

We also watched some episodes of Doctor Who this week and the 60th anniversary special, which I don’t want to talk about. Ever. I’m not kidding.

I’ll stick with the old episodes.

Little Miss and I watched the first Paddington movie since we have been reading Paddington books off and on during the week.

This week I’ll be watching a couple of Christmas-themed movies or shows as Erin from Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs get read for Cozy Christmas, which you can find out more about in her post here:

https://crackercrumblife.com/2023/11/24/comfy-cozy-christmas/

I’ll be posting my own separate post about this later this week as well.


What I’m Writing

I’m working on Cassie this weekend and will be this upcoming week after finishing preparations to release Gladwynn Grant Takes Center Stage next Tuesday.

On the blog this week I shared:

What I’m Listening To

This week I listened to Needtobreathe’s new album The Cave.

Now it’s your turn. What have you been doing, watching, reading, listening to or writing? Let me know in the comments or leave a blog post link if you also write a weekly update like this.

Black Friday Book Sale and a Chance to Win Some Books

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn everyday musings1 Comment

I don’t like using my blog to promote myself or my books too much but today I did want to share that all of my Spencer Valley Chronicles ebooks are on sale starting today and going through November 27.

All four full-length novels are 99 cents and the Christmas novella (Beyond the Season) is free.

I have descriptions of each novel on the link called My Books at the top of the page or HERE.

You can order the books from that page or you can find links on Amazon HERE.

Gladwynn Grant Gets Her Footing is not on sale this week but it will be next week when I get ready to release Gladwynn Grant Takes Center Stage, which releases on December 5.

I also wanted to mention that The Apron Strings Book Series authors are holding a scavenger hunt where you can go to their websites and find clues that will give you the chance to win several gifts, including books by each author.

The Apron Strings Book Series is a Christian Fiction series that begins in January of 2024. A new book will be released each month throughout 2024 and will focus on the story of different women from each decade who are all connected by one cookbook.

I am writing a book for the series. Cassie will be released on August 15, 2024.

You can learn more about the series in our group on Facebook.

You can learn more about the Scavenger Hunt there and on author Amy Walsh’s website HERE.

 I hope you all had an amazing Thanksgiving and have a wonderful weekend!

Wednesday Afternoon Tea and Chat

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn everyday musings7 Comments

Flames are curling around the logs in my wood stove as I write this, creating a cozy, warm glow that we need as it is very cold and raining outside.

Tomorrow, temperatures are supposed to be higher and more manageable so we might not need a fire. By Thursday (Thanksgiving) night, we will be back to lighting the fire to keep the house warm.

Heating oil has been through the roof for two winters now so we have been glad to have a wood stove that heats much of the house and helps us cut down on that bill. We have electric heat upstairs so that helps some but this year the state deregulated electric so now that is also going up.

I don’t usually write share a tea and chat post in the middle of the week but this week I felt like I wanted to just chat with visitors to my blog.

Don’t worry, this isn’t an affiliate post, which you might be seeing more of from time to time here on the blog. I am not really a fan of affiliate posts, to be honest, but our family can use all the financial help it can get so I’ve decided to at least do a few a month. I doubt I will make anything, honestly, but I’ll never know if I don’t try.

That’s one thing I wanted to talk about in this post – to assure my regular readers that this blog isn’t going to become just an advertising blog. I will link to some products I like but they won’t all be affiliate links. Sometimes I just want to show you somewhere you can grab a copy of a book or a journal or find a movie I liked. I am working with a couple of different sites but many of the links I provide won’t be affiliate links – just informational ones.

And I won’t even link to products all the time. I don’t have time for all that, for one, but I also like just sharing for the fun of it and not to get something in return.

With that being said, I’m going to go back to rambling now.

Tonight I am watching Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman as I write this. I’m watching the Pilot episode which was a 90-minute movie first aired in 1993.

I used to watch this show every Saturday night when I was a teenager. It’s not holding up too bad – at least based on this pilot episode. Of course there would be people who would call it racist or cultural appropriation, or who knows what, these days, but for me it was one of the first show where I saw Native Americans portrayed as they are, not as stereotypes. It was a show that also showed the prejudice against them by white settlers and the army. It showed me that what our country did to the Native Americans was wrong and, in almost every way, unforgiveable.

I need the escape right now so I am sure I will continue watching it the rest of the week.

Life is heavy sometimes lately, right?

Like it isn’t just me?

So many people, including my family, are struggling financially. Where it was just a few here and there before, it’s not a lot of people around me and a lot of us are embarrassed to say anything.

An author friend and I finally had to admit to each other we are broke and can’t send out books for free or giveaways anymore. It feels good to be honest, even if I am embarrassed that I’m a grown woman who feels like I should be more financially secure at this point in my life.

Every time I feel like we are ahead, though, we get kicked back with either heating costs, things shutting down, rising food prices, or a doubling of our health insurance premiums.

I don’t want this post here to be too much of a downer, so I’ll say that even as I worry and we stress there are good moments too.

There are some successes and a lot of laughter and joy in our family.

Yesterday our daughter was talking to a friend on the phone and they were playing an online roleplaying game (safe one. I checked.). Little Miss said to her friend, “I just think you need to break up with him.”

The friend said back to her something like, “I will but messing with him is fun right now.”

God bless whomever that young lady dates later in life.

Little Miss was watching Bambi on her phone the other day and I quickly texted The Husband:

“Should I warn her about Bambi’s mom? I mean she about flipped out when she thought Chance was going to die in Homeward Bound. I should probably tell her.”

The Husband: “She has to grow up sometime. She’ll be fine.”

I look at her and it’s getting closer to the scene and I finally say, “Listen, about Bambi’s mom…”

“Yeah, Mom, I know. She dies. It’s fine.”

“Oh. Okay. Well, good, I’m glad you know.”

“I’m more upset that they have a man voice acting Flower’s voice.”

“You can’t enjoy the movie because a man is voice acting Flower? Not because Bambi’s mom died?”

“Yes.”

A quick Internet search later to double check I am right: “Honey, Flower is a boy. Bambi just called him Flower because he thought he was a flower. Also, his voice was done by three different male actors of different ages.”

She lets me know then it is fine that a male voice actor provided the voice and she can now enjoy the movie.

We are going to my parents tomorrow for Thanksgiving dinner. What are you doing? If you are in the United States and celebrate it, of course.

Whatever you do, I hope you have a good one. I’ll touch base again this weekend and see how it went.

Eight cozy gifts for the reader in your life

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn Gift Ideas14 Comments

When I have an extended amount of time to read, there are a few things I like to have in hand before and while I settle down with my book of choice.

For example, I love to have a warm blanket, a cup of tea, and maybe some classical or jazz music playing softly in the background or through my earbuds.

Every reader is different so the reader in your life may have different preferences but here are eight cozy and comfy gift ideas for the reader in your life.

**This page contains affiliate links. I only recommend items that I love, actually use, have used in the past, know someone else has used, or want to use in the future.. Clicking the link does not mean that you will pay more for the item, only that I make a tiny commission if you make a purchase. Thank you so much! I really appreciate when you support my family..**

  1. Tea mugs or cups with covers

I love to sip tea while I am reading a book, but I really love to not have to keep getting up to warm up my tea. That’s when something like this item would come in handy:

Tea/Coffee Mug with Lid

It is so cute, for one, plus that convenient lid. Love the idea! There are tons of items like this for sale right now on Amazon.

You can also find covers like these to add to a mug you already have:

Silicon Lids for cups

If you don’t need or want a cover for your tea or cocoa, then this is a cute idea:

Bookmarks Are For Quitters Mug

2. A cozy blanket or quilt

Another wonderful idea to go with that mug of tea, cocoa, or coffee is a beautiful, cozy blanket.

Oh my goodness. This blanket looks perfect to cuddle up under to read a good book and can go right in your gift basket for your reader.

|| Cozy Bliss Beige Checkered Throw Blanket Ultra Soft Warm||

Here is another option:

|| Bedsure Sherpa Fleece Throw Blanket for Couch ||

Oh and I love this one and especially the price (at least when I first posted it)

||Inhand Fleece Throw Blanket||

3. Fuzzy, warm socks

To go along with the blanket, you need some fuzzy socks. I would love these to put on on a cold winter night and cuddle in front of the fire in our woodstove with a good book and my tea.

|| 5 Pairs Women’s Wool Socks||

|| Mens Warm Wool Socks ||

Some more socks that I love the look of! (not just saying that for this post. Ha!)

|| Loritta 5 Pairs Womens Wool Socks ||

4. Booklight

A good book light is very important if the lighting where you are isn’t super strong. I have a book light similar to this one here but this one has three settings, a timer, and comes with six magnetic bookmarks. I have some magnetic bookmarks from a different company and I really love them. They stay in place and don’t slip out like other, paper bookmarks.

The book light hooks easily onto the back or front of your book. It is also rechargeable and features a USB port that can be charged in a computer or by plugging into a block that plugs into a wall.

|| 2-Pack Reading Light with 6 Bookmark ||

5. Book-related stickers

Okay, these are not necessarily a need for a good reading session but they are a great gift for the reader in your life for the simple fact they are cute.

I love these stickers. I totally want them and they are perfect for the reader who also likes to journal, keep scrapbooks or stick stickers on various things for fun. This might be perfect for young readers as well.

|| 100 Pcs Book Stickers, Reading Stickers, Bookish ||

I also love these stickers:

|| Bookish stickers ||

6. Highlighters or book tabs

If your reader is a person who likes to mark their favorite passages in their favorite books but don’t want to mark up the pages with highlighters there are these:

|| Transparent Sticky Notes,Clear Waterproof 3 x 3 inch ||

7. Headphones/earbuds

I love to listen to jazz or classical music when I read and having a good pair of headphones or earbuds helps to keep the background noise out so I can just concentrate on reading.

|| JBL Tune Flex – True Wireless Noise Cancelling Earbuds ||

I use this brand myself and love the variety they have.

|| JBL Endurance Race Waterproof True Wireless Active Sport Earbuds ||

And

|| BL1 JBL LIVE 300 – Premium True Wireless Headphone ||

8. Reading Journal

I love a good reading journal. I made one for myself but also love looking at ones pre-made. I haven’t picked one out yet but have a few in my wish list.

Here are a couple I picked:

|| Elegant Reading Journal – Review and Track Your Reading

Progress with 60 Book Reviews ||

Or

|| Book Journal – Reading Journals For Book Lovers ||

Those are some of my ideas for the readers in your family. Keep your eyes peeled (like not literally because … gross) because I plan to do another one of these. I have so many ideas for things I – ahem, I mean, readers would love to have.

Feel free to add the items you like to have when you are reading (besides a good book) in the comments.

Sunday Bookends: Preparing winter reads, finishing book two in the series, and looking for cozy Christmas reads

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn Sunday Bookends11 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.

This week I’m joining up with Kimba at Caffeinated Reviewer and Kathyrn at The Book Date.


What I/we’ve been Reading

I finished Walls Crumbling by Alicia Gilliam last night. She’s a very good writer and I enjoyed this second book in her Seth Browne series. I’ll have a review up later this week or next, depending on how my week goes.

In the evening, right before bed, I am reading a chapter or two of Little Women. I have seen the movies so I know the story but I’m so glad I’m reading. I feel like I am getting to know the characters even more. I look forward to that time when I can snuggle down with. It’s such a nice escape, even though I know some sadness is coming.

The Husband suggested The Spectacular by Fiona Davis so I am trying that, but I will be moving into my winter reads this week too.

I have a collection of winter short stories by Agatha Christie I want to add to that list, as well as more cozy, Christmas reads. If you have any idea of any cozy Christmas reads please let me know in the comments.

Hopefully, anything I pick will be better than the book I picked up recently that I thought was a cozy mystery but dropped two f-bombs in the first two sentences so I immediately sent it back to Libby. I had high hopes for it based on the title and theme and it isn’t that I don’t read books with swearing but it was a little abrupt right out of the gate and I was in the mood for a more cozy feeling book so it grabbed be surprise – not in a good way.

Little Miss and I are still reading The Black Stallion at night. I might be enjoying it a bit more than her but she still likes it so far – or at least she isn’t complaining too much.

The Boy and I will be starting a fiction book soon but I haven’t decided which one I want him to read for English. We have a literature-based history course we are doing for school this year and they have a wide variety of books as part of it but some of them are just very tedious to read so I am picking and choosing something from the list that won’t leave us severely depressed.

What’s Been Occurring

Not much happened last week. It was mainly at-home stuff – washing dishes, homeschool lessons, and making corrections on my manuscript for Gladwynn Grant Takes Center Stage.

I did ramble about some stuff in my post yesterday if you want to check that out.

Today we went to my parents and I spent most of the day making corrections to the copy of the manuscript The Husband printed out so my mom could read the rest of the book and help find typos for me as well.

I will have a break this week from correcting the manuscript and I hope I can use that time to work more on Cassie, the book that comes out in August 2024 as part of a multi-author project.

What We watched/are Watching

Last week Erin (Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs) and I watched Fisherman’s Friends for our Comfy, Cozy Cinema and wrote about it on our blogs. Yesterday I watched the sequel to the movie, Fisherman’s Friends: One and All and while I don’t usually like sequels to movies, this one was actually quite good, heartwarming and full of great music.

Erin and I are taking a break for a couple of weeks so I may write about it for a movie impression post later this week.

Here is a trailer for it for now.

I also watched an episode of Miss Scarlet and am planning to re-watch Rosemary and Thyme this week.

What I’m Writing

I am writing Cassie, as I mentioned, but will start more in earnest once I get finished with the corrections to Gladwynn’s book two.

I already have ideas for Gladwynn’s book three but I won’t start that one until I finish Cassie … probably anyhow.

This week on the blog I shared:

What I’m Listening To

This past week  I listened to a lot of those Jazz channels with the sound of rain behind them for background sound while I edited.

Now it’s your turn. What have you been doing, watching, reading, listening to or writing? Let me know in the comments or leave a blog post link if you also write a weekly update like this.

Saturday Afternoon Chat: Cozy weather, making soup, my racing mind

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn everyday musings, Saturday Afternoon Tea8 Comments

I’m so glad to be able to just sit down and chat with you all today.

I’ve been doing a lot of writing about many different things the last few weeks but today I just want to write about nothing. Okay, so most of the time I write about nothing, but…go with me on this.

I started this post on Thursday. It was chilly outside but not as cold as it was earlier in the week. Friday we were supposed to have warmer temps again and get some rain and we did – late in the day. Then temps dropped sharply again today and we will be back to lighting the fire at night or even during the day this next week.

I really do like having the fire and enjoying its warm glow during the colder weather. The only thing I have to watch for is that too much wood doesn’t get loaded into it that the living room becomes a sauna and that has happened a lot in the past. We are supposed to get the temperature up to 300 degrees at least once during the day to burn off the creosote in the pipes so our smallish living room can get a bit too toasty when we do that.

All day Friday I wanted to sit in front of the fire and read a book but we didn’t start a fire since it wasn’t cold enough and I didn’t have time to open a book. I finally opened a book at almost 11 but then remembered I still had editing to do on my book.

My brain was a racing mess all week. It jumped from thing to thing to thing that I needed to do.

“Oh, I promised this group I’d post this.”

“Oh, I promised I’d write this post.”

“Oh, I need to get that one post ready.”

“Oh, I forgot to make the corrections on my book and it comes out in only two weeks.”

“Oh, I forgot to plan our homeschool lesson.”

“Oh, I wanted to make soup for that lady The Boy rescued this past summer.”

“Oh, I need to outline my next book.”

“Oh, look the animals have fleas again despite using the same flea medicine we’ve been using for years.”

“Oh, look we have a full on flea infestation in the house now.”

“Oh, I forgot that one bill.”

On and on it went and still it goes. Today I am desperate for a small amount of time where my brain only says, “That was a nice chapter,” or “I liked that video. It was peaceful,” or “Bob Newhart is so funny.”

I’m craving calmer days where I don’t feel like I’m plugging my finger in another hole in the dam of life which is about to burst and send me careening down a river of trials.

I don’t know if that is going to happen any time soon so I am going to enjoy some pockets of peace instead, stealing those quiet moments when and where I can.

Today (Saturday) The Husband has taken Little Miss to a makeup gymnastics class and I am watching Darling Desi’s latest video, will make some tea, and will hopefully read another chapter of Little Women.

Then I need to make the corrections from The Husband and my mom on Gladwynn Grant Takes Center Stage before it goes to another editor this upcoming week.

After that, I really hope to watch a cozy movie and work on some upcoming blog posts, but I don’t want to feel as rushed as I did all week long.

The rushing really hasn’t helped any situation – I haven’t sold more books (in fact I’ve sold almost none this entire month), I haven’t brought any more money in for my family to help as we struggle that way (in fact I have spent money will trying to bring in money so that has defeated the purpose), and I haven’t solved even one problem with the rushing and worrying.

This upcoming week will be Thanksgiving and we will spend the day with my parents. My brother and his wife will be home because my sister-in-law has to work the night shift (she is a 911 dispatcher) and it is also their anniversary. My brother is going to spend time with his wife before she has to go to work.

Thanksgiving is also my husband’s birthday which means the pies we make can be for his birthday and Thanksgiving.

Since Erin (from Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs) and I are kicking off our Cozy Christmas the week after next, I’ll also be spending some time to plan out my posts and grab onto the cozy feel of the season as much as I can, despite all the oddness going on in my life.

In addition to trying to figure out finances, my animals have fleas right now and our normal OTC flea medicines (both are very well-known, high-quality medicines) are not working. It’s possible we have an infestation in the house so we are working to solve that issue without having to set off one of those awful bombs that requires everyone to leave the house for two days.

While things have been stressful here, there have also been some lovely moments. Little Miss has made another one of her cozy forts for us to snuggle in at night when we want to read. Adding an extra pillow to the floor has helped this old lady with sciatica issues be able to sit there and I’m sure we will find time to snuggle tonight and this week while reading books.

I’ve pulled out my fluffy, very warm, blue blanket my husband bought me for Christmas our first Christmas here and put it on the bed and it’s been wonderful to snuggle under it while reading Little Women with a booklight at night.

We’ve had some nice family nights with my parents, playing charades and laughing while we all try to figure out what the other person is trying to describe. My dad is the best at charades, I should add. Mom and I are probably the worst.

Later today I hope to make some sweet potato and butter squash soup, which Little Miss has been asking for. She lost a tooth the other day and that reminded her of her dental surgery earlier this year and how I had to make her a variety of soups to eat while she recovered so she asked for sweet potato soup again.

I also hope to make potato soup at some point this week. I had planned to make it last week but never got around to it.

It will be a week of soups, I think, because I also have some frozen roast and potatoes to add to the Instapot to make vegetable beef soup later in the week.

Today I am closing my post with the Darling Desi video because the end of the video really hit me this week in a place I needed it.


How was your week last week?
Did you do anything fun?

Try any new teas or warm drinks?

Let me know in the comments.