Category: everyday musings

Saturday Evening Chat: Autumn weather arrives, recovery time, and recovering pets

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn everyday musings, Saturday Afternoon Tea6 Comments

As I write this, I am sitting in bed under covers because the temps have hit autumn temps and I am chilly.

I spent most of this past week trying to recover from the week before when our family was sick and then we had my parents’ 60th-anniversary party. That’s something I still hope to blog about on here soon. I was so tired this past week and it didn’t help that I was still dealing with the cough from the previous week’s cold a little.

Yesterday Little Miss made a type of cozy fort at the bottom of our stairs and into our foyer. She made it last week as well but this week it worked out well because of the autumn weather. She filled the set up with pillows and blankets and an electric candle and stacked some of her books on the windowsill. It became a little reading corner for us while I read a book about Johnny Appleseed to her and she read a book called Saving Winslow on her own.

I also finished a book I’ve been reading for a few months (while getting interrupted by other books I agreed to read for authors, etc.). It was a very nice cozy day, made even cozier by Little Miss making us cups of hot cocoa sweetened with maple syrup throughout the day.

At the end of the day all three of our pets made themselves comfortable on a pillow or comforter, curled up, and fell asleep. The cat I call “fat cat” (real name Pixel), stole my seat after I got up to charge my phone and while I was a bit annoyed, it was nice to see her able to rest after she had been suffering with fleas most of the week thanks to an inferior flea medicine we picked up last month.

We applied the better medicine on Monday but it took a few days for all the fleas to get off the animals. I was still finding fleas on Zooma the Wonder Dog who not only had flea treatment, but also a flea bath, yesterday. We picked up a flea spray to spray in the house and hopefully we can kill them off before it gets too bad in the house.

Zooma the Wonder Dog took an emergency trip to the vet 45 minutes away last Sunday because of severe stomach issues. Her breathing was very fast and we found out that she was in severe pain due to a return of the colitis she had in April. She was also (TMI alert) constipated.

We are discovering that there are certain foods that set off her condition and I fed her a tiny bit of one of those foods and I guess, but am not sure, that’s what triggered things. She also gets into our trash from time to time so we now sit heavy things on top of it or will be putting the trash can in a place she can’t reach it.

We have food that is supposed to be for digestive issues and that’s all she will be eating from now on. She’s been on an antibiotic and a steroid all week to help bring the inflammation down and heal her colon. It looks like this will be a reoccurring issue for her and us from now on, unfortunately.

Our previous dog had colitis a lot as well. He was 14 when he passed away in 2017 and I am surprised he lived that long with all the weird things he ate – including aluminum foil and ear plugs. We seem to have the luck of having dogs that have sensitive stomachs and I don’t know if that is bad or good luck but right now it seems like bad luck.

Last week there was a lot of staying at home and doing homeschool work and keeping an eye on the dog.

Yesterday Dad and The Boy cut up wood from trees that Dad had to have cut down behind his house. They loaded it into the back of Dad’s truck and brought it to our house to fill up the woodpile behind the garage. We are hoping that this will be enough wood to get us through the winter and keep our heating oil costs down.

Heating oil is so expensive right now that we are filling our tank with off-road diesel fuel to push us closer to the winter months to reduce how often we have to get a delivery of actual heating oil during the coldest months. We do this because we can never afford to pay off the full delivery because of how high the cost is. We always make payments and we can’t receive another delivery until the first bill is paid off.

A lot of people I know are struggling financially right now. It’s very frustrating for me to watch politicians debate if inflation is bad enough to say we are in a recession or not. It’s even more frustrating when they go on news shows and say that Americans aren’t struggling to pay their bills or put food on their tables and that “the other side” is making it all up.

My family are among those struggling. We’ve asked for help and have been denied or given $19 a month to help. Meanwhile we have people who cross the border illegally and they are receiving the help they need in many (though not all) cases and it’s very aggravating. I am, however, glad that people can come here legally and find a better life so it’s a very conflicting issue for me.

There are days I feel like my husband working and us living in this country our whole lives means we are second class citizens. It feels like you have to have a sob story or an angle of some kind to get ahead of even get help. We’re drowning under bills and grocery prices and every week I feel like we are just fighting to keep our heads above water. Then to turn on a news show or visit a site and see an economist say it isn’t as bad as we think it is and we just need to go back to college and get a better degree then we’d be able to get a higher paying job and be fine. It makes me want to scream and throw things most days.

God has always provided for us even at the hardest moments so I do my best to remember that when things get very tough.

This upcoming week there will be more homeschool lessons, gymnastics, a church kid’s club, and maybe a visit to the library.

The Boy will go to the career center and probably work with his grandfather and I will work on finishing the second book in the Gladwynn Grant Mystery series.

I also hope to read a lot more because I am somewhat depressed with my book count for the year so far. I am not a fast reader but I could be reading a little more than I have been.

How about you? How was your week last week? Did you do anything exciting or read anything good? Let me know in the comments.

Comfy, Cozy Cinema: The Secret World of Arrietty

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn Comfy Cozy Cinema, everyday musings, Movie Impresssions2 Comments

For the next three months, Erin from Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs and I will be watching cozy, mysterious, or comfy movies. Erin made these awesome graphics detailing what we are doing and what movies we will be watching.

This week we had a double-feature. Erin chose Fantastic Mr. Fox and The Secret World of Arrietty. I had never watched either of them. I love how Erin pulls me out of my comfort zone and introduces me to knew things.

The Secret World of Arrietty is a Studio Ghibli film.

Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation studio for those of you who are like me and have no idea.

I honestly didn’t understand what Studio Ghibli was until Erin talked about it and then my son wanted me to watch Howel’s Castle with him a couple of months ago. These are animated films made in Japan and later dubbed into English to watch in the United States. Or you can watch the Japanese version and read the subtitles. The movies have become very popular and big-name actors are now being used to voice the American versions.

The movies from Studio Ghibli are often quirky and fantastical, strange but also poignant. They aren’t everyone’s cup of tea and I honestly had no interest in watching one until The Boy suggested it and then Erin said she wanted to watch this one.

I ended up liking Arrietty more than I expected.

As my son said, “I can see why she likes this movie so much. It’s just really creative and cool.”

And it was.

Arrietty and her family members are very tiny people – like two inches high, not like the cast of TLCs Little People, Big World (who are actually called little people and who I am almost as short as).

It is similar to The Borrowers, the book and movie, and is actually the inspiration for the movie.

The movie has a very, cozy feel to it . . . until you realize the stinking ants are bigger than the people and can eat them. Ack!

This isn’t essential to the movie, but I love Arrietty’s outfits…she’s so cute. I want to be cute.

The Boy commented on how he likes how the studio pays such attention to details, including using the wood staples as the ladder.

The movie starts with a human family coming to a new house. We are clued in very quickly that the young boy is sick for some reason – something with his heart.

The young boy sees Arrietty in the bushes when he first arrives but she runs away.

Later that day her father agrees to let her come with him when he goes into the house of the beans (which is what they call humans) to borrow items, such as a sugar cube and a pin, that they can use. This is Arrietty’s first time helping her father borrow and she’s nervous but excited. She’s even more nervous when the boy spots her again and this time, he speaks to her and tells her not to be afraid.

She isn’t afraid but she and her dad quickly leave without speaking to the boy.

The next day the boy leaves the sugar cube Arrietty accidentally dropped in his room to try to get to know her.

Her parents, however, tell her to stay away from the boy, afraid traps will be set for them and that they will be killed.

Of course, Arrietty doesn’t listen to her parents because if she did then there wouldn’t be a movie.

She does go to meet the boy – whose name is Shawn – and is almost killed by a crow. Luckily, Shawn rescues her.

They don’t talk much but later Shawn’s aunt shows him a dollhouse that his mother made with her father for the Borrowers to use. The Borrowers never came, though, and this made the mom sad.  Shawn knows that the little family would love the kitchen so he takes it from the dollhouse, rips up the floor and practically gives them a heart attack by giving them the kitchen.

This traumatizes the family and Arrietty’s father says they have to leave so they won’t be chased out, trapped or killed.

Shawn likes to say uncomfortable and awkward things like the antagonist in any anime film, The Boy says.

He says things like, “There’s less and less of you every year, isn’t there?” and “We can’t all live forever.”

The Boy said, “Bro’s got that unsocial riz, doesn’t he?”

So while Shawn is not a threat to the Borrowers, the housekeeper, voiced by Carol Burnett, totally is. For some reason, she wants to find and destroy The Borrowers. I don’t get what her behavior is about at all but she’s creepy as anything.

This, yet again, isn’t related to the overall plot of the movie but the beds these characters have look so comfortable. There is a lot of cozy feelings to this movie overall.

I won’t give away what happens to the family or the boy but I was so nervous for them throughout the movie.

I will comment on one thing about these movies though – the voice actors don’t emote very well sometimes so the characters end up giving very weird and monotone effects to the line delivery. For example, there are times when they should be alarmed but instead, they respond in a very monotone way and it makes the kids and I giggle. Little Miss does an amazing imitation of those moments when the characters deliver bored sounding responses to otherwise alarming situations.

I am not complaining about the sometimes monotone delivery, but just commenting on how it is just a little odd quirk of the movies when they are dubbed. An odd quirk that makes us giggle.

You can read Erin’s impression here: https://crackercrumblife.com/2023/09/14/comfy-cozy-cinema-the-secret-world-of-arrietty/

Next up for our movie-watching feature is The African Queen.

Our schedule for the rest of the series (the dates are when we are writing about them):

Arsenic and Old Lace (Sept. 28)

Oct. 5 (break for us or you to catch up!)

The Lady Vanishes (October 13)

Strangers on a Train (Oct. 19)

Rebecca (Oct. 26)

Little Women (November 2)

Tea with The Dames (November 9)

The Fishermen’s Friends (November 16)

November 23 off for Thanksgiving

November 30th? Wildcard at this point because we shifted things around and are short a movie! Oops! We will update

Fiction Friday: Gladwynn Grant Takes Center Stage Chapter 4

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn everyday musings, Fiction Friday1 Comment

Welcome to the fourth chapter of Gladwynn Grant Takes Center Stage.

As always this is a work in progress and there could be (will be) typos, plot holes, and other errors but those will be fixed before the book publishes a couple of months from now.

If you want to read the first book in the series, you can find it on Amazon HERE.

If you don’t want to read this story in chapters on a blog, you can pre-order it HERE.

If you want to learn more about my other books you can find links to them HERE.

Chapter 4

“Grant. Where are you? A resident at Willowbrook just called and said there are cop cars all over the place.”

Once again Gladwynn was impressed how her boss, Managing Editor Liam Finley, seemed to know everything that was going on and also seemed to never leave his office at the newspaper.  She wondered if he handed his personal cellphone out to everyone he met so they could call him 24/7 with any breaking news.

“I’m at Willowbrook now and there are, yes.”

“You’re there?”

“I am, but I’m leaving right now.”

“So, fill me in. What are you seeing?”

“There are indeed police cars here. There’s been a death in one of the condos. Possibly suspicious.”

“Whoa. Who is it? Any ideas? One of the old folks?”

“No. A young folk, actually. Samantha Mors.”

There was a sharp intake of breath on the other end of the phone, followed up by a curse word. “No way. I did not expect that.”

“Did you know her?”

“Not exactly, no. I met her at a bar once. Saw her off and on around town after that. Gorgeous woman. Sweet too. Wanted nothing to do with me no matter how hard I tried.”

Gladwynn shook her head, and stifled a laugh, glad Liam couldn’t see her. The man was well-known countywide for his bar visits and his love of women. Lots of women.

“Were you there?” he asked. “I mean, at Willowbrook when the cops were there?”

She didn’t know how much she should share at this point, but Liam was going to find out eventually anyhow. “A friend of mine found her actually. I was the second person on scene.” She glanced at Doris as she started the car. “It’s been pretty upsetting for her and me. How about I give you a call after I get her home?”

“You saw the body?” Liam whistled. “Oh man, Grant. I’m sorry you had to see that. Yeah. Totally call me back later and let’s hammer out a plan of action for tomorrow’s paper. Sadly, you’re a bit too close to the case to cover it. We’d better have Laurel handle it from here.”

At that moment Gladwynn felt like a real reporter because under no circumstances did she want to give up this story. “Why are you giving it to Laurel? This is my story.”

“Hate to break it to you, kid, but it’s not your story. You’re part of the story. Conflict of interest. Call me later.”

The line disconnected. Gladwynn scowled at the phone briefly then flipped it into her middle console.

Doris let out a breath. “Oh, Gladwynn, honey, I’m glad you don’t have to cover this story. What a hard job reporting is.”

Gladwynn shrugged a shoulder. “Yeah, sometimes, but the hard stories are mixed in with a lot of happy stories. Like little kids at field days and church dinners. It all evens out in the end.”

The drive to Doris’ house was quiet after that with Doris looking out the window contemplatively.

After escorting Doris into her house, brewing her a cup of tea, and sitting with her for half an hour to be sure she was okay, Gladwynn headed back home to call Liam and connect with Lucinda.

Lucinda was in the kitchen brewing a pot of tea and loading chocolate chip cookies onto a plate when Gladwynn walked in with the phone to her ear.

She filled Liam in on the details she felt like she could fill him in on, mainly that Tanner was the lead investigator and that there was no conclusive evidence as of yet that there was any foul play in Samantha’s death. She chose not to offer any specific details about the condition or  position of Samantha’s body and, thankfully, he didn’t ask. A photo she’d taken on her cellphone of the police cars and ambulance parked outside of the condo would work for a photograph for the story, he told her.

Lucinda pulled her into a hug as soon as she slid her finger over the button to end the call. “He’s not going to make you write about this horrible thing, is he?”

“No. He’s giving it to Laurel. He said my covering it would be a conflict of interest.”

Lucinda leaned back and pushed a strand of dark hair back from Gladwynn’s face. “Good. You were involved enough as it was with that mess with Daryl Stabler. This would be even worse since you were right there to find her. I just can’t believe it. How are you holding up?”

Gladwynn sighed and sat at the kitchen table, pouring herself some tea. “Okay, I guess. I’m more worried about Doris. The poor woman. She was really shaken.” She winced as she spooned some honey out of the jar. “Rightly so. It was awful to see Samantha that way. I hadn’t met her officially yet, but I saw her earlier today at the lake. It was so weird to see someone you’d seen alive only a few hours earlier dead in her bedroom floor.” Gladwynn shuddered. “Weird and awful.”

Lucinda sat in the chair on the other side of her. “What does Tanner think? Does he really think she was murdered?”

“He doesn’t know yet. He said there are aspects of the scene that are suspicious but he wouldn’t elaborate on what.”

Lucinda pushed the plate of cookies toward her. “Well, it doesn’t matter. The police will release some information soon enough. I’m just so glad you don’t have to worry about it anymore. Laurel can fill you in later or you can read it in the newspaper like the rest of us.”

Gladwynn nodded absentmindedly. It still bothered her that Liam had given the story to Laurel, but she knew he was right. It wouldn’t look right for her to write about a situation she’d been directly involved with, even if she personally had no idea what had happened to Samantha nor had she known her.

Still, she couldn’t push away the uneasy feeling that Samantha’s death wasn’t an accident and she would love to find out if that feeling was accurate or not.

“What are they going to do about the play?” she asked, trying to forget the image of Samantha in that floor.

Lucinda stirred creamer in her tea. “They aren’t sure yet but I think we should continue it in Samantha’s honor. Incorporating the arts into the activities of the older population was very important to her. We’re all meeting Monday night to make the final decision.”

A tear slipped down Lucinda’s cheek. Gladwynn reached over and squeezed her hand. She wanted to tell her it was okay, but it wasn’t okay. It was horrible and heartbreaking that Samantha had passed away. It would be even more heartbreaking if she had passed away because of something someone else did.

Lucinda cleared her throat. “I just can’t believe that this happened right after Derek passed away. He and Samantha were so close. When I heard about what happened I just kept worrying that maybe  — no. I can’t think that. It’s just, she was so down about his death. What if she – ” Lucinda shook her head and dabbed a tissue to the corner of her eye.

Gladwynn rubbed her grandmother’s shoulder. Der. Those were the letters she’d seen on the piece of paper at Samantha’s. “Who was Derek?”

Lucinda looked up from her tea. “Oh right. I guess I ever told you about him. He moved here a couple of years ago. He was such a kind man. I wish you could have met him. He was the one who made sure the little library was stocked and we had all we needed for badminton and tennis. He purchased all that equipment. I’m guessing he had some money, but I don’t know.” She wiped her nose. “He just had such a kind heart. He died two weeks ago. None of us even knew he was sick, but, well, it is a retirement home so residents do die more often than other places. He and Samantha were very close. It’s like they connected right away when she started. They used to play cards together and he always helped her with her various recreation events. They had lunches together and we’d often see them reading books out in the courtyard.”

She took a sip of her tea. “Anyhow, I think we both need a little break from that topic. Jacob is going to come over for dinner after church tomorrow. I hope that’s okay.”

Gladwynn raised an eyebrow. “Grandma, this is your house.  You can invite whomever you want over. You don’t have to ask me permission to have your boyfriend over. Plus, Jacob still owes me a rematch at Chess.”

Gladwynn had slowly become accustomed to Jacob Evans being a regular site at the old Victorian home she and her grandmother lived in. He was often there for dinners or movie nights or simply to repair something around the home. Gladwynn had only learned about their relationship when she moved in so she wasn’t sure how long the pair had been dating.

Seeing her grandmother going out on dates with someone other than Gladwynn’s late grandfather Sidney Grant had been unsettling at first. Sidney had passed away six years ago, though, and he wouldn’t have wanted Lucinda to live the rest of her life without a companion.

Lucinda rolled her eyes. “Don’t call him my boyfriend. That sounds so  – I don’t know – teenagerish.”

Gladwynn snorted out a laugh. “But he is your boyfriend.”

Lucinda waved her hand briefly as she took a sip of tea. “Let’s be honest, you just want him over because you’re just desperate to figure out how he keeps beating you at chess. Admit it.”

“I completely am. It’s not fair. I was Chess champion three years in a row in my dorm at college. I don’t get how he’s so fast!”

Lucinda laughed and broke a cookie in half, handing one half to Gladwynn. “Years and years of practice, my dear, I’m sure. Remember he told you he used to play it in the barracks during Vietnam.”

Gladwynn finished her cookie and stood. “Liam wants me in the office so it looks like our movie night will have to be delayed. There isn’t much information I can provide him with since I’m being considered a witness, but I’ll head in and fill him on what I can so Laurel has a head start on the story.”

“That’s absolutely fine. We can always do it tomorrow after church.”

Gladwynn kissed Lucinda’s cheek. “You usually fall asleep after lunch so let’s do it in the evening instead.”

Lucinda looked up and quirked an eyebrow. “Let’s be honest, young lady. We both fall asleep after lunch.”

The woman was right, of course. Gladwynn had become accustomed to finishing her grandmother’s delicious meals and then curling up under a blanket in the living room and dozing off for a nap. She knew how spoiled she was and she didn’t feel guilty about it at all.

***

She called Tanner’s number at the barracks on the way to the office. He wasn’t there but she left him a message asking him to call her. Maybe the conversation Samantha had been having was unrelated. Maybe she was arguing with a bill collector. Still, she knew Tanner would want to know about it.

The Brookstone Beacon office was quiet with less staff there on a Saturday night than during the week. The buzz of the fluorescent lights was the loudest sound as Gladwynn made her way to Liam’s office. Liam’s appearance, and his office, was in its usual state — empty takeout containers scattered among loose papers on top of his desk and on the small table in the corner of the office; a black leather coat tossed across the couch against the wall to the right; Liam’s dress shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows; and his jawline unshaven.

He was typing fast when she stepped into the doorway. He didn’t look away from the computer screen, even when she sat in the chair across from his desk.

When he did turn to face her, he swiveled in his chair quickly and spoke in his usual clipped manner. “Grant. Hello. Tell me everything.”

She filled him in on what she hadn’t been able to talk about in front of Doris, without going into too many details. He listened with his hands propped behind his head, eyes narrowed, leaning slightly back in his chair.

When she was done, he kept his hands behind his head and nodded, looking wistfully at a spot on the wall above her head. “Sad thing. Sam was a good woman. I worked at a newspaper in Philly [lh1] for a few years and she said she’d grown up there. That’s about as far in the conversation as we got. She brushed me off pretty fast.” He shrugged and focused his gaze back on Gladwynn. “Anyhow, fill Benton in on this and then get out of here. I’m sure it wasn’t easy seeing all that. Good thinking on getting a shot for the front too.” He dropped his hands on the desk, then pointed at her. “Make sure Kinney knows we get first dibs on this story too. I better not see one of the TV stations up north or down south with this story tonight.”

She knew up north meant the small NBC affiliate over the border in New York state and down south meant a group of televisions stations in the central part of the state. They were more competition than the local shoppers and small publications called “penny savers” in the area. Those publications were more about ads than news and even though all newspapers needed ads, Liam only focused on who could compete with his paper on the news side of things.

Gladwynn was certain the man had been born with actual ink running in his veins.

She stood and smiled. “I can’t control what information the state police release and to whom, but I’ll pass on your desire to have the scoop.”

Liam winced. “Grant. No one says,” he formed quotes with his fingers “scoop anymore. Stop reading those 1940 crime novels. Capeesh?”

“Capeesh.”

The sound of one of the 90s style phones that the newspaper used for its landlines slamming back in place echoed up the hallways from Laurel Benton’s desk when Gladwynn walked back.

She had a feeling Laurel wasn’t having a good day – most likely due to a source who wouldn’t return her calls.

Laurel had a few rough edges but not so rough that she and Gladwynn weren’t able to form a type of friendship. Their personalities were very different, but somehow, they clicked enough that Laurel had gone from gossiping about Gladwynn when she first arrived to now inviting her to lunch from time to time.

Gladwynn peered around the wall of Laurel’s cubicle slowly. Laurel’s head was tipped down, her straight dark brown hair hanging down across her face, a few strands of gray streaked through the dark brown, a reminder to Gladwynn that the woman was 10 years her senior.

For a second Gladwynn thought Laurel might be crying, but she’d never seen her even close to crying so when Laurel looked up at her with cheeks flushed and eyes narrowed, she knew it was anger that had her head hanging down, not sadness.

“Are we sure it’s illegal to kill a man who merely lives to make your life a living hell?”

Gladwynn had a feeling Laurel was talking about her ex-husband Lance Brewster, fire chief of the Birchwood Fire Department. Their divorce had been finalized only a few months ago and Gladwynn hadn’t said it to either of them, but she had a feeling that deep down they were both still in love with each other. Of course, that may have merely been Gladwynn’s romantic side speaking, because at this moment Laurel wanted to murder Lance.

Laurel practically growled as she spoke. “He never signed the papers. Can you believe that?”

Gladwynn leaned her side against the cubicle. “Never signed the divorce papers you mean?”

“Yes. My lawyer called the other day and said part of the papers weren’t signed.” Laurel pushed her hands through her hair and held them there, at the top of her head, for several seconds. “I’ve been trying to reach him for three days and he will not pick up. I thought I’d try from here instead of my cellphone and maybe he’d actually answer, but I should have known he’d ignore a call from the paper.”

She really should have known since Lance had told Gladwynn that Laurel’s job at the newspaper was one of the biggest contentions in the marriage. Gladwynn briefly considered pointing that out, but thought better of it.

Instead, she said, “I don’t get it. I thought you said it was final. That’s why you go by Benton now instead of Brewster.”

Laurel tossed her hands up. “I was told it was final. I can’t even believe this! How did my lawyer not even check the paperwork? Or should I say my ex-lawyer since Lance is apparently not my ex-husband like he is supposed to be.”

“What are you going to do now?”

“Take those stupid papers to Lance and tell him to finish signing where he was supposed to.” She let out a long breath. “Sorry. I know you haven’t had the best of days yourself. Fill me in on what you can and I’ll call the state police for the rest.”

Gladwynn relayed what she had told Liam. When she was done Laurel let out a whistle. “Wow. So do they really think she was murdered? I mean, I wonder why someone would even do that to her.”

“Did you know her?”

“Met her a couple of times, but, no, I didn’t really know her well. She seemed like a super nice person so I really hope she wasn’t killed.”

“Liam says I’m out on this one, but I’d love to know what Tanner says the coroner tells him. Fill me in, will you?”

“Definitely will but it’s better you’re not covering it. You’re too close to it all. Trust me. There was a fatal fire a few years ago and it was someone my family had known for years. Our old editor told me he didn’t want to pay for my therapy so I wasn’t allowed to go and cover it. Who knows. Maybe this will all turn out to be an accident and we won’t have to worry about it anyhow.”

As she headed home later, Gladwynn hoped Laurel was right. She hoped that she’d get a call later that told her Samantha Mors hadn’t died under suspicious circumstances. It would still be hard for Doris, her grandmother, and others from the community to deal with her death, but at least they wouldn’t have the added sadness that she had been murdered.

Comfy Cozy Cinema: The Shop Around the Corner

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn Comfy Cozy Cinema, everyday musings6 Comments

For the next three months, Erin from Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs and I will be watching cozy, mysterious, or comfy movies. I think maybe cozy and comfy is the same thing, but you know what I mean. Erin made these awesome graphics detailing what we are doing and what movies we will be watching.

If you want to join in and give us your impressions of the movies we watch you are more than welcome to do so!


This week we watched The Shop Around the Corner with Jimmy Stewart, Margaret Sullavan (yes, this spelling threw me off but that was her actual last name), and Frank Morgan.

If you watch this movie and think that Frank Morgan looks very familiar but you just can’t place him, just imagine him saying, “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.”

Yes. He was The Wizard in The Wizard of Oz.

In this movie, he is Mr. Matuschek, who owns a leather goods store in Budapest, Hungary called Matuschek and Company. They pronounced Matuschek as “Matachek” in the movie. His top salesman and most trusted employee is Alfred Kralik (Jimmy).

The movie opens with all the employees gathering together and letting us all get to know a bit about them.

Besides Kralik there are Kralik’s coworkers include Karlik’s friend, Pirovitch (Felix Bressart), a kindly family man; Ferencz Vadas (Joseph Schildkraut), a two-faced womanizer; saleswoman Ilona Novotny (Inez Courtney); clerk Flora Kaczek (Sara Haden); and Pepi Katona (William Tracy), a sassy errand boy.

We also learn in the beginning that Stewart has been writing letters to a woman he connected with through a newspaper ad she placed.

They’ve been hitting it off, and he’s getting ready to actually meet her.

On this same day, Mr. Matuschek comes into the store with a bunch of musical cigarette boxes that he has to figure out how to sell. Mr. Kralik disagrees that Mr. Matuschek can sell the cigarette boxes and they have a brief spat.

Enter Margaret Sullavan as Klara Novak. She’s looking for a job and proceeds to sell one of the boxes to a customer. Mr. Matuschek hires her on the spot, much to the disappointment of Mr. Kralik, who doesn’t like the threat to his position but also finds her a bit pushy.

Enter a very popular trope in romance movies – enemies to lovers.

This trope has a couple twists, though, and that makes the movie interesting and more than just a romance.

The funny thing about the movie is that it is supposed to take place in Hungary but almost everyone has a New York/American accent.

This was a bit of a goofy movie with a couple of serious themes mixed in. It features wonderful bantering between Stewart and Sullivan and some really great acting from Stewart, especially. I don’t know that I would say Sullivan was a “great” actress in this, but she was very good and held her own against Stewart’s strong personality.

According to TCM: “James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan had known each other a long time before making The Shop Around the Corner. Both were in a summer stock company called the University Players. It was there that Stewart realized his potential as an actor, so he followed Sullavan and fellow player Henry Fonda to New York to begin an acting career in earnest.

Even though Margaret Sullavan was infamous for her quick temper and disdainful attitude towards Hollywood, James Stewart counted working with her as one of the great joys of his professional career. And because he knew her personally, he was more equipped than most of the cast and crew members to deal with her frequent and volatile emotional outbursts.”

I also loved this tidbit that TCM shared: “Stewart said: “We were in this little restaurant and I had the line: ‘I will come out on the street and I will roll my trousers up to my knees.’ For some reason, I couldn’t say it. She was furious. She said, ‘This is absolutely ridiculous.’ There I was standing with my trousers rolled up to my knees, very conscious of my skinny legs, and I said, ‘I don’t want to act today; get a fellow with decent legs and just show them.’ Margaret said, ‘Then I absolutely refuse to do the picture.’ So we did more takes.”

You can read the full article here: https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/413/the-shop-around-the-corner/#articles-reviews?articleId=26807

The movie was based on the 1936 Hungarian play Parfumerie. The 1998 movie You’ve Got Mail, which starred Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks, was based on that play as well.

The musical In The Good Ole’ Summertime is an almost scene-for-scene musical remake of The Shop Around the Corner.

I don’t want to give too much of the movie away, but there is a falling out between Mr. Matuschek and Kralik and a firing, but it is all over a misunderstanding involving Mrs. Matuschek. There are actually a lot of misunderstandings in this movie, and some of them are quite funny and interesting.

There are some great lines in this movie including:

Alfred Kralik: There might be a lot we don’t know about each other. You know, people seldom go to the trouble of scratching the surface of things to find the inner truth.

Klara Novak (Miss Novak) : Well I really wouldn’t care to scratch your surface, Mr. Kralik, because I know exactly what I’d find. Instead of a heart, a handbag. Instead of a soul, a suitcase. And instead of an intellect, a cigarette lighter… which doesn’t work.

Klara: [In her letter to Alfred] : Oh, my Dear Friend, my heart was trembling as I walked into the post office, and there you were, lying in Box 237. I took you out of your envelope and read you, read you right there.

Klara : Mr. Kralik, it’s true we’re in the same room, but we’re not on the same planet.

Alfred: Why Miss Novak, although I’m the victim of your remark, I can’t help admiring the exquisite way you have of expressing yourself. You certainly know how to put a man in his planet.

And this one from Klara, I would love to put on a T-shirt for myself: “Psychologically, I’m very confused… But personally, I don’t feel bad at all.”

The movie was directed by Ernst Lubitsch who told a reporter from the New York Times: “It’s not a big picture, just a quiet little story that seemed to have some charm. It didn’t cost very much, for such a cast, under $500,000. It was made in twenty-eight days. I hope it has some charm.”

I would definitely say the movie has a lot of charm.

Next up for our movies is a double feature with Fantastic Mr. Fox and The Secret World of Arrietty (a Studio Ghibli film). Erin and I will share about them next week.

Erin’s impression of the movie is here: https://crackercrumblife.com/2023/09/07/comfy-cozy-cinema-the-shop-on-the-corner/

We plan to watch the following movies through the next three months (the dates are the dates that we will be writing about them on.

The Secret World of Arrietty and Fantastic Mr. Fox (September 14)

The African Queen (Sept. 21)

Arsenic and Old Lace (Sept. 28)

Oct. 5 (break for us or you to catch up!)

The Lady Vanishes (October 13)

Strangers on a Train (Oct. 19)

Rebecca (Oct. 26)

Little Women (November 2)

Tea with The Dames (November 9)

The Fishermen’s Friends (November 16)

November 23 off for Thanksgiving

November 30th? Wildcard at this point because we shifted things around and are short a movie! Oops! We will update

Saturday Afternoon Chat: Slowly getting back into the homeschooling groove and bracing for hot weather in autumn

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn everyday musings, Saturday Afternoon Tea4 Comments

I almost didn’t write one of these today because our week really was that boring.

This past week it was mainly schoolwork, failing at cleaning the house, washing dishes that got used less than an hour later and were once again dirty, and worrying about a ton of things I can’t control.

I did have my regular tea and honey so that made me happy.

I spent a lot of the week trying to plan homeschool lessons and trying to figure out what to do with all the books I bought from a recent library sale to use for pleasure reading and homeschool.

I also spent a lot of time looking at a space at the bottom of our pantry where I could place some of these books but which is full of miscellaneous items and would take a long time to clean out. I mean, I could clean that space out and have a place for the books but then where will I put the garbage that I clean out?

This is the dilemma of people who don’t know how to throw anything out.

We enjoyed nice fall weather most of this past week but, and I can’t even believe I am writing this, this next week the temperatures are going to be in the high 80s. I am so depressed about it and I’m serious. I know how sad it sounds to be depressed about warm weather but I was looking forward to chilly and cozy weather.

I am trying to look forward to another chance to take the littlest swimming but the idea of climbing in and out of a pool and peeling wet clothes off doesn’t really appeal to me anymore.

We did a lot of that all summer and it was fun but it had its season and that season should be over. At least I know that much of the rest of the country will be experiencing this hot weather as well.

Because of the weather I wanted to stay inside this week but it looks like I’ll have to go out at least three days. On Tuesday I am going to get my hair cut because my mom subtly hinted it looks awful and said she’d pay me to get it done. Ahem. Mothers are lovely, aren’t they? My mother is a sweet woman and I know she meant well, but it was a little annoying since I did not want to go out and sweat this week.

On Wednesday my daughter goes back to Kids Club at a local church. On Thursday she has gymnastics. I’ll be taking her to at least one of those if not both.

Next Saturday we have a 60th anniversary party planned for my parents but so far there aren’t tons of people saying they will attend so I don’t think it will be as big of an undertaking as I thought it would be.

Our neighbors invited us to a cookout tomorrow since their daughter is home from college and I’m sure we will go to my parents on Monday.

That’s if none of us come down with the cold that The Boy caught and dealt with yesterday. I am trying my best to make sure my parents do not get sick before their party on Saturday. It doesn’t help that The Boy was with his grandparents the day before the symptoms hit. Sigh.

I did not pick my camera up all week so I have no photos to share with you but I’m sure I will next week since we will be doing summery things this week.

How about you? How was your week? Are you ready for cozy weather and getting it or are the warm temperatures hitting you as well?

Fiction Friday: Gladwynn Grant Takes Center Stage Chapter 3

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn everyday musings, Fiction Friday1 Comment

Welcome to the third chapter of Gladwynn Grant Takes Center Stage.

As always this is a work in progress and there could be (will be) typos, plot holes, and other errors but those will be fixed before the book publishes a couple of months from now.

If you want to read the first book in the series, you can find it on Amazon HERE.

If you don’t want to read this story in chapters on a blog, you can pre-order it HERE.

If you want to learn more about my other books you can find links to them HERE.

Chapter 3

She slid her finger over the end button on the screen as she walked toward Doris. Reaching out she laid her hand on the woman’s thin shoulder. “Doris, what’s going on?” Gladwynn could feel the woman shaking under her touch.

Doris didn’t answer. Her hand was still clasped over her mouth and she’d squeezed her eyes shut as if to shut out whatever she’d just seen. Tears slipped from under her eyelids.

“Speak to me,” Gladwynn said, squeezing her shoulder. “What’s going on?” When Doris only gasped in a breath behind her hand, Gladwynn slid her hand to her back. “Where is Samantha? Did you see her? Is she in there?”

Doris nodded, opening her eyes. She slowly lifted her arm and pointed into the condo.

Gladwynn took a deep breath and stepped into the hallway of the condo. A chill swept over her and she paused, rubbing her hands up her arms. She couldn’t pause long, though. Something was clearly wrong with Samantha and she very well might need an ambulance. Her heels clipped on the hardwood floor, echoing in the sparsely `decorated main living space of the condo.

She should have asked Doris where she’d seen Samantha, but the woman had been too upset. There was no one in the living room or the kitchen, but there was a flight of stairs on the other side of the dining room. Gladwynn ascended them quickly and saw Samantha on the carpeted floor of the bedroom as soon she reached the top. The door was across from the stairs and it was open.

 Samantha was lying with her head twisted to one side, her body contorted, a clenched hand reaching toward the doorway.

Gladwynn lifted her phone and dialed 911 as she inched closer, trying to decide what to do. Should she check Samantha’s pulse? Maybe she shouldn’t check the body at all, but if there was a chance Samantha was still alive, she needed to see.

“Marson County 911. What’s your emergency?”

Gladwynn knelt next to the body, grimacing at the sight of Samantha’s face. Her eyes were open and her mouth was twisted into a grimace.  “I need an ambulance at Willowbrook.” Her voice trembled. “Condo 43. There’s a woman and she’s lying on the floor.”

“Okay. She’s on the floor unconscious?”

“Yes.”

“Is she breathing?”

Gladwynn took a deep breath and laid a hand on Samantha’s back. It was cold and hard and made Gladwynn rip her hand back quickly. “No. She doesn’t appear to be.”

“Is there a pulse?”

“Should I check? I mean, should I touch her?”

“Not if you don’t feel comfortable, but if you do you can check at her wrist using two fingers. I’m dispatching the ambulance now.”

Gladwynn cast a quick glance around the room, her gaze falling on a broken lamp on the floor, a tea cup with spilled tea on the carpet, a tipped over chair, and a piece of paper half crumpled near Samantha’s right hand.

“Send the police too,” she said. “I don’t think this was an accident.”

The dispatcher asked her to stay on the line and she did while she reached over slowly and pressed two fingers against Samantha’s wrist. Not only wasn’t there a pulse but her skin was cold and gray.

“No pulse,” she told the dispatcher. “Her skin is a funny color too. I think she’s been gone for a while.”

“Okay, ma’am. Just stay there. The ambulance and police are on their way.”

Gladwynn pulled her hand away and sat back on her heels, her stomach aching. Doris appeared in the doorway, one hand on her mouth, the other on her stomach.

“Is she – is she –”

Gladwynn looked up, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth briefly. “Yes.”

Doris began to sob and Gladwynn stood and pulled the woman against her. She felt something under her foot, glanced down, and saw it was the piece of paper.

While part of it was crumpled, she could read part of a name and date at the top of the page, as if someone — maybe Samantha — had been writing a letter.

She looked closer at the partially written name.

Der.

Maybe a boyfriend or some sort of relative? Gladwynn wasn’t sure. All she wanted to do at that moment was get Doris out of the room and maybe come back up and cover Samantha up. She knew she couldn’t cover a body, though. Not before the police had been there. Seeing her laying there, though, her body twisted at an odd angle, her hands reaching out and her unseeing eyes staring, was unnerving.

“Come on, Doris. Let’s wait downstairs for the police okay?”

“The police?” Doris looked up alarmed. “ Why are the police coming? Did someone do this to her? Oh my goodness. Oh, Gladwynn.”

Gladwynn ushered Doris toward the door. “I don’t know, but the police are better equipped than us to find out. Let’s go downstairs.”

On her way through the doorway, she noticed a black mark on the wall by the doorframe. It could have been anything, but its position on the wall, just on the edge of the frame, made her question how it had got there.

Very little about the scene seemed like an accident. The broken lap and knocked-over chair were in the wrong places if a medical emergency had caused Samantha’s fall unless she had stumbled around the room in her final moments. That was, of course, a possibility, but Gladwynn truly didn’t feel that’s what had happened.

She had Doris sit on the couch and then went to the kitchen and started to open the cabinet to get a glass of water but hesitated. This was a potential crime scene. There could be fingerprints and clues everywhere. She lowered her hand and went back to Doris just as the ambulance pulled up out front.

An EMT with a bag ran inside and Gladwynn pointed to the stairs. “She’s up there.”

Doris sniffed. “I should call your grandmother.” She sniffed again, reaching into her purse for her phone. “And Emerald. Oh, and Eileen should know too.”

Another EMT ran into the house and Gladwynn pointed up the stairs. The woman followed her co-worker.

Gladwynn held up her own phone. “I’ll call Grandma. You handle the other two.”

Doris nodded meekly, swiping a hand across her cheek.

Gladwynn stood and dialed her grandmother’s number while walking around the living room, looking at the bare white walls, the tan couch, and the plain brown coffee table with a single magazine on it. The house was immaculate but there also wasn’t much inside to clutter it. A small black bookcase with three shelves stood on the opposite side of the room next to a television with a DVD player underneath it. The shelves were only partially full.

Gladwynn stepped back to look into the kitchen as her grandmother’s phone continued to ring.  Its coloring was pale like the living room and it was also spotless. As she started to look away, though, she noticed a flower petal on the floor in front of the stove. Glancing around, though, she didn’t see the flower it could have come from.

“Gladwynn?” Her grandmother’s voice was panicked. “I’m on my way, but Emerald has fainted and we’re trying to help her. Is it true? Is Samantha dead?”

“I think so, yes.” Though she really knew so. There hadn’t been a pulse. Maybe after the EMTs worked on her? But, no. She had to accept that not even that would help.

Her grandmother let out a ragged breath. “Oh my. Oh, this is awful. Are you okay? Did you find her? Who found her? Was there blood? Was she –”

“Grandma, calm down. I want you to go home. There’s nothing you can do here. I’ll meet you there later. I’m waiting for the police.”

Lucinda gasped. “The police? Why would the police come? Is there something else going on? Are you in danger?”

“Grandma, no. I’m okay. I just felt the police should be here because something seemed off. I’ll fill you in when I get home. The EMTs are upstairs now. I’m sure they’re trying CPR. If anything changes, I’ll let you know.”

The EMTs came down the stairs as Gladwynn hung up. The man’s expression was grim.  “Are you family?”

Gladwynn shook her head. “No. My friend knows her but I’ve never met her. We came to check on her.”

The man stepped closer to Gladwynn, away from Doris was crying into her phone.

“She’s gone,” he said. “There’s nothing we can do. We didn’t even try to move her. She’s cold to the touch and her lips are blue.”

Gladwynn touched a hand to her throat. “I didn’t even notice her mouth. I was so distracted by her eyes.”

The EMT shuddered. “Yeah. I can see why. It’s creepy. The police should be here any minute. We’ll let them handle it.” He looked at Doris who had collapsed on the couch. “Ma’am, are you okay?”

Doris pressed a hand to her forehead and nodded slowly, her eyes closed. “Yes. Or I will be.” She opened her eyes and offered a weak smile. “Thank you.”

The front door was still open and a frantic-looking woman with straight dark brown hair flowing across her shoulders rushed inside. Gladwynn guessed her to be around 45.

“What is going on?” she gasped.

Doris stood. “Oh, Eileen. I just left you a message. It’s Sam—”

Eileen’s cheeks were flushed. “I saw the ambulance outside. Did something happen to Samantha? Where is she?”

The EMT stepped toward her, his hand raised. “I’m sorry, ma’am, but if you’re not family I really need you to –”

“I’m the manager of this community,” Eileen snapped, a strand of hair falling across her face. “I want to know what is going on. Where is Samantha?”

Doris walked over and laid a hand on Eileen’s shoulder. “Something terrible has happened.  Samantha is dead.”

The color in Eileen’s face visibly drained, making the red on her cheeks stand out even more. “That’s not possible. I just spoke to her this morning.”

Gladwynn looked through the doorway and watched a state police car yank into a parking space. She immediately recognized the trooper who stepped out of the vehicle as Trooper Tanner Kinney. The only difference from the last time she’d seen him, though, was that today he was wearing a suit and button up shirt instead of a standard state police uniform. Another man wearing a similar suit stepped out of the passenger side. Another state police car parked next to theirs.

Gladwynn stepped out front to meet Tanner.  

“Miss Grant.” He tipped his head forward in greeting as he walked toward her. “Why am I not surprised to find you here?”

She clasped her hands behind her back and tipped her head similar to how he had. “Trooper Kinney.”

“Detective Kinney.”

“Detective?”

“I’ve been promoted to the homicide unit.”

“First, I wasn’t allowed to call you officer. Now I can’t even call you trooper. Your titles aren’t easy to keep up with. When did this promotion happen?”

“A month ago, but I don’t have time to discuss my personal life with you right now. If you haven’t noticed, there’s been a death.”

He started to walk toward the house and she hurried to catch up with him.

“I definitely noticed. I was the second person on the scene behind my grandmother’s friend Doris.”

Tanner glanced over his shoulder. “Someone you know?”

Gladwynn shook her head once. “No. Someone my grandmother and our friend knew.”

He paused and looked down at her and she was reminded how tall he was. “You do have a knack for getting yourself mixed up in things.”

“I promise it was not intentional this time. I was merely dropping my friend off to check on her friend.”

Tanner smiled briefly. “Sure. Now, where’s the victim?”

Gladwynn hugged her arms around herself, a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach as she remembered what she had seen earlier. “Upstairs. In the bedroom.”

Tanner and the other trooper disappeared into the condo.

She followed them inside, staying in the living room with Doris and Eileen, though she truly was curious what the men would say when they saw Samantha in the position she was in.

Eileen began to pace, pushing a hand through her disheveled shoulder-length hair. “Why are their police here? Is that standard for a medical situation?”

The female EMT had already gone back to the ambulance. The male EMT shrugged his shoulder. “Sometimes it is. It depends on the situation.”

Eileen paused in her pacing, her hands on her hips. “I mean it was a medical situation, right? Is that what happened? I mean did she trip or fall or maybe it was her heart or –”

“We don’t know yet,” the EMT responded. “I know this is an upsetting situation, but please try to stay calm.”

Eileen began to chew on her fingernail as she paced. “I’m trying. Will the police tell us what happened?”

“When they know, I’m sure you’ll know,” the EMT said, but Gladwynn knew that wasn’t true. The police weren’t usually very interested in being forthcoming with information, especially this early in an investigation.  

Tanner’s voice boomed from upstairs. “Miss Grant? Please come up here.”

Eileen intently watched Gladwynn walk across the room toward the dining room and the stairs. The woman was probably wondering why the police knew Gladwynn by name. A cold chill shivered across Gladwynn like it had when she’d first climbed the stairs. Tanner and two other men were in the room, either wearing gloves or pulling them on. Tanner put his hand up to stop her from entering the room. She could see Samantha’s body behind him, though, and tears stung her eyes.

She never imagined she would ever be caught up in such a heartbreaking situation.

“Miss Grant, is everything here the way it was when you first came in? You didn’t touch anything? Move anything?”

She took a deep breath, swallowing hard. “I touched her wrist to see if there was a pulse. Otherwise, no. I didn’t touch anything.”

Tanner snapped a glove on. “Good. Head downstairs and wait, please. We’d like to talk to you and the others. We’ll be down shortly.”

She nodded briefly and returned to the living room.

Other members of law enforcement trailed into the house like ants looking for a watermelon while she, Doris, and Eileen waited.

Eileen had stopped pacing. She was now sitting in a plain gray chair, texting and chewing on her nails.

“When can we get out of here?” she asked as she stood abruptly. “I need to go check on the residents and calm them down. I’m sure they know something is up with all these police parked outside.”

Gladwynn had to admit she was getting a bit anxious herself. She’d really like to get back home and check on Lucinda, but even more so she wanted to get Doris home. The woman was clearly shook up still. She’d been sitting on the couch, crying softly into a tissue off and on, and rubbing her arms with her hands. Gladwynn wondered if she should call Bill and have him come over, but she knew having too many people on a crime scene was a serious no-no. Bill also wasn’t known for being the most sensitive person.

As if in answer to Eileen’s question, Tanner came down the stairs, a notebook in hand. “Ladies, sorry for making you wait. I hope we can get you out of her soon. I’ll just need a quick statement and then you can all be on your way.” He opened the notebook and sat on the couch Doris was sitting on, but at the other end. “Which one of you was first on scene?”

Doris slowly raised her hand. “Me.” She held the tissue to her mouth and choked back a sob.

Tanner’s expression softened. “I’m sorry, ma’am, but if you could just tell me what position the body was in when you found it.”

Doris’ eyes narrowed. “She was on the floor when I found her.” She put an emphasis on she and her, to make it clear, it seemed to Gladwynn, that she didn’t appreciate Tanner reducing Samantha to an inanimate object. “She was on her face and her eyes were open.” She wiped a tissue across the corner of her eye. “It was just awful.”

Tanner kept his eyes on the notebook as he scratched a couple of notes. “I know this is hard, but I just need to gather as many details as I can in case this turns out to be more than a medical emergency.”

“Do you think it was more than a medical emergency?” Gladwynn asked.

Tanner looked up at her. “We can’t be sure until the coroner does an autopsy but the EMTs did radio in some concerns about the scene and asked for us to investigate.”

“And now that you’ve seen her body what do you think?”

A small smile pulled at Tanner’s mouth. “Miss Grant, I know you are a naturally curious person, and this has all been a bit of a shock but you also know that I can’t talk about a case while we are still investigating. Furthermore –”

“But you’re calling it a case so –”

Tanner cleared his throat. “Furthermore, I can’t discuss any case with a private citizen unless they are a family member of the deceased and I certainly would not discuss it this early on with a member of the media.”

Gladwynn sat back against the couch and sighed. “Understood. Sorry. I guess I got a bit ahead of myself.”

Tanner turned his attention back to Doris, finished his questioning of her and then turned to Gladwynn and recorded what she had seen as well.

Eileen was last. “I didn’t see anything. I got here after the ambulance.”

“May I ask when you saw the deceased last?”

“I saw Samantha this morning, briefly. On her way out the door. I asked her about this month’s recreation schedule. She told me she’d have it done later today. She was going to the lake to clear her mind.”

“Did anything seem out of the ordinary when you spoke to her?”

“Like what?”

“Like did she seem unwell? Say anything about having been sick?”

“No. Nothing like that. I mean, she seemed tired. That’s why she was going to the lake. She said she had a lot on her mind and just wanted some time to think.”

Tanner nodded as he looked at his notebook.. “And about what time was that?”

“I – I’m not sure.” Eileen wound a piece of hair around her finger. “Maybe 10?”

“How well did you know Samantha?”

Eileen let out a shaky breath. “Well enough that we enjoyed movie nights together and an occasional lunch but not well enough that we knew every single thing about each other.”

Tanner closed his notebook and stood. “You ladies may go but I may need to talk to you again when we have a conclusive cause of death.” He looked directly at Gladwynn. “I’ll send out a release as soon as I have more information.”

“Thank you,” she said. “Let me know if you need anything else.”

“I will.”

Gladwynn didn’t miss Eileen’s tight-lipped expression as she stood, her phone clutched in her hand and against her chest. She left quickly without a word to Doris and Gladwynn.

Doris stood slowly, trembling. Gladwynn placed a hand under the older woman’s elbow. “I’m going to take you home, Doris.”

“Oh. No. I should go back to the theater and –”

Gladwynn squeezed Doris’ elbow. “I’m taking you home and making some tea. You need to rest. Grandma wouldn’t forgive me if I didn’t take you home to calm down.”

Doris managed a smile – the first Gladwynn had seen since they’d entered the condo. “Your grandmother is a good, Christian woman. She’d certainly forgive you. Eventually anyhow.”

Gladwynn’s cell phone rang as she opened the car door for Doris. She knew who it was without even looking at the caller ID, but she also realized she had forgotten to tell Tanner about seeing Samantha at the beach earlier that day.

He was upstairs, though, and she didn’t want to bother him again. She’d call him later and fill him in on what he saw. She didn’t know if it was important or not. Maybe he could find her cell phone and see who she’d been talking to.

Why do you blog?

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn everyday musings12 Comments

Today I want to open the floor, so to speak, to all my bloggy friends.

  • I want to know a few things:
  • Why do you blog?
  • How did you get started blogging?
  • What has been the benefit of blogging in your life?
  • What have been the best parts of your blogging experience?
  • Have there been any bad parts of blogging?
  • You can answer these questions here or write a separate post and then come back and let me know.

I started thinking about these questions as they pertain to my life in the last few weeks because I had become very wrapped up in social media while trying to promote my books and I started to hate it. I hated it because I missed blogging. I missed sharing with my “followers” here. I don’t like the term followers because many of you have become my friends – friends I don’t see or talk to in person most of the time (with a couple of exceptions) but friends, nonetheless.

Many of the people I have met while blogging have prayed for me, checked on me, encouraged me, and sometimes even gently corrected me.

There have been recent seasons in my life that I don’t think I would have survived without my blog friends.

I truly am feeling choked up as I write this.

What a blessing it has been to connect with bloggers in my “real life” (not that blogging isn’t real life). I never imagined I would be able to call my readers my friends – such as Facebook friends but also real friends.

So to answer my own questions:

I started blogging because I enjoy writing and my brother was blogging so I started to keep one too. My first blog was called the same as this one, Boondock Ramblings, and it was what was called a “mommy blog” because I blogged mainly about my son.

I blogged back then to connect with other moms and share stories (both funny and stressful) and simply to have a creative outlet. Today I still blog for the creative outlet and to connect with others.

The benefit of blogging is that it has allowed me to connect with other people who have encouraged me and supported me and laughed and cried with me.

It has also been something I can do other than sit and worry about my problems or concerns.

Connection with the other bloggers has also encouraged me in my walk with Christ, or as a reader, or mom, or just a person.

Is there a downside to blogging? Sometimes. There have been times I’ve felt pressured to write something, even when I’m busy, but that’s more my problem than blogging’s problem and I luckily haven’t had that feeling in a while. There can sometimes be rude people who leave rude comments but that has very, very rarely happened to me.

There are times when bloggers can get into the comparison game and compare their lives to the lives of other bloggers. That’s a negative but something I have not done very often, luckily.

I’ve already mentioned the best part of blogging above but I will reiterate again that the best parts of blogging are meeting people, getting to know them, and forming friendships with people who have stumbled onto my blog for whatever reason.

For whatever reason you stopped on my blog – I thank you. I’m glad you’re here. I’m glad we have become friends. I’m thankful that God brought you here at just the right time in my – and your – life.

I hope you’ll stick around.

She was ready for heaven

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn everyday musings8 Comments

We walked into the sparsely decorated hospital room and the tired woman reached out one hand to each of us. Dark circles creased the skin under her eyes. Mom walked to one side and I walked to the other and we each took a hand.

“Oh, girls. I’m so glad you came.”

She turned her head to look at Mom, tears in her eyes. “It’s spread. It’s all over this time. There’s nothing they can do.”

Mom fought back tears but lost the battle and I felt them come fast to my eyes too.

“Don’t cry, girls.” She squeezed our hands. “I’ve been so lucky. I know we thought it was a bad thing when Joy had her babies so young but look at all this time I’ve had with my babies.”

More tears from us and more calm from the woman who had just been given a terminal cancer diagnosis after being in remission from breast cancer a decade before.

I don’t remember how many years she continued to fight but it was longer than doctors expected. We visited her as much as we could with her living an hour away. A hospital bed in the living room became her permanent place to sit and visit.

One of the last times I saw her I was pregnant.

“Boy or girl?” She asked in her matter-of-fact way. “What are we having?”

“She thinks a girl,” Mom answered for me. “But I think that’s because she has so many nieces.”

Donna laughed that loud, boisterous, full-of-life laugh, unique laugh of hers. “No. It’s a boy. We have enough girls. I love them but we need a boy.” She had four granddaughters at the time.

On the day of my baby shower, Mom received a call. It was from Donna.

“I so much want to be there but I don’t think I’ll make it. I’m not feeling well today.”

They spoke briefly and Mom said she, of course, understood.

Later that night Donna’s son called to tell Mom that Donna had just passed away. She thought of me on the day she died. I couldn’t figure out why. I wasn’t anyone special – she had others in her life she was closer to. I am certain she’d wanted to be there for me but especially for Mom.

Over the months, I began to wonder if the baby growing in my womb really was a girl. We had only picked out two names for children  – Grace and Jonathan.

Our baby was born a few months after Donna died. The labor was long — 23 and a half hours. The kid was comfortable in there and was already two weeks late.

When the baby finally arrived at 5:58 a.m., the midwife held the small figure up to me butt first and said, “What’s that?”

I was delirious with exhaustion and said “Her umbilical cord?”

“No!” The midwife cried. “That’s not an umbilical cord!”

“Oh!” Tears filled my eyes. “Is that my Jonathan?”

“Yes! It’s a boy!”

They cleaned him off and laid him on my stomach and in his eyes I saw wisdom beyond what I can explain – not because my child was brilliant already but because he seemed to still have the remnants of heaven in his gaze. I’ll never forget how alert he looked. Maybe Donna had told him about me.

Mom was on the other side of the room, exhausted herself. “What did Donna say?” She asked, her voice breaking.

I was still exhausted and emotional now and I started to cry. “She said we’d have a boy.”

I was angry at God for taking Donna from her family. I harbored bitterness at him for years over it.

“You’re not a fair God,” I told him. “I can’t trust you. Look what you did to Donna.”

One day I told Mom this and she said something like, “No, no. Don’t ever be angry at him for taking Donna home. She wanted to go. She wanted to see him. She was ready for heaven and God knew that.”

My anger has shifted to confusion now and I just want to know why she had to suffer and leave them all behind. I’m looking forward to God’s answer one day.

I wish you could see him now, Donna. You’d be so proud of him. He’s smart and funny and takes care of your best friend like she’s the queen. He helps Dad several times a week and he’s taking a building and construction class. He’s sweet and caring and earlier this year he saved a woman’s life.

You really would be proud of this boy.

Our boy.

Sunday Bookends: Still reading the same books, homeschool starts, baking cookies, and photos of the week

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn everyday musings, Sunday Bookends8 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’s Been Occurring

I wrote more about what has been occurring in my post yesterday, but will share here a few things: homeschool started, we had what was probably our last swim last weekend, and cooler weather is moving in. If you want to read what I wrote yesterday, that post is HERE.

Last night we had some family time and it was really nice. The Boy wanted to make cookies for the neighbor next door because she always makes cookies for us either when the mood strikes her or around Christmas. He bought the ingredients we didn’t have and he and his sister made the cookies themselves with only a little bit of help from their mom (uh, me) while we watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding (getting ready for the third movie in this series).

Our oven has been broken for a while so we cooked them in the air fryer and they came out pretty good, actually.

The Boy and Little Miss ran them over to the neighbor, even though it was 10:30 at night, because we saw her on her porch. They are night owls like us. Unfortunately they almost gave her a heart attack when they appeared out of the darkness. Luckily she recovered and she and her husband were very appreciative of the gift.

They are experiencing a new season in their life after their daughter left for college last week. It is the first time in 31 years they haven’t had children in their house so we are trying to treat them a little as they adjust.

This morning we watched church and afterward Pixel, our older cat, was yowling on the front porch. The Husband stepped outside and she was sitting there with a dead bird that she appeared to be presenting us with as a gift. She doesn’t bring us dead animals as much as the younger cat, Scout, because she has gotten a little bit lazy as she’s gotten older. We were sad that she grabbed a young bird, but she was so proud of herself so I told her she’d done a good job while The Husband scooped up the bird to prepare it for what he calls a “Viking” burial in our burn barrel.

Photos from Last Week


What I/we’ve been Reading

Anyone who is new here should probably know up front that I am not a book blogger. I don’t read fast. I read slowly. Mainly because I read a couple books at a time, write my books, and homeschool throughout the week. I also don’t enjoy reading so many books that I don’t even remember what I read. I’m old, peeps. If I read too many books, then I just can’t remember what the book was about down the road because my brain has absorbed it into all the other things I have forgotten thanks to my old age.

With all that being said, I’m still reading All That Really Matters by Nicole Deese (enjoying it more than I thought I would), Crime and Poetry by Amanda Flower, and Anne of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery.

I plan to finish All That Really Matters and Crime and Poetry this week. Both flow along quite quickly and easily.

Later this week I plan to share some books I plan to read this fall.

The keywords in the above sentence are “plan to”. I may never get to them, but I “plan to” read them.

Little Miss and I are back to Little House books for the nighttime at her request. They are comfort reads for her and with the changes in our family schedule this week I think she just wants some comfort reads. We are reading On the Shores of Silver Lake. During the day we will be reading Gone Away Lake for School.

The Boy and I will be starting The Red Badge of Courage this week for literature and history.

What We watched/are Watching

This past week I watched two Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers’ movies. One was Flying Down to Rio and the other was Shall We Dance.

I liked Flying Down to Rio better than Shall We Dance. One major issue I had with Shall We Dance was the scene at the end with a bunch of women who were dancing while wearing masks that looked like Ginger. Talk about upping the creepy factor to ten.

Still, the dancing was amazing as always.

Flying Down to Rio was the first movie that Fred and Ginger ever made together and they were not the main characters. They were, however, supporting characters who stole the show.

The pair went on to make ten movies together. Nine of those movies were made from 1933 to 1939 and were in black and white, which always leaves our daughter and I to guess what colors Ginger’s dresses are. In 1949 they filmed a technicolor film together – The Barkleys of Broadway – and that was their last together.

I hope to watch that soon and offer a little review of it. I think I might offer a review of Flying Down to Rio later this week too because that film was a lot better than I expected.

Have you watched any of Fred and Ginger’s movies? Which ones were your favorites?



What I’m Writing

I am working on blog posts right now. I have a few ideas and things I want to share so I’ve been focusing on writing them ahead of time the last few days.

I am also, of course, working on Gladwynn Grant Takes Center Stage so I can release it in November.

This week on the blog I shared:

What I’m Listening To

There are so many new albums out this week, which The Husband let me know about. I do not pay attention to new releases very well. Tim McGraw and Brooke Ligertwood have new albums and Steven Furtick put out a new motivational message to music so I am checking all three of those out. I am also behind on listening to Elevation Worship’s new album and then Brandon Lake also has two new songs that I haven’t listened to yet. I need more hours in the day.

I’ve also enjoyed finding this new artist from his viral song, Rich Men North of Richmond:

(*language warning*)

Now it’s your turn

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.