Category: everyday musings

Saturday Afternoon Chat: Fourth of July, swimming, and a lot of running around (in my mind at least)

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn everyday musings, Saturday Afternoon Tea10 Comments


I don’t know about you but I really need a cup of tea today, even if it is warm outside.

It’s been a very busy week. Well, busier than it normally is for us.  Part of that busy included a fireworks show during which I felt like I was having bombs dropped around me at the end. I’ll share more about that later on in this post. It’s a hilarious story. More hilarious to The Boy than to me, but at least he had a good laugh.

We are off to yet another event this afternoon – this time for the birthday party of a friend of Little Miss’s.

We spent last Sunday at my parents and Monday at home but I spent the day putting the finishing touches on my book that comes out soon and working on promotional material for that. On Tuesday we were back at my parents where we enjoyed a brief swim in the pool and some lunch. Then we attended a fireworks show near us that night.

Wednesday was another break day, partially because it was so sweltering hot outside. Thursday we were back at my parents for a swim (again because of the sweltering heat) and then some friends stopped by unexpectedly for a fun visit. Yesterday I did some running and then I spent all day either trying to fix the cover for my paperback book because Amazon kept saying the size was wrong, or developing promotional material for my social media.

I already mentioned today’s party. Tomorrow we may have lunch with my parents or I may just fall over. I’m not sure yet.

Honestly, we really didn’t do that much but it felt like I was buzzing around a lot trying to catch up and in some ways my brain was busier than my body. I kept thinking about some personal worries, my parents and their health, and also some more exciting things like upcoming ideas for books, my newsletter, and journal designs.

The Tuesday fireworks show came at the end of a day where I made a dinner of fries and bacon-wrapped chicken and helped clean the kitchen and also went into the pool a while with Little Miss. We didn’t spend very long in the pool because the chlorine was high, which was very frustrating to my dad who had been working to get the chemicals just right for a couple of weeks.

He has also constructed an entire partially solar, partially electric-run heating system to keep the pool warm, which we fully enjoyed on Thursday when we went swimming for part of the afternoon.

When I went to the fireworks I was tired and, quite honestly, cranky. Yes, I know. The readers of my blog could never imagine me as cranky. *snort laugh*

But, yes, I was tired and worried about a lot of things, and flat-out tapped out mentally. I didn’t even want to be there and initially sat in the car while the rest of my family spread out a blanket under a tree in a field along with other viewers. The fireworks were put on by members of a local fire company, but not the fire company itself. I didn’t know what to expect but when the first few were fired off, I knew the show was going to be spectacular – and it was.

The Boy is a teenager so not much impresses him, but he really did seem quite enamored with the fireworks. This was confirmed on the way home when he told me it was the first time in a long time he had experienced childlike wonder. I think how close we were to the fireworks was part of the reason.

They were literally exploding over our heads. At the end I experienced sheer panic when they set a series of them off and flashes and explosions fired off repeatedly, making me feel like I was in a war zone. I decided it was not a good idea to be so close at that point and wanted to move further up the hill in case fireballs started falling on us, but I found when I tried to stand up the ground kept moving in fast-paced light and shadow so I kept falling over. This was amusing to my son who later said he wondered how many times I was going to try to stand up and fall over before I stopped. I eventually just hunched down, squeezed my eyes shut and prayed for it to end without killing us.

For your amusement I am sharing with you my moment of panic and my son’s amusement. I have spared you the four minutes of darkness where you can just hear me saying, “No. No. I need to get out of here” and “That was way too much. Way too much. We’re not sitting this close if we come here next year.”



I’m grateful no fireballs fell on us and we very well might go back again next year – but I will be either staying in our car or sitting much further away!

We could only spend part of the day on Thursday swimming because Little Miss had gymnastics that night. She missed gymnastics, however, after she fell on a makeshift platform my dad set up by the ladder and bruised her – well, bottom – and her shin. She was too sore for gymnastics but was able to play with her friends later. She paid for jumping with them on the trampoline by letting me know as she crawled into bed that her bottom still hurt quite a bit.

Yesterday the only thing I did was run out to buy a few groceries at the local store, but after being on my feet much of Thursday, even that tired me out.

This upcoming week may be a little busy as well. Tuesday Little Miss and I have an event in the evening with the local library for Summer Reading. We have another one Wednesday morning at a park 15 minutes away. Thursday is The Husband and my anniversary so we are going to lunch and then taking Little Miss to gymnastics that evening.

It won’t slow down much the following week as we have more summer reading programs and a church program each day of the week. We, luckily, don’t have events all day, every day, however.

I was so busy this week – or, again, my mind was – that I even forgot to watch my Marilyn Monroe movie and write about it. I will have to take the time to do that this week.

I enjoy warmer weather where we can get outside, swim, grill, etc., but I really do like it when it all slows down in the fall and winter and I can take my time a bit more. I have to admit that I become spoiled by not having to go a lot of places in the cooler months. I prefer watching my slow-living YouTubers, reading books, writing my sometimes silly books, washing dishes while I listen to an audiobook, and making cups of hot cocoa or tea.

How was your week last week? Was it super busy? Super slow and easy? Let me know in the comments.

Saturday Afternoon Chat: Donkey farm visit, first jump in the pool, the smoke is back, and little country churches

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



Is it too warm in your neck of the woods for warm tea or coffee?

I have to say that is warming up here but I still enjoy some warm tea in the morning shortly after I wake up. I have not tried any new or exciting teas lately.

Today I am sipping water with lemonade mixed in. I mix the lemonade with water because this lemonade, which we pick up from Aldi, is very sour and acidic for my stomach, but I still like a bit of the flavor of it and it is also a sure way to get me to drink more water.

As I am writing this the sky is darkening up and it definitely feels and looks like we have a storm coming through or at least rain. That may put a damper on our plans for later today.

This week was both a slow and busy week.

It was mainly slow, but we had some events earlier in the week, including two library events that made it a little bit busy.

Both events were related to rescued donkeys and part of the local library’s summer reading program.

The first event was the reading of a book about rescued donkeys, some crafts related to the same topic, as well as a visit by a donkey to the library.

The next day we visited a donkey rescue farm. The Husband was on vacation and was able to go with us. Dark clouds and sprinkles of rain arrived when we drove to the farm but for the most part, the rain held off until after the visit was over.

The farm owners are originally from Maryland. The wife said part of the reason they moved to our area was because of the kindness the local people showed her and her husband when they had a part-time residence in the area.

Now the locals are even more accepting and helpful and also love the donkeys they’ve brought to the area.

After meeting the donkeys, I can see why. They are so friendly. A couple of times I thought they were looking for food, which I didn’t have, but it turned out they simply wanted extra attention. They love to have their heads scratched and seem to love being talked to as well.

I talked along to the one donkey, whose name I think was Tucker, like he was another person. He bumped his nose under my belly if I stopped talking to him or petting him, which reminded me that I am way fatter than I want to be but also that I’m short enough for a mini donkey to be able to stick his little snout under my belly fat.

Little Miss woke up that morning saying she wanted a donkey ride, but I told her I didn’t think they gave donkey rides. Somehow before we left, she convinced the owner to give her a quick ride on the donkey so her day was pretty much made.

She keeps asking to go back to the farm but this was a special event organized by the library so I don’t know that I would feel comfortable just calling up the place and asking if we can randomly drop by their farm because my child is in love with their donkeys. Who knows, maybe she can volunteer her time and help them around the farm.

The view from the pasture of the farm was absolutely amazing and reminded me why I don’t mind living in Northern Pennsylvania, even if we are an hour away from all the bigger towns and stores.

After we visited the farm, we stopped by an old church that I imagine was once also a one-room schoolhouse, but I’m not sure. I found an article online about it so I’ll read that and get back to you about that later this week.



The building was locked but we could see by looking inside that the structure features very old pews that are built into the floor and a woodstove like the ones pictured in the Little House on the Prairie books. I would imagine the stove doesn’t work anymore but the fact that is in such amazing shape was fascinating to me. If they ever have an open house there I am definitely going to go so I can check out the inside of the place.

It also featured an outhouse out back, but I’m guessing that is only for looks since the locks were painted over.

I have no idea if the church is still used regularly or not. Again, I’ll see what the article says.

There is a large, old cemetery on the hill behind the church, but we decided not to explore it since it had started raining. If we make our way out there again, though, I want to go into it since it sits high on a hill and there is probably an amazing view from it.

We had our first dip in my dad’s pool yesterday after weeks of Dad trying to get the thing clean. It was covered all winter but dirt and leaves, etc. fell into it so he had to run the filter, treat it, and run his new little pool-cleaning robot (Stella) too.

Alicia from For His Purpose (https://forhispurpose.blog/) asked yesterday if Stella did her job cleaning my Dad’s pool this past week. Stella is the robot that Dad picked up to clean his pool and he named it Stella to help him remember someone who helps him in physical therapy. I mentioned last week about how we lost Stella the first day Dad set her loose and I stood by the pool yelling “Stella!” ala Marlon Brando in Streetcar Named Desire.

This week we had to rename Stella June Bug because the real Stella was a little creeped out by the robot being named after her. I think she wasn’t really creeped out. She probably thought it was funny but Dad said he didn’t feel right pulling her out of the pool and announcing, “Stella had a bunch of garbage come out of her today.”

So we now have June Bug, a name Little Miss chose for her.

To answer Alicia’s question, yes, June Bug did a very nice job and cleaned up the pool well, which is one big reason why we could go swimming. That and the level of chlorine finally evened out.

Today we are relaxing but might visit the pool later. I’m not sure yet, because of the storms coming in.  When I started this post a bit ago, I was sure we would be over there tomorrow to jump in the pool and maybe help around the house, but I’ve since looked at the weather forecast and we might get rained out again. We will still go for some lunch most likely.

We were both rained out and smoked out of visiting the local state park while The Husband was on vacation this past week. Smoke, haze, and bad air quality drifted down from Canada again this week, keeping us inside much of Thursday. Luckily the smoke wasn’t as bad as it was in the first part of June.

I’m guessing we will be back at the pool someday next week since it is supposed to be much hotter than it has been, which is typical for July in our neck of the woods. The forecast says we could have temperatures in the high 80s, which I am not looking forward to.

How is the weather where you are? Is it blistering hot yet or just comfortable?

Did you have a nice week? Do anything exciting? Let me know in the comments, I’d love to hear (read) about it.

The Story Behind the Photo: Days of Freedom

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn everyday musings6 Comments

When the kids were really young they did crazy things in the backyard of our house in town. Apparently, it was more fun to be crazy in a town where everyone could see them. When we moved to a smaller town, they weren’t as crazy anymore. In our old town, they filled tiny pools with water and jumped in in their underwear. My daughter ran around in her diaper almost all the time, even on the very busy street in front of the house, which sort of drove my husband nuts because he felt it made us look like we weren’t taking care of our children.

Looking back, I totally see his point but he and I both also recognized that children should be allowed to be children. I look back at those messy, crazy, full-speed days and I miss them like I thought I would.

I miss the freedom of them. I miss the unstoppable energy, the unbridled joy, the unrestrained exploring, and the intense curiosity.

Recently, on our third re-read of the Little House books, I had to roll my eyes once again at Ma (Caroline Ingalls) reminding Laura and Mary that children are to be seen and not heard.

I have always hated that saying. I want my children to be seen, to be heard, to be held, to laugh and have fun and make messes and learn from it all.

Some Favorite “slow life” and other simple life YouTube Channels I like

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn everyday musings5 Comments

I have a few YouTube Channels I watch fairly regularly and each of them either focuses on simple moments in life or on leading a “slow living” life as they call it. What that means is that they take their time and enjoy life, even choosing to cut out social media or the news, or other outside noise that might steal their simple joys. Most of the time anyhow.

I thought I would share a few of those channels with you today. Ironically, many of them updated either yesterday or today, which is exciting. Many of these only update once or twice a month, which is nice because I can keep up with their videos.

First up is The Cottage Fairy. She focuses on life in her little home in the middle of some state that is gorgeous and looks like a fairy tale. She works at a small bookshop in her town, is an artist, and is recently married (though I don’t think she’s ever shown her husband). She owns rabbits, picks flowers, walks through enchanted forests, and sometimes talks about her time being homeschooled and how it shaped the quiet life she tries to live now. She speaks in a soft, breathy voice (like many of the young, simple life bloggers) and her videos feature soft, calming music in the background. They are perfect for days I need to decompress from life.

Forgotten Way Farms is a channel I’ve mentioned on here before. The channel showcases a small farm in — some state — I can’t remember where. The host, AbbieJo, mainly focuses on filming what she’s been cooking, thrift shop visits, and other “simple living” topics. She’s big on homesteading and stocking your shelves with homemade food that you can go to later when money is tight or food is scarce. Sometimes she shares what books she is reading and they are usually books about farming, gardening, flowers, or cooking in the old days.

This week she shared a video of them renovating her kitchen and pantry area. They purchased a doublewide that they have been slowly renovating over the last year or so.

Just A Few Acres Farm is a cattle and chicken farm located in the Ithaca, N.Y. area which is close to where I used to live. The farmer, Pete, puts out videos about what he’s doing on the farm, farm events he visits (he is an International Tractor farmer and loves to vlog about them), the farmer’s market he visits (which I have visited a couple of times in the past and enjoyed), and other various farming related topics. His videos are pretty laid-back and just interesting to watch. He is very chill and cheerful and just really seems to enjoy what he does. Watching him cheers me up because even when things aren’t going well, he’s still pretty happy about life in general.

Roots and Refuge is a bit about slowing living but is more about homesteading and Jess and her husband Micah aren’t always living slow. They are planning to open a homesteading store, host a podcast, and have a lot going on in their lives, but the main message of their channel is to cultivate your own food and store as much of the food as you can. Their other message is to love God and the earth he gave us.

I have mentioned Darling Desi before on here (like I have mentioned a couple of the others) but will mention her again. I do like her channel even though she sometimes reads books I have no interest in and even though her perky demeanor over some really silly stuff sometimes makes me want to roll my eyes.

You know – like how I want to roll my eyes at myself sometimes because I get excited over some really silly stuff too. Ha! Anyhow, Desi talks all things “cottage core” which are books and aesthetics that – well, cottage core is . . . Hold on. Let me consult Google. Okay. I’m back. Wikipedia says: Cottagecore is an internet aesthetic popularised by adolescents and young adults celebrating an idealized rural life.”

So it is a fake outlook of rural life and I’m all for that. A fake outlook on life is how I survive. Sigh. Sad, but true(ish).

The definition continues: “Originally based on a rural English and European life, it was developed throughout the 2010s and was first named cottagecore on Tumblr in 2018. The aesthetic centres on traditional rural clothing, interior design, and crafts such as drawing, baking, and pottery, and is related to similar aesthetic movements such as grandmacore, farmcore, goblincore, and fairycore.”

Desi takes the viewer on frolics in fields and walks through bookshops, while her husband records her antics. I’d say poor guy, but she has a lot of followers and viewers and I am guessing they make some good money from it.

One thing I remind myself about a couple of these channels is that while they may seem like they have idelic lives, they really are simply showing the highlights of their life not to be fake but because they are providing a place for the viewer to escape to – a bit of a quiet corner of the internet that can serve as a mental refuge.

Are there some YouTube channels that you follow and enjoy? Let me know in the comments!

Looking for crayfish – crawfish – what do you call them?

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn everyday musings16 Comments

Little Miss was able to meet a friend she’s only talked to online yesterday and they looked for crayfish, or crawfish, or whatever you call these things where you live:

After her friend left, Little Miss stayed at the little stream, which runs through part of the town, determined to capture two of these ugly buggers she saw. She did not catch one because we didn’t have anything to capture in but she is determined to try again another time.


So, what do you call those creatures up above? Crayfish, crawfish? Something else?

Teaser Tuesday: A sneak peek of Gladwynn Grant Gets Her Footing

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn everyday musings4 Comments

Here is a little sneak peek of Gladwynn Grant Gets Her Footing.



The full book releases on July 18th. You can pre-order it here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C1KSQJXP


She opened her book as she sipped her coffee. An hour later, the café had disappeared around her, and she was firmly wrapped up in the world of Earl Stanley Gardner and his detective Donald Lam. 

The snapping of fingers in front of her face startled her and brought her back to reality. Liam’s unshaven jawline and disheveled hair, along with his untucked dress shirt and wrinkled khakis, visible under a brown, thigh length leather coat, looked completely out of place here.

“Thought you’d gone deaf, Grant. Tried to talk to you twice.”

“Oh. Sorry. I’d gotten to a really intense scene.”

“Yeah, I guess so.” He gestured to the chair next to her. “This seat taken?”

She shook her head and moved her book and coffee mug closer to her. “No. Of course not.”

He turned the chair around and sat backwards, hooking his arms around the back after he set a takeaway cup on the table. “Hey, did Justin say anything to you about the brakes being messed with on that car in the accident we went to the other night?”

“Justin?”

“The fire chief.”

“Oh, right. No, that isn’t exactly what he said. He said the driver said something about her brakes not working but that she’d had a head injury, so he wasn’t sure what she meant. He asked me not to report that.” She took a sip of the cappuccino. “Why?”

Liam tapped the surface of the table with his index fingers like he was tapping keys on a piano, his brow furrowed. “I got a message on my voicemail this morning from the woman’s husband. He was flipping all out, saying she’s been saying her brakes weren’t working that night. He thinks someone tampered with them.”

Gladwynn nodded. “Is there a reason someone would tamper with them?”

Liam stood, flipped the chair around the right way and slid it back in place. “Don’t know. Let’s find out. Call the state police on Monday.”

“Yeah, okay. I can do that.”

Liam walked away without saying goodbye, sliding a pair of sunglasses on before stepping out onto the sidewalk and turning in the direction of the newspaper office.

She wondered if he ever took a day off. She turned her attention from the window to the bookshop doorway. It was time to find another book to lose herself in for the rest of the weekend.

Happy Father’s Day and a Song from my Grandfather

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn everyday musings8 Comments

I meant to share this earlier today on my Sunday Bookends post but I don’t think there is anything wrong with sharing it in a separate post.

This is a video I slapped together of my grandfather (my dad’s dad) singing at the fairgrounds near us sometime in the late ’60s or early ’70s.

We spent the day with my dad looking through old photographs and I’m sure I’ll share some of them in a post later this week or next.

I hope you all had a great Father’s Day and were able to either spend it with yours or remember your father or a father figure in your life today.

Sunday Bookends: library visits, blooming flowers, books that make me cringe, and music to write to

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, and some weeks I share what I am listening to.


What I/we’ve been Reading

I will be finishing The Regal Pink by Jenny Knipfer today and I have really enjoyed it. I am not just saying this because I consider Jenny an author friend. I went into this book concerned I wouldn’t like it because I am not a fan of “fantasy” type books but, yet again, I was wrong to be concerned. This is the third Christian fantasy book I have read that has captured my heart. Much like two books by author Max Sternberg, I fell in love with the characters of this book and also Jenny’s writing style. I honestly think that fantasy is the genre she’s meant to write in.

I’ll ramble about the book a little bit more in a review later this week.

I started a Nora Roberts book yesterday because Little Miss picked it out for me at the library. I have never read Nora Roberts but have been told by a friend that once I read this one, I have read all of her books.

This is actually a pair of Christmas novellas combined and it looked like it would be a quick read, but after reading up to chapter four last night I just know I am not going to be able to get through this without cringing anymore than I already have. It is so ridiculous. Seriously.

The guy is gone for ten years, comes back for town to see the woman who he left behind but asked to wait for him. She married while he was gone though, crushing his spirits. When he comes back, though, he finds out that day that she’s divorced and seconds after he finds that out they are making out. Like — what???

And of course, he meets the woman’s daughter and of course, I already know the daughter is his. Such a cliché trope. No thank you. That book is currently in my DNF (did not finish) pile.

Little Miss had no idea what she was picking out. She said she thought it was a cozy mystery. She also picks out small, 5.5 x 7.5 books because they are cute and if she likes the cover. It is a cute cover. I felt bad telling her it was a bad pick but oh my — it is not my cup of tea.

I’ll be trying my library pick once I finish a couple on my Kindle. That pick was:

I’m still reading All That Really Matters by Nicole Deese and enjoying it, but I wanted to finish Jenny’s book so I set it aside for now.

And as if I didn’t have enough to read, I have a cozy mystery from Libby that came in much earlier than I thought so I may start that this week and still put All That Really Matters aside.

The book is A Novel Disguise by Samantha Larsen. I really enjoyed the sample I read and looked at it after someone on Instagram suggested it.

For anyone who might be interested, here is the description:

1784 London.Miss Tiffany Woodall didn’t murder her half-brother, but she did bury him in the back garden so that she could keep her cottage. Now, the confirmed spinster has to pretend to be Uriah and fulfill his duties as the Duke of Beaufort’s librarian while searching Astwell Palace for Uriah’s missing diamond pin, the only thing of value they own. Her ruse is almost up when she is discovered by Mr. Samir Lathrop, the local bookseller, who tries to save her from drowning while she’s actually just washing up in a lake after burying her brother.

Her plan is going by the book, until the rector proposes marriage and she starts to develop feelings for Mr. Lathrop.  But when her childhood friend, Tess, comes to visit, Tiffany quickly realizes her secret isn’t the only one hidden within these walls.  The body of a servant is found, along with a collection of stolen items, and someone else grows mysteriously ill. Can Tiffany solve these mysteries without her own disguise  being discovered? If not, she’ll lose her cottage and possibly her life.

The Boy is not reading right now but this week I have to get him to finish Fellowship of the Ring so he can say he read it.

The Husband is reading —

Little Miss and I are reading Little House on Plum Creek and then I picked up a Boxcar Children book yesterday at the library so I hope we can start that this week.



What’s Been Occurring

I wrote a bit about last week in my Saturday Afternoon post yesterday. Mainly I wrote that our flowers are blooming and we visited my parents. Not a very exciting week overall.

I did take a few more photographs of the roses and peonies yesterday to share on here:

This week the local library’s Summer Reading program starts.

They are offering an open sidewalk chalk art event on Tuesday and on Wednesday they are doing a Lego-themed storytime.

On Saturday of next week, I am supposed to have a sleepover with Little Miss’s friends because they have been asking for one for forever. I am not really looking forward to it because there is no sleep had during a sleepover and the one who won’t sleep will most likely be me and I already don’t sleep so great.

Plus I snore and I am worried I will keep the kids awake, but we will see how it goes.

What I’m/We’re Watching

Last week I watched a lot of Forgotten Way Farms on YouTube.

The Husband and I didn’t have a lot of time to watch things together but did watch a Barnaby Jones episode, which I made a lot of fun of. We also watched some Newhart.

What I’m Writing

I have been working on book two of the Gladwynn Grant Mysteries.

On the blog this past week I shared:

What I’m Listening To

This week I listened to James Herriot’s Treasury for Children on Audible. We don’t have a membership to Audible but we did for a while, so we purchased several books on sale. This was one of them.

I loved the sweet stories with happy endings in this book. Each story is about a cat or dog that Alfred Wight took care of or met during his time as a vet.

When I write I also listen to a mix of music from the 1930s and 1940s, including this playlist on YouTube:

This week I also listened to Samantha Fish and Matthew West (yes. Two completely different artists.)

Blog Posts I Enjoyed This Past Week Or Recently

Mama’s Empty Nest: Birthday Joy

Scott Tirrell: Well, I’m Stumped (about his writing journey)

Katja: Notorious

Over the Teacups: Names of Jesus



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.