My complex and confusing relationship with social media

/ Lisa R. Howeler / 15 Comments

I’m going to preface this post with a clarification – I am not whining about not making money or book sales. I’m just rambling to blog friends about some disappointments I’ve experienced and lessons I’m learning along this writing and life journey.

I have a love-hate relationship with social media and lately, that relationship has tipped into the hate category more than the love.

As a self-published author, I need to have some sort of presence online if I want to sell books and that includes social media. I started writing my fiction books for fun and to escape anxiety and depression. I shared them here on the blog, chapter by chapter, again, as an escape and for fun.

Selling books was secondary. When I saw that I might be able to provide a tiny amount to the monthly family income, I became more interested in selling. Unfortunately, to earn any money as an independent author you need to be willing to put out more money than you earn at first and when you already don’t have a lot of money, that’s a definite challenge.

I’ve been pushing posts and sharing about my books fairly consistently for five years now (while also trying not to always be pushing books) and in the end it really hasn’t mattered. Every month I make about $40 on book sales. Previously I would make between $10 and $20.

I work hard for that $40 but it’s really not a good return on all the time and money I’ve put into my books. A lot of it’s been – dare I even say it – a waste of time. One of those things are the posts I make and share to Instagram.

I have a lot of fun making memes, laughing over them, sharing them, and meeting people on social media through them. I don’t find everything I’ve done online a waste of time.

I’ve met some of the coolest people.

I’ve had some amazing opportunities.

I’ve found a way to distract myself from depression and anxiety that doesn’t involve drinking or eating myself into oblivion.

There is some good that has come from the time I’ve spent online.

A lot of good.

But I’ve also spent way too much time on things that haven’t mattered and aren’t helping my soul.

Balance is definitely key when it comes to social media.

Spending too much time on there can eat up your soul.

Spending too little time means you can’t connect and meet more people who might be interested in buying, or at least reading, your book.

This weekend I decided my soul was more important.

Now, this isn’t an announcement that I’m leaving social media, never to return. It isn’t even an announcement that I’m taking a break (even though I’m taking a small one that doesn’t involve going cold turkey but does involve backing off a bit). It’s just me sharing some thoughts about how social media has changed so many of us, how draining it can be, and how it steals a little part of our soul when we get too wrapped up in it.

I have seen people change as they become more popular on social media.

They’re more willing to compromise their values and morals as they become popular.

They often seem to be more interested in gaining followers, pats on the back, and overall attention than they are in sticking to their beliefs on a variety of issues. I get it. That shot of endorphins when someone likes a post or a lot of someones likes a post is addicting. Been there. Done that.

I have just decided I’d rather be unknown and poor than have to pretend I am someone I am not, to completely overshare every aspect of my personal life, or to compromise my integrity to get those likes.

The bottom line about my relationship with social media is . . . it’s complicated but I have my lines drawn and I intend to do my best to stay within those boundaries.

Sunday Bookends: Happy Easter, busy week so less reading, comfort watches

/ Lisa R. Howeler / 10 Comments

First, Happy Easter.

He has risen! He has risen indeed!

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, Deb at Readerbuzz, and Kathyrn at The Book Date.


What’s Been Occurring

Last week was a crazy week in some ways and I detailed that more in my Saturday Morning Chat. The long and short of it is that there were some health issues within our family, everyone is okay, and my brain is trying to recover from it all.

Yesterday I didn’t have tons of time for my brain to recover since our daughter had a friend over and they tend to be a little crazy when they get together. They had a lot of fun, though, and it was a good day. And they weren’t really that crazy. We went to the playground and then they had fun splashing in the bathtub in their bathing suits. Earlier in the day they went to two Easter egg hunts as well.

And I did have some downtime for reading and watching Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, at least.

Today we are going to my parents for Easter dinner and an Easter egg hunt.

What I/we’ve been Reading

Currently:

I’m reading Murder in an Irish Village by Carlene O’Connor and Night Falls on Predicament Avenue by Jamie Jo Wright still thanks to the aforementioned crazy week. Both are very good. I’ll probably be finished with Murder in an Irish Village today and Night Falls… later in the week.

The Secret Garden is also being read but slowly.



Soon to be read:


The Divine Proverb of Streusel by Sara Brunsvold

The Mystery at the Lilac Inn by Carolyn Keene (Nancy Drew)

What We watched/are Watching

This week I watched Little House on the Prairie and Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman.

I also enjoyed relaxing to my favorite YouTube farmer, Farmer Pete:

There is something comforting about watching Pete and his wife work on the farm – feeding the cows and the chickens, fixing tractors, cooking beef brisket and just doing what they do every day.

I also watched this interview with two of the authors I am in a multi-author project with.

You can learn more about our project by watching this video or visiting our Facebook group.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/511319271100448

For Easter I am watching this:

and other songs related to Easter like this:


What I’m Writing

What I’m Listening To

I’ve been listening to Ellie Holcomb’s album, Canyons.

Blog Posts I Enjoyed This Past Week

Did Jesus Die on Friday by Nostalic Italian

Are You Following the Breadcrumbs by A New Lens

The Bookstore With One Million Books – Literally by Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs

Good Friday’s Not the End by Mama’s Empty Nest

Photos from this Week

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

Saturday afternoon chat and tea: Possible concussions, hospital stays for family, cold weather, and an exciting book find.

/ Lisa R. Howeler / 21 Comments

Welcome to my corner of the internet for a little chat and a cup of tea. If you don’t like tea, we also have coffee, juice, or water.

We have a small selection of teas: peppermint, Chamomile, green, Ginger with orange, and raspberry.

Let me tell you that I needed something relaxing to sip today after the week our family had. We are all okay but there has been a lot of worry over various health issues for a few of us and that has had me on edge.

Last week my sister-in-law ended up in the hospital with a health issue and only came home yesterday.

Monday my son came home from school and told me  he had run into metal piping at his vocational school and the impact had knocked his head and neck back.

He got off the bus and walked to the dollar store down the street and back home. I had no idea this had happened to him and was alarmed that he hadn’t let me know so I could pick him up at the bus stop.

He had a horrible headache and his neck hurt. He was also exhausted but he hadn’t slept well the night before. His telling me what had happened launched me into Mama Bear mode and I started asking all the routine questions about symptoms that could mean he had a concussion.

I asked him if he had blacked out, had gotten dizzy, had sensitivity to light and sound, had nausea, or had memory loss.

He didn’t have any of those and when I asked him who the president was he thought he was pretty funny when he answered “Ronald Regan.”

I kept a close eye on him the rest of the day, waking him up when he fell asleep for a nap later. We also kept him home from school the next day and also woke him up in the middle of the night, despite him saying he felt okay.

 At one point on Tuesday, he said he was very tired and I got nervous it might be because he actually had a concussion until we both started talking about how many times I had woke him up to check on him, then his dad, and then he had woke up a couple of times in the night too, plus his alarm had gone off even though he didn’t have to go to school. We decided then that he actually needed more sleep without us checking on him to feel less tired.

On Monday while I was worried about The Boy, Little Miss was dealing with a sore throat but I thought it was from sinus drainage. Later that night she developed a low grade fever. By the next morning, the fever was gone, which is something that happens with her from time to time, especially when the weather changes.

Prior to all of this, on last Friday to be specific, my sister-in-law was admitted to the hospital an hour away for a complication from an ongoing medical issue. She was doing well for the most part but it was stressful as we all waited to see what decisions would be made to solve the issue.

I tried to give her something to think about other than waiting to figure out the next step in her treatment so I texted her jokes or about books or anything else. A few days later my fingers started going numb and I realized carpal tunnel was rearing it’s ugly head from all the texting back and forth with her and my brother. I don’t regret the texting but I probably should have worn the wrist braces I’d purchased a couple of weeks earlier.

I dealt with pins and needles in my hands most of the week until I started wearing the braces more and found a video on YouTube for wrist stretches. The numbness started to subside and is doing much better. I hope I can continue to be consistent with the exercises and help the awful feeling.

Thursday I ate food that I should not have been eating because I have some food sensitivities and that night I had stomach pains and couldn’t fall asleep.

All of this is to say that I was a mess much of the week and didn’t accomplish as much as I wanted to, but did accomplish some things.

I picked up my new glasses and groceries yesterday. The glasses were very much needed because the anti-glare coating was peeling and it was making reading and writing a challenge. I was having a hard time telling what were my normal eye floaters and what were the marks on my lenses and while I tried not to focus on the spots on the lenses, it was a huge struggle.

I also finished writing Cassie, which will be released in August. I can now go over it again and then send it on to be edited. After that, I will start writing book three of the Gladwynn Grant Mysteries. I am excited to start that and announce a title sometime in the near future.

One of the more exciting events this week was when The Husband found a stack of books in the attic left by our house’s previous owner. Now, I know this makes me sound like a very lame person that I found the discovery of books in our attic to be the most exciting part of my week, but they were books from series I have either read or am reading from.

The books were four from the Mitford series by Jan Karon, four from the Elm Creek Quilter series by Jennifer Chiaverini, and a Beverly Lewis book. I’ve never read a lot of Beverly Lewis, but I have read all of the Mitford books and two of the Elm Creek Quilter books (though not any of these particular ones.)

I remember when we first looked at this house. The homeowners at the time were here and when we walked inside what is now our dining room I saw a row of Jan Karon books on a small shelf and blurted out, “Oh, I love Jan Karon! Do you read her?”

Like, she had them on her shelf. Of course, she read them and that’s what she told me with an amused smile. I have no idea why they placed some of those books in a hutch in some bags in the attic but maybe they knew we’d enjoy them.

The couple moved to Arizona from here and the husband passed away last year, which was very sad to us because they seemed like the coolest people. After we met them, I found out the man was in his early 80s and I didn’t believe it. I would have said he was in his early 70s, maybe, but not 80s.

Our neighbors on both sides said there were times they tried to talk him off ladders or from doing other dangerous things at his age.

Based on the books we found and the books she read, I think the wife and I would have got along.

Later today we are taking Little Miss to a couple of Easter egg hunts that The Husband needs to attend for work (he’s a small town newspaper reporter/editor/photographer for anyone who is new here) and then a couple of her friends are coming to visit for the day.

Tomorrow, we plan to visit my parents for Easter dinner.

As for next week, I don’t have a lot scheduled so far. I would absolutely love it if the weather got warmer but so far Spring doesn’t seem to want to come back to Pennsylvania. Our days have been cold and gloomy. We truly need some more sunshine, especially since the buds are coming out on the trees and I’m anxious to see the leaves and flowers again.

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

What are you drinking today wherever you are? I hope it’s something good!

Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot March 28

/ Lisa R. Howeler / 3 Comments

Hello, blogging peeps! I hope you are all having a great week.

Welcome to another Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot hosted by Marsha in the Middle, Melynda from Scratch Made Food & DYI Homemade Household, Sue from Women Living Well After 50, and me.  Look for the link party to go live on Thursdays at 9:30pm EDT. 

Weather-wise it has been cold.

Family-wise things have been a bit hectic, but I’ll share more about that in my Saturday Afternoon Tea and Chat post.

Blog-wise I’ve been busy writing reviews of books and shows.

Writing-wise I have finished Cassie, which will release in August and have started brainstorming for the third Gladwynn book. I’ll announce a title for it at a later date.

Let’s get right to our most clicked post of the week:

|| Family History: Discovering a Surprise Ancestor by Women Living Well after 50 ||





And some highlights I picked from the posts this week:

|| Brookgreen Sculpture Garden by Thrifting Wonderland ||

I loved the art in this one but also the information about the artists and the birds. It was a very relaxing post for me after a hectic week.

|| Easter Hutch in Dining Room by Debbie Dabble Blog ||

I always love Debbie’s decorations and how she pays attention to detail and focuses on that detail for us in case we miss it while looking at the photos. These setups must take a very long time and her patience to create them always impresses me.

|| Joy Comes in the Morning by Becoming His Tapestry ||

I always love Brenda’s inspirational messages.

I really loved this sentence: Then we look up, not into the eyes of our friends and family, but into the precious Word of God and realize that spring is here, not because it’s actually spring, but it begins to feel like spring because we’ve allowed ourselves to be comforted by the Word of God and His Spirit. 

Now it is your turn to link up your favorite posts. They can be fashion, lifestyle, DIY, food, etc. All we ask is that they be family-friendly. You can link up posts from last week or even from years ago.

Also, please take the time to visit the other blogs on the link-up and meet some new bloggers!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter
https://fresh.inlinkz.com/js/widget/load.js?id=c0efdbe6b4add43dd7ef

Book recommendations: Planned Spring reads

/ Lisa R. Howeler / 7 Comments

This spring I plan to read the following books (or I’m already reading them):

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

I have seen at least one movie version of this one (the one from the early 1980s) but have never read the book and have been wanting to for a long while.

Description:

Follow young Mary Lennox as she embarks on a captivating journey that will unlock the secrets of her own heart and the hidden wonders of a long-forgotten garden. As Mary explores the magical realm tucked away within the walls of Misselthwaite Manor, she unearths not only vibrant flowers and lush greenery, but also the key to her own healing and happiness.

With the help of her newfound friends, including the spirited Dickon and the remarkably talented Colin, Mary learns to nurture both the garden and the fragile bonds of trust and friendship. Together, they breathe life into the barren landscape, uncovering the beauty and joy that can be found even in the most desolate places.

The Divine Proverb of Streusel by Sara Brunsvold

I started Sara’s first book – The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kipp – but abandoned it because it was hard to listen to during a stressful time of loss in my family. I will be going back to finish it because I did enjoy it.

I was interested in this book as well so I decided to give it a chance when I saw it on a list of books I could review for Clean Fiction Magazine (which is a place where readers of clean fiction can find book recommendations from many genres).

Description:

Shaken by her parents’ divorce and discouraged by the growing chasm between herself and her serious boyfriend, Nikki Werner seeks solace at her uncle’s farm in a small Missouri hamlet. She’ll spend the summer there, picking up the pieces of her shattered present so she can plan a better future. But what awaits her at the ancestral farm is a past she barely knows.

Among her late grandmother’s belongings, Nikki finds an old notebook filled with handwritten German recipes and wise sayings pulled from the book of Proverbs. With each recipe she makes, she invites locals to the family table to hear their stories about the town’s history, her ancestors–and her estranged father.

What started as a cathartic way to connect to her heritage soon becomes the means through which she learns how the women before her endured–with the help of their cooking prowess. Nikki realizes how delicious streusel with a healthy dollop of faith can serve as a guide to heal wounds of the past.

Night Falls on Predicament Avenue by Jaime Jo Wright

I’ve always steered clear of Jaime’s books because anything creepy or related to ghosts, etc. is not really my thing. Jaime’s books are listed under Christian Fiction so they are clean, in case you are wondering. They are just creepy. I saw this one being offered as part of a book tour and decided to give it a chance. I have started it and, so far, I don’t like to put it down because I really want to know what happened.

Description:

In 1910, Effie James is committed to doing anything to save her younger sister, who witnessed a shocking murder, leaving her mute and in danger of the killer’s retribution. Effie must prove what her sister saw, but when a British gentleman arrives, he disrupts Effie’s quest with his attempts to locate his wife, Isabelle Addington, who was last seen at the supposed crime scene in the abandoned house at 322 Predicament Avenue. Just as Effie discovers what she seeks, she finds that the blood staining the walls will forever link her to a scandal she couldn’t imagine, and to a woman whose secrets promise to curse any who would expose them.

A century later, Norah Richman grapples with social anxiety and grief as she runs her late great-aunt’s bed-and-breakfast on Predicament Avenue. But Norah has little affection for the house and is committed only to carrying out her murdered sister’s dreams until crime historian and podcaster Sebastian Blaine arrives to investigate the ghostly legacy of the house’s claim to fame–the murder of Isabelle Addington. When a guest is found dead, the incident is linked to Isabelle’s murder, and Norah and Sebastian must work together to uncover the century-old curse that has wrapped 322 Predicament Avenue in its clutches and threatens far more than death.

Murder In An Irish Village by Carlene O’Connor

I’ve also started this book and I’m just as tied up in it as I am Jaime’s. This is my first book by O’Connor, who I had never heard of until a cozy mystery account on Instagram suggested it.

This is a wild Irish ride and I really am enjoying it. Must be the Celtic blood in me.

Description:

In the small village of Kilbane, County Cork, Ireland, Naomi’s Bistro has always been a warm and welcoming spot to visit with neighbors, enjoy some brown bread and tea, and get the local gossip. Nowadays twenty-two-year-old Siobhán O’Sullivan runs the family bistro named for her mother, along with her five siblings, after the death of their parents in a car crash almost a year ago.

It’s been a rough year for the O’Sullivans, but it’s about to get rougher. One morning, as they’re opening the bistro, they discover a man seated at a table, dressed in a suit as if for his own funeral, a pair of hot pink barber scissors protruding from his chest.

With the local garda suspecting the O’Sullivans and their business in danger of being shunned—murder tends to spoil the appetite—it’s up to feisty redheaded Siobhán to solve the crime and save her beloved brood.

The Mystery at Lilac Inn by Carolyn Keene.

I am continuing to read through the original Nancy Drew books and this is up next.

Description:


Nancy and her friend Helen visit their friend Emily Willouby at the Lilac Inn, which Emily now owns, to help her plan her wedding. Emily plans on selling inherited diamonds in order to help fix up the Lilac Inn. However, Nancy soon learns that someone has been impersonating her and making expensive purchases under her name. Soon after, Emily’s diamonds are stolen! Can Nancy find the thieves and recover the missing diamonds?

Have you read any of these? What did you think?

Book recommendation: Murder Plainly Read by Isabella Alan

/ Lisa R. Howeler / 5 Comments

Murder Plainly Read by Isabella Alan, the fourth book in the Amish Quilt Shop Mysteries, was hard for me to put down not only because I wanted to find out who committed the crime in this super cozy mystery, but because I became attached to the main character Angela “Angie” Braddock and those around her.

Angie owns a fabric and quilting shop in the small town of Millersburg, which has a very large Amish population. She owns two pets – a loveable French Bulldog named Oliver and an aloof cat named Dodger. She’s dating the town’s sheriff, James Mitchell, which creates some interesting situations when she’s trying to investigate things she shouldn’t really be investigating.

Angie’s friends work in the shop or are connected to the shop in some way and are Amish. There are two different types of Amish sects in this community – more strict and more liberal. Angie’s employees – Anna and Mattie – are a mix of both.

Anna cracked me up because she is Amish but also wants to get to the bottom of things and in this case those “things” are surrounding the murder of a very cranky bishop of the Old Order Amish named Bartholomew Belier. He’s found dead in the library bookmobile by Angie and Angie’s “prim and proper” mother. Standing over him is brash librarian Austina Shaker, who is quickly blamed for the murder.

Angie isn’t sure if Austina is guilty or not but when Austina begs her to help clear her name, Angie can’t seem to help trying to find out. Anna also pushes Angie to get involved, certain she can help get to the bottom of what really happened to Bartholomew.

Angie does have a history of trying to solve murders, after all since she’s investigated and solved three murders previously. I should add that I didn’t realize this was the fourth book in this series when I started it and I had no issues understanding what was happening despite not reading the previous three yet.

The loveable cast of characters in the book include Anna and Mattie, Angie’s friends Rachel and Jonah, who are also Amish, Mitchell and his son Zander, a mischievous goat named Petunia, and Angie’s parents.

Her father is extra loveable and fun as he tries to navigate life after retirement. Her mother is more on the irritating side of things as she tries to run the show a lot and seems a bit stuck up but she keeps the storyline even more interesting as the reader braces themselves for what she’s going to say or do next.

There is much more than a mystery going on in this book and I like that. I like the little side stories with the different characters. I also loved the undercurrent of romance between Mitchell and Angie and how Alan didn’t need to add anything explicit or detailed to get across the feelings between the two.

There were even a few swoon-worthy scenes that made me giggle with delight over the gentle affection shown between the couple – affection that didn’t involve anything blush-worthy.

It’s amazing to me how just Mitchell brushing his fingertips against the back of Angie’s arm was enough to hint at sexual tension. No spicey scenes or language were needed.

I am looking forward to reading more books in this series.

Book recommendations/reviews for Meet Your Baker by Ellie Alexander and Crime and Poetry by Amanda Flower

/ Lisa R. Howeler / 3 Comments

Meet Your Baker by Ellie Alexander

Meet Your Baker by Ellie Alexander was a cozy, quick read that launched me into modern cozy mysteries. It is the first book in the Bakeshop Mystery series.

Juliet Capshaw returns to her hometown in Oregon after suffering heartbreak while working as a chef on a cruise ship.

Hoping for a break from all the stress, she begins working with her mom at the family bakery. Her hopes for a peaceful settling-in are dashed when she discovers a body on the kitchen floor one morning.

This book had me hooked on the characters fairly quickly. There is a close relationship between Juliet and her mom and there are plenty of quirky and sweet characters to grow attached to.

Even though I am not a baker myself, I liked how baking was seamlessly woven into the story. I won’t lie – I did skip over some of the more detailed descriptions of the baking process and how it made her feel because it isn’t really my thing, but for those who absolutely love baking I know those descriptions will be something they will love to read.

Alexander does an amazing job of bringing her characters to life – whether it is in how she describes them or in how she creates a dialogue between them.

This is a book I would recommend to anyone who loves super, super cozy mysteries.

Crime and Poetry by Amanda Flower

Crime and Poetry is the first book in the Magical Bookshop series by Amanda Flower. Violet Waverly rushes back to her hometown to help her ailing grandmother, only to find out her grandmother (Daisy) isn’t so sick after all.

Daisy owns a bookshop that Violet soon finds out is magical because the books pick their readers, which is hard to explain until you read the book.

Before Violet knows it she’s wrapped up in a murder mystery when a man named Benedict Raisin dies clutching a copy of Emily Dickinson that he bought at Daisy’s bookshop. Even worse for Daisy is that Benedict left her in his will.

This is a book that takes you on a wild journey full of magic and craziness. I’m not usually a fan of “magical” books. I prefer my cozy mysteries to have at least a little bit of reality to them but I’ve read Flower’s other magical series – The Magical Garden Series – and really liked it.

I did not enjoy this book as much as the magical garden because it featured more about spells and that’s not really my thing. It may, however, be something other readers enjoy. I also felt that the timeline for solving the mystery was completely ridiculous. But there were magical books involved so of course it would be solved fast. A little bit of suspending belief isn’t a bad thing when reading a cozy mystery though.

I don’t know if I will continue this series because I didn’t connect with Violet as much as characters in other series by Flower but I might since I liked the book overall.

Have you read either of these? What did you think?

Sunday Bookends: cozy mysteries, Little House on the Prairie marathon, and a few photos from the week

/ Lisa R. Howeler / 9 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, Deb at Readerbuzz, and Kathyrn at The Book Date.

What’s Been Occurring

 It’s still been very cold this past week so we have been lighting a fire every other day.  We lit one last night as the temperature dropped to somewhere around 22 degrees. It looks like temps will warm up this week as we move into Good Friday and Easter.

I wrote a bit about our week last week in yesterday’s Saturday Afternoon Chat post if you want to catch up on other “events” of our week. Spoiler – there weren’t a lot of events actually.

What I/we’ve been Reading

I’m reading A Murder in an Irish Village by Carlene O’Connor. It is very authentic Irish and I’m enjoying it.

I just started The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett but will probably read this one very slowly because of some books I’m reading for tours and to review for Clean Fiction Magazine. I already know the story of The Secret Garden from watching the movie.

I have also started Night Falls on Predicament Avenue by Jamie Jo Wright. This one is for a book tour in April. I honestly think it is going to be too creepy for me but I guess it is good to branch out once in a while.

Just Finished:

Murder Plainly Read by Isabella Alan and The Middle Moffat by Eleanor Estes.

Currently:

I enjoyed both of these books and will have reviews up soon.

Soon to be read:

The Divine Proverb of Streusel by Sara Brunsvold

Who Brought The Dog to Church? By Tracy Smoak

When You Returned by Havelah Mclat

What others in the family are reading: The Boy is reading Horus Rising and listening to A Tale of Two Cities. Little Miss is listening to The Railway Children and we are reading The Middle Moffat together.

The Husband is reading Do the New You by Steven Furtick

What We watched/are Watching

This weekend I watched all things Little House on the Prairie. This year is the 50th anniversary of the debut of the show and they are holding a festival with many of the old cast members in California. I have been watching the show and some footage from the festival such as interviews with Melissa Gilbert and Dean Butler, etc.

I didn’t realize how attached I was to the show until I saw Melissa Gilbert come out in front of all her fans and begin to cry and then I began to cry as well. I have good memories of running home from the bus stop to watch the show when I was a kid. I’ll ramble about that in a future blog post.

Here is the video I watched of the Melissa Gilbert interview if you are interested:

My daughter and I watched a couple of the episodes based more directly on stories in the books, which we read over the last couple of years and then watched three more that were loosely based on stories. I, of course, had to watch with her the episode when Laura pushes Nellie down the hill to prove she has been lying about not being able to walk. After that one, Little Miss was hooked and asked to watch more.

Earlier in the week I always watched Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman and Lark Rise to Candleford.

Over the weekend I watched original Perry Mason episodes with The Husband.

What I’m Writing

I am on the epilogue of Cassie and then I will be beginning book three of the Gladwynn Grant mysteries.

On the blog this week:

What I’m Listening To

On Audible I am listening to A Tale of Two Cities by Dickens (Lord Jesus be with me. Literally.) and The Railway Children (with Little Miss).

Photos from Last Week

Blog Posts I Enjoyed This Past Week

Billyisms and Winnie the Pooh by Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs

This post cracked me up, especially this line: “This was all just to warm up to the topic of my husband being a human Winnie the Pooh, but one who wears pants of course.”

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

Saturday Afternoon Chat: Punxsutawney Phil is a Pathological Liar, stinky weather, and remembering the Little House on the Prairie show

/ Lisa R. Howeler / 11 Comments

It’s time all of you Americans know something and understand it — Punxsutawney Phil is a pathological liar. That little rodent has been lying to us for years and yet people still think they can believe him when he says we’re getting an early spring.

Maybe someone, somewhere is getting an early spring but in his home state of Pennsylvania, we are not getting an early spring.

I visited Punxsutawney one time and I can confirm that it is not like the cute little town you see in the movie Groundhog Day either. They didn’t even shoot the film in Punxsutawney because the place is not picturesque and because there are actual shrines to that nasty little lying varmint all over the place.

The thing is even pictured on the outside of the newspaper building, on the newspaper masthead, and there is a wood carving of him by the McDonalds. Or there was when we visited 22 years ago.

 Living in Pennsylvania means hearing about that dumb groundhog way too often. (Hopefully, you will take all these comments about Phil in the humorous way they are meant.)

It is raining today and is supposed to rain the rest of the day but mixed into the rain is ice and snow. It was like that off and on all week this past week. So no. We are not getting an early spring, even though last week I thought we might.

That was the week my daughter was riding her bike in front of the house and my son was taking long walks around town without a coat.

Pennsylvania’s weather is like this every year but it never makes it easier.

On Wednesday we had every single type of weather imaginable it seemed. One hour it was snowing, the next raining, the next sunny, and then windy and back around again. By Wednesday night, luckily, things started to settle down some so I could take Little Miss to the last night of Kid’s Club (a children’s program at a local church) and not worry about getting stuck in it all.

After Kid’s Club, I had to rush back home to lead my online Bible study, which made me a little nervous, but I survived. Thankfully the regular leader will be back this Wednesday.

On Thursday I took a relaxation day because the week had just been so rough with that one time I had to leave the house. Ha. Ha.

 On Friday the kids and I traveled 20 minutes to pick up our groceries at the local Aldi. We also stopped at a local convenience store that used to be a mansion owned by a family tied into the area’s local history and I think maybe the underground railroad. I need to look that last part up.

Because there are some historical photographs, letters, and other information at the site, I told the kids we could count the trip as a field trip if they would go look at those items with me.

I plan to write a blog post about the site at a later date. I think it will interest history buffs, even if they aren’t local themselves.

I also plan to write a post soon about watching the Little House on the Prairie 50th anniversary events in California this weekend and what the show has meant to me. I was literally sitting here crying earlier through an interview with Melissa Gilbert this afternoon. If any of you have sentimental connections to the show and would like to see the interview too, here it is:

I have been following Dean Butler (Almanzo Wilder) and Allison Arngrim (Nellie Olson)’s podcast to get ready for the festival off and on for a few months now. It’s brought back a lot of memories of watching the reruns when I was a kid and also reading the books, of course.

I’ll ramble more about my connection to the show in a separate post but will ask today if any of my readers have heard about the reunion and if you have been watching any of it?

I plan to have a cup of tea here soon and continue reading a book I signed up for through a blog tour, though now I’m second guessing it because the book is creepy.

I’ll hopefully be able to push through it and provide a fairly good review for the tour, but as for today, I’ll probably switch to a cozy mystery I am reading later on in the day.

My cat, Pixel, is curled up next to me on the couch on this rainy day. She’s dozing away. Both she and our younger cat Scout went outside for about 20 minutes later and then darted back in when I let Zooma the Wonder Dog out to use the bathroom. They’ve been doing that a lot all week. They’re missing being able to just hang out outside.

Scout is probably curled up somewhere else in the house. She’s been making the most of the short time she’s had outside. Yesterday The Boy found what was left of a dead bird out in the yard. We call Scout our bird killer so we are certain it is her.

Zooma the Wonder Dog is slowly recovering from not feeling well (she has a lot of stomach problems), but she is lying on her side and chilling out, instead of laying on her belly and looking like she is in pain like she did on other days during the week.

She will probably perk up even more when we visit my parents tomorrow for Sunday lunch.

So that was a bit of an update about my week.

How was your week this past week? Do anything exciting or relaxing? Let me know in the comments.