Sunday Bookends: Our son turns 19, injured cat, new mystery book to read

November 9, 2025November 9, 2025 / Lisa R. Howeler / 36 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.

Our son turned 19 on Friday. We had a chilled day that day and didn’t do a lot at his request but yesterday he and his dad went to a college town a couple of hours away and explored the town, visited a comic shop, had breakfast and lunch, and just generally had a great time.

The Boy picked up this awesome double record of Johnny Cash at a used book/record store.

The Husband found this for me at a store —

I used to drink these all the time in college and was thrilled to have a bit of a blast from the past.

We call him “The Boy” by the way as a sign of affection because he is the only boy grandson out of seven grandchildren on my husband’s side. Someone my husband knows was afraid the term would offend our son (she was very polite in her concern), but we mainly only use it online and sometimes my husband will jokingly say, “Where is the boy?” when he walks in the house. We obviously call him by his given name offline.

I also don’t use his real name on my blog to protect his privacy a little because I used to use it and … it was sort of weird for him, even though I no longer share anything too personal about his life here. He wasn’t angry about me using his real name but I felt like I should protect him and Little Miss as they grow. They are okay with me occasionally posting photos at least.

Today we plan to go to my parents and have lunch with them and make apple pie together for The Boy’s birthday, which is a tradition because he is not a cake fan.

On Friday night, our cat Scout was unable to put weight down on her back paw.

All the vets around her in the Middle of Nowhere Land are closed for the weekend so we’ve tried to make her comfortable until we can get in somewhere. If she were yowling the whole time and it was clearly broken, we’d call the emergency line of the vet we usually go to. For now, she’s just extremely angry we won’t let her outside, so I am guessing she’s going to be okay.

She also bit me this morning while I tried to see if there is something in her paw or if it had been cut. We think, however, that the paw got pinched between the bed and the wall when Scout tried to curl up with Little Miss on Friday morning.

I am not the type of person who can handle a cat being in pain or upset, so this has been emotional for me. Having a new kitten in the house has also thrown things off, and our eldest cat has been angry and hissing and also trying to bite. I’m about to take them all to the no-kill shelter and be done with it, but, of course, I really can’t do that. They are family, and we just need to adjust to living as a family with a new member.

I am reading my first book for my Nancy Drew November, The Mystery of the Fire Dragon. I will have it finished today. Honestly, it’s pretty good other than Nancy getting hit in the head AGAIN and no one taking her to the hospital AGAIN. This time it was a flowerpot that fell from a third story window. In reality she’d be dead.

I am also reading Rebecca by Daphne De Maurier. Earlier this week I mentioned on Instagram that I was reading Rebecca by didn’t say by who and some very young Bookstagrammer said, “Oooh…what’s that?”

I felt very old. Another person thought I was reading Rebecca Yaros and said they loved Fourth Wing. Siiiiigh.

I’m really enjoying Home the Harmony by Phillip Gulley. I was reading it before bed the week before last but laid it aside most of this week to read Nancy Drew and Rebecca. Last night I picked it up again and ended up laughing so hard at one part. The book isn’t really a cohesive story, but a series of short stories about the same characters, with the main character being a Quaker minister. I am fairly certain I read part of this book if not all of it when I was in my 20s, and it seems familiar, but I don’t remember a lot of it so it’s like reading it all over again. I am enjoying it and would recommend it for a light, humorous and touching read.

Coming up, I hope to read another Nancy Drew, but my husband also picked me up a fancy copy of The Secret of Chimneys by Agatha Christie. I’ve never read or heard of this one so I might bump one of my planned autumn reads to read this one instead.

After that, probably more toward December, I want to start My Beloved by Jan Karon. I am so excited for it but my mom loves Jan Karon so I let her read the copy The Husband bought me first. She hasn’t shared what she thinks of it yet, but I hope it is good.

Little Miss and I are reading a Civil War-based book right now for school called Secrets of Civil War Spies by Nancy LeSourd.

This past week I watched a movie called Storm in a Teacup with Rex Harrison and Vivien Leigh. I believe it was released in 1937 and is an English movie. It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed seeing both actors when they were so young.

I watched a couple of later episodes of Murder, She Wrote, my farmer (Just A Few Acres) on YouTube, and more The Hardy Boys Nancy Drew Mysteries from the 1970s. The Hardy Boys Nancy Drew Mysteries are both good and horrible at the same time.

I just wanted to leave a little note to thank any of my blog readers who have taken the time to read my cozy mysteries, the Gladwynn Grant Mysteries. Those stories are fun for me to write, and I appreciate anyone who indulges my little hobby. I would love to say writing books is more than a hobby but for now it’s essentially a time consuming hobby and I’m finally okay with that.

I am working on book four, Gladwynn Grant Goes Back to School, and it is taking me a while but I do have much of it outlined so I am hoping I can get it finished and released by February.

I have links to the books at the bottom of this post.

This week on the blog, I shared:

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.

This post is linked up with The Sunday Post at Kimba at Caffeinated Reviewer, The Sunday Salon with Deb at Readerbuzz, and Book Date: It’s Monday! What are you reading hosted by Kathyrn at The Book Date. Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Reading Reality.

Hello! Welcome to my blog. I am a blogger, homeschool mom, and I write cozy mysteries.

You can find my Gladwynn Grant Mystery series HERE.

You can also find me on Instagram and YouTube.

Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot November 7

November 6, 2025November 6, 2025 / Lisa R. Howeler / 5 Comments

Welcome to the Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot, where we offer a place for bloggers to link up and get a fresh set of eyes on their posts. We also feature one blog a week, letting our readers know about the blog and providing a link so readers can learn more about it. Please feel free to post new blog posts or old ones you want to bring attention to again.

Look for the post to go live about 9:30 PM EST on Thursdays.

Now, let’s introduce our current hosts for the Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot:

Marsha from Marsha in the Middle started blogging in 2021 as an exercise in increasing her neuroplasticity. Oh, who are we kidding? Marsha started blogging because she loves clothes, and she loves to talk or, in this case, write!

Melynda from Scratch Made Food! & DIY Homemade Household – The name says it all, we homestead in East Texas, with three generations sharing this land. I cook and bake from scratch, between gardening and running after the chickens, and knitting!

Lisa from Boondock Ramblings shares about the fiction she writes and reads, her faith, homeschooling, photography and more.

Cat from Cat’s Wire is a bookworm, movie fan, crazy cat lady, armed with beads, cabs, wire and a very jumpy brain which loves to go down rabbit holes!

Rena from Fine, Whatever writes about style, midlife, and the “fine whatever” moments that make life both meaningful and fun. Since 2015, she’s been celebrating creativity, confidence, and finding joy in the everyday.

We would love to have additional Co-Hosts to share in the creativity and fun! If you think this would be a good fit for you and you like having fun (come on, who doesn’t!) while still being creative, drop one of us an email and someone will get back with you!

WTJR will be highlighting a different blogger each week this year! We invite you to stop by their blog, take a look around and say hello!

This week we are spotlighting: Living Outside the Stacks

Thank you so much for joining us for our link-up!

And now some posts that were highlights for me this past week:

|| Spooky Season Superlatives by Still Life, With Cracker Crumb ||

|| Six Days In Branson, Missouri: Day Four, The Titanic Museum and “David by Amy’s Creative Pursuit ||

|| Here’s How to Fall in Love With Dark Romance Style by Your True Self Blog ||

|| Do You Love Decorating With Mirrors? By Distinctly Southern Style ||

Important things to know about the link-up:

You may add unlimited family-friendly blog post links, linked to specific blog posts, not just the blog.
Be sure to visit other links and leave a kind comment for each link you post (it would be too hard to visit every link, of course!)
The party opens Thursday evening and ends on Wednesday.
Thank you for participating. Have fun!

*By linking to The Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot Link Up, you give permission to share your post and images on the hosts’ blogs.

Hello! Welcome to my blog. I am a blogger, homeschool mom, and I write cozy mysteries.

You can find my Gladwynn Grant Mystery series HERE.

You can also find me on Instagram and YouTube.

Comfy, Cozy Cinema: The Englishman Who Went Up A Hill But Came Down a Mountain

November 6, 2025November 6, 2025 / Lisa R. Howeler / 12 Comments

Erin from Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs and I are hosting the Comfy, Cozy Cinema again this year.

Our movie this week was The Englishman Who Went Up A Hill But Came Down A Mountain.

There are three things to know about this movie: It is based on a Welsh legend (but not actually true), it a romantic comedy, and it has the longest title of any movie I have ever watched.

First, let’s have a little description from online:

During the days of World War I, a small Welsh town relies on its local mountain as a source of pride. When two English cartographers, Reginald Anson (Hugh Grant) and George Garrad (Ian McNeice), arrive to measure the mountain, they discover the landmark is 16 feet short of achieving the official mountain classification. Disheartened that their mountain has been deemed a hill, the townsfolk devise a plan to make up those 16 feet. Meanwhile, Anson falls for a local woman (Tara Fitzgerald).

This movie has all the things I like — Quirky characters and story, beautiful views, dry British humor, and a bit of romance.

Hugh Grant is adorable in it and Colm Meany ads a bit of humor (even if he is a dirty scoundrel).

It is free of bad language, sex, or violence.

Well, let’s talk about the sex a bit. There are suggestions of it being engaged in, but none is shown.

The movie starts with the narrator explaining that a lot of people in Wales, where the movie takes place, have the same last name so people began to attach their occupation to their name. This is why a little boy wants to know why one man had a very long occupation attached to his name. He asks his grandfather and the grandfather begins to tell the story.

We then switch to Hugh Grant’s character, Reginald Anson (there is no way to say that name without using a British accent by the way. Try it. I dare you. It doesn’t sound right in an American accent) riding into a small village with another man, George Garrad, portrayed by Ian McNeice.

They pull up to a barn and inn, looking for a place to stay. The bar is owned by Colm Meany’s character.

Colm Meany is called Morgan the Goat. Why is he called this? Well, Morgan is taking advantage of the fact that man of the men of this village are in France fighting in the war. He’s keeping the wives of these men company, shall we say. This is why the church is full of babies that look a lot like Morgan, which absolutely infuriates the minister, Rev. Jones, portrayed by Kenneth Griffith.

So, Reginald and George explain to Morgan that they are there to conduct some surveys to record the topography of the area for the war effort because it is important to know the lay of the land in case the enemy invades.

If they are going to be checking out the local topography, Morgan suggests they check out the only mountain in Wales — Ffynnon Garw.

George a bit of a laugh but eventually they agree they will check the “mountain” out as part of their effort. The only problem is that they don’t really think it is a mountain. See, to be considered a mountain in the UK, the elevation has to be at least 1,000 feet. The cartagrophes don’t think that will be the case when they measure. This upsets the people of the town who have pride in the fact they have the only mountain in their country.

The reverend is especially riled up at the prospect of the mountain being classified as a hill.

When it is discovered that Ffynnon Garw isn’t a mountain, well, all hell breaks loose and many touching, ridiculous, and heartbreaking moments unfold as Morgan decides to delay Reginald and George from leaving while the town’s people find a way to make the hill a mountain.

The reverend and Morgan don’t get along at all but the reverend agrees that it is important to make the hill a mountain to boost morale of the village during the war.

Some of the fun or interesting characters in this movie are the twins with the same name, Johnny Shellshocked (who suffered PTSD in the war), William the Petroleum Man, and Davies the School.

One con of this movie, for me, though, I loved it, was the romance. It was late in the movie, no time for development and I felt like it was just thrown in as a last-minute idea. The posters for this movie with the actress and Hugh Grant on the front are baffling to me because she really wasn’t that important of a part of the movie for me.

Some trivia/facts about the movie:

This movie was written by Ifor David Monger, the grandfather of the director Christopher Monger who told his son about the real village of Taff’s Well, in the old county of Glamorgan, and its neighboring Garth Hill.
Due to 20th century urbanisation of the area, it was filmed in the more rural Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant and Llansilin in Powys.

The narrator begins by remarking that “For some odd reason, lost in the mists of time, there’s an extraordinary shortage of last names in Wales.” Actually there is a known reason: as part of their increased domination of Wales in the 16th century, the English abolished the Welsh system of patronymics and introduced surnames arbitrarily. (source IMbd)

“Despite the implication in the film, and the real-life local legend, the story is fiction. Historians have determined that the mound at the summit of Garth Mountain (the inspiration for the movie) is a Bronze Age burial mound. In 1999, local officials and the History Society placed a sign on the mountain, telling the many climbers who’ve been coming there because of the movie’s popularity of the site’s real significance – and warning that they face two years in prison if they disturb the burial mound.” (source IMbd)

When Williams the Petroleum breaks a piece of the Englishmen’s car and pretends to discover it, he says he doesn’t know the English name for it, but in Welsh it’s called a “beth-yn-galw.” “Beth-yn-galw” translates more or less to “whatchamacallit”. (source IMbd)

To read what Erin thought about the movie, visit her blog:

Have you ever seen this one? What did you think of it?

You can see the rest of the list of movies in this cool graphic that Erin made:

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten books I randomly grabbed off my shelf

November 4, 2025 / Lisa R. Howeler / 18 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

Today’s prompt was: The First 10 Books I Randomly Grabbed from My Shelf (Stand in front of your book collection, close your eyes, point to a title, and write it down. If you have shelves, point to your physical books. If you have a digital library, use a random number generator and write down the title of the book that corresponds with the number you generated. You get bonus points if you tell us whether or not you’ve read the book, and what you thought of it if you did!)

I did pick these books randomly, which you might question when you see the one. I was surprised that I have only read two out of all the picks I made. I did it by closing my eyes and just feeling around each shelf.

The Devil’s Hand by Jack Carr

I have not read this one. It is actually from my husband’s collection. He is a very avid reader (more so than me) so our books are mixed. He’s a big Jack Carr fan. I may read this at some point.

2. As The Crow Flies by Craig Johnson (A Walt Longmire Mystery)

This series is about the sheriff of Wyoming’s Absaroka County and the various cases he has to solve. Yes, the show Longmire is based on the series. Walt’s sidekick is Henry Standing Bear, and his deputies are Victoria “Vic” Moretti and Santiago Saizarbitoria. I have not read this one yet but I have read several in the series so far and enjoy them. They can get a little repetitive but I love the characters and Johnson’s writing.

One thing you come to expect from a Walt Longmire Mystery is that there is going to be a fairly gruesome murder, Walt is going to have to go on a long journey (often in the snow) where he will probably see his Native American spirit guides, Henry is going to be both a support and a smart mouth that provides the comic relief, and Vic is going to figure out how to make complete sentences using only the words “the” and the f-word. So, no, these are not “clean” books. But the writing is really great.

3. Summer HIll Sisters by Beverly Lewis

I have never actually read Beverly Lewis. We found this book and several Elm Creek Quilting books by Jennifer Chiavarini in our attic a couple of years ago. I am guessing the previous owner left them. I will probably read this at some point.

4. Very Good, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse

I have read two in this series but not this one yet. These are sort of like short stories. They were first published in either a magazine or newspaper back in the 1920s. I will read this one at some point.

5. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien

I actually read this earlier this year. I will be reading Return of the King this winter

6. Known to Evil by Walter Mosley

Another of my husband’s books. He reads a lot of Mosley, but I have not yet. Hope to soon.

7. The Farmer’s Daughter by Lisa R. Howeler (yeah…me)

I promise I did NOT pick this one on purpose. I didn’t even know it was on that shelf. I considered putting it back and choosing another one but I wanted to keep true to the prompt so I kept it here. I won’t provide a link so I’m not being spammy. It is on Kindle Unlimited if you want to look it up. It is a Christian romance. I now write cozy mysteries instead of romance but at some point I need to write the last book in this series.

8. My Beloved by Jan Karon

My husband just bought this for me and it came out in October. I can’t wait to read it but I think I might let my mom read it first. She loves Jan Karon books and I do have some other books I can read first. Plus, she’s a very fast reader so I’ll have it back quick I’m sure.

9. Cold Company by Sue Henry

I haven’t read any books by this author. I had never even heard of her before my daughter picked this out for me at a used book sale. I’ll get to it eventually.

10. An Amish Inn Mystery: Plain Deception by Tara Randel

I have read other books in this series and enjoyed them but I have not read this one yet. Probably soon, though.

Have you read any of these books? Let me know in the comments!

If you write book reviews or book-related blog posts, don’t forget that Erin and I host the A Good Book and A Cup of Tea Monthly Bookish Blog Party. You can learn more about it here.

Hello! Welcome to my blog. I am a blogger, homeschool mom, and I write cozy mysteries.

You can find my Gladwynn Grant Mystery series HERE.

You can also find me on Instagram and YouTube.

Nancy Drew November

November 4, 2025November 4, 2025 / Lisa R. Howeler / 11 Comments

This November I am holding my own Nancy Drew November event and plan to read six Nancy Drew books. I probably will really only get to three, but I’m being ambitious and saying six.

The books I picked out for the event are:

Pure Poison

The Triple Hoax

The Whispering Statue

The Mystery of the Fire Dragon

Nancy’s Mysterious Letter

The Clue in the Jewel Box

I am going to start with The Mystery of the Fire Dragon.

I will also be watching the Nancy Drew-centered episodes from the second season of The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries show from the 1970s.

Have you read any of these books?

If you want to join in with me in reading the books or watching the show feel free!

If you write book reviews or book-related blog posts, don’t forget that Erin and I host the A Good Book and A Cup of Tea Monthly Bookish Blog Party. You can learn more about it here.

Hello! Welcome to my blog. I am a blogger, homeschool mom, and I write cozy mysteries.

You can find my Gladwynn Grant Mystery series HERE.

You can also find me on Instagram and YouTube.

A Good Book and A Cup of Tea Bookish Link Up For November

November 3, 2025November 4, 2025 / Lisa R. Howeler / 9 Comments

Welcome to the A Good Book & A Cup of Tea (A Monthly Bookish Link Party)!! This link-up is for book and reading posts or anything related to books and reading (even movies based on books!).

Each link party will be open for a month.

My co-host for this event is Erin from Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs! You can link up with either of us!

Some guidelines.

1. For Bloggers, you can link unlimited posts related to books and reading. They can be older posts or newer posts. These can be posts about what you’re reading, book reviews, books you’ve added to your shelf, reading habits, what you’ve been reading, about trips to the bookstore, etc. You get the drift.

2. Link to a specific blog post (URL of a specific post, not just your website). Feel free to link up any older posts that may need some love and attention, too.

3. Please visit at least two other bloggers on this list and comment on their posts. Have fun! Interact! Get some book recommendations.

4. Readers can click the blue button below to visit blog posts.

5. If you add a link you are giving me permission to share and link back to your post(s).

Thank you to those who linked up last month. Here are some highlights from that link party:

|| Books I Read in September by Slices of Life ||

|| Six Degrees of Separation: I Want Everything to Dear Mrs Bird by The Intrepid Reader ||

|| More Than One Copy? by Cat’s Wire ||

Sunday Bookends: My ebook is free, K-Pop Demon Hunters Sing Along, and classic Pizza Hut

November 2, 2025November 4, 2025 / Lisa R. Howeler / 23 Comments

Last night, The Husband, Little Miss, and I went to a theater near us to watch K-Pop Demon Hunters Sing Along on the big screen.

There weren’t as many people as I thought there would be and Little Miss was a bit embarrassed by her old mom singing and trying to dance. I was trying to fill in for her friend who wasn’t able to attend with us.

Afterward we visited one of the last classic Pizza Huts in the country for some dinner.

Here is a video I saw on YouTube that talks about it.

I ordered a salad since I’m not supposed to be eating gluten but I did taste some of the pizza Little Miss and The Husband ordered. Little Miss ordered her own personal pan pizza with green peppers, roasted red peppers, banana peppers and extra cheese. She was so excited to have her own pizza and said, “I can eat the toppings off if I want to since it is my own pizza!”

The Boy was spending the weekend at a friend’s house. It felt weird to go out to eat without him.

Earlier in the week, the Cat Distribution System found us and dropped off an all-black cat. This is strange since all of our pets (the two cats and a dog) are black and white. We are not sure where this kitten came from but it wants in our house and is very lovable. An abandoned house was pulled down on the street below us and my son says a lot of stray cats lived there. We think they are trying to find somewhere warm to go but what I can’t figure out is why this one cat wants to adopt us. We really don’t need anymore pets and feel the cat is probably full of fleas so we’ve placed it our garage with some food and a bed at nights and plan to give it flea medicine today.

My kids had decided in less than five minutes we were adopting the cat while I was still trying to say it could be a neighbors. The cat hasn’t gone home since Thursday, however, and even The Husband who doesn’t even like the cats we have (because he misses the cats we had for 19 years and refuses to open his heart to other cats. Yes, those cats were that old!) has been cradling this cat and suggesting we can make it work with three cats.

Pray for me. I’m losing the battle to keep our household to two cats and a dog.

Erin and I are also hosting a monthly bookish link party called A Good Book and A Cup of Tea. You can find that link up for this month here.

Also, my book Gladwynn Grant Gets Her Footing is available for free in ebook form on Amazon until tomorrow (Monday) night. It’s a cozy mystery:

I am currently reading Hero Debut By Angela Ruth Strong and Rebecca by Daphne De Maurier.

Hero Debut is a romantic comedy and has most of my attention right now as it is light and easy to read.

I’m also reading At Home In Harmony by Phillip Gulley off and on before bed. Each chapter is like a short story of its own and centers around a Quaker pastor.

For November, I am planning on reading a selection of Nancy Drew books for an event I created for fun — Nancy Drew November.

I’ll be listing which books I am going to read in a post later this week.

I am very anxious to read My Beloved by Jan Karon but I think I’m going to wait to start it until further into November so I can read it slowly for the Christmas season.

Last week I watched a movie called Phffft! with Jack Lemmon and Kim Novak. It was funny and cute.

I also watched a couple of The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Mysteries episodes.

Last night I watched a couple of episodes of Murder, She Wrote from the early 1990s. It was interesting to see Kevin Sorbo and Mickey Rooney in the two episodes I watched. I’m fairly certain the one actor was Patrick Swazy’s brother. His name was Don and he looked exactly like Patrick so I’d say they were brothers. Of course, Mickey was playing a horse trainer. That’s a role he was used to from his movie days, that is for sure.

Last week on the blog I shared:

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.

Hello! Welcome to my blog. I am a blogger, homeschool mom, and I write cozy mysteries.

You can find my Gladwynn Grant Mystery series HERE.

You can also find me on Instagram and YouTube.

Saturday Afternoon Chat: What comments on a semi-viral post about Angela Lansbury tell me about today’s society and specifically men

November 1, 2025 / Lisa R. Howeler / 8 Comments

A couple of weeks ago, I uploaded a clip of Angela Lansbury becoming emotional when talking about the cancellation of Murder, She Wrote.

The show was canceled in 1996 and this interview was conducted that same year. Maybe six months later.

It was on 60 Minutes and Leslie Stahl was the interviewer.

I showed maybe 30 seconds of that interview on a reel on Instagram and it also posted to Facebook.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Lisa R. Howeler | cozy mystery author (@lisarhoweler)

Before I knew it I had thousands of views and hundreds of comments on both platforms.

Most of the comments were extremely sweet and reflected on pleasant memories of the show. Men and women remembered watching it with their grandparents, watching it themselves, or just starting to watch the reruns now.

Many expressed sadness that the cancellation hit Angela Lansbury so hard. It was hard for them to see Angela crying.

Murder, She Wrote ran for 12 seasons on Sunday nights CBS before being moved around a few times in its last season.

There are different theories as to why the show was moved, but whatever the theory, it essentially killed viewership, as loyal fans no longer knew where to find the show.

After 12 years, Angela, who was now a producer of the show and the star — playing mystery writer and amateur sleuth Jessica Fletcher — had been told her show was over.

No amount of letter writing from fans would help. The production ended and Angela, doing an interview very shortly after the cancellation, was still emotional.

In the 30-second clip I showed, Angela teared up talking about it and had to reach for a cup of tea and then a glass of water to keep her emotions in check.

While most comments were supportive of Angela, there were other callous, unsympathetic, and downright rude comments left, and I couldn’t figure out why. Those who commented actually seemed angry at Angela for crying.

Many of those comments focused on how long the show ran.

Almost all of them had poor punctuation so they read like this: what’s her problem? it ran 12 years come on get over yourself lady

It ran for 12 years lol nothing to be sad about

12 years. Over 200 shows. Get a grip woman, you had a good run

And this one was the worst I got out of more than 20 comments like the ones above: She was an aging hag. And all her alcoholic actress friends were on the show looking rancid.

Another horrible one I deleted very fast called her a classy lady who was “being classless by crying.”

There is one thing every single one of the mean, nasty, and rude comments had in common.

They were almost all written by men or people with profile photos that showed they were men.

These men had a very big problem with a woman showing emotion.

It was so uncomfortable to see chauvinism happening right in front of my eyes.

Something about a woman over a certain age crying just set them off.

There were a few semi-rude comments from women on both platforms, but most of those comments were more encouraging like they felt bad she was sad, but it was a good run.

I was surprised, though, by the men who felt the compulsion to stop their scrolling, pause on this reel, and take the time to comment something ignorant.

Yes, 12 years is a long time for a show to run, and Angela knew it. It was the way the show was cancelled that hit her so hard.

The show had become special to her and beloved by millions. It was a wonderful escape from life on a Sunday night.

I mentioned these comments and how many of them were men to my friend Erin, and we agreed that they were misogynistic comments, one, and that, two, people can no longer handle emotion because so much of our world is fake, even the emotion.

I shared this with her in an Instagram chat: “What people don’t seem to get is this interview was held shortly after it all happened. Her emotions were raw. She was sad. It is called human emotion. The issue is that we now live in a world where we watch videos all the time where people use fake emotions to manipulate people, so when somebody is faced with real emotions, they don’t understand it, and they recoil from it. They think it’s another manipulation attempt. That’s the real big problem with technology and social media. It has warped our humanity. It has made us question human visceral reactions that are real in a way that we start to hate the people who have legit emotions.”

And hate is an accurate word based on the comments. These people were angry about a woman crying. Not just confused or questioning. Many of the comments, which I couldn’t quote here, were legit full of rage over an older woman with tears in her eyes, experiencing real sadness.

I started deleting the comments, not because I don’t support free speech or do support censorship, but because the comment section was full of people connecting in a positive way through nostalgia about a show that had positive memories for them.

Many commentators remembered watching the show with their grandparents or parents, many of those people now passed on.

Many agreed that 12 years was a good run, but they related to Angela’s sadness at how it all happened, at how moving the show was a horrible way to end the show and marred its legacy.

Of course, we know now that it didn’t really ruin the legacy of the show, which is still popular in reruns. At that time, though, Angela felt it was a horrible ending for a wonderful time in her life.

I’m going to keep deleting those horrible comments, whether from men or women, not because people aren’t allowed to have an opinion but because these comments were meant to strike at the pleasant memories of others and inject negativity into positivity.

I just don’t have patience for that anymore.

Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot Oct. 31

October 30, 2025October 30, 2025 / Lisa R. Howeler / 6 Comments

Look for the post to go live about 9:30 PM EST on Thursdays.

Good grief, Pennsylvania. What is with this super cold weather even before November hit? Wait. That’s pretty normal, I just don’t like to remember it because I’m not a fan of cold unless I can be inside wrapped up in a blanket? Oh. I see.

Well, anyhow, winter is upon us at the moment it seems as our temps dip into the low 30s and high 20s at night.

This gives us extra snuggle time with the pets who like to snuggle at the most inconvenient times these days. I’ll take it, though, because I always look forward to when they slow down a little and let me cuddle them a little bit. They had plenty of time to cuddle as I am writing this because it is pouring outside.

Now on to introducing our hosts.

Lisa from Boondock Ramblings shares about the fiction she writes and reads, her faith, homeschooling, photography and more.

Cat from Cat’s Wire is a bookworm, movie fan, crazy cat lady, armed with beads, cabs, wire and a very jumpy brain which loves to go down rabbit holes!

WTJR will be highlighting a different blogger each week this year! We invite you to stop by their blog, take a look around and say hello!

This week we are spotlighting: Caffeinated Frame

A little about Arpita:

Hi there! My name is Arpita Singh, and I believe myself to be a creative soul with an undying love for art and writing. I find myself constantly drawn to anything that allows me to express a matter creatively, and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to share my interest with you through this blogging website.

Nothing compares to starting the day with a fresh, warm cup of coffee, to get the energy and focus one needs to tackle the day ahead.

I have been fortunate enough to have lived two totally different lives in two distinct cities, providing me with an exceptional opportunity to learn from both. The experiences I have gained through these two vastly different worlds have taught me invaluable lessons that I am eager to share these with you.

Thank you so much for joining us for our link-up!

And now some posts that were highlights for me this past week:

Nancy’s showing how to wear a lacey skirt!

(Marsha is showing all the ways she can wear her skit)

(This was a fun surprise on a walk!)

What a sweet post from Joyce about her granddaughter!

Important things to know about the link-up:

You may add unlimited family-friendly blog post links, linked to specific blog posts, not just the blog.
Be sure to visit other links and leave a kind comment for each link you post (it would be too hard to visit every link, of course!)
The party opens Thursday evening and ends on Wednesday.
Thank you for participating. Have fun!

*By linking to The Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot Link Up, you give permission to share your post and images on the hosts’ blogs.

Hello! Welcome to my blog. I am a blogger, homeschool mom, and I write cozy mysteries.

You can find my Gladwynn Grant Mystery series HERE.

You can also find me on Instagram and YouTube.

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