Sunday Bookends: Getting into the Christmas spirit already

On December 1, 2024December 1, 2024 By Lisa R. HowelerIn Sunday Bookends22 Comments

Welcome to my Sunday Morning Chat where I ramble about what’s been going on in my world, what the rest of the family and I have been reading, watching, listening to, and what I’ve been writing.

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

The Christmas spirit is already on its way, even though I wasn’t sure I was ready for it. Yesterday the kids decorated the tree, and we chose some Christmas movies to watch later in the month – they didn’t seem to watch them yesterday so I watched The Man Who Invented A Christmas again to get in the Christmas mood.

While we decorated The Husband was performing in a radio play of It’s A Wonderful Life, which we will see the second showing of today.

He’s been rehearsing for the play for the last couple of months and been having a blast. We didn’t go last night because he had to go two hours early and we didn’t want to wait while he got ready, but today we will go with my dad to see it. I thought it was too cold for my mom to come out so I suggested she stay home. We are supposed to have a high of 26 today and yesterday we had a windchill of 13 so I doubt today will be any better.

Last week we had a nice, small Thanksgiving with my parents. My sister-in-law has been facing some health issues so she and my brother stayed home. She is improving but traveling was not really in her best interest this year.

The Husband and I made dinner and took it there. After dinner, we played charades at the urging of Little Miss (who enjoys playing games) and watched part of a movie together. On Friday it was grocery pick-up time for me and yesterday it was staying inside keeping the fire going to cut down on the heating oil costs because it was so cold outside.

This upcoming week I only have one event which I may or may not go to, depending on how we feel and how much we want to brave the cold.

What I/we’ve been Reading

I am reading quite slowly right now so I am still reading Death Comes to Marlow by Robert Thorogood and also A Quilt for Christmas by Melody Carlson, which I started yesterday and was pulled right into.

I think I’ll finish A Quilt for Christmas this week since it is very short and cozy at 171 pages long.

Death to Marlow is moving along briskly as well, but I read that mainly at night.

I have borrowed Christy by Catherine Marshall from Libby again since I ran out of time to read it before it had to be returned, but I have a feeling it will go back again – not because it isn’t good. I am enjoying it very much, but I like taking my time with it. I am going to look for a used copy of it to read over the winter.

I am also reading and listening to The Hound of The Baskerville’s by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle with The Boy for British Literature.

This past week I finished The Secret of the Wooden Lady by Carolyn Keene and left a review HERE.

After I finish the two books mentioned above, and continue Christy, I hope to read Lynn Austin’s Christmas book The Wish Book Christmas and Toni Shiloh’s You Make It Feel Like Christmas. I’m not a huge romance fan so I’ll see if I make it through Shiloh’s book. I know she’s a good writer so if I do set t aside it won’t be because of that. It’s just because some romances aren’t my “thing.”

Little Miss and I have been reading And Then There Were Five by Elizabeth Enright at night. Last Sunday she read Harry Potter And The Chamber of Secrets for three straight hours at my parents, taking breaks only for some lunch, a snack of whip cream, and getting a drink. This week she hasn’t read as much but instead we’ve been listening to The Greatest Christmas Pageant ever and then started Caddie Woodlawn again the other night because it’s a favorite of hers.

The Boy is reading The Hound of the Baskerville’s with me, as I mentioned above.

The Husband is reading, but he’s at the play as I am writing this and I might forget to ask him before I hit publish so if I do, I’ll i

What I’ve Been Writing

This past week on the blog I shared:

Comfy, Cozy Christmas

Once again this year Erin (Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs) and I are going to be sharing Christmas-themed posts in a link up that you can find at a link at the top of my page. Up there where it says, Home, About, My Books, etc. etc. The link is on a page and you can add your Christmas-themed links from now to January 2!

Erin does such a good job with the graphics for these events. This year she featured our pets in the graphic. It’s so cute and … well, comfy and cozy. Ha!

What We’ve Been Watching

Last week I watched a lot of Murder She Wrote. I write about the show from time to time but I really haven’t seen a lot of the episodes so it’s been interesting to watch through them and either giggle at some of the silliness or get wrapped up in the mysteries – which actually hold together pretty well.

I also watched some of my farmer show on YouTube – Just A Few Acres Farm. One video was just him riding on a tractor with no other sounds and it was seriously the most relaxing thing I’ve seen in a while. I did write some and build the fire while watching but it was very calming somehow. My Sunday morning routine is watching the sermon online with The Husband and then watching Just A Few Acres to try to ease into my day.

Later in the week I watched a show called Now Hear This With Scott Yoo and yesterday I watched a documentary on Leonardo Da Vinci.

Recent Blog Posts I Enjoyed

|| November Reflections by Stray Thoughts ||

|| Stocking Fillers 2024 Gift Guide by Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs ||

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.

Fiction Friday: Gladwynn Grant Shakes the Family Tree (cozy mystery) excerpt

On November 29, 2024November 26, 2024 By Lisa R. HowelerIn fiction, Fiction Friday4 Comments

It feels like forever since I released a Gladwynn book but here I am about to release the third book in the series – Gladwynn Grant Shakes the Family Tree.

The book will be released in early 2025 and today I thought I’d share an excerpt to wet your appetite for the next installment.

If you have not read either of the first two books, no worries, this excerpt won’t provide any spoilers for you.

If you would like to read the other two books in the series you can find them here (they are on sale this weekend for Black Friday and Cyber Monday!):

Gladwynn Grant Gets Her Footing:

Gladwynn Grant Takes Center Stage

If you would like to be an ARC reader for this third book, you can sign up here: https://forms.gle/utLujLm6QamozPKJ8

And now your sneak peek of the next book!

“Who caters this event is a decision to be made by the board, Richard, not you.”

Gladwynn Grant tried her best to focus on the task at hand – setting up food for a taste testing for the Harksdale Chamber of Commerce’s fundraiser – but the sharpness of the woman’s tone startled her, causing her to turn around quickly.

Gladwynn had offered to help her friend Abbie Mendoza for the afternoon, with them both hoping that Brewed Awakening, Gladwynn’s favorite coffee shop and Abbie’s place of employment, would be able to land the catering job for the upcoming event.

Neither of them had expected a verbal argument to break out between two of the board members before the tasting had even begun. Gladwynn cast Abbie a questioning look and received a brief wince and shrug in return.

An awkward hush fell over the small gathering in the sunroom at the Harksdale Country Club. Gladwynn turned away again, deciding to keep her back to the drama and instead focus on the job of setting out homemade eclairs on silver trays.

A man’s voice, deep and clearly irritated, responded to the woman’s comment. “That’s all well and good but the board isn’t making the decisions it needs to and this event is right around the corner.”

“We’re here to make a decision today, aren’t we?”

“Yes, with a business I didn’t even recommend.”

Another deep voice: “Richard, don’t be rude to our guests. We are hosting tastings with the businesses you recommended as well.”

“And those businesses can offer us much more than this mom-and-pop coffee shop ever could,” Richard spat.

“It’s actually just a mom coffee shop now.” Abbie offered. A quick glance from Gladwynn showed that Abbie, with her red-blond hair pulled back in a ponytail, was timidly smiling. “Marylou’s husband passed away four years ago.”

Gladwynn turned in time to see the man, who must be Richard, whipping his head around to look at Abbie, staring her down with wide, dark brown eyes as if he wasn’t sure who she was or why she had been speaking to him.

Gladwynn coughed gently. “I don’t want to interrupt, but we do have some samples set up here for you all so if nothing else comes of this meeting today, at least you can enjoy some refreshments.”

The woman who had introduced herself earlier as Beatrice Baxter, the director of the chamber, lifted her chin and turned away from Richard. Her previously tense expression relaxed, and a forced smile replaced it. “Yes, of course. Thank you so much. We can continue our conversation later,” she shot Richard a quick look that Gladwynn could only describe as a warning, “In private.”

A small huff came from Richard as he pulled his shoulders back sharply and straightened them into a tense posture. Beatrice walked quickly past him to the front of the room.

Serving food samples to potential clients wasn’t Gladwynn’s regular job or forte. Her regular job was as a newspaper reporter for the Brookstone Beacon – the newspaper of the small town she now lived in. She was here on this day as a favor to Abbie after Abbie’s co-worker had come down with a cold.

The owner of Brewed Awakening, Marylou Landry, had stayed behind to watch the shop. She’d been nervous about even applying to cater for the event since Harksdale’s residents were usually accustomed to more fine dining than what Brewed Awakening – a laid back, down to earth café and coffee shop – offered.

Harksdale was a small village made up mainly of expensive cabins, inns, and resorts. Located near state game lands, it was nestled in the middle of trees and hills in the proverbial middle of nowhere. Many of its wealthy residents traveled from more urban areas and cities and then lived in Harksdale only on weekends or during the summer.

For more than 100 years Harksdale had been known by locals as a haven to the more “well-to-do folks”.

Gladwynn offered her broadest smile to each person as they approached the table. Glancing to her right she saw Abbie doing the same, though a little more tentatively. Richard’s outburst and biting comment about Brewed Awakening had clearly shaken her.

Gladwynn knew that landing the catering job would be a huge boon to Marylou. She also knew that Abbie wanted to do the best she could for her beloved employer. Gladwynn couldn’t blame her. Brewed Awakening had become one of her favorite places to visit since she’d moved to Brookstone to live with her grandmother almost a year and a half ago. A cozy, down-to-earth coffee shop with a bookstore attached to it? Yes, please, and thank you.

There were seven board members, and five volunteers present at the event, but Beatrice has explained it would be the board who would make the final decision on who would cater the event. The volunteers were simply there for input.

Conversations blended together among the people in the room, creating a soft hum.

Gladwynn noticed Richard and Beatrice sat as far away from each other as possible. Richard was scowling more and more with each bite he took.

Richard had arrived late, after the introductions of the other board members had been made, his face flushed. By then, Abbie had been detailing what food the group would be sampling and offering each of the attendants’ sheets to not only show the menu but to allow them to mark down any potential substitutes they might want later.

It was during the final set up that Richard had begun the aggressive conversation with Beatrice. Gladwynn hadn’t heard his question or comment, only Beatrice’s response.

Top Ten Tuesday: The Top 10 Mystery Books I Read in 2024

On November 26, 2024 By Lisa R. HowelerIn books and reading, everyday musings, top-ten-tuesday20 Comments

|| Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. ||

Today’s theme: Thankful/Thanksgiving Freebie

Since today can either be “thankful” or we can choose our own theme (this is how I am interpreting it at least), I decided to share the top ten mysteries I read in 2024. This list, of course, could change if I read another great one in December, but, for now, this is my list.

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice to Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto

This was a funny, sweet, and just plain ole’ fun mystery.

Description: Vera Wong is a lonely little old lady—ah, lady of a certain age—who lives above her forgotten tea shop in the middle of San Francisco’s Chinatown. Despite living alone, Vera is not needy, oh no. She likes nothing more than sipping on a good cup of Wulong and doing some healthy detective work on the Internet about what her Gen-Z son is up to.

Then one morning, Vera trudges downstairs to find a curious thing—a dead man in the middle of her tea shop. In his outstretched hand, a flash drive. Vera doesn’t know what comes over her, but after calling the cops like any good citizen would, she sort of . . . swipes the flash drive from the body and tucks it safely into the pocket of her apron. Why? Because Vera is sure she would do a better job than the police possibly could, because nobody sniffs out a wrongdoing quite like a suspicious Chinese mother with time on her hands. Vera knows the killer will be back for the flash drive; all she has to do is watch the increasing number of customers at her shop and figure out which one among them is the killer.

What Vera does not expect is to form friendships with her customers and start to care for each and every one of them. As a protective mother hen, will she end up having to give one of her newfound chicks to the police?

2. The Cat Who Talked to Ghosts by Lilian Jackson Braun

Description: Jim Qwilleran and his cats Koko and Yum Yum try to solve a haunting mystery in a historic farmhouse in this New York Times bestseller in the Cat Who series.

When Mrs. Cobb heard unearthly noises in the antique-filled farmhouse, she called Jim Qwilleran for help. But he was too late. It looked as if his kindly ex-housekeeper had been frightened to death—but by whom? Or what? Now Qwilleran’s moved into the historic farmhouse with his two cat companions—and Koko the Siamese is spooked. Is it a figment of feline imagination—or the clue to a murder in Moose County? And does Qwilleran have a ghost of a chance of solving this haunting mystery?

I offered a review of this book, my favorite in the series, here: https://lisahoweler.com/2024/05/06/book-recommendation-the-cat-who-talked-to-ghosts/

3. The Sentence is Death by Anthony Horowitz

Description:

Death, deception, and a detective with quite a lot to hide stalk the pages of Anthony Horowitz’s brilliant murder mystery, the second in the bestselling series starring Private Investigator Daniel Hawthorne.

“You shouldn’t be here. It’s too late . . . “

These, heard over the phone, were the last recorded words of successful celebrity-divorce lawyer Richard Pryce, found bludgeoned to death in his bachelor pad with a bottle of wine—a 1982 Chateau Lafite worth £3,000, to be precise.

Odd, considering he didn’t drink. Why this bottle? And why those words? And why was a three-digit number painted on the wall by the killer? And, most importantly, which of the man’s many, many enemies did the deed?

Baffled, the police are forced to bring in Private Investigator Daniel Hawthorne and his sidekick, the author Anthony, who’s really getting rather good at this murder investigation business.

But as Hawthorne takes on the case with characteristic relish, it becomes clear that he, too, has secrets to hide. As our reluctant narrator becomes ever more embroiled in the case, he realizes that these secrets must be exposed—even at the risk of death . . .

4. Clueless At the Coffee Station by Bee Littlefield

Description: Betti Bryant knows she’s not supposed to be a barista five years after graduating from college, but her life is actually super adorable—except for the part where she has to endure her ex-boyfriend’s musical rendition of their breakup at the coffee shop’s Open Mic Night every Friday.

When an entire local art collection is stolen from the cafe during his performance, Betti sees her chance to persuade her panicked boss to cancel Open Mic Night, at least until the crime is solved. Instead, he announces plans to sell the beloved cafe to a real estate developer, who will demolish it. Betti believes her boss will change his mind once justice is served. So, armed with a list of drink orders from the night of the crime and the sleuthiest outfit she can find at the thrift store, she sets out to investigate the theft herself.

If she fails, she’s promised her sister she’ll accept whatever non-adorable entry-level corporate job she can get, abandoning her ideals about finding her own path in life. The Coffee Station will close forever.

5. Murder in An Irish Village by Carlene O’Connor

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.

6. Move Your Blooming Corpse by D.E. Ireland

Description:

t’s early summer in 1913 London. So Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins are off to the races for Royal Ascot Week in this re-release of the second installment in a mystery series inspired by the characters of ‘My Fair Lady’ and ‘Pygmalion’. Professor Higgins and former Cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle take center stage once again as they plunge headlong into the world of Edwardian horse racing, adulterous aristocrats, and the women’s suffrage movement.

Eliza Doolittle has joined Professor Higgins’ household as a fellow phonetics teacher. However, their lessons are put on hold when they attend this year’s Ascot race. An event more exciting than usual because Eliza’s father, Alfred Doolittle, is now part owner of a racehorse called the Donegal Dancer. But disaster soon unfolds on the track and in the stables, where someone has been killed with a pitchfork. Even worse, the victim was one of the co-owners of the Donegal Dancer! The initial assumption is that the murderer was a jealous lover or spouse . . . until two weeks later when festivities at the Henley Royal Regatta take a deadly turn.

Eliza and Higgins now suspect the murderer is making an appearance every time the owners of the Donegal Dancer get together. To prevent her father from becoming the next target, Eliza joins forces with Higgins to track down the murderer. But is the killer a notorious escaped madman, or someone who wants sole ownership of the prizewinning horse?

With the next horse race fast approaching, Eliza and Higgins fear they may not be able to protect her father until the end of the tumultuous racing season. If so, then no one will cross the finish line alive.

7. How To Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin

Description:

It’s 1965 and teenage Frances Adams is at an English country fair with her two best friends. But Frances’s night takes a hairpin turn when a fortune-teller makes a bone-chilling prediction: One day, Frances will be murdered. Frances spends a lifetime trying to solve a crime that hasn’t happened yet, compiling dirt on every person who crosses her path in an effort to prevent her own demise. For decades, no one takes Frances seriously, until nearly sixty years later, when Frances is found murdered, like she always said she would be.

In the present day, Annie Adams has been summoned to a meeting at the sprawling country estate of her wealthy and reclusive great-aunt Frances. But by the time Annie arrives in the quaint English village of Castle Knoll, Frances is already dead. Annie is determined to catch the killer, but thanks to Frances’s lifelong habit of digging up secrets and lies, it seems every endearing and eccentric villager might just have a motive for her murder. Can Annie safely unravel the dark mystery at the heart of Castle Knoll, or will dredging up the past throw her into the path of a killer?

As Annie gets closer to the truth, and closer to the danger, she starts to fear she might inherit her aunt’s fate instead of her fortune.

8. The Gardener’s Plot by Deborah J. Benoit

Description:

A woman helps set up a community garden in the Berkshires, only to find a body in one of the plots on opening day.

After life threw Maggie Walker a few curveballs, she’s happy to be back in the small, Berkshires town where she spent so much time as a child. Marlowe holds many memories for her, and now it also offers a fresh start. Maggie has always loved gardening, so it’s only natural to sign on to help Violet Bloom set up a community garden.

When opening day arrives, Violet is nowhere to be found, and the gardeners are restless. Things go from bad to worse when Maggie finds a boot buried in one of the plots… and there’s a body attached to it. Suddenly, the police are looking for a killer and they keep asking questions about Violet. Maggie doesn’t believe her friend could do this, and she’s going to dig up the dirt needed to prove it.

9. The Case of the Whistling Bagpipes by Carolyn Keene

Description:

Warnings not to go to Scotland can’t stop Nancy Drew from setting out on a thrill-packed mystery adventure. Undaunted by the vicious threats, the young detective – with her father and her two close friends – goes to visit her great-grandmother at an imposing estate in the Scottish Highlands, and to solve the mystery of a missing family heirloom.

And there is another mystery to be solved: the fate of flocks of stolen sheep.
Baffling clues challenge Nancy’s powers of deduction: a note written in the ancient Gaelic language, a deserted houseboat on Loch Lomond, a sinister red-bearded stranger in Edinburgh, eerie whistling noises in the Highlands. Startling discoveries in an old castle and in the ruins of a prehistoric fortress, lead Nancy closer to finding the solution to both mysteries.

10. The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood

Description: A delightfully clever new mystery from creator of BBC One’s hilarious murder mystery series Death in Paradise

Meet Judith: a seventy-seven-year-old whiskey drinking, crossword puzzle author living her best life in a dilapidated mansion on the outskirts of Marlow.

Nothing ever happens here. That is, until Judith hears her neighbor shot while skinny-dipping in the Thames. The local police don’t believe her story. It’s an open and shut case, of course. Ha! Stefan can’t be left for dead like that.

Judith investigates and picks up a crew of sidekicks: Suzie the dogwalker and Becks the vicar’s wife. Together, they are the Marlow Murder Club.

When another body turns up, they realize they have a real-life serial killer on their hands. And the puzzle they set out to solve has become a trap from which they might never escape…

Robert Thorogood, has turned the Christie-mystery on its head with this ever-so-sly cozy perfect for readers who love Richard Osmond’s Thursday Murder Club and An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good.

Have you read any of the books on this list? What were your impressions of them?

Sunday Chat/Sunday Bookends: First snowfall/snowstorm and a variety of books to read

On November 24, 2024November 24, 2024 By Lisa R. HowelerIn Sunday Bookends, Sunday Salon28 Comments

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

What’s Been Occurring

We got snow this past week, but it was a weird storm. We got 6 or 7 inches in our little down, but a few miles up the road they got 10 or 12. My parents live about five miles away from us and they got about 4 or 5. The town three miles north of them received a dusting. The town 15 miles from us where we buy the bulk of our groceries received only rain.

It was a strange storm, needless to say. It wreaked havoc because the snow was very heavy and wet. It knocked down already dead Ash trees in our area (killed by the ash boar) and knocked them down onto lines, taking out power for many in the area. Our power has been flickering off and on since Friday night.

For some reason, we have no cell service right in town but at least my Wi-Fi calling works in the house. We aren’t sure if that is connected to the storm or not.

The snow, for all the chaos it caused, though, was very pretty.

I’m hoping future snows this winter will be less heavy and damaging. A few of our bushes and one of our trees was damaged. A big maple in front of us that we can’t currently afford to have cut down (this thing is one of the biggest maple trees I have ever seen in my life!) lost a limb. I was worried it might lose more and cause major damage to our house or our neighbors. Getting this thing cut down will have to be a priority in 2025.

I had hoped that the snow day would mean more time in front of the fire, reading a book. Sadly, I spent most of Friday watching Little Miss play in the snow, loading the woodstove with wood, cooking some dinner, and doing other odds and end chores. I did find a little time to read some, though, thankfully.

What I/We’ve Been Reading

I have been reading The Secret of the Wooden Lady by Carolyn Keene. It is, of course, a Nancy Drew Mystery. One of the early ones. Number 27 to be exact. It’s okay but I’m a little confused about the plot and who the wooden lady is. This one seems to be a bit all over the place. It’s not like anyone has ever called these early middle-grade books great literature, of course. The mysteries do hold up most of the time. This time around I don’t feel like this mystery is really capturing my attention like others have.

I also started Christy by Catherine Marshall last week and while I am only on Chapter 2, I am really enjoying it.

The Boy and I are reading The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle for his British Literature course. It is a bit slow getting into but then it really picks up.

This past week I finished two of the three novellas in an Amish romance/Christmas novella collection. I haven’t finished the third yet because the second one, honestly, wasn’t that great to me.

The collection was The Christmas Gathering with authors Shelley Sheppard Gray, Lenora Worth, and Rachel Good.

I’m not usually someone who reads Amish fiction, but that wasn’t the issue with the one novella. It just dragged and dragged and threw in way too many characters for a 12-chapter book.

My plans have changed a little bit on what I am reading next because first, my sister-in-law (brother’s wife) told me about a series and I decided I’d try it. That book is The Sweetness of the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley. It is the first in the Flavia De Luce Mysteries.

Also, I had a book on hold on Libby and it became available yesterday. That book is Death Comes to Marlow by Robert Thorogood. It is the second book in The Marlow Murder Club series.

After those books, or while reading them, I’ll be adding A Quilt For Christmas by Melody Carlson, which I picked up from a recent library trip.

Little Miss and I are still reading And Then There Were Five from The Melendy series by Elizabeth Enright. We read that some nights before bed if we aren’t too tired. She is reading the second book in the Harry Potter series as well, but not every day.

The Husband just finished The Bounty Huntersby Elmore Leonard.

What We’ve Been Watching

The past week I watched Transformers One twice. I watched it first with Little Miss and The Boy and then we watched it as a family last night for The Husband’s birthday. The Transformers aren’t really my thing but growing up my friends loved them and I played with them some too so I do know a lot of the characters. Not like The Husband and The Boy do. Sheesh – the tiny little details they know is a little mind-blowing.

They know all the characters and storylines from the original shows and the ones in between, as well as the live action films and the comics.

Last Sunday, Erin from Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs and I watched Chocolat during a watch party. That was a lot of fun and I’m looking forward to when we do that again.

I finished reading over and rewriting parts of Gladwynn Grant Shakes the Family Tree Friday and it is now in the hands of my editor husband. From there it will be proofed. I’ll be looking for advanced readers for the book. If you are interested, you can sign up to read it before it comes out here.

This week on the blog I shared:

What I’m Listening To

This week I finally sat down and listened to another episode of the True Drew Podcast, which talks all about Nancy Drew – the books, the games, etc.

I also listened to a podcast by a homeschooling dad called The Life Without School. That was eye opening and interesting.

So 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.

I had an ‘old lady’ weekend and loved it

On November 18, 2024November 20, 2024 By Lisa R. HowelerIn everyday musings13 Comments

I had an old lady weekend this past weekend.

What in the world do I mean by that?

Well, nothing too serious really and I am certainly not saying all “old ladies” do these things.

I guess you could say I am drawing on the stereotypes of “old ladies”, not the realities, so please do not take offense if you do consider yourself an actual “old lady.”

The stereotypes I am talking about are where they eat prunes (well, we—I mean they — have to because their digestive systems slow down!), curl up under blankets (hey, their circulation isn’t what it used to be), watch Murder She Wrote (hey, it’s a fun escape!), pet their cats (cats are cozy!), and sip warm herbal tea.

Of course, I know they (um….we?) aren’t all like that, but this weekend we came home from taking one of Little Miss’s friends back to her dad and I realized I had the rest of the night to myself. I opened the fridge to pour myself a glass of lactose-free milk (hey, don’t judge – it’s not an old lady thing. I’ve been lactose-intolerant since I was born.) and saw my prunes in the fridge door.

Yes, I have prunes. Let’s not talk about why. I grabbed a couple and declared to my husband, “You know, I actually enjoy prunes!”

In the next few seconds, I remembered I hadn’t finished an episode of Murder She Wrote before we left so I said, “Oh! I have a Murder She Wrote episode to finish!” I think I might have even clapped. The very idea of getting my warm blanket, making a cup of tea, and watching Murder She Wrote was just thrilling to me.

And that’s when it hit me.

I actually am old. I’m not even 50 yet but I looked at my husband and said, “I’m old! I’m eating prunes and watching Murder She Wrote!”

He said something along the line of, “You’re not old – now go in and cuddle under your blanket and maybe make some tea later while you finish your episode, dear.”

I confess to you that I did not watch just that one episode of Murder She Wrote. No. I watched two more and Little Miss watched them with me.

We were like two little old ladies.

I was under one blanket and she was under another.

She had a dog and cat with her and then the cat curled up on me part of the time too.

Every little while one of us would comment about the show, but mainly we were fairly quiet.

“There’s something not right about that ginger,” she said at one point. “Something about her eyes are crazy.”

“I think that guy did it,” I said. “They always have the innocent looking ones that we all fall in love with be the bad guy in these shows.”

Then her, “Yeah you two could be friends under different circumstances — like if you hadn’t straight up killed that man!”

Continuing the old lady theme throughout the weekend, Little Miss and I watched a couple episodes of Mary Berry’s show and I read from a series of Christmas novellas/Amish romances.

I hadn’t seen this series of Mary Berry on Amazon before so I was giddy with excitement. The series was filmed in 2022. Mary is 89 this year. She was 87 years old and looks like she’s in her 60s and still as perky and active as ever. I know that won’t be me at her age – if I even make it that far, but I wish it could be. Heck, I wish I could be like her at my age.

I am not usually a fan of Amish romances, but these were written well and very sweet. The book is called A Christmas Gathering with novellas by Shelly Shepard Gray, Rachel J. Good, and Lenora Worth, in case you were wondering.

The time with Little Miss and reading my sweet Amish romances was the most relaxed I’ve been in weeks. I think I’m going to draw into the “old lady” hobbies more this winter and not feel even a little bit guilty about it!

(If I start knitting or making quilts, though, you better come rescue me. It means I’ve sunk too far down into old lady land. *wink* )

Sunday Bookends: Already in my old lady phase and so is my 10-year-old daughter

On November 17, 2024November 16, 2024 By Lisa R. HowelerIn everyday musings16 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

I am officially an old lady. I was telling my husband how much I enjoy prunes and a few minutes later I gasped and said, “Oh! I have a Murder She Wrote episode to finish! I’m so excited!”

My husband then reminded me I should brew a cup of tea before I got comfortable under my blanket on the couch. All I need is my slippers and a few more cats and my Old Lady Kit is complete.

The best thing is that my 10-year-old daughter, Little Miss, is watching with me, curled up under her own blanket with the dog curled next to her, saying things like, “There’s something wrong with the ginger here. Look at her eyes.” or “yeah, you could be friends under different circumstances because you literally killed a man…” and “Bro really needs some better pants.”

She’s starting her kit early.

Then she said, “Honestly, I would have liked to have had that lady as my grandma on my dad’s side.” (Since she never knew his mom for a variety of not-so-fun reasons.)

When I told her after the second episode that we could watch something else she said, “No! More!”

So we launched into our third episode.

Earlier this week Little Miss finished the art class we’ve been attending that was sponsored by the county library. Friday night The Husband took her to an art reception for her work and I stayed home with a sinus headache or neck thing…not sure which. It was so fun to see her so excited about her work, which the teacher had them name and then set a price on, if they wanted to.

I thought it was very interesting to see which drawing she decided to list as “not for sale” and which one she said she would sell for $20. Nothing would change her mind either.

What I/we’ve been Reading

The Christmas Gathering – a book full of three novellas by Shelley Shepard Gray, Lenora Worth, Rachel J. Good (because I needed something happy and light to read)

The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Christy by Catherine Marshall (this is my slow and easy read)

The Secret of the Wooden Lady by Carolyn Keene

The Maestro’s Missing Melody by Amy Walsh, which I reviewed here.

The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashi

Little Men by Louisa Mae Alcott

Little Miss and I finished The Four Story Mistake and started And Then There Were Five in The Melendy Children series by Elizabeth Enright.

Little Miss is also reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets some nights.

The Husband is reading The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood because I told him to. Ha! Okay, because he really wanted to.

The Boy is reading The Hound of the Baskervilles.

What We watched/are Watching

Above I mentioned what an old lady I have become and I really have because last night I found a new-to-me series of Mary Berry on Amazon Prime and just about giggled with delight. Little Miss was very excited too. We absolutely love Mary Berry. The fact they have several specials or series with her on Amazon now that I didn’t see before has me very excited. One thing I love about her shows is that they don’t only show viewers how to cook but also provide some background about the dish they are cooking or some education about cultures.

The episode we watched last night was about an Indian wedding. It was extremely interesting.

Tonight we will be watching Chocolat, together via a watch party and YOU are invited. We will be pressing play together on the movie and chatting in our Discord server, which you can join here: https://discord.gg/TpWNxJ4Z

I really hope you will join us! If not, it will just be Erin and I chatting with each other and that’s not all bad either. Haha!

What I’m Writing

I finished the rough draft of Gladwynn Grant Shakes the Family Tree this past week and now I am in the rewriting and editing stage. It will be released in 2025.

On the blog this past week I shared:

What I’m Listening To

I am listening to The Hound of the Baskervilles some and reading it other times.

Recent Blog Posts I Enjoyed

|| A Visit to Lincoln Home by Amy’s Creative Pursuits ||

|| Third Days Tripping Our Way by Mama’s Empty Nest ||

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.

Sunday Bookends: birthdays, baking pies, and finishing up the third Gladwynn book

On November 10, 2024November 10, 2024 By Lisa R. HowelerIn everyday musings, Sunday Bookends8 Comments

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

What’s Been Occurring

This past week was an interesting one in some ways and a regular one in others.

On Tuesday I had a not-so-fun experience at the polling place in my little tiny town. Lesson learned to mail-in ballots from now on. It had nothing to do, by the way, with who I voted for. It just had to do with adults who were rude to my child and it really ticked me off. This paragraph is completely unrelated to politics other than I was in a polling place for an election.

Thursday was better, though, because it was our son’s 18^th birthday. My neighbor asked how I felt having an 18-year-old.

I sent her this gif:

Then I told her I was also very proud of my son because he’s grown into a wonderful young man.

It’s all gone by so insanely fast, though. There is so much I miss about him being younger but so much that is also great about this age.

We bought him a War Hammer model set and he’s having a blast painting them. It is a new hobby for him. Little Miss and I traveled to my parents on Thursday to help make apple pies for The Boy because he prefers pie over cake.

My mom ended up coming down with a sinus infection that triggered a flare of her fibromyalgia while we were there. It was a little scary as she was in excruciating pain all over and having some trouble walking. That night she spiked a fever.

We still had a nice day and the next day she was much better and the fever was gone. None of us can really understand why whatever she had only lasted a day and went away, but I do know I prayed a lot that day and night for her healing.

The pie, by the way, was “great” according to The Boy who doesn’t easily give compliments out so Little Miss and I, with my parent’s directions, pulled it out after all.

Yesterday The Boy and The Husband had fun during a father-son day in a city about an hour away. They visited a comic book shop where he picked up some more figures to paint.

They then walked around town, visiting the local university and a used book shop where my husband picked this up for me:

He knows me way too well. That’s an original 1941 Hardy Boys book. I can not wait to read it – as long as the mildew smell doesn’t mess with my sinuses. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn’t.

I forgot to mention that on Friday we had an art class and then drove the 30-minutes north to pick up our groceries.

Yesterday I spent the day relaxing with an old movie and a new cozy mystery show and also worked on the final chapters of Gladwynn Grant Shakes the Family Tree.

I definitely am not used to Daylight Savings yet I’ve come to realize. I was so tired all day yesterday, for one, and then at one point I yawned and thought how I could go to bed soon. That’s when I looked at my laptop clock and it said 6:42.

“6:42? For real??” I cried. “I thought it was 8!!”

I suppose my body will get used to it – you know, by spring when we spring forward.

What I/we’ve been Reading

I am reading The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Christy by Catherine Marshall, and The Maestro’s Missing Melody by Amy Walsh

The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood. Yes, I enjoyed it and yes I just started the series and no it does not keep to the book.

The Secret of the Wooden Lady by Carolyn Keene (Nancy Drew)

The Farmer’s Son by John Connell

The Husband is reading The Housemaid by Frieda McFadden

What We watched/are Watching

This week Erin and I watched Bringing Up Baby with Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn for our Comfy, Cozy Cinema.

I watched Harvey with Jimmy Stewart on my own.

I also watched the first two episodes of The Marlow Murder Club on Amazon (that is all that is out so far).

What I’m Writing

I sound like a broken record but I am finishing Gladwynn Grant Shakes the Family Tree.

This past week on the blog I shared:

What I’m Listening To

I am listening to The Shepherd’s Abiding by Jan Karon on Audible.

I am also listening to this song my Downhere:

Photos from Last 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.

Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot

On November 7, 2024November 7, 2024 By Lisa R. HowelerIn everyday musings, Weekend Traffic Jam13 Comments

Welcome back to another Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot! Whoot! This link up is 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.

This is a blog link-up where we not only allow you to share your past posts but we encourage it. So share away!

Today is my son’s 18^th birthday! So that is pretty exciting for our family.

Let’s move on to our most clicked posts for this week.

|| Rolling in Dough Week Three Of At Home by From This Side of the Pond ||

My highlights for this week:

|| Maple Syrup Roasted Butternut Squash by Esme Salon ||

|| Coloring Through the Book of Psalms by Amy’s Creative ||

|| Yielding to the Fire by A New Lens ||

I’m so glad you are here and participating in our weekly link-up of family-friendly, fun, educational, interesting, crafty, fashionable, and whatever else posts. I hope you’ll tell your followers about our post (feel free to copy and paste the graphic) and visit the blogs in the link-up.

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. You can share up to three links each week.

We are always looking for additional hosts so let us know if you want to help out and we are also looking for more links from fashion bloggers so let your fashion bloggers know!

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten books with cats on the cover

On November 5, 2024November 5, 2024 By Lisa R. HowelerIn books and reading, everyday musings, top-ten-tuesday16 Comments

|| Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. ||

Today the theme was top ten covers with [an item of your choice] n the front and I chose top ten covers with cats because I have a lot of books with cats on the front. That’s probably because I read a lot of cozy mysteries and cozy mystery readers and authors like cats in their books and on their covers. Sometimes they barely mention a cat in the book but they still put a cat on the cover. Cozy mystery readers and authors also like dogs but today I went with bookcovers with cats on them.

The Cat Who Sniffed Glue by Lilian Jackson Braun

When I looked through my The Cat Who books I was actually surprised by how many of the covers didn’t have cats on them. They had paw prints, but no actual cats. It looks like there are some knock-off covers online but those are not the official covers so I did not include them. A couple of the books, such as this one, did have cats on them, though.

2. The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai

I have not read this one yet but I hope to this winter. I have had it on my list for a while and planned to read it but got distracted by some other books first. Yes, the story of my life.

2. Mums and Mayhem by Amanda Flowers.

The cat is part of the story in this series but not a huge part. The fox pictured here is more a part than the cat.

4. Read and Buried by Eva Gates

I’ve only read one book in this series and it was pretty good. From what I remember, the cat was a big part of it.

5. A Fatal Footnote by Margaret Loudon

This one was on my fall TBR but I don’t think I’m going to get to it so I am pushing it off until winter. My daughter picked this one out because of the cat, which looks a lot like our cat Scout.

6. Apple Cider Slaying by Julie Anne Lindsey

I don’t really remember there being cats in this book but I liked the cats on the cover at least.

7. We’ll Prescribe You A Cat by Syou Ishida

I have not read this one yet, but it is on my list and I like the name because cats often help me when I don’t feel well or I am down. Sometimes they drive me crazy too.

8. Gladwynn Grant Gets Her Footing by Lisa R. Howeler

Yes this is my book but it has a cat on the front so…I shamelessly added it. It is on sale on Amazon and can also be read on Kindle Unlimited if you are interested. *wink*

9. Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody

This is a writing craft book that I have read part of and would like to read more of but have put it somewhere and can’t find it.

10. The Crime That Binds by Laurie Cass

I’ve had this one on my shelf for over a year so I really hope to get it read soon. This series looks so good and I am interested to see how the cat fits in to the story.

How about you? Do you have books with either cats on the cover or a lot of books with similar images?