Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot February 27

On February 26, 2026February 26, 2026 By Lisa R. HowelerIn Weekend Traffic Jam8 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.

Our daughter has been sick with a weird virus this week and it has not been fun to see her not feeling well.

She has had no appetite and her stomach is upset and she’s had some chills and fever but little else. It’s been hard to see my usually perky 11-year-old so sad and miserable. I really hope we turn a corner tomorrow. If not, we are off to the doctor to see what is really going on.

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: Jennifer Lambert

A little about Brenda:

Hi, my name is Brenda. I am a Christian first, a wife (of twenty eight years, to God be the glory!)to a wonderful, amazing man. A mom to two beautiful girls who were homeschooled, a daughter, a sister and a friend and a teacher

Why ‘becoming His tapestry?’ The answer is quite simple actually… Because that is my goal, that is the prize! I want to be my Lord and Savior’s tapestry. But for now, I am becoming…. I am in the process of becoming, of allowing my Master to weave the various threads of my life into His Masterpiece. Here are a few of these threads,my love for the Lord, my love for my family, my love for homeschool (I enjoy spending time with my girls), my love for… shhhhhhh…fashion, beauty and shopping. The purpose of this blog is to bring the Lord glory by sharing with you, tidbits of my life, to encourage and edify you as we journey along this path called life.

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

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

Mumma B. Stylish is Longing for Spring

Some nice built-in bookshelves at the Apple Street Cottage

Thistles and Kiwis has a wonderful salmon dish to make this week

Cat is asking how you record your reads throughout the year

Joanne is styling some outerwear with ageless style in this one.

Erin is busy traveling via books from her living room

Important things to know about the link-up:

This link party is for blog posts only. All other links will be deleted.

Please link only blog posts you created yourself.

Please link directly to the URL of your post and not the main address of your blog.

Please do not add links to videos, sales ads, or social media links such as YouTube videos or Shorts, Instagram or Facebook Reels, TikTok videos, or any other “social media” based content.

But do visit other blogs and give the gift of a comment.

Notice: By linking with Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot, you assert that content and photos are your own property. And you give us permission to share said content if your post or blog is showcased.

We welcome unlimited, family friendly content! This can include opinion pieces, recipes, travel recaps, fashion ideas, crafts, thrifting, lifestyle, book reviews or discussions, photography, art, and so much more! Thank you for joining us!

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.

If you enjoy the kind of content on my blog and all that goes into it, you can support my writing for $2.99 a month or a single donation. Learn more here: https://lisahoweler.com/support-my-writing/

How to read more classics and enjoy them while you’re doing it (if you don’t enjoy them already)

On February 23, 2026 By Lisa R. HowelerIn books and reading12 Comments

I recently saw a YouTube video where a booktuber suggested reading just 12 pages a day of a classic to make it feel less daunting for readers who don’t usually read classics.

There are a couple of reasons he suggested this tactic.

One: it gives you time to read slowly and truly immerse yourself in the story.

Two: it helps you pay attention to the writing, the words connected together, the style of that particular author.

Three: Gives you time to write notes about what you are reading or underline a quote that really stands out to you. This gives you time to really think about that quote or section that really stands out to you.

Four: It gets you off a device. Stops you scrolling on “the attention hog” that has trained you to keep scrolling through 30-second to 1-minute clips. Doing this mentally and physically fatigues us. The makers of social media know how to addict us but our mind biologically loves to dwell on things, to feel like it is learning something and this is done better at a slower pace. Reading instead of scrolling releases the brain from repeated dopamine hits.

Five: Creates a sense of patience, self-control, and a “stick-to-it” attitude. As humans we feel a sense of pride when we push through something and accomplish what we set out to do.

Six: It helps to quell comparison to other readers that we need to do; the fear-of-missing-out tendency, the desire to “have read” certain books. We want to be able to say “I have read…” but don’t want to sit and really read something well. Reading this way, we can focus on reading well — taking our time to really take it in and not worry about rushing on to the next book. Those books will be there when we are done with this one.

Extra tips: Doing this at night can help you feel like you don’t have to rush and “get through” your allotted pages before you have to do something else. You can do this with other books, not just classics.

What do you think of reading some books this way? Yay or Nay? What say you?

Source: Tristan Reads Classics. Video: The One Tip You Need More Classics and Enjoy Them.

If you want a fuller explanation of what Tristan was talking about, you can watch his video here:

Sunday Bookends: Kurt Browning commented on my Instagram! Oh and I read books. (Link parties too)

On February 22, 2026February 22, 2026 By Lisa R. HowelerIn Sunday Bookends, Sunday Salon18 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.

Once upon a time I said I wanted winter to come so I could curl up with a book under a blanket or watch an old movie…also under a blanket.

I still like curling up under a blanket but I’m over the gloominess of winter now. I would enjoy some green, but, alas, after warming temps this past week, Winter is reminding us it isn’t done yet as I just learned Friday night that another winter storm is headed our way today into tomorrow.

Blah.

Hopefully it will drop off the snow and go because I have plans this week to help my parents, possibly see my brother, and maybe even sneak off to a bookstore.

I started a nostalgic clip account on Instagram a few months ago (Nostalgically Thinking) and this past week I shared clips of Canadian Figure Skater Kurt Browning as I reflected on how entertaining he always was but never won and Olympic medal. I was thinking about that because of all that was going on with figure skating phenom Ilia Malinin. He didn’t win an individual gold but he’s already done so much to entertain and project the sport into astounding levels that I don’t think it matters at all. It certainly didn’t with Kurt who I always loved to watch and never even knew if he won an Olympic medal.

On Thursday, I shared Kurt skating in “leather” pants to Brick House — one of my favorite routines of his.

Last night, before bed, I noticed a comment on my reel from kb.on.ice.

“Pants and the song sold it. The pants were plastic actually.”

I knew it was really Kurt because I’d found his account a couple of days before and, yes, I was a bit giddy seeing that comment.

I was so excited but remained calm as I told my kids about it and I give them credit – they didn’t role their eyes. They told me how nice it was, after I explained to them who Kurt Browning is, of course.

When I was in high school, I was obsessed with watching figuring skating but especially Kurt, Brian Boitono, Elvis Stojko, and Scott Hamilton.

My brother bought me tickets to Stars on Ice for the 1996 tour when it came near where we lived, which was shocking because nothing exciting ever came near where we lived.

I am so old that I remember almost none of it! I wanted to dig out the program and an old journal to remember who was even there before I finished this post but I looked all afternoon and some of the boxes with old journals were way back in the back of our bedroom closet so I finally gave up.

I was very certain Kurt Browning was there so I texted my brother to ask if he remembered who was there and he didn’t even remember he took me! Haha! I remember he gave me the tickets as a Christmas gift and I was so excited.

I will write more on my blog later this week about the show and my love of ice skating, if I can find the journal, photos, and program.

What I/We’ve Been Reading

Just Finished

Last week I finished Mrs. McGinty’s Dead by Agatha Christie. It is a Hercule Poirot book and I really enjoyed it. There was a lot of humor in it from Poirot and the mystery was very good.

In Progress

Right now, I am still making my way through Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien and The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery. They are my slow reads.

I am also reading Murder, She Wrote: Bullets and Brandy by Donald Bain.

Up Soon

I can’t wait to start Murder on the Orient Express since I’ve seen the movies but have never read the book. I’m also looking forward to reading another P.G. Wodehouse and Miss Read this spring. I’ll be making my list of spring hopefuls this week. Spring….and I barely got through my Winter reads! It’s insane to think of spring already being here.

What The Family is Reading

Little Miss and I are enjoying The Singing Tree by Kate Seredy and are tying it into a history unit about World War I.

The Husband is reading the latest Robert Galbraith (Rowling) book.

What I/We’ve Been Watching

This past week I watched some of the figure skating at the Olympics, a new British mystery show called The Puzzle Lady, and All Creatures Great and Small.

I am watching my James Cagney movie – Angels With Dirty Faces — with The Husband tonight because he’s been too busy before this to watch it with me and wants to see it too. So my Winter of Cagney post is going up late this week.

I will be watching another Cagney movie — The Bride Arrived COD – later this week.

This afternoon I am watching East Side of Heaven (1939) with Bing Crosby.

What I’ve Been Writing

Last week on the blog I shared:

Some Housekeeping

Erin (Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs) and I host a monthly bookish link party called A Good Book and A Cup of Tea. 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. You can find that link up for this month here.

Each week, I host the Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot with some great hosts. It goes live Thursday night but you can share any kind of blog posts (family-friendly) there until Tuesday of each week. You can check my recent posts on the sidebar to the right for the most recent link-party.

Erin and I also host a Drop-In Crafternoon once or twice a month. This is where we meet with other bloggers on Zoom and do some crafts while we chat.

We have two scheduled for March. The first is Saturday, March 7 at 1 p.m. and the second is Sunday, March 22 at 1 p.m. If you are interested in taking part you can learn a little bit more about it from Erin’s original post about our Crafternoons and by emailing her at crackercrumblife@gmail.com or me at lisahoweler@gmail.com or leave a comment below.

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.

If you enjoy the kind of content on my blog and all that goes into it, you can support my writing for $2.99 a month or a single donation. Learn more here: https://lisahoweler.com/support-my-writing/

Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot February 20

On February 19, 2026 By Lisa R. HowelerIn Weekend Traffic Jam10 Comments

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

Let’s introduce our current hosts for the Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot:

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 Reviews From the Stacks

A little about Jana:

Hello there! I’m Jana, and Reviews From the Stacks is my blog. I started Reviews From the Stacks in 2018 as a place to share reviews of high quality books, especially lesser-known and potentially indie published ones, and to be a place for discussing all kinds of bookishness. I work in a library and have a BA and MLIS, so bookishness seems to follow me everywhere I go!

Outside of the literary world I enjoy peaceful hobbies such as knitting, music, and visiting every coffee shop I can find. I am a Christian, and I hold my beliefs and convictions seriously. Like any writer, my worldview permeates my writing. It also plays a substantial part in what I enjoy reading. I will never belittle or dismiss a book or person for presenting a different worldview, but I also won’t shy away from sharing what I believe and addressing (relevant) things that are problematic.

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

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

|| Asking for a Different Pace by Lisa’s Notes ||

|| Yellow Squash Soup Recipe (High Fiber & Delicious) by Gluten Free A to Z || ||

||Orange and Barley Salad by Happy Retiree’s Kitchen ||

|| Revamp Your Dining Room: The Power of Natural Light by Thrifting Wonderland ||||

|| Tips for Raising Silkie Chickens by Two Chicks and a Mom || ||

Important things to know about the link-up:

This link party is for blog posts only. All other links will be deleted.

Please link only blog posts you created yourself.

Please link directly to the URL of your post and not the main address of your blog.

Please do not add links to videos, sales ads, or social media links such as YouTube videos or Shorts, Instagram or Facebook Reels, TikTok videos, or any other “social media” based content.

But do visit other blogs and give the gift of a comment.

Notice: By linking with Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot, you assert that content and photos are your own property. And you give us permission to share said content if your post or blog is showcased.

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.

If you enjoy the kind of content on my blog and all that goes into it, you can support my writing for $2.99 a month or a single donation. Learn more here: https://lisahoweler.com/support-my-writing/

Armchair Traveler books I want to read and one I did read

On February 17, 2026February 16, 2026 By Lisa R. HowelerIn books and reading, top-ten-tuesday21 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week’s prompt was: Books for Armchair Travelers (Submitted by Laurie C @ Bay State Reader’s Advisory)

I have not read a lot of travel or adventure or even non-fiction books, but I do have a list I want to read so I thought I’d share that list today.

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson

I actually had this book in my Libby at the end of last year, but ran out of time to read it. I’ll try again this year.

Description: The Appalachian Trail stretches from Georgia to Maine and covers some of the most breathtaking terrain in America—majestic mountains, silent forests, sparkling lakes. If you’re going to take a hike, it’s probably the place to go. And Bill Bryson is surely the most entertaining guide you’ll find. He introduces us to the history and ecology of the trail and to some of the other hardy (or just foolhardy) folks he meets along the way—and a couple of bears. Already a classic, A Walk in the Woods will make you long for the great outdoors (or at least a comfortable chair to sit and read in).

2. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

I will be reading this one in March for the Christie 2026 Challenge.

Description:

“The murderer is with us—on the train now . . .”

Just after midnight, the famous Orient Express is stopped in its tracks by a snowdrift. By morning, the millionaire Samuel Edward Ratchett lies dead in his compartment, stabbed a dozen times, his door locked from the inside. Without a shred of doubt, one of his fellow passengers is the murderer.

Isolated by the storm, detective Hercule Poirot must find the killer among a dozen of the dead man’s enemies, before the murderer decides to strike again.

3. The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim

A relative recommended this one.

Description:

The women at the center of The Enchanted April are alike only in their dissatisfaction with their everyday lives. They find each other—and the castle of their dreams—through a classified ad in a London newspaper one rainy February afternoon. The ladies expect a pleasant holiday, but they don’t anticipate that the month they spend in Portofino will reintroduce them to their true natures and reacquaint them with joy. Now, if the same transformation can be worked on their husbands and lovers, the enchantment will be complete.

4. Heidi by Johanna Spyri

I’ve always wanted to read this one but have never got around to it.

Description:

At the age of five, little orphan Heidi is sent to live with her grandfather in the Alps. Everyone in the village is afraid of him, but Heidi is fascinated by his long beard and bushy grey eyebrows. She loves her life in the mountains, playing in the sunshine and growing up amongst the goats and birds. But one terrible day, Heidi is collected by her aunt and is made to live with a new family in town. Heidi can’t bear to be away from her grandfather; can she find a way back up the mountain, where she belongs?

5. Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mays.

I’ve seen this movie but have not read the book.

Description:

Frances Mayes entered a wondrous new world when she began restoring an abandoned villa in the spectacular Tuscan countryside. There were unexpected treasures at every turn: faded frescos beneath the whitewash in her dining room, a vineyard under wildly overgrown brambles in the garden, and, in the nearby hill towns, vibrant markets and delightful people. In Under the Tuscan Sun, she brings the lyrical voice of a poet, the eye of a seasoned traveler, and the discerning palate of a cook and food writer to invite readers to explore the pleasures of Italian life and to feast at her table.

6. Travels with Charley: In Search of America by John Steinbeck

Description: To hear the speech of the real America, to smell the grass and the trees, to see the colors and the light—these were John Steinbeck’s goals as he set out, at the age of fifty-eight, to rediscover the country he had been writing about for so many years.

With Charley, his French poodle, Steinbeck drives the interstates and the country roads, dines with truckers, encounters bears at Yellowstone and old friends in San Francisco. Along the way he reflects on the American character, racial hostility, the particular form of American loneliness he finds almost everywhere, and the unexpected kindness of strangers.

7. My Life in France by Julia Child

Description: Here is the captivating story of Julia Child’s years in France, where she fell in love with French food and found “her true calling.” From the moment she and her husband Paul, who worked for the USIS, arrived in the fall of 1948, Julia had an awakening that changed her life. Soon this tall, outspoken gal from Pasadena, California, who didn’t speak a word of French and knew nothing about the country, was steeped in the language, chatting with purveyors in the local markets, and enrolled in the Cordon Bleu. She teamed up with two fellow gourmettes, Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle, to help them with a book on French cooking for Americans. Filled with her husband’s beautiful black-and-white photographs as well as family snapshots, this memoir is laced with wonderful stories about the French character, particularly in the world of food, and the way of life that Julia embraced so wholeheartedly. Bon appétit!-

8. All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes by Maya Angelou

In 1962 the poet, musician, and performer Maya Angelou claimed another piece of her identity by moving to Ghana, joining a community of “Revolutionist Returnees” inspired by the promise of pan-Africanism. All God’s Children Need Walking Shoes is her lyrical and acutely perceptive exploration of what it means to be an African American on the mother continent, where color no longer matters but where American-ness keeps asserting itself in ways both puzzling and heartbreaking. As it builds on the personal narrative of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and Gather Together in My Name , this book confirms Maya Angelou’s stature as one of the most gifted autobiographers of our time.

9. A Room with a View by E.M. Forester

I have seen this movie but thought I should read the book some day.

Description:

“But you do,” he went on, not waiting for contradiction. “You love the boy body and soul, plainly, directly, as he loves you, and no other word expresses it …”

Lucy has her rigid, middle-class life mapped out for her, until she visits Florence with her uptight cousin Charlotte, and finds her neatly ordered existence thrown off balance. Her eyes are opened by the unconventional characters she meets at the Pension Bertolini: flamboyant romantic novelist Eleanor Lavish, the Cockney Signora, curious Mr Emerson and, most of all, his passionate son George.

Lucy finds herself torn between the intensity of life in Italy and the repressed morals of Edwardian England, personified in her terminally dull fiancé Cecil Vyse. Will she ever learn to follow her own heart?

10. Come, Tell Me How You Live by Agatha Christie Mallowan

I have read this one and enjoyed it.

Description:

Over the course of her long, prolific career, Agatha Christie gave the world a wealth of ingenious whodunits and page-turning locked-room mysteries featuring Miss Marple, Hercule Poirot, and a host of other unforgettable characters. She also gave us Come, Tell Me How You Live, a charming, fascinating, and wonderfully witty nonfiction account of her days on an archaeological dig in Syria with her husband, renowned archeologist Max Mallowan. Something completely different from arguably the best-selling author of all time, Come, Tell Me How You Live is an evocative journey to the fascinating Middle East of the 1930s that is sure to delight Dame Agatha’s millions of fans, as well as aficionados of Elizabeth Peters’s Amelia Peabody mysteries and eager armchair travelers everywhere.

Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them, if you did?

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.

On Thursdays, I am part of the Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot blog link party. You can find the latest one in the sidebar to the right under recent posts.

I also post a link-up on Sundays for weekly updates about what you are reading, watching, doing, listening to, etc.

If you would like to support my writing (and add to the fund for my daughter’s online art/science classes), you can do so 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.

Sunday Bookends: We missed a 100-year old tradition & more mysteries

On February 15, 2026February 15, 2026 By Lisa R. HowelerIn Sunday Bookends, Sunday Salon23 Comments

Our family tried to go to a 120-year-old tradition of riding a homemade wooden sled down a hill on a track made of 13-inch blocks of ice yesterday but the wait was 3-hours.

We opted for food at an inn and tavern instead and left the waiting to others.

The Eagles Mere Toboggan Ride is held only if the Eagles Mere Lake freezes enough that the fire company can cut the blocks to build the slide.

It doesn’t happen every year so we have to take the chance when we can but it’s been so severely cold that we made the mistake of waiting.

Since the weather is warming up, this weekend was probably the last chance.

It was a nice day despite the kids and husband not being able to go down the historic slide. What? You didn’t think I was going down that thing, did you?

They walked around town on their way back and stopped by the little bookstore I love to visit. I was waiting in the car, though, and didn’t know they were visiting it and when we drove by later, finding a parking space was impossible. So I didn’t get to go to the bookstore, but Little Miss and The Husband picked up a couple books for me.

Then it was on to the tavern for an amazing lunch while taxidermy animals looked down on us.

If you would like to know more about the toboggan ride, you can watch this video: