Tag: books

Sunday Bookends: Watching old shows, reading cozy mysteries, and blog posts I enjoyed

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn Sunday Bookends15 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

 If you want to know what has been going on in our world lately, you can hop on over to my post from yesterday.

What I/we’ve been Reading

Currently:

We had a nice week weather-wise so I didn’t read as much as I wanted to but I read more than I used to. I’m almost halfway through Murder Plainly Read by Isabella Alan and The Middle Moffat and I am enjoying them both.

I am also continuing All The Light We Can’t See and hope to finish it . . . eventually. That’s all I can say.

I am reading through Do The New You by Steven Furtick with my church e-group as well. I have three chapters to read before our online session this week.


Soon to be read:

Murder in an Irish Village by Carlene O’Connor. I’ve started this one and am enjoying it.

Death At A Scottish Christmas by Lucy Connelly. This is a Netgalley read.

The Secret Garden for Middle Grade March

Night Falls on Predicament Avenue by Jamie Jo Wright

What We watched/are Watching

Wednesday night I had two hours to myself which is a very rare thing. I decided that I was going to watch a movie that has been sitting in our DVD collection for years — The King’s Speech. I had planned to finish the last couple of chapters of the book I’m writing in between watching but I ended up being so enthralled with the movie, I ended up abandoning that plan.

Later that night I watched a Lark Rise to Candleford episode. On Friday and Saturday, I started a mini-binge of Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman.

Little Miss and I had a Dr. Quinn binge yesterday afternoon as well and then I added an episode of Little House on the Prairie. I wanted to finish out the night with an episode of The Waltons to relive my childhood and teenage years but The Boy took over the TV to play a video game with a friend so that Waltons episode will have to wait for tonight.

Friday The Husband and I watched an episode of McDonald and Dodds. I hope to watch more of that show this week.


What I’m Writing

I am on the last chapter of Cassie, then I will work on the rewrites. I also am brainstorming ideas for the third book in the Gladwynn Grant Mysteries and will announce a title for it soon.

Gladwynn Grant Gets Her Footing is on a two-week book tour and you can enter to win a paperbook copy of it and a $50 Amazon gift card HERE.

What I’m Listening to

Little Miss and I am listening to Caddie Woodlawn on Audible and The Boy and I are listening to A Tale of Two Cities.

Photos from Last Week

And one I found from my dad in January right after his 80th birthday, riding an old sled down the snow-covered dirt road in front of his house.

Blog Posts I Enjoyed This Past Week

Pricilla’s Release Day by Jenny Knipfer

This post is about the release of Jenny’s new book, Priscilla, which is one of the books in the series I am writing a book for.

Day Off, Time With My Dad and with Family by Still An Unfinished Person

I’m a little biased on this post since it is my brother’s weekly post where he shares three good things that have happened to him during that particular week.

A Review of Little House in the Big Woods by Impressions in Ink

I loved this thoughtful review of one of my and Little Miss’s favorite book and the addressing of some recent concerns with Laura’s books.

Tuesday Morning Catch Up by Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs

This description of how Erin dislocated her toe was equally disturbing and fascinating to me.

10 on the 10th for March by Marsha In the Middle

I didn’t participate in this one because I didn’t think I could write about ten green things since I don’t like green but Marsha did a great job talking about the green things she liked.


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.

Saturday Afternoon (oops…late afternoon/early evening) Chat: Injured knee, sick dog, getting the kid hooked on Dr. Quinn and Newhart

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn Saturday Afternoon Tea8 Comments

“I’m going to take a quick shower and then we’re going to do your science,” I told my 9-year-old daughter yesterday afternoon.

She looked at me with wide “innocent” eyes. “Why don’t you take a bath instead?”

“Excuse me? Are you trying to push off your science longer?”

“I’m just saying you should take some time to relax,” she responded with a serious face and a hint of a smile. “Soak your sore knee in some Epsom salts.”

I did as she suggested and she gained another half an hour of freedom, but, alas, she did not distract me to the point I did not remember that we still had her Science and History to do for her homeschool lessons.

Sometime in the week, I injured my knee by sleeping, as people in their mid-40s so often do. It was actually an issue I’d been having off and on with the knee but I guess it all finally came to a head and the pain was so severe I woke up twice in tears Wednesday and Thursday night but didn’t get ibuprofen or an ice pack like I should have since straightening the leg and relaxing the muscle helped.

During the day yesterday it felt fine, thankfully, and last night it didn’t hurt so hopefully it will heal on its own.

On Tuesday the weather was beautiful so Little Miss and I went to my parents’ house to see my brother who was visiting my parents. He wrote about the visit on his blog Unfinished Person. (https://stillanunfinishedperson.blog/2024/03/14/day-off-time-with-my-dad-and-with-family/)

He had driven over about 90 minutes from where he lives to travel with my dad to his physical therapy.

The weather was so nice that Little Miss and I sat out on my parents’ deck and I read a book while she pretended to read a book but actually searched for ladybugs to keep captive in a small dish with some grass. I’m not sure what that was about but before we left both bugs died. She has since made another terrarium to capture more ladybugs.

On Thursday the weather was nice again so Little Miss and I traveled 20 minutes to meet our friends at a playground. The kids had a lot of fun creating games on the equipment and chasing each other all over.

Later that night the little girl Little Miss played with the most developed symptoms of a stomach bug so I spent all day and night Friday waiting for one of us to throw up. So far that has not happened so I think we might be in the clear since stomach bugs are usually very contagious and hit very quickly. I’ll keep you updated *wink*. Luckily the little girl she was playing with was feeling much better the next morning too, so hopefully, it was a very quick-moving illness.

Today I am taking it easy after a stressful few days because Zooma the Wonder Dog is sick again. She has chronic colitis and other stomach issues and that has flared up again. It might have been all less stressful except I had a disagreement with our vet’s office because the vet didn’t want to give us medicine for her unless we set up an annual exam, but they said they couldn’t set up the exam right away because they were booked a couple of months out.

The problem was that our dog was sick now and needed the medicine and they weren’t offering an emergency appointment. Even if they had, we can’t really afford an office visit. If they hadn’t treated her for this same condition in the fall, I wouldn’t have asked for the medicine. They finally agreed to send the medicine by mail (since it is a 45-minute drive and she wasn’t in dire straights yet) but told us in a rather passive-aggressive and annoyed way that we had to have that annual exam before they would help again.

Today she is still not feeling well – lethargic and obviously in some sort of discomfort in her stomach, but she is acting better than she was when we thought we were going to lose her in the fall. We set up the annual exam but I probably will look for another vet in between.

I joked with my mom that I have enough issues trying to manage my own chronic illness and now I have to worry about the dog’s too. Such is life I suppose.

Gladwynn Grant Gets Her Footing is on a blog tour this week and earlier today I was tagged in the most beautiful review I have ever received for any of my books.

I plan to share a separate post about the review later on, but today I just wanted to mention how much the review meant to me. It was a bright spot in a week where I felt like I was slipping into depression. I’m overwhelmed with a lot in life and I’ve had some very good days but I’m starting to crack under the worry a bit. My mom gave me some Bible verses earlier today and they are helping as well but reading the nice review – something kind in a world that doesn’t seem very kind at times – also helped and made things feel less gloomy.

I’m not naïve enough to think that everyone who reads my book will enjoy it. I wouldn’t expect that. Not everyone enjoys the same books. On this tour I had a couple of people share about the book but not leave a review. It’s possible they forgot or it’s possible they didn’t want to leave a review because it wasn’t their cup of tea. I don’t care either way but what stands out to me is that they still shared about the book to let others know about it in case it is their cup of tea. That means a lot to me.

Cooler weather will be coming again this week so I am sure I will find myself in front of a fire at some point reading a book. I’ve been reading a lot this week but am still on the same books I’ve been reading for the last couple of weeks. It has been nice to just read for fun, which I do anyhow, but sometimes I have books I agreed to read for tours, too.

I will be starting a book for a book tour soon but I have plenty of time to read it luckily. Of course, I will ramble about what I am reading more tomorrow in my Sunday Bookends post.

As part of my relaxing today I am watching Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman and in the episode I am on, a man keeps “dying” at various places in town. Little Miss and I love to watch Newhart together with The Husband and I said that the “dead” guy looks like Tom Poston who plays George on the show. Little Miss agreed and after a few more looks we decided it was him. A quick search on Google showed that it was him. He didn’t even speak the entire episode.

Thanks to me, I think Little Miss is hooked on Dr. Quinn, and soon I’ll have her addicted to Little House. *insert evil laugh here* She’s already hooked on Newhart and when we turn on an episode she claps her hands and says, “Yeah! Newhart!” It’s so funny to see a 9-year old doing that.

I’m off for now to make some dinner and then settle in for an evening of reading books and watching either more Dr. Quinn or Little House or Lark Rise to Candleford.

What are you up to today and how was your week last week? I’d love to hear/read about it in the comments.

Gladwynn Grant Gets Her Footing book tour (and giveaway!) starts today

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn everyday musings7 Comments

I’m excited and nervous!

Today is the first day of the Gladwynn Grant Gets Her Footing book tour with Celebrate Lit.


You can read a bit more about the tour HERE but the bottom line is that some bloggers will be sharing about the book for the next couple of weeks on their blogs and will also be sharing about the giveaway.

You can win a $50 Amazon gift card and a paperback copy of Gladwynn Grant Gets Her Footing by entering.

For more details on the giveaway see HERE and scroll to the bottom of the page.

Here is a description of the book:

A little bit of mystery, a dash of romance, and a whole lot of heart

After being laid off from her job as a librarian at a small college, Gladwynn Grant isn’t sure what her next step in life is. When a job as a small-town newspaper reporter opens up in the town her grandmother Lucinda Grant lives in, she decides to take it to get away from a lot of things – Bennett Steele for one.

Lucinda has been living alone since Gladwynn’s grandfather passed away six years ago and she isn’t a take-it-easy, rock-on-your-front-porch kind of grandma. She’s always on the go and lately, she’s been on the go with a man who Gladwynn doesn’t know.

Gladwynn thought Brookstone was a small, quiet town, but within a few days of being there, she has to rethink that notion. Someone has cut the bank loan officer’s brakes, threatening letters are being sent, and memories of a jewelry theft from the 1990s have everyone looking at the cold case again.

What, if anything, will Gladwynn uncover about her new hometown and her grandmother’s new male friend? And what will she do about her grandmother’s attempt to set her up with the handsome Pastor Luke Callahan?

Find out in this modern mystery with a vintage feel.

You can buy the book here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C1KSQJXP

or here: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/gladwynn-grant-gets-her-footing-lisa-howeler

The tour stops will include:

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, March 12

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, March 13

Holly’s Book Corner, March 13

Texas Book-aholic, March 14

Devoted To Hope, March 15

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, March 16

Locks, Hooks and Books, March 17

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, March 18

Gina Holder, Author and Blogger, March 19 (Author Interview)

Mornings at Character Cafe, March 19

Book Looks by Lisa, March 20

An Author’s Take, March 21

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, March 22

Blogging With Carol, March 23

Pause for Tales, March 23

Lily’s Corner, March 24

For Him and My Family, March 25

Mary Hake, March 25

Reviewers give their own opinions so they can be good or bad. Please give their blogs some love no matter what. I know I will because not every book is for every reader! I just appreciate them taking the time to read the book.

Thank you to Joan at Book Reviews of An Avid Reader for being the first stop on the tour. You can see her book review of Gladwynn’s first book here: https://bookwomanjoan.blogspot.com/2024/03/gladwynn-grant-gets-her-footing-by-lisa.html


I don’t want to sound too cheesy here but I really like working with the Celebrate Lit team so if you ever need to publicize a book, look to them. I won this particular tour but I am planning future tours with them and just appreciate how gracious they have been through the whole process.



Sunday Bookends: Cozy mysteries, mystery shows, CB Strike, June Carter Cash, and blog posts I enjoyed this week

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn Sunday Bookends18 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 needed to get my youngest out of the house this week, so on Monday she and I went to my parents and had some lunch with my mom while my dad took Zooma the Wonder Dog for an impromptu walk.

Dad was planning the walk and decided Zooma could come along with him since she loves following him wherever he goes when she visits. I wish I had grabbed a photo of them walking together because Zooma really looks like she has a huge smile on her face when someone takes her on a walk.

Little Miss and The Boy took her on another walk Friday since the weather was almost as warm as Monday and we knew today would be cold and rainy.

I walked a little bit down the road and the cats followed me, apparently very confused about why we had walked off the property for the first time in probably four months.

Both of their tails were puffed out so I guess they really were alarmed. Or they were having a fight with each other. Usually, those tails only puff up when they encounter an animal outside the family, though.

Yesterday there was a book sale in a town close to where we get our groceries but I was a good girl and didn’t go. I have enough books to read – both physical and digital.

Still, I did find myself wondering what treasures I was missing out on by not going. What if someone gave away a whole set of Nancy Drew books and I missed them? Eek! The stress of it all.

I kept telling myself that I must be strong and simply grab the Nancy Drew books I haven’t read yet one at a time on Thriftbooks instead. Besides, there is an even larger book sale going on in a town 45 minutes from us in April so I will try to hold out until then.

Our area is also getting a bookstore soon. I don’t know what kind of books they will sell but it will be nice to have a bookstore near us – even if it will be a 45-minute drive. Actually, it might be best it is that far away from me.

What I/we’ve been Reading

Just Finished:

I finished Mums and Mayhem by Amanda Flower on my phone and computer because I borrowed it through Hoopla and Hoopla books can’t be sent to my Kindle. Grrr. This was very annoying but I wanted to finish this series and not pay an arm and a leg to do it. To explain – I have no problems paying a higher price for books I feel like I will read over and over, but I wasn’t sure I would read this book over and over so I wanted to read it for cheaper than what it was being sold for online. I read the first two books for free on Libby, but they didn’t have the third.

This book has never gone below $13 for Kindle and $20 for hardcover and there is no paperback. Someone said it’s probably because it was released in 2020 and they didn’t release a paperback because of all the craziness – I don’t know.

All I know is that I usually only spend that much money on books I know for a fact I’ll read again or are by authors I absolutely love. All that being said, I have enjoyed this series and I might purchase them in paperback/hardcover in the future – but I had to know for sure I liked how the series ended.

Yes, I am that reader. *wink* For what it is worth, I did like how the series ended, even though a little of it was predictable. I don’t feel that predictability is bad if done correctly and this was done correctly for me.

I also read a moving novelette by Donna Stone called A Wedding to Remember.

The story was very moving, with a beautiful message. The characters were well fleshed out for such a short read and Donna’s writing is so entertaining and well done.

Her story had me laughing and then wiping my eyes. It was only 57 pages so it was a quick read but I was completely caught up in it.

Here is a description and link:

Kaitlyn is competent, smart, and capable—except when a series of disasters threaten to derail the perfect intimate summer wedding she’s arranged for herself and her fiancé, Emerson, at a picturesque Victorian Bed and Breakfast.

As events unfold, one thing becomes clear. Emerson has neglected to arrange some pretty important details, leaving Kaitlyn second-guessing her laid-back, forgetful groom. From appearances, he may not be ready to make a lifelong pledge.

In the midst of the chaos and doubts, Kaitlyn encounters her groom’s elderly Aunt Sophie, and her husband, Weaver. Sophie assures her Emerson’s love is real, and she should know true love when she sees it. Sophie and her husband are a walking testament to commitment, even though Alzheimer’s daily chips away at Weaver’s memories. Kaitlyn wants to let go of fear, but it’s hard to trust her heart.

Is Emerson simply forgetful, or is the wedding a failure before it gets underway?

You can pick it up here: https://www.amazon.com/Wedding-Remember-Donna-Jo-Stone-ebook/dp/B0CR8NVS18

Currently:

I am currently reading The Middle Moffet by Eleanor Estes for Middle Grade March and Murder Plainly Read by Isabella Alan (which is actually the pen name for Amanda Flower).

I am also reading All The Light We Cannot See but I am not reading it fast because it is a heavy topic.


Soon to be read:

Fields of Fire by Ryan Steck. I need to read the first two books in his series because I applied for and received the ARC for the third book that comes out in June, but I have been wanting to read it anyhow.

Mystery at the Lilacy Inn, A Nancy Drew Mystery.

What everyone else is reading:

The Boy is reading Horus Rising and listening to A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

Little Miss and I are reading Pocahontas by Jean Fritz for school during the day and Rosco Riley Rules at night before bed.

The Husband is reading The Running Grave (a CB Strike novel) by Robert Gailbraith.

What We watched/are Watching

The Huband and I watched a documentary about June Carter Cash called June last week on Paramount Plus. It was interesting to learn about her life separate from and with Johnny Cash. She certainly was not a perfect woman, but she knew that, and I think she did her best to live the best she could, especially toward the end of her life. She also put out some amazing music, including two albums within two years of her passing away.

I remember well when Johnny passed away because it was the day before my grandmother passed away. We were watching on the news in Grandma’s room about Johnny dying. He passed away only four months after June.

The Husband and I also finished up the first part of season one of CB Strike and are on to episode five.

I watched an episode of Rosemary and Thyme on my own, but I read more this week than watched things.

I hope to watch some more Lark Rise to Candleford and Rosemary and Thyme this week.

  
What I’m Writing

I am two chapters away from finishing Cassie, which releases in August.

On the blog this week I shared:

What I’m Listening to

I am still listening to A Tale of Two Cities on Audible.

Photos from Last Week

Blog Posts I Enjoyed This Past Week

Here are a few blog posts I liked from this week:

Lately by Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs

Sing Beloved by Donna J. Stone

Lets Have Tea March by Over the Teacup

Book Recommendation: As You Wish by Cary Elwes by Ramblings by a Nostalgic Italian

It’s Time for Quotes by the One and Only Brother Jeff by For His Purpose

What’s on Your Plate by Thistles and Kiwis

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

Saturday Afternoon Chat: Walking weather, cozy days for reading, and a fairly routine week

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn everyday musings, Saturday Afternoon Tea9 Comments

A cup of peppermint tea with honey, a piece of chocolate with coconut flakes, a warm blanket, and a book are the tools I have been using today as I try to relax.

Of course, I had a few household chores to do (dishes, yuck!), but otherwise, I am hoping this weekend to focus on reading and finishing the last couple of chapters of the book I am writing. Of course, after I finish it, I will have to go back and edit and do rewrites, but, hey, I’ll at least be done with the main draft.

Look at this, everyone!

The neighbor’s crocuses popped up this past week! So exciting!

Today the temperatures are falling, but on Monday the weather was nice and warm with the thermometer reaching 63. The Boy went for a five-mile walk in and around our small town earlier in the day.

I needed to get my youngest out of the house this week, so that day she and I went to my parents and had some lunch with my mom while my dad took Zooma the Wonder Dog for an impromptu walk.

Dad was planning the walk and decided Zooma could come along with him since she loves following him wherever he goes when she visits. I wish I had grabbed a photo of them walking together because Zooma really looks like she has a huge smile on her face when someone takes her on a walk.

Little Miss and The Boy took her on another walk yesterday since the weather was almost as warm as Monday and we knew today would be cold and rainy.

They took her on a walk after Little Miss and I drove 20 minutes to get our pickup order from Aldi and stopped at my parents to drop off the grocery items I had added to my order for them.

I walked a little bit down the road and the cats followed me, apparently very confused about why we had walked off the property for the first time in probably four months.

Both of their tails were puffed out so I guess they really were alarmed. Or they were having a fight between each other. Usually, those tails only puff up when they encounter an animal outside the family, though.

Today there is a book sale in a town close to where we get our groceries but I am being a good girl and not going to it. I have enough books to read – both physical and digital.

Still, I do find myself sitting here and wondering what treasures I am missing out on by not going. What if someone gave away a whole set of Nancy Drew books? Eek! The stress of it all.

I keep telling myself that I must be strong and simply grab the Nancy Drew books I haven’t read yet one at a time on Thriftbooks instead. I can do this, right?

Besides, there is an even larger book sale going on in a town 45 minutes from us in April so I will try to hold out until then.

Our area is also getting a bookstore soon. I don’t know what kind of books they will sell but it will be nice that there is a bookstore near us – even if it will be a 45-minute drive. Actually, it might be best it is that far away from me.

We don’t have a lot on tap this upcoming week but I’m sure plenty of things will come up for us to do. We are looking forward to some nicer weather so I am sure we will be at a playground at least once during the week.

How was your week last week? Do anything interesting?

What is coming up this week?

Three cozy mystery shows you should be watching

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn everyday musings15 Comments

My husband and I watch a variety of mystery shows together, some of which we would consider “cozy mystery” shows. Cozy mysteries are a little lighter in topics with some humor thrown in. Yes, they may feature murder mysteries but they don’t normally show too much of the death scene and don’t focus on the more macabre aspects of the crime.

Instead, they focus on the clues and red herrings (which are clues that the viewer thinks are clues, but really are just thrown out there to throw the viewer off the scent). They also focus on the relationships and private lives of the sleuths, who are many times amateur sleuths who work on their own and sort of against the professional law enforcement or who work with them.

There are sometimes silly and unbelievable or more unrealistic aspects to cozy mystery shows. Think Murder She Wrote, one of the original cozy mystery shows.

Today I am recommending to you three of the cozy mysteries we watch. Next week I’ll be sharing some more “serious” mystery shows we watch.

I shared a couple other suggestions previously in this post: https://lisahoweler.com/2022/05/04/five-fun-quirky-and-unique-mystery-shows-you-should-be-watching/



1. Shakespeare and Hathaway: Private Investigators is a cozy mystery show on the BBC. I actually mentioned this show in my previous post on this topic as well.

The show follows the story of PI Frank Hathaway (Mark Benton), a former detective inspector, and Luella Shakespeare (Jo Joyner) who hires Frank to investigate her fiance.

Hathway and his assistant Sebastian Brudenell (Patrick Walsh McBride) discover that Luella’s fiance is not a great guy and after the case is solved, Luella tells Frank she wants to work with him. He resists but she has money and he is in debt so has no real choice but to agree. Shakespeare and Hathaway: Private Investigators is born.

The episodes are often quirky, feature humor, and also have some serious moments. Sebastian, an out-of-work actor, brings a lot of the humor with his undercover work and various character creations when he goes undercover.

Throughout the first couple of seasons, viewers are given hints as to why Frank is no longer a DI. Critics, while faulting some of the aspects of the show, can’t deny that the characters are loveable and cozy fans love to follow them and find out what they are going to do next.

There are four seasons of the show and searches online show that while there has been no announcement of a fifth season, there also hasn’t been an official cancellation of the show.

2. Psych

Pysch first appeared on the USA network but I don’t think we saw it until it was streaming and I am not sure where it was streaming first. Right now it is streaming on Amazon and Peacock with a subscription and Apple TV if you want to purchase each episode.

The show follows Shawn Spencer (James Roday) and his best friend Burton “Gus” Guster (Dule Hill) as they start a psychic detective agency. Shawn has a photographic memory but pretends he is psychic to get jobs with the Santa Barbara Police Department. He drags Gus along to help, even though Gus’s normal job is in pharmaceuticals.

One reason Shawn’s photographic memory skills are so good is because his father Henry Spencer (Corbin Bernsen), now a former police officer, taught him those skills when Shawn was a child. Many of the early shows start with flashbacks of Henry teaching Shawn how to observe and gather information in a situation.

Pretending to be a psychic obviously creates a lot of humorous and ridiculous situations and viewers often have to suspend belief as mysteries are solved but it’s such a fun ride that the implausibility of it all isn’t a blip on the radar of most viewers. Shawn, Gus, and the supporting cast are the drivers and we’re just along for the ride, in other words.

Speaking of supporting cast members – they include police detective Juliet (Maggie Lawson), who Shawn, of course, falls in love with, the uptight and by-the-book police detective Carl Lassiter (Timothy Omundson), and police chief Karen Vick (Kirsten Nelson).

There were also some amazing guest stars on the show over the years including Tim Curry, John Cena, William Shatner, Cary Elwes, Kristy Swanson, Mira Sorvino, Anthony Michael Hall, and Jeffrey Tambor.

The show ran for eight seasons until 2014 and three made-for-tv movies followed in 2017, 2020, and 2021. This one is a favorite for my family.

3. Rosemary and Thyme

This is another British who, which I’ve mentioned before on the blog. The show features Felicity Kendal as Rosemary Boxer and Pam Ferris as Laura Thyme. They are landscapers who sort of fall into amateur sleuth roles when crimes continue to happen at the sites where they are landscaping.

I like this show because it features older women as the main characters. I liked the show even before I was “an older woman” by the way.

According to information online the show’s creator, Brian Eastman made it to entertain his wife, who is a gardener.

The show ran for three seasons before being unceremoniously canceled by ITV as part of ITVs plan to refresh its lineup. Two final episodes were aired more than a year later after the show ended and two more had been written but by the time production was ready, most of the actors were already committed to other projects.

I am rewatching this series through Britbox because there are a few I don’t remember from the first time I watched it.

Bonus: The Mallorca Files

This one showed up on our radar in 2019 and I’m adding it as a bonus because it isn’t strictly a “cozy mystery.”

The main characters are actually police and they topics can be a little heavier than strict cozy mystery shows and it is actually defined online as a “police procedural.”

The show starts with Elen Rhys as Detective Miranda Blake being sent to Mallorca to investigate a case that carries over from England and then getting transferred work with the Mallorca Police Force.

She is assigned Detective Max Winter, portrayed by Julian Looman, who is a German transplant to the island.

In case you are wondering, or don’t know (like I didn’t before I watched the show), Mallorca is a real island off the coast of Spain.

What I love about this show is the international flavor (for me at least) and the different cultures represented – British, German, and Spanish.

The police chief – Ines Villegas — is very Spanish.

The plot of the episodes are very engaging with a constant underlying sexual tension between Miranda and Max.

From what I read online yesterday, this show had filmed more episodes this past summer but a date for season three, which could include the remaining episodes filmed in 2020 but not aired.

According to Wikipedia: “The series is a co-production between Cosmopolitan Pictures, Clerkenwell Films, BritBox US and Canada, ZDFneo and France 2.

Cosmopolitan Pictures founder Ben Donald said the series came from “[a] desire to create a feel-good action-driven cop show like the ones I grew up with and, secondly, a desire to rebrand and refresh the Anglo-German relationship on television.”

Have you seen any of these shows and what were your impressions if you have?

Book Review: Miracles on Maple Hill by Virginia Sorenson

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn book reviews, books and reading, everyday musings7 Comments

The cover of Miracles on Maple Hill caught my attention at a used book sale so I grabbed it up to read with my 9-old daughter at some point. There are actually two covers to the book – the original and the updated one I have.

When a friend mentioned she was reading the book and then I saw someone else online mention they were reading it, I decided I would read it for fun as well. I read it in February but it is timely that I am writing about it during Middle Grade March, which is when some readers pick up middle grade books to read or read again.

I don’t usually read middle-grade books at any time but last year I read When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr and enjoyed it so decided I’d try another one. I now, incidentally, have a stack of them I want to read.

The story follows Marly and her family as they visit her mother’s grandmother’s house in rural Pennsylvania. The family lives in the Pittsburgh area but decides to visit Maple Hill to help Marly’s dad who is dealing with PTSD from being a prisoner of war and presumed dead. The book doesn’t specify which war but the book was published in 1956 so it could either be World War II or the Korean War.

Marly’s family includes her mom, dad, and brother Joe. When they arrive in Maple Hill, Marly’s mom hopes that the time at the farm, even if it is only weekends, will help her husband feel better and less hopeless.

When they arrive they meet neighbors of Marly’s Mom’s grandmother, Mr. and Mrs. Chris. It’s a little confusing is Chris is the man’s first or last name since the wife calls him both during the book, but it doesn’t really matter. They are a sweet older couple and when Marly first meets him he is tapping maple trees for sap.

According to information online, Sorensen based the book on her real-life experiences while visiting Edinboro, Pennsylvania.

Someone I follow (though I can’t remember who) had mentioned that this book took place in Pennsylvania but I completely forgot that until I started it. The fact that the book begins and ends during maple syrup collecting and cooking season was interesting to me since that is the season we were in when I started the book.

My husband, in fact, had just come back from a demonstration at a local farm where they collect the sap and make maple syrup. He had attended it for work as a reporter/editor at the local paper and I suggested he use a quote from the book for his story. He ultimately rejected that idea even though he liked the quote.

“The sap running gives me a feeling I can’t describe,” Mr. Chris said. “Like it is the blood of the earth moving.”

Mr. Chris has a lot of great quotes in the book including: “Everything has its own sap, I guess,” he said. “It’s got to rise, that’s all. Nobody knows why. It’s like the sun in the morning.”

There was one disturbing scene in the beginning of the book that made me almost abandon it. In the scene Marly finds a nest of baby mice. Her mother is disgusted and tells her husband to do something about it. He tells Joe to throw the nest into the stove downstairs where they have just started a fire.

Marly is horrified but the rest of the family doesn’t understand what her problem is. The mice can carry disease, they argue. They needed to go. To Marly the mice were alive – they were potential pets and she decides she can never just accept that a life can be snuffed out because it is inconvenient. She is comforted when Mr. Chris agrees when he discusses the mice living in his sugar shack and how they have become his friends.

I’m glad I didn’t give up on the book based on that scene, however, because it is a pivotal motion that launches off changes in the family as the book progresses. We go from a dead and dark feeling inside the father where baby mice don’t matter to him to a place in his life where life becomes bright and enjoyable again. I won’t spoil how we get there or the incidents that show that but it is very heartwarming when it begins and continues.

I sobbed through much of the last three chapters of the book. Things became tense, the family had to rally together, and I wasn’t sure who would be left when it was over. I knew this was an older book and they didn’t always end on a happy note (hello Old Yeller) so I read it with trepidation. I will not ruin the ending for those who never read the book but I will say I was not disappointed with the ending and felt a sense of hope based on it.

According to Wikipedia, the Hurry Hill Maple Farm Museum in Edinboro features an exhibit dedicated to the book and the author.

The book won the 1957 Newberry Medal and was illustrated by Beth and Joe Krush.

Sorensen, who was born in Utah, was called a Mormon writer but once said she did not have a great deal of interest in Mormons or the faith. Despite that, she wrote several adult books tying her faith into life and is considered by most to be a Mormon author – even though most of her books had nothing to do with the Mormon life. She wrote seven children’s books and nine adult books.

I enjoyed Maple Hill and will be looking for other books by her to read in the future.

Have you read this or any of Sorensen’s other books?

Sunday Bookends: Cozy mysteries and planning for spring reads

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn Sunday Bookends17 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

 Yesterday we had dinner with my parents. We made homemade pizza and caught up and watched some Goes Wrong Show with them.

We usually visit them on Sundays but this week The Husband is going to the rehearsal for a play he’s going to be in so we decided to switch days.

The kids and I may go to see my parents again today as well or we may hang out at home and see them later in the week.

Our days have been fairly routine lately and you can read more about that in yesterday’s Saturday Afternoon Chat post.

What I/we’ve been Reading



I am still reading All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr but slowly. It’s a different type of book for me and the topics are a bit heavy so I haven’t been as eager to read it as other books. I do want to finish it, however, because it is a Pulitzer-winning book and my friend wants to know what I think of it. From what I have read so far, I think I will like it.

I also started a cozy mystery, Murder Plainly Read by Isabella Alan and so far I am enjoying it.

I was thrilled this past week to find the third book in the Magical Garden Series by Amanda Flowers on Hoopla. I’ve been wanting to read it but have been refusing to pay full price for it on Kindle. I know. I’m an author and I didn’t want to pay full price, but hear me out. I like these books but I don’t feel like I will read them over and over so buying them really didn’t appeal to me. I was able to read the first two books on Libby but they didn’t have the third book, which I could only find on Hoopla.

The downside of Hoopla is I can only read the book on my phone because their books can’t be transferred to a Kindle like Libby books can.

I don’t think I’ll be reading a ton of books through that app because my phone is not very big and reading books on it is not fun, but they do have a lot of books I would like to read.

So, anyhow, I am also reading Mums and Mayhem by Amanda Flowers.

Soon to be read:

Spring is coming so I hope to pick out some spring reads but probably later in March and early April, including The Secret Garden, which I have never read, and maybe The Wind in the Willows.  I also have a mystery book based on Beatrix Potter I want to try, even though I have heard mixed reviews on it. I would love to read through Winter Cottage by Carol Ryrie Brink but that may wait until next winter. We will see.

Recently Finished:

This past weekend I finished Miracles on Maple Hill by Virginia Sorensen and cried through the last three chapters.

It was a sweet book with a touching story. There were only a couple of disturbing scenes that I could have done without but I think the one was specifically put in there to show how some of the characters changed throughout the book. And by disturbing I just mean uncomfortable. Not “dirty”, of course.

DNF’d
I did not finish Blessed is the Busybody – for now at least. I may go back to it but I was ready for a cozy mystery and it started to get dark from the get-go. I also was hoping for a more faith-based read but this was more like “faith-based people and conservatives are stuck up” and I wasn’t in the mood for that. I read enough of the “we’re better than them” from both “sides” on the news today. I don’t need it in my books too.

That attitude may change as the book goes on, however, and the writing was really strong and entertaining, so I will probably return to this book at some later date – maybe in the spring.

What everyone else is reading:

When we went to my parents’ yesterday I was very impressed that everyone took a book with them. It’s not like we ever have time to read since we are busy visiting but I guess everyone feels more at home with a book with them, “just in case” they want to read.

The Husband is reading The Innocent by Harlan Coban

The Boy is reading Horus Rising (based on World of Warcraft)

Little Miss is reading Fortunately the Milk again but she and I are also reading Pocahontas by Jean Fritz for school.

What We watched/are Watching

I have been watching Lark Rise to Candleford on my own.

I was watching Miss Scarlet and the Duke but just found out the guy playing The Duke is leaving so I don’t really feel like watching the rest since I know there will be no satisfactory end to it.

The Husband and I finished up the first part of season one of CB Strike last night.

My sister-in-law told me eons ago I should watch The Gilded Age so I hope to start that this week.

I also watched this video with Just A Few Acres Farm which I really enjoyed. Pete talked a lot about the way of the world these days and how he isn’t sure how to fit in with it. I could truly relate.


What I’m Writing

I am plugging away at Cassie and hope to finish it in the next couple of weeks.

I plan to start writing book three in the Gladwynn Grant series once that book is finished.

This week on the blog I shared:

What I’m Listening To

I am listening to A Tale of Two Cities with The Boy for school.

I am listening to Caddie Woodlawn at night with Little Miss.

I am also listening to In This Mountain by Jan Karon when I do housework and I think I mentioned last week that it caused me to all out ugly cry while doing the dishes the week before last.

For music, I am listening to Shane Smith and The Saints and Needtobreathe.

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: Relaxing in front of the fire, middle grade books, disappointing mystery books

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn everyday musings, Sunday Bookends11 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.



The weather was 22 degrees (F) with a wind chill of 12 and the fire lit on the first try for me. I was thrilled and since I couldn’t feel my toes at that point because I hadn’t wanted to turn the heat up and use up heating oil, I stuck my feet out toward the woodstove, opened the book I started this week – Miracle on Maple Hill by Virginia Sorensen – and proceeded to read for the next 90 minutes. I also made myself some hot cocoa and a type of Chex Mix concoction with sugar, cinnamon, and maple syrup, baked in the oven.


After I read some, I worked a bit on my novel, cooked some steaks and roasted potatoes for me and my daughter since The Boy was at a friend’s house and The Husband was at a work event. It was a very relaxing day and it was mainly relaxing because I shut social media completely off and was more intentional about doing the things that help to relax me.

My week wasn’t super busy this past week. I had dinner with my parents on Wednesday when my mom made dinner for Little Miss and I because we were borrowing their car to take Little Miss to Kid’s Club at a local church. Our headlights are still out on the car that hit a deer ran into in October.

On Thursday I planned to take them sone dinner I had cooked and return the car but as I headed out, the rain we’d been having all day turned into snow. No warning. Just snow and it started piling up. I thought it would be a brief snow, but instead, the roads became slick and I ended up staying home.

I took them lunch the next day instead when I took their car back, grabbed my car, and headed 20 minutes north to pick up the groceries from Aldi.

It looks like Saturday will be the last super cold day for the week, even though night temps will be low. Day temps, however, will be in the mid-40s to mid-50s starting Monday.

Today we are all staying home and having a family day because my husband has been working so much. We plan to make pizzas. usually visit my parents on Sunday but the kids and I will see them tomorrow most likely. I have been having Little Miss interview her grandma for history and I think we will do that again this week and add her grandpa in as well.

What I/we’ve been Reading
 

I finished Hell is Empty by Craig Johnson and while Craig is a great writer, I will be taking a break from his books for a while. I was very annoyed with this one and how I had it figured out way before it finished. I’m not a fan of books where part of the characters are ghosts and I know they are but the author tries to pretend I don’t know. Plus, almost the entire book was “in Longmire’s head” and not really action, like the other books have been. That was disappointing because it was almost like Johnson ran out of things to write about and it was only the seventh book in the series. I will read other books in the series later, but for now, I need to read some books that are a little less dark and … well, strange.

Saying the above sentence may be fairly ironic when I say that the next book I am reading, at the urging of a friend, is about World War II, but it’s a different kind of dark, okay?

I am reading All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr because a friend read it and wants to know what I think. It’s not my usual read, but I’m giving it a try. It’s interesting so far but it is a little jarring because you only read about a character for about two pages and it switches to another character or place and it does that throughout the whole book.

It is a Pulitzer-winning book and was recently made into a movie on Netflix, though, so what might be a bit jarring to me apparently didn’t matter to a lot of other people.

I mentioned above I am also reading Miracles on Maple Hill, which is a middle-grade level book but something I feel like I needed this winter.

I liked that the beginning of the book featured a story about collecting sap and making maple syrup because we are in that season in Pennsylvania right now and my husband just visited a large maple syrup operation at a farm near us. Oh, and I forgot to mention that the book’s setting is Pennsylvania. Because the family comes to the rural area from the city it makes me think of the many people who visit our area from Philadelphia.

Up Next (or soon):

Blessed Is the Busy Body by Emilie Richards

Fields of Fire by Ryan Steck

I know I’ve mentioned before that I am a mood reader so I like to have a couple of books going so that I can pick whichever one my mood fits at that time. I have to say that I am finding it a little stressful to have more than two books going at a time so I have decided to only switch between two books – one a little lighter and one a little heavier.

I am not a fast reader and do not usually have a high read count at the end of the year but I am proud of myself that I have read nine books so far this year. I think that is the most I have ever read in two months. At least one of those was a carryover from 2023 and two of them were middle grade reads, but still, better than other years and I’m glad I’m reading more and watching things less.

What We watched/are Watching

This past week I watched a lot of Lark Rise to Candleford. I also watched a couple of YouTubers, but I read more than I watched this week, which is an unusual thing for me.

This week I hope to catch up on All Creatures Great and Small and Miss Scarlet and The Duke.


What I’m Writing

I made a lot of progress this week on Cassie, which releases in August.

On the blog I shared:

What I’m Listening to

Little Miss and I are listening to Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink on Audible. I am listening to In this Mountain by Jan Karon (A Mitford Series book) and crying through it. I’ve read this book before but somehow having it read to me by an amazing narrator (John McDonough) makes it even more emotional. It is also emotional because since I first read the book something happened in my family that makes it easier to relate to Father Tim’s tragic situation. There is nothing like standing over one’s dirty dishes and sobbing to make that person (me) realize how much I’ve shoved down over the last decade of my life.

This week I will set In This Mountain aside and start listening to A Tale of Two Cities because The Boy and I are reading/listening to it for English. We set it aside for a couple of months but are going back to it.

Photos from Last Week

I haven’t touched the Nikon in more than a month but I hope to change that as the weather warms up. Here are a few photos from the new cellphone instead.

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.