Heidi – Boondock Ramblings

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.

My husband has been rehearsing for a couple of months now for a community theater production of Little Shop of Horrors and yesterday the kids and I were able to see the result of his and the cast and crew’s hard work.

He did an amazing job as Mr. Mushnik, the shop owner, if you are familiar with the play/movie.

Everyone else did as well. The singing, acting, the effects, and the Audrey II puppet made by a local college student. Most of the cast were college age, except for my husband.

This was the play version so the ending was quite different than the movie ending (different = sadder), but it was …. Sort of okay.

I got attached to the girl who played Audrey and, let’s just say, I shouldn’t have.

The girl who played Audrey is so talented.

You can see her performance (complete with my horrible videography) here:

And I hope my husband doesn’t mind but here he is performing his song, which he was so nervous about doing.

This is now the fourth or fifth production he’s done with the local theater group and he gets better every time.

What I/We’ve Been Reading

Just Finished

I finished Travels with Charley in Search of America by John Steinbeck earlier in the week and will have a review for it later this week.

I enjoyed it and thought the last two or three chapters when he was down South witnessing the desegregation of schools was the most well written and interesting of the whole book.

In Progress

I am slow reading Stillmeadow Daybrook by Gladys Taber. Since each chapter is a month, I plan to read a chapter a month for the rest of 2026 and into 2027. I’m also reading Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis.

I am reading two D.E. Stevenson books right now — Celia’s House and Miss Buncle Married.

I am doing a buddy read of Miss Buncle Married with Cat from Cat’s Wire.

Miss Buncle Married is the sequel to Miss Buncle’s Book, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

I’m focusing on these two books only for now and expect to have Celia’s House finished halfway through this week.

Up Soon

I’ll be reading By The Pricking of My Thumbs by Agatha Christie after I finish the Stevenson books, for the August pick for the 2026 Christie Reading Challenge.

What The Family is Reading

The Husband is reading Tell Me What You Did by Carter Wilson.

The Boy is listening to The Flight of the Eisenstein by James Swallow.

Little Miss and I … well, still reading Heidi because we’ve been distracted by other summer things. I hope to have it finished this week so we can jump into our reads for school, which I am starting in two weeks.

New arrivals to my bookshelf

Recently, I added Cagney on Cagney by …. yes, James Cagney, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, Miss Buncle Married by D.E. Steveson, Nancy Drew: Mystery of the Moss Covered Mansion, Nancy Drew: The Message in the Hollow Oak, and Murder, She Wrote: The Queens Jewels by Donald Baine (and Jessica Fletcher).

What I/We’ve Been Watching

This past week I watched a few movies including: Without Love (Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy), The Mark of Zorro, It Should Happen to You with Jack Lemmon and Judy Holliday, Love Crazy (Myrna Loy and William Powell), The Fortune Cookie, and Little Shop of Horrors (1986).

What I’ve Been Writing

I worked on Gladwynn Grant Goes Back to School this week and was able to write quite a bit! I’m excited to keep moving forward on it.

This past week on the blog I shared:

Some Housekeeping

Erin (Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs), Cat (Cat’s Wire) 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.

Now It’s Your Turn

What have you been doing, watching, reading, listening to, or writing?

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

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Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

Today’s prompt is: Books on My Spring 2026 To-Read List

I already shared a post about what books I have on my spring hopeful list, so today I am narrowing the list down to the top ten from that list that I definitely want to read, even though I know other books will probably catch my attention along the way.

A note for this post: it does contain affiliate links. Clicking the link does not mean that you will pay more for the item, only that I make a tiny commission if you make a purchase from that link.

Thrush Green by Miss Read

I’ve read other Miss Read books and enjoyed them so wanted to try this one.

Discover the little English village that neighbors Fairacre, in a novel that’s “enchanting, lovely, gentle, pointed, and charming” (Minneapolis Sunday Tribune).
Miss Read’s charming chronicles of English small-town life have achieved legendary popularity, providing a welcome return to a gentler time with “wit, humor, and wisdom in equal measure” (The Plain Dealer).
Welcome to Thrush Green, the neighboring village to Fairacre, with its blackthorn bushes, thatch-roofed cottages, enchanting landscape, and jumble sales. Readers will enjoy meeting a new cast of characters and also spotting familiar faces as they become immersed in the village’s turn of events over the course of one pivotal day: May Day. All year, the residents of Thrush Green have looked forward to the celebration. Before the day is over, life and love, and perhaps eternity, will touch the immemorial peace of the village.

2. Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

I keep saying I am going to read this one and just never do it! This spring I want to actually read it!

Our moral consciousness and moral judgements are proof to the human race that a moral being exists—God.

Mere Christianity explores the core beliefs of Christianity by providing an unequaled opportunity for believers and nonbelievers alike to hear a powerful, rational case for the Christian faith. A brilliant collection, Mere Christianity remains strikingly fresh for the modern reader and at the same time confirms C. S. Lewis’s reputation as one of the leading writer and thinkers of our age.

The book brings together Lewis’ legendary broadcast talks during World War II. Lewis discusses that everyone is curious about: right and wrong, human nature, morality, marriage, sins, forgiveness, faith, hope, generosity, and kindness.

3. Murder, She Wrote: Aloha Betrayed by Donald Bain

These are always fun reads so I need at least one per season if not one per month!

Description: Jessica is on the Hawaiian island of Maui, giving a lecture on community involvement in police investigations. Her co-lecturer is legendary retired detective Mike Kane, who shares his love of Hawaiian lore, legends, and culture with Jessica. But the talking stops when the body of a colleague is found at the rocky foot of a cliff.

Mala Kapule, a botanist and popular professor at Maui College, was known for her activism and efforts on behalf of the volcanic crater Haleakala. Plans to place the world’s largest solar telescope there split the locals, with Mala arguing fiercely to preserve the delicate ecology of the area.

Now it’s up to Jessica and Mike to uncover who was driven to silence the scientist…and betray the spirit of aloha.

4. Crooked House by Agatha Christie

I am currently reading this one and enjoying it.

Description Described by the queen of mystery herself as one of her favorites of her published work, Crooked House is a classic Agatha Christie thriller revolving around a devastating family mystery.

The Leonides are one big happy family living in a sprawling, ramshackle mansion. That is until the head of the household, Aristide, is murdered with a fatal barbiturate injection.

Suspicion naturally falls on the old man’s young widow, fifty years his junior. But the murderer has reckoned without the tenacity of Charles Hayward, fiancé of the late millionaire’s granddaughter.

5. A Caribbean Mystery by Agatha Christie

This is my April read for the Read Christie 2026 Challenge.

Description: As Miss Marple sat basking in the Caribbean sunshine, she felt mildly discontented with life. True, the warmth eased her rheumatism, but here in paradise nothing ever happened.

Eventually, her interest was aroused by an old soldier’s yarn about a murderer he had known. Infuriatingly, just as he was about to show her a snapshot of this acquaintance, the Major was suddenly interrupted. A diversion that was to prove fatal.

6. Heidi by Johanna Spyri

I am reading this one with Erin from Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs.

Description: At the age of six, little orphan Heidi is sent to live with her grandfather in the Alps. Everyone in the village is afraid of him, but Heidi – fascinated by his long beard and bushy grey eyebrows – takes to him immediately and soon earns his love in return. She adores her life in the mountains, playing in the sunshine and growing up among the goats and birds, but one terrible day Heidi is collected by her aunt and forced to live with a new family in town. Heartbroken by the loss of her Alpine life, she must do everything she can to return to her grandfather.

7. Nancy’s Mysterious Letter by Carolyn Keene

Because I haven’t read a Nancy Drew in a bit.

Description: By mistake, Nancy Drew receives a letter from England intended for an heiress, also named Nancy Drew. When Nancy undertakes a search for the missing young woman, it becomes obvious that a ruthless, dangerous man is determined to prevent her from finding the heiress or himself. Clues that Nancy unearths lead her to believe that the villainous Edgar Nixon plans to marry the heiress and then steal her inheritance.

8. Rascal by Sterling North

Little Miss and I will be reading this for school.

Description: Rascal is a beloved, autobiographical children’s book by Sterling North, published in 1963, that tells the heartwarming story of a boy’s year-long friendship with a pet raccoon in 1918 Wisconsin. The book, a Newbery Honor winner, chronicles the adventures of young Sterling and his mischievous companion, exploring themes of nature, family, and a changing world as the boy navigates life with his father after his mother’s death.

9. A Damsel in Distress by P.G. Wodehouse

I’ve really enjoyed his Jeeves series so we will see about this one.

Description: P. G. Wodehouse’s charming tale of a taxi driver who falls in love with a wealthy woman who rides in his cab. Hilarity and antics ensue when he arrives at her rural estate.

10. An Biography by Agatha Christie

This one may take me a bit as it does seem long, but I am very interested in it.

Description:

Back in print in the exclusive authorized edition, is the engaging and illuminating chronicle of the life of the “Queen of Mystery.” Fans of Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple and readers of John Curran’s fascinating biographies Agatha Christie’s Secret Notebooks and Murder in the Making will be spellbound by the compelling, authoritative account of one of the world’s most influential and fascinating novelists, told in her own words and inimitable style. The New York Times Book Review calls Christie’s autobiography a “joyful adventure,” saying, “she brings the sense of wonder…to her extraordinary career.”

Have you read any of these?

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.

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