Tag: reading

Sunday Bookends March 29: Book buying ban officially broken (whoops!), Agatha Christie reads, and the need for something light in reading this week.

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn Sunday Bookends, Sunday Salon8 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.

I broke my book buying ban for March and April yesterday when The Husband, Little Miss, and I visited a used book sale at a local library.

Okay. Fine.

I actually broke it two weeks before when I purchased two books online at the beginning of March.

But I really broke it yesterday when I came  home with 11 books and The Husband came home with four more.

Actually, if I want to get technical, he purchased the books for me so maybe I didn’t really break my book-buying ban. Ahem.

Well, whatever, I have 11 new books and will probably also read at least two of the ones he picked  up.

Oh, I forgot he picked up a fifth book at an indie bookstore in the same town.

So we have a book addiction.

It could be worse. It could be drugs.

Here are the books we picked up yesterday:

Have you read any of them?

I plan to do my best to renew my commitment and not buy any books in April.

Wish me luck?

What I/We’ve Been Reading

Just Finished

I finished Crooked House by Agatha Christie Friday and oof. What an ending. I had figured out less than halfway through who the murderer was but was really hoping I was wrong.

I was not wrong. Sadly.

Even though I knew, I wanted to know how Agatha would get us to the solution and what the guilty party would have to say for themselves.

If you have not read this one, I would highly recommend it.

In Progress

I started Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis this past week, and have to admit I already feel a bit stupid. Clive is much smarter than me and your average, every day citizen.

Looking for a pallet cleanser after Crooked House, I turned to A Damsel in Distress by P.G. Wodehouse.

Up Soon

I am planning to start Heidi this week as a buddy read with Erin from Still, Life with Cracker Crumbs for the month of April.

While I’m reading Heidi, I’ll also be reading A Caribbean Mystery by Agatha Christie for the 2026 Reading Christie Challenge.

I hope to start Thrush Green by Miss Read after those two.

What The Family is Reading

Little Miss and I will finish The Singing Tree by Kate Seredy this week and plan to start Rascal by Stirling North.

What I/We’ve Been Watching

In an attempt to bond with our son, I watched the first episode of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Wednesday night. We were sitting in our car waiting for Little Miss who was attending a meeting of a kid’s church program. I thought I’d hate it because I knew it was connected to Game of Thrones, which I refuse to watch for many reasons. Still, he likes the show and I wanted to connect with him so I braced myself and dove in.

I was pleasantly surprised with the first episode. It wasn’t as bad as I feared. It was actually very good.

We had time when the first episode ended so I suggested we watch the second one. The Boy was surprised.

He may have been even more surprised when I suggested we watch episodes three, four, and five Thursday.

We still have episode six, the last episode of the season, to watch this week.

There is harsh language, some nudity, and violence (less than I expected of all) so I wouldn’t recommend it for everyone, but the story is really interesting and a lot lighter than GoT.

Looking for lighter fare after Crooked House and episode five of A Knight of The Seven Kingdoms, I watched a couple of episodes of Two’s Company, a British sitcom.

I also watched the Christmas special of All Creatures Great and Small and the 1942 movie, Her Cardboard Lover, with Norma Shearer and Robert Taylor earlier in the week.

This week I hope to watch a Bette Davis film to get ready for my Spring of Bette feature.

What I’ve Been Writing

Last week on the blog I shared:

I am also working on book four of my cozy mystery series. This week I restructured it and it is working so much better. I hope to release it in the fall.

Photos From Last Week

I

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.

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. Sunday Bookends with Boondock Ramblings 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.

You can also find me on Instagram and YouTube.

What I love about writing my books

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn Books I've Written6 Comments

I don’t think I make it clear enough when I share about my books, how much fun I have writing them.

I share about how I am stuck on book four.

I share about not feeling good enough as a writer and a marketer.

I share about imposter syndrome and writer’s block.

But I keep forgetting to share how much I love my made up characters.

I love Gladwynn Grant, but I don’t even think I’ve scratched the surface of really getting to know who she is.

I love that Gladwynn and Lucinda (her grandmother) are a mix of my grandmothers.

I love the quirky characters that surround her.

I don’t love that I started a love triangle. That has stressed me out more than the mysteries and is one reason I dragged my feet on book four so long.

I’ll figure it out eventually.

The bottom line is that writing my cozy mysteries has brought me some stress but a lot more joy.

They are not best sellers and this is going to sound weird, but I totally love that too! I love having this little, lovely group of readers who like my characters and like to tell me that.

I need to pause more and share what I love about writing – instead of what stresses me out about it!

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.

You can find my Gladwynn Grant Mystery series HERE.

You can also find me on Instagram and YouTube.

Sunday Bookends: Taking social media breaks, finally finished with Return of the King, O’Hara gets a DNF

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn Sunday Bookends, Sunday Salon29 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.

I mentioned in my Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot post on Thursday that I am pulling back from social media. This is something I’ve been trying to do for months because I know it will help  my mental health.

I stay on social media (Instagram) because I have fun sharing old movie clips or posts about books but it has started to really consume me and take away from more productive things I could be doing.

It is interesting that the same weekend I deleted Instagram from my phone (not forever but for a few days at least), YouTube suggested a video about scrolling less and experiencing life more.

If you are also trying to break the social media addiction (and I am happy for those of you who don’t have one!), here is a video with some ideas on what to do instead.

You can catch up on what I’ve been up to lately in yesterday’s Saturday Afternoon Chat.

What I/We’ve Been Reading

Just Finished

I finally finished Return of the King by Tolkien. I don’t want to talk about it. The last several chapters were like torture. The book just would not end. Still, I loved the trilogy overall, the friendships, the way the ring was destroyed which was not how people make it out to be, the good writing.

But I felt like the last five or six chapters were a slog.

I’m ready for lighter fare now.

I tossed the Maureen O’Hara book aside. I have thoughts on that one – oh do I. I plan to write a separate review because I got through enough of it that I can write one.

Maureen says in the beginning she waited 70-some years to get revenge on people and boy did she – I think she made up half of what she wrote just to do that.

And she also made sure she came out looking like quite the victim and yet also the savior through most of it.

 I’ll explain my issues with the book further in a future post, but rest assured, I wasn’t the only one who got the same impression.

In Progress

I am reading Crooked House by Agatha Christie and A Damsel in Distress by P.G. Wodehouse.

Up Soon

I will be reading Heidi in April. I also hope to read Thrush Green by Miss Read, Nancy Drew and The Mysterious Letter, and Murder, She Wrote: Aloha Betrayal.

What The Family is Reading

Litte Miss and I are almost done with The Singing Tree.

What I/We’ve Been Watching

Eternally Yours (a 1939 movie with David Niven and Loretta Young), The Mirror Cracked (awful movie from the 1970s based on an Agatha Christie book), and the British Sitcom Two’s Company.

What I’ve Been Writing

This week on the blog I shared:

What I/We’ve Been Listening To

Little Miss and I are listening to Gone Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright. I read this to her last year but we are enjoying listening to it again.

I have started listening to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain.

Recent Blog Posts I Enjoyed

Reading Through The Hardy Boys by Pages Unbound

Tea Time Kitchen Talk by The Farm Wife Reads

The Double Turn 1956 by Cross Examining Crime.

The Miracle Before Our Eyes by Grace Filled Moments

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.

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. Sunday Bookends with Boondock Ramblings 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.

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/

Sunday Bookends: Three seasons in one week

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn Sunday Bookends, Sunday Salon20 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 past week we had three seasons in one week. Warm weather – spring – then sort of warm like Autumn and then Friday night it snowed.

Good grief. The weather is weird but that’s how Pennsylvania is this time of year. One March we had spring weather and were all excited and a few days later we were hit with two feet of snow.

This next week winter is going to try to hold on a bit longer.

My poor skin needs a reprieve. It is so dry and cracked I just want to cry some days.

I enjoyed reading on the front porch last weekend but this weekend there was no chance due to a windchill of 18 degrees.

The only thing I am not looking forward to in spring is pollen because my allergies have been worse the last few years and the allergy meds make me dizzy.

On the warmest day this week the kids were able to visit my parents’ pond and the creek behind it with Zooma The Wonder Dog.

They found three deer carcasses in the woods, which was quite odd and made me wonder if they had been hit by lightening or something similar because Little Miss said one of the deer had clearly been killed by a falling tree. All three of the deer were mainly skeletons. I’m not sure why I shared that, but it was an unusual part of the week. Little Miss was so disturbed she had to jump in the shower as soon as we got back to the house.

What I/We’ve Been Reading

Just Finished

In the last couple of weeks I finished The Tower Treasure by Franklin W. Dixon, Whispering Walls by Mildred Wirt Benson, The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery, and Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie.

In Progress

‘Tis Herself by Maureen O’Hara (not sure what I think about this one. Sometimes I think it is better not to know so much about actors’ personal lives.)

Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien, which I should finish this week because I only have about 150 pages left.

Up Soon

After I finish these two books, or as I finish them, I hope to start A Damsel in Distress by P.G. Wodehouse and Murder, She Wrote: Aloha Betrayed.

After that I am looking at whatever interests me.

What The Family is Reading

Little Miss and I are still reading The Singing Tree by Karen Seredy.

What I/We’ve Been Watching

Last week I watched the third Thin Man Movie (Another Thin Man), a movie with Douglas Fairbanks Jr. called It’s Tough To Be Famous, and Libeled with Myrna Loy, William Powell, Spencer Tracy, and Jean Harlow.


I didn’t watch much else because I read more last week than I watched things.

The week before I watched The Puzzle Lady and All Creatures Great and Small, Saving Grace (the 2010 movie), and The Crystal Ball (1943).

What I’ve Been Writing

Recent posts on the blog:

Photos From Last Week

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 one scheduled for 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?

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. Sunday Bookends with Boondock Ramblings 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.

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/

Winter Reading Wrap Up and Spring Book Hopefuls

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn books and reading8 Comments




Today I am sharing all the books I read this winter and my “hopefuls” for this spring. My hopefuls list is really of books I know I want to read so I’ve set them aside to choose from in March, April, and May. I’m a mood reader so sometimes I get to them and sometimes I don’t.

As usual, I didn’t read as many in Winter as I hoped I would, but I enjoyed the ones I did read.

Winter Reads:

Christmas In Harmony by Philip Gulley

Caddie Woodlawn’s Family/Magical Melons by Carol Ryrie Brink

Hercule Poirot’s Christmas by Agatha Christie

Waiting for Christmas by Lynn Austin

My Beloved by Jan Karon

Miss Read’s Village School by Miss Read

Miss Read’s Village Diary by Miss Read

The Secret of Chimneys by Agatha Christie

The Tiger in the Smoke by Margery Allingham

Mrs. McGinty’s Dead by Agatha Christie

Murder, She Wrote: Bullets and Brandy by Donald Bain

Spring hopefuls:

The Hardy Boys: The Tower Treasure by Franklin W. Dixon (just finished)

Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery

A Damsel In Distress by P.G. Wodehouse

Bombs on Auntie Dainty by Judith Kerr

The Honorable Imposter by Gilbert Morris

Nancy Drew: Nancy’s Mysterious Letter by Carolyn Keene

Murder, She Wrote: Aloha Betrayed by Donald Bain

The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis

The Enchanted April by Elizbeth Van Arnim

A Tramp Abroad by Mark Twain

‘Tis Herself by Maureen O’Hara (currently reading)

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie (just started)

An Autobiography by Agatha Christie (I will be reading this one slowly so probably beyond Spring)

Thrush Green by Miss Read

Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien (already half way through after starting it a month ago)

Heidi by Johanna Spry (this will be a buddy read with Erin)

What books are you looking forward to reading this spring? Anything special?

Sunday Bookends: book buying ban and traumatized cats

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn Sunday Bookends, Sunday Salon17 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.

What’s Been Occurring

I am putting myself on a book buying ban in March and April.

I have so many books that I need to read right now. All of the books I chose for my spring hopefuls list are paperback books so that will help me work through that pile.

Also, I think my cats are traumatized by how it was 52 degrees yesterday and today we have snow on the ground. One climbed onto me in bed this morning for cuddles (or her laying on me even though I need to move and then hissing at me to lay back down) and the other reached up to be picked up while I was trying to used the bathroom. I did pick her up and looked down to see the other cat now at my feet. I’m guessing the teenager cat was out in the snow playing with it.

It makes me think of this poster I want to get for our bathroom:

 

I mentioned on the Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot that Little Miss was sick last week. We aren’t sure what she had but she had stomach issues to start then two days of a runny nose and done. So far, no one else in the family has had it.

It was super hard to see her so down and quiet and miserable.

We didn’t go to see my parents all week to make sure we didn’t give them anything but hopefully we can resume seeing them this upcoming week. 

What I/We’ve Been Reading

In Progress

Last week I continued reading Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien and The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery.

I added one of The Hardy Boys books — The Tower Treasure by Franklin W. Dixon and a Mildred Wirt Penny Parker book, Whispering Walls. Mildred was the original first author of the Nancy Drew books, if you don’t know that.

They are both quick and light reads, which I need right now.

Up Soon

I’ll  be writing a separate post about my hopeful spring reads later this week, but for now I do know I plan to read A Damsel in Distress by P.G. Wodehouse, The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis, and Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie after I finish these books (or while I’m reading Return of the King since it is my slow read).

What The Family is Reading

Little Miss and I are still reading The Singing Tree by Kate Seredy and listening to The Green Ember by S.D. Smith (though we aren’t fond of the narrator – he is very dramatic and makes the female rabbit sound like a drama queen.)

The Husband is reading Welcome to Pawnee by Jim O’Heir.

 

What I/We’ve Been Watching

This past week I watched more of The Puzzle Lady and All Creatures Great and Small. I also watched The Bride Came C.O.D. with James Cagney and Bette Davis.

Today I am watching the sermon online and if my YouTube farmer has a video today I’ll watch that.

 

What I’ve Been Writing

Last week on the blog I shared:

Recent Blog Posts I Enjoyed

|| Murder, She Wrote: Unraveling The Enduring Charm of Jessica Fletcher by Between the Bookends ||

|| Tuesday Tour: Newer Than Yesterday by Mama’s Empty Nest ||

|| The Personal Reading Experience by Cat’s Wire ||

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.

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 of your weekly wrap up below!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter
https://fresh.inlinkz.com/js/widget/load.js?id=c0efdbe6b4add43dd7ef

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/

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

On 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 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.”

Screenshot

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.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter
https://fresh.inlinkz.com/js/widget/load.js?id=c0efdbe6b4add43dd7ef

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 By Lisa R. HowelerIn Weekend Traffic Jam10 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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This week we are spotlighting 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.

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! 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter
https://fresh.inlinkz.com/js/widget/load.js?id=c0efdbe6b4add43dd7ef

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/