Sunday Bookends: The aggravating repair man who didn’t want to repair things and a variety of books being read

On April 19, 2026April 18, 2026 By Lisa R. HowelerIn Sunday Bookends, Sunday SalonLeave a comment

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.

A repairman came to our house this week to fix our dishwasher – or so I thought. Instead, he came and argued with me about the dishwasher being broken, acted like I was lying, and told me to wash my dishes again in it, as if that would somehow solve the problem. I told him the dishwasher pod was in the bottom of the dishwasher at the end of the cycle andit was clear it was not washing our dishes so he said, “Maybe you were opening it at the end of the cycle or something….”

I said, “Right. That’s how it works. I was opening it at the end to see if the dishes had washed and they were still dirty.”

When I showed him a video of what sound it was making when it was washing the dishes (or rather not washing them) he said, “Yeah, I guess that sounds like the motor” like he had to admit I was right, and started to pack up his limited equipment. I asked if that meant the motor could be replaced and he said, “Yeah. I guess I’ll get you a new one.” I had to follow him to the door to ask if he had a timetable for when he’d have the motor and without looking at me, he said, “Probably a week.”

He made it clear he did not want to be here, I guess because the dishwasher was under warranty and he wouldn’t get a large fee. It was one of the most bizarre experiences I’ve ever had with a repairman. I’ve never had one argue with me about what is happening to my own appliance and want so desperately to prove me wrong.

Making the story a bit shorter, we told the place that sold us the dishwasher we appreciated how they handled business but that the person who repairs things for their warranties (he is not from their company but works with Whirlpool) was really not very nice. We then called our regular repairman and will have to pay him, since he doesn’t know anything about the warranty, but I think it’s worth it to have someone more polite do the work.

What I/We’ve Been Reading

Just Finished

I finished Heidi by Johanna Spyri and Damsel in Distress by P.G. Wodehouse last week.

I enjoyed them both.

I wrote about Heidi, which I read with Erin from Still Life, With Cracker Crumb, here.

I also finished A Caribbean Mystery by Agatha Christie for the 2026 Reading Christie Challenge. It is a Miss Marple mystery, and it was so good.

In Progress

I am slowly reading Stillmeadow Daybrook by Gladys Taber. Since each chapter is a month, I plan to read a chapter a month. I am also slowly reading Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis.

I just started The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim a couple of days ago.

Up Soon

I hope to read a Murder She Wrote book, Aloha Betrayal by Donald Bain, next and then Thrush Green by Miss Read. I would love to slip a Nancy Drew (Nancy’s Mysterious Letter) in soon as well. Probably in May.

What The Family is Reading

Little Miss and I are still reading Heidi.

The Husband is reading Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead.

The Boy is listening to a Warhammer book of some sort. He and I also started an audiobook of Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain the other day on the way back from Little Miss’s art class and he said he plans to listen to more of it.

What I/We’ve Been Watching

This past week I watched a 1929 movie called Bulldog Drummond with Ronald Colman and it wasn’t very good, but I like Ronald Colman, so he was fun to watch.

I also watched Shall We Dance and Swing Time with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, which I had seen before, but wanted to watch again. I liked Swing Time a lot better, except for the blackface scene. I just don’t know what the obsession was with doing that in movies back then! It’s so irritating and ruins the whole movie for me.

My husband and I started to watch Detour last night, a 1945 crime-noir movie that is only about an hour long, was filmed in about 14 days for about $100,000, and raked in $1 million. He got tired and wanted to head to bed so he’s making me wait to finish it tonight. I use the words “making me” lightly. I could go ahead and watch it but I like watching movies he likes with him because he loves to share trivia about the movie and actors, etc.

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.

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 Kathryn 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.

Sunday Bookends: Gladys Taber, Heidi, and other relaxing books and Bette Davis movies

On April 12, 2026April 11, 2026 By Lisa R. HowelerIn Sunday Bookends, Sunday Salon11 Comments

This past week was semi-eventful but mostly errands and trips to pick up either glasses or medicine for the kitten who was sprayed by a skunk and then developed an eye infection. I wrote about that in my post yesterday.

There were a couple trips to my parents as well, mainly to help my mom while my dad went to various appointments and to clean the house a little. My parents live about seven minutes away, so it wasn’t too much of a drive at least. The weather was also very nice yesterday when we went to visit, if not a little chilly.

Little Miss had a friend over to visit, and they had fun dressing up in the same outfit since they both have similar-looking glasses now. They also had a lot of fun jumping off the railing of my parents’ deck, and I just hoped they wouldn’t break anything. Luckily, they did not.

I have not broken my book-buying ban for this month but I am in possession of two new Nancy Drew books. My husband found them at a local thrift store. They are from the Nancy Drew Girl Detective series from the early 2000s and are written in the first person. Not sure what I’ll think of them, but I have a lot of books ahead of them to read first.

What I/We’ve Been Reading

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. I am, of course, in April now. The book starts with April and my copy (used and in good shape) arrived two days before the beginning of April. I thought that was great timing!

I’ve already marked so much in the book that I have enjoyed.

I am also continuing to read Damsel in Distress by P.G. Wodehouse and Heidi by Johanna Spyri. I will finish both of them this week.

Up Soon

Up next, I am reading A Caribbean Mystery by Agatha Christie as part of the Christie Challenge for 2026.

I am also looking forward to a Murder She Wrote book, Aloha Betrayal, sometime in April, but then I also remembered I wanted to read The Enchanted April this month so we will see which one comes first.

What The Family is Reading

Little Miss and I started Heidi this past week and I think she will like it.

What I/We’ve Been Watching

This past week I watched the British sitcom from the 70s, Two’s Company with Elaine Stritch and ….. some British guy I don’t know the name of. Okay. I looked it up. It’s Donald Sinden. It’s such a funny and entertaining show.

I also watched the 1937 movie It’s Love I’m After with Bette Davis, Leslie Howard, and Olivia De Haviland. It was so funny. I am so glad I found it while looking for Bettie Davis movies to watch this spring. I was going to watch mainly her well-known movies but decided to watch some lesser-known ones to start, ones where she was just starting out, and I am glad I did. I also watched another one called A Working Man from 1938 and it was great too. I’ll be writing about both later this week.

I watched one called Payment on Demand with Bette Davis earlier in the week and didn’t enjoy it. I don’t think I’ll be writing about that one.

I watched a ton of Bluey with Little Miss and her friend last night.

What I’ve Been Writing

Last week on the blog I shared:

What I/We’ve Been Listening To

I’ve been listening to the Jack Benny Show when I go to bed at night.

Recent Blog Posts I Enjoyed

What Are Your Reading Habits & Quirks?

Words for Wednesday: spring in my heart

THE SEEN VS THE UNSEEN

Photos From Last Week

Some Housekeeping

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.

Sunday Bookends:Losing cell service at the Marie Antoinette, skunky cat, and Happy Easter!

On April 5, 2026April 5, 2026 By Lisa R. HowelerIn Sunday Bookends, Sunday Salon19 Comments

First things first – He is risen! He is risen indeed! Happy Resurrection Sunday!

What a week last week was — or at least part of it.

I wrote about it on the blog yesterday for my Saturday Afternoon Chat but the gist of it was my husband had a wisdom tooth pulled under sedation at a dentist about 90-minutes away from where we live (it went very well), our youngest cat was sprayed with a skunk early Friday morning (he still stinks so bad after two baths), and Little Miss had nausea all week from possible food poisoning.

But then, to make the week a little better, Little Miss won a local Easter coloring contest from the small weekly newspaper in our county and received an absolutely huge Easter basket full of goodies yesterday.

We couldn’t even believe how big the basket was or how much stuff was in there. It was very kind of the newspaper to hold the contest and then provide such amazing gifts to the winners.

The owner/publisher of the paper is our neighbor but “an independent board of residents” judges the contest, he said, so he and his wife (who also works at the paper) were pleasantly surprised to see Little Miss win the first prize.

While picking up the gift basket, I apologized to him for stinking up the neighborhood since it was our cat that got sprayed, but he said he didn’t smell it luckily. He asked which cat it was and when I told him it was the youngest he said he feels bad for Cass (the youngest) because he keeps trying to get in fights with their old cat Oscar and Oscar has like 20 pounds on him.

“He keeps beating Cass up,” my neighbor said.

I told our neighbor that Cass is young and has to learn his place and stay in his own territory, so I guess he will have to learn not to push Oscar’s buttons. Then Oscar won’t have to beat him up. Ha.

We both did say we hope Oscar doesn’t hurt him too bad, though and I’ll be keeping more of an eye on him so he doesn’t go up there. Our properties run right together, though, so it might be hard to do. So far, Cass hasn’t looked beat up so I don’t think Oscar’s aim is to hurt him, but to tell him to head back home.

Yesterday The Husband was driving from the town where he works to the town where our closest Aldi is to pick our groceries when he called me.

As he usually does on this drive, he said to be about 10 minutes in, “Okay, I have to let you go. I’m getting to the Marie Antoinette, and I’m going to lose you.”

Non-locals would probably be confused by this. He’s almost to Marie Antoinette? What does that even mean? Wasn’t she the French queen who was guillotined? Yes, she was, and she’s also the French queen whose servants and fellow noblemen took a ship to the United States when the revolution started heating up to set up a community for her in what is now Pennsylvania. Many of those servants stayed in our area even after she was killed, while some returned to France.

Because there was a connection to her, though, there are sites in our area named after her — including an overlook called the Marie Antoinette overlook and an inn called the Marie Antoinette Inn.

My husband’s cell service disappears at the Marie Antoinette Overlook and then comes back about ten minutes later, but remains spotty until he reaches the town where the Aldi is. That’s why he announces he is at the Marie Antoinette, and he has to go.

Why did I explain all this? I have no idea. I just found it an interesting way to tie in our local history.

What I/We’ve Been Reading

Just Finished

The Singing Tree by Kate Seredy

In Progress

Right now, I am reading Damsel in Distress by P.G. Wodehouse (so much fun) and Heidi by Johanna Spyri.

I’m reading Heidi with Erin from Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs.

I am also reading Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis and Still Meadows by Gladys Tabor, which is a book with chapters for each month so I am probably going to read a chapter a month throughout the year.

Up Soon

Up next, I am reading A Caribbean Mystery by Agatha Christie as part of the Christie Challenge for 2026.

I am also looking forward to a Murder She Wrote book, Aloha Betrayal, sometime in April.

What The Family is Reading

The Husband just finished Hamnet. He loved it.

Little Miss and I are going to start Heidi this week as she said that sounded more interesting than the other book I was going to read to her for school.

What I/We’ve Been Watching

This past week I watched Shadow of the Thin Man and a lot of Murder, She Wrote.

I also watched the season finale of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms with The Boy.

What I’ve Been Writing

Last week on the blog I shared:

What I/We’ve Been Listening To

I am listening to The Best of Jeeves and Wooster on Audible. I don’t do well with audiobooks, though, so we will see how it goes.

This for Easter:

Some Housekeeping

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?

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.

Five phrases that make me run away from a book and five that make me pick it up.

On March 31, 2026March 31, 2026 By Lisa R. HowelerIn books and reading, top-ten-tuesday20 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

Today’s prompt is: Buzzwords or Phrases That Make Me Want to Read (or Avoid) a Book (These words or phrases can be in the title, synopsis, marketing materials, reviews, author blurbs, etc. and immediately pique your interest or immediately make you say “NOPE”. Examples include: fae, forbidden romance, morally grey characters, unreliable narrator, found family, magical worlds, love triangle, marriage of convenience, dark academia, stranded, dragons, dual points of view, starting over, etc.)

Five that make me say nope (for now anyhow) and five that make me say yep!

First, five phrases/words that make me say “nope” and I want to clarify that just because these phrases make me say ‘nope’, I do not look down or judge those it says ‘yep’ too. These are personal preferences driven by my personal likes/dislikes and personality. There is a reason behind each of them and at least one of them is because of my background in newspaper reporting and some of the things I had to cover over that 14 years. Not all pleasant, let’s just say.

Also, don’t take my little, one-sentence response to the “nope” ones too seriously. I’m being dramatic as a joke….or am I? *wink* There are a couple I really hate, so I’m being a bit serious in my response.

“Marriage of convenience”

I got some people royally mad at me recently for saying this on Instagram, but I was not polite about my absolute hatred for this trope, and I regret that. I could have said it in a much nicer way.

I very rarely willingly read a book with marriage of convenience in it. However, I will say that I have read a couple over the years who have pulled it off nicely. I didn’t know there was a marriage of convenience in them when I started but I pushed through because they were just nicely and tactfully handled.

2. “Forbidden romance”

Code words for “age gap”, inappropriate romances, or just a very cliché story. I will probably be gagging at all the side-glances, warm rushes, and “could he really be looking at me?” moments within the first few pages

3. The words ‘gory’, ‘horrific’, or ‘spine-chilling’.

This probably indicates a horror-type book and … nope! Not going to read it. Not my thing. Will be up all night with nightmares.

4. Phrases like “steam up the page…” “will have you fanning yourself…” “will leave you breathless with desire.”

Gag. No thank you. Sounds way too much like erotica, also known as Completely Unrealistic Expectation of Romance and Love Central.

5. “Politically significant” or “culturally significant”

Fiction or non-fiction I probably won’t touch this book. I can not stomach anything political and what is culturally significant to some is not usually earth shattering to me.

Now Five phrases that make me say ‘yep’!

“Fun cozy mystery”

Sign me up. Fun and a cozy mystery? Yes. This is the escape I need a lot of the time.

“2. Loveable characters in a small town.”

Yes, please. As many books with this written on it as possible, please.

3. “Heartwarming” or “Gentle.”

I love anything with heartwarming or gentle feelings/vibes. My shelves are stocked with these type of books.

4. “Queen of Mystery.”

This probably means it is an Agatha Christie book and, yes, despite some mysteries having “unsavory” topics in them, I do like mysteries — even ones that aren’t cozy.

5. “Amateur Sleuth.”

I love a good Amateur-Sleuth-As-The-Main-Character book. I know they aren’t going to be an expert at solving the crime and might even make some fun blunders along the way.

A bonus to the nope list: Anything that says ‘BookTok’ or suggests a book was popular on ‘BookTok’. It’s an immediate pass for me. And anything that says “hot vampires”. No. Just no.

How about you? What phrases or words make you pick up a book or what phrases make you run away?

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

On March 29, 2026March 30, 2026 By Lisa R. HowelerIn Sunday Bookends, Sunday Salon14 Comments

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

Some Housekeeping

Now It’s Your Turn

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

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 March 27, 2026March 27, 2026 By Lisa R. HowelerIn Books I've Written7 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 March 21, 2026March 22, 2026 By Lisa R. HowelerIn Sunday Bookends, Sunday Salon31 Comments

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

Now It’s Your Turn

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

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 March 15, 2026March 14, 2026 By Lisa R. HowelerIn Sunday Bookends, Sunday Salon20 Comments

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

Photos From Last Week

Some Housekeeping

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?

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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Winter Reading Wrap Up and Spring Book Hopefuls

On March 11, 2026March 12, 2026 By Lisa R. HowelerIn books and reading11 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?

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