Tag: reading

Sunday Chat: Merry Christmas, Christmas movies, and looks like we will have a white Christmas afterall

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn Sunday Bookends12 Comments

Welcome to my Sunday Chat where I ramble about what’s been going on in my world, what the rest of the family and I have been reading, watching, listening to, and what I’ve been writing.

As always, I’m joining up with Kimba at Caffeinated Reviewer, Deb at Readerbuzz, and Kathyrn at The Book Date.



I live in an area where we get a lot of snow during the winter – or at least enough to make the roads slippery. I have lived in this area my whole life but I am still not a fan of driving in snow. It makes me very nervous and when I am done doing it my entire body hurts from tensing all my muscles.

I avoid it whenever I can but twice this week, I ended up driving in potentially slippery conditions. On Wednesday I drove home in snow after taking my daughter to Kid’s Club, which is a weekly kid’s program at a church about 20 minutes from our house. Listening to an audiobook of Johnny Tremain helped keep me distracted from being worried we might careen off the road into an embankment, especially when the snow started to stick to the road about five miles from our house.

I recorded a quick video while I was driving slowly, and it was so funny because the audiobook didn’t stop playing as I recorded and when I played it back the woman’s sort of creepy voice was talking about the many deaths that happened during the Revolutionary War while the snow swirled in front of us. (If you push play be aware it is very loud!)

We made it home and I vowed not to do it again but on Friday my dad needed to go to an MRI and I needed to pick up groceries. We knew we were supposed to get snow but we weren’t sure how much, so we headed out anyhow. This was after I got my dad’s car stuck twice earlier in the day. I’m borrowing his car while our truck is broke down.

 I kept my hands tight around the steering wheel on the way to where we get groceries while we got stuck behind a long line of cars due to a very slow truck and a shiny sheen showed up on the road.

That’s when Dad decides to remind me not to get too close to the car in front of me because I don’t want to have to slam on the brakes and possibly skid across the road since the temp had dropped to 29 degrees. That’s always fun in winter by the way – watching the thermometer on your car drop below freezing and wonder if that’s going to be cold enough to freeze the road as well or if it was warm enough that the road  hasn’t had a chance to freeze yet. This is something those who don’t live in colder climates have to worry about.

So, on Friday, for 15 miles, I had to make sure I stayed back and stayed calm while Dad reminded me gently that I was too close to cars. He made me a bit nervous so I made him drive home and guess what – he pulled up too close to cars and didn’t slow down at all. Why that hypocrite. *wink* Honestly, he’s a pretty good driver but it was nice to harass him a bit by telling him he was too close to the cars in front of us.

Once we were home, though, I decided we won’t be leaving the house again until Christmas Eve when we will head to my parents for the evening and then head back again on Christmas Day.

The Husband does have to go to work today and Monday but then he is off for a week and we are looking forward to him having that time.

We did receive a few inches of snow on Friday and with today’s artic temps and still cold temps the next few days, it looks like we will have our white Christmas after all.

Our family has a lot to be grateful for this Christmas. The month of December has been a beast – beating my family down physically, emotionally, and sometimes even spiritually. Through it all it has been tough to be upbeat but as I write this I am grateful for miracles – for surgeries that won’t have to happen, for medical conditions caught quickly and didn’t cause more damage than they could have, and for healing that is slowly coming.

It isn’t always easy to be happy at Christmas and I just want anyone who isn’t celebrating this Christmas, for whatever reason, that it’s okay. You feel the way you feel and if you don’t feel cheerful, then you don’t. Christmas is something we can celebrate at any time of the year because of why we celebrate. I’m hoping many of us have better days to come.

I had planned to read all Christmas books leading up to Christmas and I did read a couple but didn’t fill all of my reads up with Christmas.

I finished The Hound of The Baskerville’s by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

I finished The Christmas Swap by Melody Carlson this past week. I did not enjoy it as much as A Quilt for Christmas and it honestly felt like a completely different writer.

 I then finished Johnny Tremain which Little Miss and I have been reading all school year for history (in between other lessons).

That brought my book total read for the year to 66 and as I told friends and family – that is too close to 666 in my head (not the number counting up…but you know what I mean) so I am reading Tooth and Claw by Craig Johnson to bring it to 67.

After Tooth and Claw I am diving back into Christy by Catherine Marshall and starting either Castles in the Air by Donald Westlake (which my husband recommended) or Little Men.

The Husband is reading The Midnight Library by Matt Haig and that will be his 115th book of the year.

The Boy is supposed to be finishing The Hound of the Baskerville’s this week.

Little Miss is reading Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets.

We have been cramming as many Christmas movies or Christmas-themed shows we can fit in before Christmas.

This past week we watched Miracle on 34th Street (my husband’s favorite), Elf, Home Alone, and White Christmas.

On my own I watched The Bishop’s Wife and The Chosen special The Messenger.

We still want to watch Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer, A Christmas Story, and Santa Claus is Coming to Town. I also hope to watch past Christmas episodes of All Creatures Great and Small since I don’t have streaming that allows me to watch the latest season yet.

I am still finishing corrections on Gladwynn Grant Shakes the Family Tree, which you can now pre-order on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0DR6BG3ZR?

This week on the blog I shared:

A quick reminder for January plans for this blog and Erin with Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs. I’m going to copy what she has been posting on her blog because I am behind this week!


“Lisa from Boondock Ramblings and I are planning some Cozy Crafternoons on Zoom in January and February, to beat those winter blahs that happen late winter after Christmas. We are thinking we will have maybe two per month, so four in total. We will just all meet up on the date and time, and individually work on whatever we want – embroidery, coloring, knitting, crocheting, jewelry making, etc, while chatting or you could even have the sound off and just feel part of the group without the chatter, if you like it quiet. It is sort of open and flexible but also social. I will probably be stitching away – my friend has requested a small pillow with an embroidered possum on it, so I will be working on that in January for a while. Anyway, if you are interested in learning more send an email either to me at crackercrumblife@gmail.com or to Lisa at lisahoweler@gmail.com. That way we will also have your email for the zoom link! Our first scheduled crafternoon is January 11th at 1 pm EST.”

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.

Top Ten Books to Read During A Storm

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn books and reading, everyday musings, top-ten-tuesday15 Comments

|| Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. ||

(Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.)

Today’s prompt was: Books to Read During a Storm (these can be cozy/comfy reads, books with storms in them, atmospheric reads for dark and stormy nights, light reads to combat the heavy weather, etc.) (Submitted by Astilbe.)

Reading during a storm — especially a winter storm — just seems very cozy to me. I would choose comfort reads but also books that would hold my attention. I’m sure there are more than what I have listed here today, but this is what I came up with for now.

  1. The Long  Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder

This one is a rough read in some ways and it stresses me out when they almost run out of food because the train can’t get through but there are also fun moments in the book when the kids have a blast in the snow that just keeps coming and coming.

2. At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon

All of the books in this series are super cozy – even though they do deal with some tough topics later on. The first book and the book where there is a wedding are two of the coziest. Just a heads up: Home to Holly Springs is a bit of a tougher read so I don’t know if I would read that during a storm. It’s stormy enough on its own.

3. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

This book can be read anytime, of course, but it is especially cozy to me during a storm.

4. Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery

I loved Anne of Green Gables, but this one was just as good if not a little better to me.

5. Miracles on Maple Hill by Virginia Sorenson

This book about a family who moves to the country to try to help their father’s PTSD after World War II is full of cozy, sweet, and thought-provoking moments.

6. Hadley Beckets Next Dish by Bethany Turner

This is a fun anytime read but during a storm it would be great because it is so cheerful and relaxing. It is a romantic comedy.

7. Moriarty by Anthony Horowitz

I share this one because I actually read it during a winter storm a few years ago. I couldn’t put it down. We were all trapped in the house. The Boy had a friend over and they were watching things downstairs and Little Miss was watching with them. I was upstairs, under the covers, not feeling great that day, but breezing through this book at hyper speed because I needed to know what happened.

8. The Wonderful World of James Herriot: A collection of short stories by James Herriot

I have not read this or even own it but I want to. I have read other books by Herriot and this collection may include some of the same stories but I would love to read them all again. His stories are often very, very cozy.

9. The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

Once I got past all the tree descriptions, I actually ended up falling in love with this book, especially the characters. I am looking forward to reading the Two Towers this next year.

10. The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery

This is an enchanting book and hands down my favorite to read in 2024. It’s a great book anytime but would be especially mesmerizing during a storm!

    How about you? Do you have a list of books that would be perfect to read during a storm?

    Sunday Chat: Bitter cold, snowy weather, the insane prices of streaming services, and a mix of books to read

    On By Lisa R. HowelerIn everyday musings, Sunday Bookends17 Comments

    Welcome to my Sunday Chat where I ramble about what’s been going on in my world, what the rest of the family and I have been reading, watching, listening to, and what I’ve been writing.

    This week I’m joining up with Kimba at Caffeinated Reviewer, Deb at Readerbuzz, and Kathyrn at The Book Date.


    Somewhere around Christmas I take advantage of a Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale and get a month of the Hallmark channel on Amazon so I can watch some of their ridiculously sappy movies.

    This year I missed the sale but still thought I’d get a subscription for a month.

    Amazon said I could indeed have that subscription.

    For $7.99 a month.

    $8.

    Hallmark Channel thinks they are worth $8 a month. Like I’m going to watch more than two or three of their movies. Ever.

    I looked at one of the movies I thought I might watch and they wanted me to pay $5 just to rent it.  I’m sorry but Hallmark movies are not worth $5 to watch and they are not worth me paying $8 a month when I am already paying for other channels and services. That thought made me want to find out how much those other services had jumped up to and I about fell off the couch.

    We had five other subscriptions and most of them were $8 or $9 a month. I ended up unsubscribing from a few and keeping the subscription of one when they offered me more than 50 percent off for the next three months. The Husband and I have decided we will rotate subscriptions – getting some of them every other month instead of every month.

    For example, I will be choosing to add PBS Masterpiece back in January so I can watch All Creatures Great and Small’s new season.

    What is insane to me is how we left cable for streaming to save money and now companies are charging so much for their services, breaking them into all these individual channels they want you to pay for, we were paying almost as much for streaming services as we did for cable.

    It’s really out of control. Luckily, we have the choice to not sign up for certain services and we also have a huge DVD collection so I think this first word problem will not overwhelm us.

     Last week was a very cold week so we didn’t really go anywhere – mainly because it was a very cold week. Had it not been such a cold and miserable week I might not have noticed how much we were being ripped off by Amazon and the other streaming services.  

    We got the woodstove going and ran the fire all week. It was nice and cozy in the house most of the days – except one day when I let the fire go too low and almost shivered out of my clothes while getting dinner ready.

    Thankfully, next week is supposed to be warmer. By warmer, I of course mean highs of 40 a couple days and one day of a high of 51. Still not sandals weather, but we will take it. We will most likely still light a fire during the day to keep us from having to use the heating oil because the nights are still expected to be very cold.

    Lighting fires will be easier thanks to a delivery of wood we received Saturday morning. It will probably be our last delivery of the winter season.

    As I began writing this post, I tried to think why I didn’t read more books this week. I had time but I guess I spent a lot of it writing blog posts, building fires, cooking dinners, and maybe a bit worrying about my sister-in-law who is still in the hospital with health issues. I’d love if you could say some prayers for her.

    I was also reading Johnny Tremain for school with the youngest and doing homeschool with her.

    I’m still working on A Death in Marlow, which is actually a very easy read and I’ll probably finish this week. I was distracted from it this past week by A Quilt for Christmas by Melody Carlson which was a fun, quick, cozy Christmas read and then shared a review of it. I also plan to share a review this week on The Marlow Mystery Club, which I read a couple of weeks ago.

    I am continuing to read The Hound of the Baskerville’s by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle fairly slowly with The Boy for school and I hope to read another Christmas-themed novella this week – Catching Christmas by Terri Blackstock.

    The Husband has started his 111th book of the year, High Priest of California by Charles Willeford.

    The Boy is reading The Hound of the Baskerville’s with me but is sort of dragging his feet right now.

    Little Miss is listening to Caddie Woodlawn at night before bed and reading Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets but took a break from reading it this week.

    I watched three  Hallmark Christmas movies this past week. They were sort of awful and sort of good at the same time – like any Hallmark movie.

    I also watched Just A Few Acres Farm’s videos quite a bit this week. It is so relaxing to watch him do simple things like rebuilding a tractor engine or feed the cows.

    I shared a lot on the blog this week including:

    Don’t forget that Erin and I are hosting the Comfy, Cozy Christmas link up, which you can find at the top of the page. The link-up is for any holiday-related posts .

    A blog post I enjoyed this week:

    || Tuesday Tour: Christmas Ever Day by Mama’s Empty Nest ||

    || Traditional Christmas in the Living Room, More Table Vignettes & Hallway, Christmas Home Tour, 2024 by Debbie Dabble Christmas ||

    || Under the Mistletoe – The Third Door by Cat’s Wire ||

    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.

    10 Christmas books to read this year

    On By Lisa R. HowelerIn books and reading, top-ten-tuesday16 Comments

    || Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. ||

    (Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.)

    This week we have a freebie post so now that we are in December, I thought I’d share some book ideas to get you into the Christmas or holiday feels.

    Did I just write “feels”? Oh my … I did. Let us overlook that and carry on . . .

    1. Shepherd’s Abiding by Jan Karon

    I’m starting with this one because this is one I read or read parts of each year now. It’s a favorite Christmas book for me. As my sister-in-law said last night when we were chatting, reading a Jan Karon book is like walking into a warm hug and this book is no different. It’s heartwarming, even though there are some tough topics in it, especially about Father Tim (he’s an Episcopalian priest) as he grapples with his past relationship with his late father.

    Description: Millions of Americans have found Mitford to be a favorite home-away-from-home, and countless readers have long wondered what Christmas in Mitford would be like. The eighth Mitford novel provides a glimpse, offering a meditation on the best of all presents: the gift of one’s heart.

    Since he was a boy, Father Tim has lived what he calls “the life of the mind” and has never really learned to savor the work of his hands. When he finds a derelict nativity scene that has suffered the indignities of time and neglect, he imagines the excitement in the eyes of his wife, Cynthia, and decides to undertake the daunting task of restoring it. As Father Tim begins his journey, readers are given a seat at Mitford’s holiday table and treated to a magical tale about the true Christmas spirit.

    2. A Quilt for Christmas by Melody Carlson

    I am actually reading this one right now and am enjoying it.

    Description: In this heartwarming Christmas story, widowed Vera Swanson is feeling lonely until young Fiona Albright knocks on her door needing help. With Fiona’s mother seriously ill, Fiona asks Vera to make a special Christmas quilt for her. Vera gathers a group of women, including an artist, a chatty empty nester, and a retired therapist, to fulfill the request. Along the way, Vera discovers the joy of friendship and the warmth of a new “family” during the holiday season.

    3. Waiting for Christmas by Lynn Austin

    I have not read this one, but have heard good things about Lynn’s work.

    Decription: For the first time in her privileged life, Adelaide Forsythe won’t be swept up in it. She couldn’t be happier about the prospect of a quieter Christmas. That’s not to say her transition from Miss to Mrs. has been without challenge. Though she doesn’t regret marrying for love instead of wealth, she can barely light the hearth or cook more than burnt toast. She feels woefully unprepared to run her own household.
    Then, on the first Sunday of Advent, winter winds bring change through two unlikely means: a young orphan boy, hiding near Adelaide’s front steps, and a seasoned housekeeper who seems too good to be true.
    The boy, Jack, claims he isn’t an orphan at all and is desperate to reunite his family. Adelaide and her husband Howard work tirelessly to solve the riddle of Jack’s story, while Adelaide’s new endeavors open her eyes to a world beyond her past experience—and all the challenge and possibility it holds. As Christmas approaches, small glimmers of wonder light the way toward the answers Adaleide seeks and the most miraculous gift of all.

    4.  An Ivy Hill Christmas: A Tales from Ivy Hill  By Julie Klassen

    (I have not read this one but it sounds good.)

    Description: The younger son of Ivy Hill’s family, Richard Brockwell, hasn’t been home for Christmas for years. He prefers to live in the London townhouse, far away from everyone. His mother threatens to stop funding his carefree life–unless he comes home for Christmas. Out of options, he sets out for Ivy Hill, planning to be back on a coach bound for London and his unencumbered bachelor life as soon as the festivities are over.
    But Christmas in the country presents unforeseen surprises, including encounters with an orphaned apprentice, the first love he disappointed years ago, and Arabella Awdry, a young lady who is far more appealing than he recalled . . . and determined to have nothing to do with him.

    5. A Christmas Carol and other Christmas Writings by Charles Dickens

    (have not read all of these, but have read A Christmas Carol and I did enjoy it.)

    Description: This selection of Dickens’s Christmas writings confirms his lasting influence upon our idea of the Christmas spirit: that Christmas is a time for celebration, charity, and memory.

    In addition to the beloved A Christmas Carol, this volume includes such festive works as “Christmas Festivities,” “The Story of the Goblins Who Stole a Sexton,” “A Christmas Tree,” “The Seven Poor Travellers,” The Haunted Man and the Ghost’s Bargain, and a Christmas episode from Master Humphrey’s Clock. Beyond the holly and the ivy, Charles Dickens’ writings show readers his references to societal issues in nineteenth century England that revolve around Christmas. Dickens explores issues, which relate to class and memory in order to achieve deeper meaning and human qualities for the characters he creates.

    6. A Vintage Christmas by various authors

    (I read a couple of these stories from a book similar to this last year and did enjoy them! I hope to read more from it this year. I think I actually listened to a couple too on Audible.)

    Delight lovers of classics with this timeless treasury! From Twain’s missive—penned as “Santa Claus” to his 3-year-old daughter—to charming fireside moments, this Christmas collection features 23 nostalgic tales from Alcott, Dickens, Stowe, Twain, Montgomery, and Howells, along with the poetry of Cook, Rossetti, Thackeray, Kilmer, Longfellow, and Coleridge. Includes a presentation page for personalized gifting.

    5. A Regency Christmas Wish by Various authors:

    (Erin from Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs turned me on to these types of books last year. There are various versions of these books, all with different novellas collected into one volume. I had to hunt for these books as they are not all in print anymore, with many of them only available on used sites. I tracked this one down on Thriftbooks. I read two of the novellas last year and I’m going to read a couple more this December. I am not a huge romance reader but these are very light and sweet.)

    Description: This collection of five holiday-themed Regency romances includes all-new stories by award-winning and bestselling authors Edith Layton, Emma Jensen, Sandra Heath, Barbara Metzger, and Carla Kelly. Celebrate the joys of Christmas in Regency England with five new stories by some of the most beloved Regency authors of all time. Ringing in the season with fireside warmth, holiday wishes, and Yuletide romance, these stories capture the essence of Christmas. A sparkling collection sure to delight readers all year round, with warmth, cheer, and love.

    7. Finding Father Christmas/Engaging Father Christmas (2 books in 1) by Robin Jones Gunn

    Description: Two heartwarming Yuletide tales in one volume! In Finding Father Christmas, Miranda’s search for her dad leads her to England where a family welcomes her. Should she reveal her true identity and destroy their idyllic image of her parent? And in Engaging Father Christmas, Miranda plans to accept Ian’s proposal—but the Whitcomb matriarch withholds her blessing.

    8. All is Calm/All is Bright (two novellas in one) by Colleen Cobble

    Description: Curl up with this Yuletide duo! In All Is Calm, special ops agent Brendan and murder witness Lauren seek refuge at Bluebird Ranch. Can they catch the killer? And in All Is Bright, Delilah is deliberately run off the road. Sheriff Tom Bourne is determined to protect her. Will he save her from her shadowy attacker?

    9. The Christmas Candle by Max Lucado

    (I have watched the movie this is based on but have not read the book.)

    Description: Imagine a Victorian England village in the Cotswolds where very little out of the ordinary ever happens . . . except at Christmas time.

    This year, Edward Haddington, a lowly candle maker, is visited by a mysterious angel. That angel silently imparts a precious gift—a gift that’s bungled and subsequently lost. The candle maker and his wife, Bea, struggle to find the gift.

    And when they do, they have to make a difficult choice. Who among their community is most in need of a Christmas miracle?

    10. You Make it Feel Like Christmas by Toni Shiloh

    (I have not read this one yet but I’ve wanted to read one by Shiloh so I might try to squeeze it in this year.)

    Description: It’s the most wonderful time of the year–for everyone except Starr Lewis.

    As if going home for the holidays jobless and single wasn’t bad enough, she’s dragged into a holiday season full of activities leading up to her sister’s uber-romantic Christmas Eve wedding–to Starr’s ex-boyfriend. But when her brother’s best friend, Waylon Emmerson, attends their family Thanksgiving, she starts to wonder if maybe coming home for Christmas isn’t so bad after all.

    As Starr finds the perfect distraction in helping Waylon make over his late mother’s Christmas shop, the most wonderful time of the year works its magic and the spark between them grows. But with the holidays fast approaching, Starr must decide what she wants out of life after the gifts are unwrapped and the ornaments are put away–to go back to New York City or to open her heart to a love that will last beyond Christmas Day?

    Have you read any of these books? Or are you reading anything Christmas-related this year? Let me know in the comments.

    *This post is also part of the Comfy, Cozy Christmas Link Up for 2024. If you have a Christmas/holiday post you would like to share you can find the link HERE or at the top of the page here on my blog.

    Sunday Bookends: Getting into the Christmas spirit already

    On By Lisa R. HowelerIn Sunday Bookends22 Comments

    Welcome to my Sunday Morning Chat where I ramble about what’s been going on in my world, what the rest of the family and I have been reading, watching, listening to, and what I’ve been writing.

    This week I’m joining up with Kimba at Caffeinated Reviewer, Deb at Readerbuzz, and Kathyrn at The Book Date.

    The Christmas spirit is already on its way, even though I wasn’t sure I was ready for it. Yesterday the kids decorated the tree, and we chose some Christmas movies to watch later in the month – they didn’t seem to watch them yesterday so I watched The Man Who Invented A Christmas again to get in the Christmas mood.

    While we decorated The Husband was performing in a radio play of It’s A Wonderful Life, which we will see the second showing of today.

    He’s been rehearsing for the play for the last couple of months and been having a blast. We didn’t go last night because he had to go two hours early and we didn’t want to wait while he got ready, but today we will go with my dad to see it. I thought it was too cold for my mom to come out so I suggested she stay home. We are supposed to have a high of 26 today and yesterday we had a windchill of 13 so I doubt today will be any better.

    Last week we had a nice, small Thanksgiving with my parents. My sister-in-law has been facing some health issues so she and my brother stayed home. She is improving but traveling was not really in her best interest this year.

    The Husband and I made dinner and took it there. After dinner, we played charades at the urging of Little Miss (who enjoys playing games) and watched part of a movie together. On Friday it was grocery pick-up time for me and yesterday it was staying inside keeping the fire going to cut down on the heating oil costs because it was so cold outside.

    This upcoming week I only have one event which I may or may not go to, depending on how we feel and how much we want to brave the cold.

    What I/we’ve been Reading

    I am reading quite slowly right now so I am still reading Death Comes to Marlow by Robert Thorogood and also A Quilt for Christmas by Melody Carlson, which I started yesterday and was pulled right into.

    I think I’ll finish A Quilt for Christmas this week since it is very short and cozy at 171 pages long.

    Death to Marlow is moving along briskly as well, but I read that mainly at night.

    I have borrowed Christy by Catherine Marshall from Libby again since I ran out of time to read it before it had to be returned, but I have a feeling it will go back again – not because it isn’t good. I am enjoying it very much, but I like taking my time with it. I am going to look for a used copy of it to read over the winter.

    I am also reading and listening to The Hound of The Baskerville’s by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle with The Boy for British Literature.

    This past week I finished The Secret of the Wooden Lady by Carolyn Keene and left a review HERE.

    After I finish the two books mentioned above, and continue Christy, I hope to read Lynn Austin’s Christmas book The Wish Book Christmas and Toni Shiloh’s You Make It Feel Like Christmas. I’m not a huge romance fan so I’ll see if I make it through Shiloh’s book. I know she’s a good writer so if I do set t aside it won’t be because of that. It’s just because some romances aren’t my “thing.”

    Little Miss and I have been reading And Then There Were Five by Elizabeth Enright at night. Last Sunday she read Harry Potter And The Chamber of Secrets for three straight hours at my parents, taking breaks only for some lunch, a snack of whip cream, and getting a drink. This week she hasn’t read as much but instead we’ve been listening to The Greatest Christmas Pageant ever and then started Caddie Woodlawn again the other night because it’s a favorite of hers.

    The Boy is reading The Hound of the Baskerville’s with me, as I mentioned above.

    The Husband is reading, but he’s at the play as I am writing this and I might forget to ask him before I hit publish so if I do, I’ll i

    What I’ve Been Writing

    This past week on the blog I shared:

    Comfy, Cozy Christmas

    Once again this year Erin (Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs) and I are going to be sharing Christmas-themed posts in a link up that you can find at a link at the top of my page. Up there where it says, Home, About, My Books, etc. etc. The link is on a page and you can add your Christmas-themed links from now to January 2!

    Erin does such a good job with the graphics for these events. This year she featured our pets in the graphic. It’s so cute and … well, comfy and cozy. Ha!

    What We’ve Been Watching

    Last week I watched a lot of Murder She Wrote. I write about the show from time to time but I really haven’t seen a lot of the episodes so it’s been interesting to watch through them and either giggle at some of the silliness or get wrapped up in the mysteries – which actually hold together pretty well.

    I also watched some of my farmer show on YouTube – Just A Few Acres Farm. One video was just him riding on a tractor with no other sounds and it was seriously the most relaxing thing I’ve seen in a while. I did write some and build the fire while watching but it was very calming somehow. My Sunday morning routine is watching the sermon online with The Husband and then watching Just A Few Acres to try to ease into my day.

    Later in the week I watched a show called Now Hear This With Scott Yoo and yesterday I watched a documentary on Leonardo Da Vinci.

    Recent Blog Posts I Enjoyed

    || November Reflections by Stray Thoughts ||

    || Stocking Fillers 2024 Gift Guide by Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs ||


    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.

    Sunday Chat/Sunday Bookends: First snowfall/snowstorm and a variety of books to read

    On By Lisa R. HowelerIn Sunday Bookends, Sunday Salon28 Comments

    Welcome to my Sunday Morning Chat where I ramble about what’s been going on in my world, what the rest of the family and I have been reading, watching, listening to, and what I’ve been writing.

    This week I’m joining up with Kimba at Caffeinated Reviewer, Deb at Readerbuzz, and Kathyrn at The Book Date.



    What’s Been Occurring

    We got snow this past week, but it was a weird storm. We got 6 or 7 inches in our little down, but a few miles up the road they got 10 or 12. My parents live about five miles away from us and they got about 4 or 5. The town three miles north of them received a dusting. The town 15 miles from us where we buy the bulk of our groceries received only rain.

    It was a strange storm, needless to say. It wreaked havoc because the snow was very heavy and wet. It knocked down already dead Ash trees in our area (killed by the ash boar) and knocked them down onto lines, taking out power for many in the area. Our power has been flickering off and on since Friday night.

    For some reason, we have no cell service right in town but at least my Wi-Fi calling works in the house. We aren’t sure if that is connected to the storm or not.

    The snow, for all the chaos it caused, though, was very pretty.

    I’m hoping future snows this winter will be less heavy and damaging. A few of our bushes and one of our trees was damaged. A big maple in front of us that we can’t currently afford to have cut down (this thing is one of the biggest maple trees I have ever seen in my life!) lost a limb. I was worried it might lose more and cause major damage to our house or our neighbors. Getting this thing cut down will have to be a priority in 2025.

    I had hoped that the snow day would mean more time in front of the fire, reading a book. Sadly, I spent most of Friday watching Little Miss play in the snow, loading the woodstove with wood, cooking some dinner, and doing other odds and end chores. I did find a little time to read some, though, thankfully.

    What I/We’ve Been Reading

    I have been reading The Secret of the Wooden Lady by Carolyn Keene. It is, of course, a Nancy Drew Mystery. One of the early ones. Number 27 to be exact. It’s okay but I’m a little confused about the plot and who the wooden lady is. This one seems to be a bit all over the place. It’s not like anyone has ever called these early middle-grade books great literature, of course. The mysteries do hold up most of the time. This time around I don’t feel like this mystery is really capturing my attention like others have.

    I also started Christy by Catherine Marshall last week and while I am only on Chapter 2, I am really enjoying it.

    The Boy and I are reading The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle for his British Literature course. It is a bit slow getting into but then it really picks up.

    This past week I finished two of the three novellas in an Amish romance/Christmas novella collection. I haven’t finished the third yet because the second one, honestly, wasn’t that great to me.

    The collection was The Christmas Gathering with authors Shelley Sheppard Gray, Lenora Worth, and Rachel Good.

    I’m not usually someone who reads Amish fiction, but that wasn’t the issue with the one novella. It just dragged and dragged and threw in way too many characters for a 12-chapter book.

    My plans have changed a little bit on what I am reading next because first, my sister-in-law (brother’s wife) told me about a series and I decided I’d try it. That book is The Sweetness of the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley. It is the first in the Flavia De Luce Mysteries.

    Also, I had a book on hold on Libby and it became available yesterday. That book is Death Comes to Marlow by Robert Thorogood. It is the second book in The Marlow Murder Club series.

    After those books, or while reading them, I’ll be adding A Quilt For Christmas by Melody Carlson, which I picked up from a recent library trip.

    Little Miss and I are still reading And Then There Were Five from The Melendy series by Elizabeth Enright. We read that some nights before bed if we aren’t too tired. She is reading the second book in the Harry Potter series as well, but not every day.

    The Husband just finished The Bounty Huntersby Elmore Leonard.

    What We’ve Been Watching

    The past week I watched Transformers One twice. I watched it first with Little Miss and The Boy and then we watched it as a family last night for The Husband’s birthday. The Transformers aren’t really my thing but growing up my friends loved them and I played with them some too so I do know a lot of the characters. Not like The Husband and The Boy do. Sheesh – the tiny little details they know is a little mind-blowing.

    They know all the characters and storylines from the original shows and the ones in between, as well as the live action films and the comics.

    Last Sunday, Erin from Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs and I watched Chocolat during a watch party. That was a lot of fun and I’m looking forward to when we do that again.

    I finished reading over and rewriting parts of Gladwynn Grant Shakes the Family Tree Friday and it is now in the hands of my editor husband. From there it will be proofed. I’ll be looking for advanced readers for the book. If you are interested, you can sign up to read it before it comes out here.

    This week on the blog I shared:

    What I’m Listening To

    This week I finally sat down and listened to another episode of the True Drew Podcast, which talks all about Nancy Drew – the books, the games, etc.

    I also listened to a podcast by a homeschooling dad called The Life Without School. That was eye opening and interesting.

    So 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: Already in my old lady phase and so is my 10-year-old daughter

    On By Lisa R. HowelerIn everyday musings16 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 am officially an old lady. I was telling my husband how much I enjoy prunes and a few minutes later I gasped and said, “Oh! I have a Murder She Wrote episode to finish! I’m so excited!”

    My husband then reminded me I should brew a cup of tea before I got comfortable under my blanket on the couch. All I need is my slippers and a few more cats and my Old Lady Kit is complete.

    The best thing is that my 10-year-old daughter, Little Miss, is watching with me, curled up under her own blanket with the dog curled next to her, saying things like, “There’s something wrong with the ginger here. Look at her eyes.” or “yeah, you could be friends under different circumstances because you literally killed a man…”  and “Bro really needs some better pants.”

    She’s starting her kit early.

    Then she said, “Honestly, I would have liked to have had that lady as my grandma on my dad’s side.” (Since she never knew his mom for a variety of not-so-fun reasons.)

    When I told her after the second episode that we could watch something else she said, “No! More!”

    So we launched into our third episode.

    Earlier this week Little Miss finished the art class we’ve been attending that was sponsored by the county library. Friday night The Husband took her to an art reception for her work and I stayed home with a sinus headache or neck thing…not sure which. It was so fun to see her so excited about her work, which the teacher had them name and then set a price on, if they wanted to.

    I thought it was very interesting to see which drawing she decided to list as “not for sale” and which one she said she would sell for $20. Nothing would change her mind either.

    What I/we’ve been Reading

    The Christmas Gathering – a book full of three novellas by Shelley Shepard Gray, Lenora Worth, Rachel J. Good (because I needed something happy and light to read)

    The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

    Christy by Catherine Marshall (this is my slow and easy read)

    The Secret of the Wooden Lady by Carolyn Keene



    The Maestro’s Missing Melody by Amy Walsh, which I reviewed here.



    The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashi

    Little Men by Louisa Mae Alcott

    Little Miss and I finished The Four Story Mistake and started And Then There Were Five in The Melendy Children series by Elizabeth Enright.

    Little Miss is also reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets some nights.

    The Husband is reading The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood because I told him to. Ha! Okay, because he really wanted to.

    The Boy is reading The Hound of the Baskervilles.

    What We watched/are Watching

    Above I mentioned what an old lady I have become and I really have because last night I found a new-to-me series of Mary Berry on Amazon Prime and just about giggled with delight. Little Miss was very excited too. We absolutely love Mary Berry. The fact they have several specials or series with her on Amazon now that I didn’t see before has me very excited. One thing I love about her shows is that they don’t only show viewers how to cook but also provide some background about the dish they are cooking or some education about cultures.

    The episode we watched last night was about an Indian wedding. It was extremely interesting.

    Tonight we will be watching Chocolat, together via a watch party and YOU are invited. We will be pressing play together on the movie and chatting in our Discord server, which you can join here: https://discord.gg/TpWNxJ4Z

    I really hope you will join us! If not, it will just be Erin and I chatting with each other and that’s not all bad either. Haha!


    What I’m Writing

    I finished the rough draft of Gladwynn Grant Shakes the Family Tree this past week and now I am in the rewriting and editing stage. It will be released in 2025.

    On the blog this past week I shared:

    What I’m Listening To

    I am listening to The Hound of the Baskervilles some and reading it other times.

    Recent Blog Posts I Enjoyed

    || A Visit to Lincoln Home by Amy’s Creative Pursuits ||

    || Third Days Tripping Our Way by Mama’s Empty Nest ||

    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: birthdays, baking pies, and finishing up the third Gladwynn book

    On By Lisa R. HowelerIn everyday musings, Sunday Bookends8 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

    This past week was an interesting one in some ways and a regular one in others.

    On Tuesday I had a not-so-fun experience at the polling place in my little tiny town. Lesson learned to mail-in ballots from now on. It had nothing to do, by the way, with who I voted for. It just had to do with adults who were rude to my child and it really ticked me off. This paragraph is completely unrelated to politics other than I was in a polling place for an election.

    Thursday was better, though, because it was our son’s 18th birthday. My neighbor asked how I felt having an 18-year-old.

    I sent her this gif:

    Then I told her I was also very proud of my son because he’s grown into a wonderful young man.

    It’s all gone by so insanely fast, though. There is so much I miss about him being younger but so much that is also great about this age.

    We bought him a War Hammer model set and he’s having a blast painting them. It is a new hobby for him. Little Miss and I traveled to my parents on Thursday to help make apple pies for The Boy because he prefers pie over cake.

    My mom ended up coming down with a sinus infection that triggered a flare of her fibromyalgia while we were there. It was a little scary as she was in excruciating pain all over and having some trouble walking. That night she spiked a fever.

    We still had a nice day and the next day she was much better and the fever was gone. None of us can really understand why whatever she had only lasted a day and went away, but I do know I prayed a lot that day and night for her healing.

    The pie, by the way, was “great” according to The Boy who doesn’t easily give compliments out so Little Miss and I, with my parent’s directions, pulled it out after all.

    Yesterday The Boy and The Husband had fun during a father-son day in a city about an hour away. They visited a comic book shop where he  picked up some more figures to paint.

    They then walked around town, visiting the local university and a used book shop where my husband picked this up for me:

    He knows me way too well. That’s an original 1941 Hardy Boys book. I can not wait to read it – as long as the mildew smell doesn’t mess with my sinuses. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn’t.

    I forgot to mention that on Friday we had an art class and then drove the 30-minutes north to pick up our groceries.

    Yesterday I spent the day relaxing with an old movie and a new cozy mystery show and also worked on the final chapters of Gladwynn Grant Shakes the Family Tree.

    I definitely am not used to Daylight Savings yet I’ve come to realize. I was so tired all day yesterday, for one, and then at one point I yawned and thought how I could go to bed soon. That’s when I looked at my laptop clock and it said 6:42.

    “6:42? For real??” I cried. “I thought it was 8!!”

    I suppose my body will get used to it – you know, by spring when we spring forward.

    What I/we’ve been Reading

    I am reading The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Christy by Catherine Marshall, and The Maestro’s Missing Melody by Amy Walsh

    The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood. Yes, I enjoyed it and yes I just started the series and no it does not keep to the book.

    The Secret of the Wooden Lady by Carolyn Keene (Nancy Drew)

    The Farmer’s Son by John Connell

    The Husband is reading The Housemaid by Frieda McFadden

    What We watched/are Watching

    This week Erin and I watched Bringing Up Baby with Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn for our Comfy, Cozy Cinema.

    I watched Harvey with Jimmy Stewart on my own.

    I also watched the first two episodes of The Marlow Murder Club on Amazon (that is all that is out so far).



    What I’m Writing

    I sound like a broken record but I am finishing Gladwynn Grant Shakes the Family Tree.

    This past week on the blog I shared:

    What I’m Listening To

    I am listening to The Shepherd’s Abiding by Jan Karon on Audible.

    I am also listening to this song my Downhere:

    Photos from Last Week

    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.

    Top Ten Tuesday: Ten books with cats on the cover

    On By Lisa R. HowelerIn books and reading, everyday musings, top-ten-tuesday16 Comments

    || Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. ||

    Today the theme was top ten covers with [an item of your choice] n the front and I chose top ten covers with cats because I have a lot of books with cats on the front. That’s probably because I read a lot of cozy mysteries and cozy mystery readers and authors like cats in their books and on their covers. Sometimes they barely mention a cat in the book but they still put a cat on the cover. Cozy mystery readers and authors also like dogs but today I went with bookcovers with cats on them.

    1. The Cat Who Sniffed Glue by Lilian Jackson Braun

    When I looked through my The Cat Who books I was actually surprised by how many of the covers didn’t have cats on them. They had paw prints, but no actual cats. It looks like there are some knock-off covers online but those are not the official covers so I did not include them. A couple of the books, such as this one, did have cats on them, though.

    2. The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai

    I have not read this one yet but I hope to this winter. I have had it on my list for a while and planned to read it but got distracted by some other books first. Yes, the story of my life.

    2. Mums and Mayhem by Amanda Flowers.

    The cat is part of the story in this series but not a huge part. The fox pictured here is more a part than the cat.

    4. Read and Buried by Eva Gates

    I’ve only read one book in this series and it was pretty good. From what I remember, the cat was a big part of it.

    5. A Fatal Footnote by Margaret Loudon

    This one was on my fall TBR but I don’t think I’m going to get to it so I am pushing it off until winter. My daughter picked this one out because of the cat, which looks a lot like our cat Scout.

    6. Apple Cider Slaying by Julie Anne Lindsey

    I don’t really remember there being cats in this book but I liked the cats on the cover at least.

    7. We’ll Prescribe You A Cat by Syou Ishida

    I have not read this one yet, but it is on my list and I like the name because cats often help me when I don’t feel well or I am down. Sometimes they drive me crazy too.

    8. Gladwynn Grant Gets Her Footing by Lisa R. Howeler

    Yes this is my book but it has a cat on the front so…I shamelessly added it. It is on sale on Amazon and can also be read on Kindle Unlimited if you are interested. *wink*

    9. Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody

    This is a writing craft book that I have read part of and would like to read more of but have put it somewhere and can’t find it.

    10. The Crime That Binds by Laurie Cass

    I’ve had this one on my shelf for over a year so I really hope to get it read soon. This series looks so good and I am interested to see how the cat fits in to the story.

    How about you? Do you have books with either cats on the cover or a lot of books with similar images?