Tag: week in review

Top Ten Tuesday: The top ten literary characters I would love to be friends with

On By Lisa R. HowelerIn books and reading, top-ten-tuesday38 Comments

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

This week’s theme is: Relationship Freebie (Pick a relationship type and choose characters who fit that relationship as it relates to you. So, characters you’d like to date, be friends with, be enemies with, etc. Bookish families you’d like to be a part of, characters you’d want as your siblings, pets you’d like to take for yourself, etc.)

From this prompt, I decided to make a list of ten characters who I would love to be friends with in real life – if they were real. Well, you know what I mean.

  1. Cynthia Kavanagh from The Mitford Series by Jan Karon

Cynthia is the wife of Father Timothy Kavanagh, an Episcopal priest in Mitford, N.C. He meets Cynthia either in the end of the first book or the beginning of the second, A Light in the Window. Their love story is so sweet and pure. It’s a beautiful example of what love late in life can and should be. Father Tim has never been in a relationship and Cynthia was in a cold, loveless marriage before. Their relationship starts slow and awkardly.

Cynthia is an illustrator who also writes childrens books about her cat, Violet, a fluffy, white monster who Father Tim and his dog Barnabas aren’t so sure about. I would love to be friends with Cynthia. We’d sit in her little yellow house and sip tea and talk books and cats and how neither of us are really very good cooks or bakers but like to try anyhow.

2. Elizabeth “Bess” Marvin in the Nancy Drew books.

I absolutely love Bess from the Nancy Drew books. I love how she is described as pleasantly plump and isn’t shy about eating whatever she wants and flirting with boys – not even caring that back when these books were written fat girls were supposed to be not who boys would be interested in and were shamed into eating lettuce and a tomato for dinner.

I could absolutely see myself hanging out with Bess. She’d be more outgoing and crazy and I’d be quiet and laughing at her crazy antics. We’d talk about what foods we like and how no matter what we do we can’t get ourselves super skinny but there are times we still feel healthy and happy.

3. Valancy Stirling in The Blue Castle by LM Montgomery

I would absolutely hang out with Valancy from The Blue Castle. If I met her before she received the bad news about her health, I would have been trying to pull her out of her dumps and encourage her to ignore her family’s rude comments about her.

After she received the bad news I would have joined her for tea at her Blue Castle and I would have walked with her in the forest, picking flowers, listening to the wind rustling the leaves and to her read excerpts from John Foster’s books.

4. Jo March from Little Women by Louisa Mae Alcott

Jo and I would absolutely hang out in real life and talk about the books we are writing and the characters we’ve created and our fear of people reading what we have written. We would talk about how we feel like the stories and characters belong to ourselves and how we are sometimes afraid if others meet our characters they won’t like them and it will take something away from us.

We will totally talk about how we both snap sometimes and say mean things and have to wrestle the mean sides of ourselves the same way Marmee said she had to wrestle her feelings.

And we will absolutely dish about how publishers in her day were completely sexist and that if she were alive now she could write and publish whatever she wants.

5. Aunt Minnehaha Cheever from Gone Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright

Aunt Minnehaha visited Gone Away Lake, really called Tarrigo Lake, with her family, including her brother Pindar, when she was a child. The site was a summer getaway for the wealthy but when a dam was created upstream it caused the lake to dry up and all the wealthy vacationers to leave, many of them leaving their homes behind. When Aunt Minnehaha hits hard times and can’t afford her home in the city she moves back to Tarrigo to live. Eventually, children named Julian and Portia discover the homes and become friends with Minnehaha and her brother, who has also moved there.

Minnehaha has had some sadness in her life but she is absolutely full of optimism and likes to look at tough situations in a new and exciting way. If she and I were friends we would look through all the old dresses she has and all the old china and she’d make me some of her amazing tea and then she’d tell me that what I am facing now is nothing compared to what they had to face when they were young, living among some very rich and arrogant neighbors.

6. Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

I’m sure Anne would be on the list of many readers. An imaginative orphan girl who comes to live with an older brother and sister on a farm on Prince Edward Island, Canada would absolutely be a very interesting person to be friends with.

She and I would go walk along the shores of the Lake of Shimmering Waters and pick apples from the apple trees. We would also walk through the falling leaves during autumn to Diana’s house to visit her and have pastries and tea together.

We would absolutely talk about books and, well, I hate to say it but I’d probably tell Anne she is way too focused on what is and isn’t romantic and what romance should look like. If it was older Anne we would talk about raising children and how she keeps the romance alive between her and Gilbert.

7. Angie Braddock from the Amish Quilt Shop Mysteries by Isabella Alan

I’ve only read one book in the Amish Quilt Shop Mysteries but I really liked Angie. She’s bold and not afraid to find out how someone has been killed so she can clear the name of another person. She’s also dating a handsome sheriff (at least in the one book I read) and has a great relationship with her father who is trying to figure out his place in the world now that he is retired.

She sells sowing materials at her shop and I don’t think I’d be able to talk to her too much about fabric but I bet we’d like other similar things and I would love for her to introduce me to her Amish friends.

8. Miss Jane Marple from the Agatha Christie series

I would love to be friends with Jane Marple and ask her questions about various “goings on” in the village she – er- we live in. We’d of course – like with everyone else – sip tea – probably real English tea and have a few coo—biscuits while she tells me about her latest case.

Since I’m her friend, I’d also follow her around while she solves various cases. And maybe get some credit with her. *wink*

9. Sam Gangee from The Fellowship of The Ring

Sam and I are kindred spirits. We both like second breakfasts and are a bit nervous but also pretty loyal to our friends. Since we are friends we would enjoy meals together and we would be friends after the adventure to get rid of the ring so I’d ask why he did everything for Frodo and ask if he’d like to get more credit.

10. Flo and Lady Hardcastle from The Lady Hardcastle Mysteries by T.E. Kinsey

    I know…I popped in two into this one but they come as a pair, I’d say.
    I would love to be friends with Flo and Lady Hardcastle from The Lady Hardcastle Mysteries. Flo is Lady Hardcastle’s maid but really she is her best friend. Both of them have been spies and investigators and solved mysteries during the early 1900s. Flo has no fear when it comes to tracking down criminals and solving mysteries. She fights the bad guys, cleans up, and then heads home with Lady Hardcastle and serves her tea.

    Lady Hardcastle, like Flo, has no fear and is like a dog with a bone when it comes to solving a case. I love how both women break barriers, ignoring all “rules” of society in England in the early 1900s.

    I could see us enjoying tea (I know! I like tea! What can I say?) and talking about cases we’ve solved together and laughing about how we’ve shown the men in our small town that women can do more than cook and clean and keep house.

    How about you? What literary characters would you love to be friends with?

    Sunday Bookends: Summer movies, school starting, and more mysteries to read

    On By Lisa R. HowelerIn Sunday Bookends15 Comments




    It’s time for our Sunday morning chat. On Sundays, I ramble about what’s been going on, what the rest of the family and I have been reading and watching, and what I’ve been writing. Some weeks I share what I am listening to.

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

    What’s Been Occurring

     School starts for The Boy this week. It will start the following week for Little Miss.

    I rambled about what’s been going on in my blog post from yesterday.

    What I/we’ve been Reading

    I am still reading Clueless At The Coffee Station by Bee Littlefield (really enjoying it) and Trouble Shooter by Louis L’Amour.

    Renee by Sandra Ardoin




    A Simple Deduction by Kristi Holl (An Amish Inn Mystery)

    World Traveler by Anthony Bourdain

    Ever Faithful by Karen Barnett

    The Author’s Guide To Murder by Lauren Willig, Beatriz Williams, and Karen White

    Gardner’s Plot by Deborah Benoit

    The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashi

    What We watched/are Watching

    The Husband and I watched a Magnum P.I./Murder She Wrote crossover yesterday. I expected more from it, but then I learned there is a second part so we will be watching that tomorrow after he gets off work.

    I started a Hayley Mills movie – Summer Magic — that I planned to replace one of the movies in my Summer Movie Marathon series since Having A Wonderful Time isn’t streaming anywhere and I don’t really want to order a DVD of it. I’m really not liking the movie very much so I don’t know if I will stick it out or not or watch something else for the marathon.

    This morning I watched Just A Few Acres Farm after we watched the sermon from Elevation Church together. This is a Sunday tradition.

    The sermon was excellent this week.

    Just A Few Acres was interesting as he worked on fixing up an old truck with his son.

    Last week he was spray painting a tractor and I know I’m old now because that was simply fascinating to me. Fascinating and very relaxing.


    What I’m Writing

    This week on the blog I shared:

    My book Cassie came out last week on Amazon. You can learn more about it here:

    It’s part of a series but can be read as a stand alone.

    I made quite a bit of progress on Gladwynn Grant Shakes the Family Tree which I hope to have out by early November.

    What I’m Listening To

    I listened a little more to The Cross Country Quilters by Jennifer Chaverini and Mansfield Park by Jane Austen.

    Photos from Last Week

    Now it’s your turn

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

    Saturday Afternoon Chat: The window salesman, finally some swimming, a journey through the woods, and Timothy the Spider comes to live with us

    On By Lisa R. HowelerIn Saturday Afternoon Tea3 Comments

    Welcome to a Saturday Afternoon Chat. I’m sipping lactose-free milk with maple syrup mixed in today and snacking on chocolate chips (just a few). Healthy snack? Not exactly, but also not the worst. What are you snacking on today? Or sipping? And what are you doing? I hope to get some reading time in myself after a fairly busy week.

    Today I thought I’d write my post like a “week in the life” type post – so here is my week in “diary form.”

    Monday
    I’m one of those women who sometimes says things to herself like, “I don’t need a man to make it through life.”

    And I don’t need a man.

    I want one, which is why I have my husband.

    I do, however, enjoy acting like I just don’t know enough about home repairs because I’m just a dumb housewife when a window replacement guy comes and tries to talk me into a “free assessment of your windows because we were in the neighborhood.”

    I was in the middle of creating content for my Instagram today when a man knocked on our side door. He was holding a clipboard and wearing a uniform. I don’t trust people holding a clipboard and wearing a uniform after some bad experiences.

    I went to the side door and discovered our collection of Daddy Long Legs are back. One of them was hanging out on the handle. About a month ago we had like ten of them hanging out in that entryway because we rarely use it – normally only to bring groceries in and sometimes we just use the back door instead. My husband cleared them out with the broom while I watched from the hallway and said things like, “Ew! Oh my gosh! Is that one climbing in here?!” and he said things like, “They’re Daddy Long Legs! They’re harmless!”

    Anyhow, on this day there was a baby one right on the door handle. Right on it. No room for my hand to open the door without touching it.

    “Just open it!” my son cried from behind me while he held the barking dog back. “It’s just a Daddy Long Leg!”

    “But it is still a spider!” I cried.

    I finally pushed the thing aside and opened the door. Standing outside was the man with the clipboard, a beard, and some sweat beaded across his ruddy face from the sun beating down on him.

    “Hello, ma’am I was in the neighborhood and happened to notice your windows are bowed out because …” blah-de-blah-de-blah seller talk blah. “Can you see how that window reflects oddly there like a funhouse window? Well that’s because Argon gas is getting in between the panes there and blah-blah.”

    “We don’t have any money,” I interrupted.

    Go away I wanted to say.

    “Oh that’s okay, ma’am because we can send an evaluator out for no cost to you and –”

    I was already looking bored and rolling my eyes but he wasn’t taking the hint. I have to admit he was very smooth.

    Cue “dumb housewife who can’t do anything without her husband’s permission mode.”

    “You know….is there anyway you can stop by another time when my husband is home. He’s the one who handles all the house stuff.”

    And then I stepped back into my house and pulled my spider-covered door closed in his face.

    I was so proud of me because the last time one of those guys came, I talked to him way too long and was way too polite. This is what my teenage son said when I finally took the guy’s card and went back in the house that first time, but this time when I got inside my son said he was very proud of me too.

    He also told me that the gas the guy said was getting in between our windows is the third largest quantity of gas in our atmosphere and the guy was a scammer.

    Tuesday

    Tuesday was a weird day in some ways but it got better. I woke up super groggy after some weird dreams and it took me most of the day to snap out of it.

    Some family friends we haven’t seen in like, well, thirty years or more, came to visit my parents so Little Miss, The Boy, and I headed over there for the afternoon. Well, honestly, The Boy went over earlier to help clean the house and mow the lawn. Little Miss and I went over later and visited with everyone for a little bit before they left and we jumped into the pool.

    We didn’t last long because the water was extremely cold which wasn’t a surprise since it was only 70 degrees (F) out.

    Wednesday

    Little Miss and I tried swimming again on this day. It was warmer outside but absolutely freezing in the pool. We lasted maybe an hour. I kept hoping she’d break first so I wouldn’t have to be the bad guy and I was thrilled when she finally she said, “I think we need to get out. My teeth won’t stop chattering.”

    Whew. I was free to jump out and take a warm shower.

    “Let’s stay in our clothes in case we warm up and want to get back in though,” she said.

    I did not want to do that. Not one little, itty-bitty bit but I said, “Okay.”

    While drying off after the shower I heard what I thought was a fan blowing but there isn’t a fan in my parents’ bathroom. I looked out the window to see if the wind was blowing. It was not.

    Finally I thought, “Wait. Is that rain?”

    So I looked out the bathroom door and indeed it was pouring – I mean totally down pouring outside. We had seen nothing on our weather app about rain.

    And not only was it outright pouring but I could see from looking through the bathroom door and the outside door window that two of our car windows were down.

    Sadly, I was naked, my 9-year-old doesn’t know how to turn the car on and my parents both have mobility issues so I had to let the car get soaked until I could finish getting dressed and get out there.

    Little Miss helped me with rolling up the windows – well, she walked out with me and we both got soaked in the cold rain but she didn’t help roll the windows up in the end. The cold rain made her decide it was going to be much too cold to try go back into the pool so she changed and then helped Grandma make tuna melts for dinner, which I didn’t eat of because I am still a picky eater at my advanced age and don’t eat tuna melts. Thankfully I had picked up some fried chicken from the only supermarket in a 15-mile radius so that’s what I ate instead of tuna melts.

    While at my parents I called The Boy and asked him to kill a spider that’s been running around on our ceiling for two days but Little Miss and I are too short to kill or chase off.

    It’s a black one. Somewhat big but not huge. So, yes, on this day while we were at my parents and he was still at home I called and asked him to kill the spider on the ceiling.

    He said, “What spider?”

    I said, “The one on the ceiling.”

     He said, “I don’t see a spider.”

    I said, “He comes and goes.”

    So he said, “This is the dumbest call you’ve ever made to me. You want to me to kill a spider but you don’t know where it is?”

    So I said, “Yes, exactly. Do it before we get home so it doesn’t fall on our head. Bye.”

    The end of this story is that the kids have named the spider Timothy and have decided to leave him alone on the ceiling. The problem with this ending is that I can’t find Timothy as I am writing this and if I find Timothy on me, I’m going to have to kill Timothy.

    On this night I found an episode of Classic Mary Berry that I hadn’t seen yet and I was so excited. Mary Berry feels like comfy, cozy watching and Little Miss and I watch her especially in fall and winter.

    I also found out there is a more recent series of hers on The Roku Channel so I will be starting that series later this week.

    I felt like a total dork for getting so excited when I saw that I could access new episodes of her shows. You would have thought I found a bunch of money in my couch or something with the way I was clapping my hands and telling the children.

     Little Miss was excited.

    The Boy was less excited but that’s okay.

    He politely listened to me, nodding and smiling like you would with a patient at an insane asylum.

    Thursday

    Update on Timothy: Today he moved to the part of the ceiling over where I sit to do my writing and then over Little Miss. I moved myself to somewhere else in the house when he was over my sitting space.

    Little Miss, on the other hand, decided to whip him away when he came to her part of the room by whipping at him with a cat toy. He moved some but then decided to hang out on the wall instead of the ceiling. Little Miss decided he was getting too close for comfort so she was going to kill him.

    She pulled out a broom but the end of our broom was missing so it was just a hollow tube. This meant Timothy might be able to climb inside and come out to get us later so we added some duct tape to the end. Then she slapped at him and he avoided every hit somehow by scurrying up and down the wall away from her. She finally hit him enough that he fell down behind the bookcase. I figured he would be on the floor crawling toward us, so suggested she spray flea spray behind and under the bookcase.

    We hoped he was gone but later in the day we looked up and he was back, crawling across the ceiling again.

    I’m now starting to wonder if he is a CIA spy, something I’ve been worried about happening ever since I found out our neighbor’s son has CIA clearance.

    Friday

    Today was a lovely day and I thought it might not be. I knew it was going to be a long day and it was, but somehow, I had energy to get everything done I needed to.

    I drove 40 minutes to pick up a friend of Little Miss’s.

    Little Miss had to go in and visit their kittens and I needed a potty break.

    Then we left but not even a few yards down the road, Little Miss said her friend needed her teddy bear dressed in a frog outfit so I offered to turn around.

    That was a dumb, rookie mistake because after the bear was retrieved we headed out again, only to be stopped by a construction worker who had set up between the time we turned around and came back.

    Before we left the first time I noticed a helicopter hovering over the field in front of our friend’s house. There was something hanging down from the helicopter, which was near some power lines that have those large red balls or round thingees as I call them on them. The ones they put on power lines in spaces like that to let airplanes know that there are powerlines there. I thought the helicopter was replacing those and watched for a few moments.

    When we got stopped I was grumpy and got even grumpier as the minutes ticked by. Twenty minutes later we were finally allowed to move forward on a road where we couldn’t turn around and there was no cell service.

    That’s when I was able to see the helicopter moving up the hill to my left in a large space cut into the hillside where the powerlines go up and realized that the thingee hanging down from the helicopter that I had seen before (I use thingee a lot. I’m a writer, yes, but I’m old so that’s the word I use when I don’t want to try to think of the real word or look it up) was a type of saw and the helicopter was actually trimming the tree line.

    I wish I had had time to take a photo or a video but by then there were a line of cars behind me and I just wanted to keep going forward to get our groceries, which we drove another half an hour to pick up.

    After driving up and down hills and around bends in the road and admiring the views along the way, we grabbed our pick-up order and then drove another half an hour to get home – or to my parents anyhow.

    I made these videos for Erin from Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs because she thinks I live in a super remote area … and she is right.

    Once I got to my parents, I dropped off some groceries for them, picked up The Boy and left the girls with my parents and my brother who was visiting. The Boy and I took all the groceries in and then headed back to my parents to briefly say hello to my brother and take the girls for a 90-minute swim.

    After that, it was back home for some pizza and Bluey and Minecraft and then Little Miss’s friend went home.

    We weren’t sure we’d be able to swim again before summer was over for a variety of reasons – cold weather, algae, high chlorine, and rain, but today the weather was perfect and the pool was fairly warm until right before we decided to leave. It was nice we were able to get the swim in today because it is supposed to rain a lot on Saturday (today) and Sunday.

    Little Miss wanted a sleepover tonight but I was strong this time and told her ‘no.’ It worked out well because she was overstimulated and glad for the ddowntimewhen her friend left and quickly fell asleep and we both were able to get up today and simply take our time waking up.

    We do have one last summer sleepover planned for two weeks from now after The Husband takes Little Miss and her friend to the county fair.

    School starts for The Boy this Thursday and for Little Miss on August 28.

    Saturday (today)

    Today the weather is gloomy but I don’t mind. I’m inside writing this blog post, my Sunday Bookends blog post for tomorrow, working on Gladwynn Grant Shakes the Family Tree, watching old movies, and planning to read a bit later on.

    Little Miss and I are decompressing from the day’s events while The Husband covers some events for the newspaper throughout the day.

    The Boy is enjoying sleeping in and lounging about for his final weekend before school starts. Timothy is still on the ceiling and has been enjoying the edges of the room more where I think he’s realized we can’t reach him easily.

    So that is my very long post about my week.

    How was your week? I’d love to know. Let me know in the comments by linking to a weekly round up post or just by letting me know.

    Sunday Bookends: Autumn is coming, watching summer movies, and school is starting soon

    On By Lisa R. HowelerIn Sunday Bookends17 Comments



    It’s time for our Sunday morning chat. On Sundays, I ramble about what’s been going on, what the rest of the family and I have been reading and watching, and what I’ve been writing. Some weeks I share what I am listening to.

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

    What’s Been Occurring

     We had a threat of flash flooding Friday thanks to the remnants of Hurricane Debby but in the end the pattern moved to our west and Westfield, Pa., which is a couple hours from us, was hit extremely hard. Some areas around us had some issues but nothing like Westfield.

    Temperatures have cooled way down and now that we are moving toward Autumn (which I wanted) I am feeling somewhat melancholy, knowing that our days of swimming are coming to an end. Little Miss and I haven’t been swimming in two weeks due to either algae in the pool that had to be treated, a leak that was found and fixed, or chlorine that was too high. We are going to try again today but with temps only supposed to get in the low 70s I have a feeling we won’t be in long.

    The days are already getting shorter – I’ve noticed that it is dark by 8:30 now. The cats are looking for more snuggles than before and we are now preparing for the start of the school year.

    I have almost all the curriculum we need for the year but I do need a couple of things still for The Boy, who is a senior this year and will be attending a local trade school again this year.  

    What I/we’ve been Reading

    Trouble Shooter by Louis L’Amour

    Renee by Sandra Ardoin

    Clueless At the Coffee Station by Bee Littlefield

     Tracking Tilly by Janice Thompson

    The Clue of the Whistling Bagpipes by Carolyn Keene




    A Simple Deduction by Kristi Holl

    The Gardner’s Plot by Deborah Benoit

    The Author’s Guide to Murder by Karen White, Beatriz Williams, and Lauren Willig

    An Assassination On the Agenda by T.E. Kinsey

    Little Miss and I are listening to The Best Halloween Ever by Barbara Robinson

    The Boy is listening to The Witcher, book one.

    The Husband is reading The Donut Legion by Joe R. Lansdale

    What We watched/are Watching

    Since I last posted a Sunday Bookends I have watched a lot but I didn’t write it all down so I might not remember everything.

    I know I watched a couple of summer movies – Mr. Hobbs Takes A Vacation and Summertime.

    I have started Somewhere in Time but I haven’t finished it yet.

    I watched Ladies in Lavender and a couple marathons of Murder She Wrote as well as an episode of Yes, Minister with my mom.


    What I’m Writing

    I am writing the third book in the Gladwynn Grant Mystery series: Gladwynn Grant Shakes the Family Tree.

    The first book in the series is free today on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C1KSQJXP

    Cassie, the eighth book in the Apron Strings Book series releases Thursday. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D1VW9TVK

    On the blog I shared:

    What I’m Listening To

    I am listening to the Cross Country Quilters by Jennifer Chiaverini.

    Recent Blog Posts I Enjoyed

    The Lily Cafe Weekly Highlights – August 9, 2024
    Talk a walk with me.
    Birthday at the Brasserie!
    Tuesday Tour: a light history

    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.

    Did you know that I am having a huge discount on the paid subscriptions for my Substack and that when you are a paid subscriber you will receive sneak peeks to upcoming books (like Gladwynn Grant Shakes the Family Tree, which will come out this autumn), behind the scenes looks, discounts, author interviews, giveaways, and many other perks?

    No?

    Well, now you know. You can find my substack, which is updated a few times a month, at www.lisarhowler.substack.com

    Sunday Bookends: Some swimming time, some relaxing time and lots of fun books

    On By Lisa R. HowelerIn Sunday Bookends9 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 week was fairly lowkey. Little Miss and I went swimming twice – once earlier in the week and once yesterday with her friend who I’ll name Crazy Child for the sake of the blog.

    She had a sleepover last night and it’s the last one of the summer, so I’m excited about that even if she isn’t. I know. I’m awful, but sleepovers can be so exhausting.

    She and her friend had a ton of fun, though, so I am glad.

    The temps dropped so much the last couple of days that I think my animals thought it was fall already. They were curled up on me or against me Friday and Saturday. Our youngest cat wanted to be on me no matter what Saturday night – even laying on my chest while I was trying to sleep!

    Temps are going to warm up again because we aren’t done with summer yet.

    What I/we’ve been Reading

    Our daughter let me know this week that she is done watching movies based on books. They ruin her images of what she sees in her mind. I just thought that was funny and accurate because so many of us readers feel that way.

    I am currently reading

    Trouble Shooter by Louis L’Amour (just taking my time on this one since it is not my normal genre)

    The Clue of the Whistling Bagpipes (A Nancy Drew Mystery) by Carolyn Keene

    Tracking Tilly by Janice Jackson

    The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery (loved this one. I’ll have a review later this week.)

    The Key Collector’s Promise by Donna Stone (this book will be out in September)



    Renee by Sandra Ardoin

    An Assassination on the Agenda by T.E. Kinsey

    The Boy is in between books.

    Little Miss and I are listening to Little Women on Audible at night before bed.

    The Husband headed off to work before I could ask him what he’s reading right now.

    What We watched/are Watching

    This week I watched Miss Willoughby and the Haunted Bookshop with Kelsey Grammer and a British actress I’d never heard of. It was pretty good but was a pretty simple mystery. I read that it was meant to be the first movie in a series but You Know What happened and then Kelsey started filming the new Frasier.

    I also watched When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit (a German film based on the book by Judith Kerr, which I enjoyed).

    I started a movie called From Time to Time but haven’t finished it yet. It is a bit weird and involves a young boy going back in time. I’m not sure how they got Maggie Smith for it. It isn’t horrible but it doesn’t seem to be at the same caliber as her other work.


    What I’m Writing

    I am still working on Gladwynn Grant Shakes The Family Tree and having fun.

    On the blog I shared:

    Photos from Last Week

    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 Bookends: I can’t think of an interesting title for this week

    On By Lisa R. HowelerIn Sunday Bookends11 Comments

    It’s time for our Sunday morning chat. On Sundays, I ramble about what’s been going on, what the rest of the family and I have been reading and watching, and what I’ve been writing. Some weeks I share what I am listening to.

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


    What’s Been Occurring

    I wrote about our week in my post yesterday.

    After I posted that post the kids and I picked up a friend of The Boy’s and brought him home to our fold to become one of the family for a couple of days – though he is really part of the family even when he isn’t here.

    We also stopped and picked up groceries.

    Yes. It was a very exciting day, but we needed that after our busy week last week.

    What I/we’ve been Reading

    The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery.

    I’m very much enjoying this book which is so much different than the Anne of Green Gables books. I love the main character and can’t wait to see what happens to her in the end.

    When You Returned by Havelah McClat

    Tracking Tilly by Janice Thompson

    I put Dandelion Cottage by Carrol Watson Rankin to the side and plan to pick it back up in the fall to read with Little Miss – or actually we may start it this week because am I as writing this I remembered we finished our read aloud this week.

    Return to Gone Away by Elizabeth Enright


    Renee by Sandra Ardoin

    Trouble Shooter by Louis L’Amour

    An Assassination on the Agenda by T.E. Kinsey

    What We watched/are Watching

    This week I watched the original Gidget movie (1959) for my planned Summer Movie Marathon and will write about it in a future post.

    I also rewatched the 2010 version of True Grit with The Boy and his friend. As usual I cried at the end. It’s such a good movie.


    What I’m Writing

    This week on the blog I shared:

    What I’m Listening To

    I am currently listening to The Cross-Country Quilters by Jennifer Chiaverini.

    I have also been listening to Anne Wilson’s album, Rebel.

    Photos from Last Week

    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 Bookends: An anniversary and a busy week and still trying to fit in summer reading

    On By Lisa R. HowelerIn Sunday Bookends14 Comments




    It’s time for our Sunday morning chat. On Sundays, I ramble about what’s been going on, what the rest of the family and I have been reading and watching, and what I’ve been writing. Some weeks I share what I am listening to.

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



    What’s Been Occurring

    Yesterday my husband and I celebrated 22 years of marriage. We went to dinner at a nearby restaurant and watched a movie together after shipping off the kids and dog to the grandparents.

    It was a nice, quiet, relaxing day and very welcome.

    I rambled about our trip to the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon in my post yesterday if you want to read about that.

    What I/we’ve been Reading

    The Dandelion Cottage by Carol Watson Rankin

    Version 1.0.0

    Return to Gone Away by Elizabeth Enright (a read aloud with Little Miss).

    The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery

    When You Returned by Havelah Mclat

    Live and Let Chai by Bree Baker (I wanted to like this much more than I did. Not the worst but pretty much like a previous book I read by the author under her real name).




    Reneeby Sandra Ardoin

    Clueless at the Coffee Station by Bee Littlefield

    Little Men by Louisa Mae Alcott

    The husband is reading the latest installment in the Hawthorne and Horowitz series by Anthony Horowitz.

    Also, for those who wanted to know, he did enjoy the Patrick Stewart biography.

    The boy is in between books because he finished his last read which was an audio version of a Warhammer book.

    What We watched/are Watching

    Just a Few Acres Farm

    There is something so relaxing about just watching Farmer Pete work on his farm or dig holes in his field or feed the cows. When my brain is spinning or I just feel off-kilter, I turn on Pete and just remember the simple things of life.

    Last night the kids and I watched Monty Python’s Search for The Holy Grail because we needed a laugh.

    The husband and I watched Breakheart Pass with Charles Bronson and Jill Ireland (Bronson’s wife) after our anniversary dinner. I didn’t think it was very romantic but then I got wrapped up in it and needed to know what happened. I’m going to make him watch a romantic comedy with me later in the week.

    During the week I watched this YouTube channel because it is also relaxing: Under A Tin Roof.


    What I’m Writing

    We had a busy week so I did not write as much as I wanted to but I did work on Gladwynn Grant Shakes the Family Tree a little bit.

    On the blog I shared:

    Photos from Last Week

    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 Bookends: It’s hot. It’s hot. It’s way too hot. And reading.

    On By Lisa R. HowelerIn Sunday Bookends16 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

     We have been sweating. We will sweat more this week. We will try to go swimming and maybe do some other things as family since The Husband has this next week off work. I am ready for Summer to be over. I’m sorry Summer lovers but I hate the heat. If it can be 65 to 70 for the rest of Summer, then it can stay. Otherwise – buh-bye *wink*

    If you want to read about how much I want Summer to go away and Autumn to come, you can read my post from yesterday.

    What I/we’ve been Reading

    The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery

    Live and Let Chai by Bree Baker

    The Chosen Kids Saga Book One: Encounter at the Dunes by R.W. Ruiz (not related to the show The Chosen/children’s book)

    Return to Gone Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright (reading with Little Miss on nights we don’t fall asleep early)

    The Sentence is Death by Anthony Horowitz

    Renee by Sandra Ardoin

    Dandelion Cottage by Carol Watson Rankin

    Clueless At the Coffee Station by Bee Littlefield

    Little Men by Louisa Mae Alcott

    What We watched/are Watching

    I have been rewatching All Creatures Great And Small (the modern version) and The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew series (more on that later this week), but not a lot else. I’ve been reading and writing a bit more lately.


    What I’m Writing

    I am working on Gladwynn Grant Shakes the Family Tree (the title is tentative at this point), which is the third book in the Gladwynn Grant Mysteries. I’m having fun writing it and I hope you’ll have fun reading it.

    I don’t mention it a lot here but if you want to read the other two books you can find a link to them in the My Books section in the menu at the top of the page.

    I’m also offering 50 percent off annual paid subscriptions to my Substack newsletter/author site. I’ll be offering sneak peeks, author interviews, and several other perks on there and this week added an epub version of Gladwynn Grant Gets Her Footing to all paid subscriptions.

    If you are interested in the discount, you can use this coupon link:

    https://lisarhoweler.substack.com/subscribe?coupon=3809a83a

    This week on the blog I shared:

    What I’m Listening To

    I am listening to Live & Let Chai by Bree Baker when I am driving somewhere, while also reading the ebook on Kindle.

    Music-wise I am listening to Anne Wilson’s Rebel album.

    Now it’s your turn

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

    Saturday Afternoon Chat: How to make summer feel like autumn for those of us who are autumn people

    On By Lisa R. HowelerIn everyday musings, Saturday Afternoon Tea8 Comments

    I am not a summer person which I think I have shared many, many times on this blog.

    I am an autumn person and not in skin tone or fashion sense.

    I like autumn. I like cozy days with a soft blanket and a warm cup of tea and the leaves on the trees a mix of pretty colors.

    Okay, I like green on the trees too so I do like that part of summer.

    I hate, however, the heat of summer.

    If it could be 68 to 70 degrees (F) all summer long, I would be overwhelmingly happy about that.

    All these temps in the mid-80s to mid-90s. (Today’s high is going to be 87! Yuck!)

    No. Thank. You.

    I am so ready for fall and I know my friend Erin at Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs, is too because she is already planning for our comfy, cozy movie watching that we like to start in October. She and I have also been trading memes and reels talking about how in our minds we are already watching the leaves change colors and sipping tea while reading a good book under a blanket.

    Today I thought I’d share how I am trying to hold on to the cozy feeling of autumn, even though it isn’t autumn.

    First, I turn the air conditioner up as high as I can without my husband complaining about it. Our air conditioners are portable so they don’t work as well as window air conditioning units, but they do a fairly good job and if they aren’t taking the heat out of the air, I sit right in front of it and soak up the cold.

    The funny thing is that Little Miss started doing this the first day we had the AC on. Then she grabbed a blanket and pronounced that it was officially autumn. She and I are way too much alike.

    After we get it as cold as we can (mainly in the living room because the AC isn’t strong enough to also cool down our kitchen), we click on the candle warmer so it kicks out a apple cinnamon flavor that makes us think of fall.

    Then I make a cup of tea or cocoa and choose something cozy to watch – maybe even old shows or YouTube videos from autumn.

    I pretend it is not sweltering outside for as long as I can and, whenever possible, I stay inside – since being outside in high heat makes me feel sick anyhow.

    All this being said, I do like a couple of aspects of summer, as long as it is cool enough for me to enjoy it.  I enjoy swimming with Little Miss and The Boy and watching fireworks.

    I like to make s’mores, even though I only eat the chocolate.

    I like fireflies, if I catch sight of them that is. I don’t see them like we used to anymore. I like that it is warm enough to go out and look up at the stars, which we can see at our house, thankfully. I love that our wild roses come out in summer, even though I can only enjoy them for a short time.

     I love that fresh fruit is more plentiful in summer (especially watermelon).

    I think that’s just about all I love about summer.

    I tried. *shrug*

    This past week Little Miss and I didn’t swim as much as we could have. One day we waited too long and it had cooled off too much. Another day Dad was out of treatment for the pool and we are 40 minutes away from the closet store that would have it so the pool was a bit green.

    He used Clorox before the Fourth so we did go swimming on that day.

    I didn’t take any photographs this past week but hopefully I will next week since The Husband is off of work. As usual, we don’t have any big travel plans but we will be taking some day trips and we will be going out for our anniversary, which is Saturday.

    Here are a few photos from earlier this summer and past summers instead.

    How was your week last week? Let me know in the comments.