what i’m watching

Sunday Bookends: Thoughts on reading, didn’t see that deer coming, and Gladwynn’s second book coming out Tuesday

/ Lisa R. Howeler / 29 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 I/we’ve been Reading

I don’t read as many books in a year as other people and this year I decided that was okay and I don’t care.

I sometimes do not finish books either and I decided this year I was also okay with that.

Every week or so my husband announces how many books he’s read so far in the year and I like hearing it. I like that he keeps track of it and that he reads over 80 books each year.

He was also a more avid reader than I was. I only started reading more books again in the last few years. I used to read all the time as a teenager, took a break in college and while working for newspapers and even while raising my son. Now I’m loving how reading has become an escape from the real world for me again.

For a while, I wanted to be like my husband and count all my books read and be able to announce the totals to him and the world.

There were several problems with this, though. One, I’m a slower reader. It isn’t that I read slow. It’s that I get interrupted a lot while reading a book so it takes me a while to finish one. People or pets aren’t always what interrupt me. Sometimes it is housework or homeschooling or my own writing or simply because I can’t seem to stay as focused as I used to.

I like that The Husband tells me his book count. It used to irritate me because I felt less than but now (okay in the last week) I let it go.

I don’t have to read a bunch of books in a year to be a reader. I don’t have to finish a book I started to be a reader because life it is too short to worry about competition in something like reading which is supposed to be relaxing and it is too short to keep reading a book you’re not enjoying.

There are also too many good books in the world to waste our time on a book that might be good but isn’t working for us personally.

I often think things like, “But this is a popular book. It’s on the NYT bestseller list. It must be good, right?”

Well, it may be that it is good for some and not for me and that’s okay.

I read a lot more than books during the year, as well – textbooks with the kids and blogs, articles, etc. So I do read a lot just not always full books. Again. That’s okay. If it is okay for me, it is okay for you.

If you’ve been holding on to all these imaginary ideas of what it means to be a reader and a book blogger or whatever – let them go.

We all have our own journey and path and just because we don’t inhale books like Galactus eats planets, we are still readers.

Anyhow…on to what I’ve been reading this week.

This week I have mainly been reading The Spectacular. Every other day I was reading a chapter from either Little Women or The Cat Who Talked Turkey (a cozy mystery). I dropped The Cat Who book last night because there was no mystery. It was driving me crazy. I was on chapter 4 and still nothing had happened other than Qwill looking for someone to narrate some presentation he was giving.

This book was one of the ones written later when people suspected Lilian Jackson Braun had gotten a bit too old to write and had a ghostwriter. It showed. I have a soft spot for the Cat Who books but I had to set aside for now because I have so many other books I want to tackle. Not every book in a series can be a winner.

I love reading Little Women a chapter at a time. I don’t mind dragging out the enjoyment of reading it because it gives me something to look forward to every night.

The Spectacular is fairly slow moving so far and I’m on Chapter 12. My husband insists that something is going to happen soon and I hope so because I’m a bit bored. I read a lot of boring books this year so in 2024 I am going back to Longmire and Anthony Horowitz to give myself some excitement. Those and some more Christian fiction because I know there are some good ones out there I haven’t read yet by authors like Nicole Deese.

I still haven’t finalized what I will read this winter but The Boy and I are reading The Tale of Two Cities for his English so I do know I’ll be reading that.

I also just ordered a Christmas regency-era book recommended to me by Erin at Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs.

Little Miss and I just finished The Black Stallion. Talk about boring and wordy.

She just wanted to watch the movie but I insisted we finish the book. Then I ended up skimming two chapters and getting us to the end because good grief there was way too much explanation and rambling in that book. I mean how many times could the dude describe what it was like for Alec to ride the horse? And for three to four pages every time. Plus the dialogue which was repetitive.

We are listening to The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson at night now. I read this book to her last year and I wouldn’t mind reading it again but one night I was too tired to read so we put the audiobook on and now she enjoys the narrator more than me (I think. She didn’t actually say it), so we are listening instead of me reading it.

The Husband is reading In The Blood by Jack Carr.

What’s Been Occurring

Last night The Husband, Little Miss, and I went to a Christmas parade about half an hour from us. We saw some of our friends and visited for a bit, The Husband took some photos for the newspaper and we headed home. On the way to the event and back we saw a ton of deer and had to put our brakes on more than once. About ten minutes after an eight-point buck that was blending in with the center line, turned and crossed in front of us, another deer came out of nowhere from the right and there was no missing it when it turned to go back in front of us. We slammed into it but I have no idea what happened to it, though I vaguely remember it darting off to the left.

It did some extensive damage to the front of our car, smashing in our left headlight and the body of the car in that same area, but allowing us to get home without any damage to us.

We were really very lucky considering I’ve heard stories of deer being hit that way and rolling up onto the hood and through the windshield.

We aren’t sure if our insurance will cover the accident since we adjusted our deductible to make our premiums less. We will find out more later this week but for now the car is parked in the garage. The deer left part of its fur under the edge of the hood.

All three of us were fairly shaken up and a bit in shock from it all so at first we didn’t think about how much the damage would cost us. I think we were all simply happy it wasn’t worse. There have been a lot of accidents in our area caused by deer lately and I’ve never seen as many as I have this year.

It is hunting season in our area right now so I don’t know if the deer are running wild because of that or not but driving is certainly nerve-wracking for now whatever the reason.

The Boy was at a friend’s house spending the night so I called to let him know about the incident. I also sent him some photos to which he replied, “She’ll be fine with some Flex Tape.”

Having the car out of commission is a bit sad for me as I finally had a car to drive that had heated seats and a stereo system I could patch my music into.

My husband gave me the car after he bought his truck, which we call Bambi Killer. Sadly, it has horrible gas mileage so we took the car to save on gas. Had we had the truck, there would have been very little damage to the vehicle but a lot to the deer.

What We watched/are Watching

This past week I watched Beyond Tomorrow, a fairly obscure Christmas movie from 1940. I wrote about it on the blog Thursday.

I also watched – or well, watched most of The Bells of St. Mary’s, which I hope to finish later today.

Little Miss and I watched A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong, which has become an annual tradition for us now.

We also watched Elfat Little Miss’s request.

I’m sure there will be other Christmas movies and specials on our list this upcoming week.

I also plan to continue watching Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman this week. I am rewatching it after last seeing it some 20 years ago when I was in high school.

I started Men In Kilts: A Roadtrip with Sam and Graham this past week as well. I enjoyed the first episode.



What I’m Writing

Gladwynn Grant Takes Center Stage comes out Tuesday in ebook on Amazon. Amazon messed something out with the paperback so it is out now.

I am working on Cassie and made a bit of progress on it this week.

On the blog this week I shared:

Erin and I are also hosting a Comfy, Cozy Christmas feature where other bloggers can link up their Christmas/holiday-themed blog posts. You can find the link up here:

https://lisahoweler.com/comfy-cozy-christmas/

What I’m Listening to

I listened to a lot of Needtobreathe’s The Cave this week.

Photos from Last Week

I didn’t take a ton of photos last week. I hope to remedy that this week and get my camera out more.

Here are a couple from the parade we went to a display in the town.

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: Winter temps have set in, The Spectacular, getting ready for Christmas movies

/ Lisa R. Howeler / 17 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 and Kathyrn at The Book Date.


What I/we’ve been Reading

This week I am continuing to read chapters before bed of Little Women. It’s such a cozy read.

I’m also reading The Spectacular by Fiona Davis. It is a mystery.

A description in case you are curious:

From the New York Times Bestselling Author of The Magnolia Palace: A thrilling story about love, sacrifice, and the pursuit of dreams, set amidst the glamour and glitz of Radio City Music Hall in its mid-century heyday.

New York City, 1956: Nineteen-year-old Marion Brooks knows she should be happy. Her high school sweetheart is about to propose and sweep her off to the life everyone has always expected they’d have together: a quiet house in the suburbs, Marion staying home to raise their future children. But instead, Marion finds herself feeling trapped. So when she comes across an opportunity to audition for the famous Radio City Rockettes—the glamorous precision-dancing troupe—she jumps at the chance to exchange her predictable future for the dazzling life of a performer. 

Meanwhile, the city is reeling from a string of bombings orchestrated by a person the press has nicknamed the “Big Apple Bomber,” who has been terrorizing the citizens of New York for sixteen years by planting bombs in popular, crowded spaces. With the public in an uproar over the lack of any real leads after a yearslong manhunt, the police turn in desperation to Peter Griggs, a young doctor at a local mental hospital who espouses a radical new technique: psychological profiling. 

As both Marion and Peter find themselves unexpectedly pulled in to the police search for the bomber, Marion realizes that as much as she’s been training herself to blend in—performing in perfect unison with all the other identical Rockettes—if she hopes to catch the bomber, she’ll need to stand out and take a terrifying risk. In doing so, she may be forced to sacrifice everything she’s worked for, as well as the people she loves the most.

The Boy and I will be starting A Tale of Two Cities this week and I really hope I can make it through the old language because sometimes I am confused by it. Just being honest. I enjoy classic literature but sometimes the metaphors and allegory, etc. totally throw me off and I have to re-read a sentence more than once. I wouldn’t consider myself stupid (some might) but I don’t read classics all the time so it doesn’t come as easily for me as some. 

The Husband finished an ARC of the next Joe Picket book and recently started another Fiona Davis book.

Little Miss and I will probably finish The Black Stallion this week and I’m not yet sure what we will read next. We are reading a book about a Native American girl for school but I can’t find it and forgot the name of it.

What’s Been Occurring

Cold temperatures are becoming the norm now as we move into winter, which means lighting or keeping the fire going in the woodstove is also becoming the norm. It also means that hot cocoa and hot tea are the norm.

I am very lucky that I have a husband who makes amazing tea for me with just the right amount of honey and a daughter who makes me the most amazing hot cocoa with just the right amount of maple syrup.

Those have been my treats to warm me up this week.

Last week was a relaxed week with the Thanksgiving holiday.

Monday we will be back doing schoolwork and back to Kid’s Club at the church and gymnastics for Little Miss. The Boy has an extra day off trade school, but goes back on Tuesday.

Photos from Last Week

Here are a few photos from our Thanksgiving.

What We watched/are Watching

I started watching Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman last week. It’s been fun to go back because I don’t remember most of the episodes or what happened, even though I watched them during junior high and high school.

We also watched some episodes of Doctor Who this week and the 60th anniversary special, which I don’t want to talk about. Ever. I’m not kidding.

I’ll stick with the old episodes.

Little Miss and I watched the first Paddington movie since we have been reading Paddington books off and on during the week.

This week I’ll be watching a couple of Christmas-themed movies or shows as Erin from Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs get read for Cozy Christmas, which you can find out more about in her post here:

https://crackercrumblife.com/2023/11/24/comfy-cozy-christmas/

I’ll be posting my own separate post about this later this week as well.


What I’m Writing

I’m working on Cassie this weekend and will be this upcoming week after finishing preparations to release Gladwynn Grant Takes Center Stage next Tuesday.

On the blog this week I shared:

What I’m Listening To

This week I listened to Needtobreathe’s new album The Cave.

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: Preparing winter reads, finishing book two in the series, and looking for cozy Christmas reads

/ Lisa R. Howeler / 11 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 and Kathyrn at The Book Date.


What I/we’ve been Reading

I finished Walls Crumbling by Alicia Gilliam last night. She’s a very good writer and I enjoyed this second book in her Seth Browne series. I’ll have a review up later this week or next, depending on how my week goes.

In the evening, right before bed, I am reading a chapter or two of Little Women. I have seen the movies so I know the story but I’m so glad I’m reading. I feel like I am getting to know the characters even more. I look forward to that time when I can snuggle down with. It’s such a nice escape, even though I know some sadness is coming.

The Husband suggested The Spectacular by Fiona Davis so I am trying that, but I will be moving into my winter reads this week too.

I have a collection of winter short stories by Agatha Christie I want to add to that list, as well as more cozy, Christmas reads. If you have any idea of any cozy Christmas reads please let me know in the comments.

Hopefully, anything I pick will be better than the book I picked up recently that I thought was a cozy mystery but dropped two f-bombs in the first two sentences so I immediately sent it back to Libby. I had high hopes for it based on the title and theme and it isn’t that I don’t read books with swearing but it was a little abrupt right out of the gate and I was in the mood for a more cozy feeling book so it grabbed be surprise – not in a good way.

Little Miss and I are still reading The Black Stallion at night. I might be enjoying it a bit more than her but she still likes it so far – or at least she isn’t complaining too much.

The Boy and I will be starting a fiction book soon but I haven’t decided which one I want him to read for English. We have a literature-based history course we are doing for school this year and they have a wide variety of books as part of it but some of them are just very tedious to read so I am picking and choosing something from the list that won’t leave us severely depressed.

What’s Been Occurring

Not much happened last week. It was mainly at-home stuff – washing dishes, homeschool lessons, and making corrections on my manuscript for Gladwynn Grant Takes Center Stage.

I did ramble about some stuff in my post yesterday if you want to check that out.

Today we went to my parents and I spent most of the day making corrections to the copy of the manuscript The Husband printed out so my mom could read the rest of the book and help find typos for me as well.

I will have a break this week from correcting the manuscript and I hope I can use that time to work more on Cassie, the book that comes out in August 2024 as part of a multi-author project.

What We watched/are Watching

Last week Erin (Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs) and I watched Fisherman’s Friends for our Comfy, Cozy Cinema and wrote about it on our blogs. Yesterday I watched the sequel to the movie, Fisherman’s Friends: One and All and while I don’t usually like sequels to movies, this one was actually quite good, heartwarming and full of great music.

Erin and I are taking a break for a couple of weeks so I may write about it for a movie impression post later this week.

Here is a trailer for it for now.

I also watched an episode of Miss Scarlet and am planning to re-watch Rosemary and Thyme this week.

What I’m Writing

I am writing Cassie, as I mentioned, but will start more in earnest once I get finished with the corrections to Gladwynn’s book two.

I already have ideas for Gladwynn’s book three but I won’t start that one until I finish Cassie … probably anyhow.

This week on the blog I shared:

What I’m Listening To

This past week  I listened to a lot of those Jazz channels with the sound of rain behind them for background sound while I edited.

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: Driving my husband’s big truck, editing Gladwynn’s second book, and started reading Little Women for first time

/ Lisa R. Howeler / 11 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 and Kathyrn at The Book Date.

Affiliate disclosure: Today’s post may contain an affiliate link, which could provide a small commission to me as a blogger.

What’s Been Occurring

I wrote about what I’ve been doing in my Saturday Afternoon Chat post yesterday. You can read that HERE.

When I wrote my post yesterday, I said I hadn’t left the house all week. That wasn’t exactly true. I left it on Monday when my son said he needed a ride from his bus stop and I remember this because I had to drive my husband’s gigantic Chevy Avalanche down the hill to the convenience store downtown where the bus dropped my son off.

I have not tried to drive his truck yet because it is very tall and very big and I am not a tall person. I am always afraid to drive it because I can’t see over the front very well and I feel like I will run over something or, worse yet, someone.

But my son needed me so I took off, after figuring out how to adjust the seat, and headed down the hill. When I got to where he was supposed to be, though, he wasn’t there. I called him and he said he’d texted me that he was going to walk up the hill so I didn’t have to drive the truck and he was on our street. I found out later that he’d never actually sent that text so I’d had no idea.

Since I was already down the hill in town, I decided to go to the little supermarket we have and pick up the flour I needed for dinner, but I was terrified the whole time I might hit a car or person while I was driving.

When I got back to the house, I texted my husband and told him about my journey and how nervous I was. His only response? “Is my truck okay?”

I said, “Thanks for worrying if I was okay.”

He texted back, “Oh, right. Are you okay?”

I said, “I was worried I was going to hit something or someone the entire time.”

Him: “Don’t worry about it. You’re in a truck. It’s like a bug on a windshield.”

I said, “Not if I hit an older lady!”

Him: “She’ll bounce back.”

Anyhow, I won’t be driving that truck again unless absolutely necessary.

What I/we’ve been Reading

I finished The Hidden Staircase, a Nancy Drew Mystery, by Carolyn Keene yesterday.

This week I will finish Walls Crumbling by Alicia Gilliam. It’s so good. I love her writing.

I also started Little Women for my cozy winter read and I’m really enjoying it so far.

The Husband is choosing a new book because he just finished a Joe Pickett novel.

Little Miss and I are reading The Black Stallion on some nights and Paddington others and also listening to Fortunately the Milk by Neil Gaiman because she really loves that book.

The Boy isn’t reading anything right now but we will be reading something historically related soon for school.

What We watched/are Watching

This past week we watched Tea With The Dames for Erin (Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs) and my Comfy, Cozy Cinema. We really enjoyed it. I shared a short clip and talked about it on Instagram and that clip went viral – why? No idea but I think everyone just needs a dose of happiness right now. The documentary about Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Joan Plowright, and Eileen Atkins, is available on Tubi for free or on other streaming devices for a rental fee. You can find it on Amazon HERE.

I also watched Forgotten Way Farms videos as a way to relax. Here is her latest:

I am looking forward to when All Creatures Great and Small’s fourth season starts airing in the U.S. I read online that that will be January 7, so not too much longer. Until then I will catch up on Miss Scarlet and the Duke this week.


What I’m Writing

I am editing Gladwynn Grant Takes Center Stage so I can release it on December 4. If you want to pre-order it, you can find it HERE.

A description? Why, yes, I can provide you with that:

More mystery, intrigue, and loveable characters in Brookstone, Pa.

Gladwynn Grant hasn’t been living in Brookstone, Pa. very long but already she’s been mixed up in two attempted murders and the aftermath of a jewel theft.

Just when she thinks life has settled down and her new job as a small-town reporter will begin to be routine again, the recreational director at the local retirement community is found dead.

Was Samantha Mors death an accident, or was it murder?

Since she was the second person to discover her body, Gladwynn wants to find out what really happened.

Local State Police Detective Tanner Kinney lets her know that her job is reporting the news, not investigating a possibly suspicious death. The father she barely speaks to stops for a visit and also urges her to not get involved.

When warnings to stay away from the case come from handsome pastor Luke Callahan Gladwynn wonders if he knew the victim better than he is letting on.

Quieting her inner sleuth will prove difficult for Gladwynn, though, especially when her eccentric grandmother Lucinda tags along to help her solve the case.

I am also writing Cassie, which will release in August of 2024. I will share more about that as it gets closer to the release date but I have shared a little bit about it here already. It is part of a multi-author project, which you can learn more about in our Facebook group HERE.

The first book in that project, Polly, comes out January 15 and it is available for pre-order now. You can pre-order Polly HERE.

This week on the blog I shared:

What I’m Listening To

This week I will be listening to the end of an audio book: Death Beside the Seaside by T.E. Kinsey and the new Needtobreathe album.

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: Fall weather mixed with summer weather, mood reading, and comfort watching

/ Lisa R. Howeler / 8 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 and Kathyrn at The Book Date.

What’s Been Occurring

Friday and yesterday were busy for me so I did not have a lot of time to write a Saturday Afternoon Chat post. That means I’ll share a little more here this week about what has been occurring.

Last week’s weather was gorgeous so Little Miss and I spent time outside and on the neighbor’s trampoline part of it.

I took photographs of the leaves while we were up by the trampoline, especially on Friday when Little Miss had a couple of her friends over.

I had never really looked to see where the little woods behind our outbuilding and our neighbor’s shed go but on Friday I could see that it leads to the backyards of the houses on another street. The woods are a little deeper further to the left and even further out they are deeper still.

I would guess the deer that show up in our backyard come from the deeper woods that lead out of town. Our one neighbor feeds the deer, which is actually illegal, and I’ve considered calling the Game Commission on him several times but two weeks ago his wife died and now I can’t bring myself to do it.

After talking to him one day this week I learned she’s been sick for a while now after a freak accident two years ago when she fell and hit her head. I wonder if he wanted the deer to come down so she could see them from the kitchen window. I get annoyed with the deer being in our yard and the yards of my neighbors because with White-Tailed Deer in Pennsylvania come deer ticks. I have two friends who died from complications from untreated Lyme, some family friends who were hit hard by it (one still deals with chronic Lyme), and my dad dealt with Lyme several years ago and is still suffering from the effects of it.

I will pray we can keep ourselves safe from the ticks so my neighbor can still see the deer while he mourns his wife. My neighbor is elderly and sometimes complains about everything when I talk to him, including the neighbors I am close to. Because he said some disparaging things about my neighbors, who have become friends, I am never anxious to talk to him but I took a container of homemade chicken noodle soup to him on Wednesday night anyhow. He was very appreciative, even as he tried to launch into a series of complaints about a variety of things.

Yesterday he returned the container with a post-it note on top.

“God bless you. Thank you.” And he signed his name.

It melted my heart.

I think he needed that act of kindness right now whether he’s always been kind or not himself.

So, as another act of kindness, I’m going to try to tolerate the deer in our backyards and hope they don’t cause an accident on the street and treat the pets with tick medicine and us with tick spray.

Little Miss and her friends had a lot of fun playing with the leaves and jumping on the trampoline Friday. I had fun having what felt like a real autumn experience. It was a nice warm day and I didn’t have the weird symptoms I sometimes have when the weather is cold and the pressure is low.

The girls were able to see each other again last night when we went trick-or-treating with them in their town, which is about a 40-minute drive from us. There was a Trunk-or-Treat and then a costume competition that I attended, but after that The Husband walked with Little Miss and her friends and parents around town and I sat in the car and enjoyed some coveted reading time.

Today I am going to see my parents for the afternoon. It is supposed to rain all day and the temperature will be dropping, which makes me sad because on Wednesday I am supposed to take Little Miss to a reptile zoo an hour from us. She absolutely loves reptiles and I had no idea this place was so big so I am excited to take her. It is a trip with the library. I do see we might get some – I can’t even say the word – that wet, cold, white stuff that day so we will see how it goes. I hope the trip isn’t canceled.

What I/we’ve been Reading

I did not have as much time to read this past week as I had hoped. I was editing and revising Gladwynn Grant Takes Center Stage so it can be edited and proofread or spending time outside much of the week.

That is why the books I am reading are the books I was reading the week before. It also doesn’t help that I am a mood reader. I may have started a book and be enjoying it but there are some days when a book simply doesn’t fit my mood. For example, I am reading one book that I like very much but the subject matter can be heavy. There is a boy who saw his mother murdered and is in foster care, a woman who used to be a prostitute, and a man whose wife was murdered. The writing in the book is amazing but there are times I don’t feel I’m emotionally stable to read the book. The writer is very good so I feel like I’m living the book and there are days I don’t want to live that and then go to bed thinking about it.

Those are the days I am glad to be able to read books with my 9-year-old, like The Black Stallion which we started last week.

Have you ever read the book?

I never have but I have seen the movie. Several times. I have always loved it.

So far, I am really enjoying the book, though we are at the part on the island and that can be a bit tedious. I am looking forward to when they get rescued. The problem is, my daughter is also a mood reader so the nights I am in the mood to read to her from one book, she wants something completely different. When she feels insecure or has overheard something scary from the news, she wants to go to her comfort reads – much like I do. This past week those comfort reads were Paddington and Fortunately the Milk by Neil Gaiman. Actually, we listen to Fortunately the Milk usually. Sometimes she reads to me from the book and it is so entertaining to hear her trying to do the British accents. I always do the accents of the characters in the books so she feels like she has to as well but I have been reminding her that her mother is an old lady whose practiced accents a long time. She’s just starting so she’ll get better at it as she grows.

Back to my reading, I’ve been bouncing between three books but this week I am focusing on one, finishing it and then the next one.

I had been bouncing between Walls Crumbling by Alicia Gilliam, Polly by Naomi Musch, and When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr.

This week I plan to finish Polly, then finish When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit and then finish Walls Crumbling.

I also want to finish The Red Badge of Courage, which I am listening to with my son, and Death at the Seaside, which I have also been listening to. I have about 40 minutes in both the books and I am certain I’ll be doing dishes this week so I’ll have time to listen.

I looked at the books I said I wanted to read this autumn last week and would love to a couple more books from that list by mid-November. Then I want to start my winter list, which will include Little Women. I hope to stretch that book out into the long, dark months that come with winter in Pennsylvania. It will be my first time reading it.

What We watched/are Watching

Last week I watched Rebecca for the Comfy, Cozy Cinema and then the rest of the week I really did not watch a lot other than Newhart. The Husband and I did watch episodes of old British sitcoms, The Manor Born and Yes, Minister.

This week I hope to watch some Miss Scarlet and The Duke and maybe Death in Paradise, which I have not watched in a long time. I have not seen any of the episodes with the latest detective.

What I’m Writing

As I mentioned above, I am finishing Gladwynn Grant Takes Center Stage and will have that out to be edited by Wednesday. I plan to continue writing Cassie and hope to finish it by the end of the month or mid-December since it is a smaller book.

This week on the blog I shared:

What I’m Listening To

Needtobreathe has a new album out so I will be listening to that all week, I am sure.

Here is one of the latest songs:

Photos from Last Week

As I mentioned above, I took a lot of photos of autumn leaves last week.

I’ll share some of those photos here today and the rest in a separate post later in the 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.

Sunday Bookends: Fall photos, did not finish books, I’m not a real book blogger, and watching old movies (again)

/ Lisa R. Howeler / 14 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 and Kathyrn at The Book Date.

What’s Been Occurring

Yesterday I rambled about last week in my Saturday Afternoon Chat post. You can read that here if you want to.

One thing I mentioned was that I wanted to get some more photographs of the autumn leaves left on our trees. So many have been blown off already and it has been gloomy almost every day for the last week and a half so I haven’t felt like going out to take photographs, but I made myself yesterday. For you. My blog readers who don’t have fall colors. I pushed myself out there and I was so cold and frozen and stumbled home and was forced to huddle under a blanket with hot cocoa and a book the rest of the day. It was rough. Still, I managed to grab some photos for you and they are in the Photos of the Week section further down in this post.

 Today I may try to grab a few more photos as I go to visit my parents for the afternoon but it looks like it is going to be another chilly and windy day so we will see.

The Boy’s friend visited yesterday and they were hanging out in the living room, so I was able to hang out on my own all day and took that time to write blog posts, read a book (that I ended up tossing aside because it was just too awful. See below.), and watch a concert by a Christian musician I like. It was a nice day and I think I need to lock myself upstairs more often.


What I/we’ve been Reading

(I want to reiterate for any book bloggers who visit here that I’m not really a book blogger. I sign-up with the book blogging link ups because I like to see what others are reading and to meet new bloggers. I just don’t want to mislead anyone into thinking that I am a fast or voracious reader. I do read a lot, but I am also writing books of my own and homeschooling my two children (ages 9 and almost 17), so I don’t read as much as many of the bloggers who link up for these fun features.)

This week I got caught up reading the first book in a multi-author series I am a part of this week. The series is called The Apron Strings Books and it is going to offer 11 books which will each focus on a particular decade from the 1920s to 2020. I am writing a book called Cassie, which will come out in August of 2024.

The first book is called Polly and it is by Naomi Musch.

A description:

One cookbook connects them all…
Polly ~ Book One in a string of heartfelt inspirational stories, featuring different women throughout the decades from 1920 to 2020.

The Great War has ended, but Polly Holloway’s heart is shattered when her fiancé finally returns home—with a French war bride. Now her future feels desolate, until she fastens onto the idea of using her skills and a special cookbook to turn her grandfather’s Victorian house into a fashionable ladies’ tea room. Yet, how will she endure the patronage of the woman who stole her sweetheart? Moreover, the suave tavern owner down the block is interfering in her business, personal and otherwise. Heaven only knows what goes on behind his doors.

Ross Dalton can no longer sell liquor in his establishment. With prohibition in force, it’s a mixed blessing. Ross met God on the battlefield, and he wants to start fresh, but he must earn a living. Converting his bar into a coffee house offers a partial solution. Still, bootleggers are pressing him to pedal their moonshine, and the girl up the street is convinced his place is a front for a speakeasy. She’s awfully cute when she turns up her pert little nose at his friendly overtures. How can he convince her he isn’t going to tarnish the neighborhood or ruin her business? And will she believe he’s a changed man when the bootleggers double down?

I’m really enjoying the book and am excited that I am receiving advanced copies of all of the books since I’m part of the project. I can’t wait for everyone to read these books. I was so wrapped up in this one I was actually talking to a character. Out loud. In the middle of the night. Eek. Yes, the story certainly pulls you in.

If you want to learn more about the series, you can join our group on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/apronstringsreaders

I was reading a cozy mystery called Death Bee Comes Her by Nancy Coco but it was a DNF for me yesterday. It drove me crazy. The story was just – not good. The things that the characters did were ridiculous. Listen, I know cozy mysteries aren’t the best literature out there sometimes but this book was out and out ridiculous. There were way too many pages where it was just dialogue and not good dialogue either. I was disappointed because the beginning of it had so much promise.

So, in addition to Polly, I am back to reading Walls Crumbling by Alicia Gilliam. I am enjoying this book, which is the second in the Seth Browne series.

A description:

Hiding from the world brought them all together.

Facing it might tear them apart.

Can they survive beyond the walls of the white clapboard house?

Can Seth endure the exposure of a state agent investigating their newly-buried past, including the grave he dug with his bare hands?

Will they find the missing redhead needed to exonerate Seth from suspicion? It all depends on little Benji.

Government intrusion could force the boy even further into his silent bubble — or empower him to reveal his darkest secret.

Meanwhile, Cassady fears a new identity remains permanently out of reach. An invisible link to her past seems to threaten any hope of a romantic happily-ever-after.

Seth secretly wonders if trusting God isn’t the answer for his growing temptations. He’s praying, but every day, the walls are closing in on him.

Walls Crumbling invites you to step into a world where God builds firm foundations over the top of broken rubble.

In addition to reading those books this week, I hope to finish Red Badge of Courage this week, plus a cozy mystery book I’ve been listening to forever on Audible. I am reading Red Badge of Courage with my teenager for school and neither of us got to it last week to read so we will finish it this week.

I have also been reading chapters of a book called When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr. I am really enjoying it, but since I am a mood reader, I have laid it aside a couple of times to pick up a cozier book. I believe it’s considered a middle-grade book but it does have a lot of deep subject matter in it since it is about a family who had to leave Germany to escape the Nazis.

Little Miss and I finished Gone Away Lake last week and I have ordered Return to Gone Away Lake for her.

I try to cut myself some slack when I don’t think I’m reading enough and remind myself I’m also reading books with the kids, plus writing my own books and this blog. I am not a speed reader and I’m also not retired yet. When I get to the retirement stage, I will read more books and I’m sure I’ll read them faster.

Photos from Last Week

As I mentioned above, I made it a point to go out for a drive yesterday in very gloomy weather to take some fall photos for my blog readers who don’t live in an area where the leaves change. It seemed like every beautiful tree or group of trees I saw was in a spot where I couldn’t pull off the road to take a photograph. In other places so many leaves had blown off that it wasn’t really pretty enough for a photo.

Still, it was fun to drive around and see the leaves that are still left.

What We watched/are Watching

This past week I watched Penny Serenade with Cary Grant and Irene Dunn (who also starred in The Awful Truth with my friend Erin and I watched for The Spring of Cary feature).  Released in 1941, it was a comedy-drama that focused on the struggles of a newly married couple and then follows them through the struggles of a pregnancy loss, adoption, childhood illness, and the continuing struggles all those things bring to a married couple.

It was a bit heavy for me in some parts and made me want to cry, but it was very well done and did showcase so many issues parents have to deal with – some of them funny and some of them heartbreaking.

There were some really hilarious scenes when the parents had to figure out how to get their daughter to sleep, learn about bathing her and other issues she had to face as she grew up.

The ending didn’t sit well with me for a variety of reasons but I was glad that the movie explored how a couple can group apart when suffering a tragedy in their lives and marriage, but that it is possible to come back together again.

I also watched Strangers on a Train with The Husband and The Boy for Erin (from Still Life, with Cracker Crumbs) Comfy, Cozy Feature. As a commenter pointed out, this movie really wasn’t cozy or comfy but Erin and I never got around to adding “Creepy” to the name of the feature so…there you go.

Next week we are watching Rebecca – also not a comfy or cozy movie.

This week I hope to watch some actually cozy YouTube videos from some of my favorite YouTubers and find some other cozy old movies I have not watched before. Followers on here and on my Instagram (www.instagram.com/lisarhoweler) have been giving me some awesome suggestions for movies and I am adding them all to a list in my notebook. I’m especially looking for cozy, feel-good films for November and December so let me know if you have any of those suggestions.


What I’m Writing

I am editing Gladwynn Grant Takes Center Stage this week. I will pass that on to my editor husband and some proofreaders on November 1 and start right in on Cassie from the Apron Strings Book series I mentioned above.

This week on the blog I shared:

What I’m Listening to

I have been listening to a lot of worship music this week, especially from Joshua Aaron, an Israeli-American Messianic Jew.

My dad shared this beautiful version of The Blessing being sung in Hebrew on his Facebook page last night and  wanted to share it with you today.

Here is another version of it in a video he filmed in Jerusalem:

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: Fighting for joy, not reading a lot, making plans for comfy and cozy watching and reading this week

/ Lisa R. Howeler / 14 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 and Kathyrn at The Book Date.

What’s Been Occurring

I’m writing this post this week with a heavy heart. I’m overwhelmed mentally and emotionally with world events and personal situations. I almost didn’t write a post this week but I also know that trying to keep a routine and do something other than sit and cry about things is good for me so here I am.

I rambled about what has been going on in my world in my post yesterday if you would like to check it out.

Today we are huddled at home with cold wind and weather swirling around outside. I have taken almost no fall photos this year so I am hoping that there will be some sun tomorrow and I can take a few, even if it is only of the leaves on the ground.

Unrelated to my week or what has been occurring, but did you know I host a Clean/Christian Fiction Book Club on Facebook? If you’re interested, you can find it HERE. Soon we will be offering giveaways and author parties and chances for readers to meet new authors. I hope you will join us to discuss any clean or Christian books you are reading right now.

What I/we’ve been Reading

I didn’t read much at all this week.

I am reading Death Bee Comes Her by Nancy Coco and Walls Crumbling: A Seth Browne Novel by Alicia Gilliam.

Both are very good but I think I am enjoying Walls Crumbling a bit more. Alicia is such a good writer.

You can find her books HERE: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Alicia-Gilliam/author/B09PZ6SGTW?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

I am also listening to Death at the Seaside by T.E. Kinsey and I feel like I will never finish it because I keep getting interrupted. I am determined to finish it this week!

Little Miss and I will finish Gone Away Lake this week.

The Boy and I will probably finish Red Badge of Courage this week.

The Husband is reading The Dark Wind by Tony Hillerman.

What We watched/are Watching

I watched way too much news this past week and I will be changing that this upcoming week. I plan to watch Strangers on a Train for Erin’s and my Comfy, Cozy Cinema (see our last comfy, cozy post about that feature and how you can get involved). 

We watched The Lady Vanishes last week and it was very good. It was an early Hitchcock film but more joyful than some of his films.

I watched Forgotten Way Farms on YouTube and that was so relaxing and nice. I also watched several Newhart episodes. Having my 9-year-old daughter ask to watch Newhart never gets old either.

This upcoming week I also hope to watch as much calming, fall stuff as I can, along with reading more. I need to decompress, even as I think of all those in the world who don’t have that option.


What I’m Writing

Gladwynn Grant Takes Center Stage is almost done but took a bit of a back burner this week, partially because I filled my mind with too much news and partially because I didn’t know how to end it. I think I’ve found my ending but it’s not what I wanted. Sadly, it is apparently what was meant to be and a character I didn’t want to be guilty is. Sometimes characters tell me their stories and I don’t like them.

I forgot to share a couple chapters from the book for Fiction Friday but will share a couple more this Friday.

I have joined a couple of other bloggers to co-host a blog link-up on Thursday nights/Fridays called Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot. Bloggers can link their favorite blog posts on any topic from the week. You can learn more in this post: https://lisahoweler.com/2023/10/12/weekend-traffic-jam-reboot-add-your-links/

On the blog this week I shared:

What I’m Listening To

This week I listened to a lot of Matthew West and Brandon Lake.

Little Miss actually asked for Matthew West. His music is such a comfort to us when we are feeling down.

Blog Posts I Enjoyed This Past Week

I am behind on reading blog posts but I’d love it if readers would leave their own favorites this week in the comments for me to look at.

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.

Mention the group on Facebook and the blog share link thing..Weekend Traffic Jam

Sunday Bookends: Reading through my autumn TBR, watching old movies, and a new blog feature to share your posts

/ Lisa R. Howeler / 16 Comments

Sunday Bookends October 8

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 and Kathyrn at The Book Date.

What’s Been Occurring

I have to be honest that I’m a little distracted today by what is happening in Israel and I feel like writing a blog post about what I’m reading and doing in my life is pretty unimportant. I’m only continuing because I think we all need distractions right now, no matter how small.

I follow some people who live in Israel and have read some books about the situation in Palestine so hearing the news from the area is extremely upsetting.

I’ll move on for now, though, and relay that I really didn’t do much last week at all but if you want to read about it you can check out my post here.

What I/we’ve been Reading



Last week I finished The Cat Who Blew The Whistle by Lilian Jackson Braun. I enjoyed it for the most part but the ending was strange and a little annoying to me. That happens at times with Braun’s books, but this was at least better than the later ones that were put out and probably not fully written by Braun later in her life.

I am making my way through my autumn reading list slowly, but fairly steadily.

Now I am on to reading Death Bee Comes Her by Nancy Coco and also plan to read a Nancy Drew book for fun (The Hidden Staircase). Death Bee Comes Her was not originally on my list but I picked it up at a used bookstore and it fit well with the theme since it happens in the autumn so I decided to add it in.

The Boy and I are reading Red Badge of Courage still for school.

Little Miss and I are reading Gone Away Lake for school.

 The Husband just started a Dennis Lehane book and I’m not sure if he started another one yet.

What We watched/are Watching

Last week I didn’t watch a lot of movies but I hope to watch a couple this week, including The Lady Vanishes for the Comfy, Cozy Cinema with Erin from Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs.

If you want to join us you are welcome to and we will have a link up for you to add your post to.

We did watch some Newhart and I watched an episode of Miss Scarlet and The Duke.

This week I really want to focus on escaping in some good movies, some wholesome things as well, including The Chosen and The Dick VanDyke Show – anything to calm myself inside.

What I’m Writing

I am working hard to finish Gladwynn Grant Takes Center Stage and am almost done. I did push the release date off by a couple of weeks because I was concerned I might not have time to write it, revise it, and send it the editor, and revise it again in time for it to be released on the original date. I wanted to slow myself down a bit.

Once I’m finished with this book, I’ll be continuing to work on Cassie, which is a book that will be released in August of 2024 with the Apron Strings Book Series. It is based in the 1990s so it will be fun to research that decade, which I lived through but have forgotten a lot about. Ha! Not because I was drunk or drugged but because I was lost in my own little world in high school and college.

This week on the blog I shared the Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot with two other bloggers. This is a chance for bloggers to share favorite posts from their blogs for the week. You can still share your posts now and we will be back again on Thursday at 9:30 p.m. to set up the link for everyone who wants to participate.

Also on the blog this week I shared about a movie I watched The Lightkeepers.

What I’m Listening to

I listened to a lot of Brandon Lake this week and other worship music, as well as other Christian artists I hadn’t heard of before in an Apple Music playlist. I needed it.



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: Little Miss’s Birthday, fall foliage, book sales, and cozy mysteries

/ Lisa R. Howeler / 11 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 and Kathyrn at The Book Date.

What’s Been Occurring

Can you believe it is October 1?! I can’t! September just flew by!

Tomorrow is Little Miss’s 9th birthday so October always kicks off fun for us.

I shared a bit about this yesterday, but on Friday we took her out for dinner to a restaurant. Before that we visited a large library book sale and then met her friends to play at a playground near the restaurant, which was about 45 minutes from our house.

I wish I had spent a little more time at the book sale, but we had a budget for all four of us, so I didn’t want to go too crazy. I didn’t actually choose many books from the sale itself. Instead, I found six cozy mysteries in the library’s permanent used bookstore in the back of the library.

I found ten or more books from the Annie’s Mystery books – all hardcover with built-in ribbon bookmarks, but only grabbed two so The Husband could also get some books.

We got bit up pretty bad from mosquitoes near the creek at the park and I think it’s so weird that the itching didn’t kick in until last night. It was like they all activated at the same time.

The leaves are changing fast around us for autumn and there are some gorgeous reds. Some of the leaves are drying up and falling off before they can change, which is sad, but the ones that are lasting are beautiful and even more should change this upcoming week into next week.

I’m not sure what is on tap for this upcoming week other than Little Miss’s birthday and running some errands.

What I/we’ve been Reading

I’ll be finishing up A New Leash on Life by Kathleen Y’Barbo today. I’ve really been enjoying it. It is a light mystery and releases – oh, today actually! I’ve been reading it as part of a blog tour for it. This is the second book I’ve read from the series and so far I like this one better.

I’m also still reading The Cat Who Blew The Whistle by Lilian Jackson Braun. It’s such a comfort read for me.

I’ve put Anne of Ingleside to the side for now because I picked up a cozy mystery from a library book sale Friday that I read the first chapter of and am now hooked on. It’s called Death Bee Comes Her by Nancy Coco.

It will be a perfect autumn read since it takes place in October.

I think I’ll probably pick Anne back up later in October and finish it as quick as I can because I want to clear my classic book slate for Little Women in November.’

What We watched/are Watching

Last week Erin and I watched Arsenic and Old Lace for our Comfy, Cozy Cinema and then posted about it on our blogs. This week we are taking a break from our feature and having a wild card week.

Next week we are going to watch The Lady Vanishes and blog about that.

Other than those movies, I didn’t actually watch a ton last week. I did watch some Newhart and a couple episodes of Just A Few Acres Farm on YouTube.

This morning we watched our sermon from Elevation Church and then an episode of The Chosen on Amazon.

What I’m Writing

I plan to finish Gladwynn Grant Takes Center Stage this week and will then go through it again before sending it to my husband to edit.

On the blog this week I shared:

What I’m Listening To

I’ve been enjoying Brooke Ligertwood, Matthew West, and Brandon Lake again this week.

Photos From This 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.