I recently saw a YouTube video where a booktuber suggested reading just 12 pages a day of a classic to make it feel less daunting for readers who don’t usually read classics.
There are a couple of reasons he suggested this tactic.
One: it gives you time to read slowly and truly immerse yourself in the story.
Two: it helps you pay attention to the writing, the words connected together, the style of that particular author.
Three: Gives you time to write notes about what you are reading or underline a quote that really stands out to you. This gives you time to really think about that quote or section that really stands out to you.
Four: It gets you off a device. Stops you scrolling on “the attention hog” that has trained you to keep scrolling through 30-second to 1-minute clips. Doing this mentally and physically fatigues us. The makers of social media know how to addict us but our mind biologically loves to dwell on things, to feel like it is learning something and this is done better at a slower pace. Reading instead of scrolling releases the brain from repeated dopamine hits.
Five: Creates a sense of patience, self-control, and a “stick-to-it” attitude. As humans we feel a sense of pride when we push through something and accomplish what we set out to do.
Six: It helps to quell comparison to other readers that we need to do; the fear-of-missing-out tendency, the desire to “have read” certain books. We want to be able to say “I have read…” but don’t want to sit and really read something well. Reading this way, we can focus on reading well — taking our time to really take it in and not worry about rushing on to the next book. Those books will be there when we are done with this one.
Extra tips: Doing this at night can help you feel like you don’t have to rush and “get through” your allotted pages before you have to do something else. You can do this with other books, not just classics.
What do you think of reading some books this way? Yay or Nay? What say you?
Source: Tristan Reads Classics. Video: The One Tip You Need More Classics and Enjoy Them.
If you want a fuller explanation of what Tristan was talking about, you can watch his video here:
It’s time for our Sunday morning chat. On Sundays, I ramble about what’s been going on, whatthe rest of the familyand I have been reading and watching, andwhat I’ve been writing. Some weeks I share what I am listening to.
Once upon a time I said I wanted winter to come so I could curl up with a book under a blanket or watch an old movie…also under a blanket.
I still like curling up under a blanket but I’m over the gloominess of winter now. I would enjoy some green, but, alas, after warming temps this past week, Winter is reminding us it isn’t done yet as I just learned Friday night that another winter storm is headed our way today into tomorrow.
Blah.
Hopefully it will drop off the snow and go because I have plans this week to help my parents, possibly see my brother, and maybe even sneak off to a bookstore.
I started a nostalgic clip account on Instagram a few months ago (Nostalgically Thinking) and this past week I shared clips of Canadian Figure Skater Kurt Browning as I reflected on how entertaining he always was but never won and Olympic medal. I was thinking about that because of all that was going on with figure skating phenom Ilia Malinin. He didn’t win an individual gold but he’s already done so much to entertain and project the sport into astounding levels that I don’t think it matters at all. It certainly didn’t with Kurt who I always loved to watch and never even knew if he won an Olympic medal.
On Thursday, I shared Kurt skating in “leather” pants to Brick House — one of my favorite routines of his.
Last night, before bed, I noticed a comment on my reel from kb.on.ice.
“Pants and the song sold it. The pants were plastic actually.”
Screenshot
I knew it was really Kurt because I’d found his account a couple of days before and, yes, I was a bit giddy seeing that comment.
I was so excited but remained calm as I told my kids about it and I give them credit – they didn’t role their eyes. They told me how nice it was, after I explained to them who Kurt Browning is, of course.
When I was in high school, I was obsessed with watching figuring skating but especially Kurt, Brian Boitono, Elvis Stojko, and Scott Hamilton.
My brother bought me tickets to Stars on Ice for the 1996 tour when it came near where we lived, which was shocking because nothing exciting ever came near where we lived.
I am so old that I remember almost none of it! I wanted to dig out the program and an old journal to remember who was even there before I finished this post but I looked all afternoon and some of the boxes with old journals were way back in the back of our bedroom closet so I finally gave up.
I was very certain Kurt Browning was there so I texted my brother to ask if he remembered who was there and he didn’t even remember he took me! Haha! I remember he gave me the tickets as a Christmas gift and I was so excited.
I will write more on my blog later this week about the show and my love of ice skating, if I can find the journal, photos, and program.
What I/We’ve Been Reading
Just Finished
Last week I finished Mrs. McGinty’s Dead by Agatha Christie. It is a Hercule Poirot book and I really enjoyed it. There was a lot of humor in it from Poirot and the mystery was very good.
In Progress
Right now, I am still making my way through Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien and The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery. They are my slow reads.
I am also reading Murder, She Wrote: Bullets and Brandy by Donald Bain.
Up Soon
I can’t wait to start Murder on the Orient Express since I’ve seen the movies but have never read the book. I’m also looking forward to reading another P.G. Wodehouse and Miss Read this spring. I’ll be making my list of spring hopefuls this week. Spring….and I barely got through my Winter reads! It’s insane to think of spring already being here.
What The Family is Reading
Little Miss and I are enjoying The Singing Tree by Kate Seredy and are tying it into a history unit about World War I.
The Husband is reading the latest Robert Galbraith (Rowling) book.
What I/We’ve Been Watching
This past week I watched some of the figure skating at the Olympics, a new British mystery show called The Puzzle Lady, and All Creatures Great and Small.
I am watching my James Cagney movie – Angels With Dirty Faces — with The Husband tonight because he’s been too busy before this to watch it with me and wants to see it too. So my Winter of Cagney post is going up late this week.
I will be watching another Cagney movie — The Bride Arrived COD – later this week.
This afternoon I am watching East Side of Heaven (1939) with Bing Crosby.
Erin (Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs) and I host a monthly bookish link party called A Good Book and A Cup of Tea. This link-up is for book and reading posts or anything related to books and reading (even movies based on books!). Each link party will be open for a month. You can find that link up for this month here.
Each week, I host the Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot with some great hosts. It goes live Thursday night but you can share any kind of blog posts (family-friendly) there until Tuesday of each week. You can check my recent posts on the sidebar to the right for the most recent link-party.
Erin and I also host a Drop-In Crafternoon once or twice a month. This is where we meet with other bloggers on Zoom and do some crafts while we chat.
We have two scheduled for March. The first is Saturday, March 7 at 1 p.m. and the second is Sunday, March 22 at 1 p.m. If you are interested in taking part you can learn a little bit more about it from Erin’s original post about our Crafternoons and by emailing her at crackercrumblife@gmail.com or me at lisahoweler@gmail.com or leave a comment below.
Now It’s Your Turn
What have you been doing, watching, reading, listening to, or writing? Let me know in the comments or leave a blog post link if you also write a weekly update like this.
If you enjoy the kind of content on my blog and all that goes into it, you can support my writing for $2.99 a month or a single donation. Learn more here: https://lisahoweler.com/support-my-writing/
Welcome to the Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot, where we offer a place for bloggers to link up and get a fresh set of eyes on their posts. We also feature one blog a week, letting our readers know about the blog and providing a link so readers can learn more about it.Please feel free to post new blog posts or old ones you want to bring attention to again.
Look for the post to go live about 9:30 PM EST on Thursdays.
Let’s introduce our current hosts for the Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot:
Marsha from Marsha in the Middle started blogging in 2021 as an exercise in increasing her neuroplasticity. Oh, who are we kidding? Marsha started blogging because she loves clothes, and she loves to talk or, in this case, write!
Melynda from Scratch Made Food! & DIY Homemade Household – The name says it all, we homestead in East Texas, with three generations sharing this land. I cook and bake from scratch, between gardening and running after the chickens, and knitting!
Lisa from Boondock Ramblingsshares about the fiction she writes and reads, her faith, homeschooling, photography and more.
Cat from Cat’s Wire is a bookworm, movie fan, crazy cat lady, armed with beads, cabs, wire and a very jumpy brain which loves to go down rabbit holes!
Rena from Fine, Whatever writes about style, midlife, and the “fine whatever” moments that make life both meaningful and fun. Since 2015, she’s been celebrating creativity, confidence, and finding joy in the everyday.
We would love to have additional Co-Hosts to share in the creativity and fun! If you think this would be a good fit for you and you like having fun (come on, who doesn’t!) while still being creative, drop one of us an email and someone will get back with you!
WTJR will be highlighting a different blogger each week this year! We invite you to stop by their blog, take a look around and say hello!
Hello there! I’m Jana, and Reviews From the Stacks is my blog. I started Reviews From the Stacks in 2018 as a place to share reviews of high quality books, especially lesser-known and potentially indie published ones, and to be a place for discussing all kinds of bookishness. I work in a library and have a BA and MLIS, so bookishness seems to follow me everywhere I go!
Outside of the literary world I enjoy peaceful hobbies such as knitting, music, and visiting every coffee shop I can find. I am a Christian, and I hold my beliefs and convictions seriously. Like any writer, my worldview permeates my writing. It also plays a substantial part in what I enjoy reading. I will never belittle or dismiss a book or person for presenting a different worldview, but I also won’t shy away from sharing what I believe and addressing (relevant) things that are problematic.
Thank you so much for joining us for our link-up!
And now some posts that were highlights for me this past week:
This link party is for blog posts only. All other links will be deleted.
Please link only blog posts you created yourself.
Please link directly to the URL of your post and not the main address of your blog.
Please do not add links to videos, sales ads, or social media links such as YouTube videos or Shorts, Instagram or Facebook Reels, TikTok videos, or any other “social media” based content.
But do visit other blogs and give the gift of a comment.
Notice: By linking with Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot, you assert that content and photos are your own property. And you give us permission to share said content if your post or blog is showcased.
We welcome unlimited, family friendly content! This can include opinion pieces, recipes, travel recaps, fashion ideas, crafts, thrifting, lifestyle, book reviews or discussions, photography, art, and so much more! Thank you for joining us!
If you enjoy the kind of content on my blog and all that goes into it, you can support my writing for $2.99 a month or a single donation. Learn more here: https://lisahoweler.com/support-my-writing/
Welcome to the Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot, where we offer a place for bloggers to link up and get a fresh set of eyes on their posts. We also feature one blog a week, letting our readers know about the blog and providing a link so readers can learn more about it.Please feel free to post new blog posts or old ones you want to bring attention to again.
Look for the post to go live about 9:30 PM EST on Thursdays.
Let’s introduce our current hosts for the Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot:
Marsha from Marsha in the Middle started blogging in 2021 as an exercise in increasing her neuroplasticity. Oh, who are we kidding? Marsha started blogging because she loves clothes, and she loves to talk or, in this case, write!
Melynda from Scratch Made Food! & DIY Homemade Household – The name says it all, we homestead in East Texas, with three generations sharing this land. I cook and bake from scratch, between gardening and running after the chickens, and knitting!
Lisa from Boondock Ramblingsshares about the fiction she writes and reads, her faith, homeschooling, photography and more.
Cat from Cat’s Wire is a bookworm, movie fan, crazy cat lady, armed with beads, cabs, wire and a very jumpy brain which loves to go down rabbit holes!
Rena from Fine, Whatever writes about style, midlife, and the “fine whatever” moments that make life both meaningful and fun. Since 2015, she’s been celebrating creativity, confidence, and finding joy in the everyday.
We would love to have additional Co-Hosts to share in the creativity and fun! If you think this would be a good fit for you and you like having fun (come on, who doesn’t!) while still being creative, drop one of us an email and someone will get back with you!
WTJR will be highlighting a different blogger each week this year! We invite you to stop by their blog, take a look around and say hello!
Happy Retirees Kitchen is an interactive food blog, where I share my home cooked, delicious and sustainable recipes and tips. I cook simple food, aiming for a healthier lifestyle and a healthier planet. I hope you enjoy reading about our life here in Tropical North Queensland on the east coast of Australia. I enjoy cooking for family and friends, and sharing many stories with you including my adventures with food, our garden, and whatever else seems interesting at the time.
Thank you so much for joining us for our link-up!
And now some posts that were highlights for me this past week:
This link party is for blog posts only. All other links will be deleted.
Please link only blog posts you created yourself.
Please link directly to the URL of your post and not the main address of your blog.
Please do not add links to videos, sales ads, or social media links such as YouTube videos or Shorts, Instagram or Facebook Reels, TikTok videos, or any other “social media” based content.
But do visit other blogs and give the gift of a comment.
Notice: By linking with Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot, you assert that content and photos are your own property. And you give us permission to share said content if your post or blog is showcased.
We welcome unlimited, family friendly content! This can include opinion pieces, recipes, travel recaps, fashion ideas, crafts, thrifting, lifestyle, book reviews or discussions, photography, art, and so much more! Thank you for joining us!
It’s time for our Sunday morning chat. On Sundays, I ramble about what’s been going on, whatthe rest of the familyand I have been reading and watching, andwhat I’ve been writing. Some weeks I share what I am listening to.
As I am starting to write this post on a Saturday night our WiFi is out so I am using the unlimited data on my phone plan to draft this. Our internet company thinks the severe cold is our issue. (Update: It came back this morning and they still think it was the nasty cold).
This weekend’s weather here is taking the cake for this winter.
When I woke up this morning it was -6 without the windchill. The feels like temp was -30F (0 Celsius).
That temp continued to drop throughout the day.
Today our high will be 8F.
Obviously, we are staying hunkered down at home today.
We have three cats, Scout, Pixel and Cass and it is driving them crazy right now that they cannot go outside. We live in a semi rural area, so we normally let them outside in our backyard for a little bit, and they explore between the house and our wood pile and a little bit beyond and then they come back in. Scout is the hunter and sometimes we’ll disappear for a day and warmer weather coming back on occasion with a dead bird mouse or other animal.
Pixel is our home body. She mainly sits on the back porch and watches to see what scout does. Cass is new to us after being dropped off near our property the day before Halloween last year. So I’m not totally sure of his habits just yet, but he seems to be more like a hunter like Scout..
The bitter cold weather we have been having for the last month has meant keeping the cats in more than usual though. This is driving them absolutely insane and they pace in front of the door or smack each other around and have all out cat fights. I like winter in some ways because it means I can stay inside and write or read but right now I am ready for some warmer weather if only to get these cats out of the house and out of my hair. It would be one thing if they just enjoyed curling up but these are roaming cats and for them just to sleep all day isn’t really an option. They do sleep a lot, however.
I needed to slow down yesterday and have a good cry.
Another friend of the family passed away, and I realized I’d been telling myself I didn’t have time to sit down and cry about it.
Yesterday was his funeral and the severe cold and the possibility of me coming down with something kept me from going.
I busied myself throughout the day and then, right before dinner, I thought about how he is gone and I won’t see him again and I let myself have a good long cry.
I don’t like to break down and cry because I worry if I do I won’t stop and I’ll fall into a very deep depression. The problem is that I also sink into a deep depression if I hold in my sadness so it’s probably better to let some of the pressure off with a good cry instead.
What I/We’ve Been Reading
Just Finished
I finished The Tiger in the Smoke by Margery Allingham last night.
It was very good but different than I expected with a lot more cerebral and deep descriptions and a more artistic ending than I thought it would have. There was also very little sleuthing with the guy I thought was the main character – Albert Campion – but I still thoroughly enjoyed it. I will eventually post a review of it.
In Progress
I am still rereading The Blue Castle (I will have a post up Monday for anyone reading along with me) and am also reading – for the first time – Return of the King by JRR Tolkien.
I just started a Murder, She Wrote because I want to read something I don’t have to use my brain for a lot. Ha!
This one started out a bit more bawdy than other ones I’ve read and I’m not sure what I think of that. We will see how it goes.
Up Soon
I am still rereading The Blue Castle (I will have a post up Monday for anyone reading along with me) and am also reading – for the first time – Return of the King by JRR Tolkien.
I just started a Murder, She Wrote because I want to read something I don’t have to use my brain for a lot. Ha!
This one started out a bit more bawdy than other ones I’ve read and I’m not sure what I think of that. We will see how it goes.
What The Family is Reading
Little Miss and I are still reading The Singing Tree by Kate Seredy.
What I/We’ve Been Watching
Last week I watched Love Me or Leave Me with Doris Day and James Cagney and episodes of Murder, She Wrote and All Creatures Great And Small.
Today I am going to watch my farmer on YouTube ( Just A Few Acres) because he’s finally back with a video.
I am listening to Shakespeare. The Man Who Pays the Rent by Judi Dench and Brenden O’Hea because I found it more interesting to listen to than read.
Some Housekeeping
Erin (Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs) and I host a monthly bookish link party called A Good Book and A Cup of Tea. This link-up is for book and reading posts or anything related to books and reading (even movies based on books!). Each link party will be open for a month. You can find that link up for this month here.
Each week, I host the Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot with some great hosts. It goes live Thursday night but you can share any kind of blog posts (family-friendly) there until Tuesday of each week. You can check my recent posts on the sidebar to the right for the most recent link-party.
Now It’s Your Turn
What have you been doing, watching, reading, listening to, or writing? Let me know in the comments or leave a blog post link if you also write a weekly update like this.
Welcome to the Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot, where we offer a place for bloggers to link up and get a fresh set of eyes on their posts. We also feature one blog a week, letting our readers know about the blog and providing a link so readers can learn more about it.Please feel free to post new blog posts or old ones you want to bring attention to again.
Look for the post to go live about 9:30 PM EST on Thursdays.
Yes, it is still very cold and snowy where I live.
I don’t want to talk about it anymore. Ha!
Seriously, though, the sun was hitting the snow just right this morning and there were all these beautiful sparkles which was much prettier to me than what our backyard looks like without snow. So, I am enjoying how pretty the snow is. I am just not a huge fan of the severe cold, which we are getting more of this weekend.
In cat news, I came downstairs this morning and found our old cat actually laying near our “new” kitten (who we’ve had since the end of October when someone dropped him off at our house or he wandered here, or I don’t know….). The cats traditionally hate each other – all three of them – so to see our old cat tolerating our kitten was quite a surprise.
I had to get photographic proof!
I hope you are all doing well and are either warm or cool enough to be able to function right now. Hang in there and enjoy the warm or cool days while you can!
Now, let’s introduce our current hosts for the Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot:
Marsha from Marsha in the Middle started blogging in 2021 as an exercise in increasing her neuroplasticity. Oh, who are we kidding? Marsha started blogging because she loves clothes, and she loves to talk or, in this case, write!
Melynda from Scratch Made Food! & DIY Homemade Household – The name says it all, we homestead in East Texas, with three generations sharing this land. I cook and bake from scratch, between gardening and running after the chickens, and knitting!
Lisa from Boondock Ramblingsshares about the fiction she writes and reads, her faith, homeschooling, photography and more.
Cat from Cat’s Wire is a bookworm, movie fan, crazy cat lady, armed with beads, cabs, wire and a very jumpy brain which loves to go down rabbit holes!
Rena from Fine, Whatever writes about style, midlife, and the “fine whatever” moments that make life both meaningful and fun. Since 2015, she’s been celebrating creativity, confidence, and finding joy in the everyday.
We would love to have additional Co-Hosts to share in the creativity and fun! If you think this would be a good fit for you and you like having fun (come on, who doesn’t!) while still being creative, drop one of us an email and someone will get back with you!
WTJR will be highlighting a different blogger each week this year! We invite you to stop by their blog, take a look around and say hello!
I’m Laura , a 46-year-old recovering helicopter mom learning to fly solo as my nest gradually empties.
After 18 years of blogging about the chaos of raising four kids, I’m now navigating the unexpected adventures of midlife with hot flashes, reading glasses, and a whole new perspective. These days, you’ll find me working from home alongside my husband (yes, we’re still talking!), managing a household that’s somehow both quieter and louder with just two kids still under our roof. I’m documenting this grand adventure of reinvention – from surviving menopause with my sense of humor intact to redefining my role as mom to young adults, while discovering who I am beyond the chaos of kids in school. Join me as I share the laughs, tears, and unexpected wisdom that come with embracing this next chapter. Because while my wrinkles might be multiplying, so are the reasons to smile.
Thank you so much for joining us for our link-up!
And now some posts that were highlights for me this past week:
This link party is for blog posts only. All other links will be deleted.
Please link only blog posts you created yourself.
Please link directly to the URL of your post and not the main address of your blog.
Please do not add links to videos, sales ads, or social media links such as YouTube videos or Shorts, Instagram or Facebook Reels, TikTok videos, or any other “social media” based content.
But do visit other blogs and give the gift of a comment.
Notice: By linking with Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot, you assert that content and photos are your own property. And you give us permission to share said content if your post or blog is showcased.
We welcome unlimited, family friendly content! This can include opinion pieces, recipes, travel recaps, fashion ideas, crafts, thrifting, lifestyle, book reviews or discussions, photography, art, and so much more! Thank you for joining us!
Welcome to the Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot, where we offer a place for bloggers to link up and get a fresh set of eyes on their posts. We also feature one blog a week, letting our readers know about the blog and providing a link so readers can learn more about it.Please feel free to post new blog posts or old ones you want to bring attention to again.
Look for the post to go live about 9:30 PM EST on Thursdays.
Negative 10, people!! Negative 10! Fahrenheidt! That is how cold it is supposed to be overnight tonight. I am ready for these arctic temps to go away already!
Tomorrow our high is 7. SEVEN! AGAIN!
On Monday our high is going to be 26 and I can’t believe I am saying this but I can’t wait for it to be 26F! Ha!
I hope you are all doing okay wherever you are!
Now, let’s introduce our current hosts for the Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot:
Marsha from Marsha in the Middle started blogging in 2021 as an exercise in increasing her neuroplasticity. Oh, who are we kidding? Marsha started blogging because she loves clothes, and she loves to talk or, in this case, write!
Melynda from Scratch Made Food! & DIY Homemade Household – The name says it all, we homestead in East Texas, with three generations sharing this land. I cook and bake from scratch, between gardening and running after the chickens, and knitting!
Lisa from Boondock Ramblingsshares about the fiction she writes and reads, her faith, homeschooling, photography and more.
Cat from Cat’s Wire is a bookworm, movie fan, crazy cat lady, armed with beads, cabs, wire and a very jumpy brain which loves to go down rabbit holes!
Rena from Fine, Whatever writes about style, midlife, and the “fine whatever” moments that make life both meaningful and fun. Since 2015, she’s been celebrating creativity, confidence, and finding joy in the everyday.
We would love to have additional Co-Hosts to share in the creativity and fun! If you think this would be a good fit for you and you like having fun (come on, who doesn’t!) while still being creative, drop one of us an email and someone will get back with you!
WTJR will be highlighting a different blogger each week this year! We invite you to stop by their blog, take a look around and say hello!
I’m Kristin! I am a Mom to a 15 year old, HoneyBear & a 11 year old, SydneyBean. I am married to a supportive & amazing man who loves me despite my crazy gene! Together we have a Couples Podcast called How Was Your Week, Honey?
I am learning to live without my Mom, who passed in 2013 and the ups and downs of being pretty newly diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. I love cooking, reading, crafts, and all things beautiful. I am an ally to the LGBTQ+ community and I go by she/her pronouns.
I enjoy politics, music, pop culture and sports. As a family we love to explore, adventure and learn about what we can do to love and care for our community!
Thank you so much for joining us for our link-up!
And now some posts that were highlights for me this past week:
This link party is for blog posts only. All other links will be deleted.
Please link only blog posts you created yourself.
Please link directly to the URL of your post and not the main address of your blog.
Please do not add links to videos, sales ads, or social media links such as YouTube videos or Shorts, Instagram or Facebook Reels, TikTok videos, or any other “social media” based content.
But do visit other blogs and give the gift of a comment.
Notice: By linking with Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot, you assert that content and photos are your own property. And you give us permission to share said content if your post or blog is showcased.
We welcome unlimited, family friendly content! This can include opinion pieces, recipes, travel recaps, fashion ideas, crafts, thrifting, lifestyle, book reviews or discussions, photography, art, and so much more! Thank you for joining us!
It’s time for our Sunday morning chat. On Sundays, I ramble about what’s been going on, whatthe rest of the familyand I have been reading and watching, andwhat I’ve been writing. Some weeks I share what I am listening to.
As I am starting this post on Saturday night, we had temps — er – temp of 5. In the morning snow is supposed to start and when it all ends Monday night, we are supposed to have close to 18 inches of snow.
I really hope we don’t get as much as they say, though, because the high temp is supposed to be 15 degrees, which I think means this will be a very heavy, wet snow. We live in a rural area so that could mean power outages. We have a woodstove that could keep us warm downstairs but we would have to worry about our pipes freezing since we do not have a generator. I believe that’s something we will need to invest in at some point soon. Our neighbors have generators, which I think they purchased after a tornado hit here on our street about six years ago, wiping out power for several days.
I’m sure many of you, if you are in the Northern and Middle U.S. are facing a similar situation as us. Stay safe out there, everyone.
Since we are going to be snowed in, I have been planning how to get through it all without worrying too much. I plan to watch movies, read books, and sip tea or cocoa.
To keep themselves occupied, Little Miss has been video chatting with her friend and The Boy has been chatting with his friend and playing video games. The Husband has been cleaning the house (he’s much better at that than I am) and reading and doing a little work for the newspaper he is at the editor at.
He expects to be snowed in Monday and will work from home. As long as we have power that is.
Erin (www.crackercrumblife.com) and I held our Crafternoon Zoom call yesterday and it was very nice to chat with people from all over the world. We chat while we craft and if you are interested in taking part, please let me or Erin know. It is just a relaxed time to chat, make new friends, and forget about our troubles. We keep conversations as free of politics or hard stuff as much as we can.
UPDATE:
It is 12:24 P.M. as I am finishing up this post and it is about 10 degrees out (-12 C) and we have about six inches of snow on the ground. The snow is supposed to stop sometime tonight and we are expected to have up to 18 inches of snow when it is all done.
What I/We’ve Been Reading
Just Finished
I didn’t finish anything this weekend.
In Progress
I’ve been reading Miss Read’s Village Diary by Miss Read, The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery (a reread), and just started Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien.
I’m enjoying all three. Miss Read’s books are such easygoing, relaxing reads.
Up Soon
I hope to finish Miss Read this week so I can add The Tiger in the Smoke by Margery Allingham to my reading line up.
I read the first few pages about a month ago and it intrigued me.
Cat from Cat’s Wire needs to let me know if it is good or not. *wink*
After that I plan to start the February Agatha Christie Read for the Agatha Christie challenge, Mrs. McGinty’s Dead.
What The Family is Reading
Little Miss and I started The Singing Tree by Kate Seredy. We’ve also been listening to Winnie The Pooh on Audible.
The Husband is reading….
What I/We’ve Been Watching
I loved this YouTube video about how to read more classic books.
And this video about how to cut back on buying books you never read.
I watched After The Thin Man, the second movie in The Thin Manseries, yesterday, and earlier in the week I watched episode two of season six of All Creatures Great And Small.
Today I hope to watch another old movie, probably a James Cagney, for my Winter of Cagney.
I’ve had to change my schedule of Cagney movies again because I have found yet another movie that is not streaming anywhere and can’t be found for very cheap on DVD. Two movies now, Man of a Thousand Faces and Angels With Dirty Faces, are going to have to be taken off my list as I figure out how to watch them in the future.
The Husband says these movies are most likely no longer in print and have not been licensed for streaming, hence my challenge in finding them. Man of A Thousand Faces costs $40 most places and is mainly on BluRay and Angels With Dirty Faces (a movie with Cagney and Humphrey Bogart) is on DVD but $19.95. I will probably set the aside for another time and slide two Cagney movies that I can find streaming into my list instead.
David Phelps with Laura Osnes singing a song from The Phantom of the Opera.
Photos From Last Week
Some Housekeeping
Erin (Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs) and I host a monthly bookish link party called A Good Book and A Cup of Tea. This link-up is for book and reading posts or anything related to books and reading (even movies based on books!). Each link party will be open for a month. You can find that link up for this month here.
Each week, I host the Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot with some great hosts. It goes live Thursday night but you can share any kind of blog posts (family-friendly) there until Tuesday of each week. You can check my recent posts on the sidebar to the right for the most recent link-party.
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.
Welcome to the Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot, where we offer a place for bloggers to link up and get a fresh set of eyes on their posts. We also feature one blog a week, letting our readers know about the blog and providing a link so readers can learn more about it.Please feel free to post new blog posts or old ones you want to bring attention to again.
Look for the post to go live about 9:30 PM EST on Thursdays.
I don’t know what the weather is going to be like for you this weekend, but on Saturday our high is going to be 8 and our low -2. Yuck! Then on Sunday, we are getting a snowstorm that could bring anywhere from 2 to 13 inches. Who even knows at this point.
All I know is that I am glad I don’t live in Buffalo. I am convinced that that city is the portal to hell with all the snow they get each year! With Washington D.C. being the other portal for … um…. other reasons.
Let’s get on with this week’s link party before I get myself into trouble. *wink*
Now, let’s introduce our current hosts for the Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot:
Marsha from Marsha in the Middle started blogging in 2021 as an exercise in increasing her neuroplasticity. Oh, who are we kidding? Marsha started blogging because she loves clothes, and she loves to talk or, in this case, write!
Melynda from Scratch Made Food! & DIY Homemade Household – The name says it all, we homestead in East Texas, with three generations sharing this land. I cook and bake from scratch, between gardening and running after the chickens, and knitting!
Lisa from Boondock Ramblingsshares about the fiction she writes and reads, her faith, homeschooling, photography and more.
Cat from Cat’s Wire is a bookworm, movie fan, crazy cat lady, armed with beads, cabs, wire and a very jumpy brain which loves to go down rabbit holes!
Rena from Fine, Whatever writes about style, midlife, and the “fine whatever” moments that make life both meaningful and fun. Since 2015, she’s been celebrating creativity, confidence, and finding joy in the everyday.
We would love to have additional Co-Hosts to share in the creativity and fun! If you think this would be a good fit for you and you like having fun (come on, who doesn’t!) while still being creative, drop one of us an email and someone will get back with you!
WTJR will be highlighting a different blogger each week this year! We invite you to stop by their blog, take a look around and say hello!
I’m proud to be Gen X. My parents are older, born in 1942, making them from the Silent Generation, whereas most of my peers have Boomer parents.
I’ve been blogging since about 2005, when there were free little scrapbooky online journals. Those posts are long gone now. This site began on Blogger and I migrated to WordPress in 2012. I’m not a techie, but I manage everything myself. I don’t have an assistant. I like to be in control.
I spent a couple years of almost no sleep, spending way too much money we didn’t have on a blog that makes next to nothing. It wasn’t worth it.
I’m more balanced now. I blog a few times a week about parenting, homeschooling, recipes, our travels, and sometimes military life.
Thank you so much for joining us for our link-up!
And now some posts that were highlights for me this past week:
This link party is for blog posts only. All other links will be deleted.
Please link only blog posts you created yourself.
Please link directly to the URL of your post and not the main address of your blog.
Please do not add links to videos, sales ads, or social media links such as YouTube videos or Shorts, Instagram or Facebook Reels, TikTok videos, or any other “social media” based content.
But do visit other blogs and give the gift of a comment.
Notice: By linking with Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot, you assert that content and photos are your own property. And you give us permission to share said content if your post or blog is showcased.
We welcome unlimited, family friendly content! This can include opinion pieces, recipes, travel recaps, fashion ideas, crafts, thrifting, lifestyle, book reviews or discussions, photography, art, and so much more! Thank you for joining us!
