Lisa R. Howeler's Blog, page 56
December 11, 2023
Our Yearly Christmas Tradition by Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian
I loved this wonderful, touching post about this annual trip to pick out the family ornament at Bonner’s Christmas Store in Michigan.
Our Yearly Christmas Tradition
12 Christmas Gift Ideas for Teenage Girls
Last week I shared a post about gift suggestions for teenage boys.
Today I am sharing gift suggestions for teenage girls, who I find easier to buy for but probably only because I was one at one time (many, many years ago).
Buying for teens in general, though, can be a serious challenge so these are only a few ideas to get you started. I hope I can offer some ideas for the “girly girls” and the less girly girls, of which I was one of growing up.
Some links in this article may be affiliate links. This does not affect the cost to you, but may provide a very small commission to my family for items purchased.
DIY Wall Collage Picture Arts and Crafts KitThis could work for preteens, teens, and even college students. This kit includes 154 cutouts, 66 letter cutouts, 769 stickers, 41 quote stickers, 10 markers, paint-safe double-sided sticky tape, and 6 yards of string. It is 5.5 by 3.5 feet to be placed on the wall of a room.
All she needs to do is add some personal photos or clippings!
2. Personalized bracelets or necklaces
Gifts like a personalized necklace or bracelet are always sweet because you can either give it to your teen or she can give it to a friend. With it being personalized, these can become a keepsake for years to come. Prices for items like these can range from as low as $13 to into the hundreds. Which one you buy simply depends on what your budget is.
3. Oversized Blanket Hoodie Sweatshirt, Wearable Sherpa Lounging Pullover
|| CATALONIA OVERSIZED BLANKET HOODIE ||
Having an oversized sweatshirt, shirt, or in this case, hoodie, is something many girls would love to have during the winter months or any time they are feeling chilly. It’s a chance to cozy up and watch a movie or read a book while being able to keep warm and have your hands free.
4. Sleep Headphones Bluetooth, Sleeping Headphones Headband
I have never used anything like this and aren’t sure how they work but they might at least be nice for a teenager who likes to have white noise on at night to help them sleep and relax.
5. Crave Snack Box
I suggested this idea for teenage boys last week, but teenage girls also love to have snacks available when they are interested in a quick snack.
No, these snacks are not all super healthy but there is a healthier option if you want to look into that too. Other companies sell other boxes of snacks, some of them organic or vegan, or even all meat.
Healthier option:
6. KODAK Printomatic Digital Instant Print Camera
This would be a great idea for a teenager who wants to snap photos of their friends and family and add them to their journal, scrapbook, or wall collage like the one above.
Kodak is a giant in the photography world — even though they don’t make much film anymore — so they are a great choice to buy a photography tool from.
This camera produces full-color prints on sticky-backed photo paper.
7. Shower Bluetooth Speaker
|| SHOWER BLUETOOTH SPEAKER ||
This speaker can be stuck inside the shower and is waterproof, so it won’t zap anyone while they are showering. It comes in a variety of colors and is perfect for listening to some music or a podcast while showering away. Please check the directions to make sure it is used correctly and if you don’t want your teen to spend too long in the shower then I suggest skipping this one. *wink*
8. Funny T-shirt
T-shirts with funny sayings are always a winner, though sometimes they are only funny for the parents, so try to find ones that your teenager actually finds funny. As we all know, each generation has a different sense of humor, so what might be funny to mom and dad might not be funny to your teenager.
|| NOPE. NOT TODAY. || || SHORT GIRLS || || NOT TODAY, SATAN ||
8. Phone Camera Lens Kit, 14 in-1 Lenses with Selfie Light for iPhone
This is a great item for the teenage girl who loves photography or simply loves to grab selfies with different angles and lenses.
The lenses are for an iPhone14, 13, 12, 11Xs, X Pro Samsung and Other Android Smartphones.
9. Cooluli Mini Fridge for Bedroom
This mini fridge can be used for food, drinks, makeup, or the storage of medicine.
My teenage son has been asking me for one of these but I will be honest — I don’t want to get him one because I am afraid I’d never see him. Of course, he would have to come down to get the soda he’d take back up for the fridge so I’ll consider it.
It also comes in several different colors.
10. Kindle Scribe
If you want to go pretty high up in the budget, a Kindle Scribe might be a good idea.
This is a Kindle which your teen can write or draw on. She can make notes while she reads or make notes with a digital pen and have it transformed into text.
This is, as Amazon’s site says, “A digital notebook you can write on. Journal, sketch, take notes, and more.”
Honestly, it is something I would look into for myself someday. I’ll keep you updated if I get one.
11. Hanging Cosmetic/Toiletry Bag
This cosmetic bag is waterproof, can be hung up, and is portable for traveling as well.
The pouches can be used a variety of ways, not only for makeup, of course. There are also a variety of colors and styles for the bag.
12. One-Step Volumizer Enhanced 1.0 Hair Dryer and Hot Air Brush
This dryer and hot air brush is an amazing way to spruce up any young woman’s hair.
This is a two-in-one tool that will dry and style at the same time. It is also easily portable.
Bonus item:
Prayer Journal for Teen Girls: 52-week Scripture, Devotional, & Guided Prayer Journal
If the teen you are buying for is someone who likes to read her Bible and keep track of her prayers, this gift would be perfect.
According to the description: This 52-week devotional and guided prayer journal includes Scripture verses, reflections on the Word, and journaling prompts that will help teen girls feel more confident navigating life’s challenges and remember that God is with them every step.
I hope this list gives you some gift ideas for the teen girls in your life. If you need more gift ideas, you can visit my storefront HERE.
December 10, 2023
Sunday Bookends: Christmas Regency books, watching Christmas movies, and small-town Christmas event
It’s time for our Sunday morning chat. On Sundays, I ramble about what’s been going on, what the rest of the family and I have been reading and watching, and what I’ve been writing. Some weeks I share what I am listening to.
This week I’m joining up with Kimba at Caffeinated Reviewer , Deb at Readerbuzz, and Kathyrn at The Book Date.
What’s Been OccurringIt began to feel even more like Christmas this past week when we had our first, longer-lasting snowfall.
I thought we were only supposed to receive some sleet and freezing rain so I was surprised by the half inch on the ground the next morning.
My daughter was surprised as well and my son was thrilled because the two-hour delay meant he didn’t have to go to his trade school that day since he only goes for two and a half hours.
Little Miss was delighted to play in the snow with her best friend, Zooma the Wonder Dog, and I watched them some and then darted back inside to the warmth.
Inside the house, the Christmas tree is up, the fire is burning in the wood stove, and a cup of hot cocoa awaits.
I’ve never been a fan of extreme temperatures – either too cold or too hot.
The snow was gone by the next morning, which Little Miss was sad about. We thought we might have the chance for more snow Sunday into Monday but, alas, it is now going to be rain only and so much rain it might cause flooding.
We will have to see what happens.
Yesterday Little Miss had two friends over and I took them downtown to our small town’s Christmas event. There wasn’t a ton going on but there was a scavenger hunt that took them to several businesses in town to find photos of an elf and see what the elf was doing in each photo. They then had to write on the slip of paper what the elf was doing and return it to where they started for a prize. The prize was a York Peppermint Patty which I didn’t think was a very exciting prize for all that running around. The kids weren’t that impressed either but were okay with it. Little Miss doesn’t like peppermint but luckily I had some chocolate at home for her.
The town also had mini-fire pits set up throughout the town with s’mores kits for people to use, which I thought was a super cute idea.
Earlier in the day they had an ice carver, a cookie walk, and several vendors available in the one main building.
They also offered a semi-alive nativity display, which cracked me up when I read the title of it in the paper. Turns out that Mary and Joseph and Jesus and the wise men were cardboard cutouts but the animals were real. Little Miss was very disappointed she couldn’t pet the animals and grumbled about it the rest of the day.
We ended our jaunt downtown with some playtime at the tiny playground.
The library also had a used book sale during the event and unlike other times when I’ve come out of there with way too many books, I only came out with three and a DVD about World War II. One, they didn’t have a very exciting selection, and two I got way too many last time, and many of them I didn’t enjoy.
The books I picked up were another Nancy Drew:
This one by Brock Thoene (I’ve enjoyed books by him and his wife, Brodie, in the past):
And this middle-school-aged book that looked interesting to me and hopefully will be a good one for Little Miss later:
Our neighbors have added some extra lights to their Christmas display this year. For several years in a row they have won the town’s Christmas light contest, but last year they were unseated. My mom thinks they are trying to win it back this year since the husband has added another set of lights.
My dad gave us their old nativity set so all we have in our yard is a very subtle display and I’m okay with that. We can simply enjoy the neighbors and wait for the day the husband becomes Clark Griswold.
What I/we’ve been ReadingLast week I finished The Spectacular by Fiona Davis. I did not think it was spectacular, but it was okay.
I liked the story itself but I did not like the style of writing.
This week I am diving into Christmas books.
Erin from Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs told me about these Regency Romance books she would read every Christmas so I ordered one from Thriftbooks and it came this week so I started it yesterday.
It’s called Regency Christmas Wishes with novellas by five different authors.
Keeping with the Christmas theme, I’m also re-reading A Walt Longmire Christmas: Christmas in Absaroka by Craig Johnson.
Next I’ll be reading Southern Snow: A Sugartree Winter Romance by B.R. Goodwin.
I’m also still reading a chapter or two of Little Women but I left it at my parents so I won’t be able to read that until I get it back from them.
The Boy and I are putting The Tale of Two Cities aside for this month as we are both not focusing well on it. We will either restart it in January or put it off altogether until his senior year. I remember struggling through this book my sophomore year but really liking it once I got into it so I am sure once we can focus better (and buy cliff notes to figure out what he is talking about) we will be able to get through it.
This week we will be reading from books about World War II and I will be looking for books or material about World War I as I feel it is a war that isn’t as focused on as much.
Little Miss and are listening to The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson at night. I am also reading Christmas stories by Louisa May Alcott and L.M. Montgomery to her.
The Husband is reading In the Blood by Jack Carr.
What We watched/are WatchingThis past week I watched Holiday Affair (1949), a couple episodes of Still Standing (a Canadian show) with The Husband, Signed, Sealed, And Delivered Christmas, and a couple episodes of Evening Shade.
What I’m Writing
I’m still working on Cassie and wrote maybe 4,000 words this week.
This week on the blog I shared:
Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot December 7 Comfy, Cozy Christmas Movie Impressions: Holiday Affair A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong 10 Christmas Gift Ideas for Teenage Boys What I’m Listening toOn Tuesday when I went outside to photograph the freshly fallen snow and listened to Michael Buble’s Christmas album but otherwise I haven’t listened to much this past week.
Photos from Last WeekI shared a couple of photos above but here are a few more from last week.
Blog Posts I Enjoyed This Past WeekHere are a few posts I enjoyed this week:
Songs of the Season 2023 – Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree – Brenda Lee
I Played Secretary Today by Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian
I Played Secretary Today
The Last Year We Decorated Christmas Cookies With My Mom by Deb Nancy at Reader Buzz
A quick reminder that Erin and I still have a linky open for anyone who wants to join in our Comfy, Christmas Link Up. The link up will be open until January 2.
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.
December 7, 2023
Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot December 7
Welcome to another Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot hosted by Marsha in the Middle, Melynda from Scratch Made Food For Hungry People and me.
How was your week?
Do anything exciting?
I haven’t done anything very exciting this week – other than the fact we hit a deer Saturday night while my husband was driving us back from a Christmas event in a little town about half an hour from us.
The car was driveable but our left headlight suffered some. Not sure what happened to the deer for sure. Also hoping our insurance will cover some repairs. We are getting an estimate done soon to find out.
Today we woke up to snow on the ground – more than I expected. I thought we were only getting a slushy mix but, nope, there was actual snow out there!
This is our first snowfall this year that actually stuck around more than an hour or so.
Our daughter loved playing in it with Zooma the Wonder Dog who absolutely loves snow.
On to our most clicked post for this week. But wait! We have two most clicked posts this week. We have a tie!
The Real Food Blogger’s Vegetable Tien: A Colorful and Flavorful Dish
and
Simple Holiday Entryway from Thrifting Wonderland
And on to my favorites.
1.
The Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island by Amy’s Creative Pursuits.
I loved this tour of Mackinac Island, which I have heard so much about, but have never visited.
2. Easy Christmas Sensory Bin by Drug Store Divas
This was a very informative and well-done tutorial on how to create a sensory bin for preschoolers or other children.
3. My Favorite Shopping Trip by A New Lens
This was a beautiful post about what we can do with our time, our energy, and a limited budget to help bless others. It was also a reminder of the greatest gift anyone received on any Christmas – Jesus.
I hope you will leave a link to your favorite post from last week or an older post that needs some love on the linky below today.
You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!
Click here to enterhttps://fresh.inlinkz.com/js/widget/load.js?id=c0efdbe6b4add43dd7efComfy, Cozy Christmas Movie Impressions: Holiday Affair
Welcome to another post where I share my thoughts about a Christmas movie I recently watched.
(This post is part of the Comfy, Cozy Feature with Erin from Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs. Read more about it and join up to the linky here. )
This movie stars Vivien Leigh, Robert Mitchum, and Wendell Corey. Note: I will not be including large spoilers in this post.
Vivien Leigh plays Connie Ennis, a widower, whose husband died in World War II. She has a 6-year-old son, Timmy played by Gordon Gerbert , (ironically I worked with a man named Tim Ennis and my husband still works with him). She is dating a man named Carl (Wendell Corey) who is predictable and safe. You know, the ole’ boring boyfriend versus the dashing and bold potential boyfriend trope.
Mitchum plays Steve Mason, whom Connie meets at a department store when she’s there as a comparison shopper for another store. Steve pegs her in her role right away but doesn’t turn her in because she tells him she’s a single mom and her son’s only support.
That move gets him fired and one would think that means he is out of Connie’s life. On the contrary, they continue to have interactions when Connie goes to apologize to him and then he ends up helping her out on her next shopping trip.
That encounter leads to Steve meeting Timmy, who is enamored with Steve – much more so than Carl, who he knows wants to marry his mother.
Timmy acts out with Carl and is sent to his room and this leads to a heart-to-heart with Steve who learns Timmy wants a train for Christmas.
Steve makes this happen and yet another interaction occurs between him and Connie.
There is a lot of back and forth in this film and more than one interaction between Connie and Steve when she walks away from him angry and he just watches her walk away with a smug grin.
Steve knows he gets under Connie’s skin and he knows there is a spark between them. Connie, though, isn’t willing to admit that she could have a passion for any man other than her late husband. She doesn’t really have passion for Carl.
Part of the time I felt like both Carl and Steve wanted Connie to just get over her dead husband already and that annoyed me. Both men seemed threatened by a dead man.
Since Timmy is six, it’s probably been about five or six years since Guy, Connie’s first husband, has been dead. That is a fairly long time but I didn’t think it was fair of either man to want Connie to just forget her late husband.
Then I realized that it wasn’t that the men wanted her to forget Guy – they wanted her to be able to remember the good times of her marriage with him while not being afraid to find happiness in the future. In fact, one of them says this explicitly but I missed it so I went back and watched their interaction again.
I felt much better about the intent of the men after that and could agree with others who called it a clever and touching film, even if there were a few times I thought Steve Mason should be smacked. Ha!
This is a movie with a definite love triangle, of course, and you’ll have to watch to see how all that works out. Some of the movie is predictable but some of it isn’t. There are plenty of surprises to make this movie a unique and non-traditional Christmas watch.
There are some great lines like when Steve says to Connie at one point: “I don’t think I should stay around – I might fall in love with you.”
I also loved Connie’s in-laws. They were one of the cutest elderly couples I’ve seen in a film with all their witty banter. Mr. Ennis had a cute quote: “Mother, I’ve been married to you 35 years. You boss me, you heckle me, you hide my things and pretend I’ve lost them just so I have to depend on you. You’ve spent 35 years trying to make me admit that I couldn’t possibly get along without you; and you’re right. I couldn’t. What’s more, I wouldn’t want to. Every one of those years was good, even the bad ones because you were with me. And so I drink to your health and all the wonderful years to come.”
I also liked:
: You see, if you aim higher than your mark, then you’ve got a better chance of hitting the mark.
: But he shouldn’t feel that he’ll always get everything he wants.: Well, not always, no, but every now and then, so that he’ll know that these things can happen.
Landlady: It’s the last room at the end of the hall.: Oh, thank you.Landlady: And leave the door open.: [Connie rings door bell] Come in.[Connie opens door and enters]: Well, you found the place. You know, very few people come here to eat anymore. Too much atmosphere. We’ve been thinking of closing down the joint to redecorate.[Closes door]: Uh, the landlady said to keep the door open.: Let’s worry her, huh?[Closes Murphy bed closet]: But let’s not worry you.According to an article on Turner Classic Movies, Holiday Affair was a box office flop that became a hit through repeated television airings, much like It’s A Wonderful Life.
It’s A Wonderful Life became the bigger classic, of course.
Mitchum’s casting was seen as a little odd at the time considering he’d just come off an arrest and prison sentence for pot possession. RKO’s owner and tycoon Howard Hughes had faith in him, though, and pushed for his casting to be kept.
According to TCM, “In fact, just before filming started on Holiday Affair, RKO paid $400,000 to acquire sole ownership of Mitchum’s contract from independent producer David O. Selznick, who had shared the contract with RKO.”
Mitchum may have had a bad boy reputation, but according to articles about the making of the movie, he was a dedicated actor and a practical joker. He made a point of using his jokes for a purpose, like when he and Corey both put their hands on her knee in a scene to get her to make a certain face that was perfect for the scene.
Mitchum also kissed her for real during the kiss scene to throw her off her feet, but that move also made for a realistic shocked reaction for her.
Leigh wasn’t as comfortable with Hughes according to TCM.
“Leigh wasn’t as happy about her relationship with Hughes, who had arranged to borrow her from MGM for a series of pictures starting with Holiday Affair,” the article reads. “But that didn’t prevent a very strange encounter when he summoned her for a private meeting toward the end of production. Hughes presented her with a private eye’s report on her activities, claiming her current boyfriend, Arthur Loew, Jr., had ordered the investigation out of jealousy. Leigh saw through the ruse at once – all of the people she was linked to in the report were members of Loew’s family. Clearly Hughes had ordered the investigation himself. She informed him that their future meetings would be strictly business if he wanted her to keep making films at RKO.”
I found this movie free on Tubi and also on Max. It is available to rent on other streaming services, including Amazon Prime and AppleTV. If you know of anywhere else it is streaming, please let me know.
Have you seen this movie?
What did you think about it?
December 6, 2023
A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong
I wrote about A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong last year but wanted to share this post again for this year since my daughter and I just watched it last week. It has become a Christmas tradition, along with the other Goes Wrong Show Christmas special.
Have you seen this one? If you have or haven’t, click through to read more about it.
This is part of the Comfy, Cozy Feature with Erin from Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs.
Read more about it and join up to the linky here:
‘Tis The Season Cinema: A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong
A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong
I wrote about A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong last year but wanted to share this post again for this year since my daughter and I just watched it last week. It has become a Christmas tradition, along with the other Goes Wrong Show Christmas special.
Have you seen this one? If you have or haven’t, click through to read more about it.
This is part of the Comfy, Cozy Feature with Erin from Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs.
Read more about it and join up to the linky here:
‘Tis The Season Cinema: A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong
December 5, 2023
10 Christmas Gift Ideas for Teenage Boys
Teenage boys are not always easy to buy gifts for. I know because I have one and he sometimes shrugs when I ask what he wants for Christmas.
If he does tell me, it’s sometimes something way too out of our budget while also buying gifts for others.
Finding affordable gifts that a teenage boy might like and use can lead to an extensive search online and you don’t have time for that so I have done the search for you. Granted, I only have ten suggestions for you today, but there are other bloggers doing the same out there on the interwebs so don’t be afraid to search a couple places for these ideas.
(Some links in this article may be affiliate links. This does not affect the cost to you, but may provide commission for items purchased.)
1. Night Light Bluetooth Speaker, Bedside Lamp with White Noise Sound Machine, 16 Soothing Sound, Alarm Clock
This is something that I actually have added to my list for my teenager. I have not used it but it looks like a great idea.
|| Night Light Bluetooth Speaker, Bedside Lamp||
This is a combination lamp, Bluetooth speaker, white noise machine, and alarm clock.
My son sometimes goes through periods of insomnia and I think it would be great for him to have this white noise to drown out some noise and also the alarm clock to get himself moving in the morning, which he does fairly well on his own.
I don’t know if the idea of big blue light shining at night would be a great idea since it might keep some awake but I’m sure there is a way to turn it off.
2. Mini Drone with Camera,
Here is another fun idea. We did buy my son one like this one year for Christmas, but we never really got it to work well so I would love to look at this particular one for him.
The D70 drone comes with a camera (720P HD FPV) and is foldable. It has a headless mode, altitude hold, gesture selfie, and speed switch. It can fly 22 minutes with a control range of up to 130 feet.
Because it is foldable it is also easily portable.
3. Flipslide Game – Electronic Handheld Game
The seller says this is an addictive multiplayer puzzle game of skill with four thrilling game modes. Is it? I don’t know but it does look fun.
Sure it isn’t a Play Station 5 but it might be something fun your teenager can take with them on a car ride to entertain themselves.
4 . TOSY Flying Disc
Parents today often think their children need to get out and touch grass more and this is a great way to do it. Back in my day (yes, I am old enough to be able to say that now) we had frisbees and they were fun enough but these are frisbees that light up. That’s pretty cool if you ask me.
The TOSY flying disc has 15 Million Color RBG or 360 LEDS and several smart modes and is rechargeable. If nothing else, you won’t lose your teens if they go out in a dark field to play together.
5. Medieval Crusader Sword with Scabbard.
|| Medieval Crusader Sword with Scabbard||
Yes. I am suggesting a sword for your teenage boy.
I know. But hear me out.
Many boys like the idea of owning a sword and this one is for collection only. It has a dull edge and is for cosplay (for all you old folks, that is along the lines of dressing up.
In other words, they can’t harm themselves or anyone else with this sword but it will look cool on their wall.
6. Stanley Ice Flow Stainless Steel Tumbler with Straw, Vacuum Insulated Water Bottle
This is another item I’d love and this could be purchased for a girl or a boy, or a man or a woman (or a mom named Lisa. Ahem.)
There are a variety of colors and from what I understand Stanley products keep beverages very cold for a very long time which means your teenager could have this next to them during a video game marathon. They also have tumblers for warm beverages.
7. Funny Gaming Shirts
There are many options for funny gaming shirts online but here are three I found that I know my video game playing son would find funny. He did mention to me that you have to be careful that these aren’t designs that aren’t stolen from artists online so just be cautious.
|| I Went Outside Once || || My Perfect Day || I Paused My Game To Be Here||
8. Crave Box Snack Box
What teenager doesn’t love to have some snacks on hand any time of the day or night?
No, these aren’t the healthiest snacks but they would be nice for a once-in-awhile treat. There are 50 packages of a variety different snacks inside this kit.
9. MACHLAB Men’s Pullover Winter Workout Fleece Hoodie Jackets Full Zip Wool Warm Thick Coats
This is not only a warm coat but looks like a stylish one to wear anywhere.
10. PRINCE OF SLEEP Fleece Robes for Boys
I don’t know about your kid but my teenage son likes to sleep and he also likes to hang out in his pajamas when he has time so this one is a great idea and it comes in several different colors.
December 3, 2023
Sunday Bookends: Thoughts on reading, didn’t see that deer coming, and Gladwynn’s second book coming out Tuesday
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:
Saturday Afternoon Chat December 2: A hodgepodge of thoughts about my week and the week to come Six Historical Fiction Chapter Books for Children 8 to 12. Books you can read for fun or education Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot Comfy Cozy Christmas Movie Review: Beyond Tomorrow What I love about December and Saying goodbye to November Comfy, Cozy Christmas Posts and invite for you to join inErin 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.
December 2, 2023
Saturday Afternoon Chat December 2: A hodgepodge of thoughts about my week and the week to come
Dry skin. That’s what I’ve got right now.
Horrible dry skin from the dry air in our house.
Don’t worry – it just feels dry. I won’t describe how it looks because it doesn’t look bad. It just looks — pale and dry.
We don’t have a humidifier downstairs but I think we are going to have to get one because when I get dry skin it causes my entire body to feel inflamed with itchiness. It’s a horrible feeling and sometimes I have to practically bathe myself in lotion to get relief.
I have a soap I use from Cetaphil that is moisturizing and helps immensely.
I find it fairly cheap on Amazon and at Walmart (no, this is not a sponsored post. I promise.) but I’m sure you can find it in other places as well.
Cetaphil used to make an amazing lotion too, but they changed the ingredients earlier this year and I don’t think it works as well.
My mom keeps telling me to put lotion or coconut oil on right after a shower to help my skin absorb the moisture but I always forget and pay for it later.
What do you, dear readers, use to help your dry skin if you have it? My curious mind wants to know.
An uneventful week where we almost died . . .This past week was a rather uneventful week.
The only day I had something to do was yesterday when I drove 30 minutes down and back to pick up our groceries. On our way there some driver decided he’d try to pass a truck and a car on a stretch of road right on a corner, where there were double lines, and in a spot on the highway near my parents where there have been a number of fatalities over the years. When I saw him in my lane I couldn’t believe it.
I laid on the horn and luckily, he yanked back into his lane but it was certainly a frightening experience.
I’m not sure what was so important that this person needed to risk everyone’s life but I have a feeling he needed a beer.
I’m kidding.
Sort of.
Tonight The Husband, Little Miss, and I are headed to a Christmas parade in a tiny town half an hour away. He has to attend the event for work and I decided Little Miss needs to get out of the house and see her friends because she’s so bored that she’s started asking The Husband and I to play Hide and Seek or Red Light, Green Light with her.
She’s really gotten desperate for entertainment apparently. We are not really the most fun and we are easily distractable.
A question for my readers . . .This reminds me of a conversation I had with a friend recently. I said Little Miss wanted me to play dolls and stuffies with her and she said she was always impressed with how I played with my daughter because most parents she knows don’t do that.
I have a variety of ages reading my blog so my question to all of you is if you play(ed) with your children when they were young or if you did what my mom did which was essentially tell me to go find a way to entertain myself. She wasn’t rude at all. She just had work to do in the house and couldn’t sit and play all afternoon so she’d gently suggest I go draw or play with my dolls on my own if I asked.
I don’t even remember asking, actually. I was used to drawing or playing on my own a lot. I was sort of a lonely kid with only a handful of friends my entire childhood. In fact, I was a lot like Little Miss is now and only had two close friends (sisters) until junior high.
She also has two sisters as her friends.
Her other two friends moved to Texas in the summer but are returning for a visit around Christmas.
As a follow-up to the question of if you played with your children, did your parents play with you? I mean, I know most parents at least throw a ball with their kids or play some board games, but did you really sit down and play with the dolls and their stuffed animals?
I like to do that some with Little Miss because I think it helps to develop her imaginative play and I know how important play is to the development of a child. I can’t, however, do it all day like she wants me to.
Moving on . . .Right now I am listening to Cozy Cafe Ambience – Relaxing Smooth Jazz Music with Rain & Thunder Sounds at Night on YouTube. I’m trying to drown out the noise of my house. We don’t have a lot of people in our house but it is very noisy.
Little Miss seems to think she has to have the TV on at all times, even while talking to her friends on a chat app while they play online games.
She’s not watching anything bad – it’s often a show on YouTube about reptiles that she likes. I don’t allow her to have YouTube on her phone anymore because she was watching all those Shorts and they were kicking out some very inappropriate stuff at her.
Even though the shows she watches aren’t bad, it’s constant noise.
I find it hard to focus on what I am writing with the constant chatter and interruptions. (How many times should a dog need to go out in an hour? Asking for a “friend.”) Sometimes I’m amazed I get any books or blog posts written but I do so by making myself get up early, before all the chatter starts, and also by going into the kitchen and sitting at the kitchen table where I’m a little bit more removed from the noise.
Oh and sometimes I just tell Little Miss to turn it all off! That helps too.
Today I goofed off this morning when Little Miss and others were sleeping so that’s my own fault for having to deal with the noise and activity.
We are having a slightly warmer day with rain forecasted for later on.
Then we will be dropping back into the 30s tomorrow. I know I was wishing for the cooler weather so I could cozy up under a blanket with a good book but on days like this when it isn’t exactly cold enough to light the fire but we don’t really want to turn the heat up too much and use up our heating oil, I find I don’t enjoy cuddling under a blanket as much as I hoped I would.
We do tend to romanticize the whole idea of a warm blanket, a cup of tea, and a good book, don’t we? We never factor in our cold nose or fingers, the cat that wants to warm up with us so she lays on our chest (right under our chin), or the way the tea gets really cold in the chilly air so we have to keep getting up to warm it up.
Or at least I don’t always think of all those negatives.
But, I think I’ll still continue to romanticize my life a little. Finding those little moments of magic are important, even if they aren’t as perfect as we had imagined. Plus, I have the option to turn the heat up, I have a roof over my head and a nice house, my family around me to make me laugh and smile (even if I sometimes have to tell them to be quiet so I can think.), I have food in my cupboards and fridge, and I have the luxury of being able to choose when I want to read or right – most of the time.
I’m very lucky and even though I grumble a bit from time to time (usually in jest, not a real grumble) I recognize that and I am grateful for it all.
“When it comes to life the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude.”
— G.K. Chesterton
How was your week?
Did you do anything holiday-related yet?
Read anything good or have a fun experience?
Let me know in the comments.
